We all must admit that our secret inner attitudes are often cruel, attacking, judgmental, and harsh. The ego seems to find its energy precisely by having something to oppose, fix, or change. When the mind can judge something to be inferior, we feel superior. We must recognize our constant tendency toward negating reality, resisting it, opposing it,... See more
Your heart beats in poetic rhythm. James Finley guides listeners through the spiritual wisdom of T.S Eliot in Season 10 of Turning to the Mystics at cac.org/podcasts.
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James Finley explains, “When I read 'Four Quartets,' I was so touched by the depth of it and the beauty of it — I've been reading... See more
In my mind, pity isn’t even analogous to compassion. Pity is just the paternalistic cousin of contempt. It allows us to see others as “those less fortunate than ourselves” (a term I loathe). Pity keeps the other person at a distance and me in a rarified state of satisfaction.... Compassion, on the other hand, draws us close.
Only if you are thankful and you bless the position you're in, do you become a higher being, do you lift yourself up, and finally you find liberation. But it begins and ends with you. Never pray to God for release of your problems. Never pray to God to change your life, and to give you something better. This is wrong prayer. If you have to pray to... See more
The best adult life is lived by making commitments and staying faithful to those commitments: commitments to a vocation, to a family, to a philosophy or faith, to a community. Adult life is about making promises to others, being faithful to those promises. The beautiful life is found in the mutual giving of unconditional gifts.
Something Sasha Chapin said in a seminar he recently hosted about building a service business is that there are typically two major internal blocks when it comes to self-permission-ing (that is: giving yourself permission to do something that only you can give yourself permission to do). Most people are either: (1) afraid to do a new thing wrong,... See more