Be Here Now

This week’s Words of Wisdom chosen by Lama Surya Das come from the seminal teacher for my generation, Baba Ram Dass. Baba Ram Dass was Dr. Richard Alpert of Harvard University in his early life. What he said in his famous book, Be Here Now in the 1960’s is totally relevant today. “You and I are the […]

Seven Rules of Life

Here are today’s Weekly Words of Wisdom from Lama Surya Das. The Buddha once said Do not pursue the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. The past no longer is. The future has not yet come. Looking deeply at life as it is in the very here and now, the practitioner dwells in […]

Who Are You?

“Who are you?” asked the Caterpillar of Alice in a puff of smoke in the famous book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. Do you remember what Alice said? She said, “I — I hardly know, sir, just at present — at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, […]

Attention Means Attention

Here are more Weekly Words of Wisdom from Lama Surya Das. Today we hear from Zen Master Charlotte Joko Beck. Unfortunately, she died last June and I was deeply saddened by her passing. She was an American Zen teacher and the author of Everyday Zen: Love and Work and Nothing Special: Living Zen. Whenever her writings appeared […]

Lincoln And Enlightened Leadership

This week’s Words of Wisdom chosen by Lama Surya Das is about the movie, Lincoln. The movie stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Jackie Earle Haley, Tommy Lee Jones, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and was directed by Steven Spielberg. I’ve heard that Sally Field gained a lot of weight to play the part of Mrs. Lincoln. Lincoln’s struggle to […]

The Extent Of Realization

Here is another segment of Weekly Words of Wisdom chosen by Lama Surya Das. This quote tells us how to recognize the extent of realization of our practice. In prison in Tibet, the great Dzogchen Khenpo Munsel Rinpoche taught me this: “The extent of your realization will be known when you encounter difficult circumstances. You […]

What Makes For Lasting Happiness?

Here are the Weekly Words of Wisdom chosen by Lama Surya Das. Today, these come from Dr. Roger Walsh, author of “Essential Spirituality: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind.” WHAT MAKES FOR LASTING HAPPINESS? “Everyone wants to be happy but what makes for lasting happiness? Interestingly, research is now validating ancient wisdom […]

The Most Beautiful Jewels In The Universe

I am happy to present another installment of Weekly Words of Wisdom chosen by Lama Surya Das. These come from a great teacher of the last century, Alan Watts. Alan Wilson Watts was born in England. He was a philosopher, writer, and speaker. Perhaps he is best known as an interpreter of Eastern philosophy for […]

Contemplative Practices In Corporate America

Here is another installment of Weekly Words of Wisdom chosen by Lama Surya Das. I am especially interested in this one because I worked for many years as a software engineer and did try to do this myself. I gave one presentation on the enneagram at Sybase in 1988. It turned out that I could only […]

Words Of Wisdom From Rumi

Happy New Year Everyone! This quote and picture were found on January Newsletter of Break the Norms. Enjoy!  “Try not to resist the changes that have come your way.  Instead, let life live through you.  And do not worry that your life is turning upside down.  How do you know that the side you are […]