Tag: buddhism

Our identities keep us tethered to a certain perspective—one that’s composed of certain viewpoints based on certain experiences.  But in order to jump from perspective to perspective, to jump from world to world, it’s necessary to loosen that identity.   That’s where writers come in.

Some acquaintances of mine have asked me how I write.  They get excited when I tell them that I believe in “loosening my identity” so I can see from different characters’ perspectives.  Sounds cool, right?  They ask me how to do that, and I tell them that a simple (but not easy) exercise is to…

I can’t deny that mouthing truisms is pretty damn fun, but in my opinion, it isn’t half as fun as those instances when I stop being a mouthpiece and become a conduit.

When you demonize someone, you blind yourself to the insights they might be able to offer.  So if you’re disciplined and clearheaded, there are no “demons,” only teachers with unsavory polarities.  You may have to fight or undermine them; it doesn’t change the fact you can still learn from them.

No one can provide definitive evidence on what is objectively true (science, our most effective and reliable model of reality, still has fundamental questions about the nature of reality that it is currently trying to solve).  That being the case, a working definition of truth could be:  a paradigm that propagates functionality and fits within…

I don’t think setting out to inspire people is the most effective aim; I think the important thing is to clarify to oneself what it means to behave in an inspirational manner, and then hew to that standard.  I think when people witness that, it encourages them to apply inspiration-worthy behavior to their own unique constraints. …

If I goof up or procrastinate, I’ll laugh and grin…but only if it’s the exception and not the rule, because most of the time, I like to trust myself to be productive and sharp.  As far as others go, I like to be as forgiving as possible, because who knows what they’ve gone through?  As…

I believe Life gives people clues.  I believe these clues—gentle at first, but more forceful as time progresses—urge people to stop mindlessly repeating what others have said/done, and to iterate timeless truths in a manner which is both eternal and novel.  And isn’t that the goal of a legit teacher?  Not to have their students…

What if there is no “why” behind anything?  What if there was no [heaven/nirvana/god/enlightenment/etc./etc.] and this was it?  To me, it seems the sensible thing to do in that case would be to enjoy the present moment, apply myself so that I experience fulfillment, and be nice to others.  But if you get down to…