The shortest definition of “karma” is the law of cause and effect, according to which a person is responsible for the consequences of their choices at the level of the soul—the eternal and immortal part of us. Thaddeus Golas, author of the book The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment, offers a slightly different perspective. According […]
“When you learn to love in hell, you will find yourself in heaven.” Thaddeus Golas, The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment It is said that hell is not a place we go to after we die, but is located right here and now. Perhaps today there is a huge opportunity to find yourself in heaven, […]
According to David Gordon, one of the three basic human fears is the fear of self-love. I had never considered that there could be such a fear. On the contrary, self-love is usually seen as something positive. What isn’t seen as good is being selfish. What we don’t often realize, however, is that one of […]
“Sometimes people who have nothing to offer in a real relationship look like they are bringing us the whole world. They are so detached from their own feelings that they have become genius actors, unconsciously playing the role written by our fantasy. But the responsibility for the pain we experience remains our own. If we […]
“Love allows our loved ones to be perfectly themselves, and not to be twisted to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.” Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island If this is your lesson from the “Lessons of Love,” look at it as an occasion to […]
“When we speak, the key to communication is not what we say but the attitude behind what we say. And because there is only one mind, we are all communicating telepathically all the time. Every time we choose whether to join or to separate, the person we’re talking to feels our choice regardless of our […]
“Our susceptibility to the myth of ‘Mr. Right’ comes from our glorification of romantic love. The ego uses romantic love for its ‘special purposes,’ causing us to jeopardize relationships by overvaluing their romantic content. The difference between friendship and infatuation can be illustrated with the image of a long-stemmed rose. The stem is the friendship, […]
“None of us is objectively attractive or unattractive. There is no such thing. I have been with men who did not think I was good enough at all. I have also been with men who were smart enough to say, ‘You look beautiful tonight’ often enough to boost my self-esteem and help me manifest myself […]
From the book by M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled “Whenever we take a step to extend our boundaries, we do so by either overcoming the inertia of laziness or confronting the fear of resistance. The first we call work; the second we call courage. Love, then, is always either work or courage directed […]
“The second most common misconception about love is that dependency is love. This is most frequently expressed by people who say, ‘I cannot live without my husband (wife, lover).’ When you require another individual for your survival, you are a parasite upon that individual. There is no choice in the relationship, no freedom. It is […]
“People ask, ‘Why can’t I find a deep, loving relationship?’ The question is understandable, because people are lonely… When we are alone, the ego makes it seem as though all pain would disappear if only we had a boyfriend or girlfriend. But if a relationship takes hold, it will bring as much of our existential […]
From the book by M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled “Love is not a feeling. This is because love is an action. It is an act of will rather than emotionality. For the lover, it is not only possible but also necessary to disregard the feeling of love. It is easy and pleasant to […]
