With Thanksgiving just around the corner, a time for counting for our blessings, I offer this stunning video by Br. David-Steindl-Rast, Austrian-born Benedictine monk, to help put you in the "gratitude mood". Especially now, in the midst of great turmoil and uncertainty, we owe it to ourselves and each other...

Just in case you've already grown weary of the kvelling over our new President-elect, please indulge me one last gush. It's been a week since the election and I have a little kvelling of my own to do.

Drawing upon excerpts from Obama's victory speech and listening to some...

Dear Readers,

I've just been notified that in honor of our history-making presidential election last night, today, Nov. 5th, has been cancelled. All citizens have been instructed to remain in their homes, preferably in a horizontal position.

At precisely 10 AM EST today, Larry David will step to the...

Just in case anyone reading this is planning not to vote on Nov. 4, I'd like to have a little chat with you. And for those who are voting, please keep reading. Let's have a talk about the bigger picture reason why your vote matters more than you realize.

On...

Lessons in Living: Part 3
The Wisdom of Warren Buffet and Eckhart Tolle

Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked.
Warren Buffett

Focus your attention on the Now and tell me what problem you have in this moment.
Eckhart Tolle

Lessons in Living: Part 2
The Wisdom of Eckhart Tolle and Warren Buffett

I don't look for 7-foot bars to jump over, I look around for 1-foot bars I can step over. -- Warren Buffett

Worry pretends to be necessary, but serves no useful purpose. -- Eckhart...

Lesson 1

Knowing When To Pull the Plug

"Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks." W. Buffett

" Sometimes letting go is an act of far...

For several weeks now, we've been discussing How To Stay on Course During Turbulent Times. We started this conversation before the current meltdown mania completely pulled the rug out, so hopefully, your seat belt is already fastened and you've battened down the hatches. So now what? What do we...

OK, I have to admit. This title is somewhat misleading. As a self-proclaimed new citizen of The Raisin Years, I have not yet learned how to slow down, but considering the benefits, in principle, it seems like a good idea. But, I'm torn. Having spent my entire life...

For those of you who've ever accidentally stumbled into a "gift from the Gods," just had some totally unexpected windfall drop from the sky into your lap, ever bought a lottery ticket and actually won, ever met the man of your dreams even though you weren't looking for him, you...

Last time, I suggested there were seven important steps to staying on course when, in times like these, the sea of life gets choppy.

Let's look at one of these steps more closely:

Let go of needing certainty and embrace change as the prevailing context of...

We're exploring in more depth the ideas from last week's article on how to stay on course during turbulent times.

#2: Develop your courage muscles by doing something every day that scares the heck out of you.

I'm not talking about stepping in front of a bus...

Riding along the bike path to Ocean Beach one morning, I saw a sign posted in the sand warning beachgoers of dangerous rip tides in the area. The sign read, "Remain Safely on Shore".

Good advice for would-be surfers and swimmers, but it also made me think about...

From the top of my head to the tips of my toes, my body is slowly dehydrating. "Drying up" is what most people call it. I have entered what I affectionately call, "The Raisin Years."

Age is beginning to have its way with me. Body parts that once were...