2019

December 2019  I have noticed a widespread social acceptance of a behavior I’ll call the “inner victim.” This largely unconscious phenomenon allows the individual to complain about many things, incessantly, yet not thinking they are acting like a helpless victim. Complaining about something you aren’t doing anything to change is the action of a victim.  […]

November 2019 I recently read Michael Pollan’s 2018 book How to Change Your Mind* since it was highly recommended by a neighbor of mine. I didn’t realize it was a bestseller since popular books rarely find their way onto my stack of books to be read. I took a break from my pile of nondual […]

October 2019 “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” – Eleanor Roosevelt I have been very fortunate to have many cherished friendships in my life. People remind me of this constantly, seemingly impressed by the variety and richness of the friendships in […]

September 2019 Recently my meditation group* got into a stimulating conversation about sense of self and how simple it was to achieve a state of being at ease with oneself, to end the seeking or having a goal for spiritual nirvana. I say it is simple because there’s no place to go, way to be […]

August 2019 In the 1960s and 1970s when the human potential movement was building a head of steam, the idea of being responsible for your reality was a radical idea, one that was resisted by millions as they dipped their toes in the water of self-discovery and self-examination. Then it was fairly common to have […]

July 2019 There is a crisis negatively affecting leadership in all sectors. It is the lack of true commitment and I see this crisis as a global epidemic. Much of the positive developments in our history as human beings have been the result of true commitment. However, true commitment is one of the scarcest human […]

June 2019 I was leading a group during a recent retreat and said something that aroused some wonder. I shared that the most frequent question I used to get when doing lots of keynotes around the world was, “I agree with all you are saying, John, but how can I get (fill in the blank) […]

May 2019 Science is showing us what philosophers and sages have been telling us for centuries – that we are not only connected, as in members of the same human family, but we are one. Oneness is not the same as interconnectivity, which still implies separateness. We are not separate although we live in a […]

April 2019 [this editorial was adapted from a previously posted blog on www.TheGreatGrowingUp.com ] Most of the beliefs we have buried in our psyche were installed many years ago, mostly when we were as young as two to five years old. Early on, we decided we were separate from everyone and everything else. Soon after, […]

Jan 2019 Don’t all the world’s religions and spiritual traditions teach that the ultimate goal of life is happiness and lasting peace, and that these qualities reside within all of us, at all times and in all circumstances? Why then do we continue to suffer so deeply and frequently? “Happiness, like the patch of blue, […]