10 reasons self-acceptance can be hard along with their individual antidotes. — Self-acceptance means accepting your whole self without judgment. That includes your weaknesses and your quirky parts, the aspects you may try to deny or suppress. Do you frequently put yourself down, feel critical of your body, or fear that other people will “find you out?” …

It can help you get and keep your priorities straight — Are you focused on your most important priorities? Or do you get easily lost in frivolous distractions? Does your day slip by and then, as you slide into bed, you’re wondering, “Where did the time go?” We all need downtime—rest, play, and relaxation. But if you spend more time on…

A simple exercise that could enhance your life now — Are you happy with your life as it is now? Are there any missing bits that could enhance it even further? I’m not unhappy with my life. But I began to imagine a parallel life, which showed me how to make mine even better. It started when I became entranced…

If you don’t kick your spiritual butt, who will? — What is grace and where does it come from? If you’re a Christian, you have a clear answer. Grace comes from God. But still, you don’t experience grace every day. Why not? If you follow a non-dual path, like Neo-Advaita, you likely think grace comes from Oneness, Spirit, or God…

Take mindfulness further and step into awareness — One of my personal mantras of late is to live in the world of experience rather than the world of thought. Thoughts and emotions make up a small part of our potential, but they’ve come to rule our life, often making us miserable. Instead of the occasional inspired thought, we’re…

But your actions matter too — In my late teens, I became infatuated with singer, songwriter Tim Buckley and his most popular album, Happy Sad. I so wanted to be the object of the intense love he sang about in myriad songs like “Buzzin’ Fly”: “You’re the one I talk about You’re the one I think about Everywhere…

A priceless practice that can bring more ease and flow into your life and relationships — I pulled the phrase “a simple sincerity” from Adyashanti’s book, The End of Your World, Straight Talk on the Nature of Enlightenment. The phrase struck me deeply when I read it. “This is so right,” I thought. This—a simple sincerity—is what I aspire to in my life. Interestingly, the same…

Awakening means letting go of the false sense of a permanent self, but how do you do that? — From a spiritual perspective, the sense of a permanent self is the bane of one’s existence. This solid sense of self causes you to suffer, again and again, through its children: attachment, aversion, and ignorance. It desires what you perceive to be pleasant and pushes away what you deem unpleasant. …

Use this simple mindfulness practice to make your life incredible — Often, we don’t see the world around us because we’re thinking too much, daydreaming, or zoning out. We’re in another world far, far away. Other times we’re overly concentrated on the task or project at hand. We only see what’s right in front of us—like we’re wearing blinders. …