This is probably the last post on my WordPress website. For the past few months, I’ve been working with Clipston Publishing to build a new website and transfer my content. The new website will help me connect with more people and make content creation easier. Technology moves quickly, and I had fallen behind. The URL …
The Pillar
My Father, Norman Coats I was fortunate to be raised in a two-parent family. Mom and Dad’s contributions to my development couldn’t have been more different. Mom nurtured music, crafts, and arts. Dad was strictly analytical, specializing in question-probing Socratic instruction. Mom was never comfortable with numbers; Dad was never comfortable with hugs. I honored …
Saying Yes To Life
One of the more powerful lessons I’ve learned is embarrassing to confess, but here goes: Life isn’t about me— it’s the other way around. I am about life. That may sound obvious, but who doesn’t structure their lives around their dreams, ambitions, and desires? Progress doesn’t happen on its own. Which explains why I’ve been …
Finding Inner Peace*
I formerly held a stressful executive job. When I retired, I expected my stress level to plummet. It didn’t exactly work out that way. It turns out, we manufacture our own stress, most often, when things don’t go our way. I’m not sure why we expect life to always go our way. But it doesn’t, …
You Are Already What You Seek!
The title of this post is from Richard Rohr, a Franciscan Priest and widely read spiritual teacher. Does it ring true for you? It sounds too easy, too passive, right? I’m guessing most people would disagree with him. Let’s try to figure out what he meant. The statement begins with the word You. Who is …
Our Shadow Side: Why We Can’t See It, and What to Do When Someone Clues Us In
Perhaps you're familiar with shadow work — a practice with roots in Carl Jung’s psychology that explores the unconscious, "darker" parts of one's personality to increase self-awareness and improve relationships. We are usually blind to our shadow side, even though others see it clearly. Everyone has a shadow, but it’s rarely confronted because its traits …
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The Beauty of Wisdom
We live in an age when the world’s knowledge is available everywhere, all the time, served up to anyone with an internet connection. We assume we are different —modern, intelligent, informed, and more advanced than those who came before us. However, there is scant evidence to support that view regarding our internal well-being. Around forty …
Mom
Today, we honor mothers’ contributions to our lives. It’s impossible to separate the part of me that comes from Mom. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us. As we get older, our relationship with time changes. Time moves out of the shadows and assumes a position of prominence. Mom left us seventeen …
Beyond Self and Stuff
Recently, I was at the license bureau renewing my driver’s permit. The waiting room was jammed. The ticket machine spat out a slip indicating I was 85th in the queue. The Now Serving screen displayed the number 21; time to practice my Buddha nature. As I settled into an uncomfortable plastic chair, I gazed around …
Living From Presence
Let’s say you are at the park and see a 5-year-old girl playing on a swingset. There’s nothing special about that; you notice her and move on. Alternatively, what if that 5-year-old is your daughter or granddaughter? The Austrian-Israeli philosopher Martin Buber contrasted such experiences, describing them as “I-It,” vs. “I-Thou” encounters. “I-Its” are dispassionately …