Joseph Campbell

What Now?

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“Awe is What Moves Us Forward.”  Joseph Campbell When there is no more awe, no more wondering what could be next or what is possible, we may give up on life. I don’t know if this is what Robin Williams experienced. I have witnessed others so deep in their own darkness or depression they can’t see anything in front of them. This makes it hard to keep moving forward, to keep living. We have to have something to move toward. What helps you keep the awe alive? Many Buddhist teachers refer to this awe as a sacred curiosity. Last night … Continue reading →

Living With Difficulty in Meaningful Ways

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If we can learn how to live with difficulty in meaningful ways, our lives will move forward in a purposeful way. Since the only thing we have any control over is our own experience, the more we understand how to live creatively with whatever arises, the happier we will be. Worry and anger won’t change the outcome, and possessiveness doesn’t make anything permanent. Unfortunately, we have been trained to worry about the future, to fight with difficulty, and to try and manipulate outside circumstances. We are sold on the big lie that outside circumstances and “results” determine our happiness. When … Continue reading →

Promise Me This

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  This is the third piece in the Venerable Geshe Lhundup Sopa’s introductory teachings, the “lessons before the lessons.” We are still on the verse taken from Nagarjuna, Letters to a Friend.     “Whosoever was negligent previously But later became attentive and careful, Shines forth like the moon freed from clouds, Just like Nanda, Angulimala, Ajustastru, and Udayana.”                                            –Nagarjuna, Letters to a Friend, Verse 14 (Leslie Kawanura)  After his teaching, I offer up a commentary, some spiritual journaling prompts, … Continue reading →

How to Be Who You Already Are

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Life is a journey of discovery and belonging. It is about making meaning from our experiences for ourselves while allowing the meaning we have made to change.  The active life is about being able to create and discover meaning in an ongoing way and not hold on to one meaning or we may miss an opportunity at hand. As Joseph Campbell put it, “If we are hanging on to the form now, we are not going to have the form next.” When we review our life and recall times that we experienced an awakening or an epiphany (either through someone else’s teachings … Continue reading →

The Greatest Experience

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Staying true to a message of living meaningfully by bringing together the creative, spiritual and communal selves can be a challenge. The word “spiritual” works like a spell, casting assumptions and questions over people. People often assume when I say “spiritual” I mean religious. I do not. There are times I want to forfeit the word “spiritual” and exchange it for something more universally user-friendly. Then, any other mystical word invites similar responses. Transcendental? Divine? Metaphysical? Sacred? Should I go more secular in my efforts to express my enthusiasm in living a creatively meaningful life? — Secular humanist perhaps? How … Continue reading →

A Healthy Dose of Doubt

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Doubt can be an enriching and favorable state of mind. The old myth around doubt and curiosity – that it killed the cat, and that it will get you in a heap of trouble, is not only outdated but a myth that intends to control the congregation. Keep naughty kids in line. Make you uncomfortable and unwilling to challenge what you are told. In his commentary on Aryadeva’s Yogic Deeds of the Bodhisattvas Chandrakirti tells the story of a ship’s captain whom an ogress captures. (It could just as well been the other way around – the captain captured an … Continue reading →

Perseverance with an attitude.

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Every kind of manifestation relies on our sticking with it, with our finishing what we started. Through our perseverance we achieve creative and spiritual states we would otherwise not experience. In fact, a lack of joyful effort, of sticking with “it” results in suffering and unhappiness. Our perseverance is all we have in the face of distractions, resistance and disappointment. Evidence points to perseverance being central to feelings of lasting satisfaction. Those who persevere with their commitments are happier and more satisfied, and more financially sound. When we are not joyfully participating in our creative and spiritual life, we are likely under … Continue reading →

Winter Writing

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 Freedom involves making decisions, and each decision is a destiny decision.- Joseph Campbell   What do a snowstorm, winter prairie, prayer flags, frozen seeds and enlightenment have in common?   Well, being a meaning-maker, I decide that. Oh how I love the writer’s life, I can take and make meaning of everything!  As the spiritual practitioner I am also the meaning maker but use sacred texts as a skillful means to make meaning of my encounters and experiences. After all, awakened Beings have gone before me and traversed the difficulties and distractions leaving behind many maps for me to use.   So my … Continue reading →