Living Grace

Many years ago when I was a college student, my spiritual mentor asked me, “What are the ideals that guide your life?”I replied, “I have lots of ideas.” He answered, “I said ideals, not ideas; they are two very different things.” Ideas are merely thoughts about...

To a lesser or greater extent, we all carry within our bodies and psyches overwhelming levels of tension. There is so much information to process, so many choices to be made, and so many challenges to confront. It is no wonder that many of us struggle with depression...

Monday: What is true in the natural order is also true in the spiritual domain. Through our connection to the guru (the vine), grace (spiritual sap) is given to us which empowers us to evolve. Though the force of our will is great, we don’t transform...

The process of grafting ourselves into the consciousness of the Guru does not happen automatically; it unfolds not on an obvious or materialistic level, but in the depths of our souls. Spiritual grafting involves a conscious choice to merge with the Guru’s mind and...

In the grafting process, the branch that has been grafted onto the tree eventually becomes one with that tree, inseparable from its trunk and strong root system. All of the tree’s rich sap pours into the branch, and the branch becomes very fruitful. To the degree that...

To use yesterday’s metaphor, if we want to reach our full potential to bring truth, beauty, and goodness into the world and our own lives, we must graft our consciousness to the consciousness of the Guru. In order for the grafting process to be successful, the...