The Mystic's Message

Tradition has its place. 

Practices and rituals of the ancient sages have been tested by time and circumstance. Traditions can guide us back to deeper truths and profound connection. 

But tradition loses it's purpose as soon as you do it...

...because that's the way it's always been done

...because I said so

...because that's the way I was taught

In short, when we stop thinking about the true purpose and intention of the tradition and just go through the motions. 

It is then that the trad…

The greatest gift you can ever give yourself is simple...

It's permission to be yourself. ⁣⁣

Before your conditioned mind sweeps you away, take all your ”yeah but’s” and set them aside for a day or two.

Yeah, but...

• If I do that, I won't be able to improve myself or move forward
• What will other people think of me
• I'll probably just go back to my old self and all my bad habits

...and all the other "Yeah, but's" your mind will invent. Set them all aside. 

Maybe after a few days you’ll …

It started in Rishikesh over a decade ago- a growing fascination (now breaching into obsession) with Tibetan singing bowls. 

Where I live we get a beautiful breeze off the ocean, which I love. But the bowls, not so much; the salt air can tarnish and corrode them pretty fast. 

There was this one bowl in particular- the one I bought in that musty, cluttered shop in Rishikesh. It had been sitting out in the breeze, not being played for months until one day when I finally picked it up and saw what…

If you've ever hired an amateur handyman to do important work, only to watch it all fall apart... 

...you probably have a new appreciation for the value of skill. 

If you've ever tried to do it yourself to save some money and it wound up costing you twice as much $$,10X as much time, and still wasn't quite "right"...

...you probably have deeper respect for the value of experience. 

If you've ever ignored a small problem only to watch it blow up into something infinitely more frustrating, com…

You are seen. 

You are heard. 

You are loved. 

Whether you realize it or not. 

To receive these gifts fully, become a master of giving them unconditionally. 

To others, sure, but even more importantly, to yourself. 

With love, 

The Mystic Next Door

Full disclosure, this post is especially for me. And of course, you, if you happen to be looking for more free and authentic expression of your creative impulses and deeply held Truth. Not worrying if it's good enough or what others will think. 

Somewhere along the way, we learned to wait our turn until...what, exactly?

We're "ready?"

We've got it down?

We know exactly what to say or do? 

A recipe for endless frustration. Bone-jarring stops and starts and cost years and more. 

We think, "I…

It's not difficult to find fault with others and make them wrong. We're trained to look for problems, so flaws stand tend to stand out, especially as you get to know someone and see their different facets and foibles.

Making someone else wrong protects our own sense of worth and value by taking it from another. When you damage someone's self-esteem, you damage something incredibly precious. Those blows can be crushing, feeling like you'll never measure up. 

Sometimes it happens on purpose, esp…

Anger is like a hypnotic state. 

It consumes the mind like wildfire, looping through the same thoughts, building its case, ratcheting up the heat until it explodes in a blinding blaze. 

Anger has a way of blocking out anything that doesn't support its agenda, undermining any sense of reason or judgement, while shirking any sense of responsibility (see part 2 on this). 

That's a dangerous place to be and you have to ask yourself, "Who is REALLY calling the shots when I'm angry?"

• Your emotio…

There's no shortage of things in our world to be angry about- many of them easily justifiable.

And as tempting as that may be, there are some significant problems that come along with justifying anger...

• You'll wind deeper into this destructive emotion, fanning the fire at great risk to your health and well-being. 
• You'll become righteous in your anger- further entrenched in your own perspective, while remaining blind to more productive solutions. 
• Over time, you'll become dependent on ang…

Anger is a device people use to...

• Control a situation. 
• Get others to pay attention.
• Justify harmful thoughts and actions. 

Truth be told, anger can quite effective toward those ends. It's also high risk. The harm done in anger is often irreparable, sowing seeds of fear, and mistrust.

After all, anger is a sign of weakness, not strength. It's something we use to project strength when we're feeling most vulnerable. 

It is a caustic emotion that destroys the integrity of your cells and …