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Acceptance and Resignation: It’s Okay vs. I Don’t Care
Read time 2 minutes. Why Real Acceptance Feels Different. This stand alone article is part of our continuing series regarding self-control. Before we get into the next few practical and transformative lessons, we need to take a breath and regroup. If you’ve been following along, you’ve probably noticed something already: the teachings lean heavily on negation—not-doing,…
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The Ineffectiveness of Willpower: Fighting Against Ourselves
Read time 2 minutes. Why the inner tyranny of willpower won’t lead to real transformation. This stand alone article is part of our continuing series on self-control. In our last lesson, we looked at self-control—not as a virtue, but as a clever way of splitting ourselves in two. When we try to force change through…
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Self-Control and the Tyranny of the Ego
Read time 2 minutes. The first stand alone article in our self-control series. One of the more confounding truths we run into early on is this:We long for lasting peace, but no direct effort brings it about.So instead, we position ourselves.We create conditions.We wait, if we’re earnest, something deeper might move. That’s where self-control often…
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A Basic Mindfulness Practice with Radical Impact
Read time 2 minutes. A basic mindfulness practice that begins with a simple question. This is the first stand alone article in our series regarding mindfulness and meditation. Today we shall consider one of the earliest and most powerful practices:Whenever something annoys you, frustrates you, offends you—ask yourself: What do I really want to have happen…
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Opening of the Third Eye: Practice vs. Understanding
Read time 2 minutes. The opening of the third eye involves the interplay of Zen understanding and practice as preparation for transformation. In our last lesson, we looked at the power of correct understanding. Today, we’ll turn to Zen practice and look at how these two forces quietly conspire. Together, they form a structure. Not…
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Correct Understanding of Zen: The Three Pillars
Read time 2 minutes. How Duality, Ego, and Thought Shape—and Distort—Our View of Reality, formulating a correct understanding of Zen teachings. Let’s take a moment to step back. Sometimes the clearest insight arrives not through progress, but through pause. A brief reset. A return to the basics—because the foundation matters more than we think. Zen…
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The Subtle Art of Not-Doing
Read time 2 minutes. Not-Doing in Action is the final installment of our Addition Through Subtraction series. As we close out this exploration of not-doing, we arrive at a core understanding—one that’s easy to miss, yet quietly central. There’s a subtle action on a higher level that creates inaction below. A simple shift in attention. A…
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Progress Inaction: The Tao of Not-Doing
Read time 2 minutes. Progress inaction is a stand alone article in our continuing series, Addition Through Subtraction. Let’s continue our exploration of the wisdom of inaction—what Eastern philosophy often calls not-doing. When we think of progress, we usually picture cause and effect: If I study, I’ll get good grades, which will lead to success. Action…
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Non-Action, Tao, and the Wisdom of Letting Go
Read time 2 minutes. Non-action is the seed out of which everything flowers. This stand alone article is the first in our Addition Through Subtraction series. Chapter 48 of the Tao Te Ching reads:To learn, one increases day by day;To cultivate Tao, one reduces day by day.Reduce and reduce and keep on reducing,Till the state…