Buddha opened his eyes and was able to see the universe as it is. Had Buddha been studying Buddhism, he would have seen many things through his mind which would have precluded him seeing the universe as it is....

Babies see the world as it is, always new as it is everchanging, because they don't remember what they see....

"The mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master." The mind is a wonderful servant when we use it to learn from our past experiences, successes and failures to make good choices going forward. However, the mind is a terrible master when it creates stories and meanings that frame our experience of the present. Our stories are like a prison, not allowing us to experience the present as it is. Prison guards, however friendly, rule over us....

Every night we die and every morning we are born anew. Thus, every day is our first and last day of life. As it's our first day, everything is fascinating. As it's our last day, we appreciate everything....

The size of a star is a function of how distant it is. Stars in the Milky Way seem tiny from Earth but are unimaginably huge up close. Popular stars who are far from our real lives seem huge but aren't bigger than us up close. The popular stars who think their big are ridiculously funny in the context of real stars....

Yesterday, I pulled out of my driveway for my weekly trip to the Darien Cheese Shop and a hundred feet later the car started seriously shaking. A flat tire awoke me from my routine. I stopped the car and started working with an air pump to inflate the tire. As it was taking some time, I wondered whether the tire would hold enough air for me to make it to a repair shop or I'd need to get it towed. Either way, it sounded like a bit more fun than the routine trip to the cheese shop. Soon a passing car pulled over and an elderly woman with grey hair came out and asked: "Do you need any help?" To which I replied: "Actually I'm terrific; blessed with a high-class problem, a flat tire." We both laughed, connected by compassion and wisdom as the truth was revealed: temporary common problems are not problems but experiences to be enjoyed by all....

Easter is the most important holiday in Christianity. Easter commemorates the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ which Christians believe is proof Jesus Christ was the messiah, the one who would bring peace on Earth. The historical events of Easter are the basis for the ubiquitous symbol of Christianity, the cross or Jesus on the cross (the crucifiction). It's a funny symbol for a religion espousing peace. As Christ preached brotherly love among people regardless of their religious identities and was ultimately crucified for his heretic views, the symbol suggests that those who preach peace will be crucified. True to this view, murder and horror is what many who have walked under the banner of Christianity have brought to peaceful non-Christians since the time of Christ. Ultimately, Christians believe that Christ, the messiah, will return and bring peace on Earth. Perhaps so, but in light of the violent history of the those professing to be Christians, clearly Christ is not a Christian....

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." -- John 1:1, The Gospel of John.   God is the Everything; the now and before and after the now. In the space before the now, there are no things; only energy, the invisible face of God. The word is sound/vibration/energy: God. In the beginning was energy, the energy was with God, the energy was God....

If someone doesn't love or respect us, that's their problem. We can only feel badly for them because they simply don't get it. However, we too have a problem if we resent them for it....

"We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience." The past can teach us valuable lessons. However, defining ourselves by stories we create about our past has no value and distracts us from making the most of things to come....