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A boy sat on the edge of a shoreline on a bay. As he looked out into the bay and he saw a magnificent cloud unlike anything he ever seen before. It was low lying and skirting across the top of the water. It was smooth and silky. It was shaped like a fish. The spotting was one of a kind. He was very excited to witness it. As soon as the cloud appeared, it dissipated and disappeared. He was hopeful that it may come back. He planned his return.  The next morning, he made his way

A young and impatient student was walking with a teacher one day, through a garden. As they were walking along the path, they came upon a old carved stone bowl. It had been partially reclaimed by nature. The student pointed out its condition, questioning its pupose. The teacher clarified, that this was a special bowl which helps with memory. This is important as sometimes people get stuck in memories, instead of using them to learn and to shape us, they can drown us and hold

The Story of Running from Nothing There was once a man who was a very successful professional. He kept projects and tasks going constantly. He was a “mover and a shaker.” He was viewed as successful. When there were moments of silence, he didn’t like that. He saw these times as opportunity and packed in more tasks and more projects. There was not a moment without some kind of action. When he would sit down for meditation, he would experience an unsettledness, and his mind con

A girl had once asked her grandmother where Karma sleeps. The grandmother paused for a moment and said ‘karma sleeps in your hands, it sleeps in your gaze, it sleeps in your voice sleeps, and in your breath. Because it is so much a part of us, we need to be careful how we wake karma, as it is always with us. How Karma wakes within us is very important, as it impacts us very directly, although sometimes quietly.  When we have a nice peaceful breath response, when we are compas

Many years ago,  a boy was born during a thunderstorm. His mother affectionately referred to him as “kissed with lightning.” The boy did not find that as a very complementary comment. In fact in the years that followed, he began to have nightmares, seemingly rooted to his time of birth.  After some time, his nightmares extended into the conscious realm. He began to see shadows when moments of silence came. These shadows began to speak to him. These shadows brought anger, guil

There is an uncharted valley in a wilderness which has never been built on. It is alleged to have a very unique echo. This echo is supposed to be able to tell secrets about oneself; the truth about oneself.  A  young man spoke of challenging this echo. Upon hearing this, his teacher told him to go to this valley, not to challenge but listen. ‘It’s an echo’ he thought to himself. ‘How can I listen to an echo?’  Regardless, he made plans to go.  When he arrived at the cliff, he

A teacher had a ceramic bowl. This bowl was important to them. It was used all day for all of their needs. It had become an extension of who they were. They used it for: eating; drinking; rinsing; for washing. They really use the bowl for everything. The students around them knew that this bowl was so important to the teacher, that they were very cautious around the bowl to avoid any accidents which could damage it. One day a new student arrived. He was given the responsibili

A warrior entered a village in search of a particular monk. The warrior had learned that this monk was able to maintain a calm and balanced demeanor in most any situation. Whatever distractions life presented, he was always able to maintain emotional balance. He was consistent. The warrior knew his own strength, being strong in battle.  His strength and power could not be matched, yet, he sensed there was something he did not fully understand about the monk. He could only thi

A young man approached his teacher, as he was having a great deal of frustration in life. He was frustrated and angry as a reaction to the many comments people were making to him about many different things. He shared these stories with his teacher. He was animated, visibly upset. His teacher looked at him and sat silently for seemingly long time and finally said to him, let’s go for a boat ride The young man grabbed a hold of the oars and began rowing the boat. The silence o

We decide how we react to our environment. The question is, how do you want to emerge after you experience this environment?

There was a wise man in a village. The villagers really enjoyed having the wise man there. He provided a patient ear and insight. The villagers leveraged having him in their community by asking him for support. Every day they would go to him. The villagers asked him for answers to complex problems. He would provide some thoughts to them and even work through ideas to help resolve the problems.  After some time, he began to notice a pattern. They would share the same stories.

I was recently working on my bathtub. This was one of those projects which extended for years. I had hit an impasse. I tried to consult with some people and decided to table the project as it seemed to hit a dead end. When I finally got back to it, there was a bit of trial and error. I must say, there is nothing quite like installing a tub faucet and watching it fly across the tub when pressure increases. I replayed this because it was so funny to me. However, my experience o

A teacher asked their students “ if you were carrying a cup of coffee and somebody bumps you and you spilled the coffee why did you spill coffee?” The students answered, that’s pretty obvious-  it’s a chain reaction. When bumped it spills as your shoulder is attached to your arm, which is attached to your hand where the coffee is and coffee spills out.  The teacher responded, “no the reason that you spilled coffee is because you had coffee in your cup so if we had milk, it wo

How do you interpret your energy? (see video below too) The Road Not Taken  or as many know it: “The Road Less Traveled”, is a poem written by Robert Frost some years ago. It has many interpretations and is a favorite of mine. Let’s interpret it using the concept of energy interpretation. I want to substitute the word “energy” for “road”, therefore, it becomes “The Energy Less Traveled.”  A main passage in the story is “two roads diverge in a yellow wood.” He was faced with a

The Story of the Man and his Firewood. Motivated by Fear.  A man was preparing for his first winter in his new home. He was not sure of how to prepare. He took time evaluate the situation. He reached out to his neighbors and talked with them about what they did. Planning for winter, he learned, amounted to securing lots of firewood. The thought of a cold winter frightened him. He thought about the potential for freezing. The answer to this dilemma was clear. He needed to secu

A Wellness Lifestyle is a holistic approach to how one lives their life. A comprehensive approach such as this takes into consideration a number of dimensions. Understanding these dimensions provides a look into our lives. This is essentially, what we are doing on a day to day and moment to moment basis. Anything we do, can be traced back to a dimension of Wellness. This provides us opportunity to look at our actions, opening an internal reflection of our current life choices

(see video below) The Angry Old Man An old man lived in the village. He was one of the most unfortunate people in the world. The whole...

A peaceful sunrise can set the tone for a project (see video below) Workbenches, workshops, tables, craft tables craft rooms, whatever...

(see video below) There was a mountain, tempting and taunting. A lifetime of wanting, postponing and 'some daying' it, finally led to a...