Many years ago, an acquaintance asked me a surprising question: “Wasn’t Elvis Presley’s life a tragedy?”

Elvis and I had a long relationship—although he never knew anything about it. I began listening to his music as a teenager in 1956. I loved Elvis. His music brought me joy and optimism, and because it did, I willingly gave him a tremendous amount of my attention. Over the years, that attention taught me a great deal.

Elvis was enormously talented, charismatic, generous and loving. But as I observed his life, I also witnessed choices that appeared to bring him considerable suffering. Some seemed to […]

Something happens.

Someone says something that disturbs us. An email arrives. A plan falls apart. A family member disappoints us. A colleague disagrees with us. We encounter suffering, injustice, confusion or simply an unexpected change in circumstances.

And almost immediately, the personality has an opinion about what should happen next.

I need to say something. I need to fix this. I need to defend myself. I need to make this person understand. I need to do something.

Sometimes action is indeed required. But before acting, Yoga Science suggests that we ask another question: What is this moment asking of me?

First, […]

“This past week I have been struggling with…”

I hear some version of those words rather frequently from sincere students at the American Meditation Institute. And quite often, before their sentence can be completed, I interrupt.

“Who is the ‘I’ that is struggling?”

For a moment, the student may look surprised. After all, I have been struggling with is one of the most commonplace expressions in our language. But hidden inside those ordinary words is a doorway to an extraordinary experience: freedom.

The student came prepared to tell me what the struggle was about. But Yoga Science invites us to make a far more […]

Look around. There is much in our world today that can trouble the human heart.

Fear. Anger. Frustration. Sadness. Confusion. Division. Despair.

We witness them in the news, in our communities, in our families—and sometimes within ourselves.

And because we care, we may find ourselves thinking: I wish things were different. I wish people were kinder. I wish there were less fear and more courage. Less anger and more understanding. Less pessimism and more creativity, optimism and love.

Then another thought arises: But what can I possibly do about it?

 Yoga Science offers a surprisingly practical answer. Begin with the next thought.

Most of us spend a great deal of time asking what we want from life.

What do I want to accomplish? What do I want to possess? Where do I want to go? How do I want other people to respond to me?

These are understandable questions. But Yoga Science invites us occasionally to turn the question around: What is trying to express itself through me?

 That question begins from a very different premise. It suggests that perhaps, our deepest creativity does not originate solely in the personality—with its memories, preferences, fears, desires and plans.

Perhaps, there is also an intuitive wisdom within us […]

Last week we asked a simple question: What Am I Making Room For?

 We considered the possibility that creativity, clarity, and Inner Wisdom may not always require us to add something more to our lives. Sometimes we need to make room—to pause, practice vairagya (non-attachment), and become receptive. But once we have made room, another important question naturally arises: What am I paying attention to?

There is an old and very useful observation: Where attention goes, energy flows. Attention is one of the most valuable resources we possess. Wherever we repeatedly place our attention, we are also investing something of our creative energy. […]

Most of us know what it means to make room for something we value.

When guests are coming to dinner, we make room at the table. When we purchase something new, we make room for it in a closet or drawer. When someone we love needs to speak, we make room in our schedule to listen.

But how often do we consciously make room within the mind?

Modern life provides almost unlimited opportunities to fill every available space. From the moment we awaken, there are messages to read, news to absorb, responsibilities to remember, problems to solve, conversations to conduct, plans to make, and […]

Every choice leaves something behind.

A thought is entertained. A word is spoken. An action is taken. A response is repeated. The moment passes. But something remains.

We have strengthened something.

 Perhaps we strengthened patience. Perhaps resentment. Perhaps courage. Perhaps fear. Perhaps one-pointed attention. Perhaps distraction. Perhaps our willingness to consult the Conscience. Or perhaps we strengthened an old habit that has been making decisions for us for years.

This is one of the quiet realities of practice: Whatever we repeatedly practice becomes easier to repeat.

Last week we asked: What am I practicing?

That question reminds us that practice is not confined to Seated Silent Meditation, […]

Most of us think of practice as something we deliberately set aside time to do.

A musician practices an instrument. An athlete practices a particular movement. A student practices a new skill. And a meditator may begin each morning with Seated Silent AMI Meditation.

But what are we practicing during the rest of the day?

The truth is that we are always practicing something. Every thought we entertain, every word we speak, and every action we take leaves an impression on the mind. And every time we repeat that thought, word, or action, we strengthen its influence over us.

When we repeatedly react with […]

Have you ever looked back on a difficult period of your life, and realized that something within you had quietly changed?

Not while the challenge was unfolding. Not while you were struggling to make a difficult decision. But afterward.

Looking into the rearview mirror of the mind, you recognized that you had responded differently than you once would have. You were a little more patient. A little less fearful. A little less driven by habit. A little more certain about what to do, and what not to do.

And in that quiet, contemplative moment, something remarkable became clear. You discover that trust rarely […]