3 girls dragged me back to their dorm room

No, not *that* way. Get your mind out of the gutter! Here’s what happened: I’d just finished a hypnosis show at a prestigious university in New England (which shall remain nameless). As I was walking down from the stage, three girls came rushing up to me. They looked like they’d just been slapped by a phantom. Before I had a chance to open my mouth, one of the girls blurted out: “You’ve got to come …
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Giving…the highest purpose

There’s no doubt in my mind that giving is the highest purpose. There’s so much we can give, whether it be material, intellectual, spiritual or energetic. Even when we’re poor in resources, the act of giving elevates us and reminds us that we’ve got far more that we realized. In fact, the act of giving is one of the most reliable ways there is to recognize the abundance that is ours. For me, the thing …
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Fix the mood before the mess

“This human tendency to look for outer causes for our moods is the greatest addiction on our planet.”    -Richard Rudd I’ve been teaching an acronym for quite some time called STOP. It says, never try to solve a problem, make a major life decision or resolve a conflict when you’re SAD, TIRED, OVERWHELMED or PISSED OFF. The point is that we often tie ourselves into knots trying to get closure through action, when we’re …
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Are squirrels cute?

“Everything has beauty. But not everyone sees it.”     -Confuscius My friend, Barry, has perfected the art of sitting still on the back porch with a handful of birdseed long enough for a couple squirrels to climb into his lap and eat out of his hand. He thinks they’re about the cutest creatures he’s ever seen (trumped only by chipmunks, which he also attracts in a similar way). I’ve got another friend who hates squirrels, calling …
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Rush the Deacon

The Buddha said, “If you’re hungry, eat. If you’re tired, sleep.” The implication is that you needn’t become a renunciate to reach enlightenment. You can practice mindfulness while simultaneously obeying the urges of your senses. But where is the line between obeying the urges of your senses and operating on the unconscious bidding of your addictions? For example, if we were to take the Buddha’s words and apply them to every human urge we experience, …
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