Author Archives: jimwdollar

The Old Taoists asked, “What do we get from enlightenment?” The Old Buddhists replied, “Escape from this world of suffering and sorrow!” The Old Taoists responded, “Om mani padme hummmm!” And walked away laughing. “Om mani padme hum” translates as “The jewel is in the lotus,” which is a call with the unstated but impliedContinue reading “December 24-B, 2022”

Everything in this image is doing its thing, living from its heart, being true to itself within the context and circumstances of its life. The circumstances call everything forth, set the terms and conditions under which everything lives, and nobody complains, moans, whines, contemplates suicide… Everything jumps right in, doing its own thing, living fromContinue reading “December 24-A, 2022”

The spiritual quest is the search for what matters– across time. The foundation of knowing is emptiness/stillness/silence, avoiding noise/complexity/drama. What matters is emptiness/stillness/silence. What doesn’t matter is noise/complexity/drama. How much emptiness/stillness/silence is in your life? How much noise/complexity/drama is in your life? With noise/complexity/drama come distraction/diversion/interference. Instead of advising medication to control ADHD Syndrome, whyContinue reading “December 23-C, 2022”

In “The Jersey Boys,” Frankie Valli said, “They ask ya ‘what was the high point? The hall of fame, sellin’ all those records, pullin’ Sherry outta the hat?’ It was all great. But the first time the four of us made that sound, our sound, when everything dropped away and all there was, was theContinue reading “December 23-A, 2022”

These are two of the metaphors guiding and undergirding my life, and serving as sources of reflection and realization in my work of establishing and maintaining right relationship between head and heart. The Gateless Gate is my image of the old Taoist phrase that was the title of one of two collections of koans usedContinue reading “December 22-A, 2022”

We have the power of right response. It is a Super Power available to every one of us. We do not control what happens to us, but, we exercise considerable control when it comes to what we do in response to what happens to us. Our amount of control over our response is directly dependentContinue reading “December 21-B, 2022”

We have to sanctify the holy within by listening to our body and living from our heart in all that we do. We have to take our life back from the things that do not matter, and give ourselves to the things that do matter– to ourselves and those whose life is impacted by ourContinue reading “December 21-A, 2022”

Joseph Campbell said, “In the end, psychotherapy is about aligning the head with the heart so that the transcendent energies can come through. Only when this occurs can you be ‘transparent to transcendence.’ This implies yielding to nature, putting yourself in accord with nature– which is the main aim of most of the mythologies ofContinue reading “December 20-B, 2022”

Individuals living “transparent to transcendence” (Joseph Campbell) would transform the world in our lifetime. Of course, transformation would turn the world upside down, upset the normal order, and wreck the economy. Which is why individuals and not corporations and governments have to lead the way. People have to stop living in the service of whatContinue reading “December 20-A, 2022”