In the personal arena our search for freedom gives rise to the practice of spirituality. Spirituality is the process by which we attempt to decipher our own nature, in pursuit of freedom from the nagging background discontent that most of us live with, tolerate and /or find coping mechanisms for. Spirituality can be entirely personal, but there have been various attempts at a formalization, with varying degrees of success. Ultimately, whether looked at from the perspective of the most dogmatic religion, or the perspective of the most intimate and personal, all spiritual practices share the same premise and conclusion: Within the human condition lies embedded a search for greater meaning. Which, if properly understood, will lead to some measure of freedom, even if only freedom from the search itself.
Life put us through a hellish experience earlier this year. My wife, our baby boy and I were all pretty seriously ill. All three at the same time. In hindsight I’m grateful for the experience. Obviously I didn’t feel that way at the time. All I wanted was for it to pass. Thoughts of gratitude […]
Something major happened yesterday. It was a personal father-son milestone. One that I will likely never forget. It has do with trust. My wife still breast-feeds our 19-month old baby boy. So she’s got something I’ll never have when it comes to comforting him: breasts and, more importantly, breast milk. Whenever he’s scared, or just […]
I’ve always rebelled against structure. There’s so much of it. We’ve created endless structures that govern our lives. From our beliefs, social norms, traditions, governments, to fashions, taste and just about everything else. And I’ve always struggled to accept the structures around me. I spent a large part of my young life trying to break […]
My struggle to escape is an unconscious attempt to avoid living in a world that’s been robbed of it’s adventure, magic and fun. And ironically, while we’re looking for a way out, the solution lies within.
I used to believe in coincidence. I used to be a stubborn atheist, confident that all notions of spirituality and divinity were bed time stories created to lull the insecure and help them cope with the inevitable darkness of our world. A drug, to help the weak temporarily escape the cruelty of nature. Today I’m […]
My wife gave birth, at home, to our first child last week and soon afterwards a friend wrote us a congratulatory message that simply read: “Now you will know true love.” It wasn’t the first time I’d been told that. Even years ago, before we started thinking about it, friends who had children would tell […]
I try to practice various principles from different religions on a daily basis. Forgiveness. Humility. Faith. Tolerance. Acceptance. To name but a few. And I hope to deepen my existing practice. But I will probably never subscribe to any specific religion exclusively. I have to live a religious life because the world we have created […]
I’m an addict. And I’m not alone. We’re all addicts. Typically the word addict conjures up images from Trainspotting. Needles, overdose and abandoned buildings littered with rotting mattresses. While this is definitely the reality for some, there are many more people who are addicted in far less obvious ways. Coffee. Work. Exercise. Sex. Sleep. Procrastination. […]
Today, six years go, I got married. On the 1st of February 2010, I formalised my decision to make a lifelong commitment to my life partner. I entered into a legal agreement, signed by both my wife and I, two witnesses and a marriage officer. We did have a wedding party a month later in […]
We all live our lives in two different realities. Simultaneously. Inner reality. And Outer reality. Outer reality consists of events, places, material things, etc., etc. This reality is very familiar to all of us. It’s what we know as the physical world. Inner reality consists of thoughts, beliefs, ideas, etc., etc. This is a mental […]
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