The Mystic's Message

The chair in my office sits next to a window. In through that window flows a gentle breeze off the ocean a few miles away. 

I close my eyes and feel the perfection of that breeze on my skin, and I am in heaven. Then...

...a thought...

A hope. A dream. A desire. 

Of the day ahead.

Of what's next. 

Of what I didn't do the day before. 

And heaven fades away. 

We've been told that heaven is a place to get, yet in the most beautiful settings we drag along our anxiety and fear; A basket case i…

Every day we (Ok, mostly Kisma) take a walk around the patio and pick a few ripe fruits to snack on throughout the day. ⁣They get washed and set out like this...

Every time I walk by this little cutting board and have a taste, it brings a smile to my face. ⁣

Life isn’t so different...⁣

Everyday we wake up to whatever has been growing in the garden of our minds; the seeds of karma gradually ripening.

Everyday we step into our lives harvesting the results of our past choices and actions. ⁣…

We place a high value on answers in our culture. Having the "right" answers is the gateway to...

...getting the good grade, promotion, or advancement

...being seen and respected

...being listened to and taken seriously

...proving ourselves worthy

Yet, answers are inherently limited. They represent a stopping point. Something to check off the list. If we take them off their high pedestal, we can see them for what they are; Just another data point. A dot on a map. 

People spend their whole l…

They bait you into the lies by wrapping them in threads of truth.

They make it easier for you to believe them by telling you lies you want to believe.

They ensure the lies get spread by infusing them with fear.

Don’t believe the lies.

All the division, polarization, and radicalization we’re seeing in our world is based on fear.

Stop buying into the fear.

They’re trying to get you to choose; choose what is right for them.

If you took all the fear out of the equation, what would you choos…

Tradition has its place. 

Practices and rituals of the ancient sages have been tested by time and circumstance. Traditions can guide us back to deeper truths and profound connection. 

But tradition loses it's purpose as soon as you do it...

...because that's the way it's always been done

...because I said so

...because that's the way I was taught

In short, when we stop thinking about the true purpose and intention of the tradition and just go through the motions. 

It is then that the trad…

The greatest gift you can ever give yourself is simple...

It's permission to be yourself. ⁣⁣

Before your conditioned mind sweeps you away, take all your ”yeah but’s” and set them aside for a day or two.

Yeah, but...

• If I do that, I won't be able to improve myself or move forward
• What will other people think of me
• I'll probably just go back to my old self and all my bad habits

...and all the other "Yeah, but's" your mind will invent. Set them all aside. 

Maybe after a few days you’ll …

It started in Rishikesh over a decade ago- a growing fascination (now breaching into obsession) with Tibetan singing bowls. 

Where I live we get a beautiful breeze off the ocean, which I love. But the bowls, not so much; the salt air can tarnish and corrode them pretty fast. 

There was this one bowl in particular- the one I bought in that musty, cluttered shop in Rishikesh. It had been sitting out in the breeze, not being played for months until one day when I finally picked it up and saw what…

If you've ever hired an amateur handyman to do important work, only to watch it all fall apart... 

...you probably have a new appreciation for the value of skill. 

If you've ever tried to do it yourself to save some money and it wound up costing you twice as much $$,10X as much time, and still wasn't quite "right"...

...you probably have deeper respect for the value of experience. 

If you've ever ignored a small problem only to watch it blow up into something infinitely more frustrating, com…

You are seen. 

You are heard. 

You are loved. 

Whether you realize it or not. 

To receive these gifts fully, become a master of giving them unconditionally. 

To others, sure, but even more importantly, to yourself. 

With love, 

The Mystic Next Door