You know, religion itself, Eastern and Western, is divisive and quarrelsome anyway.

Most of us take for granted that time flies, meaning that it passes too quickly. But in the mindful state, time doesn't really pass at all. There is only a single instant of time that keeps renewing itself over and over with infinite variety.

In the tangled hierarchy sinner and saint, divine and diabolical, sacred and profane are different faces of our collective Being. Therefore angry activism driven by rage, however justified it seems, is really not going to work. I believe that the tangled hierarchy wants us to move to the next state of evolution and very strongly desires us to take that quantum leap of creativity.

To maintain a youthful mind, write down two or three things you can do that are totally childlike, such as eating an ice cream cone, coloring a picture, or jumping rope. Find something that brings back the sense of fun you had as a child and choose one of these activities to do today.

My favorite: Spirituality is a domain of awareness.

Take responsibility for your last bad decision, and then let it go. Don't blame others or make excuses for yourself.

Ask yourself, "Is there anything in my life that is causing me to feel a sense of unease, discomfort, or pain?" You can choose a persistent issue that has bothered you for years, or it may be something that has recently come up for you. While it's fine to focus on a chronic, physical disorder, don't approach this exercise as a cure - we're focusing on patterns of perception that encourage us to hold onto suffering.