All times of loneliness, confusion and restlessness come for a powerful reason—so we can stop our usual way of being in order to discover where true strength, connection and understanding lay These difficult times are actually a gift, removing us from preoccupation with that which is not important and causing us to embark upon a journey into what is truly meaningful and healing in our lives

Most women ultimately want their relationships to lead to marriage They feel they need a man to make a commitment in order to feel secure

If we look honestly at most of our lives, it is easy to see how truly difficult it is to stop ingrained behaviors and responses It is so natural to be at the mercy of automatic, repetitive, responses

"The whole world is medicine, what is the illness" When some people suffer they take medication, others seek therapy, a few become students of Zen

When Dogen, a great Zen Master of old, returned to Japan after many years of studying Zen in China, the people asked what he brought with him to help others who were suffering, he said, “I’ve come with nothing but empty hands” What are these empty hands

Loneliness is one of the great sufferings of our times Despite our being constantly on-line, tuned in, the heart needs human contact and warmth

When pain and hard times come into our lives, (whether emotionally or physically) we usually tense up to fight our problems, try to figure a solution, and depend upon our logical minds We feel we must overpower our problems with our expertise

Everyone wants love and yet today it seems more difficult than ever to know how to build a lasting relationship and find the fulfillment we desire In many circles, traditional relationships and commitment are a thing of the past

No matter what is happening around us, we do not have to react impulsively, but can learn to respond Giving into automatic negative reactions can become addictive and it’s important to learn how to diffuse them