“Man is a plurality” is a statement by the 20th-century spiritual teacher and mystic George Gurdjieff. I first read this in P. D. Ouspensky’s book “In Search of the Miraculous”, which contains dialogues between the author and Gurdjieff. In one such conversation, the latter stated that an individual is...

When you look back and see all your influences – books, movies, events, acquaintances, or any forms of experience ‒ you come to realize that some stand out as significant. These affect your values, your assumptions, and your understandings. Well, in all honesty, for me, “Wishes Fulfilled” by the late...

Tom Eton Johns was an admirable person. He had an excellent credit score. He gave frequently to charity. He was a kind and loving father and husband, supportive of the needs of his loved ones. He had a “white collar” job with excellent benefits. He went on runs with his dog, did HIITs in the morning,...

1. Behold, another day has passed on. Its morning slept through; its noon rushed through Its evening wasted in social activities. While good people Slept sweetly in the wee hours; the birds were already raising their songs In praise of the day and of its magnificence, singing even before any light Had...

No need to cling to things floating frog. Naitō Jōsō “For Sam, distance means nothing.” This is what Dessie, a former coworker, once told me after hearing that I walk 40 minutes during my lunch break to a faraway supermarket and back. Indeed, I loved traversing on foot in both wild and urban settings....

1.  It takes me back to a frosty January. I drove into a dome of milk-white mist That spread out forever into space. The lonesome road is its own Universe; Passing along closed-up towns, And cold, silent streets, Mild traffic and minimarts. Along I drove, Suffering In thought and deed.   2. Too little...

“In the mountains, great energies are stored, and in the valleys and rivers ‒ also. With full palms, you may draw energy.” Peter Deunov Prolog In a dream, I saw myself overburdened with orders to translate and edit various manuscripts and other texts. All my acquaintances were making requests, absurd...

Once, my grandmother suggested that I read the works of Erich Maria Remarque. I still recall how she distinctly and somewhat melancholically said, “I love how Remarque’s books are so hopeless.” Indeed, Remarque writes about arguably one of the worst epochs of recent history, the 20th...

1. A hint from a friend   I gazed out of the window on a late March morning:   It was 5 o’clock. Pitch black outside. A starry sky and stilled silent street. As if it were 11 in the evening. The dawn seemed so far away. If we latch on to this, we will be late; And rush about when the sun rises....