One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. [Helen Keller, The Story of My Life (1903).] Ellen’s test of mastery was also a moment of surrender, or an act of radical faith, ... Read More about Transcending Previous Limitations
4 Ripening
Communicating: Listening and Discussing
In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers. [Fred Rogers.] Language ... Read More about Communicating: Listening and Discussing
Being Ready and Adaptable
Our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change. [Martin Luther King, Jr.] (Man is) a tool-making animal. ... Read More about Being Ready and Adaptable
Welcoming – Assisting – Offering: Being Open-handed
Becoming actively involved in the world and in the lives of others is the ethical-active component of openness. The attitude is one not only of generosity but of joy, born of an open heart and an open ... Read More about Welcoming – Assisting – Offering: Being Open-handed
Being Open-minded
When the facts change, I change my opinion. What do you do, sir? [attributed to John Maynard Keynes] A truly open mind means forcing our imaginations to conform to the evidence of reality, and not ... Read More about Being Open-minded
Being Open-hearted
Probably you have heard the expression “open-hearted.” Standard dictionaries define it as frankness coupled with kindliness. The authoritative text Buddhism for Dummies identifies it with generosity, ... Read More about Being Open-hearted
Being Open
Konstantin Somov, Open Door on a Garden (1934) For many, spirituality may already have begun to emerge, or may have emerged long ago. For others, an additional distinction may not yet have emerged ... Read More about Being Open
Being Generous
Not he who has much is rich, but he who gives much. [Erich Fromm] When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be ... Read More about Being Generous
Affirming, Adding To, Expanding Upon, and Amplifying
In springtime (does it seem like a long time ago), we explored the development of self-esteem, self-confidence and self-competence, which usually occur in childhood, especially if well-assisted by ... Read More about Affirming, Adding To, Expanding Upon, and Amplifying