Raymond Underberg

The closet is not just a hiding place for those battling sexual identity issues, it is an enormous equal opportunity host for virtually all of us. We all have something that we are closeted about. Maybe we are “out” to a few safe friends or a small circle in those in our life, but many […]

The concept of enlightenment is misunderstood. Maybe it is different for each person. Maybe it is different for each time, for each place. For me and now enlightenment is joyous surrender. Enlightenment is not mysterious or magical. It is not something that cannot be communicated. It is simply, at least for me and for now

First off, a little primer on Sudoku for those unfamiliar with it. Sudoku is a fun, simple, yet challenging game….much like life. There is a very symmetric nine by nine grid that contains numbers one through nine. Each row, each column, and each of the nine smaller squares comprising the larger square contain the numbers

We all think that our experiences and beliefs and fears and wants are normal. We secretly think of ourselves as “the” yardstick to measure everything off of. If you went to college and don’t smoke and don’t like heights, then you think that that is true for everyone, and everyone’s friends! This has been true

Some people learn early what their challenges are– reading comprehension, vision problems, genetic conditions, ADHD, or similar. Others do not discover what hurdles lay before them until they are much older. Unfortunately still others never discover the source of their dis-ease at all, or if they do they resist acknowledging it. But, the day that

Love and compassion and understanding and empathy and hope and so many of our best selves are living things that need nurturing. These universal healers are very much like potted plants. If they are not tended to they will die. Right view, right speech, and right livelihood grow these precious gifts. When they get big

We bemoan the state of politics, the environment, the average American household, the workplace, college and professional sports, the education system, and virtually everything else in our lives. We tune in to Fox news or MSNBC to reinforce our view that the world is going to hell and WE are not the problem. Teachers blame

Much of deciding to live a healthier and happier life is consciously deciding to life optimistically. This likely is a foreign orientation or even a scary or blasphemous thought to many. Mea Culpa. It can be difficult to be hopeful in a world of single-digit congressional approval ratings and ongoing international genocides, but we have

There are many definitions of Wu Wei. Many of us have a feeling for what it means. For me, it is “don’t fight nature”. Equally useful for me is “action through inaction”, “Choose your battles”, “don’t be mad at a dog for being dog-like”, and “row, row, row your boat gently down the stream”. There

We have a completely misguided idea of how to become happy. The billions of dollars spent trying to convince us to buy the newest razor or sedan does not help. We see people that are famous and they seem rich and successful and happy, whether they are or not! We imagine that if we only