The Secret of Life (Part 4)

Let me expand on "no coincidence" and our karmic lessons. If we have the understanding that I described in my last post, we have a choice. Are we going to learn our karmic lessons or not? We understand that if we experience some unpleasantness, even some deep, deep suffering in our present life - maybe at this very moment - it is really a consequence of our bad karma, our misguided amd harmful actions in the past and in all our past lives. We are presented with this lesson because karma is a universal law. In creating suffering for others, we really created the suffering for ourselves. And so we have no reason to be upset, angry or even mildly irritated, much less vengeful or harmful back at people (or about circumstances) that are causing us some difficulties - even causing great suffering. These are lessons that were given because we are being given the opportunity to not respond in kind. This opportunity is really simply a reminder that really we - at the root - are the cause of our own difficulties. If we respond in kind, we are only going to continue this vicious cycle of bad karma. We are not truly recognizing the lesson. We are not truly recognizing our own karmic responsibility. In this ignorance or forgetfulness, we are really forgetting our true selves, our real and true relationship with others, which is that it is karmic in nature - not only our relationships with other human beings but other relationships with all other souls.

How I Began My Spiritual Journey, Part 2

My wife Mimi had had an interest in ancient Chinese energy and spiritual arts such as tai chi and qi gong for a while, but never really took the time to pursue this interest. So the ad she saw in the San Francisco Chronicle for Dr. Sha, a “renowned qi gong master and healer,” piqued her interest. But the real reason we went to see Dr. Sha at the Whole Life Expo was much more dire. Mimi had been in extreme physical suffering for months from trauma she suffered in physical therapy. I can’t describe her condition any better than she did herself in Chapter 12 of Dr. Sha’s book, Power Healing (HarperSanFrancisco, 2002), and maybe I'll share that description with you one day in this blog. For now, I’ll just say that she had been in excruciating pain for months. Numerous visits to all kinds of western medical doctors, including the gamut of specialists, and practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine not only brought no relief whatsoever, she couldn't even get any clear diagnosis. Mimi’s health had already started to deteriorate in mysterious ways a few years prior. This beautiful, vibrant, resilient and optimistic woman seemed to have hope taken away from her, to the point where she entertained serious thoughts of suicide. And that wasn't all . . .

to be continued . . .