When you approach the world with kindness, the world approaches you likewise. Andy Smallman’s Tao of Kindness embraces the Tao Te Ching through this lens of kindness. You can read this work at https://kindliving.net/tao/. If you listen closely, you can hear my girl dog sniffing around for her chewie.

If you have an affinity for nature, particularly trees, you’ll be nourished by this passage about trees from Hermann Hesse’s “Wandering.”

The Mundaka Upanishad says that rituals and sacrifices don’t necessarily reveal the Lord of Love. I couldn’t help but hear the parallels between this and Jesus’ criticism of the scribes and Pharisees.

It’s important to evaluate information you take in because it affects your opinions and beliefs. Often we take in information that conforms to our beliefs because it makes us comfortable. The yoga sutras discusses the importance of pramana, or correct perception of our environment. Nicolai Bachman defines pramana in a concrete way.

The aim of yoga is to still our fluctuating mind. Nischala Joy Devi describes our state of mind beautifully in her interpretation of the Yoga Sutras, “The Secret Power of Yoga.”

We can get overwhelmed with our digital lives. Michael Harris writes about how technology pulls us from the peace solitude can bring us.

One text that is often conflated with depression is "Dark Night of the Soul" by St. John of the Cross. However, this spiritual text is a call for a deeper faith. His poem "The Ascent of the Mount" describes how it's important to let go of the sensual in order to obtain the spiritual. Much of his work echoes the Buddhist principle of non-attachment.

We step out of mindfulness when our minds begin a running commentary on what’s before us. Thich Nhat Hahn offers some insight in his book, “Peace is Every Step.”

As we enter the holidays, we might encounter those who differ with us. Rather than speak from reaction or impulse, choose your words carefully. Tolstoy tells us sometimes it’s best to be silent.