Discovering life beyond selfishness and self-centeredness For the uninitiated, sobriety may appear to be a straightforward relationship of abstaining from drugs and alcohol. For those who have chosen sobriety after going all in, simplicity is rarely the experience encountered. Instead, you run straight into yourself, the you that you've tried to obscure, perfect, enhance, and outrun, and now, there’s nothing to mute the unfolding encounter. The 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) are one...

Problem-solving is a job the mind readily accepts, and, quite often, it proves to be helpful. The car isn’t working? Whether it’s fixing it yourself or calling a mechanic, the mind is there to guide you toward a solution. But there is a shadow side: it’s when problem-solving relentlessly focuses on eradicating uncomfortable thoughts and emotions from our lives. In a parable attributed to the Buddha, he warned of this when he spoke of the two arrows. He noted that when we are suffering,...

You need to level up. This version of you isn’t your best. You’re meant to be amazing [and this isn’t it]. Yikes. The self-improvement...