I have written nine books. Sometimes it felt like giving birth to cement blocks. I raised two boys, very nervously. I never thought I would pull that one off. I have been married for 16 years to my lovely wife Chameli and it keeps getting better. What a blessing. What a miracle. But all of […]
Everybody has a head, and a face. Some people, by general consent, have extremely beautiful faces: they get put on the covers of magazines and shared freely on Facebook. Other people… not so much. Most people have two eyes, two hands, a nose, and a torso. And everybody has a personality. What I mean by […]
Back in 1912, a solitary figure stands under the moonlight on the foredeck of the biggest and most luxurious ocean liner ever built. The RMS Titanic was thought to be so solid and invincible that life rafts were hardly needed. This solitary figure then sees, quite clearly, in the not too far off distance, a […]
For more than a year now, I’ve been working on a new book with my friend John Gray. I’ve known John for more than 35 years (gulp!), and we’ve been in a men’s group together for the last several years. And that is exactly what our book is about: what it means to be a […]
Last weekend I went with my older son Abhi to Wilbur Hot Springs, for a delicious weekend of soaking in mineral water, hiking, eating good food, and thoroughly enjoy being father and son together. Wilbur Hot Springs is clothing optional. More or less everybody there takes the option of being naked. For the first 15 […]
In the last few decades, an increasing number of psychologists have shifted their attention from what is wrong with us, to what is right with us. Rather than focusing on healing, this new field of “Positive Psychology” focuses on the symptoms of psychological health and how to foster them. This field has been pioneered by Martin […]
The team of people who work at Awakening Coaching get together regularly on Google Hangout to catch up on things. “How was your weekend?” “What are the upcoming courses we are offering?” “How is the new book?” But we also like to talk about the state of the world. We were chatting together about what […]
Dear Barack, When you gave your first inauguration speech, back in 2009, I cried. You carried me high on the waves of inspired certainty, you plunged me deep beneath the surface, reminding me of the responsibility we carry to each other to rebuild a nation we can be proud of. Just about everything you did […]
As you may know, a lot of people were anticipating December 21st, 2012 with bated breath. I have a friend, quite an intelligent fellow with degrees and a family and a good job and everything, who was really preparing himself for the end. He contemplated how to spend his last night. “Should I stay up […]
Everyone is in shock and disbelief about what happened in Newtown, CT on Friday. Here is one perspective that may help a little to put it all in place n.
Translucent schools emphasize the development of the whole person more than the acquisition of specific skills. The curriculum often includes activities that activate the connection between the deeper spirit of the child, the brain, and the body. Knitting, crocheting, and specific physical exercises all integrate the left and right sides of the body, which research […]
Maria attended one of our retreats a few years ago. Now in her fifties, she has been practicing meditation, which she had learned from a well-known Indian guru, for more than thirty years. She had a very calm, empty, silent presence. She dressed in plain, very sensible clothes, and her gray hair was cut in […]
Without an inclusive approach, environmental, political, or social activism can easily add to the feeling of blame, of us against them, and evoke resistance and a hardening of opposing positions. Once a group of well-meaning young friends was concerned about proposed clear-cut logging in our mountain community. They saw the lumber company as evil, money-grubbing, and inflexible, and they took […]
Before we go any further you might ask the legitimate question, “What are your qualifications, Arjuna Ardagh, to write an article on this subject? Are you a psychologist?” “No, I am not.” “Are you a licensed psychotherapist?” No, also not.” “Do you have a Pd.D. in communications?” “Ummmmm. No, I’m afraid not.” “So what on […]
Consider the sad and ominous story of JasonRussell. His name may have already flashed past you by now, in the whirlwind of current events. So let me remind you: Along with three of his buddies, Jason created the film Kony 2012, which attracted more than 80 million hits on Youtube a few weeks ago. I […]
I want to talk a little bit about different approaches to learning things. This is actually incredibly important and makes all the difference to how education unfolds for you. What I’m going to say to you is difficult for most people to absorb thoroughly because our conditioning is so strong in another direction. So if […]
Here is a passage from my 2005 Bestseller, “The Translucent Revolution.” As a child, Michael Barnett went on vacation every year with his family to Broadstairs, on the southeast coast of England. On the beach, there was always a Punch and Judy show, a small tent with an opening like a stage at the top. […]
