Aging process is now slowing me down

Dec20 by contoveros

SLOW DOWN!

I believe that is what the Universe is telling me as I have gotten older and time has caught up with this aging body that – for the life of me – can’t physically handle everyday chores and activities I routinely completed some six months ago.

Slow down. Yes, you are getting tired when you ascend the steps to get into your Conshohocken home and then many more steps to get to your second-floor bathroom and/or main bedroom. So, take a break. You have nothing to prove or to “Carry-On” as us veterans used to say while serving in the military.

——————–

Continue reading →

Seniors are Opening to Meditation Now!

Aug24 by contoveros

I never thought that words I wrote on a slip of paper and dropped into a suggestion box would somehow enlighten me!

The senior center I’ve attended for the past two years has agreed to hire a teacher, or what I would call a “guru,“ to show seniors how to meditate at the Upper Merion Senior Citizen Center.

Continue reading →

Excellent Treatment at Philly VA Hospital

Dec14 by contoveros

I am about to get one of those RSV shots at the VA Hospital of Philadelphia to prevent any lung infection, and I wanted to share my enthusiasm for all the work the Veterans Administration has provided me with most of my adult life.

Continue reading →

Please Disregard My “Last” Transmission!

Feb22 by contoveros

“The Reports of My Death are Greatly Exaggerated . . .”

This quote from Mark Twain touched my very soul yesterday when I got a message from one of my old colleagues who said that he had read something “disturbing.” The exact quote via Messenger was: “Michael, are you okay? I saw something disturbing for your name.”

Continue reading →

Guided meditation calms Covid concerns

Jan18 by contoveros

Mindfulness Meditation has Awakened Within Me.

I am once again being guided by my good friend and co-founder of the Center for Contemporary Mysticism, Joe Irwin, a former church pastor.

———— Continue reading →

My Vietnam War book is finally published!

Aug17 by contoveros

It took me more than 50 years, but I finally published my Vietnam War story and the toll it took on me after leading a combat infantry platoon when I was just a 21-year-old first lieutenant in the US Army.

I self-published with the help of editors who wrote the back cover description. They used a mug shot I had taken some ten years ago while attending a PTSD meditation clinic at Omega Institute for veterans and their families. The clinic introduced me to different forms of meditation that allowed me to eventually deal with the trauma and view the war experience in a more benign and compassionate light.

Continue reading →

Karma enlightens Groundhog Day movie

May21 by contoveros

“Groundhog Day” is the movie starring Bill Murray, who visits Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where he is destined to live each day over and over for what seems like eternity. Its message is one of Karma and reincarnation, particularly when one realizes that the director and co-screenwriter was a practicing Buddhist by the name of Harold Remis. Continue reading →

Meditation can rescue us in dire situations

Jul25 by contoveros

Joy filled my soul as I read that the 12 boys trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand were thinking of entering a monastery in honor of the former Navy SEAL who gave his life in an effort to save them. Continue reading →

Satsang opens world of ‘loving awareness’

May11 by contoveros

I heard the word “Satsang” yesterday, and it reminded me of a journey I started a half a lifetime ago when I had hit rock bottom and sought answers to the meaning of life.

Satsang is a Sanskrit word that means “gathering together for the truth” or, more simply, “being with the truth.” According to sources from India, Truth is what is real, what truly exists. Continue reading →

Thích Nhất Hạnh sees the suffering in us

Mar15 by contoveros

Thích Nhất Hạnh looked at me from the most sorrowful eyes I have ever seen, and I understood what it was like for a person to feel all the suffering the world is experiencing.

I had attended a five-day silent retreat at Blue Cliff Monastery in upstate New York with some thousand others who meditated morning, noon, and night. Someone would ring a bell as you walked through the monastery grounds and just like clockwork, everyone would stop what they were doing and rest in the present moment. Continue reading →

Accepting the ‘As Is’ with Gratitude & Joy

Dec20 by contoveros

There is a message I receive every time I travel to the IKEA store and visit the “As Is” department. I get a feeling that the Universe is telling me to open myself to the message the Swedish furniture store wants to share with the rest of the world.

Accept life “As Is,” it softly calls out to me. Continue reading →

‘I don’t know’ — first step for my true path

May9 by contoveros

“I don’t know” is soon to become my life-long mantra.

It has helped me immensely in calming the “monkey mind” after a wonderful Korean woman introduced it to me, and it took a full day for me to understand its profound ramifications.

Continue reading →

Majestic feeling opens me to another world

May6 by contoveros

I’ve been to some ten different Buddhist temples in the mountainous regions of Korea, taking in the rustic, centuries-old magnificent works of art and spiritual creations of man. I felt uplifted when entering doorways that millions, perhaps billions, of others walked through in search of peace and calm on their way to potential enlightenment.

Continue reading →

Chanting can cure what ails your busy mind

May5 by contoveros

“Namuamitabul” is a Korean Buddhist chant that means “The Buddha of infinite light, infinite life, and infinite wisdom.”

This chant is recited numerous times by participants in a WON Buddhist Meditation as part of a routine that involves chanting, sitting meditation, and walking meditation.

Continue reading →

First learn the ‘Way’ before leading others

Apr30 by contoveros

Pride Cometh Before the Fall.

Continue reading →

Korea calling me to seek answers within

Apr23 by contoveros

Korea awaits me next week as I travel more than a thousand miles to find myself and discover reasons why I am still here on planet earth.

Yes, I’m joining a group from Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago that will fly to Seoul, South Korea, to take part in the centennial celebration of the WON Buddhism by its master on April 28th, 1916. Continue reading →

Equanimity for anticipation & expectations

Apr5 by contoveros

Carly Simon sang it . . .

The Heinz ketchup bottle illustrated what it could look like . . .

And I have fallen victim to it whenever I try something new and start to visualize what could possibly go wrong.

It’s called “Anticipation Anxiety Continue reading →

Fun times await all who can be a kid again

Jan31 by contoveros

I’m Having Fun.

I’m enjoying life and feel a peace and calm I didn’t know I’d ever experience again. It’s like falling in love for the very first time. I look forward to each new day filled with hope and a smile for whatever life presents to me. Continue reading →

My Vision Board’s World-Wide Travelling

Jan24 by contoveros

A few weeks ago, I envisioned what the coming year would be like in a “Vision Board.” I got together with a small group and pasted magazine pictures and bold 48-point type letters to a cardboard placard showing what we would like to see enfold in 2016.

I placed the Vietnam War book at the top, adding lots of spiritual and meditative symbols alongside it. On the bottom line, I pasted “Love to Travel” and displayed two large pictures of my son and me on a cruise to Alaska some two years ago.

Continue reading →

All senses call out to me when meditating

Jun11 by contoveros

The smell of lavender and a hint of myrrh greet me as I walk into the meditation room. I had not expected my sense of smell to be the first one to experience such a warm and inviting welcome. I should not have been surprised. The olfactory system is the first sensory organ I usually use, and I’m not too proud to state I am usually led by the nose.

Continue reading →

Listen for the ‘Wisdom You’re Born With’

Jun4 by contoveros

Listen to Yourself.

Close your eyes and go within and listen to the Sounds of Silence. 

Disregard the constant jabbering of the Monkey Mind that doesn’t seem to know when to shut up. Pay no heed to it, and it will dissipate like a cloud on a windy day.

Continue reading →

Calling all ‘Spiritual Soldiers of Fortune’

May28 by contoveros

I believe that I have become a “Spiritual Soldier of Fortune” and would travel anywhere my heart beckons me to learn, to pray, and to find answers about the Universe.

Continue reading →

Buddhism is Simple Love and Awareness

Mar23 by contoveros

What do you tell a person who wants to know about Buddhism?

What books do you recommend? What authors?

Continue reading →

I’ll be One when I finally let myself ‘Let Go’

Mar17 by contoveros

Could I ever be strong enough to let the more tender side of me take over and simply “Let Go“?

We all know how tough it can be to let go of something we’ve been accustomed to all of our lives. You feel like you’re walking off a cliff or jumping out of a plane with no parachute when you consider “letting go.” You’re facing uncertainty, the unknown, the void of a black hole that’s never been explored before. Unexplored by you, that is.

Continue reading →

Love is the only gift I can bestow on you!

Mar10 by contoveros

What gifts can I offer the world today? What insight, wisdom, or thought could I bestow on others seeking the healing we need for our mutual pain and suffering?

I am no psychic. I’ve never seen an angel or felt the tingling sensation from a spirit wanting to use me to provide a message or a sign. I’m no medium. 

Continue reading →

Healing others starts first with healing self

Nov30 by contoveros

Words of Another can help in Your Healing

I felt a lot of healing when I read the following quote from the feminine deity: Moor Jani:

“We all have the capacity to heal ourselves as well as facilitate the healing of others. When we get in touch with that infinite place within us where we are Whole, then illness can’t remain in the body. And because we’re all connected, there’s no reason why one person’s state of wellness can’t touch others. Elevating them and triggering their recovery. And when we heal others, we also heal ourselves and our planet.

Continue reading →

Riding high on the back of an Amazon.com

Sep25 by contoveros

Seeing your new book on sale quite uplifting

Simply knowing that I wrote a book is one helluva experience.

Seeing it on Amazon.com is breathtaking Continue reading →

My book on St. Francis now on amazon.com

Sep23 by contoveros

Well, I told you my first book would soon appear. And it did.

Just as I went on a cruise in a boat up to the new Frontier of Alaska.

Continue reading →

Contentment: Learning to be Content OK

Sep7 by contoveros

“Good Enough” is the lazy man’s way to enlightenment . . . There’s nothing more to do . . . Your job is good enough . . . Your spouse is good enough . . .Your life is good enough . . . Your meditation practice is good enough. . . You don’t need anything more, and what you now have is good enough. —

Continue reading →

New bucket list headed by state of Alaska

Sep6 by contoveros

North to Alaska!

That’s where I’m headed next week, and I’ll start checking off the newest box of my “bucket list,” the list of things I want to do before I “kick the bucket.” Continue reading →

Ups & downs of life provide me lessons

Sep5 by contoveros

“When you’re down and feel like nothing,

God is usually up to something just for you.”

Continue reading →

Ithaca Insights Serve Up Peace & Calm

Sep3 by contoveros

How May I Serve You?

That’s the key to a happy life, you know. Learning to serve others selflessly with no expectation of a reward other than the knowledge you are doing unto others something you’d want them to do . . . unto everyone else.

Continue reading →

Francis of Assisi; awakening him by a novel

Sep1 by contoveros

Dream of Writing a Book about to Come True

As I stand on the precipice of my literary journey, the dream of writing a book feels closer than ever. The countless hours spent brainstorming ideas, developing characters, and crafting intricate plots have finally begun to take shape. I can see the pages of my story unfolding before me, each chapter brimming with potential and passion.

Continue reading →

The Enlightenment of a Dharma Listener

Aug30 by contoveros

I’m down to just two more days now . . . Two more days in which to become enlightened through the 21-Day Meditation Experience of Deepak & Oprah. Today is the 20th Day. Tomorrow, I’m afraid, it will end for me and you.

No matter what happens, though, I’ve been exposed to what Buddhists call the Dharma. That is, the “teachings” of meditation by Siddhartha Gotama, the person most of us call the “Buddha.”

Continue reading →

Don’t eat all the hummus, Michael J

Aug10 by contoveros

To Michael J

From Melanie K

I had such a nice night. My favorite part was sitting outside talking on the bench. Who knew we would be together in such a situation?

Continue reading →

I Find my True Nature when Not Looking

Jul18 by contoveros

When you touch that part of me that has never been touched, a dormant thing erupts.

Continue reading →

Four Truths to Enoble the Strongest Mind

Jul17 by contoveros

Sometimes the only way for me to understand something is to try to put it into my own words. Particularly, if I want to memorize or “imprint” something so that I can keep it near and dear to me, like an inspirational poem or saying I still remember from my earliest days.

Continue reading →

Sweat Lodge Reveals many Creative Spirits

Jul16 by contoveros

It took several hours for the effects of the Sweat Lodge ceremony to kick in, but when it did, I realized the control I always thought I needed was not in my hands, but in what the Greeks called the Fates; the Christians, God; and the Buddhists, Karma.

Continue reading →

Living ‘mind-less-ly’ in the present moment

Jun28 by contoveros

I am a shapeshifter. I’ve developed the ability over the past five years to shift from one form to another by simply manipulating my mind to do the bidding of my higher self.

Continue reading →

Breathing to ‘Right Self’ is a Lifetime Job

Jun27 by contoveros

Don’t think my friend, Lea Stoneheart, expected such angst from me while responding to her comment about “The Hidden Costs of War” Retreat at Omega Institute five days last week [April 22, 2010]. It just spewed out. I guess I’m still processing much of what occurred. It will take time to learn to use tools to seek peace without first having to go to war.

Continue reading →

Truly Living May Just Be Worth Dying For

Jun18 by contoveros

The thought of going to prison never bothered me. I’d survive and flourish behind bars, where I’d have more than enough time to reflect and write which I have found is my true love in life.

No, I could kill without worrying about the consequences. It would be my first offense. I am certified as a Vietnam veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and I don’t see any judge or jury putting me to death for the crime.

Continue reading →

Yearning for you grows with each touch

Jun16 by contoveros

What is a monk to do when he is lonely? When he is blue?

Continue reading →

Saying ‘I Love You’ Twice Blesses Me!

Jun15 by contoveros

“I Love.”

It’s an affirmation I can live with over and over, day in and day out, from one lifetime to another, without ever getting tired of saying it.

Continue reading →

Don’t let me believe in all my thoughts

Jun6 by contoveros

I’m so scared because I don’t know what to do, nor who to turn to. Flashes of insights, intuition, and a “knowing” that borders on the Psychic have arisen in me and I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse. Continue reading →

I wish all compassion found in meditation

May18 by contoveros

On February 5th, 2012, a friend who calls herself, the Frugal Xpat, commented:

**“I always wanted to meditate . . . “**

I didn’t respond to the comment until now, but I want to share how everyone could enjoy this exercise the Frugal Expat spoke of in Daily Meditation Desperately Needed. As she describes her life’s quest, she is on “An expat’s journey in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.” Continue reading →

Let the Superfluous go, Cruise a Freeway

May10 by contoveros

Shifting into cruise control, I let myself glide through many of life’s activities nowadays. I relax, take several deep breaths, and seek a place inside where there are no thoughts, no worries, and no frets.

Continue reading →

Greet your road with love and compassion

May5 by contoveros

I’ve taken compassion on the road.

Literally!

Continue reading →

Abide in the moment you just completed

May4 by contoveros

I am Complete.

I am Finished.

I’ve done what I have done and everyone can be satisfied with my efforts, including — and most importantly — me. Continue reading →

Omega opens doors to lost PTSD veterans

Apr23 by contoveros

I didn’t want to go back to Omega Institute this year. Each time I travelled to this land of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, I’d get high from the holistic experience. But then I’d change into an Ichabod Crane feeling chased by the Headless Horseman, who’d tell true-life stories that caused so much pain I couldn’t hold it inside. Continue reading →

Mindfully cleaning pot helps cleanse mind

Apr10 by contoveros

Cleaning a pot can be very meaningful, particularly if you block out all thoughts and concentrate on nothing but you and the instrument that has helped provide you with so much nourishment. Continue reading →

Being present for the dying brings all alive

Apr9 by contoveros

Death entered my life recently and I’ve felt so alive with its presence.  Continue reading →

Only the Pure in Heart Will See their Goal

Apr5 by contoveros

Purity.

There’s something in it that resonates with me. In my private moments, I try my best to connect with it, but once I start to analyze it, it vanishes. Continue reading →

‘Mammy’ can you hear? It’s your little boy!

Apr2 by contoveros

View All You have Contact with as Your Mother

There is a tradition in Eastern philosophies where you’re taught to view each person and other sentient being as if he, she – or it is your mother. I never knew how nurturing this could be until I allowed the child in me to reciprocate and bask in the most secure and loving place. Continue reading →

Enlightening Chant Charms Meditation

Mar26 by contoveros

After chanting a non-English mantra for some time, I finally learned its definition and discovered a gem of wisdom while contemplating its meaning. Meditating will never be the same, and I want to share with others a little of the enlightenment it’s provided me.

Om Mani Padme Hung. Continue reading →

A change in time helps change my reality

Mar13 by contoveros

Reality shifted on me the other day, and it helped me realize that I have more control than my “resifted” thoughts allowed me to see. Now, with a “time-control outlook,” I can try to change my world for the better. Continue reading →

Daily Meditation Desperately Needed

Jan7 by contoveros

It’s time for my disappearing act to begin. I close my eyes, wave an imaginary magic wand, and slowly begin to vanish from existence here. All thoughts and fears come to an end as I find protection beneath a cloak of invisibility, safe from the savages outside and the demons within. Continue reading →

Resolve to Stop Anger from Feeding on Me

Jan1 by contoveros

Anger.

It hits like a poison arrow causing me to drop what I’m doing and focus on the pain it inflicts.

Continue reading →

Getting High With A Little Help From . . .

Dec23 by contoveros

I got High Again.

I didn’t know how much I needed a “fix” until my head slumped on my chest and I “awoke” to a restful, calm, and peaceful world I had been away from for what seemed a lifetime. I felt.

Continue reading →

Reaching Higher In Women’s Company

Dec5 by contoveros

I Love Women.

I’ll take them in all shapes and sizes, the old and the young, the rich and the poor.

If it wasn’t for women, I — and a lot of guys I know — wouldn’t even be here! Continue reading →

All I Want For Christmas Is . . . Nothing!

Dec2 by contoveros

Am I un-American or anti-religious when I tell you something I’ve been trying to say for years, but have been afraid of hurting your feelings?

I want Nothing for Christmas! Continue reading →

Indulgences for Purgatory from Past Lives

Nov27 by contoveros

(Caution: Exposure to this post could be hazardous to your health, particularly if you were raised Catholic with a taste of Buddhist and Kabalistic ingredients thrown in the mix.)

Indulgences are some things I never thought I’d think about once I finished with my Catholic upbringing and moved onto Eastern Studies and the spiritual advice from the Kabbalah. But there I was reading how someone could limit their time in purgatory by performing certain acts and saying prayers. Continue reading →

Counting to ONE the ‘thought-less’ way

Nov23 by contoveros

No matter how hard I try, I can never count to 20 before an unbidden thought arises from inside of me. I get to three or four while meditating, and images pop up on an internal screen, capturing my attention. I dare not try this counting method until my body and mind are both well-settled and I can “Let go.” Continue reading →

Open my Vessel for ALL Lights to Shine

Nov12 by contoveros

Thank God for Buddhism.

What’s that you say?

I can’t have one in, and of, the other?

Are you telling this red-blooded American veteran that I cannot follow the teachings of the Buddha and still believe in the God of Abraham? Continue reading →

My life is dependent on the rest of you

Nov10 by contoveros

I am as dependent on you as you are on me, as we all are on the kindness and labor of others we too often take for granted.

As I look around, I see that my fortune is dependent on the cooperation and contributions of others. Continue reading →

War is never the answer today (11-11-11)

Nov2 by contoveros

On this Veterans Day, 11-11-11, what would you tell yourself if you could go back in time and greet that young man recently returned home from the war?

War is never the answer,

But only a failure on all

Sides to reach an answer. Continue reading →

A noble banker needs to occupy here

Nov1 by contoveros

Is there a noble banker in the world? Only someone in the lending business who sees his calling as a “service for the people,” I believe, could correct past abuses and recommend changes for, and in the best interests of, us “99 percenters.”

Continue reading →

Advice to any & all Wall Street operatives

Oct23 by contoveros

“We all dream of a kinder, happier world. But if we wish to make it a reality, we have to ensure that compassion inspires all our actions. This is especially true with regard to our political and economic policies. Given that probably half the world’s population lacks the basic necessities of adequate food, shelter, medical care, and education, I believe we need to question whether we are really pursuing the wisest course in this regard. Continue reading →

“For the Signs, they are a ‘Changing'”

Oct21 by contoveros

(From Part I, These are true signs of our Times/)

The greatest protest of our generation is seeking change in all shapes and sizes. You can see it in the signs the demonstrators carry, writing the letters out really big with magic markers so that passersby need not squint to get the messages.

Continue reading →

Bliss arises when I still my self in side

Oct19 by contoveros

Ah, Bliss!

It’s so wonderful to welcome you to visit. You return when I least expect you, embracing me and bringing peace and calm just when I still myself and end needless thoughts.

Are any thoughts actually needed when I go within? I need but seek a quiet moment with no thought save the intent to be free of the past and the future, thus ensuring I will rest “In the Now.”

Continue reading →

End needless suffering in US debates

Oct14 by contoveros

Tone it down, America. You are cutting off your nose to spite your face. The face of the body politic, that is, we are creating needless hurt for the countrymen we’d like to lead to our mutual goal: the pursuit of happiness. Continue reading →

Setbacks Arise in Road to Life’s Answers

Nov8 by contoveros

Enroute to Shangri-La, I lost my Passport.
My ticket to Israel and India disappeared along with all paperwork that would allow me to leave the United States to begin a 12-day pilgrimage. The trip of a Lifetime. Continue reading →

Kabbalah To Mingle With Buddhist Jaunt

Nov6 by contoveros

What do Israel and India have in common with Istanbul and Amsterdam? Other than all starting with a vowel?

It’s where this Philadelphia lad is heading from Nov. 6 through Nov 18, creating a pilgrimage that will touch base with five of the World’s largest religions: Christianity and Judaism, as well as the Muslim and Hindu faiths, ending at the land where the Buddha gained enlightenment. Continue reading →

Acupuncture: ‘Dragon drives out Demon’

Oct8 by contoveros

A Dragon entered me and drove away a Demon last night.

A student at the WON Institute performed acupuncture, penetrating into my psyche as well as my epidermis. More importantly, she opened her heart with such compassion I wept, feeling her healing spread throughout my body and soul. Continue reading →

Utopia Exists in a Mere Change of Focus

Sep27 by contoveros

Another Reality exists within the here and now, if I can disengage and step out of the World that I am sleep-walking in.

Continue reading →

Meditation helps writer find a gem within

Sep25 by contoveros

The excitement would start while half asleep, tossing and turning, waiting for morning to jump out of bed, freshen up, and make my way downstairs to discover my latest surprise.

Continue reading →

Can A Wrong Ever Serve Into A Right?

Sep22 by contoveros

“Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and a Gentleman.”

Never thought an affair I had with a married woman before turning 21 would qualify for “conduct unbecoming,” but looking back, I see how conflicted parties to such an act could become.

Continue reading →

Seeking the ‘Bliss Queen’ in Philadelphia

Sep19 by contoveros

I wanted so much to be the Queen’s Concert.

But at what age? What stage of her life called out to me the most, as we, the audience members, watched her grow into a Spiritual goddess, one I desired to be like, to become with as One?

Continue reading →

St. Michael strikes and heals all at once

Aug23 by contoveros

I felt like Alice falling in the hole after chasing a White Rabbit. But, falling “upwards” defying the laws of Gravity and Rational Sense.

Continue reading →

Act of Contrition Helps Regain My Purity

Aug22 by contoveros

Got Blanket Absolution yesterday. And, it felt so good, I became a 12-year-old again. Ready to face the world with a clear conscious and a pure heart.

Continue reading →

I See You for the Very First Time, Don’t I?

Aug21 by contoveros

I see You more and more each day. All I need do, is look for You. Kinda scrunch up my mind a bit, squint, and let my Self go.

Try to “feel” You. And I do! All Blessed You. In just the right amount to fill a soul that wishes it were bigger, larger to contain more and more of Your Love that’s omnipresent, all around me. And in me.

Continue reading →

Pain endures from struggles in a ‘Back’ Life

Aug16 by contoveros

The pain feels like someone thrust a spear in my back. That I was in battle. At the city of Troy. Fighting with fellow Greeks for the foolish prize of a minor King’s run-a-way, but lovely, wife, Helen. She with a face that will launch a thousand ships.

Continue reading →

Hawk carries HSPs to their highest ideals

Aug15 by contoveros

The hawk glides across the sky, soaring high above us as the first person to notice shouts, “there’s one.” Like children, we stare toward the heavens, at the beautiful blue sky. A normally humid August has graced us with a mild and glorious summer day, blending light breezes and the scent of flowers that drift our way from below the wooden platform we look out from.

Continue reading →

Angels Appear as Earthly Messengers

Aug7 by contoveros

(This story was created in October 2009 but not published in its entirety until now.)

It’s just like heaven . . . Being here with you . . . You’re like an Angel. Too good to be true. When You are near me. My heart skips a beat. I can hardly stand on. My own two feet. Because I Love You; I Love You, I Do. ‘Angel Baby’. My ‘Angel Baby’. Oh, Ooh, I Love You, Oh, Ooh, I Do . . . No One Could Love You . . . Like I Do!

Continue reading →

Concealing & finding Self –a life-long effort

Aug7 by contoveros

Hello! Anybody here? It sure is dark inside. Like a huge cavern with hardly any light.

Continue reading →

Falling in love with the Love of Your Life

Aug6 by contoveros

Fell head over heels in love the past few weeks. Didn’t want to do it. Had always gotten “hurt” in relationships, knowing from the start they’d come to an end one day. Love seemed to change that way. To peter out. End not with a “bang,” but with a “whimper.”

Continue reading →

Women Elevate all our Desire for God

Jul30 by contoveros

Did Creator make a mistake in His design of women’s “purpose?“

Are they on the earth to simply guide men to the Light above and share in the Love such a man might bring back with him to our earthly plane?

Continue reading →

Spirituality’s fun, whether you like it or not!

Jun28 by contoveros

Something’s wrong. I shouldn’t enjoy this much fun in Life.

Laughing so hard, the five of us had to hush up, quiet down to prevent diners at the other restaurant tables from staring at our ruckus.

What caused all the belly laughs and guffaws? God. Well, let’s say the Spirit of God. How about something ‘Spiritual, but not Religious?’ Would you believe “Mystical?”

Continue reading →

Answer is Within, 2nd Coming Proclaims

Jun18 by contoveros

“The Gospel Writers got it All Wrong!“

Those are the words Jesus said on reappearing in public in 2012.

The Kingdom of God is Within, He added.

But each of us must seek it ourselves through ourselves.”

Continue reading →

Connect to ‘Mother’ for Enlightenment

Jun13 by contoveros

I saw the “Observer” of my Thoughts the other day.

Watched from within. Saw “me” facilitating and acting on all the senses. “I“ nudged away a thought, then focused on the feeling of breath at the top of my nasal passage. Tasted the slight chemical taint of eye drops I had placed in my left eye minutes earlier. And, I listened to the soft sounds of a budgie chirping in the distance.

Continue reading →

Bliss arises in cherishing of another’s woes

Jun2 by contoveros

An African American woman showed me how to take on the suffering of the world during a five-day retreat on perfecting perpetual peace in my soul.

Continue reading →

Dharma Wheel marks birth May 27, 2010

May25 by contoveros

File:Dharma Wheel.svg — The full moon of May will mark the Awakening from 2,500 years ago!

Continue reading →

‘Letting go’ today frees me for tomorrow

May23 by contoveros

Taking a step today that scares me. Going to become an “Initiate“ Buddhist at a morning ceremony. Do a prostration, touch my forehead to the floor, and recognize a Power greater than myself.

That’ll be the easy part. Saw enough Catholic priests drop to the church floor during a 40-hour service that I’m used to seeing American Buddhist ladies and gentlemen do the ritual at the Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia.

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‘Do the right thing’–do what’s right for you

May23 by contoveros

Part II from Escaping-Brewerytown

The moment of truth came down to one question: “Who else was with you?”

I looked to the floor and didn’t answer until the head of a juvenile aid panel from Philadelphia Family Court asked me to speak up.

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Escaping Brewerytown in 1 piece not easy

May22 by contoveros

I never took my eyes off the gun. The man’s hand shook. I was afraid it would go off. Raising my own hands, I prayed that he would not shoot, and said “I’m coming out,” slowly climbing out of the window, placing one foot on the ground and then the other as I exited the ACME supermarket warehouse building two blocks from my home. Continue reading →

‘Garlic’s imprint’ holds many limitations

May20 by contoveros

A friend dreamed she could not swim well in water and had to return to the shore or face peril. It seems the dream reflected her real life. (See “To Be Me.”) She said she was not a very good swimmer, and she wondered why — even in one’s dream — we impose such limitations on ourselves?

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‘Sound Bath’ Calms & Heals us with Love

May19 by contoveros

I feel a healing begin, as tears form, and I am so grateful to release what’s building inside — something so wonderful it becomes too good to contain.

I wish I were bigger. I’d have a greater capacity to handle the joy that’s flowing to all parts of my body. It’s like a liquid, this healing I feel, almost palpable like an elixir that cures each and every doubt, concern, and thought from one’s past or future.

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Love & compassion’s for all God’s creatures

May18 by contoveros

Did not know what a Buddhist sangha could mean to me, until four of us aspiring students focused on a multi-colored insect at lunch, discussed its past and future life-aspects, and showed compassion to a sentient being whom we might have swatted away before gaining our insight on Sunday.

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Freedom of Religion depends on religion

May18 by contoveros

Read some comments attacking the Dalai Lama on someone’s Blog which championed freedom of religion on its website.

Noticed it also pushed for a vote against gay marriage in California.

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Courtroom awakens karma understanding

May16 by contoveros

One of the most humbling times in my life occurred in Court.

Philadelphia Police Sgt. Washington motioned to me that he wanted to talk. This was odd, I represented the “other side” as a public defender whose client was the defendant charged in an auto theft case. Washington was the arresting police officer whose testimony would ensure a conviction.

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Going back home sans the Maidenform bra

May15 by contoveros

What’s the biggest lie you ever told?

I’m talking “whopper” now. None of the “little white lies” kinda story. But one that would qualify as a Bold-Faced LIE!

Mine was to an ex-girlfriend. Not a lie to hide, I had been with another girl. Or why I forgot an anniversary or her birthday.

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