Self-Compassion Skills
The Difficult Thing of Being Human
Bodipaksa
Stability of Roman Rule
The political stability of Roman rule – called the Pax Romana (“Roman peace”) – meant that people from all over the empire could move about with relative ease. Larger cities, like Rome itself, became cosmopolitan mixes with many immigrants jostling together. Such cities were not much different from London, New York, or Hong Kong today.
Interplay of Cultures
Wherever people went, they carried aspects of their native culture with them – language, traditions, and religion. Hence, the vibrant social mix of Roman cities invited the interplay of these different cultures, even though Rome encouraged its subject peoples to become more “Roman” in thought and values.
Scripting Jesus: The Gospels in Rewrite
Michael L. White
Divinizing Human Attributes
When we endow God with human attributes, we essentially divinize those attributes, so that everything good or bad about our religions is merely a reflection of everything that is good or bad about us. Our desires become God’s desires, but without boundaries. Our actions become God’s actions, but without consequence.
Fashioning Our Religions & Cultures
We create a superhuman being endowed with human traits, but without human limitations. We fashion our religions and cultures, our societies and governments, according to our own human urges, all the while convincing ourselves that those urges are God’s.
God: A Human History
Reza Aslan
Pleasure is Circumstantial
Pleasure is something that we derive from an object, a place, or people. It is, by definition, circumstantial. We may get pleasure from dining in a particular restaurant or wearing elegant new clothes. But, take us to that restaurant after we’ve just eaten a large meal, or put us in our stylish attire during an argument with our significant other, and chances are we will experience no pleasure at all.
Happiness is Deep Fulfillment
If pleasure is circumstantial enjoyment, happiness refers to a deeper sense of fulfillment not dependent on circumstances, which is usually accompanied by qualities such as peacefulness, purposefulness, and benevolence. Unlike pleasure, which requires situations to be constantly renewed or upgraded, happiness is a state of mind that deepens the more we experience it.
Enlightenment to Go
David Michie
Continuous Flow of Moments
We constantly walk a line between the lessons of the past and the uncertainties of the future. Every moment is relative to the previous and the next, in a continuous flow.
Living in the Present
Living in the present may at first strike us as selfish or superficial, but once we have made a commitment to always acting in the interests of others, then freeing ourselves from the anchors of time is extremely liberating, and it means we can get on with so much more.
Everyday Enlightenment
Gyalwang Drukpa
Who Knows Anyhow? 