self-actualization

Privilege the true over the good

From the time we arrive the world wants us to be “good”. It’s easier for our parents, for our teachers, for just about everybody—except perhaps our selves. Al Gore wrote the Inconvenient Truth over twenty years ago, related to the environment. But it could be applied to our own development as human beings. We learn … Read more

Siddhartha: Becoming an Individual (Part 1)

I intend to write this reflection in two parts, tracking the spiritual progress of our protagonist, Siddhartha, and then riffing on some possible meanings for our own spiritual journey. I must be one of the very few who had never read Herman Hesse’s classic novel, Siddhartha. It’s based (sort of) on the life of the … Read more

MDMA and the Shadow

The new psychotherapy: MDMA and the Shadow by Ann Shulgin Originally published on Eleusis, n. 3, pp. 3-11, 1995This is a revised and edited version of a talk given at the Psychoactive Sacraments Conference Retreat, sponsored by the Chicago Theological Seminary and the Council on Spiritual Practices Vallombrosa Center, Menlo park, California, U.S., February 16-19, 1995.Modern psychotherapy utilizing psychedelic drugs probably began in … Read more

Tempted

In my previous life I must have preached on the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness a dozen times or more. I never really feel like I cracked the code. It was my own time in the wilderness that helped me to listen more deeply to what might be going on in this archetypal story. … Read more

Regrets of the Dying

Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working palliative care, taking caring of patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. She made a list of the top five regrets that the dying shared with her. I list them here. The list is very helpful and I’m grateful for her work. … Read more

Bruce Sanguin

Psychotherapist