Articles

David Gerken > Articles

August 17, 2023 0

Understanding This Nuance Will Save You a Ton of Heart Ache Traveling the Spiritual Path

Meditation

August 14, 2023 0

The Priceless Gift Mickey Singer Gave Me on My Second Visit to His Temple

August 11, 2023 0

Deal With a Triggered Emotion Just as You Would a Painful Knot During Massage

Meditation

August 8, 2023 0

Is Your Life a Constant Tug of War Pitting You Against the World? I have a great solution for you.

August 5, 2023 0

The Spiritual Practice That Helps Me the Most - It’s about acceptance.

Meditation

August 2, 2023 0

Having trouble finding your way in the World? Try Mark Twain’s Simple Strategy for Life

July 30, 2023 0

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Inspiring Quote About Trusting Our Inner Genius

July 27, 2023 0

Use this Michelangelo Metaphor to Anchor the Rest of Your Life

July 23, 2023 0

Follow Teddy Roosevelt’s Zen Work Approach to Succeed in Any Career

July 19, 2023 0

The Most Important Work of My Life is Something I Continually Lose Sight Of

July 15, 2023 0

An Exalted Indian Saint’s Advice for Managing Our Egos

July 9, 2023 0

3 Ideas for Boosting Your Creativity

July 4, 2023 0

Why I Changed My New Year’s Resolution Mid-Year

July 1, 2023 0

Rumi’s Wise Words About Seeking Love

June 26, 2023 0

How to Handle the Good Times - It’s about not clinging.

June 21, 2023 0

An Eye-Opening Pearl From The Tao Te Ching - It’s about how to ‘get it all.’

June 18, 2023 2

This Yogananda Exchange with a Devotee Made My Head Explode…in a Good Way

June 15, 2023 0

Ram Dass’s Beautiful Description of What Awakening Looks Like

June 12, 2023 0

Learn This Simple, Boring Sentence and You’ll be Set for Life

June 8, 2023 0

Ram Dass’s Eloquent Teaching About Stillness

June 3, 2023 0

Ramakrishna Was Asked if There Was a Meaningful Prayer — This Was His Response

May 30, 2023 0

A Major Obstacle to Happiness - And the Simple Solution.

May 25, 2023 0

Thich Nhat Hanh’s Simple, Powerful Method for Staying Centered

May 20, 2023 2

Eckhart Tolle’s Beautiful Quote About Who We Are and Who We Aren’t

May 17, 2023 2

You Want to Be Present? Escape to the Moment in Front Of You

May 14, 2023 2

This Meditation Cue Will Knock Your Socks Off

May 11, 2023 0

Ramana Maharshi’s Mind-Blowing Quote About Pondering the World’s Ills

May 7, 2023 0

Oprah Winfrey’s Favorite Passage in Mickey Singer’s New Book “Living Untethered”

May 4, 2023 0

My 3 Year Depression Odyssey, Part 2: 3 Lessons I Learned - Wisdom gained through the awful grace of God.

May 1, 2023 0

My 3 Year Depression Odyssey, Part 1: The Story - From the abyss to beholding the stars.

April 28, 2023 0

The Beatles Song That Captures It All

April 25, 2023 0

4 Things I Want for My Kids - Now, and for the rest of their lives.

April 22, 2023 0

Ram Dass on Being Spiritual in our Business Work

April 19, 2023 0

Using Physical Pain for Growth

April 16, 2023 0

Mini Grudges: How They Hold Us Back and What to Do About Them

April 13, 2023 0

Mickey Singer’s Essential Teaching: Being Able to Handle What Life Throws at Us

April 10, 2023 0

Many Say There Should be No Striving in Spirituality — I Disagree

April 7, 2023 0

Our Needs Are Not Natural - They’re a symptom of what’s going on inside.

April 3, 2023 0

My Visit to Mickey Singer’s Temple, Part 2: The Ram Dass Teaching He Gave Me - An eloquent teaching on letting go.

March 28, 2023 2

My Visit to Mickey Singer’s Temple, Part 1: The Life-altering Advice He Gave Me

March 22, 2023 0

Multitasking Is Not What It’s Cracked Up To Be

March 17, 2023 0

This Joseph Goldstein Teaching on Meditation is Essential - It has to do with the goal of meditation.

March 12, 2023 2

Please Practice Nonresistance — It Will Improve Your Life Immeasurably

March 8, 2023 0

A Technique to Help You Stay Centered in the Face of Disturbance It’s about the seat of self.

March 4, 2023 0

How Mindfulness Rescued Me on Our Family Ski Trip to Colorado - Abused on the slopes and abused by my kids.

February 28, 2023 0

Ram Dass’s Teaching On How To Shed The Ego - It’s about molting, not tearing.

February 22, 2023 0

Fear-Based Living Is Embedded in Our Society

February 17, 2023 0

The Fabulous Ram Dass Inspired Christmas Gift My Wife Got Me - It Cost $12 and was my favorite present by far.

February 12, 2023 0

This Ram Dass Teaching on Attachment Is Massively Important

February 8, 2023 0

Recent Study Shows Mindfulness Exercises As Effective As Medication In Treating Anxiety

February 4, 2023 0

Witness Consciousness May Sound Weird, but It’s Central to Spirituality

February 1, 2023 2

Use the Image of Hands to Spur Your Spiritual Growth

January 28, 2023 0

Eckhart Tolle’s Story About the Zen Master and the Archer

January 24, 2023 2

Lessons Learned From My Mindfulness Battle Royale at the Bagel Shop

January 20, 2023 0

People Think ‘Awakening’ Is the Best Description of the Spiritual Path — It Isn’t

January 16, 2023 0

A Healthy, Simplified Way To Structure Your Life

January 12, 2023 0

Eckhart Tolle’s Quote About Artists Is Right On

January 9, 2023 0

How Going Easier On Yourself Can Improve Your Work Product

January 6, 2023 0

Krishnamurti’s Beautiful Passage About Comprehending the Mysteries of the Universe

January 3, 2023 0

Mickey Singer’s Funny Analogy That Crystallizes a Crucial Life Mistake People Make

December 31, 2022 0

3 Things I’d Wish For Humanity In 2023 If I Could Wave A Magic Wand

December 28, 2022 0

A Year-End Review of My 2022 Resolutions

December 24, 2022 0

The Kitchen Sink Theory of Spiritual Work

December 20, 2022 0

There Are Two Ways to Live Our Lives — One Works, One Doesn’t

December 16, 2022 2

5 Words To Keep Top Of Mind, Especially When You Get Irked

December 12, 2022 0

The Most Important Word in Spirituality

December 8, 2022 0

Avoid This Trap in Letting go of Your Ego

December 4, 2022 0

What Eckhart Tolle Says Is the Secret To Life

December 1, 2022 2

An Exercise to Stop You From Exploding in Stressful Situations

November 27, 2022 0

A Vexing Question I Get Asked About Appearing Weak in Confrontational Situations

November 23, 2022 0

My Favorite Meditation Cue Also Helps Bigly in My Everyday Life

November 19, 2022 0

Is Being Sensitive Good for Us? Yes…and No

November 15, 2022 0

Focusing on Process Over Outcome Is the Way To Go

November 11, 2022 0

Why Every Kid Playing Sports Should be Meditating and Practicing Mindfulness

November 7, 2022 0

An Analogy to Make Your Meditation Sessions Easier -It’s like a rocket’s journey into space.

November 4, 2022 2

Getting Comfortable With Your Inner Maniac - It’s critical to our mental and spiritual health.

November 1, 2022 0

Ramana Maharshi’s Technique for Becoming our True Nature

October 27, 2022 0

Marcus Aurelius’ Quote About Happiness Is Only Partly Right

October 22, 2022 0

Eckhart Tolle’s Teaching on Our Two Identities

October 18, 2022 0

Peter Russell: A Spiritual Teacher to Check Out

October 14, 2022 0

Ask Yourself This Question to Get Your Spiritual Work Properly Focused

October 10, 2022 2

A Two Word Mantra to Save You in Confrontational Situations

October 5, 2022 0

Ram Dass’s Spot-On Take of How to View Our Thinking Minds: The master vs. the servant.

October 1, 2022 2

Say Your Name to Aid in Letting Go of Your Ego

September 28, 2022 0

If You Want to be Happy, Follow This Old Axiom

September 25, 2022 0

Mickey Singer’s Favorite Line of Wisdom is About Preference - It comes from Sengcan, the Third Zen Patriarch.

September 22, 2022 0

A Non ‘Woo-Woo’ Description of the Spiritual Path: Training Our Minds

September 18, 2022 0

Do This to Anchor Yourself in the Present Moment

September 15, 2022 0

Mickey Singer’s Brilliant Metaphor on How to Deal With Inner Disturbances

September 12, 2022 0

Ram Dass’s Revelatory Exchange With His Guru, Maharaji - It’s about the power of serving others.

September 8, 2022 0

Using Mindfulness to Deal With Oppressive Heat -Prevent the heat from melting your mood.

September 5, 2022 0

Deepen Your Spiritual Practice by Transcending Language

September 1, 2022 0

Ram Dass’s Pearl of Wisdom About the Present Moment

August 28, 2022 0

3 Ways Mindfulness Helped Me Deal With COVID

August 23, 2022 0

Mickey Singer’s Brilliant Analogy: Treat Your Insides as if It Were A House

August 18, 2022 0

We All Carry Old Emotional Baggage — For Proof, Go to Your High School Reunion

August 14, 2022 2

A Ram Dass Quote About How to Seek Truth

August 10, 2022 2

Yogananda’s Quote About Education is Right on the Mark - We should teach true intelligence, not facts and ideas.

August 5, 2022 0

How, and How Not, to Deal With Your Ego: Watch, don’t fight.

August 1, 2022 0

An Eckhart Tolle Quote You Could Build a Spiritual Practice Around

July 27, 2022 0

4 Steps to Turning Around a Bad Day

July 24, 2022 0

9 Words That Calm Me When I Get Stressed

July 20, 2022 0

Do You Feel Overwhelmed All the Time? This Ancient Method Will Calm You

July 16, 2022 0

A Stress-relieving Benefit of Spirituality: Easier Decision-making

July 12, 2022 4

The Best Technique I Know to Quiet Unwanted Thoughts

July 8, 2022 8

I Lost my Oldest Friend this Week - Shawn Gallagher (1962–2022)

July 5, 2022 0

Ram Dass’s Wise Teaching on Deciding What to Do With Your Life

June 30, 2022 4

Letting Go of Our Emotional Baggage is Crucial, but Also Really Hard - Here’s How to Make it Easier

June 27, 2022 0

A Tip to Help You Let Go of Emotional Baggage

June 23, 2022 6

3 Words to Stop You from Falling Into a Bad Mood

June 20, 2022 0

How Mindfulness Made My Lousy Day Less Lousy

June 16, 2022 0

A Tao Te Ching Gem About Where to Mine for Life’s Gold

June 13, 2022 0

What I Learned Taking the Ananda Meditation Course -Pro and Con.

June 9, 2022 0

Why Worrying is the Most Destructive of All Human emotions - And How to Slay it.

June 5, 2022 0

This Supreme Spiritual Teaching Takes Vigilance to Follow

June 1, 2022 0

My 1987 Ralph Waldo Emerson Yearbook Quote Took Years for me to Follow

May 27, 2022 0

Who Are You? You’re a Flashlight - What you’re NOT is your mind.

May 24, 2022 0

Ram Dass’s Beautiful Teaching About Keeping the Heart Open

May 21, 2022 0

An Effective Strategy to Use When You Get Upset

May 18, 2022 0

A Simple Spiritual Exercise That Will Do You and the World a World Of Good

May 15, 2022 0

5 Life Lessons I Learned From My Dad, Walter B. Gerken - The good, the bad and the funny.

May 11, 2022 0

Try this Spiritual Exercise: If it’s Gone From the Outside, it’s Gone From the Inside

May 8, 2022 0

3 Words That Immediately Center Me: Flow With Life

May 4, 2022 0

My Spiritual Struggle: Resisting Others’ Resistance And my plan for working on it.

April 30, 2022 0

Ram Dass’s Quote About the Spiritual Path: Be the Captain of Your Ship

April 26, 2022 0

Thich Nhat Hanh’s Quote About Happiness: It’s About Peace, Not Excitement

April 22, 2022 0

Mickey Singer has Surrendered for the Past 50 Years — Join me in Trying it for a Day

April 18, 2022 0

Mickey Singer’s Funny and Accurate Analogy Describing the Spiritual Path

April 14, 2022 0

Eckhart Tolle’s Teaching That Annoys The Heck Out of Me — Unfortunately, He’s Right

April 10, 2022 0

Use This Snow Globe Analogy to Help Deal With Adversity

April 6, 2022 0

Treat Your Moments as You Would a Business Decision -Accept, then act.

April 2, 2022 0

Why Getting Fired From The West Wing was the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me

March 29, 2022 0

Eckhart Tolle’s Remarks on Nihilism Illuminated This Invaluable Benefit of Spiritual Pursuits

March 25, 2022 0

Family Relationships Can be Rough — They’re Also a Goldmine for Spiritual Growth

March 21, 2022 2

Constantly Obsessing About Our Overall Life Situation is Futile — Try This Instead

March 18, 2022 0

Liberation: A Helpful Concept for Understanding the Spiritual Path

March 15, 2022 2

Rumi Has Hundreds of Beautiful Quotes — This is My Favorite - It’s about the voice inside.

March 11, 2022 0

5 Pinch Myself Moments Working on “The West Wing” Television Show

March 7, 2022 3

What Eckhart Tolle Says is the Only True Purpose of Our Lives

March 4, 2022 8

This is My Least Spiritual Article to Date — But Also the Most Important - It’s about practice.

March 1, 2022 0

My Computer Crashed, But I Didn’t: How Mindfulness Saved My Day

February 25, 2022 2

How Teddy Roosevelt’s Darkest Period Propelled Him to the Presidency

February 22, 2022 0

The Comparing Game: A Losing Proposition That’s All Pain, No Gain

February 18, 2022 0

We Spend Our Lives Constantly Asking “What do I want?” It Doesn’t Work - I’ll show you a path that does.

February 15, 2022 0

My Most Cherished Moment Working on “The West Wing” TV Show

February 12, 2022 0

Gandhi’s Famous Quote About the Value of Meditation

February 8, 2022 0

The Story of How Eckhart Tolle Manifested “The Power Of Now”

February 3, 2022 0

The Lightbulb Moment That Sparked Mickey Singer’s 50 Year Spiritual Odyssey

January 29, 2022 0

Ram Dass’s Guru Didn’t Teach Much: Just This Simple Philosophy

January 23, 2022 0

Ram Dass’s Beautiful Quote About Imagining Yourself as a Flower

January 20, 2022 0

My 4 Step Strategy for Changing Careers - I’ve done it twice.

January 17, 2022 0

Eckhart Tolle Is My Favorite Spiritual Being. Mickey Singer Is My Favorite Teacher

January 14, 2022 0

3 Joseph Campbell Quotes About Living Life

January 10, 2022 0

Ramana Maharshi’s Simple Prescription for Spiritual Growth - Be still. Be.

January 7, 2022 0

The Profound Spiritual Lesson Tennis Has Taught Me

January 4, 2022 0

The Tao te Ching Passage That Shapes My Career Path- It’s about letting the mud clear.

January 1, 2022 0

My 2022 New Year’s Resolutions

December 28, 2021 2

My Journey to Meditation: The Before and After

December 24, 2021 0

2 Words to Simplify Your Spiritual Journey And cut down on all the confusion and overwhelm.

December 20, 2021 2

Nonattachment: The Big Kahuna of Spirituality — So Hard, but so Worth the Work

December 16, 2021 0

Thomas Merton: If You Want to Help the World, Work on Yourself

December 12, 2021 0

Simplify Your Life by Looking at Everything Through This One Lens

December 7, 2021 0

A Tao Te Ching Passage That Illuminates the Spiritual Path

December 2, 2021 0

The Question to Ask Yourself When a Stressful Situation Arises

November 28, 2021 0

4 Ways to Beat the Holiday Blues

November 24, 2021 0

An Eckhart Tolle Gem to Help You Navigate the Holidays

November 20, 2021 2

How I Turned my Dog’s Eye Problem Into a Mindful Practice

November 17, 2021 0

A Mindful Strategy for Dealing With Bad Moods

November 14, 2021 0

How a Terrible Writing Session Led to a Spiritual Breakthrough

November 10, 2021 0

To Try or Not to Try: That is the Question With Spiritual Work

November 6, 2021 2

The Simple Phrase Ram Dass’s Guru Spoke Again and Again

November 2, 2021 0

4 Dalai Lama Quotes to Inspire Your Insides

October 30, 2021 0

Eckhart Tolle’s Advice About Dealing With Annoying Everyday Situations

October 26, 2021 2

2 of Shakespeare’s Greatest Plays are Cautionary Tales About Capitulating to Our Egos

October 23, 2021 2

Want to Spur Your Meditation Practice? Go Back to Kindergarten

October 20, 2021 0

Spiritual Work is Like Anything Else: Progress Comes Through Practice

October 16, 2021 0

How My Recent Experience With The Blahs Can Help You With Yours

October 13, 2021 0

4 Rumi Sayings That Will Sing to Your Soul

October 8, 2021 0

Read This Piece if You Want to Get Your Life on Track

October 4, 2021 0

I Let Go of Some Egoic Baggage Last Week — the Result is All Good

September 30, 2021 2

Try Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plan for Spending a Mindful Day

September 27, 2021 0

3 Hunks of Egoic Baggage I Need to Let Go of

September 24, 2021 0

3 Ideas for Bringing Paris to You - No surprise, there’s food involved.

September 20, 2021 2

A Huge Spiritual Discovery I Made Last Week That Can Help You, Too

September 16, 2021 2

What My Friend’s Year in the Arctic Teaches Us About our Brains

September 12, 2021 0

Mickey Singer’s Helpful Metaphor for Letting Go of Our Egos - It’s about letting go of the rocks.

September 7, 2021 0

Parents Over-Worrying About Their Kids: The Other Pandemic Raging Across the Land

September 2, 2021 0

Why Hope Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to be

August 28, 2021 0

A Two Word Tool to Fortify Your Meditation And Mindfulness Practices

August 23, 2021 0

The One Spiritual Work I Recommend Over All Others

August 20, 2021 0

An Analogy to Calm You When Your Ego Gets Triggered

August 16, 2021 0

5 Lessons Everyone Can Learn From my Naturally Zen Mom

August 14, 2021 0

Use this Ram Dass Idea to Help Heal Your Psyche - It’s about becoming nobody.

August 11, 2021 0

What Getting Fired From “The West Wing” Taught Me About Meditation and the Brain

August 8, 2021 0

Use This Eckhart Tolle Quote to Deepen Understanding of Your True Self

August 4, 2021 0

A Technique That Helps Me Stay Centered When I’m Losing It

July 28, 2021 2

Want to Heal Your Mind? Treat It as You Would a Simple Skin Wound

July 24, 2021 2

The Meditation Elite Does a Bad Job of Communicating to Regular People

July 20, 2021 0

My Cancer Scare: Where Spiritual Work Helped…and Where it Didn’t

July 17, 2021 0

How Spiritual Work Has Calmed Me as I Face the Summer Travel Shit Show

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