GOLDBERG VARIATION #4
While it might seem belated or redundant, I wish you all abundant blessings, both material and spiritual, in the new year.
WORKSHOP IN LOS ANGELES
Sunday, Feb. 8, 2:00-4:30 p.m., at In Yoga in Marina Del Rey. This is an opportunity to deepen and clarify your spiritual path. Here are excerpts from the description:
ROADSIGNS FOR THE SPIRITUAL PATH
Peace... Joy... Wisdom... Grace... These and other rewards of the spiritual journey are real and attainable~when we know the road signs…
Whether you've been on a path for 20 days or 20 years, every seeker has to integrate spiritual growth with real life demands. Everyone runs into confusing directions, unfamiliar intersections and unexpected twists and turns. Everyone has to sort through the Four Paradoxes of the Path and grapple with ambiguity around life-shaping issues. This practical, illuminating workshop will show you how to avoid the common pitfalls and create a path that suits your own unique needs and personality…You will be able to continue your quest for wholeness with greater discernment, enhanced intuition and awakened self-awareness.
Address: In Yoga, 13325 Beach Ave., Marina Del Rey.
For information: 310-306-9644, or www.inyoga.com
Cost: $27
SPIRITUAL WELLNESS
My latest column in Healthy Update, the e-newsletter of HealthWorld Online (www.healthy.net), is titled “At the Heart of Paradox.” It focuses on the inevitable contradictions and ambiguities we face on the spiritual path.
The essay is posted on my home page: http://www.philipgoldberg.com/ and can also be read by clicking http://healthy.net/scr/column.asp?PageType=Column&id=568. (Some of you may need to cut and paste the address into your browser, or type it in.)
RADIO INTERVIEW
An excellent interview with me, conducted by radio host Zohara Hieronimous, can be heard on the web at http://www.futuretalk.org/listen/listentofuturetalk0312.html. (If necessary, cut and paste the link.)
VIDEO PRESENTATION
I recently spent a wonderful morning speaking at The Inside Edge in Orange County. This worthy organization archives its guests’ presentations in video format on the web. I’m told that mine will be available soon. Meanwhile, enjoy previous speakers: http://www.insideedge.org/library.htm.
ILLUMINATION AND INSPIRATION
- “There is a light that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond the highest, the very highest heavens. This is the light that shines in your heart.” — Chandogya Upanishad
- “A man has no religion who has not slowly and painfully gathered one together, adding to it, shaping it; and one’s religion is never complete and final, it seems, but must always be undergoing modification.”— D.H. Lawrence
A TEACHING STORY
It is easy to become complacent about one’s spiritual development, especially during a period of relative contentment. It is said that the 19th Century sage, Ramakrishna, would tell the following story to encourage ongoing growth:
A poor woodcutter wanders into the forest to chop down trees and haul the wood back to market. He comes upon a cluster of brushwood. As he hacks away with his axe, grateful for his good luck and thinking about the money he will make, he suddenly sees a yogi standing beside him. “Go further,” says the monk, and disappears among the trees. The woodsman completes his work and prepares to return to town. Then he remembers the sage’s words. He travels deeper into the forest, and, to his amazement, discovers a grove of precious sandalwood trees. As he’s about to carry his rich load to market, he once again remembers the yogi and continues onward. Hours later, having found even more profitable wood, he considers turning back. But once again he remembers the words, “Go further,” and he trudges on. Later, having found nothing more, and with darkness falling and the air growing cold, he begins to regret his decision. He takes shelter in a cave and quickly lights a fire to warm his shivering body. And he sees that the cave walls sparkle with diamonds.
SEEDS OF CONTEMPLATION
1. What do the diamonds on the cave walls represent to you?
2. Do you ever get complacent?
3. What inspires you to go further?
RECOMMENDED BOOK
My friend and colleague Susan Quinn has written an insightful book titled “The Deepest Spiritual Life” (White Cloud Press). In Susan’s words, “Religious leaders, spiritual directors, meditation group leaders and congregants describe in this book how religious community and individual spiritual practices combine to enrich one's life with meaning, love, compassion and an intimate connection with the Divine….I've tried to share my own insights along with practical and empathetic counsel, and worked to communicate in a manner accessible not only to spiritual and religious practitioners but to any dedicated and inquisitive layperson who is open to the spiritual wealth of the journey.” For more, go to http://www.thedeepestspirituallife.com/home.htm.
EVENTS
I’m using the next few months to catch up on writing projects, but my workshops and lectures have been so satisfying I'm eager to schedule more for later this year and 2005. If you have suggestions, let me know. For a list of my topics, click: http://www.philipgoldberg.com/disc.htm.
THIS NEWSLETTER
Feel free to pass this on to interested friends. Anyone can subscribe by clicking on http://www.philipgoldberg.com/newsletter.htm and entering an e-mail address in the right-hand column. If you don’t wish to receive these mailings, you can unsubscribe with the same link or send me a private message.