appearances – Human Values Institute

Are appearances really false?

Are appearances really false? Everything feels so solid and real. What about this chair. I can touch it and it feels solid. It can hold me when I sit in it, and I weigh 180 […]

How can we maintain our sanity, let alone joy?

These are very hard times. When we feel we are emerging, BAM, another difficulty arises. This is what the Buddha called suffering of suffering, one suffering upon another. How can we maintain our sanity, let […]

Live in the world with love

We try to live in the world, but not be of the world. To be in the world works best when we are motivated by love and compassion. To not be of the world is […]

We miss out being present

Too often we get swept away into the future, or dragged back into the past. We miss out being present. It is in the present that we find balance, that we find our center. In […]

Not taking ourselves too seriously

Not taking ourselves too seriously makes life easier. Both quantum physics and Buddhist philosophy come to the conclusion that appearances are false. Things appear objective and independent. This is mistaken. Our ego appears independent. That […]

We take appearances to be reality

Now you see it, now you don’t. A slight of hand card trick. Reality is like that. Now you see it. Now you don’t, because it was never there! When we investigate our appearances, they […]

Always come home

Always come home. When you feel out of balance, come home. When you feel balanced, come home. Come home to the present. Remember nothing is real. Everything we see, hear, think, and feel is not […]

Like an illusion

Experience of our days is up and down. This is on the outside and superficial. As we practice more, an inner experience begins to permeate our whole experience, our whole being. At first it waxes […]

Love yourself, love others

Love makes the world go around. Love, love, love is what it is all about. Love yourself, love others. Just love, and more love. We are trying to make love our default state. It is […]