“If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?”

~ Dogen (1200-1253)
Japanese Zen patriarch

I don’t presume to know what “The Truth” is, for I agree with the postmodernist view that there is no such thing as objective truth, a truth independent of the observer. As quantum physics demonstrates, the very act of observing something, alters it, and so you cannot objectively experience or know anything. Moreover in the unity of the quantum soup of existence, nothing exists separate from me or objective to me.

Yet elsewhere I have written of the love of truth as one of the skills which enable personal authenticity (see Some Psychological Skills Which Enable Authentic Living) So seemingly I am suggesting that there is a truth with which our authenticity comports. And I am. But where might we find it?

Perhaps we can agree that nothing exists, except the present moment, the now, this instant which seemingly persists eternally. The past does not exist, except in thought. Tell me about your past, and you speak nothing but a string of thoughts being spun instant by instant in the present. The future too is nothing but fantasy experienced now. There never has been a time that you did not experience yourself other than in the now. So if we are to search for the truth, seemingly it must be found as Dogen suggests, ‘right where I am’ – here, Now.

And the Now, what is it? It is our experiencing as it is in the present moment. Interestingly, the dictionary defines truth “as the true or actual state of a matter” and “conformity with fact or reality”. Yes! our truth is the actual state of our thoughts, feelings, sensations – the reality of our experience as it is in the Now.

If presently I feel joyous, sad, fearful, angry, surprised, anxious, trusting, etc., that is my experience, my truth. If presently I think this or that, agree or disagree, doubt or believe, accept or judge, am willing or not, that is my experience, my truth. If presently I am bouncing with energy, tired, ill, comfortable, uncomfortable, etc., that is my truth, experience. My truth may change or not, from moment to moment. It is a revelation unfolding instant by instant, not a fixed state.

Of course, my truth and your truth will be different, for we experience the present differently. Authenticity asks that I live in accord with my truth and you live in accord with yours; that neither of us be burdened by the presumed obligation to live in accord with the dictates of supposed truths experienced by or asserted by others.

The American existential psychologist, James Bugental, defined authenticity in this manner: “A person is authentic in that degree to which his being in the world is unqualifiedly in accord with the givenness of his own nature and of the world.” Given that our natures and the world can only be experienced presently, authenticity then is living in unqualified accord with the truth of our own experience as it is in the present moment.

That’s my experience, my truth, what’s yours?

Michael Nagel  LLC MA CI CHT

Whole Person Counseling

(:  503.226.2771

*:  michael@whole-person-counseling.com

Website: Whole Person Counseling

Blog: The Personal Authenticity Project

Schedule Your Appointment Here: Online Appointment Booking

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The receptive inward feminine, and active outward masculine principles have been estranged for a millennium. It is common knowledge the imbalance of these natural aspects of humanity has created a mess. It plays out in a multitude of ways.

The receptive feminine aspect of ourselves receives Divine guidance by getting quiet and going within. The active masculine aspect takes action, brings this guidance into form and moves it out into the world.

The mind, properly used is in service to the heart to bring it’s passions into form. When we can honor both the heart and mind for their equally valuable gifts to one another we will enjoy a delicious, nurturing love affair within ourselves. This love affair will reverberate out and we will experience harmony in our world.

As well as experiencing dryer skin in this “Vata” time of year, do you find yourself more anxious, flighty and spacey?  It is probably more than “the Holidays.”  Your Vata dosha is more than likely out of balance, which merely means nature is delivering an abundance of vata like qualities in the form of cooler temperatures, and blustery winds.  This can tip us a bit over the edge emotionally and physically.

You don’t need to feel blown away by vata’s high season.  Choose nurturing lifestyle choices which will help keep you grounded. Read more »

Remain true to the earth, my brethren, with the power of your virtue! Let your bestowing love and your knowledge be devoted to be the meaning of the earth! Thus do I pray and conjure you.

Let it not fly away from the earthly and beat against eternal walls with its wings! Ah, there hath always been so much flown-away virtue!

Lead, like me, the flown-away virtue back to the earth- yea, back to body and life: that it may give to the earth its meaning, a human meaning!

~ The character of Zarathustra in Thus Spake Zarathustra

by Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), German philosopher

For far too many spiritual seekers, their spiritual aspiration is like an iron maiden of virtue whose inner critic spikes ceaselessly stab our all-too-human souls. We envision becoming “spiritual” as transcending our humanity rather than becoming more fully human.

Modeling their behavior according to ideas of spirituality that they have read in books, many seekers I meet are genuinely upset with their humanity. Read more »

In my work, I get to see the underbelly of our social order: the patterns of unhappiness and hardship which we suffer alone, but which are shared by others in epidemic proportions. These are the disorders of society which breed widespread personal unhappiness.

James Hillman, Jungian analyst, alludes to just such a societal disorder when he comments that one of the hardest things which he has to treat is his clients’ schedules. Hillman notes that their schedules are their defenses against change. Said another way, your personal organizer is your defense. Your to-do list is your personal tyrant. Your busyness is your soul’s captor. We haven’t the time to allow into our lives the changes that would be a salve to our souls.

Another expression of this societal disorder is a profoundly unhappy friend who regularly works 60 to 80 hour weeks. When asked why she doesn’t refuse to work such hours, she replies, “I can’t.” She’s is afraid of losing her job, although she is losing her soul. She notes her company’s informal motto is “excellence through anxiety.” I kid you not. It reminds me of another person who mentioned his company’s informal motto is “excellence through paranoia.” Read more »

Imagine you’re playing a card game. A very unusual card game. Matter of fact, it’s a game you play every day. It’s called, “Life”. Every day, you’re dealt the cards of your life situation. Every day the same other player wins. Here’s today’s play.

The cards are dealt: today’s life situation.

The first player throws out a judgment. “It shouldn’t be like this!”

The next player tosses in an expectation. “I’m disappointed.”

The third player slams down an argument. Read more »

Do you use shop therapy to feel better when you’re depressed? When you see something you want, do feel the need to buy it as if driven by an unseen force? Are you over your head in debt but keep on shopping anyway? Is your spending affecting your relationships and personal life? Do you find yourself feeling depressed and guilty after a big shopping spree?

If you have all or a few of the signs above, you may be a compulsive spender or “shopaholic”.

Psychologists have defined the compulsive spender as a person who occupies so much time shopping or thinking about shopping that it affects their life in an adverse way. This can lead to broken relationships, low self esteem, depression and guilt. Psychologists have also said that guilty feelings actually make the problem worse, turning it into a vicious cycle. Compulsive shoppers try and soothe the guilt and depression by going out and shopping….again.

Luckily, if you are a compulsive shopper, you are not alone. There are groups and meetings that can help support you in your endeavor to stop compulsive spending. I’ve also put together some tips to help you get your shopping under control.

Read more »

I am a classic witch in the woods. You have to drive up a windy dirt road to get to my home. No neighbors in sight, although they are tucked away here and there so that I have community. Outside, medicine is growing everywhere; inside it is drying everywhere. When I’m not playing with my herbs I am gardening, gathering wild mushrooms or other seasonal bounty, cooking, writing, sitting around the fire, hanging with other women. I sleep with my cat who is a dainty, fierce, huntress that is shamelessly adored by me and everyone else who happens to come to my home.

Several years ago I was told that coffee trashes my kidneys. Knowing that they support the amount of sexual energy, (Qi) I have, I knew immediate action was required. That was one thing I wasn’t willing to compromise. I found a basic recipe for an herbal coffee substitute, played around with some roots from my yard, added a little local honey and dark chocolate and magically came up with a decoction that is a powerful tonic for the liver, kidneys and heart while building the blood and Qi. Add a little cream and you have a delicious latte. How’s that for a little magic? I hope you enjoy it!

Read more »

Do you find yourself procrastinating and avoiding things you know you should be doing? Does procrastination get in the way of your peace of mind and livelihood?

Procrastination is something that we all do to one extent or another. We’ve all been there. We put off tasks or projects that we’re not excited about until the last minute. Meanwhile, our “to do list” gets out of control, everything piles up, and we feel so stressed out we want to scream, “Calgon take me away!”

Why Do We Procrastinate?

Procrastination helps us to avoid unpleasant activities we don’t want to do. Procrastination allows us to temporarily enjoy an escape from dreaded tasks by creating a distraction, giving us the illusion of relief. Unfortunately, procrastination tricks us into thinking that we can relax and enjoy ourselves; when in reality, our stress and tension only continues to build.

Procrastination the Productivity Buster

Procrastination affects your time management and productivity for several reasons. Procrastination causes you to feel guilty and weighs you down. It’s a heavy feeling on your shoulders that takes up unneccssary energy that you could be using to bring in more money for your business. Guilt can cause physical illnesses, anxiety, and depression. It affects your mindset and tricks you into thinking and feeling like you’re “not good enough.”

“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.” – Don Marquis

Read more »

You are refreshing and vital as the air; graceful and tender as sparkling
Water; lustrous and consuming as flames of fire, generous and enveloping
As space and stable and deep as the earth… You, elemental woman, are
Perfect beauty itself.

When we talk about beauty in the context of Ayurveda, it should be perfectly clear from the start that we are not talking about market-driven ideals of the moment.  In Ayurveda, inner and outer beauty are intimately related.  The more we nurture ourselves, the more radiant we become physically and expressively – regardless of our particular body shape or proportions.

In keeping with the general orientation of eastern philosophy and healing, beauty can be viewed as having three aspects; an outer, inner, and secret aspect. When one balances the outer and inner, one has accomplished the secret aspect.

Outer beauty is what we most commonly associate with the field of beauty.  It is the perfection of what is visually perceived.  It includes the obvious traits such as contours of the body, texture of the skin, and the quality of the hair and nails.  But in Ayurveda, it also includes grace in posture and movement and the subtle qualities of freshness, vitality and magnetizing brightness of being. Ayurveda has always understood beauty to be the product of general physical health and appropriate daily care.  It is not just a cosmetic event.  The emphasis is on self knowledge and development of positive routines and habits that literally bring out the best in ourselves.

Read more »