The Messenger To begin, I want to say how much I appreciate your attention to these monthly essays. We’re all drawn to topics that relate...

Happiness can’t possibly be a choice, can it? We’re somehow happy or unhappy, depending on the situation. A good mood is elusive....

There are wise men and women who say we should approach every task in life as a meditation. We should be present and attentive, no matter...

Students often ask how they can get their families to understand this teaching. “How can I get my kids to practice the four agreements?”...

They say people don’t change. And they’re usually right. It’s easy to be cynical about someone else, saying, “He is what he is, and he’ll...

So much of what we see going on in the world is mirrored in our interactions with each other. We see nations testing other nations,...

There are lessons that gain strength through repetition. There are some, on the other hand, that lose their impact when mentioned too...

Marking the end of one year and the beginning of another is fun. It’s a birthday celebration. It’s a salute to past accomplishments and...

Like any season, the holidays can be a time for rest and contemplation…or a time of trial. We may get a break from work, but what awaits...

The subject of broken things has come up a lot lately. Someone I know broke a piece of art. Someone else broke a promise. Another suffers...

Don Miguel has reminded us often that the mind is a mirror, but it’s good to have that lesson repeated now and then. Let me show you why....

Like me, you’re probably still holding on to odd bits of knowledge from high school. You might still be able bring up names of capitol...

Heat and drought. Fire and flood. Melting polar caps. Rising seas. Pollution and pandemics.…sounds like business as usual in the ongoing...

Independence Day is being celebrated this month in the U.S. Other countries do the same thing for the same reasons. They pay tribute to...

Once, during a Toltec Dreaming workshop many years ago, don Miguel asked his students (of which I was one) to stand in front of a mirror....

Parents sometimes ask me how they can impart this teaching to their children. Don Miguel has often been asked the same question. Every...

Many years ago, I had a friend who was a big part of my life and my family’s life. One day, however, she decided not to be my friend...

A friend once spoke to me about constantly having to push a certain memory away, because it caused him so much emotional pain. He wanted...

Rumi, the Sufi poet, once told a story about a guy who worked for years as a tanner. His job was to soften rawhide, using manure to turn...

I’ve been giving some thought lately to where we can go when we’re not “allowed” to go anywhere. You could say this is the same message...