What’s the Definition of a “Mistake”?

mistake oops

Are mistakes possible? We often say, “I made a mistake.” Yet, most Judeo-Christian religions believe God makes no mistakes. If there are no mistakes, can we even define the word “mistake”? What would the definition be? If God makes no mistakes that means your child with a heart defect was not a mistake, hurricane Sandy [...]

Do You Know What Test You Are Taking in This Lifetime?

taking a test

Last night I watched a documentary called Praying with Lior, about a child with Downs Syndrome who loves to pray. There were many interesting concepts discussed  in this film, such as why a child with Downs Syndrome would be so attracted to prayer. However, it’s easy enough to conclude that for some reason his “condition” [...]

How Do You Know When It’s the End?

Not that long ago I went to see the movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I have to admit, I’d seen the trailer (below) and was charmed by it in many ways but in particular by a line said by one of the main characters, Sonny, who, as it turns out says this several times [...]

What Constitues a Disaster Lies in the Eyes of the Beholder

Town washed away in Japanese Tsunami

Two days after the tremendous earthquake in Japan I was watching the news. I don’t actually watch the news that often, but I wanted to see what was happening in Japan and also how the tsunami had affected the California coastline. I had heard that Santa Cruz, just 20 minutes from where I live–had born [...]

Prevent Yourself from Focusing or Talking About People's Flaws

Be not like a fly seeking sore spots. Cover up your neighbor’s flaws, and reveal them not to the world. This saying, which comes from a traditional Jewish ethical text, always conjures up somewhat nasty images in my head of wounds covered with flies. Yet, it’s a potent image–and effective. I try to remember this [...]

A Testament to the Human Will to Survive

This video pretty much says it all…Human’s have a huge ability to survive even the worst situations–even concentration camps. Yet, many of us feel we can’t survive much less difficult situations in our lives. We need only look at the huge suicide rates in teens to know that this is true. Here we have a [...]

How to Turn Negatives Into Positives

positive and negative

Is there something about yourself that you consider a “negative,” something you think of as a detriment to your career or resume? Maybe you didn’t graduate from college or you’ve changed jobs often or English isn’t your first language. Today, figure out how to turn that so-called negative into a positive. Make it an attribute. [...]

How to Create Upward Movement When Life Gets You Down

bono-220

Everyone’s talking about U2 front man Bono, who was saved from possible paralysis by emergency back surgery this past Friday. His rehab program requires an eight week recuperation necessitating postponing the North American leg of the band’s U2 360 Tour and canceling next month’s Glastonbury, England, appearance. What happens to you when you have a [...]

Seeing the Good in Everything that Happens

Rabbi Gam Zu

Lots of human potential and personal growth experts will tell you that everything happens for a reason. I often say the same thing. This means there must be some good in every event. This teaching can also be found in Judaism. In fact, we have a famous saying that comes from one of our Talmudic [...]

Breaking the Habit of Speaking Evil

speak no evil

I’ve been thinking today about the benefits of speaking no evil. You see, I was writing a post for my Examiner column on the topic, and, as often happens, that got me thinking in much more general terms. Let me back track a bit. How often do we each speak badly of others–which basically constitutes [...]