Carl Abbott

Cease Treading Water and Just Sink

Many people tend to think the benefits of yoga are increased flexibility and balance. To me, this is just icing on the cake. Yoga helps me know myself more deeply than anything else I do. As William Shakespeare observed, “To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou […]

Enjoy What You Do – or – Do What You Enjoy?

A tricky part of life lies in how our biology constantly pushes us to do what we enjoy and pulls us away from what we don’t enjoy. This makes work feel like work. This stress is normally avoidable when work feels truly meaningful, if not enjoyable. Here, work can feel restful, or as chapter 56 […]

The Glare Hides ‘Out There’ From View

The glare of emotion, “the flames of desire”, as Buddha put it, obscures our view. All we can see are the objects of our passion. As those flames die down and the glare subsides, we are gradually able to see what is truly ‘out there’. Peering through the darkness what do we see ‘out there’? Strain […]

The illusion of ‘moment’

There is no true moment, per se. I create an illusion of moment by striving and holding on. And, my imaginations of past and future add to this illusion. When I give up striving, the illusion of moment shifts to the space-time continuum, so to speak. The past, present, and future all begin to blend […]

Consciousness Physics

My old friend Andy and I differ on what accounts for consciousness: Andy says consciousness is a characteristic of sophisticated nervous systems and thus diminishes down the phylogenetic scale. In his view, consciousness is a consequence of a nervous system’s myriad sensory input, making any creature “down the phylogenetic scale” less conscious than those up […]

A Taoist Solution to Gay Marriage

Ideally, all governmental actions should be impartial, right? As chapter 79 reminds us, It is the way of heaven to show no favoritism. Being human, politicians choose sides rather than seeking impartiality. I guess heaven is heaven and earth is earth, and never the twain shall meet. Yet, we can hope. Here’s an idea Instead […]

Emotion Clear-cuts Perception

Emotion clear-cuts the natural diversity of original, unfiltered perception. Certainly, this is an innate survival adaptation. Any conscious being would require a way to filter out extraneous sensory input to avoid sensory overload and ensuing chaos. Emotion helps perception focus on that which has an immediate bearing on survival. Now, consider the added filtering effect […]

Right Mindfulness, Attentiveness, and Concentration?

Right Mindfulness, Attentiveness, and Concentration (1) are three folds in Buddha’s Eight Fold Path. Just what is the difference between these approximate synonyms? Over the years, I’ve split many hairs trying to resolve this issue. Don’t they all refer to closely related states of mental awareness? Google [Specialis Revelio! It’s Not Magic, It’s Neuroscience] for […]

The best tao? (road, way, principle, speak, think)

Waking up following a pleasant afternoon’s nap, I found myself reflecting on the best way to approach life. By “way” I mean tao, and tao (道 dào) translates to road, way, principle; speak; think. Why do we have endless debates over the way to approach life, what to do and how to do it? This […]

The trick lies in not believing, yet believing

I go on and on about the folly of trusting word meaning. Yet, I think, speak, and write. How do I pull off this apparent hypocrisy and still maintain intellectual integrity? That isn’t difficult really. Indeed, it is no different from watching a movie, and yet knowing that it is make-believe. Please Note: Some essays […]

What is ‘the Tao’ actually?

The Tao Te Ching begins with The Tao that can be spoken of is not the constant Tao. This line from chapter 1 literally translates to “way can speak, not constant way” (道可道, 非常道). “Way” (Tao or Dao) literally translates as: road, way, path, principle, speak, think, suppose. Nothing said beyond those definitions is constant. […]

Think what you believe? Believe what you think?

I had a discussion recently with a Christian friend about belief. For me, pondering the process of believing is far more interesting than the content of any belief, so you won’t find me debating the existence of God. Instead, I’d wonder why people believe in God. Clearly, we emotionally need to trust the veracity of our words […]