How can we create spaces of creative silence in our busy networked lives? Silence allows us to be in touch with our inner selves, to hear the prompting of our soul. Silence gives us the chance to sense, and participate in, the universal rhythm. Silence is important not just when we meditate.

However, I can be harmful through silence. If I fail to speak up when something needs to be said or someone needs to be defended, then I have responsibility for the harmful consequences of that silence. I can also “wound” another person by withdrawing into silence as a punishment.

Try this for a week: Each day notice one time when you feel particularly centered or “in the flow.” Surround that moment with a few seconds of shining silence and see how you feel.

We know that global warming, population expansion, and resource depletion are serious problems – scientists have been telling us this for years. What is our role in changing all this?

Certainly we need to stop our behaviors that are creating the problems. But is it really our role to act unilaterally to fix things? Aren’t we overlooking the role of Gaia, our intelligent biosphere? Gaia has already survived five mass extinctions. Wouldn’t it be more effective if we worked in partnership with Gaia, learning from the adaptations that Gaia makes for survival?

Try this for a week: Each day look for one example of how Gaia adapts to changing circumstances, and think about how we could emulate or cooperate with Gaia.

How do you view your life? Do you believe in continuity of consciousness and that we choose certain karmic lessons or debts to be repaid in each life? Or do you believe that this is your only life?

If we have more than one life, isn’t it possible that each is different? One life might be a time to learn new lessons or grow in new ways. Another life might be one where we enjoy the benefits of having honed a skill in a previous life (a possible explanation for child geniuses). Still another life might be a resting time. If so, what are the implications for developmental psychology and how we think of maturation?

What kind of life do you feel you are living? What are the implications for your choices?

How can we stop feeling entitled to have whatever we want whenever we want it? We don’t seem content any longer with just sufficiency. We get caught up in “more is better.”

Think for a moment: How many changes of clothing do you have? How much extra bedding? I know I have much more than I actually need. I’m not suggesting that we pare back to the bare minimum. But I am suggesting that we become mindful of what we assume we need.

Try this for a week: Whenever you are about to say “need,” substitute “want” (unless it actually is a need). So instead of saying, “I need a new coat,” say “I want a new coat.” See how you feel.

Any other ideas for how we can shift from “more is better” to contentment?

When you hear “harmless,” do you think of something dynamic and positive? Or do you imagine a kind of wimpy inoffensiveness? Most spiritual traditions have harmlessness as a positive virtue, and yet most of us view it as an absence (of harm), a lack (of having any impact).

In actuality, living in a harmless manner can be very challenging, especially if we accept that we are all part of an interconnected energy field. So whatever we do or say or feel affects others.

Try this for a week: Each day notice one time when you chose to be harmless rather than harmful. What helped you make that choice? What difference did that choice make in you?