Re-Gain

My life completely changed when I began to truly listen. There is no greater speaking skill than the art of listening. Stillness and quiet bring profound benefits. By hearing beyond the voices and noise, I learn to accept my pain and vulnerability. Listen to your breath as if it were the ocean, each inhale and exhale rising and falling like waves. It is no accident that hear and here sound the same.   Listening beyond sound itself opens the door to presence, allowing me to explore the mystery of each moment. In deep silence, words and concepts dissolve into stillness.   For over thirty years, twice a month, I have gathered with a group where listening is practiced as meditation. I now pay closer attention to what others say, no longer distracted by rehearsing my own response. Instead of multiple voices competing with inner monologues, we practice insight dialogue. The silences—the gaps between words—are honored. In this space, I feel heard. There is no ju...

In the early 1980s, I was working as a residential mortgage broker when I bought my first home for $90,000. To make it possible, I took out a first mortgage and a second loan at 13% interest. Together, they totaled $149,000—an enormous burden driven by sky-high rates. From that moment on, I vowed to make interest work for me, not against me.   Today, our nation faces a similar burden—only this time, it’s not one household, but the entire country. America’s decline is being driven by spiraling debt.   Conservatives once prided themselves on fiscal restraint. That mantle has been abandoned. How can anyone claim the title of “conservative” while presiding over runaway borrowing that accelerates inflation and erodes the nation’s economic foundation?   The numbers speak for themselves. The U.S. national debt has surged past $38 trillion, just two months after crossing $37 trillion. That’s a $1 trillion increase in barely eight weeks—an astonishing $5...

At my fiftieth high school reunion last weekend, I reunited with the son of Senator Frank Church. In 1971, I had the honor of interviewing Senator Church—the statesman who dared to expose the CIA’s abuses of power. A decade later, I testified before Congress myself.   Over the years, I have spoken at every level of government because I believe in the process of lawmaking—and in the sacred duty of citizens to speak truth to power.   Today, that duty is under siege. Peaceful protesters are being met with indictments, intimidation, and even the deployment of the National Guard in our cities. The irony is bitter: James Comey’s actions helped Donald Trump ascend to the presidency, yet Trump now cries “insurrection” in Democratic strongholds—while failing to defend the Capitol itself, where police officers were killed and injured.   We are drifting into a Brave New World of doublespeak, where dissent is branded as danger and patriotism is twisted into...

I am a Baby Boomer.  I just attended my fiftieth Walt Whitman high school reunion. I’m a third-generation Washingtonian—my father worked for Congress for forty years, and my grandfather was an economist at the USDA. I’ll soon be leaving the Edgemoor Club in Bethesda, where I’ve been a member for over sixty years—and once served as the pro. I was fortunate growing up, surrounded by adult mentors who modeled generosity and reciprocity. We still have a house in the neighborhood. I stand on the shoulders of the Greatest Generation—those who endured war, built infrastructure, and laid the foundation for prosperity. Yet I find myself deeply unsettled by what my own generation is leaving behind. With an estimated $84 trillion in accumulated wealth, Boomers hold unprecedented financial power. But what are we doing with it? Too little, I fear—for the future, for the environment, for the generations to come. I have no children of my own—just one nephew and one niece. And I often ...

I grew up as a Unitarian, so I suppose you could say I’m somewhat spiritually promiscuous. Over the past three decades, I’ve studied Buddhist philosophy with intensity and devotion.   I believe everyone can benefit from exploring Buddhist psychology. Still, I doubt the religion itself will ever become extremely popular—because most people don’t want to look directly at the sources of their suffering.   For me, becoming a Buddha—rather than simply identifying as a Buddhist—has eased my anxiety. Meditation and my reverence for being outdoors have been essential to my mental wellness. Accepting the suffering of others as also my own freed me from self‑pity.   For years, I struggled to relax and savor the moment. Part of that came from self‑medicating. Since my teenage years, I have smoked marijuana. Later, as it became more potent, I began drinking. I didn’t drown my troubles—I merely irrigated them. My anxiety only grew the more I obsessed over my...

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