Practicing the Presence of Peace     This is my non-religious "updating" of "The Practice of the Presence of God," a 17th Century spiritual classic written by Brother Lawrence. But this book shows how to retain peace during traffic jams,homework assignments, even election seasons..

The Potless Pot High: How to Get High, Clear and Spunky without Weed

     This is a fun little book that does exactly what it says it does: gets you high, just by reading.

How to Stop Smoking in 15 Easy Years: A Slacker’s Guide to Final Freedom

      If you're still smoking after many years of trying to quit, this radical little book will set you free.

How to Help Your Smoker Quit: A Brave and Happy Strategy

      If you have a smoker in the family, or close by, your reading this book will help you relate and help more than any other book around.

Happy John: An Advaita (Non-Duality) Gospel

      This is the Book of John (yes THE Book of John) rendered through a contemporary, non-dual point of view. "In the beginning was the word, and the word was Joy."

The Enlightened Smoker’s Guide to Quitting: Learn to Forget to Smoke

      A classic book that has helped smokers all over the world.

reading
writing
The Scientific Method
Self Inquiry
Non Duality
The Get High Method
Dream Study
Meditation
prayer
Study and Discussion Groups
Environmental and political activism
Games
Music
Movement: Dance, Yoga, Kriya
Public Service
The Most Dangerous Method

More Depth

The Most Practical Exercises On Earth

(The Freedom Exercise and The Peace Practice)

+++ Recent insights and understandings have led many of us at HMM to recognize that we don’t have to “do” anything at all, within or without, to access and experience our native peace and joy.(Thank God!)
+++ Nevertheless, for several decades our two most basic disciplines (for accessing our native peace and joy) were the “Peace Practice” and the “Freedom Exercise,” which most of us still practice, just because they are fun and so damned practical. So here are the Freedom Exercise and the Peace Practice. From long experience we know playing these games “works“ to enlighten the moment. For a more in depth look at these practices, see Bear’s book, Practicing the Presence of Peace. Enjoy…
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The Freedom Exercise

The Law of Happiness:
1. Enjoying my happiness is the most important thing for me and for everybody else.

The Link:
2. I enjoy my happiness when I enjoy the thoughts I am thinking.

The Question:
3. Whenever necessary, or appropriate, I ask, Am I enjoying this thought, yes or no? If the answer is not an immediate and spontaneous yes, it’s a no.

The Action:
4. If the answer is yes (I’m enjoying my thoughts,) perfect. I’m enjoying my happiness. If the answer is no (I’m not enjoying my thoughts) then, in order to practice my happiness, I have two options:

a. drop the thought(s) I’m not enjoying and find or create a thought I enjoy more;
or
b. choose to enjoy the thought which a moment before I didn’t enjoy.

When I am enjoying my happiness, I am free.
When I’m not enjoying my happiness, I’m not free.
That’s why this is called The Freedom Exercise!

(With deep thanks and appreciation to Christian Almayrac, M.D., who first articulated this basic life game!)

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ThePeace Practice

1. As monks and nuns of Heart Mountain Monastery (or simply as human beings walking on the earth) we have observed that the most practical thing we can do, for ourselves and everybody else, in every relationship and every circumstance, is to live our lives in peace.

2. We have observed that we live our lives in peace only when we are at peace with the thoughts we are thinking.

3. We observe that the most practical question we can ask ourselves, whenever necessary or appropriate, is, “Am I at peace with this thought (these thoughts, these stories?) yes or no? “

4. We observe that if the answer is not an immediate and spontaneous yes, it’s a no.

5. We observe that if the answer is yes (we are at peace with the thoughts we are thinking) that’s perfect. We need do nothing. We’re living in peace.

6. We observe that if the answer is no, (we’re not at peace with the thoughts we are thinking), then in order to return to peace, to live our lives in peace, we have two options:
a. drop the thought (or thoughts or stories) with which we are not at peace and find our create thoughts with which we are more at peace; or
b. choose to be at peace with the thoughts (and stories) with which a moment before we were not at peace.

7. We observe that it doesn’t make any difference whether we choose option a or option b, but rather what makes a difference is whether we are at peace with the thoughts we are thinking.