Instead of crystallizing views of the self, the past, or ‘Life’, we can – based on profound insight and compassion – exercise a far-reaching pliability of view, and so open up the possibility of a lightness, a tenderness and blessedness to existence.

Throughout all schools of tantric gnosticism (Hindu, Buddhist, and in the Western Esoteric tradition), there's an emphasis on learning how to stay present in high sensation. By “high sensation” I mean both intense physical feelings like pain and pleasure—and also intense emotional feelings, like anger, fear, and lust.

in the Heart Sutra that says that there is “no path, no wisdom, and no gain.” I remember when I first realized that these lines seemed to directly contradict the message of the Four Noble Truths, which I had been taught was the basic formulation of the Buddha’s teaching. The line immediately preceding this one says that there is “no suffering, and