MSI Press Blog

  We live in a world that loves compartments. Work here, family there, creativity somewhere else — as if life were a set of tidy boxes stacked on a shelf. But the truth is, nothing stays in its box for long. Everything leaks, overlaps, influences, and transforms everything else. The conversation you had with a friend shapes the tone of your next meeting. The way you care for your animals teaches you patience with people. The frustration you feel in one area of life often reveals what’s missing in another. Every thread touches every other thread. When we start to see life as a web instead of a grid, the patterns become clearer. The failures we thought were isolated turn out to be connected to our growth. The random encounters that seemed meaningless become turning points. The small kindness we offered ripples outward in ways we’ll never fully see. Connection is not just a spiritual idea — it’s a practical truth. The health of one part of our life affects the others. The energy we br...

  We live in a world that loves compartments. Work here, family there, creativity somewhere else — as if life were a set of tidy boxes stacked on a shelf. But the truth is, nothing stays in its box for long. Everything leaks, overlaps, influences, and transforms everything else. The conversation you had with a friend shapes the tone of your next meeting. The way you care for your animals teaches you patience with people. The frustration you feel in one area of life often reveals what’s missing in another. Every thread touches every other thread. When we start to see life as a web instead of a grid, the patterns become clearer. The failures we thought were isolated turn out to be connected to our growth. The random encounters that seemed meaningless become turning points. The small kindness we offered ripples outward in ways we’ll never fully see. Connection is not just a spiritual idea — it’s a practical truth. The health of one part of our life affects the others. The energy we br...

Excerpt from Good Blood, Edition 2 (Schaffer): Foreword by Arjia Rinpoche I was enjoying the sun rays shining through the giant red wood trees after a stormy winter day in Mill Valley when my dear friend Naomi walked up the stone steps with an attractive lady. She introduced her as Irit. Right after our introduction, Irit and I got into a long conversation about our backgrounds. Suddenly, I found myself in memory lane feeling as if I were right back in Tibet in the 1950s. But then quickly I realized I was still in Mill Valley -- just telling my story. Both Irit and I felt deeply connected, and from that moment on, we were able to develop a close friendship because we had shared our memories. Even though, we were from different cultures, we had faced similar challenges in life. When I was a small boy in Tibet, I had been wrenched from my secure monastery during the Religious Reform Movement of the 1950s and made to divest myself of my monastic robes and attend a Chines...

Every faith, in its own language, speaks of a call — a summons from the sacred to awaken, to act, to love. Whether heard as the voice of God, the whisper of the Spirit, or the pulse of universal consciousness, this call invites humanity into relationship with something greater than itself. Though the words differ, the longing is shared. Judaism: The Call as Covenant In Judaism, the call of God is relational — a covenant between the Divine and the people. It’s not merely a summons to belief but to responsibility . The Hebrew prophets heard God’s voice as a call to justice, mercy, and remembrance: “Hear, O Israel.” Listening itself becomes sacred. The call is not abstract; it’s embodied in ethical action — feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, repairing the world ( tikkun olam ). To hear God is to respond with deeds. Christianity: The Call as Invitation to Love For Christians, the call of God is personal and transformative — “Follow me.” It’s a call to relationship through Christ,...