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A Hsin Hsin Ming Journey – Part 2

In this post I’m continuing the journey through the Zen poem, Hsin Hsin Ming (click here to purchase your copy). You can read part 1 here. The Hsin Hsin Ming is such a beautiful piece of art. As with any work of art, it is subject to many interpretations. However, in reality, no interpretation is…

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A Hsin Hsin Ming Journey – Part 1

Written by Seng-t’san, the Third Chinese Zen Patriarch, around 600CE, the Hsin Hsin Ming is a beautiful Zen poem considered to be one of the very first, if not the first, Chinese Zen documents written. I hope to walk through some, if not all, of this profound Zen poem in this series I’ll call “A…

Rick Questions Things nonduality zen buddhism alan watts enlightenment realization spirituality christianity taoism tao hinduism exchristian expastor jesus ex-christian ex-pastor advaita vedanta i ching readings galveston tx houston nondual houston philosophy houston atheist houston agnostic houston zen houston tao houston advaita houston exchristian houston buddha houston buddhism galveston exchristian galveston zen galveston tao galveston philosophy galveston atheist galveston agnostic galveston christian galveston jesus galveston buddha galveston buddhism atheism theism no labels

Beyond the Dance of Atheism and Theism

On a walk yesterday, I was thinking about and jotted down (typed really) a few quick notes about labels and the pressure from all around to label oneself this or that. I’m sure you relate to this pressure in one way or another. For example, in my own experience theists desperately want me to be…

Living in the Present

We often hear so many people state the need of living in the present. “You’ve got to let go of the past, forget about the future, and live in the present. Keep yourself in the present.” As a result, many people find themselves desperately trying to live in the present by constantly keeping watch over…

42 Rick Questions Things

42 and The End of All Questions

Hello again everyone. If you keep up with my content, you’ll have surely noticed that I’ve been on a hiatus for the last 6 or 7 months. I’ve taken a break entirely from writing, creating videos, doing live talks, Q&A’s, and interviews. From this side looking back, the break was a natural one. In other…

Mindful Stacking Rocks

The Myth of Mindfulness

Mindfulness has become somewhat of a buzzword in recent times. “Be mindful” is the popular mantra of many. In this post, The Myth of Mindfulness, I want to shed light on what mindfulness is not (hyperfixation on “things” or “actions”, nor a quick fix for all of life’s supposed problems) and consider what it truly…

Sunrise - The Truth Behind the Resurrection of Jesus

The Truth Behind the Resurrection of Jesus

As I write this article, it is currently around Easter and the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are hot topics on the minds of Christians right now. I’ve been asked my thoughts on the topic of the resurrection as an ex-pastor and ex-Christian. In this post I’ll share a few of my thoughts on the…

Sunset Beach - Coming of Jesus

What is Meant by the Coming of Jesus

In this post we’ll take a look at what I consider to be one of the clearest passages on the topic of the return of Jesus. We’ll discover what the coming of Jesus actually means, and why it is certain that Jesus will never return. The World Waits Generation after generation waits for the immanent…

Two Ex-Christian Pastors and an Ex-Muslim (A Conversation)

Monday, I had the absolute privilege of being a guest on Farhan Qureshi’s (ex-Muslim) podcast along with David Avedon (ex-Christian pastor)! What a great experience and opportunity to have an insightful and thought-provoking conversation with others who have found themselves on a path of self-realization. Coming from such different, but also in many ways similar…

Original Face - Going Deeper into Nonduality

Going Deeper into Nonduality

I would like to follow up on a previous post titled “3 Practices to Experience Nonduality” and dive just a bit deeper into the vast ocean of being that is all things. Deeper into this profound realization as we understand our true nature as existence itself, and offer a practice to help experience this great…