Insight and Energy

08/21/2026

https://smpl.ro/wsp-fb
Let's meet monthly, September 26 to December 12, for Wisdom and Communication webinars! Pick the ones you want, or all four.

07/15/2026

𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥-𝗦𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗦𝗗𝗢𝗠 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦

This live, interactive online series combines insights and practical daily life guidance based on 𝗡𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 and 𝗭𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺. You can join these sessions from anywhere that has an Internet connection. Meetings are on Saturdays 11am to 1pm ET (UTC -4), starting September 26th, through December 12th. Choose one or more, or the whole series.

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁: https://smpl.ro/wsp-fb

Through engaging presentations and discussion, participants explore ways to find more peace and fulfillment, communicate more clearly, and handle relations with others, including connection as well as conflict, more skillfully.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀:
* Being a Leader, Being Led, and "Power With"
* Karma and Finding Your Liberated Mind
* Enjoying the Difficult Conversation and Making Things Better
* The Zen of Visionary Poet and Artist William Blake, and Our Human Potential

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱

David B. Alexander teaches effective and enjoyable communication to individuals and couples, as well as to executives and business owners, so that they can thrive in the social and working world in which we all live. A primary focus for his communication work is an approach called Nonviolent Communication, or "NVC".

NVC emphasizes authenticity in communication, but authenticity based on an empathetic understanding of self and others. NVC expression can be loud or quiet, diplomatic or direct, but is always intended to benefit all parties who are involved.

As a licensed psychotherapist, David also finds value in gestalt therapy principles, existential therapy, and modern psychoanalytic understanding. These are all approaches towards awakening for a fulfilling life.

In addition to psychotherapy work, he has been studying Zen since the age of 20 and Tai Chi Chuan since the age of 25, and has been teaching since the early 1990s.

𝑃𝑠𝑦𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝑌𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑙𝑦𝑛 𝐻𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠, 𝑁𝑌. 𝐴 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 15-𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑦. 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑖𝑛𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙. 𝑊𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑣𝑖𝑎 https://www.insightandenergy.com/contact See less

06/27/2026

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗬𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦

Most of us reading here are fairly comfortable. How to judge that? If you have a cell phone. Or buy an outside coffee a few times a week. Or travel on vacation now and then. And so on. And for many people, that is below even what they consider a bare minimum for a comfortable or “successful” life.

When talking about comfort, I am not talking about absence of all financial worries, but being able to manage, having a roof over your head and enough to eat, even if that may require some government or food pantry help.

There is nothing wrong with having material comfort, as long as that does not become an obsession. But more important, what is your purpose for living and for taking action, day after day, and how big is that purpose?

The question I want to raise today is not about what is experienced day after day by many other people all over the world: no or limited clean water, constant threatening hunger, and conflict including violence in one’s community or country.

Instead, the question is this: with all the comfort and convenience we live with, why are we not all just happy? And what does this tell us about our human nature? 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲: https://smpl.ro/article-fb

06/21/2026

The concept of a stable consciousness is an illusion, for animals, for artificial intelligence implementations, and for human beings.

Regarding human nature, to be more specific, the concept of ongoing consciousness created and experienced by an individual person assumes that 1) there is a stable "real" person even though we are changing at every moment, and 2) that thought patterns are stable and have some solidity even though they are constantly changing.

Yes, there are some patterns to our behavior and our thoughts, but when debating whether 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 are "conscious", a large part of the lack of clarity comes from the solid belief that humans are conscious. We want to believe that, yet our thoughts, desires, actions, and our existence, all come and go.

There is nothing stable to hold on to, including consciousness. And yet, that is also our freedom.

So if the question is whether artificial intelligence implementations are "conscious", I would respond by saying that they are as conscious as human beings. Why ask whether such an implementation is conscious?

Their specific version of thinking is different, and less flexible, but there is no dividing line or even inherent difference between the mind of an animal or artificial intelligence implementation, and that of a human being.

06/19/2026

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿: https://smpl.ro/wsp-fb

The Communication and Wisdom Series, Spring 2026 completed, and the 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 is now available. You can sign up for all four online events, or for one or more of them.

Take a two-hour break from your busy life, and find both peace and inspiration. As human beings we can and should have both. Join us for meaningful presentations and conversation.

If the only thing you want right now is to be kept in the loop, with event information and original articles, you can sign up for the newsletter here: https://insightandenergy.simplero.com/page/210705

06/10/2026

Are you confused about how people can have beliefs that are so irrational (or appear to be)? Are you worried about where our country's mental health and society as a whole are headed?

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿: https://smpl.ro/child-society-fb

Would you like to find out how to be a positive influence, while also better understanding others and yourself?

This webinar includes discussion of the source of conspiracy theories and the reason people move towards authoritarian choices for government.

The presentation and conversation will be about how we got here and how to improve things through real connections and self-knowledge. The result is to help make ourselves and those around us happier and healthier. Can you join us in that conversation?

Saturday, June 13 · 11am – 1pm ET Does it seem confusing and strange how American society, and to some degree many societies around the world, h...

06/06/2026

See other events: https://smpl.ro/wsp-fall-fb

Join me for a live, online presentation and conversation: how multiple factors shape our society, including our childhood and our choices as adults.

The presentation and conversation will be about how we got here and how to improve things through real connections and self-knowledge. The result is to help make ourselves and those around us happier and healthier.

05/25/2026

I would like to share with you my appreciation of a William Carlos Williams poem, "The Red Wheelbarrow".

But I will also share a small glimpse into the life I sometimes live in the Zen world, which is actually everywhere, but which is my special focus when I am at the Zen Mountain Monastery in Mt. Tremper, near Woodstock, NY.

Here is the William Carlos Williams poem:

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens

******************

It requires a certain receptiveness to get what the poem is saying.

The simple imagery, and even the arrangement of the words and the white spaces between pairs of lines, all contributes to an experience that is the real poem behind the poem.

It is, for me, an American version of the Japanese haiku concept.

*** 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://insightandenergy.simplero.com/page/210705 ***

So much depends on this very moment. It is even true for not just a red wheelbarrow, but also for a gray-brown wheelbarrow, next to some freshly growing plants. It has been there for two weeks, sitting patiently.

When the mind slows down and stops worrying where the next distraction, pleasure, or worry will come from, the world is amazing, as it is. Can we appreciate these moments, hours, and days?

For the last eight years, I have spent many mornings and evenings at the Zen Mountain Monastery in Mt. Tremper, near Woodstock, meditating and sharing in the community. I go back to Long Island for long weekends, and then return upstate.

Before that, for 40 years I have been in other practice communities, mostly in New York City.

What does this add up to? There is a "peace that passes all understanding" infusing not only this harmonious place, but everywhere.

It is all in the Mind! It is a peace not from avoidance of stress, but a peace that is a fundamental aspect of our human nature, and it is always present.

And beyond that is a realization that even the idea of "peace" cannot be held onto.

The idea of "peace" limits the true and ultimate freedom of our mind which we know when the mind is not stuck on any one thing.

Let's talk about all this: Zen and most important, what life can be.

05/09/2026

𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗦𝗢𝗖𝗜𝗘𝗧𝗬, 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗘

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙕𝙚𝙣, 𝙉𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙮 𝙔𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙏𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙈𝙚 𝘼𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙋𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 (𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡) 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙩

Many people in this country are struggling to pay bills let alone to thrive. In addition, the strong disagreement of belief systems in politics, science, and health issues creates a background of conflict that can make it harder to progress in solving our problems together, as a unified society. And the conflict adds to everyone’s stress.

So what to do? 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 (if you were going to do so), let’s talk.

Being positive in our perception and behavior towards other people makes life better. May I share with you how I see that applying, in quite a practical way, to things that are going on in the United States?

𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗿𝗲:
1) it is easy to find individuals or groups to blame for any problem.
2) attaching blame does not fix problems, while exploring to understand causes can be helpful.

What I see online, and hear occasionally from people around me, is that “the others” are idiots, or are ignorant, or are intentionally destructive or even evil. Seeing that kind of sentiment expressed makes me wish that we could all see a better way.

If you stop thinking about “the others” as idiots, crazy, or evil, you can start to realize that is 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻!

I offer a different way to perceive and understand what is going on that is more real, and more helpful.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲: https://www.insightandenergy.com/sosfasp

04/14/2026

How do you find peace of mind along with meaningful engagement? Join me in these interactive sessions (LINK IS IN THE COMMENTS) to explore communication, Zen, and understanding of today's society and how we shape the world we are in.