I was raised in a home where verbal assault, and sometimes physical assault, was regular. Although I am now over 50, I unfortunately retain an aggressive nature. I raised my first three children with impatience and an overly-firm hand. I now have a late-life child and for her sake, as well as my own, I don’t want to continue the destructive cycle of impatience and hyper-aggressiveness. I believe that after all this time of living in high-stress, it has become part of my physical and spiritual being — an addiction. How, through food, meditation and balancing, can I reverse the damage to myself and avoid damaging my precious baby? I want to live a peaceful, joyful, energetic, and “living in the moment” life. How?

I have spent many years learning about our spiritual selves and realize we all chose to reincarnate at some particular time to an exact set of parents in order to work through things in this lifetime so we can better evolve and move on and not have to go through this again and again and eventually become one with the universe. At least, that is my interpretation of life and spirituality. Do you agree? My question is why did I chose to have an alcoholic family around me and a mother that is selfish and forgive me, but sick in her mind? It has made my life and memories very hurtful. I have forged an almost normal life for myself but have never married. I am successful in my job, am financially steady, have friends, but there are some things missing. I am not sure how to even talk with her in that she is always drunk when I talk to her. Should I try the intervention approach? She lives in a different state 4 hrs. from me (on purpose, actually). My father died 3 yrs. ago on Christmas Eve when he was home on hospice care and she threw my brother and me out of the house and we had to stay with a neighbor for the night. What is your recommendation for healing through all this? I realize you are inundated with letters and emails, but if you will answer me, it just might make a difference.

How does one deal with betrayal?
And on top of that, a system of “justice” that invariably rules in favor of property rather than people?

I have been seriously betrayed by a man I lived with for many years. We signed an agreement 15 years ago that we would share ownership of a large apartment in Paris. which he purchased and I furnished. I’ve been living there, and maintaining the place for the past ten years; he has basically stayed in his home on the Côte d’Azur, coming to Paris from time to time.

Now, he has succeeded through a lengthy court action to seize ownership and evict me. He has trashed our contract (drawn up by a lawyer), and so has the court. He does not want to live in the apartment — he is going to sell it and quadruple his original investment. I get nothing.

Clearly, I am not asking for sympathy — I am getting that from my children and my friends. But I am asking how one deals with overwhelming betrayal, and a legal system that defends the betrayer. It is a crushing example of evil, on both a personal and cultural level.

I am sure you would not give the Christian answer of turning the other cheek, nor the Eastern answer of karma. In fact, I don’t recall that you ever addressed the question of malevolence in the world and in people….please do!

I am learning Vedanta for a year, I’ve just read your book The Ultimate Happiness Prescription, I understand that I am the true self what is the next step after that …I read all your book and went to one of your conferences. I took the M.T. meditation course but all that is experience but experience is nothing. Consciousness is important but you talk a lot of what to do to expand consciousness, but we are it.  So I wonder what should I do…next?