Cliff Heegel Ph.D.

People do not come to my office because of physical or emotional pain- they come see me because they are suffering. I like that old saying ‘pain is inevitable, suffering is optional’. There is a big difference between authentic emotion and human suffering. Suffering is a fact of the human condition. However, it is not [...]

About that word ‘zen’. Don’t be scared of the word zen. After all, it is just a word. The word ‘zen’ has a lot of different meanings.  In the context of me and my psychology practice, zen is simply a word that points to Awareness Practice. Although zen originated as a Japanese Buddhist practice, it [...]

Living a serene life is not difficult for those who are not caught up in attachment or aversion. When attachment  and  aversion are both absent, everything is clear and simple. However, if you get caught in the mind when it starts to make judgments about how things should be different, your serenity is split apart. [...]

It is not about getting it right It is not about being good It is not about changing yourself It is not about becoming something you aren’t It is not about doing the right thing It is not about other people It is not even about other people treating you right, or treating you wrong. It [...]

You are what observes, not what you observe. If that is true, then… ? What are you certain of? Anything? Nothing? It is important.