The Eye of the Paradox
Over twenty years ago, the philosopher Jacob Needleman invited me to submit a manuscript. I did. He then rejected my little stack of paper. He said, "You have to work this over until it rings with truth, like a bell. This is very hard." This book is my latest effort at working it over until it rings true. Now, I deeply appreciate Dr. Needleman's original rejection as one of the dearest teachings of my life.

For me, philosophy is a way of finding and maintaining basic sanity in a world filled with contradictions. It is learning how to live with paradox. The place of calm within the storm. Like the eye of the hurricane. Hence, the title of this collection of essays.

The particular is within the universal; and the universal is found in the particular. The personal and impersonal are interrelated like the two modes of the yin-yang symbol. These essays are about about my life as well as life in general. By placing these two contexts together, I hope to provide some guiding perspective.

I believe there are no final absolute answers to the paradoxes of life. My essays are open ended, and written in the spirit of being subject to constant revision. In the end, I will contradict myself as new evidence comes to the surface.

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