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The Subtle Teaching Zen Story
The Subtle Teaching is a Zen story that points to insight that cannot be grasped through instruction, explanation, or effort. Through an Internal Family Systems lens, this story reveals how parts search for clear teachings and techniques, while Self recognizes that understanding often arrives quietly, through presence, attunement, and what is not explicitly said.
2 min read
The True Path Zen Story
The True Path is a Zen story that dismantles the mind’s search for certainty, rules, and spiritual formulas. Through an Internal Family Systems lens, this story reveals how parts seek safety in fixed paths and clear answers, while Self invites a living responsiveness that unfolds moment by moment rather than through rigid direction.
2 min read
The Voice of Happiness Zen Story
The Voice of Happiness is a Zen story that reveals how joy arises when the mind stops chasing, grasping, or negotiating for fulfillment. Through an Internal Family Systems lens, this story shows how parts that seek happiness outside themselves can soften, allowing Self-led contentment to emerge through presence rather than pursuit.
2 min read
Nothing Exists Zen Story
Nothing Exists is a Zen story that confronts the mind’s attachment to concepts, labels, and fixed reality. Through an Internal Family Systems lens, this story reveals how parts cling to certainty and meaning, while Self invites a direct encounter with experience beyond ideas of existence or nonexistence.
2 min read
Ryokan’s Gift Zen Story
Ryokan’s Gift is a Zen story that reveals generosity without possession and presence without attachment. Through an Internal Family Systems lens, this story shows how Self-led giving arises naturally when parts release fear of loss, scarcity, or self-protection, allowing openness and kindness to flow without calculation.
2 min read
The Taste of Banzo’s Sword Zen Story
The Taste of Banzo’s Sword is a Zen story that cuts through hesitation, interpretation, and mental distance. Through an Internal Family Systems lens, this story reveals how parts retreat into thought or fear when confronted with immediacy, while Self meets the moment directly, without delay, defense, or conceptual escape.
3 min read
The Stingy Artist Zen Story
The Stingy Artist is a Zen story that reveals how attachment to control and self-protection can quietly limit creativity and generosity. Through an Internal Family Systems lens, this story shows how parts driven by fear of loss or scarcity can soften, allowing Self-led expression and openness to replace withholding and rigidity.
2 min read
The Thief Who Became a Disciple Zen Story
The Thief Who Became a Disciple is a Zen story that challenges fixed ideas about goodness, failure, and who is worthy of transformation. Through an Internal Family Systems lens, this story reveals how parts shaped by survival and harm can soften when met with trust, presence, and unwavering Self-led acceptance rather than judgment or rejection.
2 min read
The Dead Man’s Answer Zen Story
The Dead Man’s Answer is a Zen story that confronts the mind’s reliance on concepts, beliefs, and intellectual certainty. Through an Internal Family Systems lens, this story reveals how parts seek safety in knowing, while Self invites a deeper encounter beyond thought, explanation, or fixed answers.
2 min read
Working Very Hard Zen Story
Working Very Hard is a Zen story that exposes effort, striving, and the subtle belief that intensity leads to awakening. Through an Internal Family Systems lens, this story reveals how parts confuse tension with devotion, and how Self-led presence allows insight and ease to arise naturally without force.
2 min read
Is That So Zen Story
Is That So is a Zen story that reveals radical acceptance in the face of accusation, praise, and blame. Through an Internal Family Systems lens, this story shows how Self-led presence remains steady when parts are pulled toward defense, justification, or image protection, allowing truth and dignity to stand without reaction.
2 min read
Free IFS Enneagram Course
This free course explores the Enneagram as a system for understanding motivation rather than behavior. Thoughtfully informed by Internal Family Systems, it offers a grounded approach to the nine types without simplification or pressure to type.
Free IFS Ray Course
This free course explores the Seven Rays as fundamental streams of consciousness shaping psychology, spirituality, and human development. Thoughtfully informed by Internal Family Systems, it offers a grounded way to understand these forces without turning them into labels.
Japji Sahib Pauree 17
Japji Sahib Pauree 17 points toward the boundlessness of the Divine, naming countless forms, names, qualities, and expressions that can never be fully captured or contained. Guru Nanak emphasizes humility before the infinite, reminding the seeker that language and intellect fall short. Through an Internal Family Systems (IFS) lens, this pauree softens parts that crave certainty or mastery and invites Self-led presence with mystery rather than control.
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