Here are five basic tips to help us all recognize the power of compassionate communication -- with our colleagues, clients and ourselves (and well, everybody else).

Immersed in a culture of giving, of looking out for one's neighbors and providing what one can, my new friend's pondering over my hypothetical question was due to my lack of understanding, not his.

Anger is the wish to obliterate the target. It is the hot flash of destructive momentum that makes people lash out and, in too many cases, recklessly destroy lives, destroy the environment, destroy the very way of life of those perceived to be the enemy. In the Buddhist teachings, it is said that one moment of hatred against an enlightened being produces eons of negative effects, leading the hating person into a season in hell.

Whatever one takes away from Crazy Wisdom, one thing is certain: Chogyam Trungpa is a spellbinding subject, one absolutely perfect to inspire a future generation of spiritualism.

What we often forget, or perhaps were never taught, is that the happiness we seek can only be found when we reach outside of ourselves and help someone.