Brother David, You mentioned in the excerpt from 'Sacred Journey' that you suffer a great deal from depression and that often during these periods there is hardly anything that you can do. For others who also experience the hell of this malaise would you gift us with any advice and practices you employ when engulfed in a blackness that makes gratefulness seemingly futile? — Ian, Australia

• To stick with my regular schedule;

• to go for walks (even if i don’t feel like it);

• not to force feelings of gratefulness (it won’t work);

• to remind myself that “this, too, will pass;”

• to treat myself kindly, as i would treat a suffering friend;

• to do something – no matter how small – for someone else (merely a smile, or a kind greeting will help loosen the prison bars of depression).

I hope this will help you deal with the affliction we share.