The Ordinary Mystic

Last month my family and I attended my nephew’s First Communion. It was the first time I had experienced a full Catholic mass in a long time, and I took note of one interesting change since my early church-going days. When the priest invited family and friends to receive communion, he also welcomed non-Catholics to approach as well. While it wouldn’t be appropriate for a non-Catholic to receive communion, we were told that we could receive a blessing from the priest – and indicate that wish by crossing our arms across our chest. After a few moments of reflection, I decided to participate.

It was after that ceremony that I had an epiphany of sorts regarding religion, belief systems, and my past approach to spirituality. I realized for the first time that it is a mistake to search for absolute truths within spiritual belief systems! [Read more →]

Tags: Jehovah's Witnesses, Skepticism, Spiritual search // Add Comment »

While the results of some research in the efficacy of acupuncture has appeared to demonstrate no significant difference between “real” acupuncture and “placebo” acupuncture (where the needle does not penetrate the skin), I applaud many in the medical community who feel that further study is needed to determine the effectiveness of this form of alternative medicine. It’s a good thing they aren’t following in the footsteps of Dr. Dean Edell. He has made up his mind that acupuncture is a sham. According to Dr. Edell, any perceived results are due purely to the placebo effect.

And Dr. Edell persists in his close-minded bias, despite being presented with recent evidence to the contrary. [Read more →]

Tags: Acupuncture, Health, Skepticism // Add Comment »

I don’t typically concern myself with being “normal”, but a couple of weekends ago I went out of my way to attend a NORML conference. It was the 38th annual NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) Conference held in San Fransisco, and although I was only able to attend the last of the three days of the conference, I still found it quite educational and enlightening.

And I do believe that within four years marijuana will be legalized in California.
[Read more →]

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It was almost three years ago, on September 2006, that by chance I heard a talk given by Swami Paramahamsa Nithyananda at a Hindu cultural program held in Cupertino, CA. It was in a relatively small auditorium and he – although obviously well-respected and revered – showed up with not much more fanfare than any of the other speakers scheduled to appear during that segment of the program.

This month I had another opportunity to listen to him speak, and this time the reverence and venue were kicked up a notch. Yes, this young enlightened master’s recognition had clearly spread in both intensity as well as numbers. [Read more →]

Tags: Amma, Self-realization, Yoga // Add Comment »

It happened again! That irritating co-worker made a snide remark to you and then walked off. Or maybe your roommate left for the evening without cleaning up the mess he left after eating dinner – even though he promised to be more mindful of it. Or maybe you had an argument with your spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend. And so you stew over the offense and magnify the bad feelings by continually thinking of them over and over.

It doesn’t feel good. Nobody in their right mind ever wants to feel this way. And what makes it worse is that it affects how you deal with the other person, which further aggravates the situation and now you have a vicious circle. But believe it or not, it’s possible to change bad feelings into good feelings – and turn this into a fun spiritual practice! How? [Read more →]

Tags: Consciousness, Health // 1 Comment »

Again I am struck by another of Snatam Kaur’s rendition of a spiritual prayer. The beauty of her voice as well as the musical arrangement truly convey the peaceful message of acceptance.

The words, “Aakhan Jor”, come from the first line of the prayer, and mean “no power in speaking”. It echos the message contained in the rest of the prayer – that we have no power inherent within us. All power comes from God, the Most High, the Creator, the Source. Anything that we accomplish we should credit to Him who watches over all and who has power over all. All that remains is for us to accept that fact, and in doing so work with the source of all power instead of against it.

How can we have no power and yet think that we can ever accomplish anything?

The key to understanding this paradox is to realize that the “we” who has no power is actually our ego, our separation from the source. The true Source of power is always moving towards creating, so we just need to realize our true connection with that Source and then, free from ego, accomplish what we wish without struggle.

• The entire prayer
• Preview the MP3:

Tags: Chanting, Sikhism, Snatam Kaur // 1 Comment »

He is risen in our minds, our hearts, our souls – there is no separation between him and us. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda

Christianity is not the only spiritual tradition that finds meaning in Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And I’m not referring to the pre-Christian celebrations that form the basis of many practices observed today – from the fertility egg and rabbit to the rites of Spring. No, I’m referring to the beliefs of yogis past and present, one being the Paramahansa Yogananda, who brought yogic teachings as well as the practice of Kriya yoga to the west.

And he had a few things to say about Easter and its importance to humanity. [Read more →]

Tags: Consciousness, Meditation, Yoga // Add Comment »

This age of high-tech has had the unfortunate effect of favoring and fostering the practice of diverted attention. Young people these days MySpace their friends while checking out what’s on YouTube while texting while keeping an eye on the television … and we see and even experience the same flurry in the workplace.

On the surface it might seem as if this results in honing multitasking skills, but recent studies have shown that this is not true multitasking. This type of activity has at least two drawbacks – it actually adds time to the tasks and it also creates additional stress.

Now scientists have learned another lesson on the value of focused attention – this time from Buddhist monks. [Read more →]

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