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? Continue Reading »
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.
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. Continue Reading »
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. Continue Reading »
Encounters with strangers can be very enlightening experiences, full of opportunities for learning about yourself. But often times the overwhelming lesson I come away with is how connected we all are. A couple of occasions - synchronicities and strange encounters - definitely gave me the sense that there is a spiritual connection that is always there, even though hidden from normal awareness. Continue Reading »
Perhaps the biggest injustice in the US War on Drugs is the inclusion of cannabis, or marijuana, in that “war”. Because of the this, there is a stigma attached to marijuana and anyone who is known to use it. Michael Phelps has lost his Kellogg’s endorsement over one picture of himself taking a bong hit. And if you don’t react with shock and disapproval over the idea of smoking pot, then you risk being labeled a druggie, a loser hippie, or even in favor of the use of hard drugs.
What would truly shock many people, however, are the facts about cannabis that most people are unaware of. Continue Reading »
“Where is the one born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east …”
Is it possible to see the star of Bethlehem today? To this day, there is no definite explanation for the star of Bethlehem. According to mainstream Christianity, this star was God’s way of identifying the birth of His son. Jehovah’s Witnesses might tell you that it was Satan’s attempt to kill the child Jesus.
Was the star of Bethlehem a comet? A constellation? A conjunction of planets? Continue Reading »
Yogis and mystics spend years meditating and performing rituals and exercises in order to gain spiritual insights and achieve enlightenment. People have seen the effects of these practices, causing scientific researchers to try to explain spiritual phenomena through experiments and measurements. One interesting concept is the understanding of binaural beats and its effect on the human brain. Some even think that binaural beats can train the brain to automatically enter a state that’s identical to that achieved by experienced meditators. Is there anything to it? Continue Reading »
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. 
