Spirituality | Wellness | Happiness

Since Gurinder Singh Dhillon is the guru of India's Radha Soami Satsang Beas , and is considered to be "God in human form" by devotees, perhaps it's presumptuous of me to comment on a letter he wrote to disciples in Japan following the disastrous earthquake and tsunami there. But what the heck! I'll gamble that if God exists, and if Gurinder Singh is God's representative here on Earth (two big "if's"), the Supreme Being enjoys commentary on his missives to humanity. The letter can be read in PDF form: Download Gurinder Singh message to Japan Copying and pasting the text into this blog post resulted in a garbled PDF file mess, so I'll simply quote a few passages that seemed to deserve some commenting. "We pray to the Lord that the worst is over and life for so many people can return to some semblance of normalcy." This shows how an Eastern spirituality can sound an awful lot like a Western religion. It isn't true that " Eas

The logic I have followed is that the whole is far more important than the parts; a persons life determines the activity of his cells, not vice versa. And yet these arent irreconcilable approaches, for no one can outlive his cellsthat much is certain.If you look at life through the eyes of a geneticist, it means nothing that a very old person has a strong will to live or enjoys the simple pleasures of life. And indeed such facts may be insignificant in terms of DNAs original programming, but as the outcome of a life well spent, it is enormously significantindeed, it is the most significant thing.Outside the biologists test tubes and flasks, DNA gets influenced by your every thought, feeling, and action. The stress hormones that play such a critical part in aging are regulated by RNA, which is a copy of DNA; even though the DNA itself may sit quietly in its vault, its active twin is constantly changing instructions.When you make a lifestyle change that reduces stress, the RNA in your

Sogyal Rinpoche, acclaimed around the world for his Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, immediately makes a deep impression. His words go straight to our heart. He creates a unique atmosphere that introduces us to a direct experience of what meditation really is. Rinpoche has a remarkable ability to bring together over 2,500 years of Buddhist wisdom and experience in a way that is authentic, accessible and completely relevant in today's world. RInpoche will talk about the power of meditation in a modern world What Meditation Really Is is the pivotal event of Awake. Afterwards there is time for drinks, with DJ Miss Melera to continue the mood with her smooth and meditative minimal techno. There will also be an observance of Remembrance Day at the appointed hour. For more information, visit www.awake-amsterdam.com.

How to Be Vegetarian Becoming a Vegetarian Eating fruits and vegetables are good for you, there is no denying that and regardless of whether you are vegetarian or non-vegetarian the more fruits and vegetables you can include in your diet the healthier you will be and the longer you will live. There is also of course the desire of many to be pure vegetarians for a variety of other reasons and there are plenty of discussions on the web regarding this debate, so that is not what I am going to discuss in this article. In this article I am going to give you tips on how to go from being a meat eater to a vegetarian, if that is indeed a change you have decided to make. Previously in the article Healthy Eating Guide , I went over 11 important guidelines on how to eat. Those eating tips will go a long way in helping you maximize the benefits of food, and will make eating a positive, energizing and healing activity for you. Regardless of whether you are vegetarian or non-vegetarian, I suggest

Start your journey towards a spiritual renaissance by undertaking a very powerful dynamic meditation technique under the guidance of a truly enlightened meditation master for Rebirth Therapy. The Rebirth Therapy is a dynamic meditation technique based on breathing. It is a tailor made technique for the contemporary person formulated by Swami Paramananda, the Scientist of the inner world. This powerful technique helps the individual to release blockages and suppressed emotions from the mind and the body. The purpose of this technique is to give a second birth to the individual. This is only possible when the mind is freed from repression, suppression and all forms of conditionings. Rebirth Therapy simply allows the mind to regain its faculties through cleansing which happens through the release of tension and blocked emotions. We may not be conscious of all this, but we can certainly see how society is becoming chaotic with the rise in criminality, theft, violence, family disputes, brok

Some books leave me cold -- turned off, bored, irritated. Other books get me hot -- excited, enthused, pleasured. Then there's books I find lukewarm, like Jiddu Krishnamurti's " Freedom from the Known ." I thought I'd like it more than I did, knowing that J. Krishnamurti was a spiritual iconoclast who decried all forms of organized religiosity. The Amazon reviews of this short 124 page book were almost all positive. One reader's endorsement got me to click the "buy" button. I've read (and re-read) about 15 of K's books. This is the single best, most concise, most thorough of the them all, in my humble opinion. I bought 20 copies of it and gave them all to friends, family, co-workers, and some of my students (I teach at a college). I probably will buy 20 more (at least) of this book to give to others. But maybe I should have paid more Amazon review attention to this J. Krishnamurti skeptic . After finishing "Freedom from the Know

Every thought you have, as well as every object you see in the world, is a vibration of the universethe Sanskrit term is shubda. Shubda creates light, sound, touch, taste, and every other quality. In dreams you can also see, hear, touch, taste, and smell, both those vibrations are subtler. They dont have the same feeling as concrete reality.When you go beyond the subtle qualities of mind, shubda becomes so faint that the mind loses all experience of an outside reality, even shadowy wisps of memory. Eventually it experiences only itself, and there arent any vibrations at all. You are at the source.The threshold of the source is silence. But you must step over the threshold into the room where reality is born. There you find that the raw materials are threefold. Creation springs from existence, consciousness, and the potential for vibrations to arise. These three are the most real things in the universe because everything else that we call real comes from them.Its this experienc

Here's another reason to visit Kolkata, West Bengal! The inauguration of the First Pyramid made in West Bengal by "Pragyan Foundation is happening on the 17th May 2011, an auspicious occasion, the anniversary of Lord Buddha. One of the greatest spiritual teachers of mankind which India has produced is undoubtedly, Buddha. Edwin Arnold has fittingly called him the "Light of Asia". Buddha's message has traveled far and wide and captured the hearts and minds of billions of people outside India also. Buddha taught many different types of meditation, each designed to overcome a particular problem or to develop a particular psychological state. Meditation done inside a pyramid or underneath a pyramid is called Pyramid Meditation and it is thrice more powerful. Pyramids helps to reduce the level of stress and tension in the physical body. An Amethyst crystal has been fixed at the apex of the Pyramid. The crystal absorbs Cosmic Energy and radiates throughout the Pyramid

Best Clickbank Yoga Product Best Yoga Affiliate Program I am happy to report that the Yoga Teachers Training and Certification Program is now the best selling yoga product on Clickbank. For those who may not be familiar, Clickbank is the largest affiliate sales website for digital products and it is where many internet marketers, bloggers and webmasters partner with me for my yoga and meditation products. Today I would like to give you a glimpse of some behind the scenes numbers for the Yoga Certification Program sales and, if you are in the arena of internet sales, invite you to partner and prosper with me as well. What is Clickbank: Clickbank is an open marketplace where anyone can upload their digital products for sale. There are obviously all kinds of digital products on Clickbank, such as e-books, MP3s, videos, etc, and as you can imagine there are plenty of products there. Sellers then sign up for free on Clickbank and create affiliate links to various products they

The path to love doesnt end with surrender, although in a way there is nothing more to do. The process of letting go is all that spirit needs in order to enter your life. The rest is a ripening of the union between self and Self.There is, however, still the enormous issue of how two people can surrender to each other completely. No matter how much love you begin to feel within, you must still reflect it to your beloved. Two spiritual people living together dont automatically make a spiritual relationship. Therefore we want to ask in practical terms how love increases between two souls. The ego is not easily defeated in its preoccupation with everything but love.Surrender is not achieved until you surrender completely to your beloved. To accomplish this you must relinquish everything that deprives you of love and nurture everything that comes from love.One way that people deprive themselves of love is especially confusing because it seems to be a way to increase it: This is attac

"This is good enough, plenty good enough." That's what went through my mind as I was digesting one of those magical experiences which many people attribute to God. Good enough meant no need to add anything divine to what nature has wrought . I was walking along Maui's Kapalua Coastal Trail late in the day. No one else was around as I moved off a paved path onto a dirt stretch of the trail that wound across a rocky volcanic headland. The sun was setting in front of me. The sea was calm. Until I saw a tell-tale spray of water. Whale! It was late in the year to spot one. February and March are peak whale-watching months , though they're around until mid-May or so. Then the whale breached, leaping part way out of the water, coming down with a big splash. Just once. I didn't see it again. Yeah, it was magical. There I was, all by myself, companioned only with the vista before me, bird sounds, and the wind whistling by. I was alone. The whale seemed to be alone.

One of the main health benefits of meditation is stress reduction. It is well known that stress, anxiety and depression are believed to be contributing factors to most modern-day disease. It's difficult to think of an illness in which stress and mood don't play a significant role. A great way to alleviate stress is meditation. There are many ways that meditation will help a person in their journey toward health and wellness. Meditation can be as simple as quietly sitting in front of a tank of fish, staring at a lit candle, walking on a beach at sunrise or creating a tranquil place to listen to meditation tapes. Try different techniques until you find the ones that are right for you. Meditation is good for the body, mind and spirit, and affects the quality of your life in a positive way. Meditation is about consciousness. Nothing is better than the feeling of inner peace. With peace of mind, life will be more enjoyable and productive. The best way to meditate is to start by maki

Yogic Breathing Powerful Breathing Exercises To boost your energy levels, both short term and long term, there is almost no better method than the regular practice of yogic breathing exercises (pranayamas). These exercises have been developed and honed over thousands of years to bestow their powerful benefits, so if you are looking for more vitality and energy, I strongly recommend establishing a consistent, daily pranayama practice. To get you started, here are 3 terrific yogic breathing techniques known to power your energetic systems. The first is a new technique that I am introducing you to and it will be added to our Free Online Yoga Breathing Exercises Collection . 1. Breath of Fire + Surya Bedi Pranayama SUPER Combo: So, you really want to get an infusion of energy? Are you ready to upgrade your order to SUPER SIZE :-)? Well here is a unique pranayama which is going to put together 2 techniques

The aim of Yoga, of union, is to unite the thinking mind with its source in pure awareness. In modern terms, pure awareness means quantum space, the silent, empty void that is the womb of all matter and energy.Pure awareness exists in the gap between thoughts; it is the unchanging background against which all mental activity takes place. We would not ordinarily suspect that such a state exists because our minds are so preoccupied with the stream of thoughts, wishes, dreams, fantasies, and sensations that fill waking consciousness. That is why the ancient Indian sages had to devise the specific technique of meditation, in order to show the mind its own origins in the quantum depths.Sitting in meditation with the eyes closed induces the nervous system to enter a state of restful alertness i.e., the mind remains awake while the body goes into a deeply relaxed state.Sleep is a hypometabolic state in which oxygen consumption decreases, heartbeat slows, and consciousness blanks out. The

Coping with the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer is a very stressful journey for cancer patients and survivors, complicated by fears, anxiety, grief, and many emotional issues. Physical and emotional stress can wreck havoc in cancer patients' immune function and healing process. Learning how to cope with stress effectively is critical for their recovery and emotional well-being. In a keynote address at a breast cancer survivorship conference, inspirational speaker and life coach Hueina Su helps one hundred breast cancer patients, survivors and caregivers identify their invisible chaos and root causes of stress and offers coping strategies to remain calm, peaceful and confident. Hueina Su, MS, BSN, CEC, is an inspirational keynote speaker, best-selling author, mindful wellness expert, certified life coach, and the president of Beyond Horizon Coaching based in Denville, New Jersey. "Most conventional stress management techniques are important and beneficial, but they oft

I am very blessed to be able to do work in the world that truly makes my heart sing. I wont go through the story of how I got started on this journey as it is listed on our website, www.CelebrateYourLife.ORG under the ABOUT section, but suffice to say I get to meet and work with some of the countrys most sought after best authors and spiritual teachers.I recently had a phone conversation with Dan Millman in preparation for his appearance at our Celebrate Your Life conference in Chicago in June. Dan is best known for his highly acclaimed NY Times bestselling book The Way of the Peaceful Warrior and his story was depicted in the film Peaceful Warrior starring Nick Nolte.Our phone conversation reminded me of when I first met Dan, he was everything I expected. Being a huge fan of his work, I remember feeling a bit intimidated, but he immediately disarmed me with his gentle and kind manner. He is that peaceful warrior that one might imagine him to be and most especially when teaching w

Well, good luck Texas. Your governor, Rick Perry, has decided that the way to solve the state's exceptional drought is with three days of prayer for rain. Suggestion: it would have made a lot more sense for Governor Perry to call for three days (or better, three weeks) of study by Texas citizens into the nature of global climate change, which is causing climate extremes to become more common . Climate is defined not simply as average temperature and precipitation but also by the type, frequency and intensity of weather events. Human-induced climate change has the potential to alter the prevalence and severity of extremes such as heat waves, cold waves, storms, floods and droughts. Though predicting changes in these types of events under a changing climate is difficult, understanding vulnerabilities to such changes is a critical part of estimating vulnerabilities and future climate change impacts on human health, society and the environment. But science takes time and effo

Last night I had an all-too-familiar experience: Sitting back and listening to a discussion, pondering the deeper meaning of what was being said, jumping in with some comments that were So Absolutely Correct they deserve to be capitalized -- and then seeing looks of what the #$%! is Brian talking about? , after which the conversation went on its merry way, barely missing a step notwithstanding that my brilliant remarks should have made people pause to digest their awesomeness. Oh, well, often a prophet is recognized only inside his own head. But if he has a blog, this allows him to have a second chance at pursuing the So Absolutely Correct acclaim that eluded him the first time. And to find some quotes from a respected authority that express in a different way what he was trying to say. In brief: Brains R Us. The monthly Salon discussion group that my wife and I founded quite a few years ago had started to talk about memories. Why do we remember certain things and forget other things?

Freedom Today Industries have claimed that they have come up with a complete step-by-step solution for beginners to reduce stress and anxiety. Where most companies in this market refer people to pharmaceuticals, the said Meditation Technique provides fast results and an easy approach for beginners, without the side effects of medication. Freedom Today Industries had identified several key steps most important to people suffering stress and anxiety when it comes to finding greater peace and clarity in their lives: - Pharmaceutical Drug 'Addiction'. Dependent and long-term users must learn to break free of their addiction to avoid other health problems in the future. - A Meditation Practice. By starting a meditation practice, people can reduce their addiction and slowly become independent of their medications. - A Sound Diet. People who stress most often try and calm themselves by eating junk. After establishing a meditation practice, it becomes much easier for someone to eat

What is Karma Yoga Karma Yoga Quotes Here are two inspirational quotes from the Tao Te Ching on Karma Yoga (the Yoga of Action), about how one ought to approach ones life and work. They are consistent with Lord Krishnas teachings of Karma Yoga from the Bhagawat Gita. The essence of these teachings is to do the work that is required of you by life, without placing emphasis on the results or rewards of the work. You can read about Krishnas teachings in the following article, The Yoga of Meditation , and below you will find the similar views expressed by the great Taoist master Lau-tzu. Book: Tao Te Ching Author: Stephen Mitchell Tao Te Ching Quote #1 on Work and Karma Yoga: Therefore the Master acts without doing anything and teaches without saying anything. Things arise and she lets them come; things disappear and she lets them go. She has but doesnt possess, acts but doesnt expect. When her work is done, she forgets it. That is why it lasts forever. Karma Yog

To grow spiritually in a world defined by power, money, and influence is a Herculean task. Modern conveniences such as electronic equipments, gadgets, and tools as well as entertainment through television, magazines, and the web have predisposed us to confine our attention mostly to physical needs and wants. As a result, our concepts of self-worth and self-meaning are muddled. How can we strike a balance between the material and spiritual aspects of our lives? To grow spiritually is to look inward. Introspection goes beyond recalling the things that happened in a day, week, or month. You need to look closely and reflect on your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and motivations. Periodically examining your experiences, the decisions you make, the relationships you have, and the things you engage in provide useful insights on your life goals, on the good traits you must sustain and the bad traits you have to discard. Moreover, it gives you clues on how to act, react, and conduct yourself in t

I'm a long-time daily meditator. I did the closed-eyes introspecting thing almost every morning for over forty years. During that time my practice was focused on "going inside." Inside what? Good question, one which I never gave much thought to during my true-believing spiritual phase. The guru I followed used those words going inside a lot, so I assumed they meant something. Now it seems to me that reality doesn't have an inside and an outside. I've given up the goal of concentrating on the interior of my cranium, which many meditators believe leads to an experience of wholly other-worldly phenomena -- divine lights and sounds, that sort of thing. Over on the Yahoo RadhaSoami Studies Group (I used to be a member of Radha Soami Satsang Beas ), I came across a posting called "How deep inside your self can you go." It starts out by conveying the standard dogma of what it means to go inside . How deep within can you go is the fundamental question to all w

The intensity of shadow energies is a way of getting noticed: Hiding something is not the same as killing it. Shadow energies remain alive. Even though you refuse to look at them, they arent extinguishedin fact, their desire for life becomes all the more desperate.To catch your attention as a parent, a child who is overlooked will become more and more extreme in its behavior: first a call for attention, then a cry, then a tantrum. Shadow energies follow much the same pattern.It seems only reasonable to see panic attacks, for example, as a hidden fear throwing a tantrum. That same fear first called out to be noticed in a normal way, but when the person refused to notice it, a call turned into a cry and finally ended up as a full-blown attack.Fear and anger are especially adept at increasing the voltage to the point where we feel that they are alien, evil, demonic forces acting without our will. They are actually just aspects of consciousness forced into inhuman intensity by repress

You are not going to follow a path that doesnt feel natural for very long, nor will it bring the growth you need, however well intentioned you are. There is a center in the body where love and spirit are joined, and that center is the heart. It is your heart that aches or swells with love, that feels compassion and trust, that seems empty or full.Within the heart is a subtler center that experiences spirit, but spirit is not felt as an emotion or physical sensation. How, then, can you contact it?According to spiritual masters, spirit is experienced first as the absence of what is not spirit. In India this is described as Netti, netti, which means, Not this, not that. Spirit is not caused; it is not bound by time and space; it is not a sensation that can be seen, touched, heard, tasted, or smelled.This may seem like a baffling way to define something, but imagine that you had never seen the color white, that the whole world consisted of red, green, blue, and all the other hues. Th

Binaural Beats work at such a low frequency that they can't even be heard by the human ear, it is only your brain that perceives them. Science achieves this by supplying two different frequencies into either ear (such as 315 Hz for the left and 325 Hz for the right) and the brain perceives the difference between the two as a separate beat entirely. This can alter the frequency of your brain waves and makes it possible to adjust your level of consciousness for your own means, like meditation, relaxation therapy and so on. The whole purpose of this article is to round up all the proven merits, benefits and possible uses that arise from the science of Binaural Beats in one easy to read structure. Some claims out there are rather speculative in nature, such as the ability to mimic drugs through the use of Binaural Beats. I can't vouch for such products, nor shall I over the course of this article. Instead, I'm going to focus on what appear to be the facts rather than the myth b

Over the years, and decades, I've had lots of intense discussions with other people about free will. Partly this is because my first book about physics and mysticism had a chapter called "Laws of cause and effect govern lower levels of creation." Then my second book, " Life is Fair ," argued in a different fashion that karma rules the universe, and karma is basically a spiritualized form of cause and effect. My view of reality is much different now. I don't agree with myself about a lot of stuff that used to make sense to me, but doesn't from my current perspective. I'm still fascinated by the notion of free will, though. So I was excited to see that the most recent issue of New Scientist had an article called "The free will delusion." Here's some excerpts, some of which refer to a thought experiment described in a short video that you can watch here . Neuroscientists increasingly describe our behaviour as the result of a chain of caus

Suffering in Life Freedom from Suffering Life on earth is the perfect University for Enlightenment (read The Magical Gate to the Best School for Enlightenment ), and to help us realize the perfection of the moment and our perfect, divine nature, life often has to use pain and suffering as a tool. This is simply because it is so easy to go through life on autopilot, asleep to the reality of the moment, that pain is needed to wake us up. Even those who have great passion for the Truth, are sometimes in need of shock therapy to bring them back on the path when they stray. As I discussed in the article, The True Purpose of Relationships , the pain in relationships is there to help you understand your attachments and this is true of pain and suffering in general. The more attached you become, the more you depend on something for your pleasure, security and your ego, the more you are centered around rewards and achievement, the more you are setting yourself up for suffering. The thing to rea

Miracles are a real phenomena. Every tradition addresses the existence of miracles, but they all use different language. We label events as miracles when a desired outcome manifests in a dramatic fashion: We want to be healed from a terrible illness, or attain material wealth, or find our purpose.Then when these events occur, we say, how miraculous! Someone has an intention or a desire or a thought, and then it happens. A miracle, then, is a very dramatic example of what happens when a person is able to tap into the spiritual domain and apply intention to manifest their destiny.People who are not interested in spirituality attribute these kinds of events to luck. I personally believe that luckat least the way we usually define ithas nothing to do with it.What most people call luck is nothing more or less than the application of synchronicity to the fulfillment of our intentions. Chance favors the prepared mind. Opportunity + Preparedness = Good Luck.It is entirely possible, thro