Category: Spirituality

What Is Yogic Meditation?

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Hindu Tradition

Out of the Hindu tradition comes yogic meditation, which is purely concentrative. The traditional basic exercises consist of focusing the mind on a single object – a stone, a candle flame, a syllable, etc. — and not allowing the mind to wander.

Complex Objects

Having acquired the basic skill, the yogi proceeds to expand his practice by taking on more complex objects of meditation – chants, colorful religious images, energy channels of the body, and so forth.

Concentration

No matter how complex the object of meditation, the meditation itself remains purely an exercise in concentration.

Mindfulness in Plain English
Bhante Gunarantana

Why Is Our Identity Important?

Gary Reiner2 Comments

Totality of “Me”

Identity refers to the totality of what we recognize as “me.” It is one of the most defining aspects of our personal psychology and social orientation, and it’s studied widely by psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists.

Our Story & Experiences

  • Identity is the story that we tell ourselves and others about who and what we are.
  • Identity holds all of our important experiences — it links our past to our future and connects us to our people and ancestors, to their triumphs and struggles. Identity has many different dimensions, including personal, cultural, national, and gender.
  • Identity provides stability to our life through its set of orienting beliefs and ideas, collection of memories and stories, roles and expectations, as well as positive and negative experiences.

Compassionate Conversations
Diane Musho Hamilton, Gabriel Menegale Wilson, Kimberly Myosai Loh

What Is Wise Speech Rooted In?

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Wise Speech

Ethics and Spirituality

Wise speech is both an ethical and spiritual exploration. Committing ourselves to wise speech, we learn to listen inwardly to the words beneath the words. Attentive to the feelings, intentions, and thoughts beneath our words, we learn to cultivate the compassion, integrity, and kindness that bring harmony to our relationships and to our own mind.

Compassion and Integrity

Wise speech is rooted in compassion and integrity. It protects the people we speak to and protects our own heart from guilt and remorse. In learning to listen both outwardly and inwardly before we speak, we begin to appreciate the strength and fragility of the human heart.

Buddhist Path to Simplicity
The Buddhist Path to Simplicity
Christina Feldman

Grounded & At Ease

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When we’re grounded and at ease,
We can wonder where we please.

With our senses as our guide,
We can let our thoughts subside.

And then while away the hours,
By the stream, among the flowers.

Joseph Parent

A Walk in the Wood: Meditations on Mindfulness With a Bear Named Pooh
Joseph & Nancy Parent

How Can We Live Freely?

Gary Reiner1 Comment

Freedom

Elements of Freedom

In our hearts we know that genuine freedom is  much deeper than a permission to have more, accumulate more, or become more.

  • Freedom is the ability to live in such a way that there is no sense of imprisonment.
  • Freedom is to be free in our lives to live authentically, embodying creativity, wisdom and compassion in all dimensions of our lives.
  • Freedom implies a genuine understanding of the source of happiness, the end of despair and conflict.

Freedom & Simplicity

Freedom and simplicity are close companions. They implicity teach us the ways to release the layers of complexity and confusion that blind us — in their falling away we discover the innate vastness of freedom within us.

Buddhist Path to Simplicity
The Buddhist Path to Simplicity
Christina Feldman