The thought of playing football is one of the few things that makes me excited and very enthusiastic. It’s fun to contemplate what Swami Kriyananda said : “Most people are willing or unwilling according to their likes and dislikes.” If you think about that, you realize how true it is. If somebody asked us to do something that we like, … Read More
Deceiving the Unwillingness monster – Part One
This topic of willingness is one that we try to emphasize in our own spiritual training, right from the moment that we come into the path. If most of us did a little bit of introspection at the beginning, what we probably noticed is that there’s a ton of resistance that comes up. Just something simple like meditating five minutes … Read More
Whatever your circumstances, withdraw into your center
Namaste! Yesterday I read the passage in the Gita from the sixth chapter – verse 9: “He is a supreme Yogi who gazes equally upon patrons, friends, enemies, strangers, peacemakers, those who cause trouble, relatives, the virtuous and the ungodly.” Again, I smile at this passage where it says those who cause troubles and immediately follows that with relatives. Most … Read More
Avoid Burnout – Make Inner Peace Your Priority
As Yogis, what we want to do is learn to relax, yet still be aware of how we are relaxing and relax in ways that won’t pull our consciousness more and more and more down. And each one of us, we get to figure out how to do that. Meaning, each of us are individuals, and we’ll find our own … Read More
From Delusion to Ecstasy
Caught up in a spider’s web and fluttering its wings vigourously, I saw a butterfly in distress while walking down the green belt, near my home, one morning. The call of my winged friend, crying for help, rang loud on my ears. A few quick steps through the tall grass and weeds, crossing the boundaries of ‘self’, I reached out … Read More
Flowers Along My Path: Balancing a Spiritual Life Amidst Worldly Struggles
Early on, in my journey on the path, I nursed an idyllic imagination of life. It was like the Finding Happiness movie story, being just as what I saw of the people living in the Ananda Village. As beginner’s luck would have it, some early experiences drew me deeper into this dream. I imagined myself meditating for long hours, doing … Read More
I Walk with Beauty
One of my favorite prayers comes from the “Blessing Ceremony” of the Navajo people, the largest tribal nation in America. With beauty before me I walk. With beauty behind me I walk. With beauty below me I walk. With beauty above me I walk. With beauty all around me may I walk. Through the returning seasons, may I walk. … Read More
Practices to Reinspire Your Spiritual Life
“Are three hours of meditation possible?” This was a thought running in my mind when we decided our routine in the monastery in Khandala. Three hours of group meditation supported by time for individual meditations! This, to me, didn’t sound difficult, but my concern was: “how can I keep my practices inspiring and regular?” To my amazement, however, it’s been … Read More