“If God is the source of life, I worship God by living. If God is the source of love I worship God by loving. If God is the ground of being, I worship God by having the courage to be more fully human; the embodiment of the divine.”
read moreI stand on a bank of a running river, immersed in a flow of my own called life
Sad, happy, fearful, calm, and joyous awe-filled waves lap up all around me
1. Winter is the season of the revelation of basic structure. If I was to strip away all the paraphernalia of my life what form would it have?
How many of the things which I do are related to the roots
of my spirit.
2. Winter is the season for hibernation. What rhythm do I have for reflection as well as action?
What frequency and length of time do I need in solitude in order to facilitate the growth and quality of my spirituality?
Give us, O God,
leaders whose hearts are large enough
to match the breadth of our own souls
and give us souls strong enough
to follow leaders of vision and wisdom.
We all have experiences in our life that go beyond the ordinary, and they go by many names that you have no doubt heard: flow, peak experience, in the zone, Now, non-duality, direct experience, non-reflexive experience, the holy, cosmic Thou. They are spoken of by everyone from sports announcers to Buddhist monks. The different words have specific connotations to their individual proponents, but they all come close to meaning the same thing.
read moreNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Thought leader, visionary, philanthropist, mystic, and yogi Sadhguru presents Western readers with a time-tested path to achieving absolute well-being: the classical science of yoga.
read more“For Simrit, singing is not a performance, it is a sacred worship of the Divine. Her voice, her music, and her teaching, reflect this devotion which seems to come from her so effortlessly. This devotion is a gift, a talent beyond any, that will lead thousands into the lightness of being and awareness that is so vital to humanity in this day and age.”
read moreEvery parent and educator will welcome the blend of multicultural tales, biographies, universal spirituality, and original fun adventures of children who could live on your street. Expansive, respectful, real, and warm with kindness, these stories offer possibilities for life to children and adults who feel in their heart that they belong to a larger reality.
read more“A New Story of the People” examines the role that stories play in how we think about ourselves and each other and offers a glimpse at a new emerging story that can help bring about a more sustainable world.
read moreAnother way that religion can do a body good is through the mindfulness practices that are embedded in it. It’s no news that it’s part of Buddhism. But for most Christians, it may come as a surprise to find that it has always been integral to contemplative prayer. You can’t confess the truth of your heart unless you know what’s in it.
read moreAnilah – Medicine Chant
read moreThe 15th century North Indian poet-singer-saint, Kabir, lived in a time of great tension between two major religions. He honored and bridged both with his bhakti devotional songs. He was claimed by the Hindus to be a Hindu and by the Muslims to be a Muslim. He both inspired and confused both camps with his mystical lyricism. He confounded them even in the legend of his death. The Hindus wanted to burn his body, and the Muslims wanted to bury him. When they looked under the garlands of flowers that had been placed on top of his body, they saw that his body was gone. The Hindus burned half the flowers, the Muslims buried the other half.
One of the five pillars of Islamic practice is the expectation that every Muslim will make hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in a lifetime. For some Muslims, making hajj is an arduous and very expensive journey.
But if your mind is your Mecca, why would you not make the journey to self-awareness every day?
read moreArt can heal us, inspire us, and alter our brain chemistry
With so much talk about the evidence of the positive effects of yoga and meditation, you might be surprised at what scientific research also says about how art effects the brain. Long before modern neuroscience, artists were creating works to inspire people and today complex brain imaging scans can show us just how art changes the physiology of our brains. Contemplation, observing, and taking in beauty all stimulate pleasure centers within the brain while increasing blood flow by up to 10% in the medial orbitofrontal cortex. This can lead to an elevated state of consciousness, wellbeing, and better emotional health.
read moreJulian of Norwich, the 14th century English anchoress, or religious hermit, wrote: “He shewed me a little thing, the quantity of an hazel-nut, in the palm of my hand; and it was as round as a …
read moreAre the Dog Days of summer drawing to a close? Are we feeling a little chill in the air as the long evenings of summer begin to shorten? We’ve had our share of those warm sultry days. But we’re not complaining. We will remember them fondly in mid January. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Dog Days of summer go from July 3rd to August 11th, coinciding with the morning rising of the Dog Star, Sirius. And that tradition goes back to the Romans, Greeks and Egyptians who believed that it was Sirius that brought the hot muggy weather.
read moreHow do we respond to difficult times? We turn to our spiritual practices. Here are some of our tried-and-true ones.
read moreA Roman-decreed cross was the fate which Jesus met
Because of loving humanity, life-giving blood was let
“Pulse” was performed for the very first time at The Venue by Alexandra Love Sarton, Divinci Glen Valencia Jr.and members of Beautiful Chorus as Chakra Khan at the Lady Elevate // The Chakra Khan CD Release PARTY just hours before Sunday’s massive heart attack began. An anthem for Orlando and love everywhere.
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