Our mind is our karma. I am loving awareness. When you have a dark thought, love it.
East Forest captured essential teachings of Ram Dass, left the most essential phrases and overlaid them on beautiful spiritual music. It’s a good listen and you can meditate to it also. I have been playing these tracks on repeat.
Listen on Spotify, Soundcloud or buy the tracks in your Music store (eg iTunes). I can’t wait for chapter II!
I have been writing offline a lot lately, partially because I am working through the Loner Wolf’s Shadow Work Journal. I highly recommend it. It’s a compilation of exercises that help you uncover your dark side. Shadow work seems to be in contrast to what positive psychology has to offer but I believe that discovering your dark side, accepting and learning to love it is equally important to cultivating positivity and well-being.
You can buy ‘Shadow Work Journal: Illuminating the Dark Side of Your Psyche’ by Aletheia Luna and Mateo Sol on lonerwolf.com. It would make a good gift I would imagine. Here, explore your dark side 🙂
Usually winters are the worst. It’s too cold, too grey, too miserable, I go stir crazy stuck inside. This winter feels different. Or more precisely I am different.
I now aim to walk 10k steps every day whatever the weather. My son joins me and we have nice chats and giggles walking around the village.
It’s ego that is cold and miserable, that seeks shelter and moans about the elements. Soul has no complaints, it finds beauty, awe and joy everywhere – in the rain, darkness or cold. Getting out of the head helps, as does getting clothing right – if you wrap up well and have comfortable waterproof shoes, no weather is bad weather.
I’ve read about hygge and now practice self care. Continue reading
Right now:
There are Tibetan Buddhist monks in a temple in the Himalayas endlessly reciting mantras for the cessation of your suffering and for the flourishing of your happiness.
Someone you haven’t met yet is already dreaming of adoring you.
Someone is writing a book that you will read in the next two years that will change how you look at life.
Nuns in the Alps are in endless vigil, praying for the Holy Spirit to alight the hearts of all of God’s children.
A farmer is looking at his organic crops and whispering, “nourish them.”
Someone wants to kiss you, to hold you, to make tea for you. Someone is willing to lend you money, wants to know what your favourite food is, and treat you to a movie. Someone in your orbit has something immensely valuable to give you — for free. Continue reading
Recently my spiritual learning has mostly contracted to the talks by Ram Dass on the Here and Now podcast and talks/ books by Alan Watts. I wanted to share episode 136 of Ram Dass’s talk on ‘how to be happy with what is’, ‘how to enjoy the unfolding storyline of your life without being trapped by it’ and how to ‘learn in this lifetime how to inhabit roles lightly… with love, and joy, and passion – and with emptiness’.
Ram Dass invites us to ‘see your life experiences as grace. As a set of opportunities through which you can be free.’ And to ‘…realise there are no errors in the game. The ones handed over to you are tailor made for you. All your life is what you are here to learn as a soul.’
Sometimes you are so busy being somebody that everyone reacts to your somebody-ness and nobody reacts to your nobody-ness.
I am not a big fan of exercise. But make it a spiritual exercise like Tibetan yoga or prostrations and suddenly I am all for it. Is there such thing as a spiritual gym? 🙂 I’ve recently started 100,000 prostrations, the Tibetan buddhist practice. I do it to show love and respect for all living beings and to send positive energy to those around me – I use it as a form of physical prayer or body meditation. I do 20 prostrations in the morning, 20 in the evening, so it will take me around 7 years to complete this practice 🙂
Since every sentient being has Buddha Nature, bowing to any person can be thought of as bowing to the Buddha Nature in all of us.
In Tibetan, the word prostration is translated as chak tsal. Chak means to “sweep away” harmful actions and obscurations. Tsal means we receive the blessings of an enlightened body, speech and mind.
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