Art therapy – Escher

Posted on July 27, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse

As a child, I used to see a dream with stairs like this. Escher’s art is playful and mind-blowing. If you like fractals/ repeating patterns, check out his works.

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Runaway trolley problem and Buddhism

Posted on July 20, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse

If you are familiar with the TV show The Good Place, you will remember the hilarious trolley problem scene. Poor Chidi!

The problem is ethical: a trolley’s brakes failed and it is hurtling down the tracks, about to kill five people. Is it okay to push someone in front of the trolley, killing them but preventing the deaths of five? (in the TV show, the trolley driver—you—are faced with the choice: head down one track and kill five strangers or choose another track and kill one person you know).

The Dalai Lama was once asked what he would do in the “runaway trolley” problem; he said he would throw himself in front of the trolley.

Determined, Robert Sapolsky

♥️

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The goal of a spiritual practice

Posted on July 13, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse

There is no such thing as a goal on a spiritual journey, sorry for the clickbait style title! 😊 The path is non-linear and there is no beginning or end. In fact, it’s not really a path, just an illusion. Yet, in the early stages, one needs goalposts to guide them. I summarised in a tagline the goal as I understand it in various teachings I have been following over the last couple of years. The theme is of course the same. In my case, it’s all of the above please. What do you think? What is your goal? Why do you do it?

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“When you have a toothache, you are enlightened”

Posted on July 6, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse

When you have a toothache, you are enlightened. You realize that not having a toothache is a wonderful thing. If you breathe in and breathe out and become aware of your non-toothache, you touch joy, you touch peace. This practice is to try to touch what is not wrong inside and outside us. Just touching [this], you get healed, and you will be able to bring this healing to our society.

Peace as a Path: Five Exercises by Thich Nhat Hanh

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ABC’s of dealing with unwanted emotions

Posted on June 29, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse

I am currently taking the Kriya Yoga course with the Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship. They are very strict on sharing any teachings (as they are easy to misunderstand without contextual knowledge). I am going to share a couple of minor techniques which I believe could be useful to anyone in day to day life. Specifically:

Practice Whenever Beset by Unwanted Emotions

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How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell

Posted on June 22, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse

I’ve been interested in the idea of anti-work, downshifting, slowing down. The anti-thesis to the concepts of overwork, always-on productivity and hustle culture that the capitalist system is selling us. It started with learning about a concept of “doing nothing” in Buddhism (wu wei). There is the idea of FIRE and early retirements, or even punctuating one’s working life with mini-retirements.

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Daily prayer, based on Yogananda’s teachings

Posted on June 15, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse

Heavenly Father, Mother, Friend, Beloved God, [Buddha, Maharaji, Ram Dass], Jesus Christ, Bhagavan Krishna, Mahavatar Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, Swami Sri Yukteswar, Guru-preceptor [Paramahansa Yogananda], and saints of all religions, I bow to you all.

[Please] free my life from all obstacles of delusion, and give me [health], material, mental, and spiritual development. Lead me from desires to contentment, from restlessness to peace, from ignorance to wisdom.

Heavenly Father, I will reason, I will will, I will act; but [please] guide my reason, will, and activity to the right thing that I should do in everything.

I shall tune my free will with the infinite will of God, and my only desire shall be to do the wisdom-guided will of Him who created me.

[Ram Ram. Om. Amen.]

This is the prayer I use daily while studying Kriya Yoga with Yogananda. Additions in square brackets are mine.

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The 30-day Mental Diet

Posted on June 8, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse

Uell Andersen proposes we go on the mental diet in his Three Magic Words. For 30 days, “you are not to accept a single negative thought nor dwell on a single negative premise.” He suggests to start by noticing and writing down any negative thoughts of doubt, jealousy, anger, sadness, worry, etc. (kleshas in Buddhism) for a couple of days (it is a very revealing and shocking experience).

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When in doubt, remember to believe

Posted on June 1, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse 
Universe keeps on giving. 
A fancy cocktail to enjoy, 
Soft grass to run fingers through, 
New experiences to cherish, 
Precious moments to remember. 
Warmth, joy, sea, sun, fun. 
Yet, instead of overwhelming gratitude 
For the abundance of the present, 
My mind goes straight to anxiety 
Over an old role that would not fit, 
A loss of what would never work, 
A gamble on a path that is not mine. 
I’ve overgrown my self 
But I forget and fall apart. 
Choosing faith over panic is hard
But is the only way. 
I give myself time and I do my practice. 
I remember to step out of the illusion.
Broken-record thoughts and stinging feelings swirl beneath me.  
I watch them. They are not mine. They are not me. 
I sleep on my confusion, 
And the fog of delusion settles. 
I continue to believe.
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So what motivates you?

Posted on May 25, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse
Quotes by Hayao Miyazaki
(of Studio Ghibli) 
I know I am supposed
To reason, will, and act 
(according to Yogananda) 
But sometimes I just want to do nothing. 

I have no reason, I never had the will, 
And I am not a fan of action. 
So I’ll sit here and conserve energy  
Until doing nothing becomes boring. 

I get why the Creator big banged this duality-driven mess. 
Doing nothing suspended in the void for eternity 
Can drive anyone, including God, insane.
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“You’ve already won/now”

Posted on May 18, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse
badhguru
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“Prince of Flowers”

Posted on May 11, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse
Source

Posting about the mysterious Greek/ Egyptian statue the other week made me wonder about this Aztec figurine that I found online ages ago. It is believed to depict Xochipilli, whose name in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, means “Prince of Flowers.” The figurine is holding mushrooms in each hand.

I finally found its source.

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On having faith

Posted on May 4, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse
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Psychedelic mushrooms, cosmic serpent and stars in a Greek museum

Posted on April 27, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse

I found this mysterious statue in a museum in Heraklion, Crete. The sign said:

Statue of an Egyptian deity. It depicts a standing male figure with long hair and dress decorated with stars, around which a snake is wound. He holds two sceptres with lotus, while a pallet, the symbol of the scribes, is showing hanging from his left arm. The figure is identified with a deity, in which coexist attributes of gods Osiris, Serapis, and Imhotep. Roman period, 1st-2nd century AD.

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Art therapy. The Good Eye Snakes by Joao Incerti.

Posted on April 20, 2024 by nomadoftheuniverse

Source

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