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Why sangha (spiritual community) is the most precious thing on your path

October 26, 2009 By 3 Comments
Because yoga can happen anywhere

In Buddhist practice, the three jewels of life - or the three refugees - are what you turn to for support, for guidance, and for friendship. These are: The Buddha nature - the ideal or highest spiritual potential that exists within all beings. The Dharma - the teachings of Buddha, or the path one walks in following the teachings. And finally, Sangha - the community of other spiritual folk walking that same path, albeit in their own individual way. While these are Buddhist concepts, … [Read more...]

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Completion of a loving-kindness sadhana, Day 30 to Day 40

August 19, 2009 By 2 Comments
Mudra on the beach

This was the easiest sadhana (daily spiritual practice) I've done. Simply sitting cross-legged and repeating four lines (in English no less!) over and over. May I be filled with loving-kindness May I be well My I be peaceful and at ease May I be happy I finished yesterday, with a twenty minute meditation. Yet this morning, getting stuck into work, I couldn't wait to do my meditation. So I did. Day 41. This may just be a daily practice for me until... well who knows? … [Read more...]

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Inside the experience of a loving-kindness sadhana to Day 20

July 30, 2009 By 4 Comments
Expressions of joy

This practice was inspired by many things. A conversation with friends after a heart-opening Bhakti practice about the nature of the spiritual path. An understanding that opening the body was all very well, but unless the heart also opened, essentially meaningless. A desire to experience more equinimity, more joy, more bliss, more love. And a book called A Path with Heart. … [Read more...]

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How to connect to other people while holding your centre – a new loving-kindness sadhana

July 23, 2009 By 33 Comments
Hugs at Paekakariki

Perhaps my biggest discovery this year has been the power of sadhana. I started my new years with a Forty Day Sadhana of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya. It took me a bit longer than forty days to finish it, as I missed a day at day 35 and had to start all over again... but boy was it powerful when I finally finished. I was super excited when I started my next sadhana - all about accessing infinite energy and prosperity. Unfortunately, I had to stop that one at Day 15 because I discovered I was … [Read more...]

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What is this heart-opening stuff all about?

March 8, 2009 By 5 Comments
A simple heart opening asana

Is your heart closed, or open? Do you feel yourself as a separate entity, or do you feel yourself to be a part of a whole? Do you see other people in a judgmental, critical way... or do you see them through eyes of love and compassion? If your heart is closed... are you ready to open up to a new way of being? … [Read more...]

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Enough of the doom & gloom! We are in a time of great transformation, can we grab the opportunity it represents?

March 5, 2009 By 13 Comments
Open your eye

At any one time, many possible futures are available to us as individuals and as a whole. Times of great change represent both times of great challenge and times of great opportunity. This is one of those times and it makes me excited. Yes - all the financial upheavals, and the crashing and burning of our current model of economic reality, has me seeing opportunities for creative and innovative change left, right and centre. From my perspective, I see that this so-called economic crisis … [Read more...]

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