It’s Autumn: trees are delighting us with a riot of colour, littering the ground with jewels from their branches. We can take a hint from Mother Nature and enjoy a similar process ourselves, letting go of old, stagnant, nonessentials. Releasing has many more nuances than just ‘getting rid’ of something. Pay attention to Nature move through a full cycle of gestation, birth, growth, and decay and you’ll see letting go as making space. Indeed, Spring blossoms and leaves come to be … [Read more...]
I’m not flexible enough to do yoga
by guest author Alys Titchener It took me years to turn up to a yoga class. Years and years of liking the idea of yoga before actually appearing on a yoga mat. Why? Whenever I confessed I’d never done a yoga class; I’d always append the confession with – I’m not flexible enough. Never have been. I got dropped from the gymnastics club at the age of eight because I couldn’t reach my toes. I could do handstands, I could vault, I could balance on the beam, but I couldn’t touch my toes. Perhaps … [Read more...]
How does Gangaji describe the practice of enquiry?
The path of direct enquiry is the lineage of Ramana Maharshi and what he offered as a path to his own spiritual self-realisation. It is what Papaji taught, and what Gangaji now teaches. Ramana once defined the practice of enquiry by starting with the question: Who Am I ? For all thoughts the source is the 'I' thought. If thoughts arise, without trying to complete them, enquire; to whom did this thought arise. What does it matter how many thoughts arise? As each thought arises, be … [Read more...]
How to Choose the Right Meditation Technique for You
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat This is an interesting question - how can I possibly know what meditation might suit you, especially when I don't know 'you' at all? There is therefore no definitive answer I can give you to this question. However, what I can do is take you through a process which can help you determine which type of meditation might be best for you. In essence, I ask you questions, and you answer them. Because who knows best, what's best for you? You, that's … [Read more...]
The wise do not waste time on meditation
Do not think that because you take an hour a day to sit and meditate that you have arrived. You have not arrived. Because when you get up off your mat All full of pride That you can stop your thoughts and focus your attention for an hour YOU Have not arrived The wise man does not meditate … [Read more...]