These days listening is a rare trait. It is rare because most people have great difficulty in concentrating. Another area in life where concentration plays a big part to me is in building relationships with people. One of the ways to build relationships with people is the ability to listen. But you cannot listen if…
To understand how to live in the moment, we need to have an understanding of time. Let’s look at time in a very simple but practical way: If you could divide time into three parts, you could say there was the past, the present and the future. At any given point, awareness can be functioning…
Treat your awareness like a dog. I remember a few years ago I went on holidays to the Caribbean, and while I was there, I stayed with a friend of mine. He works for the FBI and is in the Canine Unit, so he has a German Shepherd. A big, beautiful dog. This dog is…
Reflection for this weekend:
“Taking responsibility for one’s own actions is the first step in understanding the law of karma.” ~ Dandapani
Photo: Mount Merapi at sunrise, Central Java, Indonesia.
We really don’t know what happens at the point of death, so most of us don’t like to think about it. We live our lives like we’re going to live forever, but the truth is we don’t live forever. We all die at some point. When you realize that life is finite—not short, but finite—you…
I meet so many people that are obsessed about learning, that are perpetually taking one course after another. Learning is good, but more important than the ebullient need to consume knowledge should be the need to apply the knowledge learned in daily life. This is where most people fall short. Learning gives us a high,…
Reflection for this weekend:
“Withdraw your energy from people in your life who are inherently energy vampires. Practice being affectionately detached with them but always kind, gentle, sincere and loving towards them.” ~ Dandapani
I am often asked, “What is the best time to meditate?” The best time to meditate is in the morning as soon as you wake up. Don’t look at your phone, don’t check your email, don’t listen to news, don’t go on social media. Take a shower, put on fresh clothes, and go straight to…
My guru, Gurudeva Subramuniyaswami, once said, “There is nothing more important than knowing who you are, the path that you are on and its final end.” Once you begin the process of getting to know yourself, one of the first things you have to do is ask yourself what is it that you want out…
Reflection for this weekend:
“Spiritual tools are useless unless they are put into practice.” ~ Dandapani
Photo: Varanasi, India at sunset
As I have shared previously the most important thing in the beginning study of the mind is to understand that there is a separation between awareness and the mind. Another equally important thing to understand is the relationship between awareness and energy. There’s a beautiful saying that my guru use to say all the time.…
Reflection for this weekend:
“Your desires, the focus of your energy, change as you mature, causing you to leave old desires and create new ones.” ~ Dandapani
Photo: Dandapani speaks with Robin Buck, a co-teacher on his spiritual adventures, on the banks of the Ganges River in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi, North India.
