Diwali or Deepavali is the Hindu Festival of Lights and it celebrates the victory of light over darkness. It is a day of Hindu solidarity. Hindus all over the world celebrate this festival and it is a joyous time for families. Families and friends get together, gifts are exchanged, new clothes are worn, lavish meals are…
Read moreIf your awareness is constantly going to one particular area of the mind, then that is where your energy is flowing, and that area of the mind will become stronger and stronger. It is almost like you are feeding the muscles of that area of the mind. For example, if your awareness keeps going to…
Read moreReflection for this weekend: “It’s only when we have a methodical step-by-step approach to meditation with a goal clearly defined that we will not get distracted and discouraged by the challenges that arise. We can view them as lessons on the path that need to be learned and applied in life so that they do not repeat themselves.” ~…
Read moreTamil Nadu, the land of the Tamils, was dominated by the Dravidian culture for 2500 years. The cuisine is distinctly different from that of the north, and is based primarily on rice rather than wheat and an abundant use of coconut. With a largely vegetarian population like much of India, Tamil Nadu has a particularly…
Read moreOne of the analogies that my guru often used to describe awareness and the mind is viewing awareness as a traveler and the mind as the world. When you go to San Francisco to visit you have experiences that San Francisco offers. You experience San Francisco but you are not San Francisco. You are in…
Read moreReflection for this weekend:
“Change does not take a lot of time. It just takes a lot of will. That will has to be cultivated, just as we would cultivate a garden.” ~ Gurudeva Subramuniyaswami
Photo: Lily Flower, Hawaii
At an event in Portland, Oregon, I was asked, “What if we don’t have time to spend in reflection in the morning?” At the end of the day, it comes down to priorities. What’s important in your life? Everybody has time. I’m sure they have time to update their status or to talk with their…
Read moreThese 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…
Read moreTo 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…
Read moreTreat 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…
Read moreReflection 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.
Madurai’s Meenakshi Temple in South India, Hinduism’s grandest citadel to the goddess, is a sacred place of pilgrimage for Hindus the world over and one of the most famous temples in India. This temple, centuries old and hand carved out of granite, covers an area of 16.5 acres. In Madurai, the Goddess Meenakshi is considered…
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