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Meditation, the B52s, and Spaciousness. ~ Chad Woodland
by elephantjournal.com on Feb 4, 2012
Yes, we Shambhala Buddhist enjoy parties and we love to dance. So we're on the dance floor and the B52s Love Shack comes on and its always been one of my favorite tunes. Great times ensue153 views
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Obstacles and Antidotes to Daily Meditation.
by Linda Lewis on Feb 1, 2012
His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche used to say, “Practicing with obstacles is supreme practice.” Various obstacles can arise in meditation not only for the novice but for the senior practioner.520 views
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Kitchen Sink Dharma: Clearing the Space. ~ Rick Gilbert
by elephantjournal.com on Jan 28, 2012
On a very basic level, cleaning your space and removing debris and clutter allows this energy to flow through. And, what better inside space to experience all elements simultaneously than your kitchen?583 views
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Zen for the Beginner’s Mind. ~ Andrew Wilson
by elephantjournal.com on Jan 27, 2012
Zen is directly seeing into one's original nature before any thoughts arise.356 views
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How Mindfulness Helps us Respond to Physical Suffering. ~ Toni Bernhard
by elephantjournal.com on Jan 26, 2012
With practice, mindfulness calms and steadies the mind. This is beneficial because when we’re experiencing physical discomfort, our minds often churn with stressful emotions and thoughts—we can’t sort them out.683 views
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The metta sutra.
by Michelle Fajkus on Jan 23, 2012
This is what should be done By one who is skilled in goodness, And who knows the path of peace...113 views
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Ambivalence & Doubt on the Spiritual Path. ~ Belle DeArmon Alonzo
by elephantjournal.com on Jan 23, 2012
Building your own spiritual path from scratch and life experience is not easy, quite the opposite.133 views
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Money & Divinity. ~ Valerie Vendrame
by elephantjournal.com on Jan 20, 2012
It is one of the sad ironies of modern life that people often seem to be paid in inverse proportion to their value to society.1,423 views
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Religiousness and the Spiritual Path. ~ Chad Woodland
by elephantjournal.com on Jan 19, 2012
Just as monks do with their religious convictions, we can use those inspirations to drive our spiritual journey.101 views
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One of the Scariest Things I’ve Ever Done: Living 2 Years at a Buddhist Retreat Center (Part I.). ~ Sherri Rosen
by elephantjournal.com on Jan 16, 2012
Believe me, there were many days I struggled through this practice, not wanting to care about anyone except myself. What I began to realize from doing this practice was not to lash out at others in order to make them feel the pain that I was experiencing. It was important to sit with my feelings and allow them to pass.194 views
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One of the Scariest Things I’ve Ever Done: Transitioning Back to the Real World After 2 Years at a Buddhist Retreat Center (Part II.). ~ Sherri Rosen
by elephantjournal.com on Jan 16, 2012
When I came back to New York City, after my two-year stay, a big change occurred in my publicity business. I began to discriminate whom I would work with as clients, whom I would have as friends and whom I would have as lovers. Respect and kindness became important to me and I began attracting those qualities in the people who came into my life. Not all of the time, but most of the time. After all, it was up to me to discriminate no matter who came into my life.202 views
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Why It Is Easier To Act More Like Al Capone, Than Jesus, Buddha or Gandhi. ~ Matt Rutkowski
by elephantjournal.com on Jan 4, 2012
It is clearly in our nature to be war-like, cruel, impulsive and rude. But it is also clearly in our nature to be kind, compassionate, loving and caring.184 views
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Death and the New Year.
by Eric Klein on Jan 2, 2012
Do your goal and to-do list matter? Who to ask? Death has insights for the New Year.1,088 views
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Get Me Off This Crazy Ride. Or Not. ~ Jeri Senor
by elephantjournal.com on Dec 27, 2011
I have been experiencing some sort of profound consciousness shift. My three lowest chakras (energy vortices lying along the etheric spine, the lowest three associated with survival in terms of meeting basic needs, sexuality and ego-sense respectively) are in a state of complete and irreverent disarray. I am careening out of control and the intensity of this churning and unbounded energy, that has for whatever reason been cathartically awakened, is absolutely flooding into every aspect of my existence.235 views
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So It’s Money You Want?
by Matt Wallace on Dec 20, 2011
Often times the desire for fortune is put down in the community of spiritual seekers.109 views
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Ragas are for yoga class, so please leave the pop music at the door.
by Jerome Burdi on Dec 19, 2011
When the teacher fills the room with empty music that has no relation to the spirit of yoga, then it’s one more distraction -- and a very intimate one -- that will have to be put aside to have a proper practice that aligns you with the spirit.303 views
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How becoming a Buddhist helped me to love Jesus.
by Writing Our Way Home on Dec 19, 2011
If we can open ourselves to new experience, it will change the whole world for us.146 views
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Super-Size My Ego with a Side of Spiritual Materialism. ~ Greg Eckard
by elephantjournal.com on Dec 14, 2011
the ego can cleverly twist a well-intentioned desire for a spiritual life to its own ends.569 views
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elephantjournal.com reviews: San Francisco’s Samovar Tea Lounge. {photo tour}
by Lindsey Block on Dec 12, 2011
…320 views
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The Daily Spiritual Experience.
by Matt Wallace on Dec 11, 2011
In today’s spiritual experience, tales of levitating yogis, mind-altering meditations, and transcendent multi-hour asana practices dominate the scene, leaving many less “accomplished” spiritual seekers in search of the ultimate experience.859 views
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The antidote to having a million things to do
by Writing Our Way Home on Dec 9, 2011
There are a million things to do. Christmas cards to write, presents to wrap, the house to clean, articles to write, email to be dealt with. Kittens to be rescued from the top of wardrobes. And yet...103 views
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Follow Your Heart. ~ Chloe Park
by elephantjournal.com on Dec 6, 2011
When I say I want to be like Gandhi, I’m serious. It’s not really a joke at all.324 views
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Can Fear Be Good for Your Yoga Practice? Part 1.
by Valerie Carruthers on Nov 30, 2011
Your hand now on the same latitude as your heart, surrendering to that grace-filled moment you can awaken into fearlessness or at least consider the idea of it. Given such portals into ecstatic release and blissful emptying what purpose could fear possibly serve in Yoga practice, other than being something we'd like to stamp paid?201 views
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Buddhist Yoga: Joining with Naturalness, Part VI. ~ Ari Goldfield & Rose Taylor Goldfield
by elephantjournal.com on Nov 30, 2011
In this sixth of seven pieces on Buddhist Yoga, we will focus on how to skillfully work with sickness on the path of practice. The view of Buddhist Yoga is that sickness is our friend. It can benefit our practice even more than being healthy does.130 views
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Buddhist Yoga: Joining with Naturalness, Part V. ~ Ari Goldfield & Rose Taylor Goldfield
by elephantjournal.com on Nov 23, 2011
In this fifth of seven pieces on Buddhist Yoga, we will focus on Buddhist Yogic Exercise. One of the methods to realize the fruition of Buddhist Yoga is yogic exercise. While there are many forms of yogic exercise, this presentation is based on teachings given by Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. In Khenpo Rinpoche’s system, the actual exercises are best learnt under the direct guidance of an instructor, but the key points on how to work with the body and mind can be applied to all kinds of movement.156 views
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Educating for Noble Qualities In Challenging Times. ~ Noel McLellan
by elephantjournal.com on Nov 21, 2011
Our interactions are generally about academic content, and I do my best to help the students learn, but passing on the transmission of trust is the real point.1,116 views
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Why the Dharma Should Be Sold: Or How to Make a Living Off of Spirituality Without Being Called a Sellout. ~ Keith Martin-Smith
by elephantjournal.com on Nov 21, 2011
The dharma is not sold, it is said, and certainly not sold at handsome profits. My question is: why not?394 views
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Buddhist Yoga: Joining with Naturalness, Part IV. ~ Ari Goldfield & Rose Taylor Goldfield
by elephantjournal.com on Nov 17, 2011
In this fourth of seven pieces on Buddhist Yoga, we will focus on the third quality cultivated in Buddhist Yoga—the previous two being renunciation and compassionate bochichitta. The third quality of mind that Buddhist yogis and yoginis need is the view of the profound true nature of reality—non-dual awareness.394 views
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Ordinary Perfection: A Buddhist Approach to Self-acceptance. ~Sister Shamu
by elephantjournal.com on Nov 16, 2011
I have this crazy idea of what perfection is supposed to be like, of what an enlightened person, a spiritual person, an intelligent person is supposed to be like. I don’t measure up. The Buddhists have a teaching about “ordinary perfection.” It is about finding perfection in non-perfection. It is about recognizing that enlightenment, or mature spirituality, looks exactly like your life right now, exactly as it is.106 views
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Dharma talk: How to dodge your ego
by Writing Our Way Home on Nov 10, 2011
After the service, Kaspa told me I'd got everything right, apart from the terrible faux pas of walking down the centre of the material in front of the shrine. This is reserved for EMPERORS ONLY. Talk about giving myself a promotion...75 views
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Buddhist Yoga: Joining with Naturalness, Part III. ~ Ari Goldfield & Rose Taylor Goldfield
by elephantjournal.com on Nov 9, 2011
In this third of seven pieces on Buddhist Yoga, we will focus on the second of the qualities that are foundational aspects of Buddhist Yoga—the first being renunciation and the third being the profound view. The second quality cultivated by practitioners of Buddhist Yoga is bodhichitta,[1] the motivation to attain buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.412 views
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The Many Gifts of Cancer (What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You).
by Jessica Stone Baker on Nov 9, 2011
“You know, we all get gifts from going through cancer. Cancer is different from other illnesses.” Excuses, go away. Welcome, Enlightenment.2,144 views
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Mountain Origins of Yoga: Feeding the Hungry Ghosts with Incense, Part III.
by John Allen Gibel on Oct 18, 2011
Commonly found amongst the indigenous mountain cults of Nepal and Tibet is the ritual of burnt offerings at the mountain summit. This practice of making fragrant offerings to propitiate unseen forces is one that is found the world over, from the Vedas to the Old Testament. In the traditions of the folk-magic and religion of Tibet in particular, we find a highly developed expression of this tradition160 views
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Surrogate Personalities?
by Yogi Michael Boyle on Oct 16, 2011
My brain-mind's idea about who I am, meets your brain-mind's idea of who you are - and we call it a relationship. But, really, our true Minds, our hearts, never meet. Neurons may fire and we may feel like something real is happening, but it's rather quite like the Matrix.447 views
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How to find happiness, wealth & fame in 3 easy steps (not)
by Writing Our Way Home on Sep 29, 2011
I want you to be happy. I want to give you three easy steps that will change your life forever. I also know that these steps do not exist. Or, they do, but....969 views
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What About the Heroine? ~ Donna Baier Stein
by elephantjournal.com on Sep 22, 2011
Literature is rife with narratives of the hero’s journey. But what about the heroine?1,571 views
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Identity Crisis, or Misunderstood Enlightenment: How to Be Your Own Hero. ~ Sara Lindsey
by elephantjournal.com on Sep 21, 2011
How does one begin to know who they truly are when so many angles are given to them? Simply remain aware of that which is within.963 views
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Samadhi Pants – The Flower Sermon
by Joseph Boquiren on Sep 19, 2011
This week's strip is based upon passages in the Shobogenzo by Dogen.367 views
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Can Yoga Help You Discover Your Life Purpose?
by Dashama Konah on Sep 7, 2011
Have you wondered what you were doing here?1,401 views
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Gurus, Authority, and Free Market Buddhism.
by Benjamin Riggs on Sep 7, 2011
Gurus, institutional authority, and the emergence of a progressive Buddhism.1,481 views
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Quote of the Day: Chogyam Trungpa, on Reincarnation.
by elephantjournal.com on Sep 5, 2011
…2,456 views
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“Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” ~ Buddha
by elephantjournal.com on Sep 5, 2011
…994 views
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