Sometimes words alone are not enough to convey a feeling of the true fellowship we share with all life. It is at times like these that I often turn to music, exotic sound, monastic chant to experience healing meditation…

Many self-styled experts on the mind feel that spiritual practice like mantra or meditation is just about belief. Others come to realize that belief is an aspect of the mind that tries to grasp the unknown.

Always seeking to make what it doesn’t understand conform to something it can quantify, the lesser ego can often miss the healing message of Read the rest of this entry »

12-week personal meditation course

There’s still time to enroll for an online course on insight meditation taught by vipassana meditation masters Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein.  It begins on January 21, 2010, and continues for 12-weeks.

While it is live and interactive, you can still participate even if your schedule conflicts by downloading the audio a few days after each presentation.

And if you want to take the course and also have personal Read the rest of this entry »

The year 2009 has come and gone, with its medley of joys and pain–each of them enlightening experiences in their way.

In reviewing 2009, I have many things to appreciate. In anticipation of the future, I have much to expect that can bring blessing and healing to all life. I’m grateful for so much and appreciate the richness each moment presents. Each moment is a gift of revelation.

And I offer you my thoughts lifted up in highest light and unconditional regard for all I experience and all I meet in that light. I especially thank you for reading and commenting on my blog.

In the midst of reflecting on the fun side of my work–and it’s all fun, even the Read the rest of this entry »

How my Krishna devotion began

(This story is dedicated to Mary Anne, who taught me all I know about polishing the Murti…)

There are volumes written on devotion to the Lord. My favorite is the story about Arjuna’s experiences with Krishna as his charioteer during the Maha Bharata. And you can entertain me endlessly if you know stories of Krishna’s life from Shastras and mythology.

My acquaintance with Krishna began at the airport years ago, when his devotees gave me a flower and smiles. (:

I had no clue until George Harrison cleared things up for me. Read the rest of this entry »

The Essence of the Universe

The classic mantra ‘Om’ is a sacred syllable that embraces the essence of the Universe. When you chant the ‘Om’ as part of the “Om Namah Shivaya” you give salutations to Shiva, or the power of the universe to destroy darkness. You can give this mantra any time you like, or as part of your formal meditation practice. You may like this mantra as a chakra meditation for healing.

If you are devotional, the form or pronunciation may not be as important to you as the feeling or bhakti. You might experience the energy of mantra in its purest form and enter a trance Read the rest of this entry »

I just read an article at Wisconsin State Journal on a study that seeks to determine if exercise or meditation can ward of colds or the flu.

Dr. Bruce Barret, a University of Wisconsin physician heading up the study says that although scientists know meditation reduces stress and exercise can prevent chronic diseases, they don’t yet know if either activity makes the immune system better able to fight respiratory infections.

So the objective of the study is to see whether the immune system can be influenced to protect against cold and flu.

But I wondered, why wait for science to prove Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re in San Diego on a third Thursday, you won’t want to miss Mantra, an alternative spiritual service with music by Karl Anthony at The Unity Center.

Karl and his wife Jeanne are a dynamic musical team. They have a remarkable style of communicating with Karl’s original music and Jeanne’s amazing performance of American sign language. Whenever I go to one of their events, I experience a Read the rest of this entry »

Seated Meditation Instruction: Here’s a cute short video on how you do Zazen, or seated meditation, correctly. The presenter, Patrick of Yoga Garden, gives some practical advice and throws in a bit of Zen humor. Enjoy.

Meditation Program

There are several programs on the market that help you achieve deep brainwave patterns. These deeper mind states have been measured in monks who are highly experienced in Zen meditation. The trouble with most of these programs is that they Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a short video with basic meditation instruction. The presenter, Tarek Kazak,  provides a concise introduction to basic meditation without using spiritual terminology. He also talks briefly about why meditation is healing, and demonstrates how to do a simple meditation practice correctly.

My Other Blogs

• TeleMeditations
• WhoHeals

If you are familiar with the Ramayan or when you first read it, you find Hanuman who is most famous for his example of pure devotion to Ram through his practice of Bhakti Yoga. But there’s also an important little-known side story about Hanuman. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m going to the Bhakti Fest with a friend next month and it seems everything I turn to lately brings me back to my love of all things devotional. Not taking a computer or other internet with us to the festival…(-: But I will Read the rest of this entry »

Did you know that although archeologists have discovered Dwaraka, the mythical lost city of  Krishna in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Gujarat, most of the world is oblivious even seven or so years later?

An excerpt from a rare documentary, below, highlights  one of the most important archeological discoveries of our times. This find by one of India’s preeminent archeologists may change Read the rest of this entry »

Truth exposed: The Four Noble Truths have often been misunderstood as a pessimistic message. But the opposite is true. The main message of The Buddha in giving these Truths is that suffering, or ‘dukkha’, can be overcome, and that there is a way to that freedom.

When Shakyamuni Buddha realized that the unenlightened did not know that their normal state was suffering compared to nirvana, why that is even so, or that there is a complete cure and how it works, he gave his teaching on the Four Noble Truths. They are Read the rest of this entry »

Meditating on the image of the Medicine Buddha aids you in embodying the Buddha’s healing qualities.

The Medicine Buddha Sutra teaches that Bhaisajyaguru became the Medicine Buddha when he entered into the state of samadhi and spoke the Medicine Buddha Dharani for the first time. The purpose of samadhi is for the elimination of the suffering and affliction of all sentient beings.

It is said that one who venerates the Medicine Buddha deity will experience increased healing powers, and decreased physical and mental illness and suffering. Following is the Read the rest of this entry »

This 52-minute film (split into six shorter videos) features sacred rituals of Tibet.

Produced by Sheldon Rochlin and Mark Elliot, and narrated by Francis Huxley, the film includes rare archival footage of old Tibet. It also reveals lamas and monks performing sacred chakra rituals taught by His Holiness The Dalai Lama.

The film summarizes Tibetan history with video shorts from from the 1920′s until 1959 when Communist China overtook Tibet. The monks performing these sacred rituals of Read the rest of this entry »

Where are the authentic flying lamas or levitating yogis of our times?

After reading accounts by French explorer Alexandra David Neel of flying llamas in Tibet, I tried to find authentic videos that might demonstrate such siddhis.

Instead of finding what I wanted, I got a mixed bag of tricks. But I liked what I got!

Among the many videos on this phenomenon there were Read the rest of this entry »

Listen to the Sagasrabana Mantra while watching through the pilgram’s video lens on the way to Vasishta Gufta, or Shiva’s Cave.

Travel with this home-video journalist, feeling the bumpy road as you ride with these pilgrims up the steep winding roads into the foothills of the Read the rest of this entry »