Brad4d Savasana

If I saw 17 shooting stars during this year’s peak of the Geminids meteor shower, does that mean I get 17 wishes? Meteors enter the Earth’s atmosphere all the time, but often we don’t notice them because we’re not looking up. It’s the same with good things in our life. We don’t see them because we’re not looking in the right direction.

How hypocritical we can be when we hold resentment towards others without seeking forgiveness for our own words and behaviors? I believe many people cannot sit alone with themselves because their resentment towards others builds upon the times they’ve wounded others. Instead, we can begin to set ourselves free by forgiving “those who trespass against us.”

Many secular or New Age people will talk about their Dark Night of the Soul as if it’s a challenging moment, a depression, or just a bad experience. It’s much deeper than that. If you hear of someone talk or write about the Dark Night of the Soul without mentioning St. John of the Cross, it’s probably just a challenging time. The Dark Night of the Soul is a purgative process in the mystical tradit...

We recently hear about “doing the work.” All noble aims require a little bit of work. The “work” in The Cloud of Unknowing, the text often cited regarding Christian contemplation and meditation, is undoing the mind. Rather than study concepts of God or debate others about theology or liturgical practices, we drop all of it. We rest our thinking on God’s shoulder and abide in that love.

We live so much of our lives with “ought to” and “have to.” If we only live this pattern, it’s likely we’re only living our lives according to other people’s expectations of us. Meanwhile, our true self—our authentic self—is desperately trying to serve its purpose. This division becomes greater as we get older, and it can easily weaken us.

Our American culture encourages us to break down walls and barriers so we can achieve the American dream. But sometimes our “dream” might not even be ours. Sometimes we blindly follow a course or path without recognizing some of the stop signs or barriers that are trying to get us to turn. Sometimes failure is a good thing because it gets us to wake up and open our eyes.

When we get overly consumed in our problems, it might be difficult to see hope. Oftentimes, how we see the world is a confirmation of what we believe about it. A glimmer of hope could be right in front of you, not as the fulfillment of your demands, but as a reminder of the simplest things.

When we try to prove others wrong, sometimes it speaks of our attachment to being right. We need to be right so we can believe we have power over others. Sometimes both are right. In our fight against others, sometimes we might lose our sacred connection while strengthening our pride. Ultimately, our spiritual practices need to weaken our pride and strengthen our compassion and humility. If they d...

Many meditation and prayer practices are about getting out of our own way. That’s why many suggest practicing in the morning, before our minds get flooded with excess thoughts about the material world. We can tune into the heart, which can discern beyond emotion and reason. If we listen closely, it will guide us by saying, “Oh yes!”

When our minds fixate or ruminate on something wrong, it can disrupt our inner peace. If we challenge ourselves to look at other things, we can put these disrupters into perspective. We look beyond the superficial to notice that the world turns with no help from you. We look around and notice something new or evolving. We look within to notice how our reactions and patterns continually disrupt our...

In a society that values “success” and “achievement,” we forget that our actual existence is a gift from God. Whatever we achieve in the material world means nothing in the spiritual realm. When we devote too much energy in developing the false self, we build too thick a wall between ourselves and God. It is up to us to break down these walls and remember our original grace.

We might look for clues and cues in our everyday lives about where we should turn. We might even experience a vision or message that we believe is from God. Perhaps it might come as an ecstatic experience, overwhelming our senses. But Walter Hilton, in his book, Ladder of Perfection, says, “Whoa!” The senses, if driven by the ego, can drive us into chaos in seeking sensory gratification. Instead,...

Most spiritual paths emphasize dissolving self-centeredness for something bigger. One of the core texts of Christian meditation—or Centering Prayer—tells us the same. We dissolve ourselves into this Cloud of Unknowing so we can transcend the ego and experience union with God.

Some people today will claim to have “visions” or hear “voices from God.” Although I don’t doubt their experience, I’m careful of seeing them as “mystics.” Looking at the stories of mystics from the past, it’s a tough journey. Mystics aren’t rich, and they certainly don’t hold workshops on how to have visions. True mystics have become immersed in God. Their path is one of service, and you know the...

A lot of talk about “purpose” confuses work and service. Many times work is what we do for some reward, whether it’s money or status. Service is our giving back without needing credit.

Think about some of the words we choose to make inferences about the world: all, no one, everyone, many. These words lack specificity, and our inferences might be hyperbolic. They also might not be true. Our minds easily ruminate on these thoughts, which can affect how we live our lives.

Mental, physical and emotional balance is critical in avoiding burnout or overwhelm. There might be times when emphasizing one is appropriate, but then we must take measures to restore balance. Look at your own life to see where you could reduce your energy or shift it towards other components.

We are easily swept away by messages of collecting, of gain, of winning. Spiritual traditions teach us messages of shedding, of surrender, of communion. There is only one true identity we need to seek—the identity in God.

Many self-help books or workshops will label the ego (or the false self) as bad. They advise for us to rid ourselves of it. The ego simply has been misaligned from our experiences. Rather than fight against ourselves, we can transform the ego so that it serves our essential (or authentic) self.

Fire, just like water, is powerful. It gives light and destroys if we use it mindfully. Most of all, it has the power to transform, burning away the temporal and softening us to be molded into something new.

We cling to moments of joy and avert moments of pain. This is natural. However, we can bring about suffering if we believe that things aren’t changing. We fear losing what we love or we panic thinking this moment of pain will endure. With each passing moment, there is birth, life, death, and regeneration.

How often do we bypass or overlook the present moment because we’re yearning for the past or anxious about the future? These cognitions weigh the present moment, and hinder our ability to see new seeds that might be planted. Rather than spending our lives constantly whipping our heads between the unchangeable past and unpredictable future, we can remain aware and unbiased with what we’re experienc...

Some will say meditation isn’t supposed to have a goal, but we all have an intention behind everything that we do. Some spiritual practices—like prayer—might appear to be sacred, but if our intention is to merely complete them to check off a list, they’ve lost their sacredness. We can’t get too attached to our spiritual practices because sometimes they become routine. It is then that we move to ot...

Many self-help charlatans will tell you to “listen to your emotions” rather than your logical mind. Your emotions can easily steer your life out of control if your mind doesn’t help balance them. However, there might be times in your life where your emotions run out of energy. What fuels you then? Faith. Faith takes you by the hand and guides you through the darkness.

Myers-Briggs, The Enneagram, or even astrology attempt to define us. We might say, “Yes, that’s me!” But do these tests really understand how your experiences, your ego/false self, and each unique situation factor into your response any given moment? If we believe that we “know who we are” through taking these tests, we’ve found a way to limit our spiritual path. After all, the spiritual path will...