Brad4d Savasana

When life turns chaotic, our rituals and routines help ground us. They can bring calm to the storm. It’s important, though, to reevaluate our routines to ensure they continue to be life-giving rather than limiting. Equally important is to incorporate more of them when our life might not seem to be going in circles.

How many times a day do you come across messages that say, “You need…”? Billions of dollars are made each moment by preying on your feelings of inadequacy. Images and videos portray those who have something you don’t, and it makes you feel as if who you are isn’t enough. But no sensory pleasure will satisfy. A healthy inner life is what matters. It can’t be achieved in an instant.

So much discourse is wasted on complaining. We want to tell others how the “other” has hurt us. We wallow in our suffering rather than allowing it to transform us into something new. The book, The Deepest Peace, by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel is a POWERFUL book that challenges us to see peace in spite of the violence.

It’s funny how so many Christians fear meditation because of what someone else told them. Do they not trust that the Holy Spirit can discern? In a world where so many ache to experience the divine, perhaps we need to remind Christians (and others) of the LONG history of Christians who meditate.

Although there are too many conspiracy theories that cultivate mistrust in institutions, it’s important to maintain a healthy level of skepticism about what you personally know and believe. Even scientists are challenging their theories to forward their understanding of phenomena. When someone presents an alternative explanation for what is known, look at their evidence AND your evidence. Always k...

What would happen if The Beatles never existed? The movie “Yesterday” poses this question. The music of The Beatles still lives strong today. The song “Let It Be” gives a kind message of hope for those who struggle. Sometimes the simplest message is the right one.

Any time we catch ourselves at a moment of unconscious or even malevolent thought, we can pause and speak words to ourselves that change direction. Even you don’t find time to meditate, take these phrases with you to practice mini-meditation sessions throughout the day. You might find meditation comes more easily when you find a moment to pause.

You might have heard this quote from Thich Nhat Hanh. It’s a wise perspective when our lives seem muddy or chaotic. Most things in nature must endure struggle in order to see the light. Why do we believe we are different?

So many of us struggle to please others and conform to the expectations of others. We measure our beauty and worth based on arbitrary standards rather than shine in our authentic selves. When we begin to live authentically, we inspire others who didn’t have the courage to live the same.

How we see the world is often a projection of our own minds. It’s easy to point out the speck in the eyes of others yet refuse to acknowledge the plank in our own eyes. We want to rid the world of conflict, but it starts with our own minds. Rather than project our guilt unto others, we should look to see where we need to work within.

We all have them—the many voices that tell us we can’t or shouldn’t. Many times they’re deep-seated memories that want to color or suppress the present moment or situation. Also within us is a voice that says we can and we should. Let’s look to them when the inner critic demands to be heard.

Just because someone is experienced at meditation doesn’t mean it’s easy. We still struggle during tough moments in our life. When we get stuck on the hamster wheel of ruminating thoughts, oftentimes the present moment offers us a moment of repose.

We easily judge others for behaving irrationally, but we often don’t see the many moments where we do the same. Our emotions and circumstances will often influence how we behave at any given moment. Therefore, it’s up to us to remain aware at every given moment, particularly when we make important decisions for ourselves and others.

Sometimes our frustration comes when we compare our lives to others. Instead, we should aim to carve a unique path, led by what awakens our freedom the most. Rather than work towards a goal, live in the path.

At the end of the term, many students recognize that they aren’t doing as well as they thought. Throughout the semester, they were unconscious how their decisions affected their progress and learning. Therefore, they were surprised at the outcome. This can happen in our own lives when we live in habits and routines. If we reflect on the choices we make each day, we might obtain different results i...

Too many marketers are getting involved in “selling” one type of meditation technique as “the only” way or the “proven” way. Please. Just as there are different foods to nourish us, there are many meditation practices to steady our minds. Pick one that suits you, but also know that others will suit you at other times in your life.

Before Napoleon Hill, there was James Allen’s “As A Man Thinketh.” Much of our words and behaviors are results of our thoughts. Allen tells us how important it is to meditate on benevolent, kind thoughts so that our words and actions bring about benevolence.

So many marketers and influencers want to sell us “one pill” or “the only method proven” to lose weight, make us happy, heal our relationships. Because several behaviors and experiences resulted in your suffering, several methods—and time—will turn things around. There are no quick, easy fixes. Change is hard, but well worth it. And by the way, be sure to get your vaccine!

Many self-help gurus like to validate our pain or perhaps soften it, but do they actually provide ways of healing it? We come off retreats feeling so high, only to return to our communities feeling a larger divide between “us” and “them.” Good self-help, or “self-care,” should aim for healing, which can ache sometimes because we’re forced to take an authentic look at ourselves.

How hasty are we in our response to others? How do we know the accuracy of our interpretations? Rather than seek truth, we often project our own issues onto the behaviors of others. Our emotional states and unresolved conflicts easily muddy the waters of our current experiences. Rather than react, we might be better to listen to others a little more closely.

“Flow” is the moment in your life when you’re so immersed in what you’re doing that it seems timeless. Although you’re engaged in great effort, it seems natural and effortless. Things seem to unfold easily. Flow points us to our authenticity, because we’re not seeking gain or approval. Instead, we are engaged in who we authentically are.

The Buddha taught “attadipa,” which essentially means “be islands unto yourselves.” We get easily swept up by the opinions of others, and this can cause suffering. If we become sustainable unto ourselves, we aren’t affected—good or bad—by how others regard us. We mindfully investigate the words and actions of others in our uncovering of truth, but we don’t depend on the words and actions of others...

We look in awe at the moon when it is full and bright, but we don’t often acknowledge it during the day or during its various stages. The moon gives us hope, knowing that we are always in a stage of waxing and waning. We aren’t meant to shine bright all the time. It bows in subservience to the sun and the Earth.

Each Friday I couldn’t wait to watch the next episode of “Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” It would be first on my list of things to do rather than waiting until evening, when my “have-to’s” were done. Impulse control and delayed gratification are part of emotional intelligence, which has been a better indicator of life success than IQ or SAT score. We can better manage our time, energy, and life i...

How is it we hate to be alone yet we insist the world revolves around us? If we insist that we are “social beings,” why do we persist in acting in our own self interest? On the other hand, people criticize those who seek to better themselves for the sake of living better in a community. Ultimately that is our social responsibility. If we want to eschew secular or religious law, we can’t ignore spi...