Brad4d Savasana

If you sit outside before dawn, you hear the quiet before the first bird sings. It gives us hope that a new day is dawning. This bird is like a prophet, singing in the dark, with no care of who listens. It sings because that is its mission—to awaken the world who has fallen asleep.

When we get overwhelmed with the state of the world or the state of our lives, it’s important to take time in sanctuary. Whether it’s a physical space in your abode or a brief traffic light, time in sanctuary can recalibrate our thinking. We sit quietly with our deep breath, receiving the gifts to steady us.

We seek pleasure in worldly things, believing these things can relieve our suffering. But the more we accumulate, the more attached we become. Thomas Merton suggests that our experience with God is inversely proportionate to our attachments.

You don’t have to take holy orders to become a monk in ordinary life. If you have a longing that fails to be satisfied with material or temporary things, it could be a call to experience God. Contemplation is this experience, and although many writers have tried to express it, it, like God, can only be revealed when the student is ready.

It’s easy to get caught up with media that nourishes our seeds of afflictive emotions. If that is the case, we shouldn’t be surprised if we react to others—and ourselves—with these afflictive emotions. If we can instead catch ourselves in these moments and say, “I don’t have time for this,” we can nourish the seeds of compassion and truth.

Many will eschew “mainstream religion” because it has “too many rules.” But we recognize that certain rules guide us on the road of life. Rather than criticize those who attend religious institutions, we should recognize the areas in our life where we need discipline.

Many of us are told to “follow your passion.” However, this fails to tie us with a deeper purpose. At a graduation speech several years ago, Walter Isaacson told the graduates to “Aim higher,” and tie our passion to service to others. Rather than be consumed with our own needs, why not start each day by asking, “How can I serve?”

Many spiritual traditions will use their texts to open their hearts to The Divine. This episode employs Lectio Divina from the Christian tradition. The passages are drawn from the book, “Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Lao Tzu: The Parallel Sayings” by Richard Hooper. If you’re interested in interfaith dialogue, this book does a marvelous job in bringing these faith traditions together.

Kahlil Gibran wrote compelling imaginings about Jesus from the perspective of those who encountered him. This passage illuminates how Jesus loved the “unseen” in Mary Magdalene. Her meeting Jesus made her realize that she had separated herself from her spirit. We can use this passage to ask ourselves if we, too, have forgotten our spirit, causing us to look to external things to bring us temporary...

The power of positive thinking is strong, but it’s important to investigate our thoughts. Even if we have a “burning desire” for something, the law of attraction cannot fill a void of which you are unaware. For instance, if you desire an expensive car, what void do you believe this will fill? A desire to be popular or accepted? A car might bring temporal acceptance, but it will only introduce crav...

In southern Virginia, the Yogaville community has a beautiful shrine called LOTUS, which stands for Light Of Truth Universal Shrine. It suggests there is “one truth, many paths.” Richard Hooper echoes this sentiment in his book, “Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, and Lao-Tzu; The Parallel Sayings.” Sometimes the truth is hidden in the present moment if we open our eyes to see.

Do our words emerge from the depth of our hearts—the silence? Or are they rooted in our desires to win an argument? Cultivating silence in our everyday experiences allow us to speak with integrity and meaning. This passage from Thomas Merton tells us that silence is the “mother of all speech,” the formless before the formed.

We love distraction, particularly if we’re addicted to our emotional drama. We also love to muddy the water of our lives when we believe that our excesses can bring inner peace. Thomas Merton says that this is illusion. Those who thrive on distraction fear the truth that silence can bring. Instead, we can welcome silence into our minds and hearts, knowing that it is where God’s voice is heard.

Eric Whitacre was featured on “CBS Sunday Morning,” highlighting his remarkable music talents. His song, “Sing Gently,” brings 17,000 voices from all over the world. Each voice plays a role in creating the magic. Each voice sings with the intention of joining others in perfect harmony. In our society, many voices want to stand out for the purpose of being heard, rather than to bring harmony. Can w...

Thomas Merton describes the consonantia of nature and silence in the essay, Day of a Stranger. We can hear these notes if we tune out the noise in our heads and listen with spirit.

Our technologies make it easy to escape our current reality, but it also prevents us from learning what the present moment can teach us about ourselves. Do we hold unrealistic expectations that are only fulfilled in our fantasy? Our ability to come home to ourselves and our imperfections allows us to learn lessons, particularly about how we relate to ourselves and others.

On this day, the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, we contemplate who she was, rather than who we want her to be. Oftentimes we don’t like uncertainty, preferring the manifest over the unmanifest. But the mystery, the unmanifest, is pregnant with potential. Can we sit with uncertainty, rather than rush to an answer that might not be the right one?

We applaud extremes. We are somewhat envious of those in the circus. We implicitly tell ourselves that we must be extreme to be accepted and approved by others. Yet we come home to ourselves and cannot accept our mundane life. This makes us more anxious and unsatisfied with ourselves. However, inner peace can be found not by external acclaim, validation, or compensation. It can be found with our a...

Henry David Thoreau’s “experiment” in living alone in the woods presented him with a sense of mindfulness. In the conclusion of “Walden,” he writes the importance of inner exploration.

In a society that takes comfort in separation and dualism, it might be discomforting to see God in people and things we do not like. God is infinite and all-pervasive, connecting all things. Kabbalah is one of many mystical teachings that recognize the existence of God in all things.

When I see immense houses in neighborhoods much wealthier than mine, I wonder how someone needs that much space. After watching a documentary featuring Diana Beresford-Kroeger, a conservationist, I felt the urgency in preserving our forests. We might feel powerless in battling government and business to slow climate change, but we can do our part in refraining from excess.

As a former news photographer, it was my job to capture moments in a short amount of time. But how often do we rush through our experiences in hopes of capturing the moments to share on social media? Rather than view our moments through our cell phone cameras, why not experience things first, and truly live in the moment?

Thomas Merton gave this powerful speech criticizing politics, business and media for dividing the nation. His words in 1964 still ring true today. A minor oops in my recording of this—the book by Mirabai Starr is called “Wild Mercy.”

When we hold onto our anger, it might be difficult to forgive. We might believe that we are victims of injustice, but ultimately we must make an account of how we treat others. Those who have gone forth plead with us to make amends on earth, before it’s too late.

How often do we get caught up in the busy-ness of our lives? Have we stopped and asked ourselves what is really necessary, and what is trivial? Thoreau suggests for us to simplify our lives.