Brad4d Savasana

If you love the water, here’s John Masefield’s poem, “Sea Fever.” Yes, I recorded this a few feet from the Atlantic surf.

Thomas Merton wrote about spiritual truth that resonates with many religious and spiritual traditions. Here’s a passage about how frustration ensues when we demand for the world to bend to our selfish desires.

Marianne Williamson’s book, “Healing the Soul of America,” focuses on a spiritual approach to politics—one that’s grounded in humanity rather than division. We know that fulfillment based on materialism is temporal, so she suggests a different, more sustainable, approach.

Don Miguel Ruiz’s book, “The Four Agreements,” considers four simple, powerful principles to guide your life. The first is speaking truth to yourself and others.

Savasana, or “corpse pose,” is a yoga “pose” that typically ends a yoga practice. It allows us to settle into a state of calm.

The focus of Anthony de Mello’s work is to really investigate yourself. He tosses out the “I’m ok, you’re ok” mantra out, replacing it with something to awaken us.

Many of us struggle with loneliness, looking for someone or something to take our loneliness away. Henri Nouwen Writes about loneliness in his book “Reaching Out.” Loneliness is a condition that we all experience, but by facing this loneliness, we can transform it into a blissful experience of solitude.

The Tao Te Ching offers profound teaching about living, leading, and learning. There many references to water, and this verse compares water with “the highest goodness.”

The Upanishads are texts that influenced the yoga tradition, but they echo the truth in many traditions—that we are all connected in God.

A beautiful passage from Isaiah 55.

In Thich Nhat Hanh’s “Art of Power,” positive seeds can take root in your mind if you water them—allow them to flourish. Negative seeds can do the same thing.

Leo Tolstoy is better known for “War and Peace,” but it is said that he kept a series of essays by his bedside. This collection of essays, compiled in “Wise Thoughts for Every Day,” speak eternal truth about faith, pride, justice, and work. This episode is about pride, and it comes from the translation by Peter Sekirin.

This passage from Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Book of Hours” shook me. It shows that God walks with us through “beauty and terror.” Even if we don’t notice God’s presence, we should “just keep going.”

In a busy and distracted world, sometimes we forget that we have a purpose to fulfill. John Henry Newman reminds us that we all have a mission in our lives unique to us, whether we attend to it or not.

Why add to the negativity in this world? You can take the advice of Og Mandino, who said, “Greet this day with love in your heart.” This mantra can begin melting a negative state and help attract more positive moments—or at least help you notice them.

The early morning hours are the best time for a spiritual practice. It doesn’t have to be structured, but it should be consistent. Starting your day with something positive establishes a good foundation for opening up life in the spirit.