Given the uncertainty humanity is experiencing on many fronts, feeling anxious or concerned about the future is not surprising. In fact, it’s quite natural, but it’s nothing new; the future is always unknown and, by its own nature, the ego-mind fears anything that is not familiar. What we witness in the world is a reflection (on the collective movie) of…
Tag: spiritual growth
Do You Have a Fixed or an Open Mindset?
The protests we’re witnessing are a natural response to the blatant racism and abuse of power that has created and continues to create suffering and injustice (see Why Martial Souls Rule The World). But they’re also a reflection of our individualized perceptions on the collective movie: the eternal battle between the egoic illusions of separation, power, and control, and our…
Why Mindfulness Helps You Achieve Your Goals
The beginning of each year is usually the time we review what we did or didn’t accomplish the year before and set our intentions to achieve new goals or bring old projects to completion. But as the year rolls in, it’s easy to lose focus and discipline or get overwhelmed just thinking of the steps ahead. With Mars entering Capricorn…
3 Essential Tools To Quiet the Ego-Mind
Four Zen meditation students who were friends decided to spend seven days together, promising to observe complete silence. Everything went well during the first day, and their meditation was deep, but as night came along and the oil lamps were getting dim, one of them couldn’t help exclaiming to a servant, “Fix those lamps!” Surprised to hear his friend, a…
Guidelines To Deepen Your Spiritual Path
The concept of spirituality was equated to that of religion for a very long time, so the spiritual path was restricted and tainted with a variety of rules and dogmas. Now things are beginning to change, as more people are listening to the natural yearning of their soul, seeking to experience and expand Divine Consciousness by removing what blocks self-awareness…
How To Cultivate Contentment & Inner Peace
A young woman got pregnant in the small village where Zen master Hakuin was living. Her father forced her to confess the name of her lover, but she managed to protect him by pretending it was Hakuin. When the child was born, the infuriated father brought the baby to the monk, saying, “It appears this is your child!” along with…
The Path To Spiritual Freedom Is Not a Highway
I love this Zen story. A famous Japanese swordsman disowned his son Matajuro because he considered him too mediocre and undisciplined to ever reach the level of proficiency required to inherit his school. Bent on redeeming himself, the young man headed to Mount Futara to find renowned master Banzo, in the hopes to study with him. When he arrived and…