Sufism for Western Seekers - Book Review

By Michael Greenstein

Depending on who you talk to, life has never been worse.  Cancer seems to plague almost every family, financial ruin is at our collective doorsteps, divorce rates remain alarming high and the news is rampant with spiritual leaders that have abused our young and led us astray.  Without much difficulty, you can add your favorite demise to this list. What are we to do? Almost every month a new remedy for our woes appears on the New York Times best sellers list. Each book promises the same hope as the one we read before.  And if we are lucky, we glean some nuggets of wisdom.  But all too often these nuggets somehow fade from our consciousness the moment we put down the book. (more…)

To Become a Sufi: Do I Need to Join a Sufi Order?

By Dr. Stewart Bitkoff

“You may follow one stream. Know that it leads to the Ocean, but do not mistake the stream for the Ocean.“  Jan-Fishan

Q: To study Sufism, do I need to become a Moslem and convert to Islam, or join a Sufi   Order?

A:  No.  This is not necessary. While some westerners find joy in following this Path; the seeker after truth or spiritual traveler does not have to change their birth religion to sip of this ancient wine. A form of Sufi learning exists for everyone, because the Teaching is always being updated into a modern form. The seeker can learn from the Sufis, even become one and yet remain independent of these specific religious trappings. (more…)

Meditation re-shapes the Brain

Meditation has long been considered a pathway to Spiritual progression, but a Huffington Post article by naturopathic doctor Michael Stanclift suggests it may also have a more direct physical impact upon practitioners.

Confirming long-held belief in the power of thought, and pointing to research from neuroscience, Stanclift says where we direct our attention actually changes the anatomy of the brain. Meditation helps us wilfully direct our attention and thus consciously create our physical as well as Spiritual evolution.

Understanding Meditation: How Attention Changes Our Brains, The Huffington Post 12/14/2011

No Comments on Meditation re-shapes the Brain

Academics Embrace Meditation

Harvard Magazine, January-February 2012, carries an article describing how some leading academics are embracing retreats conducive to the practice of meditation.

MIT Dalai Lama Center for Ethics fellow Sousan Abadian, a regular retreat participant, says: "Retreats allow us to access and strengthen subtle capacities and to hear ourselves and others on a different level."

Christopher Germer, clinical instructor in psychology in the department of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and practicing Buddhist says: "Mindfulness has become probably the dominant paradigm of psychotherapy".

Cambridge psychotherapists Susan and Bill Morgan are attendees at a silent meditation retreat. Susan says: "The encouragement is to unplug from this world... to learn how to straddle that line between participant and observer all the time... and learn how to meet all of experience with a certain amount of equanimity."

Abiding Our Own Minds, Harvard Magazine January-February 2012

No Comments on Academics Embrace Meditation

Astral Projection Questions Answered

Astral projection describes the experience of one's consciousness leaving the physical body and traveling independently, either within the physical world or on the astral plane.

AstralProjectNow.com is currently offering 5 free videos answering the 240 most commonly asked questions about astral projection. The questions and answers are also provided in printable PDF format.

No Comments on Astral Projection Questions Answered

Jewels of Wisdom: an awakened spirituality for our children

by Shelley Anne Lewis

One way of living in sync with the natural ebb and flow of life is to consciously work towards improving the nature of our minds. The stories we repeat to ourselves create the framework we live in and gel our experiences together in a way that gives us a sense of who we are in the world. Making efforts through mind training to focus on altruistic behaviors can have resoundingly positive results. In the 12th century the Buddhist master Geshe Langri Thangpa recited eight teachings that became known as the eight verse mind training, these verses have been a beloved guide for students and practitioners ever since seeking to lead a more compassionate and heart centered existence, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama who recites the teachings daily and claims they form an integral part of his practice. (more…)

The Occupy Movement In Relationship To George Washington, The Colonists, And How They Won The Revolution

by Gabriel of Urantia

The Occupy movement—no matter how many protestors—is overpowered by the might of the power-elite’s police force and “weapons of gas-destruction” against the poor and disenfranchised, students, and the once middle class, as the early colonists were by the British empire. (more…)

Patience - a by-product of difficulties

By Lt Col R K Langar

Patience is a great asset of man in life, more so when one is treading on the spiritual path. Patience is not taught but it is learned when we meet some obstacles or difficulties in life. Patience tells you not to be in a hurry because when you hurry it gives the impression that you are not in control of the situation. On the other hand if you stay calm and face the situation patiently you get time to think of some means to cross the obstacle rather than to react impatiently. Patience is needed everywhere in life, whether you seek to be one with God, whether you wish to destroy your bad habits or whether you wish to plant noble thoughts within you. (more…)

Words of Wisdom

Truly inspirational messages from some of the greatest minds. Pictures and music are also superb. Worth returning to again and again to fully absorb these lessons.

Courtesy of Evolution Ezine via YouTube

No Comments on Words of Wisdom

The Tangled Web of Destiny, Karma and Free Will

The Nature of Reality

For centuries the scientific viewpoint held that the destiny of the universe was fixed at its origin, ie what's now known as the Big Bang. Everything that came after, including the minutiae of human experience, was determined by physical laws of cause and effect applied to its initial conditions.

Current scientific thinking, based on quantum physics, modifies the above. Instead of being a deterministic system the universe, at the sub-atomic level, contains an inherent, random, indeterminacy. Thus, even with complete knowledge of its starting conditions, the universe rapidly becomes unpredictable. However, it is still viewed as a purposeless system, with human beings as accidental, random, automata. (more…)