Memory: The Cult of Remembrance
[Exploring Life] How many misleading or false beliefs and assumptions do we preserve in our memories? And how many of these false beliefs and assumptions have been assimilated as a result of cultural conditioning? It would be immensely difficult to conduct a statistical inventory of our memories in order to quantify the exact number of [...]
Spiritual Endeavour: Dark Night of the Soul – 4
[Exploring Life] When we receive an education we are placed into a system of prerequisites that have been determined by an amorphous agency. By definition, education is an experience that is predetermined, imposed, rigidly structured, and bound to a self-reinforcing system of evaluation. The essence of the education system originates in automation, mechanization, generalization, and [...]
Contemplation: The Mind in the Yoga Sutras -3
[Exploring Life] Mental Afflictions- The Origin of Discontent: The purpose of yoga is to provide a pathway out of suffering. All suffering originates in the mind. The mind and body are intimately interconnected, meaning that the intentions of our thoughts manifest themselves throughout the physical structure of our body. An acute painful thought creates a [...]
Contemplation: The Mind in the Yoga Sutras – 2
[Exploring Life] The Five States of Mind: Pantanjali (2nd century B.C.) is a pioneer of the mind. The uncharted terrain he ventured into was the inner landscape of the mind. His method was the direct observation of his own mind. In this sense, Pantanjali was both scientist and artist of the inner realm of existence. [...]
Contemplation: The Mind in the Yoga Sutras
[Exploring Life] Introduction to the Yoga Sutras: The Yoga Sutras written by Pantanjali in 2nd century B.C. is consider to be a foundational yoga text. The word Yoga is derived from Sanskrit root yujir meaning to join or to unite. A second meaning is derived from the root yuj meaning to contemplate. Yoga means to [...]
Emotional Terrain: Anger
[Exploring Life] Anger is a strong emotional reaction in response to a perceived provocation or injustice. The emotional reaction consists of an often unintended improvisatory abyss of displeasure, irritation, resentment, outrage, and enmity. Anger is an extreme reaction that takes our body and mind to the very edge of a threshold in which rationale thinking [...]
Spiritual Quality: Presence – Internal Rhythms
[Exploring Life] The spiritual dimension is the space in which we journey into our most divine essence, as well as our darkest shadow. A spiritual quality is an intuitive source of inspiration we inhabit in order to orient ourselves to the mysterium tremendum et fascinans. The word presence embraces an essential spiritual quality and creative [...]