Experience: Release From Self-Sabotage
[Exploring Life] When we are sabotaged we are in some manner undermined, injured, attacked, or vandalized. Sabotage retrieves imagery of warfare in which one side secretly attempts to destroy or disable critical facilities, structures, or positions of the enemy. The essence of sabotage lies within opposition and hostility directed toward a perceived threat to our [...]
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. [...]
Mental Clarity: Mindful Learning
[Exploring Life] In Mindful Learning, Ellen J. Langer describes mindful learning as “the simple act of drawing distinctions” with specific reference to learning. She draws a distinction between mindful and mindless forms of learning. Her work focuses on the integration of the Buddhist concept of awareness (or mindfulness) with modern conceptions of learning, which are [...]
Bodymind: Thought is Matter
[Exploring Life] The bodymind is a term used to acknowledge that the body is inseparable from the mind, that is to say, the body and the mind form a single, coherent system. We sometimes tend to think of the body and the mind as separate systems; the body is something we view as being physical [...]
Mental Clarity: Yoga Sutras – Mental Modifications
[Exploring Life] Patanjali defines Yoga as “the restraint of mental modifications.” (Yoga Sutras 1:2) Restraint means to control and prevent the mind from engaging in processes that cause distress in our thoughts and emotions. In other words, yoga presumes that the mind is responsible for the creation of our own psychological discontent. Suffering, for example, [...]