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 [...]
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 [...]
Nature of Belief: The Realm of Evidence
We interpret our experiences in life through a complex and often hidden network of beliefs. The human brain is a belief engine; beliefs are the apparatus and raw materials of the mind. They lie at the core of our emotions, determine our subsequent behaviour, and shape the course of our lives. In a basic sense, [...]
Emotional Terrain: Grief Transforms Time
[Exploring Life] Grief possesses great agility. It emerges subtlety yet its presence is potent. Grief, I am beginning to understand, cannot be equated to more distinct states of being such as the quality of sadness that results from loss. The dimensions of grief are far more extensive in nature. Loss and absence are, of course, [...]
Mental Degradation: Multitasking
[Exploring Life] Multitasking is a Delusion: The extent to which we can sometimes become a victim of our own delusions can be quite surprising. A delusion is a false belief that has been accepted as fact, and is quite resistant to reason or common sense. In other words, delusions are remarkably resilient and durable. They [...]