'Guest Blog' Articles (con't)
We read about environmental issues nearly every day. We buy “eco-friendly” products from stores like Whole Foods or farmer’s markets. And we watch with fascination nature and wildlife adventure shows on television. We do all these things in an effort to be closer to nature, more in touch with the planet earth. But how much of this are we really accomplishing? While there has been burgeoning interest in environmental consciousness in the past ten or twenty years, lately it seems as though that environmental awareness has resorted to a bunch of cheap marketing tricks. The underlying assumption among so many… Seek More
March 29th, 2011 | Leave Your Insight
Spending time underwater changes your perspective on life. It may sound trite to say that it’s peaceful under the sea, or that diving to the depths brings me to my own inner depths, but it’s very true. Since I’ve been diving, I find I’ve become much more philosophical about certain things. I think that is one of those things that happens to people who venture into extreme environments. I’ve heard that mountain climbers experience a similar phenomenon. Whatever the reason, I find myself thinking about what we can learn about life from the principles that we use to stay safe… Seek More
January 23rd, 2011 | Leave Your Insight
Purpose. It’s one of those lofty words that are used in motivational conferences, commencement address speeches, and places of worship. It is supposed to make us feel big, feel like individuals that are more than just the sum of our banal daily experiences. But what does it mean, precisely, to have a purpose? Are words that are often coupled with ‘purpose’ like “higher” or “driven” anything more than cliches reserved for the self-help genre? While I am immediately skeptical of meaning-of-life words and fluffy notions, “purpose” happens to be a Big Word that carries for me heavy personal significance. So… Seek More
January 22nd, 2011 | Leave Your Insight
From a martial art point of view, I would say that Chi is simply the language in which our body communicates to our brain. Lowering centre of gravity, using traction, keeping zero tension in the leg and synchronizing it with the breath and moving in a J shape following an imaginary tunnel. It is not really what we think of. We tend to think in terms of sensations. People talk a lot about mind-body field and there are so many somatoform disorders. Confidence is also the main thing succesful athletes share. The art of using our body is the art… Seek More
January 14th, 2011 | Leave Your Insight
What would life be without focus? Having a focus enables us to create meaning in our lives, construct success based on achievement of goals, engage in deep personal development, and encourage others by saturating our lives in deliberate thinking and action. The word “focus” means a lot of things to many different people, but in the end, you have to define the word for yourself in order to apply it to your life. Focus can be a concentration of attention and energy, a clarifying perspective, a convergence upon a central point, or a fixed reference point in what would otherwise… Seek More
November 5th, 2010 | Leave Your Insight
At some time or another, we all stop the wheels of the daily grind and think to ourselves, “Why do we work?” or “Why do we study?” or simply “Why do we do anything at all?” These sorts of questions have plagued our civilization for thousands of years, and they speak to the heart of human motivation. In other words, these questions all point to the most fundamental question of all: “Why care?” Caring is a pretty vague notion, and it’s difficult to write about without referring to the various activities that caring may and can encompass. In my mind,… Seek More
October 7th, 2010 | 1 Insight
Promises. We make them every day without even thinking about it. If you consider how many times you’ve said, “I promise” within the past week, you’ll realize that the phrase almost comes out as automatically as do phrases like “good morning” or “I’m fine.” Although most of us are good at making promises, we often aren’t very reliable when it comes to keeping them. And while we may think that the person to whom we made the promise is the one who will be most harmed, think again. The person most harmed is you. A recent TED speaker made note… Seek More
October 5th, 2010 | Leave Your Insight
We all bring certain pre-conceived notions into any conversation. The story of the Philosopher’s Stone shows how this applies to one of the roots of modern scientific method, but it is a quick extension to see that it applies to all knowledge-seeking and, indeed, to all knowing. Science can tell us many fascinating things about this plane in which we live, and it can provide amazing, awe-inspiring insights as well. It has a great deal to offer the mystic and the seeker of knowledge. However, it has gaps. There are places that science has not yet been able to look,… Seek More
August 15th, 2010 | Leave Your Insight
A bad workman blames his tools, they say, and a craftsman makes his own. Somebody can show you the bonds of interconnectivity that pull the cosmos into a unified singularity of existence, but the surest path is not play to follow the leader. Rather it is to become a leader of others yourself. By definition being ordained as a minister is making a commitment of spiritual service to others and to the propagation of the spiritual ideals of the parent organization issuing your ordination. Some years ago, a clever group of researchers performed an experiment where they showed that once… Seek More
August 5th, 2010 | Leave Your Insight
Three friends were discussing death, and one of them said, “If you were in your casket, and friends and family were gathered, what would you like to hear them say?” The first said, “I would like to hear them say that I was a wonderful husband, a fine spiritual leader, and a great family man.” The second said, “I would like to hear that I was a wonderful teacher and a servant of God who made a huge difference in people’s lives.” The third said, “I would like to hear them say, ‘Look, he’s moving!’” Ancient Hindu scripture says, “There… Seek More
July 31st, 2010 | Leave Your Insight
