Spirituality for Living

Can people have a healthy relationship with religion? Yes, they can. The word religion comes from the latin word “religio” meaning a body of practices. Religion is like meditation. It’s the social aspect of factionalism. It is false identification, to use a Buddhist concept, that is toxic. The interfaith movements are a powerful force for [...]

Some say the physical is dual, so we have to rise above the duality and become more spiritual. So the physical is profane? I find that people tend to trip over the idea of transcending the physical. It is confusing and a bit upsetting. Is this necessary? It seems to me that the spirit is already [...]

If we must attribute power to events and the mechanics of life, then this suggests it is then a rule, does it not? If it’s not a rule then maybe the mechanics as we see them aren’t seen clearly? If events have power, they arise from cause and effect. Look over any community and there [...]

Jainism is a religion of Indian origin, but with a minority following that may be the oldest example of an ascetic religion in the world and does still exist today. It shares many concepts with Vedantism, also known as Vedic Hinduism, but differs in its emphasis on the individual and the sanctity of the individual [...]

Jainism, for being a minority faith, has had a seemingly inordinate impact on Hindu culture and Indian culture in general. Even leading to the Sikh movement with the addition of Islam to India. Part of which was the impact of what amounted to Indian paganism making it what it is now. There was a tradition [...]

Jains see every Jiva as being in a relationship to every other, including the angels and hell beings. Much of the imagery of the Buddha being confronted by demons comes from that belief.  But unlike more common beliefs, the angels and demons are equal to humans. So reviling demons gives you negative karma, and attachment [...]

Jainist sects also have differing views of sex. Some seeing it as no sex outside of marriage, the other as no sex at all.  Why? Attachment. Sex can insure positive or negative karma
I find the idea that women can’t achieve liberation in that life questionable.  They teach tolerance of even seemingly perverse views as they [...]

Tantrism tends to be karma yoga. Liberation by exhausting the karmas, positive or negative. In the tantric view you willingly incure positive karma in sex. Delve into it. Lose yourself in it, and by doing so see it for what it is. But also, and this isn’t so public, they do embrace negative karma also. [...]

Buddhism isn’t what many perceive it to be. It is a very old “faith”, but doesn’t center on concepts of worship as most understand them today. It’s primarily concerned with a path of seeking, and a body of practices with a code of conduct. The code of conduct is referred to as the eight fold [...]

The eightfold path breaks down the aspects of life, and elaborates on how they are reached and what they are like. Most schools of Buddhist thought are not “dogmatic”, so you can find many texts with very broad opinions, even by modern authors. This is no break from Buddhist teaching. They refer to life in [...]

When I give my talks I tend to just go with the flow of inspiration, regrettably it means I sometimes “leave no trace”, even in my own mind.
I like the format of these discussions, going with the flow. It gives all a chance to talk and is more interactive. People learn by doing, not by [...]

Scientology came about as much good science fiction does. L. Ron Hubbard is the founder, and he did extensive research into world cultures, beliefs, religious experience in general, and he noticed as many do, that there is a common thread in all these efforts, all these creeds and bodies of practice.   I have read his [...]

Darkness consumes, and it can also liberate. Tolle himself had his realization in a time of darkness. Darkness is not all bad, it is part of the whole. It’s an awareness on an encompassing level. If you cut your hand it hurts, hopefully you will treat it. If you experience spiritual darkness it hurts, and [...]

Sin was originally a Greek term measuring the deviation of an arrow from a target, and it didn’t originally have other meaning. Sin was simply error, but error arises from the realm of the mortal. From the realm of the external and transitory now. In the event that was your advent there was no error, [...]

Stoicism is a school of philosophy from ancient Greece, and is not fully understood in modern thinking today.  In the age of the Greek philosophical schools, they weren’t just a belief system. They were a way of life, and philosophers were very serious people like our scientists today. Science even started with them, and was called [...]

I heard a talk by someone who has become hated in the medical industry. Through freedom of information act he uncovered that anti-depressants are as useful as placebos, and they have the tests to show it.
Is there such a thing as a poison placebo, like if somebody thinks a vile of water would kill [...]

You have the realization that you are not your view of yourself, and that you are not restricted to your conditioning. That you can live life regardless of the pulls of attachment. You can then of course pursue a moral creed, some religious doctrine, but is that yet another attachment? So you are left with “now [...]

Does obligation have to be a suffering? No, it doesn’t. It doesn’t have to be a suffering, but it only ceases to be a suffering when we see that we chose that set of obligations, and recognize why we do. See ourselves in it.
But, but, but aren’t we “obliged“ to suffer?  Yes. They tell us [...]

I’m setting myself up for a new experience pretty soon by enlisting in the Navy. And will learn much, though some may say it’s questionable. What in the end isn’t questionable?
Free will. Yes, which is where questions arise from, and answers, and delusion, and the resultant liberation.
I certainly questioned it. I still do, but I [...]

Every day we accept a new day, and hence we change our disposition and composition with this acceptance.
In every moment, we accept new conditions of that moment and our own condition alters in the face of this acceptance.
With every new idea we accept, we alter the context of other ideas we hold and thus alter [...]