Spirituality for Living

Wonder and amazement in all. There is no evidence in any discipline to support that we must or even benefit from losing that stance. Some of the worlds famous geniuses have made statements suggesting that the greatness of their achievements didn’t come from “intellectual power”, but from their attitudes. From the simple desire to know, [...]

There is spirit everywhere. Spirit is being. If it exists there is spirit behind it. If it has action there is spirit behind that behaviour. Each eco-system has its own spirit. Individual sections of an eco-system can have recognizable spirits separate from the larger. I don’t believe in good and bad spirit. Just harmonious state [...]

Ego thinks ‘I do’ and that by virtue of ‘myself‘ I must do everything. Thought is not self. Thought is process and we are “created in gods image”. All powerful. Which means we have the power of ability to do all things. Good or bad.
We get caught up in the same thing. Ego is doing [...]

Taoism is one of those world religions that sort of isn’t one. Many popular Chinese concepts are connected to Taoism and actually in many ways it’s like the Egyptian faith. The basic principle is acceptance of and living with the natural way. Lao-Tzu was its unofficial founder and one of the immortals that are venerated, [...]

What is the ‘god’ structure in Hinduism? That differs, but there are some principles across the board. One is the concept of a universal spirit called by many names actually, but not in a divisive way. More as a recognition of the manifold nature of this universal spirit. It is called by the brahminists Brahman, [...]

It has been said that each persons life has a single theme at the heart of it, and you can discover that from reflection. It is not the same for every person, but it comes from a thread that permeated their whole life, even childhood. It arises from temperament as well as other factors. It might [...]

Mortification of the flesh to what purpose, disidentification? Yes indeed.  When people still undertook it with the proper intent, but it has no merit if it’s merely a self destructive act.
Are there not other ways less destructive to disidentify? Yes, and ’destructiveness’ is a key concept. It is not the key concept of self mortification. [...]

It is safe to say that both mortification of the flesh and the stock market crash are manifestations of something. We learn by testing. We learn by trial, and in the past there have been trials of all kinds. Now we are putting our trade on trial. People want to feel safe and will create risk [...]

Yes, I have changed. I have reached a personal crisis, and it is here that I have had every idea or belief reduced to a bottom line. My instinct is fear.  Now I have transcended that fear and thus transcended my old self, but I didn’t get it from being a good boy and believing [...]

Halloween is very much ingrained in our collective unconscious, and has a very long history. It was basically the Celtic New Year. Like the Norse legend of the world being born of ice, they see winter as the first season not the last (or rather they did). Halloween is more like the traditional thanksgiving. This [...]

Voodoo is basically African shamanism. There was a first great spirit, the source of all life and creation, but he created the world not as separate from himself but as an act of self expression. Dancing. As he revealed more of his inherent power, or ‘ashe’ as it’s known, he took the form of various [...]

I wonder how Machiavelli would be seen back in the day? As you know Machiavelli, had considerable influence as a strategist, but not much virtue. His power came from “not revealing the rules of the game”, and for supposedly not having much virtue but he would not have been villainized in African culture.  His guidelines in [...]

Control is human obsession and human nature. The idea of control that most people embrace is also a delusion. We control to keep things static. We control in denial of what is available to us. We abstain from embracing the now because it would deny us control. In denying the reality of our perception, we deny [...]

Choice is both very simple (perhaps one of the most simple things in life), and honestly also one of the most aggravating, frightening, complex things we do in life. The way we are brought up to view choice and to view life in which we make our choices, tends to make choice often seem like [...]

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 [...]

Is happiness the indicator of success? Yes, when you are self fulfilled then you are successful. It’s more than most peoples understanding of happiness. When you are on your path, it just feels right. Everything feels right.
Happiness is a state of mind? No, true happiness is a state of being. Contentment is another valid descriptor. [...]

Is it some peoples nature to control? To a degree yes.  It is visible in animals also, the “alphas”. But human alphas tend to distort and thus debase that instinct. They take natural instincts and warp them and make them about ego. The lion that “takes” a mate is not being egotistical, but he is [...]

Finding peace. We all try to do it. It is a long standing objective in philosophy and religion both, if not the oldest. Yet we seem to have a haphazard grasp of it at best. A big part of this is we seek it elsewhere. It’s forever elsewhere. Peace on earth, peace with other nations, [...]

Many of the modern medical observations came from old “occult” experimentation, “necromancy” and alchemical exploration. The common practice for chemical analysis in old alchemy was by taste, and human material was used in medicines as in a sweetbread. Heart in animals is a “sweet meat”, as is brain which do tend to go to the [...]

Identity is innate, but it is not properly nurtured. The te as the Taoists say, the virtue of the uncarved block, is denied. Some children even before any conditioning are very physical and explorative, others are more observational and quiet. Any Moms care to confirm or refute this? But because the child is male (or [...]