1. How did you start pursuing spiritual practice? I’ve always pursued spiritual practice; it’s just that my practice, and my understanding of practice, have evolved. As a little girl, my focus wasn’t on religious ritual but on the experience of being with and understanding God. Through dance, through Tai Chi Chuan, and finally through Muktananda, I came to understand what …
Love and worship….
Love and worship. People so confuse the two. I love you, I worship you: very different. Many people are looking for someone who will worship them. That means they are looking for someone to objectify them. Love is not based on subject and object; worship is. In worship—and by worship I mean idealizing an object, not practicing sacred ritual—there is …
Using Rubber Duckies to explain Yoga Sutras I.32….
Rohini Ralby uses rubber duckies to explain the nature of the mind, drawing on Hariharananda’s excellent book Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali. For more videos and lessons, sign up for a free or paid subscription.
Characteristics of Mysticism….
From Mysticism, by Evelyn Underhill: 1. True mysticism is active and practical, not passive and theoretical. It is an organic life-process, a somthing which the whole self does; not something as to which its intellect holds an opinion. 2. Its aims are wholly transcendental and spiritual. It is in no way concerned with adding to, exploring, re-arranging, or improving anything …
Clarity of goals and definitions….
When we start a conversation we tend to look for common ground. This might be language, activities or anything that we feel will bridge us to the other person. In our desire to connect, we may miss what is actually going on. If what we share is a common language, then we need to check our definitions. Assuming shared definitions …
Warriors for peace and warriors for war….
It hit me that Tolstoy had it right: War and Peace. We are organized into two teams: warriors for war and warriors for peace. We are playing a big game. There are times when more players are on the warriors for war side and times when the warriors for peace are winning. As long as we remain separate from God …
Systems…
Everyone uses a system, whether consciously or not. Our family culture is a system of sorts, with jargon, rules, behaviors, judgements, and mannerisms both overt and covert. This being the case, when we meet someone new we unwittingly compare our system to theirs. We may not even be aware of it, but we are in fact assessing others based on …
Transformation…
So much language these days is about change, transformation, on all levels and in all sectors of our lives. The law of change is always working, but in what direction are we going? That depends on what we are doing now. So nothing is static, though we may think it is because it moves so slowly. The transformation I desire …
Garden at Hidden Level
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Human security….
Human security starts within. The single greatest source of human insecurity is ignorance. Human security is the removal of ignorance; ignorance of who we and everyone truly are. You, the actor, are okay. The character, the lower self, is in fear for its life. To be truly secure you must let go of the character. That means not being identified with …