One of the most impactful things my teacher told me when I first met him was: "You have never done anything wrong". Upon hearing these words, something in me released. A weight I didn't know I was carrying fell off my shoulders. "You have never done anything wrong" applies to all of us. But what is the Sage truly saying, and which aspect of our being is he addressing with these words? Our ego/mind will most likely have an immediate reaction to hearing them. It will refute the

In many traditions the cultivation of gratitude is considered a spiritual practice. It is easy to see why, when we study what happens as we practice gratitude. Our attention usually rests with the thoughts in our head. We know that thoughts come and go without our inviting them. They randomly pop in and out and they usually are focused on our needs and wants, or on how we can make the day unfold according to our preferences. When we practice gratitude, our attention shifts fr

In this unprecedented time, we are facing great challenges, collectively and individually. Wherever we turn, we are bombarded with

All relationships are subject to fluctuations. Be it family relations, friendships or intimate relationships, they go through cycles

Confidence or the lack thereof is an issue for many people. It is very common for someone to say "I don't have the confidence

Of all the obstacles to knowing the Self, Avidyaa is the one at the center. Avidyaa, or forgetfulness of the Self, is the root cause of a hu

When we think of "me", or "my identity" as a human being, we think of our body. In most people, the sense of I is consisting of the physical form we see in the mirror and of the thoughts we have about it. We think of ourselves as being this or that; as small or tall, smart or stupid, beautiful or ugly. All these qualifications are messages from the surrounding environment that we have internalised and accepted as true. Our own thinking may have added to these definitions and

As our friends in the United States are about to celebrate Thanksgiving this coming Thursday, these reflections on gratitude, written a while ago, seem appropriate for reposting. The Holiday of Thanksgiving is traditionally a time when people count their blessings. Engaging in gratitude is also a recommended practice in many ancient and more recent spiritual traditions. As for how to practice gratitude, it is commonly understood as focusing on the good things and the blessing

As a Meditation teacher and lifelong meditator, I can say with absolute certainty that Meditation works. Success is inevitable and guaranteed. How can anyone be so confident about the outcome of an endeavour? It is my own experience and that of countless friends and students, as well as the knowledge transmitted by living sages and scriptures throughout the ages, that allows me to be completely doubtless in my affirmation. Whoever applies themselves to meditating regularly, w

Urvashee is a dear friend and the gifted creator of countless exceptional Malas. She has dedicated her life to Meditation and to helping others find their way to the light of their own Self with the help of her lovingly crafted Malas - the perfect support for your Meditation practice. In this post, Urvashee tells of the mystical, magical power of the number 108 and shares nine exceptional stories as to why a Mala is made of 108 knots. I highly recommend you visit her website

Just as a caterpillar doesn’t know it can fly until it experiences its own metamorphosis, most human beings are not sure of their Divinity. They doubt it, unless they are offered a moment of grace where life is experienced in an entirely different way from the habitual waking state reality. A distinct experience of a different dimension often helps us confirm what we may have hoped for or suspected for the bigger part of our lives: that there truly is more to us than what we

An old Hindu legend speaks to this essential point that the Sages and Saints have been sharing since the beginning of time with those who have ears to hear.... ...there was once a time when all human beings were gods, but they so abused their divinity that Brahma, the chief god, decided to take it away from them and hide it where it could never be found. Where to hide their divinity was the question. So Brahma called a council of the gods to help him decide. "Let's bury it de

Through the mystery of Creation, when the eternally Pure and Free Space manifests as a human being, an individual mind gets formed. In this process of embodiment, the vision and knowledge of the Eternal Being get confined to a small fraction of the Pure Vision. The result is the human instrument of perception that we call the mind. In order to function in the world, the mind is given a set of helpers in the form of the senses. They all have different functions, but they can o

A persistent and pervasive myth keeps countless people from pursuing their own Meditation practice; namely the belief that one needs to empt

Sound is innocent. In and of itself, sound is neutral and it has no meaning. Whatever its quality or level of intensity - if there isn't someone listening, taking it in and giving it meaning - sound is innocuous. It takes the presence of a witness hearing the sound, giving it meaning or having an opinion about it, for the sound to become "something". As an example, a dog can bark its heart out all night; if I am not next door getting irritated because the noise keeps me awake

The dictionary defines truth as “conformity with fact or reality”. Most people call it truth when they perceive something with their senses, when they recognize a situation through their eyes, or when they know a fact with the help of their mind and intellect. Anyone who has contemplated their own mind has noticed its constant movement. Even though we may call the mind‘s perceptions the truth, we know they tend to fluctuate - and they change depending on one‘s interpretation.

As human beings we think of ourselves as "I"; a body and mind that functions within this world into which we wake up every morning. The Sages and Saints however have been telling us throughout the ages that we are much more than that! Even though we feel certain about the physical reality of our bodies and the world that surrounds us, it is helpful to remember that their perception is deficient due to the limited ability of our senses. We tend to forget that our main sense or

Happiness of the waking state is always determined by the fluctuations of mind and circumstances. We are high and happy one day, unhappy and depressed the next - depending on whether or not our hopes, desires, expectations and preferences are met. Even though we aspire to be happy at all times, for human beings the state of continuous or unchanging happiness is elusive. The reason we can't find it is that we are looking for continuity the wrong place. We expect to find stabil

In our waking state awareness, the thoughts in our head are what we experience as reality. As the thoughts arise when we wake up in the morning, their meaning and their content define how we experience our circumstances as well as ourselves. Whatever mood the thoughts project on a given day - that will be the colour and flavour of the day’s experience. Whatever thoughts the mind produces - they dictate what we do and who we think we are. When we live our lives on automatic pi

From a human perspective, with our mind as the instrument of evaluation, we see every situation we find ourselves in as either good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. The mind's vision is dualistic by nature. It forever assesses life in terms of black or white. Although we rarely argue with pleasant experiences, as soon as something unpleasant happens we are quick to try to get away from it. When circumstances go against our preferences it is human nature to assume that "this sh