Life is Full of Surprises Unless you live in a cave, life is full of surprises. Even meditation is full of surprises. In the relaxation of meditation, we are often presented with mini-movies of whatever we are stressed about, including traumatic events from the past and whatever we are gearing up to deal with in [...]
Placing your mat in class, the teacher gives you a spiteful look. You don’t know it, but her ex-husband, to whom she is paying alimony, was walking out the door as you walked in, and she saw you smile at him. Driving to work, you slow down and give lots of space to a woman [...]
Just for a moment, let’s breathe in awe and delight with Shakti, for She is power and always awesome. In English, we might refer to her as “Mother Nature.” We are all powered by Shakti, and when we practice Yoga, we are invited to notice that every thought we think is a sparkle of Shakti [...]
Yoga As Your Box of Toys Come on kids! Let’s meditate on the outward appearance of the body (rupa) and give ourselves the power of invisibility. (Yoga Sutras 3.21) We can be like Invisible Woman and sneak around -- no one will see us! Let’s meditate on elephants (hasti) and become strong as the Hulk! [...]
Meditation by Dr. Lorin Roche When Buddha sat down to meditate, it was just his lonesome self and the Bo tree. The perfect yoga retreat. No one around for miles. Inner peace at last! Good to go, right? What could go wrong? But no, various monsters had to come over, find his tree, and start [...]
A Meditation with The Flame Mantra from the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra I hate winter. Always have. Let me count the ways: There is less daylight. You have to wear more clothes - more than just surf shorts and a T-shirt. Sunset happens while you are still inside at work. Other people love winter, and have [...]
A meditation on seeing God everywhere inspired by The Radiance Sutras, a new version of the vijnana bhairava tantra Minds wander. That’s what they do. Attention is dynamic by nature, always on a Quest. Hearts are always looking for love. The heart, by design, longs to be in the rhythm of giving and receiving. In [...]
A meditation on the rhythm of breathing inspired by The Radiance Sutras, a new translation of the vijnana bhairava tantra bharita: nourished, full, filled with Beloved, show us how incarnate beings can know infinity. This is the request of Devi, The Goddess who is The Energy of Life, to Shiva, her eternal and inseparable partner. [...]
Meditation by Dr. Lorin Roche A meditation on satisfaction and dissatisfaction inspired by The Radiance Sutras, a new translation of the vijnana bhairava tantra Tripti-yoga – “satisfaction” - (Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, p 454) Keith Richards said something the other day on the radio that really struck a chord in my heart. He was talking about [...]
Think you know what “yoga” means? Here is the full definition of the word, Yoga, as set forth in the Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, page 856: the act of yoking, joining, attaching harnessing, putting to (of horses) a yoke, team, vehicle, conveyance employment, use, application, performance equipping or arraying (of an army) fixing (of an arrow [...]