There are many stories in the Zen tradition that offer a perspective on sleep, such as the enlightenment of Ananda, where he stayed awake for several days on end trying to attain Great Liberation. He finally decides to give up on attaining enlightenment and get some...
Many of us come to meditation for the first time to still our mind. We recognize that the source of suffering has something to do with the way our minds work (or don’t work) and we believe that by sitting still and taming our mind we will become calm and peaceful. One...
The 2021 Parliament of the World’s Religions will be the eighth convening and the first time that it will be hosted virtually. Recognized as the birthplace of the modern interfaith movement, the 1893 Parliament made history with its groundbreaking interreligious...
In this essay, Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB, reflects on how we make ourselves whole by making each other whole. He explores the classic teaching story “Ten Oxherding Pictures” from the Zen Buddhist tradition. Wholeness has intrigued me ever since we boys built...
In this video, Avi Gordon (director of the Integral Yoga Teachers Association) interviews Swami Jyotirmayananda, who was initiated as a sannyasin (monastic) in 1986. She has served at Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville in various capacities, including designing and...
In honor of Guru Poornima, the interfaith music that has been a part of the Light Of Truth Universal Service is now available for all to utilize during services you organize in your local areas. Also, many new interfaith tools and resources have been added to the...
My philosophy is to be relaxed always, under all circumstances. You don’t need to prepare yourself to achieve something. Just be as you are and then if anything inspires you, go ahead and take action. The purpose behind all the different spiritual teachings is simply...
I was at an auto body shop in West Los Angeles waiting for my car, sharing the waiting area with an elderly woman who was reading Tikkun magazine. She put the magazine on a desk and I asked if I could read it while I was waiting. She said yes. I sifted through the...
Thanksgiving 2020 may have just come and gone, yet these beautiful blessings expressing gratitude—from various wisdom traditions and luminaries—can enrich, and become a part of, our daily lives. Here is one sample from the inspirational collection offered by...
Recently, His Holiness the Dalai Lama participated in the program "Buddhism, Science and Compassion," which was organized by the Einstein Forum (Germany). During the program, His Holiness stressed how all the religions share the value of universal love. He also...
The main purpose of spiritual life is to recognize our spiritual oneness. Living a spiritual life means living in harmony; caring and sharing for one another. There’s no room for any exploitation or corruption in spirituality. This also means to feel and show...
Prior to a Yogaville online program (Graceful Exit: Death and Dying from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition) that Andrew Holecek offered via Yogaville, he shared his reflections on what the benefits are in not avoiding the subject of death and dying, but rather delving...
The first thoughts of proposing some type of ministry for the Integral Yoga organization occurred in the winter of 1980. My mother had been a member of the Third Order of St. Francis when she was young. This order was established by St. Francis in response to a...
In this video, the Dalai Lama's recent "Call to Unite" is read by his dear friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In it, His Holiness addresses the coronavirus crisis: “This crisis and its consequences serve as a warning, that only by coming together in a coordinated, global...
Andrew Holecek (author, Buddhist scholar and teacher), recently shared the following message with students in his online course, "Bardos in Everyday Life." Hi friends, I received this teaching and prayer from Dzogchen Rinpoche to contemplate. A Tibetan dharma friend...
Some people think that monks have these esoteric practices and “What can we poor laypeople do?” But when you really understand what the monastic life is about, you realize that we are only doing — under more favorable circumstances and in an environment that...