It takes a long time to learn how to pray just for the sake of praying and not for anything else, not for our own selfish desires. The reason that we obtain little satisfaction from our prayers is that they are not really sincere attempts to touch God. When we begin...
How to Practice Loving-Kindness
Loving-kindness is probably known to many as the Buddhist practice of metta, The formal practice of metta begins beautifully, by directing kindness toward ourselves or to someone to whom we can easily feel goodwill. Once we take a moment to actually feel that energy...
The Highest Love, The Highest Realization
What is love? Unfortunately, the word “love” is very much misused. When we see our own Self in others and wish that they would experience the very same happiness, the same joy that we have toward ourselves, then you are experiencing true love. This kind of love is not...
The Name of God
The mystic sound OM is the word expressive of God. It is God’s name. We have to give a name to God, but it is rather difficult to find a suitable name for that nameless, formless, omnipresent and omniscient One. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali say, “Tasya vachaka...
Attuning to Grace
I once visited a home where there was a young baby. I was talking to the family and the mother was busy somewhere in the kitchen. The baby was playing with its toys. After a while, the baby cried a little and started putting things in its mouth, thinking that by...
Yoga Prayer: An Embodied Christian Spiritual Practice
Sample from the Summer 2006 issue of Integral Yoga Magazine Yoga Prayer: An Embodied Christian Spiritual Practice An Interview with Father Thomas Ryan, CSP As many as half of America’s estimated 15 million Yoga practitioners come from a Christian background. Catholic...
Kirtan: Singing to the Inner Vastness of the Heart
Sample from the Winter 2009 issue of Integral Yoga Magazine An Interview with Jai Uttal Jai Uttal is a pioneer in the world music community. His eclectic east meets west sound has put his music at the forefront of the world fusion movement. Jai’s musical roots embrace...