When you make a spiritual commitment—what kind of commitment is it? And why do you make it? A spiritual commitment doesn’t have to be to become a swami, a minister. Particularly in the spiritual field, what are you committed to? Not to an organization or an ashram,...
“Possession are okay, as long as you possess them, and you don’t allow them to possess you.” ~Sri Swami Satchidananda It’s ironic how as youngsters all we want to do is play with our toys. As children, we must learn to share at home with our siblings and at school...
In this profound podcast episode, Krishna Das, the renowned kirtan singer, sits down with Integral Yoga Teachers Association director Avi Gordon to share insights on navigating the subjective nature of reality, the power of spiritual practice, and the art of letting...
In this inspiring conversation led by host Avi Gordon (director of Integral Yoga Teachers Association), Swami Ramananda (senior monk and president of the Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco) shares profound insights on finding peace in chaotic times through...
In this inspiring conversation led by host Avi Gordon (director of the Integral Yoga Teachers Association), Swami Ramananda (president of the Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco) shares profound insights on finding peace in chaotic times through spiritual...
If you want to see well through a window, you have to clean both sides. Practice (abhyasa) and non-attachment (vairagya) work much the same way. They are the complimentary practices given in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras as a means to quiet the movement of thought in the...
A few years ago, I read an article titled “Humility, The Virtue No One Wants.” It was a good title, I thought, because humility is maybe just a little too close to the word humiliation for comfort, a bit like shame, the sort of thing we think we’d like to get away...
A meditation teacher of mine once quoted a Burmese teacher as saying “When everything that can go is gone, what’s left is the truth.” That sentence resonated with me. I heard it maybe 20 years ago and I still reference it and repeat it a lot. And I think that’s...
It may seem that some people are natural born yogis and that spiritual practice comes easily to them. Are there certain qualities that we see in people who have a well-grounded sadhana? The answer is yes, but they rarely appear full blown in anyone. They need to be...
I had read about its benefits and thought it’d be a great opportunity to clear my mind and reconnect to myself. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a silent meal; the concept was to meet with random people at someone’s house and have dinner without...
Mother Nature, in the role of a stern mother, has sent us to our rooms! The government may call it “shelter in place,” but from another angle you can see that we are being asked to quit running around and do some serious thinking: How are we treating Mother Earth? How...
I have a friend who has told me, on multiple occasions, that she cannot meditate. Up to this point, I have failed miserably to convince her otherwise. I have used all the best quotes, like the old Zen saying, “You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day,...
We’ve all probably experienced times when we felt bounced around by too many stressors and we struggled just to keep our balance. In stressful times, we may be happy just to make it through the day, have something nice to eat, and a little entertainment to relax with....
Anybody can follow saints, sages, and prophets—even the tail follows the body of the dog but it remains a tail. You have to become that peace, joy, wisdom, on your own. You should bring out those qualities in your life and let people say, “Oh, here is another Jesus,...
Many westerners are first introduced to Yoga through asana, the practice of the yogic postures. As one’s practice deepens, it can lead to an interest in further exploring aspects of Yoga. In this interview, we talk with Dr. David Frawley—considered to be an acharya, a...
In this article, Laura Sevika Douglass shares the insights she’s gained from her own sadhana practice in the hope that readers can benefit from her experience and avoid some of the many challenges everyone encounters when trying to establish a regular practice Since...