Spiritual Magazine | Wellness Magazine

October 2018, Thought in action / 01 Oct 2018
From waste to resource
GEETU BOHRA is passionate about the 3Rs of waste management – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Here she shares some thoughts on how we can all do much more to reduce our footprint and care for our beautiful Mother Earth. Most of the waste that we create in our households, and which we dump outside, can be made into something else. When I heard that Sweden imports garbage and waste from other countries, it really shook me. What they do with it is amazing: they produce half of their electricity with that waste. They segregate the waste and convert most of it into other resources. In our houses, roughly 60% of the waste is from the kitchen – vegetable peels, leftover food, and so on. Recyclable items, like polythene and plastic, make up approximately 30%, and a small amount may be hazardous, like e-waste. So just imagine how much waste we can make into resources! We start with segregation at the source. There are 3 Rs to waste management: REDUCE We need to change our lifestyle. Nowadays we prefer comfort. If there is a disposable plate and a washable plate, many of us will grab the disposable plate so that we can eat and throw. We just leave it there, but we don’t realize how much that small act of ours is going to impact the whole ecosystem. We waste food that somebody else could eat. To provide for that, farmers must grow more. Because the requirement is more, more deforestation is happening to create land for farming. These are the repercussions. Just a small act of wasting food and dumping garbage creates all these imbalances. So first we need to reduce our consumption as much as possible. How can we reduce? Here are some examples: Don’t use plastic bags: carry…

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It changes everything, October 2018 / 01 Oct 2018
Living heart centered
DR JOE DISPENZA shares some thoughts on heart-brain coherence and moving from thinking to knowing through the instrument of perception we know as the heart. Since our human ancestors first began etching their histories upon cave walls and stone tablets, like a thread through the needle of time, the heart has appeared as a symbol to represent health, wisdom, intuition, guidance, and higher intelligence. The ancient Egyptians, who referred to the heart as ieb, believed the heart, rather than the brain, was the center of life and the source of human wisdom. We know that the heart, beyond its obvious role in sustaining life, is not simply a muscular pump that moves blood throughout our body but an organ capable of influencing feelings and emotions. The heart is a sensory organ that guides our decision making ability as well as our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world. It’s a symbol that transcends time, place, and culture. It’s a commonly accepted premise that when we are connected to the heart’s inner knowing, we can tap into its wisdom as a source of love and higher guidance. Every thought you think produces corresponding chemistry equal to that thought, which in turn creates an emotion. Therefore, you are suggestible only to the thoughts equal to your emotional state. We now know that when our students are heart centered and feel more wholeness and oneness, they’re less separate from their dreams. When they feel gratitude, abundance, freedom, or love, all of those emotions welcome corresponding thoughts. Those heart-centered emotions open the door to the subconscious mind so that you can program your autonomic nervous system equal to the thoughts of your new future. We also know that if they live in the feeling of fear or lack but try to think they’re…

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October 2018, Taste of life / 01 Oct 2018
Coexistence
A PHOTO ESSAY The Masai Mara National Reserve spreads over 1,200 square kilometers across the southwestern part of Kenya, Africa. In August 2018, SATVIK SWAMINATHAN had the opportunity to visit these sprawling grasslands and get a glimpse of the life that coexists here in all its magnificence. The first stop was a point from where I could see the rift valley, through which we would pass to reach Masai Mara. The view from the top was spectacular. It filled me with wonder, as I imagined what could be the future changes on the face of the Earth. This bigger picture in the divine scheme of things glaringly demonstrates the insignificance of human life, with its whole spectrum of joys and sorrows. It was a truly humbling feeling. The entrance to the National Reserve is through the Oloolaimutia gate, which is an archway without any boundary wall. The first view of Masai Mara is magnificent, as the real feel of the Savannah grasslands, with endless space and one lone tree here and there standing upright, is quite spectacular. It can only be experienced. We saw the whole spectrum of wildlife in Africa: herds of elephants and giraffes; groups of wildebeest, deer, buffalos and zebras grazing in the grasslands; gigantic hippos lazing in ponds and waterholes; warthogs, ostriches and mongooses; the carnivorous lions, cheetahs and hyenas; and the scavenger birds also with their share in the Savannah. To see all these animals coexisting in the open, in a single frame, was quite an enthralling experience. I felt like an awestruck time traveler who had just landed in the prehistoric era! The soil in Africa is very fertile, almost dark maroon in color, and this helps the growth of grass, which in turn attracts the wildebeest and zebras to cross the Mara River…

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Interview, October 2018 / 01 Oct 2018
A personal journey – part 2
Spirit Matters Podcast is a very popular site showcasing an eclectic mix of talks about contemporary spirituality. The hosts are DENNIS RAIMONDI and PHILIP GOLDBERG. On 1 July 2018, together they interviewed DAAJI about his life, spirituality and book, The Heartfulness Way. Here we highlight excerpts from the interview. You can listen to the whole interview on the Spirit Matters Podcast website at http://spiritmatterstalk.com/daaji. DR: I’m actually looking at your website now; you have a great website! And I’m looking at the HeartSpots. You really are worldwide. I have one question about the meditation: When you instruct somebody, how much time do you tell them to spend a day in meditation? And if somebody wants to really go deep when they come to your ashram, can they spend many more hours in meditation? So what’s the balance of meditation and activity that you recommend? DAAJI: Well, to begin with we recommend to meditate for about 20 minutes or half an hour in the morning, and then let this effect of meditation, which becomes a meditative state, continue throughout the day during all your daily activities. DR: And are there instructions for how to do that second part? DAAJI: It happens very naturally. When you like something and when the experience is so profound you remain glued to it, and even if you want to shake it off it’s not easy for you to shake it off, because it is such a profound stillness you feel within that you would like to remain connected with it. So I think a method is unnecessary. Just sit for half an hour in the morning or 20 minutes, and savor that meditation experience, and allow that stillness or calmness that was a result of meditation to continue. And if per chance you want to repeat it…

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Be inspired, October 2018 / 01 Oct 2018
Karma, Jnana & Bhakti Yoga – part 1
Even before the texts of the Vedas were written down, the three fundamental elements of yogic practice were known as Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. Here DAAJI enlightens us on how these three elements arose, and how mastering karma, jnana and bhakti can help us to reach the stage of oneness known as Yoga. It is fascinating to me that the most unified concept in the world, Yoga, has been subdivided into so many branches. Just as medical doctors specialize in certain organs of the body and certain illnesses, Yoga practitioners often specialize in just one or two aspects of Yoga. And like medicine, these yogic specializations may take us deeper into each area of specialty and provide very useful and important understanding, but the underlying purpose of Yoga has been lost in the process. The word ‘Yoga’ itself means ‘union’ or ‘to bind’, and the practices of Yoga are all about unification of the lower self with the higher Self; union of individual consciousness with universal consciousness; and the integration of body, mind and soul into a purified whole. Despite this focus on union, Yoga has also traditionally been classified into three major disciplines – Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. What are these three disciplines and how do they fit together? Is there some purpose to this triadic classification? To understand this, we really need to go back to the time of creation. CREATION What was there before the creation of the universe? There was indescribable and infinite darkness. Then, into this absolute state of nothingness came a stir, and that very first vibration caused the big bang. It was also the first manifestation of consciousness, described in Yoga as AUM. The whole world rests upon it. It is the Absolute Base and foundation of…

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Focus, October 2018 / 01 Oct 2018
On neuroscience
RUBY CARMEN Psychologist and social worker London, UK In ancient times, science, spirituality and Yoga were often treated as one, and science was viewed in a more holistic sense that included spiritual aspects as well as the mundane. More recently, you could say that there is a reunion of science and spirituality, as both can compliment one another with different perspectives, illuminating our vision of the world across multiple spectrums. One of the most fascinating aspects of the growth of neuroscience is its investigation of internal phenomena, such as meditation. As a meditator and meditation trainer with a background in psychology, I am intrigued to know about the different areas of the brain that are activated or de-activated during meditation. Indeed, longitudinal studies in neuroscience offer possibilities of examining changes within the structures of the brain over time. This is providing evidence that correlates to the personal experience of meditators. The journal, The Neuroscience of Consciousness, is devoted to the study of consciousness, which traditionally fell within the realm of philosophy before a distinction emerged between philosophy and psychology. The development of neuroscience enables another perspective on our understanding of consciousness. It provides an alternative means of exploring consciousness, including possibilities of ‘locating’ it within the human system. The renewed appreciation that exists for the study of consciousness goes beyond a ‘reductionist’ view of the mind to take into account the richness of our internal worlds. https://academic.oup.com/nc https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180322125028.htm JIM OTIS Certified Functional Neurologist Oakland, California, USA I think science and spirituality are relevant to each other. Right now what is increasingly important in society is that we’re going through a really big transformation on our planet. As our official intelligence is growing and growing and growing, spirituality and neuroscience need to embrace each other; they need to enhance each other. And…

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THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

It changes everything

Living heart centered

in It changes everything, October 2018

DR JOE DISPENZA shares some thoughts on heart-brain coherence and moving from thinking to knowing through the instrument of perception we know as the heart. Since our human ancestors first...

Eyes: the windows to the soul

When fear knocks

Thought in action

From waste to resource

in October 2018, Thought in action

GEETU BOHRA is passionate about the 3Rs of waste management – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Here she shares some thoughts on how we can all do much more to reduce...

The flow

Vibrations

Focus

Neuroscience & AUM

in Focus, October 2018

DAAJI shows us how ancient Yoga and modern neuroscience converge in their understanding of the different states of brain functioning. He explores these states of A, U, M and the...

In search of consciousness

On neuroscience

Be Inspired

Karma, Jnana & Bhakti Yoga – part 1

in Be inspired, October 2018

Even before the texts of the Vedas were written down, the three fundamental elements of yogic practice were known as Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. Here DAAJI enlightens...

The principle of purity

Samyama – part 4

Taste of Life

Interview

A personal journey – part 2

in Interview, October 2018

Spirit Matters Podcast is a very popular site showcasing an eclectic mix of talks about contemporary spirituality. The hosts are DENNIS RAIMONDI and PHILIP GOLDBERG. On 1 July 2018, together...