Spiritual Magazine | Wellness Magazine

Interview, May 2021, VOLUME 6 / 01 May 2021
Women & spirituality
MIRABAI BUSH is the author of Working With Mindfulness, co-creator of Google’s “Search Inside Yourself” program, co-founder of the Center for Contemplative Mind and Society and a founding board member of the Seva Foundation. She teaches contemplative practices, and has facilitated retreats, workshops and courses on spirit and action for over 20 years. To commemorate International Women’s Day, Mirabai spoke with PURNIMA RAMAKRISHNAN on March 6, 2021. Q: Thank you for joining us today, Mirabai. It is an honor, a privilege, and a great blessing to have you with us. MB: Thank you, Purnima. I love talking with you, so this is a joy for me, too. And you chose a really wonderful subject that makes us all think and rethink about our assumptions. Q: So what are the unique challenges and opportunities for a woman on a spiritual path? MB: I will probably speak as if I am speaking to all women. I realize that’s how I was thinking about these questions, and so for those men who are listening in, just imagine that you are privileged to be in this room with an extraordinary group of women. I am imagining the big circle of us who can’t see each other, but we know we are here. Unique challenges and opportunities for a woman on the spiritual path? There’s so much, and there are layers of challenges. Of course, it’s different in different cultures, but it is probably global that women experience a certain amount of negative bias in different ways. There are differences between men and women physically, mentally and psychologically, but the spirit within us is one. How we wake up o that is, however, conditioned by our cultures. The first time I was in India, from 1970 to 1972, I remember a pretty strong belief that women couldn’t…

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May 2021, Taste of life, VOLUME 6 / 01 May 2021
Green friends
KARISHMA DESAI shares her journey from plant-killer to having green friends. Through childlike wonder and simply taking a moment to hug and connect with trees, she experiences the healing energy of nature, as well as enhancing the connection to her inner nature through the heart. I am embarrassed to confess that I have been a plant-killer in the past. On the odd occasion that friends would gift me a plant, I would fail to keep it alive for long. Not knowing how to care for them, they would invariably perish. Most of my friends and colleagues were intrigued by how someone who loves animals could be so naïve and ignorant about taking care of something as simple as a plant. The truth is I never took interest or paid much attention to them. A few years ago, when my little girl started school, some of the parents in our estate decided to form a walking school bus. Two rostered parent volunteers would walk a group of ten to twelve young kids to school and back each day. This was a great experience, as on the 15-minute walk to school we witnessed their beautiful innocent and playful banter. As they became more familiar, it was not uncommon for them to prefer to be only with their close friends and argue with the others. Often, they would be too loud and disturb the otherwise quiet neighborhood we walked through. One morning, I noticed a few adamant kids wanting to have it their own way, so I decided to divert their attention. I asked them to observe the surroundings, and to reflect on how to appreciate the beauty of nature. Pointing to one of the trees, I explained that they are full of life just like us, and they react to love and…

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It changes everything, May 2021, VOLUME 6 / 01 May 2021
Unity in a world of diversity
BRIAN JONES explores unity in a world full of challenges and diversity. Through different analogies and his own personal experience with meditation, he finds effective ways to achieve unity through the silence of the heart. It was a long flight from Los Angeles to Singapore. Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean I took another one of many walks from my seat to the back of the plane for a much-needed cup of coffee. Three women stood there, all from different countries, each one holding a small baby. A lovely and nonsensical conversation was going on; each mother amusing the other’s baby with an assortment of gaga and coo-cooing baby sounds. It was apparent that none of the mothers spoke the languages of the others, and yet three babies were having quite a fun time, innocently laughing, not caring what language or which mother was entertaining them! I was gleefully immersed in this special moment. I found the innocence, love and happiness that so effortlessly flowed a wonderful example of how we are all inextricably united. We come into this world with such purity, with a heart wide open, but quickly we begin to realize, “These are my hands, this is my foot, these are my toes.” Soon enough, I, me, and mine are here to stay. “Unity” has many levels of meaning. We are united by love as well as by hate, we are united by country, by race, by culture, and even by the football team we support. But in these cases, our experience of unity is limited, accompanied by a feeling of exclusiveness – my team is better than yours, my political party is better than yours, my religion is better than yours, etc. If we look back through time, there has hardly been a moment when there wasn’t…

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Focus, May 2021, VOLUME 6 / 01 May 2021
Exhale
KATARA MCCARTY is the source and inspiration for EXHALE, a well-being App for Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color. In December 2020, she was interviewed by MAMATA VENKAT about her life long journey creating resources for some of the most marginalized people in society, and her approach to spirituality. Q: I want to make sure I’m pronouncing your name correctly. It’s [kuh-TAH-ruh]? KM: Yes! How do I pronounce your name? Q: [MUH-muh-thuh] KM: I remember the first days of school, when they would come across my name. I would know that I was next because the teachers would pause, look at the list, and dodge it. You can probably totally relate. I remember being little and having to teach my teachers how to say my name. My whole life. Q: That has been me my whole life. Inevitably someone follows up with, “Can I give you a nickname?” And I always say, “No! Learn how to say my name. It’s not that difficult.” This has been a very interesting year, a very difficult year for the Black community. How are you doing? KM: With the pandemic, there was so much uncertainty in the beginning, and being quarantined I lost over half my clientele. I’m a public speaker and all events were halted. I also coach companies and organizations. In a couple of the companies, I was the first thing to be cut, because they were trying to stop the internal bleeding. I felt a lot of anxiety and uncertainty, and then what was happening with COVID in the Black community was really, really stressful. Q: I know a lot about the last eight or nine months, but over the last few years what has really influenced you now in your career? I would love to hear about the origins. KM: I spent a lot…

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Be inspired, May 2021, VOLUME 6 / 30 Apr 2021
The art of removing and creating habits – part 5
DAAJI continues his series on refining habits, in the light of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga and current scientific and yogic principles and practices. Last month, he shone some light on the habit of stealing, asteya, exploring the spectrum of theft and lack versus generosity and abundance. This month, he focuses on the fourth Yama, brahmacharya, which literally means “one who dwells in Divinity,” and is generally understood to mean moderation of the senses. MODERATION A cautionary tale Before exploring brahmacharya, let’s take a moment to revisit the importance of the Yamas. I call them “the five vows of a seeker,” as they provide the very foundation of self-discipline in all aspects of life, from the worldly to the spiritual. After all, who succeeds in any endeavor without self-discipline? But the Yamas also provide us with a cautionary tale, as it is possible to journey along the spiritual path (at least to a certain extent) without fulfilling these five vows, and there is a very good reason why this must be so. Yoga is the path of self-transformation and refinement, of molding our living to such a high order that we become universal beings. Yoga demands a lifestyle of continuous improvement toward that goal of unity. This process of transformation is most effective when it begins from within, in the subtle body, through doing meditative practices. The inner transformation paves the way for us to change our programmed habits by unravelling the accumulation of patterns stored in the subconscious mind. And the ultimate catalyst for the subtle transformation is yogic Transmission, as happens in Heartfulness. It also paves the way for us to adjust our outer behavior and attitudes, so that they are in sync with the inner changes, and this is our role as seekers. It means working on our character….

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THIS MONTH'S EDITION

It changes everything

Unity in a world of diversity

in It changes everything, May 2021, VOLUME 6

BRIAN JONES explores unity in a world full of challenges and diversity. Through different analogies and his own personal experience with meditation, he finds effective ways to achieve unity through...

What is success?

We need silence

Thought in action

Excellence in leadership

in May 2021, Thought in action, VOLUME 6

A HEART-BASED APPROACH VICTOR KANNAN shares what heart-based leadership means and defines ten essential qualities for excellence in leadership. “If you don’t understand that you are in service to the...

The heartful innovator – part 5

Growing others

Focus

Spirituality

in Focus, May 2021, VOLUME 6

DR. ZACH BUSH is a renowned, multi-disciplinary physician and educator on the microbiome as it relates to human health, the environment and our interconnected future. Here he extends this worldview...

Exhale

Spiritual renaissance

Be Inspired

The art of removing and creating habits – part 5

in Be inspired, May 2021, VOLUME 6

DAAJI continues his series on refining habits, in the light of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga and current scientific and yogic principles and practices. Last month, he shone some light on the...

Moderation

The art of removing and creating habits – part 4

Taste of Life

Green friends

in May 2021, Taste of life, VOLUME 6

KARISHMA DESAI shares her journey from plant-killer to having green friends. Through childlike wonder and simply taking a moment to hug and connect with trees, she experiences the healing energy...

Heartfulness sport – part 1

Hope

Interview

Women & spirituality

in Interview, May 2021, VOLUME 6

MIRABAI BUSH is the author of Working With Mindfulness, co-creator of Google’s “Search Inside Yourself” program, co-founder of the Center for Contemplative Mind and Society and a founding board member...