Archive for the ‘Thoughts on Life’ Category

Friendship and Love, Beauty vs. Glamour, Healing and Renewal, Spiritual Hunger, and Original Thoughts on Death

Sunday, September 5th, 2010

A European friend introduced me to the writing and words of John O’Donohue.  I’ve turned to John’s words at times when I’ve sought greater clarity and hope.  This one interview covers a wide variety of topics, and if you listen to the whole thing it’s likely that at least one story or topic will resonate and inspire.

http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/tapestry_20080115_4414.mp3

John O'Donohue

John O'Donohue

Just a few topics covered in this interview include:

(On Meister Eckhart)  “He said an amazing thing in one of his latin writings:  “There is a place in the soul that neither time, nor flesh, nor any created thing can ever touch.”  So that means like, that there’s a place within you where no one has ever got to you, where you’re not damaged, or where there is no negativity in you, but where there is a pure tranquility within you.

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Yoga and Business

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

business and yoga“Yoga is not the renunciation of personal life and business, but the renunciation of the vicious concepts parading as vital to these expressions.”

- Ramamurti S. Mishra from “Fundamentals of Yoga”

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Yoga, Gangsters, Power and Teaching Peace

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

YouTube Preview Image

Learning from a teacher who truly understands his/her subject gives me insight into the real meaning of power.  To see some masterful teaching, check out this site:  http://mathforum.org/dr/math/ They won’t teach you yoga.  They will teach you math.  (And I nominate Dr. Peterson for the Nobel Peace Prize.)

In the movie Road to Perdition the gangsters seem to have trouble with math.  The inclusion of this detail suggests that learning opens doors which otherwise might be closed.  Those who don’t have know-how, support and encouragement can wind up feeling they depend on the likes of Mr. Rooney to survive (and we see where that leads).

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Practical Wisdom

Saturday, July 10th, 2010

Here’s a lecture that I found helpful in thinking about a variety of issues.  I’ve summarized some of the points made in the lecture below.

  • A wise person knows when and how to make the exception to every rule.
  • A wise person knows how to improvise.
  • Real world problems are often ambiguous and ill defined, and the context is always changing.

Inner Freedom: The Flow of Yoga On & Off the Mat

Monday, June 28th, 2010

I’ve learned a few things on YouTube.  The choreographers of Flashdance knew Purvottanasana.  The Forbidden Kingdom has a great fight scene.  And you can find inspiration for moving toward your full potential in yoga by watching how people move in other disciplines.

YouTube Preview Image

When I first started watching the movements of practitioners trained in different disciplines, I was turning over in my mind the idea of effortless flow.  “What is possible in yoga teaching and practice?”  was a thought spinning about at the back of my mind.

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Kiva MicroLoans People Helping People

Saturday, June 12th, 2010
Kiva MicroLoans

Kiva MicroLoans

http://www.kiva.org

Recently I came across this website which I found very interesting.  While the money is actually disbursed ahead of time by the grassroots organizations in the geographical area of the recipient, the site still does a nice job of connecting people in a way that feels more like helping each other directly.  Loans can be as small as $25.00.  While I have not vetted the site, if you look through its explanations there are details about how loans operate.