Jesus Christ — His Psychospiritual Teachings
JESUS CHRIST -- LESSONS FOR LIVING Jesus Christ offered crucial lessons for living that receive far too little attention by many who identify themselves as Christians today. Biblical scholar Burton Mack, in Who Wrote the New Testament, identifies two very different threads in early Christianity. He calls them the Cult of Christ. and the Jesus Movement. The Cult of Christ is what has developed into conventional Christianity. Its central architect and spokesman was St. Paul. Its ideology is...
MEDITATION: THE ESSENCE II – Concentration & Focus
MEDITATION -- THE ESSENCE Basic Meditation Instructions, Part II CONCENTRATIVE MEDITATION Concentrative meditation develops your ability to know what you are doing with your attention at any given moment and to focus your attention (and often that of others with whom you are conversing) where you wish. This ability has been shown to be useful in diverse areas of life. It is also essential to witness consciousness or mindfulness meditation, which will be described in Part III. Two different...
MEDITATION – THE ESSENCE: Basic Meditation Instructions I
MEDITATION -- THE ESSENCE Basic Meditation Instructions, Part I INTRODUCTION, & STARTING YOUR SESSION BENEFITS OF MEDITATION Reduce your stress, feel more relaxed, become more focused, centered, and probably more successful, and clean up problem areas in your life. Seldom be bored, as you can almost always find something interesting around you or inside you to notice. If you have never meditated, have tried and been unsuccessful, or are unsatisfied with your method, try this. (If you are...
Inquirers and Denyers -Two Attitudes of Mind
Mental flexibility and rigidity is a crucial matter. Either one is usually both an attitude and a habit. Yesterday as I was reading posts about the polar vortex's possible contributions to the January 2014 extreme colds and storms in the Eastern U.S., (and much less publicized, climate scientists' opinions that it may also be causing the blocking high pressure area off northern California that has given the usually rainy and foggy winters of the redwood country less rain in the last year than...
The Perils of Self-Righteousness
We all have our pet peeves. One of mine is self-righteousness. "I am good and righteous and just and you are bad and maybe even wicked and evil." Not that I never fall into it myself, but I try to notice it and pull out when I do. What are the earmarks? The self-righteous person fancies himself or herself better than others who think or act differently, or who look or sound different. If it's one of your own tendencies, the chances are you don't much notice it. You think you're just in touch...
The Divine Mother Returns – Amma at San Ramon
THE DIVINE MOTHER RETURNS: A REPORT FROM AMMA'S ASHRAM I went over to San Ramon to see Amma (the "hugging mother" a.k.a. Sri Mata Amritanandamayi) twice last week. The front wall behind the stage was done over since last year. Originally it had a style of Zen simplicity, with visible natural wood everywhere. Now it has been redone India style, with ornate decorations. I am guessing that her Indian disciples who live here in America made the changes. Amma usually comes to her California ashram...