None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself…We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves; let each of us please our neighbour for the good, for building up.(Saul of Tarsus, Letter to the Romans 14:7 and 15:1-2, NABRE) To be... Continue Reading →
Mindfulness is one of the most popular meditation practices in the West and it is very secular by nature.(Giovanni Dienstmann: Practical Meditation) Mindfulness is acceptance(Padraig O'Morain: Mindfulness on the Go) Our lives are like a film, and we are the stars of the story.(Terri Kozlowski: Practical Ways to be More Present and Aware to Live... Continue Reading →
He was allowed two books a week from the prison library. In the first week of his sentence he read both books through in one day, devouring them with the swift efficiency that he gave to all his business matters. He finished that day with the restless, nervous fatigue that he had come to regard... Continue Reading →
Lovely thoughts came flying to meet me like birds. They weren't my thoughts. I couldn't think anything half so exquisite. They came from somewhere. (Lucy Maud Montgomery, Emily Climbs) ...the war which the demons wage against us by means of thoughts is more severe than the war they wage by means of material things. (St... Continue Reading →
Marianne would have thought herself very inexcusable had she been able to sleep at all the first night after parting from Willoughby. She would have been ashamed to look her family in the face the next morning, had she not risen from her bed in more need of repose than when she lay down in... Continue Reading →
Thou hast told me of a Yoga of constant oneness, O Krishna, of a communion which is ever one. But, Krishna, the mind is inconstant: in its restlessness I cannot find rest. The mind is restless, Krishna, impetuous, self-willed, hard to train: to master the mind seems as difficult as to master the mighty winds.... Continue Reading →
From the outset I should say that although I am about to argue that silence is A Good Thing that does not mean that I am advocating it as a sovereign universal remedy. Broccoli is also an excellent thing but some people just can't eat it. This does not represent a personal flaw or... Continue Reading →
Ring out the false Ring in the true Ring out the old Ring in the new Ding-dong, ding-dong (George Harrison) We are forever making, or intending to make, new beginnings. Sometimes our intentions are rooted in a real world event, moving house, starting a new job, changing countries, and sometimes they spring from a symbolic... Continue Reading →
Man, according to his nature, is not capable of abandoning suddenly all to which he was accustomed (Guide for the Perplexed III:32) A photograph taken in 2010 and showing four Middle Eastern rulers standing together smiling and exuding complacent self-confidence was reposted in 2017 after all four of them had been overthrown and two of... Continue Reading →
There is probably a popular consensus that some acts can be called 'good' and others 'evil.' Further, it is believed, that prior to any such morally charged action being performed a positive movement of the Will must take place. That is, a fully conscious determination is formed and from this the act flows, or at... Continue Reading →
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