What does it mean to be mindful of the breath? Something very simple: to keep the breath in mind. Keep remembering the breath each time you breathe in, each time you breathe out. The British scholar who coined the term “mindfulness” to translate the Pali word sati was probably influenced by the Anglican prayer to be ever mindful of the needs of others—in other words, to always keep their needs in mind. But even though the word “mindful” was probably drawn from a Christian context, the Buddha... Read more...

The mind is a powerful thing.

As I grew out of childhood and became conscious of myself, I became fascinated with my thoughts. They allowed an escape from my day-to-day situation, and gave me a sense of power. My ability to think through situations allowed me to navigate through an often difficult world and seemingly come out on top. However, as I advanced into my mid-twenties, my mind began to trouble me as often as it helped me.

The art of playing devil’s advocate is one I perfected as I... Read more...

Our Milky Way drifts through space like a bioluminescent starfish. Technically a barred spiral galaxy, it is estimated to be over 100,000 light-years across and 1000 light-years thick at the outer edges. The elegant theories of modern astronomers place a mysterious black hole at the center of most galaxies, including our own. As the ultimate manifestation of the devouring Hindu goddess Kali (Sanskrit for "black"), nothing escapes this juggernaut's "event horizon," or rim --analogous to Kali's... Read more...

“No one can whistle a symphony, it takes a whole orchestra to play it.” H.E. Luccock3
Many yogis around the world take on a specific challenge four times a year, at every solstice. They do 108 sun salutations. That sounds like a crazy number of times to salute the sun, unless you know the background of those particular digits.

The above quote is a fancy way to say, “It takes a village,” a pithy saying we've all heard before. And like many of those sayings, it rings true more often than not.... Read more...