We’re starting a new year and a lot of people are making their new year resolutions such as losing weight, eating healthier or making more money. Others strive for better relationships, less stress or more happiness. Still others, resolve to increase their spiritual practice in whatever form it might be, in order to attain to
by Rudra Shivananda Most spiritual practitioners soon discover that when they sit for meditation, their minds can go into overdrive and all sorts of thoughts – some ‘good’ and some ‘bad’ – make their appearance to disturb any sense of peace or tranquility. Even seasoned practitioners find themselves being distracted by negative thoughts after years
by Rudra Shivananda The worst enemies of a spiritual practitioner are boredom and doubt. Gone are the early heady days when you found your spiritual path and embarked on a set of practice that you were sure would lead you to your goal… you now find excuses to skip your meditation. To be sure, you
By Rudra Shivananda What are your hands doing when you are trying to meditate? When a seeker enters the stream and take a path of spiritual insight, he or she will pay a lot of attention to the sitting position and body posture. However, not much attention is paid initially to the position of the
By Rudra Shivananda A few days ago, we commemorated the life of a great leader for the freedom movement. Martin Luther King took up the mantle of Mahatma Gandhi and became a beacon of light not only for black Americans but for people all over the world. We need not discuss his heroic application of
By Rudra Shivananda Every year, most of us experience a day of remembrance called the birthday. Yet, as we celebrate surviving another year of life, we wonder if there is any deeper significance beyond the cake, laughter and champagne. It is wonderful to be surrounded by those who care about you. When you are young,
By Rudra Shivananda I was meeting with a student and her family last night and she was very concerned that her peers at the local university were undermining her belief in rebirth and therefore she was doubting the whole necessity for spiritual practice. In her mind, the two seemed to be linked. First off, these
By Rudra Shivananda Oftentimes, spiritual students are confused by their emotional nature and unable to come to terms with their intellectual understanding of the deeper aspects of life. It is then necessary to contemplate continuously on a truth in order to remove the emotional blockage. A mere reading or nodding acceptance is insufficient. A few
By Rudra Shivananda It may be useful for the spiritual seeker if we explore a model of consciousness that I use because it is closely correlated with yogic experience. This model differentiates between brain, mind and consciousness in a practical way for spiritual evolution. Scientists are still in the process of understanding the functions of
By Rudra Shivananda There is a close connection between the evolutionary yogic techniques of Kriya Yoga and the little known system of spiritual development called Nada Yoga. In the Kriya system, there are a series of techniques called Omkar Kriyas which involve listening to the sound vibrations of Om. Also, an advanced technique called Jyoti