Knowledge is an important component of our spiritual growth.
Over the period of some 30 years, I have written these articles to illustrate a variety of spiritual ideas and principles.
Knowledge can guide us in our practices, let us know what to expect along the way and support us in times of doubt. However, knowledge alone can only take us so far. Direct experience is equally as important so I encourage you to choose the practices which resonate with you and make them part of your daily life.
These articles have been grouped by categories to help you select the ones that may be of greater interest to you.
Edited versions of some of these articles have been published in other places, including the Chopra Center Lifestyles Newsletters.
I have always tried to fully research each topic and apologize for any inaccuracies. Unlike scientific “facts”, spiritual wisdom is open to interpretation. These articles reflect my understanding of the subjects. Please read them with an open mind and find the path that best suits you.
Meditations and Mantra
Meditation Frustration: what to do when you want to quit
The quick answer is “don’t”! During my years of teaching meditation, I’ve have heard a multitude of excuses for ending a meditation session early so let’s look at some of them and what to do when they occur. Make Yourself Comfortable One of the simplest reasons for feeling restless during meditation is because you’re sitting in an uncomfortable position. If you can sit for 20-30 minutes with legs crossed in full lotus and without back [...]
A Dozen Reasons Why You Should Begin a Meditation Practice
Meditation is an effortless process which will enrich all aspects of your life. Anyone who can think a thought can meditate and everyone will benefit from it. If you or someone dear to you is still holding out, hopefully at least one of the following “reasons” will strike the necessary chord to get you started. Once the gifts start flowing, the only question will be, “Why did I wait so long to begin?”. Reduction of [...]
Meditation – Our Path to Freedom
“If you were to ask me what was the most important experience of my life, I would say it was learning to meditate.” - Deepak Chopra One day two spiritual students were having a discussion regarding the best path to enlighten-ment. The first argued that to be enlightened we have to give up all our possessions and desires to live a very simple life. The second student believed that the path to enlightenment meant ful-filling all [...]
Meditation – The Path to Pure Love
Once, before time, there was only Love. Pure Unconditional Love, Divine Love. Silently waiting. The Pure Love moved within Itself to share Itself and created a celestial sound. However, Pure Love itself is Silent so the first sound was forced out of the realm of Pure Love, becoming conditioned love. Love is primary to everything. The material world emerges from Pure Love. The whole Universe is a projection of Pure Love. The good news is [...]
The Different Values of Mantra
Everything in creation is, at its most refined level, sound or vibration. Every tree, every flower, every part of our body has it’s own unique vibration. Even the qualities we express in our lives such as happiness, joy, abundance and love are vibrations. When we are healthy, happy and vibrant, these vibrations are harmonizing with each other like a magnificent cosmic symphony. However if the vibration of any area becomes distorted, the harmony breaks down [...]
Explaining the Different Types of Meditation
Nowadays, the word meditation covers a fairly wide spectrum of practices. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the main ones and their values in our lives. Reflection or recapitulation is to refer back over past events and situations. This can be a useful technique to practice at the end of the day, to meditate on the events of the day. It should be done without evaluation or judgment but rather as a process of [...]