Tag Archive for ‘Practice’
Practice: The Richness of Poverty
Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven! – Jesus There is a popular notion of “prosperity consciousness” going around which I’m sure has helped some people to stop limiting themselves. It’s not good to feel always lacking, as if there isn’t enough to go around. There is certainly an [...]
05/1/11 5:47 PM
Practice: Stopping – the Ultimate Spiritual Practice
Angulimala was a notorious bandit who lived at the time of the Buddha. Once he stalked the Buddha on a trail through the forest with the intention of robbing or killing him. The Buddha walked along slowly, peacefully, just a short distance ahead of Angulimala. But Angulimala could not overtake him. The Buddha continued at [...]
03/15/11 5:26 PM
Practice: Kindness as a Martial Art
Terry Dobson, an American martial arts master and former U.S. Marine, was a big, powerful man who learned nonviolence by studying the Japanese discipline of Aikido, which means “Way of Harmony.” In Aikido, the emphasis is on restoring peace rather than winning a battle. Terry told many stories to illustrate that the “enemy” is usually [...]
02/15/11 5:13 PM
Practice: Mother Teresa’s Prayer
A Simple Path, a book about Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity, describes some of the prayers they use in their spiritual practice. One especially caught my eye, because it seems to be specifically geared to letting go of our whole sense of the personal self. I urge you to spend time with this [...]
01/15/11 5:04 PM
Practice: Vow Practice
Many of us complain about how hard it is to start doing daily meditation or yoga, or to quit smoking or lying or biting our nails or masturbating or any number of things connected to “turning over a new leaf.” We may make solemn resolutions, but within a short time we often find everything is [...]
11/15/10 4:50 PM
Gratitude Day 14 : 14 Days of Gratitude
Two weeks of gratitude and how do I feel? In a word, Grateful. It has had a profound impact on my overall state of mind. It is like when you go to your mat on those weeks where it feels like going to your mat is the only thing going well. You are just so [...]
11/14/10 8:51 AM
Practice: Mindfulness As Shown By a Master
All of us at Human Kindness Foundation had a rare privilege when we brought the Vietnamese Buddhist master, Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced Tic Not Hon), into his first American prison to talk with inmates and staff about the practice of deep mindfulness. We chose Maryland Correctional Institution at Hagerstown for this special event because Bo [...]
10/1/10 4:10 PM
Practice: Abandoning Blame
This practice can be a very powerful tool for letting go of false beliefs about who or what controls our moods. We recommend you take this vow for at least one month, and repeat it aloud at the beginning of each day. If possible, let a few friends know about your vow so that they [...]
09/15/10 4:07 PM
Get Grounded
I have no shame admitting that I tend to get a little carried away every now and then. Let’s be honest, I wouldn’t be the Capricious Yogi if I didn’t! In fact, with all the recent transition and activity swirling around me, it’s a wonder that I’m not floating amongst the clouds for eternity. I’ve been [...]
08/18/10 2:07 PM
Practice: Goodwill Meditation
More and more of our prison friends are spending time on lockdown during this difficult age. Many of them feel frustrated that they cannot do anything to help others. But we can all help others. Praying for others is very real and, depending on the strength of our minds, can be very powerful as well. [...]
08/15/10 3:54 PM
