What The Buddha Might Say To President Obama by Ed and Deb Shapiro
May 16, 2012 by Ed and Deb Shapiro
Filed under •-Feature, Ego, Insights, Inspired Business, Leadership, Motivation, Oneness In Action, Personal Growth, Purpose, Spiritual Guidance, Spirituality
The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows. Buddha
With six months to go before the next election, President Obama has officially launched his campaign. This is an important time for him not to take anything for granted, but also to stay true to his beliefs and ethics.
It is extremely hard to stay balanced during difficult and challenging times, as there are always those who want to bring you down, who disagree, criticize, or act like they know better. It is obvious that it will be a nasty presidential campaign. Both Obama’s religion and his birthplace are constantly questioned yet he holds his head high, speaks calmly and intelligently, and seems to have no malice. His reaction to such dissenters has simply shown his determination to keep going forward. As he said: “What we can do, as flawed as we are, is still see God in other people, and do our best to help them find their own grace. That’s what I strive to do, that’s what I pray to do every day.”
When people speak badly about you, you should respond in this way: Keep a steady heart and do not reply with harsh words. Practice letting go of resentment, and accept that another’s hostility is the spur to your understanding. Be kind, adopt a generous standpoint, treat your enemy as a friend, and suffuse your world with affectionate thoughts, far-reaching and widespread, limitless and free from hate. Buddha
The Buddha’s teaching is based on our interdependence and interconnectedness. In a very broad sense, the role of the president is similar — to recognize how we all affect each other, which is our basic interconnectedness. Obama’s recent announcement of his support of gay marriage is an example of this, as it reflects the desire that all beings be treated equally. As Obama said four years ago: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
We are delighted that Obama has recognized gay marriage as a fundamental right, for the soul is neither male nor female, gay or straight. The latest Newsweek features an image of Obama with a rainbow-colored halo above his head. The cover story is: “The First Gay President.” We all breathe the same air, drink the same water, eat, sleep, and want to be happy. Love is not determined by gender. Why should anyone be denied the right to live the life they want, as long as they are not creating suffering for another? When we first met with the Dalai Lama at his residence in northern India we prostrated before him, as is the custom. He quickly lifted us up saying, “We are all equal here.”
But the differences between us can be huge. Although Obama pledged bipartisanship, in the last four years we have seen the worst partisanship ever, with the Republicans determined to say “no” to whatever Obama proposes. To find unity, we have to go beyond those differences; we have to surrender our own needs for the benefit of all. In the process, our enemies can teach us great patience and even compassion!
It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways. Buddha
Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule. Buddha
There have been some great achievements in the last four years as well as promises that haven’t been kept. But perfection is knowing ones own imperfections, which gives us the ability to get up each time we fall.
Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. Buddha
Ed and Deb Shapiro are the authors of BE THE CHANGE, How Meditation Can Transform You And The World, with forewords by the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman and Winner of the 2010 Nautilus Gold Book Award. Deb is the author of the bestselling book, YOUR BODY SPEAKS YOUR MIND, winner of the 2007 Visionary Book Award. They are featured bloggers on Oprah.com/spirit, HuffingtonPost.com/Living, and Care2.com. They have 3 meditation CD’s: Metta — Loving Kindness and Forgiveness; Samadhi – Breath Awareness and Insight; and Yoga Nidra – Inner Conscious Relaxation. See: www.EdandDebShapiro.com
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Gitmo or Gandhi by Ed and Deb Shapiro
Why Do We Enjoy Making Fun of Others? by Ed and Deb Shapiro
READ: Gitmo or Gandhi by Ed and Deb Shapiro
May 8, 2012 by Ed and Deb Shapiro
Filed under •-Feature, Ego, Forgiveness, Insights, Mindfulness, Oneness In Action, Personal Growth, Spiritual Guidance, Spirituality
I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. Mahatma Gandhi
The prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, built on a legacy of fear, was established to deal with violent terrorists but, instead, became the cause of further suffering and chaos. It is a prime example of the mindless, cruel and inhuman way we abuse our fellow human beings. For despite whatever these men may or may not have done they are our human beings and inflicting pain, especially the methods used at Gitmo, achieves nothing but further pain. Two wrongs do not make a right; to meet violence with more violence does not bring peace. Closing Gitmo does not say we condone violence, but that we do not intend to continue to act in such a barbaric way.
Of course, there are those who oppose closing the camp. Fear is a powerful seductress waiting around every corner to grab our attention; hatred is like a snake always ready to bite. The nature of fear is to hold us back, to keep us in a place of closed heartedness. It will create an enemy even if one does not exist. Being fearless does not mean we have to stop or deny the fear; fearlessness is not a state of being without fear. Rather, it is fully feeling the fear, getting to know it, and then making friends with it.
If we divide reality into two camps—the violent and the nonviolent— and stand in one camp while attacking the other, the world will never have peace. Thich Nhat Hanh, Noble Peace Prize Nominee
Mahatma Gandhi changed the course of history in India by proving that non-violence is more powerful than violence, bringing an end to British domination as he inspired millions of others to follow his lead. The Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize for practicing non-violence towards the invading Chinese. Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Ang San Suu Kyi, and Archbishop Tutu have all stood out as practicing harmlessness or pacifism, often in the face of tremendous opposition, while Swami Satchidananda taught ahimsa or non-injury is the one practice in yoga that leads to Self-realization.
Deb was raised a Quaker, whose creed is found in the statement, To travel over the earth meeting that of God in every man. This is reflected in the Buddhist and Yoga teaching of ahimsa. This sounds so simple, but harmlessness actually requires a complete shift in attitude. In a world where selfishness and self-interest are the norm it takes great courage not to react with greed or anger, which only cause harm. Simply by causing less pain, each of us can bring greater dignity to or world. By recognizing the fundamental equality of all beings, harm is replaced with harmlessness, disrespect with respect.
We will always blame and condemn those we feel are responsible for wars and social injustice, without recognizing the degree of violence in ourselves. We must work on ourselves as well as with those we condemn if we wish to move towards peace. Thich Nhat Hanh
Aspiring to live harmlessly confronts us with the many ways we may be causing harm without realizing it, whether by ignoring someone’s feelings, by using more of the earth’s resources than we need, or by buying products made by underage and underpaid workers. What to do when ants or cockroaches invade the kitchen or slugs eat away at the vegetable garden, yet we do not want to harm them?
And how often do we do things that are hurtful or harmful to ourselves? How many times a day, subtly or otherwise, do we put ourselves down, reaffirm our hopelessness, dislike our appearance, or see ourselves as incompetent or unworthy? How much resentment, guilt or shame are we holding on to, thus perpetuating past negativity?
Are you ready to honor yourself and others? Is it not time to end the war within? For only then can we end the violence in the world.
Ed and Deb Shapiro are the authors of BE THE CHANGE, How Meditation Can Transform You And The World, with forewords by the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman and Winner of the 2010 Nautilus Gold Book Award. Deb is the author of the bestselling book, YOUR BODY SPEAKS YOUR MIND, winner of the 2007 Visionary Book Award. They are featured bloggers on Oprah.com/spirit, HuffingtonPost.com/Living, and Care2.com. They have 3 meditation CD’s: Metta — Loving Kindness and Forgiveness; Samadhi – Breath Awareness and Insight; and Yoga Nidra – Inner Conscious Relaxation. See: www.EdandDebShapiro.com
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Why Do We Enjoy Making Fun of Others? by Ed and Deb Shapiro
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READ: Tantra Alchemy ~ The meeting of Contradictions by Mahasatvaa Ananda Sarita
The world we live in is made of contradictory elements. Night and Day, summer and winter, male and female, earth and sky, sex and spirit, the list is endless. There is a wonderful story in the Hindu tradition, that Brahma, (The source from where everything comes and to where everything returns) was all-alone, and feeling bored in infinite space. He created a divine play of opposite polarities in order to amuse himself. The name used for this divine play, is Leela.
First, Brahma created a cow, and then turned himself into a bull and began chasing the cow. The cow, in trying to escape from the bull, transformed herself into a deer. The bull then transformed himself into a stag and chased the deer. The deer, in running away from the amorous advances of the stag, transformed herself into a snake, and so on. In this way, through the courtship play of many species, our dual world came into being. And of course, as part of this scenario, we search for our other half, endeavoring to return to the original state of oneness.
I love this story, because it expresses the playfulness inherent in all of life and yet indicates the great alchemical secret of existence. If we wish to lift the veil and discover the essence of life, we simply need to bring opposites together, and in so doing, will discover Brahma hidden behind the apparent duality.
When practicing techniques of Tantra meditation, we are offered the opportunity to know the source of life through our own direct experience, and it is surprisingly easy to do so.
Awareness acts as the catalyst for the experience of Wholeness. This is so, because the smallest particles of matter that make up our physical reality, respond dramatically to the power of intent. Science has recently discovered what mystics have been saying for millennia, that physical reality is shaped by thought. As we think, so God actualizes.
The more aware we are, the closer we come to the creator. In fact, we become co-creators. This brings with it great responsibility. It means that whatever we intend, will happen. When you apply this quality of powerful, aware presence to bringing opposite polarities together, the result will be an instantaneous merging into the Godhead, or Brahma, which is described in Tantric terminology as orgasm with the universe. When we are divided, we remain weak. When we are whole, we become extremely powerful. We discover our Godliness.
The ability to merge opposite polarities is inherent in every human being. We come from oneness, and will return to oneness. It is our source of being. In fact, the experience of oneness is no further away than our nose. Tantric meditations are designed in such a way as to support us in experiencing our original nature, easily and naturally. Spiritual attainment is demystified and made simple and accessible to all. Our own bodies and all of physical life is recognized as the microcosm of the macrocosm.
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SEX, LOVE AND SPIRIT
Sarita is a world renowned Tantra master and mystic offering courses and retreats across the globe. Having received a direct transmission from Osho, she is true to the spiritual essence of Tantra and leads us on the path to self realisation. At the same time she takes care to help us transcend the psychological blockages that we carry as a result of our cultural background and past experiences. She is also a master healer, author and consultant. website: http://www.tantra-essence.com
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Tantra and the Divine Feminine by Mahasatvaa Ananda Sarita
In the last 2000 years or so, women have been considered to be the weaker sex in much of the so-called civilized world. In actual fact, women have simply forgotten how to access their own power, the Divine feminine. In Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, he says: “The valley spirit never dies It is named the mysterious female And the doorway of the mysterious female Is the base from which heaven and earth spring It is there within us all the while Draw upon it as you will It never runs dry.”
Tantra and the Divine Masculine by Mahasatvaa Ananda Sarita
The Divine Masculine is a timely subject for 2012, as this is the year when the old world transmutes into a new world, according to the famous Maya predictions. Bring it on! The old world has been dominated primarily by an imbalanced masculine, which shows itself in the number of wars and general raping of planetary resources. This has happened because the masculine has been divorced from the feminine for a few thousand years, and by so doing has gone into a fevered testosterone fueled orgy of competition and destruction. I am by no means saying,…
READ: Seeing with New Eyes by Ed and Deb Shapiro
March 6, 2012 by Ed and Deb Shapiro
Filed under •-Feature, Insights, Intuition, Love, Meditation, Mindfulness, Oneness In Action, Personal Growth, Purpose, Reflection, Spiritual Guidance, Spirituality, Vision
A monk asks, ‘Is there anything more miraculous than the wonders of nature?’ The master replies, ‘Yes, your awareness of the wonders of nature.’ Angelus Silesius
We lived in Dartmouth, Devon, on the south coast of England, and each day we would take walks along the gorgeous river Dart to the estuary. One day we were standing and gazing at the water when it struck us that though the river always looked the same, day after day, it was no more the same as it was even a second ago. It was constantly changing, always moving, always different.
Which is just like our thoughts and feelings. What we are thinking now instantly becomes a past thought. Can you remember what you were thinking that seemed so important just yesterday, let alone just an hour ago? Our feelings are always changing and moving. Who we are now is not who we were last year, last week, yesterday, even a few minutes ago. Already we have changed, moved to a different place inside ourselves.
When Ed looked at the river it was as if he was seeing with new eyes, free of the clutter of his own ideas, projections, judgments, or conceptions. When we can see in this way we find that the world is not quite as we had imagined it to be.
Normally we are looking through the lens of our own habitual patterns, conditioning, prejudices and needs, through past regrets or future hopes, but without any of these we find everything is constantly new and unknown. No longer the same boring sameness, each moment is infused with uniqueness.
You can experience this by imagining you have never been here before. Everything you see is completely new to you, completely unknown, waiting to be explored and discovered. Whether you are brushing your teeth, washing the dishes, or any other equally mundane act, you can see it completely through new eyes.
All you have to do is pay attention and look without expectation. By paying attention you see yourself and others and all things just as they are, which enables you to see the inherent beauty within each one.
Being aware in this way extends you beyond yourself. It takes you out of the ego, out of the fixed way you believe things to be, out of self-centeredness and into awareness of connectedness, of yourself in relation to everything and everybody else.
A Walk On The Wild Side
Try taking a walk in nature – whether in a city park, through a wood, on a beach, by a lake. Make this time an opportunity to see with new eyes and to appreciate what you see: the colors and shapes, the smells and sounds.
Open yourself to the beauty of the natural world. If it is raining then enjoy the feeling of water on your face, appreciate how it is nourishing the earth and the plants; if it is windy then marvel at the power of nature, a force that is beyond your control; if it is cloudy then observe the subtle colors and the softness of the air. Be aware of each footstep.
Although we protect ourselves from nature with raincoats, boots, gloves and hats, we are a part of it and we need the nourishment of the earth, the plants, the sun, the wind and rain. Life is a treasure to be enjoyed. When we see with new eyes the world becomes the greatest of all gifts.
Ed and Deb Shapiro are the authors of BE THE CHANGE, How Meditation Can Transform You And The World, with forewords by the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman and Winner of the 2010 Nautilus Gold Book Award. Deb is the author of the bestselling book, YOUR BODY SPEAKS YOUR MIND, winner of the 2007 Visionary Book Award. They are featured bloggers on Oprah.com/spirit, HuffingtonPost.com/Living, and Care2.com. They have 3 meditation CD’s: Metta — Loving Kindness and Forgiveness; Samadhi – Breath Awareness and Insight; and Yoga Nidra – Inner Conscious Relaxation. See: www.EdandDebShapiro.com
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Why Yoga Is So Misunderstood ~ How It Has Gone From the Sane to the Bizarre by Ed and Deb Shapiro
Yoga has come a long way from its roots in the east. As it has become more popular in the west teachers have added their own twist – both literally & figuratively. In the process of becoming so widespread, however, it often gets misunderstood by both teachers and practitioners.
Mindful Living – When You Need It Most by Jacquelyn O’Brien
Isn’t it unfair the way that life gets in the way of your practice? Whether you’re experiencing life challenges or pleasures, whether they’re large or small, they do have a habit of getting in the way of our time on the yoga mat or the meditation cushion.
READ: Crazy Whirled by Edie Weinstein
February 28, 2012 by Edie Weinstein
Filed under •-Headline, Affirmations, Enlightenment, Insights, Mindfulness, Music, Oneness In Action, Personal Growth, Reflection
Music feeds my soul and singer songwriters are the farmers whose craft of cultivating fertile fields of rhythm and rhyme, harmony and lyric, bring to the table all manner of nourishment. I am blessed to know many talented musicians in this genre. Among them are a foursome that call themselves Accoustic Blender. Hailing from the Philadelphia region, they are husband and wife Jenny and David Heitler-Klevans (a.k.a. Two Of A Kind), whose music has entertained children in this area for decades, attorney Hope Wesley Harrison who also is a furniture finisher and Justin Solonynka who makes math fun as a classroom teacher. In their first (and hopefully not last) CD together, entitled Crazy Whirled, they blend social consciousness with consummate musicianship and between them, they play guitar, whistles, percussion instruments, bass and piano. Their voices merge beautifully as if they were meant to sing together.
Some of the pieces on the release are covers of the songs of others, inlcuding Jackson Browne’s Lives in The Balance about the war in Latin America in the 1980′s; the Roches’ Anyway which was adapted from the words attributed to Mother Teresa, but were written by Kent M. Keith. “People are unreasonable, illogical and self centered…forgive them anyway.” Justin’s Caleb’s Real is a lively, foot stomping, hand clapping frolic. I particularly resonated with A Question of Tempo, since I am almost always on the go, moving at such a speed and laughed at the line “I think I’ll add a relaxation class.” The cover of the Beatles’ In My Life is a sweet treat, that had me sighing with bliss. Patty Larkin’s Metal Drum is a wake up call to the environmental tragedies we face. Jenny took a turn at songwriting, putting herself in the role of her mother when moving from the West Coast to the East Coast when Jenny was an infant, in the piece called Suspended in the Air. Mary Chapin Carpenter penned the song (they pluralized the name) Why Walk When We Can Fly? as a chant to challenge listeners to soar beyond limitation. Even You came through Justin when, after being cut off in traffic, he was tempted to lash back and realized that love trumps anger.
Even more delight awaits….for adults and children.
Rev. Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW is a Renaissance Woman and Bliss Mistress who delights in inviting people to live rich, full, juicy lives. Edie is an internationally recognized, sought after, colorfully creative journalist, interviewer and author, a dynamic and inspiring speaker, licensed social worker, interfaith minister, offering uniquely designed spiritual rituals. In addition, she is a PR Goddess, promoting events and transformational teachers, healers, writers and artists. She speaks on the subjects of wellness, spirituality, sexuality, creativity, time management, recovery, body image, mindfulness, self esteem, stress management, re-creating yourself, caring for the caregiver, loss and grief. She is a frequent guest on radio and TV. Edie is currently writing her first best selling book entitled The Bliss Mistress Guide To Transforming the Ordinary Into The Extraordinary and is offering a workshop for women who want to re-create their lives, based on those concepts. A 20 year old journalistic vision came to pass in July of 2008 when she interviewed His Holiness The Dalai Lama. It was a potent reminder to never, ever, ever give up on our dreams. Over the years, Edie has written for mainstream and transformational publications. She has interviewed hundred of notables in the transformational fields, including Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson, Debbie Ford, Leonard Peltier, Shirley MacLaine, Michael Beckwith, Jonathan Goldman, Gregg Braden, Neale Donald Walsch, Mary Manin Morrissey, Dan Millman, Alan Cohen, Ram Dass, Jack Canfield, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Patch Adams, Ben and Jerry, Donna DeLory, James Twyman, Elizabeth Lesser, Michael Franti and Jean Houston. Her website is http://www.liveinjoy.org
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