with Phillip Moffitt, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Cyndi Lee, Reggie Ray

"Some kinds of trulkhor are quite subtle, but the overall point of the physical yoga is that it can be easier to work with the body as a support for awareness than to work directly on the mind. Why are so many people interested in yoga? Because it’s easy to follow. Of course, it’s not necessarily easy to do, but it’s much easier than dealing with a lot of complicated stages of mind practices. The popularity of yoga in the West is a wonderful thing because it can become a door to dharma..."

Editor's Note from David Pratt: In Part 3 of this engaging panel discussion featuring four well-known teachers, we continue to hear that the connection to the body is a doorway to higher consciousness. By becoming familiar with our actual experience of the body, not our conceptions, we gain a little freedom from our identification with mind, body and feelings that keeps us limited and keeps us suffering. Yogis in particular will find this section of the discussion illuminating. See Part 1 and Part 2.

Meditation

by Janya Wongspa RYT, CAS, PKS

Actually, it is very helpful to look outside and dream. I did a lot of it growing up. I still do. But now I make sure that I look inside as much if not more often.  I listen to Dharma talk as much as I listen to NPR. Buddhist teachings help me relate to external things internally. If I see a misery out there I need to recognize it inside my heart...

Editor's Note from Julie Cerrato: A true self-reflection is worth its weight in gold. Ayurveda and Yoga teacher Janya Wongspa offers some insight into our deepest inspiration in her personal reflection, "Secrets of a Charmed Life." Since 2013 offers new light and opportunities for us to grow, learn and share, take a moment to reflect on your life, your goals and the people that surround you. Namaste & Happy New Year

Ayurveda

Editor's Note: Christopher Titmuss, a former Buddhist monk in Thailand and India, teaches Awakening and Insight Meditation around the world. He is the founder and director of the Dharma Facilitators Programme and the Living Dharma programme, an online mentor programme for Dharma practitioners. He gives retreats, participates in pilgrimages (yatras) and leads Dharma gatherings. Christopher has been teaching annual retreats in Bodh Gaya, India since 1975 and leads an annual Dharma Gathering in Sarnath since 1999...

Meditation

Editor's Note from Diane Renz: Here is a video to introduce you to how you can learn to meditate with the body. If you are learning to meditate, or have a decades long practice, it helps to learn how to fully engage the body to keep our sitting practice from becoming too "heady" or tight. For more information, visit www.DharmaOcean.org.

PsychoSpiritual

"When you become enlightened, you personify goodness."

~ Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya

Meditation

by Geshe Rabten

Concentration is important in both Dharma practice and ordinary life. The Tibetan word for the practice of concentration is shi-nä (zhi-gNas). Shi means peace and nä means to dwell; shi-nä, then, is dwelling in peace or being without busyness.

Editor’s Note: Geshe Rabten was a great Buddhist scholar, debater and meditation master. He escaped to India in 1959 where he was the teacher of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. In the mid-1960s he was appointed as a spiritual assistant to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. And, to make this easy for those who aren’t as familiar with Buddhism...Dharma is the teachings of Buddha. “Dharma” means “protection.”

Meditation

Editor's Note: Gil Fronsdal is the primary teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center...

Meditation

by Cynthia Kneen

No one is maturing solo. No one is a turquoise flower blossoming exquisitely in the air without the help of dirt, water, sunshine and roots that came from seeds that were cared for and produced an effect. We blossom because others help us...

Editor's Note from Diane Renz: How to come into your full human potential with a brave, strong, yet tender heart. From a longtime Dharma teacher, words to support and inspire your journey.

PsychoSpiritual