Q & A with Noah Mazé
As a yoga practitioner, it fascinates me how momentum is built around particular teachers. Teaching yoga can…
Traditions
Understanding Dharma
by Jim Kulackoski For the majority of my life, I have been as much a teacher as…
Dharma through Vaastu
by Ruth Diab Lederer Various traditions have subtly different interpretations of the word dharma. Although the Hindu,…
What’s My Dharma?
by Pamela McDonough As a Vedic astrologer, I have had many people ask me, “What’s my dharma?” Interestingly,…
A Spiritual Path for All Stages in Life
By Dianna Oles In traditional Hindu culture, there are four stages of life, called “āśramas” in Sanskrit. They…
Q&A with Kino MacGregor
By Alexia Bauer In this recurring column, we ask Chicago-area teachers to interview their teacher about lineage and the teacher/student…
Build a happier home: Vaastu creates a perfect space for intention
By Ruth Diab Lederer In early September, our beautiful Dalmatian dog died very suddenly. He passed out…
Alignment with Nature: Ayurvedic practices help restore connection with the earth
by Monica Yearwood Ayurveda teaches that by living in alignment with observable cycles in nature, we enhance…
Living a conscious life
By Jim Kulackoski, with artwork by Jillian Schiavi Everything that exists in creation does so within a state…
To everything there is a season: Ayurvedic practices for fall
By Monica Yearwood As a lifestyle practice and a medical system, ayurveda emphasizes rhythm. Our body’s rhythm…
Illumine on Facebook
#marchmindfulness
In the Tibetan language to meditate means “to become familiar with.” Meditation can also be used interchangeably with “self-observation” and self-development. In order to become familiar with anything or anyone, we must spend time observing it, like getting to know a really good friend: it’s the hanging out on great days and not so great days, when we are at their best, delighted and engaged, as well as when we are irritated, agitated, triggered or down right mad. It takes time, frequency and consistently to really know and get familiar with our Self. Along the way of this familiarization and observation might be the feelings of humility, compassion and healing for who and how we encounter ourselves to be.
When we are able to go from doing something and start to watch ourselves doing something we get a new perspective. When coaches have athletes watch video of themselves in action, athletes can start to change and refine their actions to become more refined, purposeful, effective. Similarly this happens when we meditate and get to know ourselves. We start to observe ourselves not just when we are on the meditation cushion but out in the world. We notice and observe when we experience joy, irritation, jealousy, humor, and more. This process of becoming familiar with ourselves takes observing, awareness, unlearning and changing. You see yourself as you are and notice if there are new and other possibilities.
Interestingly two favorite books on meditation have the word “love” in the title and another favorite has the word “heart” So it’s very clear that meditation is not so much about or affecting the mind, although it does, significantly, but definitely the “proof” of meditation is in the way we love. Someone can spend hours on the cushion or daily listening to a guided meditation. But when our actions change to more compassionate, generous, and kind, until we start to love ourselves more in a way that leads to treating ourselves with more respect and compassion, until we start to see ourselves in “the other” meditation might just be happening in the mind. #reallove @sharonsalzberg #meditationfortheloveofit #sallykempton #apathwithheart @jack_kornfield
#marchmindfulness in her interview with @oprah #supersoul @amyschumer shares about the way #meditation is a great way for #introverts to recharge (she’s an introvert, of course!). She practices #tm #transcendentalmeditation which is technique if meditation using a mantra or phrase repeated silently to oneself.
To hear the whole interview, see link in bio