How might one attain to spiritual awakening in the modern world, in these complex times? In this article we look back at the two main historical models for spiritual training, and propose a contemporary approach for today.
Awakening through Action (Part 1): You are a Super Hero
One of the archetypes of our times is the superhero – they’re doers, they are trying to make the world a better place and they have powers. The action hero of today with supernormal powers can be a metaphor for an age-old spiritual path called Karma Yoga (the superhero) with siddhis (powers of the mind).
The Cha Cha Cha of Awakening – Consciously Dancing the Spiritual Life
Life is movement and life is desire. The process of spiritual awakening is inherently dance-like. A still, clear center must be maintained internally for the dancer’s limbs to be free, and the same is true for freedom in our own lives.
Trust and the Teacher-Student Relationship
What does it mean to be a student? What does it mean to be a teacher? Doug Duncan Sensei shares his personal experience with his teacher Namgyal Rinpoche, and the dynamics of the teacher-student relationship today.
Karma Yoga, Path for the Western Mind – The Easiest Transition to Make
How do we bring the path of awakening to our everyday lives? Well the truth is, we need training. We need training on how to bring spacious, blissful, non-clinging awareness into our hectic and busy lives.
Entering the Stream of Freedom: Karma Yoga and Dharma Training
Do you want more freedom? And what do you mean by “freedom?” Some think we can uncover our blind spots through “sitting practice,” also called meditation. While it is true one can discover much this way, what we cannot see is how our patterns play out in our daily lives.
The Times They Are A-Changin’: Are You With Us? (Part 1)
Just 10 years ago this teaching was more focused around meditation and individual therapy, and more yogic, that is, dependent on the student-teacher relationships wherever in the world that might be happening. We’ve seen our focus shift to embracing sangha-centered karma yoga and dharma training as key elements of our path.
Learning to Ride the Dragon: The Path of Purification
Though the spiritual path can be a long and winding road, some good news is that the only work we really have to do is purification – everything else naturally follows from there. In that sense, our spiritual unfoldment is simple and easily within reach. Here’s how.
Busy Life? The Practice of Letting Go Is a Choice
You can’t get wisdom from knowing more; you can only get wisdom from learning more and then surrendering to the unknown to integrate it. Letting go into the unknown is what’s hard for people, because it seems like defeat.
Mahamudra: The Interplay of Body and Mind
Mahamudra masters have compared the events of our body/mind to a rainbow, a mirage, a dream, a dewdrop in the sun and the like. These events – thoughts, feelings and sensations – seem so real because they are habitual and repetitive. Mahamudra lets us see them for what they are: “the play of the mind.”