Oneness: Rise Above Dogma, Realise The Truth

When I pass by the neighbourhood mosque, I bow my head in respect just as I do when I pass by the temple. The mullah's call to the faithful turns me towards prayer and God. I go through the same upsurge of emotions when I visit a church or gurdwara. When I bow my head in humility to Christ and the Guru Granth Sahib, I see in them my beloved Lord Krishna. Similarly, when I hear the Buddhist chant: ''Buddham Sharanam Gachchhami'', it continues to reverberate within me for long after, giving me the same sense of peace I experience when I say my usual prayers.

Read more here: » Oneness: Rise Above Dogma, Realise The Truth

The Native American Sweat Lodge, Temazcal, is an ancient practice from the native indians of America; a sacred ritual for Healing and Purification. Participants at the Oneness Festival will be able to experience this very powerful ritual both at day time, and, when it is as most powerful, at night time.

Read more here: » Sweat Lodge: Temazcal II/III - Mexican Method of Sweat Baths for Curative Purposes

Pregnancy is a total experience. It is a time in a woman's life when it is of prime importance that the various dimensions of her being are in harmony. The regular practice of certain yoga exercises, meditation and breathing techniques ensures optimum health of her body and mind, and the unification of her physical, emotional and spiritual growth with that of the developing child.

Read more here: » Yoga: Yoga And Pregnancy

Guru Gobind Singh was no ordinary mortal. The signs were there right from his birth. In 1666, on the Guru's birth, a pious Muslim fakir, Sayyad Bhikhan Shah, declared: "God has sent a new light on this earth".

He then decided to test the newborn 'prince'. Producing two jars of sweets obtained from a Hindu and a Muslim vendor, Bhikhan Shah tried to learn the child's preference from the jar he touched. The baby, however, clutched both jars and smiled, whereupon the fakir acknowledged him to be a master of both communities.

(See also: Gobind Singh , Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Gobind Singh: Guru Gobind Singh's Service to Humanity  

The psychology and philosophy of yoga can assist the mother to understand the experiences she is going through and to live them more fully. The development of awareness and of being a witness to all experiences in life is a central teaching of yoga. The ability to stand aside and witness what one is passing through removes a lot of fear and anxiety. Awareness builds one's inner resources of self- esteem and confidence and also enables the birth to be more consciously experienced. Yogic psychology also helps us understand the causes and effects of our circumstances in life and this deepens our insight and wisdom.

Read more here: » Yoga: Yoga And Motherhood

Highly sensitive persons

All your life you thought something was wrong with you. You were uncomfortable around noise. No one understood your need to be alone. You seemed to know things without being told. The good news is that you are not dysfunctional. You are a highly sensitive person (HSP). You are not the only one; you share this trait with at least 20% of the population who are referred to as shy or touchy.

Read more here: » Highly Sensitive People: Being Sensitive In An Insensitive World

If someone you meet on the road asks who you are, how do you answer? I am an employee of such a company, I am a son of who, I am from such a country, etc... will be our typical answers. All these answers describe our relationship in the society. In fact, all our life is relationships and equals to it. This is a transcript from a talk about relationships given by Hasmika Dasaji of the Golden Age Foundation at the Oneness Festival February 16-22 2004, India.

Read more here: » Spirituality and Relationships: Setting Right Relationships

Pregnancy and childbirth open powerful doorways for spiritual experiences. It was when I was pregnant with my first child, Nick, that my conscious psychic awareness sprang to life. I had many unusual supernatural experiences at this time. One that didn't seem all that extraordinary at the time but later proved profound involved communication with the spirit of my unborn son.

Read more here: » Pregnancy and Childbirth: Before Life Communication

Our scientific understanding has undermined many conventional approaches to spirituality at the very time we most need to strengthen these capacities. The source of the difficulty may hold the key to the solution. Science is widely accepted because it works. It looks at the world as it is searching for the simplest possible description. Discovery of simple descriptive laws has led to enormous power to control the phenomena the laws describe feeding our technical prowess. It was only possible to do this by divorcing science from feeling and values so one could see what is and not what one wants to see.

Read more here: » Spirituality and Science: The keys to integrating spirituality and science

At age two, Harry was diagnosed as "autistic" when it was apparent his speech development lagged behind normal. At first, his parents and doctor thought Harry had a hearing problem, so they had grommets (protective loops) placed in his ears. But Harry still didn't speak. His mother, Karenanne, says

"Harry has always had a very sunny temperament and showed no angst at being unable to speak. It was like talking was something he'd do when he was good and ready. It was the same with his reading skills. He showed no interest in baby books, yet when he got interested in Pokemon, he rapidly showed he indeed knew how to read, and he just pored over those handbooks."

(See also: Indigo Children, What is Indigo Children, Parenting Indigo Children, Adult Indigo, Indigo Children Channeling)

Read more here: » Indigo Children: The Crystal Children  

Psychic and intuitive perception (what most people refer to as their “gut feeling”) is god given and natural to us when we are born. But what happens to these abilities as humans grow and develop? Children are generally taught to use them only in their most basic form and psychic abilities are often seen as superstition, imagination and other worldly experiences. How can we as parents support our children in awakening these innate abilities?

Read more here: » Spiritual Parenting: Childrens Psychic Abilities and Sense Perception

In our chaotic world hurtling towards an uncertain future, three kinds of responses have emerged. The fundamentalists are clinging to or going back to values of a distant past. The neo-fundamentalists, represented by global corporatism, are trying to substitute the reality of chaos and change by an artificial form of reality. Then there are Cultural Creatives, whose saner and evolutionary response is to forge a new, higher and integral synthesis.

Read more here: » Cultural Creatives: The Cultural Creatives

reedom is tough shit. That's the central message of the Matrix movies. The inhabitants of the computer-simulated world of the Matrix live in comfortable, salubrious surroundings and appear secure and content with their lives.

The rebels who inhabit the real world live in Zion, an underground citadel that looks like Dante's Inferno. They undergo physical and mental pain and are always prey to fears and doubts. Despite this, they feel immeasurably better off than those in the Matrix. Because Zion is freedom, and the Matrix is enslavement. And if the price of freedom is anguish, too bad. For everyone who's free knows that freedom is tough. Too tough for most, according to Dostoyevsky's Grand Inquisitor.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: The Matrix Myth and the Price of Freedom

Something seems to be seriously wrong with marriage.

During the past 50 years, the rate of divorce in the United States has exploded out of control to its current level of about 50 percent, and it shows no signs of letting up. That is a very sobering trend and statistic. I recently contributed to that number, and it doesn't feel so good, especially when there are innocent children involved. Some people have contributed more than once. Most of them probably feel worse than I do, and wonder where it all went wrong.

Read more here: » Marriage: The End Of Marriage As We Know It

A poem on rebirth.

The death and dying and the life after death has always fascinated man. This is an excerpt from the book What Becomes Of The Soul After Death by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Rebirth: A poem on Rebirth

First the chain of the Sabarmati Express was pulled to stop it near Godhra junction. Latching shut one of the compartments from outside, a mob threw stones, broke windows, and hurled petrol bombs inside, targeting the trapped passengers. Then the coach was set on fire. More than 50 people died, most of them women and children.

From where do people acquire this horrific capacity for barbaric destruction?

According to Erich Fromm, the German-born social psychologist and psycho-analytical theorist, the first step in understanding our destructive disposition is to recognise the two kinds of hate inherent in humancity: "rational hate". And "irrational hate".

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Double-edged Weapon Of Irrational Hate

An interview with Sri Samadarshini and Sri Ananda Giri from the Golden Age Foundation in Varadyapalyam, India, April 2003. By Eva Brenckert, Edited by Parlan Fritz

Read more here: » Spiritual Parenting: Srishti, the Art of Spiritual Parenting

After having won the Mahabharata war, King Yuddhishthira, the eldest of the Pandavas, performed the Ashvamedha Yagna in which he gave away his riches to the deserving.

Just then a half-golden mongoose sneaked in and began rolling all over the ground. It then looked at its fur and seemed disappointed. The mongoose said sadly, "Ah! This is no sacrifice."

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Selfless Service And Sacrifice

There are some people who do little, but make others do a lot. Brahman, the pure Consciousness, too, is actionless - but in Its presence, everything else works.

Observe an infant. It does little other than kick about, cry and laugh but it spurs everybody into willing action. The mere presence of an infant brings joy. What makes a baby so lovable, a source of joy for all?

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Desire Management For a Full Life

Wicca and Witchcraft: Holidays in Wicca and Witchcraft

Includes:

October 31 - November Eve - Samhain

December 21 - Winter Solstice - Yule

January 31 - February Eve - Imbolc

March 21 - Vernal Equinox - Lady Day

April 30 - May Eve - Beltaine

June 21 - Summer Solstice - Litha

July 31 - August Eve - Lughnassad

September 21 - Autumnal Equinox - Harvest Home

Read more here: » Wicca and Witchcraft: Holidays in Wicca and Witchcraft

Many people study religious scriptures profusely - which is a good thing. But they feel that the 'scriptural word' is enough. That is a mistake. A scripture is like a map. And a map is not the territory.

What may appear as a beautiful mountainous range on paper could well turn out to be a treacherous obstacle in real life. Similarly, a river painted in brilliant hues of blue on a map, might be infested with snakes and crocodiles in reality.

(See also: Life and Death, Life and Beyond, Death and Dying, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Life and Death: How to Identify a Modern Saint

We are the most complex and wonderful of God's creations. The human nervous system allows us to experience the richness of life. Our perceptions create reality. We become what we think. But the right environment is required to create the right perceptions. Hence bringing up a child is an art. It requires knowledge and forbearance, love and compassion. Merely thinking of it as a responsibility is insufficient.

(See also: Spiritual Parenting , Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Spiritual Parenting: Child Development and the Art of Parenting