When I was small, my grandmother told me there was only one main rule in life upon which all others rested. Then she looked me in the eye and with quiet conviction pronounced, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It is with delight that I discovered over the years that this basic spiritual law can be found at the heart of many religious and spiritual teachings.

Read more here: » Peace: Golden Rule and You

 While the ultimate result of any truly spiritual path is the negation of the individual ego-self, one cannot begin on one's own personal path of spiritual realization unless one establishes his/her individuality. That means freeing oneself from the demands of organized religions, creeds, socially accepted beliefs, the dictates of any prophet. All of these characteristics of religious participation establish only the group-identity, the body of like-minded believers. People can spend an entire lifetime following the teachings and beliefs of others, without ever finding the path that is right for them personally.

Read more here: » Spiritual Growth: The Individual Path

We're evolving. Our perspective is changing. When events come into our reality, we're looking at them with more loving hearts. Understanding and compassion are replacing judgment and condemnation. Yet, there are still souls on this Earth who see things very narrowly and demand punishment for anyone who steps outside the prescribed mold.

Read more here: » Conscious Creation: The Greatest Show In The Universe

When Jesus said: - The kingdom of God is within - what He meant was that heaven itself would be a disappointment to restless, worldly people.

If a person has no true joy in his heart, he will not find true joy outside though he be in heaven itself, and in the company of angels. Heaven must be experienced right here, right now, within ourselves if we are to experience it ever.

Read more here: » Spiritual Growth: Make Friends With Your Self

Stress in its various kinds Ñ physical stress, emotional stress and intellectual stress, is a disease of modern times. It afflicts people regardless of their station in life. Stress is present in the lives of the rich and poor, literate and illiterate, men and women. Stress is, however, more evident and is probably more widespread in technologically advanced countries, and is common among highly qualified professionals. The answer to stress can be found in the very letters of the word, Ôstress«.

Read more here: » Stress: Redesign Your Life, Get Rid Of Stress

Holographic Universe

Theoretical results about black holes suggest that the universe could be like a gigantic hologram.

An astonishing theory called the holographic principle holds that the universe is like a hologram: just as a trick of light allows a fully three-dimensional image to be recorded on a flat piece of film, our seemingly three-dimensional universe could be completely equivalent to alternative quantum fields and physical laws "painted" on a distant, vast surface.

Read more here: » Holographic Universe: Information in the Holographic Universe

The mind is bigger than the brain. When people say "my mind," they are most likely referring to their intellect. The intellect is a process of the brain and, much of the time, along with our emotions, acts as part of our ego's defense system. The intended function of the intellect was to assess our immediate environment and communicate the information to the body so it could respond in whatever manner was appropriate to protect our physical being.

Read more here: » The Mind: Mind vs. Intellect

The outer is always a reflection of the inner. In silence and solitude the seeker makes a concerted effort to fill himself with the highest and most positive of energies Ñ and then carries that holy space around him wherever he goes. In spreading serene and tranquil vibrations a seeker is serving the world. Sathya Sai Baba says: ÒThere are many ways to serve the world. You can serve, if not actively, then at least by your serenity. Everyone need not do all things. Only a small minority can delight in serenity and remain still. God has ruled it so; otherwise how could the world function? If stillness be your destiny, dare to be so...Ó

Read more here: » Inner silence: An Enduring Romance With the Self

Defining The New Age

Semanticists, theologians and the third estate have been drafting theses and definitions for almost two thousand years with regard to Christianity. In fact it most probably would have been easier and more feasible to outline what Christianity was not. Similar problems exist concerning any universally acceptable statement of meaning in connection with the term "New Age."

Read more here: » New Age: Defining The New Age

The Illusion of the Ego

Nothing can be taken from you; you cannot lose who you are. You are indestructible and eternal. You are a manifestation of God's light, an individual consciousness just as others are, so what is there to struggle with? Only the perceived threat of loss that the ego presents to us can bring us into fear, delusion and defensiveness. When we understand that loss is impossible, we will not keep falling into the same hole over and over again. We must eventually see the distorted reality that the ego presents to us, and once again embrace love unconditionally.

Read more here: » Defense and Ego: Defense - The Illusion of the Ego

Yogiraj Bikram Choudhury is the founder of the worldwide Yoga College of India. Born in Calcutta in 1946, Bikram began Yoga at the age of four with Bishnu Ghosh, brother of Paramahansa Yogananda (Autobiography of a Yogi, founder of the Self Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles).

Read more here: » Bikram Yoga: Yogiraj Bikram Choudhury - Founder of Bikram Yoga

For those more emotional than intellectual, bhakti yoga is recommended. Bhakti yoga is the path of devotion, the method of attaining God through love and the loving recollection of God. Most religions emphasize this spiritual path because it is the most natural. As with other yogas, the goal of the bhakta, the devotee of God, is to attain God-realization-oneness with the Divine. The bhakta attains this through the force of love, that most powerful and irresistible of emotions.

Read more here: » Bhakti Yoga: The Pathof Love: Bhakti Yoga

Jnana yoga is the yoga of knowledge - not knowledge in the intellectual sense-but the knowledge of Brahman and Atman and the realization of their unity. Where the devotee of God follows the promptings of the heart, the jnani uses the powers of the mind to discriminate between the real and the unreal, the permanent and the transitory.

Read more here: » Jnana Yoga: The Path of Knowledge - Jnana Yoga

Karma yoga is the yoga of action or work; specifically, karma yoga is the path of dedicated work: renouncing the results of our actions as a spiritual offering rather than hoarding the results for ourselves.

Karma is both action and the result of action. What we experience today is the result of our karma--both good and bad--created by our previous actions. This chain of cause and effect that we ourselves have created can be snapped by karma yoga: fighting fire with fire, we use the sword of karma yoga to stop the chain reaction of cause and effect.

Read more here: » Karma Yoga: The Path of Work - Karma Yoga

Raja yoga, is the royal path of meditation. As a king maintains control over his kingdom, so can we maintain control over our own "kingdom"- the vast territory of the mind. In raja yoga we use our mental powers to realize the Atman through the process of psychological control.

The basic premise of raja yoga is that our perception of the divine Self is obscured by the disturbances of the mind. If the mind can be made still and pure, the Self will automatically, instantaneously, shine forth.

Read more here: » Raja Yoga: The Path of Meditation - Raja Yoga

Compiled by the Sage Patanjali Maharishi in the Yoga Sutras, the Eight Limbs are a progressive series of steps or disciplines which purify the body and mind, ultimately leading the yogi to enlightenment.

This article details the eight limbs of the Raja Yoga system, one of the four main paths of Yoga.

Read more here: » Raja Yoga: The Eight Limbs of Raja Yoga

Most people use only a fraction of their lung capacity for breathing. They breathe shallowly, barely expanding the ribcage. Their shoulders are hunched, they have painful tension in the upper part of the back and neck, and they suffer from lack of oxygen. They should learn the full Yogic breathing.

Read more here: » Yoga Positions: Proper Breathing - Yoga Position

Although there are many Asanas (8,400,000 according to the scriptures) the practice of the 12 basic yoga postures brings out the essence and all major benefits of this wonderful system.

Read more here: » Yoga Postures: What is Proper Exercise - 12 Basic Yoga Postures

A person's state of mind determines his or her experience. Unless you and I have done the work, cleaned up our thoughts, words and actions, we cannot experience other than where we are now.

Read more here: » Manifestation: Laws of Manifestation (Lesson 1)

 An Avatar is an incarnation of a fragment of God on Earth. Avatars that are known of in the West include Christ, Buddha, Rama and Krishna. There are many others, however, as enumerated in the Bhagavata, the story of all the major Avatars.

Read more here: » Avatars: Sages, Saints and Avatars

 An aspect of knowing ourselves is knowing our relationship to other people. We have been raised in a society where what other people think has been made very important to us. This is a good thing to a point. As long as we remain asleep to the potential lying dormant within us and continue to live in illusion, the control mass consciousness exerts is essential to maintaining order. However, when individuals arrive at the point of awakening, one of the first things they have to do is to begin listening to their inner guidance. This often means breaking the bonds of social convention.

Read more here: » Relationships: Self-Reference - Knowing ourselves is knowing our relationship

The true consideration of death cracks the heart open. Everything you know will soon be gone. All you ever had or will have, all experiences, and all relationships, will be gone forever. Everyone you love and struggle with so dearly will disappear and be forgotten, over time, as if they never existed.

Read more here: » Relationships: Make Love As If Death Were Imminent