book-review
Book Review: Awareness by Anthony de Mello
"Awareness" is an invitation to embark on a journey of profound self-discovery; but it is not for the faint-hearted.
breathing
On Waiting: A Skill Often Overlooked
Waiting seems like a waste of time. I argue it is actually one of the most powerful things we can learn.
breathing
Three Surprisingly Useful yet Simple Skills: Breathing, Waiting, Thinking
Mastery of skills allows us to have a greater impact on the world around us. Whether it's coding, painting, or any other skill, becoming better at what we do enables us to create more and make a difference. However, with countless skills to choose from, it's
joy
The Merits of Suffering
No one likes to suffer; but suffering is often the portal to a richer life.
happiness
Finding Purpose
For most of human history, we shared a strong belief in the supernatural. This anchored our spiritual life and helped us answer some of lives most painful questions; such as what is the purpose of my life and what awaits me after I die. Nowadays we have lost this belief
better-world
The Merits of Slack
There are two meanings we generally assign to the word slack. First, we can understand it as a form of laziness or being negligent. If we say a company has slack safety procedures, we express that these are insufficient and that not enough attention and effort is dedicated to these.
goals
Wholesome Goals for Every Day
I've discussed a number of practices that may aid in the path to enlightenment. Each of these, I believe is valuable and worthwhile to pursue; however, in their sum, they are quite an undertaking to accomplish, and it is very difficult to practice each of them daily. I,
compassion
Practice: Healing Compassion
I have already written about a practice centred on the powerful emotion of compassion. However, today I came across an interesting variation of a practice on compassion (in the book Happiness by Matthieu Ricard): one that reflects our own suffering onto others, and helps us heal from our own suffering.
blog
My Life Goals
I have recently been asked what goals I have for my life. I think I am someone who deeply cares about leading a purposeful life and the very purpose of this blog is finding such. However, I don't think I have recently articulated what my life goals are
happiness
What Makes Me Happy?
I am currently reading the book 'Happiness' by Matthieu Ricard and a small exercise is presented at the end of the first chapter. The exercise is to think about what gives us pleasure and happiness. This question got me contemplating for quite a while. It appears I am
happiness
Look Within
Look within; within is the fountain of all good. Marcus Aurelius We often go about our lives in a robot-like way. We do what is prescribed by our biological, social and cultural programming; seek social confirmation, seek good-looking mates, seek power, seek wealth, and we do so without thinking about
art
Jewellery
Ornaments are an important part of nature. Flowers use them to attract bees. Birds use them to attract mates. Frogs use them as protection from predators. It is therefore not very surprising that jewellery, face painting, tattoos and other ornamental devices are one of the many things which are shared