Abandon Hope
“Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.” This would appear to be the opposite of everything we believe in, the death blow to our expectation of living a full and fulfilled life. But it isn't. Quite the contrary, it is the way to wake up [...]
Introduction to Meditation For Healing
The author’s interest in healing through spiritual means goes back many, many years. Such healing methods must stand the test of actual practice; results must be achieved. Simply to believe in something because one wants it to be true is delusion, and delusion is diametrically [...]
Around the Platter Variation (right)
As the hands circle right and begin to cradle a ball, our weight shifts forward. At the halfway point, we let go of the ball so that the palms face down and the circle continues back to the starting point at the chest. We do [...]
The Physical & The Spiritual In T’ai Chi Chih
Most people who come for T’ai Chi Chih lessons do it for physical reasons, either because of ailments or because they feel it will help them in the areas of energy, hypertension, and more. Thus, they think of T’ai Chi Chih practice as a form [...]
Pyramid Poetry
Haiku, the Japanese 17-syllable poems, have become exceedingly popular in the West. Many translations (some in rhyme and some not) of Basho, Buson, Issa, and other poets have appeared. Frequently, Westerners have attempted to write in the familiar three-line (five syllable, seven syllable, five syllable) [...]
Bird Flaps its Wings
We do the above sequence twice, letting our heels come off the ground (Figure 3). On the third sequence (Figures 7-12), we do one full circle with the wrists and our knees bent. Then, from the top of a second circling of the wrists [...]
Heightened Awareness Epilogue
Those of us who are led to spiritual pursuits cannot usually explain why they interest us. If we did try, we might say that we are tired of the superficial in life and are looking for something of more lasting value. Or we could begin [...]
The Teacher-Pupil Relationship
The relationship between teacher and pupil is a very noble one in the history of Spiritual Practice. Never, in the history of such relationships, had I ever heard of a chela (or monk, or student) telling, or writing, his Master that “I know more than [...]
Buddhism: Going North Just Enough
Buddhism says that the position in meditation, the bodily position, the mudra, is important. The meditation effect varies, according to the position. Zen, in particular, stresses keeping the back stiff in the cross-legged sitting position. There’s a fellow who walks around with a stick on [...]
