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Religion versus Atheism - it's all in the mind

The divide between religion and atheism is one that is becoming increasingly prominent in today's world, and also one that often appears to be absolutely irreconcilable. However, an under-the-surface look reveals that the chasm between these two positions is largely a result of our overreliance on our mental faculties, and that many staunch athiests and religious conservatives are more alike than either would care to admit.  read more »

How to create an oasis of calm inside your own heart

In today's fast-paced world, everyone from time to time looks for an 'escape' - time away in a place far removed from the hubbub of today's world. When thinking of such an escape usually some tranquil scenic location comes to mind far away from daily life . However, for thousands of years great sages and meditators have found that you can create a space of calmness inside yourself to take refuge in no matter where you are. What's more, this space of silence is nowhere else than inside your heart, the space in the middle of our chest we point to when we say 'this is me'. We have all been in this space from time to time, for example when we find ourself in a place of great beauty and suddenly feel at peace there; however, with practise you can enter into this inner refuge at will.  read more »

Buddhism and Hinduism: do they contradict each other?

"In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true." - The Buddha

Many of the central tenets of Buddhism and Hinduism seem totally irreconcilable at first glance. The Buddha taught that all things were impermanent, where as traditional Indian belief is that beneath the impermanent world lies an eternal reality. Most Hindus believe in God in some form, whereas the Buddha was decidedly agnostic. However when one begins a practice of meditation in either tradition, one begins to go beyond the limiting mind which generates these contradictions and see that there is in fact a deep oneness of purpose between the two traditions, and that they are two paths which lead the same destination.  read more »

Lessons death can teach us about life

Losing a loved one is possibly the most heartbreaking and traumatic experience we will have to go through in our life - it is arguably the one experience that you can't type up a 'five easy tips to overcome...' article about. Time is a great healer though, and as the grief subsides we often emerge from the experience a wiser, more grounded person.  read more »

Office politics and how to avoid it

There is an old Indian proverb about the delhi ka laddu, a delicacy known for its excessive sugariness: "who ever doesn't eat the delhi ka laddu feels denied, and whoever does eat it feels disgusted" Office politics can be quite similar - it can be extremely tempting to enter into that whole world of gossip and backbiting, but once you have been gossiped against, you soon realise what a destructive practice it is. But how do you stay out of it when everyone else is doing it?  read more »

Turn life into an adventure

"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing", once remarked Helen Keller, and yet most of us, with all our facilities for perceiving the world intact, would merely shake their heads and get on with the daily routine. The older we get, the easier it can become to trudge through life on autopilot, with a weary acceptance of the responsibilities of mortgage, job and whatnot. However, for one who truly realises life's value, every moment is precious and every day is an opportunity to do something special! Here are a couple of things you can do to truly awaken yourself to the beauty of life again:  read more »

Why not take up a musical instrument?

We have all been at a concert or performance, and really wished we could express ourselves like that. But what stops us from taking an instrument up? Let's look at the two main reasons why we don't turn our wish into reality, and deal with them in turn:  read more »

Spirituality: is it an escape from reality?

Spirituality is often portrayed as an escape from the hard realities of the world, a way of avoiding the responsibilities of life one should be shouldering by taking refuge in some otherworldly realm. Spiritual people claim just the opposite: that spirituality is all about accepting life and understanding the true meaning and purpose of why we are here.  read more »

The secret of happiness: Desire less and aspire more!

We can often fall into the trap of thinking that happiness is something that waits just around the corner after the next job, the next relationship, the next car. However, the more we accumulate in life, the further true satisfaction seems to evade us. However there is also another kind of happiness, the kind we feel looking at a beautiful sunset or listening to soaring music, the kind of happiness that takes us beyond our finite frame, and makes us aspire to something bigger.  read more »

The three branches of yoga

Like so many other words, the ancient word of yoga started out as something much more encompassing than the current Western definition of it. we take it now to mean the practising of body postures or asanas with a view to gaining some flexibility or peace of mind, but thousands of years ago yoga meant a path by which you could be united with God, a path where the finite and the Infinite became one. Indeed the word yoga means exactly that - union.  read more »