Don’t give the mind monopoly over your inner conversation
Our mind carries on a continuous one-way conversation inside us. It allures, grumbles, distracts. Using subtle suggestions or imperious instructions or anything in between, it [...]
Our mind carries on a continuous one-way conversation inside us. It allures, grumbles, distracts. Using subtle suggestions or imperious instructions or anything in between, it [...]
Suppose a horse-rider finds their horse going off in dangerous directions. They will have to restrain it, and restrain it forcefully if it is recalcitrant. [...]
When our child acts mischievously, we can empathize if we remember how we too were restless at that age. Still, if they start doing something [...]
Suppose we are sitting on a chair and studying. If the chair is twisted, the resulting discomfort may hinder our study. But if the chair [...]
“Lose one’s mind” can have multiple meanings, based on literal and idiomatic usages of the word lose. These meanings can illumine various aspects of bhakti [...]
Murderers who don’t want to leave any telltale signs by using a weapon sometimes smother their victims. The mind acts with similar calculated malevolence while [...]
A dog that barks ferociously can terrify passers-by. Their fear disappears, however, if they come to know that the dog barks loudly, but can’t bite. [...]
Our mind is phenomenally powerful. Within a fraction of a moment, it can take our thoughts from one end of the world to another. Unfortunately, [...]
Suppose someone had to go to a place that wasn’t accessible by road. We would expect them to clear a path to get there. If [...]
Expansion of consciousness is an oft-used term in spiritual circles. People seeking deeper fulfillment in life intuit that they can do so by expanding their [...]
We often go through our lives with a feeling of chronic impoverishment. The culture around us specializes in showing us all the things we don’t [...]
People who like to talk about themselves can come off as egotistic when they describe their successes and as whiners when they explain (away) their [...]
We live in a culture of mass distraction. Worldly things around us try to catch our eye in myriad ways. And with us lie devices [...]
Suppose we suddenly feel hungry. Nearby, we might have some snacks – some fatty, some non-fatty. If we consciously contemplate what we are doing, we [...]
When we practice meditation and strive for spiritual awareness, we often find that our mind wanders here, there and everywhere. We may become discouraged, thinking, [...]
While practicing spiritual life and striving for purity, we may become disheartened: “Today’s culture fills me with so many impure desires. And my mind too [...]
When we practice meditation and strive to focus our mind on higher spiritual reality, the struggle to concentrate can be disheartening. But we don’t have [...]
Some people argue that our spiritual side is optional and superfluous – our material needs are what matter. Yes, material things are necessary, but they [...]
Some people feel that taking to spiritual life means abandoning all efforts to progress in life. But their feeling stems from an unexamined assumption: progress [...]
Suppose we are caught in a traffic jam on an expressway. We honk and maneuver, but make little progress. But instead of staying vexed, we [...]
Suppose one person tells another, “I care for you.” But suppose the first person is having food and the second person is hungry. The claim [...]