Let my joy be in inner connection, not outer gratification
Let my joy be in inner connection not outer gratification Bhagavad Gita 2.57 yaḥ sarvatrānabhisnehas tat tat prāpya śubhāśubham nābhinandati na dveṣṭi tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā [...]
What’s wrong with the worldview of dread?
What's wrong with the worldview of dread? The worldview of dread refers to a deep-rooted fear of the entangling nature of existence, characterized by a [...]
What’s wrong with the worldview of despair?
The worldview of despair arises when individuals believe that life has no inherent meaning. This outlook often emerges when people recognize the futility of materialistic [...]
Rising from the worldviews of desire despair and dread to the worldview of devotion
Rising from the worldviews of desire despair and dread to the worldview of devotion Opening our eyes to reality is not meant to fill us [...]
Gita 02.25 – Explanation
Gita 02.25 – Contemplate the inconceivable to relish the spiritual Audio Link: https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/gita-02-25-contemplate-the-inconceivable-to-relish-the-spiritual/ avyakto ’yam acintyo ’yam avikāryo ’yam ucyate tasmād evaṁ viditvainaṁ nānuśocitum arhasi [...]
How the craving for pleasure decreases our capacity to enjoy that very pleasure
How the craving for pleasure decreases our capacity to enjoy that very pleasure We live in a culture where pleasure is promised to us from [...]
The dual defenses against self-destructive impulses
Whenever we struggle with conditionings that impel us toward actions we know we shouldn't do, two defense mechanisms can protect us: conscience and intelligence. Conscience [...]
Overcoming distractions by aligning with our spiritual essence
Overcoming distractions by aligning with our spiritual essence Life is inevitably characterized by distractions. The very word "distraction" implies that there is a purpose from [...]
When living in the present is taken to an extreme
Let the present moment be the focus of our attention, not the substance of our aspiration Distraction often pulls us away from the present moment, [...]
When our mind doesn’t care for the things that matter to us
When our mind doesn’t care for the things that matter to us, we don’t have to stop caring for those things. We can choose to [...]
A Moment of Thought to Evaluate the Thought of the Moment
We are constantly filled with thoughts, many of which pop up and then disappear without us paying much attention. This in itself is not a [...]
Three tests to counter rumor-mongering
One of the fundamental implications of the Bhagavad Gita 16.2 directive to be averse to fault-finding is to avoid engaging in rumor-mongering. This means not [...]
From wishful and fretful thinking to prayerful and purposeful thinking
Let our thinking not be wishful or fearful; let it be prayerful and purposeful. Our thinking capacity is our most powerful capacity. It is the [...]
Speaking our mind or speaking with our mind?
Before we speak our mind, we need to speak with our mind; otherwise, it is our mind that will speak—instead of us, and not for [...]
Countering invisible attacks on our consciousness
Just because we don’t see that we are being attacked does not mean that we are not under attack. The inner war is invisible, but [...]
Navigating the inner marketplace
Introspection is meant to tune out the louder voices inside us so that we can tune in to the wiser voices inside us. Suppose we [...]
How to dump emotional bumps and slumps during meditation
Life is filled with ups and downs, or alternatively, life is filled with bumps and slumps. Things go up and down at times. If we [...]
Can we stop the flow of temptation into our consciousness?
Even if we can't stop the flow of temptation into our consciousness, we can certainly stop that flow from becoming a flood that takes over [...]
How meditation differs from obsession and frees us from obsession
The Bhagavad-gita (18.22) describes knowledge in the mode of ignorance, which leads people to obsess over one thing as if it were everything. Such an [...]
Importance of intelligence in meditation
Our intelligence is meant to be our protector, akin to an inner guard. We need such a guard because inside us is our mind, which [...]
Does surrender mean that God manages our life for us?
The Bhagavad-gita begins and ends with surrender. But these two forms of surrender are significantly different. The initial surrender in 2.7 happens when Arjuna acknowledges [...]