One of my favorite Zen stories about achieving enlightenment is a classic told about Tennō Dōgo, a great Zen swordsman in the eighth century. As the story goes, a disciple named Sōshin came to study swordsmanship with Dōgo, and his practice sessions consisted of the master attacking him at the most inopportune moments: while he was returning with his arms full of kindling, or carrying cups of tea, or kneeling in the garden tending to the vegetables. These random and painful attacks with the wooden training sword went on for years, at all hours of the day or night, until it became second nature to Sōshin to expect an attack from any quarter and at any time. He also began to use his own wooden sword to fend off the master’s blow quite naturally as he attended to whatever else he was doing. Eventually, the master noticed that no matter how or when he attacked his student, Sōshin would parry the blow without a thought. The master then explained to the student that his enlightenment had been reached without any conceptualization or intellectualization. He explained:
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Let's Not Limit Nature- According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, nature is first defined as "the external world in its entirety," with etymological roots from multiple cultures and originating meanings
The ancient Greeks had no word for art. Many indigenous people have no word for religion. Art and religion were inherent to human life until outsiders needed to critique and study these concepts-so they named them. The legacy of the word nature is similar. We speak about nature as if we are separate from itas if, like a starkly delineated shadow on a sidewalk, you can stand with one foot in nature and one foot outside of it.
Recognizing and Tuning Into Medical Intuition- How one woman learned to trust her instincts and heal her body
How one woman learned to trust her instincts and heal her body. According to Wendie Colter, founder of The Practical Path (a trademarked intuitive development program for health professionals) and author of Essentials of Medical Intuition: A Visionary Path to Wellness, intuition permeates every aspect of our lives. Some call it a gut instinct. Others call it a hunch. Still others receive messages from their higher self. But whatever the name, that sense of knowing, feeling, or sensing can guide us toward healing.
The Neuroscience of Getting What You Want - Manifesting is a process whereby you utilize the power within yourself to have an intention occur that ultimately is not pure self-interest,"
Manifesting is a process whereby you utilize the power within yourself to have an intention occur that ultimately is not pure self-interest," .What it takes to hit all your goals is a fierce dedication to your quest over time and that means sinking your goals so deep into your subconscious that your conscious mind automatically tracks paths to take you to those goals like a bloodhound on the scent of synchronicities.
TIME TO TAKE THE RISK
We shall awaken from our dullness and rise vigorously toward justice. If we fall in love with creation deeper and deeper, we will respond to its endangerment with passion.-Hildegard of Bingen, 12th-century Benedictine mystic, medical practitioner, writer, and composer
The Essence of FRIENDSHIP
A DEEP DIVE INTO WHAT MAKES THE BEST FRIENDSHIPS
QUEEN DIAMBI KABATUSUILA SHEDS A NEW LIGHT ON AFRICA
In 2016, before she became queen of the Bakwa Luntu people of the Dimbelenge territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Queen Diambi Kabatusuila was a 48-year-old therapist going through a difficult divorce, living in Boca Raton, Florida, and having a recurring dream about an old woman in an African village.
Over the MOON About Helping Animals (and Their People)
Since I was a child, I've had a ritual: Every night, I go outside and search the sky for the moon and stars. I marvel at the magnificence of a dark, crisp, clear, midnight blue sky and its symphony of constellations, occasional meteors, and the glorious moon herself-each illuminating the vastness. This simple practice always gives me the deepest peace and centeredness. It aligns my internal compass every night before bed.
ENLIGHTENED PERSPECTIVES: AMANDLA STENBERG CHANNELS 'THE FORCE'
Journalist KAREN BRAILSFORD was over the moon when actress and musician AMANDLA STENBERG agreed to meet her over Zoom for this heart-to-heart about spiritual matters for Spirituality & Health: A Unity Publication. Brailsford, a lifelong seeker who feels blessed to be Stenberg's mother, once captioned an Instagram photo of her daughter with Michael Bernard Beckwith of the Agape International Spiritual Center: \"When your master teachers run into one another at a Hollywood event.\" Brailsford says she has learned a great deal from each one.
Unlikely Lightworkers from Liverpool
The Beatles were more than musical masters-they were spiritual pioneers.
ANTI-RACISM IS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
GROWING UP in very charismatic and evangelical Christian spaces, I was told that the Devil's greatest trick was convincing us that he didn't exist. I feel a similar vibe when it comes to the big three systems of oppression-capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy-in New Thought and other spiritual spaces. These systems managed to convince some of us that they don't exist, we are immune from them, talking about them isn't helpful, or we will overcome them just by doing our spiritual practices.
