The only puppy I have ever had was a beautiful Saint Bernard puppy whose name was Elsie. It was the worst possible time for me to learn how to train a puppy, especially one who would grow so big. I was a newly-wed and also in my first career as a middle school teacher, having…
Tuesday September 8 – October 6, 2015 “The Five Pillars of Spirituality” is intended both to introduce newer congregants to the key spiritual practices encouraged in our Center, as well as to provide a “spiritual practice boost” to those already practicing. As this is a short course (five, 2-hour classes), it is accessible to those…
In the book, The Universe is Calling, Eric Butterworth has a chapter titled, ‘The Great Amen.’ It is a fascinating chapter about the original meaning of the word “Amen.” What does it really mean? Butterworth begins by quoting Shakespeare’s Macbeth. “Macbeth is wallowing in guilt and remorse and says: “I could not say ‘Amen’ when…
There’s No Trying in Meditation Just as water runs naturally downhill … just as leaves float naturally to the ground … anyone can settle naturally into meditation. Not trying, just allowing — not doing, just being. The key is effortlessness. Whether you’re a complete novice or you’ve “tried it before,” if you can breathe you…
Dean Sluyter has taught meditation throughout the United States since 1970 and is the author of several excellent books and audio programs, including Cinema Nirvana, The Zen Commandments, and his latest, Natural Meditation: A Guide to Effortless Meditative Practice. A grateful student of eminent teachers in several traditions, including Advaita Vedanta, Vajrayana Buddhism, and Bhakti…
Ernest Holmes wrote: “The greatest good that can come to anyone is the..absolute certainty of himself, and of his relationship to the Universe, forever removing the sense of heaven as being outside himself.. Such an understanding teaches us that there can never come a time when we shall stop progressing…Such an understanding will rob man…
Visit http://globalmeditation.chopra.com/ and sign up now to be part of the global meditation event of the year, Friday August 8th, and help set the Guinness World Record for the largest meditation gathering ever! Then join us in the Sanctuary from 9-10am as we live stream this historic event with Deepak Chopra, Gabrielle Bernstein, and Maya…
This year’s retreat at the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley was hosted by Dr James and Rev. Leslie Golden. The retreat was titled “Whenever the time is Now” … and, well, when you think about it, the time is always NOW. Now is the only time it can ever actually really be. People have written books about…
What if you got nothing from meditation? When we think about meditation, we tend to think of getting something from it. Yes, it is true one may get something out of meditation. The real question to ask is if one is getting nothing from meditation. After all, isn’t meditation a practice where one is to…