Explore your inner world
Explore your inner world
Frequently I think of world peace as the absence of war. But is it? Let’s consider the prospect that all the countries in the word agree to reduce their armies and weapons arsenals to the bare minimum. You might argue that we could have peace. However, what stops anyone of those countries from breaking the […]
Is World Peace The Absence Of War? Read More »
In our previous post on being “non-judgemental”, we looked at the workings of the “judging mind” and how an overtly judgemental mind can be very taxing and controlling and can leave you feeling stuck in life. Meditation, through the cultivation of mindfulness, presents an alternative to such a mode of existence through the application of an
Non-Judgemental (Part 2): What Does It Mean To Be Non-Judgemental? Read More »
Is this good bad or neutral? Most of the time, we go through our days judging our life experiences, the people we encounter, ourselves and our actions. So I asked myself this question – “Am I judgemental?” – “Could it be that being judgemental is our default setting?” Personally, in today’s connected world many times
Non-Judgemental (Part 1): Is Being judgemental our default setting? Read More »
Impermanence is also known as the philosophical problem of constant change. Reflect nothing remains the same and everything is in continuous flux, even your breath from moment to moment is different so much so that your next breath can be your last. The paradox with impermanence is that although we know change happens, we still
Thanks to Impermanence, Everything is Possible Read More »
It’s not the first time that thousands of academics united to urge people to take action on climate change. Personally, I agree with the scientists. I don’t think that at present we are talking about climate change but about a climate crisis an emergency that is endangering every one of us — even you who
Climate Change? Wake Up It’s a Climate Crisis an Emergency Scientists Warn Read More »
Image credit to BD Hypno Plus Mindfulness is the first step the vehicle through which we become mindful. Mindfulness is like a light that shines out in the dark, allowing us to become mindfully aware of our thoughts and feelings. How these affect our behaviour towards ourselves, other people and our surroundings. Mindfulness and being
STOP – What does mindfulness and being mindful mean? Read More »
“A human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind” (Killingworth & Gilbert, 2010, p. 932). This was the concluding statement of a study on mind wondering which found that we spend as much as 50% of our lives lost in thinking. This can have negative effects on our mental,
Finding a Suitable Anchor of Attention in Meditation Read More »
When someone does you wrong in life, do you keep holding onto it or try to forgive. But what is forgiveness? Is forgiveness an exercise which benefits are for the other person or yourself? Let’s reflect on these. Forgiveness, in reality, isn’t “really” about someone else’s harmful behaviour but how you keep relating to it. It’s a reflection
Forgiveness: Making Our Own Peace in Life Read More »
Have you ever heard the story of the lotus flower growing out of the mud in the lake? It is a myth about the seed of compassion which lies dormant buried in the mud at the bottom of the lake and inside each one of us. It might lay there for a whole lifespan, totally
The Lotus Flower and the Painful Mud of Life Read More »
In the first and second article of this three-part series, we looked at what might be the cognitive processes at work in attentional and constructive meditation practices. We saw that attentional meditation practices help us cultivate a degree of emotional regulation. With constructive meditation practices using the cultivated emotional regulation to build onto and change
In our second blog on our search for the one called God, we finished with the prospect that we can find God within us, in the good around us and others. In the process of preparing for the third blog of this 3-part series, I revisited some of my own earlier works (see John, 2010).
When God Delays to Answer: CHAOS vs ORDER (Part 3) Read More »
The nurturing of virtuous qualities has been a common endeavour of various philosophical and contemplative traditions (Eifring, 2015; Gethin, 1998). Constructive meditation practices were one of the methods developed and used by these traditions to foster the cultivation of a virtuous ethic. As with attentional meditation practices, constructive practices, need meta-awareness but they also serve
Constructive Meditation practices: The Fascinating cognitive processes at work (Part 2) Read More »
In our first blog on our search for the one called god, we finished with the question. What, or where is the God that Christians believe in? And last month I came across a short reflective paragraph online by a Maltese priest friend of mine which gave me some moments of thought: “We have insisted
One Sublime God: So What or Where is God? (Part 2) Read More »
Meditation and mindfulness practices have been a subject of research for both cognitive and neuroscientists. In recent years research in such area has gained traction towards trying to understand the possible cognitive processes involved in meditation practices. This to attempt to classify them into a basic taxonomy according to the cognitive processes in common between
Meditation attentional practices: The Fascinating cognitive processes at work (Part 1) Read More »
In the Search Of The One Called “God”. If you were simply to Google “Spirituality” you will quickly realise the wide world out there that looks at spirituality in so many different ways. But, briefly, they all indicate an attempt to contact or to union with Something Else – call it a god, G-d or
In Search Of The One Called “God” (Part 1) Read More »
Have you ever gone through a situation in your life and thought what if I could turn back the clock of time? This question of turning back the clock of time came to my mind after reading Didi’s blog post. Didi’s article reflects on how the experiences we have and share shape us and make
What If I Could Turn Back The Clock Of Time? Read More »
I put forth the question on social-media do the experiences we have and share make us who we are? Such a question spontaneously emanated as a consequence of my personal life experiences. After receiving many positive comments, I felt it worthy of contemplation. “It is what we do with those experiences that mostly shape us.”
Do The Experiences We Have And Share Make Us Who We Are? Read More »
Why is “The Middle Way” important in meditation? In a recent blog post, we looked at the possibility that mindfulness practice follows an inverted U-shaped curve. This means that there could be an “optimal” point of meditation practice after which, the resulting mindfulness-related processes can turn “sour”. This could actually be seen as a reflection
Is The Middle Way Important In Meditation? Read More »
Can mindfulness be too much of a good thing? As in recent years, we have seen a proliferation of mindfulness products and teachers, in what was called “the mindful movement”. In this blog post we explore the question, can mindfulness be too much of a good thing? The too-much-of-a-good-thing effect is when the practice of
Can Mindfulness be Too Much of a Good Thing? Read More »
Recently I was asked by someone why do you practice mindfulness? Personally, I do not subscribe to the notion that I practice mindfulness. In essence, formally I practice meditation which is conducive to the cultivation of mindfulness. As in essence within the formal practice of meditation mindfulness is one of the faucets cultivated through such
Why Do You Practice Mindfulness? Read More »
Most of the research conducted on contemplative practices to date focuses on its beneficial aspects and rarely on unpleasant meditation related experiences (Goyal, et al., 2014; Sparby, 2017). In fact, an analysis of the literature reveals that only a few studies have ever explored if meditation practitioners ever have unpleasant experiences during their meditation practice
Unpleasant Meditation Related Experiences Read More »
The tale of the two farmers reminds me of when a friend asked me what is mindfulness? His question was so spontaneous that it caught me off guard. That day what spontaneously came to mind was practically the analogy of the two farmers. Ploughing the field Two farmers set out ploughing their field. While ploughing
The Two Farmers: A Mindfulness Analogy Read More »
Do we need to engage in an active cultivation of awareness as a farmer cultivates a field? Or more specifically what is one of the motivations behind why I practice meditation? Today I will be looking at these questions from the standpoint of meditation being a tool for the cultivation of awareness. What is awareness
The Active Cultivation of Awareness Read More »
Is compassion a matter of heart and mind? When I pose such question to myself the first thought that comes to mind is how linguistically heart and mind are connected. From an eastern prospect “citta” is often used as a literal translation for “mind”. Although on a subtle level the word “citta” is also understood
Compassion – A Matter of Heart and Mind Read More »
Have you ever asked yourself? What is Meditation? As a practitioner, I have been asked this question many times by persons interested in starting meditation. I like to bounce such a question back to the person asking. But what do you think meditation is? Usually, the following one of two replies is most likely. Either
What is Meditation? The Polar Bear Experiment Read More »
It was by no doubt terrible to see the Notre Dame turn into a blazing fire. Such monument which stood up as a symbol of gothic architecture for nearly 800 years going up in flames. In such moments we see what human resilience can do, in the firefighters who fought against the raging flames. Not
Notre Dame – What Should We Do? Read More »
As modes of transport and communication advance, they inherently make the world a smaller place. Many times, we hear news of “the American dream”, “the prosperous EU”, “a new life in Canada” or “going down under; wonderful Australia”. We all want a better life and such ideas lead people who are living in countries with
Fuelling Hatred and Fear for Political Gain Read More »
New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Arden paid for the groceries of a mother who forgot her wallet at home. Asked why she responds with a genuinely compassionate smile because she is a mother. I ask a question do you think the world needs more leaders like her? Watch: A compassionate leader Watch the video click
Is There a Need for More Compassionate Leadership Read More »
