Dalai
Lama: meditation can prevent global meltdown
Writing
in the New York Times, Tenzin Gyatso (better known as the Dalai
Lama) describes how scientists are confirming that mindfulness meditation
and other Buddhist mental practices appear to tame the savage breast. It's
a prescription the longtime exile recommends for dealing
with international conflict.
The
implications of all this are clear: the world today needs citizens and
leaders who can work toward ensuring stability and engage in dialogue with
the "enemy" — no matter what kind of aggression or assault they may have
endured.
The
contrast between the humane mission of the course – to teach hardened convicts
to see through the tangle of mental complexes at the root of their troubles
– and the harsh setting couldn't have been more striking....[T]he penitentiary
"had a reputation of being Alabama’s most violent and brutal prison. It’s
considered a dead end for most of the inmates incarcerated there, many
of whom are serving life sentences without parole." Some are on death row.
Once
more with spirit
Winnipeg's
Spirit's
Call Choir welcomes the muffled masses of shower-stall Pavarottis and
recovering "goldfish."
It’s
the kind of choir Dr. Spock and Harry Belafonte could have dreamed up,
with help from Mother Teresa: progressive, inclusive, permissive – and
great fun.
Greed
revisited
As
greed brings corporations and CEOs to their knees, Beliefnet kicks off
its summer series on the seven deadly sins with a multifaith look at greed.
We’d
been told all along that greed - well harnessed and regulated - was good
not only for corporations, but society as a whole, even the poor....The
world's major faiths have no such illusions about greed. Greed, say many
of them, is not only unambiguous, it is the Mother of All Sins.
A
new angle on "Turn the other cheek"
When
Jesus said "do not resist an evildoer" and "turn the other cheek," he actually
had something feisty in mind,
says theologian Walter Wink.
For
centuries, readers of this advice have instinctively known something was
wrong with this picture. Jesus always resisted evil. Why would he tell
us to behave in ways he himself refused? And that’s where the trouble starts.
The Greek word translated as “resist” (antistenai), is literally “to stand
(stenai) against (anti).” The term is taken from warfare. When two armies
collide, they were said to “stand against” each other. The correct translation
is given in the new Scholars Bible: “Don’t react violently against the
one who is evil.”
Gandhi's
Soldiers
What
if the world had a new kind of army - a multinational force of thousands
ready to enter any war zone or hot spot and nonviolently lay their lives
on the line, just like Gandhi's soldiers of peace? Soon
it might.
The
new project, if it succeeds, will result in a worldwide peace service capable
of intervening in a conflict or incipient conflict more quickly than the
UN peacekeeping division and—more importantly—with a different kind of
power from that of national militaries. While the US government insists
there is no alternative to endless war, the Nonviolent
Peaceforce is quietly attempting to institutionalize a proven alternative.
If it succeeds, the world will have two kinds of standing army to choose
from.
A
Baby's Love - The Pope's Christmas Message
In
a politically charged Christmas
message, the Pope urges the world to "gaze upon the Newborn Redeemer,
. . . recognize the face of every little child who is born, of whatever
race or nation," and forge "a new humanity united not just by economic
interests but by the unceasing effort to bring about a society that is
more just and supportive."
May
Christ be the light and support of those who believe and work, sometimes
in the face of opposition, for encounter, dialogue and cooperation between
cultures and religions.... May
God's holy name never be used as a justification for hatred! Let it never
be used as an excuse for intolerance and violence! May the gentle face
of the Child of Bethlehem remind everyone that we all have one Father.
Wicca
Talk
An
interview
with two ladies of "The Craft" and a guide
to friendly "Winnipagan."
Matters
of LIFE AND DEATH Human
energist Bernard Willemsen on the mysteries of body, mind, soul, and spirit.
"To
me, people walking around saying "that's my soul" is like the apple saying
"that's my tree."
Desmond
Tutu, Jimmy Carter, and other forgiveness afficionados are on a mission
to take
it to the max.
"Forgiveness
is something virtually all Americans aspire to -- 94% surveyed in a nationwide
Gallup poll said it was important to forgive -- but it is not something
we frequently offer. (In the same survey, only 48% said they usually tried
to forgive others.)"
At
the Stanford
Forgiveness Project psychologists and researchers are teaching forgiveness
101 and scientifically exploring the psychosocial and health benefits.
"The
Dharma Centre is one of 40 around the world founded by the Venerable Namgyal
Rinpoche, a Toronto-born Buddhist monk recognized by the Dalai Lama of
Tibet as 'a fully enlightened, fully realized being.'"
The
MIND
MANIPULATOR
In
a cheesy basement lab at Sudbury University, neuropsychologist Michael
Persinger is programming mental states and inducing visions with
patterned
bursts of electromagnetic energy. And he thinks it's nothing
new:
COLIN WILSON on concentrating
the mind:
"The
secret of avoiding boredom is to have a strong sense of purpose."
The Power
of Now Eckhart
Tolle An acclaimed
new guide to being Here and Now.
Amazon
| Chapters
Still
Here Ram Dass Mister "Be
Here Now" is back to teach boomers how to age gracefully - spiritually.
Amazon
| Chapters
The Art
of Happiness The Dalai
Lama and Howard C. Cutler A psychiatrist
probes the famously mirthful Dalai Lama for the secrets of his serenity.
review Amazon
| Chapters
After
the Ecstasy, the Laundry Jack Kornfield A compassionately
candid reckoning of the kitchen-sink realities of spiritual life.
Amazon
| Chapters
Dalai
Lama: meditation can prevent global meltdown
Vipassana
behind bars
Greed
revisited
A
new angle on "Turn the other cheek"
Gandhi's
Soldiers
In
a politically charged 
Dharma
and the 'Peg
