Musings

When visa troubles in Nepal drove me out of Kopan Monastery in early summer of 1972, I made a pilgrimage to meet the Dalai Lama at his Tibetan capital in exile in Dharamsala, India; and after spending two weeks there, including some inspiring private time with His Holiness, I went on to Almora. Lama Govinda and Li Gotami were gone at the time, but I met their house-sitting holy-man named Guru-lama on the ridge beyond Almora, where the Govinda's house had become like a sort of informal ashram. Night after night, Guru-lama regaled me with stories around the old fashioned hearth. I slept in my sleeping...

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I first heard Lama Govindaв' name in 1969 when I was in college in the late Sixties, from either Baba Ram Dass, Allen Ginsberg, or Gary Snyder, all of whom had already met him in India. I immediately went out and bought his autobiographical The Way of the White Clouds a spiritual book chronicling his 1930s and 40s Tibetan pilgrimage journeys, which helped set me on a journey similar to what Govinda lovingly called "The Land of the Thousand Buddhas." I was amazed to find out that the learned and accomplished Lama Anagarika Govinda -- whom was the first Occidental Lama and I mentally put in a class...

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I vaguely remember a scene in the movie Mary Poppins where Uncle Albert gets stuck on the ceiling of his sitting room, buoyed upwards by uncontainable glee. Uncle Albert, it seems, was given to fits of laughter that literally lifted his spirits–-along with the rest of him–-right off the floor. A Bombay doctor named Madan Kataria has developed a form of laughter therapy called Hasya Yoga (hasya means laughter in Sanskrit) that combines deep, controlled breathing and stretches with various types of forced laughter. Like any serious master, he has founded his own Dharma center called Laughter...

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Feeling a burst of energy? Is the sap rising? You're not alone. In Ayurvedic terms, spring is a time to shed heaviness, or kapha energy, and to lighten up physically, mentally, and emotionally. As above, so below. We all have spiritual tropism, and are in any number of ways reaching for light, not unlike plants. Even seeking for happiness is a form of seeking ultimate fulfillment, enlightenment, nirvana, heaven, divinity; whatever you may call it, it's still as sweet. Dim the lights, and let the natural light reign. Unclutter the house, closets, schedule. Clean up your act. Watch what you eat;...

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I love March madness. It reminds me not to take myself too seriously. Lighten up and enlighten up; Remember it's all like a dream, a mirage, a sitcom. I am merely a figment of your imagination, and vice versa. Remember the ancient Buddhist adage: Things are not what they seem to be, nor are they otherwise. That saying stops my busy NewYork MotorMind in its tracks. Who's going to win the national championship? I like Barak Obama. Wisdom is as wisdom does. You are what you keep.

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The whole Buddhist Dharma teaching is explained through the eight principles of enlightened living originally taught by Lord Buddha in his renowned Noble Eight-fold Path. That's why it's so very interesting. These eight are wise view, wise intentions, wise speech, wise actions, wise livelihood, wise effort, wise concentration, and wise mindfulness. These are not simply divine injunctions or Eight Commandments, as in: you should do this, then you'll get to heaven later. Rather, it is simply basic sanity, intelligent living. Isn't it sane to be helpful rather than harmful, and unselfish rather...

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I recently enjoyed seeing the Oscar winning foreign film "The Lives of Others", about artists in East Germany before the fall of Communism, finding it extremely interesting, moving, and relevant as far as what could and might happen here in our own country in the post-9/11 era of increasing homeland security, should civil rights continue to be abrogated. we all need t be more aware of what is going on around us as well as within us. I personally find that far too many spiritual seekers and practitioners of yoga and meditation, peace and healthy living have marginalized themselves in the feel-good...

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"The Hitlers, Mussolinis and Pinochets of the world will be forgotten but prophets of peace like Mahatma Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa will continue to dwell in people's hearts and minds." Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the legendary anti-apartheid activist, said in Delhi, India, on Tuesday, addressing the concluding session of the international conference on Peace, Non-violence and Empowerment – Gandhian Philosophy in the 21st Century. "When will we learn that most effective way of dealing with differences is not by force or by annihilating each other but by making compromises?...

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Recently my assistant, Shane, shared the Free Hugs Campaign with me. it was started by Juan Mann, whom she saw on the Oprah show; and I thought this was a great idea which I should pass along and get into. Juan's sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives. You too can join by hugging more people on a daily basis. Giving a little smile too is also advisavble-- why not. Hugs and smiles are free, and can easily repay you in kind. Check out the amusing video of Juan's Street Hugathon. In the Spirit of the free hugs campaign, PASS THIS TO A FRIEND and HUG A STRANGER!...

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We've been selected Time's Person of the Year for our contributions to the new mass media, which can do so much to shape our perceptions and our reality today. Regarding this choice, Time Editor Lev Grossman writes: "It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes. The tool that makes this possible is the World Wide Web....This is an opportunity to build a new kind of international understanding, not politician to politician, great man to great man, but citizen to citizen,...

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