December 31. 2015 | by Brook Still | A-Ha! Moments, Featured Articles
We are at the beginning of a whole new year which usually includes New Year’s resolutions. Instead of taking a confined, contracted approach that leads to disappointment, as excitement fades away into another failed resolution, what if we were to engage our way of being as a question? A question that we inquisitively delve into answering, in a relaxed and open state, that helps us move beyond the limited enclosure of a resolution. Imagine a new way of asking ourselves brilliant, simple questions that inspires us to be our best, free from creating stress and the habit of self-sabotaging resolutions that seem to set us up for failure? What if this year, we love ourselves so much, that we melt into our best being ever by simply being curious? By asking ourselves a simple question and just playing throughout the day with it, as we felt like it, with different perspectives and possibilities, allowing the energy of the question to move within us, and do what it does? For the next four days, we will be offering What If You......
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December 23. 2015 | by Brook Still | A-Ha! Moments, Featured Articles
The Syllable by Syllable Commentary Explaining the Benefits and Advantages of the Vajra Guru Mantra By the great tertön Karma Lingpa (14th century) The Vajra Guru Mantra is the mantra associated with Guru Rinpoche, also known as Padmasambhava. This is a draft translation of a treasure text which explains the Vajra Guru Mantra. It was originally concealed during the time of Padmasambhava in Tibet and later rediscovered by Karma Lingpa (14th century) who brought it forth from its place of concealment and copied it down on reams of gold. It is simply known as "The Syllable by Syllable Commentary Explaining the Benefits of the Vajra Guru Mantra. "It begins with an invocation and then goes into a dialogue between Yeshe Tsogyal, the spiritual consort of Padmasambhava, and Padmasambhava himself. And so, Yeshe Tsogyal begins: I, the woman Yeshe Tsogyal, having offered to you the inner and outer mandala on a vast scale, have the following request. Oh great teacher, Pema Jungne, you have been extremely kind to us, the Tibetan people, leaving for us a legacy that...
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| by Brook Still | A-Ha! Moments, Featured Articles
The picture here is of a Tibetan thangka called the Wheel of Life also known as the Wheel of Deluded Existence. Not only is it a beautiful piece of art, like all thangkas, it is a teaching drawn with rich symbolism to awaken the spiritual seeker. The way our minds work, is that we are captivated and learn best through story telling. So though this may seem like a beautiful piece of artwork, and it is indeed that, it is also one of the most powerful visual stories on how to move out of suffering and become liberated on this planet. Today I’d like to go into the center of this glorious painting and dive a little deeper with you to unlock some of its magic. I first learned these teachings years ago with a spiritual master by the name of Derek O’Neill and it still is a source of great wisdom as it unfolds more and more each year for me. The complete thangka shows us where our challenges start, in the center of the wheel and moves outward...
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November 27. 2015 | by Brook Still | Ask Brook, Featured Articles
Q.How can I help my body integrate light/energy during and after meditation? Often during meditation I receive light downloads in thru the crown and third eye centers, I breathe bringing the energy downward thru each chakra and into the earth. Afterwards I experience physical discomfort in my sinus areas or a little sick in my tummy, dizzy and so forth. And it can last a few days, I love my meditations, however I also love feeling good! What advice can you share? – Veronica A. There are a plethora of different meditations that you can do and I’d suggest that perhaps the one that you are choosing to do may not be the right one for you anymore. Our bodies have tremendous wisdom and will let us know if something is working for us or not. Just like when we eat something that isn’t good for our system it will signal us by making us feel uneasy, perhaps even sick. When we shifting the light in our bodies we often have times where our form may feel uneasy however days...
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November 9. 2015 | by Brook Still | A-Ha! Moments, Featured Articles
I just had a fabulous moment of complete irritation and outright fury. This is rare for me. And though I'm sure my voice was steady and that I was staying externally calm so as not to terrify the ticket agents at the counter (corporate policy is not something they control), all 5 of them looked rather panicked. Why the rage you may ask? It was due to my being told that my extra bag of luggage was going to cost me $400 each way, from Japan to Kuala Lumpur and back again. My round-trip ticket only cost $522. So, I asked to buy a second seat, which magically now cost $900 US, and so my most economical bet was the $800. Presently sitting on the plane, after paying my additional baggage fees and due to communication challenges barely making my flight; I am calm and able to sit with this from a much more heart-centered space. First I blessed the counter people for having to deal with these types of situations all the time, as I know customer service is...
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September 3. 2015 | by Brook Still | A-Ha! Moments, Featured Articles
As I head off today for our Expanding Your Awareness retreat, I'd like to leave you with a little thought to ponder. "Life is Suffering" is the Buddha’s simple way of stating that the agitated mind creates suffering and since we all experience this, so is life. To learn to move beyond the mind is to understand that this world is an illusion. Ask yourself, is the drama I'm buying into, that I feel is real, is it really? Or is it another distraction, my mind has created, to keep me separate from being at Peace? Have I created this to deny myself the freedom to forgive and love myself and everyone else around me? Even deeper, is there anything to even...
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