The Range
First a brief review of the natural ranges of each level of experience, the koshas or energy bodies: a) physical, etheric b) energy, emotional c) mental, sensory d) intellect, Buddhi, intuition, fine feelings e) bliss, …
Category: Mind
Mind and Cognition
A question came up I thought would be useful to share here. How do we give words to cognitions if they arise from beyond the intellect? First: what do I mean by cognition here? A …
Bhedābheda Vedānta
Vedanta means the end of the Veda or final knowledge and is the last of the 6 systems of Indian Philosophy (Yoga is the 4th). We also know these systems as the Vedanga or subordinate …
Mental Activity
One of the curious features of being human is that we assume others experience the world the same way we do. We may expect people to see things the same way also, considering them mistaken …
Mind and Intellect
A reader asked me to speak more on the distinction between our mind and our intellect. Basically, mind is a field that processes sensory input, gives meaning and words to experiences via memory, and contains …
Types of Vasanas
I had a recent insight into Vasanas I wanted to share. Let’s define some terms as we go. The “pain body” is our unresolved emotions. The vasana are more subtle than this. After we’ve resolved …
Food and Ethics
Yoga and Buddha tell us to do no harm. Gandhi and Martin Luther King spoke of non-violence. But how do we apply this in our daily lives? It can be tricky territory in practice. For …
Choice
One of the curious aspects of being human is the sense of free will. This sense varies over a large range, depending on our life experiences and stage of development. But there is always some …
The Nature of Our Times
I originally began this article as a longer piece for a university journal but ran out of time. In the last few years, we’ve seen a major shift in world news. Perception has become truth …
The Reality of Mind
This article is a follow-up to What is Mind, exploring the consequences. We know from physics that the world around us does not look the way we perceive it. Our senses pick up a narrow …
What Awakens?
Fundamentally, consciousness is simply aware. Then it becomes self-aware and interacts with itself, causing the appearance of forms and phenomena to arise. This self-interacting dynamic is true both cosmically and locally. We can say consciousness …
A Second Conversation with Andrew Hewson
In September, Dorothy Rowe, Andrew Hewson and I spoke about Perspectives of Awakening. Andrew and I followed that up with a conversation on the stages of enlightenment. We both enjoyed the conversation so had another …