Category — Life

‘Amma’ as she is known all over the world, has inspired and started various humanitarian services. Earning international acclaim and recognition for her outstanding contributions to the world community, she is revered as an extraordinary spiritual leader by the UN and by people throughout the world.
Amma Ji will be in NYC July 8th through July 10th, 2008. [Read more →]

The Freecycle Network a nonprofit grassroots movement made up of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. [Read more →]

Challenging American Consumerism Just In Time For The Holidays

Last year Americans spent $456.2 billion during the holiday season, and this year sales are predicted to rise 4 percent to $474.5 billion**.

Have you ever wondered what happens to stuff from holidays past?

A new online film details costs and consequences of consumer culture
as the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear. [Read more →]

Robin and Michael Mastro are the leaders in the field of Vastu Shastra. Through their vast experience, they have created a unique system that offers life-enhancing yet simple principles. This exciting technique is presented in their groundbreaking award-winning books, Altars of Power and Grace and The Way of Vastu. By following these dynamic tools anyone can transform their life and make their dreams a reality.

Robin Mastro instructs people worldwide to enhance living and working environments through Vastu Shastra . Her work in this inspiring field took her to Egypt and India, where she studied ancient concepts of sacred space and Vastu Shastra. In 1998 she received her masters in Whole Systems Design from Antioch University, combining systems theory and creative design to develop transformative tools for environmental harmony and personal growth. Robin is dedicated to adapting the wisdom of ancient systems to enhance the reality of modern life. She is the creator of AltarWear, a jewelry and clothing line based on Vedic teachings. We recently had the distinct honor and privilege to speak with Robin about the life enhancing work she and her husband have been doing in the area of Vastu.

Q: Over the past several years Vastu Shastra has become a very popular phrase, yet only a few have a true understanding of the meaning and philosophy behind it. Can you explain what the basic principles of Vastu Shastra are?

Robin: By aligning our homes and workspaces with universal energy that is alive and ever-present we experience nature’s support. The basic principles of Vastu Shastra, the science of building, are [Read more →]

Floating Lantern Ceremony

The ancient custom of floating lighted lanterns in waterways symbolizes respect for the lives of people who have gone before us, the lit lanterns are meant to guide our lost loved ones along their spiritual journeys. It also represents a light of hope for peace and harmony that we send over the waters of transmigration. This very colorful, but quiet and serene ceremony provides a place to reaffirm our commitment to building a peaceful future and to pay respect to the lost lives at the World Trade Center.

[Read more →]

If there is a perfect food, I’d have to guess it would be the golden banana. Providing an instant energy boost, bananas contain fiber, plus three natural sugars, sucrose, fructose and glucose.

The true origin of Bananas, world’s most popular fruit, is found in the region of Malaysia. Bananas traveled from there to India where they are mentioned in the Buddhist Pali writings dating back to the 6th century BCE. In his campaign in India in 327 BCE, Alexander the Great relished his first taste of the banana, an unusual fruit he saw growing on tall trees. He is even credited with bringing the banana from India to the Western world. According to Chinese historian Yang Fu, China was tending plantations of bananas in 200 CE. These bananas grew only in the southern region of China and were considered exotic, rare fruits that never became popular with the Chinese masses until the 20th century.

Eventually, [Read more →]

Swimming is such a splendid form of exercise and so perfectly adapted to summer that the increase in swimming pools in all communities is to be welcomed.

But Chlorine used to disinfect swimming pools is a health hazard and may trigger asthma in children. Among adults it has been linked with other health problems including bladder and rectal cancer and may increase the risk for coronary heart disease. [Read more →]

His Holiness, The Dalai Lama

I wanted to share with you a great passage from a recent interview his Holiness, the Dalai Lama conducted with Deutsche Welle, (the German international broadcaster).

In the interview, the Dalai Lama stated that his main purpose is not the issue of Tibet, “…but rather the promotion of human values in order to have happier individuals, families and communities — and, in that way, a happier humanity. I consider that to be my contribution. I think every human being has a responsibility to better the world. That’s my conviction, and I always try to promote that. My second goal is the promotion of religious harmony. When I teach in India, more and more Chinese come. Sometimes, the Chinese government puts up restrictions to prevent Chinese from coming to India. But despite that, some Chinese always come. Many of them say that, after seeing the Tibetan community, they found big differences to what they had heard in China. Eventually there’s some positive impact.” [Read more →]

Having evolved among the Brahmin sages of ancient India some 3000-5000 years ago, Ayurveda is a holistic system of healing that is a complete medical system. It recognizes that ultimately all intelligence and wisdom flow from one Absolute source (Paramatman). Health manifests by the grace of the Absolute acting through the laws of Nature (Prakriti). Ayurveda assists Nature by promoting harmony between the individual and Nature by living a life of balance according to her laws. [Read more →]

“Rather than look for miracles, see the miraculous in everything.”

Prior to the birth of Jesus, in ancient China, Lao-tzu dictated 81 verses, which are regarded by many as the ultimate commentary on the nature of our existence. The classic text of these 81 verses, called the Tao Te Ching or the Great Way, offers advice and guidance that is balanced, moral, spiritual, and always concerned with working for the good. In Dr. Wayne Dyer’s latest book, Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao , Dr. Dyer reviews hundreds of translations of the Tao Te Ching and has written 81 distinct essays on how to apply the ancient wisdom of Lao-tzu to today’s modern world. This work contains the entire 81 verses of the Tao, compiled from Wayne’s researching of 12 of the most well-respected translations of text that have survived for more than 25 centuries. Each chapter is designed for actually living the Tao or the Great Way today. Some of the chapter titles are “Living with Flexibility,” “Living Without Enemies,” and “Living by Letting Go.” Each of the 81 brief chapters focuses on living the Tao and concludes with a section called “Doing the Tao Now.”

One of the key teachings I keep returning to is, ” There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.” It’s all a matter of changing our state [Read more →]