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Articles from John Gilmore | Selfgrowth.com
- Practical Spirituality and Methods of Meditation 1 - by Submitted on Aug 29, 2012 from John GilmoreThere is a simple form of meditation, vipassana, which means to see things as they really are. It is a very ancient form of Indian meditation that involves sitting in a comfortable position with the legs crossed, or in a chair, if necessary, with one's back straight and spine erect. The most ...
Views: 1570 - Techniques for Stress Reduction Meditation And Enlightenment - by Submitted on Aug 28, 2012 from John GilmoreFor thousands of years meditation has been known to benefit human beings in many ways. Meditation and deep breathing can still the mind, relax the body, help one focus the mind when making important decisions, and open one for an encounter with the Divine, whatever one might consider the ...
Views: 1464 - Balance The Light and Dark Through Practical Spirituality - by Submitted on May 29, 2012 from John GilmoreIt is summer again. A struggle is taking place between those who want so support the downtrodden and help uplift the whole society, and those who want to grab everything for themselves and people who are like them while destroying all others. I think that this has been the primary battle on ...
Views: 1667 - The Object of Nada Yoga is Transforming the Ego - by Submitted on May 05, 2012 from John GilmoreA new trend today are Wisdom Schools. These are schools consist of curricula based on learning to apply the Wisdom Traditions and basic understanding of civilizations that were more holistic in their thinking. Science, religion, and the art were intertwined in these schools so one received ...
Views: 1408(1 vote) - Finding Inner Peace Through Practical Spirituality - by Submitted on May 04, 2012 from John GilmoreI started my spiritual journey at 17. I really didn't call it that, I was just looking for comfort in a world I couldn't understand. I couldn't afford to go to a Yoga studio. In fact, there was no such thing where I lived, or in much of the country. Still, my hunger for knowledge, which ...
Views: 1050 - How To Get In Shape - by Submitted on May 02, 2012 from John GilmoreThere are many branches of Yoga. We, in the West, have become familiar with Hatha Yoga. Aside from Hatha Yoga there are several types of Yoga because yoga means to link one with the Divine outside of oneself and inside oneself. I have been studying several types of Yoga. Before Qigong took ...
Views: 1202 - The Yoga of Pure Being - by Submitted on Apr 05, 2012 from John GilmoreRobert Thurman once said that the possibility of becoming a buddha was not in the realm of imagination for most westerners. The idea that one could be connected to everything, have unlimited awareness, and live in perfect joy in this society is so incomprehensible that people cannot move, ...
Views: 1309 - Giving Myself a Makeover During These Transitional Moments - by Submitted on Dec 21, 2011 from John GilmoreDuring these transitional moments it is important for each person to prepare him or her self to live in a shifting world. Many people will not be able to adjust. To adjust does not only mean changing one's actions or behavior; that is easy, but it doesn't really last. You may notice that my ...
Views: 1261(1 vote) - Living A Practical Spiritual Life - by Submitted on Nov 13, 2011 from John GilmoreSeptember is coming. My life will be changing greatly in September as I seek employment and have less time to do the things which I love like writing, studying, meditating, and passing on words of inspiration. Yet again, I feel that things are happening as they should. Today we are engaged ...
Views: 1338(2 votes) - Practical Spirituality – On Reclaiming Religion Through Spiritual Direction - by Submitted on Apr 25, 2011 from John GilmoreEvery fear that we have embedded in our psychological shadows has been used for the last ten years to dis-empower us. All of the large institutions who get air time on the TV, Radio, and in the Newspapers, seem to push the same messages: you can be good if you get all of these material things; ...
Views: 1255 - Practical Spirituality On Reclaiming Real Science April 6, 2011 - by Submitted on Apr 08, 2011 from John GilmoreThere seems to be a gap between what leaders want and what the people want that is supported by false religion and pseudoscience (another form of religion that uses scientific jargon). This gap has existed for a long time, but has been growing since the Age of Enlightenment. During that time, ...
Views: 1267(1 vote) - Nature As Our Teacher: A Return To Common Knowledge - by Submitted on Mar 06, 2011 from John GilmoreFrom the Sat Yoga perspective there are several types of information and knowledge. We speak of seven, here we will only explore three types of knowledge and information. The oldest and most natural type was passed on through what is known as “common knowledge.” Common knowledge was the basis ...
Views: 1700 - Nature is Our Teacher Linked Liberation - by Submitted on Feb 06, 2011 from John GilmoreA low self image is hard to get rid of in a culture where we that nature is something to be afraid of and that being satisfied with stop us from becoming anything great in life. We are told that nature is accursed and something that we must strive to defeat most of our lives. As a result of ...
Views: 1430 - Practical Spirituality and the Hafiz Retreat - by Submitted on Jan 11, 2011 from John GilmoreI went to a small motel, rented a room there, and did the personal retreat described by the mystic Hafiz. Hafiz said that you could learn more about yourself and the world than anyone could ever teach you by just sitting in a chair alone in your room for three days and nights. He said ...
Views: 1232 - Spiritual Direction New and Old Therapy That Works - by Submitted on Dec 06, 2010 from John GilmoreSpiritual Direction is a type of therapy that has been around since the beginning of time. In our age of science it is not too popular or well known among non-clergy members, but is well known by most clergy. The difference between spiritual direction and psychotherapy is that spiritual ...
Views: 1186 - Practical Spirituality and the Attainment of Wealth - by Submitted on Nov 28, 2010 from John GilmoreEveryone has to start somewhere and not everything will go the way they plan. The most necessary element for success is that a person not discouraged by the initial failures. Most people who have claimed to have “made it” in life will also be the first to admit that they had many failures along ...
Views: 1313(5 votes) - Practical Spirituality and the Season of Lights - by Submitted on Nov 23, 2010 from John GilmoreIt is almost winter again. December is the last month of the year when most of the Season of Lights Festivals are celebrated. These festivals celebrate the fact that the light only begins to return to its full strength again when the seasons are darkest, the night is the longest, and the ...
Views: 1335 - A Beautiful Life Starts With You - by Submitted on Nov 23, 2010 from John GilmoreThe secret of a beautiful life is knowing who you really are. Most our lives we work at gathering thoughts about ourselves, ideas about the world, and as much knowledge as possible. We add them together, stir them up and create what we call the self--the acting me in the world. We then work ...
Views: 1820(2 votes) - Practical Spirituality On: Reclaiming the Warrior - by Submitted on Nov 22, 2010 from John GilmoreWhen we discuss the concept of the warrior many people will often think of fighting and violence. Our minds are drawn to the soldier who fights to maintain freedom for his or her country and to advance the cause of the nation without question, or to Rambo who goes and shoots up hundreds of ...
Views: 1543(1 vote) - Practical Spirituality Versus Woo Woo: Becoming a Self Made Human Being - by Submitted on Nov 22, 2010 from John GilmoreThe new possibilities in our lives today, especially in the West, are amazing. It is possible for us to recreate ourselves and our environments by using the many of the accessible books and videos, and the information on the internet. We can explore information that has been kept secret for ...
Views: 1886 - Freedom is Just Another Word Unless It Is Real - by Submitted on Sep 29, 2010 from John GilmoreI sit here during a full moon listening to the sounds of the crickets and thinking how lucky I am to not be in a war torn war with poverty and starvation right outside the door. Things are not perfect, but they could be worse. That is a case, I think, that everyone can make no matter what ...
Views: 1386(1 vote) - Practical Spirituality: Forty Days to Getting Rid of Negative Thoughts - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2010 from John GilmoreI was cruising through YouTube last night when I cam upon a song by Chic called Good Times. During the Disco Era when I used to dance to that song under flashing , surrounded by hundreds of people like a great tribe I heard the words but never really paid attention. As I listened to the song ...
Views: 1562(2 votes) - Money is the Root of Transformation - by Submitted on Sep 03, 2010 from John GilmoreWhen I was younger I thought that making money was all that counted. I was making my way through college and graduate school with plans to begin to save, invest, become a millionaire by 30 and then live the life. This never happened. On the way I had a motorcycle accident that almost killed ...
Views: 1648(2 votes) - How Can I Get Rid of My Fears and Doubts - by Submitted on Aug 12, 2010 from John GilmoreIt's easy to have doubts about almost everything nowadays. When we look at the morale of the world in which we live, the economy, the finances, and the functionality of governments we see a picture—a very clear picture, of a bombed out city. How can you stay positive in such a world? There ...
Views: 2203 - Celebrate Good Times: They are All You Really Have - by Submitted on Aug 11, 2010 from John GilmoreI had a friend who held up an object and asked me to concentrate on the object and try to move it. I looked at it, furrowed my brows, and took a beep breath focusing all of my energy on it. He asked, "Why do you have to do that to concentrate? Why not just stay relaxed. Everybody seems to ...
Views: 1814(1 vote) - The Secret of Flying - by Submitted on Jul 19, 2010 from John GilmoreSometimes the weather gets rough up there. What do I mean by “up there(?),” you may ask. I mean up there--high in the sky when you dare to spread your wings and learn the secret of flying. Sometimes I feel that life is only to teach us how to, “transcend the human condition of the common ...
Views: 1516(2 votes) - Changing for the Better: Correcting at Last - by Submitted on Jul 11, 2010 from John GilmoreThere are several ways to deal with the “normal” hurt and pain that we experience living our lives in the world. This pain, of course, varies from one living situation to the next. In some countries life is just about unbearable. There isn’t enough food or water. There are corrupt government ...
Views: 1400(1 vote) - The Embodiment of Prayer - by Submitted on Jul 09, 2010 from John GilmoreSometimes I wake up in the morning and think of the coming day and coming days in general, and I think that I must have been born on the wrong planet. But then I slowly realize that I am just where I am supposed to be. When I realize that all of my fears, worries, and regrets seem to just ...
Views: 2070(3 votes) - Changing the World Means Changing Oneself - by Submitted on Jun 08, 2010 from John GilmoreThe end of official summer has begun. Days are longer and it’s warmer, often, even though there is a cold day now and then to keep us on our toes. All and all, however, the days are warmer and brighter, and the skies are bluer. We look forward toward the summer-time and summer vacation. For ...
Views: 2413(1 vote) - Breaking Free - by Submitted on Apr 28, 2009 from John GilmoreThe world looks like it is falling apart, but you can have peace within yourself regardless. For centuries and at various times in the past the world has been falling apart. The only fear and suffering about the dissolving of the world, however, is experienced in the ego. If we think that we ...
Views: 1495 - Karmic Yoga-Living in the Now - by Submitted on May 28, 2008 from John GilmoreThese are interesting times. The world is changing rapidly nowadays, or at least we are learning about the changes much faster than previous generations. The main difference between those generations and ours is our familiarity with new technology. We read faster; we learn earlier; we ...
Views: 1195(1 vote) - Karmic Yoga—Living In The Now - by Submitted on May 10, 2008 from John GilmoreThese are interesting times. The world is changing rapidly nowadays, or at least we are learning about the changes much faster than previous generations. The main difference between those generations and ours is our familiarity with new technology. We read faster; we learn earlier; we ...
Views: 1595(1 vote) - Reviving Mysticism - by Submitted on Feb 29, 2008 from John GilmoreAnother beautiful day on this great blue Earth, and more importantly, in the heart of the Beloved, as the mystic Rumi and Hafiz would probably say. When we really think about it...when we think about life and reality, it is easy for us to realize that we are actually living, moving and ...
Views: 1053 - Looking Inward And Upward - by Submitted on Dec 31, 2007 from John GilmoreThere´s nothing like a beautiful summer day. We are in the midst of summer, here in Costa Rica. It is much warmer in this part of the Central Valley. Some would even accurately say that it is hot—very hot and dry. Even so, I think that it is much better here right now, when it comes to ...
Views: 1398(1 vote) - Practical Spirituality—Finding A New Source Of Power - by Submitted on Dec 22, 2007 from John GilmoreToday there is a powerful spirituality movement. When I say spirituality I am not speaking of religion; I am speaking of something different--a connection with the Divine. This connection is what many mystics call “union with God.” Sometimes this happens through a religious path, but not ...
Views: 1020 - Getting The New Paradigm - by Submitted on Nov 22, 2007 from John GilmoreThe rainy season is almost over and I am happy that it is. Every-so-often, however, a rain-storm will come to remind us that it´s not quite finished. During the morning it is very warm now, but it is very cool at night—more cool than I have experienced here. Many people who have ...
Views: 1039 - Nature As Our Teacher-Who Is God? - by Submitted on Nov 17, 2007 from John GilmoreThere was a Unitarian Christian minister and professor who once said that everyone believes in some type of God, whether they think of God as a big person in the sky, a power, or whatever. He said that when you found what they fought for, argued about, and died for, you had their God. In his ...
Views: 1116 - Karmic Yoga Where You Are - by Submitted on Nov 05, 2007 from John GilmoreSome people go around the world in order to do something known as Karmic Yoga. Karmic Yoga, like all Yoga, is a way to connect with one´s inner divine self and with God. Through Karmic Yoga one is actually working in the world in a sacred manner to be the embodiment of love, like the One that ...
Views: 2673 - The Truth Shall Set You Free - by Submitted on Nov 01, 2007 from John GilmoreIn almost every city in the world there is a building dedicated to a religion or philosophy that promises to free the human soul from the gates of hell. Hell can be considered anything from miserable way of living, to purgatory where the soul is tried, or to a place where souls go to burn ...
Views: 1039 - Karmic Yoga—Correction Agents - by Submitted on Jun 30, 2007 from John GilmoreThroughout the ages there have been men and women who have labored to better the world. Some of them worked through communities and institutions while some of them worked at what some people call “the grass roots level,” to raise a group of people wanted to help provide for the needs of the ...
Views: 1228 - Practical Spirituality--The Spirituality of Reclaiming - by Submitted on Jun 21, 2007 from John GilmoreI have started to write poetry in the style of Rumi and Hafiz. These poems are poems that speak of the mystical connection with the all pervading power in the heavens and earth that some call God, some Goddess, some love, some Whatever. The name doesn’t really matter, when we think about it. ...
Views: 1071 - Practical Spirituality—the Ego - by Submitted on Jun 21, 2007 from John GilmoreThere is a popular movement today with the coming of a so called “New Age,” to partake of spirituality, instead of just religion. Many of the ideas from Eastern religions stress enlightenment, and dissolution of the power of the ego. In these religions the concept of the isolated self is ...
Views: 2827 - Spiritual Martial Arts - by Submitted on Jun 11, 2007 from John GilmoreI had a friend who loved to play basketball. Unfortunately, he started playing later in life so didn’t have that many skills. He encountered someone who had been playing ball for more than 20 years on various basketball teams from High School to college, and even at the semi-pro level before ...
Views: 4157 - Practical Spirituality--Surviving Prostrate Cancer - by Submitted on Jan 02, 2007 from John GilmorePractical Spirituality--Surviving Prostrate Cancer There’s nothing like discovering that you have cancer, especially if no one in your family ever had it. Cancer is a very dangerous disease, as anyone knows. It is only dangerous on the physical lever, but probably even more devastating on the ...
Views: 1307 - Life, Work and Spirituality—Changing your Job Situation - by Submitted on Dec 08, 2006 from John GilmoreThe beginning of knowledge is asking why, The beginning of wisdom in understanding how—Kendall Ronin Much of our life consists of working. Most of us spend at least forty hours a week working for someone else. Many of us spend more time than that either working for ourselves or perhaps ...
Views: 1205 - Practical Spirituality—The Four Forces - by Submitted on Oct 05, 2006 from John GilmoreThe founder of Dovestar Institute of Massage and Body Work, Kamala, developed a theory that explains the workings of the universe know as the Four Forces. These four forces explain the way people interact with each other, God, and the universe. I will be discussing the Four Forces in this ...
Views: 1579 - Practical Spirituality – Understanding the Four Paths - by Submitted on Aug 15, 2006 from John GilmoreIn creation centered spirituality, Matthew Fox (founder of Wisdom University in Oakland, CA) outlines four paths of spirituality. These four paths are: The positive path; the negative path, the creative path and the transformative path. These are different names then the ones used by Fox, ...
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