Spiritual

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

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International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

25 November every year is International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations in the world. Globally, almost one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life.

For at least 51,100 women in 2023, the cycle of gender-based violence ended with one final and brutal act—their murder by partners and family members. That means a woman was killed every 10 minutes.

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Divorce is hard to go through

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Divorce is hard to go throughWe are of a spiritual inclination, and spiritual discipline serves well. We acknowledge that Sri Sathya Sai told John Hislop that marriage would decline and separation would rise in the times to come. He also acknowledged that cross-cultural marriage is very hard and advised against it for his devotees. Everything in life is a choice, so for those who have chosen or feel that their path of dharma is to leave an unsatisfactory or abusive relationship, we share the following guide on navigating divorce.

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The Mystics would like a Word

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Book Cover - The Mystics would like a WordFleeting it wasn’t. What started as her own seeking turned into her latest book, The Mystics Would Like a Word. The book unpacks teachings from six mystics: Teresa of Ávila, Margery Kempe, Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena and Thérèse of Lisieux. “I thought, ‘More people should know about this. I’m going to make it into a book!’” she said.

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Management of Thought, Time and Breath

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Management of Thought, Time and BreathHumans seeking progress towards the goal of life, need to engage in self-monitoring (or self audit) in order to engage in progressive steps to reach the goal. Some say “God graces me” and infer that this is all that is needed. Not true, spiritual progress requires spiritual effort: time, talents and resources have to be directed towards the goal.

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Positive Peace: Religions and Peace

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Positive Peace: Religions and PeaceMeet Positive Peace, the post-COVID recovery framework. Created by the non-partisan and internationally renowned think-tank the Institute for Economics & Peace, this free short course introduces the transformational framework — Positive Peace. Rethink peace with the Institute’s data driven approach and discover how Positive Peace is associated with better performance on ecological sustainability, improved wellbeing, stronger GDP growth rates and better business outcomes.

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Gayatri Jayanti 2024

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Gayatri Maa

Gayatri Jayanti celebrates the manifestation of Goddess Gayatri, who is worshipped as Veda Mata (The Mother of Vedas). In 2024, the date of Gayatri Jayanti is Monday, August 19, 2024.

Gayatri is a universal prayer that is addressed to the immanent and transcendent divine. The Gayatri Mantra is sacred and is considered the mother of the Vedas. It is non-denominational and can be chanted by anyone to illumine the intellect. It can be chanted upon waking, before the midday meal and in the evening – alone or in the company of the good and Godly.

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Kamala, a common name in India, is associated with several deities and is a symbol of wisdom

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Relief of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi from a temple in India.
Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images


Ever since Vice President Kamala Harris became a presence on the national scene, her name – a common one for women in India – has attracted a lot of attention, most specifically for its pronunciation. Kamala as a word in Hinduism has significant associations with divinity, response to divinity and worship. One form of surrender to divinity is charana kamala.

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Spiritual but Not Religious

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Spiritual but Not ReligiousWhat does it mean to be spiritual but not religious? Is it to abandon all religious authority? Is it making your own cornucopia of religious beliefs? Do you have a community if you are spiritual but not religious? What about having a spiritual discipline, discernment, and moral values? What does it all mean? What is the path to peace, how do we establish a valid spiritual path for ourselves?

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The Creators: Where All Your True Power Is

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CloudThis day is held among lightworkers as the “Lion’s Gate”. And yes, there are Leonines among the star peoples, who have had a critical contribution to life on this planet. You can read all about that on some of our other websites. It is the day of the Lion’s Gate – 8/8/8 (2024 = 8 ) it is also a day to recall the truth about human life: we are all embodiments of love, we are all reflections of the Love of the Source itself. It is hardwired in our head, hearts and hands. It is the nature of our souls. So we share a message from higher beings, who tell us about Love, our purpose as love, our journey of love and how to stay on track: LOVE …

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Experiencing the Divine in your life.

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cloudsContemporary life presents us with many challenges: social media, fake news, bad news, the cost of living, money comes and money goes. Where and how do we take time to experience the Divine? We talk about spiritual direction, what might be spiritual accompaniment, and validation of spiritual experience along the way we call life.

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The Camino, a Catholic pilgrimage, increasingly draws the spiritual but not religious

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Way of St. James sign in Avila, SpainIn 2023, nearly half a million people walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain. About 40 percent of those walked for purely religious reasons, according to statistics released by the pilgrims’ office. While it’s traditionally a Catholic pilgrimage, ending at the shrine of the apostle James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, secular pilgrims today embark on the Camino for all kinds of motivations beyond religion: health, grief, transition, cultural exploration, history and adventure.

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Buddha Day – Chokhor Duchen Celebrating the First Teaching: How to celebrate Buddha’s First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma — this year on July 9 or 10, 2024

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Wall mural painting of The Buddha
Wall mural painting of The Buddha in Dharmchakra Teaching Mudra, representing the Turning of The Wheel of Dharma mudra or pose, Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet. In Buddhism, the Dharma Chakra symbolizes “teaching.” The Jokhang is a Buddhist temple in Barkhor Square in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Of the four Holy Days dedicated to Shakyamuni Buddha each year, Chokhor Duchen, the “First Teaching” celebration — the first turning of the Wheel of Dharma — is the most important. This year in Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, it is celebrated on July 9 or 10, 2024, depending on your lunar calendar. FPMT calculates it as July 10, while some other centres have it as July 9 — due to lunar skip days. There are also time-zone differences. The important thing is to celebrate the first teaching!

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The many purposes of the Bhagavad Gita

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The Bhagavad GitaThe Bhagavad Gita never advised that you should renounce everything, go to the forest and do penance. You may think, “Why preach Gita to these youngster?” You are afraid that if these people read Gita, they may give up family life and become renunciates. A small question. There are many elderly people who read and teach Bhagavad Gita regularly. Do they take to renunciation? No. You must get to the inner meaning of the Bhagavad Gita in order to understand human nature.

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The Lesson Taught By Buddha

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Gautama Buddha

There are many forms of media in this day and age which present abuse to us. Vitriol, invective, revilement, these things are witnessed on radio, television, social media and even the smartphone. Face to face abuse is not uncommon when people have hatred and jealousy. Here is an episode from the life of the Buddha, as told by Sai Baba, about jealousy, hatred and abuse.

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Spiritual Direction

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Spiritual DirectionSome people are blessed to know – or instinctively / intuitively feel that the spiritual energy meridian in their body is the primary meridian. AND, if such people don’t pay attention in one way or another to “spiritual dimension” in their lives, the rest of their day is out of whack. Kinesiologists bump into this kind of thing – from time to time. So, how do you help people who have to pay attention to the spiritual dimension in their lives – in order to live with peace and satisfaction? We suggest that spiritual direction may be of assistance.

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