Tag: mental health
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The Transformation Of An Empath: From Spiritual Sponge To A Conscious Mirror
Over a period of past few decades, I have been repeatedly told that I am an “empath,” and that most of the problems arising in my life are due to my inability to enforce boundaries necessary for such a personality trait. This weblog provides a transformative journey from being a sponge who indiscreetly absorbed everyone’s…
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Psychopathy & Karma
Psychopaths populate the earth with impunity. We are all surrounded by them. Much like silicon, they permeate the long solitary coastlines of our existence. Some of us were parented by psychopaths, some partner with them, some work for them, and some have them for children and friends–each relationship sucking the wind out of a normal…
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From Neurons to Numinosity: The Biology of Awakening
Journey to Wholeness For centuries, the image of the serene meditator—the monk in deep contemplation, the sage in unwavering peace—has been a symbol of a life beyond the mundane. We have looked upon such figures with a mixture of awe and mystery, often attributing their radiant equanimity to a divine gift or a superhuman feat…
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What Is Vipassana?
What is Vipassana, and how does it compare with the Yogas? This piece situates Vipassana within Buddhism as an insight discipline—training observation and equanimity—then contrasts it with Raja (concentration), Bhakti (devotion), Karma (action), and Jnana (inquiry). It outlines method, aims, and practical benefits, notes where Hatha/Tantra support practice, and offers beginner pointers without giving away…
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Thoreau, Bhagvad Gītā, and Jung : On Solitude
Overview In July 1845, Henry David Thoreau walked into the woods with a borrowed axe and a stubborn idea that if he simplified his life to the bone, he might hear what a human life is actually saying. On the edge of Walden Pond, a mile or so from Concord, he built a one-room cabin,…
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Come, Grow Old Along With Me
A few years ago I met a man who said he was sixty-five. His jawline said thirty-five, the eyes said eighty. He had lost his wife two years ago. He’d smoothed grief with surgeons’ hands, learned to fly small planes, leapt off bridges with a bungee cord, and proposed—serially—to women half his age. Over coffee…
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Transformations Thru Creativity
I love gardening. I simply love it. And I love growing roses in my garden. I currently have over 200 of them. When they bloom together in early spring, I feel I am in heaven. Thousands and thousands of happy rosebuds open themselves up to the elements in a display that is beyond words. My…
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Happy Independence Day India
“At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. Vande Mataram!” Independence – The word…
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On Aging, Death and Dying
I haven’t been writing much lately. It seems that the words have died, that there is a dearth of meaningful emotions, of consciousness. In exchange, and as a compensation for that lack, I have experienced a slew of defensive strategies unfolding in my psyche, pushed into the external world. The psyche, it seemed, went round doing the…
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The Basic Problem in Anorexia
I felt a bit overwhelmed writing my last blog about Sita, and needed to recharge in a way that would allow the process to unfold at a slower pace, in a more holistic way. The archetype of Sita is such a strong one, and it resonates with almost every women in some shape or form, and…
Madhu Sameer 