Ravi Shankar (honored with the title of “Sri Sri”) was founded in 1956 by a prominent family of South India. Followers say that just four years was able to recite the entire Bhagavad Gita. Seventeen Not yet finished his studies, including a specialization in modern science. Its existence is entirely dedicated to what he calls “re-evaluation of human values.” In 1982 he founded the United States, the ‘ Art of Living Foundation , an educational organization, while in 1986 he was appointed “Yoga Shiromani (Supreme Teacher union with the Self). The fact that he founded collaborates with various NGOs and UN teams, with the aim of raising awareness of human values. Thus was born the ‘ International Association for Human Values , headquartered in Geneva, which embodies the common goal of all initiatives and inspired by Ravi Shankar. Since November 1996, the Art of Living Foundation is an NGO in consultative status with respect to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. Since 1999 it has actively engaged in a worldwide campaign on human values along with other organizations around the world have similar aims. Continue Reading »

This breathing technique helps remove accumulated toxins and regenerate every cell in the body with prana, sanskrit word. This increases lung capacity, oxygenation of cells and the elimination of toxins, and at the same time, balances emotions and calms the mind.

Combined with a balanced diet, good sleep and control of emotions, breathing is one of the vital functions that help the body to be healthy.

Therefore, we must learn to breathe properly to absorb oxygen better and nutrients that our cells require, while the toxins are discarded.

According to an expert on breathing technique Sudarshan Kriya, the Foundation’s “The Art of Living,” Luis Diego Cob, said that breathing is the perfect tool to manage the mind and emotions, and thus the tool to improve our wellness. Unfortunately, in Western cultures has not devoted sufficient attention to the breath, he said. Continue Reading »

There are seven main energy centers of the body (chakras) are. These chakras are like energy increases, related to each others. Using seven colors of the spectrum, Colour Therapy balance and enhance our body’s energy centers / chakras and also to help stimulate our body’s own healing process is. Color Therapy again uses color to balance the cycle reduce the energy. Continue Reading »

Like all other meditations this meditation as well should be started with prayer and the feeling of unification with all beings. A ritual may intensify your prayer and your inner state of peace and love.

As soon as haste and problems of life have vanished, start your meditation on light:

Imagine above you the spiritual world, in the same way as heaven is thought to be above our heads (this is a psychic, archetypic inner orientation). From this spiritual world a stream of light flows through the top of your head and flows down the spine. Continue Reading »

Outside of Asia, many people develop an interest of more and more important in Buddhism. In the Western world, many read about Buddhism and there are now many good books on Buddhism.

Buddhism taught in the books is just a taste and it is important now to move from theory to practice.

1) What is the practice of Buddhism?

We always hear Buddhists say they “engaged Buddhism.”

First, the “practice” refers most often to a specific activity such as meditation or chant that is done every day. For example, a person practicing Jodo Shu (Pure Land) Japanese Nembutsu recites every day. Zen and Theravada Buddhist practice bhavana (meditation) every day. Continue Reading »

Karma is one of the most important concepts in Buddhism. Karma is an imprint in one’s Mind. When one performs a good deed out of good intentions, the good intentions come from the Mind. Having done that good deed, the residues of these intentions stay in one’s Mind as “imprints”, and that is “good karma”. The opposite goes for evil deeds (or what the Buddha would call “unwholesome deeds”) done out of greed, hatred etc.

A person’s karma affects a person in 2 ways. The first is his disposition. If a person is an angry one, performing many deeds with anger, his mind will be imprinted with experiences and intentions of anger. Because of this imprint, in a similar situation, he would be more likely to feel angry. In a sense, the imprint creates and reinforces a sort of mental habit that causes a person’s mind to react in a certain pre-disposed way. Continue Reading »

In shamanism, everything has a spirit: every person, animal, tree, flower, rock, stream and ocean – even the earth. The shaman can communicate with all spirits, good or bad and must determine with which minds work. Traditional shamans must learn to “control” the minds: they must be tamed and domesticated so that they work for the shaman, this is not an approach to be taken lightly and it requires many years of apprenticeship with one or more traditional shamans.

My approach is to work with the spirits of equals and with total respect. The concept that everything has a spirit is known as animism and is considered by many to be the ancestor of all religions. For many people, the word mind has a religious connotation and can even be repulsive. When we speak of shamanic cultures, the meaning of ‘spirit’ is clearly what we think, be a form of super-natural. It’s more of a spiritual belief that a religious belief and it is a way of life for the shamanistic cultures. For me, the distinction is clear between spiritual and religious – I consider myself very spiritual and somewhat non-religious. The fact is that for many people, when we make a spiritual care, we work with energies, energies that science has not yet understood. We do not have to be religious: the spiritual care work for atheists like the fervent believers! Continue Reading »

In simple terms, shamanism is a technique that requires altered state of consciousness to travel to “other worlds” to communicate with spirits or guides. It is the shamanic journey. During this journey, the shaman can experience events relating to his life and his past lives, and can also often see elements of future possibilities. The shaman can see this causing a problem for his patient, whether physical or psychological / emotional. The shaman “trip” on behalf of the patient to help him with his problems.

Some shamanic cultures use drugs and / or alcohol to go into a trance, but this can not be advised: this is very dangerous and it is also impossible to control the trance while you are under the influence of substances that control the mind. Many Westerners are intrigued to want to experiment Enough With The Amazonian plant Ayahuasca Which Is, Indeed, Used by Many shamanistic culture as to enter trance. Although thesis cultures are doing to defend What They Cdn Their millennia-long use of Ayahuasca, it has been “Outlawed By The United Nations Because Of The Hazards Associated with its use. Continue Reading »

If you talk on shamanism to most Westerners, they will surely think about the techniques of traditional care, travel or shamanic medicine men of Indian peoples of North America (which were not, interestingly, necessarily shamans). But shamanism and shamans are not words used by American Indians although shamanism is practiced for at least two thousand years, and probably as far back as the Paleolithic era (perhaps there 50,000 years). The word shaman is not used in most shamanic cultures which remain today in the world: other names for shaman among the Zulu sangoma include, babalawo among the Yoruba, and kahuna in Hawaii. Shamans of People Mapuche in Chile almost always women and are known as the Machi.  Continue Reading »

They also apply the ideas and the Buddhist teachings that they acquire in their work and their social relations. You are probably one of those who are very interested in Buddhism and you may one day decide to follow a formal disciple of Buddha and living the path of understanding, faith and love.

Know the Basics

If you want to make Buddhism your religion and become a Buddhist, first there are things to know. First, you must be familiar with the principles of Buddhism such as karma , rebirth , the four noble truths, the eight paths, and the five precepts, the Nembutsu, the Pure Land and Nirvana. Continue Reading »