The Experience:

It was in a moment of stillness that I awakened from my sleep to find myself in a state of nothingness. Sitting in a place void of space and time. No sense of joy or sadness. No sense of need, desire, fear, happiness, or abundance. No sound and no color. I was in need of no air nor of food. It was a sense of everything and nothing at the same time. It was as if in a vacuum, void of everything but pure consciousness. A state of just BEING.

This experience brought a state of temporary peace to the wandering and cluttered mind that fills its waking hours. Its stark contrast defies logic of a reality filled with cravings of the physical and the att...

Are our dreams merely subconscious thoughts suppressed by our consciousness, exploring activities of the last 24 hours brought on by heavy or spicy meals as some dream experts say? If we view dreams as a one-dimensional conception, we will never understand the complexities of dreaming that helps explain our lives as connected to the cosmos. Some dreams do have a feeling of simplicity that they are just that: a dream.Dreams, however, can consist of different compositions and textures. Those waking up during a dream to say, 'I think I'm dreaming,' are or have become consciously aware of being in their 'dream' or out-of-body (OBE) state. Are they a viewer, a participant, or a generator of the dream? Are they all three? This 'dream' then comes from and into conscious awareness, not s...

Sol Luckman [The following edited interview with Sol Luckman was conducted by Michael Barrett and Rhonda Myers April 14, 2011, on Followers of the Way Radio. The full interview can be listened to here.]...

I have found there to be such a deeply rooted relationship between our internal evolution of Self with our association as a living, breathing human being within our natural surroundings. I have been pondering this concept of self-reliance and the attraction to societal conveniences lately, all while meeting and interacting with a number of new friends who have made the valiant jump toward a self-sufficient existence. I recently wrote about Self-Reliance in my last blog 'Self-Reliance in Suburbia'. My musing lately has transformed me into an acute observer of my surrounding...

Personally, today isn't a day to celebrate wars. It is to celebrate bravery that so many exhibit at their own peril. They stay behind with fallen comrades to ensure their survival when bombs might also kill them. They trudge through a barrage of bullets, carrying fallen companions to give them respect by not leaving their dead bodies behind. These are the moments that media sometimes reports that swell our hearts with pride for the shining character of our fellow human beings.One film that showed the height to which human beings can rise during degrading conditions is Passchendaele. Canadian Actor, Paul Gross wrote, co-produced, directed, and starred in the 2008 Canadian war film. Passchendaele focuses on war experiences told to him by his grandfather, Michael D...

Yoga is a discipline that is suited for almost everyone at almost any age to enhance one's health and well-being. It can be anything you want and need, calming, energizing, invigorating, relaxing. Yoga will make you feel better on all levels, physically, emotionally, mentally, even spiritually if you wish. The key to reaping the benefits of yoga is of course proper instruction.

If you are a total novice to yoga it is not advised to start your practice by watching a video or TV show nor by simply 'popping' into any established yoga class. You WILL need a good, experienced, qualified personal instructor who will take the time to address your personal needs with a class that is geared towards beginners. Following this advise your success is almost guar...

May 21, 2011 at precisely 6:00 p.m. nothing out of the ordinary happened. Most of us could make that prediction with 100% accuracy, especially since the same individual predicted the same thing in 1994. If at first, we don't succeed. . . . Although it is possible that the biblically predicted 144,000 people being 'Raptured,' out of almost seven billion could occur without anyone noticing. If it were done one by one in remote places, not in a mass grouping. The news media, however, isn't reporting isolated disappearances—yet.No doubt Reverend Harold Camping was sincere. He reads the Bible literally, where others read it allegorically or skeptically. Checking the Internet for name spelling garnered many denouncements of his heresy as a false prophet. To be fair, not checking ...

For the past several years, Carrie-Anne and I have been planning to finish our backyard off with a swimming pool, a few flower beds, and a citrus grove of four citrus trees. Our home and yard décor is an old-world Italian theme and the part of our backyard that is near completion features beautiful stonewalls, columns, and fountains. The pool area was going to resemble a classic Tuscan pool. Our thinking started to shift this spring when we decided to scrap the plans for that remaining 2000 square feet of yard and instead start installing a space that would support our desire for a more ...

No doubt, technological advancements have benefits. People live longer today because science has shown cancer causing effects of tobacco when they were highly touted decades ago. We now know that too much cholesterol clogs arteries when in yesteryear days began with healthy doses of eggs, bacon, biscuits, and gravy. Even the World Wide Web reveals to citizens what leaders are perpetrating along with those instant photos of newborn grandchildren.What seems unfortunate, though, says something destructive about where life has brought us in this 500-channel television and Internet age where too much space has truly become the feared wasteland. Some very unhappy, lonely, and neglected people easily get attention through some sleazy television reality shows and some social network site...