Life, Death, Robert the Bruce & Oh Wow!
There is a Scottish Proverb: “Be happy while you’re living, for you’re a long time dead.” This becomes something of a contemplative chant in this place of the dead, a cemetery with monuments reflective of the passing trends in grave stones. The older sections, with their elaborate statuary gravestones, speak of something more interesting then the newer ones with identical flat markers. The flamboyant grieving Angels of old shame the new, low headstones with their expression of human emotion. It is an overwrought approach versus a marginalized approach to both life and death. Neither one satisfies the human heart and its search for meaning, both in this life and beyond the grave. I think of a man recently dead, one whose visions changed the shape of...
Read MoreSeeing The Oneness
A mythological tale we are probably familiar with is about the Cyclops, giants with only one-eye in the middle of their foreheads . They supposedly made a deal with Hades in which they traded an eye for the ability to see the future. The Third Eye, sometimes known as the inner eye, is a mystical concept in many Eastern traditions. In Judaism the believe is that our love of God should be frontlets between our eyes. In New Age Spirituality, the third eye sometimes symbolizes a state of enlightenment. Rabbi Shefa Gold talks of the spiritual challenge of standing in our vulnerability “…to open to the power that moves through us.” She says that we always perceive the world through our own specific lens. ”Our first challenge” she...
Read MoreWhat Have You Done Today To Love Another?
Long ago we were in a time of martyrs and saints when only the most holy of men walked and the most treacherous of the enemies of God took to conspiring against the rightful authority of our Lord and Savior. I am awash today with servants of God who come up far short of these great men of history made the least among us and the greatest amongst us. So I ask where did these men of God go, perhaps the answer lies in the simple acts of generosity given us by the most unlikely of people. I was walking through a Wal Mart near my house dressed in my clericals as I was and near Halloween as it was people never thought twice about this strange occurrence. Yet here is the chance for those to step forward, well one did. A tiny frail older woman said to me you look like a...
Read MoreArt With Heart
Art with Heart is a dynamic program sponsored by Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, a conscious college community, which spotlights local Arizona artists. Held at our campus in Tempe, Arizona, a new showcase is held every three months. With over 20 local artists displaying more than 80 pieces of their work, there is something to appeal to everyone. Each artist is allowed as many pieces as their space can hold and are encouraged to use their area to its fullest. Whether an artist, or simply an enthusiast, Art with Heart is sure to inspire and captivate you. If any work of art speaks specifically to your tastes, you can support the local art scene by purchasing it. While all entries share some aspect of the theme, Art with Heart,...
Read MoreYoga and Meditation Can Improve Focus and Health
Practiced and appreciated worldwide, Yoga is commonly known as a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. Its many forms have been on the rise around many parts of the globe for some time now. Meditation also has a vast following. It refers to any family of practices in which the practitioner trains his or her mind, or self-induces a mode of consciousness, in order to realize some benefit. Southwest Institute of Healing Arts fully embraces both Yoga and Mediation, and offers many wonderful programs for people to become instructors or certified. In a recent article from www.phoenix.edu, they explore the idea that yoga and meditation can actually help improve study habits, as well as overall mental health and...
Read MoreSOY Update and Gratitude
Spirit of Yoga Opening Update With the Spirit of Yoga Open House and Grand Opening huge successes now checked off on the calendar, it seems that many of the hard-working people at SWIHA are breathing a collective sign of relief. On Saturday, May 14, more than 300 people passed through the newly opened SOY doors to the beautiful yoga facility at 1420 East Southern Avenue in Tempe. In Gratitude With the permission of SWIHA Success Center Director Lisa Richards, I would like to share a few shout-outs and thank-yous that went out to all the hard workers and to everyone who helped to make the Spirit of Yoga public opening a complete success: Thank you, Will Zecco & Wayne Hoffman! You have done an amazing job ensuring the new Spirit of Yoga center represents...
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