Italy is a great place for meditation

Basically one can meditate everywhere, but there are some places where a good mediation can happen easier. My personal favourite has always been - of course! - India. I am in meditative state in India all the time (probably due to the long spiritual traditions of India and vibrations left after the huge number of sages and yogis thoughout the history).

Another country where I can enjoy powerful meditations is Italy. Despite its easy-going and superficial image worldwide, the country has one very important quality that leads to a good mediation: the joy, the heart-opening. How does it work?

No more lonely yogis! - the benefits of the collective spiritual evolution.

paint by Vitalia Stupak

Normally I prefer colourful photos for my blogs, as my readers know But to pass by this absolutely amazing painting was above my preferences and blogging style…

This wonderful paint by Vitalia Stupak (Ukraine) shows that the personal ascent is in fact depends on much loving support of the others… The times of a lonely ascetic yogi meditating in Himalayas have passed. Now, when the mankind has discovered the common spirituality as a way of living, it has become much easier to ascent and  - what is the most important! -to enjoy this ascent in a company

Do you see it same way? Any experiences?

LOVE, axinia

Your Heart: is it weak or strong?

 photo by axinia

It is not merely romantic nonsense to say that the heart is the seat of your love and compassion. It is a fact. We open our heart to those that are closest to us both in a physical way (by demonstration of affection and generous action) and in a subtle way though the feeling of tenderness and overwhelming concern we have for them.

We say someone is closed hearted when they seem uncaring and selfish, and we call them open hearted when they give to all without a question. These are real examples of power of the heart to help or hinder our enjoyment of life.

A weak heart chakra can show up in may different ways, for example through mean spirited actions, or though deep insecurities which drive us to be selfish through fear. We can find evidence of a weak heart centre in those who are overly neurotic or frail, or in those who question everyone`s motives. Even overly ascetic people can be victims of this problem.

A question about spirituality

photo by axinia

The Google Search gave me 61.400.000 results for the word SPIRITUALITY, with the top reasult of Wikipedia, explaining to me what Spirituality is:” Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit, a concept closely tied to religious belief and faith, a transcendent reality, and God. Spiritual matters are thus those matters regarding humankind’s ultimate nature and purpose, not only as material biological organisms, but as beings with a unique relationship to that which is beyond both time and the material world”;

and some more: “Many spiritual traditions, accordingly, share a common spiritual theme: the “path”, “work”, practice, or tradition of perceiving and internalizing one’s “true” nature and relationship to the rest of existence (God, creation (the universe), or life), and of becoming free of the lesser egoic self (or ego) in favor of being more fully one’s “true” “Self”.

Although I agree with the most of it,  I still  wanted to add something based on my personal experiences.

The descrete charms of the world bourgeoisie

 photo by axinia

 

In the mouth of Society are diseased teeth, decayed to the bone of the jaws. But society makes no efforts to have them extracted and be rid of the affliction. It contents itself with gold filling. Many are dentists who treat the decayed teeth of Society with glittering gold.

- Khalil Gibran, (1883-1931) Thoughts and Meditations

 

Why people like to travel

 

photo by axinia

Why do we travel? To see new places? To get new experiences? To meet new people? To get way from the daily routine? All that and more are the reasons for the traveller-mood, which is well known to many of us. But these are the obvious reasons. Is there any hidden one? 

Travelling is the first step of seeking the truth. Seeking the truth is the ultimate aim of that seeking for something feeling (or call it wanting something I don`t know what). When we visit foreign countries, it is - deeply seen – not the outer impressions we are looking for. It is the power, the energy, the vibrations of the place we feel. For it is what is truly behind the cladding! 

There are countries we want to visit at any rate. We feel attracted and affected by its mystery, beauty, danger or uniqueness… There are lands we never want to visit – even if they seem to be same mysterious, fascinating or beautiful. What is the reason?

India: the everlasting magnet

More and more people from all over the word choose to spend their holidays in India - some decades ago it was the western seekers looking for the sacred knowledge of Indian sages and gurus. Now places like Goa are full of tourists seeking nothing but exotic holiday on the sea-shore (acutally I don’t see why do they need to go to India for that, this could be any other famous tourist destination).

But whatever the times are, one things is the same: the aspiration when people pronounce the word INDIA.

Despite the modernisation and fast economical and industrial development of that great country, its magic is very special. There are many other exotic countries and continents in this word, however it is only India that has this kind of a spell over everyone!

Just try to tell someone you are going to Africa (any country), Burma, New Zealand, Italy, Norway, Russia - just any, the reaction of your listener will be any possible but not the same when you say you are going to India… (I was very surprised to see that one of my last posts “Going to India” was such a hit!  There was nothing special in there, I guess it was the title..) Obviously people feel there is something very special about the land.

Here I put together my photos that I find in a way express the magnitude of India: The magnitude which is  in the deep roots of spirituality and traditions hand in hand with the leopardizing modernity.

LOVE, axinia

Going to India

My dearest friends, this post is just to inform you that I will not be blogging for the next 2 weeks because of my holidays in India.

Everyone who reads my blogs knows that I am in love with that great country.

So what am I going to do there? Actually same as everywhere - seeing special places, meeting friends, absorbing the beauty and sharing whatever I have… But above all I am going to enjoy something what I am enjoying the most in my life - my meditations (for they are the deepest while in India).

I will be back to you in 2 weeks with loads of wonderful photos and experiences.

Please keep visiting

LOVE, axinia

Mental Silence is the essence of Sahaja Yoga Meditation

(picture of me, meditating )

LOVE, axinia

Ask most people what they did on holiday

 photo by axinia

Ask most people what they did on holiday and they`ll tell you about the great sights they saw, the grand events, the glamour, the extremes in weather, environment or people. But they`ll be hard pressed to remember the small things, like the market they passed through on the way to the cathedral, or the beautiful flowers they saw on the path to the beach house. Yet it is the small things which give substance to the reality of the whole experience. 

Meditation teaches us to enjoy the journey as a whole and not to waste time peering into the future to catch a glimpse of the destination. We learn that the flowers at our feet are unbelievably fragrant and beautiful, of only we would stop for long enough to appreciate them. We realise that patience is a power that cannot be cherished too much. It is the bedrock of peace, contentment and our spiritual desires.”All good things come to whose who wait”, is an ancient proverb, and how true it is.