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Ten Signs of Progress on the Spiritual Path by Elizabeth Lesser

One of our favorite authors -- Elizabeth Lesser, cofounder of the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies -- helps us know how to discern if we've made progress on our personal spiritual path, adapted from her terrific book The Seeker's Guide: Making Your Life a Spiritual Adventure.

 TEN SIGNS OF PROGRESS ON THE SPIRITUAL PATH

1. Obuntubotho. When Bishop Desmond Tutu introduced Nelson Mandela at his inauguration as the new president of South Africa, he described him as being a man who had Obuntubotho. “Obuntubotho,” he said, “is the essence of being human. You know when it is there and when it is absent. It speaks about humanness, gentleness, putting yourself out on behalf of others, being vulnerable. It embraces compassion and toughness. It recognizes that my humanity is bound up in ours, for we can only be human together.” Obuntubotho is the first sign of progress on the spiritual path.

Excerpt from "Giving Thanks & Happiness" with Marianne Williamson

In this transcribed excerpt from a lecture given by Marianne Williamson during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season, Williamson talks about how focusing on the "happy, happy, happy" can generate the exact opposite.  Williamson talks to us about how we tend to live in this all the time -- and how to shift focus.  "Giving Thanks & Happiness" was recorded live in Los Angeles as part of Williamson's weekly lecture series.

I want to talk to you tonight interestingly enough about Thanksgiving. When even though you know intellectually that there is a lot to be thankful for, you’re not feeling it, which is another way of saying that I want to talk tonight about unhappiness, particularly as we approach this season. American focus on happy, happy, happy. We must be happy because it’s the holiday season. And even though we are supposed to be happy and we are supposed to be thankful, counter-intuitively, what that kind of emphasis does in the culture is that it actually makes even more painfully true the fact that there are many things about our lives about which we don’t necessarily feel so happy.

"Is Your Technology Biased?"

We thought you'd find this article recently published in the Washington Post interesting.  Is our technology biased?  Do we really understand its influence on ourselves and others? Is anything really private anymoer? One of our favorite cutting-edge thinkers, Douglas Rushkoff, weighs in in this piece by Dominic Basulto.

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Free Download! Jon Kabat-Zinn's "Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life"

It's free download time!  And we're happy to offer Jon Kabat-Zinn's "Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life" to you for FREE!  Jon Kabat-Zinn is renowned for bringing mindfulness meditation to the mainstream through books, workshops, and the Center for Mindfulness at University of Massachusetts Medical Center.  In this terrific program, Kabat-Zinn talks about mindfulness in every aspect of our lives, not just a formal meditative practice, making it accessible to everyone, no matter how busy we are! This program will only be available for free through Thursday morning, May 3, so take advantage of this special offer now!

Click here now for the free download!

Note: When ordering, please be sure the first item, Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life Digital Download for $0.00 is clicked.  The other items on the page are not part of the free offer.