A UK morning tv show, GMTV,  reported today that 2 churches here in the United Kingdom refused a yoga teacher permission to conduct kids’ yoga classes in their halls.

The reason? One of the interviewed clerics, Reverend Tim Jones, explained that because yoga has it’s roots in Hinduism, it goes against the teachings of the bible and is therefore un-Christian and cannot be allowed to be practiced in a church hall. Firstly, whether yoga has it’s roots in Hinduism or not, the practice of it doesn’t propagate any religion whatsoever. It does however help the person practicing it to become more spiritual - something that in my opinion seems to be largely lacking in most religious practice today.

I was born a Hindu but respect every religion and form of spirituality that exists (funnily enough you’ll find this true of most Hindus as this forms part of the religion: respect for others beliefs) but it’s guys like this cleric who spread fear and make it difficult for everyone to get along. He may want to join us in the 21st century and use his religion to build bridges rather than destroy them.

Cynergise, the company I co-founded with Sol Shah, of effortless Expression, last week launched a inspirational-quotes-by-email service called Living Jain.

As Sol says:

” Each morning when you open your email, there is so much content that
battles for a share of your mind. People trying to sell you things,
friends forwarding you jokes, tonnes of spam hitting your inbox, and
the occasional important work-related email!

Decide NOW to let the first words you read each morning inspire you
to launch your day from a place of peace. Embrace life and take the
steady path towards universal love, appreciation of your immediate
environment, compassion towards all living beings, and the balance to
attend to anything that comes your way.

Sign up right away at www.LivingJain.com to start receiving your daily inspirational emails.

Where Our Quotes Come From…

The world is full of wisdom to guide us on the Jain path to freedom. We’re taking inspirational quotes that we happen to find, or quotes that are sent to us, from a variety of faiths, philosophies, and beliefs of the world, and selecting one to present to you each morning.

Walk along the Jain path to freedom with us. Work with us to get freedom from the restraint of karma, and take the right steps towards the state of Moksha - abundant, infinite, eternal bliss! Sign up right away at www.LivingJain.com to start receiving your daily inspirational emails.”

I received an email today with some information on cancer and how it thrives in the body. It’s from someone who works at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). It’s a copy/paste job from my email so it doesn’t look very pretty, but it’s the info that counts!

Every person has cancer cells in their body. These cancer cells do not
>show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion.

>When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in
>their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect
>the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.
>
>Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person’s

lifetime Read the rest of this entry »

I received an interesting email this morning. It’s about signing a petition to stop a London night club using Hindu iconography and symbolism as part of their decor. To quote from the online petition Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re a superstitious person this day can’t be great for you. After all, Friday the 13th is considered to be the worst possible day - some don’t go to work, don’t even leave their houses and certainly don’t hold any important functions on this day.

Ever considered why this day is considered ‘unlucky’?

Friday, the day itself, is considered unlucky in a number of different Read the rest of this entry »

A short, but interesting article about the difference between the ’scarcity’ and ‘abundance’ mindset.

Click here to read it…

From www.healthmatters.org.uk ….

Carolyn Stephens writes about our consume/waste lifestyles and the link between sustainable development and the developed/third world gap. Click to read “We must not go on like this” 

From Big Picture TV (www.big-picture.tv)…

Manfred Max-Neef is a Chilean economist widely respected for his work on international development. In 1981 he wrote the book for which he is best known, “From the Outside Looking in: Experiences in Barefoot Economics.” It describes his experiences practising economics “as if people matter” among the poor in South America. In that same year he founded the Centre for Development Alternatives (CEPAUR). He is currently Rector of the Universidad Austral de Chile in Valdivia. Read the rest of this entry »

… sort of! Following on from my post ‘Fear is the key‘ I wanted to take a look at why fear is such a dominant force in our everyday lives.

Where and when does it become such a strong part of our thought process that almost every action, for some, is linked to it?

For me, if I recall correctly, it all started when Read the rest of this entry »

Back when I was about 9 or 10 years old I read a book called ‘Fear is the key’ by Alistair Maclean. Although just a novel, the concept of how fear can be used as an effective weapon was well impressed upon me.

No better example than what happened at the UK airports over the last week or so. Kudos to the security services for foiling the plot but I think the psychological Read the rest of this entry »