Tag: meditation
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Happy Children
In a recent interview, Dr. Leonard Sax, a long-time family physician and psychologist, explained that the biggest predictor of adult well-being in children is their relationship with their parents. Let that sink in for a minute. Happy children are those who have the best relationships with their caregivers. Does that surprise you as it did…
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The Formative Power of Gratitude
On Thanksgiving each year, many of us practice giving gratitude. Is this just a nice family tradition, or is there a truly formative power of gratitude? Let’s start with words of wisdom from wise people. Eckhart Tolle once said (paraphrased), “If you practice gratitude, life will give you more things to be grateful for.” In…
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Emotional Intelligence
In this third post of our series on the 6 Basic Exercises, we will discuss “Control of Feeling.” A better title for this exercise would be “cultivating emotional intelligence through mastering the feeling life.” However, the Austrian simplicity of Rudolf Steiner preferred the shorter title, so we’ll go with that. This is probably the hardest…
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Freewill (Control of Will)
In this blog post, we will discuss freewill. However, this will not be a philosophical treatise on whether or not freewill exists. Rather, it will be a practical guide on how to become free of will. This is the followup to a post we wrote a few months ago entitled Control of Thought. The Six…
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Spiritual Treasure
Silver and Gold What is life’s greatest treasure? Is it silver and gold, an abundant retirement, or the ownership of a nice house? How about a new car, the ability to travel, and the financial freedom to treat your family to dinner out each week? What about several years’ worth of food and supplies stored…
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Humor as Medicine in the Home
Have you ever found yourself talking with your spouse about something stressful which pressingly needs to be discussed…like, now? Meanwhile, your young child or children are in the room, and they will inevitably be stressed out, too? Your solid parenting instinct recognizes this, so you try going into another room. However, because your children are…
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Control of Thought
Dr. Steiner advises that people spend a month doing each of the Six Basic Exercises. The first is called “Control of Thought,” and we will describe it here. Below is the version I practice, and it’s based on indications from Steiner, Florin Lowndes, and Mark Riccio from the Organic Thinking website. As a side note,…
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The Six Basic Exercises
In Ancient Greece, Plato spoke of the soul as a chariot driven by the three horses of thinking, feeling, and willing. Becoming a true philosopher demanded the student learn to control these horses. Thereby, the individual, and not the horses, could drive the chariot where he or she wanted it to go. This need is…