Author Archives: blevine32
6 Oct
2013
Meditation Teachers Reveal Their Favorite Ways To Meditate
One of the best parts of a meditation practise is learning new techniques. There are so many different pranayamas or breathing exercises.
We try to document different techniques so we can go back to them whenever the moment is right.
PsychCentral and Margarita Tartakovsky put together a nice write up recently on how different teachers techniques.
Having a beautiful view also serves as inspiration for Ed Halliwell, a mindfulness teacher and co-author with Dr. Jonty Heaversedge of the book The Mindful Manifesto. He lives next to the village churchyard, which becomes his main meditation spot in the summers. He explained why the churchyard is so inspiring:
First, the churchyard overlooks the gorgeous, green rolling hills of English countryside known as the Sussex Downs. Opening my awareness to this wonderful view reminds me of the preciousness and beauty of the world, instilling a sense of awe in me as I breathe in its majesty.
Second, the church itself is around 1,000 years old, and observing its ancient architecture connects me to centuries of spiritual practice, a sense of there having been many, many generations of humans seeking heartfelt wisdom in the face of life’s uncertainties.
Thirdly, in the churchyard there are hundreds of gravestones, reminding me of the transience of this life, the inevitability of death, and the value of fully experiencing and celebrating every moment, whatever it brings.
Read more — here.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
6 Oct
2013
Zen and the Art of Startup Naming
What in the art of Buddhist startup naming is going on?
It’s not so hard to figure. Startups have dealt with the dwindling supply of short Web addresses by removing vowels and creating compound words for years. Zen, meanwhile, provides a short building block and communicates the idea of simplicity and focus, a good thing if you’re selling the promise to make life easier for your customers.
“In business, zen is often a synonym for ordinary nothingness,” blogged Nancy Friedman, a corporate copywriter who consults with businesses on naming and verbal branding:
There are 488 million Buddhists worldwide, according to the Pew Research Center. Is there something wrong with taking your company name from a major religion? After all, it’s hard to imagine an entrepreneur bold (or ironic) enough to name his startup JesusShoes, or Koranify. Using any religious lingo in branding was a no-no until recently, Friedman says in an interview. But putting “Zen” in a startup name “has nothing to do with the actual practice of Zen Buddhism,” says Friedman. “It’s just sort of a cultural marker, like Jon Stewart’s ‘Moment of Zen.’”
Interesting question here. If you remove the ego, spreading the good word of any of the great teachers (Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, Muhammad….) doesn’t have to be looked at as negative. It just is. The Catholic Church has made a lot of money and built incredible buildings based off of Jesus’ love and message. They have also shared the love and inspired so many people. It seems that naming a company with a prefix of “Zen” or another religious word is in a way a major complement to the Higher cause and maybe an example of “pay it forward?”
What are your thoughts?
Image via Google Commons
6 Oct
2013
10/6 Art: Red Bull Illume Photo Contest 2013
Via The Atlantic
In late August, the winners were announced of the 3rd edition of the Red Bull Illume Image Quest photo competition. The overall winner, top 10 category winners and top 50 finalists were unveiled at a ceremony in Hong Kong. The contest invited photographers to submit images of the world of action and adventure sports in one of 10 categories, including Energy, Illumination, Sequence, and Experimental (where digital manipulation is allowed). This year the competition received more than 28,000 entries by 6,417 photographers from 124 countries.
Check out some of the amazing pictures — here.
Image via The Atlantic and Red Bull Illume Image Quest
I had the opportunity to see Gravity tonight. We have discussed at length the great work Elon Musk is doing with SpaceX. Gravity is certainly the closest I have been to the concept of “being in space.” Its cool to see it on the big screen in 3D if you have the opportunity.
5 Oct
2013
Boom Brands 2013: The Story of Tumblr
David Karp built a massive, culturally totemic company that was losing millions of dollars a month. After a huge infusion of Yahoo cash, he’s breathing easier.
Tumblr
Founded: 2007
Age of CEO: 27
Number of Tumblr users: 140 million
Lesson: Youth can be worth more than $1 billion to a twenty-year-old Internet company.
Founded: 2007
Age of CEO: 27
Number of Tumblr users: 140 million
Lesson: Youth can be worth more than $1 billion to a twenty-year-old Internet company.
Check out the NY Mag long-read — here.
Image via Google Commons
5 Oct
2013
Practice Yoga For Your Type — An Ayurveda Intro
Lisa Hedley runs an interesting site called LAH Life.
She has a few great resources to get started on an Ayurvedic path — or at least on learning what Ayurveda is.
Ayurveda (def. life-science): Its origins are reputed to be 5,000 old, from the Indus valley and the basis of much understanding about the nature of the world both practically and philosophically.
The integration of Ayurveda into daily life relies in great part on the creativity of the mind – the imagination to link the physical body, to the thinking mind, to the spiritual mind to the intuitive senses and hold them all together without getting nauseous.
Check out more — here.
5 Oct
2013
Ohio State Football Stadium Time Lapse GIF
For the full video from stadium prep to game finish (1 minute, 20 seconds) click — here.
5 Oct
2013
30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself
I saw this via my cousins Facebook page.
Sometimes its good to minimize our lives. This list from BSPCN has thirty different ways we can do that.
- Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends
- Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive. But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.
For more information, click — here.