During my sabbatical in 2015 I volunteered in a 10 days Vipassana Meditation Retreat Centre in Dharamshala, at the foot of Himalayas – North India. Every evening, volunteers would meet up with the teachers to review the day and discuss any issues or challenges. We closed every meeting with the two prayers or intentions below. #1 | Forgiving Yourself “I…
This very same concept is expressed in different formats across different cultures such as the angel and devil in cartoons, the Holy Spirit and the Ego in Christianism or the Higher Self (or Buddha nature) and Lower Self (or Ego) in Buddhism-Yoga traditions. The following is one of my favourite stories. I think it beautifully illustrates the dilemma that we…
Millennials and Gen Y have made a significant contribution to the discussion about purpose and meaning at work in the last few years. I am a member of Gen X and know many people at my age (and older), including clients, colleagues and friends who are in search of a more meaningful life. There isnt a common denominator among them.…
In 2003, I was living in my hometown, Rio de Janeiro, working in the IT industry and consulting for the national Oil & Gas Brazilian company Petrobras. My work colleague Branca Duboc invited me to join a meditation session in an urban Tibetan Buddhist temple. Despite being raised as catholic, back then I was already practicing yoga (mostly to better handle work…
A long time ago I heard about the story of Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse who used to work as a palliative carer. After several years attending to her patients thoughts and feelings on their deathbed, she noticed a pattern and wrote the best selling book “Top 5 Regrets of the Dying”. The common themes that often surfaced were: 1.…
Firstly, it is essential to clarify that spirituality is not necessarily related to religion. Some people see spirituality as their connection with a supreme consciousness, the arts, divine intelligence, the environment, mother earth, the universe or Gaia. Others are agnostic and see science as their path to spirituality. A classic example is Sam Harris PhD, a neuroscientist and philosopher, who…
One of my key takeaways from Stephen Coveys 7 Habits book was this quote: If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster. I doubt Covey was referring to ones spiritual path but I feel the quote is totally applicable to our obsession (me included) with material…
