Category Archives: Spirituality

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The Classic Benefits Of Mindfulness

Meditation Monday w/ Sayadaw Vivekananda

Welcome to meditation Monday! Modern science has proven that mindfulness and meditation bring countless benefits to your life. These include greater emotional & psychological well-being, physical health, mental performance, and even greater functionality in relationships. But way back in the beginning, when the Buddha first taught meditation in the Satipatthana Sutta, he laid out 7 benefits of meditation. In the text and video below the Ven. Sayadaw Vivekananda shares The Classic Benefits Of Mindfulness.

Ven. Sayadaw Vivekananda
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What Is Mindfulness?

Meditation Monday w/ Sayadaw Vivekananda - Video Series

Here at the beginning of 2019, I am starting a new blog series called “Meditation Monday.” Each Monday I will be posting “Dharma Bites”… short bite-sized teachings, from myself and other teachers. These posts will be short teachings about mindfulness and meditation that you can easily to implement into your daily practice. I am starting this new endeavor with a video series from my own meditation teacher, the Ven. Sayadaw Vivekananda. Here is his teaching on What On Mindfulness?

Ven. Sayadaw Vivekananda
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THE BUDDHA’S ADVICE TO AN AIKIDO SENSEI [ENCORE POST]

5 Qualities Of A Spiritually Mature Teacher

The early Buddhist term for a teacher is a  “Kalyanamitta” – which means a “Noble Friend.” I love this phrase because it reframes the role of the teacher and student, and how this holy relationship impacts your life. In this blog post, I will share with you the advice the Buddha gave in his teaching on the 5 qualities of a “Nobel Friend.” As Aikido is a higher path of practice, I think that these guidelines are especially relevant to Aikido teachers. This is the Buddha’s advice to an Aikido Sensei.

Miles Kessler Sensei
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LEARN AIKIDO LIKE A PRO, CREATE AIKIDO AS AN ARTIST

Aikido & Teaching Series

Aikido is a paradoxical art. Fully grasping Aikido requires you to develop a relatively complex understanding of its technical curriculum, while at the same time having direct access to the universal principles that are the spiritual core of the art. Another way to look at it is, to fully master the art of Aikido you need to “learn Aikido like a pro, create Aikido as an artist.”  

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The Union Of Meditation & Aikido

Dharma Bite w/ Dr. Ginny Whitelaw & Miles Kessler

Do you meditate or practice mindfulness? Do you also have a physical practice, like Aikido, yoga, dance, bodywork, sports, or art? Now here’s the big question… do your meditation practice and your physical practice come together for you? Or, like most people, are these two parallel paths for you? Two paths completely related, but not completely coming together. In this blog post, my special guest and I take a look at the Union Of Meditation & Aikido.”

The Union Of Meditation & Aikido
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Mindfulness, Attachment, & Inner Peace

Dharma Bite w/ Stephen Fulder & Miles Kessler

How attached are you to things in your life? How much “inner peace” do you have in your life? Have you ever considered that there is a correlation between attachment and inner peace? It is an eternal fact that the more attachment you have, the less inner peace you will find. And conversely, the less attachment you have, the more inner peace. In this post, fellow meditation teacher Stephen Fuder and I look at the relationship between “Mindfulness, Attachment, & Inner Peace.”

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Getting To The Essence Of Aikido | A Community Call

Thorsten Schoo, Patrick Cassidy, & Miles Kessler

“What is Aikido?” Now there’s a question that should make you think. How can you answer this question in a completely authentic way, that is not based on something that you heard or read about? Is it possible to hold this question in a way that will help you in getting to the essence of Aikido?

Thorsten Schoo, Patrick Cassidy, & Miles Kessler