Spiritual Archives

Mark Divine’s Box Breathing & Meditation Techniques

What is Mark Divine’s box breathing technique? How does he use other meditation techniques to improve health and lower stress? According to Mark Divine’s book Unbeatable Mind, to navigate his five levels of development, cultivate awareness, and apply that awareness to your own growth, you must train both your mind and body. To do this, Divine offers techniques for box breathing and meditation. Read on for a guide to Mark Divine’s box breathing and meditation, according to Unbeatable Mind.

A Step-by-Step Process to Release Dysfunctional Thoughts

How to Avoid Negative Thoughts and Embrace Positivity

Do you tend to hold on to negative emotions? How can you lessen the pull of negative thoughts and feelings and take control of your emotional state? According to spiritual teacher Byron Katie, all negative emotions spring from our thoughts about experiences, not from the experiences themselves. It follows, then, that the only way to accept and feel at peace with your experiences is to release the thoughts you have about those experiences. Here’s how to release unhelpful thoughts in three steps.

The Impact of the Crusades: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

What were the Crusades about? What impact did they have on the world? Muslim conquests in Asia, Africa, and Europe—and threats of further conquests—sounded the alarm for the Christian Byzantine Empire. The emperor asked Western European Catholics for help. The resulting Crusades would shape the world in ways that we see still today. Keep reading to learn about the impact of the Crusades.

Controlled Breathwork: Techniques and Practices

How does controlled breathing help you tap into your body’s latent capabilities? What are some things you can accomplish with controlled breathing? From Tibetan monks to athletes, there are those who have found ways to use controlled breathing to alter mental states and perform seemingly miraculous feats. Among other things, controlled breathwork techniques can control body temperature, regulate the nervous system, and even alter the heartbeat. Keep reading to learn about controlled breathing practices.

The Number 1 Cause of Emotional Suffering

What causes emotional suffering? How do our thoughts perpetuate unnecessary emotional negativity? According to spiritual teacher, Byron Katie, we have no real reason to feel emotional pain, regardless of what happens to us. The real cause of emotional suffering is not what happens to us, but what we think about it. Here’s why our internal thoughts—not external experiences—lie at the root of all suffering.

Loving What Is by Byron Katie (Book Overview)

What is Byron Katie’s Loving What Is about? What is the key message to take away from the book? In Loving What Is, Byron Katie argues that life experiences don’t cause emotional pain, only resistant thoughts that judge experiences as somehow wrong or unwanted do. Therefore, releasing resistant thoughts allows you to accept and feel at peace with life, no matter what happens. Below is a brief overview of Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life by Byron Katie.

Islam in the Middle Ages—From the Prophet to the Crusades

How did Islam start? What made it grow so successfully? What difference did the Crusades make? In The Silk Roads, historian Peter Frankopan writes about Islam in the Middle Ages in the context of the relationship between the East and the West. He discusses how Islam started and grew, the Abbasid Caliphate, and the Crusades. Keep reading for this brief but engaging history.

C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity Quotes That Will Make You Think

Are you looking for C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity quotes? What excerpts capture some of the best ideas from the book? In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis sets out to explain and defend Christian beliefs to a skeptical modern audience through a series of essays—originally delivered as a series of radio addresses in the United Kingdom between 1941 and 1944. Keep reading for a few quotes from this classic book that are sure to make you think.

C. S. Lewis’s Book Mere Christianity: Overview & Takeaways

What is C. S. Lewis’s book Mere Christianity about? Why is it so enduring? C. S. Lewis explains and defends Christian beliefs to a skeptical modern audience through a series of essays—originally delivered as a series of radio addresses in the United Kingdom between 1941 and 1944. Broadcast to a population in the midst of World War II, Lewis’s discussions struck a chord with a wide audience. Keep reading for an overview of the book that covers Lewis’s views on moral laws and their Creator, the Christian understanding of God, Christian virtues, answering God’s call to virtue, and the example

Follow the Example of Jesus Because It’s Uniquely Perfect

Is Jesus divine? How does the dual nature (humanity and divinity) of Jesus work? What difference does this dual nature make for people? C. S. Lewis argues that the Christian faith requires, not simply surrendering to God’s moral laws, but following a perfect example. Lewis writes that only Jesus is capable of setting this perfect example of surrender because he is both human and divine. Keep reading for an exploration of Lewis’s intriguing argument for why we should follow the example of Jesus.