2015 – Tejvan

The journey of one hundred thousand paces begins with

Post author:tejvan
Post published:December 25, 2015
Post category:humour

I try to have a few more meditations on Christmas Eve. It’s a good feeling as the world slows down and becomes a little more reflective.

With the sun setting below the hills, I closed my door and burnt some incense. The pungent fragrance filling the room. Settled in the chair I felt unusually receptive for meditation. I started to chant AUM, AUM, AUM … – when from above, I heard an unexpected sound.

“The journey of one hundred thousand paces begins with a flat tyre and a broken fan-belt.” (more…)

University Church of St Mary Oxford photos

Post author:tejvan
Post published:December 19, 2015
Post category:photos

st-marys-blossom

The University church of St Mary’s was used to host the first congregation of the University of Oxford from as early as 1252. A church has been recorded on his site from Anglo-Saxon times.

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Adventures in writing

Post author:tejvan
Post published:December 14, 2015
Post category:spirituality

Rather unexpectedly, on a rather dreary day, I had a good experience in a local church (a place I very rarely visit). It felt a certain grace, a feeling of newness. Hungry for more, I tried to repeat experience, but it wasn’t the same.

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The unexpected peace

Post author:tejvan
Post published:December 13, 2015
Post category:sri chinmoy

From a concert by the music group, Ananda – performing the songs of Sri Chinmoy. Lord Mayor’s Chapel, Bristol, 13 December, 2015.

The entrance to the concert was through a modest wooden door. In a street filled with the brilliance of commerce, it would have been quite easy to walk straight past. But this reserved entrance, hid an unexpected sanctuary of peace – within the chapel a generosity of light and calm.

bristol-church
A small crowd gathers, patiently in the ancient wooden pews; a few intrepid souls, perhaps wondering what is to come.

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News, views and switching off

Post author:tejvan
Post published:December 13, 2015
Post category:Uncategorized

Everyday I make a resolution not to read the paper. Nearly every day, I fail. But, I can admire the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson: “The man who reads nothing at…

A visit to a local church

Post author:tejvan
Post published:December 9, 2015
Post category:spirituality

A dull winter’s day, but I drag myself from the comfy, soporific atmosphere of being glued to a screen.

The chill bites through a thin winter’s jacket, so I walk at a quicker pace up the hill. Still, a rather aimless march – just a break for blurry eyes and cramped legs.

church-graveyard
I contemplate the local church on the hill. The sombre graveyard, the memories of a young child – sitting in a service I didn’t understand, counting off hymns, thinking of football. I’m not so comfortable with the glare of gravestones, but the church still pulls me in. What do you find in a church these days?

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The Buddha’s silence wins

Post author:tejvan
Post published:December 7, 2015
Post category:spirituality sri chinmoy

One day the Lord Buddha was meditating. An elderly man came in and started abusing the Buddha most ruthlessly. The Buddha remained absolutely silent. How long could he continue his…

Doping and cycling

Post author:tejvan
Post published:December 4, 2015
Post category:cycling

I started watching professional cycling in the mid 1990s. One of my earliest memories was watching Bjarne Riis accelerating up a mountain to defeat the five times winner Miguel Indurain. I didn’t know at the time, but Riis was doping on an industrial scale. His amazing speed was almost entirely due to the huge quantities of EPO in his system.

To later learn that the sport was essentially corrupt and full of doping was hard. The joy of sport diminished, and the result irrelevant.

In 2005, the journalist David Walsh was asked who do you want to win the Tour de France? He replied “I don’t mind. Anyone who is clean”. I agree with that sentiment 100%.

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Recognising old friends

Post author:tejvan
Post published:November 30, 2015
Post category:spirituality Uncategorized

Recently, I was staying in the outskirts of Paris in an old French château owned by the Ramakrishna Centre. Whilst there, I read a leaflet about Swami Vivekananda’s travels in Paris in 1900, shortly before he left the body.

Swami-vivekananda Vivekananda would give lectures on spirituality to spread his message of Vedanta. At the end of one particular lecture, Vivekananda went up to a stranger in the audience and politely asked if he could stay with him. (more…)

Practising Japa

Post author:tejvan
Post published:November 25, 2015
Post category:meditation

When I joined Sri Chinmoy’s path, I was very keen to improve my meditation. I read the Meditation book by Sri Chinmoy and tried different meditation exercises, which were in the Meditation book. Amongst other exercises, I remember putting a picture of a black dot on the wall and staring at it for a few minutes, though that particular practise didn’t last very long.

One of the things Sri Chinmoy mentioned was an exercise of Japa. On the first day, the seeker should repeat the mantra “Supreme” 500 times. Then on the next day, increase to 600 times. (more…)