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Apocalpse soon? 7 Ways to Prepare for an Uncertain Future.

Posted on Jan 16th, 2008 by Duff : Modern Magician Duff

It seems like everyone is talking about the end of the world. Conservative Christians interpret every bit of news from the middle east as evidence that a Jewish mystic from the 1st century is coming... More »

10 Comments views (545)  
Sky

A wonderful animation on the meditating monkey mind

Posted on Dec 17th, 2007 by Duff : Modern Magician Duff

Hat tip to Satya-Seer for this great video: Anyone who's practiced intensive meditation knows the meaning of this video.

1 Comment views (310)  
Duff : Modern Magician

How transferable is your spiritual practice?

Posted on Mar 21st, 2007 by Duff : Modern Magician Duff

A couple months ago I went ice skating. I hadn't been ice skating in about 6 years, and this was going to be my 2nd time ever. But in the last 5 years I'd become... More »

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Duff : Modern Magician

Is meditation a necessary component of Buddhism?

Posted on Feb 4th, 2007 by Duff : Modern Magician Duff

This is news to me, but apparently meditation is uncommon among eastern Buddhists!  Even eastern Buddhist monks! This includes Zen, Tibetan, and other schools of Buddhism often thought in the west to be primarily meditation-based... More »

3 Comments views (325)  
Duff : Modern Magician

How to be the world's best at something

Posted on Jan 26th, 2007 by Duff : Modern Magician Duff

I was raised with two professional musician parents. So naturally, my sisters and I were started on violin lessons at age 5, so we could get a head start. Later I decided that music wasn't... More »

2 Comments views (3,036)  
Duff : Modern Magician

Sickness and Spirituality

Posted on Jan 19th, 2007 by Duff : Modern Magician Duff

This week I was sick with the flu. I noticed several things related to spiritual practice while sick. One is that it is much easier to practice when healthy! Yoga asana practice when stiff and... More »

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Duff : Modern Magician

Ordinary Ecstacy

Posted on Feb 19th, 2006 by Duff : Modern Magician Duff

Recently I've felt worse than I've felt for some time. I think I figured out why-- too much meditation! Specifically I've been doing Vipassana and similar practices (Focusing, body-scanning, relaxation). I think this brought up... More »

4 Comments views (847)  
Duff : Modern Magician

This describes what I've been going through lately...

Posted on Feb 9th, 2006 by Duff : Modern Magician Duff

from http://www.buddhanet.net/knowledg.htm: 8) Knowledge of disenchantment - nibbida-nana Hence the knowledge of disenchantment, (nibbida-nana). Nibbida, or disenchantment, is simply the opposite of enchantment. Normally we are enchanted by experience. A man sees a beautiful woman... More »

5 Comments views (850)  
Duff : Modern Magician

Presence is bad sometimes

Posted on Jan 20th, 2006 by Duff : Modern Magician Duff

Lately I've been meditating tons. An 11-day retreat over the holidays, a three-day weekend retreat, a couple hours a day (sometimes 4 or 5 hours). I've been tapping into "presence" as much as possible as... More »

1 Comment views (456)  
Duff : Modern Magician

How to whip yourself up into an ecstatic, unstoppable frenzy

Posted on Jan 6th, 2006 by Duff : Modern Magician Duff

In this blog post, I'll share with you an affirmation that Tony Robbins used to whip himself into a manic, vibrating, unstoppable frenzy before every prospect and every seminar. This affirmation is like mental TNT--extremely... More »

7 Comments views (1,759)  
Duff : Modern Magician