The Ancient Tibetan practice for Health and Vitality

By Azriel ReShel 

How Ten minutes a Day can change your Life

Some years ago I attended a yoga class where my flamboyant artist friend and yoga teacher shared an interesting sequence called The Five Tibetans. I immediately fell in love with this simple, short and totally useable sequence and it became a great resource that I turn to and use for a quick yoga pick me up. For some time it was a daily sequence, but it’s always been one I return to, and a sequence that I teach my students as a self empowering, simple yoga ritual they can do on their own at home.

So what are the Five Tibetans?

The Five Tibetans or the Five Rites of Rejuvenation, is a system of five, believed to be Tibetan, Yogic exercises said to be over 2500 years old. You flow through the five exercises almost in a meditative dance. Each exercise stimulates a particular chakra or hormonal system and revitalises certain organs, so that the five rites together form a complete workout for the body as a whole.

This series of movements also known as “The fountain of youth” are credited with the ability to heal the body, balance the chakras and reverse the ageing process in just ten minutes a day.

The movements are also known as “The Fountain of Youth”

According to legend, a British explorer learned the rites in a Himalayan Monastery from Tibetan monks who had excellent health despite their advanced age. Some skeptics cast doubt upon the origins of the practice, but no matter the exact source, there is no uncertainty about the great health benefits of the practice. Peter Kelder first publicised the Tibetan Rites in 1939 in a publication, The Eye of Revelation. The sequence was later popularised through a book, The Five Tibetans, written by yoga teacher Chris Kilham, who says we will never know their true origins:

“Perhaps they come from Nepal or Northern India…As the story has it, they were shared by Tibetan lamas; beyond that I know nothing of their history. Personally, I think these exercises are most likely Tibetan in origin. The issue at hand, though, is not the lineage of the Five Tibetans. The point is [their] immense potential value for those who will clear 10 minutes a day to practice.” – Chris Kilham

Yoga teachers are in agreement, the sequence is a simple yet incredibly, even deceptively powerful one that creates a dynamic energetic effect in the body increasing the flow of prana or chi up the spine and through the chakras, energising every cell in your body.

Turning back the clock

According to the Tibetan lamas, the only difference between youth and old age is the spin rate of the chakras (the body’s seven major energy centres).This specific routine is said by lamas to stimulate all seven chakras to spin rapidly at the same rate. They believe that if any one of the chakras is blocked and its natural spin rate slowed, then vital life energy will be unable to circulate and so ageing and illness will set in. The Five Tibetans are called the rites of rejuvenation because the lamas say the ageing process is stopped by the unblocking and activation of the spinning of the chakras due to this sequence. Recent medical research has uncovered convincing evidence that the ageing process is hormone-regulated.The sequence also normalises hormonal imbalances in the body which also hold the key to lasting youth, vitality and wellbeing.

Tibetan monks had excellent health despite their advanced age

As simple as the Five Tibetans may seem, they have a profound effect on the energy and chakra system of the body, stimulating the electrical energy of the chakras in the same way as switching on a light switch sets off a flow of electrical energy.

“The Five Tibetans is simple, practical, effective and certainly mind/body altering. If you would love to become rejuvenated, remain calm, feel more vitality, be more flexible and simply look your absolute best, then now there is a new way to experience a greater state of wellbeing that takes just minutes a day, but lasts a lifetime.” … Dr. John F. Demartini

How to practice the Five Tibetans

The Five Tibetans have similarities to some traditional yoga practices: Tibetan 1 is basically Sufi whirling. Tibetan 3 is essentially the camel pose. Tibetan 4 is like an upward table, and Tibetan 5 is a smooth flow of up dog and down dog

First Tibetan

Stand erect with arms strong, outstretched and horizontal with the shoulders. Now spin around in a clockwise direction until you become slightly dizzy. You can employ a ballet-like technique of keeping your eyes on one spot and then returning to that spot when you turn your head in a full revolution.There is only one caution: you must turn from left to right.

Breathing: Inhale and exhale deeply as you do the spins.

First Tibetan

Second Tibetan

Lie down full length on the floor or bed. Place the hands flat down alongside of the hips. Fingers should be kept close together with the finger-tips of each hand turned slightly toward one another. Raise the feet until the legs are straight up. If possible, let the feet extend back a bit over the body toward the head, but do not let the knees bend. Hold this position for a moment or two and then slowly lower the feet to the floor, and for the next several moments allow all of the muscles in the entire body to relax completely. Then perform the Rite all over again. For greater core strength activation you can lower the legs without touching the floor and then using your belly and your in breath, raise the legs up, in a continuous cycle. Be sure to breath out as you lower the legs. An easier version is to have your hands underneath the buttocks and a more challenging version is to have the arms stretched above the head as you raise your legs.

Breathing: Breathe in deeply as you lift your head and legs and exhale as you lower your head and legs.

Second Tibetan

Third Tibetan

Kneel on the floor with the body erect. The hands should be placed on the backs of your thigh muscles. Incline the head and neck forward, tucking your chin in against your chest. Then fold the the head and neck backward, arching the spine. Your toes should be curled under through this exercise. As you arch, you will brace your arms and hands against the thighs for support. After the arching return your body to an erect position and begin the rite all over again.

Breathing: Inhale as you arch the spine and exhale as you return to an erect position.

Third Tibetan

Fourth Tibetan

Sit erect on the floor with your feet stretched out in front of you. The legs must be perfectly straight, with the backs of the knees well down or close to the floor. Place the hands flat on the rug, fingers together, and the hands pointing outward slightly. Chin should be on chest and the head forward. Now gently raise the body on an in breath, using your core strength of your belly to lift the pelvis, and at the same time bend the knees so that the legs from the knees down are practically straight up and down like an upward table. The arms, too, will also be vertical while the body from shoulders to knees will be horizontal. As the body is raised upward allow the head gently to fall backward so that the head hangs backward as far as possible when the body is fully horizontal. Hold this position for a few moments, return to first position on the out breath, and relax for a few moments before performing the Rite again. When the body is pressed up to complete horizontal position, you can tense every muscle in the body.

Breathing: Breathe in as you raise up, hold your breath as you tense the muscles, and breathe out fully as you come down.

Fourth Tibetan

Fifth Tibetan

Place the hands on the floor about two feet apart. Then, with the legs stretched out to the rear with the feet also about two feet apart in a downward dog, push the body, and especially the hips, up as far as possible, rising on the toes and hands. At the same time the head should be brought so far down that the chin comes up against the chest. Next, allow the body to come slowly down to a ‘sagging’ position in an upward dog, with only the toes on the floor. Bring the head up, causing it to be drawn as far back as possible. The muscles should be tensed for a moment when the body is at the highest point, and again at the lowest point.”Be sure not to strain the lower back, by bringing strong flowing movement to the upper shoulders. Those with lower back injuries can bend the legs as they go into upward dog.

Breathing: Breathe in deeply as you raise the body, and exhale fully as you lower the body.

Fifth Tibetan

Gain a more focused and purposeful mind

As with all yoga practice, it is important to synchronise your breath with the movement. It’s best to do the exercises in the morning because they get your energy going. But it’s highly likely you will fall in love with the sequence and want to repeat it during the day. To begin with it is best to complete five to seven repetitions of each rite every day and to work up to 21 repetitions of each of the exercises. Usually this takes about 10 – 12 weeks. A lot of people are keen to reach 21 repetitions quickly, but it is best to gradually increase the repetitions. The recommended slow build up process allows your body to develop a strong foundation upon which to improve your flexibility. And it also is important due to the effects of the Rites themselves.  They can initiate many changes in your bodies energy and balance systems. Although this varies from person to person, it is generally best to allow your body time to adjust.

It’s important to ay attention to what your body is telling you and not to strain or force any position that causes pain. There is also a simple and adapted version of the Five Tibetans for those who have injuries or cannot perform the sequence.

When you make this sequence part of your daily practice, you can experience an overall improvement in your health and wellbeing and perhaps the most important benefit, is a dramatic increase in your levels of energy. Other great benefits are a greater resilience to stress and the ability to stay centred. As with all yoga practice greater flexibility in body and mind are usual. Most people report a more focused and purposeful mind and greater awareness, which then creates a happier and more fulfilling life. This sequence really improves the quality of your life.

Experience an overall improvement in your health and wellbeing

A complete and balanced practice

One of the great things about the Five Tibetans, is it is a quick and simple practice that can be done by anyone, regardless of age or fitness levels. It is an incredibly simple ten minute routine that can easily be slotted into your daily life, yet will have major spin offs in all areas. Its free, and its yours. A self empowering practice you can do on your own anywhere and at any time! The Five Tibetans strengthens and stretches all the main muscles in the body. Just as Sun Salutations make up a complete sequence, the Five Rites are a complete and balanced practice.

The 5 Tibetan Rites

In just ten minutes a day you can:

• Reduce stress
• Feel younger and more powerful
• Slow down the aging process
• Improve strength and flexibility
• Enhance vitality
• Calm the mind
• Create greater mental clarity and focus
• Improve your breathing so its deeper, slower and conscious
• Strengthen lower back and core muscles
• Improve your libido
• Supports menopause and hormonal balance
• Be more centred and at peace
• Lose weight and develop muscle tone and core strength
• Improved digestion and elimination
• Reduce depression and anxiety
• Develop better posture
• Strengthen your immune system
• Support deeper sleep

Link: http://upliftconnect.com/the-five-tibetans/

The Warriors of the Rainbow Prophecy

By John Black

 

2016

Are the ancient stories of the Native Americans coming true?

One day… there would come a time, when the earth being ravaged and polluted, the forests being destroyed, the birds would fall from the air, the waters would be blackened, the fish being poisoned in the streams, and the trees would no longer be, mankind as we would know it would all but cease to exist.

This is how the ‘Rainbow prophecy’ begins, as retold by a woman of the Cree Indian nation of America over a century ago.

The Cree are one of the largest groups of the First Nations Native Americans in North America. There are over 135 bands of Cree living in Canada, with a total population of approximately 200,000 today.

The Rainbow prophecy, as it has come to be known, refers to the keepers of the legends, rituals, and other myths that will be needed when the time comes to restore the health on Earth. It is believed that these legendary beings will return on a day of awakening, when all people will unite and create a new world of justice, peace and freedom, and they will be named the ‘Warriors of the Rainbow’. They will reteach the values and the knowledge that has been lost in time, demonstrating how to have wisdom and extra-perception, and how unity, harmony and love is the only way forward.

Long ago Great Spirit came down and He gathered the peoples of this earth together

Leaders Will Be Those Whose Actions Speak The Loudest

The rainbow reference relates to the different colours of the original people:

At the beginning of this cycle of time, long ago, the Great Spirit came down and He made an appearance and He gathered the peoples of this earth together, they say on an island which is now beneath the water, and He said to the human beings, “I’m going to send you to four directions and over time I’m going to change you to four colours, but I’m going to give you some teachings and you will call these the Original Teachings and when you come back together with each other you will share these so that you can live and have peace on earth, and a great civilization will come about. – Prophecy as told by Lee Brown of the Salish Tribe at the 1986 Continental Indigenous Council, Alaska

A particularly interesting part of the prophecy relates to the choosing of leaders. According to the story, a leader will not be the one that talks the loudest, boasts of successes, or has the support of the elite. Leaders will be those whose actions speak the loudest, the ones that have demonstrated wisdom and courage and have proven that they work for the benefit of all. Isn’t this how things should be?

Elements of the Rainbow Prophecy reach across borders and oceans

The Rainbow Prophecy among Different Nations

The Rainbow has always held special significance among the different Native American Indian Nations. It is connected to the Spirit (Supreme God/Creator) in all things. Apart from the Cree prophecy there are many prophecies and stories from the Hopi, the Zuni and the Cherokee related to the rainbow warriors.

There will come a day when people of all races, colors, and creeds will put aside their differences. They will come together in love, joining hands in unification, to heal the Earth and all Her children. They will move over the Earth like a great Whirling Rainbow, bringing peace, understanding and healing everywhere they go. Many creatures thought to be extinct or mythical will resurface at this time; the great trees that perished will return almost overnight. All living things will flourish, drawing sustenance from the breast of our Mother, the Earth.

The great spiritual Teachers who walked the Earth and taught the basics of the truths of the Whirling Rainbow Prophecy will return and walk amongst us once more, sharing their power and understanding with all. We will learn how to see and hear in a sacred manner. Men and women will be equals in the way Creator intended them to be; all children will be safe anywhere they want to go. Elders will be respected and valued for their contributions to life. Their wisdom will be sought out. The whole Human race will be called The People and there will be no more war, sickness or hunger forever. – Navajo-Hopi Prophecy of the Whirling Rainbow

There will come a day when people of all races will put aside their differences

In the time of the Seventh Fire, a New People would emerge. They would retrace their steps to find the wisdom that was left by the side of the trail long ago. Their steps would take them to the elders, who they would ask to guide them on their journey. If the New People remain strong in their quest, the sacred drum will again sound its voice. There will be an awakening of the people, and the sacred fire will again be lit. At this time, the light-skinned race will be given a choice between two roads. One road is the road of greed and technology without wisdom or respect for life. This road represents a rush to destruction. The other road is spirituality, a slower path that includes respect for all living things. If we choose the spiritual path, we can light yet another fire, an Eight Fire, and begin an extended period of Peace and healthy growth. –Grandfather William Commanda, Circle of All Nations Prophecy of the Seven Fires of the Anishnabe, From Ancient Wampum Belt

Ushering in A New Era of Peace And Prosperity

While Wikipedia would have people believe that the legend originates in a 1962 book titled ‘Warriors of the Rainbow’ by William Willoya and Vinson Brown, the reality is that the prophecy is ancient, passed down as oral history over many generations.

Brown, himself, admitted that his research came from the Hopi prophecies, and the book has been criticised as an attempt to evangelize with the Native American community by relating the prophecy of the Rainbow Warriors to the Second Coming of Christ.

References to a new Era, a Golden Age characterised by harmony, stability and prosperity, do not just belong to the Native Americans, but can be found in myths and legends from all over the world. It is known as Chryson Genos in Greek mythology, the Satya yuga in Vedic and Hindu culture, and gullaldr in Norse mythology. One aspect that is common among many legends of the Golden era is the return of beings or gods that will aid in the restoration of the Earth.

In classical Greek mythology the Golden Age was presided over by the leading Titan Cronus. In some version of the myth Astraea, also ruled. She lived with men until the end of the Silver Age, but in the Bronze Age, when men became violent and greedy, fled to the stars, where she appears as the constellation Virgo, holding the scales of Justice, or Libra.

Whether these prophecies are true or not, much of what is spoken about – the era of greed and violence – is a reality throughout much of the world today. Corruption, greed, poverty, consumerism, power to the few, and injustice are predominant characteristics of our civilization accompanied by a great technological advancement that has become a weapon for mass destruction and a tool for supressing resistance. Whether beings from the past will interfere or not, one thing is for sure, life cannot continue in this way forever.

Featured Image: Selection of ‘A Plains Cree warrior and pipe stem carrier’ by Paul Kane of the Fort Pitt region, North Saskatchewan River, Saskatchewan, Canada.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Source of the Cree Legend is Lelanie Fuller Stone, a Cherokee Medicine Woman and Writer, from a story told her by Grandmother as a young girl. Her full recounting of the prophecy as she remembers it can be found here.

 Link: http://upliftconnect.com/rainbow-prophecy

Uniting in Thought and Action

When we are in circle with others, the energy stays contained within the group giving back to all.
There are many reasons for why a gathering of people in a circle is powerful. A circle is a shape that is found repeatedly throughout the natural world, and it is a symbol of perfection. We recreate this perfect shape when we join others to form a circle. Being in a circle allows us experience each other as equals. Each person is the same distance apart from the next participant, and no one is seated higher than or stands apart from others in a circle. From tribal circles to the mythical round table of King Arthur, the circle has been the shape adopted by gatherings throughout history.

The circle is acknowledged as an archetype of wholeness and integration, with the center of a circle universally understood to symbolize Spirit - the Source. When a group of people come together in a circle, they are united. This unity becomes even more powerful when each person reaches out to touch a neighbor and clasps hands. This physical connection unites thought and action, mind and body, and spirit and form in a circle. Because a circle has no beginning and no end, the agreement to connect in a circle allows energy to circulate from one person to the next, rather than being dissipated into the environment.

Like a candle used to light another candle, the connection with spirit that results when one person joins hands with another is greater than if each person were to stand alone. People who take part in a circle find that their power increases exponentially while with the group. Like a drop of water rippling on the surface of a pond, the waves of energy produced in a circle radiate outward in circular motion. While one person may act like a single beacon that emanates light, a circle of people is like a satellite dish that sends out energy. There is power in numbers, and when the commitment is made by many to face one another, clasp hands, and focus on one intention, their circle emanates ripples of energy that can change the world.

~ Madysin Taylor

Purification: An Alchemical Process

By Gloria Excelsias

It is not possible to advance on the Spiritual path without going through a process of purification. The word purification comes from the Latin and means „to make pure.“ („purus“ = pure; + root of „facere“ = to make) It literally means „free from extraneous matter.“

Being an extension of Source, we are – like Source – a trinity: Spirit – consciousness – matter; in intuitive philosophy this trinity is also known as: Monad (Spirit or life aspect) – Soul (consciousness aspect) – Personality (matter aspect).

Our mental, emotional and physical/etheric bodies constitute the so-called personality vehicles. Our bodies are made of various degrees of matter (physical/etheric matter, astral matter, mental matter). The quality of the matter constituting our physical/etheric, emotional and mental bodies is dependent on the thoughts we think, the feelings and emotions we experience, the words we speak, and the actions we take.

Now, I would like to take a moment and talk about the need of purification, focusing specifically on our matter aspect, our bodies. At the end, I will explain why purification is a necessary discipline which we cannot evade if we are to take the next step in our evolution and advance into a Soul-conscious species.

Let’s begin with our mental body.

Since in our current stage of evolution we are mostly unconscious and passive and pay little to no attention to our thinking, we naturally allow the people around us, the situations we find ourselves in, the programs playing on TV, global events, etc. to condition our mental body. Said another way: The newspapers we read, the shows and movies we watch on TV, the conservations we have at work and with our family, the people we hang around with, all play upon and condition the matter of our mental body. Since we, as a human family, are still mostly identified with separation, most of these vibrations are separative in nature. They separate us from Source and from one another.

However, the Spiritual path is the path of gradually replacing the illusion of separation with the reality of oneness. Therefore, to accomplish this, we need to purify our mental vehicle of all separative elements. If we do not systematically purify our mental nature of these separative elements, we will not be able to grow and advance. On the contrary: we’ll stay stuck exactly where we are and keep going in circles. You need to understand that we will not just wake up one magical morning having a fully purified and enlightened mental body. If our mental nature is going to transform into one of love and light and beauty, we will have to take the initiative to do so.

Now, how do we purify our mental nature? One of the most essential ways – and that‘s just one way – to purify our thinking is to begin observing our thinking. As you observe your thinking, the moment you catch yourself having a thought of fear, hatred, separation, anger, etc., immediately stop it and replace it with a thought of love, joy, gratitude and freedom. Energy cannot be destroyed but it can be transformed. When we replace a thought of fear with a thought of love, in that very moment of changing the direction of a thought current, we transform the energy of that thought current and thus literally transform the quality, wiring and substance of our mental body. Changing fear-based thoughts into love-based thoughts is literally an alchemical process. As we keep raising the substance of our mental body by purifying it on an ongoing basis (by continually replacing fear-based thoughts with love-based thoughts), we can use our mental body for an increasingly higher, divine purpose. (To think high thoughts, we need a mental body made of high vibrational mental substance; with a low order mental body we cannot think high thoughts!)

What about our emotional body? The quality of our emotional nature is dependent on the feelings and emotions we express – past, present, and future. Fear-based emotions are separative in nature. Cutting off oneness, they literally destroy the wiring of our emotional nature and create short-circuits in our nature. As as result, we cannot change our emotional responses but are caught in so-called emotional automatic reactions. Someone attacks us, and we automatically attack back (before we even have time to „think“ about what we are doing). To heal these cleavages, we need to flood our emotional nature with love and joy and gratitude, etc. Fear separates, love mends. This way we literally heal the wiring and raise the substance of our emotional nature. So: Observe your emotional automatic reactions. As you catch yourself reacting on automatic pilot, stop yourself in the middle (to the best of your ability) and make a conscious effort to consciously respond in a new, loving way. In this way you install a new program. Part of our evolutionary goal is to master and control our bodies so we can use them in service of the Soul and Spirit. When we have an emotional body that does its „own thing,“ the Soul cannot use it in service. When you purify your emotional nature by flooding your feeling nature with love and joy and gratitude, and by striving to respond to what happens in your life in new enlightened ways, you literally purify and thereby raise the very frequency of the cells constituting your feeling instrument.

Lastly, we also need to purify the matter out of which our physical body is made. Now, how do we accomplish that? Through fasting, deep breathing (I am not talking about pranayama!), sports, sweating in the sauna, etc. Fasting, deep breathing, sports and sweating are excellent disciplines to release coarse matter from our physical matter and build new, finer, higher matter into our densest vehicle. In other words: these are excellent exercises to purify and raise the frequency of the cells constituting our physical body.

Now, this being said, as we all know: we are NOT our bodes. So why bother to purify our vehicles if we are NOT our bodies? Excellent question! As I have said in the beginning, we are a trinity: Spirit, Soul, matter. These three aspects work together in unison. The Soul is Spirit’s vehicle of expression, and the matter aspect (involving ALL our bodies) is the Soul’s vehicle of expression.

In other words: The Soul cannot manifest itself without matter (without bodies) because matter is the very vehicle for the manifestation of the Soul.

Link: http://www.iamuniversity.org/purification-an-alchemical-process/

Generosity

Generosity is an act of moral beauty, one that has intrinsic rewards like the high we get from helping others and the caring connections we build. Even when we give in secret and do not know the rewards, we can be sure that we are chipping away at our own greed and selfishness, which cause us sorrow, and that kindnesses we share will continue to ripple outwards into the world. One generous deed gives birth to another and another in a chain that may be generations long.

On these pages we have gathered spiritual practices, articles, books, films, quotes, and more to help you strengthen your practice of generosity. You can access them through the "Latest Content" link and the icons on this page. We have also put together a sampler of this topic, "The Spiritual Practice of Generosity: A Collection of Inspirational Thoughts."

You will see as you read that generosity is for everyone. It doesn't take money to smile, share your wisdom, or listen nonjudgmentally. And when we are generous, we feel rich no matter how wealthy or poor we are, because we have loosened the chains that keep us from recognizing we belong to the whole world.

Warren Buffett, one of the world's richest men, announced in June 2006 that he is giving 85% of his fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help the foundation pursue its longstanding goal of curing the globe's most fatal diseases and improving American education. This is a $31 billion gift, certainly one of the largest acts of generosity in world history.

Two thoughts came to mind when we heard this news. First, we recalled something Bill Gates, chairman of the Microsoft Corporation, said three years ago. It came near the end of an interview with by Bill Moyers on the PBS series Now. Moyers and Gates were discussing his philanthrophic activities, and Gates recounted a litany of reasons why some people think addressing global health problems is a good idea. Some use economic arguments. If we cure something like malaria in an African country, say, then that country's Gross National Product will be higher (and presumably they will buy more things). Some use security arguments; "If we don't cure these diseases, the instability in these countries will be bad." Others use the neighborhood arguments; "Somebody could get on a plane from one of these places and you might get sick."

None of these arguments, Gates said matter-of-factly, is the right one. "The right argument is this mother's child is sick. And that child's life is no less valuable than the life of anyone else. And the world has plenty of resources to go solve these problems."

We have never forgotten that statement. On the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation website, they restate it as the "two simple values that lie at the core of the foundation's work": (1) "All lives — no matter where they are being led — have equal value." (2) "To whom much has been given, much is expected."

The second thought that came to mind when we heard of Warren Buffett's gift is that generosity is for everyone. If this is how we honor and express human value, than any act of kindness counts in the bigger picture. We can all be kind. We can all be generous. This is one of the key teachings of all the world's religions. "You can share even if you have a little," according to a Lungundan (East African) proverb.

So we decided to look into our databases of quotes collected from our reading and see what teachers of our times and earlier ones have said about the spiritual practice of generosity. We encourage you to take them to heart, as we have, and to share them with others.

• Wendy Lustbader, a mental health counselor, writes in Counting on Kindness: "The words 'genius' and 'generous' come from the Latin root 'genere' meaning 'to beget.' To have a genius for life is to possess the ability to generate warmth and well-being in others. Largess literally enlarges our lives."

• In Simple Truths, Kent Nerburn states: "Giving is a miracle that can transform the heaviest of hearts. Two people, who moments before lived in separate worlds of private concerns, suddenly meet each other over a simple act of sharing. The world expands, a moment of goodness is created, and something new comes into being where before there was nothing. . . . But true giving is not an economic exchange; it is a generative act. It does not subtract from what we have; it multiples the effect we can have in the world."

• Buddhist teacher Sharon Salzberg writes in Lovingkindness: "The Buddha said that no true spiritual life is possible without a generous heart. . . . Generosity allies itself with an inner feeling of abundance — the feeling that we have enough to share."

• Jose Hobday in Simple Living explains how generosity is viewed in the Native American community: "We used to say you could tell if a person was an authentic native whether or not she had a red heart. A red heart had to do with whether the heart had blood from being massaged by good works, especially sharing."

• Catholic and Celtic scholar John O'Donohue observes in Eternal Echoes: "A generous heart is never lonesome. A generous heart has luck. The lonesomeness of contemporary life is partly due to the failure of generosity. Increasingly we complete with each other for the goods, for image, and status."

• In The Knowing Heart, Sufi sheikh Kabir Helminski states: "The Prophet Muhammad said, 'the best of my people will enter paradise not because of their achievements, but because of the Mercy of God and their being satisfied with little for themselves and their extreme generosity toward others.' "

• Matthew Fox in Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh writes: "Generosity is about giving without a guaranteed return — it is about the 'giveaway.' I believe that the true moral path of the twenty-first century will be very different from the path of the modern era because it will be marked by generosity."

• Anglican Archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutuwrites in God Has a Dream: "Like humility, generosity comes from seeing that everything we have and everything we accomplish comes from God's grace and God's love for us. In the African understanding of ubuntu, our humility and generosity also come from realizing that we could not be alive, nor could we accomplish anything, without the support, love, and generosity of all the people who have helped us to become the people we are today. Certainly it is from experiencing this generosity of God and the generosity of those in our life that we learn gratitude and to be generous to others."

• In Contact with God, Anthony de Mello states: "Those who expect God to be generous with them must be generous with their fellows. 'Give,' says Jesus, 'and gifts will be given you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured out into your lap; for whatever measure you deal out to others will be dealt out to you in return. (Luke 6:38) If you are tight-fisted and calculating with the poor, the needy, with those who ask you for help and service, how can you expect God to be generous with you?"

• In Beyond Belief, her examination of the Gospel of Thomas, Elaine Pagels describes the long tradition of generosity in Christianity: "Tertullian, a Christian spokesman of the second century, writes that, unlike members of other clubs and societies that collected dues and fees to pay for feasts, members of the Christian 'family' contributed money voluntarily to a common fund to support orphans abandoned in the streets and garbage dumps. Christian groups brought food, medicine, and companionship to prisoners forced to work in mines, banished to prison islands, or held in jail. Christians even bought coffins and dug graves to bury the poor and criminals, whose corpses would otherwise lie unburied beyond the city gates. . . such generosity, which ordinarily could be expected only from one's own family, attracted crowds of newcomers to Christian groups, despite the risks."

• Christian author Tony Campolo in Spiritual Perspectives on America's Role as a Superpower points out how far many of us are from being generous. He notes: "Americans do not realize that the wealth we have gained since the middle of the twentieth century has slowly made us into a very selfish people. We know that after World War II we helped rebuild Europe under the Marshall Plan, and we still think that the same kind of generosity marks our present-day foreign policy. That is not the case. Of the twenty-two industrial nations of the world, the United States is dead last on per-capita giving to the poor peoples of the world. By way of comparison, let me point out that on a per-capita-basis, for every dollar that America gives to the world, the people of Norway give seventy."

• Margaret Guenther in At Home in the World states: "Jesus' standard of generosity is not the world's standard. 'Just give a cup of cold water in my name,' he instructs. So little and so simple as to be scarcely noticed! Like the widow's mite it is nevertheless a high standard. It demands that we live in awareness of the thirst all around us."

• Catholic priest Edward Hays in Prayer Notes to a Friend suggests: "Make extravagant generosity your greatest vice and become God-like."

• Editor Rebecca Laird in The Heart of Henri Nouwen quotes from this Catholic contemplative's book Sabbatical Journey: "I think that generosity has many levels. We have to think generously, speak generously, and act generously. Thinking well of others and speaking well of others is the basis for generous giving. It means that we relate to others as part of our 'gen' or 'kin' and treat them as family. Generosity cannot come from guilt or pity. It has to come from hearts that are fearless and free and are willing to share abundantly all that is given to us."

• Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield, quoted in The Faces of Buddhism in America, says: "To cultivate generosity directly is another fundamental part of living a spiritual life. Like the training precepts and like our inner meditations, generosity can actually be practiced. With practice, its spirit forms our actions, and our hearts will grow stronger and lighter. It can lead to new levels of letting go and great happiness."

• Buddhist Christina Feldman in Heart of Wisdom, Mind of Calm observes: "Generosity lies at the heart of spiritual practice. Extending generosity to ourselves and others gladdens our heart, is a direct way of healing division, and brings joy."

• In Love Dharma, Geri Larkin states: "The Buddha taught, over and over, that generosity is the first door we walk through if we are serious about our spiritual work. Without generosity enlightenment is flat-out impossible. We're too self-centered. Unless our relationships are bathed in generosity they don't have a chance. At the other extreme, generosity can buttress a faltering relationship, giving other paramitas time to work their magic. It fuels the little extras, the surprise moments that keep us fresh and interesting."

• In Hooked! edited by Stephanie Kaza, Buddhist writer Joseph Goldstein looks at the relationship between generosity and consumerism. "The practice of generosity can serve as a corrective to addictive consumerism. Generosity enacts the quality of nongreed; it is a willingness to share, to let go. It may be giving of time, energy, resources, love, and even in rare cases, one's own life for the benefit and welfare of others. Generosity weakens the tendency of attachment and grasping and is intimately connected with the feeling of lovingkindness. People who experience the power and joy of generosity will also experience its effect on consuming. The cultivation of generosity offers a very strong antidote to the wanting mind and would be a powerful corrective if taken up in a widespread way across our culture."

• Ringu Tulku, a Tibetan Buddhist teacher, in Path to Buddhahood states: "According to the Buddha, if we are rich in this life, it is because we've been generous in previous lives. If we want to be rich in the future, we must learn to give now."

• Catherine Ingram, a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, writes in Passionate Presence: "The Buddha spoke about three kinds of giving: beggarly giving, friendly giving and kingly giving. Beggarly giving is when we give the least of what we have. We give what we don't really need, what we would never miss, what we might have otherwise thrown away. Friendly giving is when we give what we use and like — not our very best — but what we can afford and might appreciate having as a gift ourselves. Kingly giving is of a different order altogether. It is when we give the very best of what we have, when we give more than we keep for ourselves, when we give more than we can afford, when we give with no expectation of reciprocity. In awakened awareness we give because the joy of generosity far exceeds the paltry satisfaction of hoarding or displaying wealth. We give because this very life is a gift itself and wants to be completely used up, wants to spread perfume around everyone it meets."

• Donald Altman in Living Kindness writes about Jewish concepts of generosity: "In Judaism, the concept of giving is essential through what is known as tzedakah, or charity. Actually, the roots of the word stand for justice, righteousness, or fairness. It was in the twelfth century that the Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides compiled his 'eight levels of charity' as a kind of guide to enlightened living. The levels, starting from the lowest to highest, are as follows:

l. Giving unwillingly.

2. Giving willingly but giving less than you could.

3. Giving only after being asked.

4. Giving without being asked.

5. Giving to a recipient you do not know, but who knows you.

6. Giving to a recipient you know, but who does not know you.

7. Giving when both parties are anonymous to each other.

8. Giving that enables self-reliance."

• Rami Shapiro in Hasidic Tales observes: "Acts of generosity are essential to the spiritual life, reflecting as they do an awareness of the interconnectedness of all beings. Judaism sets a minimum standard for giving: ten percent of your earnings. But the Hasid, the compassionate disciple of God, goes beyond the letter of the law."

• Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in Celebrating Life notes: "Happiness is not made by what we own. It is what we share."

• Dean Brackley in The Call to Discernment in Troubled Times writes: "The great challenges of our time — poverty, the environment, war — should inspire humility, but also creativity and bold action. They cry out for large-minded generosity — that is, the magnanimity that springs from wholesome self-esteem. Without humility, we elbow others aside. But without magnanimity, we bury our talent in a napkin."

• In Celebrating Silence, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of The Art of Living Foundation, says: "Poor people fight for food. Rich people share their food. Richer are those who share power. Richer still are those who share fame. Richest of all are those who share themselves. A person's wealth is measured by his ability to share and not by what he hoards."

• Joseph Bruchac in Our Stories Remember states: "The potlatch ceremonies found among many of the Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest have been referred to as "fighting with wealth" by anthropologists who describe them as ceremonies in which a prominent figure tries to outdo a rival by either giving away or destroying vast amounts of personal possessions. . . . It could be said that while the accumulation of personal wealth is a desirable social norm in mainstream American culture, just the opposite is true in American Indian cultures. . . . At its best, a potlatch was a way to redistribute material wealth rather than leaving it in the hands of a few."

• Buddhist teacher Norman Fischer writes in Taking Our Places: "The practice of generosity is a good way to counteract whatever tendency to stealing we might have. To practice generosity is to make a conscious effort to give away whatever we can — money, time, food, feeling — as a way of realizing that generosity is perfectly safe and it's even a relief to give things away."

• In Running the Spiritual Path, Roger Joslin recommends a simple practice for when you are exercising: "Running with alms involves carrying a few dollars with you on the run with the intention of giving it away. Holding money in your pocket, expecting to offer it to another, serves as a reminder to give of yourself."

• Franz Metcalf in Just Add Buddha states: "When someone asks you for a favor, just say 'yes' without hesitating and without thinking. Don't make any room for equivocation or evaluation. Say yes and think later. . . . It's a wonderful practice to do every now and then. With repetition, you'll break down the tension between giving and paying that taints ordinary giving. You'll slowly approach the freedom of pure giving."

• Brother David Steindl-Rast in Music of Silence marvels at the thought that something as simple as a tip "can lighten someone else's day and maybe even turn it around. Generosity can be contagious in a healthy way."
• Link: http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/explorations/topics/view/25/generosity
• http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/practices/features/view/15783/the-spiritual-practice-of-generosity