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Immersing oneself in the soothing sounds of a forest or woodland, a practice popularly known as “forest bathing,” is measurably more effective for relaxation than using a meditation app, a new study supported by Britain’s National Trust suggests.

According to the results of the study, published yesterday, which measured reaction times and subsequent behavioral responses to sensory stimuli, soaking up the sounds of woodland nature resulted in significant improvement in relaxation, with a 30 per cent increase in feelings of relaxation among the study participants, compared with no change for those listening to a voiced meditation app.

“The crunch of snapping twigs underfoot. Lilting birdsong from above. The rustling of trees in the breeze. Woodland sounds have been shown to have a direct impact on our wellbeing, making us more relaxed, less stressed and less anxious,” the National Trust said in a release announcing the study.

(read more at www.buddhistdoor.net)

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Fearlessness is the greatest qualification for a spiritual aspirant. All fears are imaginary. They have no real basis. When you think seriously they will melt away like snow before the sun. Swami Sivananda

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Anytime you make a decision to develop yourself personally or professionally, keep in your mind the image of a tiny tree seed. Then remember that it will take time for that seed to emerge from the earth, rise up, and stand tall. It's never helpful to start questioning yourself these ways:

  • why am I not making more progress?
  • why is this so hard?
  • why is this taking so long?

  • why are there issues?
  • why can't I get past them?
It takes time for a seed to grow, so give it time. Quit asking yourself self-defeating, self-sabotaging questions.


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Intensify your dispassion and yearning for liberation. Destroy your personal element. Forgive those who harm you. Give love for hatred. Overcome evil by good. Resist the promptings of the lower nature. - Swami Sivananda


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While funeral rites and ceremonies vary according to country and culture, Buddhism strongly favors cremation as the most natural way to deal with a corpse. The Buddha, himself, was cremated and his cremains divided among his key disciples. Cremation is preferred for a variety of reasons including:
  • financial considerations - burial requires the expense of preparing the body such as embalming, the purchase of land, paying for coffins, tombs as well as markers and monuments;
  • issues of land use - cremation eliminates conflicts over land for the living or land for the dead;
  • as an act of compassion and generosity - sky burial is common in Tibet, Mongolia and parts of China where a body is placed on a mountaintop to be consumed by hungry birds and animals. Remaining bones are allowed to decompose naturally.
Buddhism stresses that funeral rites and ceremonies remain simple, uncluttered and inexpensive. When a body is to be cremated, a monk may be present to lead chanting and meditation and a few family members may speak about the deceased before the cremation process is started. When the cremains are collected they may be kept by the family in an urn, scattered, or enshrined at a temple or monastery.
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Through the power of meditation, we can find lasting peace and happiness, and, more importantly, we can bring peace and happiness to others. - Lama Zopa

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Picture
This is a photo (taken yesterday) of my friend's grandson. The beautiful little boy is almost 6 months old and already doing his first yoga pose.  It's 'happy baby' pose (ananda balasana in Sanskrit).  His pleasure at doing the pose shows how natural and how pleasant it is for the body to do yoga.  Here are some benefits of happy baby pose:
  • relaxes and stretches muscles of the hip, groin, and lower back area;
  • opens the hips;
  • releases the sacrum;
  • massages the stomach and digestive system;
  • stimulates the kidneys;
  • triggers the 2nd chakra (sacral) which improves the sense of well begin and positivity;
  • awakens the inner child and our 'happy' place
  • generates joy.

How to do it.  (Keep in mind that it's usually much easier for a flexible baby than it is for us adults whose bodies have tightened up with time.)
1.  Lie down on your back;
2.  Support your head (if you like) with a pillow or folded blanket;
3.  Bend your knees and bring them up towards the stomach;
4.  Have the soles of your feet face up toward the ceiling;
5.  Spread the legs at least hip distance apart;
6.  Reach up and to hold the inside or outside edges of your feet.
7.  If you can't quite reach the feet, hold a belt or yoga strap around both feet.
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Difficulties exist only that you may grow strong
by overcoming them. So overcome all difficulties,
one by one, patiently. If you fail ten times, do not
despair. If you fail a hundred times, do not be
disheartened. If you fail a thousand times, rise up
and march on boldly. Failures are indeed stepping
stones to success. - Swami Sivananda



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  The mind is under the constant influence of what is with you, in you and around you. Therefore, you should learn how to reset your surroundings in order to realize the one unity and essence. - Satyananda Saraswati


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Mundane persons do not believe in pursuing good and receiving its reward, or in practicing the Way and attaining enlightenment. Neither do they believe in rebirth and retribution for unskillful acts, nor in accumulating merit by helping others.   Believing that these are false, they totally reject such a pure vision. Further, by so doing, they cling to their own views more tenaciously.  - The Buddha

Victor M. Parachin ... 

a Vedic educator, yoga instructor, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore. Sadly, Victor passed away in August 2025, but his blog continues. Janet Parachin, his partner of 45 years, shares quotes from his books and articles each week. 

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