Motivation
Do I need a coach?
What is Coaching and Who Needs A Coach? The most successful people in the world all have coaches. Even coaches have coaches. Why? The main reason is because it’s virtually impossible to be totally objective about ourselves. A coach helps us see ourselves in ways that we never could. He helps us see opportunities where […]
Coming To Krishna Consciousness
Introduction For about the last fifteen years I’ve contemplated writing a book about my personal spiritual journey. Over the years I’ve gained many insights that were important – and sometimes essential – to my advancement in Krsna consciousness. I have also learned significant lessons from the continual mistakes I’ve made. My motive in writing this […]
Feeling Bad
To feel bad that you are not more Krsna conscious is good if the focus is on Krsna. To feel bad that you are not more Krsna conscious is bad if the focus is on how bad you feel (i.e. the focus is on you). The former is transcendental and the latter is in the […]
We Cause Our Own Suffering
“Who do you think you are to treat me this way?” I haven’t read that sloka in our books, have you? But this sloka I have read, “Whatever is coming to me is only a fraction of what I deserve.” How come we miss this point and spend useless energy battling others in our mind, […]
Get Off the Couch
A letter to a devotee battling with a lack of willpower. How you feel is a perfect setup for failure. You are too negative to succeed. The only one who fails is the one who gives up. Sounds like you have lost hope. Never give up. You create your reality. Do you realize you are […]
What About Our Past?
What about our past? How do we deal with it? What is important is the direction we are facing, not the direction we have come from. However, when we look at our past it can be an impetus to move forward if we feel ashamed for what we have done and remember the pain that […]
Conditioning and Determination
In remaining determined there are different factors that can affect us. Let’s first look at a big one: creating the proper environment in your life to support your determination. If I am determined to not eat sweets, but I stock my house full of sweets, that will likely work against me. Rather, I would do […]
Who Controls Your Mind
We will never stay low if our thoughts are high. Our mind is the driver of our lives. The problem is that we often drive down the wrong road. Sometimes we even let go of the wheel! Can we always think good thoughts, or is responding to the mind’s whims man’s default setting? When anger […]
Self Discipline
Self discipline is doing what needs to be done whether or not you feel like it. When you don’t feel like doing something and you do it anyway, you move closer to where you want to be. Thus you always feel better. Ironically, we often put off doing something because we believe it will be […]
Determination
Devotee: As you said in your mail that greatest inspiration comes from service in connection with guru and Krsna! So honestly, I myself have been looking for that! So what’s your instruction for me? Mahatma Prabhu: First you need to search your heart to find out what you really connect with, what you really like […]
No One Can Help You
In the book My Glorious Master, Bhurijan Prabhu writes, “A devotee asked Prabhupada for help, saying that he was not able to follow the four rules. Prabhupada looked sternly at him, ‘If you do not follow the regulative principles, then no one can help you’.” The platform from which help comes is following the principles and […]
Go Cold Turkey
Attachments come from conditioning (habit) and the best way to break a bad habit is to stop indulging in it. Once an alcoholic gets off alcohol, he is told never to take one drop of alcohol again for the rest of his life. He shouldn’t get near alcohol, look at it, think about it, etc. […]
Let Krsna Pull You Away From Maya
Krsna helps us to the degree we have the intention, and make the effort, to improve. Certainly no problem of ours is too great for Him to solve. We just need to be willing to let Him solve it. One of the offenses to the holy name is to maintain material attachments. The holy name […]
Classes, Daily Videos and Audio Series on Motivation
10 Habits of Ineffective People Balancing Material and Spiritual Life Balance https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaUdkjltOEbzpagk0vCcxRiEDYCnIAc7o Finding Your Dharma How to Improve Your Krishna Consciousness – Daily Videos Your Dharma – Daily Videos Finding Your Dharma Series – Souncloud The Re-Creation Workshop – Souncloud
You Can Do It
Illuminations Newsletter 41 I was checking for a document on my computer and came across a letter I wrote to a devotee who had recently come back to devotional service. Over the years he had his ups and downs and wrote me because he was concerned this pattern might continue. I thought it would be […]
The Comfort Zone
Illuminations Newsletter 45 Recently a friend of mine and Life Coach, Akrura Das, visited Alachua and we recorded a number of talks on subjects such as responsibility, connecting with your dharma, possibility thinking, limiting beliefs, etc. I think you will find them very valuable, so I have decided that the upcoming newsletters will all be […]
Possibility Thinking
Illuminations Newsletter 46 Possibility thinking means there is always more than one way of approaching a situation. Generally we have patterns of thinking which lock us into seeing situations in a narrow way or the same way over and over again. But there is always more than one way to deal with a situation. By […]
Connecting With Your Dharma
This issue of the audio Illuminations newsletter is about connecting with your dharma and mission in Srila Prabhupada’s service. Connecting to your personal mission is one of the best ways to remain enthused and inspired in Krsna consciousness. How do you know you have connected with your dharma and mission? You look forward to your […]
The Balance Between Effort and Mercy
Illuminations Newsletter 63 What is the relationship between effort and mercy? How much of our advancement depends upon our own efforts and how much depends upon the mercy we receive? In other words, can mercy actually be earned, and if so, how? And if it is earned, is it actually mercy? In continuing our series […]