by Caroline | Apr 17, 2026 | NDE
I really enjoy watching different near death experience (NDE) accounts by people and find their message of love, connectedness and the fact that death is nothing to fear both comforting and inspirational. There is often a common message that what we experience beyond this physical realm is more real than our current experience of life, offers a profound feeling of love and that when we pass from this life, we are going home.
I recently watched a NDE by Danielle Slupesky, who is now an End of Life Guide, Death Doula and Educator which I felt had a particularly important message that I wanted to share.
Danielle was practising as a nurse and had had a number of health issues which resulted in a blood clot travelling to her lung and a serious medical episode which led to her NDE. She describes moving out of her body and experiencing a life review which, like other NDE accounts, was not in judgement but more an opportunity to learn from her actions in this life and adjust behaviour to do better next time.
Danielle explains that during her life review she relived an experience when she was a young student at school, where she came to the defense of a girl who was being bullied by 3 others. She not only experienced what her own emotions were at the time, but also the shame of those perpetrating the bullying as they were aware they were not doing the right thing. She also had a deep understanding that the person who was being bullied experienced for the first time that someone had stood up for her and this changed the life trajectory of the person being bullied in a positive way.
Danielle shared that whatever we do, say and, also think, can have ripple effects both positive and negative for all those that we interact with.
It is therefore essential for us to be mindful of our words, actions and thoughts as they are more powerful than we know.
Here’s the link to the interview. I hope you get as much out of it as I did!
by Caroline | Apr 13, 2026 | Meditation
In a previous article, we spoke about the first four Jhanas, or meditative absorptions. In this article we discuss in brief the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth Jhanas.
The first four absorptions are called rupa-jhanas in Pali where rupa means body and jhana means absorption – this means that whilst the experience we may have is familiar to us, such as joy and contentment, it would feel more refined.
The fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth Jhanas are referred to as arupa-jhanas, where the “a” is translated as “not” which means that the experience in these jhanas is not like what we have consciously experienced before and are purely spiritual in nature.
Ayya Khema in her book 'Visible Here and Now' 2001, pg.116, said that, “the jhanas are comparable to a house with eight rooms. While staying in one room of the house, we may decide to visit another one, but we can also stay put. The decision to go into another room means inclining and aiming the mind in that direction. This decision opens up our consciousness to something new and prevents the rejection of what can’t be grasped by the senses.”
The Buddha said that while we shouldn’t force anything, we can continuously open ourselves up to the next stage.
The Fifth Jhana – infinite space
This is where there is an expansion of the body until there are no more limits. One can visualise this perhaps as a camera zooming out from a person, to a house, to a suburb, a country, the earth, the solar system, the universe, the multiverse to infinity.
This can lead to a feeling that worldly things are not that important and don’t affect us so much. In this infinity, one can start to feel the sense of no “I”.
The Sixth Jhana – infinite consciousness
The experience of infinite space moves into infinite consciousness. This is where we become aware of the consciousness in us that is aware of the infinite space.
This is the realisation that the “I” is not separate and there is only a whole that the “I” is a part of. The droplet becomes aware that it is a part of, and not separate to, the ocean.
Of course, we still need to live in the material world with this awareness, but being aware of the oneness and that everything passes away can help us with clinging to things too tightly which can cause suffering.
The Seventh Jhana – the “sphere of no-thingness”
Science and physics indicate that matter is energy vibrating at a different level and matter is interchangeable with energy (Albert Einstein’s famous E=mc2 equation).
So energy comes together and disperses. We (and everything else) is merely a movement of energy, contracting and expanding. Even our body regenerates cells and does not stay the same.
Some people have been reported as being able to levitate or pass through walls - they have truly understood that “there is nothing but particles of energy that come together and disperse”. (Ayya Khema “Visible Here and Now” 2001, pg. 119). This is a deep understanding that there is really nothing to cling to.
The Eighth Jhana – the “sphere of neither perception or non-perception”
The eighth jhana is a profound infinite depth of rest and stillness in body and mind that excludes perception. It is not a trance like state where one emerges feeling groggy and tired, but rather where one emerges full of energy and awake.
What can this mean for us…
If we continue with our practice and experience these different levels of consciousness, it is impossible not to have a changed consciousness in everyday life.
The Buddha said about the jhanas: "It is impossible to calculate the breadth of influence of a person who practices the jhanas".
Even if a person sits in a cave and pays no attention to worldly matters, he or she has a powerful influence on what takes place in the world (Ayya Khema “Visible Here and Now” 2001, pg. 120).
Reference: Visible Here and Now, 2001 by Ayya Khema
by Caroline | Apr 9, 2026 | Acceptance
One of the great spiritual principles across many different philosophies is the concept of non-resistance
In our modern world we are often encouraged and expected to ignore this principle to our detriment, finding ourselves exhausted and depleted by constantly “swimming upstream”. This may mean different things to different people. Maybe for you it is playing the director in the show of your life, insisting that people play parts that they aren’t willing to play… if only my neighbour wouldn’t start their noisy car so early in the morning; or… if only my colleague would do what I say or would follow my advice!
I’m sure we all have examples to give.
In Taoism the philosophy of water teaches about Humility, Harmony and Openness. What this means is water (humility) doesn’t make any demands or need any recognition for its contribution to the life it gives to plants/ people/ animals. it doesn’t get angry if it comes upon an obstacle like a rock, it simply goes around it (harmony) at its own pace. Water can change (openness) according to its environment, it can be liquid, it can be ice and it can be light as steam…. It is flexible and adaptable.
So next time you find yourself feeling like you’re in a boat paddling upstream, perhaps you would like to try going with the flow, bending into the curves, holding on a little tighter when you go over the rapids, and enjoying the peaceful calm waters until you reach the sea. Maybe that neighbour or colleague will cease to be so annoying after all!
Hear more about the lessons from the philosophy of water in this TED talk that has been viewed over 4 million times!
by Caroline | Apr 9, 2026 | Meditation
The aim of meditation is to calm the mind, be more effective, less stressed and more focused, right? Yes, and so much more…
Meditation has become a bussword in corporate circles for its potential to help executives raise their performance. Advertisements for corporate meditation programs include comments such as…
“Executive meditation offers a potent toolkit for leaders aiming to refine their decision-making ability and overall leadership excellence. By dedicating a few minutes each day to mindfulness practices, you can significantly boost focus, emotional balance, and cognitive flexibility.”
“Mindfulness meditation increased performance on all executive functioning tasks”
So is that what it’s all about? I’m sure it does as advertised, but that is just the surface, meditation can be so much more.
Buddha spoke of the 8 Jhanas (meditative absorptions). What did he mean by this? Let’s briefly explore the first 4 Jhanas:
There’s quite a bit to it and It’s a journey, not a destination… Buddha said that, “growth, which ultimately leads to perfect freedom, is a gradual process”.
The First Jhana – Building Contentment and Patience
We firstly build contentment by learning to become aware of and let go of our expectations, e.g. if we start out our meditation with an expectation of how it should go and then it doesn’t met expectations, we become disappointed and discontented. But if we started our meditation indifferent to how it will go, we are able to gain a sense of satisfaction however it turns out. This expands into letting go of daily excessive demands and expectations of self and others which can result in greater peace and contentment in day-to-day life.
Secondly, it is to build patience especially firstly with ourselves in our meditation practice. It is all part of a journey, and it is okay to not have the perfect meditation session. The Buddha said, “Intention is kharma”, so just by setting out with the intent to meditate you progress on your spiritual path.
The Second Jhana – building feelings of happiness
With more practice we come to understand how impermanent everything is, nothing stays the same, everything changes, including ourselves. We will stop being dependent on anyone or anything to make us happy anymore. We have developed our own self confidence and don’t need to buy, eat, consume, possess anything external to be happy. We will understand deeply that both positive and negative experiences come and go, and we can face both with peace and serenity.
The Third and Fourth Jhana’s – a peaceful mind
If we reach this point, we are grateful to have acquired a great deal of good kamma.
Sometimes this altered state of mind may be created by chemical or other mind-altering substances, but the mind isn’t prepared for this and can’t gain any deep insights. When achieving this inner peace through the third jhana, we can carry over some of this insight into everyday life.
Up until the beginning of the fourth jhana, the ego is still the observer. In the fourth jhana we move into a state of equanimity (defined as a state of mental balance and even mindedness, or immeasurable peace). We realise that the purpose and end of meditation is not to find inner peace (when we manage to hold onto this peace for long enough, we become clear that this can’t be all there is). We lose sense of the “I”, have absolute clarity of mind and understand that people’s problems are caused by thinking and reacting. We attain a level of consciousness without dukkha (suffering).
We have a taste of letting go of self/ego. The more we practice the easier it becomes. Everyone has a different experience with this path, but all can do it.
This is just a very brief explanation of the 4 Jhanas.
More about the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth Jhanas next time!
by Caroline | Apr 9, 2026 | Acceptance
I was cleaning out a cupboard the other day and came across this document, which at a time in my life, made me stop in my tracks, think and start to take responsibility. Perhaps you will also find it helpful.
Author: Unknown (if somebody knows who wrote this, please let me know so that I can credit them!)
The document – ‘The Awakening’
A time comes in your life when you finally get it… when, in the midst of all your fears you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out… ENOUGH. Fighting and crying and blaming and struggling to hold on. Then, like a child quieting down after a tantrum, you blink back your tears and begin to look at the world through new eyes.
This is your awakening.
You realise it’s time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change, or for happiness, safety and security to magically appear over the next horizon. You realise that in the real world there aren’t always fairy tale endings, and that any guarantee of “happily ever after” must begin with you…and in the process a sense of serenity is born of acceptance. You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that not everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are… and that’s OK.
They are entitled to their own views and opinions. You learn the importance of loving and championing yourself… and in the process a sense of newfound confidence is born of self-approval.
You stop complaining and blaming other people for the things they did to you – or didn’t do for you – and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected. You learn that people don’t always say what they mean or mean what they say and that not everyone will always be there for you and that everything isn’t all about you.
So, you learn to stand on your own and take care of yourself… and in the process a sense of safety and security is born of self-reliance. You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept people as they are and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties….. and in the process a sense of peace and contentment is born of forgiveness.
You learn to open up to new worlds and points of view. You begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really stand for. You learn the difference between wanting and needing and you begin to discard the doctrines and values you’ve outgrown or should never have bought into in the first place.
You learn that there is power and glory in creating and contributing and you stop maneuvering through life merely as a “consumer” looking for your next fix. You learn that principles such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a bygone era, but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life. You learn that you don’t know everything, it’s not your job to save the world and that you can’t teach a pig to sing. You learn that the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry and that martyrs get burned at the stake.
Then you learn about love. You learn to look at relationships as they really are and not as you would have them be. You learn that alone does not mean lonely.
You top trying to control people, situations and outcomes. You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility and the importance of setting boundaries and learning to say NO. You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside, smoothing things over and ignoring your needs. You learn that your body is a temple. You begin to care for it and treat it with respect. You begin to eat a balanced diet, drink more water, and take more time to exercise.
You learn that being tired fuels doubt, fear and uncertainty and so you take more time to rest. And, just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul. So, you take more time to laugh and to play. You learn that, for the most part, you get in life what you believe you deserve, and that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for and that wishing for something to happen is different than working towards making it happen.
More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success, you need direction, discipline and perseverance. You also learn that no one can do it all alone, and that it’s okay to risk asking for help. You learn that the only thing to fear is fear itself. You learn to step right into and through your fears because you know that whatever happens you can handle it and to give in to fear is to give away the right to live life on your terms. You learn to fight for your life and not squander it under a cloud of impending doom.
You learn that life isn’t always fair, you don’t always get what you think you deserve and that sometimes bad things happen to unsuspecting good people… and you learn not to always take it personally.
You learn that nobody’s punishing you and everything isn’t always somebody’s fault. It’s just life happening. You learn to admit when you are wrong and to build bridges instead of walls.
You learn that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you and poison the universe that surrounds you.
You learn to be thankful and take comfort in many of the simple things we take for granted, things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about: a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower. Then, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself.
You make it a point to keep smiling, to trust, and to stay open to every wonderful possibility. You hang a wind chime outside your window so you can listen to the wind. Finally, with courage in your heart, you take a stand, you take a deep breath, and you begin to design the life you want to live as best you can.
