How to Get Started with Sanskrit (a Blueprint)

When I began studying Sanskrit consistently about four years ago, I had no idea where to start or what was the best approach. I tried a few lessons here and there, but none of them aligned with my goals.

Traditional teachers want to teach you every single grammar rule before you start reading the scriptures as if you were a teenager with your entire life ahead of you!  

Discovering Your Life Purpose

In this article, my godchild and I talk about discovering our life purpose. More specifically, we discuss: how to define life purpose, questions to discover your life purpose, can your purpose in life change over time, and, how to ensure that we don't fail at fulfilling our life purpose.

What is Vipassana Meditation? Goenka's 10-Day Course Explained

Goenka's 10-Day Vipassana meditation course attracts people from all backgrounds who seek an immersive, intense, and potentially life-changing experience.  Most people though, know very little about this meditation technique and the course structure before joining the course. 

I know that was my case. That's why I've decided to try to explain, in layman’s terms, what is Vipassana meditation and what exactly you do during the 10-day Vipassana meditation course.  So I hope that old and new students will find this article helpful.  

3 Things I Hated about Goenka's 10-Day Vipassana Meditation Course

Goenka's 10-day Vipassana Meditation Course can be a life-changing experience.   10 hours of meditation per day is really powerful.  But there were a few things I hated about the course, so much that I doubt I will ever try it again in the future.  

There is No Aim in Meditation (Lessons From My 2nd Vipassana Retreat)

Meditation hall at Dhamma Arunachala Meditation Center

I recently completed my second 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat (where you sit in silence and crossed-legged on the floor for 10 hours a day) and I gotta tell you, I was so glad when the course was over. I even started counting down the days from day five and told myself during the last few days that I would never do this course again.

I Started a NON-Gratitude Journal. It's Changed My Life

I know, everybody recommends having some form of gratitude practice like for instance a gratitude journal.  There are countless videos and blogs talking about it. There is even scientific research proving the mental and physical benefits of having a gratitude practice.  

Yet, instead of writing a gratitude journal, I've decided to keep a non-gratitude journal. Instead of focusing on what I feel grateful about I've decided to focus on what I don't feel grateful about.  

Is Journaling More Powerful Than Meditation?

In 2016 I published this blog post: 10 Reasons Why You Should Start a Spiritual Journal Today.  With time I have become even more convinced about the benefits of journaling, or rather the Morning Pages.  But are they more powerful than meditation? 

My 5-day Stay at a Buddhist Forest Monastery in Sri Lanka

After five months in a popular surf destination in Sri Lanka, I decided to move into a remote Buddhist forest monastery to practice meditation.  I had been dreaming about meditating in a cave for months, but I wasn't sure if the forest-dwelling monks would allow me to stay.

STOP Delaying Happiness: You can choose to be Happy TODAY

Photo by Maksym Kaharlytskyi on Unsplash

A couple of years ago my friend Sophie, who is now a Buddhist nun, asked me in a text message, "How is your happiness going, Marco?"

I didn't answer anything because the truth is that at that moment I wasn't feeling very happy. As a matter of fact, I had not been feeling happy for a very long time. And the pandemic had made matters even worst, as you can imagine.

The Actual Difference Between Mindfulness and Meditation

Photo by Hans Vivek on Unsplash

What is the difference between mindfulness and meditation, you may ask?

I know, it can be confusing since we often hear the terms mindfulness, mindfulness meditation, mindfulness-based meditation, or just meditation used interchangeably.

But, are they really all the same?  This is what I like to cover in this blog, starting with the definition of mindfulness and its benefits.