Â鶹Éç

Available for over a year

A rare photograph of a comet that will never be seen from Earth again has won a prestigious photography prize. The image shows a piece of Comet Leonard's tail breaking off and being carried away by the solar wind. The comet made a brief appearance after being discovered in 2021, but has now left our Solar System. Human kind is fascinated by other worlds and dimensions and the prospect of discovering them. Sightings of things such as comets remind us that there’s more to existence than meets the eye. We’re no strangers to entering other worlds and dimensions, we do it all the time and it all begins in our minds. Wherever the mind goes the body follows. I see this in my clinical work as a Psychiatrist; when patients re-enter a world of trauma from the past the body reacts in a reciprocal fashion or when they are anxious about the future and enter a world which has not yet happened, the body also reacts as if already there. During meditation their bodies relax and are rejuvenated by the happy place that their minds have gone to. In our day-to-day lives what’s on our mind also directs where the body goes. For example on a recent trip to Rome my friends and I were very keen to experience the rich sacred art of Rome and found ourselves pulled into some of the most beautiful cathedrals in obscure places without ever being signed posted to them or consciously looking for them. The Hindu Scriptures say more about how this simple principle relates to our experience of the spiritual dimension. The Madhurya Kadambini, one of the core Bhakti Yoga texts describes how the spiritual realm is all around us and within us; the only thing keeping us from being there is the subtle but thick veil of incomplete self-perception. It teaches that much of spiritual growth is about immersing the mind and heart in the descriptions of the spiritual realm such as the activities, attitudes and our own spiritual identity. As the human mind and ego transform, so the body follows meaning that what we might think of as an everyday activity such as taking out the rubbish becomes a devotional act and has an impact on the spiritual dimension of our life. I think this simple yet profound understanding that the mind can act as a bridge to a world that transcends the here and now, whilst we are being present and active here and now, means that the empowerment and solace that comes from living in spiritual consciousness is always available to us and not limited to physically being in a temple or in active prayer but is accessible all around us and within us.