Live Your Own Life

Live your own life

"We don't always know what makes us happy. We know, instead, what we think SHOULD. We are baffled and confused when our attempts at happiness fail...We are mute when it comes to naming accurately our own preferences, delights, gifts, talents. The voice of our original self is often muffled, overwhelmed, even strangled, by the voices of other people's expectations. The tongue of the original self is the language of the heart."

-- Julia Cameron

We are each unique beings with a unique path in life. If we wish to be fulfilled, we need to go to our own hearts for direction. We might regularly ask ourselves:

- "What do I really want to do?"

- "What brings me greatest happiness?"

- "How can I bring more of these into my life?"

Life wants us to go for what brings us most joy and meaning.

"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. ...I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing."

-- Oriah Mountain Dreamer

"Let me listen to me and not to them."

-- Gertrude Stein

"What you must dare is to be yourself."

-- Dag Hammarskjold

Start The New Year Right: Learn Law of Attraction

Learn Law of Attraction with a Manifestation Journal by Wendy S Betterini

Learning to use the Law of Attraction can often be confusing and frustrating. Even if you understand the general idea of what you're supposed to do (ask, believe, let go, receive), it's not always so clear when you're constantly bumping up against stressful situations that threaten your focus. When things around you aren't so rosy, it's easy to keep slipping back into old negative thought patterns that keep you stuck.



One of the most powerful tools you can use to overcome this problem is a manifestation journal. A journal can provide the focus and insight to help you choose better thoughts, refine your approach and gradually raise your frequency to be in alignment with what you really want to attract into your life.



Keeping a manifestation journal is very easy - and a whole lot of fun. Here's how to do it:



1) Cover the basics.



First, choose the book you want to use as your journal. It can be a formal blank journal, an ordinary lined notebook, or even a document on your computer if you'd rather type than write.



Once you have chosen your journal, start by covering the basic steps of deliberate attraction on the first page. List each step and a short description of how to do it. (Example: "Step 1: Ask - Get clear about what you really want. Step 2: Believe - Believe and know you deserve it and can have it... etc.) This page serves as a handy checklist for those times when you feel like you're veering off-track.



2) Look into the past.



The next few pages in your journal should contain an overview of your past as far as the Law of Attraction is concerned. Have you ever attracted anything into your life even if you weren't fully aware of how you did so at the time? What did you do or think that made the manifestation successful?



Have you been trying to attract something specific more recently with little success? Why do you think that is? Are you struggling with certain steps of the attraction process while others come more easily to you? Can you see any areas that you need to focus better on?



Write as much as you can about your success (or lack of) up to this point in time. This should paint a clear picture of where you stand as a conscious creator and provide insight about what you could be doing better to achieve more focused results.



3) Keep a daily record.



Now, make a list of the objects and/or experiences that you wish to attract into your life in the near future, and keep a daily record of your attempts to do so. Are you struggling to stay in a positive mind-set? Write it down. Do you keep vacillating on what you want? Write that down too. Record the things you are doing successfully and the things you're struggling with.



Every few days, flip back through the previous pages of your journal and look for patterns that might be holding you back. Do you keep letting doubt intrude on your thoughts? Are you trying to control "how" everything happens? Make note of any insights you pick up while re-reading your journal and begin to alter your daily thoughts and actions to improve your results.



When you are successful in attracting something you want, record every tiny detail of exactly what you did, how you felt, what you focused on, how long the manifestation took, and so on. Over time you will have more and more of these successes to record, and you'll have a clear blueprint to follow so you can do it again and again.



As simple as journaling may sound, it is incredibly powerful! As time goes on you'll be able to see a clear progression of growth and mastery taking place before your eyes. You'll be able to spot limiting patterns, old habits, negative expectations and more that may be hindering your progress and turn them around quickly. As a result, manifesting the things you want becomes a clearer, more focused process.



Are you still struggling to learn the Law of Attraction and get it working consistently in your life? Visit http://www.loa-step-by-step.com for an easy, step by step blueprint to take your manifestations to the next level.



Article Source: NewAgeArticles.com

Love Yourself

"If you had a friend who talked to you like you sometimes talk to yourself, would you continue to hang around with that person?"

-- Rob Bremer

Thanks to the power of our inner critics, most of us have a very poor opinion of ourselves. Yet self-contempt merely keeps us miserable and stuck in our mediocrity.

If we were to make only one change to transform the quality of our lives, we might try sending a little love our own way.

"A critic is a legless man who teaches running."

-- Channing Pollock

"Unkind criticism is never part of a meaningful critique of you. Its purpose is not to teach or to help, its purpose is to punish."

-- Barbara Sher

"You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."

-- Buddha

You Are Complete

"Everything you need you already have. You are complete right now, you are a whole, total person, not an apprentice person on the way to someplace else."

-- Wayne Dyer


Close your eyes and imagine that everything you have and everything you are is enough. You don�t need to be better or different -- you�re great just as you are. Can you experience the peace and contentment that owning that perspective brings?

Moving into such total acceptance does not mean that we stop growing. When we can accept who we are now, we open the doors to our own inspiration to do and be even more!

"Who you really are is enough."

-- Oriah Mountain Dreamer


"Wherever you are is always the right place. There is never a need to fix anything, to hitch up the bootstraps of the soul and start at some higher place. Start right where you are."


-- Julia Cameron

Soul Lives In Connection

To easily experience soul, find something you love to do and immerse yourself in it. Consciously savour a favourite piece of music. Consciously enjoy a walk in nature. Really experience your breathing and the pounding of your heart as you exercise. Really be present to your partner, your kids, your pet or another, and you will know the contentment of soul.


"I think that whenever soul is present, it's because what you're doing, whom you're with, where you are, evokes love without your thinking about it. You are totally absorbed in the place or person or event, without ego and without judgment."



-- Jean Shinoda Bolen

ALL is mind!

"I want to know the thoughts of God;

the rest are details."

-- Albert Einstein



Everything -- absolutely everything -- that happens in our lives has a spiritual cause. Events on all other levels -- mental, emotional and physical -- are only effects.

When we are struggling with any challenge, whether it be ill health, a lack of money, a lost job, poor relationships, an accident, whatever -- we need to look for the spiritual learning. We can ask ourselves, "What quality does my soul want me to live more fully?"

"If you start to think the problem is "out there," stop yourself. That thought is the problem."

-- Stephen Covey

Garden Magick - Transform a Difficult Garden into a Sacred Resort for the Soul

Garden Magick - Transform a Difficult Garden into a Sacred Resort for the Soul by Carolyn Donnelly

Are you establishing a new garden? Are you trying to bring a long neglected or difficult garden back to life again? You can create a flourishing garden anywhere. All you need is loads of desire, a little imagination and an open mind. In this article I briefly summarise some techniques that I have successfully used for encouraging growth in difficult areas of the garden. By adding a little magick to some basic ecological gardening principles your can create a sensation.



There are a few essential requirements for a healthy garden. These are: soil with the correct texture, nutrient levels, and drainage; water; sunlight and the appropriate plant choice for your local environment. Garden bed preparation is of utmost importance and you would be well advised to ensure that you have provided your plants with the best physical environment possible for their successful growth. But getting the physical environment right is just the first step. To get the best out of your garden you need to provide a happy environment, full of positive energy and a little magick.



Visualize



When you first start planting out your garden it doesn’t look much like it will in two, three, five or ten years. Visualization is a crucial part of the garden design and planning process. It is also important for the growing process. To keep your garden growing in the direction would like it to grow, you need to visualize regularly. This is just a matter of looking at the garden and imagining what it will look like when your plants are fully grown. In doing so you are mentally sending your plants messages of encouragement. Make a habit of visualizing your garden on a daily basis and imagine it as it will look in, say, five years of constant and healthy growth.



In the meantime … fake it



While you are in the early stages of garden creation, try making a ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ garden. This simply means creating an interim garden. You can do this by placing pots filled with colourful plants around the area. This will give you some instant gratification for your efforts. It will also give your new plants some company. After all, plants are communal and are not meant to grow alone.



You can quickly and easily create new pot plants by taking cuttings from other plants in your garden or your existing pot plants. Put the cuttings in water until they sprout roots – some won’t grow roots this way, it will be trial and error but many will grow roots within a week. Alternatively, buy some plants, preferably colourful flowering plants. Of course, choose appropriate plants for the location of your garden - shade loving plants for areas with little sun, etc.



Place the pots around the area where you want the garden to be and in between the plants that you have recently planted. If the garden is located in a harsh landscape that is subject to extreme hot or cold or strong winds, you can place the pots so that young plants are protected from harsh winds or direct sunlight. If your environment is particularly harsh, you may consider adding small screens made from bamboo or other natural materials to protect young plants until they establish. In a dark or very shaded area, ensure that your pots will not block any sunlight that your seedlings may be receiving.



Attract Native Animals



Life attracts life, so by attracting as many animals to your garden as possible you will increase the life energy of your garden which will help your plants to grow. Place rocks and logs in your garden to provide shelter and homes for small lizards and insects. If you do not have any tall trees, installing a pole that a bird can perch atop (but a cat can’t climb) is a great idea, as birds will contribute seed laden droppings that can bring additional plants to your garden as well as additional nutrients. Show your delight when you notice a new native occupant and let him know he is welcome.



Allow the ecology of your garden to evolve along with the growth and addition of your plants and other components. Resist interfering by removing or killing particular animals that you don’t like such as spiders. Instead, become curious and learn about them. Talk to them. You will gain an entirely new appreciation for these animals and improve your karma at the same time.



Avoid Using Poisons



Garden shops are full of garden poisons. It’s big business. It would be easy to assume that weed killers, snail killers and the other exterminators are an essential component to gardening. However, the reality is that they are really bad for your plants and the animals that add value to your garden. There is almost always a natural or more gentle alternative to using poisons in the home garden. It is far more effective in the long term to pull weeds out by hand and you will save a lot of money.



Decorate and Communicate



Celebrate your garden area by decorating it with beautiful things, such as hanging pots, statues, bird baths, sculptures and low lighting. These will add positive energy and atmosphere. If possible, include an outdoor table and chairs and spend some time there entertaining friends, laughing and having a good time, or just be there on your own relaxing and smiling upon your garden. Make sure you remove or disguise any ugly or unsightly objects. It is important to keep the area beautiful as you are more likely to spend time in, and give loving energy to, a garden that you like the look of and feel good about.



Take a leaf out of Grandma’s Book



Did your Grandmother speak to her plants? Mine did, and that practice was passed down to my mother and now I do it. It works! You don’t need to spend a lot of time in conversation with your flowers. Simply walk around and admire your plants for a few minutes most days. In the difficult spots, stop and talk to those plants that are struggling. Express pleasure when you see some growth. Smile at your plants and talk to them in a light manner as you are attending to their needs.



Crystals for Positive Energy



Use crystals and semi precious stones to add some beneficial energy to the area. Here are some ideas:



Agate



This crystal is known for its ability to produce abundance and increase yields in crops. It can be used to enhance the health of your pot plants or your garden plants.



Jade



Jade represents life and growth and has been associated with the health of plants and the environment. Place jade statues in the garden or use jade in a decoration that hangs above or nearby your plants.



Moonstone



Moonstone helps to enhance the growth and health of plants. Use it in decoration in your garden or wear it when attending to your plants.



Clear quartz



Quartz will amplify and enhance the qualities of any other stone and can be used to achieve any goal of pure intention. Use it alongside the other stones or alone in your garden to enhance plant growth. I hang crystals over pot plants to improve their performance.



These are examples of stones and crystals that have specific qualities that can assist plant recovery and growth. However, there are many crystals and stones that have healing and nurturing properties so it may pay to experiment. Crystals can be placed in pots, used as a display on a table, in a bird bath or water feature. They are particularly beautiful when they form part of a hanging decoration.



Add a Little Fairy Magick



Fairies have long been associated with gardens. Flower fairies were thought to live in the flowers of plants. They looked after the plant by ensuring it had everything it needed. You can add your own bit of fairy magick to your garden by placing a hanging fairy near the garden that you want to prosper from this energy.



You can also increase the positive energy of your garden area by hanging or placing sculptures of powerful symbols such as the Sun, for positive energy, and the Moon, for receptivity and supernatural powers. Both of these symbols together represent balance and harmony. There are many other symbols of good fortune such as Buddha that will enhance the energy and the feel of your garden. These symbols and bearers of good energy also look great.



Feng Shui Garden



Designing your garden for good Feng Shui



The Feng Shui garden is designed to allow Chi to flow. To create good Feng Shui, design your garden with plenty of curves. If you have a garden with very straight edges, add features that give the impression of curves. You can achieve this by the way you place your garden features and how you locate your plants. Choose rounded pots and curvy furniture to increase the positive Feng Shui in your garden.



Windchime Magick



Another way to increase Chi in your garden is by hanging a windchime or a windchime bell. Windchimes aid in the flow of Chi and add an additional element to your garden through sound. The right windchime can create a sensation of peace through its harmonic tunes. It is worthwhile selecting a well made bell or windchime that you enjoy listening to as this will make a valuable addition to the atmosphere of your home and give you joy every time the breeze blows.



Water Features



A water feature is also extremely beneficial in the creation of a positive Feng Shui garden. The water must be flowing, however, so that Chi can flow and so that it does not become stagnant. The addition of fish to your water feature will provide more positive energy due to the additional life. Be sure to find fish that do not eat the spawn of local frogs. Gold fish, which originated in China, have become an environmental nuisance in some countries and they will eat frogspawn. For frog friendly fish, check with your Government Fisheries Department.



Frog Magick



Frogs represent good luck in many cultures around the world. The first frogs hopped this earth alongside the Dinosaurs. They are wise beings, worthy of respect and they will bring good energy to your garden. Be sure to locate any pond a good distance from bedroom windows, however, as frogs can croak up a storm at night.



Scent



A wonderful way for a garden to enrich your life is through scent. You can create a special atmosphere by planting the shrubs, trees and flowers in your garden that provide certain scents that enhance particular moods. Add some instant inspiration by filling your pots with lavender, jasmine, geranium, lemongrass or whatever your nose desires.



Burn incenses outside or light a scented candle at night while sitting in the garden. Select the scent that will be most beneficial for your garden’s growth. Try gardenia or lavender for love and healing, ginger for success, patchouli or rosemary for love and growth, the invigorating benefits of sweet orange or frankincense and myrrh for healing and growth.



A closing thought ..



Your garden reflects the relationship it shares with you and the other inhabitants of your home. By increasing the positive loving energy in your garden you will create a place for growth and harmony, a place where life will thrive. In return you will receive much enjoyment. By combining good ecological concepts with a little magick you can turn a difficult garden into a sacred resort for the soul.





About the Author: Carolyn is an ecologist, avid gardener and supporter of new age spirituality. Her website, Placid Moon www.placidmoon.com, features a range of products that can assist you in building your ‘sacred resort for the soul’, such as essential oils, incense, scented candles, incense burners, candle holders, oil warmers, crystals, hanging sculptures, windchimes and bells.




Article Source: NewAgeArticles.com

Seek The Inner Cause of Problems

Hello Great Beings of Love and Light...it's been awhile since I have spoken on here.  I hope that you have enjoyed these inspirational quotes and that they have helped you in your own lives.  I would love for you to comment and let me know how they have helped you if at all.  And now, he's some more for you...


"When you arrive at your future, will you blame your past?"

-- Robert Half

What holds you back from being and doing more? In your journal, list what you believe is holding you back.

Have you blamed people or factors outside of yourself? It's important to understand that ALL problems are rooted inside us. Even the blocks that appear to be outside of us are only reflecting back an issue we have inside that we have not yet owned. Once we address our inner issue, the outer situation no longer troubles us.

The buck always stops with us. We step into our power when we accept responsibility for our lives.

"The most self-destructive thought that any person can have is thinking that he or she is not in total control of his or her life. That's when, "Why me?" becomes a theme song."

-- Roger Dawson

"...look at that word blame. It's just a coincidence that the last two letters spell the word me. But that coincidence is worth thinking about. Other people or unfortunate circumstances may have caused you to feel pain, but only you control whether you allow that pain to go on. If you want those feelings to go away, you have to say:"It's up to me.""

-- Arthur Freeman



"Don't make excuses -- make good."



-- Elbert Hubbard

All About Energy Healing!

Energy Healing by Jeff Palmer

Energy healing is a very widely used term for any form of healing which balances, rejuvenates, or restores the levels of energy in the body. The principles of energy healing are rooted in the belief that in addition to biological and bio-chemical systems, the human body consists of a system of subtle energies. Most often referred to in the West as universal life energy or bio-energy it is referred to as various names among other cultures; in India it is known as prana, the Japanese know it as qi; in Hebrew it is called ruah, the Chinese refer to it as ki, in Hawaii it is referred to as mana or ti.



Energy healers believe that this universal energy flows through the body in recognizable patterns. This energy extends beyond the surface of the body and creates an energy field, also known as an aura or bio-field. When an individual’s energy patterns are balanced and free flowing, a healthy life can be enjoyed. When the energy field becomes disrupted, weakened or blocked, however, the symptoms of physical and emotional damage can occur. Prolonged disturbances in an individual’s energy field can lead to chronic pain, disease and emotional disturbances.



Many mainstream health systems have employed the life energy principle within their healing methods. Well known healing techniques such as chiropractic healing, shiatsu massage, acupuncture, osteopathy, acupressure, naturopathy, reiki, touch therapy and several others, employ various forms of energy field or life force principles in the treatment and diagnosis of patients. Traditional health care providers increasingly offer these healing techniques as a compliment to orthodox medical care.



Energy healing works by reconfiguring the energy that exists within and around all living things. Energy manipulation performed by a practitioner corrects imbalances and blockages in the flow of life energies through the body. The reconfiguring of life energy is commonly performed with the hands, in some cases it is carried out remotely. Life energy also acts as a catalyst to accelerate the natural healing process of the body. When life energy is applied to the unhealthy part of the body the rate of recovery or healing is increased.



Practices such as, qi-gong, tai-chi, yoga and focused meditation also involve the perception, manipulation and direction of universal life energy within the body. Additionally, thought field therapy incorporates similar methods for establishing and maintaining emotional well being.



Does Energy Healing Really Work?



The thousands of energy healing recipients who have benefited from the practice would answer in the affirmative. Is there any scientific data to back up these claims? Admittedly, energy healing techniques have not been the focus of a great deal of government funded research; however, the studies hat have been performed lend credibility to the effectiveness of this method of healing.



For instance, the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine published a review of clinical trials concerning various types of alternative healing methods. Energy healing was found to be the most effective practice, producing statistically significant results in 65 percent of the test subjects.

To put this finding into perspective, many drugs in use today fail to achieve a response rate higher than 50 percent in clinical trials.



One of the most complete studies of research showing the effectiveness of energy healing comes from psychiatrist, Dr. Daniel J. Benor. Dr. Benor surveyed all such research and studies made prior to 1990. They consisted of research performed on, cells, yeasts, bacteria, enzymes, plants, animals and humans. Of the 131 controlled experiments on spiritual, psychic, prayer or psi healing, over 50% showed statistically significant results. In 56 of the studies performed, there was less than a 1 in a 100 possibility that positive results were due to chance.



Perhaps the most significant evidence of the effectiveness of energy healing techniques stems from the growing number of people seeking such treatments. It is doubtful that a practice with limited benefits would continue to attract so much interest.





About the Author: Dr.Jeffry R. Palmer Ph.D. Is the author of "Judo for the Soul - The Art of Psychic Self Defence", as well as numerous articles and papers relating to metaphysics and the study of paranormal phenomena. Further information about Dr. Palmer and his books can be found at http://the-psychic-detective.com/Judo-For-The-Soul.htm




Article Source: NewAgeArticles.com

Know Your Motives

"As long as one keeps searching, the answers come."

-- Joan Baez



Why? Why? Why?

Asking ourselves 'why?' helps us delve deeply into our main motives -- why we do what we do. This process helps us go deeper into our reasoning, habits and unconscious beliefs. Once we become aware of our underlying motives, we can choose to change them, if we wish.

Regularly ask yourself, "Why am I ...?" Listen closely for the answer that surfaces in your mind, and write it down. Now look at your answer and ask why again. Continue with this process to reach the true source of your motivation.

"Men are more accountable for their motives, than for anything else ...."

-- Archibald Alexander

Classic Delectables

I want to introduce you to my cousin Bernie's Delectable Shop where she has homemade:

Please click on the image below to be taken to her shop and tell her I sent you!

There's Hope!

"No matter how painful our early experiences were, our Essence cannot be harmed. Our Essence is waiting for the opportunity to reveal itself. In a very true sense, we are waiting for the opportunity to become ourselves. Our spirit is yearning to break free, to express itself ..."

"And yet, ironically, we always fear and resist opening to that which is most real in us. When we trust in the process and give ourselves over to it, however, our true nature comes forth. The result is real integrity, love, authenticity, creativity, understanding, guidance, joy, power, and serenity�all of the qualities we are forever demanding that personality supply."

-- Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson

Attract Money with One Little Thought

Attract Money with One Little Thought by Wendy S Betterini

One of the more common mistakes people make in trying to attract abundance is moving too quickly. They try to leap from chronic lack to massive abundance in a single day and get angry when it doesn't work. Not only is this approach incredibly frustrating - it cannot work!



Just as you can't transform from couch potato to professional athlete overnight, you can't build up your "abundance muscles" instantaneously either. If you try to force it, you'll only create more blockages.



Attracting abundance is easy if you take it one step at a time, and you do that by starting with one little thought. And this one little thought should be just slightly better than the thoughts you usually think about money and abundance.



If your thoughts about money usually go something like this: "I never have enough money. I'm so sick of struggling to pay my bills. It's not fair that other people have so much more than I do. The universe must be punishing me for something. I'm a bad person, I don't deserve to be wealthy. I can't get ahead no matter what I do."



You can't jump immediately to thoughts like this: "I am a millionaire. I always have plenty of money. I am living in my dream home. Life is good!"



The energetic frequency of those two lines of thinking are way too far apart; you cannot jump from one to the other instantly like that - your mind will simply keep bouncing right back to those chronic, negative thoughts because that's what it's used to doing.



However, what you CAN do is choose thoughts that feel a little more believable but are still better than the thoughts you normally think.



For example, thoughts like this are easier to stick with: "Somehow everything always works out, even if I have to juggle a few things around. I do believe that more money is coming to me. I do believe that the universe can provide everything I need. I'm willing to trust that I will always have more than enough."



Remember that your thoughts are MAGNETIC. Every thought you think starts attracting more thoughts that are on the same frequency. A thought like "I never have enough money" will immediately begin attracting more thoughts along the lines of never having enough. A thought like, "I do believe things will get better" will immediately attract more thoughts of trust, belief, and optimism.



Those thoughts will trigger corresponding feelings (like confidence, peace, all-is-well) and you will begin radiating a better signal to the universe, which will then alter the results you are getting in your physical surroundings.



How to Choose One Better Thought



If you're not sure how to start choosing better thoughts, start with the most chronic negative thought you have. It may be one of these:



I never have enough money.

I hate being broke.

What did I do to deserve this?

I must not deserve to have money.

I'm not good enough to deserve abundance.

I must be destined to be poor.

The universe (or God) must hate me.

I have to work really hard to receive money.



Choose the one that resonates most strongly with you (or come up with your own if you know what it is) and write it down. Now, consider what kind of thought would feel better to you in relation to that statement.



For example, if you chose "I hate being broke" as your chronic thought, you might write a statement like, "I can imagine what it would feel like to have plenty of money, to buy whatever I needed and really enjoy life." Does that thought make you feel better about money? If so, start saying it repeatedly throughout the day!



As you do, you will begin to gradually transform your thoughts from a focus on lack to a focus on abundance. And as you begin to feel better and better about money and abundance, you will begin to draw more of it into your life.



This is truly the easiest, least painful way to begin transforming your thoughts - just ONE LITTLE THOUGHT at a time.





Want more easy tips for attracting money and abundance? Visit http://www.opentoprosperity.com/ today and see how simple it can be to transform your mind and create your best life.




Article Source: NewAgeArticles.com

Giving Choice

Giving choice


"Freedom of choice is more to be treasured than any possession earth can give."

-- David O. McKay


I want to choose the details of my life. Fortunately, I've come to appreciate how important it is to give others the freedom to choose their own paths.

None of us wants our choice robbed from us. I can't know what's best for anyone but me. So why give unsolicited advice to others and expect them to follow it?

"The truest characters of ignorance are vanity, and pride and arrogance."

-- Samuel Butler



"What man wants is simply independent choice, whatever that may cost and wherever it may lead."

-- Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Inner Critics

We tell ourselves so many lies and half-truths ... We listen and are duly impressed by these inner voices that turn into unseen judges that nag at us. We give each of these judges a seat of honor in our minds, all the while hating their guts and their never-ending supply of judgements ... We give the judges permission to accompany us on each journey of life, never daring to realize that we can park them, at least momentarily.

-- Eloise Ristad

The Inner Critic makes each of us a child. As we become the child in our relationships, we lose our sense of self. We are no longer self-contained, self-respecting adults. We look to others for validation. Our self-worth is based upon their opinion of us. Thus, everyone around us becomes a mother or a father whose support and approval is desperately needed to protect us from the constant criticism of the Inner Critic.

-- Hal and Sidra Stone

Opening The Heart

"Everything is made of light; everything is alive. The Great Mystery of life has little to do with intelligence. The universe is not an intellectual process. The intellect is helpful; but our hearts are the wiser part of ourselves."

-- Mellen-Thomas Benedict

Heart is a word that refers to many different levels of our being. Essentially, it is the love aspect of soul, capable of making direct, intuitive contact. Soul love is not emotional; it is highly impersonal and intelligent, capable of grasping the essence of someone or something without any projection on our part.

Appreciation significantly turns on the heart. Appreciation is not an emotion that arises spontaneously, but a soul quality we can choose. The more often we choose to be appreciative, the easier this choice becomes and the more frequently our heart opens to give and receive love.

"If you open your heart, love opens your mind."

-- Charles John Quarto

Relaxation Rescue

Relaxation Rescue by Laura M. Turner, M.S., CHHP

Let's face it, stress is everywhere. It lurks in every corner and around every bend, just waiting to "get" us. And study after study concludes that although some stress can be productive, prolonged stress can lead to chronic illness.



Yet, stress can only "get us" if we let it. If we can agree that the mind and body are interconnected, than I believe you can actually decide to manage stress, take control of it and instantly over-come the negative influences brought to you by your environment.



Now, stay with me for the "clinical" stuff. Scientific evidence supports that the stress of the body comes from the nervous system's "fight or flight response." If you haven't heard this term before, it's when the body suspects trauma and instantly shifts into "survival mode" based on the stimulus of an oncoming stress factor. This "survival mode" response, does terrible things to the body including increasing heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, muscle tension. These are the bad boys that can lead to harmful changes over time.



Now for the good news: you can teach your body not to make the shift into survival mode. Do this by retraining your body to create its own relaxation response. How? Begin by incorporating these three proven relaxation rescue techniques into your own life:



Meditation:

Meditation provides an escape from stress as it refocuses the mind on something else - most often the breath. The benefits of meditation counteract the negative stress-responses by creating a mode of deep inner peace and physical health. It does this by slowing the heart rate and lowering the blood pressure. It also includes many other benefits including those of anti-aging.



As I've so often told readers: there really is no one right way to meditate. For our purposes however, I will give you a meditative grounding exercise that can help you on your way.



Grounding Exercise: Sit with your legs crossed in a comfortable Indian style position with your hands relaxed on your lap. If you like you can also sit in a chair with your feet on the floor and posture tall. Close your eyes and imagine a beam of light dropping from the base of your spine through the earth, connecting you to its center. Allow this beam of light to expand in width until it is wider than your own body and envelopes it. This is your personal space.



This exercise places you totally in you body and reminds you that you are anchored to the earth. Remember, the more grounded you are the more aware you are. During your 10-20 minute meditation session, aim to sense the presence of your higher self.



Mindful Breathing:

Practicing to breathe through your nose and breathing from the diaphragm can also help your body relax and de-stress. In the same way that meditation calms the body, mindful deep breathing from the diaphragm can elicit a relaxation response that can calm the body and help you refocus in times of perceived stress. It will also work to counteract the negative effects of the dangerous flight or flight response.



Here's an exercise in deep breathing you can work on daily to help train your body for relaxation. This exercise will help you better utilize the diaphragm and help you retrain your body to intake oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide more effectively:



First take in three maximum breaths inhaling from the nose and exhaling from the nose.



Next as you take in your next three maximum breaths, focus on contracting your stomach muscles and increase the size of breath with each inspiration. Focus on feeling the expansion of your diaphragm as you exhale and deflation as you exhale.



Walking:

Walking is an exercise that can put you into a relaxation state almost immediately. I walk for fitness and have walked my way to weight loss (more on this later), but I believe the best quality of walking is that it creates a sense of balance and flow with the body. It has also been scientifically linked to cardiovascular endurance, as well as noted for its ability to counteract many of the damaging fight or flight responses we have mentioned above. For myself, I've invested in a walking pedometer and have made every effort to stay close to 10,000 steps each day.



To de-stress, try to find 1/2 hour each day to walk. Your body will thank you for it.



Relaxing Quickies:

When we become stressed and need a relaxation rescue, this is most often the time when the least opportunity for a full relaxation overhaul exists. Yet, if we spend time nurturing our relaxation response using the exercises above, we can draw from the relaxation experience.



Therefore, by practicing the three aforementioned exercises in your daily life, you can learn to draw from the relaxation response when you feel the threat of oncoming stress. For example, when you feel stress coming at you, take a deep relaxing breath, close your eyes and draw from the calming energy of your meditative space or take a quick walk to bring your body back into balance.



I think you will find, the more you practice these relaxation techniques each day, the more often your body will involuntarily shift from fight or flight mode directly into that of relaxation rescue!





Laura M. Turner is a health journalist, author and net-preneur. She hosts: Beauty & Body Online (www.beauty-and-body.com) Your Home For Natural Health, Wellness & Creative Abundance. Visit: http://www.new-body-news.com to sign up for her free eZine: The New Body news and Wellness Letter.






Article Source: NewAgeArticles.com

Confused?

When I get confused, when my mind is wrestling with what to do, I have learned to abandon my thought processes completely. The best solution, I've discovered, lies in asking my heart for direction. This requires that I stop my mental chatter, either by sitting in silence or by doing something completely different. In quiet, still space, I often know what's needed, with a clarity I never get from the labouring of my mind.




And I now know, without doubt, that when I'm confused is never the time to act. I must wait for clarity.



"I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks."



-- Daniel Boone

Support or Not To Support

To support or not




"It is not helpful to help a friend by putting coins in his pockets when he has got holes in his pockets."



-- Douglas Hurd



Are you struggling financially because you are helping another adult who is being irresponsible around money?



Without intending to do so, we can keep people dependent when we are willing to financially rescue them. Enablers typically feel it�s their duty to help out. They may see giving money as an expression of love. Unfortunately, they may lose their own financial security as a result.



As hard as it may be to do, the solution may lie in forcing the dependent to find his or her own way financially. In this case, it�s not selfish to not lend a hand -- it actually serves the highest interests of all. Learning personal responsibility can be a tough road but it�s a necessary one for empowerment.



"Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon them and to let them know that you trust them."



-- Booker T. Washington

Bring Soul Into The World

Bring soul into the world




"We live in a culture that is greatly biased against the imagination, because our culture is very materialistic, objective and literal. Our culture lacks soul, and doesn't know it, although it experiences the consequences. When you don't know what's missing, then of course you don't know what to bring in, even though you feel something is missing."

"We live in a world that needs more soul, more meaning. We, as conscious beings, have, as our primary responsibility, at this time in human history, the task of bringing soul into the world, or releasing soul into the world. We do this, first of all, in ourselves and in our own personal world; then we do it in our groups  including family; then we do it in our society through our work, relationships and presence there."


-- Andrew Schneider

21 Motivational Quotes On Strength

Never Give Up Click HERE to learn why

Love Your Body, Forgive Your "Self"

Love Your Body, Forgive Your "Self" by Laura Turner

This may sound a bit odd coming from me, but I believe that regardless of what you eat - how many times each week you exercise or what particular diet you decide to try - if you do not have your inner life in order, it will be difficult to be at peace with yourself and your body.



In discussing ways to love your body, therefore, it is important to look at ways we can have peace with ourselves. Moreover, in this article, we will discuss an idea you may not have considered: forgiveness.



The Past Is The Past, Let It Go:



The most important process we can undertake for our health and well being is to make a conscious effort not to leave negative energy embedded in the past. In effort to move into present time, and be at one with our own body, it becomes essential to let go of all the hurts and struggles that have led us to this moment. There is only one road to this state of oneness, however: The act of letting go.



As it turns out, I'm not the only one who stands by the belief system of releasing the past in effort to improve the health of our minds, as well as our body and spirit. Carolyn Myss in her healing lecture series: Why People Don't Heal, makes the claim that forgiveness is the #1 way to move forward in health. And she can back it up. She has used the healing process of letting go to transform people from near death to glowing health. With this in mind then, ask yourself: Is there anyone or anything from my past which prevents me from moving forward? Said differently: is there something in your past that's holding you back?



Learn To Forgive Others, The Process:



This brings us to the next step in our progress of releasing the past: learning to forgive others. Keep in mind, most often others say and do things as a result of how they are feeling about themselves. In most cases, whether they are aware of it or not, unhealthy individuals inflict their wounds upon us to salve their own pain. This can no longer affect us if we make a full effort to do as Don Miguel Ruiz says in his book The Four Agreements, and "not take things personally." When we do take things personally, we really could gather up a lifetime of emotional baggage.



As it pertains to body image and self-esteem, however, is there anyone you need to forgive? Has someone knowingly or unknowingly inflicted a negative body view onto you? Here's my personal example: When I was in high school, I had a "friend" who was popular, pretty and blonde. As an introvert and troubled youth, I took everything most personally. Imagine my emotional baggage when any time I would so much as mention my interest in a particular boy, she'd make sure she would go out of her way to get his interest.



Needless to say our friendship wasn't long term. And later I learned she was living in an unstable home. Yet, when I was younger, her actions just plain hurt my feelings and gave me a negative self image. Now I realize my insecurities at the time were my wounds to heal, and once I'd forgiven her and not taken her actions personally, I could move forward without holding on to past insecurity.



Learn To Live In the Present, An Exercise:



When we can learn to let go of the past and live fully in the present, we are also growing. After all, how could we grow if we have negative energy lodged in the past? Moreover, there are many other active ways to learn to live in the present. Begin the process by taking a current inventory of your body. I like to do this by using my journal (you do have a journal, don't you?)



Here's how it works:



• Take a scan of your body. First take body part by body part and make a note of what you are happy about. Ask yourself: What do I love about me? At first this may seem awkward, but I cannot stress the importance of taking time to spend time with your self and learning to know "you."



• After you've noted all the positive aspects of your self, make note of those parts you'd like to change. Keep in mind your boundaries - are these changes within your control? If so, make notes to yourself as to how you may go about making a change for the better. If changes are out of your control - take time every day to consciously send love to those parts of your body. When ever possible, tell your mind that you accept your body and your self for who you are, right now.



• When you've finished, take a look at your list. What can you do right now that would make you love a part of yourself? Consider this your permission slip: Today take time to do something good for yourself. Better yet, walk to the phone right now and make an appointment to do something for your self. My favorite self-love activities? Here's a couple suggestions. Ladies: A manicure or pedicure? Gentlemen: A massage?



Today, take time to focus on all of your positive qualities. Make an effort to forgive the past and move into the present moment. Prepare to grow!



Journal Entries:



Make note: What do I love about myself?

What can I do for myself this week that is "just for me"?





About the Author: Laura Turner is a natural health practitioner and author. She publishes the New Body News and Wellness Letter, The Online Magazine Healthy People Read! ( http://www.new-body-news.com/ ) Subscribe for f.r.e.e. and receive her Special Report: "Take Charge of Your Health!" Visit: http://www.beauty-and-body.com/ and check out her latest book: Spiritual Fitness!




Article Source: NewAgeArticles.com

Invite A Flood Of Prosperity With Visualization

Invite A Flood Of Prosperity With Visualization by Wendy Betterini

Visualization is one great way to activate the Law of Attraction in our lives, but we often go about it in such a serious way. We meditate, we create our vision boards, we painstakingly create a picture in our minds of what we want our outer circumstances to reflect. This is a good practice overall, but one important component we often forget (or don't know how to generate) is infusing our vision with powerful emotions. Feelings like joy, love, excitement, and gratitude can emit powerful vibrations that act as a magnet to attract whatever we desire. But how do we generate these feelings over something that's "make believe"?



There's a very simple way to do this, and it involves one secret ingredient: FUN!



By making our vision fun and lighthearted, we automatically begin to feel corresponding emotions. Don't just visualize yourself with a new car; visualize yourself driving that new car and having a blast doing so! Don't just visualize yourself with the partner of your dreams; visualize yourself locked in a passionate embrace or laughing with your partner over something silly.



Just to get you started, I'd like to share a fun visualization I've been using to attract greater abundance into my life. It's very simple, but as you'll soon see, it can be incredibly powerful because of the feelings it invokes.



First, find a private place where you won't be disturbed for a short amount of time. Perform your usual relaxation techniques (deep breathing, mind quieting, etc.) so you feel calm and centered. Then visualize yourself standing in the center of your home. It's a beautiful warm day outside, so you have all the windows and doors open. Suddenly, off in the distance, you hear a deep rumbling sound. You cock your head and listen intently, wondering where the noise is coming from. It gets louder and louder, and the house begins vibrating and shaking all around you.



You know something big is coming, but strangely you don't feel frightened, only excited. The roar reaches a crescendo, and suddenly, in through your windows and doors comes a massive flood of dollar bills. Not just dollar bills but also hundred and thousand-dollar bills!! The money is rushing in so quickly that it causes a mini-hurricane over your head, greenery flying everywhere. The bills are accumulating on the floors, furniture, appliances. It's gushing in through the doors and windows, down the chimney and through the fireplace, coming up through the plumbing, even seeping through the walls!



As you see this unbelievable abundance swirling all around you, you suddenly let out a whoop of pure joy! You begin gathering up handfuls of money as if they were fallen leaves and tossing them into the air, letting them rain down around you. You laugh and laugh because you know you have created this flood of prosperity in your reality. You called it forth with the power of your thoughts, and you feel so proud of your accomplishment!



You raise your face to the ceiling and shout your gratitude to the Universe: "THANK YOU for this amazing gift! Thank you so much for the freedom, fun, and pleasure I will enjoy with this money!"



By now the bills have accumulated to chest-level, and you're wading joyfully through the rooms of your home, letting your hands trail along the surface of the money. You take a deep breath and hold it, then dive beneath the surface and swim through the green murk. You surface a few feet away, flipping over to do the backstroke for a bit. All the while, you're laughing and laughing, having great fun with your newfound wealth.



Suddenly you drop your feet to the bottom and stand up again, wondering just what you're going to do with all of this money. You recall the single mother who lives down the street, and you decide to send her a big box of cash, anonymously. You envision the beaming smiles on the faces of the mother and her children when they receive your gift of love. Then you remember the elderly woman who lives next door, she could probably use some help too. So you box up some more cash for her. You begin thinking about your friends and family members, and decide to bless them with some cash. Oh, you also know some great charitable organizations that could probably use donations! Finally, you remember a few things that you want to buy for yourself, so you stuff some bills in your pockets with which to go shopping.



As you prepare to leave on your shopping excursion, you gaze back at the piles of money you attracted, and you are overcome with a feeling of immense gratitude. You've never felt so blessed as you do right now, and you know it will only get better in the future. Finally, you understand that true wealth comes from within, and you'll never again have to feel powerless or frightened. The prosperity you've called forth will continue to grow and multiply, whenever you choose it. With a radiant smile and a wink to the Universe, you close the door behind you and head off to the first of many exciting adventures waiting in your future.



Could you feel the emotions while you were reading that? Do you feel excited and eager to give it a try? Go ahead - I assure you it's a ton of fun!



By the way, I injected imagery that I feel is fun, but feel free to alter it to better suit your objectives (like replace the money with something else, if that's what you want).



Whatever you do, have FUN with it! The key point is to get your juices flowing and make you feel GOOD. It's all that matters in the end.





About the Author: Visit http://www.mindfulattraction.com/ for more great articles and ebooks about the Law of Attraction. Need some daily reinforcement? Sign up for our FREE Daily Align-ders - short and sweet reminders to help you get (and stay) in alignment with your intentions: http://www.MindfulAttraction.com/align-ders.html




Article Source: NewAgeArticles.com

Smart Questions To Keep Handy

Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.

-- Anthony Robbins



Last time, we talked about questions to avoid. Today, let's consider some that are truly empowering:



- Is there a message for me in this experience?

- What's the gift in this situation?

- What can I learn from this?

- What's the most loving thing I could do now?

- What's the most important thing for me to focus on now?

- What would I do if I knew I could not fail?

- What would I do if there were nothing to fear?


"A prudent question is one-half of wisdom."



-- Francis Bacon

The Eyes Of The Soul

The eyes of the soul




Today, we want to share a passage from Martia Nelson's book, "Coming Home":

My greatest teacher was the experience of living in split realities: personality and true self. Personality is our daily companion, our conscious self that sees the world through the eyes of limitation and dutifully keeps us informed about what we can and cannot do. True self, on the other hand, patiently stands by, offering the unwavering knowledge that a state of vibrant well-being and unlimited possibility is our true nature, a birthright that can be lived if we choose to do so.  True self simply refers to the aspect of our being that is completely aware of its expanded nature no matter what we may be experiencing at the time.

Whenever we feel constrained, fearful, unworthy, inadequate or anything we deem to be negative, we have identified with our personality. We can always choose to view the same situation from the perspective of our soul.

"As a Witness, you begin to discover that you are not that which you have been observing; you are not those things that you have been noticing about your body. Instead, you are the noticer.�

-- Wayne Dyer

Awareness Through Love and Fear

Awareness through love and fear




"There is nothing holier in this life of ours than the first consciousness of love -- the first fluttering of its silken wings -- the first rising sound and breath of that wind which is so soon to sweep through the soul, to purify or to destroy."



-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow



Our inner journey takes us through the following stages relative to love and fear:



1. UNCONSCIOUS LOVE: When we are born, we exist as pure love but we are not conscious of our love.



2. UNCONSCIOUS FEAR: Our souls have set the stage for our evolution. As we grow, unconscious fears arise in our personalities that draw experiences to us that wound us.



3. CONSCIOUS FEAR: Our wounds bring pain and suffering that enable us to become conscious of our fears.



4. CONSCIOUS LOVE: When we've suffered enough pain, we are motivated to move through our fears to consciously experience the love that supports all.



"Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition."



-- Alexander Smith

"Stop Thinking"

Stop Thinking by Dave Dorgan

When taking a test, why do people always tell us to trust our first answer? Why do we remember some person's name that was elusively on the tip of your tongue earlier, in the shower or before we drift off to sleep? Why do we have some our greatest creative ideas in the shower? When we are doing a crossword puzzle and get stuck on a word for an eternity, why do people suggest that we put it down for a while? And, why is it that when we pick up the puzzle a little later the letters practically jump into the boxes? The answer to all of these questions is "because that is when we are not thinking" or "we stopped thinking so much".



The complete title of this piece should be "Stop Thinking and Just Know" or, even better - "Don't Think with Your Brain, Know with Your Soul". When you know that God is part of you - in your soul (what Hindus call Atma), you also know that God's infinite knowledge - or if you prefer, the infinite knowledge of the Universe - is also in your soul. Those moments when you are in the shower or drifting of to sleep or even driving you car, are moments when you are knowing with your soul. You are not consciously trying to think and in doing so, you brain is left out of the process. The great Yoga master Swami Sivananda put it in a very simple yet profound way when he referred to this as "knowing without thinking".



So, why is thinking and knowing so different?



First, thinking with your brain is not a bad thing. In our daily lives, we use our brains all of the time to do analytical thinking, to store and recall names and dates, remember the size of our paycheck, to do basic problem solving, and to do our taxes - ugggh. The soul, on the other hand, provides answers to things that we may not have stored in our brains - no matter how many analytical processes we draw on to attempt to connect the dots. The soul provides us with solutions that we never even would have considered with our brains. The soul gives us creative ideas and what we call "thinking outside of the box". It is an always open door to God's infinite knowledge, which is really in our soul. The soul points out that we already had the answer, but our brains stomped right on it by over-analyzing. When just one strand of lights goes out on the Christmas tree, the brain tells us to run to the hardware store and buy some more, but the soul tells us how to fix the problem. If we just ask for the solution (true story).



Second, you need to realize that knowing with your soul is instantaneous and thinking with your brain takes time. Think of your brain as a computer that you ask a question and it does some processing - some analysis - and gives you an answer. No matter how powerful the computer is, there is still some amount of time elapsing between asking the question and having the answer. That wee bit of time, now matter how brief, is the problem. Even one millisecond allows the destructive ego to slip in and muddy the waters with its various forms of doubt, second guessing, and pride. Some people like to distill this phenomenon down to cutesy clichés like "paralysis by analysis", but these phrases do nothing to explain why this occurs.



Our souls always have – or have access to - the infinite knowledge of God, the universe. When we come back into the physical world as babes, our souls have all of that knowledge and our brains are virtually empty except for our basic survival instincts. This explains the sometimes extraordinary spiritual abilities of children – even the very young. There is lots of knowing and very little thinking. Our brains start out as empty sponges and as we grow, our brain fills with all kinds of knowledge, experiences, societal values and dogmas. As our brain fills with these things, the ego also grows. Gradually, our ego draws us to the thinking side – often destructive thinking – and we are drawn away from knowing/listening to our souls.



I have been a computer programmer and system designer for over 20 years and know all too well that the best designs or a fix to a nagging bug come to me in the shower or when throwing a ball around for 15 minutes at work.



Throughout time, many great artists have known the powerful role that knowing plays in the creative process. It has been described in many ways, the inner voice, listening to God, and divine inspiration, to name but a few. And, in the end, it all distills down to the idea of knowing/listening to the soul.



"When I am traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions that ideas flow best and most abundantly." - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart



The great jazz guitarist, Pat Martino, on the topic of improvisation, once said, "Try to learn everything you can, and then forget it." i.e. stop thinking with your brain. Great improvisation is instantaneous - from the soul. Sometimes you might just be noodling around on an instrument. You look up unknown minutes later not even remembering what you just played and your friend is just staring at you. One of you eventually says what the other one is thinking, "Where the hell did that come from?" That, my friends, is a beautiful moment!



When things in your day are clicking or flowing, when there are truly no problems and just solutions, you are knowing with your soul. This is sometimes referred to as “just being” or the “I AM”. God has already provided the answers for you. You don't "access" them. They are already there - you just have to know it. When you are consciously aware of this, you can readily apply it to any aspect of your life. More and more it will just happen, and you will be aware of it. You will observe it happening. You will become fearless, because you will know that all of the answers are inside of you.



In your spiritual endeavors, be willing to try things you've never done before. You grow by taking chances and not worrying about making mistakes, the outcome, or what others will think. Whether it be astral projection, healing, talking to Gautama or God or and Archangel (true stories), just know that there are no right or wrong ways. Any real truth or skill can be distilled down to the exquisitely simple.



The trick is then to take the concept of knowing from the conceptual to the experiential. To listen to what is inside of you or to believe that you have it all inside of you is daunting for most people. Our egos, thinking, put the doubt, second guessing, etc… inside of us. We find it easier to look outside for answers.



Here is one little exercise to use to nudge you in the right direction. It will help you get comfortable with knowing that you have access to the infinite knowledge of God/the universe. Over time you will start to realize that it is all inside of you. When you have a question or problem, visualize the question being written down on a fine piece of square parchment. Say the question in your mind. See the four corners of the parchment folded in to meet in the middle and then sealed with red wax and a stamp. Now visualize the sealed question being sent floating off into the universe. Then forget about it – let it go from you mind so that you are not thinking about it. At some point – often very quickly – an answer will come to you in some form. It may just pop into your head, or be triggered by a song, a TV add, or something someone says. Don’t be looking for it to come, but when it does, you’ll say “Ohhh.” Don’t second guess it or doubt it. Go with it and thank God/the universe for the blessing i.e. express gratitude. Practice this often and over time you will transition to just asking the question in your head without the need of the visualization. You will know that the answer is inside of you.



The reality is that you don't need me or anyone else to help or tell you how to do this. Be your own guru. Just know that you are already doing it. So start thinking less often and start knowing more often.





Dave has been studying and practicing numerous forms of spirtuality and new age disciplines for over 20 years. His first book, Time and Space Stand Still, will be published in February of 2008 by Chalani Resources. Dave's spiritual blog is Be the Guru.




Article Source: NewAgeArticles.com
































Stop Thinking by Dave Dorgan

When taking a test, why do people always tell us to trust our first answer? Why do we remember some person's name that was elusively on the tip of your tongue earlier, in the shower or before we drift off to sleep? Why do we have some our greatest creative ideas in the shower? When we are doing a crossword puzzle and get stuck on a word for an eternity, why do people suggest that we put it down for a while? And, why is it that when we pick up the puzzle a little later the letters practically jump into the boxes? The answer to all of these questions is "because that is when we are not thinking" or "we stopped thinking so much".



The complete title of this piece should be "Stop Thinking and Just Know" or, even better - "Don't Think with Your Brain, Know with Your Soul". When you know that God is part of you - in your soul (what Hindus call Atma), you also know that God's infinite knowledge - or if you prefer, the infinite knowledge of the Universe - is also in your soul. Those moments when you are in the shower or drifting of to sleep or even driving you car, are moments when you are knowing with your soul. You are not consciously trying to think and in doing so, you brain is left out of the process. The great Yoga master Swami Sivananda put it in a very simple yet profound way when he referred to this as "knowing without thinking".



So, why is thinking and knowing so different?



First, thinking with your brain is not a bad thing. In our daily lives, we use our brains all of the time to do analytical thinking, to store and recall names and dates, remember the size of our paycheck, to do basic problem solving, and to do our taxes - ugggh. The soul, on the other hand, provides answers to things that we may not have stored in our brains - no matter how many analytical processes we draw on to attempt to connect the dots. The soul provides us with solutions that we never even would have considered with our brains. The soul gives us creative ideas and what we call "thinking outside of the box". It is an always open door to God's infinite knowledge, which is really in our soul. The soul points out that we already had the answer, but our brains stomped right on it by over-analyzing. When just one strand of lights goes out on the Christmas tree, the brain tells us to run to the hardware store and buy some more, but the soul tells us how to fix the problem. If we just ask for the solution (true story).



Second, you need to realize that knowing with your soul is instantaneous and thinking with your brain takes time. Think of your brain as a computer that you ask a question and it does some processing - some analysis - and gives you an answer. No matter how powerful the computer is, there is still some amount of time elapsing between asking the question and having the answer. That wee bit of time, now matter how brief, is the problem. Even one millisecond allows the destructive ego to slip in and muddy the waters with its various forms of doubt, second guessing, and pride. Some people like to distill this phenomenon down to cutesy clichés like "paralysis by analysis", but these phrases do nothing to explain why this occurs.



Our souls always have – or have access to - the infinite knowledge of God, the universe. When we come back into the physical world as babes, our souls have all of that knowledge and our brains are virtually empty except for our basic survival instincts. This explains the sometimes extraordinary spiritual abilities of children – even the very young. There is lots of knowing and very little thinking. Our brains start out as empty sponges and as we grow, our brain fills with all kinds of knowledge, experiences, societal values and dogmas. As our brain fills with these things, the ego also grows. Gradually, our ego draws us to the thinking side – often destructive thinking – and we are drawn away from knowing/listening to our souls.



I have been a computer programmer and system designer for over 20 years and know all too well that the best designs or a fix to a nagging bug come to me in the shower or when throwing a ball around for 15 minutes at work.



Throughout time, many great artists have known the powerful role that knowing plays in the creative process. It has been described in many ways, the inner voice, listening to God, and divine inspiration, to name but a few. And, in the end, it all distills down to the idea of knowing/listening to the soul.



"When I am traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions that ideas flow best and most abundantly." - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart



The great jazz guitarist, Pat Martino, on the topic of improvisation, once said, "Try to learn everything you can, and then forget it." i.e. stop thinking with your brain. Great improvisation is instantaneous - from the soul. Sometimes you might just be noodling around on an instrument. You look up unknown minutes later not even remembering what you just played and your friend is just staring at you. One of you eventually says what the other one is thinking, "Where the hell did that come from?" That, my friends, is a beautiful moment!



When things in your day are clicking or flowing, when there are truly no problems and just solutions, you are knowing with your soul. This is sometimes referred to as “just being” or the “I AM”. God has already provided the answers for you. You don't "access" them. They are already there - you just have to know it. When you are consciously aware of this, you can readily apply it to any aspect of your life. More and more it will just happen, and you will be aware of it. You will observe it happening. You will become fearless, because you will know that all of the answers are inside of you.



In your spiritual endeavors, be willing to try things you've never done before. You grow by taking chances and not worrying about making mistakes, the outcome, or what others will think. Whether it be astral projection, healing, talking to Gautama or God or and Archangel (true stories), just know that there are no right or wrong ways. Any real truth or skill can be distilled down to the exquisitely simple.



The trick is then to take the concept of knowing from the conceptual to the experiential. To listen to what is inside of you or to believe that you have it all inside of you is daunting for most people. Our egos, thinking, put the doubt, second guessing, etc… inside of us. We find it easier to look outside for answers.



Here is one little exercise to use to nudge you in the right direction. It will help you get comfortable with knowing that you have access to the infinite knowledge of God/the universe. Over time you will start to realize that it is all inside of you. When you have a question or problem, visualize the question being written down on a fine piece of square parchment. Say the question in your mind. See the four corners of the parchment folded in to meet in the middle and then sealed with red wax and a stamp. Now visualize the sealed question being sent floating off into the universe. Then forget about it – let it go from you mind so that you are not thinking about it. At some point – often very quickly – an answer will come to you in some form. It may just pop into your head, or be triggered by a song, a TV add, or something someone says. Don’t be looking for it to come, but when it does, you’ll say “Ohhh.” Don’t second guess it or doubt it. Go with it and thank God/the universe for the blessing i.e. express gratitude. Practice this often and over time you will transition to just asking the question in your head without the need of the visualization. You will know that the answer is inside of you.



The reality is that you don't need me or anyone else to help or tell you how to do this. Be your own guru. Just know that you are already doing it. So start thinking less often and start knowing more often.





Dave has been studying and practicing numerous forms of spirtuality and new age disciplines for over 20 years. His first book, Time and Space Stand Still, will be published in February of 2008 by Chalani Resources. Dave's spiritual blog is Be the Guru.




Article Source: NewAgeArticles.com

Growing Ourselves

Growing ourselves




"The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving."



-- Oliver Wendell Holmes



We are all on a life-long journey. It is a search for who we are and why we are here. It is a journey that expands our consciousness.



There is an urge within each of us to move forward in life. It is an urge to become more whole, to find more meaning, and eventually to help others. It is human nature to strive for a sense of well-being.



We all go through the same growth cycles, though our experiences may appear entirely different. By understanding the process of personal and spiritual growth, we can work more effectively with the process, instead of fighting and resisting it.



"We can learn to be the catalysts for our own change."



-- Sarah Ban Breathnach

Live Life Fully

Live life fully




Time is life. It is irreversible and irreplaceable. To waste your time is to waste your life, but to master your time is to master your life and make the most of it.



-- Alan Lakein



Refuse to feel USED by life! Make full use of it instead.



To do this, we initially need to take control of the time of our lives. Time management is life management, from the inside out. It's an INSIDE job. You already have everything you need. You have the power to create a life of meaning, fulfillment and joy.



Your challenge is to find what works for you! Review the literature but make your own decisions. To do this, you'll need to:


Get to know yourself -- your desires and passions, rhythms, styles, challenges, needs and habits.



Be aware that you always have choice. Claim your independence and power to choose what is right for your life, moment by moment.



Until you value yourself, you will not value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.



-- M. Scott Peck

Psychic Protection Techniques

A Beginners Guide to Psychic Protection Techniques by John Culbertson

We live in a world of energy. There's not a single one of us that can say we've never energetically attacked another person or that we've never been energetically attacked by another person. Those of us that work, or heaven forbid "dabble", in the new age field will at rare times be up against more than just human attacks. This is the reason everyone needs a basic understanding of psychic protection techniques.




In this article we will be discussing five basic methods of protection that can be layered, or used one after another, to boost your defenses.




This article, however, will not be discussing the mechanics of psychic/energy attacks. In other words, we aren't going to get into the why and how they happen. We'll save that for a future article.




White Light




The most basic of all protections is white light energy. It is connected to the image of divinity, whatever divinity is for you. It may be God, the goddess, Buddha, The Universal Consciousness, The Great Architect of the World, Cosmic Consciousness, your Higher Self, etc. Whatever your concept of the higher power may be, white light is often times associated and connected to it.




When we surround ourselves in white light we are symbolically saying that we are protected by the highest power there is. We are shielding ourselves from negativity by raising our own vibration and vibrating at the speed of light.




There are many ways to perform this protection. The easiest is to imagine yourself standing in the center of a light bulb that is turned off. When you see or feel yourself standing there, mentally feel/see that light bulb being turned on and imagine and feel the pure bright light that is all around you.




You might also close your eyes and imagine rain/the shower falling down all around you. Mentally turn those water droplets into a cascading bright light and let yourself be totally drenched in it.




Whatever method you use, make sure you have the light soaring within your body as well as outside and around it. Remember, you are wanting to become one with the light.




Worry Balloon




This gets credited to the Academy of Remote Viewing and Influencing. One of my favorite techniques from their program involves a deflated balloon.




Visualize a deflated balloon above your head. Take a deep breath in and as you exhale visualize/feel all your fears/worries/concerns/anxieties going into that balloon. Each time you do this, note the balloon begins to inflate. Eventually, you'll be free of all those tensions and the balloon will be totally inflated. At that point take one more deep breath in. On the exhale visualize/feel the balloon floating away and out of the universe taking with it all the worries/problems that you had put into it.




This is a great exercise to do before bed if you have trouble sleeping at night. It also does wonders if used prior to going into any negative/stressful situation. Additionally, it can be used to help lessen or even totally release fears.




Blue Shield




Blue is the color we associate with the throat chakra. The throat chakra is noted as being the seat of the will. As such, blue is a highly protective color because when we use blue we are literally willing negativity to stay away from us.




The shield is symbolic of blocking incoming attacks. Warriors in ancient times used shields to defend themselves from both up close attacks and incoming airborne attacks.




Imagine/visualize a blue shields all around you before going into any crowded area or prior to any confrontation you think you may be having. It'll help to deflect bad moods/negativity and will make it easier for you to deal (or totally avoid) people who aren't going to be nice.




Prayer and Positive Affirmations




Both prayer and positive affirmations can be used to strengthen any protections you already are using. Both of these help to raise your vibration and puts you into harmony with the positive forces of the universe.




Sample Affirmations for Protection include:




I am totally protected from all ill will and harm.


I am blessed and protected on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels.


Only positive things are allowed around me.


I feel joy and love in everything I do.




Why the last one? Joy and love are the keys to maintaining a healthy and high vibrational field. When we can turn our attitudes toward complete joy and love we will, over time, eventually discover that we only attract those joy and loving people and situations into our lives. Any negative ones that do occur simply aren't able to handle this type of energy for long and extended periods of time and thus will remove themselves from your presence.




Archangel Michael Invocation




Finally, the last thing we are going to talk about in our basics of protection article is angels and guides. Please, brace yourselves, you are going to get the short cliff notes version here as those are, once again, a topic for another article.




We all have the ability to "summon" angels and spiritual beings to aid and assist us. We call this "summoning" an invocation.




To perform an invocation you can either be very ritualistic and look for a bunch of herbs and other supplies that various magic books will claim you need OR you can have total faith that the being you are asking for assistance will be there when you call on them.




To enlist angels to help it's simply a matter of asking.




Angels, according to most sources, are bound by an angelic law which dictates that they can't interfere in a humans life unless one of two conditions are met.




A) That person is in mortal danger and it's not yet their time to depart from this world.


or


B) A person, in sincere concern, has mentally or verbally asked for their help.




Of all the angels, Archangel Michael is the one most often associated with protection. He is considered the angel of war and protection and is most noted, mythologically speaking, for casting Satan from heaven during the heavenly wars.




Calling upon this loving yet very protective angel can be done in a couple of ways.




The most basic is simply saying "Archangel Michael, I give you permission to be here with me."




There is also a Catholic Prayer dedicated to this angel which you may say which will also enlist his help.




"Michael the Archangel, please defend me in my day of battle. Be my safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. Rebuke him, I humbly pray. May the price of the heavenly hosts cast into hell Satan and all evil beings seeking to ruin the souls of man."




Whatever the case, know that when you invoke or call this particular angel it's not uncommon to feel an air pressure change and/or a great deal of warmth and heat when he is around.




Now that you have some of the basics down it would be a good idea for you to practice these and make a careful note on what happens when you use different techniques.




The more often you use them the more skillful and stronger you'll become with them and the more benefit you'll receive from them.

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Article Source: NewAgeArticles.com

Sometimes We need to help people to help themselves

I'm dedicating today's message in honor of my cousin Lynsey !

As we all are aware life today is very tough and some of us are in deep.  If you count the number of foreclosures on your street you may be surprised to learn that at least one is in foreclosure.  On my street (which I live in a Court) We have TWO going up for trustee sales.  In our neighborhood we have several.

Doing the line of work of helping those in need and trying to restore faith;  at times I find it very hard especially when it hits home and affects some of my family members.   My cousin happens to be one who is suffering and needing to put food on her table.  She is trying to make life a little better by selling some very inexpensive products (which if you look at my entire blog you will see the things that she is offering). 

I ask that you search your hearts and if you can afford to buy just ONE thing it will help so much.  Yes I know, times are tough and you may not be in a good place right now but sometimes when we reach out to help others we are actually helping ourselves.  I truly believe with all my heart that when you do a good deed then a good deed will find you in return.  So, if you can possibly help or if you know someone who can, please feel free to pass this site along to others.

Thanks for your support and your attention.
https://lsandy.scentsy.us/Buy?partyId=2902409

Nurturing Your Spirit!

Nurturing Your Spirit by Bonnie Moss

Do you ever wonder about the other “YOU ?”



The one that speaks to you quietly, the one that helps you find inspiration. It is in your spirit that the feeling of love and peace reign supreme. It is where happiness is free to embrace you.



It is the voice that shouts the emptiness of your life, despite all the trappings of luxury that you surround yourself with. It is the loneliness that overwhelms you, calling to you to wake up. There’s more to life than wallowing in your misery. It’s your spirit starved for attention and love.



Ever wonder who you truly share the heights of joy, or the depths of pain and sorrow, when everyone else is out of reach? Reach out within yourself.



What gives you strength, courage and empowerment? Why does negative self-talk feel magnified especially in your solitude?



We all have a Spirit, if you would stop, listen and nurture it. It will not lead you astray. Negative vibrations weigh you down, because the spirit does not want to have anything to do with your negative attitudes. It serves you no purpose. It’s almost trying to tell you, Hey, if you pursue this course, you’re on your own. Listen to me and I’ll show you a better way.



Do not confuse connecting with your spirit with denial.



To acknowledge your spirit steers you clear of the mental chaos and confusion that magnifies the trials, obscures the solutions, clouds your judgment and drags you deeper in the mire. Denial is the result of being disconnected with your spirit.



Problems, trials, disappointments are part of life. No matter how dark the clouds are, through blizzard, storm and tsunami, the sun always comes up, bright and warm.



Think about it, ask yourself, how can you nurture your spirit? This is how I do it:



-Start and end my day with a prayer of gratitude.

-Meditate, stay grounded and live in the present.

-Today well-lived makes for a better tomorrow.

-Know that problems are but stepping stones to better times.

-Count my blessings, share what I can with others.

-Read inspiring books and quotations.

-Listen to soothing music, play the piano.

-Appreciate nature’s beauty.

-Know that patience is a virtue,i.e., grin and bear it.

-Try to show compassion / kindness, for everyone has their own battles to fight.

-Let those I love know they are loved everyday.

-Let bygones be bygones.

-Move on, for there’s nothing I can do about what’s past but learn from it.



-Dream a bit.





About the Author: Bonnie Moss writes about spirituality, tools available to all to walk the path. Visit her website, a metaphysical site that offers information on tarot, crystals, aura, angels, journalling and more. She is the Executive Secretary of Tarot Canada International, as well as a regular contributor of articles to the newletter, Future Endeavours. Visit her website:

http://goldencupcafe.tripod.com/




Article Source: NewAgeArticles.com