Derren Brown - Miracles for Sale

Jim Rohn - Challenges to Pursue

Jim Rohn - Challenges to Pursue

Goal Setting Workshop - by Jim Rohn, hosted by Kendal Robinson, Executiv...

Looking for answers !!!

I received the following question in my inbox from a young woman.

My mind is completely pre occupied with the thoughts of someone I think I am falling in love with. I am not sure how he feels about me? I don’t know what to do. I cannot stop thinking of him and it is driving me crazy…Can you please help? ( Looking for advice)

My first reaction was, how amazing and how wonderful to be in love and be pre occupied with the thoughts of your beloved. On probing further I came to know that she was in “love “ with a married man who although had shown an interest in her was in no way ready to be with her in the long term.

She was twisting and turning in knots thinking about him and her future. She wanted me to tell her what to do.

Of course the easy approach to adopt would be to say to her that she was being completely silly and that she should forget about this guy and find someone who was better suited and single. She did not come to me to hear exactly what every one was telling her. Her friends, her well wishers and her family were all saying the same thing. Forget about him and move on.

I think she wanted some sort of consolation and affirmation about what she was doing. According to her, “ She did not intend falling in love with a married man, it just happened.”

Of course , it just happened. Love is the least understood and yet the most desired of emotions. Love is what makes life worth living, love is what brings joy, love is happiness, but the same love leads to pain, heartbreak, sadness and misery. So what do we make of this thing called love.

Love does seem to be a very addictive drug and recent research suggests that romantic attraction is in fact a primitive, biologically based drive, like hunger or sex. While lust makes our eye wander, it's the drive for romance that allows us to focus on one particular person, though we often can't explain why.

Often we are more in love with the idea of being in love. We have been primed by various media that we are incomplete and the only way to joy and happiness is to find that one person who completes us. No wonder we are constantly searching for that special someone.

In this case the young lady in question has just come out of a relationship and it is not surprising that she is feeling an emptiness that she thinks can only be filled by this particular beau. The initial rush of adrenalin at the first meeting has somehow made her think that she is in love. Of course there is infatuation and lust, but then who am I to say that it is not love.

The evidence however points otherwise. They met at a theme park, where he was out with his children. They went on a roller coaster ride and had a coffee. All of the above give a false positive as far as love is concerned.

Roller coaster and coffee raise the heart beat and release adrenalin and hugging children raises oxytocin ( the bonding hormone). Raised heart beat is also associated with love, lust and passion. This combination is almost as lethal as drugs and alcohol to woo a woman. In the case of this particular lady, she has probably been misled by adrenalin and oxytocin.

According to Helen Fisher , biological anthropologist at Rutgers University , people in love often show the signs of surging dopamine: increased energy, less need for sleep or food, focused attention and exquisite delight in smallest details of this novel relationship, very similar to affects of cocaine. This power is enough to warp judgment in otherwise sensible people.

So it is not surprising that the lady in question feels completely smitten and all she can think of is an expected high!

On the flip side , if passionate romance is like a drug, as the MRI images suggest, then it's bound to lose its kick. Studies of dating and engaged couples find that feelings of passionate love and infatuation tend to fade quickly in the first year, and a year or two later often are all but gone. Seeing romance as a biologically based, drug-like state can at least provide some balm for a broken heart. Like a drug addict would tell you, "the highs don't last, but neither does the withdrawal. With time the craving and pain go away and the brain returns to normal."

So my advice would be to hold off on the urge for a while and see how she feels.

Also she could try and enlist support of friends and talk about her feelings. Even better than that would be for her to find someone who is going through some sort of challenge and offer her help and support to that person.

When we focus our attention on something beyond ourselves, our pains and desires become inconsequential. In this case, she is hurting and in pain because of unrequited love. According to Buddha, what ever we want in life we need to give that away. In this case, her love is not even considered sanctimonious so I doubt she will get any sympathy from her friends, but she could most certainly give love to those who are lonely. Especially at this time of the year, it could be an opportunity to spread good cheer.

In a nutshell, my advice- keep your heart open for love and give love away to all instead of focusing on this one person who is unavailable.

The repercussions of acting on her desires could be extremely painful for a lot of people involved. I am sure she would not want to be happy being the 5th wheel and I see no solution at this stage other than asking her to be open and loving towards herself and the world at large. ☺

Shveitta Sethi Sharma
Chief Happiness Officer
“ In Happiness”

Ayurvedic Natural and Herbal ways to get healthy and beautiful skin

Ayurvedic Natural and Herbal ways to get healthy and beautiful skin

vedanta class recap 2

This was the fourth class where we were still being tested on our understanding of what is real vs unreal.

The real being the constant and the
unreal being the ever changing and fluctuating. The key is to identify what is real and what
is unreal and always associate with the real the constant that which is the
truth.

The students, one by one shared
their understanding of what they understood by what was real and what was
unreal. One student shared how her understanding and discernment of real vs
unreal had a rather beneficial effect on her and how she could step back and
become the witness to her life. Instead of reacting and seeing herself as the
victim, she could now step back and evaluate the situation and not allow the
situation to get bigger than her.

Another shared that she had always convinced
herself about her inability to give up smoking by believing that she was not smoking
in access so it was acceptable, moderation being the key! But as she was doing
the exercise she realized that these were all stories that she had made up to
convince herself about not giving up smoking.

Once she could identify that it
was her ego and the unreal part doing the convincing she realized that she was
doing it because it was more comfortable to stay with the habit rather than
make a change. According to her, the
real vs unreal exercise helped her to understand what emotions were real. She
shared that what is real is the inner calm that stays despite what happens on
the outside. If you can become the observer of your actions you can then
practice more awareness. When she used her discernment she could easily drop
the habit. However she did elaborate that it was not as simple as it sounds to
just stop smoking. She is still coming to terms with the situation as for very
long she had convinced herself that as long as she was not addicted, it was OK.
After all it was all about having a balanced life.

The next student shared how it is
our perceptions that distort our reality. It is our own perceptions and
opinions that colour our outlook, so when we see the world we see it according
to our own pre conceived ideas. She inquired as to how one can reach that place
of inner calm. It is of course very easy
to intellectualize and discuss these things in class but how does one really
reach that point when we can be calm and practice discernment?

Mala Ji, responded by saying that
as we progress and grow in our path of understanding the subtle differences
between what is real and what is not we will automatically be able to make
better choices. Our responses to the situation will change according to the
changes in us, elucidating that if in the past we reacted to a situation in a
certain way; that was because we were not aware of a different way, but with
the new understanding, our reaction to the same situation will be different.

She then went on to elaborate
that in a landscape of flux where the outside situation is changing and so is
our inner condition, what then is real? The student responded by saying that
what appears real in that situation is change. So the constant here is change.
The question then arose, can change be constant and can that be the truth? But
that which changes cannot be the truth, so what really is the truth. We know
that the truth exists and it does not exist in the change. So what is the
changeless principal?

Without the changeless principal
we cannot understand the truth. If the reality was flux, it would not appear as
flux to us. The only reason we are aware of the flux is because the truth of us
is changeless, implying that my inner condition is not the truth and the outer
condition is not the truth because they both change. We have chosen to identify ourselves with our
mind and our body and that is why the truth seems veiled to us. For example,
when we are in a dream the dream appears real and in deep sleep neither the
dream is real nor is the waking state real, so what is real?

We were asked to ponder on the
ambiguity that if waking world is not constant and neither is the sleep world
the constant then what is the constant?

The question we should all be
asking is what is constant in my life? What is that which never changes?

Our mind changes and so does the
outer situation so what really is constant? We do know that there has to be a
constant because without the constant change cannot be perceived

The problem we all face is that
our identification with what is real is flawed. We all have identified
ourselves with our bodies and our mind and we look for happiness in all the
wrong places.

Mala ji used the analogy of the
story of an old man who loses his house keys and is searching for them under a
lamppost. Soon a small crowd gathers around him in his search for the keys. After a futile search one person asks the old
man as to where did he lose the keys. The old man replies that he lost them in
the house. When asked, why then is he searching for them outside the house
under a lamp post, he responds by saying that the light here is better J

The message of the story being
that often we look for what we have lost ‘in most cases happiness, peace of
mind and the real meaning of truth ‘in the wrong place. How can we ever hope to find what we have lost
inside on the outside?

The question then went back to
what really is real? Is awareness real? Is awareness of a situation real?

Mala ji clarified that Awareness
per se is real but awareness of something is not real. When we say that we are
aware it does not mean the same as we are aware of? She went on to elaborate that it was similar
to meditation. When we are in a meditative state we are in awareness, but
meditation is not something we do. It’s not an activity it’s a way of being.

The conversation then moved to
another topic.

The question that was asked by
one of the students was how when one sees or notices a negative behavior/aspect
in another person and gets affected by it, is that a reflection of the same
behavior in one’s own self? The fact that we notice that particular behavior,
does that mean that we need to fix that in our own selves? Another person
interjected and said that the fact that a particular behavior upsets you may
mean that you have a memory of a similar negative behavior that affected you in
the past and that memory had been rekindled.

Mala, ji gave a wonderful example
to explain the behavior. She said that when our arm is hurt and someone comes
along and leans on it we will surely feel the pain but if our arm is not
wounded or hurt and someone leans on it we won’t feel the pain, implying that
only when we are sensitive towards a particular issue can we feel the pain due
to another person’s behavior. We only react when we are in pain because of a
previous injury. She further elaborated
that instead of confronting the antagonist, the better strategy would be to
heal the pain that is within us.

Going back to the example of the
hurting arm, she said would it not be better to apply ointment to our own
hurting arm instead of applying it on to the person who leans on us?

But this does not mean that every
time someone does something that upsets us, it is only to do with us. Yes it
may mean that we need to look into ourselves and identify what has triggered
that pain, but self-flagellation is not the answer either. Every time someone
does something to hurt us we cannot just go into a victim mode and say to
ourselves that there is something wrong in me that I need to fix.

Mala ji shared with us the
example of how India’s inward looking policy at times led to more harm than
good. For example, India never ever initiated an attack on any country and was
always subjected to attacks and subjugation by invading forces. India’s
inwardness in a way led to its constant subjugation.

At times it may be required of us
to stand back and fight. India should
have taken practical action, but it failed to do so.

Self-preservation demands that we
acknowledge and identify the right response/practical action to a particular
situation.

(
Practical action definition- acting spontaneously in the moment to what
the situation requires without a personal agenda)

Going back to the question of
what one should do if we perceive that another person has hurt us or is harming
us in some way.

Practical action requires us to
first look at what in us is causing the pain, next step is to forgive and get
the ego (the i-ness and my-ness) out of the way. The final step would then be
to engage in the right response.

In the previous lesson we were
made aware of the distinction between an emotional person who tends to be
reactive vs an intelligent person who makes a decision based on the knowledge
of the situation. We have learnt that the person who is causing us pain and
hurt is only doing so to alleviate some sort of pain and hurt in
himself/herself. Once we know this basic
fact we are then in a position to exercise discernment in our response. If the
practical action then requires us to confront, we may then do so with the full
awareness that it may or may not lead to the conclusion that we desire.

The right response will only come via the
right education and right education is that which is rooted in the correct
knowledge and has stood the test of time (in this case the study of Vedanta).

Taking ownership of our feelings
and our action and taking full responsibility of our own lives is the first
step towards spiritual growth and healing.
We need to give up the blame mentality and acknowledge that we are in
some way or another creating our life circumstances.

The discussion still stayed on
the topic of how to get over the pain and hurt caused by another. One student
shared that it was easy for her to forgive the person who caused the pain but
how could she get over the hurt and pain herself? How can she just forget the
pain and pretend that nothing had happened?

To this Mala ji responded by
going back to the same analogy of the hurting arm saying that pain only occurs
when there is a wound. If there was no wound, there would be no pain. Our main
focus therefore should be not on figuring out what caused the wound but how to
heal the wound. In order for emotional healing to take place we need to
consider very carefully what is the right thought, the right speech and the right
action? She suggested self-awareness
exercises, meditation and going to retreats in order for us to help heal the
mind, body and spirit.

The key message of the above
discussion was to understand that only a person coming from pain and misery
will cause pain. A person who is happy and satisfied will have no interest in
hurting another so anytime we feel wronged or hurt by another, instead of
passing judgment we need to understand that the person’s behavior is driven by
pain and deserves our compassion and not our wrath.

Although at times it may be
difficult for us to show compassion and kindness towards the person who we perceive
to be responsible for our pain, our main objective must be to heal our own
wounds. At times this may require a lot of soul searching and brutal honesty
towards the self in identifying what the real cause of our pain is. It may have
been something in our past or present, but that does not mean that we go into self-pity
and keep crying over old wounds. The whole idea behind personal spiritual
growth is for us to move to the next level of understanding and discernment.

We need to move away from the
blame mentality and take 100% responsibility of our own state of being and our
happiness. We are also not responsible
for someone else’s happiness. Often we feel extremely burdened by the
responsibility of ensuring another person’s happiness. Mala’ji reminded us that
there is no way that we can be responsible for someone else’s happiness. The
fact that they look towards us to for their happiness means that something in
their life is missing and they are looking on the outside for what they should
be finding inside.

This of course opened a can of
worms on the topic of responsibility and duty. One student shared her frustration
at her inability to really distinguish where her responsibility ended and her
own inner happiness took precedence.

Malaji asked the student to sit
in silence for 5 minutes every three hours if she really was serious about
knowing the answer.

This was a reminder to all of us
to look within our own heart and mind to find the answers to the most
perplexing questions, for what we search for on the outside actually is on the
inside.

vedanta class recap

For the last couple of years year I have been attending Vedanta Classes with My teacher Mala Daswani ( who was a student of Swami Chinmayanada) The classes have brought great insight into my understanding of the meaning of life.
Instead of just keeping the teachings to myself, I will try and share it with those of you who may be interested. Please bear in mind that this is my understanding of the class and is not a transcript of the class. Having said that, I feel that the knowledge gained through the interaction of the students with the teacher in invaluable and no reading can compare to actual attendance. But I will still post my recap.
As this is not from the first class, some may find the reading a bit disjointed. I apologise for any confusion.

The class started with a Recap of what is real and what is
unreal and then veered towards the power of belief.

Malaji shared with us the story of an aboriginal male who
was believed to be a 150 years old. He
came in contact with a skeptical American who could not believe that the man
was actually 150 years. According to conventional wisdom he should be dead, so
the American urged and convinced him to travel to the US to undertake some
tests.

The tests proved conclusive but the skeptism and the
disbelief of the doctors and the scientists somehow managed to permeate the
aboriginal male subject who eventually died because he was made to believe that
it was abnormal for him to be alive as it defied convention.

The point of the story was how our beliefs actually become
our reality. Till the man did not know that he was not supposed to be living
upto the age of 150 he was living healthily, but the moment he was made to
believe that he was a freak and was not supposed to be alive, he died within a
year of his exposure to the outside world and its beliefs.

The discussion then briefly touched the theory of parallel
universes and quantum physics. Parallel
universes theory suggests that there is no one reality and that at any time we
can choose to create our own reality by the thoughts we choose. I shared the story of Burt Goldman who has been
propounding the theory of parallel universes where he talks about how at any
one time there are more than one you existing in different planes and you can
take a quantum jump to meet your double who has the life of your dreams and
bring it into your current reality.

The discussion then led to the question of choice. How every
time we make a choice, there is an opposite choice that we do not make. So for
every decision that we make, there could have been an opposite decision.

Malaji, then spoke about the power of mantra and how the
right intention accompanied with the right act can bring about the desired
result. She shared with us how when some childless couples chant certain
mantras along with the body preparation have been successful in having children.
Mantras are sound vibration with intent and once we set intent in motion we can
reap the desired manifestation. She enunciated that manifestation only occurs
when we are in complete alignment with our intention and the action undertaken.
Knowing about a thing is not enough. For example, reading about surgery does not
make one a surgeon. Doing the act is what brings about the change.

The second session started with the homework about real and
unreal.

I shared my observation about how at times I felt that there
was a part of me that I did not like. My seemingly dark and bright sides which
although I knew to be unreal yet appeared as real as possible and how I was
coming to accept both sides of my personality.
The key to accepting oneself was to embrace the whole in totality. (I
was however quickly told that this was not the homework and I still had to
decipher what was real and what was unreal in my personal experience.J)

Other people then went about sharing their observation and
understanding of what is real and what is unreal. One person mentioned how she
had managed to share with her daughter the concept of real and unreal and
managed to alleviate her anxiety about an issue that had been bothering her.

Mala ji commended the person on her ability and
understanding of what is real and unreal and how because of her awareness she
had managed to share that knowledge with her daughter.

We were reminded that real is that which is constant and
unreal is that which is fluctuating. Unreal is here today and gone tomorrow, there
is no constancy in it so why do we give it so much reality. The key is to
understand the subtle difference and act from the understanding of what is real
and what is unreal.

The next person shared her experience of a rather unpleasant
overseas visit where she was subjected to lot of discomfort and distress due to
the attitude and actions of third parties. She shared about the state of her
mind which became very agitated due to the outside forces. However her
understanding of what is real vs unreal is what made it easier for her to cope
with the difficulties she was faced with.

Malaji, reminded us that it is our sense of inner peace and
equanimity more than anything else that determines the outcome of our issues.
If we do things from an agitated mind the outcome will reflect the agitation
and if we look within ourselves to find a place of calmness and inner poise
that is what will be reflected in our outer dealings.

She reminded us that our desire to control stems from
insecurity and once we find within ourselves the true security of what is real
we can then allow the desire to control fall by the wayside. The whole issue of
wanting to control the outcome is a sign of insecurity and fear.

The key to knowing the difference between the real and
unreal is in getting the right education and being able to discern between what
really is propelling us towards growth
and what is pushing us back into darkness. The right knowledge is therefore
extremely important.

Often when we are put in uncomfortable situations that is
the time when maximum learning takes place. We gain wisdom and intelligence if
we are able to step back and look at the situation in a calm and detached manner.
A calm reflection is a result of practiced intelligence. An agitated mind is
not an intelligent mind, it is a reactive mind. A reactive person is not an
intelligent person, he/she is an emotional person and an emotional person is
incapable of making rational decisions.

We were reminded that people who cause us the most agitation
are also the ones who allow us to grow the most and instead of getting upset
with them we should thank them for giving us an opportunity for spiritual
growth. Because of their actions we have been made aware of a different
perspective and now we can look at a situation from a different angle. The
outside situation is always a reflection of what we need to see within
ourselves.

Another person shared how for her the knowledge of Vedanta
had made her reflect upon her life and introspect on the choices she had made
in the past and how having this knowledge she was today in a better position to
understand her own behavior and the associated insecurities.

Mala ji commended the person and told her that she should
applaud herself for making a choice whereby she was choosing to walk this path
where she was being propelled to look into her own behavior and make the
necessary modifications for her to lead a more fulfilling life.

We were reminded of our imperfections and our fallibility
and our desire to be perfect and how that becomes an impediment in our growth. Because we want to be liked and valued we
aspire for perfection. We believe that perfection equates to being valued,
loved and accepted. However the desire for perfection and the desire to
exercise control is what leads to more and more dis satisfaction.

The acceptance of being imperfect is actually much more
powerful and that is why the strong are quiet and the weak are loud. The less
secure one is the louder he/she is. The strong feel confident in themselves and
do not feel the need to be heard. The
essence of the discussion was to embrace ourselves in entirety – faults and
achievements, good and bad, and the bright and the dark side of our
personality.

Another person shared about how she believes that world is
largely a construct of ideas and that nothing really is real or unreal. She
explained that in her view it was easier to accept things as unreal and
therefore it was easier for her to cope with life when it did not go according
to her wish.

Malaji, went on to explain that sometimes we hide behind
language and our understanding to confirm our beliefs which may or may not be
correct. She asked us to re- visit what
we really understood by what was real and what was unreal.

The next person shared her dilemma at her understanding of
real and unreal in the context of a recent news article where a 13 year old boy
had been kept in a cage for over a year and how his sister was asked to beat
him and how he eventually died. This opened up a big debate on how we judge
others and how our understanding of good and bad is a product of our belief.

Although the actions of the father were considered
despicable, we were reminded to exercise control and discernment before
labeling a person as being bad and evil. Mala, ji reminded us to not pass
judgment based on what we are made to understand via the media. Also how do we
come to the conclusion that a certain behavior is bad and the other is
good? In no way does this imply that we
condone the bad actions or turn a blind eye towards inappropriate behavior. We
need to hone our discerning faculties and be compassionate to make better
judgment.

She told us that in order for us to become compassionate we
have to open heart and practice forgiveness.

Someone then asked how does one feel compassionate towards a
person who has committed such a heinous crime as killing his own child? Malaji
asked us if none of us had committed an act that we were ashamed of. Most
replied in the affirmative but then went on to debate how one act was worse
than another.

According to Mala ji; the degree of the pain determines the degree
of atrocities we commit. How are we to know what drove the boy’s father to
commit such an atrocity. We do not know the circumstances that led to this
behavior. We are only seeing the act without knowing the motivation behind it.
Instead of anger we need to show compassion.

She shared with us that swami ji used to say that “If we all
truly lived the way are supposed to live all our hospitals, all our prisons
would be empty”.

It is the society that makes criminals. She elaborated that if the 13 year old boy who
had died had lived, may have become a
criminal. He may have grown up to become
a serial killer who in every kill may see himself killing his father who had
caused him so much pain. The society would then have judged him to be a
criminal and would want him punished. But if we really looked deeper we would
realize that all that the boy was doing was trying to appease his own pain by
trying to take revenge on his father.

She urged us to practice compassion and forgiveness instead
of anger and judgment.

Reject nothing in life, embrace it. This does not mean you
condone it.

In conclusion, we talked about opening ourselves to love and
allowing ourselves to experience the plethora of emotions. Instead of closing
ourselves down for fear of being hurt she advised us to open ourselves to the
possibility of being hurt and in the bargain gaining an opportunity to grow.

Love is the only answer and when it is backed by the power
of prayer we open ourselves and the world around us to umpteen possibilities of
healing.

As humans our potential to expand and grow is
immeasurable. How can we ever aspire to
reach God if we cannot even bring ourselves to forgive the people of this
world? Our job is to practice love and
forgiveness and open ourselves to experiencing and sharing love. It is not our job to pass judgment and
indulge in debates on what is right and what is wrong. We need to embrace it
all. We need to pray for peace of heart and mind of those we choose to condemn.
The moment we choose to condemn another
we are in effect condemning ourselves.
Therefore instead of damnation and condemning let’s all practice love,
peace and forgiveness. It is not our job
to worry about saving the world. Our job is about saving ourselves, because we
all are a part of that whole and once we raise our own consciousness, in effect
we raise the consciousness of the planet.

06.Positive.Psychology.at.Harvard

04.Positive.Psychology.at.Harvard

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POWER TO CHANGE YOUR DESTINY BY AVDHOOT BABA SHIVANAND

POWER TO CHANGE YOUR DESTINY BY AVDHOOT BABA SHIVANAND

Abraham-Hicks: Denver opening - Abe speaks

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The Power of Paying It Forward

Contributing and Paying It Forward With The Right Intention
Can Create What Are Often Perceived As Coincidences
and In Some Cases Miracles
One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His old Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, it was quite obvious she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. What was his motive? Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He immediately sensed that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was those chills which only fear can put in you.

He said, "I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you just wait in the car where it's warm?

By the way, allow me to introduce myself... My name is Bryan Anderson. I'll have you up and running in a jiffy."

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. As she climbed back in, Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt due to the bitter cold.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.

Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This random act of kindness wasn't a job to him. This was nothing more or less than helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, 'And think of me.'

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home.

It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her positive and upbeat attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger.

Then she remembered Bryan Anderson...

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: 'You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.'

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were still tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day.

That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the Money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month and money being in short supply it was going to be hard...

She knew how worried her husband had been recently, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, 'Everything's going to be all right. I love you so much, Bryan Anderson.'

There is an old saying 'What goes around comes around.' That's much more "true and powerful" than most understand. Today I chose to pay it forward and share this story with you but I'll ask that if it "feels right" that you pass it on too.

Let this light shine...God or whatever the Source of your understanding might be often works in mysterious ways and sometimes puts people in our lives whether it be for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

We can never know which it is for sure but one thing we can know is that it always serves a greater purpose. One that can and always does benefit all those involved.

When it doesn't "seem" that way, it's simply a matter of looking below the surface with an open mind and heart, enabling us to "see" for ourselves just how real and true that is. And it ALWAYS is.

Sometimes we just have to look a little harder than other times.

The Secret of Doing Without Doing by Dr. Robert Anthony

I recently got access to Dr. Robert Anthony's program " The Secret of deliberate creation" Am still going through with it and will post my comments and my experience later. In the meantime I found this article on line and thought it made a good read.


The Secret of doing without Doing


One of the mistaken certainties or misconceptions most people operate under is that you get what you want in life by what you DO, or through the actions you take. Most people believe that the DOING or action part is what makes things happen. However, this causes you to create in reverse.
Let me explain. The reason we put a lot of emphasis on action is because we do not understand the power of our thought. If you analyze it, 90% of most people's actions are spent trying to compensate for inappropriate thought. The Chinese philosopher Lao-tsu said that, "In the practice of the Way, every day something is dropped. Less and less do you need to force things until finally you arrive at *non action* When nothing is done, nothing is left undone".

What he is talking about is *doing without doing* The problem is that most of us are preoccupied with "doing". Unfortunately most of our doing usually involves struggle. In the western world we are conditioned to be action-oriented, so we place a tremendous value on doing. We are so busy doing that we do not realize that all this "doingness" causes us to create in a reverse fashion. Most of our actions are out of fear, worry or doubt because we believe nothing will get done unless we DO something. In other words, we are trying to force our desire into manifestation through action. If your decision to DO is dominant, then you will not focus on what you want to BE in the present moment. This causes you to miscreate because BEING is the first and most important step in the creative process.

Here is the secret. It is not your action that makes things happen, it is your intent. You can reduce the need for action to a very minimum by allowing yourself to focus on what you desire until you feel the positive energy begin to move within you. This energy is not based on doubt, fear, anxiety, worry or need. If you focus on what you want instead of what you don't want, you will know when it is time to take action. And when you do, it will be effortless. Doors open and the entire universe will conspire to assist you in your desire.

Put simply, you should take no action on anything until you have visualized your desire and made it real enough in your mind that your next action (step), whatever it is, seems like the most logical step. How can you know the next logical step? Here is the test that you can give to yourself before taking any action. If you focus on what you desire and still feel overwhelmed or anxious, then you are not ready for any action. You know you are ready when it feels like the next logical step is effortless. There is no effort, no strain, and no pain. What we want to do is to use the leverage of energy, the same leverage of energy that creates everything in the universe.

However, we are so caught up in the reality of WHAT IS, that we feel we must create everything through mental effort and physical activity. Have you ever seen people who seem to have all the wonderful things in their life without much effort? It almost seems like they have an advantage over everyone else. Then you see the people who work the hardest usually have the least. That doesn't seem fair does it? But that's the way the universe works.

Unfortunately, those who work the hardest usually have the least because they haven't learned the leverage of aligning their energy. They are going about creating their lives the hard way. They are trying to use their actions to create what they want. We have also been programmed that in order to have what we desire we must work hard. How many times have you heard - "No pain, no gain." The implication is that if you want to make something of yourself, you must work hard. The message is clear - if you are not hurting or struggling, you are not moving forward.

But here is the truth - anytime you are struggling you are miscreating. Anytime you feel pain or struggle, your magnetic point of attraction is directed to that which you do not want, rather than to that which you desire. Read it again! Actions are necessary, but they are the last component of the creation processes. Actions cannot be used effectively to initiate results, because initiation is the function of BEING, then thought, then action.

Remember, the creation of anything is through your vibration. Everything vibrates, and it is by that vibration that we harmonize and attract experiences to ourselves. So before you act or do anything, first ask yourself, how am I vibrating? How do you tell? You tell by how you FEEL. Your feelings show you your vibration. How you feel determines what you attract. When you use the process of creating by only focusing on what you want instead of what you don't want, you will see that the universe will provide a different set of circumstances for you that requires much less action. This puts you in a state of "doing without doing" or action without effort.

Copyright © 2004 Dr. Robert Anthony. All Rights Reserved.

Dr. Robert Anthony is an internationally reknowned expert in human potential. He teaches you how to manifest what you desire through the power of your mind. He offers the dynamic "Know How To Be Rich" training course, revealing how you can quickly & easily manifest manifest wealth, life purpose and happiness. You can read a free special report by Dr. Anthony at: http://tinyurl.com/2w3np

Bathroom Meditation

According to Wikipedia, Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness.
It has been defined as: "self regulation of attention, in the service of self-inquiry, in the here and now."
When you Google meditation, 118 million results show up. It just goes to show that it must be something people are interested in. I decided to do my own research and read all that I could. But reading is not doing. No amount of reading would have given me the taste of real experience.
So I decided to go for the real thing. I enrolled myself into a 10 day silent retreat where all I was allowed to do was sit cross legged 10 hours a day for 10 days and not speak a word. Suffice to say it was an experience I will never forget.
Although the first six days were a tough ordeal, by the seventh day I had started to experience some benefits of the catharsis that I was going through. The physical silence had finally started to calm the mind, but not before I’d had my share of tears and hysteria in the solitude and silence of my room.
By the 10th day I was relieved that that I had survived and elated that I had an experience no amount of reading could have offered.
Having taken the first step towards self realization I promised myself that I would continue with the practice. Like someone in the throes of young love I was all excited at having found a way to salvation. My passion and my excitement stayed with me precisely for 5 days. 6th day back at home in the real world I slipped back into the so called normalcy of life and couldn’t even spare 20 minutes for something that was supposed to elevate me towards Buddha hood.
The conventional understanding of meditation is sitting cross legged with your eyes shut trying to focus and calm the mind that refuses to be tamed. Most people shy away from meditation because instead of calming the mind it may lead to stress due to the inability to quiet the mind. In fact the moment one sits for meditation, the ‘monkey mind’ starts to run in every possible direction. My mind was no different. The moment I would sit down to meditate; all sorts of thoughts would start popping up. Things that were never on my conscious mind would suddenly start to take over. I would go into a whirl pool of thoughts and eventually get so frustrated and angry that I just gave up.

Until I devised a plan that worked for me!

I had to find a way to calm my mind and stay connected to the source. Necessity is after all the mother of invention.

I invented my own way of meditation and it may not be what the sages ordered but it sure gets me my 20 minutes of .... “self regulation of attention, in the service of self-inquiry, in the here and now."
The bathroom meditation is something I feel we all can do. This is pretty much the only time we can shut ourselves out from the outside world.
Let’s break up our bathroom regime into chunks of activities. Starting with brushing the teeth. While brushing just focus completely on the movement of the brush, the taste of the toothpaste, the smell and the froth of the toothpaste. While rinsing, pay complete attention to the water in your mouth and to the swirling motion. Now the best part. Look at yourself in the mirror and say something complimentary to yourself.
Let’s skip the ablution part and move straight to the bath. Run your bath and if possible add some aroma oils, then step into the bath and now pay attention to each and every body part. You could say something nice to each part, starting from your feet move upwards thanking each part in the way it supports you. Say thank you to the feet for allowing you to walk, the legs to carry you, the hands for helping you write, eat etc. You can even go further and thank your internal organs.
I understand for most of us it is a race against time in the morning and we really don’t have the luxury of a bath. Even a three minute shower is enough. The key is in being aware of ourselves and taking this opportunity when we are alone with our thoughts to appreciate and thank our body for all it does.
Many of us use the time in the bathroom for contemplation and planning our day ahead. But we have the whole day ahead of us to do that, so please use this time as ME time where everything else should not be important. The only thing you are going to focus on is you and be grateful for being you.
Next step- out of the bath/shower and wipe yourself dry. Again use this time to appreciate and thank your body ...if possible each part as you wipe it dry. For most women and the few men who indulge in oils or creams..take this opportunity to repeat the exercise gain.
Finally face the mirror one more time and compliment yourself again and wish yourself a wonderful day.
It sounds extremely narcissistic and it probably is, but why would you expect others to be nice to you if you yourself can’t be nice to yourself?
You must be wondering, how is all this even remotely close to meditation. Well it is not meditation in the conventional sense, but when our focus is one pointed and we are full of gratitude our mind learns to relax. If you continue this exercise for a minimum of 30 days you will begin to notice a change in your attitude and will feel much calmer and relaxed. The key is to do this continuously for 30 days. If you forget even one day...you got to start all over again. It’s kind of antibiotic for the mind. If you start the course, you better complete it to get the full benefit.
After 30 days of the bathroom meditation, you can now move on to the more advanced meditation.
In the next few days I will share some other not –so- conventional ways of finding peace and happiness.
So get moving and use your bathroom time as your me time to get in touch with the inner you. )
Happy Self appreciating…

The bright side of falling sick!!!!!

A week ago, I was almost dying…or at least that is what I

thought and I wrote about how I had been unable to practice mind control to

heal myself. The wonderful messages and

the healing energy sent by all you wonderful people made a whale of difference.

Although am still house bound, I definitely feel better. Thank you everyone for
the wonderful messages and love. Much appreciated.




As a thank you I have a great strategy for happiness
that I discovered during my convalescence.




Before I go ahead, let me share with you a few good things

about falling ill. During the height of my illness I was really cursing the way

I was feeling and could not wait to get better. However in hindsight, I wish I

had not done that and just accepted my illness and thanked my body for forcing
me to take a break.




Body has an amazing self-regulating mechanism and when

pushed too far will give us signals to slow down. The signals will be mild in

the beginning like a headache or body ache, inability to sleep or a short bout

of flu. If we take the hint and take some rest we will be back in action in a

few days, but if we ignore the subtle signs then the body will give us a

slightly stronger nudge and this time we may be out of action for more than just

a few days. My body had tried to tell me in more ways than one, but did I pay

attention? Of course not! And when it really could not take it anymore it gave

me a royal kick up my back side and forced me to stay in bed. To make matters even

more interesting, I could not even speak because of the bronchitis and the

incessant coughing. It really was time for quiet contemplation.





Along with contemplation came lots of reading and lots of

movies. I don’t remember the last time I sat in front of the TV this much. And

the best part of it all, a lot of TLC from the family. Inara made special

drinks ( I can’t say they were all very palatable, but the love and concern
made up way more than the taste) and Rahul and my helper gave amazing massages and back rubs :-) . So it was good to be cared for.




Ok, so let me get to the point where I will share with you the secret of happiness.





I read amazing stuff by a guy called Neil Slade. Have ordered all his books now, but this was on his website. www.neilslade.com





According to him, you can increase your happiness a thousand times over just by popping your frontals!





What does that mean? Basically what he is saying is you can

multiply your happiness levels thousand, ten-thousand or million times over
just by clicking your amygdala forward.




Did I lose you here? What language am I speaking? Frontals,

Amygdala, popping and clicking !!. It all sounds very strange but it is real
fun.




All you need to do is close your eyes and put your thumbs in

your ears, put your middle finger on your eye and bring your index finger in
line with your eye just above the ear. You have just located your amygdala.





The
Amygdala is an almond shaped mass of nuclei located deep within the temporal lobe of the brain
. It is involved in many of our emotions and motivations, particularly those that are related to

survival. The amygdala is involved in the processing of emotions such as fear,
anger and pleasure.




It also acts as a switch between the reptilian brain, the mammalian brain and the most advanced part of
our brain, the frontal lobes.




According to Neil Slade, if we click the amygdala forward we will have immediate feelings of peace,
happiness, pleasure etc.




So what you need to do is do some visualization, because visualization is a frontal lobe activity.




Now that you have located your amygdale, imagine a feather coming through your forehead and tickling the two amygdale.




Just by visualizing this you will have clicked forward your amygdala and will surely feel pleasure.





No harm trying it, I did but am not so sure if I suddenly managed to increase my happiness a thousand
times over.




I definitely had a good laugh when I told Inara about it and both she and I visualized clicking forward

our amygdalas!!! And according to Slade, laughter is a front lobe exercise so it is already a plus in the brain department.





Every time you are in fear or fight mode you are in your reptilian brain and your creativity, intelligence and ability to enjoy are almost negligible, and when you are having fun either in real time or visualizing and reliving happy times your frontal lobes are active and you will feel happier, more creative and more intelligent.





I read hundreds of pages on the brain and the amygdala, but won’t bore you with it. Suffice to say that

knowing how to use the brain is way more important than just the size of the brain. ( Size does matter).





So before going to bed , do this short visualization exercise. Try and remember your happiest memory.

Visualise it in great detail, give it colour, smell, taste, touch, what ever you can remember. Stay with it for a while.





Now you have activated your frontal lobes.





To add to that pleasure, now do the feather tickling amygdala exercise. It is supposed to be the best
feeling you will ever experience.




And if you do please share it with me so that I can copyright it. :-))))))))))))))

All is well..... or is it???

It’s very easy to preach others but when it’s time to practice, its bloody hard. I have always prided myself on walking my walk and talking my talk, at times have had to pay a heavy price, but today on the 11th day of my rather painful physical situation I am very disillusioned by what I preach.
I am a huge proponent of mind over matter and believe a lot in energy healing and have often taken credit for healing others. Mainly my 9 year old daughter who has complete faith in me and even though at times she does not feel any difference tells me she does. She has been extremely troubled by my bronchitis symptoms and gets extremely upset when I cough as if my life force is being drawn out. I must admit it has been a few rather unpleasant days.
So how come all my self-help techniques and energy healing a self-motivational talks are not working on me? Why am I still feeling like death?
After waiting 8 days and hoping and praying that the flu like symptoms would automatically subside, I eventually gave in to family pressure and went and saw a doctor, who immediately put me on a nebulizer and antibiotics and three different kinds of cough mixtures. This was three days ago and I am still feeling like crap. I cannot speak a full sentence without coughing my lungs out and I go into spasms trying to breathe. It sure is not fun.
Why am I sharing all this? Why am I so confused about what I have been studying, practicing and preaching?
Most of my friends look towards me for advice on issues that plague us from time to time. These could be emotional or physical and yours truly always has some sort of idea/solution.
Today however, I am unable to follow my own advice. I am crying and cursing the state I am in and cannot understand how or why I brought this upon myself?
According to Louise Hay’s book- “You can Heal your life” every physical ailment has an emotional bias to it. So let’s see what is bronchitis all about? According to the book, probable cause of Bronchitis is inflamed family environment. Arguments and yelling and sometimes silent disagreements.
Hmm… now that’s a tough one to accept. So in some morbid way, I have brought this upon myself by arguing with my husband on something as innocuous as going to the doctor. I and my ego were so convinced that I could heal myself by positively affirming that I was Ok, that I argued with my husband at the very mention of the word doctor. His sarcasm and frustration of course did not help the situation. The more he would insist on my going to the doctor, the more I would resist.
No wonder I am in such an inflamed situation, both physically and mentally.
My ego got the better of me and I suffered and am still suffering much more than I needed to. If only I had agreed to see the doctor on time and not decided to self-medicate and practice self-healing, I may not be suffering so much.
Have I learnt my lesson? May be may be not? Ego does not give up that easily. It has to make its presence felt and always be right.
This time however it did not serve me. In fact it rarely does. It is what gets us into trouble most of the time, but to say that we have to give up the ego is like saying you have to stop being you. Our whole identity system is based on our ego. If we let go of our ego who are we? What is our personality? We may as well be a wall flower….
I am conflicted and I am confused.
My belief system is being shattered and my ego is preventing me from accepting that I could be wrong. For a change I should have heeded my husband’s advice and seen a doctor sooner, but I didn’t and I am paying the price.
My mind did not overcome matter and maybe not all things can be solved by mind over matter. Maybe we need to be a bit more discerning about what we preach and what we follow.
Now that I am publicly acknowledging that I was wrong and my husband was right, maybe I just might heal.
According to Louise Hay, I need to declare peace and harmony within me and around me and say “ALL Is WELL”.
ALL IS WELL ……….

Tony Robbins on Relationahips, Business, Finances, Health and More

Seven Principles for Making a Marriage Work

The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap

Elizabeth Dunn: Happiness and Money

The Seven Hermetic Principles (For Manifesting)

Do You Make These "Law of Attraction" Blunders? - By Bob Doyle

Learning about the "law of attraction" can be one of the grandest blessings you can receive in your life. When you learn the true "cause" of your experience of reality, and that you can actually ALTER that reality in any way that you wish, it opens a door of Infinite Possibility!

After all, imagine that any level of wealth can be yours! Your life can be enriched with the most fulfilling relationships imaginable! You can spend your time doing only those things you love, and in return, experience abundance that seems impossible from the outside looking in!

However, too many people learn only the "basics" of the Law of Attraction, and as a result make 5 common mistakes that make it appear as though this universal law does not apply to them, and in fact gives them results completely OPPOSITE of what they desire.

Before going into these mistakes, let's review what the Law of Attraction actually is. It's deceptively simple: Energy attracts Like Energy.

Broken down a little more, this means that everything in this Universe (physical and non-physical) IS Energy that vibrates at various frequencies. And it is the nature of the vibrations of this Energy to "attract" themselves to vibrations of a similar frequency. In other words, one "cluster" of Energy attracts itself to other "clusters" of Energy in which it is in vibrational resonance.

This happens on both a very small and very large scale. For our purposes, we are talking about the very common idea that our "thoughts create our reality".

This simple statement leads to people making the following mistakes and assumptions, because while thought IS Energy, and it DOES attract, it's not always so straightforward.

How many of these mistakes apply to you?

1. Believing that "Positive Thinking" is enough to attract what you want.
The reality is that many people use various forms of positive thinking on a conscious level (such as affirmations), only to cancel out those thoughts on a subconscious level.

For example, telling yourself "I am lean, healthy, and energetic" when the mirror says something different, usually results in your subconscious saying, "No you're not!!". Further, this subconscious rebuttal is generally highly charged with emotion, and thus a very powerful attractor.

Therefore, if left unchecked, the use of affirmations can give you a very strong OPPOSITE result of those things you are affirming, because at a much stronger level of conviction, you are canceling the positive message with a negative one.

2. Asking yourself, "Well, where is it?"
People ARE impatient. When they learn about the Law of Attraction, they often have high hopes that they will simply make their lists of desires, cut out pictures, or in some other way design their reality, and then after a couple of days, weeks, or even months, they're looking around saying, "Well?? Where is it??"

The problem isn't that the Universe can't deliver quickly. The problem is that you were never REALLY vibrating in a place of trust that what your desires is yours. You are more "testing the theory", then becoming impatient when the Universe doesn't deliver on your time schedule.

What you may not realize is that from the beginning of the process, there has been resistance. There has been a lack of "allowing" in terms of how and when your desire will be fulfilled, which shows itself through your expression of impatience.

Which leads to mistake number 3:

3. Determining ahead of time, HOW and WHEN you will attract what you want.
The law of attraction works because and when you allow it to. The nature of the Universe is infinite. Our conscious minds are not. When we have a desire, we very often tend to "figure out" how the Universe is going to deliver - be it through our jobs, the lottery, or some other source in particular.

When you attach yourself to one particular outcome, you are cutting off an infinite (literally) number of other ways your desire can be attracted.

4. Allowing your emotions to be led by "external evidence".
This is where people tend to give up. Because their experience of reality is different than what they are trying to attract, they allow themselves to feel frustrated, which of course, only acts to attract more of what will frustrate them.

This all starts because there is, on some level, a basic lack of trust that the Law of Attraction actually has scientific basis. Because after all, if you have TOTAL trust/faith, then your vibration will reflect that and two things will happen: 1) Your desire will come to you as quickly as possible, and 2) You literally won't give external reality a second thought, because you'll realize that what you're looking at now is simply a result of what you've been attracting to that point, and that change is on the way provided you hold your NEW vibration consistently.

5. Not taking care of your limiting beliefs that run at a deeper level.
As mentioned earlier, you have a lifetime of limiting beliefs that have helped to create the reality that you are now trying to change. You have manifested everything around you based on these beliefs, and the feelings associated with those beliefs.

These beliefs run so deep, that you hardly consider them "beliefs". They occur to you as just "how things are". Further, these beliefs have very specific emotions attached to them, and chances are you can FEEL these emotions on some level every time one of these beliefs shows themselves.

How will this show up?

Let's suppose you're wanting to manifest a large amount of money. When you think about that, there might be a certain emotion that immediately comes up for you. This might be associated with a thought like, "I'll never be able to attract that. It's too much." This might be connected to a feeling that you don't DESERVE that amount, or you might feel frustrated with the "bigness" of it.

Either way, these negative emotions are the very energy that is REPELLING what you want! When you learn to RELEASE those emotions, you clear the way for the Universe to deliver what you desire, whatever it is. But until and unless you eliminate the resistance, you will not be in vibrational alignment with what you desire, and thus you can NOT experience it!

There are several "releasing" methods available, such as "The Sedona Method", and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) that can quickly and easily eliminate these energetic blocks.

These are just 5 of the more common mistakes that "newbies" to the Law of Attraction make. There are several more that we list at our web site where we also delve into how to reverse these mistakes so that the Law of Attraction can become a monumentally powerful force in your life!
** To comment on this article or read comments about this article, go here.



About the Author:

Bob Doyle is the founder of Boundless Living and the producer of the "Wealth Beyond Reason" workshop - a complete course in creating Wealth using the principles of Quantum physics and the Law of Attraction available from http://www.WealthBeyondReason.com

Want a Happier Life.....Digested from David G. Myers , The Pursuit Of Happiness

Realize that enduring happiness doesn't come from success. People adapt to changing circumstances—even to wealth or a disability. Thus, wealth is like health: its utter absence breeds misery, but having it (or any circumstance we long for) doesn't guarantee happiness.


Take control of your time. Happy people feel in control of their lives. To master your use of time, set goals and break them into daily aims. Although we often overestimate how much we will accomplish in any given day (leaving us frustrated), we generally underestimate how much we can accomplish in a year, given just a little progress every day.


Act happy. We can sometimes act ourselves into a happier frame of mind. Manipulated into a smiling expression, people feel better; when they scowl, the whole world seems to scowl back. So put on a happy face. Talk as if you feel positive self-esteem, are optimistic, and are outgoing. Going through the motions can trigger the emotions.


Seek work and leisure that engages your skills. Happy people often are in a zone called "flow"—absorbed in tasks that challenge but don't overwhelm them. The most expensive forms of leisure (sitting on a yacht) often provide less flow experience than gardening, socializing, or craft work.


Join the "movement" movement. An avalanche of research reveals that aerobic exercise can relieve mild depression and anxiety as it promotes health and energy. Sound minds reside in sound bodies. Off your duffs, couch potatoes.


Give your body the sleep it wants. Happy people live active vigorous lives yet reserve time for renewing sleep and solitude. Many people suffer from a sleep debt, with resulting fatigue, diminished alertness, and gloomy moods.


Give priority to close relationships. Intimate friendships with those who care deeply about you can help you weather difficult times. Confiding is good for soul and body. Resolve to nurture your closest relationship by not taking your loved ones for granted, by displaying to them the sort of kindness you display to others, by affirming them, by playing together and sharing together. To rejuvenate your affections, resolve in such ways to act lovingly.


Focus beyond the self. Reach out to those in need. Happiness increases helpfulness (those who feel good do good). But doing good also makes one feel good.


Keep a gratitude journal. Those who pause each day to reflect on some positive aspect of their lives (their health, friends, family, freedom, education, senses, natural surroundings, and so on) experience heightened well-being.


Nurture your spiritual self. For many people, faith provides a support community, a reason to focus beyond self, and a sense of purpose and hope. Study after study finds that actively religious people are happier and that they cope better with crises.

Digested from David G. Myers, The Pursuit of Happiness (Harper Paperbacks, 1993)

Psychologists search for secret of happiness at work

Psychologists search for secret of happiness at work

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The 4 Agreements Part 6 - Audio Book

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Chris Johnstone pt 2 of 4, Bristol Happiness Lectures 2010

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Part 13 of 13 Brian Tracy at leadership event

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Part 10 of 13 Brian Tracy at leadership event

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Part 08 of 13 Brian Tracy at leadership event

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Part 06 of 13 Brian Tracy at leadership event

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Part 04 of 13 Brian Tracy at leadership event

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How to Change the World? by John W Hill

Editor’s note: after reading this article on the power of mass consciousness we invite you to take part in our own experiment on what happens when we have 1000s focusing on the same intent at the same time. Take a few minutes now to watch our video here Sacred Heart – and then pass it on to all your friends – and then come back and do the same tomorrow. Together we can change the world.


“…..holding positive ideas (as important a step as this is) is not sufficient by itself to change the world. We still need direct communication between individuals, we need to translate our ideas into action, and we need to recognize the freedom of choice of those who choose alternatives different from our own.” Elaine Myers

Have you looked around and noticed poverty, hardship, injustice, deceit, superficial propaganda, corruption, war, hatred, prejudice, exploitation, environmental destruction, pollution, climate change, stupidity, ignorance, misery, and depression? Of course you have. Want to change it? Of course you do, who wouldn’t? Can you? Not directly. Why not? Because the world exists as a composite hologram of many individual consciousnesses with free will and no individual or group of individuals have the right, authority, or power to impose their will on the collective.

The collective hologram is composed of contributed consciousness from all of its participants whether they are intelligent or stupid, victim or tyrant, the exploiter or the exploited, the enlightened or the clueless. Everyone counts. No one individual can control the hologram. So, is the hologram manipulated? Yes. Those with more knowledge, more information, and more power can influence and sometimes manipulate and manage those with less. Are there conspiracies of individuals working collaboratively for their collective benefit at the expense of the whole? Of course there are, that is how business is frequently done. Is it an even and fair playing field? No, not even close.

Truth has value. Knowledge has value. Wisdom has value. Power has value. Those who possess these things affect the collective hologram by their mere presence. Those who act on truth, knowledge, and wisdom with power and compassion affect the collective hologram even more.

For the collective hologram to change, the individuals composing it must change. They have to change themselves; no one can make them change. You can’t turn sheeple into Spiritual warriors. They have to get a clue, grow up, take responsibility for themselves, and do the hard work that every Spiritual warrior must do to walk the path. There are no short cuts.

So, if you want to change the world, you first must dedicate yourself to changing yourself and to facing and overcoming all of the messy shortcomings that you possess. Along the path of doing this, you will meet others struggling with the same issues that you are. Give them a helping hand. Now, you are changing the world, the only way it can be changed.

The good news is that everytime you have an insight, overcome one of your own limitations or face a persistent fear, you change the collective hologram for the better. It is something similar to the Hundredth Monkey Effect.

The concept of the hundredth monkey effect originates with a story that Japanese monkeys spontaneously acquired a new behavior (washing sweet potatoes to get the sand off) once a certain critical number had acquired the skill. The story of the “Hundredth Monkey Effect” was published in the foreword to Lawrence Blair’s Rhythms of Vision: The Changing Patterns of Myth and Consciousness in 1975, then by others including Lifetide, by Lyall Watson and The Hundredth Monkey by Ken keyes.
Critics, skeptics and “debunkers” claim that the scientific literature does not verify this claim. Bear in mind that professional “peer-reviewed” publications have gate keepers. Claims of so-called paranormal factors are not allowed in “prestigious”, “respected” and “peer-reviewed” publications. Consequently, the story was passed on by more informal communication rather than in “peer-reviewed” and “peer-sanctioned” form.

.
The story of the Hundredth Monkey

This story is taken from the book Lifetide by Lyall Watson, pp. 147-148. Bantam Books 1980. This book gives other fascinating details.

“The Japanese monkey, Macaca fuscata, has been observed in the wild for a period of over 30 years. In 1952, on the island of Koshima scientists were providing monkeys with sweet potatoes dropped in the sand. The monkeys liked the taste of the raw sweet potatoes, but they found the dirt unpleasant.

An 18-month-old female named Imo found she could solve the problem in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her mother. Her playmates also learned this new way and they taught their mothers, too. This cultural innovation was gradually picked up by various monkeys before the eyes of the scientists.

Between 1952 and 1958, all the young monkeys learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable. Only the adults who imitated their children learned this social improvement. Other adults kept eating the dirty sweet potatoes.

Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958, a certain number of Koshima monkeys were washing sweet potatoes — the exact number is not known. Let us suppose that when the sun rose one morning there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island who had learned to wash their sweet potatoes. Let’s further suppose that later that morning, the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes.”

THEN IT HAPPENED!

“By that evening almost everyone in the tribe was washing sweet potatoes before eating them. The added energy of this hundredth monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough!”
But notice

“A most surprising thing observed by these scientists was that the habit of washing sweet then jumped over the sea — Colonies of monkeys on other islands and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama began washing their sweet potatoes!”

Note that this story is empowering. So, is it true? Following critical review by a number of individuals, Watson admitted that he may have exaggerated but insisted that it was still a good idea. The popularity of the concept was powerful and worldwide. So was the controversy that it generated. Two important points emerge from the controversy. First, it is apparent that mass belief (in the hundredth monkey effect in this case) is a force of social change. Second, the necessity of taking responsibility for one’s self, one’s choices and one’s life circumstances cannot be abdicated.

Another perspective is offered by Elaine Myers (The Hundredth Monkey Revisited: Going back to the original sources)

“Instead of an example of the spontaneous transmission of ideas, I think the story of the Japanese monkeys is a good example of the propagation of a paradigm shift, as in Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. The truly innovative points of view tend to come from those on the edge between youth and adulthood. The older generation continues to cling to the world view they grew up with. The new idea does not become universal until the older generation withdraws from power, and a younger generation matures within the new point of view.”

“What the research does suggest, however, is that holding positive ideas (as important a step as this is) is not sufficient by itself to change the world. We still need direct communication between individuals, we need to translate our ideas into action, and we need to recognize the freedom of choice of those who choose alternatives different from our own.”

There is additional evidence that individual consciousness can affect the mass consciousness.

Hagelin, J. S., Orme-Johnson, D. W., Rainforth, M.,Cavanaugh, K., & Alexander, C. N. (1999). Results of the National Demonstration Project to Reduce Violent Crime and Improve Governmental Effectiveness in Washington, D.C. Social Indicators Research, 47, 153-201.

This research project was conducted in Washington D.C. to demonstrate the potential for reducing crime through the practice of meditation. Approximately 4000 practitioners of transcendental meditation (one of many types of meditation) came to Washington D.C. and practiced meditation for an 8 week period. The maximum decrease in violent crimes during this time was nearly 25%. The maximum reduction occurred when the maximum number of participants were present. Note that the criminals were not practicing meditation and had no idea that it was happening. This is an example of the potential for individuals to influence large masses of people through a “morphogenic field.” It works both ways of course.

The researchers estimate that the number of advanced practitioners practicing meditation in an area that is required to effect this change is the square root of one percent of the population of that area. 10,000 is the square root of one percent of ten billion (the world population rounded up to an even number). In other words, a change in the operating paradigm of the entire world can be dramatically shifted by 10,000 individuals. One could see this as a sustained positive revolution without bloodshed, violence, or destruction.

Through an effect of “Morphic Resonance,” the paradigm balance of the entire planet can be shifted by individuals who make positive changes in themselves, discipline and cultivate their Spiritual faculties, and intentionally extend their conscious intent to the whole. When the time is ripe for evolution and change, the local Universe becomes supercharged with energy. This energy can manifest its effect when there is a force or a nucleus of change around which it can precipitate. This is such a time. This is also a time of much challenge, change, and chaos. Within this brew, there are also other, less positive, nuclei around which energy can precipitate as well.

Peace is a shared experience, not an imposed one.

This subject illuminates several important points:

* An individual’s consciousness, energy, and actions do influence the collective.
* Many individuals acting collectively have a much larger influence on the collective.
* These facts are inspiring, encouraging, and uplifting to a very large number of individuals.

John W Hill is the Author of Changing the Paradigm and creator and genius behind http://1paradigm.org where he offers a comprehensive FREE course

Part 02 of 13 Brian Tracy at leadership event

Part 01 of 13 Brian Tracy at leadership event

Carry On - By Robert William Service

It's easy to fight when everything's right,
And you're mad with the thrill and the glory;
It's easy to cheer when victory's near,
And wallow in fields that are gory.
It's a different song when everything's wrong,
When you're feeling infernally mortal;
When it's ten against one, and hope there is none,
Buck up, little soldier, and chortle:

Carry on! Carry on!
There isn't much punch in your blow.
You're glaring and staring and hitting out blind;
You're muddy and bloody, but never you mind.
Carry on! Carry on!
You haven't the ghost of a show.
It's looking like death, but while you've a breath,
Carry on, my son! Carry on!

And so in the strife of the battle of life
It's easy to fight when you're winning;
It's easy to slave, and starve and be brave,
When the dawn of success is beginning.
But the man who can meet despair and defeat
With a cheer, there's the man of God's choosing;
The man who can fight to Heaven's own height
Is the man who can fight when he's losing.

Carry on! Carry on!
Things never were looming so black.
But show that you haven't a cowardly streak,
And though you're unlucky you never are weak.
Carry on! Carry on!
Brace up for another attack.
It's looking like hell, but -- you never can tell:
Carry on, old man! Carry on!

There are some who drift out in the deserts of doubt,
And some who in brutishness wallow;
There are others, I know, who in piety go
Because of a Heaven to follow.
But to labour with zest, and to give of your best,
For the sweetness and joy of the giving;
To help folks along with a hand and a song;
Why, there's the real sunshine of living.

Carry on! Carry on!
Fight the good fight and true;
Believe in your mission, greet life with a cheer;
There's big work to do, and that's why you are here.
Carry on! Carry on!
Let the world be the better for you;
And at last when you die, let this be your cry:
Carry on, my soul! Carry on!

Robert William Service

PODCAST: Brian Tracy Thinking Big...

You Change the World? by John W Hill

 You Change the World? by John W Hill


editor’s note: after reading this article on the power of mass consciousness we invite you to take part in our own experiment on what happens when we have 1000s focusing on the same intent at the same time. Take a few minutes now to watch our video here Sacred Heart – and then pass it on to all your friends – and then come back and do the same tomorrow. Together we can change the world.

“…..holding positive ideas (as important a step as this is) is not sufficient by itself to change the world. We still need direct communication between individuals, we need to translate our ideas into action, and we need to recognize the freedom of choice of those who choose alternatives different from our own.” Elaine Myers


Have you looked around and noticed poverty, hardship, injustice, deceit, superficial propaganda, corruption, war, hatred, prejudice, exploitation, environmental destruction, pollution, climate change, stupidity, ignorance, misery, and depression? Of course you have. Want to change it? Of course you do, who wouldn’t? Can you? Not directly. Why not? Because the world exists as a composite hologram of many individual consciousnesses with free will and no individual or group of individuals have the right, authority, or power to impose their will on the collective.


The collective hologram is composed of contributed consciousness from all of its participants whether they are intelligent or stupid, victim or tyrant, the exploiter or the exploited, the enlightened or the clueless. Everyone counts. No one individual can control the hologram. So, is the hologram manipulated? Yes. Those with more knowledge, more information, and more power can influence and sometimes manipulate and manage those with less. Are there conspiracies of individuals working collaboratively for their collective benefit at the expense of the whole? Of course there are, that is how business is frequently done. Is it an even and fair playing field? No, not even close.

Truth has value. Knowledge has value. Wisdom has value. Power has value. Those who possess these things affect the collective hologram by their mere presence. Those who act on truth, knowledge, and wisdom with power and compassion affect the collective hologram even more.

For the collective hologram to change, the individuals composing it must change. They have to change themselves; no one can make them change. You can’t turn sheeple into Spiritual warriors. They have to get a clue, grow up, take responsibility for themselves, and do the hard work that every Spiritual warrior must do to walk the path. There are no short cuts.

So, if you want to change the world, you first must dedicate yourself to changing yourself and to facing and overcoming all of the messy shortcomings that you possess. Along the path of doing this, you will meet others struggling with the same issues that you are. Give them a helping hand. Now, you are changing the world, the only way it can be changed.


The good news is that everytime you have an insight, overcome one of your own limitations or face a persistent fear, you change the collective hologram for the better. It is something similar to the Hundredth Monkey Effect.

The concept of the hundredth monkey effect originates with a story that Japanese monkeys spontaneously acquired a new behavior (washing sweet potatoes to get the sand off) once a certain critical number had acquired the skill. The story of the “Hundredth Monkey Effect” was published in the foreword to Lawrence Blair’s Rhythms of Vision: The Changing Patterns of Myth and Consciousness in 1975, then by others including Lifetide, by Lyall Watson and The Hundredth Monkey by Ken keyes.

Critics, skeptics and “debunkers” claim that the scientific literature does not verify this claim. Bear in mind that professional “peer-reviewed” publications have gate keepers. Claims of so-called paranormal factors are not allowed in “prestigious”, “respected” and “peer-reviewed” publications. Consequently, the story was passed on by more informal communication rather than in “peer-reviewed” and “peer-sanctioned” form.

The story of the Hundredth Monkey

This story is taken from the book Lifetide by Lyall Watson, pp. 147-148. Bantam Books 1980. This book gives other fascinating details.

“The Japanese monkey, Macaca fuscata, has been observed in the wild for a period of over 30 years. In 1952, on the island of Koshima scientists were providing monkeys with sweet potatoes dropped in the sand. The monkeys liked the taste of the raw sweet potatoes, but they found the dirt unpleasant.



An 18-month-old female named Imo found she could solve the problem in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her mother. Her playmates also learned this new way and they taught their mothers, too. This cultural innovation was gradually picked up by various monkeys before the eyes of the scientists.

Between 1952 and 1958, all the young monkeys learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable. Only the adults who imitated their children learned this social improvement. Other adults kept eating the dirty sweet potatoes.

Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958, a certain number of Koshima monkeys were washing sweet potatoes — the exact number is not known. Let us suppose that when the sun rose one morning there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island who had learned to wash their sweet potatoes. Let’s further suppose that later that morning, the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes.”

THEN IT HAPPENED!

“By that evening almost everyone in the tribe was washing sweet potatoes before eating them. The added energy of this hundredth monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough!”

But notice
“A most surprising thing observed by these scientists was that the habit of washing sweet then jumped over the sea — Colonies of monkeys on other islands and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama began washing their sweet potatoes!”

Note that this story is empowering. So, is it true? Following critical review by a number of individuals, Watson admitted that he may have exaggerated but insisted that it was still a good idea. The popularity of the concept was powerful and worldwide. So was the controversy that it generated. Two important points emerge from the controversy. First, it is apparent that mass belief (in the hundredth monkey effect in this case) is a force of social change. Second, the necessity of taking responsibility for one’s self, one’s choices and one’s life circumstances cannot be abdicated.

Another perspective is offered by Elaine Myers (The Hundredth Monkey Revisited: Going back to the original sources)

“Instead of an example of the spontaneous transmission of ideas, I think the story of the Japanese monkeys is a good example of the propagation of a paradigm shift, as in Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. The truly innovative points of view tend to come from those on the edge between youth and adulthood. The older generation continues to cling to the world view they grew up with. The new idea does not become universal until the older generation withdraws from power, and a younger generation matures within the new point of view.”

“What the research does suggest, however, is that holding positive ideas (as important a step as this is) is not sufficient by itself to change the world. We still need direct communication between individuals, we need to translate our ideas into action, and we need to recognize the freedom of choice of those who choose alternatives different from our own.”

There is additional evidence that individual consciousness can affect the mass consciousness.

Hagelin, J. S., Orme-Johnson, D. W., Rainforth, M.,Cavanaugh, K., & Alexander, C. N. (1999). Results of the National Demonstration Project to Reduce Violent Crime and Improve Governmental Effectiveness in Washington, D.C. Social Indicators Research, 47, 153-201.

This research project was conducted in Washington D.C. to demonstrate the potential for reducing crime through the practice of meditation. Approximately 4000 practitioners of transcendental meditation (one of many types of meditation) came to Washington D.C. and practiced meditation for an 8 week period. The maximum decrease in violent crimes during this time was nearly 25%. The maximum reduction occurred when the maximum number of participants were present. Note that the criminals were not practicing meditation and had no idea that it was happening. This is an example of the potential for individuals to influence large masses of people through a “morphogenic field.” It works both ways of course.

The researchers estimate that the number of advanced practitioners practicing meditation in an area that is required to effect this change is the square root of one percent of the population of that area. 10,000 is the square root of one percent of ten billion (the world population rounded up to an even number). In other words, a change in the operating paradigm of the entire world can be dramatically shifted by 10,000 individuals. One could see this as a sustained positive revolution without bloodshed, violence, or destruction.

Through an effect of “Morphic Resonance,” the paradigm balance of the entire planet can be shifted by individuals who make positive changes in themselves, discipline and cultivate their Spiritual faculties, and intentionally extend their conscious intent to the whole. When the time is ripe for evolution and change, the local Universe becomes supercharged with energy. This energy can manifest its effect when there is a force or a nucleus of change around which it can precipitate. This is such a time. This is also a time of much challenge, change, and chaos. Within this brew, there are also other, less positive, nuclei around which energy can precipitate as well.

Peace is a shared experience, not an imposed one.

This subject illuminates several important points:

* An individual’s consciousness, energy, and actions do influence the collective.

* Many individuals acting collectively have a much larger influence on the collective.

* These facts are inspiring, encouraging, and uplifting to a very large number of individuals.

John W Hill is the Author of Changing the Paradigm and creator and genius behind http://1paradigm.org where he offers a comprehensive FREE course

A paradigm is a way of thinking with a set of assumptions and boundaries that define what is possible, what is not possible, and how things work. Paradigms are built on other paradigms. At the heart of it all are two core paradigms that explain everything that is destructive in our world and everything that is constructive. From this understanding, a path is presented for shifting the dominant paradigm to the constructive win-win way. This path is one of personal growth and transformation. The book is a training manual for healers, spiritual warriors, seekers and finders. It is a practical course based on the real experiences of real people. The content draws on Judeo-Christian, Eastern, Native American, Mystical and Shamanic traditions. The application of this training is both a personal growth process, and by extension, a method of contributing to a major paradigm shift.