Whether you want to lose weight, end emotional eating, overcome stress, or move beyond sadness and depression, creating any major change in your life can create feelings of discomfort. You are here, and you want to be there. As enticing as the outcome of your goal appears, you cannot instantly jump into a happy, motivation filled life.
Instead, achieving happiness and success means that you have to venture out of your comfort zone into an unknown journey. On your path between here and there, you will most likely face many obstacles, experience setbacks and failures, feel emotions you don't want to feel, and discover you must learn strange new ways of thinking, acting, and behaving if you want to reach your outcome.
One-step at a time you walk across the middle ground between where you were and where you are going. This middle ground tends to feel shaky and unknown. You may stumble along with unsure footing wondering if you will ever feel confident again. One of the secrets of achieving a happy outcome requires acknowledging and understanding that the changes you are asking yourself to make will be uncomfortable. Your success rests on planning ahead to give yourself the tools and support you need to make yourself feel safe even in the midst of change and uncertainty.
The following strategies are designed to help you find that trust and self-assuredness when you are in the midst of creating your happy and motivated life.
Acceptance of Your Journey
Whenever you are feeling uncertain, stop and take a moment to breathe deeply. Take several deep, slow breaths. When you breathe, you allow yourself to come back to center and your inner resourcefulness. From center, you can regain your larger perspective about the importance of the changes you want to make. You can remind yourself that you are in transition because you made the conscious choice to experience more happiness. You are not a victim of this change, and no one forced you into this decision. Although your journey from here to there may not be an easy journey, remind yourself that the joy and success you want to experience is important to you.
It's Okay to Fall, But Get Back Up Again
When you are walking across the transitional middle ground between where you were and where you want to go, there will be times when you may feel uncertain and doubtful about your ability to have what you want. Perhaps you encounter a roadblock or obstacle, or perhaps the amount of effort you must put forth on a daily basis was more than you bargained for. You will consider quitting. The question becomes, when you want to quit, will you curl up, tell yourself you can't have what you want, or desperately pray that someone comes along to rescue you? Or are you going to gather up all your courage and find some way to gain motivation move forward once again? It's okay to stumble and fall, we all do it at one time or another. It is even okay to lie in the dirt for a while. What is important is that you remember that you are still on your path, still facing forward, and you can still have what you want. What is the one step you can take right now that will serve to raise your level of motivation higher?
Choose Faith
Have you ever heard the expression, "Feed your faith, not your fears." I love how this phrase can boil down a complicated situation into a very simple choice. Use this phrase to perform a reality check on yourself. When you feel doubt or fear, are your thoughts and actions helping to build your self-confidence that you can have what you want, are they causing you to go further down a dark spiral of negativity and despair? The issue is not whether or not you will experience fear. Fear is a natural by-product of going on your goal journey. The issue is how you will deal with fear when it shows up - will you feed faith or will you feed fear?
Get Support
Your journey between here and there is your own unique experience that you must navigate on your own. No one can take the journey for you, and no one can pick you up and drop you off on the other side. The journey itself is what offers the strengths, insights, wisdom, and joy that you are looking for. Therefore, you must walk our own path - but that doesn't mean you can't hold hands with some friends for a awhile. Meet with a nutrition therapist, life coach, friend, or advisor on a regular basis to keep you motivated. Your support people can help you though periods of self-doubt and instability and remind you that being able to feel more happy and motivated is what you want most.
Words Are Powerful
Be acutely aware of the words you use. Do the words you speak to yourself empower you or leave you feeling powerless? Are your thoughts self-supporting or self-defeating? Do you encourage yourself when things are going well and when things are difficult? Learning to motivate your self with positive, self-affirming, resourceful, and loving language is what allows you to feel happy and gain motivation to take each next step. Look into your own eyes in the mirror and speak kind, persuading words. It is up to you to provide the motivation you need to achieve success.
Take A Risk
Change requires you to move from your smaller, confined circle of comfort to one that is larger and more expansive. To achieve ultimate success, you will need to move beyond the edges of your comfort zone. Like Columbus sailing off to explore the edge of the ocean, you too are exploring unknown new territory. Allow yourself to be a beginner again - this is how you grow and transform. If you take a risk and fail, learn from the experience and adjust your actions. Just don't give up!
Create A Ritual to Honor the Change
Symbolically acknowledge your journey by creating a ritual to honor the growth and changes you have been making. A ritual can be anything metaphorical that has meaning to you. Perhaps it might be burying your scale, donating all your larger clothes, giving your diet books to the local library, a celebration of your journey with friends, or even listing all the things that have been holding you back on little strips of paper and burning them. Take some sort of physical action to acknowledge the path you are moving along. Doing this creates a deeper sense of meaning and importance to your daily actions, and raise your motivation level. You develop respect for the transition that you are engaged in. A ritual may help you close a door that you are ready to close.
Get a Transitional Object
Your ability to feel happy and keep motivated can also be increased when you carry a transitional object. Your transitional object can remind you of your successes so far, and keep your vision on your overall goal. The object could be something that reminds you of your journey, or it could be an item that provides comfort.
Link your sense of touch to the feeling of being happy or motivated. For example, think of how a toddler is able to comfort itself with a stuffed animal or blanket, or how rosary beads can help move thoughts back into love. Find your own transitional object that you can touch, stroke, or hold to remind you of the importance of your journey and provide you with motivation to continue forward. Below is a list transitional objects you could easily carry in your pocket or on your body:
Small smooth stone
Crystal
Special necklace
Ring for your finger
Sea shell
Symbolic lapel pin
Your goals to end overeating, lose weight, overcome stress, or move beyond sadness and depression are important goals. Congratulations on your courage to move forward and make a better life for yourself. Use these tips and suggestions to keep yourself motivated, feeling happy about the changes you are making, and believing in yourself. Although your path may seem shaky at times, you truly can live the life of your dreams.
Want to make your world brighter and more exciting? Want to leave feeling exhausted, stressed, depressed, or overweight behind forever? Subscribe to our wonderful weekly free Loving Miracles newsletter at www.AnnetteColby.com and learn how to wake up each morning energized and glad to be alive.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Conditions of Happiness - Happy vs Unhappy - Do We Have A Choice?
Most everyone is in the process of seeking greater happiness. We are each involved in the search for feeling good inside our lives and bodies. What may come as a surprise is that many people who struggle with depression, emotional eating, stress eating, or some other addictive behavior, are really just searching for a way to feel happier. They feel some sort of unease in their emotional state and physical body, and then reach for something to numb the discomfort or make them feel better.
There is no crime in wanting to feel better. Your body is meant to be aligned with thoughts and actions that feel good. If you are currently not feeling good inside your life or your body, then certainly, continuing with emotional or stress eating, or some other addiction, is one valid choice to get through the day. If your emotional eating or addictive behavior is the only singular, lonesome tool that you have in your tool box, than hallelujah! Your self-loving survival instinct is alive and functioning. You are choosing the one action that you believe will help you feel better.
Eventually though, you will find that the fix from food or addiction does not last too long. You might feel good in the short-term, but not so well over the long-term. The consequences of your actions end up being more than you had bargained for. For example, emotional or stress eating can lead to excess weight and associated health problems. Bulimia can lead to heart arrhythmia. Anorexia can lead to impaired mental processing. The outcomes are unwanted, but the often unconscious and underlying intent was love, self-preservation, and feeling good.
If you could take all the emotional judgment, shame, and sense of failure off the eating behavior, you would be able to see that your deepest desire is an attempt to feel good. Using food, the lack of food, or some other external gratification to cope does not mean that you are sick or defective. Indeed, you are a competent manager of your own life. You might be stuck in one method of coping that has become complicated and no longer works so well, but none-the-less you are still coping and still managing life.
Take heart! New solutions for feeling better are possible. Gaining this sense of happiness does not require a deep understanding of what happened in your past, or even how dysfunctional your family was. Instead, feeling happier requires that you engage in the effort of developing new patterns of thinking and acting.
What Is Happiness
Let's take a closer look at defining happiness. Scientifically speaking, happiness is a basic sense of satisfaction with your self and your environment.
To understand this statement more fully, psychologist Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky offered this conclusion based on a 1994 study: "Happy people do not experience one success after another and unhappy people, one failure after another. Instead, surveys show that happy and unhappy people tend to have had very similar life experiences. The difference is that the average unhappy person spends more than twice as much time thinking about unpleasant events in their lives, while happy people tend to seek and rely upon information that brightens their personal outlook."
This conclusion shows that chronically happy and unhappy individuals differ in the specific thoughts and types of motivational strategies they use. For example, happy individuals interpret life events and daily situations in ways that maintain their happiness, while unhappy individuals interpret experiences in ways that reinforce unhappiness. Happy individuals are more aware of the joy and happiness available in any situation, while unhappy people register more sorrow and difficulty. This is the glass is half-empty versus the glass half-full perspective.
Wow! This is important information. The implication is that you can learn to feel happier. You can decide to take your own unhappy situation into your own hands. You can stop analyzing why you are feeling so badly, stop blaming your parents, your childhood. You can even stop blaming yourself for your troubles. Instead, you can focus on changing your thoughts and actions. Instead of focusing on the problem, you can learn to focus on the solution.
Everyone Feels Unhappy Sometimes
Recognize that everyone has experiences of feeling unhappy. Blame it on getting out of the wrong side of the bed, hormones, or the weather - it doesn't matter. One basic truth in life is that not every day is going to be an easy and miraculously happy day. Happiness expands as you make a decision to support yourself no matter what experience or emotion you are currently experiencing.
Unhappy and Happy Are Emotions
It might be useful to remind yourself that happy and unhappy are emotions. This means that like all emotions, they do not last forever. Sometimes you can shift from happy to unhappy with the passage of time. Allow more time and you will shift back into happy. In other words, this too shall pass.
Accept Being Unhappy
Acceptance is one tool your can use to deal with unhappy days. For example, since unhappy is an emotion, it means that it is a normal and natural state. You don't have to fight how you feel. Instead, decide to be at peace with the experience you are having. This doesn't mean wallowing in self-pity or drowning in depression, it means acknowledging to yourself that this the life experience you are having right now. Take several deep breathes and let it be. Once you allow acceptance, the burden of unhappy being 'wrong' disappears. A certain pressure of perfectionism disappears. A completely new way to relax and take care of yourself opens up.
Once unhappy is acceptable, you can become curious about new, self-supporting actions. For example, instead of eating to push down unhappy feelings, you can discover new ways to soothe yourself while you feel unhappy. Ask yourself,
What actions can I take to love myself while I am feeling unhappy?
Can I choose to be okay with this emotion?
Can I choose to feel happy while at the same time feeling unhappy? The glass is both half-empty and half-full at the same time.
Can I be grateful for my life even while I am currently feeling unhappy?
What can I do right now while I am feeling unhappy to produce pleasant experiences?
Remember Happy Times
It is human nature to easily forget happy moments of our life, while terrible times easily become entrenched in our minds. Our perspective is unbalanced, and often when we are feeling sad, we can't remember ever feeling happy. In addition, we have a tendency to 'play with problem' or fixate on something negative. It seems so easy to dwell on unhappy thoughts and so difficult to train ourselves to bring optimistic thoughts and attitudes to ourselves.
The next time you are feeling unhappy, remind yourself of your larger perspective. Changing a few of your thoughts can often be the fastest way to feeling okay and not so lost. For example, you might say, "Even though I'm unhappy...
My life has meaning.
There is value in what I am feeling.
It's okay to feel what I am feeling.
We all have happy and unhappy moods, feelings do not last forever.
The world is safe, and I don't have to be happy every moment.
This too shall pass.
I can choose to pamper myself while I am in this unhappy place.
Choose Self-Supportive Actions
When you are feeling unhappy, you know you don't need more food or addictive substances, you need to love yourself in brand new ways. This is a perfect time to focus on new opportunities to be tender to yourself. What can you do to feel better? Start thinking about what actions would make you feel just a little better. You don't have to erase your feeling of unhappiness, you just have to support yourself while you are going through it. For example:
Go for a walk outside.
Play with your pets.
Walk to the nearest mirror and give yourself a much needed pep talk.
Remind yourself that you are worthy of loving yourself even when you are unhappy.
Support yourself with a healthy, colorful, and nourishing meal.
Add some protein into your meals for better balance and groundedness.
Gain a balanced perspective by writing in your journal.
Write a gratitude list.
Get a 20-minute chair massage.
Sit outside and breathe in the air.
Now that you know that happiness requires action, you can begin to take care of yourself in new and different ways. Learn to see the positive in life. Your new actions won't replace your emotional or stress eating right away, and they won't immediately replace your addictive behaviors - but add enough new actions and watch as you begin to realize the power you have over your own happiness!
Want to make your world brighter and more exciting? Want to leave feeling exhausted, stressed, depressed, or overweight behind forever? Subscribe to our wonderful weekly free Loving Miracles newsletter at www.AnnetteColby.com and learn how to wake up each morning energized and glad to be alive.
There is no crime in wanting to feel better. Your body is meant to be aligned with thoughts and actions that feel good. If you are currently not feeling good inside your life or your body, then certainly, continuing with emotional or stress eating, or some other addiction, is one valid choice to get through the day. If your emotional eating or addictive behavior is the only singular, lonesome tool that you have in your tool box, than hallelujah! Your self-loving survival instinct is alive and functioning. You are choosing the one action that you believe will help you feel better.
Eventually though, you will find that the fix from food or addiction does not last too long. You might feel good in the short-term, but not so well over the long-term. The consequences of your actions end up being more than you had bargained for. For example, emotional or stress eating can lead to excess weight and associated health problems. Bulimia can lead to heart arrhythmia. Anorexia can lead to impaired mental processing. The outcomes are unwanted, but the often unconscious and underlying intent was love, self-preservation, and feeling good.
If you could take all the emotional judgment, shame, and sense of failure off the eating behavior, you would be able to see that your deepest desire is an attempt to feel good. Using food, the lack of food, or some other external gratification to cope does not mean that you are sick or defective. Indeed, you are a competent manager of your own life. You might be stuck in one method of coping that has become complicated and no longer works so well, but none-the-less you are still coping and still managing life.
Take heart! New solutions for feeling better are possible. Gaining this sense of happiness does not require a deep understanding of what happened in your past, or even how dysfunctional your family was. Instead, feeling happier requires that you engage in the effort of developing new patterns of thinking and acting.
What Is Happiness
Let's take a closer look at defining happiness. Scientifically speaking, happiness is a basic sense of satisfaction with your self and your environment.
To understand this statement more fully, psychologist Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky offered this conclusion based on a 1994 study: "Happy people do not experience one success after another and unhappy people, one failure after another. Instead, surveys show that happy and unhappy people tend to have had very similar life experiences. The difference is that the average unhappy person spends more than twice as much time thinking about unpleasant events in their lives, while happy people tend to seek and rely upon information that brightens their personal outlook."
This conclusion shows that chronically happy and unhappy individuals differ in the specific thoughts and types of motivational strategies they use. For example, happy individuals interpret life events and daily situations in ways that maintain their happiness, while unhappy individuals interpret experiences in ways that reinforce unhappiness. Happy individuals are more aware of the joy and happiness available in any situation, while unhappy people register more sorrow and difficulty. This is the glass is half-empty versus the glass half-full perspective.
Wow! This is important information. The implication is that you can learn to feel happier. You can decide to take your own unhappy situation into your own hands. You can stop analyzing why you are feeling so badly, stop blaming your parents, your childhood. You can even stop blaming yourself for your troubles. Instead, you can focus on changing your thoughts and actions. Instead of focusing on the problem, you can learn to focus on the solution.
Everyone Feels Unhappy Sometimes
Recognize that everyone has experiences of feeling unhappy. Blame it on getting out of the wrong side of the bed, hormones, or the weather - it doesn't matter. One basic truth in life is that not every day is going to be an easy and miraculously happy day. Happiness expands as you make a decision to support yourself no matter what experience or emotion you are currently experiencing.
Unhappy and Happy Are Emotions
It might be useful to remind yourself that happy and unhappy are emotions. This means that like all emotions, they do not last forever. Sometimes you can shift from happy to unhappy with the passage of time. Allow more time and you will shift back into happy. In other words, this too shall pass.
Accept Being Unhappy
Acceptance is one tool your can use to deal with unhappy days. For example, since unhappy is an emotion, it means that it is a normal and natural state. You don't have to fight how you feel. Instead, decide to be at peace with the experience you are having. This doesn't mean wallowing in self-pity or drowning in depression, it means acknowledging to yourself that this the life experience you are having right now. Take several deep breathes and let it be. Once you allow acceptance, the burden of unhappy being 'wrong' disappears. A certain pressure of perfectionism disappears. A completely new way to relax and take care of yourself opens up.
Once unhappy is acceptable, you can become curious about new, self-supporting actions. For example, instead of eating to push down unhappy feelings, you can discover new ways to soothe yourself while you feel unhappy. Ask yourself,
What actions can I take to love myself while I am feeling unhappy?
Can I choose to be okay with this emotion?
Can I choose to feel happy while at the same time feeling unhappy? The glass is both half-empty and half-full at the same time.
Can I be grateful for my life even while I am currently feeling unhappy?
What can I do right now while I am feeling unhappy to produce pleasant experiences?
Remember Happy Times
It is human nature to easily forget happy moments of our life, while terrible times easily become entrenched in our minds. Our perspective is unbalanced, and often when we are feeling sad, we can't remember ever feeling happy. In addition, we have a tendency to 'play with problem' or fixate on something negative. It seems so easy to dwell on unhappy thoughts and so difficult to train ourselves to bring optimistic thoughts and attitudes to ourselves.
The next time you are feeling unhappy, remind yourself of your larger perspective. Changing a few of your thoughts can often be the fastest way to feeling okay and not so lost. For example, you might say, "Even though I'm unhappy...
My life has meaning.
There is value in what I am feeling.
It's okay to feel what I am feeling.
We all have happy and unhappy moods, feelings do not last forever.
The world is safe, and I don't have to be happy every moment.
This too shall pass.
I can choose to pamper myself while I am in this unhappy place.
Choose Self-Supportive Actions
When you are feeling unhappy, you know you don't need more food or addictive substances, you need to love yourself in brand new ways. This is a perfect time to focus on new opportunities to be tender to yourself. What can you do to feel better? Start thinking about what actions would make you feel just a little better. You don't have to erase your feeling of unhappiness, you just have to support yourself while you are going through it. For example:
Go for a walk outside.
Play with your pets.
Walk to the nearest mirror and give yourself a much needed pep talk.
Remind yourself that you are worthy of loving yourself even when you are unhappy.
Support yourself with a healthy, colorful, and nourishing meal.
Add some protein into your meals for better balance and groundedness.
Gain a balanced perspective by writing in your journal.
Write a gratitude list.
Get a 20-minute chair massage.
Sit outside and breathe in the air.
Now that you know that happiness requires action, you can begin to take care of yourself in new and different ways. Learn to see the positive in life. Your new actions won't replace your emotional or stress eating right away, and they won't immediately replace your addictive behaviors - but add enough new actions and watch as you begin to realize the power you have over your own happiness!
Want to make your world brighter and more exciting? Want to leave feeling exhausted, stressed, depressed, or overweight behind forever? Subscribe to our wonderful weekly free Loving Miracles newsletter at www.AnnetteColby.com and learn how to wake up each morning energized and glad to be alive.
Just do it....... ( recd in an email)
Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.
I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.
How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched ' Jeopardy ' on television?
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain.' And my personal favourite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.
Because Australians cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!
We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet... We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'
When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Roller blades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord..
My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-Decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.
Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?
Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butter fly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask ' How are you?' Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi?
When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away..... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.
I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.
How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched ' Jeopardy ' on television?
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain.' And my personal favourite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.
Because Australians cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!
We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet... We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'
When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Roller blades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord..
My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-Decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.
Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?
Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butter fly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask ' How are you?' Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi?
When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away..... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.
Thw amazing cucumber.....tips
This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of their "Spotlight on the Home" series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.
1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!
6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!
7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explorers for quick meals to thwart off starvation.
8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!
10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown to reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
11. Just finished a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but it won't leave streaks and won't harm your fingers or fingernails while you clean.
13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!
1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!
6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!
7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explorers for quick meals to thwart off starvation.
8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!
10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown to reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
11. Just finished a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but it won't leave streaks and won't harm your fingers or fingernails while you clean.
13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Knowledge is regarded as an obstacle to understanding
In Buddhism, knowledge is regarded as an obstacle to understanding, like a block of ice that obstructs water from flowing. It is said that if we take one thing to be the truth and cling to it, even if truth itself comes in person and knocks at our door, we won't open it. For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.
The Buddha told a story about this. A young widower, who loved his five-year-old son very much, was away on business, and bandits came, burned down his whole village, and took his son away. When the man returned, he saw the ruins, and panicked. He took the charred corpse of an infant to be his own child, and he began to pull his hair and beat his chest, crying uncontrollably... He organized a cremation ceremony, collected the ashes and put them in a very beautiful velvet bag. Working, sleeping eating, he always carried the bag of ashes with him.
One day his real son escaped from the robbers and found his way home. He arrived at his father's new cottage at midnight, and knocked at the door. You can imagine at that time, the young father was still carrying the bag of ashes, and crying. He asked, "Who is there?" And the child answered, "It's me Papa. Open the door, it's your son." In his agitated state of mind the father thought that some mischievous boy was making fun of him, and he shouted at the child to go away, and he continued to cry. The boy knocked again and again, but the father refused to let him in. Some time passed, and finally the child left. From that time on, father and son never saw one another: After telling this story, the Buddha said, "Sometime, somewhere you take something to be the truth. If you cling to it so much, when the truth comes in person and knocks at your door, you will not open it."
Guarding knowledge is not a good way to understand. Understanding means to throwaway your knowledge. You have to be able to transcend your knowledge the way people climb a ladder. If you are on the fifth step of a ladder and think that you are very high, there is no hope for you to climb to the sixth. The technique is to release. The Buddhist way of understanding is always letting go of our views and knowledge in order to transcend. This is the most important teaching. That is why I use the image of water to talk about understanding. Knowledge is solid; it blocks the way of understanding. Water can flow, can penetrate.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh from “Being Peace” ~
The Buddha told a story about this. A young widower, who loved his five-year-old son very much, was away on business, and bandits came, burned down his whole village, and took his son away. When the man returned, he saw the ruins, and panicked. He took the charred corpse of an infant to be his own child, and he began to pull his hair and beat his chest, crying uncontrollably... He organized a cremation ceremony, collected the ashes and put them in a very beautiful velvet bag. Working, sleeping eating, he always carried the bag of ashes with him.
One day his real son escaped from the robbers and found his way home. He arrived at his father's new cottage at midnight, and knocked at the door. You can imagine at that time, the young father was still carrying the bag of ashes, and crying. He asked, "Who is there?" And the child answered, "It's me Papa. Open the door, it's your son." In his agitated state of mind the father thought that some mischievous boy was making fun of him, and he shouted at the child to go away, and he continued to cry. The boy knocked again and again, but the father refused to let him in. Some time passed, and finally the child left. From that time on, father and son never saw one another: After telling this story, the Buddha said, "Sometime, somewhere you take something to be the truth. If you cling to it so much, when the truth comes in person and knocks at your door, you will not open it."
Guarding knowledge is not a good way to understand. Understanding means to throwaway your knowledge. You have to be able to transcend your knowledge the way people climb a ladder. If you are on the fifth step of a ladder and think that you are very high, there is no hope for you to climb to the sixth. The technique is to release. The Buddhist way of understanding is always letting go of our views and knowledge in order to transcend. This is the most important teaching. That is why I use the image of water to talk about understanding. Knowledge is solid; it blocks the way of understanding. Water can flow, can penetrate.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh from “Being Peace” ~
Dealing With Other People's Anger
Dealing With Other People's Anger
by Dean Van Leuven
Most often the anger directed at us is due to the other person having different expectations than ours. They are operating under the assumption that we will act toward them in a certain way; but when we don't, their anger is triggered. They may hold very different beliefs, be totally unaware of our point of view or motivation, or they simply may be very different from us in many ways.
In dealing with another person's anger, it's important to be aware of the fact that the other person wants something to come out of their relationship with you. The key is to understand their expectations, and to help them understand yours.
Such mutual understanding is brought about by meaningful communication. Rather than expecting the other person to feel the same way as you do about the situation that's made them angry, make a real effort to find out how they really feel. In order to get a real understanding of what's driving their anger — so that you can ultimately diffuse it — you'll need to hone your listening and communication skills.
HOW LISTENING AND COMMUNICATING CAN DIFFUSE ANGER
Train yourself to be a good listener by learning how to "listen deeply." To do this, you must put your own thoughts and beliefs aside, and really focus on what the other person is saying.
Unfortunately, most conversations can be characterized as "my stuff/your stuff." They can be likened to a strange "game" of tennis — played with two separate balls. You serve your ball to me. I let it pass and serve my ball back to you. You let it pass and serve your ball back to me. The game continues in this way — with neither player receiving the other person's ball. In such an instance, it obviously isn't a game at all. And in a conversation with the same characteristics, it's not really a conversation at all. You want to tell your story and I want to tell mine. We never hear the other person's story because we are too busy telling our own. How many conversations have you had lately that went this way?
We can diffuse another person's anger simply by putting an end to the "my stuff/your stuff" game and truly listening to that person. Interestingly, very often when you give an angry person the courtesy of politely listening to what they have to say, without interrupting them or retaliating in anger, their anger is reduced.
As you're listening, focus on the feelings being expressed by the other person, rather than the strict meaning of their words. The feelings are the most important part of any message. When a child tells us, "Billie hit me," we tend to focus on the hit instead of how the child feels. If you can respond in a way that lets the child know you understand how he feels, this will tend to calm him down. For example, "It sounds like you feel hurt and angry." Learn to deal with an angry person's feelings in this way. Their feelings are usually far more important than the event itself.
Most people find it very difficult to directly express their feelings. When someone hurls an angry remark at you, learn to put yourself in his or her shoes. Becoming aware of what the other person is experiencing emotionally requires that you set your own feelings aside. Look to see if you have triggered their anger in any way. Look to see how you might be causing the disturbed feelings.
Are there particular methods of communicating with someone that will diffuse their anger? Try this: Summarize what you think the angry person has said, without injecting anger into your statement. Repeat both the ideas and the feelings that you believe they have expressed. Hearing their own sentiments expressed back to them in a calm way tends to pacify an angry person. Getting their passion acknowledged and their needs met diffuses their anger and helps them to move from their own emotional center into their thinking center. You may need to repeat your "calmed down version" of what you think they were trying to express, but if you can learn to be patient with an angry person and employ this method, you will validate them and eliminate their anger.
Open up to the person who is angry with you. Establish a bridge. Communicate kindness and this will likely change the way they relate to you. It will be difficult for them to maintain their anger at someone who is being pleasant and kind.
When you communicate with someone who may be holding onto a lot of anger, the best way to deal with him or her is to show a genuine interest in them as a person and in the way that they view life. You'll likely find that when you communicate in this way, their defenses will drop and their hearts will open. Your authentic concern for them is a powerful diffuser of anger.
FEELING COMPASSION FOR THE ANGRY PERSON
Most people naturally love and want love returned. It is part of our nature to love others. Ask yourself these questions: How can I react toward others to prevent pushing their anger buttons? How should I react toward others to avoid having their anger push my anger buttons? Once you have identified these "hot buttons" you can adjust your behavior so that it will not incite or intensify the anger of others.
If you feel compassion, then another person's anger will no longer cause you to become angry. Compassion is possible only when you have an understanding of what that person might be going through. Once you learn to be more aware and caring about the other person's feelings, you will start developing responses that are not anger producing.
You can choose to see everyone as either loving or fearful. We offer help to the fearful, not anger. For example: You are remodeling your office. A consultant is brought in to supervise the work. He is rude and abrasive. Do you feel angry with him? Suppose you knew he was suffering from a deteriorating illness? Be aware that the other person's anger is usually not incited by something you said to him. It usually originates from some underlying problem that he has in his life that has nothing to do with you. Learn to see that the angry person is the cause of his own anger, and that the fault does not lie with you.
Anger is a message that can be read as a cry for help: "Pay attention to me. I don't like what you are doing. Restore my pride. Give me justice. You are in my way. I am afraid." Think of a person who is angry as a person who is in need of help.
To most of us, anger seems personal. If someone gets angry with us, we feel they deserve retaliation. That kind of thinking only serves to escalate the anger and perpetuates all sorts of problems. This is one of the reasons nations go to war with each other. When you learn to become compassionate and to fully convince yourself that you can withstand the angry jibes other people send your way, you create choices for yourself. You can choose to turn away from the angry person or stay with them and enjoy their positive attributes. You may even enjoy showing them how they can be less angry just by your own example. With compassion as your guide, you will not only be less likely to receive other people's anger, you will be creating a more loving environment.
Respond with love and compassion, rather than punishment and retaliation, and an angry person will be disarmed. Trade the need to be right for a loving relationship. It is a trade you — and everyone around you — will benefit from.
Do you have a friend who...
• believes people are constantly trying to put them down?
• believes they should have things exactly how they want them?
• believes that if people do something wrong, they must be punished?
• believes you take no notice of them unless they act irritated or angry?
• believes people are selfish, self-centered, and unhelpful?
• believes people are hostile and angry?
Life isn't much fun with this belief system. Have compassion for your friend. Model behavior that will encourage friends like this to change their anger-based beliefs. Maintaining a friendship with people whose beliefs consistently lead to anger may be very difficult for you. If they don't show signs of wanting to change, you may find your life happier without them in it.
Principles to Keep in Mind When Dealing With the Anger of Others:
• Other people's anger is usually not about you.
• Only your own thoughts and attitudes can upset you, not the anger of others.
• Other people are worrying about their problems, not yours.
• Forgiving and apologizing eliminate anger.
Guidelines for Dealing with the Anger of Others:
• Listen to what the angry person is saying, and perceive the feeling underneath their words.
• Summarize the angry person's feelings back to them, so that they know you understand what they're going through.
• Understand the angry person's reality, and show them compassion.
• Choose to perceive other people as loving or fearful, not as attacking.
• Acknowledge that forgiving and apologizing eliminate anger.
• Model anger-free behavior.
Be how you want others to be. They will respond in kind. The rewards you receive will be many times worth the effort.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article was excerpted from:
Life Without Anger: Your Guide to Peaceful Living
by Dean Van Leuven.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher, DeVorss & Company. ©2003. www.devorss.com
Info/Order this book
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the Author
Dean Van Leuven is an international speaker who regularly conducts seminars, lectures and workshops in learning to live without anger and related quality of life issues. This book is based on the materials that he presents at those events.
For an up-to-date schedule of Dean's Life Without Anger events, refer to his web site www.lifewithoutanger.com. To contact him for an event in your area, e-mail him at drdean@lifewithoutanger.com drdean@lifewithoutanger.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; or call 1-800-359-6015.
--------------------------------------------------------
by Dean Van Leuven
Most often the anger directed at us is due to the other person having different expectations than ours. They are operating under the assumption that we will act toward them in a certain way; but when we don't, their anger is triggered. They may hold very different beliefs, be totally unaware of our point of view or motivation, or they simply may be very different from us in many ways.
In dealing with another person's anger, it's important to be aware of the fact that the other person wants something to come out of their relationship with you. The key is to understand their expectations, and to help them understand yours.
Such mutual understanding is brought about by meaningful communication. Rather than expecting the other person to feel the same way as you do about the situation that's made them angry, make a real effort to find out how they really feel. In order to get a real understanding of what's driving their anger — so that you can ultimately diffuse it — you'll need to hone your listening and communication skills.
HOW LISTENING AND COMMUNICATING CAN DIFFUSE ANGER
Train yourself to be a good listener by learning how to "listen deeply." To do this, you must put your own thoughts and beliefs aside, and really focus on what the other person is saying.
Unfortunately, most conversations can be characterized as "my stuff/your stuff." They can be likened to a strange "game" of tennis — played with two separate balls. You serve your ball to me. I let it pass and serve my ball back to you. You let it pass and serve your ball back to me. The game continues in this way — with neither player receiving the other person's ball. In such an instance, it obviously isn't a game at all. And in a conversation with the same characteristics, it's not really a conversation at all. You want to tell your story and I want to tell mine. We never hear the other person's story because we are too busy telling our own. How many conversations have you had lately that went this way?
We can diffuse another person's anger simply by putting an end to the "my stuff/your stuff" game and truly listening to that person. Interestingly, very often when you give an angry person the courtesy of politely listening to what they have to say, without interrupting them or retaliating in anger, their anger is reduced.
As you're listening, focus on the feelings being expressed by the other person, rather than the strict meaning of their words. The feelings are the most important part of any message. When a child tells us, "Billie hit me," we tend to focus on the hit instead of how the child feels. If you can respond in a way that lets the child know you understand how he feels, this will tend to calm him down. For example, "It sounds like you feel hurt and angry." Learn to deal with an angry person's feelings in this way. Their feelings are usually far more important than the event itself.
Most people find it very difficult to directly express their feelings. When someone hurls an angry remark at you, learn to put yourself in his or her shoes. Becoming aware of what the other person is experiencing emotionally requires that you set your own feelings aside. Look to see if you have triggered their anger in any way. Look to see how you might be causing the disturbed feelings.
Are there particular methods of communicating with someone that will diffuse their anger? Try this: Summarize what you think the angry person has said, without injecting anger into your statement. Repeat both the ideas and the feelings that you believe they have expressed. Hearing their own sentiments expressed back to them in a calm way tends to pacify an angry person. Getting their passion acknowledged and their needs met diffuses their anger and helps them to move from their own emotional center into their thinking center. You may need to repeat your "calmed down version" of what you think they were trying to express, but if you can learn to be patient with an angry person and employ this method, you will validate them and eliminate their anger.
Open up to the person who is angry with you. Establish a bridge. Communicate kindness and this will likely change the way they relate to you. It will be difficult for them to maintain their anger at someone who is being pleasant and kind.
When you communicate with someone who may be holding onto a lot of anger, the best way to deal with him or her is to show a genuine interest in them as a person and in the way that they view life. You'll likely find that when you communicate in this way, their defenses will drop and their hearts will open. Your authentic concern for them is a powerful diffuser of anger.
FEELING COMPASSION FOR THE ANGRY PERSON
Most people naturally love and want love returned. It is part of our nature to love others. Ask yourself these questions: How can I react toward others to prevent pushing their anger buttons? How should I react toward others to avoid having their anger push my anger buttons? Once you have identified these "hot buttons" you can adjust your behavior so that it will not incite or intensify the anger of others.
If you feel compassion, then another person's anger will no longer cause you to become angry. Compassion is possible only when you have an understanding of what that person might be going through. Once you learn to be more aware and caring about the other person's feelings, you will start developing responses that are not anger producing.
You can choose to see everyone as either loving or fearful. We offer help to the fearful, not anger. For example: You are remodeling your office. A consultant is brought in to supervise the work. He is rude and abrasive. Do you feel angry with him? Suppose you knew he was suffering from a deteriorating illness? Be aware that the other person's anger is usually not incited by something you said to him. It usually originates from some underlying problem that he has in his life that has nothing to do with you. Learn to see that the angry person is the cause of his own anger, and that the fault does not lie with you.
Anger is a message that can be read as a cry for help: "Pay attention to me. I don't like what you are doing. Restore my pride. Give me justice. You are in my way. I am afraid." Think of a person who is angry as a person who is in need of help.
To most of us, anger seems personal. If someone gets angry with us, we feel they deserve retaliation. That kind of thinking only serves to escalate the anger and perpetuates all sorts of problems. This is one of the reasons nations go to war with each other. When you learn to become compassionate and to fully convince yourself that you can withstand the angry jibes other people send your way, you create choices for yourself. You can choose to turn away from the angry person or stay with them and enjoy their positive attributes. You may even enjoy showing them how they can be less angry just by your own example. With compassion as your guide, you will not only be less likely to receive other people's anger, you will be creating a more loving environment.
Respond with love and compassion, rather than punishment and retaliation, and an angry person will be disarmed. Trade the need to be right for a loving relationship. It is a trade you — and everyone around you — will benefit from.
Do you have a friend who...
• believes people are constantly trying to put them down?
• believes they should have things exactly how they want them?
• believes that if people do something wrong, they must be punished?
• believes you take no notice of them unless they act irritated or angry?
• believes people are selfish, self-centered, and unhelpful?
• believes people are hostile and angry?
Life isn't much fun with this belief system. Have compassion for your friend. Model behavior that will encourage friends like this to change their anger-based beliefs. Maintaining a friendship with people whose beliefs consistently lead to anger may be very difficult for you. If they don't show signs of wanting to change, you may find your life happier without them in it.
Principles to Keep in Mind When Dealing With the Anger of Others:
• Other people's anger is usually not about you.
• Only your own thoughts and attitudes can upset you, not the anger of others.
• Other people are worrying about their problems, not yours.
• Forgiving and apologizing eliminate anger.
Guidelines for Dealing with the Anger of Others:
• Listen to what the angry person is saying, and perceive the feeling underneath their words.
• Summarize the angry person's feelings back to them, so that they know you understand what they're going through.
• Understand the angry person's reality, and show them compassion.
• Choose to perceive other people as loving or fearful, not as attacking.
• Acknowledge that forgiving and apologizing eliminate anger.
• Model anger-free behavior.
Be how you want others to be. They will respond in kind. The rewards you receive will be many times worth the effort.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article was excerpted from:
Life Without Anger: Your Guide to Peaceful Living
by Dean Van Leuven.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher, DeVorss & Company. ©2003. www.devorss.com
Info/Order this book
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the Author
Dean Van Leuven is an international speaker who regularly conducts seminars, lectures and workshops in learning to live without anger and related quality of life issues. This book is based on the materials that he presents at those events.
For an up-to-date schedule of Dean's Life Without Anger events, refer to his web site www.lifewithoutanger.com. To contact him for an event in your area, e-mail him at drdean@lifewithoutanger.com drdean@lifewithoutanger.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; or call 1-800-359-6015.
--------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Get Out of Your Own Way
SCIENCE JOURNAL
By ROBERT LEE HOTZ
External Link to Source >>> http://online. wsj. com/article/SB121450609076407973. html?mod=yhoofront
Get Out of Your Own Way
Studies Show the Value of Not Overthinking a Decision
June 27, 2008; Page A9
Fishing in the stream of consciousness, researchers now can detect our intentions and predict our choices before we are aware of them ourselves. The brain, they have found, appears to make up its mind 10 seconds before we become conscious of a decision -- an eternity at the speed of thought...
Their findings challenge conventional notions of choice...
"We think our decisions are conscious," said neuroscientist John-Dylan Haynes at the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience in Berlin, who is pioneering this research. "But these data show that consciousness is just the tip of the iceberg. This doesn't rule out free will, but it does make it implausible."..
Through a series of intriguing experiments, scientists in Germany, Norway and the U.S. have analyzed the distinctive cerebral activity that foreshadows our choices. They have tracked telltale waves of change through the cells that orchestrate our memory, language, reason and self-awareness...
In ways we are only beginning to understand, the synapses and neurons in the human nervous system work in concert to perceive the world around them, to learn from their perceptions, to remember important experiences, to plan ahead, and to decide and act on incomplete information. In a rudimentary way, they predetermine our choices...
To probe what happens in the brain during the moments before people sense they've reached a decision, Dr. Haynes and his colleagues devised a deceptively simple experiment, reported in April in Nature Neuroscience. They monitored the swift neural currents coursing through the brains of student volunteers as they decided, at their own pace and at random, whether to push a button with their left or right hands...
In all, they tested seven men and seven women from 21 to 30 years old. They recorded neural changes associated with thoughts using a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine and analyzed the results with an experimental pattern-recognition computer program...
While inside the brain scanner, the students watched random letters stream across a screen. Whenever they felt the urge, they pressed a button with their right hand or a button with their left hand. Then they marked down the letter that had been on the screen in the instant they had decided to press the button...
Studying the brain behavior leading up to the moment of conscious decision, the researchers identified signals that let them know when the students had decided to move 10 seconds or so before the students knew it themselves. About 70% of the time, the researchers could also predict which button the students would push...
"It's quite eerie," said Dr. Haynes...
Other researchers have pursued the act of decision deeper into the subcurrents of the brain...
In experiments with laboratory animals reported this spring, Caltech neuroscientist Richard Anderson and his colleagues explored how the effort to plan a movement forces cells throughout the brain to work together, organizing a choice below the threshold of awareness. Tuning in on the electrical dialogue between working neurons, they pinpointed the cells of what they called a "free choice" brain circuit that in milliseconds synchronized scattered synapses to settle on a course of action...
"It suggests we are looking at this actual decision being made," Dr. Anderson said. "It is pretty fast."..
And when those networks momentarily malfunction, people do make mistakes. Working independently, psychologist Tom Eichele at Norway's University of Bergen monitored brain activity in people performing routine tasks and discovered neural static -- waves of disruptive signals -- preceded an error by up to 30 seconds. "Thirty seconds is a long time," Dr. Eichele said...
Such experiments suggest that our best reasons for some choices we make are understood only by our cells. The findings lend credence to researchers who argue that many important decisions may be best made by going with our gut -- not by thinking about them too much...
Dutch researchers led by psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis at the University of Amsterdam recently found that people struggling to make relatively complicated consumer choices -- which car to buy, apartment to rent or vacation to take -- appeared to make sounder decisions when they were distracted and unable to focus consciously on the problem...
Moreover, the more factors to be considered in a decision, the more likely the unconscious brain handled it all better, they reported in the peer-reviewed journal Science in 2006. "The idea that conscious deliberation before making a decision is always good is simply one of those illusions consciousness creates for us," Dr. Dijksterhuis said...
Does this make our self-awareness just a second thought?
All this work to deconstruct the mental machinery of choice may be the best evidence of conscious free will. By measuring the brain's physical processes, the mind seeks to know itself through its reflection in the mirror of science...
"We are trying to understand who we are," said Antonio Damasio, director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California, "by studying the organ that allows you to understand who you are."..
By ROBERT LEE HOTZ
External Link to Source >>> http://online. wsj. com/article/SB121450609076407973. html?mod=yhoofront
Get Out of Your Own Way
Studies Show the Value of Not Overthinking a Decision
June 27, 2008; Page A9
Fishing in the stream of consciousness, researchers now can detect our intentions and predict our choices before we are aware of them ourselves. The brain, they have found, appears to make up its mind 10 seconds before we become conscious of a decision -- an eternity at the speed of thought...
Their findings challenge conventional notions of choice...
"We think our decisions are conscious," said neuroscientist John-Dylan Haynes at the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience in Berlin, who is pioneering this research. "But these data show that consciousness is just the tip of the iceberg. This doesn't rule out free will, but it does make it implausible."..
Through a series of intriguing experiments, scientists in Germany, Norway and the U.S. have analyzed the distinctive cerebral activity that foreshadows our choices. They have tracked telltale waves of change through the cells that orchestrate our memory, language, reason and self-awareness...
In ways we are only beginning to understand, the synapses and neurons in the human nervous system work in concert to perceive the world around them, to learn from their perceptions, to remember important experiences, to plan ahead, and to decide and act on incomplete information. In a rudimentary way, they predetermine our choices...
To probe what happens in the brain during the moments before people sense they've reached a decision, Dr. Haynes and his colleagues devised a deceptively simple experiment, reported in April in Nature Neuroscience. They monitored the swift neural currents coursing through the brains of student volunteers as they decided, at their own pace and at random, whether to push a button with their left or right hands...
In all, they tested seven men and seven women from 21 to 30 years old. They recorded neural changes associated with thoughts using a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine and analyzed the results with an experimental pattern-recognition computer program...
While inside the brain scanner, the students watched random letters stream across a screen. Whenever they felt the urge, they pressed a button with their right hand or a button with their left hand. Then they marked down the letter that had been on the screen in the instant they had decided to press the button...
Studying the brain behavior leading up to the moment of conscious decision, the researchers identified signals that let them know when the students had decided to move 10 seconds or so before the students knew it themselves. About 70% of the time, the researchers could also predict which button the students would push...
"It's quite eerie," said Dr. Haynes...
Other researchers have pursued the act of decision deeper into the subcurrents of the brain...
In experiments with laboratory animals reported this spring, Caltech neuroscientist Richard Anderson and his colleagues explored how the effort to plan a movement forces cells throughout the brain to work together, organizing a choice below the threshold of awareness. Tuning in on the electrical dialogue between working neurons, they pinpointed the cells of what they called a "free choice" brain circuit that in milliseconds synchronized scattered synapses to settle on a course of action...
"It suggests we are looking at this actual decision being made," Dr. Anderson said. "It is pretty fast."..
And when those networks momentarily malfunction, people do make mistakes. Working independently, psychologist Tom Eichele at Norway's University of Bergen monitored brain activity in people performing routine tasks and discovered neural static -- waves of disruptive signals -- preceded an error by up to 30 seconds. "Thirty seconds is a long time," Dr. Eichele said...
Such experiments suggest that our best reasons for some choices we make are understood only by our cells. The findings lend credence to researchers who argue that many important decisions may be best made by going with our gut -- not by thinking about them too much...
Dutch researchers led by psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis at the University of Amsterdam recently found that people struggling to make relatively complicated consumer choices -- which car to buy, apartment to rent or vacation to take -- appeared to make sounder decisions when they were distracted and unable to focus consciously on the problem...
Moreover, the more factors to be considered in a decision, the more likely the unconscious brain handled it all better, they reported in the peer-reviewed journal Science in 2006. "The idea that conscious deliberation before making a decision is always good is simply one of those illusions consciousness creates for us," Dr. Dijksterhuis said...
Does this make our self-awareness just a second thought?
All this work to deconstruct the mental machinery of choice may be the best evidence of conscious free will. By measuring the brain's physical processes, the mind seeks to know itself through its reflection in the mirror of science...
"We are trying to understand who we are," said Antonio Damasio, director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California, "by studying the organ that allows you to understand who you are."..
The Celistine Insights
The Coincidences That Shape Our Lives
The First Insight is the insight of awakening. We look out on our lives and realize that more is occurring than we thought. Beyond our everyday routines and challenges we can detect the mysterious influence of the divine: "meaningful coincidences" that seem to be sending us messages and leading us in a particular direction. At first we only glimpse these coincidences as we race by, hardly paying attention. But eventually we begin to slow down and to look more closely at these events. Open and alert, we are more able to detect the next synchronistic event. Coincidences seem to ebb and flow, sometimes rushing forward in quick succession, other times leaving us becalmed. Yet we know that we have discovered the soul process that guides our lives forward. The remaining Insights clarify how to increase the frequency of this mysterious synchronicity and discover the ultimate destiny toward which we are being led.
Using the 1st Insight and Increasing Its Benefit
Be aware that your life has a purpose, and events happen for a reason.
Begin the process of finding meaning behind each life event.
Acknowledge restless energy as a sign of needed change and deeper awareness. Listen to your body.
Realize that what you pay attention to will expand.
Notice when you feel a signal to talk with someone who might be able to help with your current questions. Where does your attention go? What did you notice today?
Trust your process. Live by letting yourself be guided, not by a forced set of goals. Know that you are fulfilling your life's destiny.
Start a personal journal for recording synchronistic events. Writing in a journal is a good way to clarify your thoughts.
INSIGHT 2: The Longer Now:
Expanding the Historical Context
The Second Insight is the awareness that our perception of mysterious life coincidences is a significant historical occurrence. After the collapse of the medieval worldview, we lost the security that came from the church's explanation of the universe. Therefore, five hundred years ago we collectively decided to focus on mastering nature, on using our science and technology to settle into the world. We set out to create a secular security to replace the spiritual one we had lost. To feel more secure, we systematically pushed away and denied the mysterious aspects of life on this planet. We crafted the illusion that we lived in a universe that was entirely explainable and predictable, and where chance events had no meaning. To maintain the illusion, we tended to deny any evidence to the contrary, to restrict scientific research into paranormal events, and to adopt an attitude of absolute skepticism. Exploring the mystical dimensions of life became almost taboo.
Gradually, however, an awakening has begun. Our awakening is nothing less than breaking free from the modern age's secular preoccupation, and opening our minds to a new, more truthful view of the world.
Using the 2nd Insight and Increasing Its Benefit
Be aware that you have chosen to live at this crucial time in history.
Ask support from your higher self to give you clear messages.
Recognize the amount of time you spend trying to control events or people.
Choose enjoyable activities. Do less out of a sense of obligation (which is different from responsibility.) Choose one activity that you are able and willing to let go of right now with a clear conscience. Having fun and creating more open time raises your energy level and increases your chances for coincidences.
Acknowledge any support you receive with gratitude.
INSIGHT 3: A Matter Of Energy
The Third Insight describes our new view of the universe as energy dynamic. As we look out on the world around us, no longer can we think of everything as composed of material substance. From the many findings of modern physics and the growing synthesis with the wisdom of the East, we are coming to know the universe as a vast field of energy, a quantum world in which all phenomena are interconnected and responsive. From the wisdom of Eastern thought, we know that we ourselves have access to this universal energy. We can project it outward with our thoughts and intentions, influencing our reality and the reality of others.
Using the 3rd Insight and Increasing Its Benefit
Spend some time in a natural setting.
Practice focusing on a tree or plant, and imagine a band of light around it.
See if you can beautify your environment in small ways.
Notice energy shifts, and practice building energy consciously at least once a day.
Practice seeing the beauty in your friends, family and coworkers.
Eat slowly and consciously savor your food to get the maximum energy form it.
INSIGHT 4: The Struggle For Power
The Fourth Insight is the awareness that humans have often cut themselves off from an inner connection with mystical energy. As a result, we have tended to feel weak and insecure, and we have often sought to build ourselves up by securing energy from other human beings. We do this by seeking to manipulate or dominate the other's attention. If we can force the attention of another, then we feel a boost from the other's energy, making us stronger, but leaving that person weakened. Often others fight back against the usrping of their strength, creating a power struggle. All conflict in the world stems from this battle over human energy.
Behaviors to Keep Your Energy Focused and Free
Stay present in the moment.
Be your authentic self - be real.
Pay attention to your feelings.
Listen actively - clarify what you hear.
Stay in your Adult ego state.
Focus on how you want to feel.
Tell the truth as you feel it.
Let go of attachment to only one outcome.
Let the mystery unravel.
Stay open.
INSIGHT 5: The Message of the Mystics
The Fifth Insight is the experience of inner connection with divine energy. By exploring and pursuing our divinity within, we can personally make contact with a type of experience called mystical. In our search for this altered state, we distinguish between intellectual description of this awareness and the awareness itself. In this regard, we apply certain experiential measures which indicate we are in connection with universal energy. For instance, do we experience a lightness of body? Do we feel light on our feet, bouyant? Do we experience a vividness of perception such as enhanced colors, smells, tastes, sounds, a sense of beauty? Do we experience a sense of oneness, total security? And above all, do we experience the state of awareness called love? Not toward someone or something, but as a constant background sensation in our lives. No longer do we want to just talk about mystical awareness. We have the courage to apply these measures to really seek this connection with the divine. It is this connection with total energy that resolves all conflict. We no longer need energy from others.
Gateways to Higher Consciousness
Higher consciousness is what distinguishes the mystical and is not always the result of spiritual dicipline or meditative practice. It can be triggered by being close to death, experiencing a personal drama, or even just by closing one's eyes for a moment of introsoection. Characteristics common to these states are:
seeing a dazzling light accompanied by a feeling of joy
feeling absolutely secure and loved
feeling estactic
a feeling of lightness, boyancy
understanding intuitively how the universe works
releasing all fear of death, seeing the continuum of life
As you practice direct connection to universal energy, the most important measures are background feeling of love (not connected to any one object) and contact with your interior knowing or hunches. If you are truly connected, you will feel love.
Our Changing Consciousness
The common changes that occur in the lives of those who have had mystical experiences may be summarized as:
feeling connected to a higher source
shifting interest from material accumulation
enhanced appreciation of beauty and other people
enhanced abilities, desire to learn
enhanced extrasensory abilities
sense of mission
lack of self-consciousness
ability to inspire others
INSIGHT 6: Clearing The Past:
Our Parental Lineage and Control Dramas
The Sixth Insight is the awareness of when we lose our inner connection with divine energy. Often we find that at these times we are resorting to our personal (and unconscious) way of manipulating others out of their energy. These manipulations are generally either aggressive or passive.
There are four main classifications of energy manipulations, and they operate on a continuum. Some people use more than one in different circumstances, but most of us have one dominant "control drama" that we tend to repeat, depending on which one worked well on members of our early family. Also, some people use the dramas to varying degrees, depending on how centered they are with respect to the universal energy. Each of the four control dramas creates specific energy dynamics which manifest a matching drama.
Intimidator
With the most aggressive drama, Intimidators get every one to pay attention to them by force of loudness, physical strength, threats, unexpected outbursts. The keep everyone on edge for fear of triggering off embarrassing moments, anger, and rage. Energy comes towards them because of the fear and suspicion of the "next event." Intimidators always have the stage. They make everyone feel afraid or anxious.
Basically egocentric, their behavior may range from ordering others around, talking continuously, being authoritarian, being inflexible and sarcastic, to being violent. Intimidators are probably the most cut off from universal energy. They initially engage others by creating an aura of power.
The matching drama that is created by an Intimidator is primarily the Poor Me, the most passive energy dynamic. The Poor Me, feeling that the Intimidator is robbing him or her of energy on a frightening scale, tries to stop the threatening interchange by assuming a cringing, helpless attitude. The Poor Me attempts to make the Intimidator feel guilty in order to stop the attack and regain a flow of energy. The other possibility for a matching drama is the counter-Intimidator. This drama will occur if the Poor Me attitude does not work, or if the personality of the other person is also aggressive. Then this person will fight back with the original Intimidator. If one of your parents was an Intimidator, chances are one of his or her parents was an Intimidator or a Poor Me.
Interrogator
Interrogator are less threatening, but break down spirit and will by mentally questioning all activities and motivations. Hostile critics, they look for ways to make others wrong. The more they dwell on your faults and mistakes, the more you will watch them and react to their every move. As you strive to prove yourself or answer to them, the more energy you send their way. Whatever you say may be used against you at some time. You feel as if you are constantly being monitored.
Hyper-vigilant, their behavior may range from being cynical, skeptical, sarcastic, needling, perfectionistic, self-righteous, to viciously manipulative. They initially engage others with their wit, infallible logic, facts, and intellect.
As parents, Interrogators create Aloof children and sometimes Poor Me's. Both types want escape the probing of the Interrogator. Aloofs want escape having to answer (and be drained of their energy) to the constant scrutiny and needling of the Interrogator.
Aloof
Aloof people are caught up in their own internal world of unresolved struggles, fears, and self-doubt. They believe unconsciously that if they appear mysterious or detached, others will come to draw them out. Often lonely, they keep their distance for fear of others imposing their will or questioning their decisions (as their Interrogator parents did). Thinking they have to do everything on their own, they don't ask for help. They need a lot of space and often avoid being pinned down by commitments. As children they were not often allowed to satisfy their need for independence or acknowledged for their own identity.
Prone to move toward the passive end of the continuum, they don't realize that their own aloofness might be the cause of their of their not getting what they want (e.g., money, love, self-esteem), or for their feelings of stagnation or confusion. They often see their main problem as the lack of something (money, social contacts, education).
Their behavior ranges from disinterested, unavailable, uncooperative, to condescending, rejecting, contrary, and sneaky.
Skilled at detachment as a defense, they tend to cut off their own energy. Opportunities slip away while they overanalyze everything. With any hint of conflict or confrontation, the Aloof becomes vague and can disappear (screening phone calls or not keeping appointments). They initially engage through their mysterious, hard-to-get persona.
Aloofs usually create Interrogators, but can also get into dramas with Intimidators or even Poor Me's because Aloofs are the center of the continuum.
Poor Me or Victim
Poor Me's don't ever feel they have enough power to confront the world in an active way, so they elicit sympathy, pulling energy toward them. When using the silent treatment they may slide toward the Aloof mode, but as Poor Me's they make sure that the silence does not go unnoticed.
Always pessimistic, Poor Me's pull attention to themselves by worried facial expressions, sighing, trembling, crying, staring into the distance, answering questions slowly, and retelling poignant dramas and crises. They like to go to the last of the line and defer to others. They often say, "Yes, but…"
Poor Me's initially seduce by their vulnerability and need for help. However, they are not really interested in solutions because then they would lose their source of energy. They might also exhibit over-accommodating behavior which eventually leads them into feeling taken advantage of and reinforces their Poor Me method of gaining energy. As accommodators they have little ability to set boundaries and limits, and behavior ranges from convincing, telling too much, to trying to solve problems that are not their business. They open themselves to being objectified, perhaps through their beauty or sexual favors, and then resent being taken for granted.
Poor Me's sustain their victim stance by attracting people who intimidate them. In extreme cases of domestic violence, an Intimidator will involve the Poor Me in increasingly violent episodes of abuse toward the Poor Me until a climax is reached. Afterwards, the Intimidator retreats and apologizes, thus sending energy that seduces the Poor Me back into the cycle.
Because we tend to repeat these energy manipulations with everyone we meet, and to structure life events around these devices, these control dramas are repeated patterns that seem to bring on the same life situations over and over. Once we bring our control dramas into consciousness, however, we begin to catch ourselves every time we revert to them, and so stay more connected with inner energy.
And once we become more centered internally and our control dramas come into greater awareness, these old habits can begin to evolve into positive strengths.
Intimidator / Leader
When connected to the true source of power, an Intimidator will find more self-esteem when he or she uses his or her leadership qualities. Assertive without being domineering, confident without being arrogant, he or she has more chance of enjoying challenges and gaining the cooperation of others.
Interrogator / Advocate
The Interrogator, transformed, channels the predilection for questioning into research, using more well-rounded interpersonal skills as a teacher, counselor or advocate.
Aloof / Independent Thinker
Freed from the need to remain an outsider, Aloofs access deep inner intuitive resources to bring wisdom and creativity to their life's work, such as being a priest/priestess, healer, or artist.
Poor Me / Reformer
Having experienced true nurturing and unity, the Poor Me is able to stay grounded in his or her own inner source and becomes a compassionate reformer, social worker, or healer.
An analysis of our early childhood can reveal how our control dramas evolved, but once this is forgiven we can see deeper reasons why we were with our early family. From our parents' strengths and from particular growth issues they didn't complete, we can derive our life question and our work or 'mission' in the world.
INSIGHT 7: Engaging the Flow
The Seventh Insight is the awareness that coincidences have been leading us toward the attainment of our missions and the pursuit of our life questions all along. Day to day, however, we grow by understanding and following the smaller questions that are derived from our broader goals. Once we get the questions right, the answers always come through mysterious opportunities. Each synchronicity, no matter how growthful, always leaves us with another prime question, so our lives proceed through a process of question, answer, new question, as we evolve along our spiritual paths. Synchronistic answers come from many sources: dreams, daydreams, intuitive thoughts, and most frequently, other people who feel inspired to bring us a message.
INSIGHT 8: The Interpersonal Ethic:
A New Perspective on Relationships
The Eighth Insight is the awareness that most synchronicity takes place through messages brought to us by other people and that a new spiritual ethic toward others enhances this synchronicity. If we are not competing with others energetically, and remain connected to mystical energy within, then we can uplift others with our energy, focusing on the beauty on every face, seeing another person's higher genious. The energy we give when we speak to the higher self lifts the other person into a fuller awareness of who they are, what they are doing, and so increases the possibility that a synchronistic message can be conveyed. The uplifting of others is especially important when interacting within a group, where the entire group's energy can enter whoever is intuitively moved to speak. Also important is using this ethic when caring for and interacting with children. To uplift children, we must speak to their higher-self wisdom and treat them with integrity. In romantic relationships, care must be taken that the euphoric love connection does not replace our connection with mystical energy within. This love euphoria always degenerates into a power struggle as both people become addicted to each other for energy.
Feeling Energized
Start your day with the intention of being alert for messages.
Before you leave the house, take five or ten minutes to center yourself, concentrating on your breathing. Imagine yourself filled with light radiating out for at least one or two minutes. Imagine yourself as part of a circle of incoming and outgoing energy.
Throughout the day, connect with the beauty in your environment as often as you can.
Energizing Others
As you meet and talk with people, see beyond their ordinary faces, to the glory of their spiritual essence.
Focus on their unique qualities. See beauty in their faces.
As you listen to them, give them your complete attention.
Project energy to them as they speak.
Remember that their higher self has a message for you, and you can assist them in giving it by filling them with energy.
Receiving Messages
Listen internally for any questions or remarks that occur to you to ask others . . . it could trigger an important exchange of information.
If you feel energized around this person, you probably have an important connection.
If you feel drained around someone, rethink what this relationship is offering you. Review codependency themes and warning signs.
Notice what thoughts occur to you after conversations.
What changes do you see in your life or your relationships as you practice these new behaviors?
INSIGHT 9: The Emerging Culture
The Ninth Insight is the awareness of how evolution will proceed as we live the other Insights...
If The Celestine Prophecy, the first nine Insights, was about the emerging understanding that we are awakening from the materialistic slumber of the modern age - about realizing we are spiritual beings connected within with the wise intelligence behind the universe itself, about opening up to our higher intuitive guidance and following mysterious coincidences that eventually reveal a truth, a mission, that we personally are destined to bring to the world...
Then The Tenth Insight is the deeper understanding that this has been the program behind human life since the beginning of the universe - that we, as humans, have come here from a heavenly dimension, generation by generation, to awaken and discover missions and thus systematically build a spiritual culture we can already envision.
The Tenth Insight is the realization that throughout history human beings have been unconsciously struggling to implement this lived spirituality on Earth. Each of us comes here on assignment, and as we pull this understanding into consciousness, we can remember a fuller birth vision of what we wanted to accomplish with our lives. Further we can remember a common world vision of how we will all work together to create a new spiritual culture. We know that our challenge is to hold this vision with intention and prayer everyday.
In The Tenth Insight, my goal was to enunciate an insight that I feel strongly has come upon spiritual people everywhere: that thoughts and intentions matter, and that we are called upon to make our mental images more conscious. When we have a thought about the future, any thought - random, whimsical, fear-based, or angry - these thoughts rise into the ethers and act to set up outcomes, many of which we wouldn't really want. In this sense, every thought is a prayer, and each of us is actively creating what will occur in our lives, as well as the shape of civilization in the years to come. That is how powerful we are.
What is most interesting about all of this is that science is in our side. If you have a sense that placing such importance on everyday thought is odd and fanciful and violates common sense, check again. Thoughts have a power that goes out over space to impact individuals and their course of action. And each of us must refine the vision of the future we hold, and hold it consciously.
Yet even as this insight begins to permeate the world's mind, I believe a new insight is emerging on the horizon: the importance of engaging the flow, of acting upon our vision. While this might seem self-evident -- we act all the time in the course of survival -- what I'm suggesting is that we're learning a new kind of action that more deeply reflects the vision of the future that we are consciously holding.
Here's an example. Suppose that one key element of the vision we pray for is that adults everywhere and governmental bodies of all kinds would focus anew on the care and nurturing of children. We think of this situation frequently, we fill the air with an image of everyone coming to their senses, and beginning to rescue children in need, cultivating their talents and gifts. But then, down the street, we notice a real child in real need. Perhaps the child is from a family under stress that would welcome our participation with the young person. We feel the intuitive urge to intervene, and we do. We act to nurture, to guide, to support.
Interestingly, the power of the act doesn't stop there. Others see the action, and as sociologists know, it enters into that important role of a social norm. Because one of us has done it, it is easier, more acceptable and understandable for another to do it. In short, our new vision, the image we are holding, now has a model.
Human evolution is theater. First we have a vision, then we build a world of meaningful activity around it. We live in an incredibly important time. Each of us focuses on a different aspect of human life that we are here to improve, and we hold a vision for the evolution we all desire. The next step necessary to move rapidly into a more ideal society is to find a way to act, to consciously create a new field of behavior that reflects our vision. It can sometimes be daunting, but the responsibility to take the first step always falls on those who see most clearly.
Just do it.
Then The Eleventh Insight, the one I believe is emerging into human culture in the present moment, is about how to use our highest energy and intention to bring about this world we intuit. For centuries, religious scriptures, poems, and philosophies have pointed to a latent power of mind within all of us that mysteriously helps to create the future. It has been called faith power, positive thinking, and NLP. I believe that for the first time we are taking this power seriously enough to bring a fuller knowledge of it into public awareness, and we are realizing that it is truly a faith/prayer power that can change the direction of our lives.
Key Concepts
• Every assumption, unconscious or not, is a prayer that we send out that acts to make that assumption true.
• This includes any unconscious beliefs about our own health, abilities, and success --which means that if we hold an opinion that we have poor abilities or might not succeed or reach our dreams, then it is exactly like we are praying for that specific outcome.
• It also means that any critical thought about others is just like praying for whatever we are criticizing.
• Mastering this faith/prayer power first means becoming aware of all our assumptions and mindful of every single thought.
• To extend our prayer power we must increase our overall level of connection with the divine within and let this energy overflow outward with very specific visualizations.
• We engage the angelic realms when our prayer power is focused on a specific situation.
It is my opinion that this change of understanding, this shift to believing in this power at a higher level, will move spiritual evolution at a quicker pace in this millennium. Not only will we increase our own mysterious synchronicity, and the speed with which our own dreams come true, but we will be able to intervene directly as we become aware of troubled situations. Prayer vigils will become much more effective.
The Eleventh Insight is the precise method through which we hold the Celestine vision. For centuries, religious scriptures, poems, and philosophies have pointed to a latent power of mind within all of us that mysteriously helps to affect what occurs in the future. It has been called faith power, positive thinking, the power of prayer. We are now taking this power seriously enough to bring a fuller knowledge of it into public awareness. We are finding that this prayer power is a field of intention and moves out from us and can be extended and strengthened, especially when we connect with others in a common vision. This is the power through which we hold the vision of a spiritual world and build the energy in ourselves and others to make this vision a reality.
INTUITING THE TWELFTH INSIGHT
What a human world. Look at it. At first glance, all we see is conflict, competition, and the old habit of demonizing those who seem to be opposed to our ideas: in order to make ourselves feel correct and more important.
In politics, the political left demonizes the right, and vice versa. In education any attempt at reform and rejuvenation, is met with cries of racism and union busting by those guarding the status quo. In medicine, we see the dominating power of big pharmaceutical corporations; spending millions to court doctors, influence research, (all once deemed unethical) all the while expanding the mechanistic model of the human body. Corporate support of medical schools seems to be turning physicians into sales representatives, winning trips for pushing one drug over another. (Also once considered unethical.)
Soon, as President Bush announced in a recent speech, there will be synthetic hormones, and brain chemicals, and designer "feel good" pills that motor through the body homing in like tiny submarines to alter specific molecular interactions. They are even developing artificial blood.
The last straw, for many people, is having to cope with what seems to be the diminishing effectiveness of reform movements, once so full of energy and focus, which now seem to be losing steam. The younger generations do not seem to care as much. And the media is somewhere else chasing ratings. In short, the world seems increasingly out of control, with corruption and venality running rampant, terrorists promising more attacks, and a citizenry clearly overwhelmed.
Yet, from the Celestine point of view, a first glance into this crazy world is not enough. I am convinced society is not spiraling into oblivion; it is not slipping out of our control. We never had any control to begin with. All we really have is input. That's it. Sometimes our input, our viewpoint seems to be validated by the trends we see around us, and sometimes it goes the other way.
What we are witnessing in these crazy years is a momentary swing of the evolutionary pendulum, the last surge of momentum into the extreme, before we slow down and drop back in another direction. What we must grok, I believe, is that the progress of the world operates through a dialectical process, just as the philosopher Hegel envisioned in the Eighteenth Century. First, you have a way of life or belief, a thesis, and then someone disagrees, and proposes a counter idea, an antithesis. And then from outside these poles a compromise emerges, a greater truth or way of life that represents a better integration of the polar positions, one that works better. You have a higher synthesis. The pendulum swings in another direction.
Right now, we see the last hurrah of the materialist, secular orientation that has prevailed for so long in human society going wildly to the extreme. Already, a lived spiritual orientation has begun to blossom. But it has not prevailed yet, primarily because it is political expression that has not been fully developed. It often sounds like a replay of the old thesis-antithesis arguments between capitalism and communism, thinking that the only way to have an enlightened society is to force it on people, hailing big bureaucratic government to replace the personal initiative and independence of the materialist life, and preventing it from becoming a true transcending synthesis.
A synthesis to the current situation has to assert the importance of the system of private initiative and spontaneous creativity to a lived spirituality, but infuse this system with an ethical understanding that deals with our concerns about pollution, preserving cultural traditions, honoring consumer and worker protection, and acting in harmony with an emergent new spiritual viewpoint.
Of course, I believe the Celestine vision, emerging out there, by any name, is the new synthesis coming into view. It spells out a new life image of ourselves that sees our bodies as an energetic whole, and calling for a new nutrition-oriented medicine. It assumes an inner intuition that can guide our decision-making and synchronistically move each of us into a more inspired and productive economic niche, easing poverty, and pushing the ethical values mentioned above. And most of all, it sees evolutionary process for what it is: a march toward a perfection of human culture by consciously working through polar opposites until we can take the best aspects of both extremes and mold them into something that both sides can accept.
This allows evolution to take a step forward, instead of remaining deadlocked in a stalemate of demonization.
The First Insight is the insight of awakening. We look out on our lives and realize that more is occurring than we thought. Beyond our everyday routines and challenges we can detect the mysterious influence of the divine: "meaningful coincidences" that seem to be sending us messages and leading us in a particular direction. At first we only glimpse these coincidences as we race by, hardly paying attention. But eventually we begin to slow down and to look more closely at these events. Open and alert, we are more able to detect the next synchronistic event. Coincidences seem to ebb and flow, sometimes rushing forward in quick succession, other times leaving us becalmed. Yet we know that we have discovered the soul process that guides our lives forward. The remaining Insights clarify how to increase the frequency of this mysterious synchronicity and discover the ultimate destiny toward which we are being led.
Using the 1st Insight and Increasing Its Benefit
Be aware that your life has a purpose, and events happen for a reason.
Begin the process of finding meaning behind each life event.
Acknowledge restless energy as a sign of needed change and deeper awareness. Listen to your body.
Realize that what you pay attention to will expand.
Notice when you feel a signal to talk with someone who might be able to help with your current questions. Where does your attention go? What did you notice today?
Trust your process. Live by letting yourself be guided, not by a forced set of goals. Know that you are fulfilling your life's destiny.
Start a personal journal for recording synchronistic events. Writing in a journal is a good way to clarify your thoughts.
INSIGHT 2: The Longer Now:
Expanding the Historical Context
The Second Insight is the awareness that our perception of mysterious life coincidences is a significant historical occurrence. After the collapse of the medieval worldview, we lost the security that came from the church's explanation of the universe. Therefore, five hundred years ago we collectively decided to focus on mastering nature, on using our science and technology to settle into the world. We set out to create a secular security to replace the spiritual one we had lost. To feel more secure, we systematically pushed away and denied the mysterious aspects of life on this planet. We crafted the illusion that we lived in a universe that was entirely explainable and predictable, and where chance events had no meaning. To maintain the illusion, we tended to deny any evidence to the contrary, to restrict scientific research into paranormal events, and to adopt an attitude of absolute skepticism. Exploring the mystical dimensions of life became almost taboo.
Gradually, however, an awakening has begun. Our awakening is nothing less than breaking free from the modern age's secular preoccupation, and opening our minds to a new, more truthful view of the world.
Using the 2nd Insight and Increasing Its Benefit
Be aware that you have chosen to live at this crucial time in history.
Ask support from your higher self to give you clear messages.
Recognize the amount of time you spend trying to control events or people.
Choose enjoyable activities. Do less out of a sense of obligation (which is different from responsibility.) Choose one activity that you are able and willing to let go of right now with a clear conscience. Having fun and creating more open time raises your energy level and increases your chances for coincidences.
Acknowledge any support you receive with gratitude.
INSIGHT 3: A Matter Of Energy
The Third Insight describes our new view of the universe as energy dynamic. As we look out on the world around us, no longer can we think of everything as composed of material substance. From the many findings of modern physics and the growing synthesis with the wisdom of the East, we are coming to know the universe as a vast field of energy, a quantum world in which all phenomena are interconnected and responsive. From the wisdom of Eastern thought, we know that we ourselves have access to this universal energy. We can project it outward with our thoughts and intentions, influencing our reality and the reality of others.
Using the 3rd Insight and Increasing Its Benefit
Spend some time in a natural setting.
Practice focusing on a tree or plant, and imagine a band of light around it.
See if you can beautify your environment in small ways.
Notice energy shifts, and practice building energy consciously at least once a day.
Practice seeing the beauty in your friends, family and coworkers.
Eat slowly and consciously savor your food to get the maximum energy form it.
INSIGHT 4: The Struggle For Power
The Fourth Insight is the awareness that humans have often cut themselves off from an inner connection with mystical energy. As a result, we have tended to feel weak and insecure, and we have often sought to build ourselves up by securing energy from other human beings. We do this by seeking to manipulate or dominate the other's attention. If we can force the attention of another, then we feel a boost from the other's energy, making us stronger, but leaving that person weakened. Often others fight back against the usrping of their strength, creating a power struggle. All conflict in the world stems from this battle over human energy.
Behaviors to Keep Your Energy Focused and Free
Stay present in the moment.
Be your authentic self - be real.
Pay attention to your feelings.
Listen actively - clarify what you hear.
Stay in your Adult ego state.
Focus on how you want to feel.
Tell the truth as you feel it.
Let go of attachment to only one outcome.
Let the mystery unravel.
Stay open.
INSIGHT 5: The Message of the Mystics
The Fifth Insight is the experience of inner connection with divine energy. By exploring and pursuing our divinity within, we can personally make contact with a type of experience called mystical. In our search for this altered state, we distinguish between intellectual description of this awareness and the awareness itself. In this regard, we apply certain experiential measures which indicate we are in connection with universal energy. For instance, do we experience a lightness of body? Do we feel light on our feet, bouyant? Do we experience a vividness of perception such as enhanced colors, smells, tastes, sounds, a sense of beauty? Do we experience a sense of oneness, total security? And above all, do we experience the state of awareness called love? Not toward someone or something, but as a constant background sensation in our lives. No longer do we want to just talk about mystical awareness. We have the courage to apply these measures to really seek this connection with the divine. It is this connection with total energy that resolves all conflict. We no longer need energy from others.
Gateways to Higher Consciousness
Higher consciousness is what distinguishes the mystical and is not always the result of spiritual dicipline or meditative practice. It can be triggered by being close to death, experiencing a personal drama, or even just by closing one's eyes for a moment of introsoection. Characteristics common to these states are:
seeing a dazzling light accompanied by a feeling of joy
feeling absolutely secure and loved
feeling estactic
a feeling of lightness, boyancy
understanding intuitively how the universe works
releasing all fear of death, seeing the continuum of life
As you practice direct connection to universal energy, the most important measures are background feeling of love (not connected to any one object) and contact with your interior knowing or hunches. If you are truly connected, you will feel love.
Our Changing Consciousness
The common changes that occur in the lives of those who have had mystical experiences may be summarized as:
feeling connected to a higher source
shifting interest from material accumulation
enhanced appreciation of beauty and other people
enhanced abilities, desire to learn
enhanced extrasensory abilities
sense of mission
lack of self-consciousness
ability to inspire others
INSIGHT 6: Clearing The Past:
Our Parental Lineage and Control Dramas
The Sixth Insight is the awareness of when we lose our inner connection with divine energy. Often we find that at these times we are resorting to our personal (and unconscious) way of manipulating others out of their energy. These manipulations are generally either aggressive or passive.
There are four main classifications of energy manipulations, and they operate on a continuum. Some people use more than one in different circumstances, but most of us have one dominant "control drama" that we tend to repeat, depending on which one worked well on members of our early family. Also, some people use the dramas to varying degrees, depending on how centered they are with respect to the universal energy. Each of the four control dramas creates specific energy dynamics which manifest a matching drama.
Intimidator
With the most aggressive drama, Intimidators get every one to pay attention to them by force of loudness, physical strength, threats, unexpected outbursts. The keep everyone on edge for fear of triggering off embarrassing moments, anger, and rage. Energy comes towards them because of the fear and suspicion of the "next event." Intimidators always have the stage. They make everyone feel afraid or anxious.
Basically egocentric, their behavior may range from ordering others around, talking continuously, being authoritarian, being inflexible and sarcastic, to being violent. Intimidators are probably the most cut off from universal energy. They initially engage others by creating an aura of power.
The matching drama that is created by an Intimidator is primarily the Poor Me, the most passive energy dynamic. The Poor Me, feeling that the Intimidator is robbing him or her of energy on a frightening scale, tries to stop the threatening interchange by assuming a cringing, helpless attitude. The Poor Me attempts to make the Intimidator feel guilty in order to stop the attack and regain a flow of energy. The other possibility for a matching drama is the counter-Intimidator. This drama will occur if the Poor Me attitude does not work, or if the personality of the other person is also aggressive. Then this person will fight back with the original Intimidator. If one of your parents was an Intimidator, chances are one of his or her parents was an Intimidator or a Poor Me.
Interrogator
Interrogator are less threatening, but break down spirit and will by mentally questioning all activities and motivations. Hostile critics, they look for ways to make others wrong. The more they dwell on your faults and mistakes, the more you will watch them and react to their every move. As you strive to prove yourself or answer to them, the more energy you send their way. Whatever you say may be used against you at some time. You feel as if you are constantly being monitored.
Hyper-vigilant, their behavior may range from being cynical, skeptical, sarcastic, needling, perfectionistic, self-righteous, to viciously manipulative. They initially engage others with their wit, infallible logic, facts, and intellect.
As parents, Interrogators create Aloof children and sometimes Poor Me's. Both types want escape the probing of the Interrogator. Aloofs want escape having to answer (and be drained of their energy) to the constant scrutiny and needling of the Interrogator.
Aloof
Aloof people are caught up in their own internal world of unresolved struggles, fears, and self-doubt. They believe unconsciously that if they appear mysterious or detached, others will come to draw them out. Often lonely, they keep their distance for fear of others imposing their will or questioning their decisions (as their Interrogator parents did). Thinking they have to do everything on their own, they don't ask for help. They need a lot of space and often avoid being pinned down by commitments. As children they were not often allowed to satisfy their need for independence or acknowledged for their own identity.
Prone to move toward the passive end of the continuum, they don't realize that their own aloofness might be the cause of their of their not getting what they want (e.g., money, love, self-esteem), or for their feelings of stagnation or confusion. They often see their main problem as the lack of something (money, social contacts, education).
Their behavior ranges from disinterested, unavailable, uncooperative, to condescending, rejecting, contrary, and sneaky.
Skilled at detachment as a defense, they tend to cut off their own energy. Opportunities slip away while they overanalyze everything. With any hint of conflict or confrontation, the Aloof becomes vague and can disappear (screening phone calls or not keeping appointments). They initially engage through their mysterious, hard-to-get persona.
Aloofs usually create Interrogators, but can also get into dramas with Intimidators or even Poor Me's because Aloofs are the center of the continuum.
Poor Me or Victim
Poor Me's don't ever feel they have enough power to confront the world in an active way, so they elicit sympathy, pulling energy toward them. When using the silent treatment they may slide toward the Aloof mode, but as Poor Me's they make sure that the silence does not go unnoticed.
Always pessimistic, Poor Me's pull attention to themselves by worried facial expressions, sighing, trembling, crying, staring into the distance, answering questions slowly, and retelling poignant dramas and crises. They like to go to the last of the line and defer to others. They often say, "Yes, but…"
Poor Me's initially seduce by their vulnerability and need for help. However, they are not really interested in solutions because then they would lose their source of energy. They might also exhibit over-accommodating behavior which eventually leads them into feeling taken advantage of and reinforces their Poor Me method of gaining energy. As accommodators they have little ability to set boundaries and limits, and behavior ranges from convincing, telling too much, to trying to solve problems that are not their business. They open themselves to being objectified, perhaps through their beauty or sexual favors, and then resent being taken for granted.
Poor Me's sustain their victim stance by attracting people who intimidate them. In extreme cases of domestic violence, an Intimidator will involve the Poor Me in increasingly violent episodes of abuse toward the Poor Me until a climax is reached. Afterwards, the Intimidator retreats and apologizes, thus sending energy that seduces the Poor Me back into the cycle.
Because we tend to repeat these energy manipulations with everyone we meet, and to structure life events around these devices, these control dramas are repeated patterns that seem to bring on the same life situations over and over. Once we bring our control dramas into consciousness, however, we begin to catch ourselves every time we revert to them, and so stay more connected with inner energy.
And once we become more centered internally and our control dramas come into greater awareness, these old habits can begin to evolve into positive strengths.
Intimidator / Leader
When connected to the true source of power, an Intimidator will find more self-esteem when he or she uses his or her leadership qualities. Assertive without being domineering, confident without being arrogant, he or she has more chance of enjoying challenges and gaining the cooperation of others.
Interrogator / Advocate
The Interrogator, transformed, channels the predilection for questioning into research, using more well-rounded interpersonal skills as a teacher, counselor or advocate.
Aloof / Independent Thinker
Freed from the need to remain an outsider, Aloofs access deep inner intuitive resources to bring wisdom and creativity to their life's work, such as being a priest/priestess, healer, or artist.
Poor Me / Reformer
Having experienced true nurturing and unity, the Poor Me is able to stay grounded in his or her own inner source and becomes a compassionate reformer, social worker, or healer.
An analysis of our early childhood can reveal how our control dramas evolved, but once this is forgiven we can see deeper reasons why we were with our early family. From our parents' strengths and from particular growth issues they didn't complete, we can derive our life question and our work or 'mission' in the world.
INSIGHT 7: Engaging the Flow
The Seventh Insight is the awareness that coincidences have been leading us toward the attainment of our missions and the pursuit of our life questions all along. Day to day, however, we grow by understanding and following the smaller questions that are derived from our broader goals. Once we get the questions right, the answers always come through mysterious opportunities. Each synchronicity, no matter how growthful, always leaves us with another prime question, so our lives proceed through a process of question, answer, new question, as we evolve along our spiritual paths. Synchronistic answers come from many sources: dreams, daydreams, intuitive thoughts, and most frequently, other people who feel inspired to bring us a message.
INSIGHT 8: The Interpersonal Ethic:
A New Perspective on Relationships
The Eighth Insight is the awareness that most synchronicity takes place through messages brought to us by other people and that a new spiritual ethic toward others enhances this synchronicity. If we are not competing with others energetically, and remain connected to mystical energy within, then we can uplift others with our energy, focusing on the beauty on every face, seeing another person's higher genious. The energy we give when we speak to the higher self lifts the other person into a fuller awareness of who they are, what they are doing, and so increases the possibility that a synchronistic message can be conveyed. The uplifting of others is especially important when interacting within a group, where the entire group's energy can enter whoever is intuitively moved to speak. Also important is using this ethic when caring for and interacting with children. To uplift children, we must speak to their higher-self wisdom and treat them with integrity. In romantic relationships, care must be taken that the euphoric love connection does not replace our connection with mystical energy within. This love euphoria always degenerates into a power struggle as both people become addicted to each other for energy.
Feeling Energized
Start your day with the intention of being alert for messages.
Before you leave the house, take five or ten minutes to center yourself, concentrating on your breathing. Imagine yourself filled with light radiating out for at least one or two minutes. Imagine yourself as part of a circle of incoming and outgoing energy.
Throughout the day, connect with the beauty in your environment as often as you can.
Energizing Others
As you meet and talk with people, see beyond their ordinary faces, to the glory of their spiritual essence.
Focus on their unique qualities. See beauty in their faces.
As you listen to them, give them your complete attention.
Project energy to them as they speak.
Remember that their higher self has a message for you, and you can assist them in giving it by filling them with energy.
Receiving Messages
Listen internally for any questions or remarks that occur to you to ask others . . . it could trigger an important exchange of information.
If you feel energized around this person, you probably have an important connection.
If you feel drained around someone, rethink what this relationship is offering you. Review codependency themes and warning signs.
Notice what thoughts occur to you after conversations.
What changes do you see in your life or your relationships as you practice these new behaviors?
INSIGHT 9: The Emerging Culture
The Ninth Insight is the awareness of how evolution will proceed as we live the other Insights...
If The Celestine Prophecy, the first nine Insights, was about the emerging understanding that we are awakening from the materialistic slumber of the modern age - about realizing we are spiritual beings connected within with the wise intelligence behind the universe itself, about opening up to our higher intuitive guidance and following mysterious coincidences that eventually reveal a truth, a mission, that we personally are destined to bring to the world...
Then The Tenth Insight is the deeper understanding that this has been the program behind human life since the beginning of the universe - that we, as humans, have come here from a heavenly dimension, generation by generation, to awaken and discover missions and thus systematically build a spiritual culture we can already envision.
The Tenth Insight is the realization that throughout history human beings have been unconsciously struggling to implement this lived spirituality on Earth. Each of us comes here on assignment, and as we pull this understanding into consciousness, we can remember a fuller birth vision of what we wanted to accomplish with our lives. Further we can remember a common world vision of how we will all work together to create a new spiritual culture. We know that our challenge is to hold this vision with intention and prayer everyday.
In The Tenth Insight, my goal was to enunciate an insight that I feel strongly has come upon spiritual people everywhere: that thoughts and intentions matter, and that we are called upon to make our mental images more conscious. When we have a thought about the future, any thought - random, whimsical, fear-based, or angry - these thoughts rise into the ethers and act to set up outcomes, many of which we wouldn't really want. In this sense, every thought is a prayer, and each of us is actively creating what will occur in our lives, as well as the shape of civilization in the years to come. That is how powerful we are.
What is most interesting about all of this is that science is in our side. If you have a sense that placing such importance on everyday thought is odd and fanciful and violates common sense, check again. Thoughts have a power that goes out over space to impact individuals and their course of action. And each of us must refine the vision of the future we hold, and hold it consciously.
Yet even as this insight begins to permeate the world's mind, I believe a new insight is emerging on the horizon: the importance of engaging the flow, of acting upon our vision. While this might seem self-evident -- we act all the time in the course of survival -- what I'm suggesting is that we're learning a new kind of action that more deeply reflects the vision of the future that we are consciously holding.
Here's an example. Suppose that one key element of the vision we pray for is that adults everywhere and governmental bodies of all kinds would focus anew on the care and nurturing of children. We think of this situation frequently, we fill the air with an image of everyone coming to their senses, and beginning to rescue children in need, cultivating their talents and gifts. But then, down the street, we notice a real child in real need. Perhaps the child is from a family under stress that would welcome our participation with the young person. We feel the intuitive urge to intervene, and we do. We act to nurture, to guide, to support.
Interestingly, the power of the act doesn't stop there. Others see the action, and as sociologists know, it enters into that important role of a social norm. Because one of us has done it, it is easier, more acceptable and understandable for another to do it. In short, our new vision, the image we are holding, now has a model.
Human evolution is theater. First we have a vision, then we build a world of meaningful activity around it. We live in an incredibly important time. Each of us focuses on a different aspect of human life that we are here to improve, and we hold a vision for the evolution we all desire. The next step necessary to move rapidly into a more ideal society is to find a way to act, to consciously create a new field of behavior that reflects our vision. It can sometimes be daunting, but the responsibility to take the first step always falls on those who see most clearly.
Just do it.
Then The Eleventh Insight, the one I believe is emerging into human culture in the present moment, is about how to use our highest energy and intention to bring about this world we intuit. For centuries, religious scriptures, poems, and philosophies have pointed to a latent power of mind within all of us that mysteriously helps to create the future. It has been called faith power, positive thinking, and NLP. I believe that for the first time we are taking this power seriously enough to bring a fuller knowledge of it into public awareness, and we are realizing that it is truly a faith/prayer power that can change the direction of our lives.
Key Concepts
• Every assumption, unconscious or not, is a prayer that we send out that acts to make that assumption true.
• This includes any unconscious beliefs about our own health, abilities, and success --which means that if we hold an opinion that we have poor abilities or might not succeed or reach our dreams, then it is exactly like we are praying for that specific outcome.
• It also means that any critical thought about others is just like praying for whatever we are criticizing.
• Mastering this faith/prayer power first means becoming aware of all our assumptions and mindful of every single thought.
• To extend our prayer power we must increase our overall level of connection with the divine within and let this energy overflow outward with very specific visualizations.
• We engage the angelic realms when our prayer power is focused on a specific situation.
It is my opinion that this change of understanding, this shift to believing in this power at a higher level, will move spiritual evolution at a quicker pace in this millennium. Not only will we increase our own mysterious synchronicity, and the speed with which our own dreams come true, but we will be able to intervene directly as we become aware of troubled situations. Prayer vigils will become much more effective.
The Eleventh Insight is the precise method through which we hold the Celestine vision. For centuries, religious scriptures, poems, and philosophies have pointed to a latent power of mind within all of us that mysteriously helps to affect what occurs in the future. It has been called faith power, positive thinking, the power of prayer. We are now taking this power seriously enough to bring a fuller knowledge of it into public awareness. We are finding that this prayer power is a field of intention and moves out from us and can be extended and strengthened, especially when we connect with others in a common vision. This is the power through which we hold the vision of a spiritual world and build the energy in ourselves and others to make this vision a reality.
INTUITING THE TWELFTH INSIGHT
What a human world. Look at it. At first glance, all we see is conflict, competition, and the old habit of demonizing those who seem to be opposed to our ideas: in order to make ourselves feel correct and more important.
In politics, the political left demonizes the right, and vice versa. In education any attempt at reform and rejuvenation, is met with cries of racism and union busting by those guarding the status quo. In medicine, we see the dominating power of big pharmaceutical corporations; spending millions to court doctors, influence research, (all once deemed unethical) all the while expanding the mechanistic model of the human body. Corporate support of medical schools seems to be turning physicians into sales representatives, winning trips for pushing one drug over another. (Also once considered unethical.)
Soon, as President Bush announced in a recent speech, there will be synthetic hormones, and brain chemicals, and designer "feel good" pills that motor through the body homing in like tiny submarines to alter specific molecular interactions. They are even developing artificial blood.
The last straw, for many people, is having to cope with what seems to be the diminishing effectiveness of reform movements, once so full of energy and focus, which now seem to be losing steam. The younger generations do not seem to care as much. And the media is somewhere else chasing ratings. In short, the world seems increasingly out of control, with corruption and venality running rampant, terrorists promising more attacks, and a citizenry clearly overwhelmed.
Yet, from the Celestine point of view, a first glance into this crazy world is not enough. I am convinced society is not spiraling into oblivion; it is not slipping out of our control. We never had any control to begin with. All we really have is input. That's it. Sometimes our input, our viewpoint seems to be validated by the trends we see around us, and sometimes it goes the other way.
What we are witnessing in these crazy years is a momentary swing of the evolutionary pendulum, the last surge of momentum into the extreme, before we slow down and drop back in another direction. What we must grok, I believe, is that the progress of the world operates through a dialectical process, just as the philosopher Hegel envisioned in the Eighteenth Century. First, you have a way of life or belief, a thesis, and then someone disagrees, and proposes a counter idea, an antithesis. And then from outside these poles a compromise emerges, a greater truth or way of life that represents a better integration of the polar positions, one that works better. You have a higher synthesis. The pendulum swings in another direction.
Right now, we see the last hurrah of the materialist, secular orientation that has prevailed for so long in human society going wildly to the extreme. Already, a lived spiritual orientation has begun to blossom. But it has not prevailed yet, primarily because it is political expression that has not been fully developed. It often sounds like a replay of the old thesis-antithesis arguments between capitalism and communism, thinking that the only way to have an enlightened society is to force it on people, hailing big bureaucratic government to replace the personal initiative and independence of the materialist life, and preventing it from becoming a true transcending synthesis.
A synthesis to the current situation has to assert the importance of the system of private initiative and spontaneous creativity to a lived spirituality, but infuse this system with an ethical understanding that deals with our concerns about pollution, preserving cultural traditions, honoring consumer and worker protection, and acting in harmony with an emergent new spiritual viewpoint.
Of course, I believe the Celestine vision, emerging out there, by any name, is the new synthesis coming into view. It spells out a new life image of ourselves that sees our bodies as an energetic whole, and calling for a new nutrition-oriented medicine. It assumes an inner intuition that can guide our decision-making and synchronistically move each of us into a more inspired and productive economic niche, easing poverty, and pushing the ethical values mentioned above. And most of all, it sees evolutionary process for what it is: a march toward a perfection of human culture by consciously working through polar opposites until we can take the best aspects of both extremes and mold them into something that both sides can accept.
This allows evolution to take a step forward, instead of remaining deadlocked in a stalemate of demonization.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Attitude by Charles Swindoll
The longer I live, the more I realise the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skills. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.
Children Learn What They Live
Children Learn What They Live by Dorothy Law Neite
If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.
If a child learns to feel shame, he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement he learns confidence
If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.
He a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.
If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.
If a child learns to feel shame, he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement he learns confidence
If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.
He a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.
Interesting Careers – Happiness Coach
By Paula Barnes
Shveitta Sethi Sharma – Happiness Coach
Shveitta Sethi Sharma is a Happiness coach and has spent almost half her life travelling around the world in search of an answer to “What is happiness?” This remarkable Woman sat down with the Women in charge team to discuss her interesting career path and passion for making a ‘happier’ world.
How did you become a Happiness Coach?
The whole idea came about as a lark over a breakfast meeting. I had just quit my job and was studying positive psychology and generally trying to understand the meaning of life/happiness. At the breakfast meeting (with media and banking people) I did not have any name cards, so when people asked me what I did, I said (in jest) I bottle happiness, study it and hopefully will one day be able to sell it.
I got many quizzical looks and a lot of interest. Everyone I met that day wanted to find out the secret of happiness. I received the maximum number of name cards of any day with every one asking me to email them once I had figured out the secret to happiness
Something that came about in jest suddenly sounded rather exciting and I decided to pursue the subject in its entirety. I started reading the various self help books available. I read a lot of material by Louise Hay , Esther and Jerry Hicks, Wayne Dawyer amongst many others, and then went on to read Martin Seligman’s and Tal Ben Shahar’s work on Positive Psychology followed by books on Epigenetics by Bruce Lipton and Candace Pert and tried to understand Quantum Physics by reading Greg Braden and Amit Goswami . Then I went on to read some philosophers and a whole lot of spiritual and religious text and attended various seminars, both scientific and spiritual. But the most useful resource turned out to be YouTube and Google. I pretty much found all that I was looking for in the theoretical field and then I started my practical data collection via interviews and Questionnaires.
As I read and researched, I came to the understanding that happiness was a self created and self fulfilling phenomenon. It was something we had a hundred percent control upon.
The next logical question therefore was, ‘If we had a hundred percent control on our happiness, was it possible to develop and exercise that control?
Even though we have a genetic bias towards our determinant state of happiness, I believe that Happiness is a skill and it can surely be developed with the proper exercises and some guidance.
What does a Happiness Coach do?
The job of a happiness coach is to guide one towards a more fulfilling and a positive life by offering the various tools available to raise the happiness set point. As with any other coach, is it a sports coach, a musical instrument coach, a parent or a teacher, the job of the happiness coach is to identify the current level of understanding of the subject and then identify ways of improving the same.
As one of my teacher “Matthieu Ricard” says “Happiness is life’s most important skill and often the most overlooked.
My current position as a Happiness coach therefore came about as a journey inwards into the self and the need to find out the real meaning of happiness for very personal reasons compounded by the immense interest shown by the people when I mentioned I was studying the meaning of happiness.
Did you need to study a certain course?
Yes there are courses that one can do to get a degree in ‘happiness’. It goes by the name of MAAP- Masters in Applied Positive Psychology offered by UPenn. But there is so much information available on line that if one truly wants to seek the knowledge for the sake of the knowledge and not the degree, it could be a lifelong endeavor.
I personally chose the path of knowledge and am constantly finding out more and more ways of increasing happiness.
What do you love about your job?
What I love about my job, actually it is not a job, it is a passion. A job is something one does in exchange of money. I have not yet been able to put a price on my passion, but have definitely received a lot in return. At times it has been a profuse thank you, a big hug, an amazing lunch, new friends or cheques in mail varying from 50 HKD to 8000 HKD. So I guess I can’t call it a job, but it is most definitely a calling, so I pretty much love every aspect of my calling. With every new person that I coach, I learn so much more.
What are some of the negatives?
The only negative, if you insist on my naming one would be that sometimes people who are going through a tough time may not seem to understand how it could be possible for someone to teach them how to be happy. They might then think you are trying to sell them into a new ideology which they do not agree with. On the other hand, sometimes if you do offer help, people might impose too much on your time and call you at any time of the night or day.
For those who would consider becoming a Happiness Couch what advice would you give them?For those wanting to become Happiness Coach, the number one thing I would say is Walk your walk and talk your talk. Become happy yourself and then you will automatically attract all that you need to become even more happier. I have met many coaches who preach, but do not follow. I do understand that a coach is not necessarily the best player on the team, but it sure helps to know the game. The more thorough one is in ones chosen subject the more successful one is. To quote Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see in the world”. Before embarking on coaching others become happy become happier yourself.
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Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
» 4 big reasons why we initally find positive psychology puzzling
» Finding Joy – is it possible?
» We all deserve something beautiful
This entry was posted on February 3, 2010 at 1:42 am and is filed under Business, Education, Empowering, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response
By Paula Barnes
Shveitta Sethi Sharma – Happiness Coach
Shveitta Sethi Sharma is a Happiness coach and has spent almost half her life travelling around the world in search of an answer to “What is happiness?” This remarkable Woman sat down with the Women in charge team to discuss her interesting career path and passion for making a ‘happier’ world.
How did you become a Happiness Coach?
The whole idea came about as a lark over a breakfast meeting. I had just quit my job and was studying positive psychology and generally trying to understand the meaning of life/happiness. At the breakfast meeting (with media and banking people) I did not have any name cards, so when people asked me what I did, I said (in jest) I bottle happiness, study it and hopefully will one day be able to sell it.
I got many quizzical looks and a lot of interest. Everyone I met that day wanted to find out the secret of happiness. I received the maximum number of name cards of any day with every one asking me to email them once I had figured out the secret to happiness
Something that came about in jest suddenly sounded rather exciting and I decided to pursue the subject in its entirety. I started reading the various self help books available. I read a lot of material by Louise Hay , Esther and Jerry Hicks, Wayne Dawyer amongst many others, and then went on to read Martin Seligman’s and Tal Ben Shahar’s work on Positive Psychology followed by books on Epigenetics by Bruce Lipton and Candace Pert and tried to understand Quantum Physics by reading Greg Braden and Amit Goswami . Then I went on to read some philosophers and a whole lot of spiritual and religious text and attended various seminars, both scientific and spiritual. But the most useful resource turned out to be YouTube and Google. I pretty much found all that I was looking for in the theoretical field and then I started my practical data collection via interviews and Questionnaires.
As I read and researched, I came to the understanding that happiness was a self created and self fulfilling phenomenon. It was something we had a hundred percent control upon.
The next logical question therefore was, ‘If we had a hundred percent control on our happiness, was it possible to develop and exercise that control?
Even though we have a genetic bias towards our determinant state of happiness, I believe that Happiness is a skill and it can surely be developed with the proper exercises and some guidance.
What does a Happiness Coach do?
The job of a happiness coach is to guide one towards a more fulfilling and a positive life by offering the various tools available to raise the happiness set point. As with any other coach, is it a sports coach, a musical instrument coach, a parent or a teacher, the job of the happiness coach is to identify the current level of understanding of the subject and then identify ways of improving the same.
As one of my teacher “Matthieu Ricard” says “Happiness is life’s most important skill and often the most overlooked.
My current position as a Happiness coach therefore came about as a journey inwards into the self and the need to find out the real meaning of happiness for very personal reasons compounded by the immense interest shown by the people when I mentioned I was studying the meaning of happiness.
Did you need to study a certain course?
Yes there are courses that one can do to get a degree in ‘happiness’. It goes by the name of MAAP- Masters in Applied Positive Psychology offered by UPenn. But there is so much information available on line that if one truly wants to seek the knowledge for the sake of the knowledge and not the degree, it could be a lifelong endeavor.
I personally chose the path of knowledge and am constantly finding out more and more ways of increasing happiness.
What do you love about your job?
What I love about my job, actually it is not a job, it is a passion. A job is something one does in exchange of money. I have not yet been able to put a price on my passion, but have definitely received a lot in return. At times it has been a profuse thank you, a big hug, an amazing lunch, new friends or cheques in mail varying from 50 HKD to 8000 HKD. So I guess I can’t call it a job, but it is most definitely a calling, so I pretty much love every aspect of my calling. With every new person that I coach, I learn so much more.
What are some of the negatives?
The only negative, if you insist on my naming one would be that sometimes people who are going through a tough time may not seem to understand how it could be possible for someone to teach them how to be happy. They might then think you are trying to sell them into a new ideology which they do not agree with. On the other hand, sometimes if you do offer help, people might impose too much on your time and call you at any time of the night or day.
For those who would consider becoming a Happiness Couch what advice would you give them?For those wanting to become Happiness Coach, the number one thing I would say is Walk your walk and talk your talk. Become happy yourself and then you will automatically attract all that you need to become even more happier. I have met many coaches who preach, but do not follow. I do understand that a coach is not necessarily the best player on the team, but it sure helps to know the game. The more thorough one is in ones chosen subject the more successful one is. To quote Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see in the world”. Before embarking on coaching others become happy become happier yourself.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
» 4 big reasons why we initally find positive psychology puzzling
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This entry was posted on February 3, 2010 at 1:42 am and is filed under Business, Education, Empowering, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Geshe Michael Roach Reveals the Secrets Behind Wealth and Abundance
Geshe Michael Roach has helped to reach annual sales of US$200 million, as one of the founders of Andin International Diamond Corporation, which was recently purchased by Warren Buffett, America’s second wealthiest man.
Roach’s book, The Diamond Cutter (published in 2000), tells the story of how he has used the ancient wisdom of Buddhism (he was the first Western person to be awarded a doctorate from Sera Mey University of Tibet) to create wealth and growth within the diamond company. Over the years, the book has become an international best-seller and has been translated into 20 different languages. Today, over 3 million people around the world use the book as a guide to help them achieve success in the business world, as well as their personal lives. The Diamond Cutter highlights Roach’s corporate experience, as the primary negotiator for the company, in which he also hired, trained and motivated hundreds of employees.
He now travels around the globe to teach people how the secrets of The Diamond Cutter, such as “emptiness” and its hidden potential, can make any business or relationship reach the highest levels of success. He speaks to Vivienne Tang about the key principles of an entrepreneur and how the "Diamond Cutter" knowledge can transform every facet of your life.
What has been your biggest lesson?
Emptiness. Something happened to me in 1975. During meditation I got a direct insight into what emptiness is. You might understand something intellectually, but if you truly understand what emptiness is, you can do anything, you can change anything, you can learn any language, you can make a company successful… I had a very bad bone disease in my leg. I couldn’t walk, and now I do ballet.
What are your key tips for entrepreneurs?
Number one, help somebody else to start his company. Find a poor person and help them. I helped a Tibetan refugee to start his own company, and I spent all my money on that for 22 years. I support poor people to start their business. We believe in karma.
When you say help, do you mean time and money?
First you give them money, and then you give them your own time. If you help a smaller guy, your business will grow.
It’s noble to help other people, but that’s actually not why we do it. It’s actually the best business strategy. Even if you don’t care about religion or spirituality, if you want to be successful, then you still have to help other people. That’s the best strategy. I’m not teaching charity, I’m teaching how to be successful. So if you use this method you will be financially successful, and you will also be noble. [laughs]
Should one specifically invest in someone’s business or is it enough to be generous and give away money to beggars for example?
If I give $10 to someone because I feel sad for them, or they need help or my father told me to do this, we say that there won’t be much result. If you say, “I’m giving you $100. I want to help your business. You will be successful. And I will be successful too, it will come back to me”, then that’s a different approach. So you accept the principle that it’s ok for both people to benefit.
What do you recommend when people still have doubts and fears around their projects or businesses?
In Buddhism, we are not allowed to accept anything by faith. We have to examine, question and experiment. Buddha said, “Don’t believe me. If I make a suggestion to you, try it. If it works, great. But if it doesn’t work, scrap it.” Try… we say, “Give 10% of your profits every six months.” Whatever income you have, 10% out of that. You won’t lose anything by trying.
The only way to get rid of a doubt is to experiment. Or you learn more, education. There are two ways to perceive something. One is direct perception. You give, and money comes to you. Then you have faith, and you believe. The second one is deduction. You can say, “That guy, Geshe Michael, he didn’t go to business school. He didn’t know anything, yet he made a quarter billion dollar company… So maybe he knows. Maybe I’ll try it.” But we say the fastest way to fix doubt is to try. If you have a disaster, if you lose all your money… it’s very helpful. It pushes you to try new things. This economy is great, because people will try new things. When it gets better, people won’t be willing. [laughs]
What does success mean to you? Do you look at yourself as being very successful?
Inside I’m successful. We believe you have to start with “outside” success. You can’t lecture somebody, who doesn’t have food, about meditation. They have to eat, they have to have a house, they have to have clothing. So we start with money. Then they need a partner, they need a family. That’s quite a success. And then they need to be happy. You can have a family, a house, a car, and you can be unhappy. [laughs] We don’t say you should give up your car or family. We say you can have everything, a good job, a nice family and a nice house.
Roach’s book, The Diamond Cutter (published in 2000), tells the story of how he has used the ancient wisdom of Buddhism (he was the first Western person to be awarded a doctorate from Sera Mey University of Tibet) to create wealth and growth within the diamond company. Over the years, the book has become an international best-seller and has been translated into 20 different languages. Today, over 3 million people around the world use the book as a guide to help them achieve success in the business world, as well as their personal lives. The Diamond Cutter highlights Roach’s corporate experience, as the primary negotiator for the company, in which he also hired, trained and motivated hundreds of employees.
He now travels around the globe to teach people how the secrets of The Diamond Cutter, such as “emptiness” and its hidden potential, can make any business or relationship reach the highest levels of success. He speaks to Vivienne Tang about the key principles of an entrepreneur and how the "Diamond Cutter" knowledge can transform every facet of your life.
What has been your biggest lesson?
Emptiness. Something happened to me in 1975. During meditation I got a direct insight into what emptiness is. You might understand something intellectually, but if you truly understand what emptiness is, you can do anything, you can change anything, you can learn any language, you can make a company successful… I had a very bad bone disease in my leg. I couldn’t walk, and now I do ballet.
What are your key tips for entrepreneurs?
Number one, help somebody else to start his company. Find a poor person and help them. I helped a Tibetan refugee to start his own company, and I spent all my money on that for 22 years. I support poor people to start their business. We believe in karma.
When you say help, do you mean time and money?
First you give them money, and then you give them your own time. If you help a smaller guy, your business will grow.
It’s noble to help other people, but that’s actually not why we do it. It’s actually the best business strategy. Even if you don’t care about religion or spirituality, if you want to be successful, then you still have to help other people. That’s the best strategy. I’m not teaching charity, I’m teaching how to be successful. So if you use this method you will be financially successful, and you will also be noble. [laughs]
Should one specifically invest in someone’s business or is it enough to be generous and give away money to beggars for example?
If I give $10 to someone because I feel sad for them, or they need help or my father told me to do this, we say that there won’t be much result. If you say, “I’m giving you $100. I want to help your business. You will be successful. And I will be successful too, it will come back to me”, then that’s a different approach. So you accept the principle that it’s ok for both people to benefit.
What do you recommend when people still have doubts and fears around their projects or businesses?
In Buddhism, we are not allowed to accept anything by faith. We have to examine, question and experiment. Buddha said, “Don’t believe me. If I make a suggestion to you, try it. If it works, great. But if it doesn’t work, scrap it.” Try… we say, “Give 10% of your profits every six months.” Whatever income you have, 10% out of that. You won’t lose anything by trying.
The only way to get rid of a doubt is to experiment. Or you learn more, education. There are two ways to perceive something. One is direct perception. You give, and money comes to you. Then you have faith, and you believe. The second one is deduction. You can say, “That guy, Geshe Michael, he didn’t go to business school. He didn’t know anything, yet he made a quarter billion dollar company… So maybe he knows. Maybe I’ll try it.” But we say the fastest way to fix doubt is to try. If you have a disaster, if you lose all your money… it’s very helpful. It pushes you to try new things. This economy is great, because people will try new things. When it gets better, people won’t be willing. [laughs]
What does success mean to you? Do you look at yourself as being very successful?
Inside I’m successful. We believe you have to start with “outside” success. You can’t lecture somebody, who doesn’t have food, about meditation. They have to eat, they have to have a house, they have to have clothing. So we start with money. Then they need a partner, they need a family. That’s quite a success. And then they need to be happy. You can have a family, a house, a car, and you can be unhappy. [laughs] We don’t say you should give up your car or family. We say you can have everything, a good job, a nice family and a nice house.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
The Top 10 Brain Foods that make you Smarter and Healthier
By Jillian McMullen / Source: Health Source Magazine
When it comes to food, you have a wealth of delicious choices. And each one not only tastes good but also supplies unique health benefits. From blueberries to dark chocolate, leading nutritionists and physicians are pointing to certain foods that enhance brain power and, they say, a heart-healthy lifestyle.
Although theres no conclusive research about the healthful brain benefits of particular supplements, food sources rich in vitamin E and Omega 3 fatty acids may provide benefit, says Jillian McMullen, R.D., LD/N, Outpatient Clinical Dietician with Mayo Clinic.
Vitamin E-rich foods include vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, green leafy vegetables, and whole grains. Omega 3-rich foods include fish, walnuts and flax seeds.
We also know that adequate amounts of B vitamins are essential for brain function, says McMullen. Some studies suggest a protective role of vitamins B9 (folic acid) and B12, but more research is needed before we can recommend these supplements. It doesnt hurt to eat foods rich in folic acid such as green, leafy vegetables, fortified breads and cereals, and dried beans, as well as those chocked full of vitamin B12 like fish, meat, eggs, cheese and chicken.
It's All About Balance
Theres no denying that as we age, our body (and brain) ages right along with us. Getting older brings some risk of cognitive problems such as Alzheimers disease or dementia. Theres also increased brain function risk from certain diseases like hypertension, diabetes and obesity that can cause damage to the brain.
Theoretically, we can control these diseases and keep our brain healthy unlike old age or genetic factors that we cant control, says Floyd Willis, M.D., family medicine practitioner and creator of Mayo Clinics LiveWell. ThinkWell. program.
It all ties together, Willis says. People who have the most risk of strokes are those with hypertension, diabetes and obesity. Often, people dont associate the truism that as goes the heart, so goes the brain (and kidney). The impetus of the Mayo LiveWell. ThinkWell. healthy brain program is about maintaining a healthy balance and healthy lifestyle.
Dr. Willis created the community outreach program offered through Mayos Memory Disorder Clinic to educate African-Americans about healthy brain aging and memory disorders. African-Americans may have higher risk for Alzheimers disease because they have a higher incidence of some medical conditions associated with dementia, according to the Alzheimers Association. The program provides information to seniors and their families about memory disorders and brain aging, including tips on how to keep the mind healthy.
Research is showing that you can increase your chances of maintaining a healthy brain well into old age if you add super foods to your daily diet. Blueberries have been found to help protect the brain and animal studies have shown that diets rich in blueberries significantly improved both the learning capacity and motor skills of aging rats, making them mentally equivalent to much younger rats.
But, we cant conclude that antioxidant-rich foods like blueberries, strawberries and spinach will have the same age-related reversal of brain deficits in humans as those they found in rats. The American Dietetic Association is currently studying the effect of strawberries, blueberries, prunes, spinach and fatty fish, and may find positive benefits to short term memory, says McMullen.
Whether or not the foods are brain super foods, theyre heart healthy and a great part of a balanced diet, she says. A diet rich in a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and low-fat dairy is essential to overall health and energy.
Healthy Food for a Healthy Life
Carol Albanesi, Director of Food Services and a registered nurse for Flagler Hospital, agrees. The foods were talking about are foods that are necessary and appropriate for a healthy diet. Theres not any true super food. A healthy diet has to be part of a healthy lifestyle that includes getting enough sleep (six to eight hours a day) and eating right. By that I also mean eating breakfast, not skipping meals and adding several small snacks during the day.
Albanesi suggests that by eating healthy food, getting enough sleep and exercising three to five times a week youll increase your optimum health. All of these activities, including eating brain boosting super foods, bring oxygen to the brain by expanding blood vessels for increased blood flow to the brain.
Your circulatory system feeds your cells and pulls away toxins, she says. Thats why you need to increase blood flow with these activities. Exercise is particularly good because it increases blood flow, lowers blood pressure and keeps your body healthy.
Beans, she says, are a great food source because theyre a good carbohydrate and protein source, theyre inexpensive and they stabilize your glucose during the day. Drinking water is also important. Albanesi also suggests six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.
The Top Ten Brain Boosting Foods
Sally Clifton, MSH, RD, LD/N, at Shands Hospital, offers her top ten brain super food picks:
1. Coffee - The caffeine and the coffee bean itself have been shown to have some antioxidant properties, she says. Most of the benefits for boosting brain power come from the caffeine. Suggested serving: no more than two or three cups a day.
2. Tea - Freshly brewed green and black tea have antioxidant properties and some caffeine that dilates blood vessels and increases the blood flow to the brain, enhancing memory focus and mood. Its temporary so everyone should judge the amount, Clifton says. The tea contains catechines that are the antioxidant properties; flavored tea doesnt have caffeine. Suggested serving: no more than two or three cups a day.
3. Blueberries - Blueberries are one food that really stands out, she says, because they have a certain antioxidant that prevents oxidative stress to help reduce age-related diseases. Over time, because youre exposed to the environment, youre more exposed to free radicals. Thats why its so important that athletes take in fruits and vegetables.
She advises adding a variety of fruits to your diet. An easy way to add them is putting a cup in your smoothie, shake, yogurt or on cereal. Suggested serving: 1 cup a day.
4. Wild or farm-raised salmon - Wild salmon tends to be leaner and purer than farm-raised but both are good, she says. Salmon is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids and contains anti-inflammatory substances that ultimately aid in blood flow and brain activity, lowering dementia and stroke risk and enhancing memory. Salmon even keeps the blood flowing in the very small capillaries in the brain, she says. Suggested serving: 4-ounces two or three times a week grilled, baked or broiled.
5. Nuts and seeds - Nuts and seeds are rich in vitamin E that boosts brain function and corresponds with less cognitive decline. Nuts and seeds also offer a large dose of monounsaturated fat that is heart healthy and promotes blood flow. A caveat is that nuts and seeds are very high in good fat, so limit the amount. Choose unsalted if you have hypertension. Almonds, walnuts and peanuts are very good but choose a variety, she says. Suggested serving: about one-fourth cup or one ounce a day.
6. Avocados - Although avocados got a bad rap for having a lot of fat several years ago, the green fruit is actually very healthy all around. Theyre packed with monounsaturated fat but its good fat. Avocados also have a lot of antioxidants and some amino acids (protein), help lower blood pressure and help reduce inflammation. I suggest putting them on a sandwich, in a salad or on your salmon for a double brain boost. Suggested serving: one-quarter to one-half of an avocado daily.
7. Whole grains - Whole grains like whole wheat bread, pasta, cereals, wheat germ and brown rice create good blood flow because they have more intact nutrients including vitamin E, antioxidants, fiber and some have Omega 3 fatty acids. Blood flow is crucial because it helps keep the integrity of cells in the brain, says Clifton.
8. Pomegranate juice - Although juice has been maligned because its packed with sugar, pomegranate juice is full of antioxidants and a small amount of sugar helps with immediate energy. Stick to about 2 ounces of natural fruit juice per serving. A way to do that is to mix the juice with sparkling water or sprite for a flavor boost. You can add it to water several times a day and eat a piece of fruit, she says. Suggested serving: about 6 to 8 ounces a day.
9. Beans - All kinds of beans including black beans, kidney beans and lentils offer a lot of fiber and help stabilize your glucose levels throughout the day, allowing your brain to better use the food for fuel. Suggested serving: one-half cup a day.
10. Dark chocolate - This decadent food has powerful antioxidant properties and also has a small amount of caffeine, a natural stimulant that aids with focus and concentration. Dark chocolate also stimulates production of endorphins that help improve mood. For a double health surge, try chocolate covered blueberries. Suggested serving: one-half to one ounce a day.
Back to Basics
The key is a healthy diet and eating small meals throughout the day to boost brain power because the food is giving you small energy boosts, says Clifton. I most often work with people to establish balance. Some people will drink coffee all day long. The unhealthy aspect of drinking this much coffee is that the caffeine suppresses appetite. So they deprive their body during the day and then overeat at night. Thats not a balanced, healthy way of eating.
Almost all of the super foods can easily be incorporated into one meal such as a salad or wrap. You may be thinking diet, but by adding these foods youre also sharpening your thinking. Clifton agrees that getting back to basics with exercise, getting eight hours of sleep a night (eight is more beneficial than less) and using meditation and relaxation exercises like yoga all help increase your body awareness and health.
With meditation and relaxation, you're breathing better and relieving tension and stress. It all goes together, but eating right does take some planning. The bonus to taking time to plan your meals is that youll gain more health benefits. A good idea is to get your spouse and children involved. Its more fun and motivating if you and your family cook together. Online resources for healthy recipes include eatright.org, the official website of the American Dietetic Association, and cookinglight.com, she says.
When it comes to food, you have a wealth of delicious choices. And each one not only tastes good but also supplies unique health benefits. From blueberries to dark chocolate, leading nutritionists and physicians are pointing to certain foods that enhance brain power and, they say, a heart-healthy lifestyle.
Although theres no conclusive research about the healthful brain benefits of particular supplements, food sources rich in vitamin E and Omega 3 fatty acids may provide benefit, says Jillian McMullen, R.D., LD/N, Outpatient Clinical Dietician with Mayo Clinic.
Vitamin E-rich foods include vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, green leafy vegetables, and whole grains. Omega 3-rich foods include fish, walnuts and flax seeds.
We also know that adequate amounts of B vitamins are essential for brain function, says McMullen. Some studies suggest a protective role of vitamins B9 (folic acid) and B12, but more research is needed before we can recommend these supplements. It doesnt hurt to eat foods rich in folic acid such as green, leafy vegetables, fortified breads and cereals, and dried beans, as well as those chocked full of vitamin B12 like fish, meat, eggs, cheese and chicken.
It's All About Balance
Theres no denying that as we age, our body (and brain) ages right along with us. Getting older brings some risk of cognitive problems such as Alzheimers disease or dementia. Theres also increased brain function risk from certain diseases like hypertension, diabetes and obesity that can cause damage to the brain.
Theoretically, we can control these diseases and keep our brain healthy unlike old age or genetic factors that we cant control, says Floyd Willis, M.D., family medicine practitioner and creator of Mayo Clinics LiveWell. ThinkWell. program.
It all ties together, Willis says. People who have the most risk of strokes are those with hypertension, diabetes and obesity. Often, people dont associate the truism that as goes the heart, so goes the brain (and kidney). The impetus of the Mayo LiveWell. ThinkWell. healthy brain program is about maintaining a healthy balance and healthy lifestyle.
Dr. Willis created the community outreach program offered through Mayos Memory Disorder Clinic to educate African-Americans about healthy brain aging and memory disorders. African-Americans may have higher risk for Alzheimers disease because they have a higher incidence of some medical conditions associated with dementia, according to the Alzheimers Association. The program provides information to seniors and their families about memory disorders and brain aging, including tips on how to keep the mind healthy.
Research is showing that you can increase your chances of maintaining a healthy brain well into old age if you add super foods to your daily diet. Blueberries have been found to help protect the brain and animal studies have shown that diets rich in blueberries significantly improved both the learning capacity and motor skills of aging rats, making them mentally equivalent to much younger rats.
But, we cant conclude that antioxidant-rich foods like blueberries, strawberries and spinach will have the same age-related reversal of brain deficits in humans as those they found in rats. The American Dietetic Association is currently studying the effect of strawberries, blueberries, prunes, spinach and fatty fish, and may find positive benefits to short term memory, says McMullen.
Whether or not the foods are brain super foods, theyre heart healthy and a great part of a balanced diet, she says. A diet rich in a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and low-fat dairy is essential to overall health and energy.
Healthy Food for a Healthy Life
Carol Albanesi, Director of Food Services and a registered nurse for Flagler Hospital, agrees. The foods were talking about are foods that are necessary and appropriate for a healthy diet. Theres not any true super food. A healthy diet has to be part of a healthy lifestyle that includes getting enough sleep (six to eight hours a day) and eating right. By that I also mean eating breakfast, not skipping meals and adding several small snacks during the day.
Albanesi suggests that by eating healthy food, getting enough sleep and exercising three to five times a week youll increase your optimum health. All of these activities, including eating brain boosting super foods, bring oxygen to the brain by expanding blood vessels for increased blood flow to the brain.
Your circulatory system feeds your cells and pulls away toxins, she says. Thats why you need to increase blood flow with these activities. Exercise is particularly good because it increases blood flow, lowers blood pressure and keeps your body healthy.
Beans, she says, are a great food source because theyre a good carbohydrate and protein source, theyre inexpensive and they stabilize your glucose during the day. Drinking water is also important. Albanesi also suggests six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.
The Top Ten Brain Boosting Foods
Sally Clifton, MSH, RD, LD/N, at Shands Hospital, offers her top ten brain super food picks:
1. Coffee - The caffeine and the coffee bean itself have been shown to have some antioxidant properties, she says. Most of the benefits for boosting brain power come from the caffeine. Suggested serving: no more than two or three cups a day.
2. Tea - Freshly brewed green and black tea have antioxidant properties and some caffeine that dilates blood vessels and increases the blood flow to the brain, enhancing memory focus and mood. Its temporary so everyone should judge the amount, Clifton says. The tea contains catechines that are the antioxidant properties; flavored tea doesnt have caffeine. Suggested serving: no more than two or three cups a day.
3. Blueberries - Blueberries are one food that really stands out, she says, because they have a certain antioxidant that prevents oxidative stress to help reduce age-related diseases. Over time, because youre exposed to the environment, youre more exposed to free radicals. Thats why its so important that athletes take in fruits and vegetables.
She advises adding a variety of fruits to your diet. An easy way to add them is putting a cup in your smoothie, shake, yogurt or on cereal. Suggested serving: 1 cup a day.
4. Wild or farm-raised salmon - Wild salmon tends to be leaner and purer than farm-raised but both are good, she says. Salmon is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids and contains anti-inflammatory substances that ultimately aid in blood flow and brain activity, lowering dementia and stroke risk and enhancing memory. Salmon even keeps the blood flowing in the very small capillaries in the brain, she says. Suggested serving: 4-ounces two or three times a week grilled, baked or broiled.
5. Nuts and seeds - Nuts and seeds are rich in vitamin E that boosts brain function and corresponds with less cognitive decline. Nuts and seeds also offer a large dose of monounsaturated fat that is heart healthy and promotes blood flow. A caveat is that nuts and seeds are very high in good fat, so limit the amount. Choose unsalted if you have hypertension. Almonds, walnuts and peanuts are very good but choose a variety, she says. Suggested serving: about one-fourth cup or one ounce a day.
6. Avocados - Although avocados got a bad rap for having a lot of fat several years ago, the green fruit is actually very healthy all around. Theyre packed with monounsaturated fat but its good fat. Avocados also have a lot of antioxidants and some amino acids (protein), help lower blood pressure and help reduce inflammation. I suggest putting them on a sandwich, in a salad or on your salmon for a double brain boost. Suggested serving: one-quarter to one-half of an avocado daily.
7. Whole grains - Whole grains like whole wheat bread, pasta, cereals, wheat germ and brown rice create good blood flow because they have more intact nutrients including vitamin E, antioxidants, fiber and some have Omega 3 fatty acids. Blood flow is crucial because it helps keep the integrity of cells in the brain, says Clifton.
8. Pomegranate juice - Although juice has been maligned because its packed with sugar, pomegranate juice is full of antioxidants and a small amount of sugar helps with immediate energy. Stick to about 2 ounces of natural fruit juice per serving. A way to do that is to mix the juice with sparkling water or sprite for a flavor boost. You can add it to water several times a day and eat a piece of fruit, she says. Suggested serving: about 6 to 8 ounces a day.
9. Beans - All kinds of beans including black beans, kidney beans and lentils offer a lot of fiber and help stabilize your glucose levels throughout the day, allowing your brain to better use the food for fuel. Suggested serving: one-half cup a day.
10. Dark chocolate - This decadent food has powerful antioxidant properties and also has a small amount of caffeine, a natural stimulant that aids with focus and concentration. Dark chocolate also stimulates production of endorphins that help improve mood. For a double health surge, try chocolate covered blueberries. Suggested serving: one-half to one ounce a day.
Back to Basics
The key is a healthy diet and eating small meals throughout the day to boost brain power because the food is giving you small energy boosts, says Clifton. I most often work with people to establish balance. Some people will drink coffee all day long. The unhealthy aspect of drinking this much coffee is that the caffeine suppresses appetite. So they deprive their body during the day and then overeat at night. Thats not a balanced, healthy way of eating.
Almost all of the super foods can easily be incorporated into one meal such as a salad or wrap. You may be thinking diet, but by adding these foods youre also sharpening your thinking. Clifton agrees that getting back to basics with exercise, getting eight hours of sleep a night (eight is more beneficial than less) and using meditation and relaxation exercises like yoga all help increase your body awareness and health.
With meditation and relaxation, you're breathing better and relieving tension and stress. It all goes together, but eating right does take some planning. The bonus to taking time to plan your meals is that youll gain more health benefits. A good idea is to get your spouse and children involved. Its more fun and motivating if you and your family cook together. Online resources for healthy recipes include eatright.org, the official website of the American Dietetic Association, and cookinglight.com, she says.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Who knew?
Did you know that drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain
almost immediately-without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional
pain relievers?
Did you know that Colgate
Toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns?
Before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of curiously strong Altoids peppermints. They'll clear up your stuffed nose.
Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1 tablespoon horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply it as a massage oil for instant relief for aching muscles.
Sore throat? Just mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar kills the bacteria.
Cure urinary tract infections with Alka-Seltzer. Just dissolve two tablets in a glass of water and drink it at the onset of the symptoms. Alka-Seltzer begins eliminating urinary tract infections almost instantly-even though the product was never advertised for this use.
Honey remedy for skin blemishes... cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a Band-Aid over it. Honey kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds healing. Works overnight.
Listerine therapy for toenail fungus: Get rid of unsightly toenail fungus by soaking your toes in Listerine Mouthwash. The powerful antiseptic leaves your toenails looking healthy again.
Easy eyeglass protection..to prevent the screws in eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small drop of Maybelline Crystal Clear Nail Polish to the threads of the screws before tightening them.
Cleaning liquid that doubles as bug killer... if menacing bees, wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home and you can't find the insecticide, try a spray of Formula 409. Insects drop to the ground instantly.
Smart splinter remover:
Just pour a drop of Elmer's Glue-All over the splinter, let dry, and peel the
dried glue off the skin. The splinter sticks to the dried glue.
Hunt's Tomato Paste boil
cure... cover the boil with Hunt's Tomato Paste as a compress. The acids from
the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head.
Balm for broken blisters... to disinfect a broken blister, dab on a few drops
of Listerine, a powerful antiseptic.
Vinegar to heal bruises... soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for 1hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process.
Quaker Oats for fast pain relief... it's not for breakfast any more! Mix 2 cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water in a bowl and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly,and apply the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain.
If you send this to one person who doesn't know about this, then it was worth
it.
almost immediately-without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional
pain relievers?
Did you know that Colgate
Toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns?
Before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of curiously strong Altoids peppermints. They'll clear up your stuffed nose.
Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1 tablespoon horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply it as a massage oil for instant relief for aching muscles.
Sore throat? Just mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar kills the bacteria.
Cure urinary tract infections with Alka-Seltzer. Just dissolve two tablets in a glass of water and drink it at the onset of the symptoms. Alka-Seltzer begins eliminating urinary tract infections almost instantly-even though the product was never advertised for this use.
Honey remedy for skin blemishes... cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a Band-Aid over it. Honey kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds healing. Works overnight.
Listerine therapy for toenail fungus: Get rid of unsightly toenail fungus by soaking your toes in Listerine Mouthwash. The powerful antiseptic leaves your toenails looking healthy again.
Easy eyeglass protection..to prevent the screws in eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small drop of Maybelline Crystal Clear Nail Polish to the threads of the screws before tightening them.
Cleaning liquid that doubles as bug killer... if menacing bees, wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home and you can't find the insecticide, try a spray of Formula 409. Insects drop to the ground instantly.
Smart splinter remover:
Just pour a drop of Elmer's Glue-All over the splinter, let dry, and peel the
dried glue off the skin. The splinter sticks to the dried glue.
Hunt's Tomato Paste boil
cure... cover the boil with Hunt's Tomato Paste as a compress. The acids from
the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head.
Balm for broken blisters... to disinfect a broken blister, dab on a few drops
of Listerine, a powerful antiseptic.
Vinegar to heal bruises... soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for 1hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process.
Quaker Oats for fast pain relief... it's not for breakfast any more! Mix 2 cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water in a bowl and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly,and apply the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain.
If you send this to one person who doesn't know about this, then it was worth
it.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Inspirational quotes
“One of the redeeming things about being an athlete is redefining what is humanly possible.” - Lance Armstrong
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” - Nelson Mandela
“The mind is like a river; upon its waters thoughts float through in a constant procession every conscious moment. You stand on a bridge over it and can stop and turn back any thought that comes along. The art of contentment is to let no thought pass that is going to disturb you.” -Dr. Frank Crane
“Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other.” - Brian Tracy
“A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.” Mahatma Gandhi
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their mind to be.” - Abraham Lincoln
“ The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, char.” Benjamin Franklin
“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” - Albert Camus
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” - Oprah Winfrey
“You can do anything you think you can. This knowledge is literally the gift of the gods, for through it you can solve every human problem. It should make of you an incurable optimist. It is the open door.” - Robert Collier
“This is the best day the world has ever seen. Tomorrow will be better”. -R.A. Campbell
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” - Winston Churchill
“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” Albert Einstein
“The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.” - Frank Lloyd Wright
“I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don’t do things half heartedly because I know if I do, then I can expect half hearted results.” - Michael Jordan
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” - Nelson Mandela
“The mind is like a river; upon its waters thoughts float through in a constant procession every conscious moment. You stand on a bridge over it and can stop and turn back any thought that comes along. The art of contentment is to let no thought pass that is going to disturb you.” -Dr. Frank Crane
“Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other.” - Brian Tracy
“A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.” Mahatma Gandhi
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their mind to be.” - Abraham Lincoln
“ The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, char.” Benjamin Franklin
“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” - Albert Camus
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” - Oprah Winfrey
“You can do anything you think you can. This knowledge is literally the gift of the gods, for through it you can solve every human problem. It should make of you an incurable optimist. It is the open door.” - Robert Collier
“This is the best day the world has ever seen. Tomorrow will be better”. -R.A. Campbell
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” - Winston Churchill
“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” Albert Einstein
“The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.” - Frank Lloyd Wright
“I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don’t do things half heartedly because I know if I do, then I can expect half hearted results.” - Michael Jordan
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