Inner Peace – Where To Begin? by Jajeanty

 What is inner peace?  A clear conscience?  Total acceptance of self?  Reckless abandon?

Inner peace is a state of being that supercedes any and all circumstances taking place in one’s life.  The trick to finding inner peace is to shift our sense of power and control from doing to being.

The demands of everyday life are immersed inside people, places and events that come at us from all sides.  It’s hard not to feel as if life is happening “to us” instead of “with us”.  The only thing we truly have control over at all times is how we let life’s circumstances affect us.  This control -this choice- is not an easy one to see amidst the pressures and demands we continually face.

Cultivating inner peace requires a priority shift that values quality of experience over productivity, efficiency, or outcome.  Regardless of the circumstance or task at hand, choosing to be -to flow- with a situation grounds us in the experience.  It also grounds us inside self.

More oftentimes than not, the biggest obstacles to being at peace with self are the thoughts that run around in our heads throughout the day.  Thoughts about what we could be doing, what we should be doing, or what we’d rather be doing carry undertones of lack, loss, and worthlessness which eat away at our core self-essence, and preempt any possibility of inner harmony from taking root.  Inner peace and negative thinking patterns cannot exist in the same mind-space.

In obtaining inner peace we enter into the essence of who and what we are as individuals, unfettered by the “mental” requirements of roles, expectations, or circumstances.  Realizing that life is meant to be lived rather than endured, or conquered, or ignored puts us back in the driver’s seat.  If we make up our minds that our primary objective within any circumstance is to experience it to the fullest, we’ve in a sense made peace with the circumstance at hand, and made “a peace” inside self.
3 Quick De-Stress Triggers
With work and family and other obligations, a lot of us don’t have a spare hour, or so to dedicate to cultivating a lifestyle of inner peace.  Meditation, taking space, or even quiet time are luxuries of time that just aren’t available.  Fortunately there are small, practical techniques we can use to redirect our focus within stressful situations, and in the process, incorporate a lifestyle of inner peace within our daily routine.

BREATHING
Short breaths, rushed breathes, or shallow breathes will put the body into a stress state without us even knowing it.  Breathing is one of those things to be put on our checklist whenever there’s a stress build-up within the day.  Deep breaths tell the body everything is ok.  Physical relaxation is a definite pre-requisite to entering a state a inner peace. 

GROUNDING
Grounding is a visual technique that involves focusing on an object in detail.  It can be anything – a chair, a picture, a window, a pen.  Focusing on it’s characteristics (color, shape, texture, contour, shading) puts us back in the moment, which can be helpful when thoughts and plans and worries are going through our heads.  In effect, this exercise tells our minds to shift out of “doing” and into “being”.

REFRAMING
The roles and expectations we place on ourselves can be the biggest obstacle to finding inner peace.  Roles and expectations are oftentimes walls and boundaries in disguise.  Sometimes just asking ourselves “Is this how I want this to affect me?” is enough to reframe our perspective on a situation.  By asking this question we can automatically put ourselves back in the driver’s seat.  The bottom-line being, we can always control how situations affect us.
Cultivating inner peace is an ongoing process.  It’s a lifestyle that depends on the quality of the experiences that make up our lives.  Life’s demands require us to be doers, first; but that doesn’t mean we have to relinquish our sense of presence and experience in the process.

Finding inner peace can be summed up in one familiar saying : “It’s the little things that matter the most.”

J.A. Jeanty specializes in areas of healing and recovery.  She is the author of Easy Lovin’ for Couples In Crisis – A Relationship Repair Manual.

Visit The Poetry Of Courage for a genuine resource on faith, hope and inspiration.  Explore a collection of poems …meant for anyone in search of the strength that lies inside.

Article Source: http://newagearticles.com

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How to say I Love You in 100 Languages

English – I love you
Afrikaans – Ek het jou lief
Albanian – Te dua
Arabic – Ana behibak (to male)
Arabic – Ana behibek (to female)
Armenian – Yes kez sirumem
Bambara – M’bi fe
Bengali – Ami tomake bhalobashi (pronounced: Amee toe-ma-kee bhalo-bashee)
Belarusian – Ya tabe kahayu
Bisaya – Nahigugma ako kanimo
Bulgarian – Obicham te
Cambodian – Soro lahn nhee ah
Catalan – T’estimo
Cherokee – Tsi ge yu i
Cheyenne – Ne mohotatse
Chichewa – Ndimakukonda
Chinese
Cantonese – Ngo oiy ney a
Mandarin – Wo ai ni
Comanche – U kamakutu nu
(pronounced oo—-ka-ma- koo-too– —nu) — Thx Tony
Corsican – Ti tengu caru (to male)
Cree – Kisakihitin
Creol – Mi aime jou
Croatian – Volim te
Czech – Miluji te
Danish – Jeg Elsker Dig
Dutch – Ik hou van jou
Elvish – Amin mela lle (from The Lord of The Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Esperanto – Mi amas vin
Estonian – Ma armastan sind
Ethiopian – Afgreki’
Faroese – Eg elski teg
Farsi – Doset daram
Filipino – Mahal kita
Finnish – Mina rakastan sinua
French – Je t’aime, Je t’adore
Frisian – Ik hald fan dy
Gaelic – Ta gra agam ort
Georgian – Mikvarhar
German – Ich liebe dich
Greek – S’agapo
Gujarati – Hoo thunay prem karoo choo
Hiligaynon – Palangga ko ikaw
Hawaiian – Aloha Au Ia `oe
Hebrew
To female – “ani ohev otach” (said by male) “ohevet Otach” (said by female)
To male – “ani ohev otcha” (said by male) “Ohevet ot’cha” (said by female)
Hiligaynon – Guina higugma ko ikaw
Hindi – Hum Tumhe Pyar Karte hae
Hmong – Kuv hlub koj
Hopi – Nu’ umi unangwa’ta
Hungarian – Szeretlek
Icelandic – Eg elska tig
Ilonggo – Palangga ko ikaw
Indonesian – Saya cinta padamu
Inuit – Negligevapse
Irish – Taim i’ ngra leat
Italian – Ti amo
Japanese – Aishiteru or Anata ga daisuki desu
Kannada – Naanu ninna preetisuttene
Kapampangan – Kaluguran daka
Kiswahili – Nakupenda
Konkani – Tu magel moga cho
Korean – Sarang Heyo or Nanun tangshinul sarang hamnida
Latin – Te amo
Latvian – Es tevi miilu
Lebanese – Bahibak
Lithuanian – Tave myliu
Luxembourgeois – Ech hun dech gaer
Macedonian – Te Sakam
Malay – Saya cintakan mu / Aku cinta padamu
Malayalam – Njan Ninne Premikunnu
Maltese – Inhobbok
Marathi – Me tula prem karto
Mohawk – Kanbhik
Moroccan – Ana moajaba bik
Nahuatl – Ni mits neki
Navaho – Ayor anosh’ni
Ndebele – Niyakutanda
Norwegian
Bokmaal – Jeg elsker deg
Nyonrsk – Eg elskar deg
Pandacan – Syota na kita!!
Pangasinan – Inaru Taka
Papiamento – Mi ta stimabo
Persian – Doo-set daaram
Pig Latin – Iay ovlay ouyay
Polish – Kocham Ciebie
Portuguese – Eu te amo
Romanian – Te iubesc
Russian – Ya tebya liubliu
Scot Gaelic – Tha gra\dh agam ort
Serbian – Volim te
Setswana – Ke a go rata
Sign Language – ,\,,/ (represents position of fingers when signing ‘I Love You’)
Sindhi – Maa tokhe pyar kendo ahyan
Sioux – Techihhila
Slovak – Lu`bim ta
Slovenian – Ljubim te
Spanish – Te quiero / Te amo
Swahili – Ninapenda wewe
Swedish – Jag alskar dig
Swiss-German – Ich lieb Di
Surinam – Mi lobi joe
Tagalog – Mahal kita
Taiwanese – Wa ga ei li
Tahitian – Ua Here Vau Ia Oe
Tamil – Nan unnai kathalikaraen
Telugu – Nenu ninnu premistunnanu
Thai
To female – Phom rak khun
To male – Chan rak khun
Informal – Rak te
Tunisian – Ha eh bak
Turkish – Seni Seviyorum
Ukrainian – Ya tebe kahayu
Urdu – mai aap say pyaar karta hoo
Vietnamese
To female – Anh ye^u em
To male – Em ye^u anh
Welsh – ‘Rwy’n dy garu di
Yiddish – Ikh hob dikh
Yoruba – Mo ni fe
Zazi – Ezhele hezdege
Zuni – Tom ho’ ichema

Yesss Self Help Center Est. 1991

ArhataFreeSpeech@yahoo.com

310 880-2020

Port Townsend, Washington USA

http://www.freedomofspeech.netfirms.com/

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Sensing Energy of Place by Carolyn Donnelly

 Ancient cultures believed that our home was a spiritual place and developed rituals for attracting positive deities, dispelling evil spirits and maintaining the harmony of the home. The trend towards rekindling ancient traditions and beliefs has increased awareness in our modern society as to the importance of sacred space and the importance of the spiritual atmosphere of our homes and places where we spend a lot of time.

In our busy, technologically modern world it is easy to forget that we are animals and spiritual beings who are influenced by the energy around us. Our ability to perceive the mood of the atmosphere around us occurs at a subconscious level and is probably connected to our innate survival instincts that protect our physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

Most people can remember a time when they have entered a building or an area and sensed an uncomfortable or unwelcome feeling. We may say that the place gives us ‘the creeps’. This is because we have picked up the energy left behind and lingering in the atmosphere, dust, walls and other aspects of that building or place. There may have been much unhappiness, illness or even violence occur in the history of that place or it could be that an argument or violent incident has only recently taken place. Can you remember entering a room after two people have been arguing or after some other negative social situation? The term ‘you could cut the atmosphere with a knife’ refers to an atmosphere heavy with negative and hostile energy. In this situation the energy has been left behind by the people – their words, actions, thoughts and intent.

In other situations, we may enter an area that has a vibrant and happy atmosphere which lifts our spirits. Many people who have been house hunting for a home to buy or rent will relate to sensing a different energy at each house they visited. Besides the physical features of the house, the energy present will often be a big determinant on whether we decide a particular house could become our home or not. Some houses have that special homely feeling. Others may fit our physical requirements but we feel there is something just not right.

The energy of a place builds up over time and contains the history of events and feelings that have gone before. This could occur over months, years or thousands of years. The Aboriginal people of Australia attach legends and beliefs to certain physical places. Some places are ‘no go’ areas as certain spirits reside there that are dangerous and terrible things can occur to people who venture into that place. Other places are only for men or only for women and the opposite gender must not go there. Some places are visited by both genders and are special meeting places. It is possible to feel this energy as you travel to certain places in Australia. In many places the feeling is very powerful.

One such place is a site called ‘the Cathedral’ at one of Australia’s National Parks, Carnarvon Gorge. My friends and I climbed a ladder up to a rock ledge and then walked through a small and narrow rock canyon. On emerging from the other side of the passageway we came across a large opening protected by huge rock faces all around which formed a circular cathedral-like area. On entering the Cathedral I felt an intense sense of reverence like I was entering a sacred zone where it would be rude to even utter a sound. There was a peacefulness in the atmosphere that made me want to sit down and absorb the silence. I noticed that my two friends, who had been engrossed in conversation, stopped talking just after entering the Cathedral and they were also walking carefully and looking around as if in awe. The feeling was intense. I was told later by the Park Ranger that there is no available information about the significance that particular place had to the Aboriginal people. The information may not have been available in a written or verbal form but it certainly was there, in the atmosphere, the soil, the walls. The energy indicated great significance, and was probably like many such sites in Australia, due to thousands or tens of thousands of years of special meetings in this particular place.

Some may relate to sensing this feeling of reverence in churches or other buildings of sacred ceremony. A similar situation occurs on a much smaller scale when we put aside a place in our home for meditation, ritual, relaxation or other peaceful activity. We can create areas of good feeling, harmony and peace in our home by continually using a particular room or area in the same way. Relaxation and peace then comes more readily to us when we are in an area that has been set aside for such activities as meditation, reading a novel or sleeping. Many people go so far as having specific rules about what activities take place in different rooms of their house such as ‘no work related reading in the bedroom’. This is because a different level of concentration and a different energy is required for technical or work related reading and this is not necessarily conducive to the tranquil energy that most of us desire for the room in which we sleep.

There are many other ways we can influence the energy in our own home including light, sound, colour, scent, plants, flowers and crystals to name just a few. These will be discussed in a separate article. Though, a very powerful way we can keep the atmosphere in each room of our home is by continually practicing the behaviour or activity that will be conducive to the purpose of the room and adding the emotion that we want to linger. Of course, there are some general feelings and energy we may want to persist in every room and area of our living space. A house filled with laughter, fun, love and happiness will radiate that back to the occupants and to everyone who visits.

Carolyn owns and runs Placid Moon New Age Products and Gifts. Placid Moon sells a range of products for increasing the harmony and peace in your home such as incense, smudge sticks, candles, pure essential oils, salt lamps and crystals. Placid Moon offers competitive pricing from a professional business. Visit today at www.placidmoon.com

Article Source: http://newagearticles.com

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Use Of Breathing Techniques In Reiki by Richard Johnson

 In Reiki, breathing techniques and methods are one of the devices used to help with a change of energy flow and healing. Learning the breathing techniques in Reiki is one of the first steps in knowing how to use the energy change process for healing. Reiki utilizes what they call deep breathing techniques. These techniques allow you to become more conscious of the chakras that are being accessed to promote healing. It also allows you to more easily tap into the universal energies.

The first type of breathing to utilize when practicing Reiki breathing is the short breath. This is how most people regularly breathe. It consists of breathing through the nose and feeling the upper part of the lungs before exhaling. You will want to recognize the inhaling as universal energy and exhaling as a release of negative energies. The second step in breathing is filling your lower body in the location of the stomach and diaphragm. When inhaling, you should notice your belly expanding. When you exhale, your stomach should shrink. This filling of your body in this way is considered to be a full breath that is often used in meditation. The third breathing technique includes picturing that you are filling your rib cage with air. This constitutes a complete full breath. When you are breathing completely, you should be filling first your lungs, then your diaphragm, and then allowing the breath to expand into your ribs. This will slow you down in order to allow you to call the universal energies with the help of deep breathing.

One aspect of the breathing technique in Reiki is imagining these breaths in relation to light. When inhaling, you should imagine a light filling your different chakras through the breath. With your mind and thoughts, you can move the light into any desirable area.This will help you start circulation of the various energies that have previously been blocked. Many people use these breathing techniques not only in Reiki, but also during various types of meditation. When concentrating on the breath, one is able to become in a more relaxed state. There will also be a change in one’s level of consciousness. In doing this, they will permit the universal energies to begin flowing through them, while using the Reiki technique.

The Reiki breathing techniques are most effective when practiced consistently and in a disciplined manner. When practicing Reiki outside of a group session or in the absence of a practitioner, the breath is the first step to enable a person to use Reiki techniques in healing. Knowing proper breathing techniques can greatly help to make the remainder of the Reiki process more fulfilling. Deep breathing is also good for you and beneficial for your mental state when practiced on a consistent basis. It encourages you to relax and remain in a healed state of mind, as well as balancing your body by utilizing your breath.

About the Author: Richard Johnson contributes to several well-known web magazines, on healthy living and health and wellness themes.

Article Source: http://newagearticles.com

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Frankincense and Myrrh by Carolyn Donnelly

Many associate frankincense and myrrh with the biblical story of the three wise men bringing gifts in honor of the birth of the baby Jesus. However, frankincense and myrrh were sacred scents to many cultures around the world long before the advent of Christianity. Originating in Arabia and Africa, the valuable properties of these scents have been recognized and utilized for both religious and non religious purposes for at least 5000 years. Modern science is only just beginning to investigate the health and medicinal benefits of frankincense and myrrh that have been documented in ancient medical texts from Egypt, Europe and India.

What is Frankincense and Myrrh?

Frankincense and myrrh are both aromatic resins that are collected to make perfume and incense. A resin is simply dried tree sap. Frankincense resin comes from trees of the genus Boswellia and Myrrh from the genus Commiphora. Both of these trees are found in eastern Africa, mostly Somalia and in Southern Arabia. Myrrh is a reddish colored resin with an oily consistency and a bitter taste. Frankincense has a yellow color and has a sweet taste.

The word ‘incense’ describes the aroma released with the smoke of any odoriferous substance when burnt. Frankincense is a French word meaning ‘pure incense’.

How are these incenses made?

Resin is collected by cutting or peeling back the tree’s bark. This causes the sap of the tree to ooze out from the cut. The sap emerges slowly and is allowed to dry on the tree where it hardens into yellow colored ’tears’. It takes around three months for the resin to acquire the right consistency. When ready, the ‘tears’ are scraped off the trunk of the tree. The resin is collected from the younger trees as they exude the most valuable resin. The trees probably produce the resins as a response to trauma, with the resin acting as a temporary dressing for damaged bark. A single tree may yield several kilograms of resin each year.

India and the Far East have always been the biggest exporters of the resins, and Europeans once referred to frankincense as ‘Indian incense’.

History

Both frankincense and myrrh have been prized by most of the great ancient civilizations around the world. The resin of both of these incenses has been collected for over 5000 years. Frankincense and myrrh were both once ranked along with gold, ivory, spices and textiles as valuable commodities for trade, reflecting the scarcity of these resins.

Both frankincense and myrrh were important resins for use in ceremony, religious and non-religious, as well as for use in medicine, beauty, and to warm and scent the home. The first documented use of these resins is from Egypt where both frankincense and myrrh were used for purification, which was achieved by standing over the burning incense. However, both resins were also used by the Chinese, Hindu, Bantu and Bactrian cultures where the incenses had religious significance.

Egyptian women used frankincense to enhance their beauty. They painted their eyelids with the black kohl made from charred frankincense. This resin was also melted and used as a hair removal product. Combined with other ingredients in a paste, frankincense was used as a perfume. In cold weather, the Egyptians burnt frankincense in a brazier (large metal container) to warm their rooms.

Early Egyptian legend describes frankincense as the ‘tears of Horus’, the god of the Sun and Moon. It is thought that the Egyptians came by both land and sea to collect these resins before 2000 BC and trade reached as far as Rome and China. Descriptions of this trade are detailed in later scripts of Greek, Roman and Indian authors. With domestication of the camel in 1100 BC, trade in frankincense and myrrh greatly increased as the camels could take the odiferous resins across the Arabian landscape.

Great quantities of these incenses were burnt at ceremonies. During the Roman rule these resins were demanded in tax from the people of Arabia for use in Roman ceremonies. In Jewish ceremony, frankincense is one of four ’sweet scents,’ and formed part of the meet offering. It was also presented with the shew-bread every Sabbath day. Religious use of incense was also common in ancient Persia, Babylon and Assyria. The incense was brought by the Arabs every year as a tribute to Darius, the King of Persia in the 5th Century. The Parsis, who fled Persia to escape persecution at the hands of Arab conquerors in the 8th Century, brought the resin with them to India. Modern Parsis of Western India still preserve the ritual of burning the incense. Christian churches adopted various uses for the incenses from preceding cultures.

Medicinal Uses

Frankincense and myrrh were commonly used throughout history as medicine. The Papyrus Ebers, the oldest preserved medical document that comes from Egypt around 1550, describes how the resins were used for mummification and for treating wounds and skin sores.

Historically, frankincense was taken orally as a stimulant. Early century healers used it as a cure for hemlock poisoning, tumors, ulcers, vomiting, dysentery and fevers. In China it is used for leprosy. Celsus, the author, presumed Roman, who lived around the turn of the current era compiled the most extensive medical encyclopedia of this time. His records recommend frankincense for treating wounds, bleeding, bruising and as a possible antidote to poisoning by hemlock.

During the 17th century, distillates of the resin, called the ‘oils of olibanum’, were popular among the surgeons, apothecaries and alchemists. Frankincense was used at this time to treat stomach ulcers and as an ointment for bruising. In India, people applied it to wounds and used it to treat rheumatism. Chinese healers incorporated it into remedies for bruises and infected sores, including those caused by leprosy. It was used in Kenya for dressing wounds and as a treatment for worms. English alchemists recommended frankincense to live a longer life.

Myrrh has been a versatile treatment for a variety of medical uses throughout history. The Indian myrrh, known as guggulu, is described in the ancient Ayurvedic texts as a medicine to ease the symptoms of coughs and chest infections and as an aid in weight loss. It was also used to treat rotten teeth by the early Sumerians and infections of the mouth teeth and eyes by the Greeks. The Greeks also suggested that myrrh could stop bad breath and protect against the plague. Myrrh was believed to have preservative qualities and was used to extend the shelf life of wine.

Turkish healers recommend myrrh as an aphrodisiac, and both frankincense and myrrh were recommended as protection against sorcery. Arabic doctors mixed myrrh with vinegar as a cure for baldness.

Use of myrrh for health and medical purposes in Europe goes back to the Celtic ‘leechdoms’, or healers, who recommended myrrh for healing wounds and coughs. In medieval times in England myrrh was used for nausea and diarrhea and to treat thrush. Myrrh was included as an ingredient in the Elixir of Vitriiol on all navy ships until 1795 to treat scurvy and was also used to treat hemorrhage. Myrrh and borax were also mixed together to produce a toothpaste during Victorian times.

Modern Uses

Incense is still used in churches around the world as part of religious ceremony. Christian churches in England use frankincense and myrrh mixed with additional ingredients to produce the desired scent. Pure frankincense and myrrh is presented by the Queen to commemorate the manifestation of Christ. The Parsees of northern India still use the resins in religious ceremonies: myrrh symbolizing self-denial, frankincense representing spirituality, and gold the wealth of humankind.

Many of the ancient traditions involving these incenses still exist. Frankincense and myrrh are still used by some modern Pagans in ritual and ceremony for purification and intensification of energies during meditation and ritual as well as for healing. The traditional medieval tradition of blessing a new bell by burning both myrrh and frankincense inside it still occurs today. Frankincense is still used in toiletries as a perfuming and hardening agent and myrrh is still used widely in throat lozenges and cough mixtures as well as in perfume.

Modern science has found that both frankincense and myrrh do indeed have many of the medicinal qualities that ancient traditions espoused. Biochemists have found myrrh contains a number of compounds that help to reduce inflammation and enhance the immune response. Eating resin or oil from guggulu has been found to lower levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood supporting the ancient belief that myrrh can assist in weight loss and perhaps extend the length of your life.

Frankincense and myrrh have both been found to have antiseptic, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties and so they make valuable dressings. Inhalation of steam laden with the oils of these resins has been found to result in dilation of the bronchii of the lungs. This may support the ancient recommendation that these resins can relieve the symptoms of bronchitis and other chest infections.

As with many of the ancient natural and herbal remedies, the application of which was once widespread, frankincense and myrrh is fairly absent on the prescription list of most modern doctors. This could be changing as the medicinal qualities of these two resins, like so many other natural remedies, are being explored by todays medical researchers. This wisdom, that has been handed down from our forefathers (and foremothers) and has continued in the realms of natural therapy and new age practices could soon become revived for mainstream medicine.

Carolyn owns Placid Moon, an online shop selling new age products and gifts. Placid Moon features a range of natural incense resins, including both Frankincense and Myrrh, at very reasonable prices. You will also find a range of incense sticks and cones in a variety of scents as well as stunning incense burners from hanging brass burner to large asian temple bowls. Visit our shop at www.placidmoon.com

Article Source: http://newagearticles.com

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The Eastern Way: How The Art Of Doing Nothing Improves Your Health by Laura Turner

 How can doing nothing help you? Here’s an example. During college, I always dreaded exams. Not because I didn’t study for them or feel confident that I’d learned the information, more that I’d decided I wasn’t a good “test-taker.” I wondered why everyone else seemed to get great grades without losing much sleep and why mine were mediocre and I’d stayed up later. “I want to be sure I’ve got all the information embedded solidly in my mind,” I told myself. Too, I had myself convinced, because I was more of a “right-brained” thinker, my creativity prevented me from doing exceptionally well on science based exams.

After observing my colleagues (the one’s I’d decided were simply gifted in test-taking) I’d decided to try something new. I would be as interactive as I could during class, then review what we’d discussed each evening. I would show up being mindful of the information, read the homework and highlight what I thought were the most important ideas. The next day I would do the same, then review my highlights from the day before. When it came time for the exam, I would review my notes thoroughly – one final time – then go to bed and rest. My grades immediately improved.

This made me think – how much of life is simply becoming mindful of our experiences? And how much emphasis am I placing on the “wrong” kinds of thinking? By convincing myself that I wasn’t a good test-taker, I’d simply talked myself out of getting the most I could from my experience.

With this in mind: Taoists offer help through Wu Wei. The term as they’ve defined it means “doing/not doing” or “action/non action.” Taoism teaches us that we need to take a significant amount of time doing nothing, to contemplate and to let nature show us the way. It’s the idea that less is more and to be fully present we must be the observers of our life, every day. It is, as author Diane Dreher reminds us in her book The Tao of Inner Peace , the way of harmonious action. I started by asking myself if I was really dialed in to my inner self at all times. To me, dialing in is a gut-level reaction to the circumstances at hand. It is taking a mind-ful approach to all of life and devoting a significant amount of time to finding your center. Here’s how.

Take Time To Do Nothing.

Take time each day to sit still for several minutes. Observe your breath. Use deep breaths (in through the nose and out through the nose) to bring the body into a state of peace. Studies have shown that nose breathing is both clarifying and invokes a calm in the body unlike any other exercise. When you reach a state of calm – focus on this feeling. Aim to “book mark” it as you would a webpage you enjoy or a phone number in your database. Choose an anchor – an idea, a word, a visual that can take you to this place, then attach the feeling to it.

Later when you are out in your day and in a place where stress shows up, you can easily reach your Tao space by invoking the anchor image in your mind, or creating a body motion that takes you to this state of peace. When stressed, you can always stop what you are doing and take several deep and cleansing nose breaths, as well.

Take Non-Action Vacations Throughout The Day.

When we slow down we can literally get more from the day. When we slow the body – the laws of nature bring us everything we need. Just as we invoke a sweat to cool us in the heat and shiver to warm us from the cold – our energy and the energetic flow of nature works its magic when we are in a peaceful state of mind.

Become Aware Of Your Actions.

This week as you move forward into your life, begin by being mindful. Aim to notice details that you usually overlook. When writing a fictional story, I use as many senses as I can: smell, taste, touch, and sight to enhance the reading experience. Try this yourself. Find something new on the same well-traveled route. If you practice staying focused this week, you should begin to find grounding in your lie. I think you’ll find this practice invokes joy, brings the heart to peace and makes your life feel like a new and exciting journey.

Taoist Affirmation

Today is my day to create
I trust, all that is mine will naturally flow to me.
I am tapped not the infinite source, infinite wisdom.
Personal peace is mine and is available to me – always.

I walk forward today, carefully, mindfully.
Today becomes part of my past, and my footprints become
first embedded then solidified.
I walk forward with confidence and in divine intention
knowing that I am an example – and leaving tracks
that lead toward home.

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

Article Source: http://newagearticles.com

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In ones life there is heartache and pain as well as love and joy. Heartache and pain are fueled by the embers in the closets of denial. Often the choice is made to travel on and not spend the time to look within to see not only what’s causing the many symptoms of reoccurring problems, but naturally, to make no consistent efforts to alleviate the problems.

Recycling bad habits year in and year out, often with false promises to oneself but needing to stop blaming the world of the past and get on with the evolution all have within. For 25 years I’ve had a quite incredible friend with innumerable undeveloped talents and qualities, however as time marches on with life’s challenges stacking up, she still bounces in and out of denial. All advice is acknowledged and, then ignored so, years ago, I stopped that method and just observe from a distance while being friendly.

In this case of my denial friend, her incredible qualities have created an ego that buries the embers of malfunction. Truth is, looks and personality have always made her a pied piper of sorts but, like from Homer’s The Iliad where the mermaid sirens sing from the rocks and crashing waves, the wayward sailors lose consciousness and, crash into the rocks. In her case, the sailors are fascinated males and females. Brains, beauty, personality and assets crash into the rocks with denial of the consciousness.

Denial is an unconscious way of thinking that covering up unresolved issues will result in less heartache and pain, unwisely. To see who one is, beyond the false self fueled by denial, one has to stop, examine what and why, and seek methods to move into love of self and, find out who one really is.

Love embedded in one’s being enables one to see beyond the smokes of fears and its consequences. The waves and winds of change for the sake of change can become the tranquility of peace with the choice of the sensitive attention of awareness. (Stream of consciousness)

Yesss Self Help Center
Arhata Osho
ArhataFreeSpeech@yahoo.com
310-880-2020
Port Townsend, Washington USA

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Everybody wants to feel love all the time but … many are not even sure what love is!

Fear is love repressed and in the dark – not developed yet, if you will. Total
love still knows fears but coupled with the mind, it may feel fears but feels love all around anyway.

Also, it knows not to repress love or even attempt to abort it as those do who never let love ‘in’ enough.

Fear is a protector and yet fear of closeness of love is a popular misuse of love. We need common sense fears as guidelines in the many aspects of life including survival. To ‘shut down’ or destroy the receipt of love is an abomination with strong karmic implications if never addressed.

Love in its deep, unexplored depths can be for most, frightening and scary with pains and hurts that incite one to ‘pull back’ and unfortunately miss the beauty that was coming.
In a way, it’s like the birth of a new born child, rarely is pain not experienced in the
birthing process.

Love too, for those new to deeper love and unknowingly filled with years of loneliness or lack of deep love, will need to reach deep and surrender as love awaits the letting go necessary.

Love only hides and never disappears. It’s always there, and there is nothing to really lose.
Only the fearful mind playing its defensive tricks, keeps it from the path of flowering.
With couples, usually fear of love meets another fear of love and neither has the skill to
know how to rise above it. Fear of love is a certainty for hurt, pain and perhaps an illusory
loss that might be unrecoverable from.

Love’s unfulfilled graves fill the earth when the dawning of love meets fear of the lightness of being which stimulates the mind to fall back into the uneasy comfort of darkness.
Love may take courage! Love brings many freedoms, and one of them is the freedom from paralyzing false fears that “scared love” brings. Be brave in the heart!

Yesss Self Help Center
Arhata Osho
ArhataFreeSpeech@yahoo.com
310-880-2020
Port Townsend, Washington USA

http://www.freedomofspeech.netfirms.com/

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No Beginnning-No End by Arhata Osho

When the carnival in the brain stops and time is no more, conscious love is there for ever more.  No one can know that moment unless finding their true selves beyond thought, in that moment. Freedom is realized from all the mind has ever conjured up.  Everything merges into ʽoneʼ yet, outside of the ʽonenessʼ, itʼs a secret hidden, from others being unconscious, in plain sight.  One walks into the world consumed by the ʽcarnivalʼ of ʽPandora’s box.

To be conscious of the bliss of consciousness is to see who one is.  All beliefs and philosophies become seen as mere ʽintellectual escapismʼ from the truth.  To empty the mind of the ʽcarnivalʼ and, fill the heart, is to be immersed in the invisible, quiet swirl where all but the rare, are left as mannequins in the window, never moving regardless of change over time. 

Not to lose sight of consciousness is to be the observer of the observed.  It is the folly of the rare moments of consciousness to drift away like clouds in the sky.  When the ʽglimpseʼ becomes a deep imprint, some unexplainable treasure always remains only waiting for the consciousness of the conscious. Each day becomes a clear day inspite of lifeʼs clouds and storms.

That moment of awakening merges into every moment thereafter.  The darkness of life disappears into the dawning of an endless series of new moments void of the confines of the attachment to lifeʼs tragedies of the inner roadblocks to the joyʼs that are always there for everyone.  Time and itʼs ʽillusionʼ transcends into the awareness of love, which knows no limits of space and time.

Freedom and love, come through the door of consciousness.  The door is always open waiting for the seeker to find and, leave the ʽcarnivalʼ at the door.

Yesss Self Help Center Est. 1991
ArhataFreeSpeech@yahoo.com
310 880-2020
Port Townsend, Washington USA
Copyright November 16, 2008
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Six Types Of Meditation by Steve Gillman

 There are so many different types of meditation. How many? Who knows, but enough so that you can find the one that’s right for you. To get your search started, here are six types of meditation you can try.

1. Breath watching. Can meditating be as simple as paying attention to your breath for a few minutes? You bet. Relax in whatever position works best for you, close your eyes and start to pay attention to your breathing. Breathing through your nose gets your diaphragm involved and gets oxygen all the way to the bottom of your lungs. As your mind wanders, just re-focus your attention on the air going in and out of your nose. Just do this for several minutes, or longer as you get used to it.

2. An empty mind meditation. Meditating can create a kind of “awareness without object,” an emptying of all thoughts from your mind. The techniques for doing this involve sitting still, often in a “full lotus” or cross-legged position, and letting the mind go silent on its own. It can be difficult, particularly since any effort seems to just cause more business in the mind.

3. Walking meditations. This one gets the body involved. It can be outside or simply as a back and forth pacing in a room. Pay attention to the movement of your legs and breathing and body as you walk, and to the feeling of your feet contacting the ground. When your mind wanders, just keep bringing it back to the process of walking and breathing. Meditating outside in this way can be difficult because of the distractions. If you do it outside, find a quiet place with level ground.

4. Mindfulness meditation. A practice Buddhists call vipassana or insight meditation, mindfulness is the art of becoming deeply aware of what is here right now. You focus on what’s happening in and around you at this very moment, and become aware of all the thoughts and feelings that are taking your energy from moment to moment. You can start by watching your breath, and then move your attention to the thoughts going through your mind, the feelings in your body, and even the sounds and sights around you. The key is to watch without judging or analyzing.

5. Simple mantra meditation. Many people find it easier to keep their mind from wandering if they concentrate on something specific. A mantra can help. This is a word or phrase you repeat as you sit in meditation, and is chosen for you by an experienced master in some traditions. If you are working on this alone, you can use any word or phrase that works for you, and can choose to either repeat it aloud or in your head as you meditate.

6. Meditating on a concept. Some meditative practices involve contemplation of an idea or scenario. An example is the “meditation on impermanence,” in which you focus on the impermanent nature of all things, starting with your thoughts and feelings as they come and go. In the Buddhist “meditation on the corpse,” you think about a body in the ground, as it slowly rots away and is fed on by worms. The technique is used to guide you to an understanding that your rationalizing mind might not bring you to.

There are many other meditations you can try, such as the “meditation on loving-kindness” or “object” meditation, and even meditating using brain wave entrainment products. Each type has its own advantages and effects. For this reason, you may find that at different times and for different purposes you want to use several different types of meditation.

About the Author: Steve Gillman has meditated and studied meditation for over twenty years. You can find a good mindfulness exercise and subscribe to The Meditation Newsletter at; http://www.TheMeditationSite.com

Article Source: http://newagearticles.com

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