The Power of Rites of Passage

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Today, the importance associated with ritual rites of passage is on the decline. We often celebrate birthdays, weddings and other cultural occasions, but pay very little attention to the ways in which these events may mean more than simply an opportunity for festivity and drinking beer. Many of our cultural celebrations are in fact rites of passage, with a much deeper transformational meaning both symbolically and literally.

What is a rite of passage?

Rites of passage are often known as liminal spaces, that is, they usher an old state of being into a new state of being. The concept of liminality was first conceived of within the field of anthropology and was used to explain rites of passage which carried children into adulthood. In the Xhosa culture in South Africa, boys are ritually circumcised, after which they must live alone for several weeks in the wilderness. This rite is performed to signify the transition from boyhood to manhood.

However, rituals such as these are more than merely symbolic – they are considered to have real transformational power. The enactment of these rites doesn’t just represent your transition to a new state of being, but they actually and factually transform you. This idea was taken up in the field of psychology and is known as individuation.

Individuation process

Individuation refers to the process whereby a person becomes a psychologically separate unity or whole. For example, a baby starting to realize that it is not one and the same with its mother, but rather that it exists as a separate being. Therefore, whether one regards the liminal space as an important part of rites of passage on a collective anthropological level or individual psychological level, it performs the same function. The liminal space acts as a passage from a prior state of being into a new state of being. It is a space in which personality and agency can be shaped unrestricted by fixed ways of being.

How modern rites of passage have changed

Marriage is a rite of passage still practiced in most societies, but it is often reduced to a stressful box-ticking exercise that ends in a couple living together. This cannot be regarded as a rational reduction given the sky-rocketing divorce rates that we see today. The sentiment that true love does not need ceremonies seems to ignore the deeper wisdom that more ancient cultures afforded to liminal rites of passage.

The reason why we reduce the importance of rites of passage today is that we value objectively verifiable fact over subjective experiences. The transformational power of rites of passage is a subjective truth as it can only be verified through experience. A couple may report that their relationship feels different after the performance of a marriage ceremony, but this is not something that can be proven. Therefore, we tend to disregard it. Our “rational” approach to life runs the risk of ignoring the transformation potential of experience in liminal situations.

The idea that rites of passage can be truly transformational experiences may encourage us to look more deeply into the rituals we perform in our lives. We may be prompted to examine our actions and the meaning attached to them more carefully, rather than moving through these processes hollowly and without pause. So, the next time an important occasion is on the horizon, take some time to really feel it and the potential it has to change your life.

 

Save The World With A Smile

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No matter how much of a free thinker you are, it is impossible to escape the structures placed upon you through which you have come to know about the world.  The way in which society expects us to live is strongly influential and it powerfully impacts our idea of what constitutes as a “good” life. Cultural norms run deep, affecting our perceptions and choices in ways which we are often unaware.

Feeling the pressure of today’s society

Our societal milieu is outcomes and performance based. There is a constant pressure to be the best, to outdo your neighbor and to win at all costs. We are told that if we do not maintain this competitive edge we will fail at life. Therefore we strive to be the cleverest, the thinnest and the fastest. Consequently, we have become a society of manipulative and conniving beings. This way of being borders on the sociopath, as the only bottom line we look out for is ourselves, while treating everyone else as collateral damage.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S. affecting around 40 million adults. In 2012, an estimated 16 million adults had at least one major depressive episode within the year. Clearly we are not coping with the pressure and not only are we harming others in our quest to the best, we are also harming ourselves. Moreover, we are destroying the planet and all the natural resources we depend upon for survival. It isn’t difficult to see that this mind set is not serving us well. It doesn’t take a genius to look around and to see that that our “win at all costs” attitude is actively helping us to fail. So why do we continue to cling so tightly to it?

At the core of our nature, we are social creatures. Human beings have a deep need for acceptance and belonging, which is very difficult to overcome. Those who speak out against the evils of the world tend to be ostracized. This is one of the deepest human fears – rejection. So while we try to sculpt our lives to match our individuality as best we can, we still ultimately march to the beat of society’s drum, however faint.

So what’s the answer?

Awareness is always a good place to start. Take note the next time your hand feels forced or you feel ‘there is no other way’. What societal expectation is in play? You may not be able to change anything, but at least you are no longer an automaton or a sheep blindly following the flock. You are aware and as soon as you become aware, you start becoming more responsible. Maybe next time you’re faced with an impossible choice, you will identify room for compromise. Perhaps avenues you hadn’t considered will start to appear.

The truth, the real truth, worth repeating over and over again, is that all our decisions come down to a choice between love and fear. We fear being excluded so maybe the answer is to begin to include others. We fear rejection, so maybe we should focus instead on acceptance. We fear the fear itself, so maybe we should begin to practice compassion. This may not solve all our problems, but it reminds us that change happens one small step at a time. Never underestimate the power of a single smile or a small act of kindness. It is the only place to start.

 

Woman as Healer: Shamans, Midwives and Priestesses

silkscreened ladySince the beginning of human civilization women healers honored and observed the sacred cycles of nature, time, and spirit. Women healers served their communities through midwifery, spiritual healing, nutritional and herbal healing, massage, hands on healing, prayer, ritual, dance, song, music, toning, and dreaming. Wise women healers offered healing support for their communities through ceremony and nurturing care from birth to death, from “womb to tomb”.

The healing ways of women have been demonstrated in every culture around the globe by traditional women healers, herbalists, and midwives. Women have been practicing the arts of midwifery and healing for thousands of years. In earlier human culture, women healers were honored for their sacred feminine healing arts. In times of oppression, patriarchal religions have targeted women healers and midwives.

Women have always gathered together during times of hardship, illness, menstruation, and birthing. In traditional cultures around the globe, female healers are an integral part of the community, and arose out of the community of women, through gaining experience and respect. Traditional midwives learn their healing craft from elder women in the community, often a mother, grandmother, aunt, or neighbor, thus weaving a web of women’s wisdom that connects the community of women and holds together the whole tribe of men, women, and children.

The traditional female healer blends knowledge of herbs and midwifery with cultural and cosmological beliefs. The interweaving of art, science, and spirituality creates a holistic model of care that nurtures and empowers the body, mind, and spirit. There are women healers and midwives from every culture around the world. She is known as the village healer, priestess, herbalist, midwife, wise woman, or shaman. She is the South African sangoma, the Hispanic curandera, the South Asian dai and Dyamaju, the Mayan granny healer, the Appalachian granny midwife, the French sagefemme, the Japanese samba, and the Polish babka.

Midwifery is the healing art of being ‘with woman’ and healers of the sacred feminine are the true midwives. Women’s healing arts are founded upon a deep connection to nature and an honoring of the human body. Women’s sexuality is valued as a healing, empowering, vital, and integral power. It is time for all humans to awaken to the experience that we are co-creators of our life, reality, and universe. Each thought, feeling, action, intention, and prayer you make influences your world, your health, your body, your children, and your planet. We are all part of one world, one universal womb, one universal family, and each breath we take is a biodynamic interchange with the holographic matrix of living energy.

The time is now to spiral to the next stage of evolution, beyond procreation of humanity and nature vs. nurture. It is now the age of co-creation with nature, spirit, love, and consciousness for the birth of a new paradigm of healing, birthing, living, and learning.

 

Seeds For Meditation ~ On Worrying and Compulsive Thinking ~ Alan Watts

Every so often, we need an angry voice to speak its truth to power and shake us up in the process.  Sometimes, we need the dissatisfaction of others to understand what justice actually is. If you feel lost in the mire of helplessness and distraction that defines much of popular culture, watch this video.

The Importance of Mindfulness In Children — by Carolyn Gregoire

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“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”  ~ Benjamin Franklin


While meditation practices are usually associated with adults, there is a growing movement focused on implementing mindfulness practices to optimize the health, well-being and happiness of children. From helping kids thrive in school, to being an effective intervention with autism, to even serving kids that are suffering from cancer and other serious health conditions, meditation is showing that it can have a significant long-term positive affect on child development.

In the growing conversation around mindfulness, we’re constantly hearing about meditation in the workplace and tech CEOs who swear by the practice. But less attention is being paid to the quietly growing movement for mindfulness in the family, and the use of meditation to optimize the health, well-being and happiness of children.

It’s not just adults that can stand to benefit from cultivating a focused awareness on the present moment. Research is beginning to shed light on the power of mindfulness as an intervention for a number of behavioral challenges that children face. We’re also starting to recognize that mindfulness practices could be beneficial for children for the same reasons it helps adults, contributing to reduced stress, improved sleep quality and heightened focus.

At increasingly younger ages, kids are facing higher levels of stress, and it may be taking a significant toll on their health. Stressful events in childhood can increase the risk of developing health problems as an adult, but the impact may hit much earlier. A recent University of Florida study found that stressful events can impact a child’s health and well-being almost immediately, and can contribute to the development of physical and mental health problems and learning disabilities.

Sonia Sequeira, Ph.D., a clinical researcher specialized in Investigational Therapies and director of the Institute for Meditation Sciences, has been practicing yoga and meditation for nearly 20 years, and has practiced with her own children for years. Now in her work as a mindfulness researcher, she’s brought contemplative practices to children ages 3-18 who are struggling with autism, cancer, and other physical and mental health problems. Currently, she’s using meditation and chanting to help relieve pain in children with cancer.

It may seem like a tall order to ask your kid to meditate — given that it can be a struggle just to get a child to sit down or eat breakfast — but Sequeira insists that in her years of working with children, she’s found just the opposite.

“There’s an initial resistance, which I think is cultural, and usually it occurs in the presence of the parent,” Sequeira told The Huffington Post. “But it extinguishes very quickly. Teaching mindfulness to children has always been the easiest for me because there’s no set patterns, or at least they’re not set in stone yet. With adults its much more difficult.”

Learning mindfulness practices — including meditation, breathing exercises, yogaasana (postures) and chanting — can have a significant long-term affect on a child’s development.

“[In my research], what really mattered was finding practical tools that were not an on-off or intermittent practice for children, but something they could really grow with and that could affect their physiology as they grow from their young childhood into adolescence,” says Sequeira.

Here’s proof that children need mindfulness just as much as adults do.

 

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Mindfulness can help kids to thrive at school.

Most of the research on mindfulness for children has been conducted in the school setting. Recent studies have shown school mindfulness programs to be effective in reducing symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety among secondary-school children for up to six months after the program. Such programs can also help students focus during exams, as well as reducing stress and boosting happiness among high school students.

Susan Kaiser Greenland, author of The Mindful Child, is one of increasingly many parents fighting for a “mindful revolution in education,” explaining mindfulness programs can aid kids in developing good habits that will help make them happier and more compassionate.

More and more of these programs are beginning to crop up. The Mindful Moment program in Maryland high schools has students start and end each day with a 15-minute yoga and meditation session, and provides a mindfulness room available for personal use throughout the day. The program aims to reduce stress among students and teachers, and to increase four-year graduation rates.


It can be an effective intervention for autism.

Recent research, conducted by Sequeira and colleagues and published in the journal Autism Research and Treatment, has suggested that meditation has a great deal of potential as a treatment option for children with autism.

“Meditation is one of a few interventions that have been shown to effectively strengthen self-control and character development simultaneously,” the researchers write in a report. “There is much to be gained by exploring meditation as a strategy to override impaired brain synchronicity and debilitating symptoms arising in early years of persons with autism.”

In autism and many other psychological imbalances, the connecting thread is a lack of rhythm, says Sequeira. There’s a challenge of balancing the inner and outer world, and this can distort relationships and interactions with others. In the case of autism, environmental cues become so augmented that the child shuts down from the world to protect themselves. Mantra meditation in particular (a type of meditation that involves the repetition of a word or sound) can help restore a sense of rhythm.

“When you create internal rhythm, there’s a harmonizing and balancing effect,” explains Sequeira. “It facilitates communication, incubation of thoughts… it tells you that you’re in a safe environment and there’s no threat.” “It truly is a top-to-bottom response, and with the children, it restores a natural ability to respond inside to rhythm.”

Children with autism respond well to mantra because it facilitates response, she says.


It can help kids with ADD and ADHD

Being mindful is, at its core, the ability to sustain a focused awareness on the present moment, and practicing mindfulness has been proven to help boost our powers of focus and attention. And it may be just as effective for children as it is for adults.

A 2011 study published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies demonstrated the effectiveness of an eight-week mindfulness program for children ages 8-12 with ADHD, along with a mindful parenting program for their parents. The researchers found that the program reduced parent-reported ADHD behavior. It also increased mindful awareness among both parents and children, and reduced parental stress.

Such programs may be a highly effective intervention either alongside or in the place of traditional ADD and ADHD medications, which come with side effects and may lose their effectiveness over time.

“There are no long-term, lasting benefits from taking A.D.H.D. medications,” James M. Swanson, a psychologist at the University of California, Irvine, told the New York Times. “But mindfulness seems to be training the same areas of the brain that have reduced activity in A.D.H.D… “That’s why mindfulness might be so important. It seems to get at the causes.”


It can help children with cancer and other serious health conditions

Sequeira has been hard at work for over a year now on a pilot program bringing mantra meditation to children with cancer as a way to reduce pain. While the study is still underway and the results have not yet been finalized, she’s seen an overwhelming positive reaction from both the children and their parents.

“Frequently the children remark that they want to continue beyond the time that’s scheduled, even beyond the point where they had heightened pain,” says Sequeira. “They wanted us to stay there chanting with them for a while. Parents from all over the world speaking different languages are united by mantra that doesn’t have a language meaning but that touches their heart. They felt an enormous sense of peace and did feel that they were contributing to the healing of their children.”

The kids Sequeira works with at Sloan-Kettering also use what she calls a “worrywart waste basket,” in which they make a practice of writing down their concerns on a piece of paper and throwing them away. “They know to do that, and to chant and resolve some of the tension that arises,” says Sequeira.

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A mindful family upbringing encourages children to self-actualize

Mindful parenting, as defined by Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction founder Jon Kabat-Zinn, consists of “paying attention to your child and your parenting in a particular way: intentionally, here and now, and non-judgmentally.” As Sequeira puts it, creating a mindful family is about “healing the environment and healing the relationships.”

To begin to create a more mindful family and incorporate mindfulness into their children’s lives, parents can start with a daily meditation, yoga or breathing practice. Family dinners can also become mindful by not allowing phones at the table and having a moment of gratitude for the food. Even simple things like positive affirmations and encouraging children to think before they speak can foster an environment of calmness, presence and compassion.

“A child is imprinted with many influences… and all of this shapes a personality” says Sequeira. “When there’s a mindfulness approach to living, it ultimately becomes the personality of the child to truly manifest and become who they are — not trying to become a doctor or a lawyer, but trying to discover their gifts. At the same time, it allows the parents to wean themselves from this very analytical, competitive, linear thinking in life, trying to carry children towards certain goals, which ultimately is stressful for the parent.”

This “group healing,” says Sequeira, will hopefully one day become the basis for a more mindful society.

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Syndicated from huffingtonpost.com, Sep 21, 2014

 

Zen Habits To Improve Your Focus

morning lotusLack of focus is a serious worldwide problem in this age of multiple distractions: multi-tasking and constant connectivity. Call it the other edge of the double-edged sword of technology. With the explosion of technology and communication, humans, always a social species, have scaled new peaks of virtual social interactions – from phones to electronic mails to instant chats to the ever-mushrooming web-based social sharing platforms. With uninterrupted 24×7 reach to technology we mostly lack some quiet time with our own selves.

In such a scenario, it’s hardly surprising to see a lack of focus becoming a common problem. But one can beat this challenge of lack of focus by applying some simple Zen habits.

Zen philosophy of inner calm
Let us first understand what Zen means. Zen stands for inner peace, focus, emotional balance, and happiness that emanates from within. It emphasizes on what it terms as the ‘Buddha-nature’ and its expression in every act of one’s daily life as opposed to philosophies that stress on doctrines and rituals.

Over the years, Zen practices have gained immense global appreciation for their effectiveness in clearing away mental distractions and winning back lost focus. Zen habits are based on quieting inner turmoil and focusing on the task at hand with silence and determination.
Let’s take a look at some Zen habits that improve your ability to focus:

Eliminate Distractions
Before setting out on any important task, resolutely eliminate all distraction. Nothing great can be achieved till you give it your complete attention. So, put your phone on silent, shut down unnecessary browser windows and tabs, close your doors and immerse yourself in the job. Not only will you get good results but you’ll also most certainly complete the said task within shorter time duration than you would have in the presence of distracting elements like text pings, e-mail notifications, television noises from the adjoining room, etc.

Practice silence and meditation
If you’ve been constantly struggling with regaining focus, start practicing silence and meditation every day. The best times are usually early morning or right before going to bed in the evening. In this way, you would cut out the worries of the daily chores lined up for the day and struggling with each other for your attention. You should also take out sometime when you’ll be your only company. A lot of people prefer to go out on nature walks, where they spend some time amidst natural beauty and quiet. Again early morning hours in a public garden or your own terrace could be the perfect time and place for such an activity.

Focus on your breath
Just before undertaking anything important, retire to a quiet corner and take a few moments to focus on your breathing. Breathe in and out slowly, concentrating on each inhalation and exhalation. Do this for two to five minutes. This will instantly calm your mind and increase your focus.

Don’t lose sight of the target
A famous Zen story talks about a Zen master’s lesson to his students on the importance of never losing sight of one’s target in order to score a hit. As the anecdote goes, the Zen master would never miss a single target. One day, he summoned his students and asked them to cover his eyes with a cloth. With his vision blocked, he aimed at the target and missed it. The students were surprised to see their master miss. The Zen master then told them that what he wanted to convey to them though that exercise was the importance of always having one’s sight on one’s goals for success.

So, whenever you feel your focus shifting from your target, take some quiet time to realign and reassert your goals to yourself. If needed, write them down on paper and pin it up where you can see them often.

Go for calming walks
Often in the midst of difficult and time consuming assignments, you can feel our mind beginning to drift away. This is a cue for you to take a break right then to relax your mind and pump up some energy. A good way would be to go for a walk. A walk will increase your heart rate, clear away your mind as you focus on the repetitive motion of your legs, up your alertness, and also give you the time to internally mull on the problem in a stress-free environment.

Begin your day with yoga and exercise
Yoga and exercise have a way of calming your mind. The Zen philosophy says that there’s a lot of pent up energy in the body. If we lead a sedentary life, this accumulated energy tries to find a way out by channelizing our minds towards fruitless, distracting thoughts and pursuits like aimless internet surfing, repetitive chat session with friends or simply loitering around and dissipating our energy and focus. On the other hand, a good invigorating yoga and exercise session in the morning will set your mind straight and channelize your body’s energy is a positive direction, helping you stay focused all day long.

Paradigm Shift ~ On Having and Giving

Why do those with less always give more? This video shows what generosity truly is. When asked if they would share their food and money, those who can afford it say no. While those who desperately need what they have will gladly give it away. A bittersweet look at the human spirit.

Paradigm Shift ~ Make Your Workplace A Happy Place

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Happiness is more than just a bubble-gum outlook on life, but instead revolves around finding meaning in whatever we are doing, and bringing the intention with us everyday to do what we do well. Using mindfulness and meditation time helps bring those intentions to the foreground of your mind, and can significantly improve your ability to stay calm and communicate better with your co-workers, improving your relationships and your overall feeling about your job.

When you prioritize happiness in the present moment, you see this incredible ripple effect in the future in terms of your levels of success and connectedness to others. The bottom line, using mindful actions and the intention to be happy at work, can improve your performance and help you enjoy your job and be more successful too!

“There are five key researched habits we recommend people try practicing to improve their happiness at work,” explained Michelle Gielan of Good Think Inc., in an interview (http://youtu.be/JbywKN0wrko?list=UUAP3YnM3zDBh3fi8jUJZQCQ). She recommends:

Counting Gratitude – Write down three new and unique things your grateful for each day. This will help train your brain to constantly scan your environment looking for new and good things.

Journaling – Each day spend two minutes writing down everything you can remember about the most meaningful moment you’ve had in the last 24 hours. Relive this moment in detail noting down what you saw, heard and felt. By really savoring this experience you can essentially double the number of meaningful moments in your day.

Mindful Activity – Spend 15 minutes each day exercising. Studies suggest this can be the equivalent of taking an anti-depressant. (http://www.unc.edu/peplab/publications/Fredrickson%201998.pdf)

Commit A Conscious Act Of Kindness – Reach out to someone new and different each day in your social circle by taking two-minutes to praise or thank them by email or phone. This activates your social network and reminds your brain of the support you have around you. This is particularly helpful on more stressful days at work.

Attention Training – Practice taking your hands off your keyboard and for two minutes just watch your breath go in and out. This trains your brain to have laser-like focus on one activity when you return to your work, rather than slipping into a multi-tasking mindset that wears you out and slows you down.

“Try each of these brain training approaches for positivity for at least 21 days to get started, but persist with whatever works best for you to build the neural wiring that supports these behaviors through both the good and challenging times at work,” suggests Michelle. “Have patience it does take time.”

Paradigm Shift ~ Here Comes Multidimensional Light and Earth Changes That Cognitive Dissonance Can’t Stop

erupting volcanoTHE EARTH CHANGES AND ASCENSION ॐ

At present, Earth and the Solar System is undergoing a major transformation process and acceleration of the evolution and rising of the vibration and consciousness of mankind. Earth is in a period of great transition to the 5th dimension. The new cosmic energies affect everything on earth and especially people who have now the opportunity and the chance to choose the reality that they want for them. It is a time of choice that is made in the heart and soul of each man. The Ascension of the planet and man is primarely a process, not an event for a day or year.

Accepting the exterior and interior changes with intention of raising vibration and consciousness and their Light and Love quotient, the mankind will be able to go through these changes to a new evolutionary stage of their existence on Earth. This requires a sincere desire and love light in our mind, heart and soul. It requires a solid foundation of inner balance to safely navigate these large and important changes.

Because of this evolutionary acceleration and increase of the vibration, the flow of time changes from a linear to a non-linear flow of time and to a permanent now moment.

The changes generally can produce fear and anxiety. It is important to learn to live with love, trust and joy. Love is the antidote to fear and also the key to entry into the New Earth and the New Energy.

It is not the end of the world or a time of destruction, even if humanity has passed very close to it. It is the end of an old energy and a system of things that will simply not work in the new energy and vibrancy and it is a beginning of a new cycle of cosmic evolution. It is a time when we must release the old energies of the past and karmic baggage of the 3rd dimension in the minimum percentage of 51% to continue our existence on the new Earth. Every soul is going through a period of cleansing and balancing of old karma because mankind is entering a period of great evolutionary acceleration.

It is an opportunity for graduation, renewal and of progress for the entire humanity. For this we need the unconditional love and forgiveness, openness of mind and heart, joy and passion for raising the vibration of thoughts and our being, of inner work and preparation. The physical body and the body cells and human DNA will be able to be transformed in this Ascension in a crystalline body. For this we must cooperate actively with the Ascension without opposing resistance. Resistance is primarily due to ego built on illusion and separation.

There are different “Ascension symptoms” which are actually signs of transformation in our bodies and their resistance to change. We need to incorporate enough Light in the body so that we would evolve into a higher being in the crystalline Light body. This requires preparation, personal effort and firm intention to work at three levels of our being: physical, psychological and spiritual. To achieve Heaven on Earth all three levels are necessary and essential.

Earth is heading towards Paradise which was at the beginning and from which humanity has fallen gradually in the ethereal density of the third dimension. All souls living on earth today, even if they does not remember consciously, chose before coming into this life to be here now.

It’s a great opportunity given by Divine decree and dispensation to pass along with the Earth in the 5th dimension beyond the duality and struggle of opposites and potentially free us from the cycle of incarnations in the 3-dimensional density. Everyone must discover the truth and follow his heart. Not that which is being said by one or another is important but especially what your heart has to tell you, because everyone has his own particular way.

Fortunately there is much help now provided to mankind and Earth. If you ask for divine help to Ascension, you will receive it. There is help from God, Light beings, angels and Ascended Masters who work “behind the scenes” for the good of mankind and planet Earth. It is more important than ever to ask for this help for without asking they cannot interfere with our free will. Ask and it will be given onto you, knock and it shall be opened onto you, seek and you shall find.

In coming years there will be many events, we will see and hear many unusual things, will be confusion and even chaos, but inner balance, Light and peace must be found and maintained.

The beginning of big transformations was marked by the winter solstice in 2012 when begins a new era of Light and Love, but they will continue with even greater intensity in the next 12 or 20 years, when, because of events and combination of exceptional cosmic alignments (Precession, the Solar System crossing the galactic plane and Galactic Center alignment, Photon Belt, the maximum solar activity), the Earth and mankind will have the possibility of a unique and unprecedented evolutionary leap. Light is growing right now. The Light exceeded the 50% threshold, being more powerful than the darkness that dominated the Earth so far.

Also the feminine energies will equal masculine energies, restoring balance to all levels including the cerebral hemispheres of man. Earth has long been and is still in quarantine. It is a birth of a New World, of a New everything, and that birth must be safeguarded. The quarantine is lifted. It will draw the curtain and contact with the Galactic Federation will officially become a reality for all mankind. Galactic Federation comprises a large number of civilizations with a high degree of development of consciousness.

Many people wonder how possibly can begin an era of love and Light when what we see and hear around us every day on all news channels, seems to prove otherwise. During the choosing or preparation time which we live, this is mandatory and inevitable. There is a pressure that pushes all that is hidden to surface, as all that stood up in individual and collective unconscious now to be put on the table for us to see, evaluate and choose. Absolutely none of those living on earth today is exempt from this assessment and choice whether we are fully aware of it or not.

Not all feel the changes and the energies in the same way; the change symptoms affect some more than others. It is therefore important that in these special times we live, each to be connected with his soul, to discover and follow the truth that resonates with in his heart.

Part 1. The Power of Oneness in Love ॐ

Part 2. Transcendental Ascension ॐ

Part 3. Divine Keys of Universal Ascension ॐ

Part 4. Forming of the New Consciousness ॐ

Part 5. The Great Earth ॐ

Part 6. Power of Great in Small ॐ

Part 7. Gifts of the New Consciousness ॐ

Part 8. Celestial Belfry ॐ

Part 9. Sounding Consciousness of the Universe ॐ


Peace and Aloha to a New Earth for EveryONE ॐ

 

What Is Wrong With Our Culture? ~ Alan Watts

Why is it that we don’t seem to be able to adjust ourselves to the physical environment without destroying it? Why is it that in a way this culture represents in a unique fashion the law of diminishing returns? That our success is a failure.

That we are building up – in other words an enormous technological civilization which seems to promise the fulfillment of every wish almost at the touch of a button. And yet as in so many fairy tales when the wish is finally materialized, they are like fairy gold, they are not really material at all. In other words, so many of our products, our cars, our homes, our clothing, our food; It looks as if it were really the instant creation of pure thought; that is to say it’s thoroughly insubstantial, lacking in what the connoisseur of wine calls body.

And in so many other ways, the riches that we produce are ephemeral. And as the result of that we are frustrated, we are terribly frustrated. We feel that the only thing is to go on and getting more and more. And as a result of that the – the whole landscape begins to look like the nursery of a spoiled child who’s got too many toys and is bored with them and throws them away as fast as he gets them, plays with them for a few minutes.

Also we are dedicated to a tremendous war on the material – basic material dimensions of time and space. We want to obliterate their limitations. We want to get everything done as fast as possible. We want to convert the rhythms and the skills of work into cash, which indeed you can buy something with – but you can’t eat it.

And then rush home to get away from work and begin the real business of life, to enjoy ourselves. You know, for the vast majority of American families the – what seems to be the real point of life, what you rush home to get to is to watch an electronic reproduction of life. You can’t touch it, it doesn’t smell, and it has no taste.

You might think that people getting home to the real point of life in a robust material culture would go home to a colossal banquet or an orgy of love-making or a riot of music and dancing; But nothing of the kind.

It turns out to be this purely passive contemplation of a twittering screen. You see mile after mile of darkened houses with that little electronic screen flickering in the room. Everybody isolated, watching this thing. And thus in real – in no real communion with each other at all. And this isolation of people into a private world of their own is really the creation of a mindless crowd.

And so we don’t get with each other except for public expressions or getting rid of our hostility like football or prize-fighting. And even in the spectacles one sees on this television it’s perfectly proper to exhibit people slugging and slaying each other but oh dear no, not people loving each other, except in a rather restrained way.

One can only draw the conclusion that the assumption underlying this is that expressions of physical love are far more dangerous than expressions of physical hatred. And it seems to me that a culture that has that sort of assumption is basically crazy and devoted – unintentionally indeed but nevertheless in-fact devoted not to survival but to the actual destruction of life.

 

Paradigm Shift ~ Knock Down Those Walls, by Bill Donahue

jericho_walls
LET’S KNOCK THE WALL DOWN!

There is a wall that separates us from the higher realm or holy city within us.

We have to knock down that wall and we will need the heavy equipment to do it.

You can choose the equipment you wish to use. Both are the same but labeled a bit differently.

You can use the 7 chakras of the Hindu Kundalini, or the 7 Seals of the Book of Revelation.

Both of them operate in the spinal area.

You also can either choose music or om at the time of the assault
on the wall.

So let’s open the scriptures for the detailed instructions.

Joshua 6 King James Version (KJV)
3 You shall compass the city, all you men of war, and go round about the city once. This shall you do for six days.

4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat.

Notice the emphasis on the seven.

jericho

Now of course this is the Biblical account of Joshua’s assault on the walls of Jericho.

But we must understand that this is pure mythology. I want you to read this report from Zeev Herzog Chief Archaeologist at the University of Tel Aviv in Tel Aviv Israel.

Please do not skip over this. Read it carefully because it will show you why the assault on the wall is your job.

From Zeev Herzog Archaeology Dept, Tel Aviv University Israel

Repeated excavations by various expeditions at Jericho whose conquest is described in the greatest of detail in the Book of Joshua have proved very disappointing.

It is agreed that the late part of the 13th century BCE (before the Christian era) the late Bronze Age is when the conquest was supposed to have taken place.

But at that time there were no cities there and no walls that could have been toppled.

Biblical scholars suggested a quarter of a century ago that the story of Joshua be considered legend and no more.

Then as more and more sites were uncovered the conclusion was bolstered that there is no factual basis for the Biblical story about the conquest by Israelite tribes in a military campaign led by Joshua.

So there it is. A mythical story was contrived that is really about the wall that blocks you from the holy city within you on the right side.

You enter into meditation. The energy begins to rise. Chakras or seals, one, two, three, four, five , six. Just as in the story which spoke of the six days.

Then on the 7th, the Rams horn a great shout, and that wall blocking you from the great light will fall and you will enter the city.

About the Rams horn. The hippocampus of your brain is the place of memory. This is where you will be restored to your true identity and enter the city.

In the Hippocampus is something called Ammons Horn. Ammons symbol was the Ram. So it is there for you.

I cannot tell you when the wall will fall for you, but it will. You can use OM as the Rams Horn or music. Whatever you wish.

The horn is sounded to stop all thought from entering in. You can hear that in many Eastern Meditations today.

So there you are:  six days circling the city. Six chakras, six seals.

Then on the 7th the wall falls and you will enter the Holy City.

Yes that Holy City is Jerusalem which means city of peace,

Not the Jerusalem you can find on a map today. This is that Jerusalem of higher consciousness reached in meditation.

As the scripture reads:

Galatians 4:24 Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

That is your city. And when that wall finally falls, you will find 12 gates that are the 12 cranial nerves of the brain which now will be vibrating in harmony with the 12 constellations of the Zodiac.

I look forward to hearing that you fought the battle of Jericho, and the walls came tumbling down.

Bill bdona910782000@yahoo.com  ~  www.hiddenmeanings.com

 

The Golden Eternity, by Jack Kerouac

1029-origI have lots of things to share now, in case we ever meet, concerning the message that was transmitted to me under a pine tree in North Carolina on a cold winter moonlit night. It said that Nothing Ever Happened, so don’t worry. It’s all like a dream. Everything is ecstasy, inside. We just don’t know it because of our thinking-minds. But in our true blissful essence of mind is known that everything is alright forever and forever and forever. Close your eyes, let your hands and nerve-ends drop, stop breathing for 3 seconds, listen to the silence inside the illusion of the world, and you will remember the lesson you forgot, which was taught in immense milky way soft cloud innumerable worlds long ago and not even at all. It is all one vast awakened thing. I call it the golden eternity. It is perfect.

The world you see is just a movie in your mind.
Rocks dont see it.
Bless and sit down.
Forgive and forget.
Practice kindness all day to everybody
and you will realize you’re already
in heaven now.
That’s the story.
That’s the message.
Nobody understands it,
nobody listens, they’re
all running around like chickens with heads cut
off. I will try to teach it but it will
be in vain, s’why I’ll
end up in a shack
praying and being
cool and singing
by my woodstove
making pancakes.

 

Paradigm Shift ~ Living For The Weekend

tragedy living dead
i hope i never start living for the weekend
only to see it turn into a monday morning
i hope i never compete with my neighbors
to buy things i cannot really afford
i hope if i ever get married
i won’t refer to my spouse as a ball and chain
i hope my life never revolves around
so-called entertainment like monday night football
because i don’t want to be that family

i hope i never start living for the weekend
and calling in sick so i don’t have to go to work
i hope i don’t ever assume that others think just like me
and get caught up in my own idealism
i hope watching the dog chase the neighbors cat
doesn’t become the highlight of my day
i hope my evenings don’t revolve around tittie bars
and hot wings to keep me out of the house
because i don’t want to be that guy

i hope i never start living for the weekend
and forget how to relax
i hope i don’t get stuck in a job i hate
and do nothing about the situation but complain
i hope if things don’t work out
i can handle the situation
i hope i don’t end up like all those people
who let their lives pass them by
because i don’t want to live for the weekend

— Derek del Barrio
derek.delbarrio@gmail.com

 

WORM HOLES OF THOUGHT …

viewpoint ledge
One of the many gifts of this year is the ability to glimpse into the possibility of what is to come.  The true pure essence of want and desire is as powerful as a star being birthed.  The energetic degree that you want (or desire) something is aligned mathematically and exponentially with your power to manifest it.

Each thought you have has its own consciousness. It is as consciousness within consciousness. Within each thought lives an electromagnetic field of possibilities. These possibilities are magnetically drawn to other energies of like vibration. When enough energies form a linkage of likeness they then birth the object of your  intention into physical form.  Every thought has a vibrational pulse that magnetizes other like thoughts. As they respond to the energetic clarion call they begin to pulse and then connect with the image of inherent within each of them and create what they have agreed upon.

In other words all thoughts no matter what they are have the potential to manifest. Belief creates a vibrational wormhole seducing the thought into form. It has been proven that DNA has its own language very similar to the language of humans. Human language is believed to be based upon our inner DNA language. Every cell in your body listens to every word you speak and think and then creates from that dialogue. Nothing is dismissed by your DNA as a casual thought or a just kidding statement. Everything is taken to heart and then on its way into form.

Your DNA believes you are commander-n-chief, it sees you as a god in training and per the universal father’s instructions obeys your every word and whim. ‘I am only kidding’ clauses do not live within the intelligence of the DNA structure for it responds to all thoughts and words.

As we learn to communicate with our inner universe on the way to creating our promised personal heaven on earth, it is important to take time to slow down and park in your heart.  As we enter the internal temple our dialogue with our DNA is heard loud and clear with no outside buzz.  As we move deeper into communication with our cellular consciousness we find infinite pathways of creation available to us.

We stand within our temple looking at many golden columns of possibility. We ponder the outcomes. To our DNA and cellular cousins everything and anything is possible. The self censors our deepest desires creating a puddle to splash in instead of an ocean to swim in. Who are we to stand in our own way and sabotage what the universe has deemed us to do?

When we are in a refined state of DNA communication we can travel to the past… the future…. and beyond, through wormholes of thought. They are opened within the DNA spiral when one is in a relaxed meditative state of being.  We have the ability to transcend time and space. In this place that is connected to all time and space we can see what is to come in order to heal the past and connect with our deepest ancient truths in the now.

When we go within anything is possible. It is up to us to hold that precious pearl of possibility and not drop it on the beach of our own confusion. As you visit the vista of all time and internal space hold tight to the treasures you bring back. These are cellular truths you bring back. You are caretakers of what could be…. What was…? And what will be. Honor them as your most precious treasures. They are worlds that are waiting to be birthed.

 

Igniting The Peace Tower ~ August 7, 2014

BedIn2
Dear Friends

As all of us are devastated by the loss of so many lives of innocent children in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, I will be lighting IMAGINE PEACE TOWER on Thursday 7th August, hoping that such violence will stop immediately.

With deep sadness and love,

Yoko Ono Lennon
1 August 2014

http://imaginepeacetower.com/

Biological Changes in Ascending Souls (Part 8)

ascend8What will actually happen as we move through the portals?

Your state of consciousness will be magnified hundreds, if not thousands of times. Your thoughts and feelings will manifest not only more quickly than ever, but with much higher amplitude and magnitude.

Biological Changes in Ascending Souls (Part 6)

ascend6If you have a lot of negativity in your subconscious mind, it will take a great many positive thoughts to have much of an impact on your physical health.

As you go through these accelerating experiences, your subconscious mind will rapidly empty itself of old programming and conditioning.

Golden Dreams

dawn over egyptOur dream is to build a Spiritual retreat for those with nowhere else to go. Hundreds of acres with a place to eat, rest, to use the facilities, to shower and get clean clothes. Where judgment is not in the vocabulary and oneness abounds. A self sustaining, Spiritual Center with a restaurant, food kitchen; donation facility; classrooms to teach healing, wellness, yoga, meditation; an exercise room; a storm shelter; an orchard; an organic garden area; a park setting with secluded cottages for retreats. A form of “heaven on Earth” so to speak. And we would like to travel the world and start these places everywhere so no person ever goes hungry or without ever again.  One day it will happen!

Living with Aloha Spirit

There is value in persistence in the face of disappointment. The moral is sound: eventually, you won’t have to paddle, and your wave will take you to places you never thought you would go. A single wave is actually a great metaphor for your relationship to the world. You are unique, never to be repeated, but made of the vastness of the ocean.

“Money Is Not Wealth,” by Alan Watts

alanwatts

“Money is a way of measuring wealth but is not wealth in itself. A chest of gold coins or a fat wallet of bills is of no use whatsoever to a wrecked sailor alone on a raft. He needs real wealth, in the form of a fishing rod, a compass, an outboard motor with gas, and a female companion. But this ingrained and archaic confusion of money with wealth is now the main reason we are not going ahead full tilt with the development of our technological genius for the production of more than adequate food, clothing, housing, and utilities for every person on earth.

It is not going to be at all easy to explain this to the world at large, because mankind has existed for perhaps one million years with relative material scarcity, and it is now roughly a mere one hundred years since the beginning of the industrial revolution. As it was once very difficult to persuade people that the earth is round and that it is in orbit around the sun, or to make it clear that the universe exists in a curved space-time continuum, it may be just as hard to get it through to “common sense” that the virtues of making and saving money are obsolete.

It is an oversimplification to say that this is the result of business valuing profit rather than product, for no one should be expected to do business without the incentive of profit. The actual trouble is that profit is identified entirely with money, as distinct from the real profit of living with dignity and elegance in beautiful surroundings.

To try to correct this irresponsibility by passing laws would be wide of the point, for most of the law has as little relation to life as money to wealth. On the contrary, problems of this kind are aggravated rather than solved by the paperwork of politics and law. What is necessary is at once simpler and more difficult: only that financiers, bankers, and stockholders must turn themselves into real people and ask themselves exactly what they want out of life — in the realization that this strictly practical and hard–nosed question might lead to far more delightful styles of living than those they now pursue. Quite simply and literally, they must come to their senses — for their own personal profit and pleasure.”

 

Discussion/Meditation Notes:

What does wealth mean to you?

Can you share a personal experience of a time when you understood the “real profit of living with dignity and elegance in beautiful surroundings”?

What do you want out of your life?

 

The Quantum Awakening ~ July Insight

meditate outside

If you are feeling pulled in a million directions welcome to the Mad-hatter energy. Right now it dominates  this sequence of alignments. We ask ourselves are we running early or late? Which place have we landed, what dimension do we play in? All of these questions and more have run amuck within our not-so-aware consciousness, as it tries to figure it all out.

We all stand head to head heart to heart and toe to toe, with every inch of our self, knocking  on the ‘ door’ of the sacred place within.  All events begin and end in this corridor of time, pay attention to what seeks your approval, whether wind or tide, tree or animal. The 3 very very full moons slide across our peripheral vision as we continue to scuffle windmills in the twilight. What is illusion and what is real? All blends and emulsifies to create a new element not on the periodic chart. It is time to stop expecting the predictable and embrace what we have not even imagined.

The month of July offers us an opportunity to see with the eyes of a honeybee, at a 1000 different angles and patterns, we are asked to look below the sea of emotions into the underlying reefs. Fragile and in need of  attention. We try so hard to block what hurts, we buffer it anyway we can. Eventually all comes full circle in a 24 hr day and one comes face to face with that which you ran away from. The she crab carries her shell hither and fro, shielding herself.

As the clock struck midnight on 7/7/7 (July 7, 2014) we come to a holy intersection of time and ancient sacred days. A great stellar pulse comes forth from our daystar straight into the heart of all matter. This month begins the first pulse of power as we slowly move step, by step forward. Sidestepping as many issues as possible. Stuffing the emotions with the sweetness, you are not finding in life.

On July 25th we will enter the day out of time portal, a place were all and nothing exists simultaneously, side by side. A place that would tie the ‘string theory in knots’ if they ever met. The Mayan ‘day out of time’ is the last day of the galactic year in the Mayan calendar. (13 moons of 28 days = 364 days) the extra day, the 365th day, is July 25, called the day out of time.

Each and everyday we need to allow a few moments to ‘step out of time’ realign our energies. To swim deep into the void for that eternal minute and realign with your heart and souls desire. To see the multi-verse with all your failed and forgotten dreams come to life, built in Technicolor and surround sound. Everything you had given up on and tossed to the wind landed in the sacred place known as ‘the day out of time’.

This Mayan New Year is called the ‘red solar moon’. I could find very little about it, as if it no longer counted.

Red Solar Moon
Red Eastern Castle of Turning
Earth family- Gateway      Clan- Blood

I pulse in order to purify
Realizing flow
I seal the process of universal water
With the solar tone of intention
I am guided by the power of life force

Red Solar Moon is awakening to who we really are rather than what we have been conditioned into believing about ourselves. We are drawing to us everything that is seeking to complete.

 

Higher Balance ~ The Optimist vs. The Pessimist, by Eric Pepin

rainbow toroidal fieldWhat I am about to say is pretty simple but trust me it has a powerful effect.

When is the last time you took a moment, a moment to center yourself, your life and your heart. I’m very serious. When … is…. The…. Last…. Time… You…. Took… a…. Moment, for Yourself.

If I could make one request of you at this very moment it would be to go out into life this weekend and find a beautiful location that speaks to you and sit, breath in slowly…. Realeaseeeeeeeeee….. Smile on the inside and the outside. Feel the love of the Universe and the love of life for about 10 minutes. The smile part is the most important part. As simple, foolish, artificial and or ridiculous that may sound to some, it really works to change your brains outlook and it’s something you can CHOOSE to do to change your life. Retrain your brain.

If your life is dismal and down, then double dip and get twice the benefit!

Think of your life like a spinning top on a table. Every time something negative happens the top aka your life / consciousness begins to wobble erratically out of control. Bumping into and creating more problems for yourself.

When you take a moment hence a time out for yourself and do the above. You take that control back and the top rights its self into a balanced position. The more you right yourself, the more control you take back in your life.

Here is one more thing to think about. The optimist vs. the pessimist

Optimist

1. The tendency to expect the best and see the best in all things
2. Hopefulness; confidence
3. The doctrine of the ultimate triumph of good over evil
4. The philosophical doctrine that this is the best of all possible worlds

Pessimist

1. A person who habitually sees or anticipates the worst or is disposed to be gloomy.
2. An adherent of the doctrine of pessimism.

Most of us are by default in the second half, lol and probably a bit cynical about life, but we also have the ability to change our thinking and our lives!
Research has been piling up over the past decade that shows optimistic people have better lives. There relationships are better, finances are better and they live longer! If that doesn’t piss you off!, lol

Interestingly, there are a few people who said that they simply felt cursed at some point in the life. That nothing would go right and they even considered giving up. Then they discovered meditation, and that they could in fact take control of there life. These very same people less then a few weeks later stated that after applying the simple techniques they learned life had righted itself for them and they were excited to see what each new day would bring!

I myself have up’s and down. Shitty things happen and you need to deal with it. By nature I am admittedly an Pessimist, And it is so much easier to just go into that state of mind. But in meditation I learned decades ago that “Mindfulness” Is my secret Kung-Fu of the mind and it helps me to realize at that very moment, I am heading to a deep, dark shitty place mentally! I then take charge as I had learned in my practices and re adjust my mind, attitude and perspective My energy…and just like that the bullshit begins to lift and if it is a slow process I choose to speed it up by applying more technique just like the above and I can literally watch hour by hour things getting better.

You are not powerless, you are not hopeless and God has not forsaken you.

You are powerful, you have a purpose and God is your admirer you just have to decide take charge to your life.

Most people don’t know what to make of Higher Balance because we talk about meditation, altered states of consciousness, paranormal phenomenon etc. the truth is we love it all and we are experts. We see all of those things connected and believe they all interact with each other manipulating and forming your life and its purpose. We believe that can be changed and or improved by your choice if you choose to take action in your own design. We show you things that have been hidden from you that will very much shock you at first and then its followed by revelations of amazing possibilities you truly have and never knew about.

Right now you may be feeling that all you need is a time out from life and what I said earlier seem like the perfect tool to do the job and it is! But it’s also really good to know that when you are ready to take bigger steps that they are ready to be shared with you.

Higher Balance … think about the name and think about the spinning top.

~ Eric Pepin