Spirituality | Wellness | Happiness

The 10th Annual International Bioethics Forum: Manifesting the Mind welcomes leaders in their fields to explore perspectives on human consciousness. Experts such as National Geographic's Explorer Wade Davis, Mindfulness Researcher Richie Davidson, and Physicist Henry Stapp are just a few of researchers and thought leaders to present at the forum on April 28-29 in Madison, Wisconsin. (See full list below.) With a subject that spans from physics and neuroscience to anthropology and ethnobotany, numerous perspectives will be part of this year's forum including: ethnobotany and indigenous culture sleep, dream and wakefulness states the savant syndrome near death experiences neurotransmitters quantum perspectives recent clinical studies of the therapeutic effects of entheogens mindfulness and meditation In addition to presentations and panel discussions, this year's Forum will provide an opportunity for more direct and in-depth discussions with presenters who will serve as table...

Shawn Achor, renowned researcher and author of The Happiness Advantage, and Catch.com, makers of Catch Notes, the leading note-taking app, announced today the availability of "I Journal, a unique journaling application for iPhone and Android that captures a proven practice to raise happiness and performance. "I Journal for iPhone and Android not only aligns with our goal at Catch.com to make it easier for people to capture their life stream, but it also allows people to find more meaning in their lives by creating this journaling habit. "I Journal is an application designed to help create a life habit of journaling. The app enables you to record your daily experiences with gratitude, meditation, exercise, and acts of kindness through text, photos, and even voice memos. In order to help you form your new journaling habit, the app rewards you with badges after 7, 14, and 21 days of consecutive journaling. Studies show that individuals who keep a daily gratitude list become...

Kundalini Syndrome Symptoms Grounding Kundalini Energy Although raising Kundalini Shakti (Energy) is the goal of many practitioners and yogis, sometimes if kundalini has prematurely risen or if the energy is too much to handle, the very opposite is needed. The energy needs to be grounded and Kundalini needs to be brought back down. From time to time I am approached to help in such situations and as I mentioned in the article, Kundailni Shakti Help and Advise , I would put together a guide for how to deal with this type of Kundalini Syndrome and how to manage such kundalini problems. So in this article I would like to offer you some ways to deal with this condition and reduce the affects of kundalini if they are getting unmanageable. Before I present the tips below I would like to direct you to 2 articles which will go long way in helping you avoid Kundalini Syndrome in the first place, by ensuring that Kundalini awakening takes place is a safe...

The most creative act you will ever undertake is the act of creating yourself. It takes place on countless levels, seen and unseen. It marshals all the intelligence of the universe, compressing billions of years of knowledge into every second of life.Dont you realize that the history of the universe has brought us here to this second? We are the privileged children of creation, for whom all of this was made.If your true source is in the subtle, unseen world rather than in the physical, then your body isnt really made up of cells. These are not the building blocks of life, nor are the atoms and molecules that cells can be broken down into. The body is built on invisible abstractions called information and energyboth of which are contained in your DNA.Your deepest beliefs are the most powerful creative forces. Your physical body grew out of the surging impulse of life contained in DNA. Without this impulse, information and energy are inert. Likewise your thoughts and emotions flo...

The Art of Living Foundation announced today that it is launching I Meditate NY, a movement to help New Yorkers recharge and do more of the things they love through the powerful benefits of meditation on Sunday, April 10. World-renowned humanitarian and thought leader on meditation Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who has rekindled the tradition of this ancient practice and offered it in a form that is relevant to the 21st century, will kick off the event, guiding 2,700 participants in one of the largest meditations ever to be held in New York City. I Meditate NY is an ambitious campaign that aims to increase awareness of the powerful benefits of meditation as a practical way to recharge and rejuvenate every day. It will provide trained teachers to go on location and lead meditation at any corporation, business, or organization that would like to host group meditations. Additionally, it will offer meditation classes on a complimentary basis at the Art of Living Center in Manhattan. The launch eve...

People are strange, and I certainly include moi in this overarching statement. Here's one of the weird things that we do: Trying our best to make inherently fuzzy aspects of reality all crisp, clear, and coherent, while blurring up inherently sharp facts about the way things are. Now, I realize that what I've just said is open to challenge. And I'll agree that "What's up with this inherently business ?" is an entirely appropriate question. Am I justified in viewing reality in such a black and white (or rather, fuzzy and sharp) manner? Sure, I answer. It seems obvious that we humans know quite a bit about some things, and we're decidedly ignorant about other things. The trick is knowing the difference between what is known, and what isn't. Unfortunately, people often confuse what belongs in each category, believing that truth is firmly in hand when it really is up for grabs, while simultaneously tossing away facts which should be grasped. Religion is ...

We are now at the level of inner need where the spiritual concept of I am enough is truly critical; as long as you dwell on more superficial levels of need, as long as you lean on a stronger person to carry you through, the anxiety of separation is disguised and that may be what you need for the moment. It takes real spiritual commitment to expose the wounds of separation hidden in the unconscious.If you look deep enough these wounds show up as black holes in your sense of self. Like black holes in space, which suck energy out of the universe, the psyches black holes suck out your confidence, your sense of worth, your certainty that you can survive.When you approach just a small one of these holes, you can experience a drastic range of sensations, none of them pleasant. Mild uneasiness and disembodiedness give way to nervousness, dizziness, nausea, vertigo, anxiety, panic, terror, and dread, depending upon how close you come to the black hole.Sometimes there seems to be a hole in y...

Dance meditations are known to be one of the best ways to bridge the gap between being in a state of intensity and receptivity. Dancing makes you feel free, feel at home and put you in a state where you experience joy and a feeling of oneness in your life. So, what basically is Dance meditation? A dance meditation is when we use the rhythm of the music, the attentiveness, and a perceptive state of mind to yield enjoyment and relaxation through it. Dancing is not just for meditation but it's also a way of recreation as well. Any kind of dance can be meditative. Although, there is no such classification as sacred dancing; a kind of dance where we use dance to explore and our identity as soul. The state of total dancing is achieved when a person gives himself completely into dancing and wholeheartedly. Just like a child dances to a music, without knowing, but completely enjoying the joy and pleasure of dancing. Don't think about the worries of the future; don't regret for anyt...

In 1995 I left Los Angeles, was in my 30s, could not get an acting job, had a few pennies in my bank account, was living with my mother and did not know what to do with my life. It was obvious that my life was taking a turn, but I was clueless as to where it was going. Many of these days were very dark and uncertain, and then suddenly it all changed.My mother Ariel, turned to me and urged me to get a job in a bookstore that a friend of hers owned. They needed help and I needed to do somethinganything! It was at this job that I met James and Salle Redfield, the author of the NY Times Bestseller, The Celestine Prophecy . Through a sequence of events I ended up creating an evening lecture for the Redfields. It was crazy successful, I loved putting the event together and my mother helped me organize some of the details.The next thing I knew, the Redfields were introducing me to some of their colleagues and I was creating events for other authors. Still not being able to afford my own plac...

I learned about Vincent Horn, " Buddhist Geek ," via one of those marvelous Twitter tweets from someone you follow for a reason long forgotten. Yet you're happy you do, because now and then they share a link that clues you in to a interesting perspective. Such as Horn's " The Place of Practice : Integrating Perspectives and Clinging to Nothing." He addresses a question that has often come to my mind as I've pondered non-dual philosophies which claim that everything is absolutely as it should be, just as it is. (Obviously there's a lot more to nondualism. But if things aren't two -- nondual -- then they're pretty damn close to being one, if not exactly that. And in oneness there's no possiblility of something being other than the unity that it is.) The Buddhist Geek says: From one perspective there is absolutely no need to practice. From another perspective, practice is essential. Why is it that both are true, and how do we keep from ...

Meditation for Stress Relief Stress Management Technique Shadb Kriya works by combining the powerful stress reducing ability of yoga breathing exercises and known relaxation benefits of mantra meditation into one great technique. The end result is that if you are suffering from anxiety, stress, insomnia, excessive worrying, negative thinking, etc, this meditation technique demands an opportunity to help cure you of these disruptive ailments. In the article Easy Meditation Technique for Total Stress Relief , I presented this technique but I do think a video demonstration is particularly helpful as there are many dimensions to this technique. Shabd Kriya utilizes hand mudras, eye mudras, yoga pranayama as well as mantra meditation to help attack stress from all angles. And how to combine all this correctly is what I show in this video. In order to extract all the stress reducing benefits of this meditation, it is recommended you do this technique for a minimum...

When you have no relationship to another person, you are automatically thrown back upon yourself. The feelings that come out have no basis in what you need or want from othersthey simply come out.When the mind goes beyond normal waking awareness, the transcending process brings one in contact with unconditional love in its silent, unmanifest state. Unmanifest means that this love is not directed at anything; it simply vibrates within the nature of the silent witness, like a radio signal silently waiting for a radio to pick it up.At the end of meditation, the person returns to the waking state bringing some of this transcendental quality into his everyday consciousness. A new vibration has been added that alters, however subtly, the persons former awareness.By definition, you can love someone only if your love does not alter no matter what the other person does. A person who feels love no matter what is simply following his nature. In truth, this is all that can be asked of anyone....

The University of Redlands will welcome a group of Tibetan Buddhist monks : from Drepung Loseling Monastery to campus from April 4-8, when they will be constructing a mandala sand painting. To form an image of a mandala-a Sanskrit word meaning sacred cosmogram-millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place on a flat platform over a period of days or weeks. Of all the artistic traditions of Tantric Buddhism, painting with colored sand ranks as one of the most unique and exquisite. The mandala sand painting begins with an opening ceremony, during which the Lamas consecrate the site and call forth the forces of goodness. This is done by chanting, music and mantra recitation and will take place on April 5 at 12 p.m. in the Memorial Chapel. - Visitors are welcome to view the creation of the mandala in the Memorial Chapel on Tuesday from 1- 6 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Friday from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Traditionally, most sand mandalas are destroyed shortl...

So far I've written 1,228 posts for this blog. Like a proud parent, I'm tempted to say that I don't have a favorite, that I love all of my writings equally. But that wouldn't be true. Some posts resonate with me more than others, because they spring from a deeper meaning-place. Notably , "Death and the primal fear of non-existence." The day I wrote it, back in 2006, I didn't have much time for blogging. For me, that post was unusually short and to the point. Which was how it had to be. There isn't anything complex or subtle about the fear I described. It's scarier than death, because for most people dying isn't considered to be "The End," but the beginning of "Next Chapter." Since, I've mused about the fear of non-existence here , here , and here (plus, I'm sure, elsewhere). Today, Chris left a comment on the last-linked "here," saying: Brian, five years on I wonder if you ever conquered your fear of non e...

If we look beyond the false duality of old and young, what we find is a different reality: The body is a network of messages constantly being transmitted and received. Some of these messages nourish and sustain us, while others lead to disorder and breakdown. Life-nourishing experiences go far beyond cell biology.If newborns are touched and caressed, their levels of growth hormone increase, and a protective coating of the motor nerves, myelin, becomes thicker. A mothers loving urge to cuddle her baby translates directly into life-sustaining biochemical reactions. Babies deprived of loving attention can become emotionally stunted or dysfunctional.The tenderness of a mother watching her toddler walk for the first time feeds the babys body. To a growing child, the sensitive encouragement of a teacher is as important as a hot lunch. What makes for a straighter spine, vitamin-D milk or self-esteem?Once we reach adulthood, gaining the wholehearted respect of co-workers wards off heart...

While yoga has become as common as jogging, a new kid in town is transforming the way people see their bodies and their health Years ago, yoga had a reputation of being too "new age and even "fringe. However, as baby boomers and old men take up this practice, a new Eastern healing practice has invaded the West with surprising results. Yoga is the physical practice of aligning one's 7 Chakras and raising the Kundalini (Serpent Power). Chakra Meditation, however, is a mental practice that also seeks to do the same. While this is still fresh and fairly new for most Americans, the desire for this is skyrocketing. More and more studies have brought light to meditation, including several prominent ones conducted by the National Institutes of Health, Yale, Harvard, and Massachusetts General Hospital. Renowned energy healer and Charka expert, Carol Tuttle of CharkaHealing.com has spent over 2 decades researching Chakra meditation and energy healing. Speaking on her work: "I ...

Putting your attention on coincidences attracts more coincidences, and applying intention reveals their meaning. In this way coincidences become clues to the will of the universe, providing a way for us to see its synchronicity and take advantage of lifes boundless opportunities.But with billions of different pieces of information coming at us at any given time, how do we know what to put our attention on? How do you keep from looking for meaning in every cup of tea, or every television commercial, or every glance from a stranger on the street? And conversely, how do we keep from missing valuable opportunities? Those questions cannot be answered simply. Part of learning to live synchrodestiny is learning to become a sensitive instrument in your surroundings. For a moment now, close your eyes. Try to sense everything in your environment. What sounds do you hear? What do you smell, feel, or taste at this very moment? Put your attention for a moment on each sense individually and...

Glancing at the title of a Leonard Pitts column in our local newspaper yesterday, I had a feeling that my emotional blood pressure soon would be surging. My premonition was correct. Parts of "Belief in what cannot be proved requires humility" (originally called " Atheists, I believe in God because I do ") irritated me mightily -- because Pitts failed to grasp some basic facts about religious belief and atheism that get harped on regularly here at the Church of the Churchless. Fact one : Not believing in God isn't a fundamentalist belief system, just as not believing in Santa Claus isn't. A theism isn't a religion , nor is albino a suntan. Recognizing the absence of evidence for God isn't equivalent to believing that God exists, no matter the absence of evidence. This is basic logic and how the scientific method almost always works. Yet Pitts wrote: Indeed, I find myself struck by the similarity between certain atheists and fundamentalists. Meaning ...

Meditation and Simplicity Meditation and Non-Attachment If one looks at all the great meditation masters in the history of man, one sees some very interesting traits that they all had in common. These traits can give us great insight in their spiritual success and point us in the direction we need to go in order to evolve spiritually as well. In this article I will look at 2 of these aspects of the great masters. These are simplicity and the power to stand apart from the world (aloneness). Weather it is Ramana Maharishi, Jesus, Buddha or Krishnamurti, what they all had in common was being free of society and having a simple, innocent heart and mind. The following quote from J. Krishnamurti really drives home the point of why simplicity and freedom are so essential for meditation to take place. Krishnamurti Quote on Simplicity and Meditation: Author: J. Krishnamurti Book: Meditations The words "you" and "I" separate things. ...

No two people meditate exactly alike, since the byways of every mind are different. But if taught a natural, correct technique, everyone, I believe, would experience inner glory. The human nervous system is innately capable of seeing directly into the life of things, so long as the brain is not clouded by disease or toxic substances. In time, mediation makes the nervous system extremely sensitive, so that it registers every subtle impression vividly and without prejudice; then the world itself changes.The change might prove to be much more far-reaching than anyone supposes. To modern ears, the seers of the ancient Vedic scriptures sound almost otherworldly because they took it for granted that human life is essentially perfect.The true yogi stands apart from ordinary experience by seeing that suffering is a completely false state. As we really are, we are creatures of bliss, but this reality is totally dependent upon experiencing it. All bliss vanishes when the mind takes on suff...

No two people meditate exactly alike, since the byways of every mind are different. But if taught a natural, correct technique, everyone, I believe, would experience inner glory. The human nervous system is innately capable of seeing directly into the life of things, so long as the brain is not clouded by disease or toxic substances. In time, mediation makes the nervous system extremely sensitive, so that it registers every subtle impression vividly and without prejudice; then the world itself changes.The change might prove to be much more far-reaching than anyone supposes. To modern ears, the seers of the ancient Vedic scriptures sound almost otherworldly because they took it for granted that human life is essentially perfect.The true yogi stands apart from ordinary experience by seeing that suffering is a completely false state. As we really are, we are creatures of bliss, but this reality is totally dependent upon experiencing it. All bliss vanishes when the mind takes on suff...

Elevated Existence Magazine, a digital, spiritual publication with a self-improvement focus, interviewed hip hop mogul Russell Simmons about his new book "Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All, for the March 2011 issue of the magazine. Simmons unveils how the spiritual practices, including yoga, meditation and giving back to others, contributed to his success in life and explains to others how to get there, too. "People don't understand that noise is the biggest distraction separating them from their goals, Simmons said in the cover story. "Being awake and being in the present is what allows people the freedom to attain their goals. That has to be step one before you start to chase the world. Go inside and then the world will come to you. Simmons practices Transcendental Meditation (TM), and serves on the board of The David Lynch Foundation, which focuses on teaching children TM, as well as military veterans, people in prison and more. He even dedicated a section of t...

Guided Spiritual Meditation Relaxation Healing Astral Projection Download MP3, Websites & Charity Donation Links Below:- Guided Spiritual Meditation Relaxation Healing Astral Projection HOW TO DOWNLOAD THIS VIDOE IN .MP3 FORMAT Cope the video link from the address bar and click on the link below and enter the link in then select Audio Only (.mp3) Let it download and convert the video into .mp3 format and then download it into a folder on your Computer or Mac http Spirit Speaks Website www.spiritspeaks.co.uk The Shepherd Mark-Neil Trust | Charity | Website http DONATIONS LINKS VIA PAYPAL Please Select Currency - You Enter Your Own Donations Amount to:- The Shepherd Mark-Neil Trust | Charity PLEASE CHECK your are on spiritspeakscouk channel before donating GBP www.paypal.com $ USD www.paypal.com EUR www.paypal.com $ CAD www.paypal.com $ AUD www.paypal.com $ NZD www.paypal.com $ HKD www.paypal.com JPY www.paypal.com Joint Copyright 2007 Onward Spirit Speaks & The Shepherd Mark...

At those moments when you are most afraid, angry, stubborn or mistrustful, you are in the grip of unreality. Your ego is forcing you to react from the past, blinding you to new possibilities here and now. Fear, anger, pride and distrust are forces with no spiritual validity.A mind that is desperately holding on says things like: I hate this. It has to end. I cant stand it anymore. If this keeps up Ill die. I cant go on. Theres nothing left. I have no choice. It has to be my way or else. Youre all wrong. None of you understand me. You always treat me this way. Why do you always have to do this? There are infinite variations on these statements, but the underlying feelings are remarkably similar. You feel you cant cope anymore. You feel boxed in. You feel you wont survive. You feel that something bad always happens to you. These feelings give rise to the rigid, contracted state of resistance, disallowing the reality that good things can happen any time. Sprit has a good outcome for any s...

The demands of juggling career, family, and more can take a toll on a person's health and well-being. Now, 68 pages of tips for preventative self-care are available in the new Kindle ebook, Self-Care: Living a Healthy Life through Massage, Somatics, Exercise, Stress Management, and More. Author and massage therapist Carol Wiley debunks the myth that aches and pains have to be a part of the aging process. The ebook outlines a variety of ways people can take care of themselves and promote their own well-being, so that each person can find an approach that works for them. Wiley explains that neglecting oneself damages both a person's physical and emotional health in the long run (and by extension the lives of people close to the person). When people neglect their needs, they send a message to their body and mind that they are not as important as other things. People who ignore their body too long may find themselves not only with aches and pains but also with serious health issues...

A few nights ago, as I was going to sleep, an idea popped into my mind: "There'll be a moment when I have my last thought before I die. What would I want it to be?" Intuitively, this struck me as an important question. That last thought would be infinitely precious, in a way. It'd reflect what I considered to be most important to focus on an instant before earthly existence and I parted company. (Note: I don't believe in an unearthly existence. And I realize that probably I won't know when my last thought is happening. But there's a good chance I'll realize that I'm at death's door, even if the exact moment I step through is a mystery.) I ran through several options. None felt right. I wanted my last thought to be meaningful, not "did I remember to turn the stove off?" I appreciate the final submission on this "last thoughts" discussion thread -- that final joint was awesome -- but I was looking for something with a bit mo...

Healing Root Chakra Opening Root Chakra The importance of balancing, healing and cleansing the root chakra should not be overlooked in your yoga practice. This center is responsible for your all important elimination system and is the key chakra for keeping you grounded and connected with mother earth. So in this article, I will provide a video which teaches the Yoga Crow Pose, which is an excellent technique for opening and balancing the root chakra. Previously I had provided illustration of this pose in the article, Root Chakra Cleansing via Kundalini Yoga Crow Pose , but as I have been doing in 2011, I have now created a video demonstration of this technique as well, which I feel will be even more useful in helping you learn this exercise. This exercise, is part of many sets here on Mastery of Meditation and Yoga. Given how effective it is in helping cleanse the root chakra, it should be no surprise that it is an integral part of the Seven Chakra Healing...

Dying is horrifying to us on many levels. It is a fearful prospect to suffer intense physical pain, and since we have all felt it, our minds recoil from experiencing more. The prospect of being annihilated, of disappearing into the void as experience comes to an end, creates perhaps the deepest fear.In response, people try to escape awareness of mortality in all the ways weve become familiar with, from substance abuse to our cultures endless fascination with youth and beauty.Death as a fact becomes less brutal if you can accept that it is a necessary part of life. The universe recycles everything in the never-ending flow of time. The atoms that make up your body have found a temporary shelter only. Like birds of passage they are always in flight.With your next breath you will take in several billion molecules of air once breathed by Buddha or Jesus, and when you exhale you will send molecules of air to be breathed tomorrow by people in China.Every other atom of your body is borrow...

K and Dr. Michael of Connect with Spirit present the I Connect with Spirit Psychic Workshop 13 - 15 May 2011 for 3-days of fun learning to work with angels and spirit guides in Ballarat, Victoria. If you live in nearby Melbourne, take this opportunity to experience this Ballarat psychic workshop from these internationally known clairvoyants and authors of Dating the Messenger: The Untold Story of a Clairvoyant. With this 3-day psychic workshop, K and Dr. Michael offer you a chance to explore your psychic gifts and psychic abilities to discover your full potential. Using various techniques and exercises you will learn to use angel cards, meditation, and much more to work with the angels and your spirit guides to get accurate messages. If you are like most intuitive people you bought a deck of angel cards and haven't been able to go beyond reading the words on the cards. Well, this is the perfect workshop to learn to use your angel cards properly! You will learn K and Dr Michael'...

Unhappy people are always confused when they are told to try and be happy. Their minds are occupied by grievances; there seems to be no room for new experiences that might be uplifting, and even if they came along, they would be seen through the gray haze of ones misery.So the search cannot be for happy experiences. Those are already available in abundance. The search is for an opening that allows happiness to become your experience. This opening comes about very differently from the way most people suppose. Most people try to make themselves happy by forcing their unhappy feelings underground, or by turning their backs on them or pretending that they dont exist.If you have a closet stuffed with junk, the best way to find room for new stuff is to clean the closet. In this case the closet is the nervous system, and one cleans it out at the level of awareness.Communicate your desire to be free of this hurt. Ask for inner guidance to The healing process isnt mystical; it involves w...