The Sanctuary

Medical Journals: The Alternate-Day Diet

2012-02-01T22:00:00.000+08:00

(By the Underground Health Reporter)

Did you know that following an "alternate-day diet" can turn on your "skinny gene," and help you to not only lose weight, but also live longer and healthier?

Researchers have identified a very simple weight-loss regimen that offers outstanding health benefits, from easing asthma symptoms and reducing blood sugar levels to preventing heart disease and breast cancer.

This diet also helps you live longer. It's called by different names, including:

The Alternate-Day Diet
Intermittent Fasting
Longevity Diet
Up Day, Down Day Diet

Whatever the name, the fundamentals are the same. You eat very little one day—half or less of your normal recommended caloric intake—and as much as you desire the next. This way of eating appears to trigger a "skinny" gene that promotes fat loss along with significantly better health.

Dr. James Johnson, respected metabolic researcher and author of The Alternate-Day Diet, explains, "The evidence says this is about the most healthy thing you can do for yourself."

Fewer Calories, Longer, Healthier Life

Since the 1930s, scientists have known that calorie restriction increases health and longevity. Since then, countless studies have confirmed that animals restricted to a very low calorie diet live about 30% longer and reap measurable health benefits, such as:

Clearer arteries
Lowered inflammation
Reduced blood sugar
Less damage to brain cells
Fewer age-related diseases

Calorie restriction may also help prevent breast cancer, according to recent research from the Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention Centre in Manchester, England.

The only problem, however, is that very few people have been able or willing to deprive themselves so significantly for any extended period of time!

The "Every Other Day" Breakthrough

The big breakthrough for calorie restriction came in 2003. That's when neuroscientist Dr. Mark Mattson discovered that rats kept to a restricted-calorie diet every other day enjoyed the same outstanding health and longevity benefits as constantly deprived rats!

This discovery meant that for the first time, the weight-loss and health rewards of calorie restriction could be enjoyed by real people, not just lab rats.

Krista Varady, assistant professor of kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois, Chicago, says, "It takes about two weeks to adjust to the diet and, after that, people don't feel hungry on the fast days."

Varady conducted a 10-week trial of 16 obese patients who alternated a regular, healthy diet one day and followed by 20% of their recommended caloric intake the next. Participants lost 10-30 pounds, much more than the 5 or 6 pounds expected!

The Skinny Gene: Burns Fat, Lowers Blood Sugar and Inflammation, and Dramatically Improves Asthma

Scientists believe the stress of a sudden, sharp drop in food intake triggers a "skinny" gene known as SIRT1. "This then blocks another gene involved in storing fat," explains Dr. Johnson. "The body starts using up more of the fat stores. As a result you lose more weight than you would from just eating fewer calories."

The SIRT1 gene is also associated with lowered blood sugar and inflammation. Inflammation is linked to virtually every serious health problem and chronic condition, including aging. Therefore, controlling inflammation iscritical to slowing aging and improving health. It's also key to helping asthma patients, who stand to reap huge health gains from alternate-day dieting.

Dr. Johnson worked with scientists from the National Institute on Aging to conduct a study of the effects of alternate-day dieting on 10 obese asthmatics. After 8 weeks, study subjects lost an average of 8% of their body weight. In addition, they had 70% less inflammation in their lungs and 90% lower levels of damaging free radicals (linked with heart disease and cancer) .

"No other dietary approach to asthma has recorded anything like that benefit," says Dr. Johnson.

Expanded Classics: Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock

2012-01-14T12:21:00.004+08:00

Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock is an expansion of the classic "rock-paper-scissors" which includes two additional weapons: the lizard (formed by the hand as a sock-puppet-like mouth) and Spock (formed by the Star Trek Vulcan salute).

Originally invented by Sam Kass and Karen Bryla, it received wider popularity when it was used by the character Sheldon Cooper on the sitcom 'Big Bang Theory'.

The rules are:

Scissors cut paper,
Paper covers rock,
Rock crushes lizard,
Lizard poisons Spock,
Spock smashes scissors,
Scissors decapitate lizard,
Lizard eats paper,
Paper disproves Spock,
Spock vaporizes rock, and
Rock crushes scissors.

Below is a pictorial representation of the above mentioned rules:

Random Thoughts: Wages As An Influencer Of Performance

2012-01-07T11:33:00.000+08:00

I extracted the following paragraph from the book "Why Employees Don't Do What They're Supposed To Do And What To Do About It (By Ferdinard F. Fournies)".

From my personal perspective, if there's one most important take-home point from this book, this is it.

According to human behaviour research, the weekly paycheck does not qualify as a reward that influences people's productivity. The psychologist B. F. Skinner once observed, "People don't come to work to get paid, they come to work so the pay doesn't stop." Additionally, in most business organizations, an employee can perform badly for a long period of time before the pay stops. Getting a weekly pay-check is like breathing; it only becomes important when it stops.

So in summary, nobody is going to be motivated to do better with just wages alone, regardless the quantum. It's also similarly unrealistic to suggest that an employee is supposed to be doing something because he is paid to do them. This is because what you think he should be doing may not necessarily be the same as what he (really) thinks he should be doing.

Random Thoughts: New Year's Day Prayer for One and All

2012-01-01T08:00:00.004+08:00

Dear Lord,

So far this year I've done well.

I haven't gossiped, I haven't lost my temper, I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I'm very thankful for that. But in a few minutes, Lord, I'm going to get out of bed, and from then on I'm probably going to need a lot more help.

Amen.

Early To Rise: A Self-Made Millionaire's Guide to Dealing with Debt

2011-12-26T11:18:00.001+08:00

(By Mark Ford, Editor of The Palm Beach Letter: http://www.palmbeachletter.com/)

I had my first serious run-in with debt when I was 30 years old.

My wife K and I were renting a condominium in Washington, D.C. Our landlady came to us with an exciting opportunity: We could buy the condo for $60,000 with no money down. For just $100 a month more than what we were already paying for rent, we would be paying a mortgage. It sounded like a great deal, so we took it.

What we bought was a negatively amortizing mortgage with a three-year term and an 11% interest rate. That meant, every three years we were paying $19,800 in debt service and another $3,000 in closing costs.

We didn't realize what was going on because our monthly payments were only $550. I was too foolish then to ever ask myself, "What is the cost of this debt?"

I tried to find another bank to take me out of this scam but none would. The mortgage we had signed was not backed by the government (Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae), which meant that no other bank would touch it.

I learned that when banks make it easy to borrow money, it's not because you are a nice, deserving person. I learned that if you can get a loan despite poor credit (as ours was at the time), there is usually a scam involved. It also taught me to always ask the two critical questions about debt, "How much will it cost?" and, "Can I afford it?" It was an expensive lesson.

Many of us view debt as a necessity. We buy homes with it. And cars. And boats, and toys, and vacations. Some use it to buy the basics: clothes, food, and furniture.

Debt is not necessary. It is a luxury. Sometimes debt is useful. Sometimes it is wasteful. But debt is always dangerous.

It is unnecessary because there are always less expensive ways of getting what you want. And it is dangerous because it can sometimes be very expensive.

Let me give you two examples.

Let's say that, like most Americans, you are in the habit of buying things with credit cards. After a while, you notice that you have accumulated $30,000 in total debt. You decide to cut up your cards and repay your debt. You can devote $400 a month to paying it back. How long will it take, and how much will it cost you?

The answer may surprise you. Assuming an interest rate of 10%, it will take you 10 years to pay off the credit card debt. And your total payments will be $47,275. Of that, $17,275 will have been in interest payments.

Or let's take a $150,000 home on which you take a $120,000 loan with a 6.5% interest rate over 20 years. The mortgage payments are $894 a month, which you can afford. But how much will that house really cost you? Including interest payments? You will end up paying $244,725 for that house. Almost 40% of that – $94,725 – will have been to interest payments.

The commercial community (bankers and manufacturers) doesn't want you to be afraid of debt. And neither does the government. These institutions want you to like debt. They want you to use it. They want you to go into debt because it is good for them.

When you take out a mortgage to buy a home, or sign a lease on a car, or use credit cards to pay for your lifestyle expenses, the commercial community profits. The manufacturers make money on products you may or may not need. And the banks make money on your debt.

The mainstream financial media rarely talks about the dangers of debt. That's because they make their profits from the financial institutions and manufacturers whose advertisements support their publications.

And the government actually encourages its citizens to take on debt. This was the recommended strategy for getting us out of the Great Recession that the (second) Bush administration (and the Federal Reserve) advocated and it's the same scheme that Obama's people are advocating today.

Here's what you should know about debt:

As a general rule, you should live without it. You should find less expensive ways to acquire the things you need.

Unless you are wealthy, don't lease your car. Buy it. Buy the car you can afford, not the car you believe will make you happy. Any non-appreciating asset (such as a car) will never make you happy if you have to pay its debt service. I didn't buy my first luxury car until I was a multimillionaire.

Don't buy anything with a credit card. Keep only one credit card for renting cars. Use a debit card to buy clothes and groceries. If you don't have enough money in your bank account to use your debit card on a purchase, don't buy it. If you don't have enough money in the bank to buy something, it means you can't afford it.

If you can't afford the debt on your house, sell it (if you can) and buy something cheaper. In any case, start paying off the principle balance of your house (the amount you owe, not the interest you will owe) as fast as you can. Make it a goal to own your house free and clear as soon as possible.

If you have debt, pay it off as fast as you can, but not before you have filled up your bucket for emergency savings. By emergency savings, I mean money you will need to pay your bills if you lose your job. Six months' income is what some financial advisors recommend. I'd recommend a year. It may take you that long to replace your lost income.

Pay off your debt even if the interest rate is low. In theory, you should put your extra money elsewhere if you can earn more on it than you are paying in interest. If, for example, you can get 4% in municipal bonds and you have a student loan at 2%, it makes more sense to buy municipals bonds and pay your student loan off slowly. But in reality, the extra 2% you are earning on the spread is not worth the risk in carrying the debt.

When I started earning money, the first thing I did was get rid of that terrible loan on the condominium I told you about earlier.

The next thing I did was pay off the mortgage I took on a home. I paid it off in two or three years, even though it was a 30-year mortgage. I loved the idea of owning my home free and clear. So I put every extra dollar I had toward paying down that mortgage. The bank didn't like it, but the day I tore up that mortgage... I felt like I had been emancipated from financial slavery.

Finally, if you are troubled by debt, know this: you can get out of it just as I did.

Medical Journals: High Alkaline Foods - 12 Perfect Foods for Optimal Health

2011-11-01T18:16:00.003+08:00

(Reproduced from Alkaline Foods & Alkaline Diet - The Complete Resource: http://www.acidalkalinediet.com/high-alkaline-foods-12-perfect-foods-for-optimal-health)

It only stands to reason that the pH level of our body would have an effect on how our body functions. An imbalance can cause many different health issues, leaving the body vulnerable to disease and premature aging. Maintaining an alkaline pH in the body is one of the best ways to prevent these problems.

It’s important to understand that a food’s ability to create an acidic or alkaline condition in the body doesn’t actually have any connection with the pH of the food itself. It’s the effect that it has on the body after it’s eaten that matters.

A high alkaline foods diet refer to those which leave an alkaline residue within the body. Of course, it’s not necessary to give up all acidic foods, but the more alkaline foods you consume, the better your pH balance will be. Here is a list of 12 of the best foods for maintaining a healthy alkaline level within your body.

1 – Herb Teas, Green Tea, and Lemon Water

When choosing beverages, stick to green tea, herb teas and lemon-infused water. Of course, these beverages will be even more beneficial if you make them with alkaline water. Avoid soft drinks, beer, tea and coffee, as these beverages will have an acidifying effect.

2 – Soy Milk and Soy Cheese

Soy milk and cheese are much better choices than dairy products made from cow’s milk. Goat milk and goat cheese are also good choices.

3 – Olive, Flax Seed and Canola Oil

When choosing oils, olive oil is considered the best for an alkaline diet. However, flax seed oil and canola oil are also good choices, as compared to corn and other vegetable oils.

4 – Wild Rice, Quinoa and Millet

Instead of choosing white flour and commercially produced pastries, stick to grains such as wild rice, quinoa and millet.

5 – Almonds and Chestnuts

Almonds and chestnuts are both good choices for an alkaline diet. However, avoid peanuts, walnuts, cashews and pecans, as they are among the most acidic of the nuts

6 – Raw Spinach and Lettuce

Salads made with leafy greens are always a good diet choice. Eating spinach raw is the best choice, because although it is one of the most alkaline foods in its raw state, it is actually mildly acidic when cooked.

7 – Soybeans, Peas and Green Beans

When choosing beans and legumes, soybeans and green beans are the best choices. Other varieties such as lima, navy, pinto and kidney beans are more acidic.

8 – Sweet Potatoes and Potato Skins

Although white potatoes without the skins are an acidic food, the potato skins themselves are alkaline. Sweet potatoes are also very good choice. Squash and zucchini are also good substitutes for white potatoes, since they are also alkaline.

9 – Asparagus, Broccoli and Onions

Most vegetables are good choices for an alkaline diet, but asparagus, broccoli and onions are especially good choices. Beets and okra are also good high alkaline vegetables.

10 – Lemons, Limes, Orange and Grapefruit

Citrus fruits are a good example of foods that are acidic in their natural state, but which have an alkaline-producing effect within the body.

11 – Watermelon, Mangos and Papaya

Many fruits have an alkaline effect, but watermelon, mangos and papaya are among the best. Grapes, blueberries and apples are also excellent choices. However, cranberries, blackberries and prunes are among the most acidic fruits.

12 – Stevia, Maple Sugar and Raw Sugar

Stevia, maple sugar and raw sugar are among the best choices for sweeteners. Avoid artificial sweeteners such as NutraSweet, Equal, and Sweet ‘N Low, as they are among the most acidic.

A high alkaline diet involves using a list of high alkaline foods. We have an extensive one available for free on this site (N.B. Please go to the before mentioned website at: http://www.acidalkalinediet.com/).

Deep Truth

2011-10-23T14:23:00.003+08:00

(By Gregg Braden: Excerpt from the Introduction to his new book entitled "Deep Truth")

Introduction

There is a single question that lurks at the very core of our existence.

It’s the unspoken question lying beneath every choice we’ll ever make. It lives within every challenge that will ever test us, and it’s the foundation for every decision we’ll ever face. If God had a cosmic question “counter” to track the things we humans wonder about most, then I have no doubt that this device would have maxed out and returned to zero so often in registering this one question alone that even God would have lost count of how many times it’s been asked!

The question at the root of all questions—one that has been asked countless times by countless individuals during the estimated 200,000 years or so that we’ve been on Earth—is simply this:

Who are we?

While the question itself appears simple and brief, the way in which we answer it has implications that we simply cannot escape. It tears directly into the heart of each moment of our lives, and forms the lens that defines the way we see ourselves in the world and the choices we make. The meaning we give to these three words permeates the fabric of our society. It shows up in everything we do, from the way we choose the food that nourishes our bodies . . . to how we care for ourselves, our young children, and our aging parents.

Our answer to who we are underlies the core principles of civilization itself: it influences how we share resources such as food, water, medicine, and other necessities of life; when and why we go to war; and what our economy is based upon. What we believe about our past, our origins, our destiny, and our fate even justifies our thinking regarding when we choose to save a human life, and when we choose to end it.

In what may be the greatest irony of our existence, at the dawn of the 21st century, following more than 5,000 years of recorded history, we have still not clearly answered this most basic question about ourselves. And while at any time discovering the truth of our existence would be worth the time, energy, and resources needed to do so, as we currently face the greatest crises affecting life and survival in the memory of our species, it’s especially critical for our time, here, now.

The Clear and Present Danger

One good reason for us to know who we are stands above all others. Maybe it’s no coincidence that today, after three centuries of using the scientific method to answer the most basic question about ourselves, we also find ourselves in deep trouble here on planet Earth. It’s not just any old run-of-the-mill trouble we’re in. It’s the kind of trouble of which dramatic novels and science fiction blockbusters are made.

Just to be absolutely clear: It’s not Earth that’s in trouble. It’s us, the people who live here on Earth. I can say with a high degree of confidence that our planet will still be here 50 years from now, and 500 years from now. No matter what choices we make during that time period—no matter how many wars we wage, and how many political revolutions we begin or how badly we pollute our air and oceans—the world that our ancestors called the “garden” will still be here making the same 365.256-day journey around the sun each year, just as it has for the past 4.55 billion years or so.

The question is not about Earth; it’s about whether or not we will be on Earth to enjoy it. Will we still be here to enjoy the sunsets and sensual mysteries of nature? Will we witness the beauty of the seasons with our families and other loved ones? As I’ll explore in a subsequent chapter, unless something changes soon, the experts are betting against us.

The reason? Because, when it comes to having what it takes for our children and us to live on Earth, we’re dangerously close to making the choices that lead us beyond the “point of no return.” This is the conclusion of an independent study on climate change co-chaired by Britain’s former Secretary of State for Transport Stephen Byers and U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), which was released in 2005. It stated that when it comes to the environment alone, we could reach that tipping point in as little as ten years and lose the fragile web of life that sustains us. But the environment is only one of a host of crises facing us today, each leading us toward the same potentially deadly outcome for the human race.

The best minds of our time acknowledge that we’re on multiple collision courses with disastrous outcomes—from the renewed threat of global war, the overuse of our resources, and the growing shortages of food and drinkable water; to the unprecedented stress we’re placing on the world’s oceans, forests, rivers, and lakes.

The problem is that the experts can’t seem to agree on what to do about these problems.

Act . . . but How?

Sometimes it’s a good idea to study a problem thoroughly before we act. The more we know about a difficult situation, the more certain we can be that we’ve found the best solutions to the dilemma. But sometimes prolonged study is not so good. There are times when the best thing to do is act quickly to survive the immediate crisis, and only then to study the problem in detail from the safety of the time bought by taking decisive action.

Maybe the best way to illustrate what I mean here is with a make-believe scenario:

Let’s say that on a beautiful, clear, and sunny day you’re crossing a stretch of highway with a friend in order to get from your house on one side of the road to your friend’s home on the other. Suddenly you both look up after being engrossed in deep conversation and see a huge 18-wheel tractor-trailer rig coming directly toward you. Instantly your body’s “fight or flight” response kicks in so that you can act. The question is: How? You have to decide quickly what to do. You and your friend both must choose, and choose fast.

So there you are, in the middle of the highway, with three lanes in front of you and three lanes behind you. Your dilemma is this: Do you have time to move forward to your destination— the other side—or is it best to move backward to the place you began? To answer the question with absolute certainty, you would need information that you simply don’t have at your fingertips in this moment. You do not know, for instance, whether the truck is empty or loaded. You may not be able to tell precisely how fast it is moving or whether the driver can even see you on the road. You might not be able to recognize if it’s a diesel- or gasoline-fueled truck that’s coming your way, or what make the vehicle is.

And this is precisely the point. You don’t need to know all of those details before you act. In the moment that you’re crossing the highway, you already have all of the information necessary to tell you you’re in a bad place. You already know that your life is in danger. You don’t need such details to recognize the obvious: there’s a big truck heading your way . . . and if you don’t move quickly, in a matter of seconds nothing else is going to matter!

While this scenario may sound like a silly example, it’s also precisely where we find ourselves on the world stage today. Our paths as individuals, families, and nations are like that of you and your friend walking across the highway. The “big truck” that’s bearing down upon us is the perfect storm of multiple crises: situations such as climate change, terrorism, war, disease, the disappearance of food and water, and a host of unsustainable ways of dealing with everyday living here on Earth. Each crisis has the potential to end civilization and human life as we know it.

We may not be in agreement as to precisely why each of these events is occurring, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are actually happening now. And, like two friends deciding to move forward across the highway or go back to the safety of where they’ve come from, we could study each crisis for another 100 years . . . yet the fact is that there are people, communities, and ways of life that will not survive the time it takes for all of the data to be compiled, the reports to be published, and the results to be debated.

The reason is that while we’re evaluating the problem, people’s homes will be destroyed by earthquakes, “superstorms,” floods, and war; the land that sustained them will stop producing food; their wells will dry up; oceans will rise; coastlines will disappear— and those individuals will lose everything, including their lives.

While these scenarios may sound extreme, the events I’m describing are already occurring in places such as Haiti, Japan, the Gulf Coast of the United States, and drought-ridden Africa . . . and it’s getting worse.

Just as it makes tremendous sense to move out of the path of the big truck coming your way on the highway before you study the problem further, it makes tremendous sense to move out of the way of the multiple disasters looming on the horizon before they take an even greater toll. And just as the direction you choose to move on the highway determines whether or not you get to your friend’s house on the other side, the way we decide to take action in the face of the greatest threats to our existence will determine whether we succeed or fail, live or die. Our choices for survival all point back to the way we think about ourselves in the world, and how our thinking leads us to act.

The message of this book is that we must act wisely and quickly to head off the collision that awaits us on the highway of life we’ve chosen to cross. Maybe Albert Einstein said it best: “A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels.” Developing a new level of thinking is precisely what we need to do today. We know the problems exist. We’ve already applied the best minds of our time, and the best science based upon the best theories available, to study those problems. If we were on the right track with our thinking, doesn’t it make sense that we would have more answers and better solutions by now? The fact that we don’t tells us we need to think differently.

The Dilemma

In recent years, an explosion of new discoveries throughout the sciences has left little doubt that many long-standing views about life, our world, and our bodies have to change. The reason is simple: The ideas are wrong. New evidence has given us new ways to think about the perennial questions of life, including where we’ve come from, how long we’ve been here, how we can best survive the crises that face our world, and what we can do now to make
things better. While the new discoveries give us hope, despite the breakthroughs we still have a problem: the time required for us to integrate these discoveries into the accepted way of thinking may be longer than the time that’s available to us to solve the crises.

The state of biology is a perfect example of how this works. The recently developed science of epigenetics is based upon scientific fact. It proves that the genetic code that we call the “blueprint of life,” our DNA, changes with our environment. The piece that traditional scientists are reluctant to talk about is that the environment changing our DNA includes more than the toxins in our air and water, and more than the electromagnetic “noise” inundating those who live among the power lines, transformer stations, and cell-phone towers of the biggest cities in the world. The environment includes our very personal, subjective experiences of beliefs, emotions, and thoughts as well.

So while the scientific evidence tells us that we can change the DNA at the root of the life-threatening diseases that ravage our friends and loved ones, the textbooks that Western medical doctors rely upon still teach us that we can’t, saying that we’re victims of heredity and other factors beyond our control. Fortunately, this is beginning to change.

Through the work of visionary scientists such as stem-cell biologist Bruce Lipton, author of The Biology of Belief (Hay House, 2008), the surprising results of the latest studies are slowly percolating into the textbooks we rely upon for medical understanding. However, the conduit that carries these new discoveries about our cells—as well as those updating what we know of the origin of our species, our civilization, and the details of our past—is a system that is notoriously slow. The general rule for the lag time between a scientific discovery and its review, publication, and acceptance— before it shows up in the textbooks—is eight to ten years, and sometimes longer. And this is where the problem becomes obvious.

The best minds of today tell us in no uncertain terms that we’re facing multiple crises posing threats of unprecedented magnitude, and that each of these crises must be dealt with immediately. We simply don’t have eight to ten years to figure out how to adapt to the situation and head off the emerging threats of terrorism, war, and a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. These are issues that must be addressed now.

Our old ways of thinking—which include believing in survival of the fittest, the need for competition, and our separation from nature—have brought us to the brink of disaster. We’re living at a time in history when we must confront the potential loss of all that we cherish as a civilization. It’s precisely because we need new ways of thinking that the ancient question of who we are takes on a significance that is greater than ever. At the same time, a new mode of seeing the world, based upon a growing body of scientific evidence, is filling in the missing pieces of our knowledge and changing the way we think about ourselves.

In light of the new evidence regarding near–ice age civilizations, the false assumptions of human evolution, the origin and role of war in our past, and the undue emphasis on competition in our lives today, we must rethink the most basic beliefs that lie at the core of the decisions we make and the way we live. This is where Deep Truth comes in.

Why This Book?

While there is certainly no shortage of books that identify the extraordinary conditions threatening us today, they fall short of addressing the single element lying at the heart of how we deal with them. How can we possibly know what to choose—what policies to enact, what laws to pass—or how to build sustainable economies, share lifesaving technologies, and bridge the issues that are tearing at the fabric of our relationships and society . . .

until we’ve answered the single question that lies at the very core of our existence: Who are we? As individuals, as families, as nations, and as a combined human civilization, we must first know who we are before we can make the right choices. It’s especially important to do so now, at a time when every choice counts.

How can we know what choices to make until we answer the single question that lies at the heart of each and every choice:

Precisely who are we?

Without answering this fundamental question, making life altering decisions is like trying to enter a house without knowing where the door is. While it’s possible to break in through a window or knock down a wall, we’d damage the home in the process. And maybe this is a perfect metaphor for the quandary we find ourselves in. For our human family, which has more than quadrupled in size in a little over a century—from 1.6 billion in 1900 to about 7 billion in 2011—we can either use the key of understanding who we are to move through the door of successful solutions. . . or we can damage our home (Earth and ourselves) by responding to crises through the knee-jerk reactions of false assumptions based in incomplete science.

When we embrace the truths of our history on Earth, our planet’s cycles of change, and the role these play in our lives, then we’ll understand what we’re really up against, what our options are, and what choices are available.

This book identifies six areas of discovery (and the facts they reveal) that will radically change the way we’ve been led to think about our world and ourselves in the past. As we address the great crises of our time, these are the most important truths we must consider:

— Deep Truth 1: Our ability to defuse the crises threatening our lives and our world hinges upon our willingness to accept what science is revealing about our origins and history. As we face the never-before-seen threats that must be resolved within the next eight to ten years, how can we possibly know what choices to make, what laws to pass, and what policies to enact until we know who we are? The false assumptions of longstanding beliefs regarding evolution and human origins make little sense in the face of recent discoveries throughout the sciences.

— Deep Truth 2: The reluctance of mainstream educational systems to reflect new discoveries and explore new theories keeps us stuck in obsolete beliefs that fail to address the greatest crises of human history. We base our choices of life, government, and civilization on the way we think about ourselves, our relationship to each other, and our relationship to planet Earth. For the last 300 years, these beliefs have come from the false assumptions of an outdated science. The sound principles of the scientific method have a built in feature for self-correction of false assumptions that is effective when we allow the method to work as it was intended.

— Deep Truth 3: The key to addressing the crises threatening our survival lies in building partnerships based upon mutual aid and cooperation to adapt to the changes, rather than in pointing fingers and assigning blame, which makes such vital alliances difficult. Our multiple crises (some induced by humans and some that have arisen naturally) have arrived at the tipping point of threatening the ultimate survival of our species. The industrial age has definitely contributed to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere; and we certainly need to find clean, green, and alternative ways to provide electricity and fuel for the seven billion people who are presently living on our planet . . . however:

Fact: Climate change is not human induced. The scientific evidence of 420,000 years of Earth’s climate history shows a pattern of warming and cooling cycles at approximately 100,000-year intervals when no human industry was present.

Fact: During the warming and cooling cycles of the past, the rise in greenhouse gases generally lags behind the temperature increase by an average of 400 to 800 years.

Fact: It will take never-before-seen levels of synergy and teamwork to create sustainable lifestyles that help us adapt to natural cycles of change, as well as to address human-induced crises.

— Deep Truth 4: New discoveries of advanced civilizations dating to near the end of the last ice age provide insights into solving the crises in our time that our ancestors also faced in theirs. While the scientific revelations involving near–ice age civilizations are upsetting the way historians traditionally think of humankind’s journey through Earth’s different ages, they support the oldest records of our past and the indigenous view of a cyclic world . . . with the rise and fall of civilizations, catastrophic events,and the consequences of poor choices repeating themselves.

— Deep Truth 5: A growing body of scientific data from multiple disciplines, gathered using new technology, provides evidence beyond any reasonable doubt that humankind reflects a design put into place at once, rather than a life-form emerging randomly through an evolutionary process over a long period of time. While science may never identify precisely what, or who, is responsible for the design underlying our existence, the discoveries strongly challenge the conventional wisdom of evolutionary theory, and demonstrate that the chance that we resulted from random processes of biology is virtually nonexistent.

— Deep Truth 6: More than 400 peer-reviewed studies have concluded that violent competition and war directly contradict our deepest instincts of cooperation and nurturing. In other words, at the core of our truest nature we simply are not “wired” for war! Why, then, has war played such a dominant role in shaping our history, our lives, and our world? Clues to the answer are found in the records of our early experiences on Earth, and the ancient accounts that hold instructions for ending the “war of the ages” and living at the heights of our destiny, rather than succumbing to the depths of our fate. The sheer magnitude and number of crises converging in the first years of the 21st century pose a critical threat—a clear and present danger to our survival—and follow the cyclical trends that led to the loss and collapse of civilizations past. Knowing who we are, where we are in the cycles of civilization and nature, and the mistakes of past civilizations that we can learn from is the key to surviving the crises facing us today. The best science of our time, when it is married to the wisdom of our past, confirms that we still have the ways and means to shift our time of crisis into a time of emergence. We can create a new world based upon actionable and sustainable principles rooted in the core understanding of our deepest truths.

In This Book

Through the seven chapters in this book, I invite you into an empowering, and possibly novel, way of thinking about your relationship to the world. For some people, this way of thinking may be nothing new. Maybe you were fortunate enough to be raised in a family that allowed current discoveries about civilization and life to fill in the missing pieces of your spiritual, religious, and historical views on the world.

For those who did not have such an upbringing, however, the chapters that follow open the door to a powerful, and practical, new path of self-discovery. Regardless of your beliefs, the evidence forcing humanity to rethink the traditional story of who we are, how long we’ve been here, and why the world seems to be “falling apart at the seams” is fascinating reading.

In the pages that follow, you will discover:

Archaeological evidence leaving little doubt that advanced civilizations, with advanced technology, grew and flourished on Earth long before the traditionally accepted date of 5,000 to 5,500 years ago

Why the wars we fight today stem from a way of thinking that began long ago, and why they’re the modern continuation of an ancient battle that’s not even ours

Science-based evidence that human life is the result of an intelligent design

A timeline illustrating when the human code of life is activated in the womb, when the first heartbeat of human life begins, and when consciousness awakens in human development

A revised timeline of past civilizations (and how they fit into the world-age cycles) giving new meaning to the crises of today, as well as helping us define the choices that lie before us. It’s important that you know up front what you can expect from your journey through these discoveries. For that reason, the following statements clearly explain what this book is, and what it is not:

Deep Truth is not a science book. Although I will share the leading-edge science that invites us to rethink our relationship to the past, the cycles of time, our origins, and our habit of war, this work has not been written to conform to the format or standards of a classroom science textbook or a technical journal.

This is not a peer-reviewed research paper. Each chapter and every report of research has not gone through the lengthy review process of a certified board or a selected panel of experts with a history of seeing our world through the eyes of a single field of study, such as physics, math, or psychology.

This book is well researched and well documented. It has been written in a reader-friendly style that describes the experiments, case studies, historical records, and personal experiences supporting an empowering way of seeing ourselves in the world.

This book is an example of what can be accomplished when we cross the traditional boundaries between science and spirituality. By marrying the 20th-century discoveries of genetics, archaeology, microbiology, and fractal time, we gain a powerful framework within which to place the dramatic changes of our age, and a context that helps us deal with those changes.

By its nature, the exploration of what and how we think of ourselves is different for everyone—it’s a journey that is unique, intimate, and personal. So much of that difference stems from the experiences we share with our families, peer groups, and cultures. We’ve all been taught stories that explain our past and the origins of the earth and humanity, and that help us make sense of our world—stories based on what our community accepts as “truth” at a given point in time.

I invite you to consider the discoveries recounted in these pages and explore what they mean to you. Talk them over with the important people in your life; and discover if, and how, they may change the story that is shared in your family. Deep Truth is written with one purpose in mind: to empower us (as we solve the crises of our lives and our world) to understand our relationship with the past. The key to empowerment is simply this: the better we know ourselves, the clearer the choices in our lives become.

No one knows for certain what the future holds. Quantum understanding tells us that we are always selecting our future through the choices we make in this very moment. But no matter which challenges await us or which choices we’ll be faced with, one thing is absolutely certain: knowing who we are and understanding our relationship to one another, as well as to the world beyond, gives us the evolutionary edge that our ancient ancestors may not have had when they faced similar challenges in the past.

With that edge, we tip the scales of life and balance in our favor. And it all begins with our awareness of the deepest truths of our existence, and how we rely on those truths each day for every choice in our lives.

N.B. If you are interested in Greg Braden's latest literature, please go to the following for further details: http://promos.hayhouse.com/deeptruth/index.php)

Financial Journals: The Broken Window Fallacy

2011-10-16T22:02:00.000+08:00

(Reproduced from an article taken from "The Daily Crux Sunday Interview" entitled "An economic lie that is ruining America" - An interview between The Palm Beach Letter and one of its authors, Mark Ford)

The Palm Beach Letter: Let's talk about books. What is the best book on economics or investing you've ever read?

Mark Ford: I haven't read all that many. But I'd have to say that the book that had the greatest impact on my thinking was Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson.

PBL: A classic. How did that affect you?

Ford: It was one of those "eureka!" moments. It was like coming up from a murky basement into a bright room. The book gave me a clear, common-sense explanation of why things were the way they were. I could finally see the fallacies that supported so much stupidity that passed for economic science.

PBL: Such as?

Ford: Such as why public works are so often wasteful, why government credit diverts production, why technological advances are good, not bad, for employment, why spread-the-work schemes inevitably fail, why government price-fixing and tariffs make us poorer, etc.

PBL: So what is the most important thing you got from reading Economics in One Lesson?

Ford: That you can't understand any economic policy unless you look at the whole picture. It's not enough to see the immediate, localized consequences of any public action. You must see its long-term effect on the entire economic community. Hazlitt says that nine-tenths of the economic fallacies politicians use do so much harm because they ignore this lesson. After reading the book, I can't help but agree.

PBL: That's a little abstract. Can you explain?

Ford: Hazlitt explains it beautifully in the second chapter, entitled "The Broken Window."

It goes like this:

A hoodlum throws a rock through a baker's plate glass window. A crowd gathers and talks about what a shame it is. But someone suggests that it is actually a blessing. He points out that the $250 the baker must pay for a new window will make the glazier $250 richer. And the glazier will use that $250 to spend with other merchants. The smashed window, according to this theory, will go on providing money and employment in ever-widening circles.

The logic is that the hoodlum who threw the brick was not a menace at all, but a public benefactor. The crowd agrees.

PBL: It does seem like a compelling argument.

Ford: It does. Yet, it's a logical fallacy.

PBL: So what's the fallacy?

Ford: The crowd is right that the broken window will benefit the glazier. But the crowd is looking only at one part of the picture: the effect on the glazier. That's the fallacy. To view the event properly, one must take into account its effect on not just one person or group, but also on the entire economy.

If you do that, you will quickly see that the baker is poorer by $250. And that means he won't be able to spend $250 on the suit he was planning to buy. The tailor that was to get his order for the suit won't have the $250 that would have come to him. And so he won't be able to spend that money with other merchants.... and so on, down the line.

The crowd was thinking only of two parties – the baker and the glazier – because they can see the window. But they don't consider the tailor because the suit is invisible – it is never made.

PBL: That's good. So how does this apply to governmental policies?

Ford: One example Hazlitt gives is government credit to farmers. (This was a big issue during the 1940s, when the book was written.)

At that time, many politicians supported government credit to farmers because farmers represented a big constituency for them. The argument in favor of farm credits was based on particular farmers who could not get the credit they needed from private lenders (banks, mortgage lenders, and so on).

In proposing the legislation, politicians always told stories about the poor farmer who won't be able to make it unless the government steps in to help him. If we buy a farm (or tractor) for him, he will be productive again and resume his role as an upstanding citizen. His farm will add to the total national product, and he will eventually pay it off with the produce he sells. So the loan actually costs the taxpayers nothing, since it will be self-liquidating.

PBL: Again, it sounds like a compelling argument.

Ford: Yes it does, so long as you look at only part of the picture: the short-term effect on the particular farmer who can't get the loan. But if you have learned Hazlitt's lesson, you will see the fallacy in it.

There is a reason this particular farmer cannot get the loan he wants. It is because the private lending community doesn't think he or his farm is worthy of it. (In other words, he is not credit-worthy.)

As Hazlitt points out, credit – good or bad – is what the farmer already has before he applies for the loan. If he has credit, he will get the loan privately. It is only when he doesn't have credit that the government must step in. In other words, the only purpose of government credit is to provide loans to people or businesses that are not credit-worthy.

To understand the whole picture, you must look at the effect of that loan. To provide the loan, the government must take the money – in the form of taxation – from the private sector. And that money will not be used for whatever purposes it would have been used.

For every $1,000 that is given by the government to a farmer with bad credit, $1,000 will not be spent by some private person or business on a person or business with good credit. The long-term implication is obvious: more risk, greater net losses, and less efficiency. The economy loses out in the long run.

PBL: Yes, I can see that. But that particular farmer, if he doesn't get the loan, will be worse off.

Ford: Yes. In the short term, he will be worse off. Hazlitt doesn't deny this. And that is one of the things I like about his thinking. He does not make the mistake that some free-market theorists make in denying these short-term, limited problems.

Economic progress in a free market always produces limited and temporary hardships, but those hardships are more than offset by an overall long-term increase in wealth. Hazlitt doesn't pretend that free markets will solve all problems. He argues that in the long run they provide the best net result.

PBL: Can you give me examples of how this is relevant today?

Ford: Open up any newspaper and you will see evidence of it in the editorials. Watch any talk show on economics and you'll see it all the time. The broken window fallacy is the go-to gimmick of almost every successful politician, Republican or Democrat.

PBL: For example?

Ford: On the treadmill this morning, I saw a "news" story about what the "reporter" called "the growing problem of hunger in America."

The reporter showed a clip of a young woman who said she was having trouble feeding her children with the $300 a month she gets in food stamps. She said the pain of hunger was "unimaginable." The reporter concluded that something must be done to increase food stamp allocations.

If it weren't for the fact that this young woman weighed about 280 pounds, I would have been moved. But had I believed her, I would have reminded myself that this was the broken window theory in operation.

No mention was made of the fact that the $300 in food stamps she was getting from the government was actually costing taxpayers much more than $300. With all the government bureaucracy involved in qualifying her, tracking the expenses, and reporting them, the cost of those food stamps was probably closer to $500 or $600. And that $500 or $600 was taken from taxpayers that would have spent it elsewhere, providing food and clothing for others.

So the net effect is actually negative. That wasn't part of the report.

PBL: So how does this idea affect you personally? I mean, how can a person use this knowledge to better his life?

Ford: Well, for one thing, I'm very careful about my charitable expenditures. I don't give to major charities, because I'm afraid they may be as inefficient as the government.

I do spend a good amount of money every year on charitable projects, but they are all my projects – ones that I feel responsible for and that I control. I want to know that if I spend $60,000 to build a library in Nicaragua, it will do more good than spending $60,000 on a new BMW. This makes me work much harder to make sure the investment pays off.

This idea has also been important in my business thinking. When I discuss capital expenditures with my client companies, I always stop to think, "Is this the best use of this money? Or would we get a higher return for the whole company if we spent it elsewhere?"

But the most important benefit for me is that it allows me to spend very little time worrying about government policies that attempt to regulate the economy. I know that most of them – regardless of what party favors them – will be wasteful. That gives me extra time to focus on my investing.

PBL: Thank goodness for that.

N.B. The Broken Window Fallacy was first introduced via the Parable Of The Broken Window by Frédéric Bastiat in his 1850 essay "Ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas" (That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Unseen) to illustrate why destruction, and the money spent to recover from destruction, is actually not a net-benefit to society. The parable, other than the Broken Window Fallacy is also known as Glazier's Fallacy, and demonstrates how opportunity costs, as well as the law of unintended consequences, affect economic activity in ways that are "unseen" or ignored.

Medical Journals: Understanding How an Alkaline Diet Works

2011-10-02T18:15:00.002+08:00

(A brief summary taken from Alkaline Foods & Alkaline Diet - The Complete Resource: http://www.acidalkalinediet.com/)

Alkaline diets are a popular choice for people who want to achieve optimum good health. However, many people don't actually understand this diet or how it works.

The concept is actually fairly simple - the diet just focuses on regaining the balance that was lost when man started to eat a more domesticated diet. Instead of focusing on foods that are high in sugar, fat, and cholesterol, an alkaline diet primarily consists of fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy whole grains, wholesome protein sources such as soy, beans and legumes, and healthy oils such as canola, olive and flax seed.

These foods may be either alkaline or acid in their natural state, but they all produce what is termed as an "alkaline ash" once digested and metabolized by the body. When the body's pH is kept at a slightly alkaline level, all the systems can work more efficiently.

Understanding the Effects of the Body's pH Level

The pH level of the body has the ability to affect every single cell of the body. When the blood has an alkaline pH instead of an acidic pH, it will have a positive effect on how every bodily system functions. The brain, circulatory system, nerves, muscles, respiratory system, digestive system, and reproductive system can all benefit from a proper pH level.

On the other hand, when the pH of the body is too acidic, it is susceptible to many diseases and problems. Weight gain, heart disease, premature aging, fatigue, nerve problems, allergies, muscle disease and cancer are all more prevalent when the body's pH is not optimal. Because these problems are all more likely to occur when the body's pH is too acid, it makes good sense to eat a diet rich in alkalizing foods.

The primary goal is usually to eat approximately 75-80% alkaline foods along with only about 20-25% acidifying foods. If this level is maintained in the diet, the end result is a slightly alkaline pH in the body, which is perfect for optimum good health.

Choosing Foods for an Alkaline Diet

It's actually quite easy to eat a diet rich in alkaline-producing foods.

Most fresh fruits and vegetables are excellent choices.

Red meat is not a good choice, but you can add plenty of protein to your meals by using soy products, delicious beans, legumes, and nuts such as almonds.

You should eliminate unhealthy fats from your diet, but you can use good fats such as olive, canola, and flax seed oil. High fat dairy products should be avoided, but you can drink soy milk and goat's milk.

Cheeses made from soy milk and goat's milk would also be good choices.

Replace the empty calories of soda with delicious iced herb tea, green tea and lemon water. Coffee should be avoided, but you can drink hot herbal or green tea.

Replace pasta with healthy whole grains such as wild rice, millet and quinoa.

When sweetening your foods, focus on natural products such as raw sugar, stevia and maple sugar.

As you can see, you'll have many nutritious choices that are both delicious and high in alkalizing properties.

Use the food chart on the right hand corner of this blog to make your lifestyle more alkaline and reap the benefits of vibrant health and abundant energy.

N.B. To discover how to alkalize your body fast, as well as to access to the "Alkaline Food Chart" & "Recipe Database", please kindly enter your name and email address at the following website to receive these information FREE: http://www.acidalkalinediet.com/.
You would also access the information (i.e. the Alkaline Food Chart) via the widget which has been installed on the right hand corner of this blog.

Random Thoughts - Bearing Of Grudges

2011-09-11T11:31:00.010+08:00

The interesting thing about the bearing of grudges against someone is that it would most likely not hurt anyone else (including that someone) other than yourself. This comic strip taken from Pearls Before Swines created by Stephen Pastis (first released on 1 September 2011) would succinctly demonstrate that fact.

The Emergence Of Multiple Chaotic Nodes: A Hathor Planetary Message Thought Tom Kenyon

2011-09-04T10:31:00.000+08:00

(By The Hathors Through Tom Kenyon - As extracted from Evolution Ezine: http://evolutionezine.com/the-emergence-of-multiple-chaotic-nodes-a-hathor-planetary-message-through-tom-kenyon/)

Your planet is entering a critical transition state, characterized by a multiplicity of Chaotic Nodes.

In our previous communications we have discussed the changes taking place on your Earth in the context of a single Chaotic Node. But from our viewpoint, multiple Chaotic Nodes are now emerging. These complex interacting nodes involve such things as radical weather anomalies, increases in earthquake and volcanic activity, critical challenges to the planet’s eco-systems, challenges to agriculture and food sources, as well as political and economic volatility.

In addition to these planetary Chaotic Nodes, the sun of your solar system is entering a greater level of volatility and unpredictability as well. It is entering into multiple Chaotic Nodes itself, driven by its own internal cycles, but also greatly impacted, as we have said in previous messages, by the galactic center.

The physical challenges you will face in the near future are many, but our message at this time does not concern the physical dimension of these difficulties. These changes, and their resulting challenges, will be apparent to anyone who looks beneath the surface of current events.

Our focus in this communication is on the emotional and spiritual crisis you are facing.

When a system enters multiple Chaotic Nodes there is increased stress on those elements or beings that reside in the vibratory level of existence where the Chaotic Nodes are taking place.

Let us speak to this for a moment in terms other than human existence. From our experience, other dimensions of consciousness and existence are also experiencing their own version of multiple Chaotic Nodes. Thus, the energetic challenges you are facing are not limited just to Earth, but extend to all dimensions of consciousness and all beings, including non-corporeal (energy beings without bodies), who are related to Earth and this galaxy.

But let us come down to Earth, to the nexus point of your existence in time and space.

As we said earlier, beings living in a realm of existence undergoing multiple Chaotic Nodes will be inevitably stressed by increases in chaotic events.

As chaotic elements within planetary weather patterns increase, as challenges to agriculture multiply, and as economic problems grow, there will be an increase in global human anxiety.

This type of anxiety tends to center around physical survival, and while anxiety about survival can drive human beings into a type of madness and irrationality, there is something more insidious and hidden in the current transition state you are now entering.

This hidden danger has to do with thought forms perpetuated by some of your major religions and spiritual traditions. These thought forms and belief systems maintain the notion that there is a separation between the physical and the interdimensional (spiritual) aspects of your existence. The physical world is viewed as tainted; nature is seen as something to be subdued and dominated (as opposed to co-creating with the natural world), and in essence, the world is viewed as something to be escaped from.

We do not share this belief. Our experience is that consciousness is one continuum from the highest vibrations of light into the lowest vibrations of matter and that the very atoms and subatomic particles that comprise your world are, by their very nature, sacred—if by sacred you mean related to the whole.

As the stresses generated by multiple Chaotic Nodes increase, there will be a tendency for many humans to enter delusional and dissociative states of consciousness.

Those who adhere to the thought form that there is an eternal schism between the realms of matter and those of spirit will be most prone to this aberration in consciousness. And as stresses increase, due to the complex interaction of multiple Chaotic Nodes, there will be a marked tendency for some of these individuals to be separated further and further from the realities of the physical dimension. This type of communal dissociation will be further driven by religious and spiritual thought forms regarding “the End Times,” “the Day of Judgment,” and the “Purification of Earth.” This delusional state of mind will become a type of collective mental/emotional virus as whole groups of individuals succumb to stress and overwhelm as they struggle to deal with the global effects of multiple Chaotic Nodes.

Lines in the sand

From our perspective, a line is being drawn in the sands of human consciousness. And this line is nothing less than the demarcation between those who uphold the schism between matter and spirit as perpetuated by the world’s major religions and those who don’t.

What side of this line you stand on will determine to a great extent what you are open to, in terms of planetary and personal transformation.

All Initiates must determine for themselves, what is true and not true, especially when it comes to this religiously perpetuated schism between matter and spirit. And by Initiates, we simply mean those who strive to live upward in consciousness, regardless of the method or spiritual traditions they follow.

The Path of the Heart

From our perspective, the threshold for an Initiate from the lower vibrational worlds into the upper worlds is, first and foremost, through the heart. This transit of consciousness is essentially an inner journey from the lower chakras to the higher chakras. It is only when an Initiate both transcends and transforms his or her personal fixation on security, sex and power that the upward spiral opens. And the entrance into this upward spiral of consciousness occurs when the heart chakra becomes energetically open and permeable.

The paradox and the difficulty is that you live in a dualistic universe, and virtually any action you take is met by a counter-force. This paradox and difficulty is like a metaphorical grain of sand in an oyster; it is irritating. But through the process of self-evolution, the irritation (i.e. duality) becomes a pearl, and paradoxically, something of value emerges from that which was problematic. But each Initiate must create this pearl of self-transformation for him or herself. No religion, no master, no teacher or guru can do it for you.

It may sound too simplistic but, in our experience, the greatest evolutionary catalyst, and the greatest vibratory field of safety to bridge transition states (such as the one you are collectively entering), is through the heart, your heart.

Let us be more specific here. As the number of Chaotic Nodes increases, the challenges to mental and emotional stability will multiply. And as a result, increasing numbers of individuals will enter irrational states of consciousness. There will be a tendency for these individuals to act out in self-destructive ways. And because you are connected to all life on this planet, you will be affected to some extent by the emotional turmoil of others.

Thus it would be of great benefit to you as an Initiate, to cultivate a coherent emotional state, something you return to again and again, reinforcing what we call a positive attractor.

Then it will be as if you have an energetic bubble of coherency around you. You will be able to see clearly and respond to the dualistic world you live in, yet your vibratory essence will remain protected from the increasing levels of chaos and irrationality of others. How you do this is your choice. There are many ways to accomplish this. We will simply offer two.

The first is the most basic and fundamental but is the foundation for the more advanced. We are well aware that many persons reading these messages are new to this type of information, while others are very advanced, which is why we are offering two techniques.

The Basic Technique

This first method is for those unfamiliar with the vastness of their own inner consciousness. It is simple but highly effective.

We recommend you regularly cultivate this coherent state in the garden of your mind.

To accomplish this, you simply reside in the feelings of appreciation or gratitude, without any reason to do so. In other words, you are not looking to something in your environment or your life to feel appreciation or gratitude for. You simply enter into this vibratory state for no other reason other than choosing to do so.

This vibratory state creates a coherency in your body and mind, and it is a type of mental/emotional upliftment that acts as a counter-balance to the downward spiral many humans will be experiencing.

We recommend that you enter this emotional state several times a day. Just a minute or two is all that is needed, but by entering into this vibratory state throughout the day, you train your brain/mind/body to enter into a coherent state at will. And this will be a very helpful and important mind-skill as you enter further into this planetary transition state (i.e. the emergence of multiple Chaotic Nodes).

One reason we say that this mind-skill will be helpful to you is due to the inherent effects of multiple Chaotic Nodes.

Many of you will find greater opportunities for frustration in your daily life. This is because actions taken will increasingly not lead to the result anticipated. Even those of you who are intellectually gifted and masters of manifestation may find blocks and unanticipated hindrances, due to no causation on your part, but rather due to the actions or inactions of others, as well as unanticipated problems caused by the increase of chaotic events in the world around you. Thus, when you find yourself at your wit’s end, so to speak, if you have cultivated the positive attractor of appreciation or gratitude you can use it to intervene into your own emotional turmoil, for if you succumb to your own emotional stress the contagion of mass hysteria is more likely to reach you.

Think of this simple technique as a lifesaver. It’s something passive, you just rest in it, and it creates a vibratory field that by its very nature protects your emotional and spiritual essence.

The Advanced Technique

The second technique we wish to share is for those of you who are more experienced with your inner worlds.

We discussed the first part of this method in a previous message called Ecstasy and the Heart.

The technique involves focusing on the physical heart, not the heart chakra, and while focusing your attention on the physical heart you enter into the state of appreciation or gratitude (just as with the simple method we gave earlier).

The effect of holding your awareness in the physical heart while experiencing appreciation or gratitude creates bliss or ecstasy if you hold the two together long enough.

Once you enter bliss or ecstasy you become aware of the space between the atoms of your body and your environment. This is a shift of mental attention and is based on the quantum reality that physical matter is over 99% space.

Obviously, you do not perceive this space between the atoms of your body and your immediate environment through your physical senses due to the limitations of your nervous system. But the non-local aspect of your consciousness that is unfettered by the limitations of your physical reality can experience this space.

The final stage of this technique involves a shifting of attention. As you become aware of this space in your body and the space around you, you perform a paradoxical feat of consciousness. You send the appreciation and gratitude you are experiencing, both to the space within your body and to the space around you, as well to the particles of matter that comprise your body and the world around you.

This “holding” of both space and matter in the vibratory realm of appreciation or gratitude will eventually reveal your nature as both an embodied and un-embodied being—as a being living through a physical body or form and simultaneously as a consciousness unbounded by form. If you persist with this method, it will eventually open a miraculous doorway for you, a doorway that leads to profound insights regarding the nature of ascension.

In regard to choosing which method to use, we suggest you begin where you are.

The first method, though simple, is highly effective at protecting you from the contagion of human irrationality and will lift you upward into the currents of the upward spiral, even as those around you spiral downward.

When you feel you are ready, you can explore the advanced method. This is not a marathon race to see who can get to the advanced method the quickest.

The only thing that is required is that you reside in appreciation or gratitude as often as possible without causation. This simple vibratory realm will be a great ally to you as you pass through the current planetary transition state.

...

Summary

As we said at the beginning of this message, you are entering a critical transition state. For those unfamiliar with our previous message entitled Transition States of Consciousness, we strongly suggest that you take a look at this communication.

Your Earth is entering a perilous period in its upward movement. Many aspects of your reality will be changing right before your eyes, more rapidly than you could ever have imagined.

Due to the acceleration of time, the transformation of your civilization will increase exponentially. Your word “transformation” literally means moving beyond form, thus the structures of your reality (meaning the thought forms and beliefs as well as the external realities of your life) will be undergoing rapid change.

A greater fluidity of consciousness is required. Protection of your vibratory essence is vital. You are entering harrowing times and yet in this complexity there are immense opportunities for your own personal evolution.

We believe that there will be a greater polarization between people as the Chaotic Nodes increase in number and intensity. And yet even in the midst of that polarization, if your heart/mind is open you will have moments of deep communion with others, even strangers, whenever you look into the eyes of another human being who recognizes the sacredness of this moment, the sacredness of life, and the sacredness of this Earth.

Our thoughts and blessings are with you.

P.S. According to Tom Kenyon, he said "The Hathors say that they are a group of interdimensional, intergalactic beings who were connected with ancient Egypt through the Temples of the Goddess Hathor, as well as several other pre-history cultures.In the late 1980′s, I was “contacted” by them during meditation, and they began to instruct me in the vibratory nature of the cosmos, the use of sacred geometry as a means to stimulate brain performance, and in the use of sound to activate psycho-spiritual experiences. While I was intrigued with the information, I was, at the time, uncomfortable with their self-described origins. I was, after all a practicing psychotherapist and involved in brain research at the time. In short, I was a rationalist. And these beings—whoever they were and wherever they came from—did not fit into my views of reality at the time."

Acceptance

2011-08-14T19:30:00.004+08:00

(By Dr. Chuck Spezzano)

Acceptance heals hurt. It heals the resistance that causes or exacerbates the pain. When you accept, it allows you to move forward in the flow, because what you accept, you naturally let go of.

Do You Remember The Time When You Believe You Can Do Anything?

2011-08-01T11:10:00.013+08:00

(By Sasha Xarrian, Founder of Outrageous Mastery, and reproduced from the "Master Your Beliefs - Take Control Of Your Life" website at: http://www.masteryourbeliefs.com/)

Do you remember what it was like when you were a kid?

When you believed that you could be anything you wanted to be when you grew up?

When you believed you could do anything?

The possibilities were endless.

You remember don't you?

You could be a police officer, or a doctor, or an astronaut.

You believed you could be anything you wanted and have anything you wanted

Like that Radio Flyer Wagon or Barbie doll or Dump Truck

You believed that you were "worthy of" and "entitled to" that new toy that you wanted to play with.

You didn't think about the money it could cost to have it.

I mean, at some point you believed money grew on trees and you would think, "Why can't I have that wagon, doll or truck? Don't they {your parents} know how happy that would make me?"
You believed that anything was possible.

And it was.

You didn't have any doubts.

You didn't have any judgments.

You didn't see the "why nots," you just saw the "what ifs."

So, let me ask you this...

Do you still believe you can be or have anything you desire?

Do you believe you are worthy and deserving of having it all?

No?

Why not?

What happened?

Why don't you still believe that you can have it all?

Why don't you still believe that you are worthy enough?

Why do you see all the reasons why it won't work?

Why you can't do it?

Why it's not possible?

Why?

I'll tell you why, but first let me say this...

"It's not your fault that you believe this way."

Here's why:

As you went through life, your beliefs changed.

Other people told you that XYZ wasn't possible.

That told you that you had to work hard.

That life was a struggle.

That you didn't deserve it.

That you weren't good enough, or smart enough, or attractive enough.

At first, you didn't believe them.

Right?

You were still a "kid at heart." You thought that you could have it all.

But then you tried and failed.

We all did.

And the more we tried and failed, the more we began adopting these beliefs as "truths" and "facts."

These fraudulent truths and facts became our beliefs.

We started saying and believing:

I'm not good enough.

I'm not smart enough.

Nothing ever works out for me.

Other people are just lucky.

I'll never succeed.

Life is hard.

The list goes on and on, doesn't it?

Well, I'm here to tell you –

"This Is Not The Truth"

That is not who you are!

That is not what life is about!

These are other people's old, worn out, self-sabotaging beliefs.

And if you don't change these beliefs...

Life will continue to be hard.

You will continue to experience your life exactly like it is now.

You will continue to struggle.

You will continue to fight.

continue to "want more" and never get it.

Your Beliefs Literally Control Your Life.

They control YOU.

Now, obviously I'm NOT talking about religious or political beliefs.

I'm talking about the beliefs that are far more hidden.

It is the Hidden Beliefs that are actually Controlling Every Decision You Make and Action You Take.

You aren't even aware of the beliefs that are controlling your life.

Your beliefs are the cause and effect of everything in your life.

Your beliefs create your feelings and your emotional responses.

Your beliefs determine your success (or lack of it).

Your beliefs determine the quality of your relationships and even whom you choose to be in a relationship with.

Your beliefs determine the kind of... car you drive, home you live in, clothes you wear, job you have

"Your" beliefs have literally created the life "you" are now living.

If you are miserable in any area of your life, it is because of the beliefs you have in that area of your life.

If you aren't living the life of your dreams and creating the life you deserve, it is the perfect time to uncover the hidden beliefs that are keeping you stuck.

No amount of positive thinking, affirmations, law of attraction, or anything else will work to its full potential until you consciously select and incorporate new beliefs.

Our beliefs control everything in our lives!

The Major Arcana: The Life Of The Fool

2011-07-04T16:59:00.000+08:00

(By Thirteen and reproduced from "Tarot Card Meanings" page in the website of Aeclectic Tarot: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/)

The Fool

With all his worldly possessions in one small pack, the Fool travels he knows not where. So filled with visions, questions, wonder and excitement is he, that he doesn't see the cliff he is likely to fall over. At his heel a small dog harries him (or tries to warn him of a possible mis-step). Will the Fool learn to pay attention to where he's going before it's too late?

The Magician

Travelling on his way, the Fool first encounters a Magician. Skilful, self-confident, a powerful magus with the infinite as a halo floating above his head, the Magician mesmerizes the Fool. When asked, the Fool gives over his bundled pack and stick to the Magician. Raising his wand to heaven, pointing his finger to Earth, the Magician calls on all powers. Magically, the cloth of the pack unfolds upon the table, revealing its contents.

To the Fool's eyes, it is as if the Magician has created the future with a word. All the possibilities are laid out, all the directions he can take: The cool, airy Sword of intellect and communication, the fiery Wand of passions and ambition, the overflowing Chalice of love and emotions, the solid Pentacle of work, possessions and body.

With these tools, the Fool can create anything, make anything of his life. But here's the question, did the Magician create the tools, or were they already in the pack? Only the Magician knows - and on this mystery, our eloquent mage refuses to say a word.

The High Priestess

Continuing his journey, the Fool comes upon a beautiful and mysterious veiled lady enthroned between two pillars and illuminated by the moon. She is the opposite of the Magician, quiet where he was loquacious, still where he was in motion, sitting while he stood, shrouded in the night where he was out in the bright of day. Sensing that she is a great seer, the Fool lays out his sword, chalice, staff and pentacle before her. "The Magician showed me these, but now I'm in a quandary. There are so many things I could do with them. I can't decide."

The High Priestess doesn't speak. Instead she hands him a pair of ancient scrolls. Seating himself at her feet, the Fool puts his decision-making on hold and reads by the light of her crescent moon.

"I did not know any of this," says the Fool. The scrolls, like a secret manual, have given him insight into his new tools. "This information helps me to narrow things down, but I'm still afraid of making a wrong decision."

The words come to him then, not from without but from within: "What do your instincts tell you?" The Fool reflects on that, and that's when he knows what he should do. Decision made, he rises to leave even though he suspects that the High Priestess has more secrets she could reveal to him--like what lies behind the pomegranate curtain. Right now, however, he is focused and ready to be on his way.

Thanking the High Priestess, he heads off. But as he leaves he hears that inner voice, rising like the waters which spring and flow from beneath her throne: "We'll meet again...when you're ready to travel the most secret path of all."

The Empress

Having decided what he will create with his tools, the Fool strides forward, impatient to make his future a full-grown reality. This is when he comes upon the Empress. Her hair gold as wheat, wearing a crown of stars, and a white gown dotted with pomegranates. She rests back on her throne surrounded by an abundance of grain and a lush garden. It is possible that she is pregnant.

Kneeling, the Fool relates to her his story. And she, in turn, smiles a motherly smile and gently gives him this advice: "Like newly planted grain or a newborn babe, a new life, a new relationship, a new creation is fragile. It requires patience and nurturing. It needs love and attention. Only this will bring it to fruition." Understanding at last that his creations will take time to develop, the Fool thanks the Empress and continues on his way.

The Emperor

The Fool was given options by the Magician, and decided on one with help from the High Priestess. He learned how to develop it thanks to the Empress. Now it has reached as stage where he must find a way to manage it. How to do this? He approaches a great Emperor seated on a stone throne. The Fool is amazed by the way the Emperor is instantly, eagerly obeyed in every particular, at how well his Empire is run and organized. Respectfully, he asks the Emperor how it is he does this. And the Emperor answers: "Strong will and a solid foundation of laws and order. It's all very well," he explains to the Fool, "to be imaginative, creative, instinctual, patient; but to control one must be alert, brave and aggressive."

Ready now to lead and direct rather than be led, the Fool heads out with new purpose.

The Hierophant

Having created a solid foundation on which to build his future, the Fool is struck with a sudden fear. What if everything he's worked for is taken away? Is stolen, or lost, or destroyed or vanishes? Or what if what he's created isn't good enough? In a panic, he heads into a temple where he finds the Hierophant, a wise and holy man. Acolytes kneel before the man ready to hear and pass on his teachings. The Fool tells the Hierophant his fears, and asks how he can be free of them.

"There are two ways," says the Hierophant sagely, "Either give up that which you fear to lose so it no longer holds any power over you, or consider what you will still have if your fear comes to pass. After all," the Hierophant continues, "if you did lose all you'd built, you would still keep the experience and knowledge that you've gained up to this point, wouldn't you?"

"That is true," the Fool says. "But what about the community, society and friends I've discovered thanks to what I've created? More than knowledge or experience, I value them. If I lost all, I'd lose them too, wouldn't I?"

"Not necessarily," the Hierophant answers with a warm glow in his compassionate eyes. "If your community has traditions that you all share, ethics and beliefs, then you will never lose that fellowship even if circumstances force you to part. You can even pass such onto your children giving them the same fellowship with each other and with past generations."

Hearing this, the Fool feels his heart ease, as if knots of fear have been loosened. A sense of peace blankets him, and he takes a moment to thank the good Hierophant most profoundly. Stepping out of the sanctuary he makes his way to a meeting with his friends. Tonight they will talk about how they can create lessons and traditions to preserve not only their experience and knowledge, but their community.

The Lovers

The Fool comes to a cross-road, filled with energy, confidence and purpose, knowing exactly where he wants to go and what he wants to do. But he comes to a dead stop. A flowering tree marks the path he wants to take, the one he's been planning on taking. But standing before a fruit tree marking the other path is a woman. The Fool has met and had relationships with women before, some far more beautiful and alluring. But she is different. Seeing her, he feels as though he's just been shot in the heart with cupid's arrow.

That's how shocking, how painful is his "recognition" of her. As he speaks with her, the feeling intensifies; like finding a missing part of himself. It is clear that she feels the same about him. They finish each other's sentences, think the same thoughts. It is as if an Angel above had introduced their souls to each other.

Though it was his plan to follow the path of the flowering tree, and though it will cause some trouble for him to bring this woman with him, the Fool knows he dare not leave her behind. Like the fruit tree, she will fulfil him. No matter how divergent from his original intent, she is his future. He chooses her, and together they head down a whole new road.

The Chariot

The Fool is close to completing what he set out to create long ago, back when the Magician revealed those tools to him. But enemies are now standing in his way, devious human enemies, bad circumstances, even confusion in his own mind. There's no more forward momentum; he feels he is fighting just to stay where he is. Walking along the shore, watching the waves come in, he puzzles over how to defeat these enemies and get things moving forward once again. It is here that he comes across a charioteer, standing in his gold and silver chariot, his black and white steeds at rest. "You seem a victorious warrior," the Fool remarks. "I feel beset by my enemies, unable to move forward. What should I do?

"First, you must armour yourself," the Charioteer strikes the chariot and then his breastplate with a gauntleted fist, making both ring out. "Next, you must focus on your goal, where do you mean to go, what do you mean to do." The warrior nods to his beasts. "Your steeds keep the wheels turning, but it is your control and direction of them that gets them to their destination. Dark and light, they must be made to draw in harmony, under your guidance." The Fool nods. That makes sense. "What if an someone or something gets in your way?"

The Charioteer coolly meets the Fool's gaze. "You run them down. Your aim is victory, and to be victorious you must have unwavering confidence in your cause. Never question, never doubt what you're trying to achieve. Never lose your focus or your motivation."

The Fool is impressed and inspired. He thinks he now knows how to get past all the distractions and setbacks that have been keeping him trapped in place, like a riptide in the ocean. He thanks the warrior, but before he leaves, the warrior stays the Fool.

"One thing more you should keep in mind," he says, "Victory is not the end, it is the beginning. Remember that before you decide to enter into any contest."

Strength

The Fool, victorious over his enemies, is feeling arrogant, powerful, even vengeful. There are hot passions in him, ones he finds himself unable and unwilling to control. It is in this state that he comes across a maiden struggling with a lion. Running to help, he arrives in time to see her gently but firmly shut the lion's mouth! In fact, the beast, which seemed so wild and fierce, is now completely at her command.

Amazed, the Fool asks her, "How did you do that?" One hand on the lion's mane, she answers, "I asked the lion to do it, and it did it."

"But-but-" the Fool stutters, confounded. "Why did it want to obey?" At that moment, the Maiden meets the Fool's eyes; he sees in her warmth, gentleness, a heart so great that its generosity seems as infinite as its willingness to understand. And that is when the Fool understands exactly why the lion did her bidding.

It wanted to connect to that higher energy.

Yet there is still one thing that confuses the Fool. "But," he says, much softer now, "Why would you, fair maiden, want to keep company with a beast?"

"Because he, too, is filled with a wonderful energy," the Maiden says. "It is wild and fierce, but it can be banked, like a fire in a hearth. I knew if he would take direction from me, we could both be warmed."

"So, too," she adds, "are our passions. Let them run wild and they will do damage. But we can, with gentle fortitude, check and direct those passions. In doing so, we can get so much more out of them. And yet, still sate them."

His rage quieted, the enlightened Fool walks away knowing that it wasn't only the lion that was tamed this day by a Maiden's pure and innocent strength.

The Hermit

After a long and busy lifetime, building, creating, loving, hating, fighting, compromising, failing, succeeding, the Fool feels a profound need to retreat. In a small, rustic home deep in the woods, he hides, reading, cleaning, organizing, resting or just thinking. But every night at dusk he heads out, travelling across the bare, autumnal landscape. He carries only a staff and a lantern.

It is during these restless walks from dusk till dawn, peering at and examining whatever takes his fancy, that he sees things he's missed during his lifetime. His lantern illuminates animals and insects that only come out at night, flowers and plants that only bloom by moon or star light.

As these secret corners of the world are illuminated and explored by him, he feels that he is also illuminating hidden areas of his mind. In a way, he has become the Fool again. As in the beginning, he goes wherever inspiration leads him. Back then, however, his staff rested on his shoulder, carrying unseen his pack. The Fool was like the pack: wrapped up, unknown. The Hermit's staff leans out before him now, not behind. And it carries a lantern, not a pack. The Hermit is like the lantern, illuminated from within by all he is, capable of penetrating the darkness.

The Wheel of Fortune

From out of hiding comes the Fool, into the sunlight, as if being pulled up from some low, dark point on a wheel. It is time for a change. Staff in hand, he heads back out into the world, expecting nothing. But, strangely, things seem to happen to him as the hours go by, good things. Wandering by a water wheel a woman offers him a drink in a golden chalice, and then urges him to keep the cup; as he wanders by a windmill, he stops to watch a young man swinging a sword; when he expresses his admiration of the weapon, the young man presses it into his hand, insisting that he take it.

And finally, when he comes upon a rich merchant sitting in a wagon, right over one of the wheels, the man hands him a bag of money. "I decided to give this to the tenth person who walked past me today," explains the Merchant, "You're the tenth." The Fool hardly thought he could still be surprised, but he is. It is as if everything good that he ever did in his life is being paid back to him, three-fold. All luck this day is his.

Justice

The Fool is looking for a new path, a new aspiration and inspiration for his life. Sitting uncertain at a crossroads he notices a blind wise woman listening to two brothers argue over an inheritance. They have come to her for judgment. One brother has the whole inheritance, the other has nothing.

"I ask that all of it be given to me," the poor brother demands, "Not only because I have a better right to it, but because I will not be wasteful with it, as he is!" But the rich brother protests, "It is rightfully mine and that's all that should matter, not what I do with it!"

The woman listens, then awards half of the rich brother's inheritance to the poor brother. The Fool thinks this only fair, but neither brother is happy. The rich one hates losing half his wealth, and the poor one feels he ought to have gotten all.

"You were fair," the Fool remarks to the woman after the brothers have left. "Yes, I was," she answers plainly. "With only half the inheritance, the rich one will stop being so wasteful. And the poor one will have as much as he needs. Even though they cannot see it, this decision was good for both."

The Fool thinks on this and realizes that he has spent his life achieving worldly ambitions and physical goods while leaving his spiritual self to starve. He ought to have given half his time and energy to his spiritual self, but he didn't. It's no wonder that he feels unbalanced. Thanking the woman, he heads out to restore equilibrium to his inner scales.

The Hanged Man

The Fool settles beneath a tree, intent on finding his spiritual self. There he stays for nine days, without eating, barely moving. People pass by him, animals, clouds, the wind, the rain, the stars, sun and moon. On the ninth day, with no conscious thought of why, he climbs the tree and dangles from a branch upside down like a child. For a moment, he surrenders all that he is, wants, knows or cares about. Coins fall from his pockets and as he gazes down on them - seeing them not as money but only as round bits of metal.

It seems to him that his perspective of the world has completely changed, as if his inverted position has allowed him to dangle between the mundane world and the spiritual world, able to see both. It is a dazzling moment, dreamlike yet crystal clear.

Timeless as this moment of clarity seems, he realizes that it will not last. Very soon, he must right himself, but when he does, things will be different. He will have to act on what he's learned. For now, however, he just hangs, weightless as if underwater, observing, absorbing, seeing.

Death

Having left the tree from where he hung, the Fool moves carefully through a fallow field, head still clearing from visions. The air is cold and wintry, the trees bare. He knows he has started on his spiritual journey in earnest, but feels strangely empty and profoundly sad, as if he has lost something.

Before him he sees, rising with the sun, a skeleton in black armour mounted on a white horse. He recognizes it as Death. As it stops before him, he humbly asks, "Have I died?" And the Skeleton answers, "Yes, in a way. You sacrificed your old world, your old self. Both are gone, dead."

The Fool cannot keep from weeping. "Forgive me," he says, embarrassed by his tears.

"There is nothing to forgive," Death replies. "Mourning is natural and you must deal with your loss before you can accept anything new. Keep in mind, however, that old leaves must wither and fly away from a tree's branches, leaving them bare, before new green leaves can appear."

As Death rides away, the Fool sees the truth in those words. He, too, feels like a skeleton, all that he was stripped away. This, he understands, is how all great transformations start, by removing everything down to bare bone or soil so that something new has room to grow.

Temperance

Recovering from feelings of loss at last, the Fool begins to wonder if he will finally find the new spirituality he's after. It occurs to him that so far, he's been dealing with opposites: the two opposing sides of the scales (Justice), the material and spiritual (which he hung between as the Hanged man), death and birth (the one leading into the other in the Death card). Does one always have to be surrendered to get the other? he wonders.

It is at this point that he comes upon a winged figure standing with one foot in a brook, the other on a rock. The radiant creature pours something from one flask into another. Drawing closer, the Fool sees that what is being poured from one flask is fire, while water flows from the other. The two are being blended together into a completely different substance!

"How can you mix fire and water?" the Fool finally whispers. Never pausing the Angel answers, "You must have the right vessels and use the right proportions."

The Fool watches with wonder. "Can this be done with all opposites?" he asks. "Indeed," the Angel replies, "Any oppositions, fire and water, man and woman, thesis and anti-thesis, can be made into a unified third. It is only a lack of will and a disbelief in the possibility that keeps opposites, opposite." And that is when the Fool begins to understand that he is the one who is keeping his universe in twain, holding life/death, material world and spiritual world separate. In him the two could merge. All it takes, the Fool realizes, is the right proportions, the right vessel and enough faith that the two can be unified.

The Devil

The Fool comes to the foot of an enormous black mountain where reigns a creature half goat, half god. At his hooves naked people, linked to the god's throne by chains, engage in every indulgence imaginable: sex, drugs, food, drink. The closer the Fool gets, the more he feels his own earthly desires rising in him. Carnal desires, hunger for food and power, greed and selfishness. "I have given up all such desires!" he roars at the Goat god, resisting the beast's power with all his might. He is sure that this is a test of his new spirituality, one where he must prove that the temptations of the material world cannot sway him.

The creature responds to his defiance with a curious look. "All I am doing is bringing out what is already in you," it responds mildly. "Such feelings are nothing to fear, nothing to be ashamed of, or even to avoid. They are even useful to helping you in your quest for spirituality, though many try to pretend otherwise."

The Fool gestures angrily at the chained men and women, "You say that even though these are clearly enslaved to the material world?"

The Goat-god mimics the Fool's gesture. "Take another look." The Fool does so, and realizes that the chained collars the men and women wear are wide enough for them to easily slip off over their heads. "They can be free if they wish to be," the Goat-god says, "They remain here because they want to be controlled by their base, bestial desires. There are, however, others…."

At this the Goat-god gestures upward, toward the peak of the mountain. "…Others who have used these same impulses to climb to the highest heights. If they had denied their desires they'd never have gotten there."

On hearing this, the Fool sees that he has mistaken the Goat-god. This is not a creature of evil as he thought, but of great power, the lowest and the highest, both of beast and god. Like all power, it is frightening, and dangerous...but it is also a key to freedom and transcendence.

The Tower

As the Fool leaves the throne of the Goat God, he comes upon a Tower, fantastic, magnificent, and familiar. In fact, The Fool, himself, helped build this Tower back when the most important thing to him was making his mark on the world and proving himself better than other men. Inside the Tower, at the top, arrogant men still live, convinced of their rightness.

Seeing the Tower again, the Fool feels as if lightning has just flashed across his mind; he thought he'd left that old self behind when he started on this spiritual journey. But he realizes now that he hasn't. He's been seeing himself, like the Tower, like the men inside, as alone and singular and superior, when in fact, he is no such thing.

So captured is he by the shock of this insight, that he opens his mouth and releases a SHOUT! And to his astonishment and terror, a bolt of actual lightning slashes down from the heavens striking the Tower and sending its residents leaping out into the waters below.

In a moment, it is over. The Tower is rubble, only rocks remaining. Stunned and shaken to the core, the Fool experiences profound fear and disbelief. But also, a strange clarity of vision, as if his inner eye has finally opened. He tore down his resistance to change and sacrifice (Hanged man), then came to terms with Death (Death); he learned about moderation and synthesis (Temperance) and about power (The Devil). But here and now, he has done what was hardest: he destroyed the lies of his life. What's left are the foundations of truth. On this he can rebuild himself.

The Star

On the bleak landscape where the Tower stood, the Fool sits, empty, despairing. He hoped to find direction on this spiritual journey, a path to his spiritual self, but having just learned that most of his life was a lie, he now feels lost. Sitting on the cold stones, he gazes up at the night sky wishing for some kind of guide. And that is when he notices, nearby, a beautiful girl with two water urns. As he watches, she kneels by a pool of water illuminated with reflected starlight. She empties the urns, one into the pool, one onto the thirsty ground.

"What are you doing," he asks her. She looks up at him, her eyes twinkling like stars. "I am refilling this pool, so that those who are thirsty may drink, and I am also watering the earth so that more fruit trees will grow to feed those who are hungry." She nods back to a single fruit tree that stands nearby, a nightingale singing amid its branches.

"Come," she invites. "Sate your hunger and quench your thirst."

The Fool plucks some fruit from the tree, then kneels by her and drinks from the pool. The water tastes wonderful, like liquid starlight, and the fruit is equally delicious. Both help to heal his wounded heart.

Having quenched his thirst and sated his hunger, the Fool lays back to gaze up at the stars. "They're so beautiful," he said, "but so distant."

"Like possible futures," agrees the girl. "Cool and distant. Yet if you keep one in sight, it can guide you to your destination no matter how far away it is." Even as she says this, she began to fade away, like dew, vanishing. All that remains is a gleam that was at the centre of her forehead. This rises up and up, until it settles in the night sky as a shining star. "Follow your star," the woman's voice seems to sing from that light, "and have hope."

The Fool takes in a breath and rises. It is a dark night, a desolate land. But for the first time, he has a guiding light to show him the way. Distant as it is, it restores his faith.

The Moon

Following the star the Fool travels through the night. The full Moon rises, illuminating for him a watery path. And he begins to feel disoriented, as if walking in his sleep. He passes under the moon, between two pillars ancient and strange. Suddenly, he looks around to find himself in another land entirely. When he was in the presence of the High Priestess, he saw hints of this dark land through the sheer veil draped behind her throne. And later, when he hung from the tree, he felt himself between the physical world and this one. Now, he has at last passed behind the veil.

Here are the mysteries he sought, the darkest mysteries, ones that have to do with the most primal and ancient powers. It is a land poets, artists, musicians and madmen know well, a terrifying, alluring place, with very different rules. Wolves run wild across this land, hunting alongside maidens with bow and arrows. Creatures from childhood nightmares and fantasies peer from shadows, eyes glowing.

The path the Fool was walking is now a river, and he stands hip-deep in the powerful pull of its salty waters. There is, on the nearby shore, a small boat, but it has no rudder, no oar. The Fool realizes he has only two choices. He can lose himself in this desolate, primal land of madness and illusion, howl with the wolves, be hunted down, or he can get into the boat and trust himself to the river. The moon will be in control either way, but in the boat his surrender to the powers of the unconscious will at least take him somewhere.

Inspiration, visions and genius are the rewards of such surrender to the Moon's Magic, as artists, poets and seers know. The Fool gets into the boat, and shoves off. As the waters sweep him away, moonbeams light his "path" and he feels the Mistress of this dark land gazing down at him with the High Priestess's approving eyes.

The Sun

The Fool wakes at dawn from his long, dark night of the soul to find that the river has deposited him in a serene pool. There is a walled garden around this pond dominated by roses, lilies and splendid, nodding sunflowers. Stepping ashore, he watches the sun rise overhead. The day is clear. A child's laughter attracts his attention and he sees a little boy ride a small white pony into the garden.

"Come!" says the little boy, leaping off the horse and running up to him. "Come see!" And the child proceeds to take the Fool's hand and enthusiastically point out all manner of things, the busy insects in the grass, the seeds and petals on the sunflowers, the way the light sparkles on the pond. He asks questions of the Fool, simple but profound ones, like "Why is the sky blue?" He sings songs, and plays games with the Fool.

At one point the Fool stops, blinking up at the Sun so large and golden overhead, and he finds himself smiling, wider and brighter than he has in a very long time. He has been tested and tried, confused and scared, dismayed and amazed. But this is the first time that he has been simply and purely happy. His mind feels illuminated, his soul light and bright as a sunbeam, and it's all thanks to this child with his simple questions, games and songs. This boy has helped the Fool see the world and himself anew.

"Who are you?" the Fool asks the child at last. The child smiles at this and seems to shine. And then he grows brighter and brighter until he turns into pure sunlight.

"I'm You," the boy's voice says throughout the garden, "The new you." And as the words fill the Fool with warmth and energy, he comes to realize that this garden, the sun above, the child, all exist within him. He has just met his own inner light.

Judgement

As the Fool leaves the garden of the Sun, he feels that he is near the end of his journey, ready to take a final step. But something is keeping him from doing this, holding him back. He gazes up, hoping to find guidance from the Sun; instead he sees above him a fiery angel, beautiful and terrible.

"You are right," the Angelic figure confirms, "you have only one last step on your journey, one final step to completion. But you cannot take that step until you lay your past to rest."
The Fool is perturbed. "Lay it to rest? I thought I'd left it behind, all of it!"

"There is no way to leave the past behind," The Angel observes. "Each step wears down the shoe just a bit, and so shapes the next step you take, and the next and the next. Your past is always under your feet. You cannot hide from it, run from it, or rid yourself of it. But you can call it up, and come to terms with it. Are you willing to do that?"

The Angel hands the Fool a small trumpet. The Fool is hesitant, but he knows that the Angel is right. There are certain memories he has a hard time looking back on as they make him feel guilty, ashamed, angry. He knows that he's never come to terms with what happened and he must if he wants to make that final transition.

He blows the trumpet and it cracks open the Earth. From under the Fool's feet, the spirits of his past selves rise up, including those less than admirable past selves that he's tried to forget.

For the first time, he faces them. They are, he sees, nothing to fear. They were him once-upon-a-time, but not now. Even as he realizes this, he finds himself forgiving those past selves for the wrongs they did that left him feeling bad. He senses, in turn, that they forgive him for ignoring the lessons they had to teach him. As he reaches an understanding with them, they start to rise up and float away, vanishing into the sky. Though they remain as experiences and memories, they no longer have any power over him. He is free of ill-feelings, reborn, and living in the present.

The World

The Fool turns to take that final step along his final path, and finds, to his bemusement, that he is right back where he started, at the edge of that very same cliff he almost stepped over when he was young and too foolish to look where he was going. But now he sees his position very differently. He thought he could separate body and mind, learn all about one, then leave it to learn about the other. But in the end, it is all about the self: mind and body, past and future, the individual, and the world. All one, including the Fool and the Mystic who are both doorways to the secrets of the universe.

With a knowing smile, the Fool takes that final step right off the cliff...and soars. Higher and higher, until the whole of the world is his to see. And there he dances, surrounded by a yoni of stars, at one with the universe. Ending, in a sense, where he began, beginning again at the end. The world turns, and the Fool's journey is complete.

N.B. Dedicated to the diversity and beauty of Tarot, Aeclectic Tarot is the website which would provide its visitors with an abundant wealth of knowledge and information on the topic of Tarot. Thirteen, through the Aeclectic Tarot Forum, has weaved this beautiful story based on the design of the Major Arcana of the Rider-Waite Tarot style of the Tarot deck. The Rider-Waite Tarot is a classic Tarot deck, perhaps the most well-known in the Western world. It is often called the first modern Tarot deck, as the cards drawn by Pamela Colman-Smith and commissioned by Waite were the first to use detailed pictures on the minor arcana cards. One may sample some of the deck's designs at this link: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/rider-waite/.

Being on The Same Wavelength - A Collective Coherence Study

2011-06-01T14:31:00.000+08:00

(By Sara Childre)

You probably know how beneficial maintaining a high level of heart-rhythm coherence can be for your mental, physical and emotional health and well-being. Perhaps you use HeartMath’s Quick Coherence® or other techniques and the emWave® PSR or emWave® Desktop to raise your own coherence level.

Have you ever wondered whether raising your coherence could influence the coherence levels of those around you? Remember a time with a small group of friends or others when you all felt an extraordinarily close connection – like being on the same wavelength?

Steven M. Morris, Ph.D., founder of Singapore-based Steve Morris Associates, wondered about such questions and explored them in an independent study in September and October of 2008.

In the study, Achieving Collective Coherence: Group Effects on Heart Rate Variability Coherence and Heart Rhythm Synchronization, Morris, whose firm helps corporate executives and their teams achieve coherence in their work and personal lives, wanted to know: "whether a group of participants trained in achieving high states of heart-rate-variability coherence (HRVC) could facilitate higher levels of HRVC in an untrained subject in close proximity."

Writing about the study’s results in the July/August 2010 edition of the journal, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Morris said: "The HRVC of the untrained subject was found to be higher in approximately half of all matched comparisons. …

"These results suggest that a coherent energy field can be generated and/or enhanced by the intentions of small groups of participants trained to send coherence-facilitating intentions to a target receiver. This field is made more coherent with greater levels of comfort between group members. The evidence of heart-rhythm synchronization across participants supports the possibility of heart-to-heart bio-communications."

Various protocols were used in the study’s 148 trials over eight weeks. In each, groups of four participants – one Receiver, with no coherence training, and three Senders, with training – were instructed to employ one of the following protocols:

Senders raise personal coherence while Receiver remains in a state of quiet relaxation.
Senders raise personal coherence and consciously attempt, with care and compassion, to facilitate, or promote increased coherence in Receiver.
Senders raise personal coherence while Receiver practices HeartMath’s Quick Coherence Technique® (This technique can be found at: http://www.heartmath.org/free-services/tools-for-well-being/quick-coherence-adult.html) – explained on a cue card and briefly demonstrated by a researcher.
Senders relax while Receiver attempts to raise personal coherence.
Senders and Receivers relax quietly.

Another interesting finding in the study was that results were somewhat weaker when senders concentrated on raising the receiver’s coherence. "This suggests," Morris explained, "that trying too hard to facilitate coherence in someone else might actually be counter-productive. … Collective coherence can best be forged on the strength of personal coherence."

Read Morris’ entire article and learn more about coherence at Achieving Collective Coherence (The full article can be downloaded at: http://www.heartmath.org/templates/ihm/downloads/pdf/research/publications/achieving-collective-coherence.pdf).

Humour: Shredded Similes & Mutilated Metaphors

2011-05-17T20:10:00.009+08:00

As a departure from the topics on which I normally post, I have included the following actual similes and metaphors purportedly found by high school English teachers from across the United States of America in their student's essays. Some of them are actually pretty impressive.

- Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

- His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances, like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

- He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

- She grew on him like she was a colony of e-coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

- She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

- Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

- He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

- The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

- The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

- McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

- From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

- Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

- The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

- Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

- They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

- John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

- He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

- Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

- Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

- The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

- The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

- He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

- The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

- It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

- He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

- The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

- Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie this guy would be buried in the credits as something like "Second Tall Man."

- The thunder was ominous-sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play.

- The red brick wall was the color of a brick-red Crayola crayon.

佛祖说：Why are you still carrying her?

2011-05-08T14:19:00.007+08:00

Tanzan and Ekido, two monks on a pilgrimage, were traveling together when they came to the ford of a river. It was there where they met a lovely young girl dressed in silk kimono with a sash and all manners of finery. However, she appeared not to know how she could proceed towards the opposite bank since the water level in the river was high and she obviously was not too keen to soil or wet her clothes.

Without much ado, Tanzan then proceeded to take her on his back, carried her safely across the river and put her down on dry ground on the opposite bank. Thereafter, the monks continued on their way.

Tanzan and Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. It was then when Ekido could no longer restrain himself and said “Surely, it is not right for us to touch that girl by the river bank; for it is against the commandments for monks to have close contact with women. How could you of all people violate such a cardinal rule for monks?”

Tanzan remained silent for a moment, but he finally remarked, “I have already set her down by the river bank hours ago. Why are you still carrying her?”

P.S. The above story is derived from a classic kōan. A kōan is a fundamental part of the history and lore of Zen Buddhism. It typically consists of a story, dialogue, question, or statement, the meaning of which cannot be understood by rational thinking but may be accessible through intuition.
One of the most difficult thing which we face constantly in life is to let go of something from the past. When someone does us wrong and seeks forgiveness in the process, we may already choose not to grant that someone forgiveness. Even if we do forgive that someone, we may inadvertently still choose to continue carrying the memory of that wrong. It is especially so if we are that someone who has committed the wrong against somebody else. I am sure we do not want to continue carrying memories of the wrong and its associated guilt, but unfortunately, we often do. In fact, it often seems to be infinitely more difficult for us to forgive ourselves than to forgive someone else. So, when are we ever going to lay down the memories of our past transgressions and move on in life?

佛祖说：石桥禅

2011-05-01T12:51:00.003+08:00

阿难对佛祖说：我喜欢上了一女子。

佛祖问阿难：你有多喜欢这女子?

阿难说：我愿化身石桥，受那五百年风吹，五百年日晒，五百年雨淋，只求她从桥上经过。

佛祖说:会有多喜欢?

可是一见钟情便倾心一世?

可是不问回报而付出等待？

阿难，某日等那女子从桥上经过，那也便只是经过了，此刻你已化身成了石桥，注定只与风雨厮守。

这一切你都明白，仍旧只为那场遇见而甘受造化之苦。

阿难，你究竟有多喜欢那从桥上经过的女子，令你舍身弃道，甘受情劫之苦？

------------------------------------------------------------

有个年轻美丽的女孩，出身豪门，家产丰厚，又多才多艺，日子过得很好。

媒婆也快把她家的门槛给踩烂了，但她一直不想结婚，因为她觉得还没见到她真正想要嫁的那个男孩。

直到有一天，她去一个庙会散心，于万千拥挤的人群中，看见了一个年轻的男人，不用多说什么，反正女孩觉得那个男人就是她苦苦等待的结果了。

可惜，庙会太挤了，她无法走到那个男人的身边，就这样眼睁睁的看着那个男人消失在人群中。

后来的两年里，女孩四处去寻找那个男人，但这人就像蒸发了一样，无影无踪。

女孩每天都向佛祖祈祷，希望能再见到那个男人。

她的诚心打动了佛祖，佛祖显灵了。

佛祖说：“你想再看到那个男人吗？”

女孩说：“是的！我只想再看他一眼！”

佛祖：”你要放弃你现在的一切，包括爱你的家人和幸福的生活。”

女孩：“我能放弃！”

佛祖：“你还必须修炼五百年道行，才能见他一面。你不后悔么？”

女孩：“我不后悔！”

女孩变成了一块大石头，躺在荒郊野外，四百多年的风吹日晒，苦不堪言，但女孩都觉得没什么，难受的是这四百多年都没看到一个人，看不见一点点希望，这让她都快崩溃了。

最后一年，一个采石队来了，看中了她的巨大，把她凿成一块巨大的条石，运进了城里，他们正在建一座石桥，于是，女孩变成了石桥的护栏。

就在石桥建成的第一天，女孩就看见了，那个她等了五百年的男人！

他行色匆匆，像有什么急事，很快地从石桥的正中走过了，当然，他不会发觉有一块石头正目不转睛地望着他。

男人又一次消失了，再次出现的是佛祖。

佛祖：“你满意了吗？”

女孩：“不！为什么？为什么我只是桥的护栏？如果我被铺在桥的正中，我就能碰到他了，我就能摸他一下！”

佛祖：“你想摸他一下？那你还得修炼五百年！”

女孩：“我愿意！”

佛祖：“你吃了这么多苦，不后悔？”

女孩：“不后悔！”

女孩变成了一棵大树，立在一条人来人往的官道上，这里每天都有很多人经过，女孩每天都在近处观望，但这更难受，因为无数次满怀希望的看见一个人走来，又无数次希望破灭。

不是有前五百年的修炼，相信女孩早就崩溃了！

日子一天天的过去，女孩的心逐渐平静了，她知道，不到最后一天，他是不会出现的。

又是一个五百年啊！最后一天，女孩知道他会来了，但她的心中竟然不再激动。

来了！他来了！他还是穿着他最喜欢的白色长衫，脸还是那么俊美，女孩痴痴地望着他。

这一次，他没有急匆匆的走过，因为，天太热了。

他注意到路边有一棵大树，那浓密的树荫很诱人，休息一下吧，他这样想。

他走到大树脚下，＊着树根，微微的闭上了双眼，他睡着了。

女孩摸到他了！他就靠在她的身边！

但是，她无法告诉他，这千年的相思。她只有尽力把树荫聚集起来，为他挡住毒辣的阳光。

千年的柔情啊！

男人只是小睡了一刻，因为他还有事要办，他站起身来，拍拍长衫上的灰尘，在动身的前一刻，他抬头看了看这棵大树，又微微地抚摸了一下树干，大概是为了感谢大树为他带来清凉吧。

然后，他头也不回地走了！就在他消失在她的视线的那一刻，佛祖又出现了。

佛祖：“你是不是还想做他的妻子？那你还得修炼……”

女孩平静地打断了佛祖的话：“我是很想，但是不必了。”

佛祖：“哦？”

女孩：“这样已经很好了，爱他，并不一定要做他的妻子。”

佛祖：“哦！”

女孩：“他现在的妻子也像我这样受过苦吗？”

佛祖微微地点点头。

女孩微微一笑：“我也能做到的，但是不必了。”

就在这一刻，女孩发现佛祖微微地叹了一口气，或者是说，佛祖轻轻地松了一口气。

女孩有几分诧异，“佛祖也有心事么？”

佛祖的脸上绽开了一个笑容：“因为这样很好，有个男孩可以少等一千年了，他为了能够看你一眼，已经修炼了两千年。”

Medical Journals - Weight Loss Through Chromium

2011-04-01T14:05:00.000+08:00

(By Dr. Al Sears, MD - Taken from the article entitled "Pigs Don't Lie" published in The Doctor's House Call dated 10 February 2011)

If you want to fight fat and keep a lean, muscular body, you can try going to the gym and spending hours and hours lifting, running, spinning…

…or you can use chromium.

Did you know that one study took commercial pigs and fed them chromium, and measured significant fat reduction? They changed nothing else about the pigs … all they did was give them chromium and they got lean. Not only that, but they had an increase in muscle, as well.

Another study at the University of Kentucky found much the same thing. They added chromium to the diet of pigs and got an “increased percentage of muscle and decreased percentage of fat.”

But it’s not just pigs telling the tale of chromium. An Austrian study gave one group of people a calorie-restricted diet and another group chromium for 26 weeks. The people in the chromium group lost just as much weight as the people eating almost nothing. And, like the other studies, they had increased lean muscle mass.

And it gets better. They then gave chromium to the people who had dropped weight through calorie restriction, and those people were able to increase their lean muscle mass without gaining weight back.

Unfortunately, most of us don't get enough chromium through what we eat.

Some of the reasons are:

Modern nutrition advice – It tells you to eat mostly grains and lean meat, which gives you little chromium. One study showed that 90 percent of Americans aren't getting enough chromium through our food.
Junk food – Most of the snacks available are full of sugar which can form phytic acid. This binds to chromium and prevents it from being absorbed.
Fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides – These are used on our crops and deplete them of important trace minerals like chromium.
Stomach medications – Antacids block chromium absorption.
Age – As you get older, it gets tougher to retain chromium.

Meanwhile you need chromium because it handles one of the problems of why people become obese. That’s because it’s a co-factor for insulin. Chromium makes your insulin more efficient because it helps insulin take sugar and turn it into energy. That helps you decrease your insulin production, so your body doesn’t take sugar from your bloodstream and store it as fat.

But a lack of chromium is just one reason why people are overweight.

For instance, you might just have a problem with leptin. Leptin is a hormone that does two things: It sends out the “I’m full” signal to your brain, and it tells the fat inside your cells to break down, so it can be burned as energy.

But foods containing high fructose corn syrup, for example, make you pump out so much leptin that your body eventually ignores the constant “full” signal. Your body thinks it needs to keep eating and storing more fat because it thinks it’s out of energy!

One of the best ways to stop that cycle and keep leptin working normally is with irvingia gabonensis seed extract. Irvingia comes from the forests of West Africa and helps leptin work normally. In fact, in one study, people taking an irvingia extract dropped an average of 28 pounds and 6 inches in just 10 weeks.

Also, sometimes people just eat too much, and that’s the reason they’re overweight. But there are ways to address that, too. One of my favorites is garcinia cambogia, a natural appetite suppressant.

This edible fruit from Asia is full of hydroxycitric acid, which promotes the synthesis of glycogen. When your body produces more glycogen and has enough of it, this helps leptin give the “I’m full” signal.

A study of 60 people taking garcinia at Georgetown University showed a significant decrease of total body weight and total food intake. The people also had a significant increase of serotonin (the “feel good” brain chemical), fat oxidation (fat burning) and cardiovascular benefits.

And if you’ve already got excess fat, an easy way to burn it off is with fucoxanthin.
This extract comes from an edible marine plant and helps you fight fat deposits. In a Japanese study, mice given fucoxanthin had significantly reduced weight in their white adipose tissue – the kind of fat that makes up an oversized waist.

Because those things are so important to getting lean, I’ve created a special formula with just the right amount of chromium, irvingia, garcinia and fucoxanthin to handle all four reasons why people have a hard time getting and staying lean.

Thousands of people are already using this formula to maintain healthy insulin function, help leptin work properly, control appetite and fight fat. They look better and most importantly, feel better!

I want nothing more than for you to experience that for yourself.

How the earthquake changed our brains (and how we think)

2011-03-19T16:11:00.005+08:00

(By Norma Gentile)
- Reproduced from Norma Gentile's original newsletter: First published on 16 March 2011 at http://www.healingchants.com/newsletter3b-11.html)

It wasn't just an Earthquake. Nor was it just a tsunami. Nor is it even the ongoing nuclear meltdowns. The electromagnetic field of the planet shifted. It happened in the hours just before the Earthquake and for several hours after the Earthquake. And because of that, our brains and the way we think have changed.

What does that mean?

Simply put; you can't think the same thoughts this week that you thought last week. The physical shift of the Earth made more concrete within our own bodies whatever change was necessary so that our thought patterns will not regress. That is a gift to all of humanity from those now enduring hardship and loss in Japan.

There are thoughts that are very hard for us to entertain now, after the quake. These same thoughts were ones we considered normal to have before the quake. There is a deeper quality of compassion and less judgment. A deeper reflection and stillness that we either yearn for or are taking steps to find and cultivate now. Our brain's function has shifted. We have lost some of our memory. The kind of memory that tells our computer where we were the last time we opened a web browser. We can no longer access it. There is no going back. We are not who we were.

The electromagnetic field that surrounds the Earth is both generated by the Earth as well as all the living beings who are present upon and within the Earth. As my definition of living beings I'm including plants, animals, minerals and all that humanity has created. Including nuclear power plants. These power plants emit electromagnetic fields. To a lesser extent the electrical lines in my backyard that bring electricity into my house, along with my phone lines and even cable TV lines, also generate small electromagnetic fields. As a result, the larger EM field of the planet is impacted by these smaller EM fields.

My guides were suggesting I think of this like acupuncture. If the planet is the body of the patient, then the planetary electromagnetic field is the energetic body of the patient. The nuclear reactors are needles being inserted into the patient's body; in this case the Earth. If someone randomly inserts needles into someone's body, chances are they won't hit any major acupuncture points, or hit enough minor points that relate to each other in a way to disturb the flow of energy in any given meridian. Any disruption in the meridians or chi of the patient that does occur due to needles being inserted randomly the patient's own body will restore within a few hours or days, once the needles are removed.

In the case of our planet, the nuclear reactors and similarly large producers of electromagnetic fields have been plunked down upon the planet. But they are not spread out evenly. They are clustered into certain regions and in lines up and down the coasts of Japan and the east coast of the US. Where the reactors exist in these lines, it is possible that they are forming secondary energy meridians, with each reactor functioning as a potent nodal point. These secondary energy meridians exist alongside the natural energy meridians of the Earth. Where they are clustered, they are creating secondary nodal points.

My wondering goes perhaps a bit differently here than what you might expect. I wonder if Earth's energies and Gaia's consciousness feels these secondary meridians and might be incorporating them to catapult the change in human consciousness? That is to say, what humanity has built is not wrong. It is being used in a manner we didn't anticipate to help us spring more quickly into a new way of viewing and interacting with our Earth. And we may not find this comfortable. Perhaps this discomfort will motivate us to seek within ourselves that still center point. Or plant a garden. Or call a dear friend.

At about the same moment the Earth shrugged her shoulder under the island of Japan, my own body sighed deeply. Months of a tension which had slowly built up inside of my core released as I turned from my computer screen to reach some papers behind me. It was an emotional energy and a sigh and a question mark, all pulsing up and out and into the space around me.

It was also a surprise. Before I gathered my thoughts, the energy had gone from the room. And the uneasiness I had been feeling inside of my body was gone. Completely. It was not mine. It had grown so slowly that I had not even thought to ask the tension if it was mine. Like most of us who feel things going on inside of us, I assumed that the sensation was mine. But it wasn't. It was the Earth's.

Our bodies are resonant to the physical Earth. Although we may have blocked it, we have the ability to be telepathic with the Earth. Many people find it easier to be telepathic in their emotions. They know they are resonant with the grief, fear and pain they see on the television. Others are now resonant with the Earth, as she builds up tension and then releases it. Just as we are on a journey, so is Gaia, whose body is the physical Earth.

N.B. Norma Gentile, a soprano as well as a Sound Sharman, is also a recording artist of four solo musical CDs, 10 Meditation and Teaching CDs, an energy healer and channeler. She receives information for individuals in healing sessions, and written transmissions from Archangel Michael, Mary and Thoth which she shares in her news-lettters and articles. As a singer of healing music, she works with the Hathors and Hildegard. Her works can be found at the following site: http://www.healingchants.com/. At the site, you will be able to hear as background music "Three Beauties Create Sacred Space" from Norma's latest album "Songs of Spirit".

Early To Rise - Winner Take All? The Yin and Yang of Negotiating

2011-03-15T16:50:00.001+08:00

(By Michael Masterson)

Sid had done it. He had convinced the IRS agent to forgive the mistake my partner Joel and I had made. He had spent three weeks with the guy, working mornings, golfing with him in the afternoon, and taking him out to dinner.

If the IRS had stuck to their ridiculous position, it would have cost us $10 million. But Sid's logic and diligence and charm had persuaded one of its bulldogs to do the right thing.

A month later, Sid's bill crossed my desk. It was for $85,000. "That's odd," I thought. "I could have sworn Sid was billing us by the hour."

Had he done so, the bill would probably not have exceeded $15,000. Still, $85,000 was a small price to pay for the service he had provided. I signed the invoice and sent it on to my partner.

The next day, Joel called me into his office.

"You saw his bill."

"Yes, I signed it."

"I saw that. But you know he was supposed to bill us by the hour."

"Yes, I know. But what he did was worth a lot more than eighty-five grand."

"Maybe so, but that wasn't our deal."

I shrugged.

"We have to bring him in and negotiate his bill."

"Okay."

"But we have to plan this thing. We have to rehearse."

"Plan? Rehearse? I don't get it. You are the best negotiator I know. Everyone in the business is afraid to negotiate with you. Why do we need to plan for Sid?"

He shook his head. "You don't know Sid," he said. "He taught me to negotiate."

Three or four times over the following week, Joel and I rehearsed our lines. Joel was going to take the strong line. I was going to be the objective outsider.

When the day arrived, Joel had a small wooden stool placed in front of his desk.

"That's where he'll sit," he told me.

The only thing missing was a spotlight.

Sid, 75 years old and about 110 pounds at the time, sauntered in wearing his tennis togs. His bony knees and skinny calves almost broke my heart.

"Have a seat," Joel, said, motioning to the wooden stool.

Sid sat. And then we began our practiced pitch. First Joel. Then me. Then back to Joel again. All the while, Sid sat there like a deer caught in the headlights. His eyes were wide. His flesh was white. His hands seemed to tremble.

Surely we were killing the old man, I thought. This was the cruelest thing I had ever done. Surely I would burn in hell.

But we persisted. And Sid said nothing.

When it was all over, he just stared at us for a full 30 seconds. And then he said, "I have only one question for you, boys."

We said, "What is that?"

And he said, "Did you think $85,000 was the entire bill?!"

I swear. That's what he said.

We spent the next 45 minutes negotiating. And we settled at $115,000.

Sid taught Joel to negotiate and Joel taught me. Sid and Joel viewed negotiating as a contest of power. The object was to gain as much of an advantage as you could by using every means at your disposal.

And Then I Met Bill

I've read many books on negotiating that advocated that same approach. But it never felt comfortable to me. I didn't understood why until I became a colleague of Bill Bonner.

Bill Bonner, as you probably know, is the founder and CEO of Agora Publishing.

Agora has been my primary client now for more than 15 years. During that time, I've seen it grow from a handful of employees with revenues of $8 million to a worldwide publishing powerhouse with nearly a thousand employees and revenues in the $400 million range.

I have witnessed Bill negotiating at least two dozen times. But I have never seen him do any of the clever things Joel taught me. When you negotiate with Bill, you have one of two conversations:

Conversation One:

Bill: Well, Frank, How much do you want for it?

Frank: Oh, I figure it's worth about $X million.

Bill: Well, Frank, that seems reasonable to me.

Conversation Two:

Bill: Well, Frank, How much do you want for it?

Frank: Oh, I figure it's worth about $X million.

Bill: Gee, Frank. I'm sorry but I don't think I can pay that much.

End of conversation.

I'm not kidding.

The amazing thing about Bill's low-key approach to negotiating is how well it works. People in the industry know that (a) he will never bully them, (b) he will never cheat them, and (c) he isn't a fool.

The difference between Bill's way and Joel's way is the difference between yin and yang.

The Yin Negotiator wants to achieve a mutually beneficial relationship. He is looking for a long-term partner so he doesn't care about short-term advantages.

The Yang Negotiator is not interested in the long-term. He sees his negotiating counterpart as an opponent, and believes that success comes one victory at a time.

How Much Yin and How Much Yang?

When negotiating a deal, how hard should you push for an advantage?

Should you play the competition game and get as much as you can? Or should you take a softer approach and "take care of" the other guy, even if he isn't taking care of himself?

What should you do if you discover a benefit or cost in the deal that the other guy isn't aware of? Do you bring it up? Or figure "If he's too stupid to notice, he doesn't deserve to know."

Let's answer these questions today.

When you think of business as a war and arm yourself accordingly, you can win plenty of battles. But as the years roll by and the battlefields change along with technology, all military approaches - however clever or powerful - fail.

Yes, you can fight your way to the top of the mountain when you are young and strong. But nobody stays on top forever.

Remember that old saw: Be nice to the people you meet on the way up, because they will be the same ones you meet on the way down.

So long as you maintain an edge, you can take advantage of it. But the minute you lose ground, you will slide onto a slippery downhill slope - greased by the bitterness of the many people who secretly resent you for past transgressions.

More important, perhaps, it takes a great deal of energy and cunning to do business as a Yang Negotiator. You must work just as hard for the next deal as you did for the last. However, when you negotiate with yin principles, you create trust. And trust makes it much easier to do good deals as time goes by.

The Yang Negotiator's view of the world is based on at least two fundamentally faulty ideas. One is that power is static: He who is stronger now will be stronger in the future. Another is that wealth is a commodity: It is something limited as opposed to something organic that can grow.

Mother bakes an apple pie. She cuts it into four pieces, one for each of her children. Since Mom has not used a protractor along with her knife, the pieces are not exactly the same. "I will be better off if I get the largest piece," the Yang Negotiator thinks. So he abandons his manners and grabs for it first. He gets the biggest piece but loses the trust of his siblings.

The Yang Negotiator thinks he is smart, but actually he is half-blind.

He doesn't realize that Mom will be making lots more pies. And when she does, the other children will remember that he had the biggest piece the first time. If he is bigger and stronger than they are, he will keep "winning" for a while. But Mother Nature has a surprise in store for him. His peers are going to start to become faster than he is. And then he will get the little piece. Or he might even go hungry.

When I get into a deal, I don't want the other guy to feel as if he's been taken advantage of. I don't want that to happen for three reasons - two of them practical and one philosophical.

First of all, I believe that someone who feels he's been bested by me will quietly assign an emotional marker to my butt that says "You'll get yours one day."

Second, I believe that if I get known as a tough guy to do business with, the number of people who will bring me good deals will diminish and the pool will eventually dry up completely.

And, finally, I think that, in the great scheme of things, everything eventually balances out with interest. If I give you something today, I'll get something back from someone - plus interest - some years hence. If I take something from you now, I'll pay the price for it - with interest - in the future.

If you see things the way I do, you really, really don't want to take advantage of anyone. You'd rather be the one taken advantage of.

From what I've said, you might conclude that I discount what Joel taught me in favor of Bill's way. But the truth is that I have applied lessons from each of them. My overall strategy is definitely yin. But I do sometimes use yang tactics when I believe they will help create a fairer deal (fairer to both of us.)

For example, I never go into a negotiation unprepared. (Joel taught me that.) I always spend time thinking about what I want from the deal. But instead of simply imagining how much I can get, I think long-term. If this deal turns into a lifetime relationship, how much can I get from it?

I also spend as much time - sometimes more - thinking about what the other guy wants. I imagine what he may want in the short-term and what he could get if we had a relationship that lasted many years.

I make a mental note of all these things. Sometimes, when it is complicated, I write them down.

I also spend some time thinking about what would happen if the deal did not take place. I try to visualize it as clearly as I can. I try to imagine how I would feel.

If I sense that I will be very disappointed, I come up with a Plan B. (I've written about Plan Bs many times in the past, including last week.) By devising a Plan B, I can go into the discussion knowing that if we can't agree I won't care. Not caring is the most valuable asset one can have in negotiating. Joel taught me that.

Now back to the questions I posed before:

Question: When negotiating a deal, how hard should you push for an advantage?

Answer: Don't push at all. Make your case as clearly as you can. Show your counterpart how the deal will benefit him. But if he doesn't agree, walk away.

Question: Should you play the competition game and get as much as you can? Or should you take a softer approach and "take care of" the other guy, even if he isn't taking care of himself?

Answer: See above.

Question: What should you do if you discover a benefit or cost in the deal that the other guy isn't aware of? Do you bring it up? Or figure "If he's too stupid to notice, he doesn't deserve to know."

Answer: You are interested in a long-term relationship. Tell him about his oversight. Reap the benefit of the trust that will engender.

Some of my friends tell me that I am too "nice" when it comes to making deals. When they hear that someone I've helped get rich does something chintzy to me, they scold me and tell me to get tough.

But none of these doubters have enjoyed as much success as I've had in business. And none of them have as many longstanding positive business relationships.

There is a way to negotiate well without being a bully. And there is a way to win without seeing the world as a contest over getting the biggest piece of a pie.

By taking a long-term approach to negotiating, wealth and success will come easier and easier. That seems to me to be a smart way to do business. Don't you think?

Medical Journals - Deep Breathing

2011-03-01T12:49:00.001+08:00

(By the Underground Health Reporter)

Didi you know that deep breathing is the single most powerful daily practice for advancing your health and well-being?

It might seem unusual, especially to people in America and the western world to regard the simple act of breathing as being an activity that enhances health. That's because most of us think breathing is nothing more than an automatic, involuntary mechanism that our body does in order to stay alive.

Special breathing techniques, such as those practiced in in ancient cultures and certain Eastern disciplines (such as yoga), have remained largely a mystery to Western civilization. What Westerners often don't realize is that when we turn our attention to our breath -- and increase the volume of our breath -- beneficial physiological mechanisms are triggered that have a significant effect on health.

For example, when volume, rate and attention level are altered in the practice of breathing, dramatic physiological, and even emotional, changes can and do occur.

According to Roger Jahnke, O.M.D., author of The Healer Within, "The breath is a link to the most profound medicine that we carry within us. Within this nearly unconscious gesture, a breath, that we enact 1,261,440,000 (1 and 1/4 billion) times in our life span there is a simple yet profound healing capability."

Various advocates of breathwork offer different breathing techniques and practices, such as full chest and abdominal breathing or alternate nostril breathing. The one I have been using since 1997 is one called Vital Breathing. It involves inhaling, holding the breath, and exhaling in the following sequence:

Inhale for 1 count
Hold the breath for 4 counts
Exhale for 2 counts

What's important is the ratio (1:4:2), not the actual number of counts that you inhale, hold the breath or exhale. For example: If you inhale for 4 seconds, then you would hold your breath for 16 seconds and then exhale for 8 seconds.

If you do 10 repetitions of this breathing exercise 3 times a day (morning, evening and just before bedtime), 5 to 10 minutes a day, you will experience a noticeable shift in your energy level, your mental clarity and your body's ability to prevent and heal diseases.

One of the main reasons why this breathing exercise delivers many health benefits is because the combined action of the lungs, diaphragm and thorax serve as a 'pump' for the lymph fluid.

The lymphatic system is often referred to as the sewage system of the body. It cleans up the waste created by virtually all the other systems of the body. The human body has twice as much lymph fluid than it has blood. But unlike the circulatory system, which has the heart to keep the blood flowing, the lymphatic system does not have a 'pump' to push the lymph fluids around the body. It relies on our breathing and movement in order to perform its function of surrounding every cell in the body; protecting each one by removing dead cells, blood proteins and any other toxins; and excreting them from the body. If the movement of the lymph were to stop entirely for 24 hours, one would die as a result of the trapped toxins and proteins surrounding our cells.

The practice of Vital Breathing creates the muscular movement required by the lymphatic system to circulate the lymph fluid efficiently. A lymphatic system that is functioning properly supports every other system in the body, including the immune, digestive, detoxification and nervous systems. A sluggish lymphatic system and stagnant lymph fluid, on the other hand, makes the body susceptible to infections, diseases and health conditions ranging from cancer, AIDS, tumor growth, cysts, impaired immune system ... all the way down to cellulite.

Random Thoughts: Wittgenstein's Ruler - To Judge Or Not To Judge

2011-02-27T13:04:00.004+08:00

I read "Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets" by the esteemed Nassim Nicholas Taleb a while ago. In the process, I recall chancing upon a probabilistic mechanism referred to as the "Wittgenstein’s Ruler". I think it can be applied to explain the relationship between a person passing judgment on someone (the "judgor") and the someone being judged on (the "judgee").

Taleb says: "Unless the source of a statement has extremely high qualifications, the statement will be more revealing of the author than the information intended by him. This applies to matters of judgment. According to Wittgenstein's ruler: Unless you have confidence in the ruler's reliability, if you use a ruler to measure a table you may also be using the table to measure the ruler. The less you trust the ruler's reliability, the more information you are getting about the ruler and the less about the table. A practical example of Wittgenstein's ruler is: The information from an anonymous reader on Amazon.com is all about the person, while that of a qualified person, is going to be all about the book."

In the case of the judgor versus the judgee, unless the judgor has impeccable credentials and expertise in the area he is passing judgment on, his statement would normally be more revealing of himself than on the subject matter being judged. And more often than not, it would be his subjective bigotry on the subject matter that is revealed.

Medical Journals - Correlation between Cholesterol Count & Heart Disease

2011-02-13T12:31:00.005+08:00

(By Dr. Al Sears, MD - Taken from an article entitled "What Is It About This Number?" published in The Doctor's House Call dated 19 January 2011)

Did you know there is no scientifically valid correlation between your total cholesterol count and the likelihood that you’ll develop heart disease?

But you and everyone else with a TV have been coerced into believing “high” cholesterol is bad for your heart.

It’s what drug companies want you to believe. They’ve become among the biggest corporations in the world by convincing you that you need their drug “cures” for cholesterol, depression, high blood pressure …

Meanwhile most of these drugs are really just treatments you have to take for the rest of your life. Their goal is to profit from your health, not cure you.

For example, how does the modern “health” industry explain the fact that 75 percent of the people who suffer heart attacks have normal total cholesterol?

The truth is, as long as your HDL is high enough, you have little if any risk of heart disease.

The Framingham Heart Study has been ongoing since the 1940s. It’s considered the most reliable data on heart disease because it has no interference from drug companies.

It has proved over the last 60 years that high levels of HDLs are directly related to a lower risk of heart disease.

Not only that, but it’s showed that raising HDL can reduce coronary disease regardless of LDL cholesterol. That’s because HDL removes plaque from your arteries. And it’s plaque buildup that really causes heart disease and heart attacks – not cholesterol.

In fact, if you want to beat heart disease without drugs, here are seven ways to raise your HDL levels naturally:

1. Niacin. Niacin has been found to raise HDL levels by as much as 24 percent. The best food sources of niacin are liver, chicken, beef, avocados, tomatoes and nuts. As always, stick with grass-fed beef, free-range chicken and organic produce and nuts. Or you can supplement. I recommend taking 500 mg of “sustained release” niacin a day.

2. Restore omega-3s to your diet. Wild-caught fish, grass-fed beef, free-range, organic poultry, nuts, olives, eggs and avocados are all rich in “good” fats. And cod liver oil – the best omega-3 supplement – will boost your HDL levels naturally.

3. Eat more protein, fewer carbohydrates. Replacing carbs with healthy proteins will lower your triglycerides and raise your HDL. The best protein sources are nuts, eggs, free-range poultry, grass-fed beef and wild-caught salmon.

4. Challenge your heart with high-intensity, short-duration, progressively challenging exercises. For example, these types of workouts, like my PACE program, boosts reserve capacity in your heart – critical for avoiding heart attacks – and raises HDL.

5. Enjoy a good brew. Drinking a beer a day decreases cholesterol levels, increases antioxidants and reduces levels of fibrinogen, a clot-producing protein.

6. Stop smoking. It sounds obvious, but if you smoke, you should stop. Not only does smoking lower your HDL, it constricts your blood vessels and raises your risk of heart attack in many other ways as well.

7. Drop the excess weight. Carrying excess pounds increases your risk of heart disease. Even a little weight reduction will raise your HDL levels.

I’m telling how to raise your HDL because I want you to have real alternatives to the drug-fueled culture of fear we’re exposed to every day. I want you to be empowered to make choices based on fact, not on information from commercials and media reports.

Early To Rise - Controlling Your Emotions During Tough Markets

2011-01-15T10:56:00.001+08:00

(By John Nyaradi)

All year, investors have been fleeing the stock market for the perceived safety of the bond market, letting fear take control of their investing and financial future. But if you can learn to control your emotions, today's equity markets offer enormous opportunity.

Your biggest enemy for successful trading is not the "market," other traders or investors, the economy, or any outside force. You face your biggest danger in the mirror every morning, because your biggest danger is you -- your emotions and the human frailties that can easily lead to your financial ruin.

How many times have you read that the average investor has an uncanny knack to buy at the top and sell at the bottom? It's true -- and it's sad. People tend to chase bubble fads and the latest "hot" investment. And when they do, they invariably get burned.

More of us need to be like Warren Buffett and train ourselves to "be greedy when others are fearful, and be fearful when others are greedy."

Greed, Fear, and the Herd

Greed and fear are the two primary driving forces behind most investor decisions. Because though much has been written about markets being rational and investors making rational decisions based on earnings reports, price-to-earnings ratios, or technical analysis, the fact is that markets are not rational, as witnessed by the stock market's recent wild gyrations.

We've seen incredible global volatility, a flash crash, strong short-term rallies and declines -- and there's no rational reason for any of this in terms of corporate profits, economic reports, or political events. The explanation for what's happening in these crazy times is very simply that greed and fear are driving today's markets in very powerful and extreme ways.

Greed is simple to understand. People want to make money. But fear is a little more complex in that there are really two types of fear: fear of loss, which we all understand, but also fear of being left behind.

I believe a key to investment success is learning to control your greed and your fear.

You can control both of those emotions by following these rules:

• Do not overtrade. In the search for better results or to limit loss, investors tend to overtrade and so wind up paying too much in commissions or getting whipsawed by short-term market gyrations.

• Do not take on too much risk. Greed causes investors to take on too much risk, either through options, leverage, investing in risky companies, or by taking positions that are too large.

• Do not look back. Successful traders don't go back and look at trades they have sold to see how they "would've done." When a trade is over, it's over. They don't do a postmortem to see if they were "right" or "wrong" about the market.

• Do not sell your winners too soon. When you sell too soon, you miss out on further gains.

• Do not hang on to losers too long. Most investors find it's hard to admit they were "wrong," and so lose more than they should or could. Ego plays a big role here. People want to be right. But "Hang on, it'll come back" is not an investment strategy. Just ask anyone who still owns some of the darlings of the dot.com boom and bust.

• Keep your ego out of your trading. Pride in a good trade is as harmful as shame or anger or grief over a bad trade. Some trades will go well. Some trades won't go well. It has nothing to do with the investor's intellect or self worth.

• Find a good plan and stick with it. A great batter in baseball only succeeds four out of 10 times at the plate. Investing is a marathon, not a sprint.

To be successful, you must use a trading system that suits you. It must fit your personality, your lifestyle, and your goals. A day trader, for example, is a totally different animal than a buy-and-hold investor.

Once you recognize who you are, you must apply discipline to your trading activities by having a written plan that you stick to unrelentingly. You must learn your market inside and out and become a specialist, not try to be an expert in all things. Today's markets are much too fast complex for anyone to be a generalist. Be a one-trick pony, and make it a very good trick.

I can tell you from personal, painful experience that if you violate the above rules, your chances for investing success are slim at best.

I've made all of the mistakes I mentioned at one time or another -- and, almost invariably, it's cost me money. The "trading gods" just seem to know when you violate the rules, and then smack you down for your transgression.

When I look around at people I know and have worked with who've made these mistakes, they, too, have usually lost money.

I know one guy who has lost money for three years running who spends his weekends watching the talking heads on financial television. By Sunday evening, he's so confused that he doesn't know where to turn. Recently, I watched one of the weekend talk shows for a few minutes at SeaTac International Airport between flights -- and I could almost feel the paralysis start to set in.

I know a woman who skips from advisor to advisor, managing to lose money with each one of them -- and she can't figure out why. I know more people than I care to count who trade by the seat of their pants or on a hunch or based on a tip that they read or heard about in the financial media. Frankly, they'd have about the same odds of winning and a lot more fun if they went to Las Vegas instead.

The bottom line is this: Trading and investing in our current climate is tough. Like the old saying goes, "Trading isn't rocket science, it's harder."

You can be like the herd, the "sheepies" who have fled to the bond market and are in the process of creating another bubble there. Or you can be different, a contrarian, and deploy a professional, unemotional trading plan that can take advantage of today's unique opportunities.

The choice is yours.

P.S. John Nyaradi is the publisher of Wall Street Sector Selector, an online newsletter specializing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and the author of Super Sectors, How to Outsmart the Market Using Sector Rotation and ETFs.

Early To Rise - The Ultimate Customer Formula

2010-12-15T10:45:00.000+08:00

(By Noah St. John)

Customers are the lifeblood of your business. Without customers -- people who buy your product or service -- you really don't have a business, do you? Duh!

Ask any business owner, and he'll tell you he wants more customers. Yet I say that you DON'T want more customers. What you want are more Evangelists.

What's an Evangelist? In this sense of the word, I mean someone who not only buys from you but tells everyone within earshot (and e-mailshot) how great you are.

There are three kinds of people who buy from you:

Customer = someone who simply buys from you
Referrer = someone who tells one or two people about you
Evangelist = someone who tells everyone about you

So how do we move people from Customer to Referrer to Evangelist?

By using The Ultimate Customer Formula:

Want + Trust = Customer
Want x Trust = Referrer
Want x Love = Evangelist

Let's start with why someone becomes a Customer in the first place.

First, a person has a Want -- something they desire. It could be to alleviate a PAIN or to increase their PLEASURE. That pretty much covers human Want.

Then they find out about you (through something called marketing). And something they read, hear, see, or experience in your marketing makes them Trust that you will deliver to them the fulfillment of their Want.

If you do what you said you would do -- help fulfill their Want -- they are satisfied with their purchase. They are now your Customer because they Trust you.

So what do you do now?

That's where most businesses fail. They go, "Whew, we got another one. Okay, where do we get the next one?"

But don't you get it? You can get your next Customer -- or dozen Customers -- from that first satisfied Customer!

How? Simple: Make them feel good about their purchase. Ask if there's anything else you can do. See what else they need or want -- that they may not even have thought of. Ask questions that no one else is asking.

Or just be so much better than the other guys that your Customers have no choice but to choose you to fulfill their Want.

Let me give you an example...

I love Southwest Airlines. Why? There are dozens of reasons, but the most important one for me is that when I need to change a flight, I simply call their toll-free number and an ACTUAL HUMAN BEING picks up the phone and says, "Southwest, how can I help you?"

Then I change the flight and there is NO service fee! What do you know? Southwest treats my money as MY money!

I've flown other airlines, and paid as much as $450 for CHANGE FEES. Ridiculous!

Do you see what I just did? I just told everyone who's reading this newsletter how awesome Southwest Airlines is. I went from Customer right to Evangelist.

If I felt so-so about Southwest, I might tell one or two friends. That would make me a Referrer.

But because I love Southwest, I tell everyone about them -- even when I'm flying on other airlines!

How did it happen? I have a Want -- affordable, reliable airline service to take me where I need to go, AND actual human beings who answer the phone, AND no fees when I need to change a flight.

From the very first time I flew Southwest, they not only delivered the fulfillment of my Want -- they OVER-delivered by thinking of ways I hadn't even thought of to make my travel better and easier, and by being a company of real live human beings.

So I emotionally moved from I Trust Southwest to I LOVE Southwest.

How fitting that their stock ticker symbol is LUV.

So here's The Ultimate Customer Formula again -- this time with the thoughts that go behind it:

Want + Trust = Customer

I want something and trust that you will deliver it to me.

Want x Trust = Referrer

I want something and trust that you will not only deliver it to me but that if I were to send a friend to you, you'd deliver it to them too.

Want x Love = Evangelist

I want something and not only trust that you will deliver it to me, you will over-deliver, take care of me in ways I hadn't even thought of, and you are a company of actual human beings.

That last part is particularly vital today. The word we see everywhere in marketing is transparency.

In the old days, you could hide behind a corporate shield and be immune to criticism. Those days are long gone.

People are amazed when I pick up the phone and call them to see if they're happy with their purchase, or personally respond to an e-mail they wrote me, or write back to them on my Facebook fan page.

My feeling is, why wouldn't I?

But the beauty is, very few of my competitors will ever pick up the phone and call people to connect with them.

Sure, it's more work for me. But it's work that I really enjoy doing. Plus, it cements me as the guy who actually CARES about how they're doing (which, as it happens, I do).

So, use The Ultimate Customer Formula and see what you can do today, this week, this month, and this year to move people from Customer to Referrer to Evangelist.

And isn't it amazing that the ultimate secret to success, yet again, is Love.

P.S. Noah St. John, Ph.D., is a lifestyle expert and #1 bestselling author of The Secret Code of Success: 7 Hidden Steps to More Wealth and Happiness. Stephen Covey says, "Noah's Secret Code of Success is about discovering within ourselves what we should have known all along -- we are truly powerful beings with unlimited potential." For a limited time, get the first 3 chapters of Noah's new bestseller, The Secret Code of Success, FREE at NoahStJohn.com (http://www.afformations.com/).

Gratitude & Abundance!

2010-12-05T18:44:00.002+08:00

(By Aine Belton)

Certain states of consciousness hold a resonance field that accelerates the manifestation of your desires.

Gratitude is certainly one of them!

Gratitude is a generating energy that will serve to attract more of anything you feel grateful for into your life.

In that sense it is a powerful abundance ally!

Gratitude aligns you to, and subsequently attracts, that which is for your highest good, and opens you to more of the love, joy, gifts and blessings the universe wishes to bestow.

Along with appreciation, gratitude opens your heart, raises your energy, and elevates you from even the darkest of states.

In feeling grateful for something or someone, you essentially 'receive' it, as well as give to it from your heart, which effectively aligns your vibration to it, and directs your focus, attention and energy towards it, attuning your heart and mind to that which is positive.

Whatever you focus on grows, so when you appreciate someone, see their value and beauty and feel grateful for it, those qualities will expand and grow in your life.

When you focus on everything in your life you have to feel grateful for, and all the wonderful things, experiences and people you appreciate, the universe hands you more of the same!

It's a wonderful abundance expanding experience!

Gratitude is the sweet song of appreciation. It turns an experience, person or event into a gift that is received, for when you appreciate and feel grateful, you literally let the experience/quality in, and you also give to it. It is a wonderful exchange of positive energies.

When you feel grateful you experience more of your love, which enhances your state in a beautiful magical way.

You also get to experience all the beautiful qualities of that which you feel grateful for all over again! "Gratitude is a powerful tool. If you will allow yourself to feel grateful, your processing and programming can work immeasurably better... As you feel grateful for what you have, you start having more things about which to feel that gratitude."
- Lazaris

Keep a gratitude journal and write down at the end of each day 10 things you feel grateful for over the last 24 hours to assist you in experiencing more of this wondrous, generative, heart-opening energy.

When you do so, be sure to connect to the heart-felt feelings of gratitude, i.e. don't just make it a mental box-ticking process - really engage your emotions.

Add to that list a few things you are grateful to YOURSELF for, positive qualities, actions, traits and demeanours, how you've handled your day or any situations, how you've taken care of yourself or been kind to others, etc.

And lastly, be grateful to the FUTURE you're creating. You are a powerful manifesting being and when you begin to feel grateful for the dreams you are creating and person you are becoming, you begin to attract them more powerfully into your life, for you give the message to your subconscious mind they have already manifested.

P.S. Enclosed below is a message from the author:

Hi! I'm Aine! (That's 'Onya'- an Irish name!)

My 20 year journey into the realms of intuition has led to remarkable
rewards in all areas of my life; success, abundance, excellent health,
right-livelihood, the most amazing connections, opportunities, people,
magic moments and experiences, as well as profound states of being,
divine inspiration, vision, confidence and an oasis of love (and so much
more I wish I could squeeze into this sentence!!).

As importantly, my intuition has helped me to navigate obstacles, transform problems and challenges, and find the gifts in crises. It has offered the invaluable solutions of soul-level insight and the enhanced acuity of my inner senses with which to powerfully craft my world from the inside out.

Aine Belton
www.intuitionzone.com
www.mmmprogram.com
www.beliefbusterkit.com
www.doseoflove.com

Early To Rise - Six Messages You Never Want to Send

2010-11-30T10:31:00.001+08:00

(By John Forde)

Does your marketing copy send prospects a message you never meant to send? Let me clarify...
In selling -- particularly in face-to-face sales -- there's a lot of talk about body language and how it can mean all the world to a sale.

A chin rub means one thing. Steepled hands, another.

Crossed arms, something else yet again.

Bottom line: In the face-to-face setting, different gestures can betray messages you don't intend to send, but send anyway.

We, of course, are marketers and copyWRITERS.

Hence, not too much selling face-to-face. And not much opportunity to read the body language of our prospects. Once on the page... well, there it is.

Still, there are different things copywriters do that can also send accidental messages. And if you're not careful, these little slips can derail the message of your whole campaign.

For instance...

(1) "TESTI-PHONY-ALS"

Your testimonials are eloquent and effusive. ("I'm entranced by your product. I laughed, I cried. Sublime, utterly sublime.")

To convey a personal touch, or perhaps protect your customers' privacy, the names underneath your testimonials are signed only with a first name. ("Loved It, Chuck")

And the photos are gauzy professional shots, with people wearing pressed T-shirts and laughing like God just showed up at their picnic.

What You MEAN to Say:

"Our customers are smart. They're good looking.

They're overjoyed. And we're on a first-name basis with them (not to mention discreet)."

What It ACTUALLY Sounds Like:

"We couldn't really get good testimonials. So we wrote our own. Chuck is my cousin in Des Moines."

A Better Approach:

Give full names whenever you can. Used real photos of customers, even the ugly ones. And most of the time, resist the temptation to edit away poor writing in testimonial quotes.

(2) "YOU CAN TRUST ME, I HOPE"

You start your sales letter, "Dear Reader, let's be honest..." or pepper paragraphs with "To tell the truth" and "I really mean that." In your guarantee, you write, "You can trust me... I'm a gentleman."

What You Mean to Say:

"I mean what I say. And when I make a promise, you can bet I'll stand by it. I'm not like that other guy who sold you the bike with square wheels."

What It Actually Sounds Like:

"I'm worried you think I'm like that guy who sold you a bike with square wheels. My pitch sounds deceptive, so I subconsciously want to reassure you that it isn't. You do trust me, don't you?"

A Better Approach:

Root out whatever it is in your pitch or product that makes you leery. Good products make it easy to write truthfully and confidently. Whatever you do, cut the weasel warm-ups and just make the promises.

(3) THE "TION" THAT SHUNS

Your words are hefty and profound. You've never seen four syllables you didn't love. Not to mention what you'll do given five minutes in a dark room with a word processor and witty puns and word play.

What You Mean to Say:

"Aren't I smart?"

What It Actually Sounds Like:

"Aren't I pretentious?"

A Better Approach:

You've heard it often. But not often enough. Always, always use simple words. You're trying to call attention to the ideas, not to the words you've used to express them. Big difference.

(4) "DON'T HATE ME BECAUSE I'M BEAUTIFUL"

Your newest promo is printed on silk paper. With hand-etched four-color graphics. You've hired Japanese geisha girls to fold the letters and Peruvian mountain cats to lick each envelope closed. No expense was spared.

What You Mean to Say:

"I care about you, which is why I care about how this promo looks. If it looks professional, we'll look professional to you too. Or at least we'll look pretty damn hip."

What It Actually Sounds Like:

"I care more about how you'll think of me and my promo than I care about how what I'm selling can serve your interests. Look at me, look at me, look at me!"

A Better Approach:

Okay. First off, sometimes elegant DOES work. It depends on what you're selling. Membership in an exclusive club might call for high-ticket design. But imagine if you're writing a donation letter for a non-profit... or a pamphlet to sell a low-budget vacation to college students. Sometimes LESS really is more.

(5) "I CAN'T COMMIT"

"XYZ's Water-Matic might make a better cup of tea," says your pitch letter, "of course, there's no guarantee." The rest of the copy is littered with "coulds"... "cans"... and "shoulds."

What You Mean to Say:

"We don't over-promise to our customers. We're conservative, not rash like those hucksters down the road."

What It Actually Sounds Like:

"I'm not sure we can deliver on what I'm saying. And I don't want to look stupid if we fail. So I'm not going to commit to any of the promises you're reading here. In fact, don't call. I'm just going to go sit in the corner now and shiver."

A Better Approach:

True again, sometimes you have to be conditional in your speech. Lawyers recommend it. Nervous CEOs prefer it. But those reasons aside, wherever you can, use as many bold and confident words as you can. ("XYZ product tested as tops on the tea-maker market, 9 years in a row.") Write confidently and with conviction. It can only improve your results.

(6) "I'M A SUPER-EXCELLENT FAKER!!!"

Your copy bubbles over with enthusiasm and lots of really, really... really... awesome adjectives.

What You Mean to Say:

"I LOVE my product! It's the absolute BEST on the market. You couldn't find a BETTER product than mine even with a JILLION bloodhounds sniffin' the trail!"

What It Actually Sounds Like:

"I'm not sure WHY my product is good! I'm not even sure IF my product is good! I just want you to BUY my product -- is that so wrong?"

A Better Approach:

It's not your exuberance that's at fault. It's the lack of substance. Add case studies and stats to back up your claims. Plus customer stories and testimonials and a track record. The fluff will fade away.

The point is clear.

Be careful HOW you say what you want to say. Be especially on your guard when you're subconsciously writing copy under one of these two conditions:

Either
(a) you're trying to hide your own opinion from the reader, or
(b) you're trying to get the reader to think something about YOU, as well as the product, that might not be true or easy to believe.

In both scenarios, you're writing lines fraught with hidden meaning. Usually, the meaning you were trying to suppress. This is when your guard is dropped. This is when you'll make the mistakes that undermine your message.

And that's not good.

Be aware of them, root them out, avoid them altogether. The more simple and direct your message, the more successful you'll be, in the end.

P.S. To get more of John Forde's wisdom and insights into copywriting (and much more), sign up for his free e-letter, Copywriter's Roundtable. If you sign up today, you'll get $78 worth of free gifts -- including John's special "Power Brainstorming Toolkit" and his e-book "15 Deadly Copy Mistakes You Can Easily Avoid"... plus a third secret bonus. For details, see John's sign-up page at http://copywritersroundtable.com/.

Early To Rise - Respect at Work: If You Want It... Be Prepared to Give It!

2010-11-20T10:22:00.004+08:00

(By Peter Fogel)

Remember the Tom Cruise movie Jerry McGuire? One of the great taglines in that film -- besides "You had me at hello" -- was when one of Jerry's clients kept saying, "Show me the money!"

But what did he do for that money?

He complained. That's right! All he did was bitch and moan about his teammates, his leaky roof, and other personal and financial problems.

Meanwhile, his coach thought he was too small for a wide receiver, and no one could stand his egotistical attitude when he was out on the field, blaming others for his poor performance during games.

He was excellent at the "blame game." If he missed the ball, it was because another player threw it wrong or because his fellow players and fans weren't giving him "love." So let me be so blunt as to ask:

Are You a Prima Donna?

Does this sound like anyone you know? Most every industry and company has its prima donnas. Don't take this the wrong way, but are you that person for your company?
Do you constantly gripe about your duties? Your hours? Your low pay?

"Why don't I move to India? On what they are paying me here, I could live like a king there."

Do you turn red in the face when someone else gets a promotion?

"Frank? FRANK GOT MORE MONEY for doing what?! I was hired two days before he was, for crying out loud!"

Be honest. All of us at, one time or another, have come unglued when things didn't go our way at the office. (It is, in fact, a good thing to vent on occasion.)

In my former life, before I reinvented myself, I LIVED to complain.

But you know what? In the long run, it never made me happier -- and it certainly NEVER got me what I wanted (more opportunities to advance, more money, etc.). It all boils down to this:

If you want to reinvent yourself in the workplace, you have to have respect for your company, your boss, your co-workers, and your job.

Never let on that you do NOT like what you are doing or that performing certain tasks are beneath you.

Common sense dictates that you should always be a team player.

That being said, people still shoot themselves in the foot when their bosses make requests of them.

According to Karen Burn, author of The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl: Real-Life Career Advice You Can Actually Use, there are seven things you should never say at work:

1. "This is easy! Anyone could do it!" A statement like this could be taken the wrong way. Perhaps your boss had the responsibility to do the exact same task before he was promoted. See where I am going with this? If it's easy, just say, "Hey, no problem. I'll get on it right now!"

2. "That's not my job." That might have gotten a big laugh for Freddie Prinze on the old "Chico and the Man" show. But it won't cut in today's workplace. If you don't understand why you've been asked to do a certain task, do a little investigating to find out why your boss wants you to do it. Chances are, he has a good reason.

3. "It's not my fault." If there's a problem, fix it -- no matter whose fault it is. If you did, in fact, screw up... own up to it and then come up with a solution as quickly as you can.

4. "It's not my problem." If a crisis is brewing, pitch in and help. If you don't have anything constructive to say, silence is golden at a time like this.

5. "I can only do one thing at a time." Yes, sometimes we all get overwhelmed at work -- so learn to multi-task. Snapping that you "can't handle the pressure" says to all within earshot that you can't handle your job.

6. "It can't be done." I worked for a company where the IT guy was like Scotty in Star Trek, always lamenting, "It just can't be done." Maybe what he was asked to do really couldn't be done... or maybe this guy just didn't want to be bothered. But one thing's for sure: He hardly ever came up with a solution to a problem.

Even if what you're asked to do seems impossible, search for ways to make it happen... and then boldly go where no man has gone before. (No more Star Trek references, I promise!)

7. "I am way overqualified for this job." Hey, maybe you are. Good for you. But the fact is, this is the job you have. You agreed to take it on. And while you may now regret that decision, it's still your job. Complaining that you're too good for it only makes you look bad. And guess what? You're not going to make your boss think, "Oh, this is a superior person. I need to promote him." Nope. He'll think, "What a jerk!"

It's easy to come up with excuses for why you are not moving up the food chain at your job.

But no one is going to promote you to get you to do what you are supposed to be doing in the first place. It makes no sense to think you should wait until you get a raise... and then become a top performer.

In other words, if want to be a superstar, start acting like one!

P.S. Peter "The Reinvention Guy" Fogel delivers presentations on humor, reinvention, copywriting, and marketing to corporations and associations across America. He helps entreprenuers reinvent themselves and unleash their "inner public speaker" for higher visibility and bigger profits.
To sign up for his 4-in-1 Total Success Reinvention Package, visit http://www.reinventyourselfnow.com.
And to sign up for his FREE 7 Days to More Effective Public Speaking e-course, please go to http://www.publicspeaklikeapro.com/public-speaking-secrets.html.

Medical Journals - Spontaneous Remission from Disease Through Epigenetics

2010-11-15T11:32:00.000+08:00

(By the Underground Health Reporter)

Did You Know that spontaneous remission from disease (including cancer) is now possible through the science of epigenetics?

A new field of science called epigenetics has changed the way we think about our genes. The prefix "epi" literally means "above," as in above the genes, in the same way that epidermis means the layer above the skin.

Ever since Darwin released his scientific literature titled "On the Origin of Species" 150 years ago, science and medicine have been grounded in the belief that we are "programmed" by our DNA and that our genes cannot be changed.

But new discoveries have found a major flaw in what was once considered dogmatic principle. Dr. Bruce Lipton, a world-renowned leader in cellular biology and quantum physics research, proved that our environment -- not our DNA -- shapes the development of our cells.

Dr. Lipton discovered that we have "epigenes" that attach to our cells and have control over and above the regular genes (DNA) inside our cells. These epigenes change how our genes are expressed, which then changes our cells.

Dr. Lipton's experiments revealed that DNA responds to signals from outside the cells. Electromagnetic signals that are produced by our senses, thoughts, beliefs, and emotions as we experience the world send "messages" that reach the cells. As we constantly adjust to our environment in our mind, so do our cells.

These discoveries are being hailed worldwide as a major breakthrough that proves that our bodies can be changed as we retrain our thinking. These findings fundamentally alter our understanding of life. Since we can change our cells by changing our minds, we absolutely can change our biology ... and our lives.

Though our DNA is still considered the "blueprint" that we start with, it can be altered throughout our lives by epigenetics. Think of your genes as the hardware and your epigenes as the software that tells the genes what to do.

Being able to change our genes offers a life-changing opportunity to the human race when applying epigenetics to the treatment of disease. No longer do we have to be a "victim" of inheriting or developing abnormal genes because now, we can change them to eradicate disease and pass on normal genes to the next generation.

In one of Dr. Lipton's most important experiments, he proved that when he took a "sick" cancer cell from a "sick" body, and transferred it to a healthy environment, the cell recovered quickly and behaved normally.

While working at Stanford University's School of Medicine between 1987 and 1992, he found that changing the environment of cells made certain genes "turn on or off." This then altered the cell's composition, its health, and the traits determined by that cell. These new constructions spread as the cell divided.

From his most recent work with cancer, Dr. Lipton has confirmed that, "Genes are not controlling the life of your cells, your mind is. The mind and the beliefs that it holds -- not defective genes -- create a ripple effect that 'turns on or off' cancer cells."

Randy Jirtle, a geneticist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Duke University, further explains that, "as our genes change, cells can become abnormal, triggering diseases like cancer. It's scary to think that a few changed genes can kill you. But it's also good news because we've traditionally viewed cancer as a disease solely stemming from broken genes. It's a lot harder to fix damaged genes than to rearrange your epigenetics."

Through epigenetics, you can "rewrite" your genetic expression through your mind. You could have normal genes, for instance, and then express genes like cancer and other diseases. Or if you had mutated (diseased) genes, you can rewrite their expression to normal.

Disease treatment through epigenetics changes the structure of the cancer cell by rewriting the genes to act like normal human cells. In ongoing epigenetic trials, half the patients are in complete remission.

However, epigenetics works both ways: your thoughts influence genetic expressions that can cure disease or cause disease -- depending on whether you have positive or negative thoughts. And, your positive thoughts and your negative thoughts are equally powerful.

We see this in the "placebo effect." A patient suffering from a disease is given a sugar pill, but they believe the "medicine" will be effective, and therefore, they heal. Likewise, there is the "nocebo effect" which suggests that negative thoughts can not only make you sick, but can even kill you.

What's even more interesting, or disturbing for others, is that the thoughts and beliefs of other people, philosophies, cultures, and religions influence your perceptions, which then become part of your thoughts. Therefore, who and what you surround yourself with can have a direct effect on your health!

Dr. Lipton says that, "you are innately able to heal yourself unless your perception says you can't. Since perception controls biology, then whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right."

Medical Journals - Powerful New 3-Minute Exercise Improves Memory and Brain Power

2010-11-08T15:55:00.004+08:00

(By Paul Fassa - Natural News)

An unusual exercise to improve mental health and acuity has been going viral on the internet lately. It was featured in a Los Angeles CBS News report that has an MD, a Yale neurobiologist, an occupational therapist, educators, and parents endorsing it.

It is a simple routine, and it has created positive results for learning disabled and autistic children as well as older Alzheimer's victims.

And it's useful for any kind of brain fog or dullness, even emotional instability. It can improve memory and focus, and it's even made some a little smarter. It seems to work for everyone regardless of mental condition.

How to Do This Simple Exercise

With your feet pointing straight ahead, spread them apart about shoulder width.
Grab your right earlobe with the thumb and finger of your left hand.
Cross over your left arm and do the same using your right hand on the left earlobe.
Then squat as fully as you can, breathing in. That's a little counter intuitive, but that's what you do.
Breathe in as you squat.
Then breathe out as you stand.
So the breathing needs to be synchronized with the squats.
Continue this motion repetitively while holding both earlobes for three minutes. That may be too much at first, so start with one minute.
One can go up to five minutes, but three is good enough. This can be done by anyone at any age and should be done on a daily basis until the fog lifts!

How It Works

Los Angeles physician Dr. Eric Robins says that the brain cells and neurons are energized with this simple exercise. He prescribes it to his patients and has had excellent results. One example of his is a youngster doing poorly in school. After being introduced to the exercise, that child went on to become an A student.

According to Yale neurobiologist Dr. Eugenius Ang, the earlobes grabbed are acupuncture points that stimulate neural pathways in the brain. The brain's hemispheres are in opposite sides of the earlobes. Using opposite hands for pinching the earlobes may have something to do with the way our subtle energies are arranged.

Ang showed that the results from EEG (electroencephalography) readings after doing this exercise indicate the right and left hemispheres of the brain had become synchronized. EEG readings measure the neuron firings in the brain via electrodes on the scalp, and are used to determine brain wave normalcies and abnormalities.

As Dr. Ang states, "... in modern terms, the brain is actually lateralized. This is an ideal hemispheric arrangement, which is unusual these days. It is something that pricey brain technology CDs attempt to do by producing subliminal sounds to the brain attached to audible sounds through a headset. Dr. Ang also does this exercise daily.

How It Started

The exercise was introduced by pranic healing Master Koa Chok Sui's book SuperBrain Yoga and taught by him personally on lecture tours. Of course, there are many other aspects of pranic healing that Master Sui taught.

Prana is another word for Chi, the subtle life force energy that surrounds and permeates the body. It is the stuff of acupuncture and Qi (Chi) Gong. In addition to the subtle energy aspects of prana or Chi, it seems that combining a mildly aerobic exercise also helps flood the brain cells with oxygen.

At any rate, it's an easy and inexpensive way to improve memory, mental clarity and focus, as well as assist those with debilitating mental disorders. There are those who call it quackery. But you'd be smart to do it daily!

Early To Rise - Beneath The Mango Tree

2010-11-01T11:51:00.000+08:00

(By Charlie Byrne)
- Reproduced from an article entitled: "Fruitful" Marketing Lessons From an Overabundant Tree, first published in Early to Rise on 15 July 2010

My hometown "Paradise by the Sea" of Delray Beach, Florida is not only blessed with miles of gorgeous sandy beaches... lined with dozens of casual, eclectic, and gourmet restaurants... and overflowing with hip clubs and art galleries...

It's also home to a huge number of... drum roll, please.

Mango trees.

I mean, really. It's almost ridiculous!

The trees rise to the sky on practically every street -- in front yards, vacant lots, village parks, and any number of other accessible, public spaces.

Hundreds upon hundreds of mangos hang off every tree. Branches bend down from the weight, putting the succulent fruit within the grasp of any man, woman, or child who cares to enjoy it.
And it was on one of my morning runs last week that I realized there was something terribly wrong with this picture!

All this wonderful fruit right there for the taking, but none of it had been picked! I examined no less than seven trees, and couldn't find a single stem missing its mango.

Why? Why, for example, hadn't I taken one myself?

The answer, of course, was simple. It's the same reason folks don't take the coconuts that are falling off trees all over town.

And the same reason why I never went to the top of the Empire State Building when I worked in New York City... and walked past it every day.

Because I could do it whenever I wanted!

And that's why Delray Beach's overloaded mango trees are an ideal illustration of two closely related marketing principles...

Urgency and Scarcity

In marketing terms, urgency means that the supply of a product is limited by time.

Ever get involved in an eBay auction when the clock was running out? How about getting up at 5:00 a.m. to be one of the first customers in line for a day-after-Thanksgiving "Black Friday" sale? If so, you know the power of urgency.

Scarcity means that the supply of a product is limited by quantity.

Both urgency and scarcity arouse the human desire to want that which we can't have.

Right now in Delray Beach, we have an unlimited supply of mangos, and they're going to be around for a long time. So there's no scarcity... no urgency. As a result, you literally can't give them away.

If you're not tickling your prospects' emotional impulses to buy NOW, I'm willing to bet your products are suffering from a similar fate.

When you apply the principles of scarcity and urgency to bring your marketing alive, your sales can increase dramatically. I've seen it many times -- and I'm talking about increases of 100 percent to 1,000 percent. In fact, this is probably the simplest, cheapest way to multiply your revenues instantly.

Our colleague, "Product Launch" guru Jeff Walker, knows all about it. He's brought in, and helped others bring in, more than $53 million in the past five years in all kinds of markets. Virtually all of Jeff's success is built around the mastery of scarcity and urgency.

According to Jeff, "Scarcity is probably the single biggest mental trigger there is. No matter how many times I've seen it used, it's always breathtaking to see how it moves people to action. I've seen WAY too many people underestimate the power of adding a scarcity component to their marketing. If you fall into that trap, you will be leaving a huge amount of money on the table."
So how can you pick up all that cash you've been leaving on the table?

There are plenty of ways, even if you are selling a product that is in infinite supply -- an e-book, for example:

Urgency: Add a bonus for a limited length of time.
Urgency: Reduce the price for a special holiday sale.
Scarcity: Add a bonus -- but only for the first 150 buyers.
Scarcity plus Urgency: With this "launch and retreat" approach, you sell a specific quantity of the product during a specific period of time, and then take it off the market. ("This Memorial Day weekend only, I'm offering just 100 of these information-packed e-books. Sale ends Midnight Monday or when the 100 are gone -- whichever comes first.")

Taking your product "off the market" at a specified date and time might sound scary. What if a bunch of prospects show up at your website the following week looking to buy what you just stopped selling? Wouldn't you be kicking yourself over that lost opportunity?

Perhaps. But I can pretty much guarantee one thing. The overwhelming number of sales you'll make during a scarcity/urgency campaign will make the number you might lose utterly insignificant. In addition, when you "re-open" your next campaign, you'll already have a certain amount of "pent-up" customer demand providing fuel for your fire.

One Important Caveat to Keep in Mind...

You want to add scarcity and urgency to your marketing, but you want it to be genuine.

As Michael Masterson told me, "There has to be a legitimate reason for the scarcity. If you're faking it, customers will see through it and it loses its power."

He suggested a few ways to "make it real" for them: Explain that you had only 100 of the special reports printed up. (Why not show the actual invoice?) Or that the fire code limits the conference room to 75 people. (Why not take a photo of the actual sign in the room?) If you're selling personal coaching services, explain that you have only so much time. If you're selling an investment advisory service, explain that if too many people get the same recommendation, they can initiate a buying frenzy that artificially pushes up the price.

I'm just touching the surface here -- but you get the idea.

P.S. This article is a follow-up to another previous article entitled "Early To Rise - The Empty Restaurant". The underlying messages in these 2 articles are similar to each other, but it is worthwhile to re-emphasise the concepts once in while again in another interesting setting. The key message behind these articles have really to do more with the fundamental human psyche involved, for all brilliant marketing strategies seek merely to appeal to that human psyche.

Early To Rise - What Jim Brown Knows

2010-10-01T12:25:00.000+08:00

(By Alexander Green)
- Reproduced from an article entitled: If You Knew What Jim Brown Knows, first published in Early to Rise on 27 July 2010

Jim Brown is arguably the best all-around athlete ever.

He was a track star, one of the nation's finest lacrosse players, averaged 38 points per game on his high school basketball team, and broke NFL records as a running back for the Cleveland Browns. In 2002, The Sporting News named him the greatest football player of all time.

He was pretty handy with a tennis racquet, too. And he liked to wager on his matches.
At a Las Vegas tennis club in 1979, Brown was frustrated when his opponent cancelled a money match at the last minute.

A stranger approached him with a young boy. His proposal -- delivered in a thick foreign accent -- was preposterous. He bet Brown that his nine-year-old son -- short and scrawny even for his age -- could beat him in tennis.

And he was cocky about it. He offered to put up his house.

We can only imagine what ran through Brown's mind as he sized up the half-pint. After all, this wasn't a bet. It was an insult.

The stranger had chosen the wrong man to outrage. Brown wasn't just an athletic phenom. His NFL career could be summed up in his oft-quoted remark, "Make sure when anyone tackles you he remembers how much it hurts."

He countered that they should make the bet an even $10,000.

The club owner tried to warn Brown. And while he did reduce his wager, he wouldn't be talked out of the match, insisting, "The man needs to be taught a lesson."

And so Jim Brown strode off to the courts. With Mike Agassi and his young son Andre in tow.

It didn't take Brown long to recognize his error. He had been hustled.

We seldom deliver lessons in humility. More often than not, we wind up on the receiving end. This is especially true in my bailiwick, the investment arena, where high confidence and big egos are routinely taken down like the Berlin Wall.

Every successful investor develops an abiding sense of humility, a deep respect for the unknowable. What will happen tomorrow or next week is always an open question.

And if you don't know who you are, the stock market is an expensive place to find out. Just ask Victor Niederhoffer.

A professional trader and former finance professor, Neiderhoffer established his reputation as hedge fund great George Soros's partner, managing his fixed income and foreign exchange investments from 1982-1990.

Niederhoffer is a smart guy and an unorthodox thinker, drawing on many disciplines -- including psychology, philosophy, and advanced mathematics -- to make his trading decisions. His 1997 book, The Education of a Speculator, was a New York Times bestseller.

But in the fall of that same year, he got his post-graduate degree. Viewing the Asian market meltdown as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Neiderhoffer invested his hedge fund in Thai bank stocks, confident the government would never let them fail. He was wrong. His fund quickly lost more than three-quarters of its value and he was forced to close its doors.

Niederhoffer is an experienced, insightful guy. But I wish he'd written The Education of a Speculator after his hedge fund collapsed, not before. That would have been a book worth reading.

Niederhoffer is hardly alone, of course. History has not been particularly kind to all manner of experts and their definitive pronouncements:

Anglican Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656) researched the dates of Biblical events and painstakingly subtracted all the Old Testament generations. When he finished his calculations, he proclaimed that the earth was created on October 23, 4004 B.C. at nine o'clock in the morning. (We now know he missed his mark by 4.6 billion years or so.)
In 1899, Charles H. Duell, commissioner of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, proposed shuttering the office. "Everything that can be invented," he said, "has been invented."
In 1927, The New York Times heralded Philo T. Farnsworth's new creation, the television, with a front-page article and this subhead: "Few Commercial Possibilities Seen."
Walter Lippman, one of the 20th century's most respected journalists and thinkers, wrote in a column dated April 27, 1948, "Among the really difficult problems of the world, the Arab-Israeli conflict is one of the simplest and most manageable."
In 1962, a little-known Liverpool group called The Beatles auditioned for Tony Meehan of Decca Records. They performed 15 songs in just under an hour. Decca sent them packing, saying "Guitar groups are on the way out" and "The Beatles have no future in show business."

It's not just the "experts" who flounder, of course. Life is one long lesson in humility. Our perceptions can deceive us. Trust gets misplaced. Knowledge grows and opinions change. Even when the truth is with us, there are often exceptions.

It's natural to seek out experts who can guide us. But outside of physics and chemistry, predictions about the future are best taken with a whole shaker of salt.

We are all swimming in a vast sea of the unknown. The sooner we recognize this -- and embrace it in our personal and business lives -- the better our chances of staying afloat.

P.S. Alexander Green, Investment Director of The Oxford Club, has more than 20 years of experience as a research analyst, investment advisor, financial writer, and portfolio manager. He is the author of The Secret of Shelter Island: Money and What Matters, as well as the editor of "Spiritual Wealth," a free e-letter about the pursuit of the good life.

Medical Journals - Acts of Kindness

2010-09-15T13:55:00.001+08:00

(By the Underground Health Reporter)

Did you know that whether you are the giver, the receiver or the observer of an act of kindness -- you reap tremendous benefits to your health?

Yes, this is a phenomenon that has been discovered not too long ago. Numerous scientific studies have shown that kindness has a positive effect on the immune system and on the increased production of serotonin in the brain.

Serotonin is a naturally occurring neurochemical that has a calming, mood regulating, and anti-anxiety effect ... and it's regarded as a "feel good" substance because it serves as a pathway for pleasure in the brain.

The mechanism of action in most anti-depressant drugs is that they stimulate the production of serotonin chemically, which helps alleviate depression.

One of the most fascinating research findings to come out in recent years is that whenever a simple act of kindness is extended by a human being towards another, it results in a significant improvement in the functioning of the immune system and increased production of serotonin in both the recipient of the kindness as well as in the person extending the kindness.

What's even more amazing is that person observing the act of kindness also experience a similar strengthening of the immune system and increased production of serotonin!

Kindness is a win-win-win scenario which produces beneficial effects in the giver, the recipient and the observer.

People naturally feel good when they give, help or serve others because they experience something called "helper's high," which authors Allan Luks and Peggy Payne (The Healing Power of Doing Good) describe as a feeling of exhilaration and burst of energy similar to the endorphin-based euphoria experienced after intense exercise ... followed by a period of calmness and serenity.

The benefits of kindness are not limited to immune system strengthening and serotonin production. Research has shown that those who routinely engage in acts of kindness, such as volunteers, experience alleviation of stress, chronic pain, and even insomnia.

An article in Psychology Today titled "What We Get When We Give" (by Christine Carter, Ph.D., 2/18/10) states: "People who volunteer tend to experience fewer aches and pains. Giving help to others protects overall health twice as much as aspirin protects against heart disease. People 55 and older who volunteer for two or more organizations have an impressive 44% lower likelihood of dying -- and that's after sifting out every other contributing factor, including physical health, exercise, gender, habits like smoking, marital status, and many more. This is a stronger effect than exercising four times a week or going to church."

A study conducted at Harvard University, called this phenomenon the "Mother Teresa Effect." Researchers showed a film to 132 Harvard students about Mother Teresa's work among the poor people of Calcutta. They then measured the level of Immunoglobin A present in their saliva.

[Note: Immunoglobin A is an antibody that plays a critical role in immunity.]

The test revealed markedly increased levels of Immunoglobin A in all the test subjects -- this, after simply witnessing somebody else involved in charity work.

Considering the abundance of proof that acts of kindness increase one's sense of self-worth ... enhance feelings of joyfulness ... boost one's sense of physical and emotional well-being ... increase sense of happiness, optimism and self-worth ... decrease feelings of depression ... and diminish the effect of diseases and disorders ... one of the best things we can do is find opportunities to extend kindness, and teach children to do the same.

Here are a few suggestions:

Smile at strangers ... especially those who are having a bad day
Volunteer your time to do charity work or help wherever there's need
Watch movies that display kindness
Write a note to let someone know they are loved
Give compliments often
Give up your place in line to another person
Donate blood
Write a thank-you note, especially to someone who's not expecting thanks

© Copyright 2010 Think-Outside-the-Book Publishing, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

P.S This reminds me of what Portia said in one of William Shakespeare's works, "The Merchant of Venice". Disguised as a doctor of law, Portia has come to rescue Antonio, the merchant of Venice. Antonio had foolishly signed a bond granting the usurer Shylock a "pound of flesh" if he defaulted on the loan he was forced to seek - ironically, in order to help a friend court Portia. Portia said:

"The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth, as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice bless'd;
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway,
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this—
That in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer, doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much,
To mitigate the justice of thy plea,
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there."

Financial Journals - US Dollars (Part 2)

2010-09-11T14:50:00.002+08:00

(By Porter Stansberry)
- Reproduced from The Daily Crux: First published on 29 June 2010

Porter Stansberry: U.S. is headed for one of the worst inflations in history

"It could never happen here"... That's the refrain we hear from our friends and colleagues. They say it after we've gone over all of the numbers involved in the government's financial position and explained our out-of-consensus view that the U.S. is not only heading toward a period of massive inflation, but such an outcome has long since ceased to be avoidable. People respond – "Oh, that could never happen here." – in the same way they repeat a catechism.

We don't think our view is shocking or even surprising. Much like with our GM analysis (we predicted bankruptcy as early as 2005), when you simply look at the numbers, the outcome is unavoidable.

And then there's history. Not a single brand of paper money has ever lasted. Or you might say, in all of recorded human history, gold remains undefeated. We expect that trend to continue. Likewise, we can't recall any nation that ever repaid its debts (in sound money) once they'd grown to 100% of GDP. And watching our neighbors "strategically" defaulting on their mortgages in record numbers, we see no reason to expect Americans will prove to be any more honest about their government's obligations.

Since America isn't the first powerful democracy to default through inflation, it may pay for investors to be familiar with the most famous such event...

In 1915, just after World War I began, you could exchange 4.2 German marks for one U.S. dollar – and that was when the U.S. dollar was still backed by gold. As you know, Germany lost the war. Its people were literally starving by the end, thanks to the British blockade. With no alternative except starvation and annihilation, Germany accepted an armistice that demanded $12.5 billion in reparations. The debt was equal to 100% of Germany's GDP prior to the war. At the time, the exchange rate stood at 65 marks to the dollar, a devaluation of roughly 95%. Most people believe Germany's hyperinflation was caused by this war debt. Not exactly.

After the war, Germany was broke... That's true. But the mark was cheap. It seemed like a terrific investment opportunity. Most people believed Germany would find a way to finance its debts. We imagine foreign investors at the time said, "Oh, hyperinflation could never happen in Germany..." And so speculators pumped another $2 billion of additional credit into Germany. Then came trouble. Germany's main creditor (France) refused to renegotiate the terms of the armistice. And the German people lost confidence in their own government. The people didn't want to pay the debts. Assassinations began to occur, most notably the murder of Walther Rathenau – the foreign minister. Investors lost confidence in the country. They abandoned the mark.

German prices rose forty fold in 1922. The mark fell from 190 to 7,600 to the dollar. When Germany failed to make a foreign debt payment in 1923, 40,000 French and Belgian troops invaded. To appease its creditors, the German government printed more money. It issued 17 trillion marks in 1923 (compared to 1 trillion in 1922). By August 1923, a dollar was worth 620,000 marks. By early November 1923, the exchange rate hit 630 billion to one.

Could something like this happen in the U.S.? Not exactly. We doubt, for example, China will ever attempt to invade the U.S. to force debt repayment. But we think what will likely happen could easily be worse than Weimar Germany. You see, the mark wasn't the foundation of the world's economy. Today, more than 60% of all bank reserves around the world are U.S. Treasury obligations. As the U.S. continues to run massive annual deficits and as the Fed engages in "quantitative easing," the world's supply of money is growing, by large amounts. Sooner or later, people holding paper money of every variety, not just Uncle Sam's, will come to doubt its most important quality – the stability of its exchange value. The resulting massive inflation will not merely strike the U.S., but the entire world.

Financial Journals - US Dollars (Part 1)

2010-09-10T14:54:00.001+08:00

(By Porter Stansberry)
- Reproduced from The Daily Crux: First published on 11 May 2010

Porter Stansberry: The U.S. dollar is about to implode

Dear subscribers... we hope you pay special attention to today's Digest. The world has officially entered what we believe will be the final chapter of the U.S. dollar's reign as the world's reserve currency. The dollars in your wallet now not only back bankrupt U.S. money center banks and subprime home "owners"... they are also officially backing all of the economies of Europe. The world's monetary system has evolved into a new kind of global socialism. We don't think that can be bullish for long.

Here are the facts we've been told so far... The European Central Bank (the ECB) will spend $1 trillion (750 billion euro) bailing out Europe's sovereign borrowers (like Greece, Spain, and Portugal). It will also purchase billions of troubled assets from Europe's largest banks – like UniCredit. The mechanisms for these purchases will likely be convoluted. The EU treaties contain a no-bailout clause, forbidding any member to "be liable for or assume the commitments of" another EU country. And the European Central Bank cannot lend to countries or buy their debt directly. To get around the technicalities, the EU created an off-balance-sheet entity that will "borrow" the money and lend it to countries in trouble. Whether this matters to the EU's creditors or not, we can't say... but we certainly wouldn't lend to an off-balance-sheet entity of a central bank that's not represente d by any country. Buying euros used to be a game of "who owes me nothing." Now, it will be a game of "whose off-sheet entity owes me nothing." We doubt that will make Europe more creditworthy in the long term.

What does any of this have to do with the U.S. dollar? More than you'll ever hear anywhere else. On paper, the money is supposed to come from Europe's biggest governments and the IMF. But in reality, most of the money will be borrowed from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which just happened to re-open its trillion-dollar swap account with the ECB this weekend. Ironically, the Federal Reserve says these loans are risk-free because the counterparty is a central bank (or at least the off-balance-sheet entity of a central bank). But if the ECB is truly creditworthy, why couldn't Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, or Ireland raise the money for themselves?

At the beginning of the year, we declared rising interest rates in the U.S. as "the single most important trend in finance." We believe interest rates on long-term U.S. government bonds will rise to compensate investors for the increased risk of owning paper-backed sovereign debt. Our logic is simple: The more money the U.S. prints to bail out banks and other sovereign borrowers, the riskier the U.S. balance sheet becomes. By the first half of 2010, the Fed had already spent $2 trillion to bail out Wall Street's banks and the U.S. mortgage market. And as we reminded subscribers just last Friday, because the world's banking system uses the U.S. dollar as its reserve currency, the Fed would eventually be forced to bail out Europe's economy. Indeed, that's exactly what happened over the weekend. The U.S. Federal Reserve has officially become the world's lender of last resort. We would humbly suggest these policies will likely lead to a permanent loss of value for holders of U.S. dollars.

Why are we so concerned? Printing money to bail out borrowers around the world will not solve the problems of over-leveraged governments or debt-ridden economies. It simply shifts the risks from private balance sheets to the U.S. government's. The U.S. dollar has assumed all of these risks. Our currency has become a ticking time bomb.

You can watch the dollar die, one day at a time, by keeping your eye on the growing spread between the value of long-term U.S. bonds and the price of gold. Over the last year – even as the U.S. economy apparently improved – the spread widened by about 35%.

Medical Journals - Rubbing Away Your Stomach Fats

2010-09-01T14:27:00.004+08:00

(By the Underground Health Reporter)

Did you know that you can rub your stomach away effortlessly using nothing but your hand -- for only 2 minutes a day?

This may sound hard to believe, but Dr. Stephen Chang, an M.D. and Ph.D. who's trained in both Western and Chinese medicine, states that this simple 2-minute internal exercise, which does not come from Western medicine, but rather from the wisdom of ancient Chinese sages -- has been used successfully as a self-healing mechanism for over 6,000 years.

Whatever you do, don't confuse this internal exercise with the external exercises of the Western world, such as sit-ups, crunches and other movements that only firm up the underlying stomach muscles ... but do nothing to melt the fat surrounding those muscles.

According to Dr. Chang, losing weight is a simple matter of increasing the efficiency of the digestive system. If you've ever wondered why you fail to shed pounds even when you reduce your food and/or caloric intake -- the reason is because your digestive and eliminatory systems are not functioning efficiently.

The following 2-minute exercise works like a gentle colonic irrigation that helps speed up a sluggish digestive system (which usually carries at least 5 pounds of fecal matter within it), and this elimination of useless sludge has the effect of burning off excess fat. The exercise effectively metabolizes the fatty tissues around the stomach and intestines, and flushes them out of your body through blood, sweat, urine, and feces.

Here's how to do the stomach-rubbing exercise:

Lie flat on your back on your bed or on the floor. Take your top off or pull it up so that your abdominal area is bare.
Rub your hands together vigorously for about 15 seconds, or until they feel hot.
Place one of your hands directly on your belly button and begin to rub in small circles around your belly button, and gradually make the circles larger.
Use fairly firm but comfortable pressure and rub at a slow, even pace, approximately 1 circle per second.
Concentrate on the heat building up in, around and throughout your stomach.
Do about 40 to 50 circles, or for an approximate duration of 2 minutes or more.

Note: It is important to keep the abdominal area warm while doing the exercise, especially during winter months when even heated indoor air tends to be cool.

For best results, do this routine twice a day for 2 minutes -- first thing in the morning (before breakfast) and just before you go to bed. Most people see noticeable results within 1 week of consistent practice.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the stomach is the center of energy. Massaging the stomach in the manner described above therefore accomplishes more than just melting away adipose tissue (fat). It also ...

stimulates the abdominal organs
helps speed up slow digestion and remedies constipation
increases blood circulation in the abdominal area
helps heal indigestion, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and the adverse
effects of overeating

Caution: The stomach massage should not be practiced immediately after a heavy meal. Neither is it advisable for women who are pregnant, or have inflammation of the uterus, bladder, ovaries and fallopian tubes; and individuals who have the following conditions: hypertension; stones in the gall bladder, kidneys or bladder; general, femoral, inguinal and umbilical hernia; bleeding of the stomach, lungs or brain; or ulcers of the intestines and stomach.

© Copyright 2010 Think-Outside-the-Book Publishing, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Early To Rise - Rewarding Yourself

2010-08-15T12:40:00.001+08:00

(By Micheal Masterson)

When I was first getting into the business of selling educational programs, a famous zero-down real estate guru asked me, "Do you know the thing people who take my courses want most?"

I had a sneaking suspicion I was about to get it wrong, but I gamely answered, "To be successful real estate investors?"

He laughed. "You've got a lot to learn, my friend."

I took the bait. "So what do your customers want?"

"They want to avoid taking action."

I told him I wasn't sure I understood. He was kind enough to clarify. "Most of the people who take my courses and who will be buying your programs want to feel like they are on the road to success. But they don't want that road to end. They like the journey. They fear the destination."

"And why would that be?" I asked.

"To tell you the truth," he said. "I don't know. But I can tell you this. After our real estate students have gotten the knowledge they need to succeed, few of them get out there and get to work. Most of them just buy more programs. If they don't buy them from us, they will buy them from someone else. So we sell them extra programs."

"That's sort of depressing," I said.

"If you give one of my customers – someone who has completed his real estate education and is fully prepared to start investing profitably – a choice between actually getting to work and buying another course to learn more, he will buy the course."

"Are they afraid of failing?"

"Could be that," he said. "Could be they're afraid of success. As I said, I don't know."

Since then I've thought a lot about this failure-to-get-started problem. I've read dozens of books and talked to many of my colleagues and posed the question to hundreds of my customers. The theories as to why people don't take action are many and varied. The three that make most sense to me are:

Lack of Confidence: People who haven't yet been successful in life don't believe they can be, even if they are fully prepared to succeed.
Fear of Pain: Some people see taking action as work and work as a form of pain. These are usually people who have never experienced the pleasure of working on something they value.
Laziness: Besides the fear of work, human beings are programmed to be lazy. Being lazy means trying to get what you want with the least amount of effort. Some people don't take action because they want to find an easier way.

If these are the main reasons why so many people don't take action when they are ready, what is the solution?

There's no mystery to that. Behavioral scientists know that the way to change a person's behavior is by motivating them through positive reinforcement. This is what B.F. Skinner had to say about it in A Brief Survey of Operant Behavior:

"It has long been known that behavior is affected by its consequences. We reward and punish people, for example, so that they will behave in different ways. ...

Operant reinforcement not only shapes the topography of behavior, it maintains it in strength long after an operant has been formed. Schedules of reinforcement are important in maintaining behavior.

If a response has been reinforced for some time only once every five minutes, for example, the rat soon stops responding immediately after reinforcement but responds more and more rapidly as the time for the next reinforcement approaches. ...

Reinforcers may be positive or negative. A positive reinforcer reinforces when it is presented; a negative reinforcer reinforces when it is withdrawn. Negative reinforcement is not punishment. Reinforcers always strengthen behavior; that is what ‘reinforced' means."

Positive reinforcement is a big part of my life. I reward myself constantly and for almost any sort of accomplishment, big and small. By attaching rewards to my desired behavior, I increase the likelihood that I will repeat that behavior in the future.

When I "master planned" my life for the first time, I had to spend some time thinking about how to reward myself. I gave myself all sorts of incentives for all sorts of objectives. Some of them worked. Some of them didn't.

Some success coaches suggest big rewards for big accomplishments. You might, for example, reward yourself with a sports car when you make your first million dollars. Big goals like that never worked for me, because they were too far off in the future. What motivates me are short-term goals. And I have a feeling that short-term goals will be better for you, too.

Over the years, I developed a reward system that works very well for me. Here it is:

As I mentioned earlier, when I complete a task on my daily task list, I cross it out (or change its color on my screen) to "signal" that I have accomplished it. This little gesture is like a tiny shot of adrenaline. It picks me up and gives me energy to attack my next objective.
While working at the office, when my egg timer goes off, I get up from my chair, walk outside, and spend a minute or two stretching out my back. I've found that 30 to 60 minutes flies by – especially when I'm writing – and so these half-hour or hour-long periods seem very short.
After I sprint in the morning, I reward myself with 10 to 15 minutes of yoga. Doing yoga might seem like more exercise to some, but to me it feels like a reward since it is so much more relaxing than sprinting.
After training in Jiu Jitsu at noon, I treat myself with a tasty protein shake.
At 6:30, I take my laptop to the cigar bar down the street, and work on my writing there for another hour or so. When I walk in, they have an espresso and water waiting for me. I look forward to this. I'm still doing work, but it's a reward because I'm doing it in a new place.
After an hour of writing at the cigar bar, I reward myself by going home, breaking open a good bottle of wine, and having dinner with K.
If I do any work in the evening, I reward myself afterward by reading a good book or watching a movie.
I reward myself every evening by climbing into a great bed with silky sheets and a pillow that fits my head perfectly.

These rewards, as you can see, are pretty mundane. But that's the thing about rewards. They don't have to be big or even special. They need only be enjoyable.

It would be easy for me to consider these little things – the stretching, the protein shake, reading a good book – as simply an ordinary part of my ordinary day. But by looking at them differently, by seeing them as pleasurable rewards for specific, desired behavior, they motivate me.

I think that is the key – identifying little pleasures you already have in your life and using them as behavior-changing rewards. It's very easy to do once you recognize that these little pleasures are blessed gifts. Truly speaking, you are lucky to be able to enjoy them. Be happy about that. Use them pragmatically.

P.S. [Note from the original Editor: This essay is an excerpt from Michael Masterson's new book, The Pledge: Your Master Plan for an Abundant Life. The book, to be published by John Wiley and Sons, won't be released until November. But you can get an early look. And sign up to get first chance at buying The Pledge. Just go here, give us your e-mail address (so we can give you exclusive book updates and a special deal when the book is officially released), and you'll download an excerpt from The Pledge instantly.]

Random Thoughts - Indifference

2010-08-09T15:13:00.003+08:00

(By Elie Wiesel)

The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.

P.S. Elie Wiesel was a Romanian born American writer who was awarded with the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986. The Norwegian Nobel Committee called him a "messenger to mankind", noting that through his struggle to come to terms with "his own personal experience of total humiliation and of the utter contempt for humanity shown in Hitler's death camps", as well as his "practical work in the cause of peace", Wiesel had delivered a powerful message "of peace, atonement and human dignity" to humanity.

Early To Rise - The Empty Restaurant

2010-08-01T19:22:00.005+08:00

(By Michael Masterson)

Entering the piazza, we saw that we had the choice of four restaurants: one that was very busy, two that were moderately busy, and one that had just one couple sitting at a table in the back.

Which do you think we picked?

Here was our thought process:

We couldn't bring ourselves to consider the nearly empty restaurant. If it were any good, more than two people would have been eating there. We scratched that one.
Then there were the two that were half-filled. One had plastic chairs. That one was out. The other one was cute -- a contender.

So it was between that one and the crowded restaurant.

They both had attractive table settings. They had similar menus and pricing. There was no significant difference between the two except that one was crowded and the other wasn't.

In the less-crowded restaurant, the waiters would be less rushed, the kitchen less pressured. That being the case, we figured we would probably get better service.

But we also assumed that the crowded restaurant must have been crowded for a reason.

There was now only one table left. We grabbed it and felt lucky to be there.

How did we decide?

On the face of it, you might say we made a logical decision. But I don't think that's what we did. Our logic, such as it was, was more a rationalization of deep-seated impulses. Neurobiologists say that such impulses were implanted in the human brain millions of years ago.

If you want to be a master marketer, you must become an expert at understanding those impulses. Because when it comes to decision making, they are just as important as logic. Maybe more important.

In his classic work Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini showed how successful marketers play on these impulses to persuade prospects to buy.

When K and I made our decision, it involved some rational thought. But that rational thought supported what we knew, deep down inside, we already wanted to do.

Cialdini would say that our decision was based on a combination of "urgency" and conforming to "social proof."

And that's what I want to talk about today: why you need to include adequate urgency and social proof in your advertising efforts.

When we mention that Early to Rise has 400,000+ subscribers... or when McDonald's says they serve 52 million people around the world every day -- that's social proof.

Urgency you've seen during one-day sales or when a supermarket offers a specially priced item "as long as supplies last."

I have written about these concepts before. And I have coached a hundred writers about them. But I find that in many of the promotions I review, they are inadequately presented or absent entirely.

What's more disturbing to me, I have noticed that I sometimes neglect them myself when I write sales copy.

I'm taking the time to discuss them again today because I am guessing that you, too, may give social proof and urgency short shrift. If you do, your copy is not as strong as it could be. And I'm hoping to convince you to make it a habit to emphasize them in your marketing.

I'm also hoping that by writing this essay something will click in my calcified brain and I'll remember to employ them in all the marketing campaigns I work on in the future. That will be good for my clients... and it will beef up my consulting fees.

When K and walked into that plaza, we had only one piece of prior knowledge about those four restaurants. K had read that one of them was excellent. And so that was the one we meant to go to.

But guess what?

That was the restaurant that was nearly empty. Seeing it so -- surrounded by three restaurants that were doing good business -- gave us serious doubts.

The review K read had said the food was excellent but the pricing was a bit high. So why didn't they have more customers -- people like us who were willing to pay a little more for good food?

Since there was no one there but two people at a back table, we were scared to try it. Perhaps the management had changed since the review was written. Perhaps someone had died of ptomaine poisoning the night before. Who knew?

We had reliable evidence (the review) that the restaurant was good. But we ignored it because our instincts made us fearful.

Cialdini would have said that was the effect of social proof -- in this case, the negative social proof of its being nearly empty.

In his chapter on social proof, Cialdini says:

"The principle of social proof states that one means we use to determine what is correct is to find out what other people think is correct. The principle applies especially to the way we decide what constitutes correct behavior. We view behavior as more correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it. Whether the question is what to do with an empty popcorn box in a movie theater, how fast to drive on a certain stretch of highway, or how to eat chicken at a dinner party, the actions of those around us will be important in defining the answer."

Cialdini cites a psychological study in which children with an extreme fear of dogs were cured of their phobia by watching a video of other children playing happily with dogs. After watching the video for just four days, for just 20 minutes each day, 67 percent of the children were able to interact comfortably with dogs. And the results didn't dissipate over time.

As examples of social proof in action, Cialdini also mentions canned laughter on TV sitcoms and the incessant naming of donors during public radio pledge drives.

Now consider how social proof might play out in an advertising campaign.

You are selling a product that happens to be very good. When you create the promotion for it, you say that it is good and you talk about its benefits for your prospects. But you provide no social proof.

Reading your promotion, the prospect is initially intrigued. But because there's a lack of social proof to back up your promises and claims, he doubts what you're telling him. He begins to read everything you have written as potential fluff. He wants to believe you (as all prospect do) but his inner brain (the part of the brain that controls emotional intelligence) is skeptical.

What does he conclude?

My guess: that you have given him no proof of your promises and claims because you have none. And if you have none, that must mean the product is unsatisfactory. So he decides not to buy from you. He has plenty of other similar offers to choose from.
Back to our restaurant experience...

We had eliminated the one restaurant that already had us sold because of a lack of social proof.

Now there were three to choose from. We eliminated the first one because of the plastic chairs. This, too, I would argue, was a decision based on emotional not rational intelligence. It's been our experience that a restaurateur who thinks a plastic chair is adequate is likely to be one who thinks mediocre food is adequate.

So then it was down to two: one half-filled and the other nearly full.

Both could have had great food. We could have asked people dining there what they thought of it -- thus gathering social proof ourselves. But the restaurant that was nearly full was filling up fast. There were a half dozen other couples milling around. If we took too long to make our decision, we wouldn't have the option of choosing the busiest one. So we opted for that and took the one remaining table.

What, then, was behind our final choice?

It was "scarcity" -- one of the factors that creates a feeling of urgency. The fact that there was only one table left made us worry that we would miss out. So we yielded not to logic but to an instinct we had that scarcity equals value.

Again, from Cialdini:

"The idea of potential loss plays a larger role in human decision making. In fact, people seem to be more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value. For instance, homeowners told how much money they could lose from inadequate insulation are more likely to insulate their homes than those told how much money they could save.

Collectors of everything from baseball cards to antiques are keenly aware of the influence of the scarcity principle in determining the worth of an item. As a rule, if it is rare or becoming rare, it is more valuable."

To illustrate the impact of scarcity, Cialdini cites a study in which the owner of a beef-importing business uses one of three prepared sales pitches with his regular customers, wholesale buyers for supermarkets: (1) his standard sales pitch; (2) his standard sales pitch with a bit of information about an upcoming shortage of imported beef in the next few months; or (3) both of the above, as well as an aside that this information about the shortage was not well-known.

The buyers given the second version of the sales pitch bought twice as much as those given the standard spiel. And the third group bought six times as much.

After ordering our meal, we asked our waitress why our first-choice restaurant was empty. (It was now completely empty.) We expected to have our suspicions confirmed -- that since that glowing review was published, something had changed. But that is not what she told us.

She said, "I don't know. But that's the way it goes here. One night we are very busy and the next night it is someplace else."

"What do you think accounts for it?" I asked.

"The one that gets the earliest customers usually is the one that fills up," she said.

So there it was.

Our first choice probably had the best food, but it was now empty because everybody but one couple had come to the same conclusion we had. Like us, they probably made a decision based first on a lack of social proof and second on a feeling of urgency created by scarcity.

If I were the proprietor of any of those four competing restaurants I'd make sure that my place was always full by doing three things. First I would rope off all of the back tables and leave them unset.

Then I'd let my regular customers know that if they came by early in the evening, they could eat for half price.
And then, as the tables started to fill up, I'd gradually open up more by moving back the rope.

By taking advantage of the principles of social proof and scarcity, I would ensure that my restaurant would attract a continuous stream of customers.

As expert marketers we have an obligation to do the same with our advertisements.

We must, of course, make sure that every promise and claim we make is backed up with factual proof -- the results of scientific studies, statistics, that sort of thing.

But we must provide social proof as well. That would include endorsements by trusted authorities and testimonials from satisfied users.

And don't forget urgency. Urgency can be created in many ways in an ad -- but the strongest way is based on scarcity. You must let the prospect know that if he wants the product you are offering at the price you are offering, he must act now.

So there you have it: two extremely important advertising principles. Make yourself a promise that you will pay them heed. I am making that promise to myself as I write this.

P.S. Additional Notes from the Editor: Social proof, urgency, and scarcity are key psychological motivators that every marketer must understand. But you can't fake them in your advertising. They must be real or they won't be believed. And they won't work if you don't "back them up" with: Quality products desired by the market

A way to build your customer list
Procedures for testing products, marketing channels, and advertising messages
Good copy that stirs buyer emotions

And the list goes on...

Healing with Gratitude

2010-07-25T19:55:00.003+08:00

(By Norma Gentile)

It is very hard to project Gratitude or send Gratitude. When you are in a state of feeling Gratitude, it is simply a way of being. Part of that state of Gratitude is not projecting your own or any other energies outwardly, but rather feeling your own world inwardly.

It very difficult to give away or force upon someone the energy of Gratitude. The true sensation of Gratitude brings you to rest. It brings you into your body, and so into the center of your world.

Having Gratitude for something or someone requires that you first be in relationship to yourself. When we are more deeply in relationship to ourselves we are much less apt to try to extinguish what we perceive as external fires with our own personal energies.

Within a state of Gratitude, we are more able to sustain neutrality towards the buffeting winds of change and the incessant demands of external voices for our attention. And within our personal state of Gratitude, the simple solutions provided by the consciousnesses with whom we share our world become more audible to us. Problem solving becomes a group process, not an individual undertaking.

We see the larger picture provided by Spirit only when we cease focusing solely on the problem.

Inner-Ease™ Technique

2010-07-17T13:35:00.005+08:00

(By Doc Childre)

(1) If you are stressed, acknowledge your feelings as soon as you sense that you are out of sync or engaged in common stressors— feelings such as frustration, impatience, anxiety, overload, anger, being judgmental, mentally gridlocked, etc.

(2) Take a short time out and do heart-focused breathing: breathe a little slower than usual; pretend you are breathing through your heart or chest area.

(This is proven to help create coherent wave patterns in your heart rhythm—which helps restore balance and calm in your mental and emotional nature while activating the affirming power of your heart.)

(3) During the heart-focused breathing, imagine with each breath that you are drawing in a feeling of inner-ease and infusing your mental and emotional nature with balance and self-care from your heart.

It’s scientifically proven that radiating love and self-care through your system activates beneficial hormones and boosts your immunity. Practicing will increase your awareness of when the stressful emotion has calmed into a state of ease. The mind and emotions operate on a vibrational level. Slowing down the stressful vibration helps re-establish the cooperation and balance between heart, mind and emotions.

(Like an old electric fan that rattles until you turn it to a slower speed, which often quiets and restores the unbalanced vibration.)

(4) When the stressful feelings have calmed, affirm with a heartfelt commitment that you want to anchor and maintain the state of ease as you re-engage in your projects, challenges or daily interactions.

P.S. Doc Childre is the Chairman of the Global Coherence Initiative ("GCI") Steering Committee and founder of the Institute of HeartMath^®, a nonprofit research and education organization which is a recognized global leader in researching emotional physiology, heart-brain interactions and the physiology of optimal health and performance. Doc Childre is the global authority on optimizing human performance and personal effectiveness as well as the originator of the HeartMath System^® of practical, heart-based tools and technologies designed to help people of all ages and walks of life to reduce stress, improve performance and enhance health and well-being.

The GCI in turn is a science-based initiative uniting millions of people in heart-focused care and intention, to shift global consciousness from instability and discord to balance, cooperation and enduring peace. This project has been launched by the Institute of HeartMath^® and is designed to help individuals and groups work together, synchronistically and strategically to increase the impact of their efforts to create positive global change.

The Inner-Ease™ Technique can be found in "State Of Ease", which is a freely distributed article in pdf form at the following site:
http://www.glcoherence.org/state-of-ease.html

Random Thoughts: Propaganda

2010-06-01T14:21:00.001+08:00

(By Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany)

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

N.B. I am posting a topic which is rather negative for once. But regardless of how much we dislike acknowledging the truth behind this, the reality of the case is that as, Joseph Goebbels said, "the most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly – it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over". Have you ever had the experience of totally disliking a song the very first time you heard it over radio, but gradually began to accept and even like the song as it was played incessantly over and over again? How many other times have we begun to accept mere opinions and suggestions as truths which are then ingrained into our value and belief systems by virtue of the fact that they were drummed constantly into our consciousness?

EARTH: Grounding Yourself through Joy and Creativity

2010-05-15T13:55:00.003+08:00

(Earth as channeled by Pamela Kribbe)
www.spiritlibrary.com/pamela-kribbe/grounding-yourself-through-joy-and-creativity

Dear friends,

I am the voice of the earth. I salute you all in joy. It warms my heart to experience your presence and openness towards me. I long to connect with you. We are meant to develop together and jointly walk the road to a different, new world.

I would like to take you back to the very origin of our mutual connection and cooperation. I am a living creature. I am a conscious being who has received you here on the planet in very ancient times. I was receptive to your arrival here on earth and wanted to learn and grow through your presence. You are not from the earth, you come from the stars. You carry a light within that is new and inspiring to earth and all the realms of nature here. Let me explain.

As a planet I absorb light from the outside. The light of the sun warms me and helps me bring forth life on the planet. I am inspired by the great force of the sun and I need it to create and sustain physical life on my skin. The sun is a star. You are representatives of the sun. You carry star light within your soul and bring this light to earth as you are born here.

What was the meaning of this light descending on earth? What was the intention behind your coming? You are here to bring the light of consciousness to me and all of the realms of nature. You are here to awaken us to inner life. Whereas the physical sun helps me to create and sustain physical life on earth, your star light helps me to evolve at an inner level, to grow in consciousness.

To offer a simple illustration of this principle, think of what happens when you hold a flower in your hand and look at it in awe and admiration. You see the exquisite beauty of the flower; you sense its purity, marvel at the colours and enjoy the scent. The flower itself is not aware of its beauty; the flower is simply being itself. But because of your admiration, your presence, your consciousness enveloping the flower, something awakens inside it. She will start to experience itself as something beautiful and valuable. She enjoys your attention and a spark of soul light is awakened in her.

You will see that plants and flowers you give conscious attention to, simply by enjoying them and caring for them, will grow more abundantly, have more life force and develop stronger roots into the earth. You are creators. By your thoughts, intentions and self-consciousness you are able to add life force and creative power to living nature on earth. This is exactly what nature longs to receive from you. All the realms of nature seek to grow in self-awareness, to reach out to the stars, make the connection and absorb star light within.

Think of the animals you keep in and around your house, your pets. So many of you have a special bond with them. Whenever you enter into an intimate relationship with an animal, you receive their unconditional love and loyalty. The animal however also receives something back from you. The animal is touched by your human presence, and the particular type of consciousness that belongs to humans. Your presence lights a spark of consciousness in their being and it helps them evolve in their evolution towards greater self-consciousness.

Everything in the universe is growing and evolving towards self-consciousness. Self-consciousness brings one closer to awareness of one’s own divinity, one’s indestructible light and creative power. Everything in the universe gradually grows towards a state of consciousness in which it realizes: I am part of God. I am Creator myself. To celebrate your divine creatorship and handle it with responsibility is the purpose of creation.

You are creators, and you as souls have come to earth to learn to deal with your creative powers in a conscious and responsible way. As creators, you are meant to contribute to my evolution, and to inspire the realms of nature which in turn provide you with many services and blessings on the material and ethereal levels. When you look at the current condition of the planet, it is hard to perceive there was once an original intention for a mutual cooperation between you and the planet.

Things have not worked out as planned and many would say things have gone wrong. In this moment however, I ask you to remember your original excitement to embark upon our mutual adventure. Your loving intention is still alive within your heart, even if you notice all around that humanity has used her creative powers unwisely and has damaged earth because of it. Humanity has veered off its course, taken a detour, one might say.

Originally, you came down to earth from a great source of Light, like angel-children. You were innocent and pure, but as your journey progressed, you were led astray. Humanity came to a point at which it refused to cooperate with the forces of nature, and instead placed itself in opposition to nature. Humanity then lost its connection and roots into the greater whole. Out of fear, people sought to gain power over others and over nature, in order to secure a place for themselves on earth. One could say a fall from Paradise took place. Where you had originally intended to serve life on earth, to nurture and inspire it with your creative powers, you now experienced the opposite. In the present, you see what happens when nature is not recognised anymore as a living partner in creation.

Humanity’s lack of respect for nature and the planet deeply saddens many of you reading this. There is sadness in me too about all that has happened. The realms of nature, both animal, plant and rock, have absorbed part of the darkness and negativity spread by humanity. They have experienced in their own way a sense of abandonment, a crack in the all-pervading sense of oneness that once was.

Yet, in the very heart of me, there is lasting love and compassion for all of you, and I ask you to also feel compassion for yourself and the whole of humanity. You are involved in a grand learning process. In any such process it is inevitable that mistakes are made. It is part of growing and learning that you embark on detours and dead-ends.

In this age, the collective consciousness of humanity is changing. There are more and more people nowadays, who carry in their heart a remembrance of the original bond between man and nature. They have a silent awareness of the true and blessed relationship that humans are meant to enter into with me, their home planet. Feel again, how deeply you are connected with my being.

I love you so. You are my angels of light, and still my faith in you has not withered. I ask you to acknowledge me and allow my energy to pour through you again. I am a living partner walking right beside you on your path of incarnation on earth. By connecting yourself more intimately with me, by grounding yourself more, you bring your star light deep into the material realm. You let it shine and radiate and that will bring the changes on earth so direly needed right now. By connecting to me from the heart, your true self will come out. Every human being has a unique contribution to make to this grand adventure. Your unique gift inspires me, adds life force to nature and inspires other people as well.

What is grounding about?

I would like to say some more on the meaning of grounding. What does it mean to be connected to earth, to be grounded? Being grounded means: being present in your body, being able to feel your body from the inside out, feeling the flow of life in every part, from your head to your toes to your fingertips. Check for yourself if you can experience this flow. Can you simply feel your fingertips at this moment? Your toes? Can you feel the life inside of it?

Being grounded means that you anchor your star light, your soul light, deep into matter. The part of the material world closest to you is your body. The cells and molecules of your body are open to receive your light, your soul. You are the sun for your own body. Your consciousness makes your body alive and endows it with healing power, life force and vitality. The anchoring of your soul into your body gives you the strength to fulfil your truest desires in life. Be aware of your creative power. The more you anchor it into your body, the more you truly incarnate on earth and create the changes in your life that you long for.

When you are grounded, you feel clear and quiet. You are open to your soul’s inspiration and at the same time you are connected to all that happens around you in everyday life. Making the bridge between cosmos and earth, feeling that connection, is what it means to be grounded.

Many of you carry your soul light in the upper half of your body, around your heart and head. You find it difficult to let it truly descend into the lower part of your body, your belly, legs and feet. One reason why this is hard for you is fear of your own greatness. You have fear of being the radiant angel and star that you are and to make a difference in the world. This fear is old and its roots extend further than only this lifetime. In the past, you have incarnated on earth many times and you have often felt unwelcome. You are all in the process of healing this old pain.

I will suggest two ways of grounding yourself and feeling that you are indeed welcome on earth, in your greatness, your creative power and your divinity.

Grounding yourself through joy

The first way is through enjoyment. You are really not used to enjoying. Enjoying what? Everything you can experience on earth. Your body offers many possibilities for enjoyment, but many of these have been deemed sinful or inferior in your culture. Enjoying the movements of the body, the sunshine on your skin, eating and drinking, the warm touch of another. Being able to enjoy this has to do with being able to truly receive. Why is this difficult for you?

Many of you feel there is something wrong with you, that you are somehow not right the way you are. You feel you have to achieve and work hard in order to receive acknowledgement and appraisal. This is a silly idea, seen from the perspective of nature. Have you ever seen a wild animal work hard to gain recognition? Well no, the animal simply is and takes its right to be for granted, not as something it must deserve. The animal is able to enjoy without reserve the sun, the food, a water bath, the seasons and natural rhythms of life.

You are all invited to receive and to experience yourself as a divine being who is allowed to receive simply because of who you are. You are invited to enjoy the simple things life in a body has to offer you. Receiving seems to be easy, but it is not. It requires a deep level of self love, a deep recognition and appreciation of who you are. Dare to reach out to that level of self love. Choose one moment every day, in which you ask yourself what you can do for yourself now that truly pleasures and fulfills you. What do you really feel like having or doing? Then do it. Do it for you, because you honour yourself and because you are here on earth to enjoy yourself.

When you truly enjoy, whatever it is, without guilt or shame, you are grounded. You are completely present in the now moment and all is well. There are no thoughts of the past or the future. Enjoying is being in the now, fully grounded.

Grounding yourself through creativity

There is a second way of becoming more firmly connected to earth, more grounded. It is the way of creativity. This is what you are made for. Every human has a natural longing to express themselves, to manifest themselves in the world. This has nothing to do with achieving fame or success in society. Rather, it has to do with finding a way of expressing yourself that gives you real satisfaction. It may be the case that raising a family deeply fulfills you, or that leading a company inspires you. Perhaps caring for animals in some way is your heart’s desire, or it may be a type of artistic expression that feels natural to you. Every soul longs to express itself in some manner. The moment you answer to that longing, you feel fulfilled. The moment you allow the natural creativity inside to unfold, you feel “yes, this is me, this is how my energy wants to flow”.

In that moment, your soul connects to the heart of earth, the heart of this reality. It is important to find out what you truly long for in your life and to make room for the creative flow inside you. This is where your divine essence touches earth and finds material form.

Now, I would like to impress on you that you should really stand up for yourselves a bit more in this respect. Many of you suppress your impulses to do what your heart desires. So often you think of ‘how you should behave’, what is expected of you, your duties and responsibilities. In that way you will not find the key to the unfolding of your creative power. Your creative power speaks to you from your belly, from your gut. It is not concerned with all the limiting rules and obligations that you have internalized. Break free from this! Feel the fountain of fire and passion springing from your belly, and let it flow freely. Sparkles of light will find their way from your belly, to your heart, from the inside to the outside, and you will express yourself in your own original way on earth. You will see that your creativity will touch other people and that it will make them joyful and inspired. Following your passion and desire has a much more positive effect on the world than virtuously doing what you’ve been told and forcing yourself to comply with limiting rules and structures.

This is a time of change. It is a time to be brave and take risks, to hear the voice of your heart and act according to it in all areas of your life. By truly surrendering yourself to your heart’s guidance, you dig your roots deep into earth, and you start to feel that life here is truly worth living.

Full circle

The first way of grounding yourself was to enjoy and receive. This is an ingoing flow. The second way is about an outgoing flow: creating and giving. By creating from the heart, you give yourself to the world. Receiving and giving, enjoying and creating, together make a full circle. It is a healing circle.

The more you dare to enjoy and find yourself worthy to receive, the more you connect with your natural inspiration, the energy you are meant to share with this world. And as this flow of inspiration becomes stronger and finds a creative form in the world, the more you enjoy the love and joy that will befall you on your path. The flows of giving and receiving, creating and enjoying, mutually reinforce each other.

I, the earth, benefit from this healing circle of receiving and giving. In this flowing, dynamic circle, I am working with you. It is my desire to nurture and stimulate your divine creative power, this unique sparkle in you. Human beings who have developed the capacity to enjoy and create, will naturally enter into a different connection with earth. They will be aware of their greatness, their divine nature, and for that very reason understand also that they are held and carried by a force of Life that connects all beings together. Experiencing your own greatness goes hand in hand with a sense of smallness, the realisation of your embeddedness in the great web of life that sustains you. Humans who honour and respect themselves, naturally cooperate with their living environment, other humans, animals, plants, all of nature. Knowing your greatness goes together with recognising your place in the larger whole, and deriving joy from the part you play in it.

A journey to the New Earth

In closing, I would like to ask you to travel with me to the future, to a new earth. Imagine that the evolution we are now in together has progressed a few steps further. I am myself evolving towards a more expanded self-awareness. This new awareness has been awakened inside me, urged by both the good and the bad times on earth. I am becoming more self-conscious and creative in my being. There’s a longing in my heart for a reality in which humanity and earth reinstate their original bond of love and companionship. A new earth on which we joyfully cooperate and I am again inspired by your love and thoughtful attention, while I provide you with all that you need, living in a physical body and attuned to the rhythm of nature.

Imagine this new earth that you all so long for, present in the now moment. In our hearts it is already alive, as a seed. Let us nurture this seed with consciousness and have it sprout in our imagination. See yourself living on this new earth. What is the first thing you notice? Humans are living in harmony with nature here. Technology is used to support nature rather than manipulate it. See whether you can find yourself a house on this new earth. There is a place and a community there in which you feel like you belong. Let your imagination guide you, and feel no restrictions. Where do you live on this new earth? Can you find a natural surrounding in which you feel comfortable? Feel the climate, feel the ease and simplicity of life there. Life is pure and simple there, as it is meant to be.

Now take a look at what kind of work you do. Work means anything that inspires you and gives you a sense of fulfilment. What are you doing? You probably live in a small community of kindred spirits and you do exactly what your soul inspires you to do. What form does your creativity take?

When you see or feel this, know that your soul is speaking to you in the present. What you are seeing is something that you long to do right now, and something you can do right now, if only you trust and dare to be who you are. This is the work of your heart.

Now in this imagination of the new earth, feel also what it is you truly enjoy. Let your inner eye provide you with a situation in which you truly enjoy yourself and receive something from what earth has to offer you. Let an image of what that is spontaneously well up in your mind. What is it that truly makes you feel: all is well and I am content.

Feel the flow of giving and receiving in this place, this new reality. And hold on to it when we go back to the present.

Earth is in a transition stage and the more people remember what their inspiration is, what they are here to give and to receive, the sooner the new earth will become a reality. It is you who will give birth to this reality. I thank you for this and I find joy in your presence.

© Pamela Kribbe 2010
www.jeshua.net

Random Thoughts: Shareholders' Value vs. Stakeholders' Value

2010-04-25T15:59:00.012+08:00

(By Mr. Ho KwonPing)

N.B. The following text is extracted and reproduced from the Executive Chairman's Statement in Banyan Tree Holdings Limited Sustainability Report 2009. The full Report may be downloaded at the following site: http://www.banyantree.com/csr/CSRPublications.php

Because of Banyan Tree’s reputation for Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), I am often asked if spending money on such things comes at the expense of the shareholders, whose interests should always come first. This line of thinking says that while CSR is a laudable goal, it should not come at the expense of “maximising shareholder value”.

I have always responded that in fact, this mantra of “maximising shareholder value” is the very source for the downfall of American-style capitalism, as we have seen with the virtual collapse of the global financial system starting in late 2007.

And, not until we can redefine capitalism in a very fundamental way, can we restore business – and business leaders – to respectable status in society. Once we redefine what capitalism is about, we will see that far from being an external, “nice to have” feature, CSR is in fact a vital component of a sustainable business. The kind of capitalism practiced on Wall Street (Anglo-American Capitalism) has as its sole objective, the maximising of profits for the owners of capital, the shareholders. Management is incentivised to make as much profit as possible for shareholders, in the shortest time possible. This “short-termism” is basically what led to the debacles on Wall Street: working only to maximise profits for a short period, CEO’s got their bonuses and then got out; investors were happy to put money into private equity funds who did nothing but buy companies, load them with unsustainable debt which generated rapid short term growth, but eventually collapse. We have seen what happens with “maximising shareholder value”.

The concept of stakeholder vs shareholder is vital here. Stakeholders may not own shares in a company, but they have a vital stake in the welfare of the company. Stakeholders include employees, suppliers, and customers, and the community within which the company does its business.

If the community is a vital stakeholder in the company, then obviously CSR is the way to generate value for this group of stakeholders. The vital follow up question then is: by focusing on maximising stakeholder value, must a company inevitably accept lower profits? In other words, are stakeholder value and shareholder value contradictory?

My answer is a clear NO. If you look only for the short term, there is no doubt that maximising shareholder value and stakeholder value are contradictory. But, if you want an enterprise to be sustainable, you can only generate long term profits if you enhance the value of the company for all stakeholders.

For Banyan Tree be sustainably successful, we must create long term value for all stakeholders. At a time when business is so morally bankrupt, CSR is in fact NOT a drain on profits, but probably one of the only ways a company can regain its soul and recreate a sustainable model.

Yours Sincerely,

Ho KwonPing
Executive Chairman

N.B. Although this post seems more grounded in issues surrounding secular events (and, most certainly, a deviation from topics which i normally like to discuss), but I think there is a strong underlying spiritual theme beneath the business talks nonetheless.

There are only just that few entities which I am aware of that embrace social responsibility as part of its corporate governance, let alone publishing annual reports on its work on sustainable development and corporate social responsibility. As the Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings Limited ("Banyan Tree"), Mr. Ho (with his core management team) has led Banyan Tree from inception as a socially responsible business, which was in turn founded with the core value of driving sustainable development.

Banyan Tree's mission statement is:
"With the call to arms of embracing the environment and empowering the people, we seek to continue being an agent of social and economic development through responsible tourism. Our triple bottom line (economy, society and environment) help direct our sustainable development by inspiring associates, guests, and partners to take a wider consideration encompassing a long term view when making business decisions."

The Executive Chairman's Statement in Banyan Tree Sustainability Report 2009 serves as a timely reminder on what is really most important to us all as fellow members of the human community, of the present and of the future to come. I sincerely hope that we can one day all live up to the ideals which are propounded in this statement by Mr. Ho.

To Mr. Ho:
I subscribe wholly to what you have said. To entities which embrace profit maximisation strategies under the prevailing definition of capitalism, your ideals are surely considered to be unreasonable. But George Bernard Shaw said before, and I quote: "Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people.". And it is my sincere hope that you will persist in being unreasonable, so that our future generations will also have the opportunity to experience Mother Nature as we have today. But most importantly, I hope that they will also know (through your ideals) and embrace the essence of equity when dealing with Mother Nature and their fellow human beings.

What Really Determines How We Live Our Lives?

2010-03-13T10:21:00.006+08:00

(By Morty Lefkoe)

For years I’ve thought that our lives—what we do, think, feel, and perceive—were the direct result of our beliefs and our conditionings. When I looked at the lives and beliefs of over 13,000 clients, I noticed a very close correlation.

In the past few weeks I’ve had reason to rethink that conclusion. I’ve identified a couple of steps between beliefs and how we live our lives, so I no longer think there is a direct connection.

In order to explain what the actual connection is, let me briefly remind you of my three posts last year on “occurring.” (See http://mortylefkoe.com/121509, http://mortylefkoe.com/12229, http://mortylefkoe.com/122909) Most people are not aware that the way reality shows up or occurs for them is not the same as what’s actually “out there” in the world.

For example, if something you’re about to do occurs to you as difficult, for you it really is difficult. For you, the difficulty is a fact. Actually, the project might require skills that you don’t have or perhaps you aren’t confident about your ability to do it successfully. But the project itself isn’t difficult. Difficult is in our minds. Only the requirements of the project are in the world.

So there is a profound difference between reality and how reality shows up for us, and most people usually never make that distinction.

Back to my new realization. It now seems to me that what determines our thoughts, feelings, behavior, etc. at any given moment is the way people and events (and even our internal thoughts) occur to us, moment by moment. And, for us, reality is this occurring—not how reality really is.

Are beliefs and conditionings involved at all? Yes, they are. The connection between our beliefs and conditionings and how things show up or occur for us is the meaning we are giving reality moment by moment.

Here’s how I think it works: We have beliefs and conditionings from earlier in life. When we interact with any situation, our existing beliefs and conditionings are the primary determinant of the meaning we give the situation. That meaning in turn determines how it occurs for us. And that occurring then determines how we react to the situation.

Here’s an illustration to make this real. Imagine you have several beliefs, including What makes me good enough or important is having people think well of me. The situation you encounter is: You’re with a group of friends, all of whom have the same opinion about something. You disagree. That’s reality. Given the beliefs you have, the meaning you might give this reality is: “It’s dangerous to disagree with my friends because that might result in them not liking me or thinking less of me.” Given that meaning, the situation probably will occur for you as uncomfortable and you will feel resistance to speak up about your disagreement. And given this way the situation showed up for you, you probably would not say anything.

Can you see that your beliefs would lead you to give reality the meaning you did? … And can you see that given that meaning, the situation would occur to you as it did? … And finally, can you see that your behavior probably would be consistent with how the situation occurred to you? …

When I mentioned this new way of looking at the relationship between our beliefs and the way we live our lives, one friend said to me last week: Why are you complicating the situation? If beliefs and conditionings cause the meaning, which causes the occurring, which determines how we life our lives, so what if there are a couple of elements between the beliefs and how we live our lives?

Here’s why this distinction can be very important. If our lives are the direct result of our beliefs and conditionings, then we could not change our lives until we found and eliminated them. But if our lives are the result of the meaning we give any given situation, then it might be possible to change that meaning, thereby changing how we will act and feel in any given situation, without eliminating the beliefs.

I think that it is possible to do that and I’m in the process of conducting an experiment with 20 people over a ten-week period to see what is required to change the meaning we automatically give to situations. So far it looks like it can be done. I personally have done it many times, even though it can be difficult to do it consistently.

Now in the long run you still would want to get rid of the relevant negative beliefs and conditionings because, if you don’t, the next time a similar situation comes up, you’ll probably form the same meaning, which you will then have to change. On the other hand, if you eliminate the negative beliefs, you’ll form a different, more positive meaning the next time, and you won’t have to change it.

At this point you probably are asking: So how do you change the meaning we automatically and unconsciously give events every minute? The same way we eliminate the meaning we gave the events that led to beliefs as a child. Give the events two or three different meanings so that you can make real that the meaning you gave the situation is not “the truth,” and then realize you never saw the meaning in reality. You only can see reality; meaning is always in our mind.

Also, it seems that some people are able to ignore or transcend how things show up for them. I’ve observed a few people who seem to be successful financially, in their careers, and in other aspects of their lives (such as dealing with eating/weight issues)—who still have a bunch of negative self-esteem beliefs. That wouldn’t make sense if our lives were consistent with our beliefs. But given what now appears to be true, as I’ve described above, these people either are changing the meaning of situations constantly or are transcending the way things show up for them.

People who do the latter seem to be able to say to themselves: “Yes, the world is occurring as difficult, or me as inadequate, etc., but so what? I don’t care about reality (how the world occurs to me), I’m going for it anyway.”

In looking at my own life I can see that I’ve done that from time to time. I have purposes or goals that I am so committed to that I can totally ignore how things occur for me. One example is I have decided to drastically cut down my consumption of sugar and have just a square or two of chocolate after dinner and none during the day. Most days after lunch I feel a desire for chocolate. I notice that feeling and ignore it, saying silently to myself: “I don’t care if I feel like eating chocolate, I’m not going to do it.” There is no struggle or effect and I don’t think about eating chocolate any more after I have that thought. It’s as if my commitment is so much greater than the way my desire for chocolate shows up for me after lunch that the desire for chocolate feels irrelevant.

I’ll have more to say about changing the meaning you have given a situation and transcending how the world occurs to us a few weeks after the Lefkoe Freedom Experiment is complete and I have the results from 20 experimenters. In the meantime, check it out yourself. See if you can notice that you generally are not aware of the difference between reality and how reality occurs or shows up for you. And then see if you can change that occurring by changing the meaning you had just given the situation in front of you.

PS: Morty Lefkoe is president and founder of The Lefkoe Institute. He is the creator of a series of psychological processes (The Lefkoe Method) that result in profound personal and organizational change, quickly and permanently. He has written a book about the Lefkoe Belief Process (LBP), Re-create Your Life: Transforming Yourself and Your World. The complete article can be found at his blog at: http://www.mortylefkoe.com/030910/

Nuturing Creativity

2010-03-07T20:50:00.008+08:00

(by Elizabeth Gilbert)

The same speech as well as Elizabeth Gilbert's detailed profile can be found at the following site: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html. The full text of the lecture is enclosed as follows:

I am a writer. Writing books is my profession but it's more than that, of course. It is also my great lifelong love and fascination. And I don't expect that that's ever going to change. But, that said, something kind of peculiar has happened recently in my life and in my career, which has caused me to have to recalibrate my whole relationship with this work. And the peculiar thing is that I recently wrote this book, this memoir called "Eat, Pray, Love" which, decidedly unlike any of my previous books, went out in the world for some reason, and became this big, mega-sensation, international bestseller thing. The result of which is that everywhere I go now, people treat me like I'm doomed. Seriously -- doomed, doomed! Like, they come up to me now, all worried, and they say, "Aren't you afraid -- aren't you afraid you're never going to be able to top that? Aren't you afraid you're going to keep writing for your whole life and you're never again going to create a book that anybody in the world cares about at all, ever again?"

So that's reassuring, you know. But it would be worse, except for that I happen to remember that over 20 years ago, when I first started telling people -- when I was a teenager -- that I wanted to be a writer, I was met with this same kind of, sort of fear-based reaction. And people would say, "Aren't you afraid you're never going to have any success? Aren't you afraid the humiliation of rejection will kill you? Aren't you afraid that you're going to work your whole life at this craft and nothing's ever going to come of it and you're going to die on a scrap heap of broken dreams with your mouth filled with bitter ash of failure?" (Laughter) Like that, you know.

The answer -- the short answer to all those questions is, "Yes." Yes, I'm afraid of all those things. And I always have been. And I'm afraid of many many more things besides that people can't even guess at. Like seaweed, and other things that are scary. But, when it comes to writing the thing that I've been sort of thinking about lately, and wondering about lately, is why? You know, is it rational? Is it logical that anybody should be expected to be afraid of the work that they feel they were put on this Earth to do. You know, and what is it specifically about creative ventures that seems to make us really nervous about each other's mental health in a way that other careers kind of don't do, you know? Like my dad, for example, was a chemical engineer and I don't recall once in his 40 years of chemical engineering anybody asking him if he was afraid to be a chemical engineer, you know? It didn't -- that chemical engineering block John, how's it going? It just didn't come up like that, you know? But to be fair, chemical engineers as a group haven't really earned a reputation over the centuries for being alcoholic manic-depressives. (Laughter)

We writers, we kind of do have that reputation, and not just writers, but creative people across all genres, it seems, have this reputation for being enormously mentally unstable. And all you have to do is look at the very grim death count in the 20th century alone, of really magnificent creative minds who died young and often at their own hands, you know? And even the ones who didn't literally commit suicide seem to be really undone by their gifts, you know. Norman Mailer, just before he died, last interview, he said "Every one of my books has killed me a little more." An extraordinary statement to make about your life's work, you know. But we don't even blink when we hear somebody say this because we've heard that kind of stuff for so long and somehow we've completely internalized and accepted collectively this notion that creativity and suffering are somehow inherently linked and that artistry, in the end, will always ultimately lead to anguish.

And the question that I want to ask everybody here today is are you guys all cool with that idea? Are you comfortable with that -- because you look at it even from an inch away and, you know -- I'm not at all comfortable with that assumption. I think it's odious. And I also think it's dangerous, and I don't want to see it perpetuated into the next century. I think it's better if we encourage our great creative minds to live.

And I definitely know that, in my case -- in my situation -- it would be very dangerous for me to start sort of leaking down that dark path of assumption, particularly given the circumstance that I'm in right now in my career. Which is -- you know, like check it out, I'm pretty young, I'm only about 40 years old. I still have maybe another four decades of work left in me. And it's exceedingly likely that anything I write from this point forward is going to be judged by the world as the work that came after the freakish success of my last book, right? I should just put it bluntly, because we're all sort of friends here now -- it's exceedingly likely that my greatest success is behind me. Oh, so Jesus, what a thought! You know that's the kind of thought that could lead a person to start drinking gin at nine o'clock in the morning, and I don't want to go there. (Laughter) I would prefer to keep doing this work that I love.

And so, the question becomes, how? And so, it seems to me, upon a lot of reflection, that the way that I have to work now, in order to continue writing, is that I have to create some sort of protective psychological construct, right? I have to, sort of find some way to have a safe distance between me, as I am writing, and my very natural anxiety about what the reaction to that writing is going to be, from now on. And, as I've been looking over the last year for models for how to do that I've been sort of looking across time, and I've been trying to find other societies to see if they might have had better and saner ideas than we have about how to help creative people, sort of manage the inherent emotional risks of creativity.

And that search has led me to ancient Greece and ancient Rome. So stay with me, because it does circle around and back. But, ancient Greece and ancient Rome -- people did not happen to believe that creativity came from human beings back then, OK? People believed that creativity was this divine attendant spirit that came to human beings from some distant and unknowable source, for distant and unknowable reasons. The Greeks famously called these divine attendant spirits of creativity "daemons." Socrates, famously, believed that he had a daemon who spoke wisdom to him from afar. The Romans had the same idea, but they called that sort of disembodied creative spirit a genius. Which is great, because the Romans did not actually think that a genius was a particularly clever individual. They believed that a genius was this, sort of magical divine entity, who was believed to literally live in the walls of an artist's studio, kind of like Dobby the house elf, and who would come out and sort of invisibly assist the artist with their work and would shape the outcome of that work.

So brilliant -- there it is, right there that distance that I'm talking about -- that psychological construct to protect you from the results of your work. And everyone knew that this is how it functioned, right? So the ancient artist was protected from certain things, like, for example, too much narcissism, right? If your work was brilliant you couldn't take all the credit for it, everybody knew that you had this disembodied genius who had helped you. If your work bombed, not entirely your fault, you know? Everyone knew your genius was kind of lame. And this is how people thought about creativity in the West for a really long time.

And then the Renaissance came and everything changed, and we had this big idea, and the big idea was let's put the individual human being at the center of the universe above all gods and mysteries, and there's no more room for mystical creatures who take dictation from the divine. And it's the beginning of rational humanism, and people started to believe that creativity came completely from the self of the individual. And for the first time in history, you start to hear people referring to this or that artist as being a genius rather than having a genius.

And I got to tell you, I think that was a huge error. You know, I think that allowing somebody, one mere person to believe that he or she is like, the vessel you know, like the font and the essence and the source of all divine, creative, unknowable, eternal mystery is just a smidge too much responsibility to put on one fragile, human psyche. It's like asking somebody to swallow the sun. It just completely warps and distorts egos, and it creates all these unmanageable expectations about performance. And I think the pressure of that has been killing off our artists for the last 500 years.

And, if this is true, and I think it is true, the question becomes, what now? Can we do this differently? Maybe go back to some more ancient understanding about the relationship between humans and the creative mystery. Maybe not. Maybe we can't just erase 500 years of rational humanistic thought in one 18 minute speech. And there's probably people in this audience who would raise really legitimate scientific suspicions about the notion of, basically fairies who follow people around rubbing fairy juice on their projects and stuff. I'm not, probably, going to bring you all along with me on this.

But the question that I kind of want to pose is -- you know, why not? Why not think about it this way? Because it makes as much sense as anything else I have ever heard in terms of explaining the utter maddening capriciousness of the creative process. A process which, as anybody who has ever tried to make something -- which is to say basically, everyone here --- knows does not always behave rationally. And, in fact, can sometimes feel downright paranormal.

I had this encounter recently where I met the extraordinary American poet Ruth Stone, who's now in her 90s, but she's been a poet her entire life and she told me that when she was growing up in rural Virginia, she would be out working in the fields, and she said she would feel and hear a poem coming at her from over the landscape. And she said it was like a thunderous train of air. And it would come barreling down at her over the landscape. And she felt it coming, because it would shake the earth under her feet. She knew that she had only one thing to do at that point, and that was to, in her words, "run like hell." And she would run like hell to the house and she would be getting chased by this poem, and the whole deal was that she had to get to a piece of paper and a pencil fast enough so that when it thundered through her, she could collect it and grab it on the page. And other times she wouldn't be fast enough, so she'd be running and running and running, and she wouldn't get to the house and the poem would barrel through her and she would miss it and she said it would continue on across the landscape, looking, as she put it "for another poet." And then there were these times -- this is the piece I never forgot -- she said that there were moments where she would almost miss it, right? So, she's running to the house and she's looking for the paper and the poem passes through her, and she grabs a pencil just as it's going through her, and then she said, it was like she would reach out with her other hand and she would catch it. She would catch the poem by its tail, and she would pull it backwards into her body as she was transcribing on the page. And in these instances, the poem would come up on the page perfect and intact but backwards, from the last word to the first. (Laughter)

So when I heard that I was like -- that's uncanny, that's exactly what my creative process is like. (Laughter)

That's not all what my creative process is -- I'm not the pipeline! I'm a mule, and the way that I have to work is that I have to get up at the same time every day, and sweat and labor and barrel through it really awkwardly. But even I, in my mulishness, even I have brushed up against that thing, at times. And I would imagine that a lot of you have too. You know, even I have had work or ideas come through me from a source that I honestly cannot identify. And what is that thing? And how are we to relate to it in a way that will not make us lose our minds, but, in fact, might actually keep us sane?

And for me, the best contemporary example that I have of how to do that is the musician Tom Waits, who I got to interview several years ago on a magazine assignment. And we were talking about this, and you know, Tom, for most of his life he was pretty much the embodiment of the tormented contemporary modern artist, trying to control and manage and dominate these sort of uncontrollable creative impulses that were totally internalized.

But then he got older, he got calmer, and one day he was driving down the freeway in Los Angeles he told me, and this is when it all changed for him. And he's speeding along, and all of a sudden he hears this little fragment of melody, that comes into his head as inspiration often comes, elusive and tantalizing, and he wants it, you know, it's gorgeous, and he longs for it, but he has no way to get it. He doesn't have a piece of paper, he doesn't have a pencil, he doesn't have a tape recorder.

So he starts to feel all of that old anxiety start to rise in him like, "I'm going to lose this thing, and then I'm going to be haunted by this song forever. I'm not good enough, and I can't do it." And instead of panicking, he just stopped. He just stopped that whole mental process and he did something completely novel. He just looked up at the sky, and he said, "Excuse me, can you not see that I'm driving?" (Laughter) "Do I look like I can write down a song right now? If you really want to exist, come back at a more opportune moment when I can take care of you. Otherwise, go bother somebody else today. Go bother Leonard Cohen."

And his whole work process changed after that. Not the work, the work was still oftentimes as dark as ever. But the process, and the heavy anxiety around it was released when he took the genie, the genius out of him where it was causing nothing but trouble, and released it kind of back where it came from, and realized that this didn't have to be this internalized, tormented thing. It could be this peculiar, wondrous, bizarre collaboration kind of conversation between Tom and the strange, external thing that was not quite Tom.

So when I heard that story it started to shift a little bit the way that I worked too, and it already saved me once. This idea, it saved me when I was in the middle of writing "Eat, Pray, Love," and I fell into one of those, sort of pits of despair that we all fall into when we're working on something and it's not coming and you start to think this is going to be a disaster, this is going to be the worst book ever written. Not just bad, but the worst book ever written. And I started to think I should just dump this project. But then I remembered Tom talking to the open air and I tried it. So I just lifted my face up from the manuscript and I directed my comments to an empty corner of the room. And I said aloud, "Listen you, thing, you and I both know that if this book isn't brilliant that is not entirely my fault, right? Because you can see that I am putting everything I have into this, I don't have anymore than this. So if you want it to be better, then you've got to show up and do your part of the deal. OK. But if you don't do that, you know what, the hell with it. I'm going to keep writing anyway because that's my job. And I would please like the record to reflect today that I showed up for my part of the job." (Laughter)

Because -- (Applause) in the end it's like this, OK -- centuries ago in the deserts of North Africa, people used to gather for these moonlight dances of sacred dance and music that would go on for hours and hours, until dawn. And they were always magnificent, because the dancers were professionals and they were terrific, right? But every once in a while, very rarely, something would happen, and one of these performers would actually become transcendent. And I know you know what I'm talking about, because I know you've all seen, at some point in your life, a performance like this. It was like time would stop, and the dancer would sort of step through some kind of portal and he wasn't doing anything different than he had ever done, 1,000 nights before, but everything would align. And all of a sudden, he would no longer appear to be merely human. He would be lit from within, and lit from below and all lit up on fire with divinity.

And when this happened, back then, people knew it for what it was, you know, they called it by it's name. They would put their hands together and they would start to chant, "Allah, Allah, Allah, God God, God." That's God, you know. Curious historical footnote -- when the Moors invaded southern Spain, they took this custom with them and the pronunciation changed over the centuries from "Allah, Allah, Allah," to "Ole, ole, ole," which you still hear in bullfights and in flamenco dances. In Spain, when a performer has done something impossible and magic, "Allah, ole, ole, Allah, magnificent, bravo," incomprehensible, there it is -- a glimpse of God. Which is great, because we need that.

But, the tricky bit comes the next morning, for the dancer himself, when he wakes up and discovers that it's Tuesday at 11 a.m., and he's no longer a glimpse of God. He's just an aging mortal with really bad knees, and maybe he's never going to ascend to that height again. And maybe nobody will ever chant God's name again as he spins, and what is he then to do with the rest of his life? This is hard. This is one of the most painful reconciliations to make in a creative life. But maybe it doesn't have to be quite so full of anguish if you never happened to believe, in the first place, that the most extraordinary aspects of your being came from you. But maybe if you just believed that they were on loan to you from some unimaginable source for some exquisite portion of your life to be passed along when you're finished, with somebody else. And, you know, if we think about it this way it starts to change everything.

This is how I've started to think, and this is certainly how I've been thinking in the last few months as I've been working on the book that will soon be published, as the dangerously, frighteningly over-anticipated follow up to my freakish success.

And what I have to, sort of keep telling myself when I get really psyched out about that, is, don't be afraid. Don't be daunted. Just do your job. Continue to show up for your piece of it, whatever that might be. If your job is to dance, do your dance. If the divine, cockeyed genius assigned to your case decides to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed, for just one moment through your efforts, then "Ole!" And if not, do your dance anyhow. And "Ole!" to you, nonetheless. I believe this and I feel that we must teach it. "Ole!" to you, nonetheless, just for having the sheer human love and stubbornness to keep showing up.

Thank you. (Applause) Thank you. (Applause)

June Cohen: Ole! (Applause)

P.S. Elizabeth Gilbert faced down a pre-midlife crisis by doing what we all secretly dream of – running off for a year. Her travels through Italy, India and Indonesia resulted in the mega bestselling and deeply beloved memoir Eat, Pray, Love, about her process of finding herself by leaving home.

She's a longtime magazine writer – covering music and politics for Spin and GQ – as well as a novelist and short-story writer. Her books include the story collection Pilgrims, the novel Stern Men (about lobster fishermen in Maine) and a biography of the woodsman Eustace Conway, called The Last American Man. Her work has been the basis for one movie so far (Coyote Ugly, based on her own memoir, in this magazine article, of working at the famously raunchy bar), and now it looks as if Eat, Pray, Love is on the same track, with the part of Gilbert reportedly to be played by Julia Roberts. Not bad for a year off.

Gilbert also owns and runs the import shop Two Buttons in Frenchtown, New Jersey.

Random Thoughts - The Dark Night of the Soul

2010-02-15T11:43:00.005+08:00

For whatever that is happening in our lives at the moment, there may be points in time during which when we enter into periods of crisis in our life. These times are reflected back to us by the Sixth Essene Mirror as our Quest for Darkness and these are the times which the ancients refer to as the “Dark Night of the Soul”. During the Dark Night of the Soul, we will be faced with what for us appear to be the greatest challenges or fears we have ever faced in our lives.

The Essene literature says that it is impossible for us to create for ourselves and to draw into our lives the situations and circumstances that provide us with the Dark Night of the Soul until we have already fully gathered upon ourselves all the necessary tools that will carry us gracefully through these experiences. When we experience life through our relationships with people and events in the world, we develop the arsenal and array of tools within us, and it is in the amassing of these tools and not until we have fully assimilated those tools into ourselves that we bring forth the Dark Night of the Soul. It is in the assimilation that triggers the Universe to bring upon ourselves the Dark Night of the Soul, not as tests for us to pass or fail in, but opportunities for us to demonstrate our mastery over our greatest challenges or fears. These experience is not possible until we know that we have everything that we need for us to move gracefully through those times. The Universe never puts more on our plates than we can deal with, and with free will, we always have a choice in every such experience to greet it as a powerful manifesting God or as a victim.

P.S. We live in an cause and effect world known as the “Plane of Demonstration” where we actively manifest into our lives people and events in accordance with what our consciousness believe to be necessary for progress of the whole. In other words, our collective consciousness participates in the creation of the reality around us. The Seven Essene Mirrors of Personal Relationship is a way by which we seek to understand how this process works. With these Mirrors, we can use what seem to be negative experiences as stepping-stones for us all to move towards greater healing and empowerment.

Random Thoughts - The World As I See It

2010-02-06T00:27:00.009+08:00

I once learned that every person or event that crosses my path during my lifetime is an angel sent to teach me a particular lesson of life. In the same light as our inner consciousness creates the external reality around us, we manifest such angels into our lives in accordance with what lessons we need to learn. These angels, in one way or another, serve as mirrors that reflect to us an aspect of ourselves which needs healing and empowerment. Thereafter, even as these angels leave us, the experiences they leave behind coalesce into wisdom which will stay with us forever.

P.S. The above paragraph is an excerpt from a reply to Lena's article in Healing Insights of the same title in her newsletter sent on Feb 4th 2010:
http://soulmelodies.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/the-world-as-i-see-it/

This article came at the most timely manner to remind me of what I had already known but had momentarily forgotten. Through Lena's view of the world as she sees it, she has re-opened my eyes to the view of the world that I used to see. However, what resonates most deeply with me is this:
"On the contrary, I think that despite everything that has happened in our lives that may make us feel less positive about the world, deep deep deep within us we know that none of these negative stuff is true. That in that place inside you, there is a list that you have which would be very similar to mine."

Coincidentally, Feb 4th represents the first day (立春) after the actual turn of year from 2009 to 2010 based on the chinese solar calendar. Perhaps this might be the most excellent time to re-acquaint yourself with that place inside of you, that place where you have kept that list safe all these while, but had momentarily forgotten..

What is the force that triggers your reality?

2010-01-31T16:49:00.002+08:00

(By Jim Francis)

It is the expectation, based on people’s belief system that enables the individual to manifest situations, events and material objects.

For example, if a person absolutely knows that they are naturally unlucky then they will never be able to successfully manifest “luck” events.

Expectation characterizes the belief system of the individual and portrays the innermost aspects of his or her personality. It represents the psychic building blocks from which the physical constructions will be successfully constructed.

Expectations are basically formed from your emotions. If you can develop “emotional excitement” about potential physical constructions (such as events) then you will find it much easier to manifest that which you desire.

Individuals who are temporarily “emotionally burnt out” will simply not be able to manifest in a satisfactory manner. In fact the reverse might happen. That is, events that you don’t want may materialize.

It is therefore vital that you keep in touch with your emotions and if you should feel yourself becoming emotionally “bogged down” then it is time to take a break from your everyday activities and give yourself time to recover. Seth* indicates that a person’s expectations are the result of their emotional heritage….and their own ability to understand and manipulate that heritage.

Each and every individual is constantly receiving a stream of inner data and the individual will accept data only that is in line with their personal expectations.

If a person wants to change their fate then mere desire is not enough…it is expectation that will cause the manifestation of desires into reality. It is actually expectation that triggers inner data into physical construction.

An expectation of success will encourage success, whereas an expectation of danger will attract dangerous circumstances to the individual.

Expectation is the force that triggers psychic realities into physical realities.

Validation

2009-12-25T22:59:00.007+08:00

"Validation" is a fable about the magic of free parking, starring TJ Thyne & Vicki Davis. It's writer/director/composer is Kurt Kuenne.

To date, it has garnered the following awards:
Winner - Best Narrative Short, Cleveland International Film Festival,
Winner - Jury Award, Gen Art Chicago Film Festival,
Winner - Audience Award, Hawaii International Film Festival,
Winner - Best Short Comedy, Breckenridge Festival of Film,
Winner - Crystal Heart Award, Best Short Film & Audience Award, Heartland Film Festival,
Winner - Christopher & Dana Reeve Audience Award, Williamstown Film Festival,
Winner - Best Comedy, Dam Short Film Festival, and
Winner - Best Short Film, Sedona International Film Festival.

P.S. Regardless of one's status and accomplishments in life, everyone's existence and self-worth need to be validated once in a while. It really does not take a lot to validate someone, and often, a simple smile will do. Merry Christmas to all with whom I have the honour and privilege of sharing this wonderful short film . :)

Lakota Instructions for Living

2009-12-20T19:21:00.003+08:00

(As passed down from White Buffalo Calf Woman)

Friend, do it this way:
that is, whatever you do in life, do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind. And if you do it that way,
the Power of the Universe will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.

When one sits in the Hoop of the People,
one must be responsible,
because all of Creation is related,
and the hurt of one is the hurt of all,
and the honor of one is the honor of all,
and whatever we do affects everything in the Universe.

If you do it that way,
that is, if you truly join your heart and mind as One,
whatever you ask for,
that's the Way It's Going to Be.

Why are we happy?

2009-12-13T18:02:00.014+08:00

(By Dan Gilbert)

The same speech as well as Dan Gilbert's detailed profile can be found at the following site: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html. The full text of the lecture is enclosed as follows:

When you have 21 minutes to speak, two million years seems like a really long time. But evolutionarily, two million years is nothing. And yet in two million years the human brain has nearly tripled in mass, going from the one-and-a-quarter pound brain of our ancestor here, Habilis, to the almost three-pound meatloaf that everybody here has between their ears. What is it about a big brain that nature was so eager for every one of us to have one?

Well, it turns out when brains triple in size, they don't just get three times bigger, they gain new structures. And one of the main reasons our brain got so big is because it got a new part, called the frontal lobe. And particularly, a part called the pre-frontal cortex. Now what does a pre-frontal cortex do for you that should justify the entire architectural overhaul of the human skull in the blink of evolutionary time?

Well, it turns out the pre-frontal cortex does lots of things, but one of the most important things it does is that it is an experience simulator. Flight pilots practice in flight simulators so that they don't make real mistakes in planes. Human beings have this marvelous adaptation that they can actually have experiences in their heads before they try them out in real life. This is a trick that none of our ancestors could do, and that no other animal can do quite like we can. It's a marvelous adaptation. It's up there with opposable thumbs and standing upright and language as one of the things that got our species out of the trees and into the shopping mall.

Now -- (Laughter) -- all of you have done this. I mean, you know, Ben and Jerry's doesn't have liver-and-onion ice cream. It's not because they whipped some up, tried it and went, "Yuck." It's because, without leaving your armchair, you can simulate that flavor and say yuck before you make it.

Let's see how your experience simulators are working. Let's just run a quick diagnostic before I proceed with the rest of the talk. Here's two different futures that I invite you to contemplate, and you can try to simulate them and tell me which one you think you might prefer. One of them is winning the lottery. This is about 314 million dollars. And the other is becoming paraplegic. So, just give it a moment of thought. You probably don't feel like you need a moment of thought.

Interestingly, there are data on these two groups of people, data on how happy they are. And this is exactly what you expected, isn't it? But these aren't the data. I made these up!

These are the data. You failed the pop quiz, and you're hardly five minutes into the lecture Because the fact is that a year after losing the use of their legs, and a year after winning the lotto, lottery winners and paraplegics are equally happy with their lives.

Now, don't feel too bad about failing the first pop quiz, because everybody fails all of the pop quizzes all of the time. The research that my laboratory has been doing, that economists and psychologists around the country have been doing, have revealed something really quite startling to us. Something we call the impact bias, which is the tendency for the simulator to work badly. For the simulator to make you believe that different outcomes are more different than in fact they really are.

From field studies to laboratory studies, we see that winning or losing an election, gaining or losing a romantic partner, getting or not getting a promotion, passing or not passing a college test, on and on, have far less impact, less intensity and much less duration than people expect them to have. In fact, a recent study -- this almost floors me -- a recent study showing how major life traumas affect people suggests that if it happened over three months ago, with only a few exceptions, it has no impact whatsoever on your happiness.

Why? Because happiness can be synthesized. Sir Thomas Brown wrote in 1642, "I am the happiest man alive. I have that in me that can convert poverty to riches, adversity to prosperity. I am more invulnerable than Achilles; fortune hath not one place to hit me." What kind of remarkable machinery does this guy have in his head?

Well, it turns out it's precisely the same remarkable machinery that all off us have. Human beings have something that we might think of as a psychological immune system. A system of cognitive processes, largely non-conscious cognitive processes, that help them change their views of the world, so that they can feel better about the worlds in which they find themselves. Like Sir Thomas, you have this machine. Unlike Sir Thomas, you seem not to know it.

We synthesize happiness, but we think happiness is a thing to be found. Now, you don't need me to give you too many examples of people synthesizing happiness, I suspect. Though I'm going to show you some experimental evidence, you don't have to look very far for evidence.

As a challenge to myself, since I say this once in a while in lectures, I took a copy of the New York Times and tried to find some instances of people synthesizing happiness. And here are three guys synthesizing happiness. "I am so much better off physically, financially, emotionally,mentally and almost every other way." "I don't have one minute's regret. It was a glorious experience." "I believe it turned out for the best."

Who are these characters who are so damn happy? Well, the first one is Jim Wright. Some of you are old enough to remember: he was the chairman of the House of Representatives and he resigned in disgrace when this young Republican named Newt Gingrich found out about a shady book deal he had done. He lost everything. The most powerful Democrat in the country, he lost everything. he lost his money, he lost his power, What does he have to say all these years later about it? "I am so much better off physically, financially, mentally and in almost every other way." What other way would there be to be better off? Vegetably? Minerally? Animally? He's pretty much covered them there.

Moreese Bickham is somebody you've never heard of. Moreese Bickham uttered these words upon being released. He was 78 years old. He spent 37 years in a Louisiana State Penitentiary for a crime he didn't commit. He was ultimately exonerated, at the age of 78, through DNA evidence. And what did he have to say about his experience? "I don't have one minute's regret. It was a glorious experience." Glorious! This guy is not saying, "Well, you know, there were some nice guys. They had a gym." It's "glorious," a word we usually reserve for something like a religious experience.

Harry S. Langerman uttered these words, and he's somebody you might have known but didn't, because in 1949 he read a little article in the paper about a hamburger stand owned by these two brothers named McDonalds. And he thought, "That's a really neat idea!" So he went to find them. They said, "We can give you a franchise on this for 3,000 bucks." Harry went back to New York, asked his brother who's an investment banker to loan him the 3,000 dollars, and his brother's immortal words were, "You idiot, nobody eats hamburgers." He wouldn't lend him the money, and of course six months later Ray Croc had exactly the same idea. It turns out people do eat hamburgers, and Ray Croc, for a while, became the richest man in America.

And then finally -- you know, the best of all possible worlds -- some of you recognize this young photo of Pete Best, who was the original drummer for the Beatles, until they, you know, sent him out on an errand and snuck away and picked up Ringo on a tour. Well, in 1994 when Pete Best was interviewed -- yes, he's still a drummer; yes, he's a studio musician -- he had this to say: "I'm happier than I would have been with the Beatles."

Okay. There's something important to be learned from these people, and it is the secret of happiness. Here it is, finally to be revealed. First: accrue wealth, power, and prestige, then lose it. (Laughter) Second: spend as much of your life in prison as you possibly can. (Laughter) Third: make somebody else really, really rich. (Laughter) And finally: never ever join the Beatles. (Laughter)

OK. Now I, like Ze Frank, can predict your next thought, which is, "Yeah, right." Because when people synthesize happiness, as these gentlemen seem to have done, we all smile at them, but we kind of roll our eyes and say, "Yeah right, you never really wanted the job." "Oh yeah, right. You really didn't have that much in common with her, and you figured that out just about the time she threw the engagement ring in your face."

We smirk because we believe that synthetic happiness is not of the same quality as what we might call natural happiness. What are these terms? Natural happiness is what we get when we get what we wanted, and synthetic happiness is what we make when we don't get what we wanted. And in our society, we have a strong belief that synthetic happiness is of an inferior kind. Why do we have that belief? Well, it's very simple. What kind of economic engine would keep churning if we believed that not getting what we want could make us just as happy as getting it?

With all apologies to my friend Matthieu Ricard, a shopping mall full of Zen monks is not going to be particularly profitable because they don't want stuff enough. I want to suggest to you that synthetic happiness is every bit as real and enduring as the kind of happiness you stumble upon when you get exactly what you were aiming for. Now, I'm a scientist, so I'm going to do this not with rhetoric, but by marinating you in a little bit of data.

Let me first show you an experimental paradigm that is used to demonstrate the synthesis of happiness among regular old folks. And this isn't mine. This is a 50-year-old paradigm called the free choice paradigm. It's very simple. You bring in, say, six objects, and you ask a subject to rank them from the most to the least liked. In this case, because the experiment I'm going to tell you about uses them, these are Monet prints. So, everybody can rank these Monet prints from the one they like the most, to the one they like the least. Now we give you a choice: "We happen to have some extra prints in the closet. We're going to give you one as your prize to take home. We happen to have number three and number four," we tell the subject. This is a bit of a difficult choice, because neither one is preferred strongly to the other, but naturally, people tend to pick number three because they liked it a little better than number four.

Sometime later -- it could be 15 minutes, it could be 15 days -- the same stimuli are put before the subject, and the subject is asked to re-rank the stimuli. "Tell us how much you like them now." What happens? Watch as happiness is synthesized. This is the result that has been replicated over and over again. You're watching happiness be synthesized Would you like to see it again? Happiness! "The one I got is really better than I thought! That other one I didn't get sucks!" (Laughter) That's the synthesis of happiness.

Now what's the right response to that? "Yeah, right!" Now, here's the experiment we did, and I would hope this is going to convince you that "Yeah, right!" was not the right response.

We did this experiment with a group of patients who had anterograde amnesia. These are hospitalized patients. Most of them have Korsakoff's syndrome, a polyneuritic psychosis that -- they drank way too much, and they can't make new memories. OK? They remember their childhood, but if you walk in and introduce yourself, and then leave the room, when you come back they don't know who you are.

We took our Monet prints to the hospital. And we asked these patients to rank them from the one they liked the most to the one they liked the least. We then gave them the choice between number three and number four Like everybody else, they said, "Gee, thanks Doc! That's great! I could use a new print. I'll take number three." We explained we would have number three mailed to them. We gathered up our materials and we went out of the room, and counted to a half hour. Back into the room, we say, "Hi, we're back." The patients, bless them, say, "Ah, Doc, I'm sorry, I've got a memory problem, that's why I'm here. If I've met you before, I don't remember." "Really, Jim, you don't remember? I was just here with the Monet prints?" "Sorry, Doc, I just don't have a clue." "No problem, Jim. All I want you to do for me is rank these from the one you like the most to the one you like the least."

What do they do? Well, let's first check and make sure they're really amnesiac. We ask these amnesiac patients to tell us which one they own, which one they chose last time, which one is theirs. And what we find is amnesiac patients just guess. These are normal controls, where if I did this with you, all of you would know which print you chose. But if I do this with amnesiac patients, they don't have a clue. They can't pick their print out of a lineup.

Here's what normal controls do: they synthesize happiness. Right? This is the change in liking score, the change from the first time they ranked to the second time they ranked. Normal controls show -- that was the magic I showed you, now I'm showing it to you in graphical form -- "The one I own is better than I thought. The one I didn't own, the one I left behind, is not as good as I thought." Amnesiacs do exactly the same thing. Think about this result.

These people like better the one they own, but they don't know they own it. "Yeah, right," is not the right response! What these people did when they synthesized happiness is they really, truly changed their affective, hedonic, aesthetic reactions to that poster. They're not just saying it because they own it, because they don't know they own it.

Now, when psychologists show you bars, you know that they are showing you averages of lots of people. And yet, all of us have this psychological immune system, this capacity to synthesize happiness, but some of us do this trick better than others. And some situations allow anybody to do it more effectively than other situations do. It turns out that freedom -- the ability to make up your mind and change your mind -- is the friend of natural happiness, because it allows you to choose among all those delicious futures and find the one you most enjoy. But freedom to choose -- to change and make up your mind -- is the enemy of synthetic happiness. And I'm going to show you why.

Dilbert already knows, of course. You're reading the cartoon as I'm talking. "Dogbert's tech support. How may I abuse you?" "My printer prints a blank page after every document." "Why would you complain about getting free paper?" "Free? Aren't you just giving me my own paper?" "Egad, man! Look at the quality of the free paper compared to your lousy regular paper! Only a fool or a liar would say that they look the same!" "Ah! Now that you mention it, it does seem a little silkier!" "What are you doing?" "I'm helping people accept the things they cannot change." Indeed.

The psychological immune system works best when we are totally stuck, when we are trapped. This is the difference between dating and marriage, right? I mean, you go out on a date with a guy, and he picks his nose; you don't go out on another date. You're married to a guy and he picks his nose? Yeah, he has a heart of gold; don't touch the fruitcake. Right? (Laughter) You find a way to be happy with what's happened. Now what I want to show you is that people don't know this about themselves, and not knowing this can work to our supreme disadvantage.

Here's an experiment we did at Harvard. We created a photography course, a black-and-white photography course, and we allowed students to come in and learn how to use a darkroom. So we gave them cameras, they went around campus, they took 12 pictures of their favorite professors and their dorm room and their dog, and all the other things they wanted to have Harvard memories of. They bring us the camera, we make up a contact sheet, they figure out which are the two best pictures, and we now spend six hours teaching them about darkrooms, and they blow two of them up, and they have two gorgeous eight-by-10 glossies of meaningful things to them, and we say, "Which one would you like to give up?" They say, "I have to give one up?" "Oh, yes. We need one as evidence of the class project. So you have to give me one. You have to make a choice. You get to keep one, and I get to keep one."

Now, there are two conditions in this experiment. In one case, the students are told, "But you know, if you want to change your mind, I'll always have the other one here, and in the next four days, before I actually mail it to headquarters, I'll be glad to" -- (Laughter) -- yeah, "headquarters" -- "I'll be glad to swap it out with you. In fact, I'll come to your dorm room and give -- just give me an email. Better yet, I'll check with you. You ever want to change your mind, it's totally returnable." The other half of the students are told exactly the opposite: "Make your choice. And by the way, the mail is going out, gosh, in two minutes, to England. Your picture will be winging its way over the Atlantic. You will never see it again." Now, half of the students in each of these conditions are asked to make predictions about how much they're going to come to like the picture that they keep and the picture they leave behind. Other students are just sent back to their little dorm rooms and they are measured over the next three to six days on their liking, satisfaction with the pictures. And look at what we find.

First of all, here's what students think is going to happen. They think they're going to maybe come to like the picture they chose a little more than the one they left behind, but these are not statistically significant differences. It's a very small increase, and it doesn't much matter whether they were in the reversible or irreversible condition.

Wrong-o. Bad simulators. Because here's what's really happening. Both right before the swap and five days later, people who are stuck with that picture, who have no choice, who can never change their mind, like it a lot! And people who are deliberating -- "Should I return it? Have I gotten the right one? Maybe this isn't the good one? Maybe I left the good one?" -- have killed themselves. They don't like their picture, and in fact even after the opportunity to swap has expired, they still don't like their picture. Why? Because the reversible condition is not conducive to the synthesis of happiness.

So here's the final piece of this experiment. We bring in a whole new group of naive Harvard students and we say, "You know, we're doing a photography course, and we can do it one of two ways. We could do it so that when you take the two pictures, you'd have four days to change your mind, or we're doing another course where you take the two pictures and you make up your mind right away and you can never change it. Which course would you like to be in? " Duh! 66 percent of the students, two-thirds, prefer to be in the course where they have the opportunity to change their mind. Hello? 66 percent of the students choose to be in the course in which they will ultimately be deeply dissatisfied with the picture. Because they do not know the conditions under which synthetic happiness grows.

The Bard said everything best, of course, and he's making my point here but he's making it hyperbolically: "'Tis nothing good or bad / But thinking makes it so." It's nice poetry, but that can't exactly be right. Is there really nothing good or bad? Is it really the case that gall bladder surgery and a trip to Paris are just the same thing? That seems like a one-question IQ test. They can't be exactly the same.

In more turgid prose, but closer to the truth, was the father of modern capitalism, Adam Smith, and he said this. This is worth contemplating: "The great source of both the misery and disorders of human life seems to arise from overrating the difference between one permanent situation and another ... Some of these situations may, no doubt, deserve to be preferred to others, but none of them can deserve to be pursued with that passionate ardor which drives us to violate the rules either of prudence or of justice, or to corrupt the future tranquility of our minds, either by shame from the remembrance of our own folly, or by remorse for the horror of our own injustice." In other words: yes, some things are better than others.

We should have preferences that lead us into one future over another. But when those preferences drive us too hard and too fast because we have overrated the difference between these futures, we are at risk. When our ambition is bounded, it leads us to work joyfully. When our ambition is unbounded, it leads us to lie, to cheat, to steal, to hurt others, to sacrifice things of real value. When our fears are bounded, we're prudent, we're cautious, we're thoughtful. When our fears are unbounded and overblown, we're reckless, and we're cowardly.

The lesson I want to leave you with from these data is that our longings and our worries are both to some degree overblown, because we have within us the capacity to manufacture the very commodity we are constantly chasing when we choose experience.

P.S. Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert believes that, in our ardent, lifelong pursuit of happiness, most of us have the wrong map. In the same way that optical illusions fool our eyes -- and fool everyone's eyes in the same way -- Gilbert argues that our brains systematically misjudge what will make us happy. And these quirks in our cognition make humans very poor predictors of our own bliss.

The premise of his current research -- that our assumptions about what will make us happy are often wrong -- is supported with clinical research drawn from psychology and neuroscience. But his delivery is what sets him apart. His engaging -- and often hilarious -- style pokes fun at typical human behavior and invokes pop-culture references everyone can relate to. This winning style translates also to Gilbert's writing, which is lucid, approachable and laugh-out-loud funny. The immensely readable Stumbling on Happiness, published in 2006, became a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into 20 languages.

The Divine Matrix by Greg Braden

2009-12-05T11:19:00.004+08:00

(Book Review by Ismini Apostoli)

"Almost universally, we share a sense that there’s more to us than meets the eye. Somewhere deep within the mists of our ancient history, we know we have magic and miraculous powers within us. From the time of childhood, we fantasize about our ability to do things that are beyond the realm of reason and logic. And why not? While we’re children, we have yet to “learn” the rules that say miracles can’t happen in our lives."

Gregg Braden has spent over 20 years studying spiritual and religious texts and is considered by many an inspired spiritual teacher. Most people interested in spirituality are already familiar with his previous works like “The Spontaneous Healing of Belief“, “Awakening to Zero Point“, “The Science of Compassion“, “The Isaiah Effect“, and “The God Code“.

The special message contained in Braden’s new book, The Divine Matrix, is that we are not observers but creators of our own personal worlds, and we have the power to transform our lives by gaining a better understanding of our relationship to all-that-is, learning how to listen to its messages, and learning to communicate with it in its own language.

The Divine Matrix is divided into three parts. Part I, “Discovering the Divine Matrix: The Mystery that Connects All Things” examines and combines ancient wisdom with recent breakthroughs in quantum physics to give us an understanding of this net of energy that contains all.

Part II, “The Bridge Between Imagination and Reality: How the Divine Matrix works”, describes in great detail our ability to connect with and re-program the matrix to mirror more desirable effects on our lives.

Part III, “Messages from the Divine Matrix: Living, Loving, and Healing in Quantum Awareness” teaches us how to listen to the Matrix and how the Matrix reflects our emotions in the relationships we form with others and with our world.

WHAT IS THE DIVINE MATRIX?

Braden describes it as a field of energy, which provides the container as well as a bridge and a mirror for everything that happens between the world within and the world without. He also invites us to look at the Divine Matrix as a cosmic blanket, which is many layers deep and is everywhere and all the time. Braden tells us that from a quantum perspective, everything in existence from an atom to a whole planet can be thought of as a disturbance in the fabric of this space-time blanket. In the Vedas, this blanket is “the unified field of pure consciousness” that bathes and permeates all creation. According to Hsin-Hsin Ming (the Taoist Faith-mind Verses) it’s described as the essence which is the container of all experience and the experience itself.

Combining the wisdom of our oldest traditions with some findings of quantum physics, Braden concludes that there are three principles that govern the Matrix:

1. Everything exists within the Divine Matrix and everything is inter-connected.

2. The Divine Matrix is holographic, which means that any portion of the field contains everything in the field.

3. The past, present and future are intimately joined. As a container of time, the Matrix provides continuity between the choices of our present and the experiences of our future.

OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DIVINE MATRIX

We connect to the Matrix, not by thought, but through the language of emotion. Our feelings of love, hate, fear, forgiveness etc. are actually instructions that program the Divine Matrix. Within this emotional communication and connection to the Matrix lies our power to bring healing, more joy and peace to our lives. According to Braden, the Matrix can be thought of a huge computer into which, through our beliefs, feelings and emotions, we program commands that produce the results we see in our lives.

In Part III, Braden provides us with 20 keys to conscious creation which if studied, understood and applied can help us greatly in getting in touch with our miraculous potential to heal and create joy, love and peace in the world.

THE TWENTY KEYS OF CONSCIOUS CREATION

Key 1: The Divine Matrix is the container that holds the universe, the bridge between all things, and the mirror that shows us what we have created.

Key 2: Everything in our world is connected to everything else.

Key 3: To tap the force of the universe itself, we must see ourselves as part of the world rather as separate from it.

Key 4: Once something is joined, it is always connected, whether it remains physically linked or not.

Key 5: The act of focusing our consciousness is an act of creation. Consciousness creates!

Key 6: We have all the power we need to create all the changes we choose!

Key 7: The focus of our awareness becomes the reality of our world.

Key 8: To simply say that we choose a new reality in not enough!

Key 9: Feeling is the language that “speaks” to the Divine Matrix. Feel as though your goal is accomplished and your prayer is already answered.

Key 10: Not just any feeling will do. The ones that create must be without ego and judgment.

Key 11: We must become in our lives that we choose to experience as our world.

Key 12: We are not bound by the laws of physics as we know them today.

Key 13: In a holographic “something” every piece of the something mirrors the whole something.

Key 14: The universally connected hologram of consciousness promises that the instant we create our good wishes and prayers, they are already received at their destination.

Key 15: Through the hologram of consciousness, a little change in our lives is mirrored everywhere in our world.

Key 16: The minimum number of people required to “jump-start” a change in consciousness is the 1% of the population.

Key 17: The Divine Matrix serves as the mirror in our world of the relationships that we create in our beliefs.

Key 18: The root of our “negative” experiences may be reduced to one of the three universal fears (or a combination of them): abandonment, low self-worth, or lack of trust.

Key 19: Our true beliefs are mirrored in our most intimate relationships.

Key 20: We must become in our lives the very things we choose to experience in our world.

Undoubtedly, Gregg Braden is a great spiritual thinker and visionary of our times. Like many of his contemporaries he also tries to bridge science with spirituality. In part, this is in response to modern man’s need not to take things on faith, but have his faith backed up by scientific evidence. In The Divine Matrix, Braden attempts to link quantum physics to metaphysics and spirituality. Does really such a link exist? The average lay person, would still have to take Braden’s scientific “evidence” on faith. The more scientifically oriented reader would tend to consider the link very tenuous and the evidence presented to prove it, arbitrary and sketchy.

Quantum physics is a highly complex science firmly rooted in reason and logic. Metaphysics, on the other hand, is deeply rooted in feeling, emotion, intuition and faith. Braden attempts to blend reason with intuition in his effort to broaden our understanding of our world. How successful and convincing his attempt is, is up to the discerning reader to decide.

P.S. Ismini Apostoli is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, practicing in Greece and offering online services throughout the world. She is particularly interested in self- esteem, self-development and self-actualization and helping people uncover their special gifts and talents. You can find out more by visiting http://www.yourempowermenttherapist.com.

Facing The Giants

2009-11-14T14:16:00.009+08:00

The following slogan is taken from an Adidas Advertisement Campaign.

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."

Ho'oponopono – The problem is never out there

2009-11-08T11:14:00.009+08:00

(By Lena Chen)
http://www.lenashealinghaven.com/

Have you heard of Ho'oponopono? Ok... it's quite a mouthful, but this is by far the most powerful teaching I have heard, and it's literally transformed the way I look at everything.

Here is the story written by Joe Vitale who was featured in The Secret, which introduced me to Ho'oponopono.

"Two years ago, I heard about a therapist in Hawaii who cured a complete ward of criminally insane patients--without ever seeing any of them. The psychologist would study an inmate's chart and then look within himself to see how he created that person's illness. As he improved himself, the patient improved.

"When I first heard this story, I thought it was an urban legend. How could anyone heal anyone else by healing himself? How could even the best self-improvement master cure the criminally insane? It didn't make any sense. It wasn't logical, so I dismissed the story.

"However, I heard it again a year later. I heard that the therapist had used a Hawaiian healing process called Ho’oponopono. I had never heard of it, yet I couldn't let it leave my mind. If the story was at all true, I had to know more. I had always understood "total responsibility" to mean that I am responsible for what I think and do. Beyond that, it's out of my hands. I think that most people think of total responsibility that way. We're responsible for what we do, not what anyone else does--but that's wrong.

"The Hawaiian therapist who healed those mentally ill people would teach me an advanced new perspective about total responsibility. His name is Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. We probably spent an hour talking on our first phone call. I asked him to tell me the complete story of his work as a therapist. He explained that he worked at Hawaii State Hospital for four years. That ward where they kept the criminally insane was dangerous.

Psychologists quit on a monthly basis. The staff called in sick a lot or simply quit. People would walk through that ward with their backs against the wall, afraid of being attacked by patients. It was not a pleasant place to live, work, or visit.

"Dr. Len told me that he never saw patients. He agreed to have an office and to review their files. While he looked at those files, he would work on himself. As he worked on himself, patients began to heal.

"'After a few months, patients that had to be shackled were being allowed to walk freely,' he told me. 'Others who had to be heavily medicated were getting off their medications. And those who had no chance of ever being released were being freed.' I was in awe. 'Not only that,' he went on, 'but the staff began to enjoy coming to work. Absenteeism and turnover disappeared. We ended up with more staff than we needed because patients were being released, and all the staff was showing up to work. Today, that ward is closed.'

"This is where I had to ask the million dollar question: 'What were you doing within yourself that caused those people to change?'

"I was simply healing the part of me that created them,' he said. I didn't understand. Dr. Len explained that total responsibility for your life means that everything in your life - simply because it is in your life--is your responsibility. In a literal sense the entire world is your creation.

"Whew. This is tough to swallow. Being responsible for what I say or do is one thing. Being responsible for what everyone in my life says or does is quite another. Yet, the truth is this: if you take complete responsibility for your life, then everything you see, hear, taste, touch, or in any way experience is your responsibility because it is in your life. This means that terrorist activity, the president, the economy or anything you experience and don't like--is up for you to heal. They don't exist, in a manner of speaking, except as projections from inside you. The problem isn't with them, it's with you, and to change them, you have to change you.

"I know this is tough to grasp, let alone accept or actually live. Blame is far easier than total responsibility, but as I spoke with Dr. Len, I began to realize that healing for him and in Ho'oponopono means loving yourself.

"If you want to improve your life, you have to heal your life. If you want to cure anyone, even a mentally ill criminal you do it by healing you.

"I asked Dr. Len how he went about healing himself. What was he doing, exactly, when he looked at those patients' files?

"'I just kept saying, 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you' over and over again,' he explained.

"That's it?

"That's it.

"Turns out that loving yourself is the greatest way to improve yourself, and as you improve yourself, you improve your world.

"Let me give you a quick example of how this works: one day, someone sent me an email that upset me. In the past I would have handled it by working on my emotional hot buttons or by trying to reason with the person who sent the nasty message.

"This time, I decided to try Dr. Len's method. I kept silently saying, 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you,' I didn't say it to anyone in particular. I was simply evoking the spirit of love to heal within me what was creating the outer circumstance.

"Within an hour I got an e-mail from the same person. He apologized for his previous message. Keep in mind that I didn't take any outward action to get that apology. I didn't even write him back. Yet, by saying 'I love you,' I somehow healed within me what was creating him.

"I later attended a Ho’oponopono workshop run by Dr. Len. He's now 70 years old, considered a grandfatherly shaman, and is somewhat reclusive.

He praised my book, The Attractor Factor. He told me that as I improve myself, my book's vibration will raise, and everyone will feel it when they read it. In short, as I improve, my readers will improve.

"'What about the books that are already sold and out there?' I asked.

"'They aren't out there,' he explained, once again blowing my mind with his mystic wisdom. 'They are still in you.' In short, there is no out there. It would take a whole book to explain this advanced technique with the depth it deserves.

"Suffice It to say that whenever you want to improve anything in your life, there's only one place to look: inside you. When you look, do it with love.

Cool huh?

I have practised Ho'oponopono in my life many times, and often, the shifts that result are very noticeable. Here is one instance. There was a client who hung up on me when I asked him how come he needed to reschedule his session with me a second time. Needless to say, I was quite irked by his rude response. So I did EFT on my feelings of annoyance, and then I said "I'm sorry, please forgive, I love you, thank you" which are the four main phrases in the practice of Ho'oponopono, addressing the part of me who was offended by that client.

Since I was at work, I only did it for a few minutes and by then, I felt totally peaceful.

End of story? Nope!

Less than an hour later, the same client called me back. He apologised for his rude behaviour and told me that his appointment that clashed with our counselling session just got cancelled. In the end, he managed to make it for our original appointment and we had a really great session.

Apparently Ho’oponopono doesn't just work on human beings. A friend's friend did Ho’oponopono on a computer problem - and it got fixed within minutes!

If you understand that everything is energy, then you might somehow be able to grasp that it's all about shifting our energies from a state of conflict and chaos into a state of harmony and synchronization. Ho'oponono is a profoundly simple and effective way to do it, and so is EFT. There are many other ways in this world too, but Ho’oponopono and EFT are by far the easiest and fastest methods that I know of for now.

And guess what? You can do EFT and Ho’oponopono combined. This is also a good alternative for those of you who never seem to know what words to say while tapping. You can simply think of the issue, and tap on the EFT points as you repeat the 4 phrases "I'm sorry, please forgive, I love you, thank you."

Today's tapping exercise? It's a really simple and enjoyable one. :) Click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8wSA4uCQWo&feature=player_embedded and tap as you view the video, with the intention of healing a certain issue.

Do this daily, and I'm pretty sure that you will see transformations happening within you AND in your surroundings.

And here's some Ho’oponopono to end this article off with... I'm sorry, please forgive me, I love you and THANK YOU!

N.B. Lena Chen is a practicing holistic therapist who specialises in Emotional Freedom Techniques (“EFT”) as well as Past Life Regression. Other than being a certified Emotional Freedom Techniques (“EFT”) Practitioner, Lena is also the author of a book entitled “Emotional Freedom At Your Fingertips”. Lena also conducts EFT Level I and II workshops as one of her life purposes is to empower other people and helping others to learn EFT definitely empowers them to manage their emotions and challenges more effectively. Lena has a natural gift and passion for counselling, writing and teaching. She has been interested in spirituality and self-development as a young teenager and while she has strong Buddhist roots, she also sees parallel teachings in other religions and feels that all religions ultimately lead us to the same place. She listens to her very strong intuition which helps her to facilitate healing for her clients to bring about deep and powerful transformations. She is constantly learning from those around her and strives to gain greater self-awareness and self-acceptance, which she believes is the key to breaking through negative patterns and achieving enlightenment.

Personal note: For me, this is also by far the most powerful teaching I have learned to date. It too has transformed the way I look at everything. To tell you the truth, I would have never known Lena at all if the normal circumstances prevail. I used to subscribe at my workplace to a newsletter on the various types of training programs available for corporate purposes. I have never read any of them despite the convenience of them having sent periodically into my inbox at my email address. For some unknown reason, I decided to clean up my subscriptions one particular day and being a person who constantly seeks to persevere equity in all aspects, I opened just one of the many newsletters randomly to see what it is all about before unsubscribing it (I had obviously forgotten why I had subscribed to this newsletter in the first place!). As expected, I did not find the content particularly compelling or informative and just before clicked on the unsubscribe link, I saw an article on a review of Lena’s EFT workshop. At that juncture, I did not know what EFT was (and of course had always wanted to understand the concepts behind EFT) and was therefore instantly gravitated towards the article. To cut the long story short, I ended up subscribing for Lena’s newsletter, and yes, I also unsubscribed the other newsletter. And if you were to ask me why I had subscribed to Lena’s newsletter, I would then encourage you to read any one of her newsletters and you will know why. Lena is genuine and sincere in whatever she says and those are more than adequately conveyed through her writings.