Mind concentration and meditation

Meditation

• Online fire meditation use it and develop concentration ability
• Online flash meditation look at the screen and ajust your mind
• Fractal meditation
• Mandala meditation 01
• Mandala meditation 02
• Mandala meditation 03
• Mandala meditation 04
• Mandala meditation 05
• Mandala meditation 06
• Illusions mind concentration movie
• Colors wheels
• Illusions color movie

Fire meditation

• Fire meditation movie
• Fire meditation move
• Fire meditation move
• Fire meditation move
• Fire meditation move
• Fire meditation move
• Fire meditation move
• Fire meditation move
• Fire meditation movie

Water meditation

• Water meditation move
• Water meditation move
• Water meditation move
• Water meditation move
• Flight of bobbles
• Fractal

Fractal movies

• Fountain meditation
• Fractal meditation
• Morphing meditation
• Morphing meditation
• Flare meditation 01
• Flare meditation 02
• Flare meditation 03
• Time meditation

50 Signs of Spiritual Awakening

~SYMPTOMS OF SPIRITUAL AWAKENING~

1. Changing sleep patterns: restlessness, hot feet, waking up two or three times a night. Feeling tired after you wake up and sleepy off and on during the day.
There is something called the Triad Sleep Pattern that occurs for many: you sleep for about 2-3 hours, wake up, go back to sleep for another couple of hours, wake again, and go back to sleep again. For others, the sleep requirements have changed. You can get by on less sleep.
Lately I have been experiencing huge waves of energy running into my body from the crown. It feels good, but it keeps me awake for a long time, then subsides.



Advice: Get used to it. Make peace with it and don't worry about getting enough sleep (which often causes more insomnia). You will be able to make it through the day if you hold thoughts of getting just what you need. You can also request your Higher Power to give you a break now and then and give you a good, deep night's sleep.

If you can't go back to sleep right away, use the waking moments to meditate, read poetry, write in your journal or look at the moon. Your body will adjust to the new pattern.



2. Activity at the crown of the head: Tingling, itching, prickly, crawling sensations along the scalp and/or down the spine. A sense of energy vibrating on top of the head, as if energy is erupting from the head in a shower. Also the sensation of energy pouring in through the crown, described as "sprinkles".

This may also be experienced as pressure on the crown, as if someone is pushing his/her finger into the center of your head. As I mentioned in #1, I have been experiencing huge downloads of energy through the crown.
In the past, I have felt more generalized pressure, as if my head is in a gentle vise. One man related that his hair stood on end and his body was covered with goosebumps.

Advice: This is nothing to be alarmed about. What you are experiencing is an opening of the crown chakra. The sensations mean that you are opening up to receive divine energy.



3. Sudden waves of emotion. Crying at the drop of a hat. Feeling suddenly angry or sad with little provocation. Or unexplicably depressed. Then very happy. Emotional roller coaster. There is often a pressure or sense of emotions congested in the heart chakra (the middle of the chest). This is not to beconfused with the heart, which is located to the left of the heart chakra.

Advice: Accept your feelings as they come up and let them go. Go directly to your heart chakra and feel the emotion. Expand it outward to your all yourfields and breathe deeply from the belly all the way up to your upper chest. Just feel the feeling and let it evaporate on its own. Don't direct the emotions at anyone.

You are cleaning out your past. If you want some help with this, say out loud that you intend to release all these old issues and ask your Higher Power to help you. You can also ask Grace Elohim to help you release with ease and gentleness. Be grateful that your body is releasing theseemotions and not holding onto them inside where they can do harm.

One source suggests that depression is linked to letting go of relationships to people, work, etc. that no longer match us and our frequencies. When we feel guilty about letting go of these relationships, depression helps us medicate that pain.



4. Old "stuff" seems to be coming up, as described above, and the people with whom you need to work it out (or their clones) appear in your life. Completion issues.

Or perhaps you need to work through issues of self-worth, abundance, creativity, addictions, etc. The resources or people you need to helpyou move through these issues start to appear.

Advice: Same as #3. Additionally, don't get too involved in analyzing these issues. Examining them too much will simply cycle you back through them over and over again at deeper and deeper levels. Get professional help if you need to and walk through it.

Do not try to avoid them or disassociate yourself from them. Embrace whatever comes up and thank it for helping you move ahead. Thank your Higher Power for giving you the opportunity to release these issues. Remember, you don't want these issues to stay stuck in your body.



5. Changes in weight. The weight gain in the US population is phenomenal. Other people may be losing weight.

We often gain weight because many fears we have suppressed are now coming up to the surface to be healed. We react by building up a defense. We also attempt to ground ourselves or provide bulk against increasing frequencies in our bodies.

Advice: Don't freak out, but just accept it as a symptom of where you are right now. You will release/gain the weight when all your fears have been integrated. Release your anxiety about this. Then you might find it easier to lose/gain the weight eventually. Exercise.

Before eating, try this: Sit at the table with an attractive place setting. Light a candle. Enjoy how the food looks. Place your dominant hand over your heart and bless the food. Tell your body that you are going to use the food to richly nourish it, but that you are not going to use the food to fulfill your emotional hungers.

Then pass your hand from left to right over the food and bless it. You may notice that the food feels warm to your hand even if the food is cold– I like to think that the food is good for me when it feels warm and nourishing to my hand. I have also noticed that when I practice blessing the food, I don't eat as much. It is important not to let yourself off the hook when you forget to bless the food before you eat.
If I've forgotten and I've nearly finished eating, I bless the food anyway. That way I don't slip out of the habit. Another thing you can do is to stay present while eating — don't watch TV or read. Heartily enjoy what blessings are before you.

Read 45 More ~ Found at Karen*Karma

Facts on Moon

Size- the Moon's Diameter is 3,476 kilometres (2,160 miles). It is about a quarter of the size of the Earth.

Distance from Earth- maximum (apogee) 406,697 km (252,681 miles); minimum (perigee) 356,410 km (221,438 miles).

Age- four billion years

Composition- the moon comprises an outer crust of solid rock, 150 kilometres thick and a central core of solid metal, with a very small inner core of molten metal. The surface of the moon is covered with a layer of fine dust.

Orbit- the moon takes 27.32 days to orbit the earth. Its orbit is an ellipse.

Atmosphere- there is no atmosphere on the moon. Its low gravity might have caused its atmosphere to escape.

Surface temperature- temperatures on the Moon's surface are very extreme, ranging from +100°C to -200ºC, depending on whether the Sun's rays are falling on it or not.

Found at Findyourfate.com

Pluto - Dwarfed Planet

Poor Pluto, Dwarfed Again

By Shankar Vedantam
The Washington Post Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Pluto just can't catch a break.

It's official: Not only is Pluto now a "dwarf planet," the category to which it was relegated last year, but scientists have determined that it is not even the largest of that new class. Eris, an object in the solar system's Kuiper Belt, is larger.

The discovery of Eris in 2005 and early estimates that it was probably larger than Pluto helped set off the controversy that resulted in Pluto's demotion from planet status. In a paper published in last week's issue of Science, California Institute of Technology astronomer Michael Brown has used precise calculations to show that Eris is 1.27 times the size of Pluto.

If Eris is not a planet, the International Astronomical Union decided last year, Pluto cannot be either. The decision prompted one of the most spirited debates about astronomy in a long time -- countless schoolchildren protested Pluto's demotion to also-ran status.

Pluto and Eris, which was formerly known as Xena, are now considered dwarf planets -- celestial bodies that have enough mass for their gravity to form them into nearly spherical shape but are small enough to be ruled, in gravitational terms, by other planets.

Brown used data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii to study the orbital movement of Eris's moon, Dysnomia, which allowed him to calculate Eris's mass. Scientists expect to find many other objects of similar size in coming years, which is why they decided it is impractical to call them all planets.

Found at Casperstartribune.com

Pluto

The Planet Pluto in the SpiritProject Astrology

Pluto was discovered by Lowell-Observatorv in 1930, after Lowell had his existence calculated theoretically long before that. It is obvious, that the statistical experience and practical evaluation is still minimal. Astrologists have collected significant materials, according to which Pluto has an unique impact on mankind. It is generally agreed upon, that Pluto is foremost a symbol for force, masses, and fate as well as the lust and will to power of an individual. The urge to rule over the masses is one of the specific influences of Pluto. Means to rule or dominate the masses, like propaganda, are plutonic. In regards to fate or destiny, studies of thousands of biographies show quite exponent occurrences especially in times of war, revolution and rebellion, like being buried in ruins, death in bomb shelters or coale-mines. The connection of an individual destiny and mass occurrences are recorded over and over again. Pluto's influence is most obvious, when his position is close to the ascendant or at the upper meridian, and stronger even if getting strong aspects from the other planets in the horoscope. Psychologically, Pluto influences the reckless strive for power, ruthless and violent enforcement and the utopia in ideas and goals, in an individual horoscope. If it is about influences, which are beyond the human will, Pluto symbolizes the divine intervention. Sometimes a human being seems to be the tool of a higher power. This can be either in positive or a rather demonic way. Even individuals, who by means of their demonic powers cause mass occurrences or chain reactions as a result of their extreme actions, are Pluto personalities, it doesn't have to be said, that these forces were at work, long before Pluto was discovered. Before the discovery, such occurrences were associated with the cooperation of evildoers such as, Saturn-Mars, Saturn-Uranus, and Uranus-Mars. It took the examination of thousands of horoscopes which exponent Pluto constellations, to find the elemental-brutal; which changes the whole worlds view by its powers (nuclear energy and weapons, for instance). Even if Pluto doesn't show himself in his destructive, overly critical and rebellious influences in a horoscope, a person can still have an almost magical aura, such as a fascinating actor, speaker, politician or agitator. Especially dictators have almost always a prominent Pluto-influence. Pluto is never invisible or mediocre. It seems, he draws his effects from deep within the subconscious, where he gets almost his magical, impersonal form. Together with Uranus, Pluto turns the history of the world and time, upside down and creates the colossal crises, caused foremost by technique.

Stars In June

Found at Spiritproject.com

Free Ebook - Believe In The Future

TRUST: Believe in Yourself. Believe in the Future
Believe in Yourself. Believe in the Future. Free yourself of worry and learn to trust the power of God as you meet challenges. This booklet will help you find optimism, stability, hope and more! Timeless wisdom for the ages, and especially our age.

A Word About this Booklet

It seems to me that the events of recent years have turned many of us into worriers. We worry about future calamities and dangers. We worry about our children, our communities and our nation. Sometimes we even worry that there might be worries we haven't thought of yet.
The answer to our quandary is simple: "Depend on the Lord, trust in him, and he will take care of you." (Psalm 37:5) Throughout the ages, those who have trusted in the Lord have prevailed.
Norman Vincent Peale was fond of saying: "Thank God for your problems, rejoice in them, for you are never more alive than when, with God's help, you call on your creative power to solve them." Trusting in God to be with you as you meet the challenges of our times is your foundation for creating a secure future for you and your loved one. Remember: God has created you in his image, and his power is within you. This concept was the core of Norman Vincent Peale's optimism and his confidence in the future. Trust that God has given you the power to meet the challenges of our times, and you will find peace.
You'll hear more from Dr. Peale in the pages that follow—timeless wisdom for the ages, and especially our age.

God bless you.

Ted Nace
Director of Ministries, Guideposts

Click here to download.

Gravity

John Mayer - Gravity (Ellen DeGeneres)
Uploaded by migite

Gravity is a force that acts towards the centre of the Earth.

This means that, wherever you are in the world, "down" is always towards the ground - even though your "down" isn't the same direction as anybody else's.

The gravitational pull of the Earth is what gives objects weight.
Thus weight is a force - it's how hard the Earth is pulling on an object.

The Earth pulls on every kilogramme with a force of ten Newtons.
We say that the Earth's gravitational field strength (at ground level) is 10 Newtons per kilogramme (10 N/kg) (Actually, it's more like 9.81, but for GCSE we usually call it 10.)

In other words, an object with a mass of 1kg
has a weight of 10N.

Found at Darvill.clara.net

Love Letter - Secret Admirer

Dear Christopher,

Today is it! I want to tell you I want you here with me, if only for one night. I live day to day thinking of you. I picture in my mind everything about you, as if you were really here beside me. When I fall asleep I dream that you're next to me and I can feel your skin underneath my hand. I dream of you running your hands through my hair, down my back, and over every part of my body. I want to share my bed with you.

My world is spinning; I can feel defeat, why can't I sleep? Why does my throat close whenever you speak? My heart breaks just to be around you. I take in the way you move, the way you talk, and the way you smell whenever you are around. My eyes directed down when your gaze falls upon me, that bashful smile - I want you so badly! This tension, it kills me. My unspoken attraction is enough to fill up volumes.

How can I get close to you? I'm too shy to talk to you; so at this moment it feels safer to watch you from afar with no rejections. You have taken up residence in my mind. I want so badly for you to tell me everything I want to hear but you won't. I want you to tell me that you want me, but you won't. Every time I think of you I can feel the butterflies fluttering inside me. You don't notice me or the way I look at you; maybe it's 'cause you only see me as a friend and nothing more, but when I look at you, nothing could turn my eyes away.

At night I lay in bed and dream of you coming to my door grabbing me in your arms and kissing me. I dream of you and me lying side by side; running my hands down your chest, across your stomach ... feeling every inch of you with my fingers. I imagine kissing you all over your body. Whispering in your ear how badly I want you. I want you to hold me and I want to hear your voice. I imagine being wrapped in your arms and pressed against your chest. I would want you making me feel like part of you ... and every time we touch; we would feel like we were the only two in existence. As we lay there I would beg you to make love to me over and over.

But, as I sit here watching the sun set into the horizon, my heart sinks with it. My pain is my entire fault; when will I learn? You would never want me. I'm not perfect, beautiful, or anything important. I have to let the dream of you and me go, for I am a woman with an unrequited crush.

My secret,

Crush

Found at Lovingyou.com

yin and yang

According to traditional Chinese philosophy, yin and yang are the two primal cosmic principles of the universe. Yin is the passive, female principle. Yang is the active, masculine principle. According to legend, the Chinese emperor Fu Hsi claimed that the best state for everything in the universe is a state of harmony represented by a balance of yin and yang. Unsurprisingly, legend has it that, according to Fu Hsi, true harmony requires yang to be dominant. It's just the nature of things.

In classical Chinese, yin and yang refer to the shady and sunny sides of a hill or valley.

Found at Skeptic.com

Energy flow

Where do you find the energy to move forward? It is all around you, in every situation and occurrence.
There is energy in joy, and there is also energy in frustration. There is energy in peace, and energy in sadness as well.

All of it is energy that you can choose to direct toward positive purposes. The particular source of the energy is not nearly as important as what you decide to do with it.

There is no end to the supply of raw energy coming into your life. And you have the opportunity to make meaningful use of it all.

If your life has no guiding purpose, all that energy, coming from so many directions, will keep you in a constant state of turmoil. Or, you can harness that energy and let it all move you powerfully toward the fulfillment of your dreams.

Every moment of every day, life's energy is coming your way. Take it all in, and make it into something magnificent.

-- R Marston

Abraham - Esther & Jerry Hicks - Channelers

1. Introduction (1:17 1.23M)
   Music ©Max Highstein.
2. A Lifelong Quest For Answers (4:06 3.78M)
   Jerry's search for good feeling beliefs
3. Living of "Think and Grow Rich" (1:37 1.5M)
   The difference a book made in this life
4. Roberts, Butts and "Seth Speaks" (2:19 2.19M)
   Non-Physical Personalities and Realities
5. Esther & Jerry Meet Theo (6:24 5.84M)
   A highly influential life-changing event
6. The Abraham-Hicks Reunion (5:05 4.7M)
   Jerry asked; Esther allowed; Abraham spoke
7. Who is Abraham; Who are we? (11:13 9.68M)
   What is my Inner Being and why am I here?
8. The Powerful Law of Attraction (4:00 3.64M)
   Here's the key we've long been asking for
9. Law of Deliberate Creation (3:57 3.64M)
   How to want it and be, do or have it
10. About the Law of Allowing (4:51 4.5M)
    Ask and it's given; now learn to allow
11. Process of Segment Intending (3:39 3.34M)
    Consciously develop this valuable habit
12. Great Awakening and Blending (1:54 1.74M)
    We can communicate with our Inner Being
13. Our Emotional Guidance System (3:11 3.02M)
    Learning to listen to our Inner Guidance
14. Relationships and Agreements (2:24 5.1M)
    Learn the secrets of co-creating in joy
15. Our Healthy Bodily Conditions (6:09 2.18M)
    Is your body feeling good enough for you?
16. The "Christ Consciousness" (2:17 2.21M)
    Becoming conscious of the "kingdom within"
17. About Habits and Addictions (2:53 2.38M)
    Want to release an unwanted addiction?
18. What's In It for Abraham? (6:33 3.45M)
    We do deserve a joyous life experience

Found at Abraham-hicks.com

Law of Attraction

Fortunately, here in your physical
time-space reality, things do not
manifest into your experience instantaneously.
There is a wonderful
buffer of time between when you
begin to think about something and
the time it manifests. That buffer of
time gives you the opportunity to
redirect your attention
more and
more in the direction
of the things
that you actually
do want to manifest
in your experience.
And long
before it manifests
(actually, when
you first begin to
give thought to it),
you can tell by the
way you feel whether it is something
you want to manifest or not. If you
continue to give your attention to
it—whether it is something you
want, or something you don’t want—
it will come into your experience.

Found at Abraham-hicks.com

The Fingerprint of God

Soul Mates - How to Find Yours

WHAT IS A SOUL MATE

DEFINING THE SOUL
The difference between the soul and spirit…
Here are some types of soul mates:

SPLIT-APARTS
The concept of a romantic soul mate, the one person who can complete us (our missing half), dates back to 360 B.C. when the Greek philosopher Plato told his story of creation in the Symposium…ETERNAL SOUL MATES

The concept that there is an eternal bond and love between two people that crosses time, distance, suffering and all obstacles…

TWIN SOULS – TWIN FLAMES
Another concept of the soul mate relates to the belief that two people who knew each other in a former life are almost mirror images of each other in this life…

KARMIC PARTNERSHIPS
Some people believe we return to earth in human form many times so we can learn lessons in each lifetime that will help us to grow and eventually return to God...

This person might be a kind, encouraging teacher who demonstrates with positive example, offering us guidance and advice, even acting as a mentor. Or this Karmic Partnership soul mate might be an enemy or someone who simply presents us with many challenges, pushing our buttons and forcing us to deal with our issues…This relationship may or may not involve a romantic partnership.

ONE TRUE LOVE
The final concept is that our soul mate is predestined – that our true love was already made in heaven. The 1987 movie Made in Heaven expresses the dream of finding that one true love….

…In its exploration of our deep desire to find one true love, the story also reflects a fear common for many of us – time is running out and we may never find our soul mate.

…This illustrates the concept that soul mates have been each other’s true love in a previous life, so they feel deeply connected in this one.

(There is SO much more. Please read the whole thing @ Patrickwanes.com)

Thich Nhat Hanh - Peace is every Step

Opening the Third Eye

Discover the joy of the soul beyond the pleasures and pains of the mind. Then go deeper and surrender your joy, your will, for the explosion of your whole being into light.

This is sweet surrender, the giving up of what you think is amazing so that you may be present with what is within you and before you. What you think is spiritual or "the secret" is your next obstacle. This is a key insight to open the third eye.

When mortals seek psychic or ecstatic experiences they eventually suffer its opposite. The average person is addicted to such stimulations. This is chasing the carrot on the stick. This brings energy up the ida or pingala via mental power--not soul strength. Eventually the seeker has an astral plane crash.

By surrendering your attention into light, you float downstream with grace as your guide. You see that a life of controlled magic may bring temporal pleasures, but cannot bring lasting joy. You experience the Self filling your life with as much ecstasy and serendipity as you can handle--innocent magic. You become absorbed in the Heart (Week 6) and see all phenomena as a funny movie.

The open third eye sees Everything and Nothing--at once.

Some "psychics" use the third eye for personal glory and experience the psychic boomerang of their misdirected intent. They abuse the third eye by projecting onto others the lack, dis-ease, and pain hidden in their own beliefs. They have visions of astral events or natural disasters that reflect their internal turmoil.

These visions usually do not materialize because many psychics are unaware of the overriding clear visions of souls creating from the spiritual planes. Psychics do not realize that it takes only a few bright lights to dissolve the limited visions of millions; and that the Way to master the future is to master the moment.

Wizards gaze into the crystal ball of the eye,
past astral delights into the Source beyond mortal sight.

Found at Meditate.com

Word of the Day

Synergy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Synergy (from the Greek synergos, συνεργός meaning working together, circa 1660) refers to the phenomenon in which two or more discrete influences or agents acting together create an effect greater than that predicted by knowing only the separate effects of the individual agents. It is originally a scientific term. Often (but not always, see Toxicologic synergy, below) the prediction is the sum of the effects each is able to create independently. The opposite of synergy is antagonism, the phenomenon where two agents in combination have an overall effect which is less than that predicted from their individual effects. Synergism stems from the 1657 theological doctrine that human will cooperates with the Divine Grace in regeneration[1]. The term began to be used in the broader, non-theological, sense by 1925. Synergy can also mean:

• A mutually advantageous conjunction where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
• A dynamic state in which combined action is favored over the sum of individual component actions.
• Behavior of whole systems unpredicted by the behavior of their parts taken separately. More accurately known as emergent behavior^[1]

Found at Wikipedia.com

Exercises To Recognize & Reprogram Your Thinking

1.9 Seeing the Whole Person
Rewrite sentences to "put the person back in."

1.10 Appreciating Diversity
Fill in the blanks, and raise awareness about perceptions of diversity.

1.11 Comparing Instead of Contrasting
List the similarities between groups of people; analyze the effects of emphasizing similarities.

1.12 Challenging Your Assumptions
Identify the "norm" conveyed in each sentence; rewrite each sentence to avoid assumptions based on factors like age or race.

1.13 Adapting to Cultural Differences
Respond to provided scenarios; devise respectful responses to cultural differences.

Found at Tolerance.org

Ways to Say I Love You

I've added my two cents in [brackets].

1. Call her the next day.

2. Always laugh at her jokes.

3. Tell her (truthfully) that you can't wait to see her again.

4. Offer her a back rub, without asking for one in return.

5. Call her just to say you were thinking about her.

6. Bring her a teddy bear and [vegetable] soup when she's sick.

7. Write her a poem.

8. Slow dance with her (not only on a dance floor).

9. Bring her [potted] flowers for no reason.

10. Send her a (handwritten) letter just to say hello.

11. Always remember your anniversaries and bring her something sweet.

12. Kiss her in the middle of a sentence.

13. Take her for a walk at sunset and stay to look up at the stars.

14. Tell her something about you that no one else knows.

15. Remind her that you still think she's beautiful.

16. Take a [hot steamy] bubble bath together.

17. Watch a sappy movie with her [and cry].

18. Surprise her with a candlelight [home cooked] dinner.

19. Never stop trying to impress her [especially in bed].

20. Tell her you love her [in French].

21. Never forget how much she means to you.

Found at Lovefatedestiny.com

Love Letter Collection - Dear Future Boyfriend

Dear Future Boyfriend,

Hello. I've been waiting. Your previous version screwed me over to the point where I'd be taking a shower months later and one of his whispered words would pop into my head and I'd hit the slimy tiled shower wall without even thinking about the damage it could do to my hand.

Anyway, I think it would be nice if you looked like Gael Garcia Bernal, but really any resemblance to a passably attractive foreign man would be a plus. Your hobbies should not include anything remotely associated with old people, because I've been told that I am an 80 year old woman trapped in an 18 year old's body, and I don't need an elderly-like companion to make me feel worse about that fact. To put it more clearly, leave the gardening and hypochondria to yours truly.

Hmm, what else? I'd like it if you liked to talk to me in various accents to complement my own (I'm pretty good at Southern, British -- the aristocratic kind, not the kind where you pronounce "th" as "f" --, and Minnesotan)...maybe you could do a good Australian or Scottish (the two that really escape me)? An interest in spontaneous travel and spontaneous things in general would also be very much appreciated. And maybe just the ability -- and want -- to lie next to me in a warm, clean, white bed and touch my arm.

See you soon.

Much love,

Me

Found at Collectiveexperience.org

Food and Spirituality

Food & Spirituality

Eating, food preparation, and mindful awareness

A mindful process

"The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life, and in elevating them to art."
~~ William Morris

Learning to be mindfully aware of the eating process from start to finish was a huge part of changing my relationship to food. That includes paying mindful attention to the processes involved in preparing, eating, and cleaning up afterward—the sights, sounds, textures, tastes, smells, and feelings.

What is being mindfully aware?

To be mindful is to be aware; to be fully present in the moment. Think of a time you really enjoyed; perhaps laying on the beach listening to the surf, feeling the sun touch upon your skin, the texture of the sand and the smell of the ocean air. You feel somehow more in touch with your body. You notice the sound of children playing and how it sounds a little distant even though they are playing but a few yards away. You feel a gentle breeze that gives just the right amount of cooling ventilation to balance the direct sun. You feel transported to a time and place quite distant from the normal hustle and bustle of daily life. You feel very alive. This is being "in the moment", mindfully aware of what is happening as it happens. You are fully experiencing the moment as you pass through it. At that point in time, you were experiencing life to its fullest.

With practice, I'm learning to apply this same kind of awareness to my food preparation and eating experiences. I practice giving my full attention to the time I devote to making and eating meals (and even the cleanup work afterward).

How does this help?

I use to eat in a way that might best be described as being on autopilot. I ate quickly and barely chewed my food. I rarely stopped to savor a morsel. Most of the time I was unconscious of my chewing and swallowing processes. I would obsess about food and diets or feel hungry all the time, but I was disconnected from my food on many levels. I ate with the TV on or other distractions. I'd "throw" something together or heat up canned and frozen prepared foods. I'd go to the drive-through and finish my burger and fries before I'd get to my destination. I'd nibble on snack foods nearly unconsciously while sitting at my computer or watching a video. I ate on the run. I ate to not feel anything. I ate out of boredom. I'd eat when I wasn't hungry. I often ate at odd hours. If someone asked me what I had for dinner last night, I wouldn't have been able to answer them without straining my brain to remember.

Slowing down and paying full attention to eating helps me listen for, hear, and act on my satiety signals. It helps me know when I've had enough. It leaves me feeling that I've nurtured and honored my-self in a healthy way—and met the nutritional needs of my body. It turns what use to be a rather automatic and joyless process into a very satisfying life experience. It helps me to relax and unwind. It makes me aware of just how much I'm eating and have eaten. It helps me feel satisfied with healthy but smaller portions. It reminds me to be grateful for what I have and it reaffirms throughout the day that I do have the power to improve my health.

Found at Dognozzle.com

What is Karma?

What is karma?
Cause and effect. Whatsoever a man soweth, that he shall also reap. For each action there is an equal and opposite reaction. There are a lot ways to describe karma, but it is essentially the belief that your present circumstances are the product of previous actions, and what you do today will affect what happens tomorrow. Karma is also associated with past lives -- each time you're reborn, the energies from your previous lives influence the conditions of your current life.

Found at Astrology.com

Hypnotic Optical Illusion

Fixate on the central cross during the motion and watch the cycle at least three times. Observe the motion aftereffect in the resting figure (the Buddha of Kamakura). [There is a more flashy version on the next page.]

You may also try to cover one eye, adapt over 3 cycles and then test with the other eye (for this, you will need to stop the movie at the right point…). Well, how strong is your “interocular transfer”?

This is often explained in terms of “fatigue” of the class of neurons encoding one motion direction. It is probably more accurate to interpret this in terms of adaptation or “gain control”.

We use the motion aftereffect in combination with EEG recordings as a tool to analyse the human motion system (→motion projects). For a more detailed explanation and a neat demo of the “waterfall effect” see George Mather’s MAE page.

Sources

Aristotle “De Somnis” (translated by Beare JI 1931) University of Virginia Library ← chapter 2, G5r (search for ‘river’)

Mather, Verstraten & Anstis (1998) The motion aftereffect: a modern perspective. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press

George Mather’s MAE page (part of his motion site)

Kohn, A, and Movshon, JA (2003) Neuronal adaptation to visual motion in area MT of the macaque. Neuron 39: 681-691 [PDF]

The Motion Aftereffect homepage

India Driving Rules - What Rules?

Western Philosophy is challenged with this coordinated intermingling of cars, scooters and buses. Now, don't show the train situation or we're back to square one.

Mental Health - Memory & Sharpness

Mental activity. Protect or improve your memory and mental sharpness by:

• Challenging your intellect on a daily basis. Read, learn a new musical instrument or language, do crossword puzzles, play games of strategy with others. Just like an active body, an active brain continues to develop and thrive, while an inactive brain loses its power over time.
• Helping your memory along. Write down dates, names, and other important information that you easily forget. Use routine and repetition-keep daily items such as keys and eyeglasses in a specific place; when you learn a new name, repeat it out loud in conversation or to yourself several times to commit it to memory. (No matter what your age, having too much on your mind can interfere with your memory of new information. And as you age, it is normal to take longer to retrieve new information from your memory banks.)
• Preventing depression, which is a common yet treatable cause of cognitive decline in older people. In addition to getting regular exercise and social contact, avoid the depressant effect of alcohol and sedative use, eat a healthy diet, and include meaningful activity in your daily life (such as learning, creating, working, volunteering). If depression strikes, seek professional help-antidepressant medication and/or counseling are effective treatments for depression. For more information, see the topic Depression. If you find that a physical condition or disability is worsening your depressed mood, get the medical treatment you need.
• Not smoking. Cigarette smoking may speed mental decline; this connection was recently identified in a large study comparing smokers and nonsmokers age 65 and over.⁸

Found at Webmd.com

"Her heart, her mind" Poem

Other conquests she pursues,

Relentless in her attempts.

She acknowledges my presence

Yet avoids my touch,

No feelings are shared, are viewed or are kept,

My stance is laughable, as my last night is wept.

She can't be mine, for this I know,

Though every second my emotions grow.

Religion be at my mind, though torn in my heart

Still my bond must be kept,

For I cannot part.

And my soul reaches out to her divided body.

Do not make that step!

My mind is not my heart.

Found at Webofloneliness.com

Youthquake

The Word of the Day

for May 25, 2007 was:

youthquake • \YOOTH-kwayk\ • noun

: a shift in cultural norms influenced by the values, tastes, and mores of young people

Example Sentence:

The dot-com industry was the epicenter of the youthquake of the 1990s.

Did you know?

The 1960s were a time of seismic social upheaval brought about by young people bent on shaking up the establishment. From politics to fashion to music, the ways of youth produced far-reaching cultural changes. Linguistically, the sixties saw the addition to English of such words as "flower child," "peacenik," "hippie," "love beads," "trippy," "vibe," "freak-out," and "love-in." Not surprisingly, they also saw the emergence of "youthquake." The first known use of "youthquake" in print comes from a 1966 article in McCall's: "the youthquake, as some call it ... has swept both sides of the Atlantic."

Quotes About Meditation

Quotes on Meditation

by: Sri Chinmoy

Nothing impresses me any more,
save and except
My own deep meditations.

Meditation stops
The sound-loving mind.

To my greatest relief,
I have silenced
My questioning mind.

When I pray,
I feel I am tiny,
very tiny.

When I meditate,
I feel I am vast,
very vast.

When I contemplate,
I feel I am neither tiny nor vast -
I am just a player
Who plays hide and seek with God.

When I pray,
I clearly see that God is coming down
From Above.

When I meditate,
I clearly see that God is already seated
Inside my heart.

My Lord,
When I most intensely pray and meditate,
The world badly misunderstands me.
My Lord, what shall I do?
"My child, you have only one world,
And that world is all love.
It needs neither understanding
Nor misunderstanding."

When we pray and meditate
Sincerely and soulfully,
We receive an open-hearted invitation
From Heaven.

Other Quotes on Meditation by Sri Chinmoy

Awakening Your Conscious Mind

Interestingly, the stages of conscious awakening reflect the macrocosmic process of conscious evolution. What follows is a diagram comparing the two:

Found at Montalk.net

Angel Meditation

Webster Word of the Day

Word of the Day for

June 10, 2007 is:

Golconda • \gahl-KAHN-duh\ • noun

: a rich mine; broadly : a source of great wealth

Example Sentence:

The junk bond market proved to be a Golconda for unscrupulous traders during the 1980s, many of whom amassed huge fortunes by trading such bonds to the unwary.

Quotes on Malice

As the malicious disposition of mankind is too well known, and the cruel pleasure which they take in destroying the reputation of others, the use we are to make of this knowledge is, to afford no handle for reproach; for bad as the world is, it seldom falls on anyone who hath not given some slight cause for censure.
- Henry Fielding

There is an alchemy of quiet malice by which women can concoct a subtle poison from ordinary trifles.
- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Malice often takes the garb of truth.
- William Hazlitt (1)

The venom that chills and curdles the warm current of life in man is secreted only in creeping and cold-blooded creatures; and the inveterate malignity that never forgets or forgives is found only in base and ignoble natures, whose aims are selfish, whose means are indirect, cowardly, and treacherous.
- George Stillman Hillard

Malice blunts the point of wit.
- Douglas William Jerrold

Malice is poisoned by her own venom.
- Johann Kaspar Lavater (John Caspar Lavater)

Truth, wisdom, love, seek reasons; malice only seeks causes.
- Johann Kaspar Lavater (John Caspar Lavater)

Malice, scorned, puts out itself; but, argued, gives a kind of credit to a false accusation.
- Philip Massinger

There is no rampart that will hold out against malice.
- Moliere (pseudonym of Jean Baptiste Poquelin)

Even in the midst of compassion we feel within I know not what tart sweet titillation of malicious pleasure in seeing others suffer; children have the same feeling.
- Michel Eyquem de Montaigne

When malice has reason on its side, it looks forth bravely, and displays that reason in all its luster. When austerity and self-denial have not realized true happiness, and the soul returns to the dictates of nature, the reaction is fearfully extravagant.
- Blaise Pascal

When malice is joined to envy, there is given forth poisonous and feculent matter, as ink from the cuttle-fish.
- Plutarch

Publish not men's secret faults, for by disgracing them you make yourself of no repute.
- Moslih Eddin (Muslih-un-Din) Saadi (Sadi)

Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice.
- William Shakespeare

Malice, in its false witness, promotes its tale with so cunning a confusion; so mingles truths with falsehoods, surmises with certainties, causes of no moment with matters capital, that the accused can absolutely neither grant nor deny, plead innocence nor confess guilt.
- Sir Philip Sidney (Sydney)

Malice can always find a mark to shoot at, and a pretence to fire.
- Charles Simmons (2)

But for that blindness which is inseparable from malice, what terrible powers of evil would it possess! Fortunately for the world, its venom, like that of the rattlesnake, when most poisonous, clouds the eye of the reptile, and defeats its aim.
- William Gilmore Simms

Malice drinketh up the greater part of its own poison.
- Socrates

Malice is of the boomerang character, and is apt to turn upon the projector.
- William Makepeace Thackeray

Found at giga-usa.net

Process of Illumination

"A life that is not examined, is not worth living." - Socrates

The Process of Illumination:

Examine behavior to find the underlying belief
V
Identify error in the belief
V
Decide to change the belief
V
Neutralize error by understanding the truth
V
Replace error by making a new decision regarding the old belief
V
Affirm the new decision
V
Repeat the process

Found at Enlightenment.net

Quotes

"Illness is not cured by saying the word 'medicine,' but by taking medicine. Enlightenment is not achieved by repeating the word 'God' but by directly experiencing God. Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many gods as you please, observe as many ceremonies and sing devotional hymns, but liberation will never come, even after a hundred eons, without realizing Oneness, Wholeness."
-- Shankara

"Knowledge is structured in consciousness. The process of education takes place in the field of consciousness; the prerequisite to complete education is therefore the full development of consciousness--enlightenment. Knowledge is not the basis of enlightenment, enlightenment is the basis of knowledge."
-- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Found at Diamondhelpers.com

Journey Through Infinity - Video

My Favorite Song Now

"One: All composite phenomena are impermanent.
Two: All contaminated things and events are unsatisfactory.
Three: All phenomena are empty and selfless.
Four: Nirvana is true peace."

1. Jack's Cheese And Bread Snack --->>>
2. Somersettler
3. Splitting An Atom
4. Escape From Tulse Hell
5. Cley Hill
6. Billy The Kid Strikes Back
7. A Load Up At Nunney Catch
8. Spannered In Pilton
9. Smoked Glass And Chrome