Time to Awaken!

Posted on January 25, 2015 by marcia

Reaching the Tipping Point – It’s Up to Each of Us

by Zen Gardner – Jan 24, 2015

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Reaching the Tipping Point – It’s Up to Each of Us

So many are asking, “What can I do? How can I make a difference? How do I go about helping to effect the changes the world so direly needs?”

Good questions.

I repeatedly say to people to get conscious and you’ll know what to do. What does that mean? Gain empowering knowledge and information for one. And if someone’s asking those questions they obviously know just where to find it. The exponentially growing body of information available on the internet is an opportunity of the ages. I don’t know if this happened in the time of Atlantis or other previous advanced civilizations or not, but how unique an opportunity can we get?!

Look, read and learn. Then act on it.

Admittedly, growing up in a truly enlightened culture one wouldn’t have to do all this searching and have so many lies and cover up and so much disinformation to get past. It is time and energy consuming, especially for young minds under a variety of social pressures.

But it’s our task to learn, and here we are, so let’s do it. And commit to it. Stop spending any unnecessary time giving the matrix our attention and energy. It’s bad enough if you have a job you don’t particularly like, especially if it’s helping to prop up this dying, vampiric system. Let’s “spend” our time being the difference. Remember, it’s the small things, small decisions, direction changes, little acts of love and kindness that change the world around us. The rest follows as we take on that awakened way of life and don’t succumb to the dumbing down mechanisms of the repressive matrix.

But don’t cry about what you can or cannot do and sit in front of the TV all day, or stay muzzled in your day to dayt life when you have an opportunity to speak up with what you already know. Check out The Full Circle Project being formulated as we speak and join the process. It’s time we find and empower each other!

Getting Conscious

When the information comes flooding in you will eventually develop a deep spirituality. The only way this vast Universe can possibly operate is by forces and powers outside our sensory perception. Call it what you will and religions have done a great job at trying to keep it in a box, but SOMETHING is behind all this and is way powerful and wonderful.

One long look at a clear night sky says it all.

Then develop that spirituality. As you venture into the worlds of esoteric knowledge the dots begin to connect, same as they do while you investigate what’s really behind the scenes running the show here on earth as far as manipulated society goes. Then act on it. Meditate if that’s an avenue that appears to have some validity for greater consciousness and awareness, but let it lead to action as well. Pray if you’re so inclined. Chant, dance, sing, laugh, cry, scream….but take constructive action in both intention and personal responsibility.

I remember reading a famous proverb, “The desire of a lazy man kills him, because his hands refuse to work”. Hit home? Has for me many times.

Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. But now’s the time to take action. And as your consciousness grows and changes start to take place, the next step(s) will always make themselves manifest; be it writing a blog and networking on the net, attending or talking at gatherings, passing out flyers, hanging posters, talking to people you meet, joining or organizing intentional movements or communities, starting a youtube channel or blog or radio show, printing stickers or T-shirts, or just hugging and smiling and sharing love….or all of the above.

Be who you truly are. And help those already doing what you know is effective. It’s getting started that’s important.

“The boat has to be in motion for the rudder to take effect.”

It Matters – Every Bit Matters

Insignificance is a matrix illusion. Each of us is infinite potential and possibility. Each of us IS the Universe. Each of us IS eternal consciousness. Each of us IS connected to everything…everything. When we change, everything changes. A perfect illustration of this is the idea of the Morphic Field I wrote about some time back. [See Change the Morphic Field…Change the World!]

Mother Teresa succinctly put it this way: “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” And look at her global impact just by her example.

Quantum physics has made this powerful vibrational effect phenomenon a virtually accepted fact. The inter-connectivity and creative ability of consciousness is profound…and needs to be implemented in our thinking and way of life. Once we know how powerful we each are and what a profound effect we each have gets you off your duff and doing everything you can!

The Tipping Point

This is another empowering bit of information that conveys the power of change. It came out of a technical University study and was an encouraging discovery for those who were listening, and no doubt was an alert for social engineers who’ve been on to this stuff for a very long time.

According to this study, if just 10% of the population wake up (or what they call “committed opinion holders” have a change) it would potentially turn society upside-down from its current paradigm.

I’ve included most of this entire article as it’s quite profound:

In this visualization, we see the tipping point where minority opinion (shown in red) quickly becomes majority opinion. Over time, the minority opinion grows. Once the minority opinion reached 10 percent of the population, the network quickly changes as the minority opinion takes over the original majority opinion (shown in green). Credit: SCNARC/Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that when just 10 percent of the population holds an unshakable belief, their belief will always be adopted by the majority of the society. The scientists, who are members of the Social Cognitive Networks Academic Research Center (SCNARC) at Rensselaer, used computational and analytical methods to discover the tipping point where a minority belief becomes the majority opinion. The finding has implications for the study and influence of societal interactions ranging from the spread of innovations to the movement of political ideals.

“When the number of committed opinion holders is below 10 percent, there is no visible progress in the spread of ideas. It would literally take the amount of time comparable to the age of the universe for this size group to reach the majority,” said SCNARC Director Boleslaw Szymanski, the Claire and Roland Schmitt Distinguished Professor at Rensselaer. “Once that number grows above 10 percent, the idea spreads like flame.”

An important aspect of the finding is that the percent of committed opinion holders required to shift majority opinion does not change significantly regardless of the type of network in which the opinion holders are working. In other words, the percentage of committed opinion holders required to influence a society remains at approximately 10 percent, regardless of how or where that opinion starts and spreads in the society.

To reach their conclusion, the scientists developed computer models of various types of social networks. One of the networks had each person connect to every other person in the network. The second model included certain individuals who were connected to a large number of people, making them opinion hubs or leaders. The final model gave every person in the model roughly the same number of connections. The initial state of each of the models was a sea of traditional-view holders. Each of these individuals held a view, but were also, importantly, open minded to other views.

Once the networks were built, the scientists then “sprinkled” in some true believers throughout each of the networks. These people were completely set in their views and unflappable in modifying those beliefs. As those true believers began to converse with those who held the traditional belief system, the tides gradually and then very abruptly began to shift.

“In general, people do not like to have an unpopular opinion and are always seeking to try locally to come to consensus. We set up this dynamic in each of our models,” said SCNARC Research Associate and corresponding paper author Sameet Sreenivasan. To accomplish this, each of the individuals in the models “talked” to each other about their opinion. If the listener held the same opinions as the speaker, it reinforced the listener’s belief. If the opinion was different, the listener considered it and moved on to talk to another person. If that person also held this new belief, the listener then adopted that belief.

“As agents of change start to convince more and more people, the situation begins to change,” Sreenivasan said. “People begin to question their own views at first and then completely adopt the new view to spread it even further. If the true believers just influenced their neighbors, that wouldn’t change anything within the larger system, as we saw with percentages less than 10.”

The research has broad implications for understanding how opinion spreads. “There are clearly situations in which it helps to know how to efficiently spread some opinion or how to suppress a developing opinion,” said Associate Professor of Physics and co-author of the paper Gyorgy Korniss. “Some examples might be the need to quickly convince a town to move before a hurricane or spread new information on the prevention of disease in a rural village.”

Here’s an example for spreading opinions, my dear researchers: To wake up humanity to its true enslaved situation and its massive potential to absolutely thrive without these oppressive, death dealing manipulative overlords!

Try that one on! ‘Cuz we are!

The Awakening Point is Here and Now

Interestingly, as mentioned above about feeling insignificant, when the number of “different opinion holders” is below 10% there’s this innate sense of futility because the fact is, as they say, it would take virtually next to forever for the ideas to move against those of the majority, mathematically speaking.

However, by simply breaking that 10% barrier some dynamic takes place, a type of critical mass is reached, and it takes on a life of its own.

A lot of this has to do with the perceived “popularity” of beliefs. Which makes sense. But let’s play along, shall we?

What we do know is people are swayed by these pressures. No doubt. Therefore change the input and playing field.

Now look at this amazing phenomenon:

Pretty encouraging and compelling. This has been challenged as being verifiable but it so resonates with how the underlying web of vibrational information works. Tune in and put it out there and it goes to work. Again, even settled science has confirmed this phenomenon, known to sages through the ages.

But so exciting is this parallel consciousness factor as well as the vibrational change aspect we’re undergoing. While these study parameters are social pressures and societal mechanisms as they’ve identified them, in reality we’re talking multi-level and multi-dimensional influences at play to help effect these vast and unlimited consciousness changes.

In other words, we’re moving fast towards that tipping point as we speak! I can’t give you any numbers or percentages, but it’s happening, so many can attest to this just in their local worlds! And ironically enough the more TPTB try to suppress it the faster it’s growing! All part of the process.

Glorious, isn’t it? What more could we ask?

Now let’s get busy. The sooner this thing ignites in a blaze of wondrous glory the better! And you don’t have to worry about the overall, just you and your part, and me and mine.

Keep on!

“It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Love always, Zen

from: http://www.zengardner.com/reaching-the-tipping-point-its-up-to-each-of-us/

Dealing with Worry

Posted on January 24, 2015 by marcia

How to Stop Worrying: 9 Simple Habits

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”
Leo Buscaglia

“Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.”
Swedish Proverb

Worry.

It starts with a nagging thought.

That creates another few thoughts.

And before you know it there is a storm brewing in your mind, making you think irrationally and zapping your mental and physical energy.

Your old friend is back, creating chaos within.

I am no stranger to it either and to the powerful negative effects it can have on life and the happiness in it.

But in the last decade I have found several habits that have helped me to greatly decrease my worrying and to more easily handle such thoughts when they pop up.

1. Most of things you worry about have never happened.

I love this quote by Winston Churchill:

“When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened.”

I have found it to be very true in my own life.

So when you feel worries starting to pop up ask yourself this:

How many of the things I feared would happen in my life did actually happen?

If you are anything like me then the answer will be: very few. And the very few ones that actually happened were mostly not as painful or terrible as I had expected.

Worries are most often just monsters you build in your own mind.

I find that asking myself this question regularly and reminding myself of how little of the worries that actually came to life makes easier and easier to stay calm and to stop a worried thought before it becomes a big snowball of negativity.

2. Avoid getting lost in vague fears.

When fears feel vague in your mind, when you lack clarity then it is very easy to get lost in exaggerated worries and disaster scenarios.

So find clarity in a worry-inducing situation by asking yourself:

Honestly and realistically, what is the worst that could happen?

When I have answered that question then I follow it up with spending a bit of time on figuring out what I can do about it if that pretty unlikely thing happens.

In my experience, the worst that could realistically happens is usually not as scary as what my mind could make up when it is running wild with vague fears.

Spending a few minutes on finding clarity in this way can save you whole lot of time, energy and suffering.

3. Don’t try to guess what is on someone’s mind.

Trying to read someone’s mind usually doesn’t work too well at all. Instead, it can very easily lead to creating an exaggerated and even disastrous scenario in your mind.

So choose a way that is less likely to lead to worries and misunderstandings.

Communicate and ask what you want to ask.

By doing so you’ll promote openness in your relationship and it will likely be happier as you avoid many unnecessary conflicts and negativity.

4. Say stop in a situation where you know you cannot think straight.

From time to time when I am hungry or when I am lying in bed and are about to go to sleep I can become mentally vulnerable. And so worries can more easily start buzzing around in my head.

In the past this often lead to many minutes of time that where no fun.

These days I have become better at catching such thoughts quickly and to say to myself:

No, no, we are not going to think about this now.

I then follow that up with saying this to myself:

I will think this situation or issue through at a time when I know that my mind will work much better.

Like when I have eaten. Or in the morning when I have gotten my sleep.

It takes some practice to apply this one consistently and effectively but it also makes a big difference in my life.

5. Remember, people don’t think about you and what you do as much as you may think.

They have their hands full with thinking about what other people think of them. And with thinking about what is closest to their hearts like their children, pets, a partner or the job or school.

So don’t get lost in worries about what people may think or say if you do something. Don’t let such thoughts hold you back in life.

6. Work out.

Few things work so well and consistently as working out to release inner tensions and to move out of a headspace that is extra vulnerable to worries.

I also find that working out – especially with free weights – makes me feel more decisive and focused.

So even though working out helps me to build a stronger body my main motivation to keep doing it is for the wonderful and predictable mental benefits.

7. Let your worry out into the light.

This is one of my favorites. Because it tends to work so well.

By letting your “big” worry out into the light and talking about it with someone close to you it becomes a whole lot easier to see the situation or issue for what it really is.

Just venting for a few minutes can make a big difference and after a while you may start to wonder what you were so worried about in the first place.

Sometimes the other person may only have to listen as you work through the situation yourself out loud.

At other times it can be very helpful to let the other person ground you and help you find a more practical and useful perspective on the situation at hand.

If you do not have anyone to talk to at the moment about the worry bouncing around in your mind then let it out by writing about it. Just getting it out of your head and reasoning about with yourself either on paper or in a journal on your computer can help you to calm down and find clarity.

8. Spend more time in the present moment.

When you spend too much time reliving the past in your mind then it easy to start feeding your worries about the future. When you spend too much time in the future then is also easy to get swept away by disaster scenarios.

So focus on spending more of your time and attention in the present moment.

Two of my favorite ways to reconnect with what is happening right now:

Slow down. Do whatever you are doing right now but do it slower. Move, talk, eat or ride your bicycle slower. By doing so you’ll become more aware of what is happening all around you right now.
Disrupt and reconnect. If you feel you are starting to worry then disrupt that thought by shouting this to yourself in your mind: STOP! Then reconnect with the present moment by taking just one or two minutes to focus to 100% on what is going on around you. Take it all in with all your senses. Feel it, see it, smell it, hear it and sense it on your skin.

9. Refocus on the small step you can take to move forward.

To move out the worried headspace I find it really, really helpful to just start moving and taking action to start solving or improving whatever I am concerned about.

So I ask myself:

What is one small step I can take right now to start improving this situation I am in?

Then I focus on just taking that small step forward. After that I find another small step and I take that one too.

Source: “How to Stop Worrying: 9 Simple Habits,” from positivityblog.com, by Henrik Edberg

– See more at: http://theunboundedspirit.com/how-to-stop-worrying-9-simple-habits/#sthash.LSXpUBHU.dpuf

On Brain & Mind

Posted on January 24, 2015 by marcia

The Nature Of Mind And The Holographic Brain

The Mind Unleashed

on 21 January, 2015 at 11:27

By: Brandon West

What is the true nature of mind, and what is the real function of our brains?

The purpose of this article is to provide evidence that strongly indicates that you are not your brain, or your body for that matter, and that the nature of mind, of memory, and of our brains may actually be vastly different than we have been lead to believe.

Since time immemorial, man has been fascinated by the mind, leading great thinkers from Hippocrates to Descartes to ponder the nature of mind with wonder. Fast forward to modern times and observe how the mind is still revered and is dominating our culture. We have a lot of firm beliefs about the nature of mind, and I believe the ego – our limited perception of ourselves – and thus human ignorance, is intricately tied in with these beliefs.

But the truth of the matter is that we only understand a fraction of the minds potential, i.e. it’s capability of rote memorization and other analytically orientated functions, and we use even less.

We know hardly anything about the brain let alone the nature of mind. Is it possible that we are missing crucial aspects of its function and entire areas of development and potential that simply slide under the radar because they are not accepted by modern thought?

In this article we will explore the idea that the brain itself, with its tissue and neurons that we have until now deemed the source of our thoughts and identity, is actually just a tool, a receiver of human intelligence and consciousness, but not its source; and that the human mind is not sourced in the brain any more than the internet can be found in your laptop or your modem.

“My brain is only a receiver. In the Universe there is a core from which we obtain knowledge, strength and inspiration. I have not penetrated into the secrets of this core, but I know that it exists.” – Nikola Tesla

Projected Memory on the Screen of Consciousness

To begin I would like to delve into the work of a Canadian neurosurgeon named Wilder Penfield. Through his work with epileptic patients spanning from the 1930′s into the 1970′s he found that “stimulation of the human cerebral cortex with a gentle electrical current sometimes awakens specific memories, at other times dreams.” His work gave him insight into the function of the brain, memory, mind, and the interactions between them.

(This information on Wilder Penfield’s experiments is from his lectures The Mechanism of Memory, and Some Mechanisms of Consciousness Discovered During Electrical Stimulation of the Brain unless otherwise specified.)

During brain surgery once the brain was exposed, he found that by using an electrode that produced a “gentle” electrical current, he could stimulate areas of the brain and get specific, repeatable, intriguing and often times simply fascinating results. The patients were kept conscious throughout the procedure so that the doctors could carry out a conversation throughout the operation and receive immediate feedback on the nature of the experience these electrical currents would produce.

In one case an area he stimulated caused a man to not only hear a piano being played, but also to see the man sitting in front of him playing the piano. In another case a boy reported seeing men sitting on a chair and singing, and in yet another case the patient heard a complete orchestra. In each of these situations the individuals involved didn’t see fleeting shapes of people, or the wisp of a song, but they saw the image as vivid and clear as if they were actually there in the room.

One woman even heard a song, which turned out to not even have been one of her favorite songs, being played when an area of her brain was being stimulated. When stimulated at intervals without her knowledge (because the brain has no tactile sensation), the same song began playing again from the exact same spot.

The sound was so clear and flawless that she mistook a device in the operating room as a musical device that they were stopping and starting at intervals.

In all cases the patients recalled the events not like you would commonly recall a memory, which is usually as a fleeting mental image, but rather in such explicit detail that it was literally like they were reliving the event in question. Some patients literally saw people in front of them, and heard them just as clearly as if they were actually there.

As Dr. Penfield phrased it, it was like the mind was able to “project a memory or a dream upon the screen of consciousness.” Moreover he found that when he stimulated the brains of individuals and they remembered something, an image, or sound, or a feeling, those memories were always accompanied by the thought processes that accompanied them at the time. Therefore our brains record sensory data as a whole unit.

Holographic Memory and the Nature of Mind

In my article the unified field and the illusion of time, we explored some evidence supporting the understanding that all information is encoded directly into the field – the energy density of space/time – all around us (which unfortunately is beyond the scope of this article). But if we apply that understanding to the perception going on in this circumstance when Wilder Penfield stimulated the brains of his patients, what occurred was that his patients seemed to have perfect recall of past events and in visual cases, 3D or holographic memory.

This is not normal perception.

What if the stimulation of the brain itself caused his patients to project their memory onto the field? Or what if that information was already present in a holographic sense meaning that those images, and those songs and memories were encoded within the field, possibly recording directly into the field by the brain itself, and the stimulation by chance allowed them to perceive the memory directly in the field?

This not only suggests the possibility of holographic memory in human beings, but a very different understanding of memory itself (which we shall explore later).

The other thing that is interesting is that the events which were brought back were entirely mundane, meaning they were generally ordinary events of no significance. This suggests that our brains actually record every detail of our lives, even the mundane and ordinary, and that they are accessible to us if we could figure out how to access it, or in other words, how to tap into the full potential of our minds.

Wilder Penfield himself remarked that if the brain was indeed recording all of experience, then it is only natural that when dipping into this massive archive of information and memory that we happen upon ordinary events considering the vast quantity of information recorded in our lifetime (from How To Know God by Deepak Chopra).

In Deepak Chopra’s book How To Know God, he also cites how Wilder Penfield noted that the brain even retains memory while dormant, such as the fact that when patients are under deep anesthesia during surgery, about one percent of the population has a recollection of what the doctors were saying, and even some details of the procedure. It is interesting that…

“Under deep anesthesia, there are practically no higher brain waves at all, making it impossible for the cerebral cortex to accomplish anything so complex as remembering what a surgeon is saying.”(How to Know God, p. 217)

This is one of the reasons why Wilder Penfield concluded after nearly 40 years of research that the mind was an entity separate from the brain, and which did not rely on the brain to function.

Who Is The One Doing The Moving?

Deepak Chopra in his lecture series with Wayne Dyer entitled Living Beyond Miracles tells of another of Wilder Penfield’s experiments where he is stimulating the motor cortex of a patient’s brain which causes the patient to raise their arm in front of them. If we were to ask the man if it is him moving his are, he would reply that ‘No, I AM not.’

But when Penfield asked him to move his arm to the side the patient could move his arm, and he responded with something akin to ‘I AM moving my arm’, or ‘now I AM moving my arm’. Who is this I AM presence who is doing the moving? And why is it not activated when the body is moving on its own?

If our brain is the source of who we are, then any stimulation thereof which resulted in motion should give us the perception that it is us who is moving, but as Deepak Chopra states, because that is not the case this is indicative that our brain is not who we are, that the brain and body is only superficially related to who we are, and that the brain most certainly is not the source of who we are.

Brain Tissue Is Apparently Optional

Removing a hemisphere. Evidence for the holographic brain concept, and that our brain is only a recorder of experience and not the source of the mind can be found in a study done by Johns Hopkins University (J.H.U.) where they worked with brain-damaged children. They found that they could improve their level of intelligence and physical coordination by removing the damaged hemisphere of their brain. In essence, they literally cut out the damaged chunk of the children’s brain.

Within our current understanding of the brain this operation should significantly damage, if not irreparably hinder the child’s ability for memory and cognitive functions. From conventional understanding all of the functions which that hemisphere of the brain took care of would no longer be implemented leaving the child mentally deficient, or fragmented in some form.

If memories are stored in the brain, then after this operation those children should have lost those memories pertaining to the removed portion of their brain … if memories are stored in the brain. Yet the results were astonishing, and once again defied conventional thought.

Dr. Eileen P. G. Vining of J.H.U. studied 54 of the children who underwent the operation and she was simply astounded by the “retention of memory, and by the retention of the child’s personality and sense of humour.” A new version of the study was published in 2003 by John Hopkins University that dealt with 111 kids who had the operation between 1975 and 2003. Out of these 111 children 86% of them were seizure free or no longer needed medication (David Wilcock, The Source Field Investigations).

The mystery of hydrocephalus. For more evidence we move towards the work of Dr. John Lorber who is one of the world’s top experts on the condition known as hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is due to a problem with the flow cerebral spinal fluid which surrounds and cushions the brain, and when there is a blockage in this flow the pressure within the individual’s cranium is increased. Hydrocephalus means literally “water on the brain,” and brain swelling in this case leads to an oftentimes dramatic compression of brain tissue.

Dr. Lorber studied a total of 253 people with this condition. In the most severe cases, the pressure in the brain would increase to such a high level that the brain tissue would be compacted leaving the patient with only a fraction of their original amount of brain tissue. In Dr. Lorber’s study 9 people reached this severity with around only 5% of their total brain tissue left. That means only 5% of their neurons, brain cells, synapses, and so one were available in the patient’s brain.

Amazingly 4 out of 9 of those people with less than 5% of their brain tissue had an IQ over 100, and 2/9 had an IQ greater than 126. In other words 66.6% of them were fine. Given the drastic loss of brain tissue the obvious question is how is this possible? How can someone with almost literally no brain be intelligent at all, let alone above average?

Dr. Lorber was directed to a student at his university by his peers, literally based on the intriguingly large size of his head, they thought he may be of potential interest. This student had an IQ of 126 and had a “first-class honours degree in mathematics, and is socially completely normal.”

A brain scan was done on this individual with surprising results. It was found that out of the normal 4.5 cm of brain tissue, his condition had been compressed to only a few millimeters. In other words his head filled with cerebral spinal fluid, and only a few millimeters of brain tissue, yet he was still high functioning with above average intelligence (David Wilcock, The Source Field Investigations).

I have no technical understanding of how this is even possible except to simply suggest that possibly the conductivity and crystalline nature of water may be a contributing factor. Yet what this should clearly illustrate that we know very little of the true nature of mind, or the brain. Both of these once again demonstrate that the mind is independent of the brain.

The Nature of Mind-Brain Connection

This evidence raises some important questions:

What is the real function of our brains? Is it the brain tissue itself that creates our intelligence, or is it the electrical and conductive nature of the brain that allows us to connect to intelligence? More or less like a sophisticated antennae, just like Nikola Tesla observed of himself early in the 20th century.

All of this information so far creates a lot of friction with the current propagated understanding of the brain, if it doesn’t debunk it altogether. The information that Penfield discovered is suggesting that our brains are independent of our minds, and that all our memories are recorded in their entirety, and with the same detail that we experienced them. From where we do not yet know.

I also suggest that this is evidence that we have the potential for holographic memory. This hypothetically is a possible function of our minds where our memory is projected powerfully onto reality (onto the screen of the universal consciousness) so that we can experience and relive our memories in 3D. After all, this is what Wilder Penfield’s patients experienced.

As Johns Hopkins University, and John Lorber’s research found, it may not be that our brains are really that important. If children can have half their brains removed and retain their memories and personality, and if people can function with less than 5% of their brain tissue with above average intelligence, then what is the true purpose of the brain but as a vehicle for intelligence, not as the source of intelligence?

Like a highly sophisticated bio-technology that we use to experience this level of reality, create reality, and express ourselves. Like in the movie Avatar, maybe we are not actually our bodies but are just operating them.

Is our brain really where memories are stored? There is actually no evidence to support that even our memories are stored in the brain, and never has there been a memory discovered in the brain. This is because our brains are constantly changing and are not fixed structures.

The evidence is finally lining up with ancient spiritual truths from every culture which expressed explicitly that we are divine, and that our true nature is conscious awareness, and that we are merely a fragment of that divine consciousness expressed in physical form.

Conclusion

We may be vastly underestimating the power of our minds, and our true abilities to use them. If our minds can remember entire songs to perfection or orchestral performances that we only heard in passing then what is stopping us from accessing this on a conscious level?

It seems that every single detail of our lives is recorded with our brain, so the question I have is how do we access that information, and from where do we access it?

This evidence provides a truly exciting shift in the way we can view our minds, and more importantly our potential. If an electrode in our brain is able to stimulate such vivid recollection, is it not possibly that we can develop our imagination and our mental abilities to this point naturally so we can use that ability at will?

Is it not possible that there is much more going on during a simple thought process or recollection of an event than we give ourselves credit for? That is exactly what Wilder Penfield found which caused him at the end of his career to see the nature of mind as a field of energy or information which Deepak Chopra (I believe) termed the ‘mind-field’.

What if your essence is not in your brain, or in your body, but in a formless field of energy?

About the Author

Brandon West is the creator of Project Global Awakening. A website dedicated to the research of a variety of scientific and spiritual disciplines, and applying that knowledge to help you live an inspired life and change the world. Follow Project Global Awakening on Facebook, and Twitter.

from: http://themindunleashed.org/2015/01/nature-mind-holographic-brain.html

Committing to Moving Forward

Posted on January 18, 2015 by marcia

Further – The Oft Neglected Path

by Zen Gardner – Jan 14, 2015

44 372

by Zen Gardner

How many times have we been faced with the decision to move on to the next level of commitment to truth? How often has a new level of personal sacrifice been standing at our door, beckoning? How did we respond? Were we willing to go further, no matter the cost?

That’s pretty much what it takes in the pursuit of truth. A constant shedding of the old, no matter how attached we’ve become to our self image and familiar surroundings; to be relentlessly following the signal from this esoteric siren of love and a greater reality that we know awaits. Much like mountain climbing, the decision comes first, then the climbing. But each step of the way presents more decisions. Will we go on in spite of fatigue, doubts, discouragement and obstacles? Which path will I take at each upcoming juncture?

It’s not a one time thing. The decision to pursue quickly leads to a myriad of ensuing decisions along the way. We don’t decide once and for all and then on the truth train we chug up the mountain to a land of ecstasy and complete fulfillment. It doesn’t work that way. This is why so many faint along the way and give up. They become daunted with the often lonely and arduous task. They turn around and move back down to the security of the valley with all of its comforts and self assuaging reinforcement.

It happens to many and we’ve all been there. The initial rush of adventure wears off and the stark reality of the life and death endeavor of the nitty gritty pick and shovel work and climbing through thick and thin starts to dissuade the less determined. But in spite of the fatigue and humiliation, living in foreign mental and spiritual surroundings in usually spartan and often excruciating living and social conditions, the real true seeker eventually faces, confronts and overcomes these mirage-like obstacles.

Opting Out for Comfort and Security and Its Many Levels

The previous life of relative comfort repeatedly calls the less committed back into the seemingly easy way inside the matrix of deceit and its delicacies. It’s a compromise, but so welcomed by the throngs waiting for us back in the valley who don’t want to hear there even is a mountain to climb, never mind see someone climb it.

This is not an easy saying for most. We’ve all compromised at one point or another. But those who’ve kept on know who they are, and the price they’ve had to pay. It’s really miniscule compared to the rewards, but it seems a daunting task to those with no truth seeking musculature, conveniently snipped and shorn in their formative years. They hear the distant call, but feel it’s not for them, especially since so few seem to hear and heed the call and have been so relentlessly conditioned against it.

This is one of the worst travesties of our spiritually quenched and dumbed down societal condition.

Ignoring Is No Excuse

But there really is no excuse for ignoring the call. It is what drives the heart of man and is the natural draw of every living soul. This is why youth are so altruistic and idealistic until the educational system and societal “norms” start to clip their wings. And even those who begin the quest often opt out for convenient way stations on the climb to full-on truth. People park on their particular perch which they feel is sufficiently above the valley of deceit and think they have enough perspective to pass judgement on the rest.

The very fact of this judgmental, dishonoring attitude is a symptom of settling for partial truth, and a subconscious stance to protect one’s unwillingness to go all the way or remain open to new and even greater possibilities. However, that very openness to greater truth is the attitude we should each maintain.

Those still attached to their status, income, good deeds, moral high ground, or sense of superior intellect or spirituality in an exclusive and judgmental manner can be the worst enemies to full on truth and spiritual freedom. It takes on many forms and we all fall for these attitudes when in an unconscious or semi-conscious state. After all, it’s fiercely reinforced by the matrix and its tear down mentality.

They will dis and dismiss anything that surpasses their little ledge of advantage they think they’ve climbed to, and be quite militant and aggressive about it. If it doesn’t meet their criteria, it’s to be vigorously attacked as false information. A very sad psychological state to be in, but we see it in society at every level and have all experienced it from both ends.

The most obvious manifestation of this mindset is how anything contrary to the mainstream narrative is marginalized as “politically incorrect”, “conspiracy theory” and now even “terrorist activity”. But this permeates every level of information sharing, and is a huge hindrance to those seeking the full on clarity and empowerment awaiting anyone with the will to pursue it.

Hence the battle we all face and the very serious challenge of climbing the mountain to truth.

Such Is Our Challenge

The simple solution is to keep climbing. The distractions along the way are expected and endemic to our controlled society and upbringing, cloaked in the sheepskin of “normalcy”. Not just political correctness but social correctness are both very confining while appearing to be guiding principles to true freedom of speech and expression.

The question I wish to pose is – are you willing to go further? Even all the way, no matter the cost?

That’s a serious proposition. There are very real personal costs involved, including a complete forsaking of self. It requires sharing – of your thoughts and dreams and conflicts, even using your so called “assets” for the quest over personal security. The beauty is Universe meets us as we step out on faith and conviction. Those who care, give of themselves completely and unselfishly. Those who only think they care, don’t. They hang back, for whatever reason. Everything is conditional to them with all kinds of strings attached, a defense mechanism of matrix infected thinking. Again, we’ve all been there.

It comes down to heart vs mind in many ways. Where do we invest our time and energy? In things that reinforce our personal security and support our personal stance? Or in unselfish efforts that resonate with our own hunger for real truth and social justice for the betterment of all in an atmosphere of love? Are we willing to even lay our lives down? It happens one step at a time.

In Summary

Some things to consider. March on fearlessly. The battle rages, mainly to keep us from getting to the top of the mountain where clarity and boundless empowerment await. From there all becomes clear. But remember – we can’t take our baggage with us. And that’s not a sacrifice, that’s liberating!

Don’t stop. Every awakened soul is already where they need to be in many ways and we can operate in peace once we’re truly aware of what’s going on. But climbing on up even further as life’s signs call and synchronicity so frequently prods and confirms is absolutely imperative.

Further. Together. Now’s the time to step on the gas. We cannot leave the world they’re proposing for our children and grandchildren to inherit. It’s our time to take the stand – and keep climbing.

We’re in this together.

With much love, Zen

from: http://www.zengardner.com/further-the-oft-neglected-path/

On Solitude

Posted on January 18, 2015 by marcia

10 Amazing Things That Happen When You Learn to Enjoy Being Alone

Story by: Tony Robinson (www.bodymindsoulspirit.com)

Some people think of “being alone” as a bad thing. It either means you’re anti-social, or unwanted, neither of which are a good position to be in.

But actually, being alone isn’t’ necessarily a bad thing, as there are a handful of benefits that emerge once you learn to embrace solitude.

I’m not advocating you go all Tom Hanks in Cast Away, because no one can argue the benefits, and the joys, that come along with fulfilling relationships with other people.

But I am saying that once you learn to enjoy being alone, you’re going to grow as a person.

Below are ten amazing things that will happen in your life when you start to enjoy being alone.

1. You’ll get to recharge.

Often times when we’re surrounded by other people, we’re expending a lot of energy. Trying to keep others happy, make them laugh, soothe their egos, read their emotions, and all of the other rigors that come along with regular interaction.

It can be mentally draining if you’re constantly connected to other people. A little alone time lets you recharge and take a break from the emotionally and mentally taxing job of constant interaction.

2. You’ll reflect more often.

Your life is always moving at a crazy fast pace. So fast in fact, that it’s probably rare when you have a moment alone to sit and reflect on your life.

Being alone gives you the perfect opportunity for a little self reflection. Since you aren’t spending so much time processing the thoughts and feelings of others, it’s the best time to turn your focus inwards.

Solitude provides the perfect environment for reflection.

3. You’ll get in touch with your own emotions.

Again, when you’re surrounded by other people all the time, you’re constantly trying to read, and cater to, the other persons’s emotions. So much so, that you could end up losing touch with your own.

When you start to enjoy being alone, you’ll gain a greater perspective for your own emotions. You’ll create a deeper understanding of what makes you happy, what upsets you, and what saddens you.

With that knowledge, it’s then easier to regulate your emotions. But it all starts with understanding how you feel, and that comes from a little bit of solitude.

4. You’ll start doing things you actually enjoy.

When you’re constantly in the company of other people, you’re always making compromises in order to find solutions that the entire group can enjoy. And unfortunately, the things you want most, may not always line up with what the group wants.

So it’s easy to enjoy being alone once you realize that doing so gives you more freedom to do the things you actually want to do.

5. You’ll become more productive.

Being in the company of other people can be fun and entertaining, but it can also seriously affect your productivity. There are times when the company of other people acts as nothing more than a distraction from getting your work done.

Time spent alone can be some of the most productive time in your life—mostly because there are less distractions, and you can just put your head down and get to work.

6. You’ll enjoy your relationships even more.

When you spend time alone on a regular basis, and eventually start to enjoy being alone, you’ll come to find that you also enjoy your relationships with other people even more.

And that’s because the time spent alone gives you a greater appreciation for yourself.

But it also let’s you appreciate all the great things that come from your relationships with other people, most of which you were oblivious to before.

7. You’ll feel more independent.

Once you enjoy being alone, you’ll feel more confident in your ability to actually be alone. And that naturally leads to you feeling more independent.

You’ll no longer feel that anxiety, or burning desire for company, once you learn to enjoy being alone. You won’t feel the need for constant interaction with other people, or the anxiety associated with looking around and seeing no one but yourself.

8. You’ll get a break from constantly trying to keep other people happy.

Life is filled with relationships, and most relationships only last when both people are kept happy. And that can turn into a draining job depending who that relationship is with. Now, this does’t only apply to personal relationships, but every kind of relationship.

Once you’re alone, the only person’s happiness you have to worry about in that moment, is your own. You can treat yourself to thing that makes you happy, but may have upset someone else.

9. You won’t have to apologize for anything.

When you start to enjoy being alone, you’ll quickly see that solitude means you don’t have to keep apologizing for what you’ve done. So often, we do things that end up upsetting other people, or hurting someone else’s feelings, and then have to quickly apologize for it.

But when you’re alone, you don’t have to apologize for anything. And that takes a lot of pressure out of most situations. You get to stop second guessing everything you say, or every move you make because you’re afraid someone is going to be offended, or saddened, and angered.

10. You’ll stop looking for validation.

So often we feel we the need to get the “OK” from our friends and family before we take action. We constantly look to other people for advice on what we should do next.

Of course, there are times where it’s not only perfectly acceptable to ask for advice, but downright necessary. But there are also times where we’re perfectly capable of acting on our own, be we instead of looking to others for an answer.

When you start to spend more time alone, you’ll learn to trust your instincts and make decisions without any third party validation.

from: http://spiritofmaat.com/magazine/january-2015-consciousness-of-perception/10-amazing-things-that-happen-when-you-learn-to-enjoy-being-alone/

On THe Pineal Gland

Posted on January 14, 2015 by marcia

Pineal Gland’s Third Eye – The Biggest Cover-up in Human History

In5D January 14, 2015

The pineal gland (also called the pineal body, epiphysis cerebri, epiphysis or the “third eye”) is a small endocrine gland in the vertebrate brain. It produces the serotonin derivative melatonin, a hormone that affects the modulation of wake/sleep patterns and seasonal functions. Its shape resembles a tiny pine cone (hence its name), and it is located near the center of the brain, between the two hemispheres, tucked in a groove where the two rounded thalamic bodies join.

The Secret : What they don’t want you to KNOW!

Every human being’s Pineal Gland or the Third Eye can be activated to spiritual world frequencies and enables you to have the sense of all knowing, godlike euphoria and oneness all around you. A pineal gland once tuned into to proper frequencies with help of meditation, yoga or various esoteric, occult methods, enables a person to travel into other dimensions, popularly known as astral travel or Pineal Gland's Third Eye: The Biggest Cover-up in Human History | in5d.com astral projection or remote viewing.

With more advance practice and ancient methods it is also possible to control the thoughts and actions of people in the physical world. Yes, it is bizarre, but the United States, former Soviet Union governments and various shadow organization have been doing this type of research for ages and have succeed far beyond our imagination.

Pineal Gland is represented in Catholicism in Rome; they depict the pineal as a pine cone in art. The ancient societies like the Egyptians and the Romans knew the benefits and exemplified this in their vast symbologies with a symbol of an eye.

Pineal Gland's Third Eye: The Biggest Cover-up in Human History | in5d.com Pineal Gland reference is also in back of the U.S. dollar bill with what is called the ‘all seeing eye’, which is a reference to the ability of an individual (or group of individuals) to use this gland and go to the other side (spiritual world) and possibly control the thoughts and actions of people in the physical world by knowing what they are thinking at all times in our physical world.

Various research being conducted so far confirms that there are certain periods in the night, between the hours of one and four in the morning where chemicals are released in the brain that bring about feelings of connectedness to one’s higher source.

The Conspiracy : How they are Killing your Pineal Gland

In the late 90s, a scientist by the name of Jennifer Luke carries out the first study the effects of sodium fluoride on the pineal gland. She determined that the pineal gland, located in the middle of the brain, was a target for fluoride. The pineal gland simply absorbed more fluoride than any other physical matter in the body, even bones.

Pineal gland is like a magnet to sodium fluoride. This calcifies the gland and makes it no longer effective in balancing the entire hormonal processes through the body.

Various Researches every since have proved Sodium Fluoride goes to the most important gland in the brain? It’s the only thing that attacks the most important center of our gland in the brain. It’s prevalent in foods, beverages and in our bath and drinking water. Sodium Fluoride is put in 90% of the United States water supply. Water filters you buy in supermarkets do not take the fluoride out. Only reverse osmosis or water distillation. The cheapest way is to buy a water distiller.

Sodium Fluoride is in our water supply, food, pepsi, coke, to dumb down the masses, literally!. The fluoride was introduced into the water by the Nazis and the Russians in their concentration camps to make the camp population docile and do not question authority.

I am not a conspiracy theorist, but I believe that if you take away the seat of the soul, this disconnects our oneness with our god and power of our source our spirituality and turn us into a mundane slave of secret societies, shadow organizations and the control freak corporate world.

I would like to end my article with this quote..

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”

– :Buddha

from: http://in5d.com/pineal-glands-third-eye-the-biggest-cover-up-in-human-history/

Benefits of Broccoli

Posted on January 13, 2015 by marcia

Beyond Prevention: Chemical in Broccoli Kills Cancer Cells

New research has identified one of the key cancer-fighting mechanisms for sulforaphane, and suggests that this much-studied phytochemical may be able to move beyond cancer prevention and toward therapeutic use for advanced prostate cancer.

Scientists said that pharmacologic doses in the form of supplements would be needed for actual therapies, beyond the amount of sulforaphane that would ordinarily be obtained from dietary sources such as broccoli. Research also needs to verify the safety of this compound when used at such high levels.

But a growing understanding of how sulforaphane functions and is able to selectively kill cancer cells indicate it may have value in treating metasticized cancer, and could work alongside existing approaches.

The new findings on the unique abilities of sulforaphane were recently published in the journal Oncogenesis, by researchers from Oregon State University and the Texas A&M Health Science Center. The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

“There’s significant evidence of the value of cruciferous vegetables in cancer prevention,” said Emily Ho, professor and director of the Moore Family Center for Whole Grain Foods, Nutrition and Preventive Health in the OSU College of Public Health and Human Sciences, and lead author on this research.

“However, this study is one of the first times we’ve shown how sulforaphane can affect a histone methylation and alter gene expression in metasticized prostate cancer cells,” said Ho, who is also a principal investigator in OSU’s Linus Pauling Institute. “It begins a process that can help to re-express tumor suppressors, leading to the selective death of cancer cells and slowing disease progression.”

The evidence now shows that sulforaphane should have therapeutic value against some forms of cancer, Ho said, including late-stage, metasticized disease. Its multiple impacts on metabolic processes might also make it a valuable adjunct to existing therapies, helping them to work better.

No clinical trials have yet been done to test the value of sulforaphane in cancer therapy, although a trial is under way using sulforaphane supplements in men with high risk for prostate cancer. Results from that may help demonstrate the safety of higher-dosage supplements and set the stage for therapeutic trials, Ho said.

Dozens of studies have examined the health value of cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbages, and many of them ultimately focused on the role of sulforaphane, one compound found in these foods. Broccoli sprouts contain some of the highest dietary levels of the sulforaphane precursor.

The new study identified a particular enzyme in prostate cancer cells, SUV39H1, that is affected by exposure to sulforaphane. Aside from potential dietary approaches, the researchers said that this establishes SUV39H1 as a new therapeutic target, in general, for advanced cancer.

Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States, and existing therapies include surgical removal of the prostate, radiation therapy, hormones or other approaches. Although often slow growing, prostate cancer can be much more aggressive if it metasticizes to other areas of the body, at which point survival rates decrease dramatically. In the U.S. it’s the fifth leading cause of cancer death.

In laboratory studies, sulforaphane has shown toxicity to a number of human cancer cell lines, including prostate, breast, ovarian, colon and pancreatic cancer, and in animal studies it decreased metastases of prostate cancer.

Press and study source: Oregon State University. Image source: US Dept of Agriculture

– See more at: http://www.naturalblaze.com/2015/01/beyond-prevention-chemical-in-broccoli.html#sthash.nb0BBiE9.dpuf

Biophotons & Healing

Posted on January 10, 2015 by marcia

Science Focuses On Body’s Own ‘Inner Light’ As The Ultimate Healer

In5D January 10, 2015

by Christina Sarich

Do you think you are psychic enough to predict your future health? Most people would answer, ‘of course not’ but with a new science called biontology, we can literally measure the light stored in our DNA and determine our probable state of well-being and vitality.

If having a ‘light-body’ sounds like new age mumbo jumbo to you, you might reconsider after reading further. According to scientists like Alfred Fritz-Popp and Pjotr Garjajev, along with physicists who have studied medicine like Johan Boswinkle, biophotons are the ‘light’ we exude from our own bodies at very weak levels which are just beyond the visible spectrum. They are in fact, the sub-quark level organizing force of all life – animal, plant and human alike. They precede any biochemical reaction in the body.

“In the classic models of chemistry and physics, light is emitted when an electron is “excited” to a higher energy state and then falls back down to a lower energy state, which occurs any time a chemical reaction takes place. Traditionally, biology and medicine have focused on the biochemical reactions between proteins, DNA, and other molecules within cells. However, a biophoton is always emitted before every biochemical reaction.”

One device that has come from Biontology science, a biophotonic scanner, has already proven to be very helpful. The scanner is essentially a way to measure your DNA’s own light, and can determine your future health. By sending a laser into your palm, the device measures carotenoid pigments in your cells. The laser can determine if you are eating as you should, or your lifestyle is supporting your overall good health. This is one of the earliest main-stream medical uses for the scanner, but there are edgier ways that the science of biophotons can help us.

There are other studies conducted recently by scientists that have shown that human beings are ‘light beings.’ Scientists have been able to utilize this knowledge for practical purposes, and have even been able to alter the neuro-communication in the brains of rats utilizing biophotonic energy and make the red blood cells of human’s healthier. There are multiple possible uses for this technology, including raising healthier agriculture and even keeping foods fresh longer without having to resort to the use of antibiotics and preservatives. Most importantly, we can repair our own cells, which have been damaged by poor diet, a toxic environment and a polluted food supply.

The science is newly emerging and quite different than anything we are used to, but perhaps it will grow with success and prove useful as time passes.

from: http://in5d.com/science-focuses-on-bodys-own-inner-light-as-the-ultimate-healer/

Making it Through the Bad Things

Posted on January 10, 2015 by marcia

Why Bad Things Happen at Good Times

11th January 2015

By Nanice Ellis

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

Life is going great. You are on top of the world. Things couldn’t be better! Then BOOM! You get sick, have an accident or some unexpected crisis comes to the forefront, bringing the “good times” come to a screeching halt. It makes no sense – you were doing everything right.

These events can leave us feeling insecure and doubting our ability to maintain a happy and healthy life. You might even start wondering if every great high has a corresponding low. Trying to make sense of things in this way often takes us on a negative downward spiral that gets us more of what we don’t want.

So, let’s rise above the negative and turn it all around.

Understanding the five primary reasons why “bad things happen at good times” will allow you to leverage the challenges, in order to reach even higher highs that can be maintained and lived.

1. The reality that we experience, on any day, is always a projection of past thoughts, beliefs and feelings.

When you go to the movie theater, there is a projector in the back of the theater that projects the movie onto the front screen. Have you ever considered that there is a time gap between the movie leaving the projector and landing on the screen? Life operates in very much the same way. There is a time gap between the energy that you project out into the world, with your thoughts, beliefs and feelings, and the manifestation of that energy in your life. What you are experiencing now is always a reflection of who you were in the past. So, even if you have changed your belief system in regards to a life issue, it takes a little while for life to catch up with your new belief system. Yes, it is possible to experience quick shifts in reality but the old story often plays out until it is complete.

The problem arises when we react to the old tape that is playing out and we go back to our disempowering beliefs that created that tape in the first place, thereby, generating more negative energy that will play out at a future date. Living in an unconscious state of reaction supports a vicious cycle of undesirable experiences. Your adverse reaction can fuel an ongoing soap opera.

When you are surprised by an unexpected event, pay attention but don’t give it your power. If you feed into it, you will create more of the same. Instead, be conscious, handle what needs to be handled, recognize the past story playing out and purposefully conclude the story.

2. Bad things may show up during good times when a part of us is not emotionally or energetically aligned with that goodness.

When you reach a higher state of vibration, everything must be in integrity with that high state. You could say that you can’t bring any low vibration baggage with you to a higher dimension. Because the old baggage must be released in order for you to live at a higher vibration, an issue may come up in order for you to identify that issue and release it. Let’s say that you just landed your ideal career and you just met the love of your life. Everything is going great and suddenly you get sick. The sickness causes you to slow down and reflect. When you look inside, you see that there is a part of you that questions your own worth. In order to enter your new life, you must release feelings of unworthiness and embrace your worth. In other words, you cannot take low self-worth into a high vibration life, because the energy is not aligned. Getting sick allows you to purge the old energy, and get into energetic alignment with the life that you desire.

Or, let’s say that you are about to launch your dream business and everything is lining up perfectly, and out of the blue, your car gets totaled. Immediately, you start beating yourself up with guilt and shame. From an asleep state, you could continue down this disempowering path and probably experience other problems as a result, or you could respond from an awake state, and use this opportunity to release guilt and shame that is still held from past experiences. In this case, the car accident brought up these dense feelings in order for you to recognize them and release them. In doing so, you free yourself from the past, and you align with your dream on an even higher level.

If things are going great, and something “wrong” comes out of the blue, take time out to understand where you might not be in integrity with the flow of goodness in your life. The gift of the presenting issue is in showing you where you are out of alignment. What old beliefs or stories might you still be holding onto – that just don’t fit into a more positive paradigm? If you pay attention to what your life is telling you, you may recognize disempowering beliefs, such as, you are not deserving of so much good, or if it is too good to be, it can’t be true. You can’t take the old outdated issues with you into a new life, but you can release them and be free to live your best possible destiny.

3. Sometimes “bad things happen at good times” in order to direct your attention to an area of your life that is not working.

When things are going good, it might be really easy to ignore an area of your life that is not working. A life-interrupting problem may occur in order to re-direct your attention to the place in your life that really needs attention. Remember, all your energy needs to be in integrity in order to maintain a high vibration. If one area of your life is not working, your energy is out of alignment. The unexpected challenge may be a spotlight on what is not working in order for you to shift your focus and heal the area of your life that requires this attention.

4. Sometimes negative events unfold because we have grown too big for our own good.

Maybe you have been working on self-improvement for a long time and you finally reach a space where you are feeling really good and powerful. You are ready to celebrate when all of a sudden the ground is swiped from underneath you. What happened? Chances are you are experiencing what I have learned to call “The Humbling.” There is no better feeling than discovering ones power, and feeling as if you really do have power over your life. But, it is easy for this sense of power to go to your head and artificially inflate you to a status of superiority.

This ego-based power is achievable but not maintainable because it’s a false power built on false ideals. The Humbling often unfolds as a remedy to taking down this false power. Let’s be clear here. It is not that we aren’t powerful – we are powerful beyond measure, but there is a big difference between the sense of power that comes from the ego, which desires to have power over people and things, and the power that comes from the very source of who we are. The ego is not real in the first place – so how can it have power over anything? Power built on illusion is illusion. So, when our sense of power comes from illusion, eventually it must crumble. This isn’t bad news, because when false power is humbled, it opens the way for us to discover True Power that is at the core of our being. This sounds like a small shift when described in words, but it is a monumental shift when experienced in life.

5. Challenges may occur in the midst of everything going right because we need to grow into a higher and stronger version of ourselves.

Challenges often provide the most powerful way to transition to the next level of our personal evolution. Inherent in all challenges is the opportunity for transmutation. If you have a dream or desire to fulfill but you are not energetically aligned with your goal, challenges may appear in order to help you bridge that gap. In overcoming those challenges, you grow and evolve in such a way that you become the future you who is already living that dream.
If you should be struck by challenges in the midst of life going well, be careful not to tell yourself disempowering or negative stories about your situation. Instead, rise above negative story-telling and look for the opportunity in the challenge. In overcoming the challenge, what gifts might be available to you, and who will you become?

No matter how things may seem, life is always conspiring on your behalf. Even with its stresses and strife, life is asking you to wake up, release the past, and align with your highest and best version of self. If you have the courage and insight to look beyond circumstance, you will discover a sacred invitation to embrace your intrinsic power, which can only come from a pure connection to who you really are. That is the point.

from: http://wakeup-world.com/2015/01/11/why-bad-things-happen-at-good-times/

Mariana Caplan On Spirituality Pitfalls

Posted on January 10, 2015 by marcia

BY: Mariana Caplan, Ph.D.Psychotherapist and Author, Eyes Wide Open: Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path

10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases

It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit.

It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas–power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis — as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues.

Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive — men and women, gays and straights alike.

As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly “infected” by “conceptual contaminants” — comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease.

The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases.

1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix.

2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard.

3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be “the one.”

4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers.

5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is “bullet-proof.” When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality.

6. Mass Production of Spiritual Teachers: There are a number of current trendy spiritual traditions that produce people who believe themselves to be at a level of spiritual enlightenment, or mastery, that is far beyond their actual level. This disease functions like a spiritual conveyor belt: put on this glow, get that insight, and — bam! — you’re enlightened and ready to enlighten others in similar fashion. The problem is not that such teachers instruct but that they represent themselves as having achieved spiritual mastery.

7. Spiritual Pride: Spiritual pride arises when the practitioner, through years of labored effort, has actually attained a certain level of wisdom and uses that attainment to justify shutting down to further experience. A feeling of “spiritual superiority” is another symptom of this spiritually transmitted disease. It manifests as a subtle feeling that “I am better, more wise and above others because I am spiritual.”

8. Group Mind: Also described as groupthink, cultic mentality or ashram disease, group mind is an insidious virus that contains many elements of traditional co-dependence. A spiritual group makes subtle and unconscious agreements regarding the correct ways to think, talk, dress, and act. Individuals and groups infected with “group mind” reject individuals, attitudes, and circumstances that do not conform to the often unwritten rules of the group.

9. The Chosen-People Complex: The chosen people complex is not limited to Jews. It is the belief that “Our group is more spiritually evolved, powerful, enlightened and, simply put, better than any other group.” There is an important distinction between the recognition that one has found the right path, teacher or community for themselves, and having found The One.

10. The Deadly Virus: “I Have Arrived”: This disease is so potent that it has the capacity to be terminal and deadly to our spiritual evolution. This is the belief that “I have arrived” at the final goal of the spiritual path. Our spiritual progress ends at the point where this belief becomes crystallized in our psyche, for the moment we begin to believe that we have reached the end of the path, further growth ceases.

“The essence of love is perception,” according to the teachings of Marc Gafni, “Therefore the essence of self love is self perception. You can only fall in love with someone you can see clearly–including yourself. To love is to have eyes to see. It is only when you see yourself clearly that you can begin to love yourself.”

It is in the spirit of Marc’s teaching that I believe that a critical part of learning discernment on the spiritual path is discovering the pervasive illnesses of ego and self-deception that are in all of us. That is when we need a sense of humor and the support of real spiritual friends. As we face our obstacles to spiritual growth, there are times when it is easy to fall into a sense of despair and self-diminishment and lose our confidence on the path. We must keep the faith, in ourselves and in others, in order to really make a difference in this world.

Adapted from Eyes Wide Open: Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path (Sounds True)

from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-spiri_b_609248.html