Tao Jones Exchange (TM)

2009-01-09T12:55:00.000-08:00

Tami Simon—Measuring the Immeasurable

As a society, we value what we can count. Without qualitative proof that t system or practice offers benefits, it’s an uphill battle toward social acceptance. We need scientific evidence of the results of spiritual practice so that experts in such fields as educations, healthcare and medicine, psychology and psychiatry, can seriously consider the inclusion and integration of spiritual approaches in their work. If we are able to measure, for example, how slow, calm breathing lowers cortisol levels in the blood and therefore reduces stress and anxiety, then slow, calm breathing can become a medical prescription—not simply a practice marginalized to the world of yogis and mediators.

Additionally, many people already on a spiritual path may draw strength and validation from having their subjective experiences confirmed by the objective tools of science. For some people, the language of science is the language of the prevailing authority of our time. If there are scientific studies that confirm and validate the experiential realizations of mystics, saints, sages and intentional healers, this may provide important support and encouragement to some spiritual practitioners.

Moreover, what if research—and specifically the emerging field of neuroscience—can help spiritual practitioners refine and hone the way we approach traditional contemplative practices? It’s only in the last century, with the invention of the EEG machine, that scientists have had an objective way to measure brain activity; it’s more recent still that researchers have begun to take an active interest in exploring the correlations between contemplative practice and brain structure and function. From the use of biofeedback in meditation practice to the manipulation of our brainwave patterns through auditory stimulation, the possibilities for scientific discover are endless. If research findings and “new spiritual technologies” can help accelerate our access to expanded states of consciousness, I am interested and want to know more.

How You FEEL About Money

2009-01-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

How You FEEL About Money IS Essential!

While money is not absolutely essential to your experience, to most people money and freedom are synonymous. And since an intense awareness of your right to be free is at the very core of that which you are, it follows, that your relationship with money is one of the most important subjects of your life experience. And so, no wonder, you have such strong FEELINGS about the subject of money.

It is most often the case that because you are experiencing far less money than you need or desire, most of you are not FEELING free. It is my intention here to clearly explain why this financial disparity exits so that you can begin to allow the abundance that you want and deserve into your experience. As you read these words and as you begin to resonate with these Law-based truths, you will align your desire with the abundance of your world, and the evidence of your newfound alignment will soon become apparent to you and to others who observe you.

The journey to financial Well-Being does not have to be a long one from where you are. And it does not require large amounts of time or physical effort, because I am going to explain to you in simple and easy-to-understand terms how to utilize the leverage of Energy that is available to you. I want to show you the absolute correlation between the thought you have been thinking about money, the way you FEEL whey you think those thoughts—and the money that flows into your experience. When you are able to consciously make that correlation, and you decide to deliberately direct your thoughts accordingly, you will access the power of the Universe and you will then see how time and physical effort are rather irrelevant to your financial success.

YOU GET WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT!

The most important thing for you to understand if you want to improve you financial situation is that the subject of money is really two subjects: (1) Money, plenty of money, the FEELING of freedom and ease that plenty of money can provide; and (2) Absence of money, not nearly enough money, the FEELING of fear and disappointment that the thought of absence of money induces. The difference is very important, because the first statement BRINGS money and the second holds it away.

Many people continue to perpetuate the experience of “not enough” in their lives simply because they do not think beyond the reality of what they are actually experiencing. In other words, if they are experiencing the shortage of money and are aware of it and speak of it often, they hold themselves in that chronic position. Many people protest when I explain to them the power of telling the story of their finances as the WANT it to be rather than AS IT IS, because they believe that they should be factual about what is happening.

I want you to understand that if you continue to look at WHAT-IS and speak of WHAT-IS, you will not find the improvement that you desire. If you want to effect substantial change in your life experience, you have to offer substantially different vibrations, which means you must think thoughts that FEEL different as you think them.

Your ACTIONS are SUBJECTED to how you FEEL

If you will begin by identifying how you want of FEEL or BE and let your inspiration to accumulate or take action come from THAT centered place, then not only will you maintain your balance, but you will enjoy the things you gather and the things you do. ANY action that is taken from a place of LACK is ALWAYS counterproductive, and it ALWAYS leads to more of a FEELING of LACK.

You must find a way to look optimistically forward in order to achieve any improvement in your experience. The FEELING of struggle happens because of the continual comparison of where you are RIGHT NOW in relationship to the goal you are reaching for. When you constantly take score, noticing the distance that sill needs to be traveled, you AMPLIFY the distance, the task, and the effort; and that is why it FEELS like such an uphill struggle. Struggle, struggle, struggle NEVER leads to a happy ending. “WHEN I get there THEN I’ll be happy” is not a productive mind-set because UNLESS you are happy, you cannot get there. When you decide to be happy FIRST—THEN you will get there.

You have to find a way of FEELING the essence of what you desire BEFORE the details of that desire can come to you. In other words, you have to begin to feel more prosperous BEFORE more prosperity can come.

Anyone who is in a place of LACK—no matter how much action they offer—ATTRACTS MORE LACK! The powerful FEELING of lack outweighs any action that they offer. ANY action that is offered from a place of lack is ALWAYS counterproductive. Whereas an improved FEELING of prosperity; even if your current reality does not justify the FEELING, will ALWAYS bring more prosperity to you.

Nothing is MORE important than that you FEEL good, for when you FEEL good, you are in harmony with your greater intent.

Many believe that hard work and struggle are a requirement to achieve success but until you release the FEELING of struggle, what you desire cannot come into your experience. Often people FEEL as if they need to PROVE their worthiness, and that once that is accomplished, then and only then will rewards be given—but I want you to know that you are ALREADY WORTHY!!! What IS necessary for you to receive the benefits that you seek is ALIGNMENT with the essence of those benefits. You have to first bring yourself into virbrational alignment with the experience you wish to live. The Universe’s response to your IMPROVED VIBRATION (FEELING) will give you the evidence of this Truth: YOU ARE THE CREATOR OF YOUR EXPERINECE!

Begin by Telling a Different Story

What anyone else has or does not have has nothing to do with you. The only thing that affects your experience is the way you use the non-physical Energy of your thoughts. Your abundance or lack of it in your experience has nothing to do with what anybody else is doing or having. It has only to do with YOUR perspective. It has only to do with the thoughts you think. IF you want your fortunes to shift, you have to begin by telling a different story.

When you FEEL a negative emotion about ANYTHING, it ALWAYS means that you have a desire that has been born from your personal life experience that you are, right now, opposing with other thoughts. Virbrational discord is ALWAYS the reason for negative emotion. And negative emotion is ALWAYS guidance to help you REDIRECT your thoughts to find virbrational alignment with your current desires.

When you want to FEEL good and you gradually find increasingly better-FEELING thoughts, you are bringing yourself into alignment with your desire and you are releasing the resistance that is preventing your improved conditions. Focusing on opposing opinions of others is NEVER productive because it ALWAYS causes discord within you, which also prevents your improved condition. It really is a matter of adjusting your thinking so that your thinking harmonizes with that which FEELS good within you.

Your thoughts and words are the reason your life unfolds as it does because thoughts become things. So, start telling a more positive, better-FEELING story about your life and the things that are important to you.

Time and Money

Whether you are focused upon the lack of money or the lack of time, you are still focused upon the LACK of something you want and therefore holding yourself in resistance to the things you really want. Whether your negative emotion is because of your FEELING a shortage of time or whether it is because of your FEELING of shortage of money, you are still FEELING negative emotion and you are still in a state of resistance, and therefore you are holding away what you really want.

As you FEEL that you do not have enough time to do all of the things you need or want to do, your attention to LACK negatively impacts you much more than you realize. A FEELING of being overwhelmed is your INDICATOR that you are DENYING yourself access to ideas, rendezvous, conditions, and all manner of cooperation that could assist you if you were not disallowing them. It is an uncomfortable cycle where you FEEL a shortage of time, you focus upon your overloaded schedule, and you FEEL overwhelmed—and in all of that, you offer a vibration that makes improvement IMPOSSIBLE!

You have to begin telling a different story, for you cannot continue to comment on how much you have to do without holding assistance away. There is a cooperative Universe at your fingertips, ready and able to help you in more ways than you can begin to imagine, but you DENY yourself that benefit as you continue to complain about too much to do.

As you FEEL that you do not have enough money, your attention to the LACK of money disallows the avenues that could bring you more—you just cannot look at the opposite of what you want and get what you want. You have to being telling a different story. You have to find a way to create a FEELING of abundance BEFORE abundance can come.

As you begin to FEEL freer regarding the expenditure of time and money; doors will open, people will come to assist you, refreshing and productive ideas will occur to you, and circumstances and events will unfold. As you change the way you FEEL, you access the Energy that creates worlds. It is there for your ready access at ALL times.

RIGHT NOW!!!

It is true that you cannot go backward and undo all of your negative thinking; however, there is no reason to because all of your power is in your NOW. As you find a better-FEELING thought RIGHT NOW, your point of attraction SHIFTS—NOW!!! The only reason it may seem like some negative thinking that you picked up many years ago is having an impact on your life now is because you have been continuing the negative train of thoughts or beliefs through all of those years. A belief is only a thought you continue to think. A belief is nothing more than a chronic pattern of thought, and you have the ability—if you try even a little bit—to begin a new pattern, to tell a new story, to achieve a different vibration, to change your point of attraction RIGHT NOW!

You see, the Law of Attraction is responding to your VIBRATION, not to the reality you are currently living—but if your vibration continues to be only about the reality you are living, nothing can change. You can easily change your virbrational point of attraction by visualizing the lifestyle you desire and holding your attention upon those images until you begin to FEEL RELIEF, which will indicate that a true virbrational shift has occurred.

Your DELIBERATE effort to tell a new story will establish a new pattern of thought, providing you with a new point of attraction from your present, about your past, and into your future. The simple effort of looking for positive aspects from right where you stand will set a new virbrational tone that will not only affect the way you FEEL RIGHT NOW, but will begin the immediate attraction of thoughts, people, circumstances, and things that are pleasing to you.

Anything that FEELS good to you is in harmony with what you want. Anything that FEELS bad to you is NOT in harmony with what you want. It is truly as simple as that.

Incline to Joy

2009-01-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

Seven Facts about the Brain That Incline the Mind to Joy
Rick Hanson, PH.D.

Rick Hanson, PhD. is a clinical psychologist, author, and teacher. He has written and taught extensively about the essential inner skills of personal well-being, psychological growth, and contemplative practice - as well as about relationships, family life, and raising children.

1. The Mind and the Brain are Mainly a Single System
a. Everything we are aware of, including our own sense of self, is considered to have a on-to-one correspondence with the underlying physical brain structures and processes.
b. This integration of mind and brain has three profound implications
i. As your experiences changes, your brain changes
ii. As your brain changes, your experiences changes
iii. You can deliberately use your mind to change your brain to benefit your whole being and everyone else whose life you touch

2. “Neurons That Fire Together, Wire Together”
a. Learning is EVERYTHING
b. Most learning is nonverbal, emotional or sensorimotor
c. Neurons with synapses to each other, which fire at the same time, become more responsive to each other. Every time one activates as a whole, the connections within it are reinforced

3. Fleeting Experiences Leave Lasting Traces Within the Brain
a. Since the mind and brain are one, the flow of information in the mind causes a corresponding flow of electrochemical activation through the neuronal circuitry of the brain
b. Your experiences are important: not just due to their brief effects on your momentary, subjective quality of life, but also because they produce enduring changes in the physical structures of your brain. And these alterations in your brain will then affect your well-being, functioning, and sometimes your physical health for days and decades to come.
c. Your experience really, really matters. Which is a scientific rational for being kind to yourself.

4. Most Changes in the Tissues of the Brain are in Implicit Memory
a. Explicit memory: Recollections of specific events and factual knowledge
b. Implicit memory: Emotions, body sensations, relationship paradigms, sense of the world, and behavioral strategies
c. The inner atmosphere of your mind (what living FEELS like for you) depends greatly on what is stored in implicit memory
d. We are what we remember because memory becomes woven into the self

5. Unfortunately, the Brain Emphasizes Negative Experiences
a. It’s the negative experiences that signal the greatest threats to survival
b. The amygdala is the switchboard that assigns a feeling tone to the stimuli flowing through the brain and initiates a response, is built to look for the bad
c. The hippocampus compares current perceptual information to memories of previous threats and whenever it discerns a match it sends a message—BOO! and alarm bells start sound throughout the body
d. When this happens the hippocampus and the amygdala store the experience for future reference and future alarms
e. The negative generally trumps the positive
f. The minds of most people render verdicts about their character, their life, and their future possibilities that are profoundly unfair

6. You Can Help Emphasize and Store Positive Experiences Through Conscious Attention
a. You remember something best when you make it as vivid as possible and then give it heightened attention over an extended period
b. Help positive events become positive experiences
i. Pay EXTRA attention to the good things in the world and in yourself
ii. Focus on the sensations and the FEELINGS in a positive experience since they are the pathway to emotional memory
iii. Deliberately create positive experiences for yourself
c. Savor the experience, keep your attention in it for many seconds while letting it fill your body and mind
d. Sense that the experience is soaking into you. Imagine that it’s sinking into your chest and back and brainstem, or imagine a treasure chest in your heart
e. Everyday there are many opportunities for noticing and absorbing good experiences
f. Because “Neurons that fire together, wire together” momentary states become enduring traits
g. These traits become the cause of more similar traits

7. Positive Experience Have Many Important Benefits
a. Positive FEELINGS and their related body sensations, thoughts, and desires have global effects
b. Positive experiences lower the stress response
c. Positive experiences increase psychological resilience
d. They lift mood and protect against depression
e. Over time, positive experiences help counteract the effects of trauma or other painful experiences.
i. If you recall an event repeatedly with a dour, glum cast of mind, then your recollection of it will be INCREASINGLY negative
ii. If you recall it repeatedly with a realistically upbeat state of being, then it will gradually come to mind more and more with a neutral quality (you will not forget the facts of whatever happened, but the emotional charge will slowly fade)
f. Positive experiences highlight key states of mind so you can find your way back to them in the future
g. Positive experiences reward you for doing things that aren’t always easy and thus support your ongoing motivation
h. All the above benefits apply to children as well
i. Positive experiences promote steadiness of mind
j. They support the deep states of absorption that are both blissful and profoundly insightful
k. They build confidence in the fruits of one’s efforts
l. They crowd out and replace negative ones

Gratitiude

2009-01-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

The Science of Gratitude:

Gratitude is the secret to life. The greatest thing is to give thanks for EVERYTHING. He who has learned this has penetrated the whole mystery of life—giving thanks, for EVERYTHING.
--Albert Schweitzer

“Whatever you are in search of—peace of mind, prosperity, health, love—it is waiting for you if only you are willing to receive it with an open and grateful heart,” writes Sarah Breathnach in the Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude. Elsewhere in this volume, gratitude is referred to as “the most passionate transformative force in the cosmos.”

How do these extraordinary claims fare when scientific lights are shine on them? Can gratitude live up to its billing?

What is Gratitude?
Gratitude has a dual meaning: a worldly one and a transcendental one. In its worldly sense, gratitude is simply a feeling that occurs in interpersonal exchanges when one person acknowledges receiving a valuable benefit from another. In gratitude, we humbly acknowledge the countless way in which we have been and are supported and sustained by the benevolence of others.

Gratitude’s other nature is ethereal, spiritual and transcendent. For a person who has religious or spiritual beliefs, gratitude sets up a relationship to the source from which all good comes. Choosing to live in that space of recognition puts one in a heavenly sphere of humility, awe and recognition of how blessed one is to have the opportunity to learn, grow, love, create, share, and help others. True gratefulness rejoices in the other. It has as its ultimate goal reflecting back the goodness that one has received by creatively seeking opportunities for giving. The motivation for doing so resides in the grateful appreciation that one has lived by the grace of others

Gratitude has been well established as a universal human attribute. Its presence is felt and expressed in different ways by virtually all peoples, or all cultures, worldwide. The fact that gratitude is universal across all cultures suggests that it is part of the fabric of human nature. Gratitude is not simply a mere attitude, a deep feeling, or even a desirable virtue. It is as elemental as life itself.

The New Science of Gratitude
A scientific perspective can provide an evidence-based approach to understanding how and in what ways gratitude brings benefits into the life of the practitioner. Recently, the tools and techniques of modern science have been brought to bear on understanding the nature of gratitude and why it is important for human health and happiness.

A number of rigorous, controlled experimental trials have examined the benefits of gratitude. It has been scientifically examined at the level of an emotion by asking people to cultivate it through journaling exercises. Recent research has demonstrated that mood and health benefits can accrue from grateful thinking cultivated in this manner. This indicates that, relative to a focus on complaints, an effective strategy for producing reliably higher levels of pleasant affect is to lead people to reflect, on a daily basis, on those aspects of their lives for which they are grateful.

In these studies, participants were given the following instructions:

“We want to focus for a moment on benefits or gifts that you have received in your life. These gifts could be everyday pleasures, people in your life, personal strengths or talents, moments of natural beauty, or gestures of kindness from others. We might not normally think about these things as gifts, but that is how we want you to think about them. Take a moment to really savor or relish these gifts, think about their value, and THEN write them down every night before going to sleep.”

In daily studies of emotional experience, when people report feeling grateful, thankful, and appreciative, they also feel more loving, forgiving, joyful and enthusiastic. These deep affections appear to be formed through the discipline of gratitude. In addition, the family, friends, partners, and others who surround grateful people consistently report that people who practice gratitude seem measurably happier and are more helpful, more outgoing, more optimistic, and more trustworthy.

Why is Gratitude Good?
Simply put, gratitude feels good. Gratitude implies a recognition that it is possible for other forces to act toward us with beneficial, selfless motives. Being grateful is an acknowledgement that there are good and enjoyable things in the world to be enjoyed in accordance with the givers, intent. Good things happen by design. Gratitude depends upon receiving what we do not expect to receive or have not earned, or receiving more that we believe we deserve. This awareness is simultaneously humbling and elevating.

Gratitude maximizes enjoyment of the pleasurable in our lives. Adaptation to pleasant circumstances occurs more rapidly than adaptation to unpleasant life changes. This is why even a major windfall, tends to impact happiness for only a few months. The only thing that can chant this and prolong the increase in happiness is gratitude. Gratitude promotes the savoring of positive life experiences and situations, so that the maximum satisfaction and enjoyment are derived from one’s circumstances. Gratitude recalibrates peoples “set points” for happiness.

Gratitude protects against the negative by mitigating toxic emotions and states. Grateful people tend to be satisfied with what they have and are less susceptible to emotions such as regret and frustration. The sense of security that characterizes grateful people makes them less susceptible to needing to rely on material accomplishments for a stable sense of self.

Perhaps most important of all is that gratitude strengthens and expands social relationships. It cultivates a person’s sense of interconnectedness. An unexpected benefit from gratitude journaling, was that people who kept gratitude journals reported feeling closer and more connected to others, were more likely to help others, and were actually seen as more helpful by significant others in their social networks. Gratitude takes us outside ourselves, where we see ourselves as part of a larger, intricate network of sustaining mutually reciprocal relationships.

Lastly, there is growing evidence that gratitude can impact physiological functioning and physical health. Researchers have found that the heart rhythm patterns associated with gratitude differ markedly from those associated with relaxation (neutral emotion) and anger (negative emotion). The conscious activation of gratitude through journaling resulted in increased calmness and alertness.

As a prevailing orientation toward life, a sense of gratefulness can serve as a resource that a person can draw upon in times of need, including coping with stress and dealing with the recovering from physical illness. There is evidence that grateful individuals are at less risk for depressive symptoms and other indicators of traumatic stress disorder following a major upheaval in their lives.

The data are clear. Gratitude is good. Science has demonstrated that gratitude results in enhanced and sustained positive emotional experience and effective functioning. Yet despite all of the benefits that living a grateful life can bring, for some gratitude can seem hard and painful work. It does not seem to come easily or naturally to many. At least initially, it requires discipline.

A number of evidence based-strategies have proven effective in creating sustainable gratefulness. All of the strategies converge on the importance of three principles: Attention, Interpretation, and Memory.

Attention is noticing and becoming aware of blessings that we normally take for granted. It is tuning in to the many reasons for gratitude that already exist in our lives.

Interpretation is the conscious decision to see blessings instead of burdens, contributions instead of curses. Grateful people have a way of interpreting reality that enhances and sustains a grateful outlook on the world. They describe their lives in terms of gifts, givers, fortune, fortunate, abundance, favors even luck. This allows them to be less reactive to everyday life events.

Finally there is remembering. Grateful people draw upon positive memories of being the recipients of benevolence. There is a French proverb that states that gratitude is the memory of the heart—it is the way the heart remembers. Those who live under an aura of pervasive thankfulness by holding on to memories of received kindnesses will reap the rewards of grateful living.

Optimism

2009-01-05T18:00:00.000-08:00

Science of Optimism

Optimism can be defined as a collection of thoughts (positive expectations for the future) and behaviors (persistence, directing energy toward goals). The consequences of optimism arise from this collection of individual thoughts and acts: when people have positive thoughts about their futures, they are more likely to pursue goals that will make those futures come true.

Positive thoughts improve lives when they lead to positive behaviors, and those positive behaviors lead to building resources. If what you are doing builds a resource, then t is positive; if not, then it is neutral at best or possibly negative. And building resources makes people happier, more satisfied with their lives, and even healthier. So, optimism is important insofar as it leads people to be more engaged, persistent, and motivated in their positive behaviors, which leads to resource growth, which leads to happiness.

Optimism and happiness come from your daily choices. There is evidence to suggest you can develop a more optimistic attitude, and since your “nature” is really just your habitual attitudes, then changing your habits can actually change your nature.

A vision (or goal) without action is just a fantasy. Fantasies have the opposite effect on motivation and action that optimism does. Fantasies encourage people to linger on a dream, where optimism encourages people to ACT to achieve it. Optimism involves consideration of the contrast between what is now and what could be. Fantasy, on the other hand involves immersion in an enjoyable but entirely simulated future world that doesn’t admit the contrast between what is and what could be. As a consequence, when people ONLY visualize already having what they want they often disengage from actually trying to get it.

Optimists are automatically MORE attentive to positive aspects of their environment than are pessimists. Although automatic seems to imply “uncontrollable,” automaticity is merely a function of practice.

One simple way to train attention to the positive is to keep a log of three good things that happen each day. Not everyone pays attention to the good things that happen to them within a day. Those who don’t pay attention, miss the motivation and inspiring aspects of their lives, not to mention reminders of their progress and even their resources.

Noticing positive things every day can help people to realize that they have more resources than they were aware of and to feel different about their lives.

In fact, this attention change is one of the things that can lead to long- term changes in happiness.

A large study compared the effectiveness of several different one-week exercises on happiness six months later. The exercises included thinking about a time in the past when you were at your best, identifying your personal strengths, using strengths in new ways, expressing gratitude to someone you have never properly thanked, or writing down three good things that happened each day. Al these exercises made people feel happier, but happiness dissipated over time. The “three good things” exercise, though, actually increased happiness over time so that people who did that exercise got happier and happier over six months. WHY? First, people who did that exercise were more likely to keep doing it after their mandatory week ended. Second, as they did that, they got better at it. That is, over time, their attention habits became more optimistic. Third, noticing the positive helped energize motivation to behave positively, leading to an upward spiral to attention to one’s positive thoughts, motivation, positive behavior, and growth.

Journals
You can use a journal to create NEW habits of thinking. Being positive is not enough to get the entire optimism system working. Evidence for the missing piece comes from studies that asked people to write journal entries about important situations in their lives. Many people think of a journal as a place to express their deepest thoughts and feelings. However, deep emotional expression might not be good for people when their thoughts and feelings are pessimistic. Pessimists might get mired in rumination and depression. Fortunately for pessimists, you don’t have to use a journal to explore the deepest thoughts and feelings you already have. They can use the journal to refocus on the possibility of a positive future which is the equivalent of noticing three good things because it gets them in the habit of thinking positively about the future.

You can also use a journal to better self-regulate; that is, to be aware of your goals, to behave in a way that is consistent with your goals, and to explore ways to overcome obstacles. Writing about what you want AND also HOW you are going to get it activates the self-regulatory loop and actually increases the odds that you’ll get what you want.

Science and Spirituality

2009-01-04T18:00:00.001-08:00

Tami Simon—Measuring the Immeasurable

As a society, we value what we can count. Without qualitative proof that t system or practice offers benefits, it’s an uphill battle toward social acceptance. We need scientific evidence of the results of spiritual practice so that experts in such fields as educations, health care and medicine, psychology and psychiatry, can seriously consider the inclusion and integration of spiritual approaches in their work. If we are able to measure, for example, how slow, calm breathing lowers cortisol levels in the blood and therefore reduces stress and anxiety, then slow, calm breathing can become a medical prescription—not simply a practice marginalized to the world of yogis and mediators.

Additionally, many people already on a spiritual path may draw strength and validation from having their subjective experiences confirmed by the objective tools of science. For some people, the language of science is the language of the prevailing authority of our time. If there are scientific studies that confirm and validate the experiential realizations of mystics, saints, sages and intentional healers, this may provide important support and encouragement to some spiritual practitioners.

Moreover, what if research—and specifically the emerging field of neuroscience—can help spiritual practitioners refine and hone the way we approach traditional contemplative practices? It’s only in the last century, with the invention of the EEG machine, that scientists have had an objective way to measure brain activity; it’s more recent still that researchers have begun to take an active interest in exploring the correlations between contemplative practice and brain structure and function. From the use of biofeedback in meditation practice to the manipulation of our brainwave patterns through auditory stimulation, the possibilities for scientific discover are endless. If research findings and “new spiritual technologies” can help accelerate our access to expanded states of consciousness, I am interested and want to know more.

Anchor Your Affirmations

2009-01-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

Anchors—A way...
Anchors are ways to consciously attach a highly emotional charge of high vibration energy to a specific trigger that when activated by choice, will release that energy throughout your body.

Creating Anchors:
Sit in a comfortable, relaxed position, eyes closed
Think of an extremely positive memory
At the Peak of the memory, set the emotion to a physical spot with a light touch (for example with your dominant hand touch the first knuckle of your other hand).
Release the touch and allow the memory to complete it’s wave cycle
Take a slow deep breath, hold slightly and slowly release
Open eyes and think an “analytical” thought (for example, a not too easy math problem)
Repeat this process 2 more times to reinforce the Anchor
Test the anchor by thinking of an unrelated slightly unpleasant thought and then “trigger” the Anchor.

Positive Affirmations:
Statements of your best, strongest desires/outcomes phrased in the present tense. Examples:
I live each day with passion and purpose

I am a success in all that I do

I respect my abilities and I always fulfill my potential

I always have more than enough money for all that I need and want

My business is now filled with prosperity and abundance

I easily achieve all my goals and dreams

I am totally confident

I am an excellent businessperson

I am wealthy and successful, every day, in all that I do

I use my wealth and prosperity very wisely

I now have all the resources necessary to fulfill any and all of my business goals and dreams

Making money excites me and energizes me

I am powerful and resourceful creator

I have absolute certainty in my ability to generate the income I choose

I have all the resources I need right not to become a multimillionaire

I have great abundance flowing into my business, which affords every luxury that I desire

I am organized, proactive, disciplined, talented, innovative, and intelligent businessperson applying sound and honest business practices

I am a powerful and resourceful creator attracting all the wealth and opportunities I need for me to meet my financial success

I have all the skills, intelligence, contacts, and money I need right now to create an incredible masterpiece with my business

I deserve to earn money easily and in abundance and to live totally paid in full and on time an all accounts. I am completely paid in full on all accounts and money is flowing to me from expected and unexpected sources

I deserve happiness, abundance, and prosperity

I accomplish my financial goals with ease

I have complete freedom over my time

I am a genius and I use my wisdom every moment

Day-by-day, in every way, I am better and better

I am inquisitive, creative, fun-loving, and adventurous

I have the extraordinary ability to accomplish everything I choose and want

I am committed, determined, and passionate about what I do

I am very focused and persistent

I have tremendous energy and focus for achieving all my business goals

My business is a masterpiece

I meditate daily and stay in constant sync with the vibration of abundance and success

I visualize all that I desire and I have complete control over manifesting it all

I feel happy and at peace with myself

I have absolute certainty about my ability to generate any amount of income I choose

I consistently attract all the right people to help me grow my business

I am a brilliant and savvy businessperson

I have all the talent, intelligence, and money I need

I am a master at what I do

Merge, Merge:
Now that you know what Anchors are and how to create them, and you know what Positive Affirmations are and how to create them, Merge the two together by setting an Anchor to your Affirmations!

When creating an Anchor, at the peak of the emotional thought wave set the Anchor with a touch AND state your Affirmation. NOW whenever you state your Affirmation, trigger the Anchor.

Congratulations! You’ve just Turbo Busted your life!

The RAS!

2009-01-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

RAS:
What your conscious brain sees is NOT the same thing as what the nonconscious brain sees. Your conscious brain is aware of and processing about 2,000 bits of information EVERY SECOND! However, your nonconscious brain is processing over 400 BILLION bits of information EVERY SECOND!!!

In other words, for every bit of information you are aware of, there are about two hundred million bits that your brain processes behind the scene. So what determines which of the 400 billion pieces becomes the 2,000 of which we are aware?

That awesome job is the responsibility of the RAS (Reticular Activating System).

The RAS is a network of nerve pathways at the base of your brain and acts as a filter for all the sensory input your brain draws from your eternal world. Anything and everything that see, hear, feel taste, or smell passes through this network and relays a signal to the appropriate part of your brain for processing. It is always searching for those specific bits that best match information patterns already established in your brain. IF it’s important to you, the RAS sends a signal to your conscious brain to alert you that something important is going on. AND it does this 800 times faster than your conscious brain cells operate!

Here is the most important thing about the RAS...you can enter whatever search string you want it to look for. You can CONSCIOUSLY program a specific idea or goal into your RAS, and no matter whether you’re asleep or awake, thinking about it or not, the RAS will do its job and sift through the entire ocean of information swirling about you at all times to find precisely what you’ve told it to find!

When you create a clear, focused picture of what you want, this part of your brain kicks into high gear, and doesn’t stop unit it finds it.

IF your RAS is NOT programmed for what you really want, then no matter how diligently you pursue a goal, you’ll miss all the cues in your environment and overlook all the resources, connections, and other pieces of the puzzle that might help you realize your goal. The answer could literally be right under our nose, but you won’t see it!

IF you program it with what you DON’T want, then THAT is precisely what it will find and KEEP FINDING!

SO...how do you program your RAS with what you want? Simply by focusing on it, thereby creating a habit of thought around that thing you want.

Neuroplasticity:
We are making new brain cells and new neural connections all the time throughout the human life span. No matter what your age, your brain is perfectly capable of creating entirely new neural pathways. Every time you have a significantly new thought or experience, your brain is actually making new neural connections. Not only can you change your brain dramatically, but it is designed specifically for you to be able to do exactly that.

But Wait...There’s MORE!

Psycho-Cybernetics:
According to the research of Dr. Maxwell Maltz, any change that we make in our lives—whether in our finances, health, spiritual connectedness, relationships or career—that takes us out or our comfort zone, sends a chemical signal to the rest of our nervous system. Our brain picks up that signal as doubt, fear, or anxiety, and automatically interprets that feeling as a DANGER signal, prompting us to make whatever adjustments necessary to return us to our previous state.

The fact is, risk and the sense of stretching oneself that goes with it are part and parcel of the entrepreneurial experience. In fact they are an integral part of ANY sort of genuine growth. The Psycho-Cybernetic alert signal does NOT literally mean “DANGER”, it simply means “Hey, you’re stepping out of the normal range and moving into uncharted waters, are you aware of this? Are you sure that is what you want to be doing?”
The Psycho-Cybernetic mechanism is an autopilot that will ALWAYS kick in and attempt to steer you back on whatever course it has programmed into its neural circuits.

The great flaw in all behavior modification programs is that they rely on conscious efforts, and the conscious brain is simply not very effective at modifying our habits. To have an impact at the level of cause, we need to address these habits where they live, in our nonconscious brain.

Even if you want to increase your income level tenfold, unless you impress that intention upon your nonconscious brain, the wish will remain nothing but a wish because you have a financial set point.

Before you can significantly increase your income, you need to recalibrate that financial set point, because if you don’t, every time you start taking any significant action that might result in your income substantially increasing, your Psycho-Cybernetic mechanism will kick in, flood your brain with epinephrine and cortisol, and cause you to jump back on your previous “familiar” course.

Remember: You Psycho-Cybernetic mechanism is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do: keep you feeling “safe”. And by the way, this has nothing to do with happiness. You could be miserable, and delivering an equally miserable performance with your life, but If THAT’S what you’ve established as “normal”, your Psycho-Cybernetic mechanism will obediently manage all of your nonconscious habits, modes of thought and action, EVERY mechanism, to keep you safely in THAT miserable place!

The key is to FEEL the fear, FEEL the doubt, know that there’s going to be uncertainty, and DO IT ANYWAY!!!

Successful entrepreneurs don’t have fewer chemical alerts than everyone else, they just interpret those alerts differently. They have learned how to recognize that feeling and use it to move forward instead of reacting protectively to it—that is, to interpret it as a sign that a breakthrough is in the offering rather than seeing it as a threat.

When you start having doubts or an edgy feeling of nervousness about your goals, pay attention—and take control. Ask yourself, “Is this really something that can hurt me, or is it part of my natural growth process as I achieve my goals?”

Anytime you learn something new there is going to be a point of resistance, a point of fear where you will feel discomfort. Here is what that means: YOU’RE GROWING!!!

How You FEEL About Your Health

2009-01-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

Bringing your physical body into alignment is a tremendously valuable thing to do for two reasons:
1. There is no subject that people think more about than their own body. (And that is logical since you take it with you everywhere you go.)
2. Since every perspective or thought you have flows through the lens of your physical body, your attitude on virtually every subject is influenced by the way you FEEL about your physical body.

It is not possible to bring your physical body to a state of perfect health by only thinking about the physical aspect of your being and then offering action regarding your physical body. Without an understanding of the Connection between the physical you and the Non-Physical Vibrational Inner You, there can be no consistent understanding or control. In other words, while it may feel to you that the path to a good-FEELING, good-looking body will be a result of your BEHAVIOR in terms of food intake and activity, it is really much more about your VIBRATIONAL ALIGNMENT between the physical and Non-Physical aspects of your being.

Once you accept the totality of your Being and you make that VIBRATIONAL ALIGNMENT your top priority, you are well on your way to achieving and maintaining your desired physical body.

I would like to encourage you: Rather than looking at your Self and acknowledging that you are LACKING in this or in that characteristic, a most of you do, I would like to assist you in looking toward the advantages of what you ARE. In other words, as you are assessing or analyzing your physical body, spend a GREATER part of your time looking for the advantages that it offers not just to you, but to the balance of All-That-Is.

I am not encouraging you to look at whatever your current state is and proclaim it as “perfect,” because you will always be striving for something that is just beyond what-is. But finding aspects of your current experience that FEEL good when you focus upon them will cause you to align with the perspective of your Inner-Being, who is always focused upon your Well-Being. I encourage you to FEEL for the AGREEMENT between your thoughts and your body and your Inner Being’s thoughts about your body rather than trying to get the conditions of your body to agree with conditions of other bodies that you see around you.

Every subject is really two subjects: There is the subject of what you are wanting, and there is the subject of its lack. Regarding your body, since every thought that you think is filtered through your perspective of this body, if the body does not FEEL the way you want it to FEEL or look the way you want it to look, it is very natural that a large number of your thoughts would be slanted toward the LACK side of the equation rather than toward the truly desired side of the equation. From your place of LACK you will attract only more of THAT!

The way to get where you want to be is to give your FULL attention to what you DO want, not to give your attention to what you do NOT want.

The potential for wellness OR illness is ALWAYS within you. The thoughts you choose determine which you experience and to what degree you experience it.

I encourage you to be particular about what you think. Keep your thoughts on the side of the subject that is in harmony with your wanting. Think about Wellness—NOT the LACK of it.

The potential for illness OR wellness lies within all of you at all times. And whatever you give your attention to begins to foster within you the manifestation of the essence of that thought. Thought is very powerful. You get what you think about whether you want it or not!

Everything that you are living is as a result of the thoughts that you are thinking, and there is no exception to that. I want you to remember that the Universe does not distinguish between your thoughts of current reality and thoughts of imagined reality. The Universe and the Law of Attraction are simply responding to your thought—real OR imagined, current or remembered.

Focus upon MORE things that FEEL good. The biggest difference between regaining and maintaining is that it is easier to think good-FEELING thoughts when you FEEL good and than when you FEEL bad so maintaining health is much easier to do than regaining health. Give your attention to things that FEEL good. In every moment that you think about something that FEELS good, you are stopping poor health from moving forward.

Every thought vibrates. And so, focus upon thoughts that make you FEEL good, which will attract others and others and others and others and others...until your virbrational frequency will raise to the place that your Inner-Being can fully envelop you. And then you will be in the place of Well-Being and your physical apparatus will catch up very quickly. Your body is responding to your thoughts continually—in fact to nothing else. Your body is absolutely a pure reflection of the way you think.

The reason that more things do not change more quickly in our societies today is because most people are giving their attention predominantly to what IS. In order to effect change you must look beyond what IS.

It slows you down tremendously if you need to see evidence of something BEFOE you believe it. The Universe and the Law of Attraction will respond to your imagined idea as quickly as it responds to an observed idea.

The most powerful thing you can do—the thing that will give you much greater leverage than any action—is to spend time EVERY day visualizing your life as you WANT it to be. What has been has nothing to do with what will be. ANYTHING that you practice in your mind until the idea begins to FEEL natural to you must come to physical fruition.

The only path to the life you desire is through the path of LESS resistance, or the path of MOST ALLOWANCE; allowance of your Connection to your Source, to your Inner Being, to who-you-really-are, and to all that you desire. And that allowance is indicated to you in the form of good FEELING emotions. If you will let FEELING good be your most important priority, then whenever you are having a conversation that is NOT in harmony with the health you desire, you will FEEL bad, and so you will be altered to your resistance...and then you can CHOOSE a better FEELING thought and you will be right back on track.

Whenever you FEEL negative emotion, it is your Guidance System helping you to realize that you are, in this moment, offering resistant thought that is hindering the Stream of Well Being that would otherwise be reaching you fully. It is as if your Guidance System is saying “Here, you’re doing it again; here, you’re doing it again.” This negative emotion means you are in the process of attracting what you do NOT want.

Whenever you FEEL negative emotion, just stop whatever if is you are doing or thinking and say “What is it that I DO want?” And then, because you have turned your attention to what you DO want, the negative FEELING will be replaced by a positive FEELING and, and the negative attraction will be replace by positive attraction—and you will be right back on track.

When you have been on a particular train of thought for a while, it is not easy to abruptly change the direction of your thought, because the Law of Attraction is supplying you with thoughts that match your current train of thought. Sometimes when you are in that negative FEELING mode, another who is not in that negative place will not agree with your negative view or your current subject, which only serves to make you want to defend your position all the more. Trying to defend or justify your opinion only causes you to stay in your resistant state longer. And the reason so many people hold themselves in resistance unnecessarily is because it is more important to them to be “right” rather than to FEEL good.

When you meet those who are determined to convince you that they are right, and they try to hold you in a negative conversation in an attempt to convince you, sometimes you are considered “uncaring” or coldhearted” if you do not hear them and eventually agree with their point of view. But when you forfeit your good FEELING to try to please a negative friend who want to use your as a sounding board, you are paying a very big price for something that will not help him or her either. That uncomfortable knot in your stomach is your Inner Being saying, “This behavior, this conversation, isn’t in harmony with what you want.” You must be willing to please your Self FIRST or you will often be swept up by the negativity that surrounds you.

I understand that people in your life are significant, but you must not let their opinions of you be more important than your own, and anytime anyone influences you to focus upon something that makes you FEEL bad, you have received negative influence. I want you to practice your own thoughts so steadily that opinions of others become irrelevant to you. The only freedom you will ever experience comes when you achieve an absence of resistance, which means you will have figured out how to align your chronic thoughts with the thoughts of your own Inner Being.

When you FEEL very negative about something do not try to hammer it out and solve it immediately, because your negative attention to it just makes it worse. Distract yourself from the thought until you FEEL better; and then take another run at it from your positive, fresh perspective. It is NEVER a good idea to pursue ANY action that brings forth negative emotion, because the negative emotion means there is an Energy imbalance, and ANY action that your participate in during negative emotion will ALWAYS produce negative results.

There is no right or wrong way to tell your improved story. The only criterion that is important is that you be conscious of your intent to tell a BETTER FEELING, improved version of your story. Telling many good FEELING short stories throughout your day will change your point of attraction. Just remember that the story you tell is the basis of your life. So tell it the way you want it to be.