In this case, "retreat" does not mean to run away. Although, at times, you may feel like it on your spiritual journey.
Taking a Retreat means taking time out of your set schedule to learn, explore or connect in a way that moves you along your path. There are many reasons to take a Retreat and many types of retreats.
Those of us who recognize that ours is a spiritual life often yearn for an escape from the tedium of day to day life. Sometimes we fail to recognize that this feeling of yearning for something is really our selves sending us a message.
As beings of energy we need to replenish. Each person's journey into spirituality is at a different place and so the type of retreat we need to replenish our good energy is different.
Do you need a retreat?
• Do you feel exhausted much of the time
• Is your zest for living diminished
• Do you feel stagnate or bored or frustrated
• Do you feel like there is something you need to do to move on
• Are you noticing more bad than good surrounding you
If you answered yes to any or all of the reasons you may need a retreat then you probably do. These are emotional messages from your self to your self and it is best to pay attention.
What if you are not feeling a loss of energy? Perhaps you have recently read of or been told about a retreat that interests you.
There are many ways to plan a retreat that energizes you on your spiritual journey. Some require travel, time and money and others do not. It is your journey and so it will be yours to decide what type of retreat best suits you.
Ideas for your personal retreat:
• Taking a weekend class. There are many spiritual growth events that take only a weekend to complete.
• Workshop retreats. These may be a weekend, week or even more and they tend to focus on a particular subject such as advanced meditation.
• Day retreats. If you live in a larger city or near one, many local spiritual based businesses offer one day learning in a variety of topics.
It is not necessary to go far away or spend a lot of money to enjoy the benefits of a spiritual retreat. For some, the time spent with others who are on a similar spiritual journey will be very important.
You may find that what you really need is just time alone with your self to reflect on your journey and where you are going. If this is more appealing to you then there are many ways to do this.
• Spend the day in nature. Planning to get away from all distractions and simply be in nature, observing the beauty of a natural place, can re-energize your spiritual batteries.
• Set aside a day to read a new book on spirituality. If there is an author you particularly enjoy, who helps you find new joy in life, take the time to read a new book. Make notes in your journal and plan to put into practice that day one new idea.
• Be quiet. In its own way, being quiet can be a very spiritual experience. In a world that is so filled with sounds, being quiet can allow your inner voice to be heard.
How you choose to take a retreat is as unique as your spiritual journey. Taking a retreat of your choosing can help you reconnect or discover something to further your personal spirituality.
Michael's well known writing is all over the internet for over 9 years and offers his writing service on various subjects. Visit one of his most popular sites which informs people about Panasonic Air Purifier.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Mindfulness Stress Reduction And Healing
Guided Meditation for Total Relaxation (Day 7 of 7 Meditation Series) Meditation Music Peace
Guided Meditation with Thanissaro Bhikkhu
How To Handle Multiple Priorities
A friend posed this question:
“What do you do when you have two conflicting things to get done? For example, for me it’s writing vs. studying. Both take the same amount of focus, time and activity level. One is more pleasurable, and one is more necessary.
“So when I have a block of time in which I could EITHER write or study……….I end up surfing the web for hours. In that web-surfing loop where you don’t really look at anything, just go to the same sites over and over to see if they’ve been updated since three minutes ago. To be honest, it makes me feel like that story in I, Robot: Runaround. I experience this practically every time I schedule writing-and-studying time for myself.”
It’s a good question, and one I definitely identify with in my own experience. When I have more than one important thing to do, all of the important tasks are weighing on me at once. If I undertake one of them without making special effort to handle this problem, the fact that I’m not doing the others will distract and upset me. For me, this gets worse when there are more things to do, because then it’s hard to even identify all of the things that need doing, and the other priorities will plague me without my even being fully aware of what they are.
One of the reasons we often turn to something completely self-indulgent in these cases is that we hope it will take our mind off all of our other concerns. For example, what if I have the option of writing or studying or watching a good movie? If I do the writing, the fact that I have studying to do might continue to bother me. If I do the studying, the ignored writing might be the pain in my neck. But if I watch the movie and like it, I might be so swept up in the story that I don’t think about either writing or studying–so that the only solution that gives me any relief is the only one that in the long term doesn’t help me at all.
Fortunately, there is a solution to this. Actually, there might be a bunch of solutions to this, but there’s one solution that I know (and that I’ve recently been using more and more). It has three parts: listing, prioritizing, and resigning.
Listing: If you have a lot of things to do, it helps to list them out. If a lot of things are bothering or distracting you, list them all–but if there are only a couple or a few major issues to tackle, don’t bother with all of the lower-priority ones, and instead just list that couple or those few.
In this way the part of your brain that has been devoted to keeping track of them all can rest, because you now have them all on paper and aren’t in danger of forgetting. Listing also allows you to start
Prioritizing: Looking at your list, you decide what one or two or ten things are really the most important for you to tackle right away. Some might call for a quick action but not be of desperate importance (for instance, calling your friend back and confirming that you’ll be at a party tomorrow), but most of your top items should be chosen for importance, whether or not they would need to be done immediately. Try to avoid prioritizing things that are in your face but that don’t matter much in the scheme of things. For instance, you might have noticed for the hundredth time today that you have a little trouble finding any CD in your CD collection, and it may occur to you to organize your CDs. This idea could be very much on your mind, yet not really at all important in the scheme of things. This shouldn’t “float to the top” unless you really have nothing more important to do (in which case your life must be far, far more peaceful than mine!)
Keep in mind that it’s not remotely necessary to prioritize all your tasks: just figure out which are the top ones, and then of those, make sure at least the top few are in priority order. If two things are exactly as important, choose whichever one you’re more enthusiastic about. If a task is very large, try to break it up into sub-tasks and then prioritize those. For instance, if you have three years worth of personal papers to file, break the list item “File all those papers” down and start with a task “Spend 15 minutes starting in on filing.” You can take the rest and make it a task, “Continue with filing,” which can spawn other tasks in future.
I know I’m getting into organizational techniques instead of obvious motivation techniques here, but among the elements of motivation are knowledge of what you need to motivate yourself to do and goal-setting. The listing step covers the knowledge, and this step covers goal-setting. When you’re done with prioritization, you should have a sub-list of Important Things and single thing at the top of that list. This now allows you to begin
Resigning yourself to the idea that you can only under normal circumstances do one thing at a time. (Note: a later post of mine goes into more detail about resigning ourselves to making good choices.) If you decide to study, for instance, your brain may pipe up “But … I have to do some writing!” This is a broken idea, a lie that you’re telling yourself. In fact, you don’t have to do some writing right then. Writing will come later, and as good as it might be to get some done now, you can’t write at the same time as you’re studying, and for the moment you’ve chosen to study. If you’ve broken up your large studying task into chunks, then perhaps what you have decided to do is study one particular chapter, or study for one hour. And you know that when that hour or chapter is over, if you are still on discretionary time, you’ll be able to switch over to writing then. Get at peace with the idea that nothing is going to get done right away except your top priority. When you catch yourself manufacturing broken ideas, repair them one by one until you feel calm and ready to begin. It’s not an easy thing, but once done, the need to do anything other than what you’ve chosen to do goes away, and you can get to work without distraction.
You can find additional info at the following links:
Click Here for more informationClick Here for more information
Garapa Wood Decking: Golden Strength & Beauty
For many people, their backyard deck is their own personal Retreat—a place to get away from the busy, stress filled routines of everyday life and Relax. It is obvious then that these people would want to make their deck as enjoyable as possible, to create their own slice of heaven.
Enter garapa wood decking. One look, and anyone would agree that garapa decking brings the golden luster of paradise down to earth. Trapped within the warm colored boards of garapa wood, the brilliant yellow and succulent honey tones will transform your backyard into a heavenly Retreat that you will never want to leave.
At the risk of overextending my celestial metaphor, garapa wood decking also boasts an angelic strength capable of putting to shame many lesser wood species. For instance, what was once one of the more popular decking options in the United States, redwood decking, pales in comparison to garapa’s hardness rating of 1210 and bending strength of 12,900 psi. Add to this the preservative oils that form during garapa wood’s growth in its native Brazilian jungles, and you have a deck that is naturally rot resistance, termite resistant, fire resistant, and splinter free. And if that is not enough to convince you of garapa wood decking’s divine qualities, consider this: garapa decking is 100 percent, all natural hardwood—no chemical preservatives or treatments whatsoever. Surely you have heard of all the health hazards risked in pressure treated lumber, PVC decking, and composite decking. Garapa wood poses no such threats to you, your family, or the environment.
That leads to another of garapa wood decking’s excellent qualities: environmental friendliness. A thriving market for natural wood products, like garapa, places high value on healthy forests and preserving natural resources. When the time comes to retire your deck, garapa wood is entirely compostable, and will break down into the soil to feed new life.
So if you want a true backyard paradise, consider garapa wood decking. Just like buying real gold, installing a garapa wood deck will only boost your home’s value and greatly enhance your quality of life by bringing a piece of heaven to your backyard.
Learn more about Garapa Wood Decking. and see pictures of this gorgeous golden wood.
Enter garapa wood decking. One look, and anyone would agree that garapa decking brings the golden luster of paradise down to earth. Trapped within the warm colored boards of garapa wood, the brilliant yellow and succulent honey tones will transform your backyard into a heavenly Retreat that you will never want to leave.
At the risk of overextending my celestial metaphor, garapa wood decking also boasts an angelic strength capable of putting to shame many lesser wood species. For instance, what was once one of the more popular decking options in the United States, redwood decking, pales in comparison to garapa’s hardness rating of 1210 and bending strength of 12,900 psi. Add to this the preservative oils that form during garapa wood’s growth in its native Brazilian jungles, and you have a deck that is naturally rot resistance, termite resistant, fire resistant, and splinter free. And if that is not enough to convince you of garapa wood decking’s divine qualities, consider this: garapa decking is 100 percent, all natural hardwood—no chemical preservatives or treatments whatsoever. Surely you have heard of all the health hazards risked in pressure treated lumber, PVC decking, and composite decking. Garapa wood poses no such threats to you, your family, or the environment.
That leads to another of garapa wood decking’s excellent qualities: environmental friendliness. A thriving market for natural wood products, like garapa, places high value on healthy forests and preserving natural resources. When the time comes to retire your deck, garapa wood is entirely compostable, and will break down into the soil to feed new life.
So if you want a true backyard paradise, consider garapa wood decking. Just like buying real gold, installing a garapa wood deck will only boost your home’s value and greatly enhance your quality of life by bringing a piece of heaven to your backyard.
Learn more about Garapa Wood Decking. and see pictures of this gorgeous golden wood.
How To Open Every Chakra
How To Open Each Chakra
When beginning to open the Chakras, I recommend starting from the bottom and work your way up to the top. Basically you would start from the root chakra, once that chakra is opened you then proceed to the Sacral Chakra, Naval Chakra, Heart Chakra, Throat Chakra, Third Eye Chakra, and then lastly the Crown Chakra.
Each Chakra is responsible for a different emotional,physical, and mental state and they are all interconnected with one another. They all rely on each other in order to maintain proper balance.
1.) The foundation of all the Chakras is the Root. Once the Root Chakra is open, you will immediately experience a feeling of welcoming and security.
2) Now you are able to move on and open the Sacral Chakra so that you may be able to properly express feelings and sexuality.
3.) Next, you will be able to move on to opening your Naval Chakra and properly be able to assess your wants and decisions upon them.
4.)Then, you will move on to opening the Heart Chakra, so that you may be able to form affectionate relationships.
5.) We now move on to opening the Throat Chakra which is responsible for your ability to express yourself.
6.) The next Chakra we open is the Third Eye, we is the source of our insight.
7.) Finally, we are ready to open our Crown Chakra. By opening this last Chakra we develop our wisdom and awareness of our self and our surroundings.
There are many methods we can use to open our chakras, my favorite method is through the use of Binaural Beats. It has an immediate affect and saves many people from years of intense meditation training to reach the same affects. Read on at How To Open Each Chakra to learn more.
Long ago, it took years of intense training in meditation to effectively stimulate the seven chakras and unlock their true power. Now, thanks to new breakthrough technology everybody can easily stimulate their chakras immediately using Binaural Beats. For a long time, i have been trying to stimulate my chakras. Only recently have i achieved the results i was looking for thanks to www.powerofchakra.com The results are beyond words to describe. My mind,body, and soul work together in perfect harmony. I have a clearer perception in life and now possess the strength and courage to handle whatever challenges life throws at me.
When beginning to open the Chakras, I recommend starting from the bottom and work your way up to the top. Basically you would start from the root chakra, once that chakra is opened you then proceed to the Sacral Chakra, Naval Chakra, Heart Chakra, Throat Chakra, Third Eye Chakra, and then lastly the Crown Chakra.
Each Chakra is responsible for a different emotional,physical, and mental state and they are all interconnected with one another. They all rely on each other in order to maintain proper balance.
1.) The foundation of all the Chakras is the Root. Once the Root Chakra is open, you will immediately experience a feeling of welcoming and security.
2) Now you are able to move on and open the Sacral Chakra so that you may be able to properly express feelings and sexuality.
3.) Next, you will be able to move on to opening your Naval Chakra and properly be able to assess your wants and decisions upon them.
4.)Then, you will move on to opening the Heart Chakra, so that you may be able to form affectionate relationships.
5.) We now move on to opening the Throat Chakra which is responsible for your ability to express yourself.
6.) The next Chakra we open is the Third Eye, we is the source of our insight.
7.) Finally, we are ready to open our Crown Chakra. By opening this last Chakra we develop our wisdom and awareness of our self and our surroundings.
There are many methods we can use to open our chakras, my favorite method is through the use of Binaural Beats. It has an immediate affect and saves many people from years of intense meditation training to reach the same affects. Read on at How To Open Each Chakra to learn more.
Long ago, it took years of intense training in meditation to effectively stimulate the seven chakras and unlock their true power. Now, thanks to new breakthrough technology everybody can easily stimulate their chakras immediately using Binaural Beats. For a long time, i have been trying to stimulate my chakras. Only recently have i achieved the results i was looking for thanks to www.powerofchakra.com The results are beyond words to describe. My mind,body, and soul work together in perfect harmony. I have a clearer perception in life and now possess the strength and courage to handle whatever challenges life throws at me.
Ocean Guided Meditation with Deepak Chopra
FATHER ANTHONY DE MELLO: ONE OF THE GREAT MODERN DAY SPIRITUAL TEACHERS
"Father Anthony de Mello (1931-1987) was an Indian Jesuit spiritual director and Retreat leader who gave workshops, conferences, and seminars all over the world. He pioneered post-denominational Christianity and proclaimed a lyrical mysticism rooted in story and imagination. Best of all, he presented concrete spiritual practices and exercises designed to silence the mind and give expression to the yearnings of the heart." Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Great men and women of great faith and conviction who are able to attract an international following emerge rarely. Sister Theresa is obviously one such person. Though not quite in the same league, but very close, is a Jesuit Priest who made a major impact on people of all faiths and beliefs in the 1980s. Born in Goa 1931, once a Portugese colony on the Indian subcontinent, He died of a sudden heart attack in 1987 at Fordon, the great Jesuit University, in New York preparing for his annual summer lecture tour across the great cities of the U.S.A. Fortunately for us his writings, tapes and videos live on. Many are questioned for their true authenticity but there is a hard core of work which no one disputes. Reading his works are very inspirational and I always go to them when I need security, reassurance and comfort. He talks directly to you.
SOCIETY OF JESUS
Father Anthony de Mello J.S is one of the great spiritual teachers of the second half of the last century. He was a member of the Company of Jesus as it was first known; better known now as the Society of Jesus and its members are called Jesuits. It is one of the great Roman Catholic Orders and was founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1540. The Jesuits emphasise spiritual purity and intellectual acumen with a stress on logic. Its educational system is exemplorary and it prides itself in having produced some the brightest and best leaders the world has known.
The 20,000 Jesuits work in 112 nations and focus on parish and Retreat ministry, in high schools and colleges. They may be found working as lawyers and doctors, psychologists and counselors, writers and journalists, theologians and philosophers, researchers and scientists. In short, Jesuits do all kinds of work. Their mission is everywhere and always the promotion of faith in Jesus Christ and the justice demanded by that faith. Jesuits seek to make Christ's Kingdom available to our times. They are men with a singular passion: to do the world a world of good.
FATHER DE MELLO
Jesuits have a long history of work in Indian. There are for example 25 Jesuit universities and some 200,000 students in all educational sectors at any given time. De Mello became the Director of the Sadhana Institute of Pastoral Counselling in Poona India. Many of his lectures were published in India initially and eventually they came to the attention of publishers in the West who recognized their uniqueness. During the 80s de Mello came to the U.S. and undertook a rigorous annual summer tour of U.S cities when thousands would flock to listen to him. In addition he held other workshops, prayer meetings conferences, often help at Fordham University.
One participant said" He was an entertainer, a storyteller and a challenger. He blows you mind. He is one of the most powerful speakers I have ever heard. He makes you see things in different ways. He was a genius of devising exercises for people to keep in touch with themselves and to pray out of that experience.
De Mello recognized his ability as a teacher and counseling and presenting his faith in a unique way, through stories and poetry. He drew on an eclectic fund borrowed from Hasidic, Zen and the Sufi Masters as well as Jesus and the mystics of the west. He tried to awaken his listeners to the presence of God in their midst.
Others said de Mello's greatest strength was his insistence that prayer is made with the heart not the head. Rather than more words about god, people want a taste of him. With this in mind he stressed the need for people to be aware, to wake up to the world around them. He challenged us thus: How can you hear the song and not hear the singer? How can you see the wave and not see the ocean? How can you see the dance and not the dancer?
NOTIFICATION
This great man who has done so much good to bring his church and his ideas to the ordinary person has nonetheless not gone unnoticed by the authorities. Indeed, he has been brought under suspicion by the Vatican . The warning underlies certain passages from his writings as not in conformity with the teaching of the Catholic Church. It appears that it has put dogma before the spiritual growth and faith of its flock.
Eleven years after de Mello's death, a Notification was approved by Pope John II "concerning the writings of Father Anthony de Mello". It was penned by none other than Cardinal Ratzinger, The Papal Policeman who has since become the new Pope! Basically, the Notification claims that de Mello challenges the nature of God and Jesus as espoused by the church. It concludes "the above-mentioned positions are incompatible with the Catholic faith and can cause grave harm"
An official response to this accusation is being prepared by the Institute for Missiology and for the study of Religion (IMR). The purpose of the response is to point out the real significance of Father de Mello's writings and teachings, as well as the faulty quotations brought out in the Note. The IMR concludes Father de Mello is certainly a danger to a particular type of Catholicism but not to those who believe in Jesus Christ and live by his Gospel in the Unity of the faith .
The Church has even tried to have his books banned. What publisher would give up so prized a possession. It has been unsuccessful at least in the U.S.
In the end this great man, loved by thousands, eschewed by his Roman Catholic authorities aimed simply to teach us How To Pray and How to Wake Up and Live. He left many best selling books still selling in the millions and in his short lifetime he was renowned for his workshops, his retreats and prayer courses. Despite the efforts of his Church, he is as alive today as when he lived. Perhaps when the Vatican loosens up, he may well be made a Saint!
Review the Internet if you have any doubt. Father Stroud (see below) is the key spokesperson today for Father de Mello. From his website his books and tapes can be obtained. So also are they available on http://www.abebooks.com, http://www.barnesandnoble.com ; http://www.amazon.com
RESOURCES AND LINKS
Select Books - http://www.demello.org/textlist.doc
· Sadhana: A Way to God
· The Song of the Bird
· Wellsprings
· The Heart of Enlighenment
· Awareness
· The Way to Love
· Contact with god
· The Prayer of the Frog
Vatican's Notification. www.ourladyswarriors.org/dissent/demello.htm
Official de Mello site: http://www.demello.org/
Fr. J. Francis Stroud, S.J. Executive Director,
deMello Spirituality Center,
Fordham University, Bronx, NY
Check the Author's website which has nothing to do with spirituality: http://www.ehomebiz.org/
Michael Brooke, Ph.D is a retired university administrator last working at University of Victoria as Dean of Continuing Studies.
He is by professional adult educator, a corporate trainer and recruiter and a published author. He runs Internet businesses,
his mainstay being Prosperity Automated System, an automated marketing system, which you can see at
http://ehomebiz.org. Reach him at wmbrooke@telus.net if you wish. Michael Brooke, Ph.D is a retired university administrator last working at University of Victoria as Dean of Continuing Studies.
He is by professional adult educator, a corporate trainer and recruiter and a published author. He runs Internet businesses,
his mainstay being Prosperity Automated System, an automated marketing system, which you can see at
http://ehomebiz.org. Reach him at wmbrooke@telus.net if you wish. Michael Brooke, Ph.D is a retired university administrator last working at University of Victoria as Dean of Continuing Studies.
He is by professional adult educator, a corporate trainer and recruiter and a published author. He runs Internet businesses, his mainstay being Prosperity Automated System, an automated marketing system, which you can see at
http://ehomebiz.org. Reach him at wmbrooke@telus.net if you wish.
Great men and women of great faith and conviction who are able to attract an international following emerge rarely. Sister Theresa is obviously one such person. Though not quite in the same league, but very close, is a Jesuit Priest who made a major impact on people of all faiths and beliefs in the 1980s. Born in Goa 1931, once a Portugese colony on the Indian subcontinent, He died of a sudden heart attack in 1987 at Fordon, the great Jesuit University, in New York preparing for his annual summer lecture tour across the great cities of the U.S.A. Fortunately for us his writings, tapes and videos live on. Many are questioned for their true authenticity but there is a hard core of work which no one disputes. Reading his works are very inspirational and I always go to them when I need security, reassurance and comfort. He talks directly to you.
SOCIETY OF JESUS
Father Anthony de Mello J.S is one of the great spiritual teachers of the second half of the last century. He was a member of the Company of Jesus as it was first known; better known now as the Society of Jesus and its members are called Jesuits. It is one of the great Roman Catholic Orders and was founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1540. The Jesuits emphasise spiritual purity and intellectual acumen with a stress on logic. Its educational system is exemplorary and it prides itself in having produced some the brightest and best leaders the world has known.
The 20,000 Jesuits work in 112 nations and focus on parish and Retreat ministry, in high schools and colleges. They may be found working as lawyers and doctors, psychologists and counselors, writers and journalists, theologians and philosophers, researchers and scientists. In short, Jesuits do all kinds of work. Their mission is everywhere and always the promotion of faith in Jesus Christ and the justice demanded by that faith. Jesuits seek to make Christ's Kingdom available to our times. They are men with a singular passion: to do the world a world of good.
FATHER DE MELLO
Jesuits have a long history of work in Indian. There are for example 25 Jesuit universities and some 200,000 students in all educational sectors at any given time. De Mello became the Director of the Sadhana Institute of Pastoral Counselling in Poona India. Many of his lectures were published in India initially and eventually they came to the attention of publishers in the West who recognized their uniqueness. During the 80s de Mello came to the U.S. and undertook a rigorous annual summer tour of U.S cities when thousands would flock to listen to him. In addition he held other workshops, prayer meetings conferences, often help at Fordham University.
One participant said" He was an entertainer, a storyteller and a challenger. He blows you mind. He is one of the most powerful speakers I have ever heard. He makes you see things in different ways. He was a genius of devising exercises for people to keep in touch with themselves and to pray out of that experience.
De Mello recognized his ability as a teacher and counseling and presenting his faith in a unique way, through stories and poetry. He drew on an eclectic fund borrowed from Hasidic, Zen and the Sufi Masters as well as Jesus and the mystics of the west. He tried to awaken his listeners to the presence of God in their midst.
Others said de Mello's greatest strength was his insistence that prayer is made with the heart not the head. Rather than more words about god, people want a taste of him. With this in mind he stressed the need for people to be aware, to wake up to the world around them. He challenged us thus: How can you hear the song and not hear the singer? How can you see the wave and not see the ocean? How can you see the dance and not the dancer?
NOTIFICATION
This great man who has done so much good to bring his church and his ideas to the ordinary person has nonetheless not gone unnoticed by the authorities. Indeed, he has been brought under suspicion by the Vatican . The warning underlies certain passages from his writings as not in conformity with the teaching of the Catholic Church. It appears that it has put dogma before the spiritual growth and faith of its flock.
Eleven years after de Mello's death, a Notification was approved by Pope John II "concerning the writings of Father Anthony de Mello". It was penned by none other than Cardinal Ratzinger, The Papal Policeman who has since become the new Pope! Basically, the Notification claims that de Mello challenges the nature of God and Jesus as espoused by the church. It concludes "the above-mentioned positions are incompatible with the Catholic faith and can cause grave harm"
An official response to this accusation is being prepared by the Institute for Missiology and for the study of Religion (IMR). The purpose of the response is to point out the real significance of Father de Mello's writings and teachings, as well as the faulty quotations brought out in the Note. The IMR concludes Father de Mello is certainly a danger to a particular type of Catholicism but not to those who believe in Jesus Christ and live by his Gospel in the Unity of the faith .
The Church has even tried to have his books banned. What publisher would give up so prized a possession. It has been unsuccessful at least in the U.S.
In the end this great man, loved by thousands, eschewed by his Roman Catholic authorities aimed simply to teach us How To Pray and How to Wake Up and Live. He left many best selling books still selling in the millions and in his short lifetime he was renowned for his workshops, his retreats and prayer courses. Despite the efforts of his Church, he is as alive today as when he lived. Perhaps when the Vatican loosens up, he may well be made a Saint!
Review the Internet if you have any doubt. Father Stroud (see below) is the key spokesperson today for Father de Mello. From his website his books and tapes can be obtained. So also are they available on http://www.abebooks.com, http://www.barnesandnoble.com ; http://www.amazon.com
RESOURCES AND LINKS
Select Books - http://www.demello.org/textlist.doc
· Sadhana: A Way to God
· The Song of the Bird
· Wellsprings
· The Heart of Enlighenment
· Awareness
· The Way to Love
· Contact with god
· The Prayer of the Frog
Vatican's Notification. www.ourladyswarriors.org/dissent/demello.htm
Official de Mello site: http://www.demello.org/
Fr. J. Francis Stroud, S.J. Executive Director,
deMello Spirituality Center,
Fordham University, Bronx, NY
Check the Author's website which has nothing to do with spirituality: http://www.ehomebiz.org/
Michael Brooke, Ph.D is a retired university administrator last working at University of Victoria as Dean of Continuing Studies.
He is by professional adult educator, a corporate trainer and recruiter and a published author. He runs Internet businesses,
his mainstay being Prosperity Automated System, an automated marketing system, which you can see at
http://ehomebiz.org. Reach him at wmbrooke@telus.net if you wish. Michael Brooke, Ph.D is a retired university administrator last working at University of Victoria as Dean of Continuing Studies.
He is by professional adult educator, a corporate trainer and recruiter and a published author. He runs Internet businesses,
his mainstay being Prosperity Automated System, an automated marketing system, which you can see at
http://ehomebiz.org. Reach him at wmbrooke@telus.net if you wish. Michael Brooke, Ph.D is a retired university administrator last working at University of Victoria as Dean of Continuing Studies.
He is by professional adult educator, a corporate trainer and recruiter and a published author. He runs Internet businesses, his mainstay being Prosperity Automated System, an automated marketing system, which you can see at
http://ehomebiz.org. Reach him at wmbrooke@telus.net if you wish.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Mindfulness Bell - A 5 Minute Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness with Jon Kabat-Zinn
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Using Sexual Energy In Our Daily Lives
We generally understand sexual energy as an emotional tension, usually followed by a pleasant euphoric sensation when released. But instead, imagine allowing this energy to spread throughout your entire body and absorbing it energetically through all your cells.
When you are having sex, do you analyze what you are doing while in the middle of making love? I’m sure you have answered no! When children run around madly full of this vibrant pulsating energy, (that we experience as sex), it spreads through their entire body and they express it as joy instead. Hence they have not begun to interpret and analyze it with their mind. The child doesn’t sit back and say, ‘I’m tired now, I want to have a rest’, during their play, as we do when sexual tension is released.
What we really have here is simply energy with only our own labels added on. As soon as a person comes into maturity, this energy is polarized and hence sexual activity commences. It marks the beginning of the aging process simply because we separate ourselves from this wonderful joy - energy. When sexual energy spreads throughout your body, it gives you that orgasmic feeling. It energizes your body and prolongs enjoyment between yourself and your partner.
Sexual energy is an emotion that you can activate to get the full effect of energy. So are gratitude, love, appreciation and acknowledgement emotions. If having sex can be compared to the lower notes upon the musical scale, then these other emotions like gratitude, love, appreciation, acknowledgement etc., would be the higher notes or Chakras upon the scale. We all know how important these emotions are and how we crave to feel them. Imagine for a moment that if you cannot get these higher tender emotions communicated, it’s natural to go for the most commonly obtainable ones, the emotions you get from sex.
Recent research has shown that when the coccyx is stimulated in women who have never been able to orgasm, they easily begin to do so and enjoy a wonderful sexual sensation. We can now reclaim this energy, by simply connecting to it by using a simple exercise. But how do you maintain this sort of connection on a conscious level without actually having sex?
Exercise is one of the ways to energize your body using emotions. But what if you could have all these other sensations at any time, instead of waiting for the only one you know you can get from sex?
To hook up to your joy at will using emotions as a way to open yourself to have more pleasurable all over sensations, like playing more than one note upon the scale which enhances your sexual experience as well.
One of these higher notes upon the emotional scale is gratitude. We forget to be grateful for many things in our life and instead focus on negative images. Another higher note is appreciation, such as having an engaging hobby or enjoying the company of a special friend. Expressing to your partner what you value or treasure about them, and sincerely communicating through your eyes, plus taking the time to express your feelings, will increase the whole sexual level between both of you because of how the other will receive your genuine expressions. This is what stimulates all the notes upon the scale and the whole sexual dynamic as you felt it long ago, and is the key to this exercise.This is the whole reason that sex was so much more exciting at the beginning of our lives. We have just forgotten this priceless gift because we took it for granted way back then. The appreciation level is what ignites the body centers and is a feeling experienced at the heart centre (Chakra), the main activator of energy. We are not consciously aware of this, therefore we lose it later on and the whole partner search has to happen all over again. Until we can learn how to do this on a conscious level.
Sharing feelings openly enables us to experience a heart connection and loving relationship with others and feel more deeply. Love is a cohesive force and acts as a rejuvenator for our whole system and maintains stronger health, gives longevity and greater joy, as well as making Relaxation and sense of adventure and spontaneity more available in our daily lives. Connecting to your love energy consciously gives the body a re-charge, promotes deep inner healing and revives sexual pleasure warmth and connection with your partner.
It also enhances your creativity, enthusiasm and drive and has a positive effect on your self-esteem and confidence, energizes your organs, gives you a greater sense of vitality all over
Hence when we act whole heartedly it brings our whole life energy into greater focus, enabling us to be more present to everything that happens in our life making the sexual experience better than ever before. It becomes a beginning to a whole new way of experiencing lovemaking and takes your energy to a whole new level as your personal wow factor!
THE ENERGY CONTROL TECHNIQUE acts like a switch that stimulates your enthusiasm by boosting your own sexual energy. It can be used in any area of your life. Health, career , relationships or even improve your golf.
Its all about focus – whatever you focus your mind upon, you will draw that into your life…...
HERE ARE - SOME EXAMPLES OF ENERGY CONTROL
An insurance guy will get you to focus upon your worst fear, you buy into the fear game and he has sold you the insurance.
If you fear spiders lets say you will inadvertently focus on them.
By focusing on what you want or don’t want you draw that very thing to you in some ‘magical’ way, whether its positive or negative
When ordering from the menu in a restaurant, you tell the waiter what you want, and you expect to get what you have ordered. You don’t sit there wondering that he will bring you what you don’t want, do you ?.
I usually demonstrate in a seminar how to use our internal switch, that stimulates your erroneous zones similar to foreplay. it involves 4 simple steps – this is one of the steps you could try for yourself :-
For ladies try massaging your nipples try not to go into the whole sexual fantasy, remember you are doing this for a different reason here. The reason is to feel how your body is going to feel with this nice feeling that you are causing to cascade throughout you own body. You can do this under a shower for a bit or upon waking in the morning.
For guys start the self pleasuring process, and allow yourself to feel how nice it feels, but with the object here to keep the energy flowing, and not to ejaculate. Remember you are not masturbating.
When you succeed to recognize that you are indeed feeling very different from when you first started, try holding onto this energy and taking this into your day. To do this successfully come to the seminar where you get taught how to perfect this technique so it becomes a mood enhancer.
By acknowledging the divinity in one another, we evoke that presence in our selves and the other - this is the heart of all relationships at a deeper level where lovers are equal opposites to each another.
Tatiana ~ Tat O’Per
Tatiana teaches people how to turn up your internal power, enthusiasm and vitality by using your own sexual energy like a switch. This method not only prolongs a guy to go for as long as they want in the bedroom, but also works equally well for healing your body and changing any life situation.
This amazing “energy control” method is called The Orgasmic Effect. Seminars to train therapists will be available by 2009. Meanwhile see how it can work for you at:- http://www.theorgasmiceffect.com.
Article Writing: How To Use Your Chakra Energy To Write
The seven Chakras are the hidden energy centres in your body through which you receive, process and transmit life energies. They act as "energy transformers" and influencers of change.
Your thoughts, emotions or actions can either block or activate these hidden energy centres. In this article, I address ways to activate each of the Chakras to improve your article writing.
1. Base Chakra – the energy of existence
This energy source is associated with survival, self-preservation and security. The major blockages to activating the Base Chakra are "self-sabotage" or self-talk that is full of self-doubt. The real tragedy is that, unless you can manage these self-doubts, you cut yourself off from the other six sources of energy.
You can activate the Base Chakra by: * Confronting your doubts as self-sabotage and challenging them * Visualising your completed article and the sense of achievement you will experience with publication * Sharing your concerns with others who have been successful in article writing * Listening to your body and learning to release any tensions associated with article writing
2. Naval Chakra – the energy of activity
This source of energy is experienced as "excitement" and is associated with doing, movement, creativity and achievement. The major blockage to this energy source is inactivity brought on by procrastination and self-doubt.
You can activate the Naval Chakra by: * Checking out online forums and article directories for potential topics of interest to readers * Making notes on an article topic * Aiming for a rough first draft (do not let your perfectionist streak intervene!) * Trying "speed writing" - write what comes to mind without concern for grammar, sentence structure or spelling (helps to thwart perfectionism) * Taping your ideas - try using an audio tape to get ideas down
3. Solar Plexus Chakra – the energy of control
This energy is experienced as “clarity” and is associated with your sense of personal power and self control. The major blockage to this energy source is a lack of order through the absence of planning. You can tap into the energy of control by creating order, structure, form or guidance.
You can activate the Solar Plexus Chakra by: * Capturing potential article topics in a document or Excel file * Matching your task to your energy level – if you are a “morning person” do your creative writing in the morning and your related routine tasks at night * Capturing ideas on how to write articles and creating your own set of guidelines * Setting up documents on your computer with article headings and doing occasional “brain dumps” * Building your own list of preferred article directories for submission of articles (include submission URL and key requirements, eg. word length, format) * Establishing output targets and a routine for article writing
4. The Heart Chakra – the energy of community
This energy is experienced as “connection” - brought about by your relationships with others and by engaging them in collaborative activity. The major blockage to this energy source is “isolation” – cutting yourself off from supportive relationships.
You can engage the Heart Chakra by: * Participating in discussion forums focused on article writing * Developing a “learning partnership” with one other person for your mutual benefit * Connecting to other people through workshops and teleconferences * Sharing your article ideas with a “significant other” – your life partner, for example * Taking time out to be with your friends * Joining an action learning group devoted to article writing
5. The Throat Chakra – the energy of meaning
This energy is experienced as expression and is associated with metaphors, communication and beliefs. The blocks to this form of energy are unclear thinking and a lack of focus.
You can engage your Throat Chakra by: * Journaling to capture your thoughts and reflections * Drawing diagrams and flowcharts to clarify what you are trying to say in your writing * Developing concept maps to clarify the relationships amongst activities, ideas & principles * Using metaphors to create new perspectives and meanings
6. The Third Eye Chakra – the energy of integration
This energy is experienced as intuition and is associated with left and right brain, integration of male and female, wisdom and holistic approaches. One of the major blocks to this form of energy is “busyness” – incessant activity with no time for reflection.
You can engage your Third Eye Chakra by: * Undertaking creative activity – e.g. painting, drawing or writing poetry * Being still – getting in touch with nature and your own body * Taking a walk – physical activity provides a good balance for sitting and writing * Clearing the clutter from your desk and your life – a cluttered workspace can clutter your mind
7. The Crown Chakra – the energy of Spirit
This energy is experienced as transcendence and is associated with higher purpose, vision and higher consciousness. The major block to this energy is an obsession with Materialism.
You can embrace the Crown Chakra by: * Meditating – this helps you get in touch with your higher consciousness * Singing – helps you to find your deeper self * Revisiting your spiritual origins – this may be through prayer or participation in religious activities
The Chakras are interconnected and interdependent. They embrace the whole person – the irrational and rational, the intuitive and emotional, the pragmatic and the aesthetic and the material and spiritual.
You can activate your Chakras to improve your article writing and your daily living.
Copyright 2005 Ron Passfield
Friday, January 25, 2013
"Be Present" - A Guided Meditation with Lori Granger
Meditation in 5 Days
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Chris Green
How To End Depression Stigma
Copyright 2006 Christopher Green For many sufferers, depression brings on feelings of guilt and shame and because of these feelings, they will not seek help. But are these feelings valid? Lack of understanding – both in sufferers and non-sufferers – cl... Read >3 Words That Relieve Stress, Depression & Anxiety
Copyright 2006 Christopher Green One of the most common flawed modes of behavior performed by every sufferer who enters into a harrowing episode of stress, depression or anxiety concerns the words they use to describe situations and events they are con... Read >Stop Money Worries Killing You!
Copyright 2006 Christopher Green Recently, as I was surfing around the web, I found yet another website offering misguided, uninformed and irrelevant advice to people who are stressed, depressed or anxious. The site had the following advice for suffere... Read >5 Tips To Create Positive Changes To Your Life
Copyright 2006 Christopher Green As we settle into the New Year, millions of good intentions and ambitions to make this a better year have already been abandoned. It's an annual triumph for fear, as it knows that the hope and exuberance of New Year cel... Read >3 Ways To Ease Depression Isolation
Copyright 2006 Christopher Green One of the hardest symptoms to deal with during a depressive episode is feeling disconnected from reality. This feeling causes sufferers to Retreat further and further into their own world. They become isolated from the... Read >How You Can Lift The Fog Of Mental Breakdown
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Copyright 2005 Christopher Green You know the old saying "variety is the spice of life", and although many such phrases are just soundbites, this one is anything but. Because let's be honest, sometimes our lives can become routine. We settle into a com... Read >How Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus Risked All to Give Jesus An Honorable Burial
As a crucified criminal in the eyes of the Law, what kind of burial do you suppose Jesus of Nazareth would normally have received?
His body would probably have been thrown into a common grave set apart for criminals. It would be risky to ask for the body of a crucified criminal so that the deceased could be given a proper burial. For anyone to obtain such a corpse, permission would have to be granted by the proper authorities, but it could be dangerous to ask for that permission.
Two influential Jewish leaders were willing to take that risk. One of these men was the wealthy and honorable Joseph of Arimathea. He had not agreed with the other religious leaders to put Jesus to death. After Jesus died on the cross, Joseph courageously approached Governor Pilate and begged that Jesus' body be given to him. Pilate granted his request.
There was another secret disciple who risked his reputation that afternoon. His name was Nicodemus. Once one night, before this sorrowful day, he had privately interviewed Jesus under cover of darkness -- perhaps for fear of being observed.
Joseph of Arimathea owned a new tomb he probably planned to use himself. That is where he and Nicodemus placed the body of Jesus. Nicodemus brought a mixture of about 100 pounds of expensive myrrh and aloes to use to prepare Jesus' body for burial. Myrrh is a type of gum resin that acts as a kind of glue. Aloes is a sweet-smelling oil used for medicinal purposes, as a fragrance, and to use to bury the dead.
The two men worked together spreading this mixture between the encircling layers of a long linen cloth purchased by Joseph. They wrapped the fabric around and around His body until it was completely sealed with the fabric cocoon and perfumed resin. They also wrapped an additional cloth around his head. After they were satisfied they had properly prepared Jesus' body for burial, Joseph rolled a large stone over the cave's opening.
These men publicly declared they were Jesus' friends! Their last act of love for Him is recorded in the Gospels. They both risked their reputations and more to give their Friend a proper burial.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus could not have known at the time that they were participating in the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy from the book of Isaiah. Here is the Scripture telling about the Messiah written over 600 hundred years before Jesus' crucifixion:
"But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man’s grave." (Isaiah 53:8b-9, NLT).
To their great joy, Jesus did not remain in Joseph's tomb for long! He rose from the dead three days later and is alive forever!
Today too it's risky standing up for Jesus, but His true friends are willing to pay the price through God's grace.
And they will never be sorry!
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