Health Benefits Of Being Grateful

Health Benefits Of Being Grateful

By Philip V. Cordova D.C.  |   Submitted On November 17, 2014

Does your attitude really matter? Can you improve your stress levels, your mood, and even your immune system by being grateful? Researchers are now confirming this is true, and that's good news for you! Even though I regularly find spinal misalignments that are affecting someone's health, I still think the most powerful change someone can make is in their attitude.

The developers of Chiropractic believed that trauma to the spine could be physical, chemical, or mental. When patients ask, "How did I get this way?" it can be any of those things. One of the side effects of a chiropractic adjustment is an endorphin boost. That endorphin boost can elevate mood, for sure.

When you're feeling better, you tend to be less grumpy, stressed or depressed. Focusing on what you're grateful for can have a similar effect, and you can do it anytime. Changing your attitude can happen quickly, but that doesn't mean it's an easy thing to do.

Sometimes, we get stuck focusing on our problems and it can quickly start to sour everything around us. "Trying to be positive" often is a band-aid over our poor attitude. When I find that I'm really struggling finding anything to be positive about, I know I'm in trouble and the fastest way to snap out of it is to start thinking of things I'm grateful for.

The list can start small and simple. You don't always have to start with "I'm grateful for my family and that I have a job," but you can. Sometimes your mood may be so bad that you have to start with, "Well, I guess I'm grateful I'm alive today."

A Simple Exercise To Become More Grateful

A simple exercise is to take something that you would normally take for granted and really start to appreciate everything that goes along with it. There's so much intricate work and past history that goes into our every day conveniences, it's staggering how much we don't appreciate.

How about electricity? Are you grateful for that? I know I am. Do you take it for granted? I know I do. You need to see something, so you stroll over to flip a switch and the light turns on. But there's so much more to it.

How about being grateful that Ben Franklin did his work with electricity? Then Thomas Edison worked on a light bulb to bring light into our homes? Or the electrician that wired up your home? The electric company working behind the scenes to monitor the grid to make sure it's all working smoothly? The repair crews that come out within hours to repair damage to electric lines following a bad storm? The job that you go to that allows to get paid enough to pay your electric bill on time so the light will work? Your legs that let you walk over to the switch?

You can go on and on about something as simple as electricity. I'd bet you could fill pages just being grateful for everything that you could brainstorm about this simple thing.

What about your health?

In most cases, we have way more good going on with our health than bad. The patients we see are still mobile and able to tell us what's wrong. There's gratitude to be found just in that. As frustrating as it may be to have headaches, neck pain or whatever else might be going on... most things can be improved and changed.

What are you grateful for?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8812822

Spirituality and Vegetarianism

By Paramahansa Jagadish  |   Submitted On October 20, 2014

We approach this subject of vegetarianism & spirituality by bringing you facts presented from several different perspectives, in order to provide the reader with a well-rounded view of the ideologies held by various religions. We hope that you can use this information to make informed decisions concerning the foods you consume.

Ahimsa in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism:

Ahimsa is a Sanskrit term that essentially means "do no harm" and is a rule of conduct in Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism against killing or injuring any living being. Although debate over how to apply this principle has raged on for centuries, the idea of non-violence has strong connections to the negative karmic consequences of violence against another.

Hinduism and Ayurveda:

In Indian tradition, cooking and eating are forms of worship and the body is believed to be a divine temple. This philosophy suggests that food should give rise to love and life and should promote the efforts to develop a pure body. But more than that, vegetarianism has always been central to both Ayurveda and Hindu living principles. This is for several reasons:

• Fear and the breath: Animals will experience extreme fear as they are shipped and moved through the slaughtering experience, which results in the secretion of bio-chemicals into their bodies (adrenalin and dopamine to name two). These chemicals will be passed along to humans, creating in them similar feelings of fear. Fearful humans, like carnivores, will have short, shallow breathing associated with anxiety and tension and unpleasant breath. But vegetarians and other herbivores take deep, slow, peaceful breaths and have pleasant-smelling breath.

• Human digestive process: Carnivorous animals which have short, yet powerful intestinal tracks to minimize the absorption of toxins from the flesh they eat. Humans have a long digestive track more suited to vegetarian diets. Vegetables traveling through the human digestive tract are broken down naturally as they go, but when a human eats meat, during its long journey down the lengthy digestive tract, the meat rots and putrefies.

• Vital energy: Plants are near the bottom of the food chain, close to the source of 

solar

 energy and therefore close to the source of vital energy. Dead foods, including meats, are considered tamasic foods because they are old, decaying, and distasteful.

Except for perhaps Jainism, vegetarianism runs most strongly in Hinduism. It is not only a part of their faith perspective; it has become an important aspect of the culture.

Jainism:

Jainism, one of the oldest religious traditions originating from India, is a belief system that centers on the idea that all souls are divine and capable of achieving God-consciousness. Jains believe that compassion for all life, both human and non-human, is of prime importance. All Jain monks and laity are required to be vegetarians. In fact, some believe that Jainism was a strong influence in the acceptance of vegetarianism as a common practice in some strains of Hinduism.

They go even further than many other faith traditions in their beliefs surrounding food. Not only do they believe that nonviolence is important in the types of food chosen, they also refuse food that has been obtained with unnecessary cruelty. Therefore many Jains practice veganism to avoid the cruel practices common in conventional, large-scale dairy farms.

Buddhism:

The first of the five beautiful precepts of Buddhism - the ethical code of conduct for all practicing Buddhists - is as follows: "I undertake the precept to refrain from destroying living creatures." In other words do not kill and, as much as possible, take no part in killing by proxy. "Metta", the practice of compassion and loving kindness to all beings without selfish attachment, is another strong motivation for Buddhists to refuse meat in their diets.

Although the Buddha did not require his followers to practice vegetarianism, in the spirit of minimizing harm to all living beings and bestowing on them life and joy as much as possible, he strongly encouraged abstinence from meat eating. Although attitudes toward vegetarianism vary quite widely from sect to sect within Buddhism, many traditions consider it an important personal choice.

Islam:

Like most of the other religious traditions mentioned here, Islam doesn't require Muslims to refrain from eating meat. On the contrary, there is much evidence that the Qur'an (Islam's central religious text) condones the use of animals for food and other purposes. After all, it's the only monotheistic religion that still practices animal sacrifice.

Yet the Qur'an and Hadith (oral traditions of the words and deeds attributed to the prophet Muhammad) both support what many Muslims believe: animals hold a special place in God's creation. Animals are considered sentient beings and are to be treated with kindness, compassion, and mercy. When asked whether his companions would be rewarded for kindness to animals in the life hereafter, the Holy Prophet Mohammad replied, "Yes, there is a meritorious reward for kindness to every living creature."

Vegetarianism, therefore, is a personal choice, although not one specifically recommended or supported by the Islamic faith community or religious tradition.

Judaism:

Of all the Abrahamic religions (to which Christianity and Islam also belong), Judaism likely has the most well-articulated arguments for choosing a meat-free diet. Of course, as with all other faith groups, there is diversity in the Jewish community on the issue of vegetarianism, but there are many who see strong arguments for vegetarianism in the Torah and other scriptural texts. The following are some of the central arguments for Jewish vegetarianism:

• Animals in Jewish tradition: The Hebrew Bible emphasizes a special kinship between animals and humans, which can be seen in the creation narratives as well as other important passages. Not only were mammals and humans created on the same day, according to the principle of tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, Judaism stresses compassion for animals.

• Good stewardship of creation: "The earth is the Lord's" according to the Psalms. Everything in it belongs to God, including animals of all types. God's people were given the task of dominion over creation, but not the domination of a harsh ruler who treats his subjects with cruelty and unkindness. Rather, Judaism, at its core, instructs its people to treat all of creation with compassion and the care of a concerned steward given the responsibility to return creation to God in better shape than it was left with them.

• Messianic vision: During the time that humans were dwelling in Eden, God admonished all creatures to adopt a plant-based diet. After the fall, this principle was largely abandoned due to the selfish cravings of humans, but visions of the messianic era are full of tranquil images of animals coexisting peacefully with each other and humans (the lion shall lay down with the lamb, etc.). By extension, many believe that living by the principles espoused in the creation narrative and messianic prophesies is important for true Jewish living.

Although vegetarianism isn't overly common in the Jewish community, the number of vegetarians and vegans grows with every year as more people understand these interpretations of the biblical texts.

Christianity:

Christianity is rooted in the Jewish tradition, and therefore refers to many of the same scriptural traditions about God's creation as Judaism does. Like vegetarian Jews, Christians who practice vegetarianism do so because of their conviction that as stewards of God's earth, they are to treat all life-including animals-with care and kindness. And, as in Judaism, Christians interpret prophesies, such as those found in Isaiah 11:6-9, to mean that with the return of the Messiah, the world will return to a life-affirming state where all animals live peacefully together.

But for Christians, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, has already come. The New Testament narrative, which tells the story of Jesus, outlines how Christ has already inaugurated the new Kingdom here on earth and bestowed upon humans the task of re-creating earth as God intended it-without death or sorrow. Therefore, while acknowledging human sinfulness, many Christians believe that starting now they should strive toward the peaceful world envisioned in Isaiah. That means choosing a lifestyle that celebrates life, and for many this means becoming a vegetarian.

Sikhism:

The tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, argued that the Sikh belief that sacrificing an animal in the name of God was mere ritualism (which should be avoided), and therefore prohibited the Sikhs from eating meat. In general, other gurus espouse a simple diet.

Sikhism believes that people should not increase their burden of the Karmas, and since there is karmic value in every living thing, and more karmic value in the higher life-forms, eating meat can result in high karmic dues. To avoid this, some Sikhs choose not to eat the flesh of any higher life-forms, including animals. These two Sikh principles mean that the majority of all Sikhs practice a vegetarian lifestyle.

Religious traditions around the world tell compelling stories for how we are to live our lives. What we eat is no different, and as you have seen, there are plenty of philosophies on which to base a choice of vegetarianism, regardless of your faith perspective. These admonishments should encourage us to live non-violent lives that celebrate the joys of coexisting with other earthly creatures.

While opting for a meat-free diet may not be promoted by the mainstream authorities in your particular religious tradition, if you allow yourself to examine your faith texts and oral histories in a new light, you may just see that advocating such a lifestyle choice can be both a way to express your commitment as a person of faith, but also a fulfilling, life-affirming change.

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Understanding, Accepting and Overcoming the Reincarnation Cycle

By Wade C Wilson  |   Submitted On November 08, 2014

During my research into the nature of reality and the meaning of life, there was one puzzle piece that kept arising - and harshly conflicting with my Western cultural upbringing - but eventually I had to face it head-on. That puzzle piece was the subject of reincarnation and how it fits into the development of the (seemingly human) spirit through a cycle of human lives. It seemed reincarnation cleanly answered so many 'why' and 'how' questions that I had, but still I did not want to accept the validity of the concept of reincarnation. First, because of that mental block I had from my Western cultural upbringing and its heavy influence from (recent interpretations of) the Christian religion. And second, because I did not want to experience the pain of humanity again; thus, in my stubborn mindset if I did not believe it was true then maybe it wouldn't be. That's one lure of modern Western religious teachings: life sucks but you (supposedly) only have to experience it once.

Let's face it, the human experience is fraught with trial, challenges and pain, but as it turns out, this is by design - the grand design. Getting through childhood can be tough; then young adulthood has its own set of challenges as does parenthood, middle age and retirement, one's career, love life, etc. It seems that once we're finally able to manage one challenge and move on, there is only a short respite before the next challenge hits us head-on. Sometimes that respite might last a week, or a day, or merely an hour. If you could step out of your life for a moment and observe it as an external, impartial observer, you might notice how comical this pattern seems to re-occur: trial, crescendo, resolution, rest -- and repeat. The cycle itself can be exhausting. When will real rest, without a subsequent challenge, finally occur? Is it no wonder then that the thought that even death does not serve as a real rest, because we merely 

recycle

 into another life and a new set of challenges, is quite unappealing - at least to Westerners?

From a strictly human point of view, I did not want to accept that this rollercoaster ride would not end once I reached my well-deserved 'final' rest at the end of my life. If I managed the trials in this life successfully, what was to guarantee I'd do any better in the next life? In fact, all evidence pointed to a conclusion that only the most experienced souls accepted the hardest lives on earth - whether that be one of extreme poverty or physical handicap, etc. - and since I had neither experience in my current life, I was likely not at the end of my cycle of human lives; so assuredly I was destined to return and experience more pain. Once I finally accepted this fact - that reincarnation was real and I was 'doomed' to return - I broke down and cried out of self-pity for a few minutes.

Then the logical side of me kicked in and I realized the only way off the reincarnation rollercoaster was to 'graduate:' to learn the lessons that life has to impart and get it 'right' so I can be done with it. My research now had a new goal in mind and I had new energy to devote to the problem set. I'll share a few of these findings with you here to help you also get off the rollercoaster of life:

The first is quite simply to re-read the words and life of Jesus from a new vantage point; the vantage point of how to live your life as Jesus lived. Jesus was purposely the model of human perfection. He lived his life to show us the way off the cycle of reincarnation by showing us how to get it right during your current life - not your next life, but this life(!) because meaningful change can happen today if you follow His model. As blasphemous as this may sound, do not read the gospels with the interpretation that Jesus 'died on the cross for your sins,' because that interpretation tends to remove the need for personal change - which was not Jesus' intended message or goal. Read instead with an open mind that Jesus' words tell you what you need to know about the nature of reality and the meaning of life in order to get off the reincarnation cycle; and do not limit yourself to the four 'approved' gospels. Check out the other 'forbidden' gospels as well - most especially the Gospel of Thomas. There's a reason those gospels were not included in the Bible: Jesus' message, as recorded in them, was not conducive to the Church's objective of control over the masses. Any message that humans can change through self initiative, and their success on the path of life is very much due to personal responsibility for their own actions, does not help the Church fathers' message that only they can provide for our salvation because of their unique relationship with the 'Savior.' Thus, those gospels advocating independence of thought and action had to be declared as heresy and were ruthlessly purged from society.

Next, please realize that you are not the 'you' that you look at every day in the mirror. You are not your body. Instead, realize you have a body. That body is merely a tool that the real you - your soul - needed to achieve a goal: to impart specific life lessons in this particular human existence. When those lessons are complete, you will shed the body your conscious mind has grown to associate with you and the 'real you,' the soul within, will reunite with that other part of you (your oversoul) that could not fit inside your human body. (Too much soul energy would have destroyed the human body from excessive energy overload, so only a small portion of your true soul can occupy your human form.) Again, your body is a tool. Protect it, honor it and use it for its purpose, but don't grow too attached to it or you will fear losing it.

Fear is the primary inhibitor and protagonist of human life. All human trials are based on some form of fear (safety, hunger, competition, jealousy, anger, greed, death, isolation, loss of loved one, etc), and it is the path of overcoming those fears that eventually leads to freedom from the cycle of reincarnation. Jesus' message in this regard was quite simple and yet so complex and difficult to follow: (paraphrased) Fear not, for if the Lord of Hosts will care for the birds of the sky, who have not a care in the world, how much more will He care for you, His precious children.

The human body serves a specific purpose for soul development: as a vehicle, seemingly separated from God, which then creates an environment of fear. We 'need' fear because fear provides the fuel necessary to learn from new experiences and thereby gain the skills to overcome those fears through either good or poor life choices. Repeating fear-based scenarios (usually via new lives) allows us to repeat this process until we finally make the (hard) right choice.

Every life is thus a class that plays out like a drama-filled play - and YOU are the main actor. The challenges that you experience in life were meant to happen - they were preordained(!) - because they provide you a means to test your ability to overcome challenges with either the right response, or the wrong response (because free will must be allowed). Life would not be a test if you were born knowing your intended purpose for that life, such as needing to overcome anger management issues, or if you already knew the answer about how to accomplish a given challenge. It also wouldn't be a test if you knew what was coming next in life - challenges must be surprises - or why the particular challenge was happening, or didn't have to work hard to pass the challenge. Unfortunately, while you can move on from a test in this life after choosing the 'wrong' answer, your soul cannot move on until you finally answer the challenge correctly in a subsequent life.

Jealousy might be a good example. Virtually everyone experiences some form of jealousy very early in life - say as a result of a teenage crush. Many people quickly overcome this issue, but some are stuck and remain jealous throughout most/all of their life. It's an issue they'll have to deal with continually until they can eventually learn how to overcome it. Anger is another good example, as is greed and so many other common human traits. Unfortunately, common life challenges tend to repeat in virtually every life so if you can't overcome jealousy until age 60 in this life, you may well have a hard time overcoming jealousy in the next life too, but eventually this challenge will become a simple matter to master and you'll be ready to move onto significantly harder challenges. Those who have lived many (hundreds of) lives, might be able to quickly overcome common life challenges, but make no mistake, they are still fighting their own issues or they would not have been born this time around. If there is any consolation to this hard truth, it is that no one is challenged more than their soul is prepared to accept. However, the truth of this matter is hard to see from the human vantage point, especially during catastrophes, and only becomes evident when discussing the matter with the person's subconscious via hypnosis.

So the deeper question then is, "Why do we need a life with trials, pain, loss, challenge and hardship?" Quite 'simply,' because everything is energy. If everything is energy, then everything both seen and unseen is energy. Your soul is naught but pure energy, while mass - like your body, your chair, your car, and the entire earth - is simply very dense, relatively stable energy. Einstein proved this point with his very important finding: E= mc²; which showed mass (m) has an equivalency to a certain amount of energy (E).

There is an important implication from this discussion on energy that can help you overcome fear and find a way out of the reincarnation cycle. That point is that energy can never be destroyed; it merely changes form. If nothing else in this article can provide you relief, it should be this point. In other words, your soul, which is pure energy, can never die because energy cannot be destroyed. You came from God, i.e. the Source of All energy (and actually are still inside of God because nothing exists outside of All That Is), and you will return to the 'heart' of God when your mission on Earth is done. But the real you cannot 'die.' It merely sheds its human form once the need for that form has been expended and moves onto the next stage of development. Indeed, the act of dying is universally reported during past-life hypnotic regression to be a pleasant relief - quite unlike the birthing process as reported by soul memories of being born anew, so this knowledge could help a strong person realize new potential as one who is completely fearless. After all, what can harm you? In truth, nothing can harm you but yourself, or more accurately your own intentions, interpretations and expectations of your own future life challenges. But I digress.

So why is it important to have trials in life if everything is energy? It is because earth serves as a very effective training school for handling energy. Again, physical reality is comprised of very dense energy while the spirit realm is comprised of very dynamic (fluid-like) energy that is highly responsive to change from no more external input that one's own thoughts and intentions. If you were in the spirit form, for example, you could think 'big, blue castle,' and a big, blue castle would immediately form in accordance with your intentions. Energy on earth does not respond in a similar manner. Changes on earth occur very slowly, but can be effected similarly. It's like the power of positive thinking. When you expect a good thing to happen in your life, you can make an assertion that the good item will occur, and then take specific actions to help that item manifest. Doing so, you can literally change your own reality according to your intention, but that change happens much more slowly than merely the speed of thought.

So you must realize that everything that occurs is for the purpose of learning how to utilize energy in a positive manner. Earth is our training ground where we can experience the use of energy in a manner that actually causes the least harm because thoughts and intentions do not immediately manifest in one's environment. (Imagine, if you will, the impact if thoughts were immediate during rush hour traffic! What would be the immediate and highly negative impact on the world? Would we all 'love thy neighbor' or would we wish the 'jerks' in front of us out of our way?) However, even secondary and tertiary effects of our earth-bound negative thoughts and actions do have consequences, and it is those consequences that result in a karmic cycle of fixing our prior mistakes so we can learn how to use energy positively instead of negatively. It's not quite as bad or literal as the Old Testament's appellations of 'an-eye-for-an-eye' or 'live by the sword, die by the sword,' but negative karma has the same implication: you will have to face and fix your prior mistakes before you can move on.

While energy can be used negatively - what humans might think of as 'the devil made me do it' - not all negative examples of energy are quite so definitive or drastic. There is righteous anger, for example, but anger is one of those danger zones that can be quite difficult for almost all humans to manage. Still, a failure is a failure. When someone makes you mad, you could: get mad right back, yell, curse, strike at, and/or kill the person. While in the human sense, some of these responses are more acceptable than others, but from the spiritual sense of learning how to constructively use energy, all of these responses were failures and will only result in more anger-generating trials occurring in the soul's future (in current or subsequent lives) until a proper response is finally tendered.

One might wonder then, what a proper response - one that has a constructive use of energy - looks like? Again, Jesus showed us the answer through the example of His own life. How did He instruct us to behave towards those who wanted to do us harm? Paraphrased: If they strike the right cheek, give them also the left. If they want to take your shoes, give them also your cloak. Love not just your family and friends, but love also your enemies and those who would do you harm; forgive them and curse them not. This response is the 'hard right' vice the 'easy wrong,' and one of the reasons why it takes us normal humans so many hundreds of lives before we can finally accept and implement this truth to get off the reincarnation wheel.

Anger is one of the most common negative responses we utilize to overcome day-to-day challenges in our lives. But why do humans meet anger with anger, vice love and forgiveness? If we're honest with our self and examine the issue deeply, it's because we are afraid. If we were not afraid for our continued, unimpeded survival, free from competition or challenge, etc, then we would not be afraid. But remember that relieving truth that Einstein provided us - highlighted in part 1 of this series - i.e. our survival is already guaranteed. Now granted, it might be survival as a soul vice a physical human body - the body can and will die - but our soul has absolutely no reason to fear for its perfect, unimpeded, continued survival. If you can accept this fact and understand what you must do to 'win' your trials as a human, then you must be willing to follow Jesus' life example, which includes being willing to be persecuted, defiled, cursed, beat, and killed - all without resistance - and indeed even loving and forgiving towards those who would do these horrible things to you. If you can meet this challenge, then your trials as a human will come to an end and you will graduate off the karmic cycle of reincarnations.

But until you can accept this very difficult fact, you'll have to deal with all of the negative karma (i.e. negative energy response issues) that you have generated from the multitude of life trials you've experienced - in this life and many previous lives; of which you are likely not even aware. Fortunately, if you're willing to do the work, you don't have to be aware of anything you may have done wrong in the past, you just have to be willing to make the right responses (the 'hard right') for all engagements moving forward. The past quite literally does not matter in the spiritual realm where time does not exist. Only the present matters. You live now and forever in the present so only your decisions right NOW matter.

If you make the right decisions from this point forward until the end of your life you can work off any and all negative karma you may have accumulated in the past. How? The universe will send you challenge after challenge, allowing you to make decisions - either right or wrong - and guaranteed those challenges will get progressively more difficult when you make the right choice (by spiritual rules) until the day your life ends. It might not be a pleasant prospect but Jesus did not lie when He said you could reach Heaven by following Him in His footsteps. Those footsteps ended in persecution, torture and a tragic death because He lived His life at such odds from conventional society. If you are really willing to make every 'hard right' choice, you will and you must position yourself at odds with society because society does not, by current convention, love unconditionally. You will be different than society at large, and society tends to persecute those who behave differently. Thus, you guarantee that you will attract challenges to yourself, potentially allowing yourself to wipe away all past negative karma if you choose to change immediately and live according to Jesus' dictates. (Beware, however, that even those claiming to be 'Christians' are not living according to Jesus. Perhaps ironically, one might look rather to the example of Tibetan monks for a better model to follow, though even they are not without fault or sin.)

All of this points toward a need for humanity to develop a new mindset; one that focuses on responsibility for one's own decisions and actions. It might be easier to blame our actions on others: 'Jim' made me do it; 'everyone' is doing it; or the Devil (or God) did this bad thing to me. What we perceive as evil is actually only energy being used or expressed in a negative way, most likely out of fear. What we perceive as bad circumstances (damage from an earthquake, volcano, or tornado for example) is simply our life plan being played out to present us challenges that our soul agreed to - even desired to - experience originating from before our life even began. Both of these examples point out the fact that there is no bad luck; there is no evil overlord/no Devil; there is no Hell. There is only ENERGY. That energy is creating experiences for you to learn from. When you understand what that negative event is trying to teach you (e.g. forgiveness, love, self sufficiency, dependability, hard work, persistence, etc.) then the lesson is over and you will move on with your life experience to the next challenge.

Sometimes the fastest way to move ahead, as counter-intuitive as it may seem in the face of darkness, is to thank the Universe for presenting you that challenge, accept the challenge for the lessons and opportunity it presents, love all those involved who were involved in presenting you that challenge, and forgive them - and yourself - for any perceived wrongs or shortcomings. Sometimes the latter can be the hardest of all because our mind gets stuck replaying events over and over, trying to analyze what just happened and why. We need to move beyond the past because there is no growth in the past; only in the present, looking forward. So we must forgive and accept our self. You see, we must love and be proud of who we are because we are a piece of God/All That Is.

Thus, the easiest way to repay karma and get off the wheel of reincarnation is to forgive. This action follows the words of Jesus when He instructed us to forgive and love our enemies. In order to forgive, we must be able to put fear aside by realizing that we have nothing to fear. We are as eternal as God because we are a part of the Unified Source of All Energy. Everything is Energy. If you are energy and energy cannot be destroyed then nothing can hurt you - the REAL you; your soul. Physical life is but an illusion our immortal consciousness has created for our own (developmental) benefit. So if you cannot be hurt and any negative experiences in physical reality were actually part of your life experience contract that was decided upon before you even entered this life, then really there is no reason to feel anger, resentment, or hurtful towards anyone who has done you wrong. This is a tough concept to believe, accept or implement, but if you can, then it is no problem to forgive even the worst offender who has seemingly done you wrong. They were part of your life contract for that particular experience, and they played their role according to that agreed upon contract. They did you a service - from the soul perspective - no matter how painful that action was towards your human perspective and how seemingly mean that contract required them to be towards you or yours.

If you can forgive and love them unconditionally, as Jesus commanded, then karma and the cycle of life have no more control over you and your mission in physical reality is complete. You'll be off to your next adventure but one can only speculate about what comes next in the development cycle of the immortal soul. Very few souls, if any, have graduated from the cycle of humanity and returned. If they did return, they weren't focused on telling us about what comes next - what would be the point? Rather, their guidance was the same as this article on reincarnation - teaching us how to graduate from our extended experience as humans. That's the concern for today and the only one for which we need to focus. Tomorrow will worry about itself.

I'll close with one final point. In the long run, it doesn't really matter if you believe any of this advice or not. We accept only that metaphysical and spiritual information that we are ready to accept, and our waking conscious purposely resists accepting any information or beliefs that would circumvent the experience that comes from living a series of human lives; whether 10, 100 or 1,000 lives, it makes no difference. Some people are relatively new to their human experience and need to live dozens or hundreds more lives to fully integrate the lessons on energy manipulation that the soul requires. From that point of view, the pragmatic answer is that you'll get off the cycle when you're ready to get off the cycle. If you're not ready, then you're not ready; no worries. You simply have more lessons to learn. Therefore, it really doesn't matter if you believe this article or not, or you believe it but are not ready to follow any of the advice in it. You'll incorporate only those lessons into your life that you're ready to receive, and the rest will follow in its own due time. The lessons of life are not about a race or a competition. We compete with no one but our self, and eventually everyone graduates. However, we all graduate on our own timeline, so we don't need to stress out about what the future holds in store for us. It'll all work itself out in the long run. That's the beauty of the human experience. Everything happens for a reason, whether we realize it or not. So incorporate what you want or what you can, and try not to take life too seriously. It's an amazing and unique opportunity from the soul's point of view so simply try to enjoy the ride.

Wade is the author of The Hidden Truth: A logical path through compelling evidence to discover the nature of reality and the meaning of life, available at Amazon. The first half of the book can be downloaded for free at http://www.thehiddentruth.us and http://www.free-ebooks.net.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8801144

How To Find Mental And Spiritual Health

By Christina Sponias  |   Submitted On September 15, 2014

The commercial world keeps working based on violence. Nobody pays attention to the terrible daily news announcing wars and denouncing crimes, even though many people worry about their own interests after reading these events.

Many times the shocking news manage to impress the public, but not for long. Interesting ads and superficial facts are more effective.

Everyone here is induced to feed their ego. We want to have a pleasant journey and enjoy our daily lives.

We are suffering through many ways, but we pretend to be fine. Of course, it depends on our social position. Those who have human rights (because they pay taxes) believe that they should be happy, since this is a human necessity.

Some of them are exhibitionists. They like to show to the world their numerous possessions.

Even though they are surrounded by poverty, terror, violence, and immorality, they believe that they deserve to be happy because their justice is based on selfishness and greed. Happiness is a civil right for those who have money in banks.

Multiple mental illnesses are torturing the world population. Numerous incurable diseases kill many people all the time.

However, the mentally ill will never be cured based on suppositions. This is why many schizophrenic murderers have powerful social positions.

They hold the global economy in their hands. They are our leaders. Nobody can be against their desires. Otherwise, they will simply die.

Even though the world keeps becoming worse, many people insist on looking for happiness in the big mess we created in our exploited planet.

Then, they wonder why they keep having nightmares. Why can't they simply rest at night?

Because when we sleep God sends us important messages in dreams, uncovering the bitter truth. Our dreams reflect the fight between our human conscience and Satan's ideas.

We are absurd and evil because we have inherited a wild conscience, the anti-conscience, which is a terrible demon. Our tiny human conscience must offer resistance to the demon's suggestions.

God sends us messages while we are sleeping because then we are not influenced by our anti-conscience. The dream language is incomprehensible to our conscience, but our human conscience can learn the symbolic dream language and understand God's words in dreams.

God cannot be too clear because our anti-conscience must not understand His words before our conscience does. Otherwise, it will distort the divine messages and we won't have any protection against our satanic anti-conscience.

The dream language is complex, but Carl Jung managed to decipher the perfect code for an accurate dream translation. Now that I simplified his complicated method, you can easily understand God's words in dreams. You will avoid following the tragic destiny of the human race, and evolve without limits.

The truth becomes clearly visible thanks to dream analysis based on the scientific method of dream interpretation.

Many people want to get rid of their nightmares without understanding their messages because they ignore that their bad dreams reflect their own absurdity; the absurdity existent behind the scenes, while they pretend to be decent human beings.

God cannot let us disregard the horrors of the world, and the absurdity existent into the biggest part of our brain.

This is why our dreams reflect our behavior and the absurd tendencies we have inherited. They reflect the truth we don't want to see because we insist on following the materialistic ideals of the world.

We don't want to pay attention to our absurdity. We like to be irresponsible and indifferent.

Our dreams denounce our cruelty.

Now you can understand that the incomprehensible dream images make sense when you know what exists in the human brain. Now you can also understand that what seems to be normal (because everyone agrees with it) is in fact absurd.

Therefore, instead of believing that 'dreams are just dreams' you should conclude that your dreams are as important as your own life because they help you eliminate your wild side.

The dreams you have when you sleep open your eyes, while the lies the world imposes to your conscience destroy your immune system. You must pay attention to the meaning of dreams, and stop trusting the false information of the hypocritical world.

The truth about your reality is totally different from the image you have, which is based on your ignorance, your suppositions, and the distorted information you have from the false world.

You have to pay attention to the unconscious lessons. The unconscious mind that produces your dreams and works like a natural doctor is not merely a natural organ. The unconscious mind is God's mind, as I'm proving with the information I'm giving you right now.

You must care about your spiritual purification more than anything else. Nothing is more important than the elimination of your satanic anti-conscience through consciousness.

Christina Sponias continued Carl Jung's research into the human psyche, discovering the cure for all mental illnesses, and simplifying the scientific method of dream interpretation that teaches you how to exactly translate the meaning of your dreams, so that you can find health, wisdom and happiness.
Learn more at: http://www.scientificdreaminterpretation.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8723156

Understanding The Meaning Of Freedom And Mental Health

By Christina Sponias  |   Submitted On September 25, 2014

Our freedom on earth is not really true, since we are limited by many factors. However we have the impression that we are free to do whatever we may desire. We don't think about the consequences of our actions.

If you will think about all the horrors of the world you will realize that our freedom is dangerous. However, God gives us freedom on earth because we must become conscious human beings.

If we didn't have the freedom to kill someone else we wouldn't understand the importance of social rules. Our conscience must understand many moral aspects, even though we have the freedom to disregard our moral principles.

If we wouldn't be free to transform our reality and follow our own thoughts, we wouldn't be conscious creatures. We would be robots without a personality.

We are free, but at the same time God tries to help us understand how to behave. This is why He sends us many dreams with information and guidance.

You may believe that this method of communication is not really effective, but you are not taking into consideration the effect of dreams in everyone's psyche. Many people made important decisions based on a vivid dream. Other people made important scientific discoveries thanks to the vision they had in a dream, even without knowing the dream language.

There are many dreams that seem to be somehow comprehensible for our conscience. The dream language is complex. It gives us information about many different aspects at the same time.

When you will learn the meaning of the dream images based on the scientific method you will understand God's words. Then, you will be able to understand the divine wisdom.

Your dreams transport you to different places where things that don't happen in your daily life can happen. Dreams follow another logic. They give you lessons with examples.

God tries to make you follow His logic, which is based on goodness and wisdom. You have to abandon the selfish and idiotic logic of your human conscience and pay attention to the sensitive and philosophical language of your natural doctor; the divine unconscious mind.

You are used with violent reactions, lies, and various negative expressions. You cannot easily understand God's purity. The immorality that characterizes your anti-conscience (and also your human conscience) doesn't let you understand the meaning of innocence, purity, sincerity, and loyalty.

The immorality of the world imposes even more immorality to the immoral tendencies you already have. This is why you are not able to perceive God's perfection.

In order to understand the precious information you have in dreams you must have the right attitude. Besides having to learn the meaning of the dream symbols and the dream logic, you also have to understand your position and have the right attitude with God.

You are an imperfect sinner who must be corrected. God produces your dreams in order to save your conscience from craziness, and help you develop your intelligence.

Your dreams contain important behavioral lessons, life lessons, and information. You have information about other people and the world. You also learn what will happen in the future.

By following the divine guidance in your dreams you understand the way God thinks. You achieve a higher level of consciousness.

This means that your freedom to do whatever you may desire is not an advantage. Only if will obey the divine guidance will you be successful in life.

Freedom can be considered an advantage if you will compare it to slavery. Of course, it is better to be free, but your freedom is very dangerous. You have to follow the right guidance instead of acting based on your suppositions.

Freedom is simply a basic condition for your development and evolution. It is not a purpose. You don't live in order to be free. You are free because you are not a slave.

If you will waste your time doing whatever you may desire you won't follow an indispensable evolutionary process. You must stop being a violent rational animal, and become a calm and sensitive human being.

Christina Sponias continued Carl Jung's research into the human psyche, discovering the cure for all mental illnesses, and simplifying the scientific method of dream interpretation that teaches you how to exactly translate the meaning of your dreams, so that you can find health, wisdom and happiness.
Learn more at: http://www.scientificdreaminterpretation.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8740655

Three For the Show (The Three Parts for a Better Life)

By Roy Sorvari  |   Submitted On September 22, 2014

You can live better and have a good time doing it. In search of finding the right training program for yourself there are three basic elements. The late International World Great Grand Master Madam Min Ou Yang would say, "Shin, I(e), Chi", which would be translated to:

1) Your Spirit, Your Mind and Your Energy. Your Spirit: Drive, motivation, your go power, determination, get up and go etc.
2) Your Mind: Problem solving, Brain power, ingenuity, your smarts, how to use it, resourcefulness etc.
3) Energy: Stamina, strength, health, amount, power etc.

By building a program to encompass these three, your physical appearance will increase. Lets take a walk down a mental highway of the past together.

The Mind: Learning young, what was it that helped you get motivated about something. Why did you have that energy? Believe it or not, your Mind, Spirit and Energy will become stronger or weaker over time. The Mind: When we were younger we were always learning new things. We had school, after school sports, home projects, Religion, stuff like that. We even had the dark side of learning. Our minds were always engaged in something new. Do we engage in idle conversation, or do we promote meaningful uplifting new learning experiences for our mind?

The Spirit: Remember being part of a program that was bigger than us, moving forward, doing, Doing and DOING to get the job done... with no food and with very little energy, but some how it was finished on time.

Energy: How did we lift so much? Up all nighters and not being tired. Being in the ZONE! Yeah that felt good.

There is a way to get that back and more.

Tai Chi Chuan, Chi Kung, and Meditation combined is a good place to start. Tai Chi can calm the mind through ancient flowing movements that enhances the Chi flow (electro-magnetic energy that flows through one self). Tai Chi focuses your Chi through specific parts of your body or points that eliminates your focused stress (unresolved problems) to allow your mind to do it's job, and that is to solve problems.

It's very important to carry a pad of paper and a pen to write down your inspirations and solutions to problems so you will not to forget and have to start the process all over again for that problem. This should be a common practice while meditating until you have mastered meditation. Being able to solve problems for one self is a skill that can be achieved.

Health and Wellness is a part of a well rounded solution for a good and full life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8733881

7 Simple Ways to a Healthier Mind and Body

By Penelope J Whiteley  |   Submitted On September 30, 2014

What we think affects our bodies. You probably know from experience that when you think about something stressful or irritating, your heart rate increases, you may feel agitated, or even get an upset stomach. Hopefully, you've also noticed that when you think about something or someone you love, you have a feeling of calm, your breathing is deep and relaxed, and you may notice you're not as tense.

The thing to remember is that you do have control over how you feel, and using a few simple techniques throughout your day can dramatically improve how you feel. You can even slow your heart rate and blood pressure... at will!

Visualisation is a creative form of meditation. Your thoughts are constantly creating pictures in your mind. Happy, positive thoughts will inspire and energize you while depressive, negative thoughts will deplete your energy.

Visualisation can be practised anywhere, but a closed room with dim lighting is best; at least until you master the art. Learn to step away from a stressful situation (even 3 seconds will work); picture your favourite things and focus on slow, regular, deep breathing!

Yoga is a 3000 year old tradition which is much more than mere exercise. In addition to helping you feel at peace, yoga helps heal illness, lubricates your joints, ligaments and muscles and helps strengthen every part of your body.

Yoga also teaches you how to breathe properly, lowers blood pressure and benefits almost every organ in your body. Yoga may be practised by people of any age; it soothes the mind and will keep you young, energetic and vivacious!

Prayer or meditation. Whether it be in the form of affirmations, prayers to your own particular god, conversations with the universe or talking to your angels or guardians, will feed your spirituality.

Prayer creates a feeling of peace. It will soothe your mind and provide you with a feeling of well-being... mentally, spiritually and physically. Feeling at peace with yourself is a major boost to your overall state of happiness.

Re-frame Your Thoughts

Most of us notice things only when they become a problem; so why not try looking differently at what you now consider irritations and stop them from becoming mountains... keep them as mole hills. Train your brain to see things from a different perspective.

For example:

Have an attitude of gratitude.

If you woke up this morning, be thankful! Even if you have aches and pains... that's a pretty good indication you're still alive!

Be grateful for dirty dishes... it means you've had a delicious meal.

If you have bills to pay, be glad that you've enjoyed the benefit of electricity, fuel, and a roof over your head.

Notice something you normally overlook:

Has the road been repaired?

Are flowers in bloom?

Are the leaves turning into a rainbow of colour?

Did your waiter have a nice smile?

Be nice to someone:

Offer up your seat on the bus or train.

Open the door for someone.

Pick up the tab for coffee or even lunch... for a stranger.

Smile.

Donate some of your books, clothing, dishes, etc.

Remember that everyday isn't great, but there's something great in everyday.

It's really just a matter of re-framing your thoughts, paying attention and learning to see things as they are, and not as you believe they should be.

Penelope Jane Whiteley is an international speaker, entrepreneur and writer and Change Catalyst for Women Over 50. She specialises in helping women 50+ re-create, re-design and re-style their lives. Penelope is the author of Hot Stuff-The Ultimate Style Guide for Women of a Certain Age, and her new book, 25 Ways to a Happier, Healthier You. Learn to Age DISgracefully with Penelope on her website athttp://penelopewhiteley.com, or on 

Facebook

 at http://facebook.com/agingdisgrace.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8747258