Maybe you subscribe, as I do, to the wisdom of living one day at a time. However, you may find a better approach in one minute at a time, especially when you’re under stress. “Being in the moment” makes much more sense than looking back at events you cannot change or peering fearfully into the future. It’s about being grateful for what you have and for what’s going on right now.

Children are brilliant at this. You cannot imagine my delight when, on a family trip to the countryside, I overheard my nine-year-old granddaughter saying to her six-year-old brother, “Let’s lie on our backs and watch the clouds.”

Yes, lets.

It wasn’t so long ago that some of you were doing just that. Embarrassingly, it has been many years since I’ve gazed at the clouds, although I remember the last time as if it were yesterday. It is one of those moments you savor for a lifetime. My granddaughter Abbie was yet again the catalyst (I see a future for her as a cloud docent). We were lying on our backs beside a stream, looking at the sky through the branches of the trees. The leaves were rustling in their endlessly beautiful song. I turned to Abbie and said, “Do you know what the trees are saying?” She asked, “What?” and I responded, “They are telling us, “All is well. All is very, very well!”

It’s important to remember that.

I’m not saying that sometimes things aren’t well; sometimes they really, really stink. But have you noticed how much of your stress is about things that haven’t happened and may never happen? Or you’re fretting over events that have already occurred and cannot be changed. During those times of stress, it’s important to remember that right at this moment, all is well.

The gift of being grateful for what I have right now is what helped pull me out of a 30-year depression. And, being the slow learner that I am, I have to remind myself to practice gratitude on a moment-by-moment basis.

If your ability to be in the moment has gotten rusty, take time today to practice. Oh, sure, it would be nice if your boss allowed you to gaze out the window and daydream but I doubt that would be met with much approval. I work for myself and I can tell you my boss won’t let me do that!

Even so, practicing being in the now is something you can do all day long. It’s about noticing. For example, right now I’m noticing how easily I can type this sentence and taking delight in my ability to do so. Take this moment to notice how well you read as your eyes glide over these words.

Look around you. What pleases you as you look at it? Are there co-workers who make you smile? Is there work in front of you that will keep you absorbed until it’s time to go home?

All this may sound corny, but it works!

You take much more for granted than you know until you take the time to notice it. The phrase “an embarrassment of riches” applies to all of us. If we are present to these riches and savor them each moment, they cease to be an embarrassment and become, instead, a delight.

When you mix the ability to be in the moment with a sense of gratitude for what you possess just then, the result is a childlike appreciation for life as it’s happening right now.

Life, it turns out, is well worth noticing.

 

Source: Change Your Focus, Change Your Life

 

 

The Tao Te Ching (see Saturday, April 15 post: What is the Tao Te Ching?) contains 81 chapters of ancient wisdom.  This one addresses compassion:

 

 

Chapter 68

 

Compassion is the finest weapon and best defense.
If you would establish harmony,
Compassion must surround you like a fortress.

Therefore,
A good soldier does not inspire fear;
A good fighter does not display aggression;
A good conqueror does not engage in battle;
A good leader does not exercise authority.

This is the value of unimportance;
This is how to win the cooperation of others;
This to how to build the same harmony that is in nature.

 

 

Source: Peter A. Merel

 

 

Wrist pain is often due to repetitive stress imposed on the wrist by computer related activity such as typing. Sometimes wrist pain is due to carpal tunnel syndrome. In this condition the inflamed tissue compresses the nerve inside the wrist (medial nerve). The nerve, in turn, releases chemical substances that inflame the tissue further. When treating this condition your goal is to stop the inflammation/compression cycle.

 

According to the theory of Acupressure, actively massaging certain points on and around the wrist can be as effective way to treat wrist pain.  (see May 9, 2006 post: What is Acupressure?). 

 

How do you know whether you have the right spot?  The pressure points “announce themselves with a feeling of tenderness, tingling, soreness, or minor discomfort,” explains Michael Castleman in Nature Cures.

 

 

Step 1: P6

 

Location: On the interior side of the arm, in the hollow between the bones of the forearm, three finger-widths above the wrist crease.

Suggestion: Apply firm deep strokes of pressure in the direction of the palm. The initial painful sensation should soon begin to subside; if not, discontinue pressure.

Duration: 3 min or more, if comfortable

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2: P7

 

Location: In the wrist, in the hollow between the bones of the forearm.

Suggestion: Apply firm deep strokes of pressure in a downward direction. The initial painful sensation should soon begin to subside; if not, discontinue pressure.

Duration: 3 min, if comfortable

 

 

 

 

 

Step 3: TW5

 

Location: On the back of the arm, in the depression between the two bones, three finger-widths above the wrist crease.

Suggestion: Apply firm deep strokes of pressure in upward direction. The initial painful sensation should soon begin to subside; if not, discontinue pressure.

Duration: 2 min, if comfortable

 

 

 

 

 

Step 4: TW4

 

Location: On the back of the arm, in the center of the wrist crease.

Suggestion: Apply firm deep strokes of pressure in an upward direction. The initial painful sensation should soon begin to subside; if not, discontinue pressure.

Duration: 2 min, if comfortable

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 5: Li5

 

Location: In the wrist crease, near the thumb tendon. Move the thumb to feel the tendon movement.

Suggestion: Apply firm deep strokes of pressure in upward direction. The initial painful sensation should soon begin to subside; if not, discontinue pressure.

Duration: 2 min, if comfortable

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 6: Si5

 

Location: In the wrist crease, in the hollow on the side of the wrist.

Suggestion: Apply firm deep strokes of pressure in an upward direction. The initial painful sensation should soon begin to subside; if not, discontinue pressure.

Duration: 2 min, if comfortable

 

 

 

 

 

Caution: This acupressure information is not a substitution for qualified medical advice.  If you don't know what is causing pain or other symptoms, consult a medical doctor before you start treating yourself.

 

 

Source: AcupressureOnline.Org

 

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"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that this new world is born."

- Anais Nin

 

__________________________________

 

Total Freedom: The Essential Krishnamurti

 

by J. Krishnamurti

 

 

Counted among his admirers are Jonas Salk, Aldous Huxley, David Hockney, and Van Morrison, along with countless other philosophers, artist, writers and students of the spiritual path. Now the trustees of Krishnamurti’s work have gathered his very best and most illuminating writings and talks to present in one volume the truly essential ideas of this great spiritual thinker. Total Freedom includes selections from Krishnamurti’s early works, his ‘Commentaries on Living’, and his discourses on life, the self, meditation, sex and love. These writings reveal Krishnamuri’s core teachings in their full eloquence and power: the nature of personal freedom; the mysteries of life and death; and the ‘pathless land’, the personal search for truth and peace. Warning readers away from blind obedience to creeds or teachers – including himself – Krishnamurti celebrated the individual quest for truth, and thus became one of the most influential guides for independent-minded seekers of the twentieth century – and beyond.

Described by the Dalai Lama as one of the greatest thinkers of the age, J. Krishnamurti has influenced millions throughout the 20th century, and his thoughts continue to resonate even a decade after his death. His words have influenced . . . countless other students of the spiritual path, ranging from scientists to philosophers to artists of all kinds. Practical, profound and timeless, Krishnamurti's ideas -- rejecting the prejudices of traditional learning, celebrating personal, spiritual freedom, and the individual's search for Truth -- are inspiring now more than ever. Collected in this comprehensive volume are the most illuminating and essential of his writings and talks: words that are of vital relevance to today's spiritual environment, and catalytic in guiding us toward a deeper understanding of ourselves, our place in the universe, and the mysteries of the human condition.

 

The book icon above links to Amazon.com.  Purchases of books and other items through this link help support this site.  Thank you.

 

 

 

 

Nothing is left for the heart
when it is focused on particulars,
becoming adapted to their constructions
like a thing tied to a post,
with space in one's life
far away,
on the other side of such things.

The push of interest becomes the act of holding,
so big spaces only become shadows
and particulars create big shadows.

When the particulars lose
their particular importance
big spaces open up.
Where will such spaces lead?

 

Christopher Titmuss, a former Buddhist monk in Thailand and India, teaches Awakening and Insight Meditation around the world.

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Now and Zen

 

 

Steven Wright is the comedian who once said: "I woke up one morning and all of my stuff had been stolen... and replaced by exact duplicates."

 

Here are some more of his gems:

- I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.

- If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.

- All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand.

- OK, so what's the speed of dark?

- When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

- Hard work pays off in the future, laziness pays off now.

- I intend to live forever -- so far, so good.

- What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

- A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.

- The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.

 

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"If you don't like what you're doing, then don't do it."

- Ray Bradbury

 

 

Many people are talking about The Secret, a new book and DVD that focuses on the law of attraction and the power of the mind to influence our lives.  Friends and acquaintances who’ve read or seen it report that while the information is not new, the presentation, including perspectives from over twenty teachers and scientists, appears to provide clearer guidelines in an attractive and inspirational way.

 

While I’m glad to see more books or DVDs like The Secret that encourage people to explore positive thinking and mind power, I want to remind readers that True and Useful has featured the writing of others who we feel have made significant contributions to this field, including:

 

 

 

     You Can Have It All, by Arnold Patent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t Worry, Make Money, by Richard Carlson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Spiritual Economics, by Eric Butterworth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success,

    by Deepak Chopra

 

 

 

People travel to wonder at the height of mountains,

at the huge waves of the sea,

at the long courses of rivers,

at the vast compass of the ocean,

at the circular motion of the stars;

And they pass by themselves without wondering.

 

 

 

We all have within us a vantage point -- a very special part of ourselves within which we may be at peace regardless of what goes on around us. This yet-to-be realized state of ourselves may be called conscious self-awareness. Through its power, instead of being pulled down into painful identification with the passing shadows of life, we can discover a life in a peace far above the reach of any fear. One thing needs to be clear about true peace of mind: Either we are at peace wherever we are -- because this peace goes with us -- or what we call our peace is a product of some pleasurable condition over which we have temporary command. In situations like the latter, though largely unconscious to us, we sense that our peace is conditional. We know that we must work to keep certain prevailing conditions in place in order to remain at peace. And this, of course, means that we will resist any movement that threatens our desired state. Clearly such a tentative peace is not true peace at all, because it dwells side by side, in league with an unseen conflict that is a basic requirement of its existence.

What does this insight teach us? True peace is never a sensation. Its hidden nature is the expression of a timeless stillness, a silence not born of, and therefore beyond, the play of the opposites. This silence cannot be possessed. As it cannot be gained, neither can it be lost, which means that whomever it embraces lives in a world free of fear.

What does this mean to us? True silence may be called upon, but as it is without cause, it always appears on its own, remaining only as it pleases its purpose. Nevertheless, one may court this stillness through a quiet wish to understand its life within one's own. For this reason, our moment-to-moment meditation becomes a revelation if we open ourselves to truth and listen to what it reveals.

Study the next "Seven Insights Into True Silence" and allow their understanding to reveal the secret home of peace within you. Ponder these truths. Quietly turn them over and over in your mind. Soon you will hear what cannot be told.

1) Just as true emptiness holds all things, true silence bears all things. Whatever is brought into this silence, whatever it touches, is gradually silenced . . . not by an act of domination, but through a peaceful integration of a lesser peace into a greater one.

2) True silence is an interior presence and not an exterior circumstance. Its peace has no opposite and is not created, which means nothing can act against it or serve to enhance its existence.

3) True silence cannot be cultivated, but the interior conditions that prohibit its presence, and our relationship to the peace within it, may be recognized and released, allowing us to realize the silence we seek.

4) True silence is perfectly empty of content and completely full of peace, without any contradiction between the two.

5) True silence is without preference, and as it neither rejects nor resists any condition, it is always at peace.

6) True silence doesn't have intelligence -- it is intelligence of an order, which a divided mind cannot comprehend. Its peace surpasses all understanding.

7) If we wish for the presence and peace of true silence, then the great necessity of solitude should be as evident to us as the knowledge that any seedling must be left undisturbed, if it is ever to break out of its dark ground and live in the light.

Let all we have looked into together show you that there is a higher world and that this peaceable kingdom of Now dwells within you. Allow your heart to remind you what the mind so easily forgets: there is a peace. There is a shelter. There is a timeless place in each of us that no darkness can shatter or dispel. Make it your one intention to spend your time there. Prefer its ever-present company to that of any promise of peace to come, and watch how your life grows happy and whole in stillness beyond compare.

 

 

Guy Finley is the acclaimed author of more than 30 books and audio programs on self-realization that have sold over a million copies in 16 languages worldwide. To learn more about Guy and his non-profit, visit Life of Learning Foundation.

 

Source: SelfGrowth.com

 

 

I’m coming up on the 1^st Anniversary of True and Useful, and 327 posts later I remain committed to providing resources to support anyone who’s interested in self development, wellbeing, learning and insight.

 

According to site statistics, there has been a slow but steady increase in visitors to True and Useful, which is both exciting and gratifying to me.  While my goal in part has been to create a venue that can support me financially while providing service to others, I have been reluctant to turn the True and Useful Blog into an overly commercial enterprise.  As a result it has become a wonderful “volunteer” project, filling my soul but not my pocketbook.

 

So after 3 years of self employment, I’m starting a new full time job this week.  I’m very excited about the opportunity both from a business perspective and because the work involves providing fun and educational experiences in science and nature to children.

 

Taking on full time employment means changes for True and Useful.  I have reduced the 7 day a week posts to 5, Monday through Friday.  My monthly newsletter will now be sent quarterly.  I hope to maintain the quality of the blog while reducing the quantity to a more manageable scope.

 

If any of you are interested in providing resources for True and Useful, please send along your ideas and information to my email link in the upper left hand column.

 

Thanks to all who have provided feedback and encouragement to this enterprise.  I look forward to continuing True and Useful in a somewhat scaled back version, but am committed to maintaining the quality of the information.

-  A.G.R

 

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"If I could define enlightenment briefly, I would say it is the quiet acceptance of what is."

- Dr. Wayne Dyer

 

_____________

 

Stillness Speaks

 

by Eckhart Tolle

 

Expanding on his mantra—Get out of your head and into the moment—Eckhart Tolle offers this new book on living in the now.  Here Tolle emphasizes the art of "inner stillness"--the place where thoughts, ego and attachments fall always and we are left only with what the moment has to offer: "When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself.  When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world."  Don't expect this to be a quick skim or even a straight-through read.  Like his previous bestselling book, The Power of Now, Tolle uses brief entries and numerous white spaces to give readers easy in-and-out access into enticing spiritual insights that expound on inner stillness, such as learning the difference between surrender and resignation, overcoming the fear of death, and how to end suffering.  In fact, this is designed to be an ongoing conversation.  Pick it up any time or any place, but be sure to allow for plenty of breaks for serious contemplation.  Even as you occasionally abandon the book, don't abandon the teachings, pleads Tolle.  Embracing and practicing inner stillness is no longer a luxury, he writes, "but a necessity if humankind is not to destroy itself.  At the present time the dysfunction of the old consciousness and the arising of the new are both accelerating.  Paradoxically things are getting worse and better at the same time, although 'the worse' is more apparent because it makes so much noise."

 

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Eckhart Tolle uses words effectively to talk about a subject that must be experienced rather than learned – living in the present moment.  The short passages allow for reading and contemplation.  - A.G.R

 

The book icon above links to Amazon.com.  Purchases of books and other items through this link help support this site.  Thank you.

 

 

When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse

to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle-pox

when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,

and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,

and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,

and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.

When it's over, I want to say all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it's over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.

I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.

                    

                         Mary Oliver (1935 - )

 

From New and Selected Poems by Mary Oliver

Beacon Press, 25 Beacon St, Boston, MA, ISBN 0 870 6819 5

 

 

 

Many of us appreciate the benefits of a soothing bath or a vigorous shower to cleanse and refresh our body. Equally as effective but on the psychic energetic level is the practice of 'smudging'. 'Smudging' is the common name given to the Sacred Smoke Bowl Blessing, a powerful cleansing technique from the Native American tradition. However the burning of herbs for emotional, psychic, and spiritual purification is common practice in many religious, healing, and spiritual traditions. It is a ritual way to cleanse a person, place or an object of negative energies or influences. The theory behind smudging is that the smoke attaches itself to negative energy and as it clears it takes the negative energy with it, releasing it into another space to be regenerated.

Smudging is very effective when you've been feeling depressed, angry, resentful or unwell or after you have had an argument with someone. It is also great to smudge yourself, the space and all the guests or participants before a ritual or ceremony or celebration. You can smudge your home or work space as part of a general spiritual housecleaning and you can cleanse crystals or other objects of any negative energy with a smudging ritual.

 

Herbs used for Smudging

 

There are many ways to smudge and a variety of different herbs may be used. When the herbs used for smudging are tied into a bundle and allowed to dry they are called a "smudge stick". In traditional societies the herbs used for smudging are considered sacred and the smudge stick is treated with great respect. The particular plant allies we call on in our smudge sticks are Mugwort and Lavender. The Mugwort stimulates psychic awareness and acts a strong cleanser of negative energies, while the Lavender restores balance, creates a peaceful atmosphere and attracts loving energy.

 

(White Sage is also commonly used for smudging.)

 

How to Smudge

 

Any action, undertaken with intention and belief can become a potent ritual so consider your intention before you smudge and hold it clearly in your mind. You may wish to invite the spirit of the herbs to join you and guide and assist with your intention.

 

A candle flame is recommended to light the smudge stick as it may take a little time to get the stick smoking. Once there's a flame blow it out so that the smudge stick is smoldering, not burning. Blow or wave the flame with your hand to put out the fire. Allow the smudge stick to smolder, freeing the smoke to circle in the air.

 

Smudging yourself

 

Fan the swirls of smoke around your body from head to toe. You may want to especially focus on areas where you feel there are blockages or where there has been or is physical, emotional, or psychic pain. Imagine the smoke lifting away all the negative thoughts, emotions and energies that have attached themselves to you. If you are feeling depressed for instance you could visualize the smoke carrying away all your feelings of depression.

 

Smudging another

 

It is often appropriate to smudge guests as they enter the space at a ritual, ceremony or special event. Smudge as if you were smudging yourself, fanning the smoke all over their body. You may want to speak an intention or a suggestion for the smudging as you do it. For instance "Allow the sacred smoke to cleanse your body and spirit and bring you present and available into this moment."

 

Smudging a room or space

 

Light the smudge stick and walk about the perimeter, giving special attention to the corners and the places behind doors. You can also fan the smoke throughout the room with a large feather.

 

During healing work

 

During healing work, the smoke may be fanned over the person either by your hand or with feathers. This clears out unhealthy energies and brings in the special attributes of the herbs. You may also direct smudge to each of the person's chakras and as you do so visualize each chakra coming into balance as it is purified by the smudge.

 

Cleansing crystals or other objects

 

Hold the objects to be purified in the smoke or fan the smoke over them. If you are clearing your crystals prior to programming them thank both them and the smudge stick for helping you to realize your goals.

 

Extinguishing the smudge stick

 

Have ready a fireproof receptacle such as a shell or a glass or ceramic dish to put the smudge stick in when you've finished. It's ideal to damp the stick out in sand, or earth or you can just press it against the bottom of the receptacle. Always make sure that a smudge stick is out before leaving the room where you keep it.

 

Source: yOni.com

 

 

Swami Beyondananda has said, "The only thing certain in life is uncertainty, and come to think of it, I'm not even sure that is true."

 

Certainly the changes in life can bring uncertainty, and there's nothing like humor to help us develop the flexibility to release old mental habits and find new ways of seeing. For laughter is indeed a mind-altering substance. A good paradoxical joke can wrestle the mind to the ground and allow surrender to a deeper reality.

 

There's an old story about a reporter interviewing Albert Einstein at his laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey. The reporter was surprised to see a large horseshoe hanging over the professor's office doorway.

 

"Professor Einstein," she asked, "you're a great scientist. Surely you don't believe a horseshoe will bring good luck." "Of course I don't," he replied. "Then why is the horseshoe up there?" the reporter insisted. "Because it works whether you believe it or not."

 

For centuries, Zen masters have been using the "Zen koan" to trick the logical mind and elicit moments of enlightenment. Like the classic, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" paradox forces the mind off of its usual pathways and offers a glimpse of the infinite.

 

More and more, people are putting the mind in its proper place — as a creative servant of the heart, rather than a ruler bent on control. One of the important pieces of wisdom that we can glean, is that being in the flow works far better than being in control. Humor and laughter can help stretch us beyond the borders of our usual thinking and put us in the flow of creativity. The following humor-cultivating practices can help you use the mind to generate creative options rather than to obsess, worry and control.

 

Pumping Ironies. Swami Beyondananda has uncovered a debilitating mental condition which keeps us from truly using our power — irony deficiency. "Seeing a doctor won't help," Swami says, "but seeing a paradox will." Irony deficiency results not so much from lack of irony in our lives — ironies abound in our insane society — but rather from our inability to see or process these ironies. How else could a "freedom-loving" country such as theU.S. have more people behind bars than any other country in the free world? Or help other nations negotiate for peace yet be the largest exporter of arms in the world?

 

As we pump these ironies — bring them to consciousness through humorous exaggeration — we take the first step at resolving the glaring contradictions in our culture and our own lives.

 

The simplest irony is the oxymoron, which can be as innocent as "jumbo shrimp" or as tragic as "holy war." I suggest you find yourself a list of oxymorons — they seem to be circulating all over the web — and see if you can add a few of your own. Next, look to your own life and begin to notice incongruities that you can bring to light through humor. You might begin with the phrase, "How come ...?" "How come I am so insanely busy during my leisure time?" "How come I spend almost as much on child care as I earn after taxes on my job?" "How come I am willing to drive around aimlessly for forty-five minutes rather than 'waste time' asking for directions?" As we bring paradox to consciousness, we are more likely to see solutions that fall outside the box of our "normal" thinking.

 

Reframing. Reframing is a shift in context that allows us to look at a situation in a more useful way. For example, singer-songwriter Jana Stanfield's tune, "I'm Not Lost, I'm Exploring" has helped countless listeners reframe overt chaos as covert growth.

 

Perhaps the master of reframe was the gifted hypotherapist, Dr. Milton Erickson, whose work was the foundation of what is now called Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP). When Erickson was a young resident at a psychiatric hospital, one of the inmates had delusions of being Jesus Christ. One day, Erickson approached him and said, "I understand you have some experience as a carpenter." The man, of course, could not contradict this suggestion without denying his delusion — and went on to become a competent woodworker.

 

How can you humorously reframe your challenges and failings? As the Swami says, "Never, never, never call yourself a failure. Instead say, 'I am tremendously successful at failing'." Taking a cue from Jana Stanfield, fill in the blanks: "I'm not _____, I'm ______ing." Once you learn how easily the mind can be outwitted, you will learn to outwit it yourself!

 

Practice Seeing Funny. Sometimes people mistakenly believe that to appreciate and share healing laughter, you have to be funny. As the Swami would say, "Don't worry about being funny. You're already funnier than you can ever imagine."

 

The key to using humor to free your mind is to practice noticing multiple layers of meaning. Just this morning, I was looking through a newspaper, and an ad for a law firm caught my eye. These feisty attorneys were aptly named "Armstrong and Rangel."

 

A good way to practice seeing funny is to get a copy of Jay Leno's book on funny headlines or the National Lampoon photos of real signs or books of bloopers, and just enjoy seeing how unintentionally funny we can be when we only see one level of meaning.

 

The good news is, seeing funny can be learned — and it's contagious. I recently had to decline being part of a Beatles revival at an upcoming conference because of scheduling conflicts. To soften the situation somewhat, I wrote, "I won't be able to make it, by George. Hope this doesn't send you running to the John or otherwise cast a Paul on the event. You'd better give another musician a Ringo."

 

Within hours I had an e-mailed reply from the otherwise-serious conference coordinator: "OK. Guess I'll have to find some local Yoko."

 

The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH)

presents Steve Bhaerman aka Swami Beyondananda

 

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"Old habits can't be thrown out the upstairs window.  They have to be coaxed down the stairs one step at a time."

- Mark Twain

 

____________________

 

Meditation for Dummies

 

by Stephan Bodian

 

 

"To tell you the truth, you can learn the basics of meditation in five minutes," asserts Stephan Bodian, meditation instructor, psychotherapist, and former editor-in-chief of Yoga Journal. You can also study meditation for years, exploring its subtleties. Meditation for Dummies is a simple, clear introduction to the basics of meditation, including an overview of dozens of techniques, practices, and specific meditations, plus direction for going deeper. You get step-by-step instructions for a variety of meditations, including body position, mental concentration, where to put your attention, what to contemplate or notice, physical movements, and breathing. A nice touch is the recurring "traditional wisdom": ancient stories or anecdotes that make a point. This book is useful whether you want the nuts and bolts for getting started in the next minute or you want to dip your mind into different practices and philosophies. Nothing is too elementary to explain: "how to sit up straight--and live to tell about it," what to wear, dealing with fear and self-judgment, and what to do when you get "stuck." You also get plenty of information about the benefits and varieties of meditation.

 

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This is a surprisingly good resource book (and CD) that provides a wealth of information and meditation techniques.  The layout allows the reader to start with any page or topic and expand their knowledge and awareness from there.  - A.G.R

 

The book icon above links to Amazon.com.  Purchases of books and other items through this link help support this site.  Thank you.

 

 

Myth: Creativity is only for the artistic elite.  This myth tells us that a few special people have been blessed with the mysterious gift of creativity, and everyone else was passed over when God was giving out these valuable prizes!  While every one may not be a master or a Pulitzer Prize winner, everyone does possess creative power, a force that may be articulated in many different ways, from cooking and gardening to painting and writing.

 

From: Creating from the Spirit

by Dan Wakefield