Let The Music Heal Your Soul

Do you want to live a life of more ease, happiness, balance and prosperity? Of course you do! Why is it so hard for some to move closer to these goals? The answer lies within.

Each one of us carries deep within us subconscious beliefs that contribute to our actions, and thus the actual conditions of our lives. If we believe at this level that we only deserve a certain amount of happiness, or that life is a struggle, or that we are unworthy of very much, then we act accordingly. As a therapist working with others and myself on changing the circumstances in our lives, I have come to the realization that it is imperative to modify our beliefs. And, as a musician, I have found that music can be the tool to heal your soul, change these beliefs, and thus to change your life.

We all know music can be powerful, but can one song really change your life? Absolutely. Here’s the story of one of my most recent songs.

Music has been coming through me ever since I went through some life-changing events 20 years ago. This music was a gift for my healing and then I began to use it in my work as a therapist. I recently went through some more life challenges, including a car accident, the death of my father, and the death of my marriage.

When I wrote the song, “The Magnificent You,” I saw that this song had a power that went beyond some of my other songs. It has the ability to heal the wound of unworthiness that sits in our hearts. It has been helping people to change their thinking and their beliefs about themselves so that they can take the steps to reach their goals and dreams. One person said, “It’s my soul’s song. I long to hear it every day.”

A friend who is in the medical profession said she would like to put it on a prescription pad and give it to her patients. It is a song that is to be taken like one of your most life-enhancing supplements, daily and with the intention to move into your magnificence.

Music Creates New Software in Your Brain

Most of you are already on a path to realizing your wholeness and your dreams. You read books, take classes, listen to teleseminars, and you apply these principles to your life. Perhaps you wonder why you aren’t progressing faster. Here’s one reason: You don’t truly believe you can do it and that you deserve it. Those subconscious limiting beliefs are sabotaging you over and over.

Think of your thoughts, statements about yourself, and your beliefs about how the world works as the software that runs your life. Unfortunately, much of this software lies hidden within us and we don’t realize how we continually choose to keep running it and allow it to interfere with all our hard work and the steps we have been taking towards our goals.

Music Bypasses Your “Keep Things the Way They Are” Radar

Music has the ability to get past our intellectual radars, the ones that keep really good information from getting to our core, to that place that makes or breaks us. We all have beliefs and habitual patterns of response built up over the years, making it difficult to make lasting positive changes. No matter how hard we try! It isn’t enough to read about these things and to listen to the experts giving us tools to change our beliefs. We have to get past our cognitive ‘filters’ because they are the gatekeepers to our subconscious.

You Must Be Your Authority

Another problem is that too often we look to others to be our authorities, to help us find our way. It’s ok to go outside ourselves to gather information. Then it us up to each one of us to choose what information we will accept and to give ourselves the message that we are going to be changing, getting rid of what hasn’t worked, and trying some new things. We must put ourselves back in the position of authority so that our subconscious will accept the new beliefs. If we only listen to others telling us we can do something, or singing to us about our magnificence, we are still making others the authority. Each of us is in charge of our own growth. Rather than listen to someone else tell you what to believe, activate your own passkey to your subconscious.

Music can be your passkey. Take this song (you will see at the end of this article a link that will take you to this free song) and sing it (after you’ve heard it a few times) several times a day to yourself. Sing along with the CD in your car, and try to listen and sing early in the morning, or right before bed, when your subconscious mind is more receptive.

Music provides the focus that is often the missing ingredient in people’s path to their goals. It’s easy to let everyday errands, unexpected events and work and family priorities shift focus. It’s not that the intention is no longer there; it’s that we allow other things to ‘take over’ and we can let days, weeks and months slip by without completing the steps that lead us closer to our dreams.

Music Gets “Stuck” in Your Head and Provides a Positive Focus

Music provides the reminder, in a gentle and persuasive way, that our dreams matter, and that we are worthy of having and pursuing our dreams. This particular song stands strong in that very way. If someone likes the song, they are likely to play it often, and they are more likely to stay focused on those steps on their journey to a rich, purposeful and joy-filled life. Also, we all have had the experience of singing a song over and over in our heads—whether we wanted to or not! This feature of music makes it a natural tool for creating new thought patterns that support your desire to change.

Through repetition of this song, you can form a new pathway in your brain that tells you how magnificent you are and that you can step into your power now. The more you sing it, the more you will form a new habitual pathway that tells you what you really want to hear. It has been proven that what we tell ourselves through positive and negative self-talk has a profound impact on our behavior and what we attract to us.

Why Not Just Say Affirmations?

This musical passkey is better than saying affirmations. Why? It is because the vibrations of the actual music bring the message deeper into your being. It’s like a massage to your psyche. The musical vibration allows the place where the beliefs reside to be loosened, allowing space for the old to be uprooted and lifted out of place, and allows the new beliefs a place to take root. The repetition of the song will help to form a strong pathway to this newer, more positive belief.

Also, the subconscious mind absorbs this information better when you are more relaxed and the brain is in an “alpha” rather than “beta” state. The addition of the musical accompaniment to affirming messages helps to induce this receptivity, thereby increasing the likelihood of the positive messages gaining access to the place where the beliefs reside.

You Have the Choice to Change and Be the Best You Possible

Now is the time to own, to really own your personal power. Now is the time to discard feelings and deep-seated beliefs of unworthiness or of feeling you can only have and do so much. You are only as limited as you believe you are. Bring this song into your innermost self and hear, and then sing its power to transform you.

You won’t be disappointed. Do me a favor. Don’t listen to the song once. Listen at least three times when you are not distracted, when you can take a few deep breaths and open your heart and mind to the richness of it. Let yourself imagine its power to transform some area of your life that isn’t moving the way you’d like it to, an area or issue that feels ‘stuck.’

Here’s What People are Saying about This Song of Power:

“Standing ovation, Marcia! That was beautiful. Beautiful message, music and voices. Hope you’re creating more.”-Dr. Michael Norwood

“Total - head to toe goose bumps! It is beautiful. You’ve created something extraordinary.”-Peggy McColl

Give yourself a gift for the New Year, a song to heal your soul. And, if you like it, tell others about it and write me with your comments.

Marcia Breitenbach is a Licensed Counselor, speaker, author, and musician. She writes inspiring music that replaces negative, limiting thoughts and beliefs with positive, life-affirming ones. Visit her at http://www.griefandlosshelpsongletter.com to get your free downloadable songs and proven strategies for living a magnificent life.

Quitting Before It Even Starts

Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touch down. –Ross Perot

There is one tendency that can be regarded as the most unfortunate tendency in the world: That is to quit, when the starting gets tough. I know the saying is: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!” However, what happens with the majority who accept mediocrity is that “When the starting gets tough, the people go away!” The person has not gotten anywhere yet, there is no major improvement as yet. Just when the results are about to appear, the person can’t handle anymore and then they quit.

The person going to the gym with this attitude will never get that body that they are hoping to get. The promise wasn’t that strong to begin with and therefore they weren’t willing to pay the price for it. The saddest part, as I said though is that they quit, just when they are about to get somewhere- just when some change is about to happen.

When you quit in this way, and you feel bad about it and want to start over again that is exactly what happens! You have to start over again. All of the improvement that you have received has vanished. There were things you could have built on, but when you quit, you have to start making the foundations all over again. Let me give you some advice about contemplating the idea of quitting: If you are planning to quit, then “plan” to quit. Think about quitting, but don’t quit!

It’s alright to think about quitting, everyone does it! However, if you want to see your success, it’s right around the corner. Don’t quit, otherwise you’ll be down a whole other road trying to find the same corner and someone else would have taken it.

The successful person, just like the man or woman who goes to the gym, is also allowed to think about quitting as long as he/she doesn’t actually quit. After thinking about quitting, the person should get into action again to complete one more thing that will lead to the success that they are looking for.

You don’t lose anything by thinking about quitting. As long as you don’t actually quit!

– Sukhbir S.

Sukhbir Singh is the Founder of LifeApps! Personal Development International Co., Ltd based in Bangkok, Thailand. This article was an excerpt from his E-book Success Lessons from the Gym. If you are interested in obtaining the entire E-book please contact LPDI at info@lifeapps.com

How Can Better Breathing Banish Stress?

One form of natural stress relief is meditation techniques, which often involves the use of specific breathing techniques. This stress relief technique helps calm the mind and create an overall sense of peace and relaxation.

Meditation doesn’t need to have a spiritual or religious agenda. To be more precise, it is a natural treatment for stress and anxiety that is accomplished by getting the mind, body, and spirit in balance.

To achieve this, a person using meditation as a form of natural stress relief should first find a quiet place. There are no strict rules regarding body positioning when meditating, but many people who use meditation as natural stress relief use the lotus position. Which is sitting with the legs crossed while keeping the back straight and the shoulders level. No matter what position chosen when using meditation for natural stress relief, it is best to keep the spine straight throughout the meditation process. This encourages circulation and makes it easier to breathe in the deep, slow fashion that is often necessary for meditation.

After finding a quiet place to perform meditation, and after assuming a position that is comfortable, it is time to begin this process of natural stress relief. Some people prefer to remain quiet while meditating. Still others close their eyes and hum or make other repetitive noises to help clear their minds and to block out thoughts and outside noises.

Many prefer to use specific breathing techniques and specific thoughts in order to reach a meditative and relaxed state. One method is to focus on each individual part of the body. Give your self permission to relax until your entire body is relaxed. At the same time, this method calls for taking a few deep breaths. After these initial breaths, subsequent breaths should be inhaled to the count of four, and then exhaled to the count of eight.

There is no limit to the number of times meditation can be used. This natural stress relief technique can be used as often as necessary and for as long as needed because it does not have the negative side effects of medication. In fact, it is possible to gain relief from stress and anxiety with just a one-minute session of meditation, though 20-30 minutes of meditation is most common.

Many studies have been performed on the use of meditation as a form of natural stress relief. These studies have shown that meditation does, indeed, lower the biochemical byproducts of stress. Meditation has also been proven to reduce blood pressure and heart rate, as well as increase favorable brain waves. This is unlike many stress-relieving medications, which may temporarily reduce feelings of stress, but can cause long-term harm to the body.

Studies at the Mind-Body Medical Institute, which is affiliated with Harvard and several other Boston hospitals, has found that meditation causes several biochemical and physical changes associated with relaxation, including changes in heart rate, metabolism, blood pressure, respiration, and brain chemistry.

With all of the positive research surrounding meditation and relaxation breathing techniques, it is easy to see why thousands of people use the techniques every day to relieve stress and improve living.

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Why Try Meditating Outside?

Meditating outdoors? Does it really matter where you meditate? I think it can. For some of us, being outside makes for not just a different meditation experience, but a more profound one. There are some good reasons for this.

perhaps meditating in a quiet room with no sounds and nothing to distract is the easiest way, especially for beginners. It’s hard enough to quiet your mind without constant input from your surroundings. On the other hand, life is constant input, so if you want the peacefulness that comes from meditation to enter your life beyond your practice, perhaps learning to meditate despite surrounding sounds and movement is just what you need.

Meditating Outdoors

There’s a high bank on a river where I lived years ago. It was a five-minute walk from the house. There’s a level grassy spot at the top, looking down on the water fifty feet below. That is where I would go to sit. Often there was a breeze I could feel on my skin and hear in the surrounding trees. I also heard the water as it strained through some dead trees near the river bank. I smelled the dirt around me, and the odor of fish coming up from the water.

Meditating there wasn’t only pleasurable because of the environment, but also different from meditating in the silence of my home. There was more of a sense of experiencing the world without thought, without over-analyzing. Why? Perhaps simply because there was more to experience. There were the sounds, which included birds, and the occasional splashing of some animal in the river. There were things to smell and the feel of the grass.

I usually close my eyes when I meditate, because I am a very visually-oriented person, and find it easier to meditate this way. When I finished my meditation by the river, I would open my eyes, of course, but what I saw was always different from what was there when I started. Of course it was the same, but I was seeing it differently, as if for the first time. While difficult to explain, this is easy to recognize if you have had the experience.

It’s wonderful to look around as if seeing for the first time. You are seeing without preconception. I might see a deer on the opposite bank of the river, but the thought “deer” wouldn’t cross my mind, meaning it wouldn’t cloud my vision with any ideas about what a deer is or should be. The sounds and sensations were also “new.” I think this more direct experience of life is a profound demonstration of how much we normally “live” through our thoughts, somewhat detached from reality.

If you haven’t already tried it, why not get outside for your next meditation? Sit on a hill or in front of a garden, or try standing in front of a lake or pond when you meditate. The view will be wonderful when you open your eyes. There is nothing quite like meditating outdoors.

A Brief Walk On A Sunny Morning

It was September 7, 2005, and I was on my way to work.

I was a bit early. It was 7:25 a.m. and work would start at 8:30 a.m. Thus I decided to enjoy the gentle warmth of the sun. I took a walk.

People who passed me by offered me smiles and hearty hellos. Oh, you could never understand how a simple greeting of a stranger could lighten up your day. You simply could not help but smile as if the sun has suddenly risen on your face; you simply glow.

But that seventh of September was different.

The upward curl of my lips could not disguise the hollowness of my breath, nor the tears glistening in my eyes. I felt warm all over and I found it quite hard to breathe. I never liked starting my day this way, but there was no choice to make. Things just…happen.

On and on I had told myself in the past, this too shall pass. I was referring to the problems that came my way. I thought of them, and figured I could no longer be easily put to tears. But still, there I was…about to pour out stubborn tears.

This day, I knew, would be one of those loneliest days of my life.

Father was ill again. He had not fully recovered from the problem in his kidneys. Mother thought he had to be hospitalized again.

Slowly my thoughts drifted back to my younger sister’s face. September 7 had never been lonely to her. Yet this time it was.

I could clearly recall the tears burning in the corners of her eyes. She was going out for a field trip and would arrive late. I felt so sorry for her. But she understood.

In our lives, we have to make certain sacrifices for more important things. Things don’t always go our way and we are left with no choice but to…sacrifice.

I glanced at my watch - 7:42 a.m. Time to stop this trail of thoughts and get to work.

Happy sixteenth birthday, sis. I’m sorry.

All I could do was pray for her a happy day.

Wings or Crutches

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…” (Psalm 46:1,2a).

That word is IS, present tense, a right-now conviction that there is help and hope. The verse doesn’t delineate the trouble; it only tells us that help and hope are there when they are so acutely needed. Hope, which should be a Christian frame of mind, is one of God’s greatest blessings to man. It is Christian hope that helps us to bear the burdens of life. “…Jesus Christ, who is our hope…” (1 Timothy 1:1), a this-moment confidence that all is not lost the instant we think it is. “In the presence of trouble, some people grow wings; others buy crutches” (Anonymous).

A legend is told of the time when God placed wings on the backs of the feeble birds and they protested loudly to Him, “Must we be burdened with this weight?” The Lord smiled and asked them to wait a week. The next day a strange thing happened. A force of some kind lifted them heavenward and the birds found themselves flying and floating, and enjoying a sensation they had never felt before. When the week passed they reappeared before the Lord and humbly acknowledged the wisdom of their Father. “These very wings which we ridiculed as unnecessary burdens we now cherish. They enable us to soar into the loftiest heights!”

We may be at the end of our rope, and that is exactly when God reaches down and pulls that very rope – and us – up to Him. It is said that when Luther and his friends became discouraged, Luther would cheerily say, “Come, let us sing the forty-sixth Psalm.” Luther had a special affinity for this Psalm and for good reason. When he said, “Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise,” he knew that his resources were immediate and unfailing; he need fear no man on earth. “A mighty fortress is our God!” So let us grow wings to soar beyond and above earth’s sorrows and diseases of psyche and physique.

Energy Enhancement Meditation and Shaktipat

Meditation is the ultimate method of choice for over 5000 years, of all discerning Self Development Trainees. Energy Enhancement Meditation is the first of 28 ancient and effective meditation techniques to enable you to achieve… control of your mind, an enhanced IQ, control over all your negative emotions, anger, fear, depression on the path of the ultimate Samadhi and enlightenment itself.

The Ultimate in the Control of your own Mind.

Most people find it easy to have many thoughts, but you only have control over something when you have the power to stop it.

Our mind is so full of thoughts that it is necessary to learn how to press the stop button, so that one thought can have maximum power when you want it. To learn how to access Wisdom and intuition. To access the Unconscious, the Alpha, Beta and Delta levels of our own mind.

Meditation is a fast for the thoughts of the mind. All our painful memories are thoughts filled will negative emotion. As we learn how to stop giving energy to a thought, so it gets smaller, less powerful. It eventually disappears.

The true control over our minds, as known for many thousands of years, comes when we have the power to stop all our thoughts. When this occurs then we gain the Energy to access our intuition and Soul life path. When we can do this then any thought we have becomes so much more powerful. We begin to have the ability to make things happen. The power of doing. The clarity to hold and accomplish anything we set our minds to.

To control something, one must be capable of stopping it, said Karl Popper the famous philosopher who wrote, “The Open Society and its Enemies” and Frank Herbert who wrote the DUNE series of Science fiction.

STOP THE MIND

The Energy Enhancement Meditation taught here is based upon ancient Zen Techniques in a Synthesis of many advanced methods from Hindu Masters as well as practical hints and tips from several Masters of Meditation from many traditions, some of which have never been taught previously, giving the most advanced practical techniques on how to easily enter into the state of meditation and including the Buddhafield of Energy to get there.

To Square the Circle.

To Stop the Mind.

Meditation is a prerequisite to the further advanced states of Energy Enhancement and just this Energy Enhancement Meditation is enough to gradually lead you towards your Ultimate Clarity, your Ultimate peace.

“The first day Satchi taught me how to sit. By moving the position of my posture slightly I could feel the flow of energy from the center of the earth into the center of the universe. Satchi explained that what I was feeling was Kundalini Energy. If I followed it, he said, It would lead me to Enlightenment.”
From the testimonial of Energy Enhancement Student Carla, Jan 2004

Siva Samhitã, iii, 10-19: “Now I shall tell you how easily to attain success in Yoga, by knowing which the Yogis never fail in the practice of Yoga. Only the knowledge imparted by a Competent Teacher through his lips is powerful and useful; otherwise it becomes fruitless, weak and very painful.

And this is why - by coming into the Buddhafield of Energy surrounding Energy Enhancement Satchidanand obtained through many years of meditation with many enlightened masters, you obtain Shaktipat- an infusion of energy to help you get into a permanent state of meditation.

Energy Enhancement Meditation is the first of 28 ancient and effective techniques to enable you to achieve… control of your mind, an enhanced IQ, control over all your negative emotions, anger, fear, depression on the path of the ultimate Samadhi and enlightenment itself.

Satchidanand,
Director of Energy Enhancement, is one of the leading teachers of Meditation.!

He helps people worldwide reach further than they EVER thought possible,
FASTER!!!

http://www.energyenhancement.org

The Ethics of Divination – Choosing Your Seer

Professionals have their regulatory bodies and codes of practice, but individuals involved in mystical work are often self taught. This can leave them feeling they are in something of a black hole when it comes to dealing with the public appropriately. From the point of view of the client, it makes it difficult to know who to choose for a reading.

Ethical principles should guide all practitioners of the divinatory arts, whatever their field. Talking with a group of astrologers confirmed for me that the same types of problems face all “readers” whose clients have come seeking advice: dealing with difficult questions; the possibility of tragic events; what to do when people have depression or issues they cannot handle alone, and especially, avoiding dependency and the pressure it places on the practitioner. It is dependency on the reader that I will discuss here and how readers and their clients can avoid the problem.

Initially, I would say, be clear about motives. As a practitioner, I think the best position is to have a set of strong values with regard to your work that accord with your spiritual perspective. Being a person who tries to live her life by Buddhist teachings I ask myself, “What is my motivation in doing this kind of work?” The answer that initially springs to mind is to help others by giving them the insights gleaned from a reading, but it is more than that. It is to empower others to choose for themselves how to deal more effectively with problems in their lives by giving them information. Encouraging clients to become dependent on more and more readings is not ethical.

Client dependency usually occurs when people have a simplistic view of divination. They believe that a reading reveals “Fate” – a future written in tablets of stone that cannot be avoided. They see themselves in the role of puppets on a stage where larger forces are pulling the strings. If they get the “wrong answer” to their queries then real stress can result and clients can pressure readers to tell them what they want to hear by asking the same question again and again, until they get the “right” answer. It’s easy to forget how much the client invests in what a reader says and how careful readers need to be when faced with someone overwhelmed by life problems.

The Tarot cards show potentials, trends and possibilities for a person at any one time. At no stage does that person lose their free will. Readers need to show clients how they have choices and need to be proactive in their lives. “If you follow this path, then X may occur. If you follow that path then Y is more likely”. Does anybody get a new job or a new romance if they don’t make some moves towards their goal? A good reading should show ways of making desirable changes.

If you are a client looking for a reader who can give you real insight into your possibilities then you should be looking for someone who has the insight to explain things in this way. At no time should you feel you have lost control of your choices. The purpose of divination is to seek guidance not intimidation. Both “seers” and clients need to adopt an exploratory frame of mind in a reading rather than a predictive one and clients should ask, when they book a reading, “How do you work? Is there only one answer to a problem or am I free to explore the possibilities open to me?”

Dianne Hardwick has been reading tarot for over 30 years. For a free astrology forecast visit her website at http://www.diannehardwick.com

A 20 Minute Vacation: The Amazing Health Benefits of Meditation

Meditation is gaining mainstream acceptance as a beneficial preventive health program. Once thought of as only for eastern monks practicing in remote caves in the mountains of India, today everyone from busy executives to students are enjoying the practical results of daily meditation.

Meditation is one of the better-studied alternative therapies, and it has been shown to provide a wide range of health benefits. More and more doctors and hospitals are recommending meditation as an effective stress buster and useful support for patients of heart disease and many other chronic and acute conditions.

Meditation can help you “Take a 20 Minute Vacation” without physically going anywhere. Plus it is proven to provide a range of excellent health benefits such as preventing premature aging and lowering cholesterol… and with today’s “meditation technologies” that you will read about below, meditating is much easier than you may think!

The effectiveness of meditation comes from the fact that one can achieve a state of deep relaxation in just a few minutes. When we settle down into a state of deep relaxation, the body and mind are refreshed and revitalized. This gives us many good effects that are both immediate and long lasting.

Health Benefits of Regular Meditation Include:

• Lower Blood Pressure
• Better Sleep
• Anti-aging
• Less Anxiety
• Faster healing
• Decreased substance abuse
• Lower Cholesterol
• Stronger Immune Response

Meditation, Stress and a Healthy Heart

The results above have been demonstrated in many rigorous scientific studies, a few of which are mentioned below. Researchers have found that meditation lowers levels of stress hormones. In fact, by decreasing the level of one such hormone – epinephrine — meditation has been shown to reduce the amount of cholesterol in the blood and therefore help arteries to remain clear. Reduction of stress hormones also supports the healthy functioning of the immune system.

This reduction in stress hormones may be explained by the relaxed state that comes about through meditation. Electroencephalograph (EEG) studies of the brain in those who are meditating show that meditation boosts the intensity of alpha waves – associated with quiet, receptive states — to levels not seen even during sleep. This relaxed state combats anxiety, and this is confirmed by research which has found lowered levels of lactic acid in the blood. (High levels of lactic acid are associated with anxiety.) Another effect of meditation is that breathing slows, so the body uses less oxygen.

Meditation has been found to be particularly helpful for the heart. Meditators have been found to have improved blood circulation, as well as a lowered heart rate, which places less demands on the heart.

A 1998 study published in Psychosomatic Medicine showed that people who practiced transcendental meditation (TM) had lower levels of lipid peroxide than those who didn’t. Lipid peroxide can contribute to atherosclerosis and other chronic diseases associated with aging. A 1999 study published in the same journal showed that people who practiced TM had lower blood pressure immediately after meditating than did the control group.

Help for Fibromyalgia, Psoriasis, IBS, and More

A 1998 study in Alternative Therapies showed that meditation helped decrease symptoms such as pain and sleeplessness in patients with fibromyalgia, a disease characterized by muscle pain, fatigue, and mild-to-moderate depression.

In a 1998 study at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, psoriasis patients who listened to a mindfulness meditation audiotape during their ultraviolet light therapy experienced faster healing than those who had the light therapy alone.

Meditation has also been associated with a longer life span, better quality of life, fewer hospitalizations, and reduced health-care costs. It has also shown promise as an adjunct therapy in relieving mild depression, insomnia, tension headache, irritable bowel syndrome, and premenstrual syndrome (PMS), as well as in controlling substance abuse.

Meditation is Easier Than You Think!

With such overwhelming evidence of the benefits of meditation, why isn’t everyone meditating?

Often the obstacle is that meditation is thought to be difficult and requiring years of practice to become “good at it.” The reality is that there are many different styles of meditation and many are very easy to learn and bring benefits from the start. Some people even find ways to meditate on their own, setting aside a quiet time to sit and “simply be.” Usually, however, some instruction is needed.

There are books, CDs, classes, and websites which offer instruction in meditation. There are many different styles of meditation, and finding the right meditation for you may take some trial and error. It’s important to find a method which feels natural, easy and relaxing.

An excellent way to experience the benefits of meditation without having to learn a specific practice is to use a guided meditation CD. We designed our Pure Relaxation CD [B1] to offer an easy way for anyone to experience the “meditative state” in which the mind “lets go” and the body relaxes. Tested and recommended by members of the National Health & Wellness Club, this highly acclaimed CD has given many people an easy way to relax.

The essence of successful meditation is relaxation. The health benefits can easily be seen to result from a state of relaxation in mind and body. Anything that you can do which relaxes you deeply can be thought of as meditation. Whatever way you choose, we encourage you to start and wish you peace of mind and the very best of health!

This article was provided by the world’s #1 most popular and trusted holistic living e-newsletter — FREE to you right now at http://www.SixWise.com! The old way of thinking: “holistic living” pertains only to personal health. The new way of thinking: “holistic living” means prevention of the negative and adherence to the positive in all SIX practical areas of life: relationships, finances, career, home environment, safety and health. With the SixWise.com e-newsletter, you will get holistic wisdom from the world’s top experts in all six of these areas — completely FREE with a simple sign-up (and a guaranteed no-spam policy!) at http://www.SixWise.com.

Direct Answers: The Information Age

Direct Answers - Column for the week of December 1, 2003

My sister and I are very close, and we don’t keep things from one another. Recently she shared with me concerns about her sex life, or lack thereof. She feels like there is something wrong with her because her husband is not attracted to her. They have been married 15 years.

A couple of weeks ago I was on the Internet and highlighted my brother-in-law’s name to send him an instant message. Well, when I did a box appeared, and it stated where he was online. At first it said he was in a bisexual chat. I logged off my regular signature and signed on to another one and checked to see where he was.

The drop down box said he was now in a gay chat room. I went to the chat room and just watched, and in no time he typed in his age, sex, and location. I was floored! I didn’t know what to do.

I waited about half an hour and thought about it. I decided to call him and tell him what I saw and find out what was going on. He denied everything. He said I had the wrong name or that AOL made some kind of mistake. Since then he has blocked me from knowing when he is online.

Now I am stuck. My gut instinct is to keep my mouth shut, because it really is none of my business, but my sister is becoming increasingly open and concerned about her sex life. She has spoken with him several times about it, and he says everything is fine, but nothing changes between them.

I do not want to tell her because it will devastate her, but if she knew I had this information and kept it from her, she would be even more devastated.

Whitney

Whitney, contacting your brother-in-law was the least productive thing you could do. It took the option of silence away from you, and it didn’t achieve anything with your brother-in-law. He already knew what he was doing. Now he will take steps to explain away or excuse himself. But the one thing he must wonder is who else knows his secret.

People often end up with information they don’t want, but once they have it, they need to act. Your sister has a problem she cannot solve, and you have the piece of the puzzle which can solve her dilemma. Like it or not, you are the one who can shed light on her problem.

If your brother-in-law is meeting strangers for sex, it concerns both your sister’s health and her marriage. Tell her. Let her decide what, if anything, she is going to do. Like most of us, your brother-in-law didn’t understand the power of technology. A few keystrokes on your computer showed you something which may change all of your lives.

Wayne & Tamara

Past, Present, Future

Not a month after we married my husband got laid off. I work while he doesn’t even try to find a job.

I come from a family where being unemployed more than you work is wrong, and not providing for your wife is wrong. His family has lived on some kind of government assistance for most of their lives, so he doesn’t see a problem.

I am beginning to think he is going to ruin my life. We don’t have any children yet, and I often think of going after my dreams and leaving him behind.

Nicki

Nicki, we once lived in a town with a group of men known as the “Go-getters.” These men took their wives to work at a local factory in the morning, then loafed around all day drinking coffee and telling stories at the café. At the end of the day, they would go get her.

Follow your dreams. You need a go-getter, not a “go get her.”

Wayne & Tamara

About The Author

Authors and columnists Wayne and Tamara Mitchell can be reached at www.WayneAndTamara.com.

Send letters to: Direct Answers, PO Box 964, Springfield, MO 65801 or email: DirectAnswers@WayneAndTamara.com.