MEDITION
“When you’re with stillness, you merge with everything around you. You can’t pin point where where it’s coming coming from. from. From inside? From outside? outside? Where? Where? It just is.” – Sri – Sri Swami Sai Premananda
Awakening The Mind: Meditation 101
In today’s fast paced modern world it seems that many have come to find that the one thing that stands between their happiness is not materialistic wants, but their own mind. We live each day with thousands of things demanding our minds precious attention. We think incessantly about a million things that many of us become slaves become slaves to our minds. minds. In fact, we think so much that as soon as we have time to be still we don’t even know how to enjoy being quiet. quiet. The only way you will ever experience peace of mind is by learning to drop the analytical thinking mind. Meditation is a way to help you on the journey of achieving mental clarity and peace. It’s time for you to awaken your mind to its potential. Through mediation you will discover and catch glimpses of a state of consciousness that is truly aware and alert. Meditation will be your tool for deep
introspection of your inner being, and will prove to be very valuable in your day to day life. It will help you develop an intimate relationship with relationship with your true self . As you develop your inner being you will become valuable to those around you, because you will be more in touch to who you really are. An intimate intuitive knowing beyond any mental conception you have of yourself. You can only truly help others when you have become the master of your mind, free of false illusions. Many people feel that just because they h ave the urge to help that they are able to help. Unless you really know what wh at your true identity is, which is not your ego, you will only be trying to offer help from something that is an illusion. The beauty of proper meditation is that it helps you create immense distance in your inner space. It gives you perspective, your level of consciousness changes. It helps you create distance between your thoughts and t he witness who watches your thoughts. The problem for most is that they remain too close to their thoughts, being close means being identified. This is why psychoanalysis never actually solves the causes of your problems, it may help you function more efficiently in society, but you remain on the same level. Your problem is in your thinking, and you try to solve it with thinking, you still remain within the field of thought. Meditation gives you vertical growth, it gives you a bird’s eye perspective to see your problems, an awareness to freely observe your conditioning. You become an impartial observer, being impartial you will see the causes, you gain understanding. There is no need to solve the problem, you just need more understanding. It simply exists because you lack sufficient understanding, not enough awareness.
introspection of your inner being, and will prove to be very valuable in your day to day life. It will help you develop an intimate relationship with relationship with your true self . As you develop your inner being you will become valuable to those around you, because you will be more in touch to who you really are. An intimate intuitive knowing beyond any mental conception you have of yourself. You can only truly help others when you have become the master of your mind, free of false illusions. Many people feel that just because they h ave the urge to help that they are able to help. Unless you really know what wh at your true identity is, which is not your ego, you will only be trying to offer help from something that is an illusion. The beauty of proper meditation is that it helps you create immense distance in your inner space. It gives you perspective, your level of consciousness changes. It helps you create distance between your thoughts and t he witness who watches your thoughts. The problem for most is that they remain too close to their thoughts, being close means being identified. This is why psychoanalysis never actually solves the causes of your problems, it may help you function more efficiently in society, but you remain on the same level. Your problem is in your thinking, and you try to solve it with thinking, you still remain within the field of thought. Meditation gives you vertical growth, it gives you a bird’s eye perspective to see your problems, an awareness to freely observe your conditioning. You become an impartial observer, being impartial you will see the causes, you gain understanding. There is no need to solve the problem, you just need more understanding. It simply exists because you lack sufficient understanding, not enough awareness.
That’s why we are always able to give someone else great advice, we are far from the problem, we are impartial, we have clarity to see. The person with the problem is too too close to it, too identified, he will say, “easy for you to say, this isn’t your problem”. Meditation helps you create the distance for you to “see” clearly. Many say that it would be nice to have peace of mind, to learn to be calm no matter what goes on around them. But as long as you make those things objects of your desire, you have already identified yourself as lacking them, thus keeping your “self” from experiencing peace. When people begin to attempt meditating they say that is difficult and boring. When you learn to watch what’s going on inside you, if those thoughts of boredom come up, just watch them. Explore why wh y you are telling yourself this is boring, pay attention to your feelings, where is it coming from? There is a huge growing experience hidden, you just need to explore it. “There are strange moments in life when the mind rests without any kind of worries. When our mind is quiet, when our mind is in silence, then the new arrives.” arrives.” - Samael Aun Weor
Meditation is the act of allowing the thoughts in your mind to cease. When you drop your mind you will experience oneness with the universe. You will realize that everything really is intimately interconnected and multi-dimensional. The only thing that keeps you thinking you are separate is your body and mind. When you are asleep and disconnect your mind from your body your consciousness is one with the universal consciousness. Mediation is your key in transcending the confines of your body and mind to consciously experience a higher state of universal awareness. Through a daily discipline of meditation you will become more mindful and calm. Calmness is the ideal state in which you should receive and take part in your life’s
experiences. Some one who is calm has the mental clarity to handle any situation that life throws at him. Even mindedness should be your goal, learning to maintain a clear headed mind state helps you y ou with enjoying and dealing with a fast paced lifestyle. The more that you focus your attention attention within, you will begin to feel a new power and new peace rise up within you. Meditation is the ability to stay actively calm. Meditation does not even have to be what wh at many associate meditation with, which is to get into a lotus position and start chanting a mantra. Any activity that you enjoy can be meditation; meditation; you just need to learn to be watchful of whatever you are doing. Learning to be fully present in any activity is meditation. Jogging through the forest and being observant of everything going on inside you without judgment is meditation. It is however important to incorporate a daily routine of meditation and do it earnestly and consistently if you are to reap the rewarding effects. Awakening Your Mind Daily
1. Pick a nice comfortable place where to meditate.. 2. Find a comfortable position to sit. Sitting on a chair or on the floor, does not really matter as long as it is comfortable for you. 3. Cross your legs, clasp your hands together. (This helps make your own energy circuit and gives stability) 4. Close your eyes, than stop inner and outer chatter. 5. Relax; begin thinking that your whole body is becoming extremely relaxed.
6. Eyes should be closed. With your eyes closed focus your gaze and attention as if you are looking through a point between your eyebrows. Try and not to cross or strain your eyes; the upward gaze should come naturally when you are relaxed and calmly concentrated. What is important to keep in mind is to be able to fix your whole attention at the point between the eyebrows. 7. You will notice that your mind is full of many thoughts. Your mind will than begin to ask questions to those thoughts and try and come up with answers whether they are known or unknown. 8. You will need to transcend your mind and thoughts in order to meditate. Your mind and thoughts are what separate you from your higher self, you can also think of your higher self as your subconscious/unconscious mind, don’t worry about the labels. 9. You transcend your mind by simply observing your breath. Don’t inhale/exhale consciously just observe your natural breathing. Don’t go behind your thoughts; if you catch your self drifting just always come back to your breathing. Slowly the amount of thoughts reduces and your breathing becomes thinner and shorter. If you are able to keep all your focus on your breath, you will get to the point of no thought and no breath. This state of no thought is your connection to your divine being and energy body. Continue to concentrate between the eyebrows until you begin to achieve peacefulness. The more you meditate the more benefits and energy that you will receive. Your own self-awareness and consciousness will also expand.
10. You will feel a very pleasurable feeling meditating. If you feel any discomfort in your body these can be possible areas of disease or illness. If you meditate everyday you can possibly heal your body naturally. 11. Now that you are in a state of no thought and total relaxation. Begin to think only on your intention. Your intent and can the feeling of love, creativity, a problem you may have, or any object that becomes your sole focus. Remember whatever you think now is in a state that will be impregnated directly into your subconscious. Example: Whenever I don’t have any ideas of what I should write about, I initially
think of just a headline, topic, or problem than meditate on it. After about 30 minutes I am able to get on my computer, and the words just flow out of me. I really hope you enjoyed this introduction on the topic of meditation; I really encourage you to take the time to incorporate it into your daily life. Identify what are your essential needs and quit being possessed by your possessions. Remember that happiness lies in giving yourself time to deeply ponder, something that our modern society is in dire need of. For additional insights into meditation and solutions to some common problems check out this post here:
Problems With My Meditation Practice If you enjoyed this post please help me out by passing it along to your friends and ‘like’ our Facebook Page. Also, if you have any of your own insights please share them in the comments section. How To Develop Your 6th Sense: Intuition
Posted on 01/16/2009 by Ivan Campuzano • 33 Comments
“The only real valuable thing is intuition.” - Albert Einstein
Awakening Consciousness Reality on earth can be categorized into three aspects, the known, the unknown, and the unknowable. The known is what we have proven with science thus far. The unknown is what science has yet to discover. The unknowable is the mystery of our universe, that which can never be known, it gives our life meaning. The unknowable is what keeps us inspired, we are here on earth to experience life fully and make known the unknown. We use logic, reason, and science to try and unlock the mysteries of life. Logic, reason, and science can only take us to a certain point; the unknowable is beyond all this. We can catch glimpses of the unknowable through our intuition. We only get to experience glimpses of the unknowable but we are not able to explain it, it is beyond explanation. “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein
Nature has given the role of all your body’s functions to your instincts. Your instincts have innate knowledge passed down through thousands of years of evolution. You don’t need to consciously breathe, it is all done automatically. Your mind is not grounded in reality, therefore your intellect is blind. You pose it with questions and it comes up with answers based on your memory bank. The
answers it gives you can be creative or destructive but to the mind it makes no difference. The main problem with the mind is that because it makes it’s interpretations from memory, it does not know how to deal with the new and unknown, the mind has no reference for it. Modern man has been conditioned to look for answers outside of himself. Therefore, most people live their whole lives never really getting to know who they really are or their true nature. Many people just think they are their name, physical appearance, interests, likes, dislikes, ethnicity, nationality, none of which is really you. Your true self and inner master is hidden behind your body, mind, and heart. The problem is that modern society never goes inward. Your inner knowing comes from first your instincts, second your intellect, and third from your intuition. Most people only operate from the level of the intellect. If you get a hunch from your instincts the intellect is great at rationalizing therefore negating an intelligence that is grounded in a deeper reality. Your instincts have a higher intelligence that comes from the past that allowed you to survive. Your intuition comes from a higher cosmic intelligence that simply just knows and does not require logic. You need to be able trust your instincts and intuition so that you can use yourintellect for the right purpose. You can begin by learning to pay attention and trusting the inherit wisdom in your instincts; develop your instinct as a stepping stone to your intuition and higher self.
You need to create experiences that will help you grow them, there is no way to grow them with outside help. Only through your own direct experiences will you be able to accumulate the wisdom to have the clarity to “see” properly. In getting to know your true nature and inner space you will encounter memories that you have repressed. Do not keep them repressed, doing so is to not learn about a certain aspect of your being. Keeping things repressed also leads to build up in your subconscious, until enough pressure builds and one day it explodes. Learn to acknowledge your negative tendencies, learn from them, then let them go from your being. Your intuition is pure intelligence. Intellect and intelligence are only similar on the surface. There are many people who are of a high intellect but do not demonstrate intelligence. Just as there are people who possess intelligence but do not have a high intellect. Intellect is dependent on knowledge, knowledge is simply just theory. Intuition comes from a higher knowing not dependent on knowledge but can be felt through experience. You need to be able to experience what I am saying, not only learn what I am saying, otherwise you will not be able to “see”. If you don’t experience it for yourself your intellect will use this new in formation to still keep you separate from the truth. If you are able to really “see” you will develop insight. Insight has the power to transform your being. Transformation entails no effort. If you still ask “how” you did not get the point, how just means you need more knowledge to be able to see it through your own eyes.
You need to become the master of your mind, so that you can let knowledge work through your mind, and not let your mind work through your knowledge. If you become the servant and not the master of your mind, you will have a closed mind because your knowledge will bind you. You need to use your intellect to rise above your knowledge. Insight is a state of no thought, when people say they have an epiphany it comes from being able to see when there is no thought involved. That’s why you hear people say that all of a sudden an epiphany struck them out of thin air. The insight came from a higher intelligence that dwells in the realm of your inner silence. These glimpses, if you are able to grasp them, will leave the feeling of amazing connection. You experienced truth, your own personal truth of pure intelligence.
To Develop Your Intuition You Will Need To Overcome 1. The Physical Senses : We now live in a society where we are less dependent on
our senses for our survival that many people have become dull and unaware. Your sense of vision, hearing, touch, smell, and taste through the modern world have gotten out of tune. To get in tune with your senses begin by immersing your self in nature. Just by being in nature you will make your senses come alive.
2. Conditioning: Through your life you develop beliefs that help you filter and
make sense of the world. This world is all about communication and it includes both the seen and unseen mediums, but your beliefs are the very thing that keep you from communication. If you are Christian and I am a Buddhist you will not accept an Idea if it challenges your beliefs, even if the idea has nothing to do with Christianity. You need to learn to suspend disbelief and judgment if you are ever to expand your awareness. You need to learn to listen attentively, intelligently,
and openly if you are to derive wisdom from an experience.
3. Rationalization: It is not what you say but who you are that matters. The mind
is very cunning; it will do everything in its power to keep you from who you really are. You will need to transcend your mind in order to take the actions necessary to become the person you desire to be.
4. Emotions: You need to not be governed and consumed by your emotions. You
need to be able to distinguish a real feeling. If you feel it in your heart it will transform you because you will take action. If you become consumed by your feelings but only remains a feeling with no action, then you will know it is pseudo. You should not go against your heart; otherwise you are just a person who pretends.
5. Repression: You need to learn to watch and observe your inner mechanisms
and not let them overlap each other, because this will corrupt them. Let your mind play its role of logic and reason. Let your heart function for its purpose of feeling. You need to learn to let everything function in its own natural way or else your judgment gets clouded. For example when one is in love, you know your in love because in your heart you feel it, yet many people say I “think” I love you. If you trust your feelings you will simply tell the person “I love you”. Do not let them mix into each other, the side effects are that you will begin to have corrupted instincts and will not be able to make a good decision. Growing Your Intuition Through Meditation Whenever you feel a “hunch” that is simply a fragment of intuition. If you learn to usemeditation to drop the reasoning mind, your intuition will begin to grow. If
you cultivate your intuition any problem you have can be solved by your inner self. The role that meditation can help you with is learning to go from thinking to feeling. We live in a society in which we think excessively, the problem with thinking is that it needs time to formulate an answer. Being able to feel requires no time because it already knows, because by its very nature it is intuitive. The more you develop a mind that has clarity and intelligence with any situation you will be able to see what is really there with no filters. Here is an example to give you a better idea of what I mean. As a small child your intuitive abilities are much higher because you have yet to develop the filters to block them out, you are still trying to make sense of the world. When I was younger my favorite thing was to go play in the forest in the backyard of my home in Mexico. One day on a very rocky hill I saw a coyote. I became frightened and immediately ran down the rocky hill as fast as my little feet could move. In those moments it’s as if time slows down and another intelligence takes over. I was able to dart from rock to rock with amazing accuracy. If I stopped to think of what I needed to do, I would have missed the stones, slipped and broken my ankles. Even worse, if I waited to formulate an answer the coyote might have had a great breakfast. Being able to develop and trust your intuition will prove to be worthwhile because it will assist you in your journey to a fulfilling life. When people think of things they want to accomplish in life they make it a destination in their mind. A destination belongs to your ego, it does not know how to get you there. You need direction in life, direction belongs to your being. Use your intuition to know what direction in life you need to take. When you come to a crossroads in
your life your intuition can mean all the difference between living a fulfilling life or not. If you enjoyed this post please help me out by passing it along to your friends and ‘like’ our Facebook Page. Also, if you have any of your own insights please share them in the comments section. Pay it forward: How To Increase Your Awareness and Expand Your Consciousness
Posted on 02/05/2009 by Ivan Campuzano • 120 Comments
Me in front of the Berlin Wall. “The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.” Albert Einstein
Awakening Consciousness When I take a look at our society as a whole and think about the stage of evolution that we are at, it amazes me how many problems still exist on earth. We have advanced tremendously in technology and commerce, but one thing we have neglected to advance is the world’s consciousness, the ability to be awake in the world.
Any problems we have come from a lack of awareness. If our politicians were really conscious there would be no question about right and wrong, they would be able to make the right decision. In pure awareness there is no dark only light. In fact, if everyone was really awake and conscious, the role of government would be very limited, because people would not depend on someone else to lead them. We live in the age of information, but even with all the knowledge of the world at our fingertips, what good does it really do us if we are not conscious and awake? The problem is that knowledge essentially binds us, the more knowledge a person gains, the more psychologically asleep that he becomes. The more knowledge he gains the more entrenched his mind becomes in a certain way of thinking. He may think he is thinking outside of the box, it’s the same box; he just makes it look different. “When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.” - Albert Einstein
Just really take a good look at the world around you; you will realize that most of the population is operating from a level where they are psychologically asleep. Today’s society has become extremely efficient at doing things with little to no awareness, we just run on auto pilot. Once you realize how much you really are operating on auto pilot in your day-to-day life, you will be able to search for ways to become more aware. Think about the very first time you were learning to drive, remember how engaged you were? You could feel every movement you made, you were fully present in what you were doing, you were in a state of heightened awareness. After a few weeks all your motions were effortless, you could look at your rear view mirror, adjust your stereo, and change gears with very little awareness.
Levels Of Consciousness Your mind has different levels of consciousness. First is your conscious mind, then behind your conscious mind is the subconscious mind. If you learn to pay close attention you can hear the subconsciousness’ whispers. Then behind the subconscious mind is the unconscious. The unconscious is who you really are, behind your thinking mind, behind your body, the essence of your very nature. Behind the unconscious is what Dr. Jung called the collective unconscious, which is the whole of humanity’s evolution until now. In order to become more conscious and aware and rise above the unconscious state, you need to experience being alert and awake. This is something you cannot just simply understand logically or philosophically, because it will only remain as an intellectual understanding. “the intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” - Albert Einstein
It is going to take a real effort to wake yourself up, to discover your true potential, to become aware that you are far more than what you appear to be.
How Do You Start Becoming More Aware? You have to learn to become observant and watchful. Learn to observe and be a witness to every act you do, every thought that passes your mind. Watch every desire that bubbles up within you. Observe even seemingly little things like your gestures, walking, talking, breathing, eating, everything can be an opportunity to watch. You will realize that the more watchful that you become, that your internal chatter will become less and less. Your thoughts become more manageable and
you gain a new clarity. A clear mind is a happy mind. As you grow in your awareness, your inner growth will explode because you begin to let the deepest parts of your being rise to the surface. You will also come to notice how much of your growth was being suppressed by the awareness of the whole (society) and dependent on others. At this lower level of awareness you observe how people mostly try and grow by means of arguing, simply trying to outwit, and out smart others on pure logic. One day while drinking some coffee I observed two people arguing, the person who feels that he came out on top is puffed up in his ego, and all he did was make a brilliant logical explanation to satisfy his own desires. The other person now feels bitter towards the other, did not accept the other person’s point of view, and still chooses to keep his own beliefs. I can see that both are oblivious to what actually happened. Nothing was accomplished, but in their minds they felt something was achieved. They were simply not aware of what was going on inside themselves, being lost on the inside is being lost on the outside.
Awareness Steps to Achieve Spiritual Growth Step 1: The Body – learn to become aware of your body first. Learn to place your
attention and sense your body’s energy from the inside out. Learn to feel its presence, its aliveness. You can begin by starting in small parts of the body, such as your hands, until your attention can encompass your whole body. Step 2: Your Thoughts - Once you become observant of your body, expand your
awareness to observe and watch your thoughts. Step 3: Feelings and Emotions – When you are able to watch your thoughts, learn
to watch your feelings and emotions. When you are watchful of your body, thoughts, feelings, and emotions your awareness will begin to operate from a state of inner harmony. Step 4: Aware of your own awareness - When you live a life of inner harmony,
that harmony allows you to be in a position to become of aware of your own awareness. When you are able to be aware of your own awareness you will realize how cunning the mind is, and how great it is at rationalizing. Rationalizing is not awareness, awareness means that whatsoever is happening in the moment is happening with complete consciousness, that you are fully present. The problem lies in that all the mind can do is think of the past and imagine the future. To be present and totally aware is to be in the space of no thought, dropping your analytical mind. Also try and understand that dropping the mind does not mean to be in a vegetative state, it is simply a space where you move into a deeper depth of understanding and perspective. Your mind is only able to work linearly, from point A to point B, from one thought to the next. If you move vertically that is a movement of consciousness, which is awareness. Learn to continually bring your self to the present. When you catch yourself living in the past or imagining the future, bring your awareness back to the present moment. Do not feel bad when you realize you are not in the present, this is just a habit you need to gradually get out of until your new habit is being more in the present.
One important thing to remember also is to not make the mistake of constantly thinking “how can I be in the present moment”, because this involves thinking; this is a very delicate line. Just learn to be a passive witness, which means you observe without judgment, and slowly you will fall into moments of beautiful silence. By constantly being in a state witnessing you will fall into the gaps between your thoughts. “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality.It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day.Never lose a holy curiosity.” – Albert Einstein
Communist Statue in Prague Awareness is Key to Spiritual Transformation With whatever you find yourself doing, learn to continuously be aware of whatever is going on inside you. The more you become aware of yourself doing what ever it is that you are doing, the more you become centered in your inner being.
Once you begin to be stronger inside, you will develop a deeper feeling of the inner presence that you “are”. Your energies will become concentrated around this centered presence, and your true self is born. Ego is only a false sense of self, but if you don’t awaken your inner self you will go on believing that you have a self that is only your ego. When you have little or no awareness of your inner world, you are a victim of circumstances because you operate only by reaction. From this level your physical senses rule, your physical senses only job is to respond. You only take action when something has been done to you. When you are grounded in your inner being you create a distance between your inner being and your physical senses. Something can affect your physical sense but cannot touch your inner self. When you take actions from the center, your actions are total and complete, inspired actions not hindered by past and future. You will come to find that becoming a witness of your life will be something that should be done passively. Learn to do what you are doing non-verbally; verbalization is escaping from the experience. When you look at the Stars in the sky with awe and admiration you feel a deep connection of beauty within you. As soon as you try to verbalize what you are feeling, you remove yourself from it, because to verbalize is to think, and to think is to not be fully present. Learning to be non verbal in your internal world will make you the witness of your inner world. Language is only needed to communicate with others, but language is not needed to communicate with one’s self.
Thoughts come and go, think of your mind as the host and your thoughts as the guests. Once you learn to watch, witness, and observe your thoughts, you will be in a position of mastering your mind. Your thoughts are there but you are no longer a slave to your thoughts, you are the master of your thoughts. Don’t try and control your mind, this is impossible, just learn to become centered in your consciousness. Just watch, don’t try and stop your mind, just observe it and allow it to happen on its own. Being aware and clear headed will allow you to take responsible actions, because any action you take born out of awareness is total and complete. Any action you take will be action that arises from your watching.
With Awareness You Can Be Decisive Only awareness can be decisive because your mind only conceives possibilities and is constantly in a state of indecisiveness. Many people strive to be a man or woman of character, but a man or woman of character only reacts. Character is mechanical because it operates from memory;moral conditioning on what is right and wrong. The problem with this is that life is constantly changing, it is never the same. But a man of character always responds with the same answers. A man of consciousness simply takes action, and whatever action he takes in the moment is natural and perfect for the situation. Becoming a man of awareness will also allow you in seeing your own faults. The moment you become aware of your faults they will begin to disappear. They were only allowed to exist because you where unconscious of it.
So don’t be worried about errors and mistakes in your life. Put all your energy and effort into becoming a more conscious awake being. In a state of pure awareness your faults can’t exist. Someone who tries to be a good person requires great effort. A conscious person needs no effort, living a conscious life makes you a good person. Someone trying to be good is constantly judging himself and others, his inner world is one of continuous conflict. He condemns and represses and learns to hide it in the deepest parts of his being. You are good by just being aware. There is no question of whether what you do is good or bad, from awareness whatever you do is good. A person of awareness is calm, relaxed, quite, serene, creative, only good can come from these states of being. You will know when you become a person of awareness because you will quit watching others, that’s what everybody else does; all you need to do is watch yourself. apping Into Your Subconscious Mind To Get What You Want
Posted on 06/22/2010 by Ivan Campuzano • 27 Comments “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one” Albert Einstein
Creating Your Vision I feel that one of the most important ingredients in your formula for personal fulfillment is having a clearly defined vivid vision of where you want to be. At first the “how” is not that important , you need to create a vision that gets you so
excited that you will stop at nothing to get what you truly want. Many people first focus on the how than very quickly find themselves overwhelmed with too many details and just as quickly talk them selves out of pursuing their goals. You have to take a leap of faith and trust that the how will be shown to you as you go along. Do you remember the days as a kid with dreams of epic
proportions? What happened those dreams? You got older and conditioned by a society that says that having those dreams is foolish. I think that’s nonsense, I encourage you to dream like you once used to. “Shoot for the moon…even if you miss you’ll still be amongst them stars”
One way I keep my vision alive is through my picture book. In my book I have many of the things I want to experience in life. Go right now and get some magazines and cut out every picture of the things you want to do and places you want to visit, don’t be thinking if you can actually do those things now , dare to dream. Remember your mind thinks in pictures, look at your picture book until in becomes as vivid as possible in the theater of your mind. Your brain cant tell the difference between something you are remembering or something you experience in real time.
Tapping Into Your Subconscious Mind Power
You can think of meditation as conscious sleeping. Just as you sleep to gain energy for your daily functioning, meditation is conscious sleeping that gives you all the energy (creative abilities) you need, for what you intend to accomplish. This is how you will consciously tap into the power of your subconscious mind. Use the power of meditation to help you achieve your goals. Strive to everyday meditate one minute for each year of your current age. I am 26, so everyday I try and meditate at least 26 minutes. There are many techniques find something that feels good to you. Daily Routine 1. Pick a nice comfortable place where to meditate. Have an intention on what
you plan to meditate on before hand. Ex. A destination you want to visit or a feeling like love. 2. Find a comfortable position to sit. Sitting on a chair or on the floor, does not
really matter as long as it is comfortable for you. 3. Cross your legs, clasp your hands together : This helps make your own energy
circuit and gives stability. 4.Close your eyes, than stop inner and outer chatter. 5. Relax, begin thinking that your whole body is becoming extremely relaxed. 6. Eyes should be closed. With your eyes closed focus your gaze and attention as
if you are looking through a point between your eyebrows. Try and not to cross or strain your eyes; the upward gaze should come naturally when you are relaxed
and calmly concentrated. What is important to keep in mind is to be able to fix your whole attention at the point between the eyebrows. 7. You will notice that your mind is full of many thoughts. Your mind will than
begin to ask questions to those thoughts and try and come up with answers whether they are known or unknown. This is why your mind(ego) can be your enemy if it mostly thinks in negative terms. 8. You will need to transcend your mind and thoughts in order to meditate. Your
mind and thoughts are what separate you from your higher self, consciousness itself. 9. You transcend your mind by simply observing your breath. Don’t
inhale/exhale consciously just observe your natural breathing. Don’t go behind your thoughts, if you catch your self drifting just always come back to your breathing. Slowly the amount of thoughts reduces and your breathing becomes thinner and shorter. If you are able to keep all your awareness on your breath, you will get to the point of no thought and no breath. This state of no thought is your connection to your divine being and energy body. The more you meditate the more benefits and energy that you will receive. Your own self awareness and consciousness will also expand. 10. You will feel a very pleasurable feeling meditating. If you feel any discomfort
in your body these can be possible areas of disease or illness. If you meditate everyday you may even heal your body naturally. 11. Now that you are in a state of no thought and total relaxation , bring your
focused attention to your intention. Remember whatever you focus on now is in a space that will be impressed directly into your subconscious. It is important that youdon’t color any of your thoughts with any la ck, limitation, dis belief or
doubt. This is why almost all self help material does not produce the results
people expect. Wishing for more money(or anything else) never works, the thought of wanting more money also has the thought of doubt attached to it. Ask your self how many thoughts that you think about have been modified in a way that is not beneficial to you. You just never realize that you are programming your sub conscious all day. This is why meditation is so powerful. You are able to make suggestions to your subconscious where the thought is not modified in any way shape or form. So if you want to make things happen fast you need to get rid of the concept of attaching time to your thoughts. You have to remember that almost everything you get in your life comes based on the conditions that you set up, and time is usually one condition that cuases the most frustration with people. Just as a computer programmer gives a computer instructions to complete a task, you program the most powerful computer you have which is your subconscious. Your conscious mind acts as the gate keeper as to what thoughts you let in. Now that you know this choose to become more aware and conscious about what you think all day long. Learn to see the world in a non linear way, remove time from your consiousness and watch how things show up in your life faster than you ever thought.
Thoughts = feelings = actions = results (just like that you can begin to shape your life) 12. Mentally rehearse every moment of it with all your senses. Dare to be like
Peter Pan.
13. Visualize in vivid detail, your intention as established fact. Also make sure
you meditate only on days you feel good. Remember you want your thoughts to be as pure as possible. This also means that you really find out what you want , make sure its not something you want solely for ego purposes . Thoughts that
involve the ego are usually always colored with negativity. 14. With time you will begin to be able to hold vivid pictures of anything (you will
develop you third eye). The more you are able to hold onto an image in your mind the more power you give it. 15. Get up and go have a great day , notice how much energy you have the rest of
the day. I also use lucid dreaming as another way to increase my creativity or come up with new ideas. (Lucid dreaming is when you actually become aware in your dream that you are dreaming, once properly trained you can control your dreams)
Well I hope you enjoyed my article and that It may assist you in achieving some of your goals. I would also love to hear any of your tips or ideas on how we can all accomplish our goals in a harmonious way, leave your comments below. Thank you and have a great day! How to Develop Charisma: Twelve Key Moves
Posted on 12/25/2008 by Ivan Campuzano • 1 Comment
Debra Benton My good friend and mentor Debra Benton author of New York Time’s best selling “How To Think Like a CEO” , has spent her life teaching some of the
nations top CEO’s how to be more effective and charismatic, so when she speaks I listen. You’ve seen them. People like John Edwards or Carly Fiorina whose personal magnetism makes them stand out and propels them up the ladder of success. But is charisma — that powerful personal magic that attracts people and promotions like a magnet — something you are born with or something you can learn? It’s common knowledge, for example, that the late president John F. Kennedy exuded charisma. Yet historians say his style was so carefully rehearsed that before running for president he even commissioned a study to determine the most effective handshake! Those who study the phenomenon of charisma say while some people are innately more charismatic than others, there are certain things everyone can do to boost their charisma quotient. Debra Benton, author of Executive Charisma: Six Steps to Mastering the Art of Leadership offers the following pointers:
Expect
acceptance.
Regardless of rank, expect to be treated as an equal. If you expect acceptance, you just might get it. If you don’t expect it, you definitely won’t get it.
Control
your
attitude.
Success in business is based more on mental attitude than on mental capabilities. Be optimistic toward yourself, others and life. Walk in to a room with a spring in your step and a smile on your face. Perfect
your
posture.
Pull your ribcage away from your pelvis, roll your shoulders back and down, pull your stomach in and tuck your bottom toward your spine. Breathe deeply. You’ll
not only look better, but feel more energized, alert and in control.
Think
before
you
talk.
Think fast, pause, then speak purposefully. One CEO practices saying everything to himself before he says it out loud so that he will hear how it sounds and can change it if he needs to. Slow
down.
Speed in speaking, moving, gesturing and walking looks nervous and scared. Scared people get passed over, not hired or promoted. Learn to speak in a comfortable, easygoing and welcoming way. Don’t waste time, but do speak as if you have all the time in the world for those you are speaking to.
Shoot
straight.
Everything you say or write can be done in a simple, straightforward manner. Just do
Be
it.
a
good
storyteller.
People understand you better, remember what you say longer, and find you smarter and more interesting if you use anecdotes to make your points.
Be
aware
of
your
style.
Clothes don’t make the man but they do make a difference. Wear well-tailored, good quality clothes that make you look like you are in charge. But remember, it isn’t as much about your look as how you look at things and what people see when
Admit
they
look
your
at
you.
mistakes.
If
you
are
error-free,
Don’t
you’re
likely
effort-free.
be
bullied.
If you are unjustly criticized, don’t take the bait and get into an argument. Instead calmly ask: “Why do you think that?” “What do you mean?” or “What’s that based on?” Be
Be
Be
flexible.
able
to
at
stand
out
ease
while
still
with
fitting
in
yourself
with
and
the
crowd.
others.
Look others straight in the eye, eliminate any defensiveness and take the edge off your voice. Never let them see you sweat! To get in touch with Debra Benton visit: DebraBenton.com
How To Master Your Mind
Posted on 08/29/2009 by Ivan Campuzano • 34 Comments “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” Buddha
Mastering Your Mind
Unless you learn to be the master of your mind, you will never find the peace of mind that you so dearly want. The mind is an amazing tool, but just like with any tool you need to learn to use it. The mind is a great servant but a horrible master.
Many come to think that their mind is something they cannot control, but with proper discipline you will prove to your self that this is untrue. There is one law of the mind, this law is that whatever you pay attention to is what you become conscious of. So if you never really pay any attention to how
your mind works, you will never have conscious control over it. Once you begin to try and understand and pay attention to your mind, you come to see its positive and negative tendencies. You come to realize that your identity is not your thoughts and mind, your true nature is beyond that.
You realize that you are pure consciousness and not what your consciousness had identified itself with (thoughts and mind). This is why people who are not aware
of this, their life experience is determined by the quality of thoughts they have. People who are not conscious of their thoughts will just keep recycling the same internal dialogue. If you constantly have thoughts of worry and anxiety, your mind will be robbed of its vital energy. The Quality of Your Mind Is Determined by The Quality of Your Thoughts
You must learn to consciously choose which thoughts you allow into your mind. On average we have 50,000 to 60,000 thoughts that run through our mind. If you really pay attention you will see that about 95% of those thoughts are thoughts that you had from the day before. This will help you realize that how you think is simply a function of habit and conditioning. If you are always worrying this is
simply from a negative thinking habit. Reality reflects back to you what you think commonly, change your common thought, and change your life.
You just need to take full responsibility and understand that mind management is essential to life management. Here is the amazing thing about being conscious human being, you have free will. You are the one who ultimately gets to decide what you pay attention to. The problem is that if you are not the master of your
mind, your current mental habits will be the one to choose. In all circumstances your free will boils down to what you choose to pay attention to. Learn to watch at all times where your mind is placing its attention.
If you find that it is not conducive to your growth, change it. The more you do this the stronger your will power will become. You will have the power to direct your mind towards your intention. When you know your personal intent, it helps you stay centered and lets you know when you are not centered. Cultivate Your Mind
The way you think stems from habit, so your mental mastery will come from the conditioning you give it. No matter what happens in your life, you alone have the power to choose how you respond to it. Learn to form the mental habit of looking for the positive in every experience you have. This will develop the habit that will allow you to overcome challenges and support your inner growth. Just remember that in life there are no mistakes only lessons. Learn not to judge situations as either good or bad, but just as a learning experience. If you truly learn from it you will not commit the same thing you label as a mistake. If you keep committing the same mistake you will know you have really not learned from the experience. You are still allowing your old ways of thinking dictate how
you act in a given situation.
Techniques On How To Master Your Mind To Get Rid of Worry and Anxiety 1. Concentrate on an object: Pick an object that you will use for your daily ritual.
As an example you can use a flower or a statue. Everyday take some time to just observe it. Learn to keep your minds attention only on the object. Notice everything you can about it. When your mind wonders off and thinks of something else bring your attention back to the object.
Your goal here is to each day be able to increase the time you are able to concentrate solely on the object with out deviation from it. At first this will be very difficult for many. Don’t get discouraged just realize that the more you exercise the easier it will get. This is a mental exercise for your mind. Just like with your body if you don’t exercise the mind it becomes lazy and unfocused. You either control your mind or it controls you. Once you have the power to
concentrate through your will power, you will be able to banish the thoughts of worry. As soon as you notice negative thoughts bubble up within you, you will have the power to refocus your attention on thoughts that will better serve you. 2. Opposition thinking : By nature the way that our brains are wired, we are only
able to focus on one thought at a time. Learn watch every negative thought that comes into your mind. Before you give any power to it, unclutch from it and replace it with an opposite positive thought. Learn to mother good thoughts. Carry a notebook with you, each time you become aware of your negative thinking, write it down. This will simply be a friendly reminder of how many negative thoughts you had in a day. Take the Time to reflect on your day: Every night make it a habit of running
through your day in your mind. What was the general theme? How were you thinking? How did this influence your day and ultimately your interpretation of it?
This is very important because if we don’t take the time to analyze our thinking we will not be conscious of any problems and then make the appropriate changes. 3. Magnetic Visualization: the difference between your imagination and
visualization is this, in visualization you can see it in your mind, but in your heart you also believe it is possible. Take out the list of all the negative thoughts you had for the day. What was the opposite positive thought to counteract it? Now visualize that thought in the theater of your mind, live it out in as much detail as possible. If you had a sad thought and than replaced it with a happy thought, mentally see how you act and feel when you are truly happy. What kind of things do you do? What kind of energy do you feel? Try to really live it in your mind. Your mind thinks in pictures, your goal is to get your thoughts in alignment with your positive mental slide show. Your mental pictures serve as a target; remember that without a target we can’t focus our energies towards a specific outcome. When we can clearly see it in our mind, we
will find a way to bring about its fulfillment. The best times to visualize are when you wake up in the morning and are in a drowsy state. Don’t wake up fully, stay in this drowsy state where your brain is on
a slower Alpha wave length. In this state you are able to impregnate your subconscious mind directly with your visualization. Do this each morning and see how your visualization affects your day. Did this influence the theme of your day? I think you will have many lovely surprises from this technique. 4. Daily Meditation: Make it a habit to mediate once in the morning and before
going to sleep. Mediation will help you develop a calm mind. It will help you become a witness to your inner world. It will help you to dis identify yourself from your thoughts and mind and allow you to question all your thoughts.
Practice these techniques without fail for one month, one month should be enough to make it a habit. If you skip a day, start all over. Making this commitment to yourself will yield amazing results.
How Mastering Your Mind Will Create Your Destiny
Once you are able to direct where you place your minds attention through your free will, you will be able to concentrate all your energies on one task at a time, until you see it to completion. Through your mental habit of opposition thinking you will be able to maintain a positive mindset. It will direct your attitude and ultimately how you respond to situations and decisions that shape your life. Through your magnetic visualization each time you summon a positive thought, in your minds eye you will see it in its entirety and keep you focused on your target. So the secret of your happiness is to find what you truly love to do and then direct your mind’s focused concentrated energy to its attainment . I am sure you
see how important it is to learn how to master your mind. Once you are able to direct your mind you are able to direct the path you take in life. Thank you so much for reading my article; If you find my site valuable please pass it along to your friends and family. I really appreciate you helping me in my personal mission to self empower as many people as I can.
The Shawshank Redemption Guide To Freedom
Posted on 07/26/2010 by Ivan Campuzano • 18 Comments
“Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free” - The Shawshank
Redemption
Escaping The Matrix “Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” - Benjamin Franklin
F-R-E-E-D-O-M…ahhh…just say it out loud to yourself…just by saying it you feel an exhilarating feeling of boundlessness. This has to be the most beautiful word in any language.
Freedom is the central theme around the movie“The Shawshank Redemption”, it Is a classic film filled with wisdom and universal messages that almost everyone can relate to. I want to show what we can all learn from the movie because while most of us may not be locked up in prison, many of us are living in a prison that we are not aware of. If you are not aware that you are in a prison you will not bother in trying to escape. You may not be physically imprisoned, but
psychologically we are prisoners of our minds. Physical freedom is only one aspect of freedom, this is freedom “from” . Freedom “from” could be financial freedom, being free from a job, this is what most people associate freedom to, but this is not real freedom . It’s a start, it gives a glimpse of whats possible. This is why people who win the lottery remain unfulfilled, they are still not free of their own prison. Inner freedom cannot be given to you by anyone or any amount of money.
“To know how to free oneself is nothing; the arduous thing is to know what to do with one’s freedom” - Andre Gide
Freedom “from” is still dependent on external circumstances. You need from “for”, this is psychological inner freedom. This is having a mind free of its conditioning, free from its own limitations. Freedom “for” is the ability to respond to life without having the past or future interfere in your actions. Freedom from your incessant inner chattering. Having freedom “from” and freedom “for”, now this is ultimate freedom. The Plot:“The film portrays the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker who spends
nearly two decades in Shawshank State Prison for the murder of his wife (wrongfully sentenced). During his time at the prison, he befriends a fellow inmate, Ellis “Red” Redding and fi nds himself protected by the guards after the warden begins using him in his money laundering operation.” – Wikipedia.org
The Essential Wisdom of The Shawshank Redemption
Provide service to others without expecting anything in return: Andy was a very smart person, but he was not arrogant towards others who where not on his level intellectually. He took the time to teach and empower others. He received great fulfillment in seeing one his students get his GED from prison. Serving others and being a part of their growth is one of the greatest forms of fulfillment that you can experience.
Hope + hard work + baby steps + commitment = Freedom: Andy ultimately
escapes the Shashank prison because it started with a little hope. One night In his prison cell a small part of the wall chipped off, this was the little spark of hope he needed. He then proceeds to dig a hole for the next 20+ years of his life, behind the poster of a beautiful woman.
Hope: Think of the times you felt truly great, truly free, this is your hope that you
know other states of “being” are possible.
Hard work: study yourself all the time, study great books, practice yoga,
meditate, and find a school or group of like minded people you can work with. Baby steps: If you work hard enough and have a definite aim, you will create
experiences for you to know that your work is paying off. If your work is real and meaningful you will change the way you feel, you will change your state of “being”. Commitment: You need to commit, you can’t work for one month, then take a
month off. If you are not ready to commit don’t even start because then you may create even more problems for yourself. You may even lose faith in certain methods and close yourself off from them in the future. When I first played around with meditation in my teenage years “I did not get it” my efforts where partial and infrequent. What I thought mediation was, was me only “thinking” I was meditating, which was not meditating at all, just a superficial feeling of calmness was as far as I got. It would be years until I finally understood what the great teachers meant in having a “timeless mind”. It took years to get through my layers of conditioning and previous ideas I had about meditation, until I finally got my first taste of going beyond my inner chattering. This is a journey that only continues to grow into deeper states of meditation. If I would have not stayed committed I would have never known what is possible, it was inconceivable.
You can always be creative and continue learning even while in prison : No
matter what your circumstances may be, there is always something new to learn.
If you learn to become integrated within yourself, you can always find a creative solution to any of your problems.
Making Genuine Connections: Be open to anyone new you meet, you really never know when you might meet a once in a life time friend and ally.
Enduring Extreme Pain and Suffering: What doesn’t kill you will only make you
stronger, that’s if you approach things with the right attitude. If you have a definite aim in your life, it will serve as motivation for you to get back on track when you encounter obstacles in your life.
Life is not fair: Life does not discriminate, there is neither good nor bad in the
eyes of the universe, it is up to you on how you decide to approach and live your life.
Becoming attached to your environment, even if it is a prison: Anything you
become attached to will create pain when it changes or is taken away from you. Realize that if you do not have a certain understanding of how you work internally, you will always live a life of attachment. You need to live a life of awareness, so that you do not make unconscious decisions that will then become an attachment and keep you in bondage.
On Being Institutionalized:
“This is all he knows, In here he is somebody, out there he is nobody…(prison walls) first you hate them, then you get comfortable, then you begin to love them, you depend on them” – Ellis Redding
One of the oldest inmates “Brooks” gets released after spending the majority of his life in prison. Once he has his physical freedom back, he does not know what to do with it. He has forgotten what it means to be outside of the prison walls, he doesn’t know how to function, so he decides to kill himself. This is what happens
to many of us, we get comfortable with the familiar, we know we are miserable but at least its something we know. In his apartment he engraves “Brooks was here”, just like Brooks we all have this fear that we will not be remembered. We want to know that our lives meant something, we want people to acknowledge our existence. We all want to leave our mark on this planet. The best way to leave your mark is just to find work that is meaningful to you, dedicate yourself to the work, and do it in a selfless way, contributing your work for the betterment of the whole.
Persistence: While in prison Andy had the desire to make knowledge freely
available to the inmates, he wanted to start a prison library, but needed to get funding from the state. He asked the warden if he could write a letter requesting the necessary funds. Andy ends up getting his wish, it just took him six years of writing letters to the state . “ It only took six years, now I just might write two times a week” – Andy
Music is Proof that there is god: When one donation to the library provides Andy
with the opera “The Marriage of Figaro”, he plays it over the public address system for all the inmates to hear, well-aware of the punishment of solitary confinement he will receive for the brief moment of bliss. For the briefest of moments all the men at Shawshank felt free.In the movie Andy says solitary confinement was worth it because you need music so that you don’t forget there’s a place inside you “they” can’t touch. To know that something exists besides the material world.This is beautiful, meditation if done with earnestness and unshakable determination will give you the experience of this place that no one can touch.This space is being in the essence of that which is really you. Freedom is an inner phenomenon. Beautiful music is a reminder that life is
illogical, that we are able to feel a reality that is beyond our minds comprehension.
Prison Time Is Slow Time:
“A man in prison will do almost anything to keep his mind occupied” – Shawshank Redemption
This is not true of only people who are in jail, but all people who escape with entertainment. In your slow time learn to be with your silence, this is how you will break free from your mind. You will come to understand your mind, you will see all of its negative tendencies. If you stay in your silence long enough you will come to realize that you are not your mind. You will be able to see that your mind does not function in a logical manner, most of your thoughts are just random, the problem is that when our thoughts bubble up within us, we are always looking for meaning. We try and connect one thought with the next. Our minds crave certainty and always want to understand everything. When you are able to see that your mind does not function in a linear manner, you will stop trying to control or look for meaning in your random thought process. This leads to a great increase in energy, much energy is wasted in trying to control and suppress our thought process. This will allow you to have enough mental energy to see things as they “are”.
Having a Timeless Mind:
“You know what Mexicans say about the Pacific? That It has no memory” -Andy
If you are able to experience a mind that has become empty, you will understand what it means to have a timeless mind. Your thoughts create your sense of time, all your thoughts come from memory. Freedom from your mind means freedom from your memory. This is not to say that you no longer use your memory and are
in a state of amnesia, but that your memory no longer conditions and influences you in the present.
“It all just comes down to a simple decision…you get busy living or get busy dieing” - The Shawshank Redemption
All You Need is Pressure and Time:
“Everyman has a breaking point”
Pressure: Freedom is your choice, but you’re going to have to work hard to get it. You have to realize what your main aim in life is, if its to discover real freedom, you are going to have to give everything you got. But first you need to realize that you are living in a prison in the first place, you need to get a glimpse of whats possible. Once you experience what true freedom tastes like, there is no going back, heaven is possible in this life time. Time: It takes time to change, but true change is instant. Once you re examine your relationship to time, you will see that change can happen this instant. Depending on your own level of being and understanding it may take a long time and a lot of work to get to the point where change can become instantaneous, when you are acting from a “timeless” space.
Living With Fear:
“I just want to be back to a place where I am not afraid all the time” - Ellis Redding Fear is the one thing that may be keeping you stuck in your life. You need to
understand that only a mind that is free from the past is the only state of mind that is free of fear. Fear can’t exist in a mind that is grounded in the present. “Some birds aren’t meant to be caged, their feathers are just too bright” -Ellis Redding
