Showing posts with label meditations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meditations. Show all posts

Where Does The Fast Lane Go?



"I am a marketing executive working for a company. We are authorized channel partner of a big concern. I have huge targets to be accomplished each and every month but due to the present market conditions I am not able to achieve them. The job is a great pressure and the stress level is much too high for me to cope up with. How can I come to terms with it?"

This person is one of millions trying to live in the fast lane and keep their nerves intact. He is young, educated, dynamic and... disintegrating! The pace of modern life seems so hasty - just a whirl of minutes, hours, and days.

Living in the fast lane is heady. The mind is fully charged and the body keeps on pumping more adrenaline into the blood stream. People are momentarily on a high, but the high is shadowed by the low which comes in its wake.

In metro-cities, commuting to work for an hour each way is normal. Has anybody thought what effect it has on the nervous system and the physique?

Joyce Walsleben, director of New York University's Sleep Disorders Center, says about her research: "We found that people on a long commute, separate from their weight or obesity or age or any other factor, tended to have higher blood pressure and many of them had hypertension."

Walsleben conducted a study of 21,000 Long Island Railroad commuters who travelled more than an hour and fifteen minutes between work and home. "Half of them couldn't stay awake when they had to or they couldn't fall asleep when they wanted to," she says.

Teens today have adapted to busy schedules like they would a second skin. They compromise - on sleep, on homework, on social lives. They learn to get by. Whatever it takes to balance school, sports activities, part-time jobs and family obligations, t complete for a place in college, to have spending money...

Fast food, fast relationships, fast success... people need everything fast. Eating on the run is the most popular mode of eating. Seventy per cent of people in America prefer eating in a drive-through restaurant. "The fat-paced, time-constrained lifestyle that we as a society have developed over the past decade is driving the demand for drive-thrus," says Stephen Spence, served as vice president with Southwest Securities in Dallas. "It's an integral part of the way we eat today."

However, it's not just in America that the fast food craze has taken off. Eateries and fast parlors have mushroomed all over the world and never lack customers.

Life is more exciting but also more tiring. The signs of fast lane fatigue are in evidence. It is clear that the fascination with speed and efficiency has taken a more serious turn. So many people are living in the fast lane, with or without the knowledge that the road ends on a cliff.

But does that mean we should reverse the gear and go back to the good old days? Certainly not. There is no rewinding in the time track. What is more intelligent and creative is to turn the situation into a blessing. Create new devices to relax in the fast lane. Let life run full speed while you sit back and relax in the whirlpool of activity.

It is said that the contemporary man has everything but time. Absolutely true. But what about one-minute meditations? Why not make the most of every minute?

This is what this post is about. There are many fast lane relaxation techniques for you. It's fun, not a serious affair. Life is so short, who has time for lengthy, serious meditations? Let the turmoil be on the surface. Think of the ocean where in the depth there are no waves, no turbulence. It is simply a question of turning in.

If you have a long commute every day, use that time for talking gibberish to relieve tension. Or, sit back and watch the mind. Let the vehicle whir at the top speed, you can slow down within. Be aware of the gaps in thoughts, in feelings, in breaths, between two gears or two cars... Look for the gaps, and your energy will fall into a relaxed space.

Life is full of competition. You can compete with yourself.

Who doesn't get the blues? But you can dance them away.

Especially in these times of panic and fear, it is imperative to hold onto our sanity. If the future seems to be increasingly bleak, start living in the present. Go deeper and deeper into very moment and life in the fast lane will be transformed. Then you will actually start enjoying it without having to suffer from its side effects.

We are really at the crossroad in the world's history. It is absolutely up to us which fork we take - either down towards fear, anxiety, and finally global suicide; or up towards responsibility, consciousness and love - the golden future.

There are millions hits on the internet search drive for Wellness - from mental to physical health, cardiac fitness, cancer, yoga, how to overcome certain ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, stoke, and tips on weight loss and how to grow taller, with many other ideas getting honorable mention. It takes quite a bit of research to find any one site that has so much to offer on all these fronts, let alone one that can combine all the needs for your innermost wellness - joy, bliss and beyond. For wellness' sake you can stop looking out there, and take some time for yourself, a sort of one-stop-shop: Balanced Lifestyle Wikipedia.


https://ezinearticles.com/?Where-Does-The-Fast-Lane-Go?&id=10037309

Understand This Mindset: Spiritual Retreat

Life to a spiritual retreat, various people went to a holy place to fulfill the spiritual retreat. In the city of Cotabato in the Philippines, every year two radio stations do not broadcast their regular programs from Thursday to Saturday because staff members make a spiritual retreat. Many people who go to a spiritual retreat during the Week of Semana Santa. But judging the effects of these retreats in their lives, they show to be unaware of spiritual awakening during these retreats. They bring in the same way of living before and after their spiritual retreats. You can experience a range of spiritual or religious highs. But nothing has happened in their depths. This article narrates how to use the spiritual retreat to experience the spiritual awakening.

Do you own a specific goal for your spiritual retreat?

The first thing you need to do to experience spiritual excitement during a retreat is to own a specific goal if you enter this work. It does not matter if your supervisor or a Human Resources employee will lead you to a spiritual retreat. If you do it yourself, ready a specific goal to plan your spiritual retreat.

Their goal, how to change your life for the better. This is the overall aim. Have a better spiritual retreat experience, come in a specific goal. For example, you may want to set a goal to prepared to stop smoking. Or his goal is to read one gospel effective in the retirement age. Or this may be the case for personality improvement. Whatever in mind, make it specific.

Get the fraction for a moment to talk to your god. Second, it's time to talk to your God, whether he or whatever you think of it.

Overall, a retreat has a series of teacher lectures or movable movers and meditations for participants. Again, consider it during the lecture period of your retired professor of god. For example, if you are listening to conversations, you can say to your God, I will make this talk in action very much.

I said "your God," because each of us has a different theory of God, whether we are complete Christians or Muslims. Buddhists do likely God similar Christians and Muslims. Atheists or unbelievers own the true notion of God they denied. Deny nothing. There is a theory of God that you have denied. Talk to this god during the retreat.

Then, in contemplation, tell your God of everything that reaches into your spirit. In this way, you associate with the rules beyond yourself, if you are not yet, and the growth becomes an opportunity for spiritual awakening for you.

Write a record of your thoughts

Third, write a report on your reflections on a good notebook. I realize that many during the retreat, people do not write. They listen to the speaker and do the exercises they make, such as singing and posture exercises, but they do not write.

If you do not write in your mind, it means you have no record of it, and there is no easy way to remember the thoughts later. Meanwhile, if you write it down, you can read it later and see how your life has improved since the retreat. In that way, you will see how your life has grown since then. And if you do not see the improvement, you can make the necessary changes to continue the journey to eternity. In this way, you will know whether you are awake spiritually or not, or if your spiritual thoughts progress if you have experienced a spiritual awakening.

These are the means to effectively use retreats to inspire you spiritually: there is a purpose, talking with your god of retreat, write your thoughts. Best of luck in your spiritual retreat!


http://ezinearticles.com/?Understand-This-Mindset:-Spiritual-Retreat&id=9887452

Letting Go of the Fear of the Future


In the future, there is a true hope. In the future, there is a reflection of the abundance and gratitude of today.

Letting go of the fear of the future means, in general, letting go of most of your fears.

Just think about it: 99% of all of our worries and fears are connected only and exclusively with thoughts about the future:

  • What will tomorrow bring us?
  • What if it were something highly unpredictable, or even painful?
  • Will I be able to handle it?
  • Am I ready for that?
  • How will I protect my family?
  • How will I deal with that?

But, what happens when we let go of all these fears?

What happens when we surrender ourselves to the uncertainty of the future, letting ourselves experience all the feelings that lie behind, and letting them simply go, once and forever?

Can we even do that?

Can Letting Go take us so far?

After several Letting Go meditations related to the uncertainty of the future, some interesting revelations came to me when all the negative emotions behind these fears were surrendered, released, and let go.

The most surprising one was the realization that there is not such a thing as a future.

Any moment of our life we live at is defined by being in a state of a clear presence. We simply can't live in the past or future; we can only live in the present.

So, all we can really be fearful of, is just our presence, as this is the only state that we are actually experiencing. Yes, we can also think of extensions, multiplication or variations of the presence, which are often falsely altered with the word "future", but it is still just another form of the presence.

Now, this is great news.

Why?

Because the good thing about the presence is, that we can shape it and define it exactly as we want to - in any given moment. We can instantly decide if we want to be joyful or fearful right now, if we want to be exuberant or impoverished. We have the power of the full choice about the presence, about the actual, instant moment.

But, because the future is, in fact, just an extension or multiplication (or variation) of the presence, by shaping our presence, we can then immediately shape our future as well:

If we feel true hope today, we already create it for our future too.

If we feel abundance and gratitude today, we already create it for our future as well.

I admit that this concept can be a bit difficult to understand for most of you right now. However, after several letting go of these future related issues, you will start seeing it clearer.. This concept needs to be fully experienced (by letting go of the barriers for this experience) first, in order to be able to absolutely understand it, accept it and take great advantages of it.

So here is letting go process of the fear of the future:

1. In a quiet place, close your eyes and think of any of your recent fears about the future.

2. Start noticing the feelings (as they will start coming up) behind your thoughts.

3. Don't try to label these feelings in any way, rationalize or analyze them. Just let them come out and express themselves.

4. Start surrendering yourself to these feelings slowly, let them express themselves fully all over your body (or any other part where you feel them most intensively). Don't push them back, don't block them or act on them either. Just let them be in their natural way and instead, be an independent observer of them, as if they weren't even yours.

5. After a while, make a decision about letting them go once and forever, and then let them actually go and disappear.

The process above will probably need to be, in the case of many people, repeated during the following days, or even weeks, to start experiencing the new, clear perception of the concept of the future (anxiety about the future is in general quite a strong issue) and to start experiencing how worries about the future begin to vanish.

Remember that, with Letting Go, we can't control the moment of the revelation. All we can do is to let go and then let the revelation come to us in the moment it is ready to come. I can guarantee you, that sooner or later it will come, if we let go and surrender ourselves properly. There is no other way.By letting go and surrendering ourselves, we clear the path ahead of us; we clear the vision, and we only need to wait for our own conscious and unconscious mind to adjust to this new reality. Paradoxically, our own brain is quite often the weakest link in our growth!


http://ezinearticles.com/?Letting-Go-of-the-Fear-of-the-Future&id=9472432

22 Tips to Boost Your Courage (By Marian Buck Murray)


Woman jumping above stairs wearing graduation gown and a hat

Got Courage? For me, courage is essential for everything from growing my business to living my life in a more authentic, joyful, loving, way.

A few months ago I taught a workshop called the Courage Experiment. My goal was to experiment with different courage boosting techniques, and share them with others. Here are 22 techniques I've found to be most helpful. Experiment, and discover what works for you. Enjoy!

Seek Courageous Role Models - Look around at the people in your life, in the media, in books, and in history. Who are your courageous role models? Learn about the ways in which they use their courage. Adopt strategies that appeal to you.

Collect Courage Quotes -- Use the internet to find quotes about courage. Collect quotes that really speak to you. Print some out, and post them where you'll see them.

Embrace Your Fear - Feel your fear. Practice sending compassion and understanding to yourself in your moments of fear. Sometimes just pausing with this intention is enough to release fear.

Admit to your Fears with a Friend - Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to admit we're afraid. Fear loves to hide in secrecy. Sharing your fears with an understanding friend or counselor will usually help dispel some of the fear.

Don't Engage the Drama- By-pass worst-case scenarios. We never know what's going to happen, so why imagine the scariest possibilities? Fear feeds on drama, and will multiply the more we engage. Practice stepping away from the drama, and imagining better-feeling scenarios.

Avoid unnecessary hesitation - The more you hesitate, the more your mind will interfere to tell you all the reasons why you should fret, worry, and not take that courageous action step you planned to take.

Commit Yourself in Advance - Schedule your courageous acts ahead of time. Then, show up.

Do it with a friend - Practice with a friend. Celebrate together as you take courageous action steps.

Start Small - It can be hard to find courage to do something that feels big and scary. Instead, take a good look at the big and scary goal, and then break it down into smaller, friendlier steps.

Enter a state of non-resistance. - Courage can be tough to muster when we're dreading doing something. Practice letting go of resistance, and being present with whatever happens along your way.

Tap into your BIG WHY - Why do you want to use your courage? Get clear about your true, authentic intentions. When we feel really inspired and motivated, sometimes we'll do just about anything to get what we want.

Visualize Best Outcomes - Visualization is a very powerful technique to help us imagine our best outcomes. By visualizing what you want, you will activate your reticular activator to help you begin to see evidence of what you're visualizing. By allowing yourself to feel the energy of your imagined scene, you can boost both your enthusiasm and your courage.

Do Things that Others Don't. - Practice following the beat of your own drum. The more comfortable you are doing your own thing, the more courage you will have to do anything.

Turn Obstacles and Failures into Assets - It's easy to use obstacles and failures as excuses to forgo our courage. By turning obstacles and failures into opportunities to learn and grow, we can bypass fear, and move forward with courage. This fortifies our courage to continue, despite obstacles or failures along our way.

Expand Your Knowledge - Many times we're scared of what we don't know or understand. By increasing your knowledge about a particular area, you will increase your confidence and courage to explore areas you might previously have avoided.

Incremental Exposure - Little by little, expose yourself to the thing that you fear.

Imagine How You'll Feel after You Do It. Imagining how good you'll feel once you take action will boost your enthusiasm and your courage.

Exercise - Any form of exercise will help release pent-up stress and anxiety. In addition, you will strengthen your sense of confidence as you follow through with regular exercise. Confidence nourishes courage.

Meditation - Meditation will help you feel centered, grounded, and relaxed. When you come from a place of centered calm, courage is much easier to access.

Affirmations - Affirmations, when frequently repeated, will assist your subconscious mind in helping you feel more courageous. Create a few short, easy-to-say, affirmations. For example: "I love feeling courageous." Or "My courage brings success." Repeat throughout your day, and/or for 2-5 minutes at a time. Remember -- repetition increases the power of an affirmation.

Heart Breath - The heart breath will help you drop out of a worried, stressed mind, into the peace and wisdom of your heart. To do the heart breath, close your eyes and take a few long deep breaths. Next, continue to breathe deeply while imagining you are breathing in and out of your heart. Continue to breathe this way for 1-5 minutes.

EFT Tapping - EFT Tapping, tapping on specific acupressure points on the face, torso, and hand, helps to reduce cortisol, the major stress hormone. Calming your nervous system is an important first step in cultivating courage.

Our Beautiful World Needs YOUR Courage!

http://ezinearticles.com/?22-Tips-to-Boost-Your-Courage&id=9755274