READ: Monday Matters – The Problem Is Mind by Iyanla Vanzant
February 6, 2012 by Iyanla
Filed under •-Feature, Family & Relationships, Health & Well-being, Iyanla Vanzant, Spirituality, Videos
There I was, minding my business, trying to secure some discount laundry detergent when I was spotted, found out and approached by three sisters who recognized me in spite of my disguise. They were happy to see me. They were grateful for my work. They had a question they had been dying to ask me; “Why are there so many single women?”
They were all single. Most of their friends were single. It was really becoming a major concern for the divorced sister who was 37. The “always have been single and learning to live with it” 34 year-old sister had accepted it as her fate. The 29 year-old there-just-aren’t-any-more-good-men sister was going to adopt children when she was ready, whether she found a man or not.
Neither of them was ready for my response. In fact, two of them concluded that is seems like the woman always gets blamed. Rather than try to convince them one way or the other, I gave them an assignment, for the next 7 days, they were to smile at and greet every man they saw. They were not to take him home or to lunch. They were not to give him their telephone number or engage in any conversation beyond a greeting. Their only task was to smile and say hello, to every man they encountered; regardless of his age, race, appearance or the environment in which they encountered him. I did, however, warn them to exclude men who were in the presence of or, accompanied by another woman. It was not my intention to create street brawls. I left the sisters doubled over in laughter as I escaped.
The mind has a habit of forming and holding thought forms in response to how it perceives the world. Once the mind has formed a thought or a particular train of thoughts, it becomes resistant to accepting any other way of processing information. In other words, once you think a thing, it will be challenging at best, painful in most instances, to change the way you think about a person, a thing or an experience. What I offered to the sisters, that they received as an indictment against them is that they are alone because they think they should be alone. They are alone because they have entertained, nurtured and focused on the thought that they will be alone. They are alone because they are afraid to be alone and, at the same time, afraid not to be alone. They are alone because somewhere in the recesses of their minds, there is a community of thoughts breeding the experience of “alone-ness” in their lives.
The good news is that this same principle applies to everyone and every experience. The not so good news is the same. The only problem any person encounters when it comes to having the experience they desire is what they think and how they think. Unfortunately, because most of what we think is unconscious, it is hard to accept that your problem mind is your mind.
I could go on and on about the power of thought, however, you have probably heard or read most of what I could offer you. Rather than dragging us both down that path and confronting resistance and disagreement, I will offer you another possibility. If there is something you really desire in your life, no matter what it is, learn how to be okay without it. When I say okay I mean learn how to have joy, experience peace and live with total contentment knowing that you will never have the thing you desire. Learn how to release the anger, sadness, fear, bitterness, resentment and anything else that you might experience knowing you will never have it. The ultimate test is when you can feel happy for and bless anyone else who has what you want. The moment you can do that, the object of your desire will probably show up. Why? Because you will have so much peace and joy within you, that the thing you desire will show up to bring you more of what you are and what you have. Sounds crazy, right?
The mind is the only problem we have in every situation and circumstance. What you focus on grows even when you are not aware of your focus. You cannot fool the mind into believing what you don’t believe or creating what you fear. Why are so many women alone? For the same reason so many men are alone. My sense and experience is that we fear the very thing we desire – - closeness, intimacy and having exactly what we desire. We fear being vulnerable. We fear being hurt – - again. We fear making the same mistakes we made before. We fear being disappointed and being taken advantage of. We fear being left, not being good enough and, we fear not being enough. For many of the same reasons many people experience lack and failure. We fear being a demonstration of personal power. More often than not we fear responsibility, accountability, being seen, heard or proven wrong. The thing we fail to realize is that the only place fear exists is in the mind. If you were to die today and the coroner were to perform an autopsy, there would be no indication of fear anywhere in your body. Fear exists only in the mind and that, my Beloveds, is the problem.
This Week’s Reading:
The Golden Key Prayer
Available at InnerVisionsWorldwide.com
This week’s Meditation:
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About Iyanla Vanzant:
Iyanla Vanzant is the best-selling author of five books on self-empowerment, personal growth and spiritual healing. As the founder and executive director of the Inner Visions Spiritual Life Maintenance Network, she conducts workshops, seminars and lectures nationally. Drawing from her own experiences of family dysfunction, abuse, and poverty, Iyanla encourages us all to look at ourselves, laugh at ourselves and then take the necessary steps to heal ourselves. Her practical message is based on the principles of universal law, self-determination and the power of Spirit. You can learn more about her work at www.innervisionsworldwide.com.
Iyanla has recently appeared several times during Oprah’s Lifeclass webcast segments. You can view the classes here: http://www.oprah.com/oprahs-lifeclass/oprahs-lifeclass.html
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WATCH: Award-winning author G. Brian Benson shares a personal, intimate story on the power of visualization
February 4, 2012 by G. Brian Benson
Filed under •-Headline, Arts & Entertainment, Insights, Law of Attraction, Personal Growth, Purpose, Reflection, Videos, Vision
G. Brian Benson (www.gbrianbenson.com) is a multiple award-winning author, award-winning filmmaker, actor, speaker, musician, entrepreneur, workshop facilitator, finisher of over 50 triathlons (including 4 Ironman distance races), cross-country bicyclist, inspirational poet and committed advocate of helping others be the best that they can be. Brian currently finished a movie project that he wrote, produced and acted in called Guitar Man that was filmed in downtown Reno, Nevada. The movie was written by Brian with the idea of sharing the messages ‘that we all have a lot in common’ and ‘that our true gifts reside within ourselves.’ It recently won an honorable mention prize in the 2011 Los Angeles Movie Awards. Brian is the author of five books, (Brian’s List and the eBooks The Art of Balance, Onward and Upward, Cave Man No More! and Discover Your True Self). His first book Brian’s List – 26 1/2 Easy To Use Ideas On How To Live A Fun, Balanced, Healthy Life! was the winner of a 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Award in the Self-Help category. It was also an Award-Winning Finalist in the Self-Help Motivational Category of the National Best Books 2009 Awards, sponsored by USA Book News” Brian considers himself an everyman who has learned how to trust his intuition and listen to his heart which has led him to follow his goals and dreams and make them reality! A graduate of Oregon State University with a degree in Worksite Health Promotion, as well as CTA (Coach Training Alliance), Benson lives in Reno, Nevada. In his free time he enjoys hiking, creative endeavors, acting, improv, sports, movies, travel, writing, hanging out with his son and playing the delta blues on his guitar.
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Now is the Time by Panache Desai
Now, humanity is at a time like no other. Planetary changes, social changes, personal changes ~ we are being served with a great opportunity… This film is made and offered to bring about a more loving world.
Tony Samara’s Third Eye Meditation
The meditation is very easy to do. Just simply find a comfortable space, take a few deep breaths so that you are able to let go of any thoughts, any feelings of any situations that you may have in your mind, in your consciousness. Simply come back to a space that is more peaceful, a space that is more free. As you breathe in and breathe out and feel this space,…
READ: Amazing Apple Cider Vinegar with Brigitte Mars
January 17, 2012 by Brigitte Mars
Filed under •-Feature, Food and Recipes, Health & Well-being, Holistic Living, Natural Healing, Natural Remedies, Videos
With many people lacking health and its insurance we can remember ancient folk wisdom that served our ancestors! Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, used apple cider vinegar as an internal cleansing agent. Before refrigerators, vinegar was used as a food preservative.
The word vinegar is from the French, vin aigre or “sour wine.” Apple cider vinegar prepared by the fermentation of apple cider and allowed to mature naturally in wooden barrels. During fermentation, sugar present in apple cider, is broken down by bacteria, and yeast breaks down alcohol to form vinegar. If vinegar appeals to you, make sure it is raw, and unpasteurized. Commercially distilled vinegars lack enzymes and minerals destroyed during the distillation. Apple cider vinegar is a powerful antibacterial agent. The alkalinity of apple cider vinegar can correct excess acidity in the system and help prevent infection. It also provides a plethora of anti-inflammatory enzymes and minerals such as potassium.
Apple cider vinegar can be mixed with sea salt and gently applied to a sprained area. Ringworm, nail fungus, bunions, corns, calluses, warts, shingles, boil, ant, black fly, mosquito bites, wasp, bee stings and even poison ivy all benefit from applications of apple cider vinegar. (Making a paste with equal parts baking soda and apple cider vinegar is used just as often.)
For a bloody nose, apply a compress of two teaspoons apple cider vinegar one a cup of cool water to the base of the neck and to the top of the nose to help constrict blood vessels.
Lice and bed bugs are repelled by apple cider vinegar and when combined with essential oils of tea tree, rosemary, lavender, and peppermint are made into a spay for the hair and bedding.
Many digestive ailments are improved by apple cider vinegar. Vinegar increases the metabolic rate promoting weight loss, corrects constipation and improves digestion.
Heartburn: Add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to a cup of warm water and sip slowly for heartburn.
Indigestion, nausea and motion sickness improve with drinking two teaspoons each of apple cider vinegar and raw honey in a glass of warm water daily for its pH balancing effect.
Food Poisoning: Mix a tablespoon each of apple cider vinegar and raw honey in warm water and sip to deter the replication of unfriendly microorganisms, and replenish the body with depleted minerals.
The traditional remedy of teaspoons each of apple cider vinegar and honey helps in curbing allergies, arthritis and mastitis in humans and animals.
Bladder Infection: Using one half teaspoon each of apple cider vinegar raw honey in a glass of warm water helps to acidify the urine and prevent bacterial growth, which in some cases can contribute to incontinence.
Drink two teaspoons each of apple cider vinegar and honey in a cup of hot water three times daily to break up mucus congestion and cough. Have a glass by the bed and take a couple of swallows if you wake up coughing.
Bleeding hemorrhoids and hypertension will improve if you take two teaspoonfuls of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water at every meal.
The acids in apple cider vinegar can help dissolve kidney stones. Drink 2 teaspoons daily in a cup of hot water. Frequent gargling with two tablespoons apple cider vinegar in water brings relief and inhibits bacteria and viruses causing sore throats.
Vinegar helps draw pollutants out of the body and balances the skin’s pH.
After cleansing the face, apply a cotton ball soaked in equal parts apple cider vinegar and water to restore the skin’s proper pH and prevent and treat acne.
Include it in a rinse for an antifungal anti dandruff scalp treatment.
Use one cup in the bathtub to relieve sore muscles, itchy skin, candida, poison ivy, and sunburn. To ease the discomfort of shingles and varicose veins apply apple cider vinegar directly to the affected area three to four times daily.
If you launder your own cloth diapers, add 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar to the final rinse water. This will make them softer for your baby’s skin and prevent diaper rash.
Drink a teaspoon of raw apple cider vinegar in water three times daily before each meal to improve memory and increases the stamina.
For more information, please check out my latest book: The Country Almanac of Home Remedies.
Herbal Heart Health, February 23, 6:30-8 pm, Learn to use food, herbs and essential oils for heart health, circulation, blood pressure and cholesterol health. Rebecca’s Apothecary 1227 Spruce Street, Boulder, Colorado 80302, 303 443-8878, www.rebeccasherbs.com, $30
Addiction Free Naturally, April 3, 11-2pm, Studio Shakta, 773 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, Colorado 80402, 303 963-5306, www.studioshakta.com, $45
Brigitte Mars is an herbalist and nutritional consultant with over forty years experience. She is the author of Beauty by Nature, Rawsome!, The Sexual Herbal, Addiction Free Naturally, Healing Herbal Teas, The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicine, and co-author of The Country Almanac of Home Remedies, and The Hemp Nut Health and Cookbook. Brigitte has had a radio show on KGNU called Naturally for over twenty years. She is a professional member of The American Herbalist Guild. Ms. Mars teaches at Naropa University, Boulder College of Massage, Omega Institute, Kripalu, and Bauman College of Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts. Brigitte is a blogger for The Huffington Post and Care2. www.brigittemars.com, 303 442-4967, brigitte@indra.com
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Healthy Soups and Supers in San Diego by Carolyn Scott-Hamilton
Whether you are doing a tour of California for a little r and r or frequently travel San Diego for ComicCon, the southernmost metropolis of California, is a great place to visit. Beachy, relaxed and beautiful, healthy food is easy to find in this bayside border town. From my first San Diego postmany years ago until now, lots of great stuff has popped up so I’ve decided to go back and check out some of the new places in and around town.
Happy People Healthy Food by Adrienne Kelly-Durys
Can healthy food make you happy? Or, can happy people make the foods we eat healthier?When I think about these questions in relation to the upcoming holiday season,it seems obvious that eating steamed veggies over brown rice, although healthy, wouldn’t be as festive as a big holiday dinner with all the fixings. But what if that same big holiday dinner, with all the potatoes and gravy, when prepared with love and positive intention could be just as nourishing?
WATCH: Be yourself to free yourself: “If I had no fear, I would…” by G. Brain Benson
January 14, 2012 by G. Brian Benson
Filed under •-Feature, Arts & Entertainment, Insights, Personal Growth, Positive media, Purpose, Reflection, Videos, Vision
Be yourself to free yourself: “If I had no fear, I would…”
#3 in a series of inspirational, motivational shorts.
Real people answering important questions from their heart.
For more information and the bi-weekly release, please visit ETN Studios at the link below.
Director.Cinematographer.Editor
Michael Sweeney
EVERYTHINGTONOTHING STUDIOS
everythingtonothing.com
Written and Produced
G. Brian Benson
gbrianbenson.com
Original Music: “Peace”
Bradley Dean
www.facebook.com/mrmusicallion
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WATCH: Through the Static by Tony Samara
December 15, 2011 by Tony Samara
Filed under •-Feature, Buddhism, Enlightenment, Insights, Meditation, Meditation, Mindfulness, Personal Growth, Positive media, Purpose, Reflection, Spirituality, Videos, Vision
Through the Static from Through the Static on Vimeo.
Through the Static is a short documentary about Tony Samara, a meditation teacher living in northern Germany, who has spent his entire life traveling the earth in search of answers to chaos and disharmony. Surrounded by a troubling world, he must draw on his experiences with Buddhism and shamanism to help others find peace within.
Find out more at:
throughthestaticfilm.com
Tony Samara, author of ‘Shaman’s Wisdom,’ ‘From the Heart,’ ‘Different Yet the Same,’ and ‘Deeper than Words’ was born in England, grew up in Egypt and also in Norway where he discovered the “Zen Buddhist philosophy”. This discovery eventually led him to the “Mount Baldy Zen Center in California, USA” where he learned the spiritual teachings of “Kyozan Joshu Sasaki.” He had curiosity to explore further the essence of spirituality and thus went to live and learn with shamanic communities around the globe including a period of time spent with some highly influential shamans in the Amazon River region and the Andes Mountains. Now people from all over the world visit Tony Samara to take spiritual guidance and experience being in his presence. http://www.tonysamara.org/
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