Encyclopedia Spirituality

Lucid Dreaming

2012-02-15T18:27:00.000-05:00

The Gist:

The conscious awareness that one is dreaming, accompanied with control of the dream, is what is known as Lucid Dreaming.

Unlike a regular dream, which is often vague, unrefined, and easily forgettable, a lucid dream is the opposite. The dreamer clearly understands what is happening, experiences vivid details, and easily remembers the dream after waking.

The details are so vivid that the dream world can almost be swapped for the waking world. The key difference, however, between a lucid dream and the waking world is that whilst lucid, the dreamer can change everything around them. The land can be engulfed by ocean, people can be replaced, buildings can be swapped with forests, driving a car can become flying a plane. Indeed, an infinite realm of possibilities can be realized by simply imagining them.

The Science:

J. Allen Hobson, a neuroscientist, has proposed that the "dorsolateral prefrontal cortex," a region within the brain that is usually inactive during sleep, is responsible for recognition of the dream. Once the cortex helps the dreamer recognize he or she is dreaming, the dreamer is now lucid. But, the dreamer attempts to continue the dream while also remembering that it is a dream. To achieve this balance, the amygdala and parahippocampal cortex are slightly activated. The pons and parieto-occipital junction aid in intensifying the dream hallucinations.

Most dreams occur during REM (rapid-eye movement) sleep. As the name implies, the eyes are moving rapidly up and down. Lucid dreams also occur during this stage. However, researchers have realized that the direction the eyes are facing indicates the direction that the dreamer is facing in their dream world.

The History:

There is the modern, scientific history of lucid dreaming which starts in 1968 with Celia Green's book, Lucid Dreams. Here, Green analyzes lucid dreaming, incorporates data from her subjects, and reviews previous works to conclude that lucid dreaming is a distinct entity, different from regular dreaming.


Stephen LaBerge

Stephen LaBerge continued the quest of establishing lucidity as a science in the 1970's. His call to fame are the numerous techniques that he developed in regards to achieving lucidity. Among these are "wake-induced lucid dreaming" (WILD) and "mnemonic induction of lucid dreams" (MILD).

But, long before scientists researched the topic, lucid dreams were being recorded ever since the fifth century. The letter from St. Augustine in 415 A.D. offers the first record of a lucid dream. In it, Augustine describes the tale of Gennadius, a physician from Carthage who worried about the afterlife. Gennadius experienced two dreams. In the first, he encountered a youth who led him to a city with exquisite music. He awoke and disregarded it as a dream. The next night, however, he dreamed again of the youth. But, this time, the youth asked Gennadius whether he recalled him. The conversation led to Gennadius realizing that it was a dream.

Tibetan Buddhists are known for the ancient practice of dream yoga, which is described in their book, Tibetan Book of the Dead. The practice entails a discipline dedicated to achieving lucidity.

The nineteenth century marks Marquis d'Hervey de Saint-Denys, a pioneer in the teaching of lucid dreams. Through his book, Dreams and How to Guide Them, Marquis shows that anyone can learn how to lucid dream. He writes his own experiences and attempts to devise techniques on achieving lucidity.

Now, lucid dreaming did not have a name until the 1880's. Frederick van Eeden is the man who coined the term. His first book about the subject, The Bride of Dreams, was written as fiction in order to prevent ridicule. This way, he could present his ideas peacefully. Soon, though, his ambitions grew. In 1913, he presented a paper titled A Study of Dreams, in which he recorded 352 of his lucid dreams.

But, it wasn't until Stephen LaBerge that massive interest in lucid dreaming occurred. His work sparked the modern scientific researchers to further investigate this wonderful phenomenon.

2012-02-07T23:59:00.000-05:00

Connecting with a Crystal

Crystal meditation can add a twist of mystery and intrigue to meditation. All things have natural frequencies; so, too, do crystals, which give off a pleasing resonance provided they are pure. (That is, no ki has been stored into them.)

One of the points of crystal meditation is to connect, consciously, with a crystal. Instead of focusing on a mantra or image, you focus on a crystal that you hold in your hands.

It requires a great deal of focus. You will only achieve the connection if you are serious about doing so. But, once you've acquired the skill, you'll be able to talk with the crystal, and it will talk back.

With that said, here's how to do it:

1. Assume a meditative pose. Any.

2. Cup a crystal in between your hands. Any of your choice. (Apparently, different crystals provide different benefits; but, a connection can be established with all of them).

3. Focus on establishing a connection. Your mantra will be any phrase that helps you think of joining with the crystal.

4. Imagine you are entering into the crystal; your mind is becoming "one" with the center of the crystal.

5. You will enter a deep state of meditation.

6. This part will vary depending on what happens. Sometimes, the crystal will let you know you've connected. If not, ask, and if you receive a response, then you've done it.

If you're wondering whether you've accomplished it or not, give me an e-mail. I'll help ya out.

ayasenev@gmail.com

Chakra Balancing

2011-04-22T00:25:00.000-04:00

Note: If you cannot create a chi ball and move it through one arm, through your chest, and through the other arm back to in between your palms, learn to do this first. Otherwise, the following exercise will not be possible.

http://www.therockgirl.com/storage/chakra_balancing.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1290649385054

I left the last post with the notion that I'd cover each chakra in depth. Well, I've decided that it is better for me to show the balancing exercise first, rather than go through 6 more posts. For this, I'll give a summary of each chakra, followed by the balancing exercise at the bottom.

Before I begin, something has come to my attention. I've heard some time after my Muladhara post that the chakras do not have a specific program. That is, for example, the root chakra does not address our physical attachment and grounding to this world. This I've heard from a spiritual guru. The chakras, he said, were, in essence, centers of pure energy to support life. Their importance is, of course, absolutely vital, but they do not possess the specifications that spiritual cultures have addressed to them.

This places me in a crossroads. It was a very good point that he had made. A ball of energy cannot be the source of an emotional output, since all emotion originates from consciousness, a very different concept. Yet, something tells me there's more to chakras than that. So, therefore, I can now no longer agree with the historical concept or the guru's concept. I leave it to questioning, and will attempt to ask my higher self. I would suggest you do this as well, since your higher self will give you the answer most beneficial to your present state. For those who know not how to speak with their higher self, an upcoming exercise will guide you. For now, simply ask in your mind, addressing your higher self, and the answer, if you look close enough, may appear over time.

So again I've said a mouthful for an introduction. On to the post.

I will give a summary of each chakra based on the historical viewpoint, the thousands of years of knowledge. Keep in mind that it may not be necessarily true. Though, it's thousands of years versus the viewpoint of a spiritual master. It is up to you to decide what feels right. The following info comes from http://www.eclecticenergies.com/chakras/introduction.php

http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv76/junitj/ChakraBalancing.jpg

1 - Root chakra

The Root chakra is about being physically there and feeling at home in situations. If it is open, you feel grounded, stable and secure. You don't unnecessarily distrust people. You feel present in the here and now and connected to your physical body. You feel you have sufficient territory.

If you tend to be fearful or nervous, your Root chakra is probably under-active. You'd easily feel unwelcome.

If this chakra is over-active, you may be very materialistic and greedy. You're probably obsessed with being secure and resist change.

2 - Sacral chakra

The Sacral chakra is about feeling and sexuality. When it is open, your feelings flow freely, and are expressed without you being over-emotional. You are open to intimacy and you can be passionate and lively. You have no problems dealing with your sexuality.

If you tend to be stiff and unemotional or have a "poker face," the Sacral chakra is under-active. You're not very open to people.

If this chakra is over-active, you tend to be emotional all the time. You'll feel emotionally attached to people and you can be very sexual.

3 - Navel chakra

The Navel chakra is about asserting yourself in a group. When it is open, you feel in control and you have sufficient self esteem.

When the Navel chakra is under-active, you tend to be passive and indecisive. You're probably timid and don't get what you want.

If this chakra is over-active, you are domineering and probably even aggressive.

4 - Heart chakra

The Heart chakra is about love, kindness and affection. When it is open, you are compassionate and friendly, and you work at harmonious relationships.

When your Heart chakra is under-active, you are cold and distant.

If this chakra is over-active, you are suffocating people with your love and your love probably has quite selfish reasons.

5 - Throat chakra

The Throat chakra is about self-expression and talking. When it is open, you have no problems expressing yourself, and you might be doing so as an artist.

When this chakra is under-active, you tend not to speak much, and you probably are introverted and shy. Not speaking the truth may block this chakra.

If this chakra is over-active, you tend to speak too much, usually to domineer and keep people at a distance. You're a bad listener if this is the case.

6 - Third Eye chakra

The Third Eye chakra is about insight and visualization. When it is open, you have a good intuition. You may tend to fantasize.

If it is under-active, you're not very good at thinking for yourself, and you may tend to rely on authorities. You may be rigid in your thinking, relying on beliefs too much. You might even get confused easily.

If this chakra is over-active, you may live in a world of fantasy too much. In excessive cases hallucinations are possible.

7 - Crown chakra

The Crown chakra is about wisdom and being one with the world. When this chakra is open, you are unprejudiced and quite aware of the world and yourself.

If it is under-active, you're not very aware of spirituality. You're probably quite rigid in your thinking.

If this chakra is over-active, you are probably intellectualizing things too much. You may be addicted to spirituality and are probably ignoring your bodily needs.

---Copyright Ewald Berkers 2003 - 2011---

Notice how each description presented effects of over-active and under-active chakras. Over-active means that there is too great a concentration of energy within that specific chakra. It's the opposite for under-active.

If you look at it mathematically, the energy of the 7 main chakras equals 100%. Divide 100 by 7 and you get about 14%. So, a healthy chakra, in this sense, should possess 14% of the total main chakra energy.

Getting technical, however, just because two balls of energy have equal mass it does not mean that they are equally powerful. Vibrations are a funny thing, and the vibrations coming off of one chakra can create more power than the other chakra, despite their having the same mass. (This is my hypothesis).

With that in mind, for the chakras to be balanced, they must have equal mass and equal power. How is this accomplished? I'll tell you. It's from hard training. This exercise is not easy, and if you are a fresh-starter with chi energy, you won't be able to do this. Not at first anyway. This is something that takes diligence and practice. Constant practice throughout the day. In fact, every single minute of the day if you want to achieve this, for weeks, months, and years.

The benefits, however, are incredibly rewarding. You will literally feel like a new and stronger person. For those who'd like a good challenge, this will be great.

Again: If you cannot create a chi ball and move it through one arm, through your chest, and through the other arm back to in between your palms, learn to do this first. Otherwise, the following exercise will not be possible.

The exercise:

The first days will be spent trying to sense the chakra's energy. I will not describe the feeling. You will know it when you actually sense it. Do this for all 7. It will take a good deal of time to accomplish. Days, weeks, months. Once you've gotten the hang of it, move on to the balancing.

1) Start by meditating. Relax your mind and go into a deeper state. This will make the process easier.

2) The heart chakra will be the starting point for the balancing. Sense it and feel the energy within. Now, just as the heart pumps blood, the heart chakra is the main pump for chakra energy. Each chakra does this, but the heart chakra is the most prominent. It sucks in chi and disperses it.

3) Visualize a tube running deep in the center of your body and going through each chakra. The tube carries energy.

4) Spend a good deal of time sensing the energy moving within you. Observe it as it is pumped in and out of each chakra, as it is being carried everywhere at once. It is much like blood flowing through the veins. Figure out which chakras have more energy than others.

5) Once you sense this, now it is time to actually move the energy yourself. Concentrate on all the energy within your 7 chakras. Now, send it into your heart on the in beat, taking more energy out of larger chakras. Pump it back out through the imaginary tube, sending the right amount of energy to each chakra so that they begin to equalize. Make larger chakras smaller, and smaller chakras larger until all 7 are stabilized. You will know when they are getting closer.

6) Spend every waking minute of your day doing this. Remind yourself to balance.

7) Enjoy the benefits.

If you have questions, or if you have inputs and suggestions, email me at ayasenev@gmail.com, and I'll be glad to respond.

May you find peace within yourself.

http://harshikaram.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/beautiful-nature-wallpaper-of-a-waterfall.jpg

Update: "The Basics"

2011-03-09T18:23:00.000-05:00

After browsing through "The Basics," I noticed that there were a few things that needed more clarity. I also noticed that it only has fifteen views. So, for your educational embellishment, and for my commercial benefit, I introduce you to the new and improved article "The Basics." The new design features freshly baked spirit cookies and deliciously tangy lemonade. Enjoy.

http://advancingsoul.blogspot.com/2010/06/basics.html

~Four monks were meditating in a monastery. All of a sudden the prayer flag on the roof started flapping. The younger monk came out of his meditation and said: "Flag is flapping!"
A more experienced monk said: "Wind is flapping!"
A third monk who had been there for more than 20 years said: "Mind is flapping."
The fourth monk who was the eldest said, visibly annoyed: "Mouths are flapping!" ~

From: http://www.spiritualityworld.com/pages/spiritual-fun.php

Muladhara

2010-12-19T15:40:00.010-05:00

Just as a tree can only survive with her roots embedded securely in the Earth, a person, too, must have a strong root chakra. Muladhara, the root chakra, is the foundation of our being. Associated with the Earth, Muladhara is the densest grade of manifestation. It connects us with the physical world---all that we can observe with the five senses. Our perception of reality owes itself to how the root chakra functions. Should the root be functioning well, then the body is healthy, and the person feels secure.

Being the root chakra, Muladhara is the base of the seven prime chakras, found in the center of the pelvis just below the base of the spine.

It is linked to survival instincts and the ability to ground ourselves in the physical world. A healthy root chakra brings health, security, prosperity, and dynamic presence.

Each primary chakra governs certain emotions, attributes, and organs. Muladhara governs vigor, heredity, survival, security, passion, trust, the feet, the legs, and the anus.

In terms of ki, the root is the seat of the Kundalini---a latent cosmic energy found in all living beings. It is where spiritual potential is found. Our dormant powers rest in the Kundalini, waiting to be unlocked. This is done when the Muladhara has been activated and the Kundalini has been allowed to rise---all done by the person.

http://www.gurumaa.com/content/wp-content/uploads/kundalini-muladhara.jpg

As you can see, Muladhara’s symbol (top of page) is four petals surrounding a yellow square. The yellow square represents the earth, and the petals represent greatest joy, natural pleasure, delight in controlling passions, and blissfulness in concentration. The petals also represent the four directions of the Earth.

Below is information from www.reiki-for-holistic-health.com. (My comments are highlighted in blue.)

Sanscrit name: Muladhara (root)

Location: Base of spine, at the seat of Kundalini

Symbol: A circle surrounded by four lotus petals, with a square inside it.

Central issue: Survival, stability, acceptance, self-preservation, deep-rootedness, perception, grounding, fear and safety

Color: Red The vibrational frequency of this chakra corresponds to the vibrations that produce the color red. The higher the chakra, the higher the vibrational frequency. Chakra colors follow the color spectrum.

Essential oils: Patchouli, cedarwood, sandalwood In meditation, using these oils as an aromatherapy may help in influencing the Muladhara to activate.

Crystals and Stones: Garnet, Ruby, Agate, Onyx, Haematite, Red Jasper, Black Tourmaline, Smoky Quartz, Bloodstone, Red Coral; The frequency of these stones matches with that of the root chakra, meaning that placing such a stone on top the pelvis whilst meditating may help activate the chakra.

Stars and Astrological signs: Planets Mars, Pluto, and Saturn; Signs of Aries, Taurus, Scorpio, and Capricorn; I have no experience in the relation of astrology to the chakras. It is with an educated guess that I say there is really no concrete evidence to support any such relation. However, if one wishes, these signs may be used as an aid for a Muladhara meditation.

Sound or mantra: "Lam" This is the greatest aid for Muladhara meditation. When Lam is pronounced with near perfect vibrational frequency, the vibrations parallel that of a well functioning root chakra. It is the best way to implement vibration as a ways to activate the root.

Sense: Smell

Body: The physical body

Orientation to self: Self-preservation

Goals: Stability, grounding, physical health, prosperity, trust Each chakra acts as a ki reservoir, programming the ki that it contains to perform certain functions. In the case of Muladhara, these are the functions.

Rights: To be here, to have A person with a well functioning root will come to realize this.

Developmental stage: Womb to 12 months Chakras are developed in the childhood years, all the way to 18 years of age. This is not to say that they are developed the way they should. If the chakra in development is not focused, it may become deficient or excessive---both having their own set of problems that arise. It is important to focus on a childs chakras, making sure that they are developing the way they should. Many psychological and bodily illnesses in adulthood are the result of neglected chakra development.

Identity: Physical identity

Level of relationship: Tribal

Demon: Fear The inability to control one's fear results in a weakened root chakra. Or, an underdeveloped root chakra results in fear. An important step in balancing Muladhara is learning to get over all fears, with or without assistance from someone else.

Element: Earth

Hormonal glands: Sexual and adrenal

Organs: Immune system, base of spine, legs, bones and bone marrow, feet, rectum, physical body support

Excessive: Sluggish, lazy, tired, monotony, obesity, overeating, hoarding, materialism, greed, Fear of change, addiction to security As mentioned earlier, these are the results of an overdeveloped root chakra. Below is of an underdeveloped root.

Deficient: Fearful, anxious, restless, lack of discipline, underweight, financial difficulty Chronic disorganization

Balanced: Good health, vitality, well grounded, sense of trust in the world, feeling safe and secure, stability, prosperity, ability to relax

Physical Dysfunctions: Frequent illness, disorders of the bowel, large intestine, bones, teeth, problems with legs, feet , base of spine(chronic lower back pain, sciatica); eating disorders; depression; immune-related disorders; skin problems; lack of energy; This is why its important to have a balanced Muladhara.

Addictions: Food, gambling, shopping, work

Traumas and Abuses: Birth trauma, abandonment, physical neglect, poor physical bonding with the mother, malnourishment, feeding difficulty, major illnes or surgery, physical abuse, inherited traumas (eg. war, poverty, etc.) As a child grows, it may be subject to events that are detrimental to a chakra's development. If the trauma is not resolved, it will lead to a perpetual dysfunction in whatever chakra the trauma affected.

Spiritual challenge: How well we manage our physical world;

HEALING STRATEGY: Physical activity, lots of touch, massage, reconnect with the body, grounding, Hatha yoga, look at earliest childhood relationship to mother, reclaim your right to be here; No matter how deficient or excessive a chakra is, it can be healed, quite easily in fact. These strategies are good, yet, the best way to heal a chakra is to heal all the chakras at once. I will explain more in a later article. Simply, all the primary chakras must have an equivalent amount of energy stored in them. When all chakras are equivalent, this means that they are balanced. And once they are balanced for the first time, the healing begins. It is not a very difficult exercise to balance them. I will post it once I have described the seven chakras in detail.

AFFIRMATIONS:

It is safe to me to be here.

The earth supports me and meets my needs.

I love my body and trust its wisdom.

I am interested in abundance.

I am here and I am real.

I trust my Higher Self fulfills all mu needs. My life is full of prosperity. In a Muladhara meditation, this affirmation may be repeated to assist in activating the chakra.

http://www.yogatherapykauai.com/images/Muladhara_Chakra.jpg

The most important thing I can leave you with is---Do Not Focus on Muladhara. You may be eager to activate it now, but, ask yourself this, "Do I know if my root chakra is excessive or deficient?" You will most likely not know this if you cannot read your own energy. You have to be able to feel each chakra and sense how much ki is stored before you can start healing; otherwise, you may end up adding more energy to an all-ready excessive root. Therefore, heed my advice. Do not work on any chakra until you have read the chakra balancing exercise I will post. Specific meditations are for after you have balanced all chakras.

I am sorry if I came off strong, but it is essential for this advice to be followed. If you are still eager enough that you will not take it, then the only thing you may do for Muladhara is to recite the Affirmation. Record it and listen to it throughout the day. The affirmation works because it is a neutralizer. It will either add necessary energy or remove excessive energy. Still, it is not a very powerful technique so results will not be quick or dramatic. The techniques in Healing Strategy may also be applied. They may be more effective than the Affirmation.

For the ones interested in the balancing exercise, patience is all that is needed. It will be a good exercise for the Muladhara.

I wish you love and light. Namaste.

Chakras

2010-12-13T14:02:00.001-05:00


personaldevelopment.net

Think of the heart. Think of it beating, pumping blood in and out. Imagine the blood flowing through the blood vessels, circulating in the entire body. Feel its essence, its presence everywhere within.

    The way that blood flows is strikingly similar to how ki works. Ki, the energy of the body from spiritual origin, has centers throughout the body, each pumping ki and continuing its flow. Chakras is the name given to these centers.
    Seven chakras, aligned vertically in the body, are the main centers, the main hearts that pump ki to the other centers. Thousands of minor chakras embed the ki system. They have their use, yet their significance is nothing to the seven main chakras.
    Each of the seven has a vital role in the function of ki, not only to pump ki, but also to ‘program’ the ki to perform a certain function. The seven chakras are reservoirs, they hold their specific ki, and when it is time to pump, they will pump out their own ki. When ki from elsewhere enters a certain main chakra, some will be pumped out, while the rest will remain to be programmed and held in the reservoir.
    The programmed ki carries on its functions. Each chakra has its own program, and each will be explained in other articles. The program is the function relating to the human being. Ki in each chakra affects the body on various levels---physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
    The level that the chakras compose our being is tremendous. They are the main reason for most of our being---the physical appearance and function, the emotional nature, the mental processing and outlook, and the spiritual strength that we possess. Should the seven chakras be in optimal condition, the human with these balanced chakras would have the potential to soar above others. Increased athleticism, emotional stability, mental clarity, and spiritual powers that seem impossible will become that person’s reality.
    Yet, most people possess unbalanced, inefficient chakras. It is the result of years of negligence to the existence of chakras. No one is to blame, however. The majority of humanity is not to blame. It has not come to light. It is also a cause for many of the unresolved pains in society---corruption, greed, illness, war. Events such as these do not simply happen. They are actions caused by people prone to doing them, and they are prone to doing them because they are not balanced.
    For a person to reach full potential, the chakras must be balanced, for the chakras determine how you operate. In a later article, I will post a balancing exercise.
    The following articles will focus on each of the main chakras---the location and the function.
    For now, here is the Sanskrit name and basic description of each. Note that each chakra has a specific color that parallels the color spectrum. From lowest to highest, it goes red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

Marma Chikitsa in Ayurveda

1. Muladhara (root) - the red chakra, found within the pelvis. It is our connection to the physical plane and focuses on managing the physical world. Common name is the root chakra.

Heaven and Earth Essentials

2. Svadhisthana (sweetness) - the orange chakra. Found in the center of the abdomen. Focuses on pleasure, sexuality, and feeling. Commonly called the sacral chakra.

Terapias Naturales

3. Manipura (lustrous gem) - the yellow chakra, found in the solar plexus. Focuses on power, self-image, will, and responsibility. Commonly called Solar plexus chakra.


www.kuthumi-hands.com

4. Anahatra (unstuck) - the green chakra, found in the center of the chest. Focuses on love, relationships, devotion, intimacy, and forgiveness. Commonly called the Heart chakra.

Can Analyze Blog

5. Vissudha (purification) - the blue chakra, found in the base of the throat. Focuses on communication, self-expression, self-discipline, and speaking one’s truth. Commonly called the Throat chakra.


http://angelstarcreations.com/metaphysical/graphics/Ajna_chakra.JPG

6. Ajna (to perceive) - the indigo chakra, found in the center of the head at level with the brow. Focuses on intuition, imagination, clarity of life, and use of the mind/intellect. Commonly called the Third Eye.

http://www.tsocktsarina.com/blog/images/2009/02/sahasrara.jpg

7. Sahasrara (thousand fold) - the violet chakra, found on the crown of the head. Focuses on awareness, spiritual search for meaning, karma and grace, spiritual consent, and divinity.

Chi Exercises 1

2010-10-24T17:11:00.002-04:00

http://designmodo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/final1-180x180.jpg

The ability to harness Chi allows one to be able to heal physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual illness, as well as to be able to defend oneself in combat, by providing a layer or layers similiar to that of a force field, weakening the power of an opponent.

Mudras are by far the best way to practice Chi, as each mudra has its own function involving Chi, whether to enhance the flow through the body, to condense, to gather, to clean, or to re-energize.

The following are four mudras that will greatly benefit the beginning practitioner. By beginner, I mean one who has been practicing between 0 and 5 years.

This is the most basic mudra to create an energy ball. The hands are in a cyclical pattern, with the fingers of one hand hovering over the bottom palm of the other. This creates a magnetic stimulation in the Chi, a sort of + and - effect that attracts the Chi to form into a ball. The hands do not touch each other. The forearms are held parallel to the ground and are straight out in front.

When your hands and arms are placed in the proper position, visualize a ball of energy forming in between your palms. Think of light flowing out from your palms and swirling into a ball. The longer you visualize this, the more energy is formed in the center.

Practice this for about a month. This may seem like a long time, but, learning to make a Chi ball is like learning to walk. It is radically different from anything the body has done before---you go from crawling to walking when you learn how to project Chi. Practicing this for a month allows you to get used to the feeling of Chi and understanding the very basic dynamics of it.

As you practice, note any sensations (it is up to you to discover what you feel). After a month has passed, start moving energy from your wrists, through your hands, and then through your palm. This is more difficult, because now you are pushing more energy out of you over a longer area, which requires more concentration. After another week, start from the elbows. In another week, start from the shoulders. And finally, another week later, practice moving energy from your back.

Don't worry if you feel like you're not doing something right. As long as you visualize energy moving out of your palms and forming into a ball, you are doing it correctly. Chi acts a bit differently in everyone.

Also, if you don't feel anything, this is okay. You just need to continue practicing.

Once you're able to move energy from your back and into the space between your palms, focus on gathering the loose Chi that flows around the hands. Visualize pulling it into the ball in between your palms. This is a good exercise for it allows the user to use Chi more efficiently. Note, it's not necessary to gather all the loose energy, there will always be loose energy. The point of gathering most of it is for the sake of increased efficiency.

Continue practicing this mudra for several months before you move onto the next one.

This is the more advanced technique of the primary exercise. The points of all the fingers touch, including the thumbs, to leave a wider space in between the palms. It is because of this wider space, and lack of positive-negative attraction that makes this exercise harder. It is, however, more beneficial as it boosts Chi ability.

This exercise has 2 tiers in which to practice. By tier, I mean levels.

Level 1 is gathering a Chi ball in between the palms. That's it. Gather enough energy in between the palms to have the ball press against the palms. This may take an hour or longer when first starting. Practice for a week.

Once you can gain enough Chi, you are ready for Level 2. Make the Chi ball, and now send the ball through the dominant hand and up the dominant arm. Bring the ball all the way to the shoulder, through the chest, and down the other arm. Push it through the palm and back in the space in between the palms. Repeat so that the energy moves in a circuit. If this sounds hard, it is. It may take several months to accomplish. Do not stress if it feels like you can't get the energy where you want. This is advancing from walking to jogging. My congratulations if you reach this level or can already do this!

Now we will move away from making a Chi ball and instead will concentrate on enhancing the flow of Chi. The mudra is similar to #2, however, the pinky fingers are drawn towards you and press against each other, as can be seen in the picture. The index and middle fingers are curved, while the ring fingers are straight.

This mudra allows Chi to flow freely throughout the body, going where it most required. You can hold this mudra for as long as you like, though, try holding it for 10 minutes while first starting out, as it may take this long to notice the effect.

This mudra, instead of increasing the flow of Chi, condenses the Chi that surrounds your body. It pulls it compacts it, increasing the amount of Chi that flows through your body. It doesn't so much affect the amount of flow as #3 does; it increases the amount that can flow. And because it condenses all the energy around you, naturally it increases your energy level. Plus, the increased amount of energy in your body will now clear energy blockages within you, blockages such as illness and pain.

I give you these mudras as I have been granted the knowledge of their existence recently, and felt that more should know about them. Enjoy each of them, as they all will boost your ability. The better you are at harnessing Chi, the easier it will be to eventually learn how to heal and defend. Remember, the art of energy healing and defense is a different exercise all together, you will not automatically be able to heal illness or limit physical damage. It will require a different series of exercise. These four mudras however, will prepare you to learn these arts quicker and easier.

Remember, the first two mudras, if you are using the energy within you, will leave you feeling tired after prolonged practice. Though this isn't a bad thing, I mention this so that you know you haven't done anything wrong. It is recommended that you first gather the energy around you (not your own as #4 does) but energy from the things around you, and then using this energy to create the ball. But before you try gathering surrounding energy, learn how to make the Chi ball with your own, otherwise the former will be to difficult to achieve.

May the light shine bright within you. Namaste.

Aura

2010-07-22T00:56:00.000-04:00

(Courtesy of http://www.meetup.com/kcesotericknowledge/calendar/9406937/)

   Some see it, many do not. The aura is a field of radiation (vibration) surrounding a body, directly linked with certain processes. The aura, usually in the form of an oval, extends 1 to 3 feet and can be seen as a series of colors, which change once a person changes consciously, emotionally, or biologically. Those who are spiritually advanced, healthy, and have pure intentions have clearer, brighter auras than those who are ill or have negative intentions.
    Though the aura is usually an oval, spiritual practice can turn it into a halo over the head (depicted in many religious pictures of Christ and Buddha).
    The ability to see auras is in all of us; nature gave us everything we need to see them---our eyes. The thing is, children (up to 5 years) are able to see auras automatically. They use it as a way to see who is spiritually sound and who is not (even if they don’t understand the technicalities). An infant cries when it meets a person with a dull, dark aura.

    As children age, they notice that adults do not have this ability and that they ignore it, resulting in the child’s forgetting.
    Seeing auras is important for us because the ability allows us to see the true nature of individuals; it shows what a person really thinks, despite whether he or she frequently smiles or frowns.
    With mastery of aura reading comes the ability to understand the person’s thoughts, emotions, and state of physical well being, as well as how far they have progressed spiritually.
    If everyone had this ability, everyone would know a lie when they came across one, eventually eliminating the idea; doctors could asses the exact problem of a patient; leaders would be elected based on the purity of their aura; people would work to clear their minds of negative thoughts and to empower their auras.
    It’s obvious why seeing auras is beneficial to humanity.

(courtesy of http://www.unifiedftheory.com/aura/index.htm)

Reacquiring the skill of aura reading may take extensive practice; for others it may happen automatically. Whatever the case, the rewards are too great an opportunity to miss.

    Here’s how to see them:
    Look at an object, any object (if your looking at your computer screen, look at the words). I recommend looking at something a few yards away (It’s easier for me to see auras the farther the object is.) Also, if it is a large object, it helps to look at the edge, as that is where the aura will appear.
    Make sure that the object is in a warmly lit room, in front of a white or lightly colored wall (as the color of the wall can interfere with the results---since colors have auras as well.) Now just look at the object---don’t focus on it---the more you strain your eyes the harder it will be to see the aura. Just relax and try to look “through” the object, as though it isn’t there.
    In anywhere between a few seconds to several minutes you will be able to see a glow around the object. When this happens, do not strain your eyes, do not focus on the glow. It is an instinct that must be controlled, for when you strain your eyes the aura will disappear.
    This glow will form into a color.
    If you are able to see, congratulations. It is truly a beautiful experience. If you are not able to see, congratulations for trying---you are already ahead of the game. And remember, it is the act, not the accomplishment, where we learn the most.
    Now, you may find that reading the auras of colors is easier. There are 4 colors below. Apply the same concept I have given above and use it to read the aura of each color. Each has a fixed aura, meaning it is always the same. Below the colors I listed the aura that each color produces.

(Courtesy of http://www.redhorserecords.com/)


(courtesy of http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Green_Grass.JPG)


(courtesy of http://www.earthinpictures.com/stuff/food/fruits_and_vegetables/orange.html)

(courtesy of http://www.pictures-of-roses.com/rose-pictures/yellow-roses.htm)

Red gives turquoise aura, turquoise gives red aura
Orange gives blue aura, blue gives orange aura
Yellow gives violet aura, violet gives yellow aura
Green gives pink aura, pink gives green aura

    (I understand that highlighting the color will make it the color of the associated aura, but I assure you that seeing the aura involves only the eyes and brain, no clicking and highlighting. Plus, once you can see the auras of objects, it will be proof enough that auras are real.)
    If you’re anxious to see your own aura, find a mirror and stand against a lightly colored wall. It is easier to see your aura the farther away you stand from the mirror, which is why using a large, fixed mirror like the one in the bathroom is best.
    Now just relax your eyes and look around your head. Seeing your aura is no different than seeing an object’s aura. Keep in mind that the color of your aura always changes based on your conscious, emotions, and biology. The ideal aura to strive for is a golden or crystal clear halo around the head. If you find that your aura is dull and dark, this is okay. It will change once you start clearing and empowering yourself. Also, many of the auras you will see around people are dull and dark, a symptom of the stress seeping throughout our daily lives.

Here is a list of exercises to clean and charge your aura:
Meditation. This is essential. The reason why so many auras are dull is because of our social environment. Many of the things we do affect our health---relationships, jobs, diet---and also affect our aura. Fear, jealousy, anger, hate, stress, depression---all of these weaken the aura. Meditation clears all this, thus clearing the aura.
Healthier food. Diet is the largest factor of health. The more junk one consumes, the more negative the impact. A little dessert isn’t bad, but a burger and fries everyday slowly kills the body and dulls the aura. Vegetables and fruits everyday, water instead of soda, and home cooked meat will have a tremendously positive impact on health. The aura will brighten and clear as a result.

White light. This may be the easiest of the techniques. Simply sit and relax. Close your eyes and breath deeply, feeling your muscles loosen. Then imagine a white ball of light within your abdomen expand to every point of your body. Afterwards, visualize this white light expand out of your body and into your aura, clearing any negative energy and enhancing it with positive energy. Visualize the white light brightening the aura and strengthening it. Then make the white light act as a shield, blocking negative energy and allowing only positive energy to enter. Do this periodically throughout the day.

    Matching your environment. Though your aura changes, it does have a dominant color, one that you can see every time you read your aura. Wear clothes that match your aura, either the same color or the associated color (see the list above). If you tend to wear black frequently, wear a white colored shirt and see if you feel any different that day Black and grey clothes tend to tire the wearer.
    Solfeggio frequencies. These beautiful frequencies, of which there are 18, have tremendous healing benefits---physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Each frequency has its own affect, but all will help clear the aura.

    The following is a list of colors that an aura can produce. Each color represents a certain aspect of an individual. This list was created by reiki-for-holistic-health.com I do not take credit for this information.

RED: Relates to the physical body, hart or circulation. The densest color, it creates the most friction. Friction attracts or repels; money worries or obsessions; anger or unforgiveness; anxiety or nervousness

Deep red: Grounded, realistic, active, strong will-power, survival-oriented.

Muddied red: Anger (repelling)

Clear red: Powerful, energetic, competitive, sexual, passionate

Pink-bright and light: Loving, tender, sensitive, sensual, artistic, affection, purity, compassion; new or revieved romantic relationship. Can indicate clairaudience.

Dark and murky pink: Immature and/or dishonest nature

Orange Red: Confidence, creative power

In a good, bright and pure state, red energy can serve as a healthy ego.

ORANGE: Relates to reproductive organs and emotions. The color of vitality, vigor, good health and excitement. Lots of energy and stamina, creative, productive, adventurous, courageous, outgoing social nature; currently experiencing stress related to apetites and addictions;

Orange-Yellow: Creative, intelligent, detail oriented, perfectionist, scientific.

YELLOW: Relates to the spleen and life energy. It is the color of awakening, inspiration, intelligence and action shared, creative, playful, optimistic, easy-going.

Light or pale yellow: Emerging psychic and spiritual awareness; optimism and hopefulness; positive excitement about new ideas.

Bright lemon-yellow: Struggling to maintain power and control in a personal or business relationship; fear of losing control, prestige, respect, and/or power.

Clear gold metallic, shiny and bright: Spiritual energy and power activated and awakened; an inspired person.

Dark brownish yellow or gold: A student, or one who is straining at studying; overly analitical to the point of feeling fatigued or stressed; trying to make up for "lost time" by learning everything all at once.

GREEN: Relates to heart and lungs. It is a very comfortable, healthy color of nature. When seen in the aura this usually represents growth and balance, and most of all, something that leads to change. Love of people, animals, nature; teacher; social

Bright emerald green: A healer, also a love-centered person

Yellow-Green: Creative with heart, communicative

Dark or muddy forest green: Jealousy, resentment, feeling like a victim of the world; blaming self or others; insecurity and low self-esteem; lack of understanding personal responsibility; sensitive to perceived criticism

Turquoise: Relates to the immune system. Sensitive, compassionate, healer, therapist.

BLUE: Relates to the throat, thyroid. Cool, calm, and collected. Caring, loving, love to help others, sensitive, intuitive.

Soft blue: Peacefulness, clarity and communication; truthful; intuitive

Bright royal blue: Clairvoyant; highly spiritual nature; generous; on the right path; new opportunities are coming

Dark or muddy blue: Fear of the future; fear of self-expression; fear of facing or speaking the truth

INDIGO: Relates to the third eye, visual and pituitary gland. Intuitive, sensitive, deep feeling.

VIOLET: Relates to crown, pineal gland and nervous system. The most sensitive and wisest of colors. This is the intuitive color in the aura, and reveals psychic power of attunement with self. Intuitive, visionary, futuristic, idealistic, artistic, magical.

Lavender: Imagination, visionary, daydreamer, etheric.

Silver: This is the color of abundance, both spiritual and physical. Lots of bright silver can reflect to plenty of money, and/or awakening of the cosmic mind.

Bright metallic silver: Receptive to new ideas; intuitive; nurturing

Dark and muddy gray: Residue of fear is accumulating in the body, with a potential for health problems, especially if gray clusters seen in specific areas of the body

Gold: The color of enlightenment and divine protection. When seen within the aura, it says that the person is being guided by their highest good. It is divine guidance. Protection, wisdom, inner knowledge, spiritual mind, intuitive thinker.

Black: Draws or pulls energy to it and in so doing, transforms it. It captures light and consumes it. Usually indicates long-term unforgiveness (toward others or another) collected in a specific area of the body, which can lead to health problems; also, entitities within a person's aura, chakras, or body; past life hurts; unreleased grief from abortions if it appears in the ovaries

White: Reflects other energy. A pure state of light. Often represents a new, not yet designated energy in the aura. Spiritual, etheric and non-physical qualities, transcendent, higher dimensions. Purity and truth; angelic qualities.

White sparkles or flashes of white light: angels are nearby; can indicate that the person is pregnant or will be soon

Earth: Soil, wood, mineral, plant. These colors display a love of the Earth, of being grounded and is seen in those who live and work on the outdoors....construction, farming, etc. These colors are important and are a good sign.

Rainbows: Rainbow-colored stripes, sticking out like sunbeams from the hand, head or body: A Reiki healer, or a starperson (someone who is in the first incarnation on Earth)

Pastel: A sensitive blend of light and color, more so than basic colors. Shows sensitivity and a need for serenity.

Dirty brown overlay: Holding on to energies. Insecurity.

Dirty gray overlay: Blocking energies. Guardedness.

By seeing the colors of auras, one can see the true nature of a person. From now on, whenever you meet someone, you will be able to see past first impression. Whenever you socialize, you will be able to assess the other persons emotions.
May your aura shine clear and bright.
Namaste.

Yin and Yang

2010-06-28T16:49:00.004-04:00

abcradiology.blogspot.com

Over one thousand years before the birth of Christ, Yin and Yang was first expressed. Chinese philosophy incorporated this belief during the Yin Dynasty (1400-1100 BC). But these two forces, or more appropriately, holistic force, has been maintaining the universe since its genesis. These polar forces, one negative and one positive, constantly interact. Neither is in absolute stasis. They exist to balance the universe.

    Western science also has its version of this, in Newton’s third law, “For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction.”
     Each represents different conditions. Yin, the black fish, is negative, dark, passive, cold, wet, and feminine. Yang, the white fish, is positive, bright, active, dry, hot, and masculine.
    There are four aspects of yin-yang:
        1. They are Opposites
        2. Interdependent: one cannot exist without the other. Notice that each fish’s eye is the color of the opposite fish. (Black fish has a white eye, and vice-versa). That is because all yin has yang and all yang has yin. Take, for example, day and night. Day (yang) turns into night (yin), but, there is an intermediate phase -- evening (when yin begins to fill the yang). A similar situation happens towards the end of night -- dawn (when yang begins to fill the yin).
    3. Mutual consumption: levels of yin-yang are constantly changing, and though this is often harmonious, sometimes one is more powerful than the other, leading it to weaken (consume) the other. This accounts for many of what we deem as problems, (illness, depression, chronic anger), further explained in biological yin-yang.
       4. Inter-transformation: one force changes into the other after it has reached its peak. Like when day turns into evening and then into night.

     Notice that neither represents good or evil, because yin and yang forces both are necessary to maintain balance in the universe.

(courtesy of http://www.coolfreewallpaper.net/cool_free_wallpaper_Yin_and_Yang.htm

     How exactly do they balance each other?
    They arise from quiescence, or rest, and radiate until quiescence is reached again. For instance, when someone drops a stone into a calm lake, waves rise (yang) creating low points between the waves (yin). These waves will radiate until yin and yang balance out, meaning the lake calms down again, and its surface is once again flat.
    In “Basics”, I used the concept of magnets, which are held by opposite polar ends with a force in the center that keeps them connected. This illustrates the universe in a mundane sense, where it is held together by opposite polar forces whose interactions are required to keep it together. These "opposite" polar forces are the very same thing we've been discussing --- yin and yang. Their, if you will, "magnetic" interactions create a force which keeps them unified and balanced. In turn, this force that they create gives rise to our universe.
      Theoretically, of course.
    Now, if you had two magnets and faced the positive end towards the negative, they would be attracted and join together. There is force in between them. But, what happens when you remove just one of those magnets? The force that once held them together would vanish. Such is the importance of yin and yang. Remove only one of them, and there is no longer a force. There is no longer a universe.
    No need to fear, though. Yin and yang are, in their nature, energy, as is everything in this universe (including matter). And we all know that energy cannot be destroyed. But, what's interesting is this: energy can be converted. So, what if one day, yin and yang is converted into something else?

     Yin-yang is drawn using trigrams, or a specific pattern of lines, that symbolize everything in the universe. Yang is expressed as – – while yin is —
    These are then used in the Eight Trigrams, which symbolize everything in the universe. Here is what they look like:

(courtesy of http://learningtaichichuan.com/bagua.html

     The trigrams encompass the yin-yang symbol, and are labeled by their name and what they represent.
    Applying yin and yang to your daily life can have health benefits. Take the traditional Chinese diet, for example, which labels certain foods yin and others yang and makes sure to mix the two in each meal. When they are eating something cold, they make sure to have something hot as well. Same with dry and wet, sweet and sour, spicy and plain, and so on.
    Here is a link that will explain more on yin-yang as medicine: http://www.sacredlotus.com/theory/yinyang.cfm
    If you wish to experience yin-yang within you, practicing Tai Chi will help. Tai Chi involves a series of poses that stimulate the yin and yang forces in the body.

    Achieving total awareness in meditation is also a product of balanced yin-yang. “Meditation” describes how to achieve this.
    For those who have taken the spiritual path, understanding yin and yang will greatly help you on your journey --- for achieving total balance is key to enlightenment. When one has achieved this balance and total mastery of the world around them, they are ready to transcend, no longer needing to reincarnate.
    Thank you for reading, and may you achieve balance in your life.
    Namaste.

Meditation

2010-06-23T19:26:00.001-04:00

(courtesy of http://www.moonsinger.com/meditation.htm)

Meditation, from the Latin root meditatum (meaning 'to ponder'), has been practiced since the beginning of man.

Typically, when one hears the word meditation, he or she thinks that it is sitting in a cross legged position and chanting sounds. This is only one type. There are many techniques, and often times, people meditate without realizing. Getting 'spaced out' is a very basic form of meditation, in that we forget about our surroundings.

To meditate is to focus one's mind on emptiness. No thoughts must cross the mind, no sounds must catch the ear. This state allows the practitioner to achieve enlightenment---an understanding of the universe, the world, and one's soul. I call it Awakening. And as far as I know, meditation must be practiced if one is to Awaken.

(courtesy of http://spiritualreality.wordpress.com/2008/02/04/)

Meditation is used to clear one's mind and increase one's compassion and love, creativity, focus, and flow of inspiration. It also decreases stress, anger, fear, hatred, pain and sickness.

The above effects can be felt quickly, often in the first meditation, but it may take months and sometimes even years to achieve enlightenment. (Remember, if it takes years for you to become enlightened, there is nothing wrong with that, for we all learn at different rates).

For those who achieve enlightenment, they begin to greatly increase the rate of their spiritual growth, realizing that they have powers they never knew of, such as psychokinesis---levitating objects, bending fire and water and air, harnessing electricity, and so on.

But before one can Awaken, he or she must practice meditation.
Eager to get started? This technique, excellent for advancing to higher meditation, requires little effort and time. Simply lay down---on a bed, on a floor, on the roof---and close your eyes. It is good to turn off the lights and practice in a place with little noise.

Once you feel comfortable in the place you will meditate, close your eyes and focus on your breathing. 5 minutes is adequate for a start. I would not recommend having an alarm set, as the jolt is quite unpleasant. To begin, slowly deepen your inhalations, feeling the air expand in your chest, in your diaphragm, and then in your belly. Then slowly release the breath. Do not force the breath to deepen, it will happen naturally. Aim for your inhalations and exhalations to be 10 seconds long.

This breathing exercise (excellent to get you relaxed prior to meditation) helps to focus the mind only on your breathing, so as to forget about the stressing thoughts of your daily life. It also heals the body, for you are getting in many more times worth of oxygen than normal. It also relieves stress---an effect anyone notices during this exercise. It's also great for those whose jobs demand sitting long hours at a computer, for it will increase the flow of oxygen to the brain and help energize the thought process.

(courtesy of http://danielpmacdonald.com/)

Now, if you're eager, you can continue as soon as you feel five minutes have been spent. Or, you can start again at a later time. After the focused breathing, begin scanning your body from head to toes. You no longer need to concentrate on your breathing. Just visualize a disk that stretches all the way across your scalp, going down slowly and picking up any sign of pain. If you sense something hurting, focus your attention on that pain and imagine the disk curving around the pain and eliminating it. Continue, once going over your muscles, and another time through your bones. You can do this for the skin as well. And for those with vision problems, it may help to focus on the eyes as well---visualize the disk filling the eyeballs and healing them. During the exercise, you may have felt some tingling were you focused the disk.This is good, for it means you sensed the chi healing that very spot.

    Afterward, continue laying there, completely calm and relaxed. You can now begin the transitional step towards complete self-awareness. Watch your thoughts drift across the front of your mind. Do not focus on them, simply let them glide across, acknowledge them, and have them disappear. Do this until no more thoughts occur. (This may take anywhere from a minute to an hour.) The reason for doing this is because throughout the day, the mind is constantly recording everything that happens as thoughts and stores these thoughts onto "shelves" to be looked at later. Often these thoughts grow too many and stress is produced, along with a drop in inspiration. One way the mind "cleans" theses shelves is through dreams, where it will pick up some thoughts and examine them, extracting any useful information. Though this helps, most thoughts are not cleared and they can prevent you from efficiency and creativity. That is why in all meditation, it helps to look over every single thought your mind brings up (and it will do this naturally---you don't have to worry about finding them). Eventually, no more thoughts will appear and your mind will be completely blank. You will feel as though time has stopped and that there is no future and no past. You will forget that you are on Earth and instead feel that you are just "there." Everything is calm, the calmest it has ever been, and perfect. You no longer think you are human, simply an entity in the universe, one with the universe---a soul with a purpose.
    Once you have reached this state, you have Awakened.
   All experience this differently, for we are all unique (for in the words of science, we all vibrate different frequencies) as do our souls. For instance, I saw the universe and its stars and galaxies drift past me in a breathtaking array of light, glowing all around me, hearing the words "I am one" over and over again and being applied to everything. It was truly beautiful, one of the most beautiful moments I have ever experienced. I felt as though I was in space itself.

(courtesy of http://www.wallpapershell.com)

   If you feel nervous about this, there is no need to fear. Your body will not actually be in space, (your soul might) it will still be in the same place as where you began meditating. Also know that if your soul is in space (if you're not sure you're in space, then you are not---this is something you know for certain) if your soul is in space, your soul cannot be harmed, for it is energy, and energy cannot be destroyed.
    And, once you are in this state, the beauty of it will be forever etched into your memory.
   Now, as I have mentioned, to Awaken may take the practitioner between several months to a year to achieve. However, I do not doubt the possibility of Awakening on the first try. If this happens to be you, please email me (ayasenev@gmail.com) for this is a rare event and one I wish to know more about.
    Do not worry if you cannot clear all the thoughts in your mind or if they keep returning. Keep acknowledging them and visualize them disappearing. You are in control of your mind and you have the ability to direct it anyway you please. Oftentimes, music helps one to achieve a relaxed state.

The steps in brief are: (1) breath deeply for five or more minutes (2) scan the body to heal any pain (3) clear the mind of all thoughts. Remember, the first two steps are for relaxation---they are optional, yet highly recommended. It would be beneficial to practice all three steps everyday for one to three months. Afterwords, you can start on step three.
Here are more meditation techniques:

Zen meditation---it is a meditation practiced most often by Zen Buddhists (aka 'meditation Buddhists') which involves sitting in various positions and focusing on one's breath to achieve the total awareness state.

Here is the most common position:

Burmese Position

(courtesy of http://www.dharma-rain.org/zazen/legs.html)

This position is the standard cross-legged position. Sit on the edge of a pillow (specifically called a zafu) and cross your legs, trying to get your knees to rest on the floor. (If you can't do this at first, do not strain yourself. Position your knees where they are comfortable and they will naturally drop to the floor.) Keep your spine straight and place your hands in front of your navel. Have one hand rest in the dominant hand with the tips of your thumbs gently touching.
Now, just focus on your breathing, counting each inhale and exhale until you reach ten. If a thought appears, restart the count until your mind is completely blank by the number ten. Once you do this, count only your exhale breaths until you reach ten. Again, no thoughts must appear. Once you do this, no longer count your breath. You should be in the total-awareness state.

The beauty of meditation is that is so simple to do, yet so life-altering and healthy. Practice meditation daily and you will see great results. You will gain ideas for whatever it is you want, whether you're a writer, an inventor, student, parent, employee or employer.

No matter what profession, or what area you need inspiration in, meditation will help.
I will cover various meditation techniques later. Keep in mind that no meditation is better than another. They simply have variant goals, all of which relate to the same thing---the soul.

My friends, see for yourself what meditation can do for you.

Namaste.

Energy

2010-06-11T17:21:00.000-04:00

     A current that flows through the universe, through the world, through us. Produced by the vibrating atoms found in everything we see and do not see. Various sensations can be felt by energy, like heat, shock, and cold. Sometimes, energy cannot be sensed. Whatever the case, energy is everywhere, and it is used in everything.
    From automobiles and airplanes, to the healing arts of spiritual healers, energy is what gives us life, and creates action in the universe.
    Sometimes, the energy within us is low, and we fall victim to fatigue, stress, and illness. Sometimes, we are full of negative energy, also creating stress and illness.
    The purpose of energy, in Spirituality, is for us to learn how to sense it and how to use it in day to day life. And it is really not that hard.
    The easiest energy to sense is Chi (also known as Ki, Qi, Reiki, Prana, or Love Energy). It is located a few inches below the navel and a few inches away from the body, concentrated into a ball known as the Lower Dan Tien. From this source, Chi enters the body and flows through it, healing all ailments.

To sense this energy, place your hands a few inches below your navel, palms facing each other, and imagine you are holding a balloon. Look forward and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths, keeping the image of the balloon in mind. Now, visualize the skin of the balloon vanishing, leaving the air concentrated in a ball. Feel your hands surrounding this air. Breath in and breath out. Imagine the air from your exhalation spiraling down towards the space between your hands, feeding the ball of air and expanding it. Do this for each exhalation, and do at least 10 exhalations.

Depending on how naturally sensitive you are to sensing energy, and how healthy you are, you should feel a tingling or a warmth (or both) on your palms. If not, it is perfectly okay---just keep doing this exercise at least once a day and eventually you will sense it. After a while, the tingling and warmth will grow more powerful as you become more sensitized and more powerful in controlling Chi.
Some martial arts forms exist to help the Chi flow through the body, such as Tai Chi and Qigong. If you are interested in these, here is a sample from a video series of the Yang Chen Fu Tai Chi form. All the postures are divided into parts and explained in detail so that you can learn it yourself. (Try to learn one part everyday and master it. I recommend one, as it helps you memorize the sequence faster. If you feel like you can learn more a day, then by all means do so.)

Other techniques to help the flow of Chi are Yoga and various meditations. The link below is from the show Namaste Yoga, an easy sequence of postures accompanied with relaxing music and setting. Each episode is divided into 3 parts: Warm-up, the main sequence, and relaxation and savassana. Doing one episode a day will greatly improve overall health, reduce stress, add flexibility, balance your chakras, and get the Chi flowing.

    Remember when I mentioned Chakras in “Basics?” Chi flows through your 7 main chakras, allowing them to function. The 7 chakras, from bottom to top are: Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus (or Navel), Heart, Throat, Brow, and Crown. Each chakra has its own specific function, although they all work together like a system. If one part of the system is flawed, the rest suffers. So, if you have an under-active Root chakra, for example, then other chakras will compensate by becoming over-active. Know that if this is so, it is unhealthy and is hindering you from full optimization. This link will take you to a chakra test, and will assess how each of your chakras are functioning. http://www.eclecticenergies.com/chakras/chakratest.php At the end, there will be suggestions on how to open them using matras (sounds) and mudras (hand positions).
     Now, this test is not 100% accurate, since the answers to those questions depend on the mood you're in. To get more accurate results, try doing it in the morning on a day where you are relaxed and nothing much is happening. The results of your test will indicate how active your chakras are when you are calm. And though it still will not be 100% accurate, perhaps closer to 80-90%, it is a good guide to see which chakra(s) you need to focus on.

     Attempt to open your chakras at least once a day. Doing it soon after waking is preferred because it will set you off to a good start.
    There are other ways to work with your chakras, some that do not involve opening, but balancing all of them. These individual healings are usually all you need to help you balance and re-energize. There are, however, healers who are very experienced and summon enormous amounts of Chi with little or no difficulty. If you have a serious condition, (either physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually) going to these healers would be very helpful.
    Sometimes, those of us who are Spiritual like to take the path of the healer, and help others recover from illness. If you would like to do so, seek out a Spiritual healer in your neighborhood and see what you can learn from him or her.
    On the negative side of this is what are called energy vampires. They suck up energy from their surroundings (people, animals, vegetation). Oftentimes they are unaware, because they do not consciously know they are on the spiritual path. Usually, these people are frail, chronically fatigued, depressed, and so, the body naturally absorbs energy to keep itself alive. These people should not be labeled as vampires. They require help and energy healing.

    Here are some videos of incredible Chi power:

Most likely you will not be able to shoot sparks between your hands or light paper on fire, but you can amplify the amount of energy you produce. Crystals are immensely useful when it comes to energy and meditation. They are able to absorb energy and do different things based on what type they are. If you already have a crystal, try summoning Chi in one hand while holding the crystal in the other. It will amplify your results. I strongly recommend getting clear quartz, as it is useful in almost every application. Remember, before you use crystals for Chi work, make sure you cleanse them, either by using a tuning fork near them (as crystals respond very positively to pure notes), holding them over incense, or breathing on them and visualizing the breath cleansing all the negative and replacing it with positive.

      Even with crystals, it takes practice to do Chi work, so practice everyday and you will gain results. Though, it will be no good if you are aggressive in your practice. Getting angry for not having results and pushing yourself harder out of anger and disappointment will only hinder you because of all the negative energy that will be produced. Instead, think positively by knowing that with each attempt, you are increasing your skill with Chi, even if you do not sense it. Everything happens for a reason, and that is to learn.
      May you succeed in all your attempts.
      Namaste.

Basics

2010-06-10T13:50:00.001-04:00

Realizing You are on the Path

Spirituality---the belief of a soul in each of us, a soul that we can communicate with to gain knowledge and wisdom and an understanding of our purpose. Whether you know it or not, we all are on a spiritual path, and we all learn from our lives, from challenges we have overcome and failed, to problems we have fixed or not, everything that happens serves as a lesson for us to learn from. Learning, in a sense of not just academics, but limits, morals, and solutions of how to overcome a problem should it ever arise again.

Learning increases drastically once one is consciously aware that he or she is on the path. We begin to improve our lives, and the lives of others, and we see that there is more meaning in life than what we had previously thought.

To become consciously aware that you are on the path, you must believe that whatever happens in life serves as a lesson for you to learn from--- a soul within and around you, guides you through life.

Once you believe, you enter the path to enlightenment.

Fundamentals

Remember this, Spirituality is not a religion. Though it is a belief, it is no religion. Spirituality, is instead, more of a philosophy, a look on life and the universe that is coherent, and always (in the end) logical. It does not force you to believe in an omnipotent God. It does not make you pray and place all your faith in something in the hopes that it is real. But, neither does it ask you to give up your religion. You are free to place faith with the idea fed to you during your lifetime.

But what it does ask you is to take a new look on things. It's easy to say, "Well, God created everything, and that's that." It's simple, it doesn't require too much thought, and you can go on. But what happens when you really want to know why something happens. Why do bad things happen to good people? And good to bad? Why are we alive? Is Heaven (or Nirvana) a reality? Why are there so many religions? How can mine be right, and not his? Since there are so many, how can we be sure which one is correct? Is any religion correct? If we all believe in God, why can't we just say "Hey, we all believe in God. Let's leave it at that, and stop warring over who is correct." Sometimes, questions just need to be answered to make us feel more secure. Spirituality gives us that opportunity. It is a combination of scientific knowledge, mixed with pseudo-science (that which is not yet scientifically proven but has been experienced for thousands of years, such as astral projection).

To assist you on your path, lets start with one of the spiritual basics, the soul.
“What exactly is a soul?” You probably have seen them in movies as hollow replicas of our bodies. Though in certain meditations it can appear as such, it is not normally in that state. A soul is energy. Everything in this universe, is energy, vibrating at different frequencies. Heat is energy. It vibrates at a frequency that creates a sense of heat when these vibrations hit us. Matter is energy as well, extremely condensed energy. Humans are energy as well, our thoughts and emotions included. Indeed, energy is what binds everything together. It is our most basic connection to everything. It is like an ocean. A girl lowers a hand into the water, and thousands of miles away, a different girl puts her hand in the water as well. Though thousands of miles apart, both girls are now connected by the ocean.

Electromagnetic Energy from: www.my-blackberry.net

     So, a soul is energy. “But how can energy record information and guide me through life?” Because, since everything in the Universe is energy, wouldn't this just make sense? Our thoughts are energy. The memories we store are in the form of energy. A soul is just an extremely complicated source of energy the likes of which may never be entirely understood.
But one thing is clear. You are not your soul. Think about this. Do you know anything about you from before your birth? Not that you were conceived, and that your cells formed in such a way. No, I mean, do you have any understanding of what went on in the womb? That is a definite No. (If you do, then you are of tremendous scientific value, and would have probably been studied already, and heard by the masses.) For the rest of us, that is a No. Where am I going with this? Think about your life, think of your memories from as far back as you can remember. Think of your likes, and your dislikes, your hobbies, your favorite foods, your dreams, your goals, your view on the world. This is you. You are your intelligence, your memories and personality. Can you agree with that? For most of us, yes. For example, we have Joe. When asked who he is, Joe says "I'm an office worker. I grew up in Brooklyn. I like to hike. Someday, I want to be the C.E.O of my company." Most of us will answer this way, we'll say what our job is, what we like to do, where we grew up, and where we want to end up. That's you. And basically that means, you are your conscious.
    What's the difference between a conscious and a soul? Your soul is an energy being (because everything is energy) that is far more grand than anything that can be imagined. It is your own, personal guardian, your Higher Self. Your conscious is merely a sliver of your Higher Self. That is why we have no intimate connection with our soul, because unless we concentrate on it, we will never realize it is there. It is like an ant trying to realize that it is in a baseball field.
    It is this soul that chooses our time and place of birth, and what type of life form we will be.
    But, how can something like this possibly exist? Author, how do you know this? For those who have connected with their soul, they absolutely know that their soul exists. There is no longer doubt. Buddhists often have this experience, for that is one of the aims of their religion. For the majority of us who have not experienced this "supposed grand energy being responsible for our creation" (I empathize with you on this. It is not something you pick up and instantly fall for. I didn't always believe in it either. But the connection certainly changed that)...for those of us who have not experienced it, we are left baffled by it and unsure. That is the nature of humanity. New things need to be examined, studied, and approved. We need to be sure it exists. Lucid Dreaming (realizing you are dreaming and then taking control of it) was for a long time, in the scientific community, regarded as a hoax. But now it has been concretely proven. The same is true for almost everything. When science first began, everything was new and unproven. Now, new things are being proven every day.
     Basically, to realize your soul exists, you have to connect with it. I won't cover connection, for then this post will turn into a novel. But what I will say is, meditation is a great way for connection. Look into it if you want. And I will also say this (I'm just full of things to say today), Spirituality does not ask you to place faith in the existence of souls. If your reasoning suggests that souls aren't real, that is your reasoning and that is what you know at the time. That is fine. You are not obliged to believe. But you are always free to try and experience it. And that is a difference between religion and spirituality. In religion, you are required to possess utmost faith in something. In spirituality, believe in what you want according to your reasoning.
     But enough about that. Your soul created you, and now you're on Earth. Shizam! Now what? What was the purpose? Basically, the soul created you to use you as a vehicle for experiencing new things. The soul is like a library. The more books (experiences) a library (the soul) contains, the better the library. As a human, your place here on Earth is to learn and to progress. You do this through the four planes of existence.

Physical

                       Emotional
                       Mental
                       Spiritual

These 4 concepts define our humanity, what we actually are.

Physical is of course, the body, the matter. All the muscles, tissues, bones, organs, and brain matter. The physical level is the only level we can see with our eyes (physical sees physical). The physical plane is like the sliver of visible light on the electromagnetic scale. It composes a very small portion of a human being.

The Emotional plane is, naturally, the emotions that humans experience throughout the lifetime. They include joy, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger, anticipation, and acceptance. They are important in our interaction with others. The more positive we are with emotions, the more we attract people, and the more negative, the more we distance ourselves away. Emotions aren’t visible because we only see the effects of the emotions on our physical bodies. (Happiness leads to smiling, sadness leads to crying). Smiling results from an impulse, a smile is not in itself an emotion.

Mental is the mind and how we use logic and reasoning to solve problems. The more powerful the mental level is, the more one is able to intellectualize life’s challenges and use sense and creativity to accomplish them. The Mental level also involves our creative side, and how we can express ourselves through art, music, dance, writing, theater, etc, and how we solve problems this way.

The Spiritual level is the soul, and how we progress through life, knowing our soul is guiding us. The higher you spiritual sense is, the more you begin to see that life is a school and that we are here to learn. Our bodies are our soul's vehicle on Earth. We experience new things, and the soul records them.

    Now, the 4 levels always work together, either at the same time or in steps, and it is different for everybody. (Let’s say your car is stolen. First, your Emotional level kicks in and you panic. Your Physical level reacts when your heart beats faster. Your Mental level reacts when you ask yourself who could have taken it, and what you are going to do. The Spiritual level is active the entire time and it records everything that you are experiencing. Later, in meditation, it will bring up the event and allow you to learn from it.)
    As the 4 levels work together to progress the learning, it is important to understand that if you face a difficulty and do not consciously learn from it, then the difficulty will repeat itself until you do learn. For example, if someone is always insulting you, calling you names and angering you, and if you imply try ignoring the problem, the insulting will persist. When it does persist, that means it is a lesson and that it’s time you learned from it. It could be that the person insulting you needs help, probably with a life crisis, and that he or she is in immense turmoil and is being subconsciously directed to put out emotions through insults. If you decide to help that person, then soon you will realize he or she is a great person that just needed some guidance.)

    So, there was the four planes in brief. Confused? Not enough cleared up yet? Don't worry. Just stay tuned and they'll be explained later on. Remember this for now. Our soul created us and uses us to learn new things through the four planes of existence. Simple.

Next is yin and yang.

    This is an idea that describes the state of our universe as both positive (white fish) and negative (black fish). Both positive and negative must be equal in order to achieve a state of balance, as the universe always tries to balance itself. Notice that in each fish, the eye is the color of the other fish, because all positive has negative and all negative has positive. One of Newton’s laws, “every action has an opposite but equal reaction” is the Western version of yin and yang. Anytime something you consider positive happens, something negative happens as well, and vice-versa. (Whenever a volcano erupts and destroys the surrounding land (negative), new life will arise (positive)). The universe will always balance itself. There is never all positive or all negative. The saying “You can never have too much of a good thing” agrees with this.
    It is important to understand that negative does not mean bad or evil. Just that it is a necessary part of the universe. And positive does not necessarily mean good. Instead, think of the universe as two magnets. Each faces the other, with one end being positive and the other being negative. They attract and hold each other together with the forces in the center, acting as neutrality (the state that the universe is in). If one end were to vanish, the forces in the center would cease to operate and the other end would simply fall. Thus, no more universe.
    Buddha strived to achieve neutrality while on his path, to see everything in positive and negative, and to act as both.

Now, let's return to energy. I mentioned that there is a universal energy, and that your soul is a part of that energy. There are other kinds of energies as well, such as chi and psi (more on that in another article) and there are vortexes of energy known as chakras, which run along through your center, from the base of the spine to the top of the head.

There are 7 physical chakras, and each is a different color of the rainbow, starting red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. (Notice they follow the spectrum of visible light) Each chakra has its own function on our being, and we can control each. These chakras are either opened, closed, under-active, or over-active. The ideal state of the chakras is to have them all open and balanced. (But more on that later.)
Another aspect of Spirituality is meditation. In later articles, I will describe various techniques. For now, the idea and goal will suffice.

Meditation is the act of clearing one’s mind to be void of any thought or feeling. This state allows one to connect with the soul, if the soul chooses to appear. The healing properties of meditation include a riddance of stress, and pain (if the individual focuses on the area of pain and is able to use chi), and a calming effect that can lead to a state of pure happiness (Nirvana in Buddhist tradition). Meditation connects the 4 planes together in harmonious balance, and boosts the overall health of an individual. And because it clears the mind of excess thoughts, it makes room for new ideas, something called inspiration. (Great for people with writers block). Answers to a current challenge you are experiencing (because there are no problems, only lessons and challenges) can be provided in the course of meditation.

As a final topic, Spirituality involves the idea of reincarnation. That is, your soul creates you numerous times to add books to its library.

Remember, what you just read was a brief article describing the basics. Many more concepts will be viewed in later articles in detail. The idea here is to see whether you wish to learn more.

I wish you success on your path. Go and learn all you can, and embrace every difficulty and every convenience, and see if you can take a new look on things.

The light in me shines with the light in you.

Namaste

The World as it Seems

2010-06-09T15:23:00.001-04:00

    2010. Here is humanity, progressing faster than ever, with new technologies coming out everyday, from new cell phones to new jet planes. Crises are ever growing---the war in Afghanistan, the BP oil spill, the Haiti and Chili earthquakes, increasing threats from North Korea. And here we are, in the midst of all this, wondering where the world is going, and hearing occasional rumors of 2012, attaching it to any new crisis. We think, “Will peace ever be accomplished? Will climate change ever become a first priority for governments? Just where are we in the cosmic scale? Do other intelligent species exist? Do they watch over our shoulders?” And we think about our individual lives: “Why am I here? Does my life have any meaning? Am I really like everyone else? How can I improve my life? Is there anything better than what I am in now, and how can I get it?”
    These questions are important, and all of us have them or have had them. Many go unanswered and people give up, surrendering to the continuous motion of job, money, family. We feel as though we are powerless, and that our voice doesn’t matter in big decisions, that it should be left to the politicians, because we have our own concerns. Everyday is a struggle to earn income, and the crisis of the outside world doesn’t seem worrisome.
We just want to be happier, to be rid of stress and to earn enough money not to care about the bills anymore. We all strive for this happier state, to feel rich and powerful, so that we can buy Ferrari’s, and manors, and the latest fashions. That kind of future seems splendid, and nearly every thought we have is of that future and how it can be achieved. The future is constantly in our minds. “What if this happens? What should I do? Where will I be in a month, a year, a decade? Will I be safe with this decision? I just don’t know!” The stresses of such decision making burden the mind, and the body, and our emotions. To have a life we want, we go through stress to ensure we can eventually achieve it. We try to find comfort in having firm plans of what we want to do. Such plans almost always revolve around money. “I’m not earning enough. How can I earn more? Do I have the ability to do so?” And so, the stress of thinking of the future turns into fear---fear that you won’t earn enough, and that the street will soon be your home, that your very shelter will be foreclosed and all your possessions taken. That you will walk the sidewalks, searching for scraps of food and begging passerby for money. That kind of fear fills the mind and heart, and pushes us to further our plans for a better future, creating more stress and then more fear and so on, until we are consumed by it, and the side effects it creates---depression, fatigue, bodily illness, etc.
    So, the question then is “What do I do? I work every day and it gets me nowhere. I hate it. Why can’t I make more money? What does it take? How do those rich people get so rich?” These questions then create anger and jealousy. Anger that our efforts get us nowhere, and jealousy that there are people simply born rich and have every luxury in the world, loving life and not needing to work while you’re stuck in a dead end job, working until your sore and in need of a bed.
    This is what the modern life creates. Stress about the future, fear of being foreclosed, anger that you’re getting nowhere, and jealousy towards the rich and powerful. And who is there to help? Friends? Family? They have the same problems. The government? They have some programs, but barely enough to get anywhere, and it seems too petty. So, where can I get help?
    And the answer is, you. There is more to you than what you believe. Allow me to guide you, to help you find your true self, and your view of life will be forever changed.