How to Transform Unpleasant Emotions with Mindfulness

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Photo Credit: Naira Babayan, Unsplash

Life includes a range of emotions, some pleasant and others challenging. We often feel the urge to resist or suppress challenging emotions, but doing so intensifies them over time.

Instead, mindfulness offers us practical ways to transform challenging emotions and enjoy inner peace. By developing this valuable skill, you can navigate difficult emotions with grace and enjoy greater emotional balance. Here’s how:

Become Aware of Your Emotions

Becoming aware of our emotions is the first step in effectively managing them. Check in with yourself during the day and become aware of the emotions you are experiencing. Recognize when challenging emotions surface so you can address them promptly before they escalate.

Identify The Emotion

By naming an unpleasant emotion, you can work with it more effectively. Does it feel like anger, stress, fear, overwhelm or anxiety? When you zero in and name the emotion, it brings more clarity to the way you feel.

Observe, Accept, and Detach

Simply observe the emotion without resistance or suppression. Recognize emotion as a natural part of the range of human experience. As an impartial observer, you can watch the emotion without losing yourself in it.

Externalize the Emotion

To externalize the emotion, visualize it as a color, shape, or tangible object. When you do that, it becomes more manageable and less overwhelming. You could visualize anger as a fiery red sphere, anxiety as a swirling cloud, or sadness as a heavy weight.

Consider the Source of the Emotion

Take a moment to reflect on possible triggers or causes for the emotion’s emergence. Understanding the source of the emotion can give you insight into how to avoid it in the future. Are you angry because you are hungry? Did someone’s actions trigger memories of old trauma that needs healing? When you understand how an emotion was triggered, it empowers you to do something positive about it.

Remember the Emotion’s Transient Nature

Emotions are transient, similar to clouds passing through the sky. Through patient observation, you’ll notice the emotion gradually losing intensity and dissolving, just as clouds dissipate in sunlight. You are not your emotions; you are eternal consciousness observing these transient emotions.

Return to Balanced Breathing

After processing a difficult emotion, you can regain calmness by focusing on your breath. Take a few deep breaths, keeping count on the inhalation and exhaling for the same count. Let your breath serve as an anchor, bringing you back to the present moment and restoring your inner sense of equilibrium.

When you handle emotions this way, you’ll access your emotional intelligence and restore inner peace, no matter what arises. Even more importantly, you’ll embody the presence of higher consciousness in which all forms of life can evolve.

©Copyright Ada Porat. This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached. Ada Porat is an energy kinesiologist & pastoral counselor with extensive international teaching & clinical experience. She uses body/mind/spirit techniques to help clients make optimal life choices. For more information, visit https://AdaPorat.com

Authentic Spirituality

Authentic Spirituality

Want to get enlightened fast? Here’s a reality check: True enlightenment is not going to happen fast; if it does, it is not authentic. True, authentic spirituality is a slow, organic process of growth.

It follows a cyclical rhythm, the way life flows through seasons and patterns. And it looks less like a body-builder on steroids, and more like a homegrown strawberry.

So much of what passes for spirituality today is actually about selling seekers on a package that looks good, but does not lead to authentic spiritual transformation. It represents spirituality on steroids – and while every package promises to be the magic tool, it places appearance and performance above inner transformation.

This consumerist spirituality is all about selling us an image. Master these yoga asanas and you’ll reach enlightenment… or wear these clothes and you’ll be transformed faster… or visit this sacred site and you will become more spiritual.

In this steroid-driven spirituality, the pathway becomes the goal. Its to-do list may look glamorous: a meditative state to attain, a transmission to receive, a workshop to attend; yet the promised result remains just out of reach while we are sold the latest ‘guaranteed’ way to reaching it. You see, it’s based on a flawed principle that we are somehow lacking something we need to strive for.

In truth, authentic spirituality and enlightenment is not a goal we reach out there; it is something we become. The entire Universe operates on the principle of emergence and our spiritual nature is no different: it unfolds when we remove the obstacles to its emergence.

The authentic work of realizing our true identity needs no fancy interventions: it simply requires basic conditions that sustain all forms of life on this planet.

The strawberries in my garden can attest to that.

Strawberries will grow from a tiny seed to a beautiful plant that bears prolifically if you give it the right environment. It needs nutrients from the soil, sunlight and comfortable temperatures. When it gets these basic ingredients, it grows abundantly in full harmony with its own genotype and bears beautiful, juicy fruit in due season.

When we alter the nature of strawberries with genetic engineering and chemical steroids to boost production, the fruit will turn out big but tough and tasteless. They may look good on the surface, but one taste will tell you the difference between scientifically manipulated fruit and a juicy homegrown strawberry.

It’s the same with commercialized-spirituality. While promising instant miracles and results, it robs each individual of their unique journey to become the magnificent soul whose potential they’ve carried all along, and it renders them weak and tasteless.

While it makes bold claims of miracles, power and peace, commercialized spirituality sells us an image of who we think we need to be to qualify, lures us away from the very life we have by promising us something better, and tempts us to strive for spiritual success by doing more while in the process losing our most precious connection to our inner selves.

Thankfully, the way to authentic spirituality is always open to us.

Authentic spirituality puts an end to the lie that we need to be anywhere other than where we find ourselves right now. It gives us the freedom to grow right where we are, to harness the nutrients of the life we are already living, and to allow our inner guidance to produce delicious, juicy fruit to share with the world.

Here are four important principles of authentic spirituality:

  1. The answers already await inside you.

Whatever the question your life is asking you right now, the answer lies in the truth of who you already are. Why? Because you are a limitless spiritual being, experiencing this duality-based earth life to grow, evolve and realize your full potential.

Learning to distinguish the authentic voice of your soul from the noise of culture and conditioning is a journey—and it’s not necessarily easy. But it’s simple, and that is important. Whatever response is called for, you can relax and ask yourself, ‘How could this be useful on my path?’ then listen for your soul’s whisper to guide you. Learning to recognize the voice of your Higher truth will set you free from the confines of your limitations.

  1. Your body is the perfect spiritual vehicle for authentic spiritual growth.

Instead of bypassing the body’s messages or judging it as a faulty tool that needs to be fixed, authentic spirituality embraces the body as a vehicle that continually communicates with you. When you are at home and grounded in your body, you have the best chance of healing, learning, growing and becoming.

The physical body is not optional in this life and it is not a problem. It is a temple not made by hands; a sacred vessel for the presence of Spirit in our lives. The more we become present to our embodied experience, the more we are able to harness all the energy of Spirit we can contain to heal, transform and fulfill our potential.

  1. Your life is always speaking to you.

Right now, your life is speaking to you through events, metaphors, symbolism and other messages to guide you. Instead of resisting, try listening to it with an open heart. When we listen to our lives, we get precious information that is customized just for us.

It is by learning to love the life you have, that you can begin to choose a life you love. Your own direct experience needs to be the authority in your life rather than any external program, guru or person. Over time, listening to your life in this way is how you’ll learn where you grow best and what conditions allow you to bear the greatest fruit for your community and world.

  1. Your emotions aren’t a problem.

Most suffering in life is caused by the unwillingness to feel what we are actually feeling. Instead, we create elaborate avoidance strategies and masks to hide behind, causing endless suffering.

When you allow yourself to feel your emotions as they come and go, you’ll find peace. There is no story to tell around it; there is simply the being present in each moment, and the awareness of the emotions passing through your awareness like clouds in the sky. By observing your emotions without resistance, you’ll find them passing through your awareness while you continue to stay identified with your consciousness as the core of your true Self.

Authentic spirituality is a path of inner, direct experience that gradually unfolds at your unique human pace and produces practical enlightenment – the kind that serves instead of enslaves.

About the author

©Copyright Ada Porat. For more information, visit https://adaporat.com. This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached.

Global Peace Prayer

(Note: This article was authored by Claude Swanson, Ph.D. and is reprinted here with his permission.)

The tragic terrorist attacks in Paris have escalated the conflict in the Middle East, and some Western leaders are calling for a further increase in military activity. This follows an announcement by Obama two weeks earlier that the U.S. is beginning to send troops to Syria, and this follows similar moves by Russia. Although both the U.S. and Russia are calling their soldiers “advisers,” this is not very reassuring, since Americans remember that the first troops sent to Vietnam in the sixties were also called “advisers.”

Several weeks ago the Russian leader Putin met with the leader of Syria, Bashar Assad, to reaffirm support for his government. Russia and Syria are long term allies.  Meanwhile the United States continues to support groups who are trying to overthrow Assad. Matters are further complicated because both sides say they oppose ISIS (ISIL), the radical Muslim group which is thought to be responsible for the Paris attacks..

To add to the complexity, Israel, a long term ally of the United States in the region, according to articles by Pulitzer prize winning reporter Seymour Hersh, has been providing military support to Kurdish rebels who control territory in Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey and who want a state of their own. Neighboring states fear a strengthening of the Kurdish rebels will lead to further instability in the region. Hersh has indicated that the additional U. S. troops may be intended to help this group. Former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford pointed out that this Kurdish group itself has ties to terrorist groups and has been accused of human rights abuses.

The track record for U.S. intervention is not encouraging. The countries where the U.S. has intervened over the past fifteen years remain in states of volatile chaos: Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. The refugee crisis in Europe at the present time is largely a result of these conflicts. The alliances forming are disturbingly similar to the Armageddon scenario, and matters could conceivably escalate beyond recall. It is vital that all the hostile factions step back and look earnestly for peaceful solutions. They may need to give up or compromise some of their deeply held beliefs or ambitions to find a common ground.  Regardless of the details of the history of past wrongs or injuries on both sides, it is clear that matters in the Middle East are becoming increasingly dangerous and hold the potential for even greater conflict in the future.

Let us ask forgiveness for the mistakes we have made, and forgive all other parties involved, as well. The Hawaiian prayer of Ho’oponopono seems appropriate here: “I am sorry. Please forgive me. I love you. I thank you.” (One beautiful YouTube video based on this prayer is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac5SGwRPv0o )

Let us learn the lessons we came here  to learn. All of us have had a role in creating these events, and we are here to learn and remember that we are all connected, we are all powerful spiritual beings, and our prayers and love and understanding can truly heal the world. We ask, and urgently pray, that everyone sends prayers for peace and wisdom to the world, that all people be guided by the highest good for all the peoples of the Earth.

We need to send prayers to lower the rhetoric, to tone down the bellicose threats and actions in many of these areas. We have become overconfident in our ability to project military power, as we noted in the quote from General Wesley Clark regarding how we got into the Iraq war. This interview ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSL3JqorkdU ) may shed light on the viewpoint of some in government who advocate escalation. Power has limits, and eventually it is met with opposing power, sometimes in forms we did not anticipate. As the most powerful country in the world, the United States has an obligation to set a standard of behaving responsibly and with consideration, not as a bully but taking into account the aspirations and fears of others.

Therefore we ask, and urgently pray, that everyone sends prayers for peace and wisdom to the Middle East, and that our leaders be guided by the highest good for all the peoples of the world.

THE NEED FOR PEACE PRAYER
These conflicts serve to highlight the need for peace prayers. To make prayer the most powerful, we ask that everyone around the world pray simultaneously, at the same time. This will increase the power of the prayer, possibly by a factor of several hundred because more people are praying simultaneously. Prayer in each time zone is adjusted so that prayers are simultaneous all around the world. Prayers should be done EVERY DAY.

There is also a best time of day to receive prayer, a time when our receptivity is greatest (see below).  This depends on where we are in the world. Prayer times are set to correspond to the hour when receptivity is greatest in the Middle East . Our prayers of peace, love and forgiveness, while directed to everyone around the world, may in this way have greatest effectiveness in calming and bringing peace to this region, which is near a flash point. Let us pray that peace, love and forgiveness penetrate the hearts of all people.

The chart below, Table 1, shows the best time to pray to accomplish this. It is slightly different (about four minutes earlier) every day. It depends on what time zone you are in and the time of year. The time zones and locations are listed in the left-hand column. Find the row which describes your time zone. Then move across to the right to find the column for the correct date.  The dates are shown for every five days, but you should pray every day. On days not shown in the chart, choose a time for the closest day shown.  For example, if you live in Colorado, you look down the left hand column until you find Colorado or MST for Mountain Standard Time. This describes your time zone. If it is Nov 9, you then look across the top row of the chart to find the date, Nov 9. Going down that column to the row corresponding to Colorado or MST you find the prayer time given is 9:00 AM. This is the center of the prayer period.

For a 20 minute prayer, this means beginning the prayer 10 minutes earlier than this. Since the center is 9:00 AM, you would start the prayer ten minutes earlier, at 8:50 AM. PRAYERS SHOULD BE DONE EVERY DAY.  Each day the best prayer time is about four minutes earlier. The chart shows the best prayer times every five days, to help keep track of the schedule.   However you should pray every day. If the day is not shown on the chart, choose a prayer time in between the times shown. If the times are inconvenient, then pray when you can but include the intention that the prayer is to be joined with others praying in the same time window.

We propose that the prayer be for world peace, forgiveness of others, healing of Mother Earth, and the awakening of love for our fellow man. This follows the lessons of the great Teachers of all religions.

TABLE 1.
BEST TIME TO PRAY
(PRAY EVERY DAY. IF THE DATE IS NOT SHOWN, LOOK AT  THE PRAYER TIME FOR THE NEAREST DATE AND USE IT. )

Table 1

TABLE 1. How to use it: Look down the far left-hand column to find your time zone. California, for example, is Pacific Standard Time right now, or PST.  When you find the right row for your time zone, then go across to the correct column for the present date. If it is Nov 26, for example, then find the columns for Nov 24 and Nov 29, the two closest dates before and after. Your prayer time is in between these two numbers, around 10:50 PM. Choose that time for the middle of your prayer period.

THE SCIENCE
The power of prayer has been known for thousands of years. Recent scientific experiments have proven it (Ref. 1). Experiments show that when people pray together at THE SAME TIME, it has EVEN MORE IMPACT (Ref. 2). Science has also discovered there is a SPECIAL TIME OF DAY when we are MOST RECEPTIVE to spiritual and intuitive messages (Ref. 3). Prayers received at this time are likely to have the greatest effect. If everyone around the world will pray at this time the prayers can have heightened impact, both because of the time of day and because many people are praying together. Fifteen or twenty minutes of concentrated prayer everyday at this time can work miracles.

The Princeton PEAR Lab, the Global Consciousness Project, and other research institutions have discovered that consciousness affects physics and can be measured (Ref. 4). The human mind and human intention alter the behavior of devices called “random event generators,” or REGs. They measure the power of human intention to affect distant events. In scientific studies on prayer, it has been found that when many people pray together the effect is larger (Ref. 2).

The graph below shows this effect. The lower curve in blue shows the level of randomness of  these REGs when no one is praying. When many people around the world pray together, the devices begin to act as though they are coupled together (the red line on the graph). This shows that synchronized prayer affects the physics of space-time around the world. Prayer has power that can be measured, and synchronized prayer can have great effectiveness.

Graph 1
GRAPH 1. The power of synchronized prayer. The red line shows how prayer, by millions of people around the world, affect devices called REGs. These devices have been shown to measure the power of consciousness. They are based on patterns of quantum noise which occur when many people around the world think the same thought or focus on the same idea.

The second key piece is the importance of the TIME when one prays. It has been discovered in scientific experiments that there is a BEST TIME of day when intuitive messages are most accurately  received. Prayer is an example of messages of this type. The graph below shows how accurately such messages are received versus TIME OF DAY. The peak in the graph shows the best time. It is found to depend on the position of the stars overhead, and is therefore called “sidereal time.”  Because the peak has width of about a half hour on either side, this defines a one hour window which should be the “best time” for sending or receiving prayer. Table 1 above, labeled “Best Time to Pray,” shows how this “best time” relates to your local clock time.

Graph 2

GRAPH 2. The most powerful time of day to receive a psychic message. This seems to be the time of day when psychic or spiritual communication is least noisy, which means it is clearer then. If we are sending an intuitive or prayer message to others, this is the best time for it to be received. Just like channels on a radio dial, it is best to send and receive on a channel which is clear and quiet, not one that is noisy. The peak in the graph shows when this occurs. It depends on the star positions overhead, which is why it is called “sidereal time” (Ref. 3)  Table 1 above translates this into your local clock time.

To have maximum effectiveness when we pray, it may be most powerful to combine these two ideas: To have many people pray TOGETHER, and also to pray at the BEST TIME for it to be received. In each time zone, when the clock reaches the BEST TIME, as shown by Table 1, everyone in that time zone should join their minds and hearts to pray together.

The times in each time zone are adjusted so everyone will pray at the same exact moment around the world. This means the largest number of people will be praying together, which will have the GREATEST EFFECT. The prayer is timed to correspond to the time during the day of best receptivity in the Middle East. This is when the peak in receptivity, shown in Graph 2, is over that region. This part of the world appears most critical at the present time. It is hoped that by directing prayers there when they are most receptive, we may help encourage peace in the region.
THE CRISIS OF OUR TIMES

We are living in a time of great change on the planet. We have built technologies which are transforming the world’s ecology and weather. Our investment in weapons of war is skyrocketing. New weapons including engineered diseases are being stockpiled. Soldiers are fighting in many countries, and it is not bringing peace but only more war. Tensions in the Middle East have erupted into “hot wars” in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Libya and Syria. Growing opposition by China and Russia to U.S. military incursions and the effort by Iran to develop nuclear power raise the potential for escalation. It only seems to bring more anger and create more terrorists, which then feeds the cycle.

In many religions and cultures, the times we are living in have been the subject of prophecy. The Hopi Indians of North America are but one of many peoples who have predicted these times. They describe Western man as having a head and body which are separated. The body represents understanding of the physical world, i.e. technology, and the head represents spiritual wisdom. In the Hopi view, the separation of head and body symbolizes that Western man is out of touch with spiritual guidance, and therefore misuses his understanding of technology. Unless we can learn to access spiritual wisdom, we will make wrong decisions leading to an extremely destructive Third World War.

We humans are at a turning point. Are we able to handle our technology to make our lives better and to spread wealth and opportunity to all? Or do we have a streak of violence, hatred and greed which will doom us to bring about the destruction of this beautiful world in which we live?

The answer does not lie in violence. This only creates more hatred in the victims who respond with greater violence toward us. The answer does not lie in more technology, for without wise and thoughtful use it just causes more environmental damage. The true answer has been given in many cultures and in many religions. We must stop the violence and hatred and greed within ourselves, and then we can help heal the world.

RAPID ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

The BBC News recently announced that the permafrost melting in the arctic is occurring much faster than predicted. In a story by Matt McGrath for the Science and Environment section of BBC News, it was reported that temperatures have risen in the permafrost from -8 degrees C to -2.5 degrees C even in the northern coastal areas of Alaska. As a result, vast areas are expected to melt in the next few years, much earlier than had been expected. This will turn the upper levels of soil into slush, making roads impassible and toppling many surface structures. Even the Alaska pipeline might be endangered. Trees have already been falling in parts of Alaska. And of course, this frozen region extends across thousands of miles of Siberia as well as Alaska, and even includes parts of the sea bottom in the north Pacific. Therefore a huge area is affected.

Another result of this melting, besides an increase in ocean levels, will be the accelerated release of the frozen methane which is trapped in the permafrost. As the methane is released it enters the atmosphere where its greenhouse effect is 25 times stronger than Carbon Dioxide. Therefore the permafrost melting will further increase the greenhouse effect. All of these effects are confirmation of the rapid global warming that is ongoing.

The Gulf Stream which is responsible for the temperate climate in Europe has been slowing in recent years because Global Warming has rapidly melted Arctic ice bringing fresh water into the North Atlantic. Ten of the twelve ocean convection cells which maintain the Gulf Stream flow have reportedly slowed or stopped on occasion,  raising the possibility in the near future of drastic weather changes. Experts now project that the world’s oceans will rise more than one foot in the next century because of this same melting. The rising ocean, in turn, will likely trigger additional earthquakes, which have been increasing rapidly over the past two decades. At the same time, the extinction rate of the earth’s animal and plant species has been increasing to a level not seen since the last “Great Extinction” 65 million years ago when the dinosaurs perished. They were the dominant species then. Are we next?

Let us send love and healing to Mother Earth and to one another, that our mistakes and mistreatment of the environment and of our fellow man may be healed, that we learn how to tread more gently on the earth, and that we be forgiven for the disturbances we have so far created.

LESSONS OF THE GREAT SPIRITUAL TEACHERS

In the West every day we see images of violence and war. War has never solved problems for very long. The defeat of Germany in World War I led to resentment and poverty and eventually to the rise of Hitler and World War II. The wisest teachers have taught a very different lesson. Jesus said:

“…if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:38-41)

Jesus taught that violence solves nothing. It only creates more violence. It hurts and angers the victim who vows and plots his revenge. Jesus realized and taught the great lesson that the best way to destroy an enemy is to make him your friend. Jesus taught that the only way to end violence is to:

“…Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you…” (Matthew 5:44)

The alternative is to create more and more people around the world who hate us and plan and live for our demise. With the increasing power of modern weapons, nuclear, biological, and chemical, even a weak enemy can cause death and suffering on a massive scale. And we know from experience that this only leads to retaliation and escalation. It will only stop when one of two things happens.

(1) Either we destroy ourselves in a global conflict, which has been predicted by many, or

(2) We escape this fate by trying something new: forgive and send love to our enemies, and pray for peace and healing everywhere.

It is up to us to begin the forgiveness process, to love, to send prayers daily around the world to ease the anger and fear, to forgive the violence, to pray for a growing peace. Let the fires of hatred and fear and revenge burn down, let the embers cool. Remember that each of us possesses an immortal soul and is here to learn. Let us follow the teachings of the great Masters of all ages, sowing love and kindness and generosity, and extending it in prayer to all living souls around the world.

When we look beneath the external trappings of any religion, it is remarkable how similar are the underlying beliefs. We offer two examples here. The first is the “Golden Rule,” which in Christianity is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This same belief is taught in most of the world’s religions:

Buddhism (Udana-Varga): Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.

Judaism (Leviticus 19:18): You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Confucianism (Mencius VII.A.4): Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence.

Hinduism (The Mahabharata): This is the sum of duty: do naught to others which if done to thee would cause thee pain.

Christianity (Matthew 7:12): Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.

Islam (Hadith): No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.

As a second example, consider the teaching of Jesus to “turn the other cheek.” This is often considered a more unusual teaching, because it emphasizes that we should not return violence with violence. In a world torn by terrorism and war, this lesson is too seldom heeded. Yet it is not unique to Christianity. Consider the following quotes:

Buddhism (Dhammapada 201): Victory breeds hatred, for the defeated live in pain. Happily live the peaceful, giving up victory and defeat.

Judaism (Talmud, Baba Kamma 93a): One should choose to be among the persecuted, rather than the persecutors.

Confucianism (Mencius IV.A.14): In wars to gain land, the dead fill the plains; in wars to gain cities, the dead fill the cities. This is known as showing the land the way to devour human flesh. Death is too light a punishment for such men who wage war. Hence those skilled in war should suffer the most severe punishments.

Sikhism (Adi Granth, Shalok, Farid): Those who beat you with fists, do not pay them with the same coin, but go to their house and kiss their feet.

Christianity (Jesus in Matthew 5:38-41): You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well…”

Islam (Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 32): Let there be no injury and no requital.

Such correspondences can be found for almost all religions. Therefore, as the world becomes smaller it would serve us well to look at the underlying similarities in religions, rather than the differences. These similarities are not due to coincidence. They are due to a deep intuitive knowledge on the part of religious founders. These rules seem to describe important truths about how the universe works and how we should live. The alternative, in this time of nuclear and biological warfare and a seriously damaged environment, may be our destruction. A non-violent solution is to pray for global healing and peace.

OUR MISSION

TO BRING INTO REALITY THE CENTRAL MESSAGE OF ALL THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS: TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER, TO TREAT OTHERS AS WE WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED, TO FORGIVE OTHERS AND RETURN LOVE FOR HATE, KINDNESS FOR ANGER, TO SPREAD THIS FEELING TO EVERYONE, TO OUR FELLOW MAN AS WELL AS THE  EARTH AND ITS ENVIRONMENT.

WE ARE AT A CRUCIAL TIME WHEN MANY PROPHECIES, AND INDEED THE TIDE OF WORLD EVENTS, THREATENS A WIDER WAR AND DRASTIC CHANGES TO OUR CLIMATE AND ECOLOGY. THESE MAY THREATEN OUR WELL-BEING AND EVEN OUR  EXISTENCE. THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY, MAYBE EVEN OUR “FINAL EXAM” TO SEE IF WE ARE WISE ENOUGH TO HANDLE OUR TECHNOLOGY AND TURN IT FROM DESTRUCTIVE TO CONSTRUCTIVE ENDS.

GLOBAL SYNCHRONIZED PRAYER, DONE EVERY DAY BY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD, CAN TURN THIS TIDE. IT CAN HEAL HATRED AND FEAR  AND TURN IT INTO PEACE AND LOVE.  IT  CAN EASE THE DISTRESS OF MOTHER EARTH AND BEGIN TO HEAL THE DAMAGES TO CLIMATE AND ECOSYSTEMS. IN THIS WAY WE MAY AVERT WAR AND CHOOSE A BETTER FUTURE FOR OURSELVES AND OUR CHILDREN.

WE CAN CHANGE THE FUTURE. IT IS UP TO US!
REFERENCES:

Ref. 1:

Benor, Daniel J., M.D., “Survey of Spiritual Healing Research”, Complementary Medical Research, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 9-33 (1991):

Benor, Daniel J, M.D., “Distant Healing,” Subtle Energies & Energy Medicine, Vol. 11, No. 3, p. 249 (2001)

Dossey, Larry, M.D., Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine,  Harper, San Francisco (1993).

Dossey, Larry, M.D., Space, Time and Medicine, New Science Library, Boston and London (1985)

Dossey, Larry, M.D., “Healing, Energy and Consciousness: Into the Future or a Retreat to the Past?,” Subtle Energies, Vol. 5, No. 1, p. 1, (1994)

Grad, Bernard, “Some Biological Effects of the ‘Laying on of Hands.’ A Review of Experiments with Animals and Plants,” Journal ASPR, April (1965)

Grad, Bernard, “The ‘Laying on of Hands’: Implications for Psychotherapy, Gentling and the Placebo Effect,” Journal ASPR, October (1967)

Swanson, Claude, The Synchronized Universe-New Science of the Paranormal, Poseidia Press, Tucson (2003), www.SynchronizedUniverse.com

Ref. 2:

Radin, Dean I., Rebman, Jannine M., and Cross, Maikwe P., “Anomalous Organization of Random Events by Group Consciousness: Two Exploratory Experiments”, Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 143-168, 1996

Radin, Dean, The Conscious Universe, Harper Collins, New York (1997).

Orme-Johnson, D.,  Summary of Research on the Transcendental Meditation Program, Compiled and Edited,  Maharishi International University.

Orme-Johnson, D., Alexander, C.N., Davies, J.L., Chandler, H.M., and Larimore, W.E., “International Peace Project in the Middle East: The Effects of the Maharishi Technology on the Unified Field”,Journal of Conflict Resolution,  32: 776-812 (1988)

Nelson, R.D., (2003) Global Harmony on Global Consciousness Project webpage, http://noosphere.princeton.edu/groupmedit.html

Twyman, James (2003), http://www.emisariesoflight.com

Ref. 3:

Spottiswood, James, Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 109-122, 1997.

Ref. 4:

Dunne, Brenda J., and Jahn, Robert G., Experiments in Remote Human/Machine Interaction, Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 311-332 (1992).

Dunne, Brenda J., and Jahn, Robert G., “Consciousness and Anomalous Physical Phenomena,” PEAR Lab Technical Note – PEAR 95004, May 1995.

Jahn, R.G., and Dunne, B.J., “On the Quantum Mechanics of Consciousness, with Application to Anomalous Phenomena”, Foundations of Physics16,  p721 (1986).

Jahn, R.G., and Dunne, B.J., Margins of Reality, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (1987a), New York.

Jahn, R.G., Dunne, B.J., and Nelson, R.D., “Engineering Anomalies Research,” Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp.21-50 (1987b)

Nelson, R.D., Bradish, J., Dobyns, Y.H., Dunne, B.J., and Jahn, R.G., 1996. “Field REG Anomalies in Group Situations”, Journal of Scientific Exploration,  10:111-42.(1996)

Nelson, R.D., Dobyns, Y.H., Dunne, B.J., and Jahn, R.G., “Analysis of Variance of REG Experiments: Operator Intention, secondary parameters, database structure.” Technical Note PEAR 91004, Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory, Princeton University School of Engineering/Applied Science (1991)

Radin, Dean I., Rebman, Jannine M., and Cross, Maikwe P., “Anomalous Organization of Random Events by Group Consciousness: Two Exploratory Experiments”, Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 143-168, 1996

Ref. 5:

Putin, Vladimir, “A Plea for Caution from Russia,” New York Times Opinion Page, www.nytimes.com, September 12, 2013

Ref. 6:

Massie, Suzanne, http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-03-07/suzanne-massie-taught-president-ronald-reagan-important-russian-phrase-trust

Land of the Firebird: The Beauty of Old Russia, Suzanne Massie, Hearttree Press (1980)

Trust but Verify: Reagan, Russia and Me, Suzanne Massie, Hearttree Press (2013)

Ref. 7:

History: Beginning of the Iraq War – PBS Frontline documentary: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/view

Feeling Stuck Or Constrained? A Call To Higher Ground

Feeling stuck in life at this time?  Frustrated? Take a moment to really feel what is going on.  You are not stuck… you are simply constrained.

Yes, the old way of doing things no longer works, and you are trying to adjust to radical new ways of looking at life, doing things, and even living.

Outside yourself, the whole world is going through a spin cycle.  Deep wounds in the collective psyche of mankind are surfacing, releasing both great horror and amazing opportunity.  Societies hunger not for war or peace, but for Truth to cut through illusion and bring about spiritual healing at the deepest levels of being.

Never before in the history of the planet has there been such a clarion call for healing to avert global destruction. The time for dilly-dallying and empty promises is over. It is time to heal our world – starting with ourselves!

The truth is that, throughout this time of constraint and upheaval, there are unseen forces holding you steady while you learn to run this new kind of energy… the energy of oneness with Divine purpose.  It is your Divine connection, hosted in a human shell.  Long ago, before you ever came into this life, you chose to embody this energy at this time.  It is your contribution to the shift of the ages, and now is your time to fulfill that agreement.

The energy of Divine oneness or unity is the most powerful force in the Universe.  It is powerful enough to constrain you when you try to separate from Divine guidance at your core and assert your human will.

In the old way of life, we learned to accomplish goals by asserting our human, ego wills in the external reality.  We were conditioned to be willful and determined, wanting whatever we chose to have when we decided to have it.

This way no longer works. When we push forward through our human ego in the new energy that surrounds us now, there are numerous obstacles constraining us.

To move past these constraints, we have to give up the drive to accomplish things by sheer force of will.  Instead, we need to align with the power of All That Is.  We need to surrender to trust: trust in the Divine, in Higher Guidance, in Spirit, God… whatever you choose to call the essential life force energy.

When we choose to trust, the energy of the ego yields and aligns to a bigger plan – the higher picture of Divine perfection.  From that place of alignment, we are able to flow with creative energies to create a higher reality than we could have ever conceived of before.

It is no longer possible to more forward in ego and still make spiritual progress.  The constraining force of Spirit will block your movement at every turn – the old ways of doing need to be surrendered to embrace higher ways of being.

Spirit will get you through this time of transition, no matter how difficult it feels.  Those same unseen forces that hold you steady now, can and will lift you out of the illusion of despair.  All it takes is for you to let go of the old way of using power, and to embrace the path of alignment – the pathway of trust and allowing.

We are living in a very different reality now than we were in even five years ago.  The old life with its hopes and dreams, has been filed away in the archives of All That Is.  To keep looking for it, merely deters our progress.

Instead, now is the time to embrace what shows up in your life moment by moment.  Look for new ways to reframe things, new tools to do things with.

Go inward.  Drink deep from the wellspring of life.  Let the timeless wisdom and healing energy of sacred teaching wash over you to renew your soul.  Develop a dialogue with Spirit and ask for guidance and clarity.

Stay present in the moment and allow the answers to flow to you through circumstances.

When action is indicated, do it.  When circumstances open up for you, move forward.  And when doors close, don’t try to break through them.  Sometimes, we need to spend a while living in the in-between: learning to let go of the need to control, the need to logically understand.

At times like these, we need to ask ourselves what we really want and why…even as we surrender the need to know how it will come about.  We need to simply align to the Eternal Presence and be present, be patient, and be still.

You don’t lack power.  You are a powerful being.  What you lack is remembrance.  There is nothing wrong with you that complete remembrance will not heal.  Like survivors who buried the unbearable agony of trauma beneath a layer of amnesia until they are ready to process it, we have chosen not to remember everything at once.  As we proceed on the path we are shown, more is revealed to us.  Through the integration and healing of each memory that surfaces, we reclaim our wholeness and power.

Powerful new healing modalities and tools for personal growth are emerging at this time to support our transformation.  We are indeed blessed to live at this pivotal time in history – and this blessing carries with it the clarion call to learn, to grow, to heal and to transform our world.  Do you hear the call?

For many centuries, mystics lived on the fringe of society.  They did not mix with the masses or participate in affairs of the world.  This has all changed.  Today, the level of consciousness on the planet has tipped the scales to offer potential for unprecedented growth and change.

Spiritually awakened beings are called to participate in this worldwide shift by becoming mystics in the marketplace – not on the mountain or in the monastery.  We are called to be the change we desire to see in the world, as Gandhi said.

To answer the call, you need to learn how to commune with your soul to access the inner guidance that is stirring there.  Every change that you wish to see in society starts with you and the field of consciousness that you are holding.

You are called to be the very change you desire to see in the world, and you change the world around you through the power of your evolving consciousness. As you consciously evolve in response to the Divine nature within, you hold the higher energies of the life force field wherein everyone’s consciousness can evolve.  In a world crying for healing, there is no greater service you can offer!

©Copyright Ada Porat. For more information, visit https://adaporat.com. This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached.

Twelve Steps To Simplify Your Life

Ever wish that you could simplify your life by tuning down the daily stress to find more balance? If so, you’re not alone.

Stress is a destructive by-product of modern life that can wreak havoc at many levels. It can corrode your health, your work performance, your relationships and your well-being until you break down at your weakest link.

Add to that the bad habit of juggling too many commitments while being bombarded by a steady stream of social media, email, advertising and other forms of energetic spam, and it can turn downright nasty. Simply too much information!

No wonder that large numbers of people are joining the voluntary simplicity movement, recognizing how simple living can help alleviate tension-related symptoms such as insomnia, nervousness, anxiety, neck and shoulder spasms and even chronic fatigue.

Now, I’m not advocating that you quit your day job to go live on Walden Pond, but there are ways that you can simplify your life and reduce stress.

If you want to reduce stress in your life, you absolutely need to limit the amount of information you expose yourself to. Being swamped by stimuli does not improve quality of life; it simply causes more stress.

We can all use more simplicity in our lives. From decluttering our closets to weeding out the vampires and energy drains in our lives, an effective approach requires that we address these forms of clutter at all levels: body, mind and spirit.

Here are a few ideas that can help you simplify your life so you’ll have more time to smell the roses:

  1. Set the appropriate tone for your day. Create a morning routine that influences the rest of your day in a positive manner. Enjoy your morning cuppa outside in nature, start your day with meditation, or do some devotional reading. You will reap the results of peace and calm throughout your day.
  2. Decide what is most important to you. When you are clear on the important things in your life, it becomes easier to say no to the random demands that may be well-intentioned, but conflict with what’s truly important. Prioritize by acting on the most important things first each day before you assign remaining time and energy to other demands.
  3. Learn to say no without guilt. Over-extending yourself complicates your life. Learn to say ‘no’ when you are unable to accommodate demands with a happy heart, and you will find it easier to say ‘yes’ when you are able to. It is important to realize that saying no to some things allows you to say yes to other, more important things.
  4. Create white space. Instead of stuffing your schedule with activities, leave some space for the unexpected. The extra time will allow you meet your commitments without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. Likewise, resist clutter by leaving some empty space in your physical home or office – it will create a sense of simplicity and you’ll have less cleaning to do!
  5. Take a media break. By restricting the constant stream of negativity, opinionating and propaganda on mainstream media, you can create space for your own thoughts. Silence is a gift. Learn to embrace pockets of silence in your day and you will find it easier to stay in the present instead of worrying about the future.
  6. Stop multi-tasking. Have you ever felt ignored by someone who keeps interrupting your conversation to check incoming texts and answer calls? People who do this most likely operate from a place of FOMO – fear of missing out. In reality, their need to be included everywhere all the time creates excessive anxiety. It is also disrespectful of others. When you are with someone, the biggest gift that you can give them is to be fully present with them. There will be enough time afterwards to catch up with other interests.
  7. Do more with less. Learn how to love and appreciate what you have instead of wanting more. When you express gratitude for the things you have, you signal to the Universe to bring you more of it. Start by expressing gratitude for your eyesight, hearing, and the ability to breathe. Instead of wanting a perfect body, appreciate the beating of your heart. Learn how to turn your circumstances into blessings by looking for what is good and positive about them.
  8. Evict the vampires in your life! Life is truly too short and too precious to waste time on toxic relationships and frenemies. Always remember that you have the power to remove yourself from negative and abusive people – they will usually not lead the way because of the attention they get from you. You don’t need to demonize another to let go of the relationship; you simply need to recognize when it is no longer a two-way street. Give thanks for what they have taught you, hand them back to the Universe with gratitude, and open your heart to the next person who can share your journey.
  9. Automate What You Can. When you put some of life’s routine duties on autopilot, you relieve stress in two ways: You save time by not having to do the task and you don’t clutter your mind to remember the task. Start with automating your irrigation system, programming your home thermostat, signing up for automatic bill pay options, or scheduling maintenance services out a few months at a time.
  10. Do a daily review. At the end of each day, spend a few minutes to review your day. What did you do well? Celebrate your success with gratitude. Did you fail at something? Look at why it did not succeed and what you could do differently the next time, so you don’t have to repeat the mistake. Did some tasks remain undone or new ones arise? Write them down to free your mind so you can have a good night’s rest.
  11. Take care of your body. A healthy body is much better able to handle stress, while illness can cause great amounts of additional stress. If you want to enjoy quality of life in a stressful world, you cannot afford to neglect your body. At the very times you feel that you simply don’t have enough time to eat a healthy diet, exercise or get enough sleep, it is important to recognize that you need those things the most!
  12. Renew your spirit. Stressful thoughts and emotions imprint on the cells in a matter of seconds. Just as you need to cleanse your body of accumulated dirt and grime each day, it is important to cleanse your soul as well. You can do that by taking up a meditation practice, engaging in prayer, spiritual learning or personal growth work.

Remember, you are an eternal soul inhabiting a physical body in space and time. Everything that is truly meaningful in life begins and ends with Spirit. The more you shift your perspective from the mundane issues of duality-based reality, to living from the timeless perspective of the soul as observer/witness, the more peace you will experience. It will free you from the superficial urgencies of daily life and help poise you in a place of peace, which is the essence of simplifying your life.

©Copyright Ada Porat. For more information, visit https://adaporat.com. This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached.

When Compassion Turns Neurotic

Compassion is essential to human well-being and should be practiced by all of us. To do so, we need to discern between healthy compassion and its cheap imitations: pity and blind compassion.

The cheap counterfeits to true compassion operate on avoidance. Pity seeks to avoid involvement and confrontation by placating from a distance. Blind compassion avoids tough love and defending healthy boundaries. It cuts everyone far too much slack, making excuses for others’ behavior and acting nice in situations that require a clear voice of dissent and personal boundaries.

We often turn a blind eye to the actual issues confronting us and resort instead to the wishy-washy approach of blind compassion which keeps love too meek and kind. Why do we do this?

Most of the time, we practice mealy-mouthed, blind compassion because we mistakenly think compassion should be meek. We are also afraid of upsetting anyone, and we wish to avoid confrontation. Ugh! By compromising on our truth, we turn into resonance junkies who are afraid to say “no” and try to please everyone around us instead.

There is a price to pay for this compromise. When we’re afraid to say “no” with any real authority, our “yes” also becomes anemic and powerless. And by muting our truth, this wishy-washy attitude reflects a lack of compassion and respect for ourselves.

Blind compassion also causes conflicted emotions in us: it confuses anger with aggression, forcefulness with violence, judgment with condemnation, caring with exaggerated tolerance, and moral maturity with spiritual correctness. It ultimately frames us as powerless victims because it silences our inner truth while tolerating and empowering the neurotic, boundary-bashing behavior of others.

In order for us to take our power back and live from a place of true compassion, we need to first return to being honest with ourselves. We need to acknowledge the pain, fear or threat that is triggered in us by others. By honestly allowing ourselves to feel the full emotional impact of what we have experienced, we are able to neutralize and forgive it.

Authentic forgiveness becomes possible only when we give ourselves permission to feel our hurt and meet it with true compassion. It also requires our willingness to experience some interim relationship conflict as we interrupt the dysfunction that has caused the pain.

When we act from this place of self-honesty and forgiveness, we access the power of true compassion. That true compassion empowers us to take appropriate action when necessary. It can be fierce when it needs to interrupt neurotic behavior, without any loss of caring in the process.

True compassion is a powerful form of tough love which ultimately leads to respect and clarity in relationship with ourselves and others.

©Copyright Ada Porat. For more information, visit https://adaporat.com. This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached.