by Caroline Robertson

Are you smiling or frowning to yourself? Smiling is the secret to health and serenity according to several spiritual traditions. The Inner Smile practice propounds that when we smile like a Buddha, the world beams back. Naturopath, Caroline Robertson visited The Tao Garden to experience some smile therapy.

The Smile Solution

Mother Theresa believed “peace begins with a smile.” A sincere smile shines from our soul, making the world a warmer place. As Joseph Addison expressed, “What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.” A genuine smile puts us at ease whilst a frown creates unease, promoting disease and depression according to modern and traditional medicine. Smiling to others and ourselves is a gift of love. The universal language of a smile speaks straight to the heart, bypassing the intellect and ego. To nurture loving relationships Ayurveda advises one greet others with a pleasant face, Buddhism encourages friendliness to all (maitri) and Taoism teaches that giving ourselves a grin is the best medicine.

A deep inner smile spreads like a relaxing elixir making us receptive to transform negative energy into positive. Conversely, a scowl suppresses our immune system by increasing stress, contracting channels and blocking energy. Research by French physiologist Dr Israel Waynbaum indicates that facial muscles used to express emotion trigger specific brain neurotransmitters. Smiling signals happy healing hormones such as ecstatic endorphins and immune boosting killer T-cells whereas frowning triggers the secretion of stress hormones. Smile therapy actually lowers the stress hormones cortisol, adrenalin and noradrenaline and produces hormones which stabilise blood pressure, relax muscles, improve respiration, reduce pain, accelerate healing and stabilise mood1. If you’re feeling down the stress hormones secreted with a scowl may increase blood pressure, weaken the immune system, increase susceptibility to infections, and exacerbate depression and anxiety.

But what if we don’t feel like smiling? Can we fake it till we make it? Though a heart-felt smile has a deeper effect, even a surface smile tricks the brain into releasing happy hormones according to facial biofeedback research2. And the more we smile, the more we want to smile concluded a study where people allowed to smile found cartoons funnier than those suppressed from smiling by holding pencils in their lips3. This is because each time we smile we reinforce happy neural pathways that fire more spontaneously with each subsequent use. Self- love smiling circuits then release healing nectar and self-hate messages release poisons that breed disease according to Taoism.

A Smile Trial

How often do you smile? Try a smile trial for a minute. Relax your face and let a subtle ‘Mona Lisa’ smile spread from your eyes to your lips. Now frown and sense the emotional and energetic shift. Feel the difference? Considering it takes only 26 muscles to smile and 62 muscles to frown, why wear the strain of a scowl? As motivational speaker Les Giblin felt “If you’re not using your smile, you’re like a man with a million dollars in the bank and no check book.”

Smiles seem to have a cultural element. Japanese rate so low on the smile-o-meter they’re being encouraged to smile to increase profits. “Japanese are truly hopeless at smiling. That’s caused the loss of many business opportunities,” says Makoto Tonami, president of Mac Corp., owner of beauty salons offering thirty-minute smile sessions using exercises and a machine to uplift the mouth muscles and spirits. Britain has sorry smile statistics also as recent research revealed that if you smile at 100 people, 70 people will smile back in Bristol, 68 in Glasgow, 18 in London and only 4 in Edinburgh4. Writing this in Thailand I noticed how people go out of their way to smile to others while in many other places I’ve found people often avert their gaze as if avoiding a smile ambush.

It’s easy to share a smile with others, since it’s the second most contagious facial expression next to yawning. Smiling faces are always beautiful and the most endearing accessory. Whereas if people wear an ugly expression meticulous attention to grooming and clothes are overshadowed. But smiles do more than increase your face value; British researchers found that receiving a smile could give more pleasure than sex or eating chocolate. And receiving a smile generated much higher levels of stimulation to the brain and the heart than being given money or having a cigarette.

Don’t underestimate the power of a smile. Use yours and you’ll find it helps to disperse sadness and dissolve stress. So when dressing in the morning remember author Jim Begg’s advise, “Before you put on a frown, make absolutely sure there are no smiles available.”

The Cellular Smile

A genuine smile glows from our deepest layer of self-love, radiating like sunlightthrough clouds and embracing everything as an extension of oneself. Starting as an inner hug it spreads to soften the whole body, melting malevolent energy to emerge from benevolent eyes and lips. The smile says, “I accept and love you unconditionally.” Our being warms to this kindness, dissolving walls of psychic and physical isolation that prevent wholeness and health. Just as others respond to our loving smile, our cells soak up smiling rays, creating new cells from the inner love affair.

Taoist Master Mantak Chia has taught the inner smile for the past 40 years. He explained its significance to me on my recent visit to his Thailand retreat, “In ancient China, the Taoists taught that a constant inner smile to oneself, insured health, happiness and longevity. Why? Smiling to yourself is like basking in love: you become your own best friend. Living with an inner smile is to live in harmony with yourself.” The smiling energy emanating from Mantak Chia was reminiscent of enlightened souls such as the Dalai Lama. He has an aura of contentment and kindness that put me at ease immediately. Mantak Chia also explained that as sickness starts from negative emotions settling in the organs, the inner smile breaks this cycle. “By transforming destructive emotions into positive energy the inner smile removes the cause and symptoms of disharmony,” he said.

The subtle inner smile is different from a superficial smile set on a fake face with hidden motives and meaning. The inner smile is as innocent and natural as a blissful baby’s smile. It doesn’t impose, demand or expect anything in return. Nor is it a spiritually superior or condescending smile but accepts everything as it is. A genuine smile as opposed to a posed mask makes a significant impact on people’s lives according to Dacher Keltner, a psychology professor at the University of California. After studying college yearbook photos since the 1960’s, Keltner found people with Duchenne smiles, those which involved the eyes, were happier since graduation than the phoney mouth smilers. Keltner concluded, “Happy smiley people cheer others up around them, which in turn makes them more stable and less prone to depression or divorce than those who faked it in their yearbooks.”

Though laughing has significant benefits, as evidenced by the word-wide laughter clubs, excessive or loud laughing can cause excess surplus chi and increase blood pressure according to Chinese medicine. A mild smile is a more sustainable and inward expression. The soft smile dissolves hardened patterns without struggle or force, gently coaxing a shift in stuck energy. Attacking problems with aversion and aggression only increases resistance and abusing our frailties makes us weaker. Alternatively, sending ourselves loving smiling energy empowers us towards strength and restoration.

Smile Time

The inner smile arises from a loving intention, surfaces on the face then suffuses our internal and external reality. Though a smile may feel fake initially our psychophysiology responds with happiness anyway. As respected Monk Thich Nhat Hanh explains, “ Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”

Eventually our being is saturated in smiling benevolence and it becomes a constant, effortless expression of our inner bliss.

If smiling feels so good why don’t we do it more? Negative thoughts become entrenched in our energy and imprint themselves on our fa?ade. Helen, a recent participant in an Inner Smile Workshop observed- “Its easier to remain closed and blame externals for our problems. The inner smile requires us to look inside ourselves, accept ourselves and extend that loving energy to everything.”

Ironically we smile least when we need it most. Depression, pain and stress often rob us of the healing humour that can transform our state. Though smiling may be the last thing we feel like doing, it will do us the world of good. When we smile at our pain, worry, troubles and perceived inadequacies we dissolve compounding tension. As Allen Klein, author of The Healing Power of Humour expressed, “The hardest thing you can do is smile when you are ill, in pain, or depressed. But this no-cost remedy is a necessary first half-step if you are to start on the road to recovery.” Smiling puts everything into a brighter perspective as we observe the psychodrama of life objectively. As Charlie Chaplin understood, “Life is a tragedy in close-up and a comedy in long-shot.”

A challenge many experience in practicing the inner smile is the tendency towards negativity. We can catch an inner frown from others negative outlook or our own. When you get tense simply remind yourself to smile again and any inner wrinkles will soon smooth over, uplifting others energy. Strengthen your inner smile by practicing it in difficult situations such as during exercise, traffic jams, long queues and when annoyed.

As it doesn’t take any extra time or effort like other meditation practices, nobody can say, “I don’t have time to smile”. Smile as often as you remember to, knowing it will override negative reactivity and reawaken your core unity of self-acceptance.

A Smile File

Before practicing the inner smile install smiling energy into your cellular memory by creating a smile file. Scan your past for moments of joy and laughter. Then recall your capacity for happiness by reliving that emotion. One can also visualise a peaceful natural scene to imbibe serenity and dissolve stress. Seeing a smiling baby or your own smiling face is another useful image. Looking at funny old photos, jokes, cartoons and movies can help to recapture one’s innate sense of humour. Start the day with a smile by writing smile on your ceiling and invite more smiles into your life by playing with kids, giving to others and finding the humour in all situations. If you can’t conjure up a smile frown for as long and hard as possible until you get tired and flip to the other extreme of a smile.

Emotional Detox Smile

Our organs store emotional garbage so to clear up inner clutter Mantak Chia recommends first smiling to major organs to detoxify negative emotions. This “refines and recycles harmful energy into healing energy,” says Mantak Chia. Our organs work hard to maintain our homoeostasis so we can thank them with an inner smile. The specific order for the inner smile follows the organs cycle of creation. The inner smile can be practiced at any time and for any duration. Familiarise yourself with the location of all the major organs before the practice to establish a strong mental connection with them. You may feel more in touch with your organs if you place your hands over them as you send your smile as well as visualising them. Feel the grateful response from your organs as they release blockages and receive loving energy. Open your eyes if you choose to make the healing sounds then close them to resume. To clear your negative emotions follow these simple Inner Smile Steps-

1. Begin by closing your eyes and relaxing your whole body. Breath slowly and smoothly, letting go on the exhalation.
2. Smooth facial muscles and focus attention on the third eye.
3. Feel inner joy. Visualising a peaceful scene, a smiling baby or your smiling face may evoke this feeling.
4. Gather this bliss behind your eyes and watch it internally as it travels down your body.
5. Let the smiling energy flow like a sweet stream down your nose to wash over your lips.
6. Raise the corners of your mouth slightly in a sublime inner smile. Simultaneously feel this soften your eyes.
7. Place the tongue behind the teeth to connect the energy circuit for the entire practice.
8. Relax your jaw.
9. Swallow your saliva and feel your throat open and relax as you smile to your voice box. Thank them for giving you the power of balance and speech.
10. Visualise your thymus like a blossoming flower and smile to it with thanks for strong immunity and healing energy.
11. Let the smile radiate to the happiness centre of your heart. Feel your heart soften and fill with red love nectar. Release cruelty, harshness, hastiness, impatience and hurt from the heart on the exhalation. You can also say Haaw to release negativity. Send a smiling love letter to your open heart. Thank it for giving you compassion, kindness, joy and good circulation.
12. Gather the loving energy from the heart and spread it to your lovely lungs. Sense every cell relax as it releases grief and depression, exhaling the sound Sssss. You can also visualise them as glowing white wings carrying you to your higher mission. Swelling with smiling sap let your spongy lungs soak up joy, love and courage. Thank them for oxygenating your body.
13. Smile to your liver as it emanates a forest green hue, releasing grey murky light on the exhalation. Release anger and resentment with the sound Shhh. On the smiling inhalation absorb kindness, forgiveness and acceptance. Thank the liver for its role in assimilation, metabolism and purification.
14. Send pure smiling streams to your stomach, pancreas and spleen.
    Visualise these organs basking in a golden yellow light as they relax to release worry and anxiety while exhaling the sound Huuuu. Feel faith, fairness and present-minded consciousness saturate this region. Thank the organs for maintaining healthy digestion, immunity and blood sugar levels.
15. Keeping your body relaxed, send the loving smile to the kidneys. Visualise them like deep blue ears, releasing fear and stress from them whilst exhaling the sound Choo. Smile to them as they fill with soothing security, wisdom and calm. Thank them and the adrenals for filtering blood, balancing water and increasing stress resistance. Strong kidneys also give us the willpower to act on our convictions.
16. Smile to your orgasmic sexual area. Fill it with a tender loving energy, appreciating the pleasure and power it gives you. Thank it for producing hormones that nourish the mind and body.
17. To finish smile up your spine, washing the whole body with golden nectar flowing from each vertebra through the nervous system, bone marrow, bones, muscles, skin and hair.
18. The smiling waterfall rises to your crown showering your whole body in smiling ecstasy.
19. Allow the energy to flow back down behind your eyes and pool into your naval.
20. To complete the practice spiral energy around your navel. Men place their palms left over right and spiral clockwise 36 times whilst women place their palms right over left and spiral counter clockwise 36 times. Next reverse the direction and spiral back 24 times. By storing the smiling energy in the navel you will avoid accumulating excess heat in the head or heart.

Smile Infusion

Once we are filled with an inner smile it naturally overflows to others. The smile resonates with outside vibrations and reverberates back to us as a collective smiling wave. This creates an endless exchange of loving energy, invigorating and uplifting us on all levels. To keep this smiling circuit flowing remember to smile as often as possible. Smile to your past, present and future so you may continue on the spiritual path. Send an inner smile to those you love, hate, empathise with and are indifferent towards. Extend it to your house, family, work, community, teachers, well-wishers, country, continent, earth and universe. Send a special smile to the natural world of plants, animals, water bodies, mountains, the sky and planets.

The inner smile is considered a complete, non-sectarian spiritual practice that will benefit everyone. When consistently practiced it can nurture the enlightened awareness that we are all part of the same smiling energy. For world peace may we all share Paramahamsa Yogananda’s prayer to, “Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eyes, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts.” Wishing you a lifetime of smiles.

Caroline Robertson is a Naturopath, Homoeopath and Ayurvedic consultant practicing at Ayurveda Elements, Sydney. After suffering from over-seriousness for many years her main ambition is to smile more. Special thanks to Tao Garden, Thailand for their generous hospitality on her recent retreat there. To contact Caroline about Tao Gardens or Ayurveda courses or consultations phone (02)9904 7754, www.ayurvedaelements.com

by Lori Fields
Self-motivation flows from the importance we attach to today.

I am reading this amazing book called, “100 Ways to Motivate Yourself” by Steven Chandler and each chapter is a HUGE nugget of thought provoking, spirit lifting, energizing inspiration. This morning I randomly open the book to this entry, “Make today a masterpiece.” Chandler says that most of us live our lives hypnotized, thinking that we have all the time in the world to do what we want. When we live this way we end up sleepwalking past life’s finest opportunities. He states that the key to personal transformation is in your willingness to do very tiny things – but to do them today. Today is a microcosm of your ENTIRE life. What would happen to our behavior if we started thinking that each day when we wake up we have been “born” and each night when we go to sleep we “die.” In this way we only have each day to live our best life. We only have each day to create our masterpiece.

I am certainly guilty of wasting my moments and instead of creating a masterpiece I allow things to flop. I put off doing the laundry, I am distracted online instead of focusing my energy on my work, I veg out in front of the tv instead of paying more attention to my husband. I get caught up in my thoughts, overwhelmed by all the tasks I need to complete instead of taking action. I put off writing my blog bc I am not feeling at my best. But what if today were the only day I had to perform at my best? Well, I still might put off doing the laundry and cleaning the kitchen floor, but I certainly wouldn’t waste my energy on distractions and I wouldn’t waste an opportunity to be fully present for my daughter, my husband, and my passion.

So while I can’t promise that for the rest of my life each day will be a complete masterpiece, I can (starting today) really show up for myself. I can fill my spirit with an unstoppable internal motivation. Today I am going to live as if each moment represented my entire life. I will live each moment with my eyes wide open so as not to miss an opportunity. I will try to live hard so that I go to bed thinking “today, I was at my best.”

What will you do to create your masterpiece today?

Share it with us at www.realbeautyis.com

Author’s Bio
Lori Fields, clinical social worker and founder of the website www.realbeautyis.com
Expert in woman’s issues and on the beauty of embracing your imperfection. Has helped countless women increase their self-esteem and live the life they imagine.

The Real Beauty Is website brings together in one place the latest news, articles and inspiring stories. Our interactive forum allows women to overcome the obstacles to feeling good and to celebrate their beauty. At Real Beauty Is we are on a mission to help women let go of body conflicts and limiting beliefs about themselves.

by E. Raymond Rock
Similar to Christianity, Buddhism has many branches. The original doctrine that the Buddha taught his monks is called the Theravada or the Teaching of the Elders, but this very deep teaching may be too strange and frightening for everyday Americans.

This unpopularity is not unusual when we consider the deeper teachings of many religions, such as Kabbalah in Judaism and Orison in Christianity. People usually talk a good story about God, but don’t want to really go there, opting instead for earthly glories such as sex, money, power, security and entertainment. Familiar things.

For exactly these reasons, some Buddhist branches, for example, Zen, Tibetan, and many other divisions of Buddhism have split off from the original, strict Theravada, making their particular brand of Buddhism more user-friendly, and have thus enjoyed great success in attracting followers, while the Theravada remains somewhat obscure in most of the world.

Theravada is called (Hinayana) the “small vehicle” because it appealed originally to a limited number of people who were very serious in their practice, i.e., the Buddha’s Sangha of monks or disciples, who had only one desire in mind: Enlightenment. In modern times, Theravada has evolved into a mainly social religion where ceremony and practices of generosity, harmlessness, and loving kindness have generally replaced the austere practices of the Buddha and his disciples. However, these austere teachings are still practiced by dedicated Buddhist monks in the remote forests of Sri Lanka, Thailand and other Southeastern Asian countries, a practice relatively unchanged from the Buddha’s times; teachings that I was fortunate enough to participate in while living in forests of Northeast Thailand.

Zen, Tibetan, and the other branches are called Mahayana, the “large vehicle,” which is more sociable and where multitudes can easily fit into the boat. Mahayana adjusts the original teachings so that they are palatable for the wider audience. A blend of Buddhism, German Romanticism, new age, and light and love seems to work well in the U.S.

Hinayana, or the original Buddhism, never altered the Buddha’s original teachings in order to attract more followers because this method has proven, over 2600 years, to be the fast and sure road to enlightenment. Being fully cognizant that this adherence to the strict doctrine limited its popularity, Hinayana never altered its course and has thus survived for many centuries, mostly under the radar, because it is the place one goes to get the original, profound Buddhist teachings that work.

Even though only a handful of people ever get a hankering to go this far, enough throughout history have recognized the Theravada as the real deal. The numbers, even today, that have become enlightened by practicing as the Buddha originally taught is a testament to its effectiveness. Thailand remains steady at about 93% Theravada Buddhist, and Sri Lanka about 70%, with large Theravada populations in Cambodia, Viet Nam, and Laos. There are about 100 million Theravada Buddhist worldwide, and about 2 billion Mahayana Buddhists globally counting China.

Buddhism is relatively new to America, coming here only about fifty years ago through intellectual channels and Asian immigration. Also, Buddhist texts have only been relatively recently translated into English since the early 1900s, so Buddhism is in its infancy in America. Zen Buddhism arrived here generally in the 50s, Tibetan Buddhism in the 60s, and Theravada Buddhism only in the 70s.

After Buddhism arrived, it appealed to westerners because of its logical approach – why should you believe what someone else tells you unless you can prove it true for yourself? (Which is actually what the Buddha said). And the proven methods of Buddhist practice appealed to westerners, practices designed to free one psychologically so that one can live a peaceful, contented life, rather than being a “work in progress” where there is seldom any work . . . or progress!

What the Buddha taught, when applied, leads to personal freedom from stress, and a profound understanding of life, opposed to second hand understanding that is not the result of personal insight, but the result of what someone else or some books tell you.

This scientific approach of experimenting and then experiencing insight for yourself, including enlightenment, immediately appealed to America’s ideal of self reliance and the inherent tendency to be cautious about what others say (show me instead) which perhaps is a backlash of media advertising and a growing disdain of organized, authoritative religions

Interestingly enough, the practice of meditation, when practiced correctly, results in enhanced insight reflecting an awareness of many good values, some of which are just now just coming to the forefront on college campuses, such as taking care of our earth, (not polluting and deforesting just to make money), caring for all living beings, honesty and peace.

But alas, when it comes right down to it, when the deepest aspects of Theravada are looked into and it comes down to the truth of matters, many westerners run away and seek shelter in familiar surroundings. You could say that Asians are a bit tougher in this regard.

The Theravada Buddhist teachings run contrary to the world – against the world so to speak; against the stream of everyday consciousness. Therefore, Theravada will never be popular in the world, as the world presently exists.

The Buddha said that the world’s way is the way of desire, of wanting and thirst, and as such necessarily saddles us with negative drives such as selfishness, blind ambition, hatred, cruelty, and meanness, and eventually violence and wars.

He said that worldling run after their thirsts, thinking that the objects of their desires, when obtained, will make them happy. But instead of happiness, this craving for desires and the resulting clinging to them after they are achieved them become the prime causes of our stress.

He gets it right down to the nitty-gritty of human experience, which goes against the grain of our minds that really believe that we can be happy by desiring and obtaining things. It goes against all present logic and what we believe to be true.

He declared that when we stop this craving and clinging to our objects of desire, only then can the mind become happy and totally free. But who would believe that?

He doesn’t get into God or heaven because he suggested that those things are merely thoughts and imaginations, the very things that keep us from seeing with intuitive insight, and will not help pull out the arrow of discontent. And that imaginings and thoughts only veil our true discontent by a psychological transference of responsibility. Only by solving discontent up front in the realm of reality can the mind then advance into super-mundane states. Otherwise, super-mundane states are only imagined and not really experienced or achieved. It is these super mundane states that make Buddhism a religion rather than merely a philosophy.

As an example, the Buddha suggested looking into this body of ours, looking into the reality of it that we hide from, instead of looking outside to gods or heavens. He said that this is the only place that we can be released by the truth.

I believe that this is good advice, because if we can’t face the truth of our own body, which is right here in front of us to see, how can we ever hope to ferret out the truth of other things more complicated and distant? Plus, when we do see the truth of this body and mind of ours, the truth of everything outside becomes almost magically clear as well.

Of course, few have the courage to even attempt this seemingly simple investigation into reality because we are so accustomed to living in images and illusions, and glancing past what we don‘t want to admit. We like to substitute fairy tales for reality, but in the meantime our discontent remains, even though we try to rationalize and justify it by our beliefs.

Buddhist monks who aren’t particularly worried about popularity or a following will frankly suggest to you the truth about these things. They might suggest that when you study the body, you will discover that it has a number of holes, all of which secrete something; eye gunk, phlegm, mucous, feces, urine, sweat, snot, just to mention a few. And if you took all of these secretions and spread them out on your coffee table, this would be closer to the truth of the body than a body deodorized, made up, dressed up and ordained with jewelry and trinkets. Then he might suggest that the next time you have friends over, show them your coffee table – as a conversation starter.

When one does this study of the body from the standpoint of what the body really is, it is at first quite depressing and disgusting, but like all of the Buddha’s teachings, this becomes in time a tremendous freedom as one lets go of the body and all the perceived responsibilities for it’s survival. The body then becomes just the body, to be carefully maintained like a automobile, with no attachment or aversion.

This is an example of the deeper teachings that eventually free us from our attachment and clinging to our bodies, an attachment which causes untold worry and heartaches. But who has the courage to look at the truth of life? Who has the courage to even look at their bodies?

In other words, the Theravada teachings are tough, but according to the Buddha, the only way to become free. Otherwise we go through life kidding ourselves and wondering why we are always in a state of discontent. Of course, many times we don’t even see that we are discontented, that’s how mixed up we are. We don’t see that our entire existence consists of nothing more than the constant stress of trying to satisfy our endless desires. If we aren’t even aware of how we suffer every moment in life, and how we then spend an entire lifetime trying to escape this suffering, there is probably little hope for release.

One day the Buddha held up a handful of leaves and asked his monks which was greater; the few leaves in his hand, or the leaves on all the trees in the forest behind him. The monks answered that the leaves in the forest were of course more. Then the Buddha said; that which he teaches is as the few leaves in his hand. Why do I only teach the few leaves in my hand? Because they are the only ones that can free you; all the other leaves in the forest cannot.

Author’s Bio
E. Raymond Rock (anagarika addie) is a meditation teacher at:

http://www.dhammarocksprings.org/ and author of “A Year to Enlightenment: 365 Steps to Enriching and Living Your Life. “.

His 30 years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. He lived at Wat Pah Nanachat under Ajahn Chah, at Wat Pah Baan Taad under Ajahn Maha Boowa, and at Wat Pah Daan Wi Weg under Ajahn Tui. He had been a postulant at Shasta Abbey, a Zen Buddhist monastery in northern California under Roshi Kennett; and a Theravada Buddhist anagarika at both Amaravati Monastery in the UK and Bodhinyanarama Monastery in New Zealand, both under Ajahn Sumedho.

The author has meditated with the Korean Master Sueng Sahn Sunim; with Bhante Gunaratana at the Bhavana Society in West Virginia; and with the Tibetan Master Trungpa Rinpoche in Boulder, Colorado. He has also practiced at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, and the Zen Center in San Francisco.

Shamans Among the Machines

There are some interesting points starting at 15:25+ for about 5-10 minutes. The whole thing is very interesting, so check out what you have time for.

By Denika “Kelarius” Laurie
For many months I have been working with individuals who are not in their bodies – meaning they are not fully connected to the awareness of their mind – men and women alike, from all nationalities. At first, I thought it was only those individuals who had experienced severe trauma in their lives. I could see how the pain from the past and the fear of trauma happening again was keeping these individuals from staying connected. Sadly enough I have come to realize that it is not only traumatized individuals, but any individual that has ever been hurt in their lives.

Most people are living their lives with a closed heart. It opens from time to time but it doesn’t stay open. People generally feel happy maybe during special occasions if things go the way they anticipate. They may also feel happy and have an open heart when they fall in love, when they have sex, when they get a large sum of money, etc. In this sense, opening ones heart and keeping it open are purely based on the belief system of the subconscious mind. One now has to have a reason to keep their heart open. And of course, we all know that one’s emotions are directed by the thoughts, which determines the course of satisfaction one experiences. If there is no satisfaction then there is no happiness at heart. If there is no happiness at heart, then there is nopeace. And without peace their dwells the world of discontent.

A Closed Heart is A Closed Mind

When people are discontent, they generally complain, judge, and criticize themselves as well as others they know and don’t know. The ego (big and little) has to control everything it can as a way to protect itself. The problem with this is that this way of living has been accepted as a natural state of mind. It is rather more of a “normal” state of mind. In other words, it is not how God intended things to be for us. This is what we chose and this is what we created.

We shout “hey, I can do what I want to do and it is my choice because I am an adult.” Of course we are absolutely right about this. However, in doing so, we have removed ourselves so far away from our divinity that we have forgotten the truth as to whom we are. This state is much like a rebellious child that is out to prove a point to his parents. The child says “Don’t tell me what to do and I don’t need your help.” Then they storm off quickly, tripping themselves up quite a bit. In fact, they continue tripping themselves up so much so that they decide to stop “storming” off so they don’t fall down and scrape up their knees any more. Now, the difference between the modern day adult and the rebellious child is that there is a greater chance the child will return to their parents to seek advice. The modern day adult has calculated and created an alternate route to stay in control because things are safer that way. They will reason their shortcomings, master their manipulations, and accept the ways of the world and say to themselves that this is just how things are.

In order for one to accept the fact that they need help or they need to do things differently, they must be willing to surrender their ego. Because the majority of people are dealing with fear: fear of rejection, fear of getting emotionally hurt, fear of losing control, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of pain, etc. It comes in many forms. Many people are not sure what to expect sometimes. Most do not like the unexpected and this is why they work so hard at staying in control. It makes one feel vulnerable and because of our disassociation with our true divine nature, we have forgotten how to tap into the inner knowing. Either way it goes, it is still fear based and regardless of how we would like for things to be, vulnerability always exists on some level so long as the heart is closed.

When we were children, we had an open heart. We loved freely. If someone close hurt us, we forgave them. If it took a discussion to forgive them, then that would be all it would take and that same day we would be laughing and playing together again. As a child, we were open to experience and learn about life and things and other people. We would never fathom the idea of having to emotionally protect ourselves so that we wouldn’t get hurt. Protection became a learned behavior because we were taught that it was not wise to be “open like a book.” We were taught that it was not wise to be so trustful and forgiving. Our innocence was considered a weakness and once we “lost” it we either believed it was impossible to attain once again or that there was no need to attain it again.

Innocence is what keeps one humble. It is what keeps one in a non-judgmental state and it helps you to express unconditional love. Unconditional love is expressed in this state of mind because that is all you know to exist. When one feels the love flowing through their heart at all times all they know is to express it. The parameters for that expression do not even exist. Think of all the times you experienced falling in love. That person could do no wrong in your eyes. We even say things like “love is blind.” Think about when you had your first child. You would love that child so much so that they would “want for nothing.” For these things and many more that are not mentioned here, some of us have decided to be unconditional while others stand by and criticize the unconditional love that is expressed. Some of us ignore the criticism while others give in to it.

Because of the current conditioning of our states of mind, we have convinced ourselves that the only way we can experience love safely is under our own terms and conditions. On top of that, we believe the only way we can feel and experience love is through another person, a circumstance, or a situation. Yet, the energy of love is available at all times because it is the very thing that sustains all life. The only reason you are unaware of this is because you have conditioned yourself to open and close your heart on a regular basis, like a light switch. This is why one minute you are in love and the next minute you are not. You have refused to keep it open out of pain and fear.

When the heart stays open, the heart chakra that is – which is only ONE of the centers of the body that contains the love energy – one feels love every moment of the day. It is this love that assists you with your emotional and self development. It is this love that helps you to understand your purpose in life and how to respect other people’s purpose in life. It is this love that truly allows you to accept people for who they really are without trying to change them. It is this love that helps you to define your own success and how to attain it. It is this love that teaches you how to raise your children with knowledge and wisdom. It is this love that helps you to accept your image and self-expression. It is this love.

With a closed heart, one cannot even mature into the divine spiritual being that they are (yes, you are more than physical). One becomes trapped in experiencing the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This tree produces things of a feel good nature. All things are based on self-gratification. Self-gratification tends to create illusions around that state of mind. This is the world that most live in and this is why most daydream a lot. It removes you from the reality that you are currently in. You are either daydreaming because of what you would like to experience or because of what you do not want to experience. This is that part of you that has not accepted the truth about what is really going on inside of you and your life.

With an open heart, pain and suffering does not even exist. The body and the individual only feel bliss. The individual is very clear about what is illusionary and what is not. They are aware and feel the connection of their state of oneness with God. There is no worry or frustration. They feel the harmony with all life. The body opens up and feeds from the Tree of Life.

The Tree of Life dwells within the human body. It is the blueprint for our spiritual anatomy. Spiritual Anatomy is something that we have not accepted because we cannot see or feel in the spiritual realm as easily as we use to – so we deny it. When one takes time to exercise their spiritual bodies just like they do with their physical body, then this seeing and feeling gradually returns. As one begins to heal and release past pains and judgments, they become lighter. The Tree of Life is ready for activation. There is no need for a bishop, pastor, or priest to activate this or to help you to understand how to open up to Love. This is so because the Book of Life is written within your heart. You possess what is called an Energetic Signature on your heart. In fact, there are several Energetic Signatures and there are several Heart Centers on the body that hold high frequencies of the Love Vibration. Since you have been accustomed to experiencing emanations of light known as emotions, you have to reacquaint yourself with the different types of energy that exist in and around you.

Emotions are emanations of light whose expression is determined by one’s belief system. The emanations are the spectrums of light that shine forth from the presence of God. The emotion is seeking an avenue through which to express itself as it must continue in motion. Keep in mind the definition of expression in this sense refers to the energy or the emotion being able to leave (continue to flow) out of the body and this is why they are temporary. If the emotion does not continue to flow, then the heart begins to close. If the heart closes, then the rest of the body begins to shut down. The energetic heart functions very similar to that of the physical heart. The body has to gradually be opened up again to love. Love carries a very high vibrational frequency and the majority of humans are functioning at a very low frequency because of the emotions they are holding on to. The ascent into the power of the Tree of Life requires first working with Light energy. The Light energy is not the emanations of light that one is used to, but the Light itself that the emanations come from. It is the prelude to the flow of love energy entering the heart. Think of it this way: let’s use hot water as an example. Let’s say when you use water, you generally keep it at a moderate temperature. You can only stand the water being so hot. Now, if you were to gradually increase the temperature of the water every day, eventually you would be able to stand a higher degree of that frequency. The frequency in this case is heat. The thing to remember is that you had an adjustment period. The human body will adapt to whatever you expose it to. So if you have been dealing with lower emotions it will adjust whatever it needs to in order to sustain itself. This is especially true when dealing with your spiritual anatomy as it is all based on energy.

Now, the more you take in light energy, the lighter you become because you are vibrating at a higher frequency. As you take in more light, the body will circulate the stagnant energy (heavy/negative emotions) so that much higher vibrating energy can come in. It naturally understands what you are doing since this is its original state. During this time, many things will come to surface from the subconscious mind that requires resolution. Resolution can come through directly removing and replacing the negative/limiting beliefs or it can come through conscious shifting.

Conscious shifting is what creates the healing in the mind. Consciousness is what holds the body of beliefs within the mind. Once this occurs, the body will respond and the old way of thinking will no longer exist as well as certain physical conditions. When the heart is open, the body will heal itself on all levels. It is the mind that holds all vibrational frequencies. The mind is throughout the body as each organ thinks and feels (see PNI – psycho neuro immunology which explains this). Each part of the body holds a state of consciousness that corresponds to the Tree of Life or the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. You are either dealing with the lesser light or the greater light. As you go through your conscious shifting, the entire body goes through the transition as well. You will continue to experience many different uprisings of unresolved issues as healing happens one layer at a time. As these layers are removed, elevation will occur. The elevation takes place through consciousness.

As the layers are removed, one’s consciousness expands and the awareness is increased. It is in this state that you become more aware of your divine nature. You are able to hear and communicate with your angels and other beings of light. You learn more about your spiritual anatomy and the multi-dimensional bodies. For each state of awareness, there is a body that holds that level of consciousness. We call these Light Bodies. Within each body lies another set of energy systems. As each body of light is awakened or activated, the individual is able to take in more light and different kinds of light energy such as Star energy or rainbow energy.

Star energy secures the emotional frequency needed to allow the love energy to prepare one for the changes happening in the earth. It removes negative forces of light from around people. Star energy opens people up to the possibility that they are more than what they think they are. It is a prelude of transition into angelic form. Rainbow energy is used in combination with Star energy as it helps with development of the mental body into higher conscious states. It alters the consciousness of the mind. If you ever make it to this point, you will be working very closely with Angels and Arch Angels and you will be able to see them very vividly with your inner vision or 3rd eye. More specifically, you will be working with the Angels of Light and the Star Light Angels.

Open your Heart Chakra's Energy!

If you remain consistent with the work, your Angels will attune the Christ Light vibration to your chakras. The Christ Light will break down the illusions. It will also transform disease/illness (mental/emotional/physical) into a light body that will receive love energy. The body will go through different stages of taking in more intense levels of the love vibration. As you progress, each stage goes deeper and deeper into the subconscious mind. It will bring to light all things that you need to let go of through forgiveness. Forgiveness is necessary to keep the heart completely open at all times. Forgiveness is also necessary to enter into the holier realms of light or Heaven as we call it.

As you go into the state of expanding your heart and sustaining greater amounts of Love energy, you release all things that you no longer wish to experience. Understanding what happened with any particular situation or person becomes instant as you are now attuned to the All Knowing. What seemed like an eternity of sorrow and sadness now leaves the body. All of the energy channels of the body will open and will stay open. The energy will flow much better now. You will feel like your whole body is breathing. People will no longer be able to “vamp” off of your energy as now they are receiving love through you from God. Finally, the circuit is complete. You see the circuit was originally created where the Love of God goes into the planet and the inhabitants thereof and then that love energy circulates through the planet and the inhabitants and returns to God. Even being in love with someone or sharing and expressing love is suppose to be from this point – the love comes into you and is exchanged between you and the other person. This is what being “in love” really meant – that is being in the flow of the Love energy.

What is interesting in all of this is that when you finally make up your mind to open your heart and attune to love, you will realize that it has been there all along. They say it is the mind that gives the illusion that one is removed from the presence of God and here, in this sense, we can come to understand how. No longer do we have to sit and wonder how to “let go and let God.” No longer do we have to try to figure out how to let go of things that are sorrowful to the heart. We don’t have to have broken hearts, which actually means that the flow of love energy into the heart has been disrupted. We can return to our divine state if we choose to.

I believe the greatest secret kept is that we are walking around with the keys to heaven in our hearts and we have never used them. Some of us think we have to die in order to experience eternal bliss, but this is not so. You can experience heaven NOW. Being in heaven now does not mean you don’t get to enjoy life, it makes life MUCH better! I’ve gone through everything in this article that I have written and much more and I can tell you that everything I have ever gone through in my life was worth it – simply because it brought me to this point. I cannot tell you how there were some things that I was emotionally hysterical about. I held on to deep sadness, anger, frustration, disappointment, and discouragement. The more I opened and expanded my heart, the more love I am able to sustain and feel throughout the day.

I feel this is something everyone should experience. Everyone has the right to chose to experience love all the time. Everyone has the right to use the tools to change their circumstance. People respond to the energy inside of you. They respond to how you feel and the energy you are giving off. If you have a lot of negativity inside of you that you have not resolved, then you tend to have a lot more drama in your life. If you have a lot of positive energy inside of you, then you tend to attract nicer people and have more pleasant experiences. Yet still, when you open your heart and expand it to God’s love, you trigger the opening of the heart in others. You activate their body’s innate intelligence to commune with the Love of God and to bring it forth in their lives. This is the greatest gift that we could give to one another and the planet. Love creates love and is contagious.

On March 1, 2010, I will be launching The Heart Expansion Project. The goal of this project is to get at least 1% of the world’s population to daily engage in a 20-minute Heart Expansion exercise for 1 year. The way to bring about change in your community and the world we live in starts with yourself. Until you use your power to change your inner world, you will never have the power to change the outer world of experience. The way topeace and everything else is through the heart. If you are not in agreement with war, famine, genocide, and other maladies and if you are ready to live life differently, then I encourage you to participate in the Heart Expansion Project.

Author’s Bio
Denika “Kelarius” Laurie is a passionate spiritual healer this is a Light Worker, Theta DNA Practitioner, Reiki Master/Teacher, Ordained Minister, Speaker and Author. She runs a membership site that is focused on Heart Consciousness and Light Body Development. She also travels the country and teaches women about Womb Wellness.

www.yourenergywellness.com
www.eternalkween.com

This is my “mesa” from the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition: This weekend was the 2nd weekend of 5 over the next two years that we’ll be learning Cross Cultural Shamanic Arts for Personal and Planetary Renewal. It’s been pretty eye-opening.

It has it origins from the Shamans of Peru during the Incan civilization.

The rock in the South is called “Pachamama” it represents Mother Earth.
The shell in the west represents the water element and the moon. It is called “Mamakilla” [ma-ma-key-yah]
The feather in the north represents the element of air and is called “Wiracocha”, [Where-ah-coach-ah]
The candle in the east represents the element of fire and the sun. It is called “Inti”.
The pyramid in the middle can be any “sacred object” it is represents the spirit world and is called “K′uychi” [Quee-Chi]

The Mesa is very personal and everyone’s will look totally different. If you are interested in learning more, check out http://www.heartofthehealer.org/apprenticeships/Workshops

To see the meanings all of the stones on my mesa check out our Facebook fan page:

In 1912, Charles Haanel wrote The Master Key System.  This book was originally a mail order course that consisted of 24 lessons over 24 weeks.  You can find this book online in a PDF format, as it is now in the public domain.

However, many people read this book as a novel, not truly acquiring the lessons in the way it was originally conceived.  So, One Consciousness is going to put this text on this website, in its original format, one a week for 24 weeks, as it was originally intended.  If you do these lessons as they arrive, you will be truly be able to unlock a very special key to success and happiness.

The whole world is on the eve of a new consciousness, a new power and a new consciousness, a new power and a new realization of the resources within the self. The last century saw the most magnificent material progress in history. The present century will produce the greatest progress in mental and spiritual power.

It is my privilege to enclose herewith Part One of The Master Key System. Would you bring into your life more power, get the power consciousness, more health, get the health consciousness, more happiness, get the happiness consciousness. Live the spirit of these things until they become yours by right. It will then become impossible to keep them from you. The things of the world are fluid to a power within man by which he rules them.

You need not acquire this power. You already have it. But you want to understand it; you want to use it; you want to control it; you want to impregnate yourself with it, so that you can go forward and carry the world before you.

Day by day as you go on and on, as you gain momentum, as your inspiration deepens, as your plans crystallize, as you gain understanding, you will come to realize that this world is no dead pile of stones and timber, but that it is a living thing! It is made up of the beating hearts of humanity. It is a thing of life and beauty.

It is evident that it requires understanding to work with material of this description, but those who come into this understanding, are inspired by a new light, a new force, they gain confidence and greater power each day, they realize their hopes and their dreams come true, life has a deeper, fuller, clearer meaning than before.

And, now, Part One….

PART ONE

1. That much gathers more is true on every plane of existence and that loss leads to greater loss is equally true.

2. Mind is creative, and conditions, environment and all experiences in life are the result of our habitual or predominant mental attitude.

3. The attitude of mind necessarily depends upon what we think. Therefore, the secret of all power, all achievement and all possession depends upon our method of thinking.

4. This is true because we must “be” before we can “do,” and we can “do” only to the extent which we “are,” and what we “are” depends upon what we “think.”

5. We cannot express powers that we do not possess. The only way by which we may secure possession of power is to become conscious of power, and we can never become conscious of power until we learn that all power is from within.

6. There is a world within – a world of thought and feeling and power; of light and life and beauty and, although invisible, its forces are mighty.

7. The world within is governed by mind. When we discover this world we shall find the solution for every problem, the cause for every effect; and since the world within is subject to our control, all laws of power and possession are also within our control.

8. The world without is a reflection of the world within. What appears without is what has been found within. In the world within may be found infinite Wisdom, infinite Power, infinite Supply of all that is necessary, waiting for unfoldment, development and expression. If we recognize these potentialities in the world within they will take form in the world without.

9. Harmony in the world within will be reflected in the world without by harmonious conditions, agreeable surroundings, the best of everything. It is the foundation of health and a necessary essential to all greatness, all power, all attainment, all achievement and all success.

10. Harmony in the world within means the ability to control our thoughts, and to determine for ourselves how any experience is to affect us.

11. Harmony in the world within results in optimism and affluence; affluence within results in affluence without.

12. The world without reflects the circumstances and the conditions of the consciousness within.

13. If we find wisdom in the world within, we shall have the understanding to discern the marvelous possibilities that are latent in this world within, and we shall be given the power to make these possibilities manifest in the world without.

14. As we become conscious of the wisdom in the world within, we mentally take possession of this wisdom, and by taking mental possession we come into actual possession of the power and wisdom necessary to bring into manifestation the essentials necessary for our most complete and harmonious development.

15. The world within is the practical world in which the men and women of power generate courage, hope, enthusiasm, confidence, trust and faith, by which they are given the fine intelligence to see the vision and the practical skill to make the vision real.

16. Life is an unfoldment, not accretion. What comes to us in the world without is what we already possess in the world within.

17. All possession is based on consciousness. All gain is the result of an accumulative consciousness. All loss is the result of a scattering consciousness.

18. Mental efficiency is contingent upon harmony; discord means confusion; therefore, he who would acquire power must be in harmony with Natural Law.

19. We are related to the world without by the objective mind. The brain is the organ of this mind and the cerebro-spinal system of nerves puts us in conscious communication with every part of the body. This system of nerves responds to every sensation of light, heat, odor, sound and taste.

20. When this mind thinks correctly, when it understands the truth, when the thoughts sent through the cerebro-spinal nervous system to the body are constructive, these sensations are pleasant, harmonious.

21. The result is that we build strength, vitality and all constructive forces into our body, but it is through this same objective mind that all distress, sickness, lack, limitation and every form of discord and inharmony is admitted to our lives. It is therefore through the objective mind, by wrong thinking, that we are related to all destructive forces.

22. We are related to the world within by the subconscious mind. The solar plexus is the organ of this mind; the sympathetic system of nerves presides over all subjective sensations, such as joy, fear, love, emotion, respiration, imagination and all other subconscious phenomena. It is through the subconscious that we are connected with the Universal Mind and brought into relation with the Infinite constructive forces of the Universe.

23. It is the coordination of these two centers of our being, and the understanding of their functions, which is the great secret of life. With this knowledge we can bring the objective and subjective minds into conscious cooperation and thus coordinate the finite and the infinite. Our future is entirely within our own control. It is not at the mercy of any capricious or uncertain external power.

24. All agree that there is but one Principle or Consciousness pervading the entire Universe, occupying all space, and being essentially the same in kind at every point of its presence. It is all powerful, all wisdom and always present. All thoughts and things are within Itself. It is all in all.

25. There is but one consciousness in the universe able to think; and when it thinks, its thoughts become objective things to it. As this Consciousness is omnipresent, it must be present within every individual; each individual must be a manifestation of that Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent Consciousness.

26. As there is only one Consciousness in the Universe that is able to think it necessarily follows that your consciousness is identical with the Universal Consciousness, or, in other words, all mind is one mind. There is no dodging this conclusion.

27. The consciousness that focuses in your brain cells is the same consciousness which focuses in the brain cells of every other individual. Each individual is but the individualization of the Universal, the Cosmic Mind.

28. The Universal Mind is static or potential energy; it simply is; it can manifest only through the individual, and the individual can manifest only through the Universal. They are one.

29. The ability of the individual to think is his ability to act on the Universal and bring it into manifestation. Human consciousness consists only in the ability of man to think. Mind in itself is believed to be a subtle form of static energy, from which arises the activities called ‘thought, ‘ which is the dynamic phase of mind. Mind is static energy, thought is dynamic energy -the two phases of the same thing. Thought is therefore the vibratory force formed by converting static mind into dynamic mind.

30. As the sum of all attributes are contained in the Universal Mind, which is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent, these attributes must be present at all times in their potential form in every individual. Therefore, when the individual thinks, the thought is compelled by its nature to embody itself in an objectivity or condition which will correspond with its origin.

31. Every thought therefore is a cause and every condition an effect; for this reason it is absolutely essential that you control your thoughts so as to bring forth only desirable conditions.

32. All power is from within, and is absolutely under your control; it comes through exact knowledge and by the voluntary exercises of exact principles.

33. It should be plain that when you acquire a thorough understanding of this law, and are able to control your thought processes, you can apply it to any condition; in other words, you will have come into conscious cooperation with Omnipotent law which is the fundamental basis of all things.

34. The Universal Mind is the life principle of every atom which is in existence; every atom is continually striving to manifest more life; all are intelligent, and all are seeking to carry out the purpose for which they were created.

35. A majority of mankind lives in the world without; few have found the world within, and yet it is the world within that makes the world without; it is therefore creative and everything which you find in your world without has been created by you in the world within.

36. This system will bring you into a realization of power which will be yours when you understand this relation between the world without and the world within. The world within is the cause, the world without the effect; to change the effect you must change the cause.

37. You will at once see that this is a radically new and different idea; most men try to change effects by working with effects. They fail to see that this is simply changing one form of distress for another. To remove discord, we must remove the cause, and this cause can be found only in the world within.

38. All growth is from within. This is evident in all nature. Every plant, every animal, every human is a living testimony to this great law, and the error of the ages is in looking for strength or power from without.

39. The world within is the Universal fountain of supply, and the world without is the outlet to the stream. Our ability to receive depends upon our recognition of this Universal Fountain, this Infinite Energy of which each individual is an outlet, and so is one with every other individual.

40. Recognition is a mental process, mental action is therefore the interaction of the individual upon the Universal Mind, and as the Universal Mind is the intelligence which pervades all space and animates all living things, this mental action and reaction is the law of causation, but the principle of causation does not obtain in the individual but in the Universal Mind. It is not an objective faculty but a subjective process, and the results are seen in an infinite variety of conditions and experiences.

41. In order to express life there must be mind; nothing can exist without mind. Everything which exists is some manifestation of this one basic substance from which and by which all things have been created and are continually being recreated.

42. We live in a fathomless sea of plastic mind substance. This substance is ever alive and active. It is sensitive to the highest degree. It takes form according to the mental demand. Thought forms the mold or matrix from which the substance expresses.

43. Remember that it is in the application alone that the value consists, and that a practical understanding of this law will substitute abundance for poverty, wisdom for ignorance, harmony for discord and freedom for tyranny, and certainly there can be no greater blessing than these from a material and social standpoint.

44. Now make the application: Select a room where you can be alone and undisturbed; sit erect, comfortably, but do not lounge; let your thoughts roam where they will but be perfectly still for from fifteen minutes to half an hour; continue this for three or four days or for a week until you secure full control of your physical being.

45. Many will find this extremely difficult; others will conquer with ease, but it is absolutely essential to secure complete control of the body before you are ready to progress. Next week you will receive instructions for the next step; in the meantime you must have mastered this one.

PART ONE Study Questions with Answers

1. What is the world without in its relation to the world within? The world without is a reflection of the world within.
2. Upon what does all possession depend? All possession is based on consciousness.
3. How is the individual related to the objective world? The individual is related to the objective world by the objective mind; the brain is the organ of this mind.
4. How is he related to the Universal Mind? He is related to the Universal Mind by the subconscious mind; the Solar Plexus is the organ of this mind.
5. What is the Universal Mind? The Universal Mind is the life principle of every atom which is in existence.
6. How can the Individual act on the Universal? The ability of the individual to think is his ability to act upon the Universal and bring it into manifestation.
7. What is the result of this action and interaction? The result of this action and interaction is cause and effect; every thought is a cause and every condition an effect.
8. How are harmonious and desirable conditions secured? Harmonious and desirable conditions are obtained by right thinking.
9. What is the cause of all discord, inharmony, lack and limitation? Discord, inharmony, lack and limitation are the result of wrong thinking.
10. What is the source of all powers? The source of all power is the world within, the Universal Fountain of Supply, the Infinite Energy of which each individual is an outlet.

On November 8th, we entered the next phase of our global evolutionary upgrade, known as the Sixth Night of the Galactic Wave Movement, according to Mayan scholar Carl Johan Calleman. It’s a demanding time, and a bit messy, as planetary birth processes tend to be. But is it cause for alarm?

Until recently, comparatively few people were interested in Mayan culture or ancient prophecies. The Mayan Calendar, popularized in the West by authors such as Jose Arguelles (The Mayan Factor), Barbara Hand Clow (The Mayan Code: Time Acceleration and Awakening the World Mind) and Carl Calleman (The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness) touched a relatively small audience.

With the release of the doomsday movie 2012, however, that’s changing dramatically. Now that the end date of the Mayan Calendar — December 21, 2012, on our Gregorian calendar — is a scant three years away, people are beginning to panic. Is the world going to end? Is this like Y2K, only infinitely worse?

It depends where we choose to place our focus. Remember that the collapse predicted when the clocks struck midnight on December 31, 1999 never materialized. Our culture thrives on fear, and this latest movie is pure Hollywood, calculated to thrill, chill, and rake in box office profits — not to educate and enlighten. For that, we need to go to the source.

The Maya are now sharing their prophecy with the rest of the world in great detail, in an effort to clarify exactly what is happening, and why. One vehicle is the film, Shift of the Ages, which explains what this unique era in human history is all about.

The key word here is “era”. This is a global birth process, not an event. We’re in the midst of an extraordinary evolution in consciousness. The December “end” date — indeed, the year 2012 itself — are simply markers, signifying the conclusion of a vast cycle of time and transformation. People all over the planet have been awakening in stages for decades.

Now, humanity has reached what might be termed an “uncritical mass” of awakened souls, who are helping to guide the shift that’s taking place worldwide. Time is actually speeding up as we make these changes, and the acceleration creates all sorts of strange “symptoms”, both in our bodies and in the Earth’s body.

Thus, what one might interpret as catastrophic — earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, etc. — is just Nature’s way of cleansing and clearing in preparation for the new, much as many of us are coping with headaches, muscle and joint pain, sleep issues, digestive disturbances, and a host of other weird physical, emotional and mental changes that are part of what a third dimensional human undergoes as we expand into beings of Light. Because that’s precisely what is happening.

We’re moving from water-based to Light-based bodies. It’s huge, exciting, scary, and real — and it’s happening to everybody, although at different times and in different ways. Imagine how the first amphibious creature must have felt when it crawled onto land and realized it could live in two environments. In essence, that’s where we are now.

So there’s no need to panic. 2012 isn’t the end of the world, just the end of a World Age, or time cycle. We’re becoming galactic beings of Light, stepping into our global greatness in a whole new way. Many sages throughout time have prophesied this dawning Aquarian Age as ushering in a Golden era of peace. We’ve voted for this as a collective, and are now emerging into the new. Let’s rejoice, and help our fellow travelers to adapt.

For further illumination:

∞ If you’re interested in learning more about the Mayan Calendar and how it can help you shift time awareness in your daily life, request my series of articles that chronicle my journey through the lens of indigenous wisdom. Please email Amara Rose with “Mayan Calendar articles” in the subject line and I’ll send them as Word docs.

∞ Sqrapple: don’t unravel, unfold

∞ Wake up and dream your world into being

∞ The art of awareness: painting your aliveness on life’s canvas

About the Author:

Amara Rose is a metaphysical “midwife” for our global rebirth. She is the author of the eBook series, What Shines: Practical Wisdom for Unleashing Your Inner Brilliance, available from RadiancePublishing.com, and offers spiritually-focused life coaching, e-courses, talks and CDs. Visit LiveYourLight.com to learn more. Contact Amara at amara@liveyourlight.com. To read additional articles focused on personal and planetary evolution, visit Amara’s Practical Spirituality page on Examiner.com.

By Angela Abbette
The view of health by Native Americans is both all encompassing and thoughtful. Traditional medicine can play a more stoic and relentlessly lend to the scientific approach, but Native Americans have a more holistic outlook.

Health is viewed as a balance or harmony of mind and body. The goal is to be in harmony with all things, which means first being in harmony with oneself. Harmony is thought to neutralize problems and help one’s life to become beautiful. Good health makes it easier for all people to do their part in the universe, to serve others, and to fulfill their personal life visions.

Life is considered in all of its dualities: winter/summer, cold/hot, day/night, mind/body, spiritual/physical, work/play, and so on. Native people believe that the two sides of everything deserve equal attention and that both should be nourished with love. A healthy person who is walking in balance is energized and alert, and even in the presence of disease will still feel alive and fulfilled.

Traditionally, Native American people lived long, happy, healthy, and balanced lives. They did everything to respect and honor Mother Earth and the Great Spirit. They ate wholesome food and considered all food to be blessed as a gift of life from the Creator. They got up with the sun and went to bed with the moon. Exercise was a natural part of their lives, integrated into daily activities. These good health habits, a sense of joy, and a purpose in life are key factors for living into old age.

Illness occurs when balance is disrupted. It is believed that most illness begins in the head and that people must get rid of ideas that predispose illness. If the mind is negative, the body will be drained, making it more vulnerable. When people open up to the universe, learn what is good for them, and find ways to be happier, they can begin to work toward a longer and healthier life. Many ancient people had ways to get rid of this negativity. The Mayan people of Mexico would stand in a stream of flowing water and talk out all their angers, fears, sorrows, or troubles over the water. The moving water would take all the emotions they poured out of themselves into the current and away from them.

Role of Medicine Women and Men

Although they are the primary care providers in many places, the responsibilities of medicine women and men go beyond healing illness. They also evaluate advice and treatment given by other health care practitioners. They often have a strong influence on the acceptance or rejection of the treatment plans from conventional health care providers. They may also function as tribal social mediators, dispensing traditional wisdom and suggesting action. Medicine people reaffirm and strengthen tribal identity through the recounting of myth and song. They have an extensive knowledge of their communities and of family relationships and interaction. They are the formulators and teachers of the old religion and creators of the new. Medicine people are figures of authority and awe as instruments of the Creator.

In conclusion, keeping all things in balance and retrospect is a simple foundation and simple approach to maintaining good health and a healthy life.

Put very simply, your Akashic Record is the energetic recording of your soul’s journey since your beginning. It is everything about you, all around you, and within you. It is everything you are, have been, and the potentials you are yet to become. It is a special field of energy that permeates your entire being. It is not something separate from you, but an integral part of you. I believe the Akashic Records are living, changing “documents.” As you change, heal, and grow, your Akashic Records are ‘updated’ to reflect those changes.

As you can imagine, your Akashic Records hold an infinite amount of information. There is no end to the information you can explore about yourself and your relationships with others when working in the Akashic Records. The information is always presented to you in a loving and compassionate way from your Divine Spiritual Family (father/mother God/Goddess, God/Goddess, Spirit, Universe, Source, Ascended Masters, Archangels, loved ones, etc.).

There are specific beings/energetic aspects that specialize in the energy field of the Akashic Records, and I call them the Record Keepers. I believe that in the end we are all ONE. So when I refer to the Record Keepers as “other beings,” I also understand that they are just another aspect of me, from my perspective, and another aspect of each of you from your perspectives. For ease of discussion purposes I may refer to them as “beings” or as “energetic aspects.” So these beings, the Record Keepers, are also a part of your Divine Spiritual Family. These Divine beings have always been at your side eagerly waiting to assist you. Out of respect for your free will, they do wait until you initiate contact and ask for help. Using the method taught in this book is really just assisting you to create a user friendly way of asking for guidance and receiving it!

The information that is obtained from your Akashic Records is a direct result of your questions.

Your questions guide the Record Keepers and Ascended Masters to the “right” energetic space to retrieve the answers that you are ready to know. Notice the key words ready to know. . .

Sometimes we think we are ready to know something, but in reality we are not. In those times, the answers seem to elude us, only to become crystal clear in the oddest and most unlikely moments. Or as I like to say, in the Divine right moment!

Imagine an infinite apple orchard full of apple trees which are chock full of apples. Each apple holds the key to different experiences your Soul has had, and each tree represents themes that you have experienced throughout your Soul’s journey. When you want to know a certain piece of information, you have to come up with a way to direct the Record Keepers to the right tree and then to the right apple. By choosing the right apple, you will get the information you are seeking, which will facilitate your healing and growth.

The Record Keepers are the energetic aspects that tend to these immense apple orchards, and when you ask a question it helps to guide them to the correct tree. The more specific your question, the closer you get to the specific apple that holds the piece of information you are seeking. The potential for healing occurs when you are able to really get down to the “core” of an issue, the seed of knowledge and wisdom that is hidden within the specific apple. Often the awareness of the core cause of an issue is enough to create the energetic shift that results in a healing.* Other times you will need to put into practice the insights that you were given in order to manifest the energetic shift in your Akashic Records. Putting it into practice could be as simple as making a new choice when confronted with a repetitive pattern. *healing: A shift in energetic frequency to the next higher level of divine love and light, which may manifest in the spiritual, physical, mental, or emotional realms.

There is an unlimited potential for healing when working with the energy of the Akashic Records. The extent of the healing itself is directly related to your level of commitment and intent to heal yourself.

Once you set your intent within yourself that you are ready to do your inner work, the Record Keepers readily come forward to assist you as best they can. Like all other Divine aspects of energy the Record Keepers radiate upon you the energy of Divine Love and provide guidance when you ask or when you make it known in some way that you want help. Your Divine Spiritual Family would never interfere with your free will. Therefore, you must initiate the connection and ask for what you want or need. They are eagerly awaiting your initiation and are ready to respond. Having a strong, clear connection with your inner wisdom is more than a gift. It is a Divinely-given right. You do not have to earn this special talent. It is not something that is only for the chosen few. It is for everyone who takes the time to make it known that they want it!

As a co-creator of your reality it is up to you to initiate change in your life.

First you must ask for help, then you must be willing to put to use the information you receive. It is always your choice; but if you don’t put into practice what you are learning, then nothing in your life is going to change. You know the old saying, “the definition of insanity is to keep doing what you have always done and expect to get different results!”

Our Divine Family of Light sends us messages and guidance all of the time. It is up to us to either acknowledge those messages or ignore them. They plant the seeds of light and knowledge, and wait for us to nurture those seeds. They wait patiently as we allow those seeds to mature into wisdom. They also watch with infinite compassion and acceptance if and when we choose to squash those seeds instead of nurturing them! They radiate us with the same loving energy even if we choose to make the same old choices and create the same old patterns, essentially ignoring any guidance they were trying to provide. That is what free will is all about. You always have the right to choose without worry of being judged by your Divine Family. The main purpose for working in your Akashic Records is not to receive mandates about what to do with your life or how to live your life, but to provide you with the information, knowledge, and wisdom you need to broaden your perspective, allowing you to make healthier choices. In other words, working with the energy of the Akashic Records provides you with the support you need to grow and evolve personally and spiritually.

When you have clear intent that you are ready to heal all aspects of your life, then your true work begins.

Spirit responds to your requests to heal and provides you with the opportunities for growth. Each time something comes up for you in your life that pushes your buttons, it is Spirit’s way of providing you with an opportunity for growth. It has always been this way. The difference is that now you will have the ability to go into your Records, dig around, explore, and uncover the core of the issue at hand. Once you have uncovered the core issue, you are able to begin the healing process.

The Record Keepers are waiting with anticipation for you to begin this personal and spiritual journey. The moment you made the conscious decision to read this book, they were able to move even closer to your being. They have always been at your service, but were unable to interfere. When you chose this book, you were sending a message to them that you are ready, willing, and able. In response to your actions, they are able to step closer. They want you to learn how to connect with them and your own inner wisdom more easily so that they may be of more assistance to you during this time of growth. Self discovery, spiritual growth, and personal growth are all important parts of your healing process. Through your connection with your Akashic Records and your Divine Spiritual Family, you will experience deeper and deeper levels of self-empowerment and self-direction as you discover the euphoria of going within to connect directly with your Divine Source.

With each visit to your Akashic Records, you have the potential to heal another piece of yourself. With each healing/shift of energy, you feel more and more complete and whole. The more complete you feel, the harder it is for anyone or any situation to knock you off balance again. You are able to maintain longer and longer periods of peacefulness and centeredness each and every day.

With each visit to your Akashic Records, you also come to understand more and more of your true nature, your Soul and Spirit nature, your co-creative God/Goddess nature. The work is not always easy, but it is definitely worth it.

Find out more about how you can learn to access your own Akashic Records by visiting www.SacredInsights.com

Kathy Karlander is the resident “Expert” on SelfGrowth.com for the Akashic Records. Her gift lies in helping others to better understand the nature of Who They Are, and why they are here. Find out more about her classes, services, and products at www.SacredInsights.com

The Seven Universes

A good friend of mine, who is older and much wiser than I, recently brought forth to my attention, a 70+ year old book of essays called, “The Urantia Book”. He has been studying these papers for many years and wanted to share them with me. So far, I have been blown away by the content within these pages.

Since the book is over 70 years old, you can actually download The Urantia Book for free since it is in the public domain now… there are also many great audio readings out there. Since this book has over 2000 pages, my preferred method of digestion of these texts is to read along while listening to the audio of the books. This helps me gather the messages more thoroughly, as the material is quite heady.

What is The Urantia Book?

The Urantia Book is not a complete religion. It does not have a clergy, a creed that one is required to believe in, or rules of behavior that one must follow. It is a book which has spawned two organizations, now called the Urantia Foundation and the Urantia Fellowship. The book is used by individuals of many religions as a spiritual guide.

The Urantia Book is

• for people interested in life
• for people who want something more than mere religion
• for people who would like to discover their highest spiritual and personal potentials.

The book states that Urantia is an ancient name for the planet earth. It is a large book with over two thousand pages and almost 200 individual essays that reveal information about:

• God,
• other supernatural beings
• the history of earth and of the rest of the universe
• the development of humanity
• the history, message and purpose of Yeshua of Nazareth, (a.k.a. Jesus Christ)

Why You Need to Know About The Urantia Book

Making good life decisions—the exercise of true wisdom—requires insight into the context in which the decision or choice is being made.

The Urantia Book provides a comprehensive overview of the context in which we live our daily lives — historical, social, personal, intellectual, spiritual, and material. It provides important background information that will deepen, enrich, and strengthen your relationship with God, empower you to prevail in your struggles with the difficulties of daily life, and enable you to participate creatively in the much-needed spiritual transformation of our world.

By integrating science, philosophy, and religion into a coherent world view, the Urantia Book enhances the meanings we derive from our life experience, equipping us to live our lives relative to positive, creative spiritual values in the midst of difficulty, chaos, and uncertainty.

I have just begun the journey of pouring through the 2100+ pages of The Urantia Book. In fact, I had been reading a PDF and listening to the audios, but last night, I picked up an actual copy of the book and listened to the foreward and read along. It appears that we have a long journey ahead of us as spiritual beings and I look forward to exploring all this universe has to offer.

If The Urantia Book intrigues and resonates with you, may I suggest you download the PDF of the book and grab the corresponding audio reading to listen to, as you read. The words and concepts are SO intellectual, that using both senses is really the only way to go.

Other information sources:

	A list of Urantia Book related websites is at: http://ubwebsites.com/ They list major sites, introductory sites, locations where the complete text can be downloaded, translations, discussion books, etc.
	A list of web sites that form the Urantia Book Readers United Resource web ring is at:http://www.webring.org/
	Norm DuVal has a “Urantia Foundation Truth Site” at: http://www.freeurantia.org/ Their site is “dedicated to religious freedom, ‘unceasing exposure’ …of Urantia Foundation’s sophistries, and resistance to Urantia Foundation’s religious tyranny and persecution against believers of the Urantia Revelation.”
	A Urantia Reflectivity Circuit lists a directory of Urantia book study groups, social gatherings, book reviews, etc. See: http://www.ubook.org/
	Locations of Urantia study groups can be obtained from the Urantia Foundation or from theFifth Epochal Fellowship, 529 Wrightwood Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614 (312-327-0424).
	Urantiabook.org maintains a list of reader email lists and study groups athttp://urantiabook.org/
	A book which is critical of the Urantia Book but contains interesting historical references is: Martin Gardner, “Urantia: The Great Cult Mystery” Prometheus Books (1995). Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
	The Fellowship of Readers of the Urantia Book maintains a very extensive WWW site at:http://www.ubfellowship.org
	UBtheNEWS is an independent project by Urantia Book enthusiasts. It explains corroborations between the Urantia Book and subsequent scientific discoveries. See:http://www.ubthenews.com/

The 5 Animal Allies of the Pachakuti Mesa

Across the world shamanic traditions have flourished and persevered in times that have been favorable to them and also those during which their existence was deeply threatened. Yet, in spite of attempted eradication and the wider prevalence of cultural amnesia, many practices of this global lineage have survived – often greatly transformed through their adaptation to the shifting sands of culture.

Despite changes in appearance and the frequent adoption of aspects of the “new” religions and belief-systems that have accompanied the transformation from hunter/gatherer, pastoral, and subsistence cultures to agricultural and urban life-styles, core shamanic beliefs and practices continue to sustain people throughout the global ecosphere.

Within the Peruvian Andes and coast the synthesis of millenia-old shamanic practice and modern religious belief is found in both the traditions of the paqokuna and huachuma curanderismo. These traditions have, to varying degrees, incorporated elements of folk Catholic belief, cosmology, ritual, and liturgy. While this certainly ensured survival in a changing and persecutorial environment it also points to the wisdom of recognizing the inner syncretic nature of the shamanic universe as a principle of action.

The salient feature of both the highland paqokuna and coastal curandero traditions is their focus on the ritual and ceremonial mastery of the mesa. In each case the mesa is an altar-like collection of shamanically invested artifacts arranged according to the teachings of the lineage and the personal insight of the healer. Though somewhat different in form, both traditions engage the culturally acknowledged powers of the natural and ancestral worlds through the mediating instrument of the mesa.

Through propitiatory ritual and invocational ceremony, states of contact are reached with these powers in which balance, health, prosperity, and fertility are restored within the community. Underpining all practice is the recognized law of ayni, as it is known in the highlands, in which it is understood that there exists a delicate state of interdependance between all levels of the physical and spiritual worlds. Perhaps best expressed as the “Law of Right Returns,” or, more colloquially, “today for me, tommorow for you,” the notion of ayni succinctly encapsulates the knowing that within the intricate matrix of interdependance that is our universe, an inbalance is created when a return “payment” is not offered for the intervention of the spiritual realms. Since practically everything within indigenous and shamanic culture is seen as a result of actions and dynamics taking place within the spiritual realms, one of the primary pursuits of a people becomes the maintainance of proper “payments” to those “causal” realms. The person for whom this becomes a specialty is the paqo, pampamisayoq, and altomisayoq, or the curandero depending on their tradition.

Shamanic Practice

The Pachakuti Mesa itself originated through Oscar′s many-year apprenticeship with his personal mentors in Peru, maestro curanderos don Celso Rojas Palomino and don Benito Corihuaman Vargas. Emerging from his apprenticeship within the coastal huachumero and the highland paqokuna traditions, the Pachakuti Mesa embodies distinct elements from each of these specific traditions of medicine practice.

The wisdom of these two lineages, representing related yet disctinct ancestral cultures, creates an organic structure that serves to anchor the vast array of shamanic practices existing to serve life from the personal dimension to that of the community, while harmonizing these with a global vision and the celestial sources of guidance and support. Strenghtening this ancestral heritage and cross-cultural relevance are insights drawn from the world′s many wisdom traditions and the growing understanding of quantum dynamics and consciousness.

Following its original birthing from the cultural and shamanic lineages of Peru, the applied practice of the Pachakuti Mesa has evolved through its service to non-indigenous Western culture. It has become a true repository for the unfolding experience of its dedicated practitioners and community. The Pachakuti Mesa can truly be said to be a continual birthing of the wisdom of sacred community dedicated to a shared Earth-honoring path of service in which the ancient nourishes the present, birthing the creative expression of contemporary practice.

Pachakuti Mesa Healing Service

The mesa is the instrument by which the mythic power of prophetic time and the profundity of the three cosmological worlds is harnessed in practice. It is the medium of translation for the spiritual wisdom and understanding of the Andean cosmovision, allowing them to transform into practical applications and effects within a community.

A mesa is the consecrated arrangement of ceremonial power objects that make up a curandero′s “tool set,” and is also the point of focus for the spiritual forces engaged through ritualized action. It is simultaneously the seat for spiritual vision and the multi-fold powers of creation, and by being the locus of intention is directed by the healer. Two elements in particular come together within the mesa, blending into its unique form: the transmission of traditional wisdom given by the teacher and the idiosyncratic initiation that characteruzes the individual path. From the integration of these two sources of inspiration a healer′s mesa is born.

Travis Wright's Pachakuti Mesa

The Pachakuti Mesa, as an embodiment of global earth-honoring service, integrates within its primal structure the five alchemically venerated elements of the universe: earth (Allpa), water (Unu), wind (Wayra), fire (Nina), and the fifth transcendent element which is produced by the harmonious intermingling of the originating four – the aether (K′uychi). Each of these elements is focussed in one of the five directions of the quadrangular mesa – South, West, North, East, and Center – and is embodied by one of the five primordial powers of the Andean cosmovision: Pachamama (Earth Mother), Mama Killa pronounced Mama Key-yah (Moon), Wiracocha (Creator), Inti (Sun), and K′uychi (Sacred Rainbow). When these powers are united by vision and intention – lovingly anchored within the physical repository of the mesa – the Pachakuti Mesa blossoms as a transformative agent within the world.

Each of the directions of the mesa hold a particular archetypal form, energy, and healing medicine, arranged according to a dynamic understanding of the mythic and energetic universe. They therefore provide a vehicle for the initiatic apprenticeship of the fundamental forces of creation and, more importantly, the means by which their transformative presence is directed in the world. As an experiential mirror of the dynamically self-aware universe the, Pachakuti Mesa contains within itself both the map and the mapmaker, and ultimately becomes the primary source of instruction and guidance for the healer.

The Power of Ritual

Beyond the base structure of the Pachakuti Mesa and the aligments contained within it, it is the unique experience of the healer that determines the shape it assumes. As a continuously unfolding source of initiation and a reflection of the soul experience of the carrier, the mesa itself will naturally evolve and transform over time. Indeed, a mesa can never remain static – to do so would contradict one of the fundamental experiences of creation: all is in motion. While a mesa will hold certain patterns over time, it must ultimately be recognized as an expression of transformation itself, which cannot be boxed within a static form.

As mentored by don Oscar, the Pachakuti Mesa is a ceremonially consecrated imaginal map of the universe, an archetypal cosmic landscape, which “energetically” anchors both seen and unseen dimensions of the anima mundi (i.e., World Soul) before the shamanic practitioner. It is a beautiful container of spirit, and it is also a soul-infused artifact of the material world. It is a living, dynamic pattern upon which and within which we can consciously do our transformative personal and planetary healing work. As a global community of Pachakuti Mesa Carriers we embrace this ancestral lineage not because it is superior to all other traditions, yet because its effects are healthfully liberating and aesthetically graceful. It is a visually dramatic and sensually rich millennial heritage, which appeals to those who resonate with the healing power in natural patterns, earth rhythms and cosmic cycles. It is also a syncretistic shamanic tradition, which is openly tolerant and widely inclusive of diverse cultural ideologies, religious beliefs and all world wisdom paths. In essence, the Pachakuti Mesa is meant to be a pristine reflection of the individual practitioners ontological sense of belongingness within the Great Sacred Web of Life.

Via Don Oscar Miro-Quesada