This is the third and last entry in this little series on reality that I have been talking about. Yesterday I spoke to you about the 2 fold reality system, that I think are body and mind reside in while we are alive on earth. As I told you yesterday I wanted to talk to you about education, learning and teaching. I want to come at if from Plato's viewpoint. Again this is a topic that I hope will inspire discussion, feedback and comment on this topic.
Yesterday, I was talking about Plato's Allegory of the Cave, and his postulations about reality, salvation, spiritual journeys and teaching. I want to round out what I have been talking about with education, learning and teaching. According to Plato, he thought that the imparting of knowledge between a teacher and a student was impossible, that education is only possible by point the students mind to what is real and important, and letting them apprehend it for themselves. Now, what Plato thought was that all knowledge and information that will ever be was recorded and housed in a great library in the spiritual or real "reality" that can only be discovered through the mind. What I am talking about is the Akashic Record, which a little more information can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akashic_records.
In metaphysical terms the Akashic record is a library of all knowledge and thought forms that are or will ever be, some postulate that an individual can read, observe and touch these records through astral travel, meditation, and deep hypnosis. I think that these are just some of the ways that a person or individual can touch this information. But, I also think that at times this information flows through the spiritual plane, and into our subconscious while we sleep or rest. I also think that the further you progress on your journey of enlightenment that our minds open up to more and more of the information contained in the records. I also think that as our eyes are open to more of the mysteries of the divine, God grants us more and more clarity on the things of nature that we have to deal with.
It is also my belief that as you embark on your own spiritual journey and quest for enlightenment. God, the Divine, or Light, or however you define your own deity, puts others into our life to help us along our road and journey. I believe that there are 3 different kinds of people that come in and out of our lives, they stay for a time and move on once they have accomplished what they have been place for. You will find if you are observant, that you are never alone on your journey, there are always 2 others that are with you. You and these other two may switch roles from time to time, but if you really look you will see that they are there. On your journey you may find someone that can mentor and teach you, the fill the role of teacher, and you would be the student, and the other person is your confidant a friend or person you can discuss things with and confide in. As I have told you these roles are interchangeable and you may find yourself at times the teacher, or the student, or a confidant.
Remember that each person comes into your life at different times to fill different needs that you are facing. They help you and you help them in an endless cycle. I believe that through experience and conscious thought we learn the things that we are meant to learn. As these people come in and out of your life there is nothing saying that they won't come back and in a different role. I believe that at times we maybe the teacher, explaining our path and what we have learned to a student, and at other times we are the student and we find that we have something to learn from our previous student, and don't be surprised if your friend and confidant becomes a teacher or a student from time to time. There is nothing saying that you will always be surrounded by the same people, remember everyone comes and go through our life in their allotted time and only for as long as they are needed.
You may not understand what I am trying to explain, but it is rather easy. The Bible tells us that we are never given more than we can bear, and I believe this to be the honest truth. In addition to God being with us always, I believe that we are always surrounded by help if we just look for it. God provides for us even when we don't ask for it. It is up to us to understand and accept the blessings that He grants us. But it takes prayer and openly listening for the answers. Please remember that when Christ was on the cross He promised to send us the Comforter, and I believe that the Holy Ghost is who He sent to help guide us and comfort us in His absence, and it is the Holy Spirit and the angels that bring each of these individuals into our life to help us along our spiritual road and journey.
I also want you to realize that it is never to late to start on your journey, and never to late to learn that which is necessary for us to succeed in our mission. I told you once before in my blog entry on "Crucible of life" that we have all signed a spiritual contract and we have a job or part to play while we are here on earth. It is also my firm belief that we have to learn by doing and experiencing life. I believe that pain is the impetus to help us learn and reinforce the lessons that we have experienced. When I tell you that it is never too late for you to start your journey and complete your mission, I mean it. Let me give you an example of what I mean. Let us turn our attention back to the Bible and the story of Moses. Because it is his life that has given me the inspiration to realize that our education is on-going and life long. Moses for the first 40 years of his life, he was raised as a child of the Pharoah, given the education of royalty, including Egyptian mysticism and how to rule the people. However, when he was 40 he witnessed a slave being beaten, and he got so angry and killed the taskmaster that was abusing the slave. Moses was then a murder and an outcast and had to give up his home in the palace and flee into the desert. Where he wandered and lived for another 40 years. During this time Moses learned how to survive and negotiate the wilds of the desert. All of this was future preparation for the task that he was yet called upon to do. Now, you can imagine Moses' surprise when God called upon him to lead His people out of bondage from Egypt. Moses was 80 years old at this time and thought that he was too old, and didn't know how he was going to do what he was told he must do. He thought that maybe Lot, or Aaron were better suited for the job, but God insisted.
You want to know why? The answer was simple, Moses had the knowledge and training that was needed. He knew how the Pharoah would react, he knew the tricks that Pharoah's magicians would use and could counter them, and most importantly Moses knew the desert and the wilds that the people would have to face while fleeing. As I have said we are never given more than we can bear, we are well trained and suited for the job that is ahead of us. Just as Moses had Aaron and Lot with him, I too believe that we have 2 who are going to be with us. As I have said that our roles may change over the course of our journey, they will remain the same. One of will be the teacher, and other a student and finally someone who we can confide in and will help us understand what we are about. As our roles change so might the people that fulfill them, but trust me there is always going to be two around you to help you through all things.
Now, with all of this being said, I am not sure if the Akashic Record exist or not, but as I explained in yesterday's discussion that the only thing that have permanence in this world are ideas or thought forms, I would assume that they have to be part of this record. My reasoning behind this is we are creatures of energy, housed and contained within a shell of flesh, as I have stated before, as the body dies and fails, the energy that is us still remains. It is further my understanding that energy follows the natural law of conversion, that it can neither be created or destroyed just manipulated and changed. If this is the case then when our body finally gives our the energy creature that is us truly moves on to another level of existence. I also pointed out that our beliefs have power and energy of their own, and if enough people believe in something that thing will come into existence. Therefore, if our thoughts and beliefs are energy, they too have to go somewhere and come from somewhere, and that place is what I called yesterday our 2 fold reality.
Again, this is just something that I am exploring and have some belief in. I am not asking you to believe as I do, but I would like to know you thoughts on this. Like I said, my origin is based in Christianity though I have adopted or collect other parts of religious beliefs to help me round out and understand God and the Philosophical and Spiritual Journey we all must travel. Therefore, I can compare the spiritual realm that I have referred to as the Christian Heaven, or liken it to the astral plane of the mystics, but to me they are one and the same and I believe that they are the layer that overlaps our physical reality. I believe that Plato is partially correct that we cannot transfer knowledge from teacher to student directly, that all things that are learned must be experience and discovered through ourselves. But I think a teacher is a vital part of the equation and helps us understand that which we are experiencing and helps us to absorb and integrate our learning into our daily lives. Plus, I believe that this journey of life is but one aspect on the road toward enlightenment and higher learning and knowledge that will help us in our transition from this plane of existence to the next. It is also my contention that we never stop learning and if we do then we are not living, but merely existing.
Our road is not an easy one, and sometimes the path is hard to find and definitely harder to follow once we are on it. But we are not ever alone on our journey, we are given assistance and help when we need it. People come into our lives for a brief time that is allotted them and then they move on. Some will be with us way longer than others, and then there maybe some that come and go, but are always near. Lastly, I believe that no matter where we are at on our journey, that God is always with us, and carries us and gives us the strength we need and the encouragement to continue. Remember that the road you are on is a road of enlightenment, which is a journey to further and gain knowledge, and as you progress along this road you are going to receive direct spiritual guidance and come to know the creator and all things in nature. This is the path that was set for us when Adam and Eve were cast from the Garden of Eden and it is what defines us and makes us human. We are not angels or divine beings with the knowledge of good and evil that was not granted to us. But we were granted dominion over the earth and all things in it. As can be found in Genesis. It is our duty to protect that which has been give us, and do that we must learn and grow from that education. The earth is our home and the only one we have been give, we are the caretakers and the custodians, and we haven't done a really good job taking care of it.
So please keep these things in mind as you embark upon your journey, remember what I have said, and I am sure over time you will come to see things in a different and much more enlightened light. When you do be sure to keep your eyes and heart on God because through His Divine Grace He will reveal all things.
Again, I look forward to hearing from you, please leave a comment and join my blog. I want to hear from you, and I would love to hear your opinions, concerns, feedback, criticisms or whatever else you would like to say to me. All I am doing is trying to share what I have learned with you.
As always my hopes and dreams are with you,
Uncle B
Showing posts with label light body. Show all posts
Showing posts with label light body. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Pain it's all good...just you read and see!
Pain is real, it is quantifiable and measurable. But pain is more than a nerve impulse traveling from an extremity to the brain along a nerve. Pain can be broken down into identifiable categories and can be described in many different ways. When asked to define pain or ascribe a level to it, we use terms such as dull, achy, sharp, throbbing, explosive and so forth.
This allows another person to quantify the pain you are describing to them. Many healthcare professionals ascribe a 1 to 10 scale for rating the level and intensity of your pain. 1 being the lowest and least amount of pain and 10 being the highest and most severe amount of pain. This makes pain more observable and easier to treat. No one likes pain and drugs are often administered to help control it. Pain however is necessary as you will soon find out. It usually accompanies or s a symptom of something else that is going on inside of your body. Pain is a symptom or side effect, if you will of a wound or injury or problem within your body.
As I have said pain is entirely necessary and a function of the body and the brain, specifically the nervous system. I also stated that there are categories of pain, which I define as being physical, emotional and spiritual pain. Each category can be a stand-alone attribute or they can happen together. As described earlier they are each measurable and quantifiable and are rated using the 1 to 10 scale. Yet I contend that each are equally important and need to be addressed. As I have said no one likes pain and when we are in it, we long for relief and comfort.
Pain treatment varies by degree and method. Sometimes by drugs or other forms of care. Sometimes they are treated by time and distance, yet sometimes by a combination of the drugs and time. In almost all cases pain is treated in a type of process. First, by removing the cause then treating the residual pain that is left through cleaning, dressing and finally drugs.
However, if you remember I stated earlier that pain is necessary, and it is! Pain is also important as you will soon see. I am asking you to stay with me here as I endeavor to try and explain it too you. If death is the anti-thesis to life, then pain is the anti-thesis to living. With that being said, lets look at how this works.
Physical pain teaches us. It tells the body NO, you can't do that or that there is something wrong, or there is some kind of sustained damage. Emotional pain matures us ad teaches us how to grow and accept. Spiritual pain enlightens us and propels us forward. Pain is important and if you refer to my blog entry entitled "The Crucible called life is a training ground" you will find that pain is the heat and pressure applied to our lives that mold us and builds us into the individuals we become.
Physical pain is a warning that tells our mind and body to stop. Don't do that! Quit! Move Away and in almost all cases screams don't do that again. Emotional pain is similar in it's message, but in a much more subtle way. Physical pain we learn from immediately, such as getting burned by a hot object. We know the signs, heat, smell and of course the end result, and we know right away that we don't want to do it again. However, emotional pain, the lesson may not always be quite as clear. We might have to experience it a few times in order to grasp what it is trying to teach us. Most of the time emotional pain comes from some sort of relationship and is just as painful as physical pain. Spiritual pain is harder yet to explain, but we all go through it. It can be a religious type of pain or it could just be something as mundane as reaching puberty, having a mental crisis, or a betrayal of some sort. However, spiritual pain involves a moral or personal wound or injury. Spiritual wounds can be perceived and felt as much as physical or emotional pain. Spiritual pain can also be the dawning realization that there is so much more to everything then you knew. As I have said spiritual wounds tend to be the trickiest because they are usually a combination of both the physical and emotional types of pain. As we go further along I will try and make all three of these types of pain more understandable.
We have done all this talking about pain and my three classifications of pain, but what is the definition of pain? According to Webster's Dictionary "Pain is the unpleasant feeling resulting from injury or disease; any distress or suffering of the mind; sorrow" As you can see the definition covers the first two aspects of pain but leaves untouched the third (spiritual). Now when I say classifications, aspect or types of pain I am referring back to my concept of Physical, Emotional, Spiritual.
So in order to better explain things I need to talk to you a bit about what I call the "Light Body". This might sound confusing at first but the concept can be explained and once I explain, I think you will begin to see a much clearer picture of what pain is and how it effects us and how we benefit, learn and grow from it.
I believe that the "Light Body" is made up of three complete and distinct layers or aspects. This is the result of what I have studied, been taught and have extensively thought about. Whether you believe as I do, or come to accept it is all up to you. But if you bear with me I am sure you will at least come to understand what I am talking about and can put together your own interpretation. But feel free to interpret what I have to tell you anyway you like so that it all makes sense to you. Because no matter I believe once it is explained you can extrapolate your own conclusions.
"The Light Body" is comprised of three distinct and fundamental levels that can operate independently or in conjunction with each other. As with pain I break them down as follows: physical, mental or emotional ans spiritual or soul. These aspects or layers are overlaid over the body all at the same time and are handled by the bodies super computer the brain. Now one could argue that because they reside and overlap the body they are therefore part of the physical body, which is partly correct. However permit me to explain and I will try to make it easy for you to understand.
In order for me to do this correctly I am going to have to delve into a little biology and physiology. The body has a system of nerves that network through-out it's entirety. This would be the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. These are easy to explain and simplify if you will. The central nervous system comprises the brain and the spinal cord with the extending nerves through the spine. The peripheral nervous system is the nerve network that combines the limbs and organs to the central nervous system. Simple right? Well I need to break it down a little bit further. The peripheral nervous system is broken down into two sub-systems called the sonomic and autonomic nervous systems. Here is where the first break happens between the physical and the emotional and spiritual body occurs. The sonomic system is where voluntary control of body movements occur. It is also where sensory input from our limbs travel to the central nervous system to the brain. The autonomic nervous system is the regulatory system and controls the bodily functions without conscious intervention. Examples of this are heart beat, respiration, digestion and sexual arousal. The actions of this system happen on the subconscious level of the brain, however some can work with the sonomic nervous system such as breathing and swallowing. Both of which can happen involuntarily or by thinking about them.
Are you beginning to see where I am coming from? Do you see the physical and emotional bodies beginning to form? I hope so because I am about to take you further still to understand the spiritual body and how the three work together to for the "Light Body". Now keeping in mind that we are still taking about pain and how we react, grow from, learn from and experience it. The nervous system is read by and interpreted by the brain, the body's super computer. Without going into the psychology of the brain, I will just explain that the spiritual body is house there. Whether in the subconscious or conscious parts of it or in another place entirely is open for another lesson. However, I need to say that the brain is hwere the soul or consciousness resides. It is where rational, irrational thoughts take place. It is here that I believe the Divine Spark lives. What Christians call the breathe of life, and what I refer to as the "Godhead". It is the part of us that the Divine has gifted us with that gives us life and sentience.
As I have said before all three aspects, or categories of pain exist because the three aspects of the body exist. It is possible to experience pain on each level individually or collectively. The body is a miraculous machine, governed and moderated by the brain. It has wondrous coping and defense mechanisms that help us compartmentalize and analyze as well as quantify the pain we experience. But the overall outcome of pain is the same. It is a warning, a signal of danger, hurt or damage that needs to be handled and addressed. How we deal with pain is personal and will vary by each individual. Everybody handles and deals with pain and injury differently. However, we each receive warnings and symptoms that alert us to the injury or wound.
As we grow, develop, mature and age our body develops an early warning system that helps protect us and identify danger and potential for injury. As a threat is perceived we might experience a period of heightened awareness, a tensing of the muscles and we become hyper sensitive to body languages, sounds and other signs that attack or danger is imminent. After this brief period of awareness comes the "Fight or Flight reflex" which is a rising panic within us to either prepare for battle or flee from the attack. This floods the body with adrenalin and endorphin's that shield the mind from the trauma of pain and injury. This is also known as Shock.
The brain is so powerful that it can override or deaden the impulses of pain to such a degree that a person can walk around on a broken ankle for an hour and never realize that it is broken. However, it will react in the same way to any other type of pain you might experience. Shock shields the brain from being overloaded by massive pain impulses flooding from the nerves. How to cope with pain is another topic we can explore later in another blog entry. What I wanted you to learn from this entry is that there are several different types of pain that you can and will experience, and through each type what you the individual will learn from, grow from and develop and mature from.
They say that time heals all wounds. Essentially that is true, but pain is different and is handled differently, processed differently and ultimately may never go away. But I am here to tell you this, you can survive pain, there are ways you can lessen your pain and sometimes you can overcome it. Other times you will have to bear it. But know and understand that you can live with it and endure it. Pain is how we truly learn, how we adapt. If forces us to grow, mature. It can even give us direction, change us, make us stronger and more cautious.
Pain teaches us patience, humility and inevitably through the process we learn frailty and mortality. It can also drive us to explore new possibilities, take bigger risks and chances and helps us face our fears. Most of all it molds us, builds our character and in a way makes us human. Pain means we are living and alive, growing and learning. Though we hate it, it is important none the less!
As always my hopes and dreams are with you,
Uncle B
This allows another person to quantify the pain you are describing to them. Many healthcare professionals ascribe a 1 to 10 scale for rating the level and intensity of your pain. 1 being the lowest and least amount of pain and 10 being the highest and most severe amount of pain. This makes pain more observable and easier to treat. No one likes pain and drugs are often administered to help control it. Pain however is necessary as you will soon find out. It usually accompanies or s a symptom of something else that is going on inside of your body. Pain is a symptom or side effect, if you will of a wound or injury or problem within your body.
As I have said pain is entirely necessary and a function of the body and the brain, specifically the nervous system. I also stated that there are categories of pain, which I define as being physical, emotional and spiritual pain. Each category can be a stand-alone attribute or they can happen together. As described earlier they are each measurable and quantifiable and are rated using the 1 to 10 scale. Yet I contend that each are equally important and need to be addressed. As I have said no one likes pain and when we are in it, we long for relief and comfort.
Pain treatment varies by degree and method. Sometimes by drugs or other forms of care. Sometimes they are treated by time and distance, yet sometimes by a combination of the drugs and time. In almost all cases pain is treated in a type of process. First, by removing the cause then treating the residual pain that is left through cleaning, dressing and finally drugs.
However, if you remember I stated earlier that pain is necessary, and it is! Pain is also important as you will soon see. I am asking you to stay with me here as I endeavor to try and explain it too you. If death is the anti-thesis to life, then pain is the anti-thesis to living. With that being said, lets look at how this works.
Physical pain teaches us. It tells the body NO, you can't do that or that there is something wrong, or there is some kind of sustained damage. Emotional pain matures us ad teaches us how to grow and accept. Spiritual pain enlightens us and propels us forward. Pain is important and if you refer to my blog entry entitled "The Crucible called life is a training ground" you will find that pain is the heat and pressure applied to our lives that mold us and builds us into the individuals we become.
Physical pain is a warning that tells our mind and body to stop. Don't do that! Quit! Move Away and in almost all cases screams don't do that again. Emotional pain is similar in it's message, but in a much more subtle way. Physical pain we learn from immediately, such as getting burned by a hot object. We know the signs, heat, smell and of course the end result, and we know right away that we don't want to do it again. However, emotional pain, the lesson may not always be quite as clear. We might have to experience it a few times in order to grasp what it is trying to teach us. Most of the time emotional pain comes from some sort of relationship and is just as painful as physical pain. Spiritual pain is harder yet to explain, but we all go through it. It can be a religious type of pain or it could just be something as mundane as reaching puberty, having a mental crisis, or a betrayal of some sort. However, spiritual pain involves a moral or personal wound or injury. Spiritual wounds can be perceived and felt as much as physical or emotional pain. Spiritual pain can also be the dawning realization that there is so much more to everything then you knew. As I have said spiritual wounds tend to be the trickiest because they are usually a combination of both the physical and emotional types of pain. As we go further along I will try and make all three of these types of pain more understandable.
We have done all this talking about pain and my three classifications of pain, but what is the definition of pain? According to Webster's Dictionary "Pain is the unpleasant feeling resulting from injury or disease; any distress or suffering of the mind; sorrow" As you can see the definition covers the first two aspects of pain but leaves untouched the third (spiritual). Now when I say classifications, aspect or types of pain I am referring back to my concept of Physical, Emotional, Spiritual.
So in order to better explain things I need to talk to you a bit about what I call the "Light Body". This might sound confusing at first but the concept can be explained and once I explain, I think you will begin to see a much clearer picture of what pain is and how it effects us and how we benefit, learn and grow from it.
I believe that the "Light Body" is made up of three complete and distinct layers or aspects. This is the result of what I have studied, been taught and have extensively thought about. Whether you believe as I do, or come to accept it is all up to you. But if you bear with me I am sure you will at least come to understand what I am talking about and can put together your own interpretation. But feel free to interpret what I have to tell you anyway you like so that it all makes sense to you. Because no matter I believe once it is explained you can extrapolate your own conclusions.
"The Light Body" is comprised of three distinct and fundamental levels that can operate independently or in conjunction with each other. As with pain I break them down as follows: physical, mental or emotional ans spiritual or soul. These aspects or layers are overlaid over the body all at the same time and are handled by the bodies super computer the brain. Now one could argue that because they reside and overlap the body they are therefore part of the physical body, which is partly correct. However permit me to explain and I will try to make it easy for you to understand.
In order for me to do this correctly I am going to have to delve into a little biology and physiology. The body has a system of nerves that network through-out it's entirety. This would be the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. These are easy to explain and simplify if you will. The central nervous system comprises the brain and the spinal cord with the extending nerves through the spine. The peripheral nervous system is the nerve network that combines the limbs and organs to the central nervous system. Simple right? Well I need to break it down a little bit further. The peripheral nervous system is broken down into two sub-systems called the sonomic and autonomic nervous systems. Here is where the first break happens between the physical and the emotional and spiritual body occurs. The sonomic system is where voluntary control of body movements occur. It is also where sensory input from our limbs travel to the central nervous system to the brain. The autonomic nervous system is the regulatory system and controls the bodily functions without conscious intervention. Examples of this are heart beat, respiration, digestion and sexual arousal. The actions of this system happen on the subconscious level of the brain, however some can work with the sonomic nervous system such as breathing and swallowing. Both of which can happen involuntarily or by thinking about them.
Are you beginning to see where I am coming from? Do you see the physical and emotional bodies beginning to form? I hope so because I am about to take you further still to understand the spiritual body and how the three work together to for the "Light Body". Now keeping in mind that we are still taking about pain and how we react, grow from, learn from and experience it. The nervous system is read by and interpreted by the brain, the body's super computer. Without going into the psychology of the brain, I will just explain that the spiritual body is house there. Whether in the subconscious or conscious parts of it or in another place entirely is open for another lesson. However, I need to say that the brain is hwere the soul or consciousness resides. It is where rational, irrational thoughts take place. It is here that I believe the Divine Spark lives. What Christians call the breathe of life, and what I refer to as the "Godhead". It is the part of us that the Divine has gifted us with that gives us life and sentience.
As I have said before all three aspects, or categories of pain exist because the three aspects of the body exist. It is possible to experience pain on each level individually or collectively. The body is a miraculous machine, governed and moderated by the brain. It has wondrous coping and defense mechanisms that help us compartmentalize and analyze as well as quantify the pain we experience. But the overall outcome of pain is the same. It is a warning, a signal of danger, hurt or damage that needs to be handled and addressed. How we deal with pain is personal and will vary by each individual. Everybody handles and deals with pain and injury differently. However, we each receive warnings and symptoms that alert us to the injury or wound.
As we grow, develop, mature and age our body develops an early warning system that helps protect us and identify danger and potential for injury. As a threat is perceived we might experience a period of heightened awareness, a tensing of the muscles and we become hyper sensitive to body languages, sounds and other signs that attack or danger is imminent. After this brief period of awareness comes the "Fight or Flight reflex" which is a rising panic within us to either prepare for battle or flee from the attack. This floods the body with adrenalin and endorphin's that shield the mind from the trauma of pain and injury. This is also known as Shock.
The brain is so powerful that it can override or deaden the impulses of pain to such a degree that a person can walk around on a broken ankle for an hour and never realize that it is broken. However, it will react in the same way to any other type of pain you might experience. Shock shields the brain from being overloaded by massive pain impulses flooding from the nerves. How to cope with pain is another topic we can explore later in another blog entry. What I wanted you to learn from this entry is that there are several different types of pain that you can and will experience, and through each type what you the individual will learn from, grow from and develop and mature from.
They say that time heals all wounds. Essentially that is true, but pain is different and is handled differently, processed differently and ultimately may never go away. But I am here to tell you this, you can survive pain, there are ways you can lessen your pain and sometimes you can overcome it. Other times you will have to bear it. But know and understand that you can live with it and endure it. Pain is how we truly learn, how we adapt. If forces us to grow, mature. It can even give us direction, change us, make us stronger and more cautious.
Pain teaches us patience, humility and inevitably through the process we learn frailty and mortality. It can also drive us to explore new possibilities, take bigger risks and chances and helps us face our fears. Most of all it molds us, builds our character and in a way makes us human. Pain means we are living and alive, growing and learning. Though we hate it, it is important none the less!
As always my hopes and dreams are with you,
Uncle B
Monday, May 14, 2012
What is Mediation, and how can you benefit from it?
First, let me take a minute to say Thank You for coming this far with me on this little journey toward enlightenment and self-awareness. This is the last blog entry in this current series. There will be other to come in the future I am sure. So take the time to join my blog and follow the entries as they unfold. I am attempting to build my audience and would love to have you be a part of my community.
In this entry we are going to talk about meditation and it's possible benefits that you can get out of utilizing meditation in your daily life. So, let's start this off right by first telling you that Mediation is derived from the word meditate. According to Webster's Pocket Dictionary and Thesaurus defines meditate as: "to be in continuous contemplative thought; to think about doing some thing." There are many schools of thought on meditation; some believe that meditation opens the mind to a higher form of consciousness, others claim it is just the stilling of ones mind to allow exploration of the subconscious, still others say that it is the key to ultimate knowledge and enlightenment, there are so many different opinions that it would be impossible to list them all in this blog.
It is my own opinion that maybe every single one of them are right in some way shape or fashion. No matter what your religious beliefs are or what school of thought you identify with, it will not change what meditation is and how it can help you. Personally I like to think of it as prayer and a form of inner evaluation, a form of self-reflection and a tool to help us divorce ourselves from the physical world and glimpse and sometimes enter the spiritual realm. I have studied many of the worlds religions, and have practiced some of them from time to time. Each religion teaches and embrace mediation. In Christianity it is in the form of prayer, in Hinduism it is in the form of lighting candles and incense and assuming the lotus position, and so on and so forth. Each time I have tried to learn the religious aspects of meditation I found it confusing , hard to accomplish and at times elusive. The reason why this happened is because the simple concept of self-realization and inner focus was incorporated into the religious culture and dogma and became wrapped up and cloaked in religious tradition.
The concept of meditation is very simple. It is the stilling of ones mind and allowing the conscious thought to relax control over the body and surrenders control to the subconscious, it is almost like the rational mind (conscious) falls into a light slumber where you can still think and remember what is happening. Once you have stilled your mind your body relaxes, your respiration and breathing slows as well as your heartbeat. As you enter this state the subconscious is able to focus your mind on issues or thought abstracts that your waking or rational mind has not been able to work out or deal with. Thus allowing you to have deeper thoughts, explore the inner recesses of your mind. Further, when you reflect inward and review your life, you can see and understand things that have been bothering you and you had no idea why. As you think these deeper thought you are opened up to a greater understanding and spiritual awareness and awakening is able to enter into your body. Dreams they say is how the subconscious mind works out problems and issues that your conscious mind is either unaware of or are too complex for total understanding. It is through mediation that we are able to view these issues and allow the subconscious to work on the issues without the constraint of the rational mind holding you back.
As you meditate and your mind calms, you will be able to focus your will reduce your stress, contemplate and understand complex abstracts. As your mind stills and your body relaxes your subconscious takes control, now remember that the body's autonomic nervous system is control by the subconscious mind. So when I talk about how you can benefit from mediation, you receive improved and efficient respiration, breathing is normalized, stress is reduced and blood pressure drops, basically your body's natural health is improved and becomes more efficient. Meditation is definitely a tool you will want to use on your journey of self-discovery and spiritual enlightenment. Another benefit of letting the rational mind relax your subconscious becomes open and receptive to abstract thoughts and spiritual energy. You are able to glimpse and possibly at times enter into the spiritual realm and gain better insight into yourself and those around you.
I find myself mediating at various different times and because it has become second nature too me I seem to slip in and out of it with out sometimes even realizing that I am doing it. I also have a dedicated time when I meditate, I like to meditate when I am grounding and centering, I find that it helps me align my bodies energy field and focus my will to a singularity of purpose. Feel free to mediate whenever you want and as often as you would like. It will become second nature to you as well and you will be amazed at some of the thought you will begin to think and understand. I also like to mediate when I write, for some examples of this look at my blog entries on vision 20/20 and happiness, and time..I think you will begin to see what I mean by abstract thoughts can be analyzed and your how your knowledge and understanding of them improves.
Take some time just like I described in the last entry on grounding where you can be alone and uninterrupted for a period of time, close your eyes, relax your mind and let your body relax as well. Just let your mind go and follow where it leads, look into your self, and be honest with yourself and you will see what I mean about becoming open and receptive. That is all there is too mediation. Pretty simple right! Keep in mind that using meditation with ground will help keep your body in balance and strengthen your inner focus and sharpens you will to a point of singular purpose. Your body will benefit from renewed health, vitality and become more efficient in handling negative energy and help you to live in a positive state of being.
This series has been about that allowing us to have to tools needed to reflect inward, begin a journey of self-awareness and self-discovery and spiritual enlightenment. It was also about using our unconscious(subconscious) mind to view and pick up on abstract thoughts and take those inner issues that our rational mind cannot handle and working to resolve them. It allows us to be open and receptive to change and allows us to understand ourselves and those around us.
Learn from mediation, use it and see how great you will feel. Again you have nothing to loose by trying it and you have so much to gain from it. It is a win-win situation all the way around. As always I look forward to hearing from you and I appreciate your feedback and comments. Tell me what you think and how you feel on this or any other subject I have written about. You can contact me directly through the blog, or write to me on facebook at www.facebook.com/bryan.zepp2 or via email at bryanzepp@gmail.com.
All my hopes and dreams are with you
Uncle B
In this entry we are going to talk about meditation and it's possible benefits that you can get out of utilizing meditation in your daily life. So, let's start this off right by first telling you that Mediation is derived from the word meditate. According to Webster's Pocket Dictionary and Thesaurus defines meditate as: "to be in continuous contemplative thought; to think about doing some thing." There are many schools of thought on meditation; some believe that meditation opens the mind to a higher form of consciousness, others claim it is just the stilling of ones mind to allow exploration of the subconscious, still others say that it is the key to ultimate knowledge and enlightenment, there are so many different opinions that it would be impossible to list them all in this blog.
It is my own opinion that maybe every single one of them are right in some way shape or fashion. No matter what your religious beliefs are or what school of thought you identify with, it will not change what meditation is and how it can help you. Personally I like to think of it as prayer and a form of inner evaluation, a form of self-reflection and a tool to help us divorce ourselves from the physical world and glimpse and sometimes enter the spiritual realm. I have studied many of the worlds religions, and have practiced some of them from time to time. Each religion teaches and embrace mediation. In Christianity it is in the form of prayer, in Hinduism it is in the form of lighting candles and incense and assuming the lotus position, and so on and so forth. Each time I have tried to learn the religious aspects of meditation I found it confusing , hard to accomplish and at times elusive. The reason why this happened is because the simple concept of self-realization and inner focus was incorporated into the religious culture and dogma and became wrapped up and cloaked in religious tradition.
The concept of meditation is very simple. It is the stilling of ones mind and allowing the conscious thought to relax control over the body and surrenders control to the subconscious, it is almost like the rational mind (conscious) falls into a light slumber where you can still think and remember what is happening. Once you have stilled your mind your body relaxes, your respiration and breathing slows as well as your heartbeat. As you enter this state the subconscious is able to focus your mind on issues or thought abstracts that your waking or rational mind has not been able to work out or deal with. Thus allowing you to have deeper thoughts, explore the inner recesses of your mind. Further, when you reflect inward and review your life, you can see and understand things that have been bothering you and you had no idea why. As you think these deeper thought you are opened up to a greater understanding and spiritual awareness and awakening is able to enter into your body. Dreams they say is how the subconscious mind works out problems and issues that your conscious mind is either unaware of or are too complex for total understanding. It is through mediation that we are able to view these issues and allow the subconscious to work on the issues without the constraint of the rational mind holding you back.
As you meditate and your mind calms, you will be able to focus your will reduce your stress, contemplate and understand complex abstracts. As your mind stills and your body relaxes your subconscious takes control, now remember that the body's autonomic nervous system is control by the subconscious mind. So when I talk about how you can benefit from mediation, you receive improved and efficient respiration, breathing is normalized, stress is reduced and blood pressure drops, basically your body's natural health is improved and becomes more efficient. Meditation is definitely a tool you will want to use on your journey of self-discovery and spiritual enlightenment. Another benefit of letting the rational mind relax your subconscious becomes open and receptive to abstract thoughts and spiritual energy. You are able to glimpse and possibly at times enter into the spiritual realm and gain better insight into yourself and those around you.
I find myself mediating at various different times and because it has become second nature too me I seem to slip in and out of it with out sometimes even realizing that I am doing it. I also have a dedicated time when I meditate, I like to meditate when I am grounding and centering, I find that it helps me align my bodies energy field and focus my will to a singularity of purpose. Feel free to mediate whenever you want and as often as you would like. It will become second nature to you as well and you will be amazed at some of the thought you will begin to think and understand. I also like to mediate when I write, for some examples of this look at my blog entries on vision 20/20 and happiness, and time..I think you will begin to see what I mean by abstract thoughts can be analyzed and your how your knowledge and understanding of them improves.
Take some time just like I described in the last entry on grounding where you can be alone and uninterrupted for a period of time, close your eyes, relax your mind and let your body relax as well. Just let your mind go and follow where it leads, look into your self, and be honest with yourself and you will see what I mean about becoming open and receptive. That is all there is too mediation. Pretty simple right! Keep in mind that using meditation with ground will help keep your body in balance and strengthen your inner focus and sharpens you will to a point of singular purpose. Your body will benefit from renewed health, vitality and become more efficient in handling negative energy and help you to live in a positive state of being.
This series has been about that allowing us to have to tools needed to reflect inward, begin a journey of self-awareness and self-discovery and spiritual enlightenment. It was also about using our unconscious(subconscious) mind to view and pick up on abstract thoughts and take those inner issues that our rational mind cannot handle and working to resolve them. It allows us to be open and receptive to change and allows us to understand ourselves and those around us.
Learn from mediation, use it and see how great you will feel. Again you have nothing to loose by trying it and you have so much to gain from it. It is a win-win situation all the way around. As always I look forward to hearing from you and I appreciate your feedback and comments. Tell me what you think and how you feel on this or any other subject I have written about. You can contact me directly through the blog, or write to me on facebook at www.facebook.com/bryan.zepp2 or via email at bryanzepp@gmail.com.
All my hopes and dreams are with you
Uncle B
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Techniques and Practices that will help you successfully ground yourself
In yesterday's blog entry I spoke to you about the concept of grounding and how it can benefit you. Now, what I would like to do is explain just a few simple techniques you can use to achieve grounding. Believe me when I tell you there are many ways and techniques out there that a person can use to achieve grounding. My goal is to narrow down that list, by giving you a foundation upon which you can build on. Feel free to customize and adapt either of the techniques I am about to talk to you about and make them your own. Find the easiest most comfortable way to achieve this and it will become second nature and automatic. Like I said be creative, have fun with it and make it your own.. All I ask is hat you push your fear and skepticism aside and just try it, you will be glad you did and will feel the benefits right away.There is nothing to lose, it can't hurt, and you have so much to gain, just have to do it. As with all things that are new to us we have natural doubts, we are skeptical and may have second thoughts or misgivings about grounding. But, if you go into it with an open mind and a receptive heart you cannot go wrong.
Getting rid of negativity in your life, freeing yourself from the rut that you have been stuck in, ending the cycle of depression and fear that has been keeping you prisoner; are just some of the things you can expect to gain. Others, will include more energy, a feeling of inner peace and you will have a sharper focus. Things around you will start to change, the new positive outlook, will start to draw more people and things to you and around you. Opportunities will begin to open up for you and your whole life will become enriched. Keep in mind that positive attracts positive, inner calm brings inner peace and with our stress reduced, our body can rest easier and will benefit from more efficient healing and recuperation, which in turn lets us sleep more peacefully, allowing us to feel renewed, refreshed, relaxed and energized. Trust me when I say it is a win-win situation, you have absolutely nothing to lose, except maybe depression, anxiety, stress and the familiarity of despair.
Now, I have your interest right? I think I might! So how do you get to this point? It really isn't as difficult as you might think, keep in mind that there are many ways to do this and it is your job to seek out which one is easiest and right for you, then make it your own. There are an unlimited possibilities, techniques, methods, techniques, and philosophies on this out there, feel free to mix and match, add, subtract, personalize it anyway you see fit. A few examples are Gardening, Baking, Reading, spending time with nature. As I said there are unlimited possibilities you just got to figure out which one fits you and then you just incorporate some basic techniques and then you are all set. Doing something outside of your comfort zone will give you the most outstanding results. Now we are going to delve into the basics and give you a thorough understanding of them so that you can incorporate them in your daily life.
The basic of grounding are pretty simple and easy to follow:
Today is Mother's Day do something special for all the special women in your life that have sacrificed and provided for you. Make sure you tell them thank you and acknowledge what they have done for you.
Getting rid of negativity in your life, freeing yourself from the rut that you have been stuck in, ending the cycle of depression and fear that has been keeping you prisoner; are just some of the things you can expect to gain. Others, will include more energy, a feeling of inner peace and you will have a sharper focus. Things around you will start to change, the new positive outlook, will start to draw more people and things to you and around you. Opportunities will begin to open up for you and your whole life will become enriched. Keep in mind that positive attracts positive, inner calm brings inner peace and with our stress reduced, our body can rest easier and will benefit from more efficient healing and recuperation, which in turn lets us sleep more peacefully, allowing us to feel renewed, refreshed, relaxed and energized. Trust me when I say it is a win-win situation, you have absolutely nothing to lose, except maybe depression, anxiety, stress and the familiarity of despair.
Now, I have your interest right? I think I might! So how do you get to this point? It really isn't as difficult as you might think, keep in mind that there are many ways to do this and it is your job to seek out which one is easiest and right for you, then make it your own. There are an unlimited possibilities, techniques, methods, techniques, and philosophies on this out there, feel free to mix and match, add, subtract, personalize it anyway you see fit. A few examples are Gardening, Baking, Reading, spending time with nature. As I said there are unlimited possibilities you just got to figure out which one fits you and then you just incorporate some basic techniques and then you are all set. Doing something outside of your comfort zone will give you the most outstanding results. Now we are going to delve into the basics and give you a thorough understanding of them so that you can incorporate them in your daily life.
The basic of grounding are pretty simple and easy to follow:
- Set aside a dedicated time of day. It works better if you use the same time as much as possible. Though there will be times when you can't do it at the same time or you may find you need to have more than one time set aside per day. Personally I have my time set for the morning so the tone of my day is set. Then when I need to I throw in an evening time when appropriate. (15 to 30 minutes is all the time you need)
- Make sure that you have selected a private place and you will not be interrupted. Turn off your phone and isolate yourself all outside influences and distractions.
- Clear your mind and relax.
- Feel the energy flow from above you and through you.
- Let it pass through you into the ground.
With all this being said lets get to it. These are my simple techniques that I use. Sometimes I add music and other things when I am trying to relax and ground, as I told you earlier the possibilities are unlimited and there is no wrong way or right way, it is just your preferences and what you feel comfortable with. My favorite and probably first choice is a natural approach and incorporates nature in all the beauty and wonder that exists there. If you live in a city it maybe a little hard for you to find the perfect spot. But, the neat bonus is that you can try all sorts of different spots, and change them as frequently as you want.
In our overview on grounding, I explained that grounding is a natural phenomenon therefore somehow it seems fitting that the first technique takes place and incorporates nature in its usage. I have set aside a time for each day to explore nature.Personally I choose to do my grounding in the morning. My reasoning is this I am not a morning person, it takes me a bit to wake up and get my day going. Therefore, when I ground and commune with nature I set the tone for my entire day. When I step out of the house I am positively energized, I am eager to face the day with renewed joy and vigor.
But how do I achieve all of this? Simple I select my personal block of time, as stated earlier about 15 to 30 minutes each morning., where I isolate myself from the outside world. This means that I turn off the cell phone, television and ensure that I avoid any distractions and interruptions. I step out into nature and observe it in all of its beauty and majesty. I actually don't have to physically go anywhere I personally like to sit in my backyard, or go to the beach or even the public park. Next, I feel the sun warming and this helps me quiet and still my mind. I also like to touch the plants, smell the flowers, talk to the animals that are in the vicinity. As I am doing this I let my mind grow quiet pushing out all thoughts and distractions and I feel the energy of the sun flowing all over me and through me. As the energy courses through my body from the heavens toward the ground, I actually feel the negativity and stress of the world and the previous day drain slowly out of my body. The positive energy flows from the sky through the top of my head and then through my body and leaving it through my feet and my hands that touch the plants and other things. All the while I rejoice and give thanks for another day as my body fills with the energy of the sun.
The second method is just a little variation on the first instead of walking around and touching things to ground, I find a tree to rest on, I place my back and head against the trunk as I lean back. I can feel the energy of the sun flowing down from the sky into the trees leaves and flows through the trunk heading to the roots for grounding but because I am leaning against the tree, I am actually part of the trees circuit the energy that flows down frAom the sun, enters my body through the trunk into my head and flows through my body, and exit through my back and drawn down into the ground by the trees roots. As the energy is drawn through me and suffuses me in every way and as long as my mind is free from all outside thoughts, influence and then isolating me from the clutter and activity of the world for just 15 to 30 minutes each morning I feel refreshed and energized to face the day. Now, if for some reason I cannot get out into nature, I do the next best thing, I sequester myself away in my room. Again turning off all distractions and shutting my door so I am not disturbed. I then go through the steps again, visualizing the energy from the sun flowing down through my roof through the top of my head and travelling through my body seeking to reach ground. Remember there are so many ways to customize this that whatever you choose to do will work as long as you keep to the basics. As you can see the only difference between the above techniques is the venue where the grounding actually takes place.
In just a few moments after starting the grounding process I feel the tensions, stress, emotions and all the negativity from the day before to melt and begin to be washed away. It is just that simple, and I can start my day and know that I am going to have a positive one. The one thing that I do is to give thanks for being granted another day, say thank you to the tree or nature that has been so kind as to assist me in my grounding efforts and then I take a few minutes to think of some key words to help me through the coming day and help me maintain my positive focus. These are words that I hope to demonstrate, exhibit, impart to those with whom I may come in contact with or might interact with throughout my day. These are words like: Love, Compassion, Understanding,, Caring, Wisdom, Kindness, humility, gratitude etc. I keep these words in the front of my mind throughout the day and to help me maintain focus.
Well you made it this far by reading this post, please don't give up just yet bear with me just a little bit longer as I summarize what I have been trying to get across to you and the key points I hope you will remember. By now I have defined what grounding is; given you the benefits of; then through in my concept of key words to help us manage and cope with the day. All you need to walk away with is this: Ground yourself daily, be open and receptive, make it your own, experiment with it, have fun with it, and customize it anyway you want so that you are totally comfortable with the process. But above everything else I want you to try it!
The techniques I talked about were Nature Grounding (or using nature and natural surroundings and settings). The other is when you couldn't get out in nature then you use what I call Visual Grounding (grounding utilizing visualization) and is done in your private place where you won't be interrupted. Remember the basics, use key words and you will be amazed at how your day turns around and how things begin to open up for you. You will also notice the immediate benefits of renewed spirit, health all the while of experiencing a positive focus and will be amazed at how relaxed and refreshed you feel.
Please join me for the next entry as I will be going through mediation and how it can and will benefit you. As always your feedback and comments are appreciated and solicited. Feel free to ask any questions and remember that I am here for you. Write to me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bryan.zepp2 or bryanzepp@gmail.com. If you have enjoyed what you have read please follow my blog, join up and become a follower. I am trying to build up my audience and I want you to be a part of my community.
All my hopes and dreams are with you.
Uncle B
Today is Mother's Day do something special for all the special women in your life that have sacrificed and provided for you. Make sure you tell them thank you and acknowledge what they have done for you.
All my love,
B
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