50 Best Blogs for Zen-Like Living Whether you are a Zen Buddhist or just want to lead a Zen life, these 50 spiritual and simplifying blogs and community web sites will point you down the path of enlightenment. Explore the first sub-section to learn how to have a happy, fulfilled life through Zen-inspired lessons and mantras. The second sub-section is dedicated to those who are seeking a more spiritual side of Zen like Zen Buddhism. Many of these blogs feature meditations and insight on the path to Enlightenment. Learn to Live Peacefully Blogs 1. zenhabits – This no-frills site focuses on ways of slowing down and enjoying life to its fullest. 2. Ahh. Search our database of 350+ colleges and universities to find the right program for you.
26 Personal Finance Books - Ranked From Best To Worst The Simple Dollar has had an ongoing series of in-depth personal finance book reviews over the last six months as part of an ongoing 52 Personal Finance Books in 52 Weeks project. We now find ourselves at the halfway point and thus now is a great time to reflect on the books that have been read so far in the series. And given that my readers have often wondered to me how the books compare to each other, I thought that a great way to reflect on the series to this point is to rank all 26 of the books from best to worst. How do you rank them when they’re so diverse? Did the book make me think while reading it? As I went through the books and thought about these questions, a rough ranking of the books became pretty clear. So, without further ado, here’s a ranking of the first six months worth of the 52 Personal Finance Books in 52 Weeks, with the best book at the top of the list and the worst at the bottom. 1. 2. So far, this is the best all-around book on investing that I’ve read. 3. 4. 5. 6.
7 Superfoods for Your Health Were you under the assumption that a superfood is some type of strange and foreign melon from an exotic, far-off country? If so, I’m happy to inform you that superfoods come in many shapes and varieties, and some of these foods are probably in your kitchen right now! Checkout our list of delicious superfoods with phenomenal health benefits and tasty appeal. Click here to share this infographic on your website. Copy/paste the code below to add this infographic to your site.
Three Steps to Success for Creative Geniuses Creative people have it tough in this world. Despite having the skills and potential to make a tremendous impact, the odds are stacked against us. Unlike our business minded counterparts, the path to the success is not clearly defined. If you are reading this article, chances are you are what I call a genius type. You don’t have to be super-intelligent, super-creative, or super-talented to be one. Entrepreneurs, musicians, film-makers, writers, producers, directors, artists, real estate investors, photographers, inventors, and stock pickers are a few good examples. I paid my way through college with my own businesses. The “Artist’s Dilemma:” In the short-run, the truer you are to your own genius, the less it pays. A person who wants to follow his own creativity and passion, but isn’t independently wealthy faces an uphill battle. For example, consider a painter who really gets excited about post-modern, abstract art that few people understand. I lasted less than a year in management.
28 of the best pieces of advice about life you'll ever read Have the courage to live a life true to yourself, not the life others expect of you. Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” Don’t make decisions when you’re angry. “Never argue with a stupid person, they’ll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.” Only pack what you can carry yourself. Remember you’ll always regret what you didn’t do rather than what you did. “You’d worry less about what people think about you if you knew how seldom they do.” If you blame it on someone else, don’t expect it to get better. “You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, but there will always be someone who hates peaches.” If the grass is greener on the other side, there’s probably more manure there. Don’t give up what you want most for what you want now. With regards to the opposite sex: If you look hungry, you’ll starve.
How Not to Get Absorbed in Someone Else's Abdomen 0Share Synopsis Anglerfish are metaphors for how creative communities can eat your brain and kill your creativity. Male anglerfish are born with an innate desire to not exist. As soon as a male reaches maturity, he acquires an urge to find a female, sink his teeth into her, and grow into her. Or are we? That creative communities are alluring to the aspiring creativity maven is not surprising: we all want friends who understand what we do and appreciate our accomplishments. The source of this shrinkage is something called “adaptation,” or “habituation.” In fact, our heads are teeming with world-shrinking mechanisms that go far beyond our senses, invading the way we think and reason. Mark Changizi is Director of Human Cognition at 2AI Labs, and the author of The Vision Revolution (2009) and his new book, Harnessed: How Language and Music Mimicked Nature and Transformed Ape to Man (2011). Tags: adaptation, anglerfish, creativity, habituation
40 Tips for a Happier Life Since the end of the 90s a new branch of the science, also known as Positive Psychology has been dealing with the essentials for happiness. In order to help you find out which happiness potentials are maybe lying idle with you, I have summarized the 40 most important insights on the subject “happiness” in an abbreviated format in the following “checklist”. 1. Get to know yourself really well! Whoever knows more about him/herself, will better be able to tap into his/her potential, advance his/her development and learn to better deal with critical issues. 2. Professional and private activities conveying the feeling of absolute fulfillment create “flow” in us – and that makes us happy. 3. People living in long-lasting, good partner relationships are evidentially happier than singles. 4. 5. Positive social contacts reduce stress and promote health. 6. 7. An essential condition for satisfaction and happiness is to make peace with one’s own history and past and accept it the way it is. 8. 9.
16 things I know are true but haven't quite learned yet There’s a difference between knowing something and living as if it were true. At the end of 2013, these truths are all lingering on that awkward threshold, for me anyway. 1) The sooner you do something, the more of your life you get to spend with that thing done — even though it takes less effort (or at least no more) than it will later. It’s the ultimate sure-thing investment and I pass it up all the time. 2) I never regret working out. 3) Whenever I’m playing with my phone I am only shortening my life. 4) Nothing makes me more productive and in-the-moment than a clean house. 5) Minute-for-minute, nothing I do is more rewarding than meditation. 6) Creative work is something that can be done at any time. 7) Acting the way you want to feel usually works. 8) Ninety-five per cent of my happiness comes from having a home, a functioning body and something to eat. 9) Our minds are geared to manage much less than we typically end up managing. Goodbye 2013, you were great. Photo by David Cain
The Top 7 Signs of Self-Sabotaging Behaviors, self-sabotage, self-defeating behaviors, Holistic Living Having trouble reaching all your goals? Are you going for what you want, but feeling like something is road-blocking the way? Are you finding yourself "not" doing some of the things you know you should be doing? You may be a victim of sabotage---self-sabotage. How do you know, and what can you do about it? Read on and see. 1. See Also: A Positive Mindset is the Foundation for Success Don’t limit your thinking, as this will limit your beliefs and these will limit your actions, which will limit your successes! Develop Goals, Visualize, and Get It Your mind is your mental workshop. What can I do to succeed? A Goal is a Must so is Concentration Concentration is the magic key that opens the door to accomplishment. You Can Succeed Even in Failure Failure is one of the surest stepping stones to success. 18 Rules For Life Some commonsense rules to follow to have a happy life. More Inspirational Articles Unlock the secret success formula contained within "Think and Grow Rich" . . .
7 Steps To Playing A Much Bigger Game (With Free Workbook) (This is a long post, but if you’re committed to taking things to the next level in your life or business, I know you’ll read it to the end. Trust me, it’s worth it and you deserve it. ) There’s an old saying that “Nothing works until you do” – and it couldn’t be more true. No matter how much you might wish for heaven and earth to move just because you want it to, you have to cowboy up and take action. The problem is that most of us don’t take actions that match up with our goals - we’re not “congruent” with them and we play small. If you want to shave years off of the time it takes to get to your “stretch” goals you need to do some stretching yourself – you’re going to need to play a much bigger game. Let’s talk about the reasons you aren’t playing as big a game as you could be right now: Fear and Distraction. Fear. Distraction. Once you’ve decided where you’re going to spend your first 30 minutes of thinking time, print out the workbook and bam, you’ve got your plan. Guess what?
5 Ways To Live The Life You Want In 2013 45% of us make New Year’s resolutions and 8% will be successful in keeping them, according to a recent study from the University of Scranton’s Journal of Clinical Psychology. A very gloomy statistic for sure and I totally get why. We are all amped up in the beginning of the year to lose weight or spend less and then the New Year hits and we get distracted with other commitments and fall back into old habitual patterns. Well, there’s hope. Here are a few easy tactics to help keep the momentum of your New Year’s resolutions going all year long: 1. According to Michael Losier’s book the Law of Attraction, we attract whatever we give our attention, energy and focus to, positive or negative. 2. If you stay optimistic about your resolutions, the universe will support you. 3. Now that your resolutions are in place, stay focused on them! I look forward to having an amazing boyfriend I look forward to losing 10 pounds 4. We are our own worst enemies in getting the life we want. 5.
The Unexpected Antidote to Procrastination by Peter Bregman | 9:00 AM May 10, 2013 A recent early morning hike in Malibu, California, led me to a beach, where I sat on a rock and watched surfers. I marveled at these courageous men and women who woke before dawn, endured freezing water, paddled through barreling waves, and even risked shark attacks, all for the sake of, maybe, catching an epic ride. After about 15 minutes, it was easy to tell the surfers apart by their style of surfing, their handling of the board, their skill, and their playfulness. What really struck me though, was what they had in common. Some had fun with their fall, while others tried desperately to avoid it. But here’s what I found most interesting: The only difference between a failure and a fizzle was the element of surprise. That got me thinking: What if we all lived life like a surfer on a wave? The answer that kept coming to me was that we would take more risks. That proposal (or article, or book, or email) you’ve been putting off? Practice.