18 Ways You’re Making Your Life Harder Than It Has To Be Email Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing. ―Oscar Wilde When we were young life was easier, right? You see, when we were young we saw the world through simple, hopeful eyes. As we grew older our minds became gradually disillusioned by negative external influences. As a result, we ate comfort food and drank alcohol to numb our wounds and fill our voids. Over the course of time, we made our lives harder and harder, and we started losing touch with who we really are and what we really need. If you’re nodding your head, here are some ways you’re likely making your life harder than it has to be, and some ideas on simplifying things: Reminder: Have you checked out our book? You look to everyone else for the answers only you can give yourself. – For much of our lives – especially at the beginning – we get told what do, how to think, what looks good, what “success” is, etc. Your turn… Photo by: Jenny Kaczorowski
Drugs and the Meaning of Life (Photo by JB Banks) (Note 6/4/2014: I have revised this 2011 essay and added an audio version.—SH) Everything we do is for the purpose of altering consciousness. We form friendships so that we can feel certain emotions, like love, and avoid others, like loneliness. Drugs are another means toward this end. One of the great responsibilities we have as a society is to educate ourselves, along with the next generation, about which substances are worth ingesting and for what purpose and which are not. However, we should not be too quick to feel nostalgia for the counterculture of the 1960s. Drug abuse and addiction are real problems, of course, the remedy for which is education and medical treatment, not incarceration. I discuss issues of drug policy in some detail in my first book, The End of Faith, and my thinking on the subject has not changed. I have two daughters who will one day take drugs. This is not to say that everyone should take psychedelics. (Pokhara, Nepal) Recommended Reading:
8 Steps to a Higher Vibration Article shared with permission from Jenna Barrington. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson We all have times where life isn’t clear and we feel like we’re walking through mud. 1. Now for those of us who aren’t mentally on top of our game, sleep (too much or the inability to sleep at all) may be a nightly battle. Spend time earthing every day. 2. It is easy to hide away indoors when we are feeling ‘off’ but going outside and spending time in nature can be soothing and very healing. 3. “You become like the 5 people you spend the most time with.” Even on my lowest days, my husband always manages to poke through my walls and make me laugh. We are deeply entangled with the people around us. 4. “The secret to change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new” ~Socrates In his book ‘The Screwtape Letters’ C.S. Do what it takes to let go of the past. 5. 6. 7. 8. With Love, References:
10 Questions: On Finding Your ‘Soul-Life’ in a 130-Year-Old Book Brooke Williams and Terry Tempest Williams are two of our generation’s greatest gifts. Brooke is the author of four books, and he offers deep meditations on wilderness and wild lands, as well as working actively in defense of the pristine, most recently with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. Terry is legendary for her intensely personal explorations of nature and life and the human resonance between the two, and she’s the author of the critically acclaimed Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place and numerous other books. The couple, who divide their time between Castle Valley, Utah, and Jackson, Wyoming, were in a book shop in Maine when Terry stumbled across a volume called The Story of My Heart. Recently, I caught up with the two to learn more about how and why The Story of My Heart got under their skin, and what lessons it has for us today. 1. Brooke Williams: The Story of My Heart, I believe, comes from the collective unconscious, into which Jefferies was able to tap.
The Study of Spirit: Lucid Dreaming Lucid Dreaming. You’ve heard of it, you’ve read about it and if you’re a little adventurous or even simply curious you’ve probably tried it, but is it a valid means of extra-sensory projection, or simply a psychoactive form of deeper consciousness? Well, let’s look into it, shall we? If you’ve been living with your head buried in sand for the last decade you may have not heard of the rapidly growing phenomenon of Lucid Dreaming, so I’ll explain it briefly. There are numerous ways to achieve lucidity during our dreams, but this article isn’t a tutorial- that said lucid dreaming is something every single person on the planet should try, as it’s one of the most entertaining and spiritualy engaging activities available to us. Popular culture has been cashing in on this growing trend with movies such as Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic Inception and the lesser-known but also awesome Sucker Punch, as well as television shows including Seth McFarlane’s much-underrated American Dad.
Coincidence is an Illusion - What is Synchronicity? All Coincidences Have Meaning Nothing Happens by Chance Have you ever experienced a coincidence so incredible that it left you stunned? If so, then you have just taken a step into the amazing world of Synchronicity. What happens in most people’s lives is beyond their control. Your most carefully planned project can be ruined by a single chance event, but a seemingly ridiculous idea could be a huge success due to chance! Cause and Effect are an Illusion How much has chance played a role in your life? It isn’t enough to just plan your future. Chance Will be the Defining Factor in Your Life Don’t believe it? Johnny Depp the American actor went to an audition with a friend. Why don’t people believe in chance? If you think luck doesn’t play a role in your life, you’re kidding yourself. Did you know that you can influence chance and luck in a precise way? Control is not the answer. Chaos Theory Chaos theory is about how complex the world is. Can you see how a small change affects your whole life?
This short Music Video explains the universe in visual poetry! Do you like music? Animations about the universe? What about Zirconium Pants? Take a breath and make whatever preparations you need to to slip into an epic trance, because you’re about to go on a journey. Some additional information on this video: An experimental animation by Tim Halloran to the song ‘Ruler of Everything’ by Tally Hall. Check out more of Tim’s work at www.creatustoons.com/
Synchronicity: The Art of Coincidence – An Interview with Dr. Kirby Surprise The experience of meaningful coincidences is universal. They are reported by people of every culture, every belief system, and time period. Traditionally these synchronistic events are made acceptable by ascribing them to outside supernatural forces such as divinities, or in modern times, impersonal archetypal influences. Dr. Kirby Surprise demonstrates that synchronistic events, based on the activity of the mind, are actually caused by the person who perceives them, and reflect many levels of their consciousness. His research reveals that what we believe and the way we look for patterns in the world generates synchronistic events that mirror our own assumptions. A licensed psychologist who makes his living assessing, diagnosing and treating delusions and thought disorders, Dr. His groundbreaking new book is titled Synchronicity: The Art of Coincidence, Change, and Unlocking Your Mind (New Page Books, 2012). New Dawn recently spoke to Dr. NEW DAWN (ND): Dr. DR. “OK,” I said to myself.
10 Empowering Quotes For Anyone Who Wants To Be Happy Like a fish out of water, change and uncertainty can feel life threatening. Branching out into the unknown is extremely unnerving for some, but I know from my own journey that all transformation requires us to accept uncertainty and embrace the unknown. On the other side of these changes are happiness and security. Inspired choices are almost always motivated from the heart. When it comes to making a decision, many of us are so focused on the worst-case scenario that we are paralyzed by our choices. What if I told you that there is no right and wrong when it comes to making a decision? Here are 10 empowering quotes from my book, Find Your Happy, to help you embrace change: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. To create your own happiness list grab this FREE Love Your Life to The Fullest Guide. Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com
How Mind-Wandering and “Positive Constructive Daydreaming” Enhance Creativity and Improve Our Social Skills by Maria Popova The science of why fantasy and imaginative escapism are essential elements of a satisfying mental life. Freud asserted that daydreaming is essential to creative writing — something a number of famous creators and theorists intuited in asserting that unconscious processing is essential to how creativity works, from T. S. Eliot’s notion of “idea incubation” to Alexander Graham Bell’s “unconscious cerebration” to Lewis Carroll’s “mental mastication.” In the 1950s, Yale psychologist Jerome L. In a recent paper titled “Ode to Positive Constructive Daydreaming” (PDF), published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, writer Rebecca McMillan and NYU cognitive psychologist Scott Kaufman, author of Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined, revisit Singer’s work to deliver new insights into how the first style of Singer’s mind-wandering, rather than robbing us of happiness, plays an essential, empowering role in daily life and creativity. Thanks, Scott Myers Donating = Loving Share on Tumblr
4 Tips for Feeling the Amazing Effects of Meditation There are so many mental and physical benefits that meditation brings into your life. Though meditation will take a little practice, it is not as complicated as you would think! Here are some easy pointers on getting started: 1. Sit in a comfortable position. 2. 3. 4. When you emerge from your meditation, however brief, you’ll notice emotional tranquility. These benefits have been known for years—now there’s a physiologic explanation. Meditation is the easiest way to achieve this feeling. There are also real physical benefits from the practice of meditation. Being in a Alpha brainwave state while you meditate will give you a feeling of calm, keep your mind sharp, and help you maintain composure in stressful situations. About the Author Roxanna has over 30 years of experience as a spiritual advisor and life coach. Image credits: AlicePopkorn
Colour my world Colour does not exist. Not out in the world at any rate. All that exists in the world is a smooth continuum of light of different wavelengths. Colour is a construction of our brains. A lot is known about how the brain does this, beginning with complicated circuits in the retina itself. Thanks to a new paper from Greg Field and colleagues we now have an even more detailed picture of how retinal circuits are wired to enable light to be categorized into different colours. Colour discrimination begins with the absorption of light of different wavelengths. Colour information only arises by comparing the responses of multiple cone cells. The L/M system evolved much more recently, due to a gene duplication that occurred in the lineage of Old World primates, probably around 40 million years ago. All of this raises an important question – how are the inputs to these different cone cells compared? This has been known for quite a long time now. Amazingly, this may extend to humans as well.