The Dart Maker Blog

You’ve heard it before, “The key to succeeding is make sure
you write down your goals plan and review them daily!” The
problem is the onus is on you to remember to review them
and if you are able to review more than once a day, you’re
better than most.

But is 1,2 or 3 times daily enough to make them happen. Is
it often enough to engrain with certainty, your goal
objectives will be met? If you’re truly serious about your
goals and achieving them, why would you even want to leave
that to chance?

Why not put your daily goal review on autopilot. Imagine
having your goals fed 1000’s of times a day to your
subconscious mind unobtrusively while all the while you’re
working, typing, playing or surfing on your computer.

If you want to have the most impact, you have to engage
the other 5/6ths of your brain ( your subconscious) to
work harmoniously with your conscious will ( 1/6th of your
brain power).

Today, we have the technology to do precisely that. Open up
your mind to these new proven techniques and watch your
goals transform and gravitate to your desires. Your goals
deserve everything you have in your arsenal to make them
happen.

Rich Douglas is a self improvement newsletter columnist
and the creator of an amazing software program that will
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Like it or not, we are all gladiators. We go to sleep and wake up in a social arena from which there is no escape. Challenge upon challenge confronts us, walls restrain us, and a mob of spectators mocks, sneers, or cheers us. Each and every day brings new battles whether we want them or not and whether we’re up to them or not. Life forces us to face one skirmish after another - no choice in the matter.

What we can choose, though, is which kind of gladiator to be, victor or victim.

Being a victim in this social arena translates into having bad relationships.

Most people are victims - victims of their own perceptions.

That’s because people don’t develop and listen to their own unique, authentic self. Rather they allow their mental spectators - those little tyrants rattling around in their heads - to tell them second by second how to fight their battles, what they can and cannot do. These tyrants applaud and they hiss, they encourage and they discourage.

These mental spectators are the memories of the judgments of real-life people. For example, it’s the memory of your aunt saying, “I hope you marry someone rich, because you’re not going far on brains.” It’s the echo of your father growling, “You’ve got a back problem - no spine.”

And their influence over your relationships can’t be overestimated.

Millions of people accept the judgments of their mental spectators as the truth and, therefore, the mediocre results that come from believing those judgments.

With so many people living this way, the question becomes, is this the way I have to live? Fortunately, the answer is not unless you want to.

Once you identify your mental spectators - and your interactions with them - you can move beyond victim and assume the role of victor.

What it takes are eight steps for getting command, eight steps you can apply to most any situation you want altered. You can positively influence your relationships, your employment options, any aspect of your life.

Let’s look at the steps.

1. Define What Ails You.

Ask, what’s my problem? Am I a jealous weasel, troubled that others have what I want? Am I ticked off most of the time? Am I sad and whiney? Anxiety ridden? Moody? All of the above? Without this step, you’re doomed. It will take personal courage, but you won’t get results without identifying what ails you.

2. Discover the Effects.

Ask, how are my problems affecting my life? Am I a lousy parent, a friendless dork, a backstabber, a slut, a drunk, a junkie? Am I none of the above, but someone who is less than I could be? This step requires absolute self-honesty, but the truth will help set you free.

3. Seek the Source.

Ask, from where are my problems coming? Who are my real and my mental spectators? What do my mental spectators look like, say, and do? Exactly who or what is keeping me from taking command of my life? This could be one of the most incredible experiences of your life. You will look into the abyss and see who is looking back.

4. Identify Your Role.

Ask, how am I contributing to my problems? What is my responsibility in all this? Did I decide to be a garbage disposal? Do I beat myself to death trying to please others? Do I expect things of myself that are unfair? Do I treat myself as a friend or an enemy? Do I allow my mental spectators to drive me to distraction, depression, anger, anxiety? Recognizing your role in your own problems is a positive - but scary - step toward knowing yourself and gaining personal command.

5. State Your Desires.

Ask, what do I specifically want to do about my problems? Do I want to be a doormat, a slut, a drunk, a friendless geek? Or do I want to rule my mental spectators? Do I want to stand up to a spectator, real or imagined, who puts me down? Do I want to take command of my education, my bank account, my relationships? Until you can actually list your desires in the order of their importance, you will be a victim. However, once you do this, you are on your way to being a victor.

6. Seek Options.

Ask, what are my options, and in what order should I place them? What is the first option I should concentrate on? The second one? The third? If you have a soul-sucking hangover most mornings, you might opt to give up your booze buddies for some real friends. Secondly, take the money you normally spend at bars and deposit it in a college fund for yourself or your kids. If, instead, you’re a workaholic and you want to spend more time with your kids, then DO IT. Very few people on their deathbed have said, “If I could live life all over again, I’d spend more of it at work and less with people I love.” Choices are involved here, but by weighing options and alternatives, and then making personal choices, you are taking command. Do this and you’ll begin to gain real power.

7. Learn Winning Techniques.

Ask, how do I rule my real and my mental spectators? Must I collapse in a heap when they point thumbs down? How can I learn to take charge on every level and get a grip on my life? There is no “magic” involved, but you might feel as if there is. Unlike a vanquished gladiator falling at the whim of spectators, you decide your own course.

8. Master Your Relationships.

Ask, what more can I do to master my relationships by strengthening myself and my perceptions? How do I take command right now in developing my own identification and self-worth? Congratulations! You’re working on the one person in the entire world you can work on - YOU! And any improvements in yourself can’t help but enrich your relationships with other people and the world around you.

Although this is only a brief overview of each of the eight steps for jump-starting your relationships and taking control of your life, you’d be amazed at how significant the effects of a few minor adjustments in perception can be.

About The Author

Dr. Hartley is a social psychologist, a scientist, and the author of Tyrants of Self-Concept: Ruling the Rulers, a 122-page ebook that thoroughly describes the eight steps for improving your relationships, taking control of your life, and living the life you want to live. It includes easy-to-relate-to stories, examples, humor, and concrete, practical worksheets and exercises that get results fast. To learn more about how you can apply the steps, go to: www.rulingtherulers.com.

doctorterry@rulingtherulers.com

Do you have some goals you want to achieve or dreams you want to fulfill? A useful tool in reaching the outcomes you desire is the creation of a vision, which can be short or long-term. I recommend writing down specifics to add clarity and focus.

What is a vision?

Here’s one definition by Thomas Leonard.

“It is a state or outcome that a person can see naturally and that inspires them. In other words, they are drawn, attracted, and pulled toward what they see. It’s exciting, and there is very little emotional cost. In fact, joy is often present. It’s not a reason for living.” Visions evolve and change over time reflecting who you are - your passions, values, needs, and desires.

*Visions evolve and change over time reflecting who you are - your passions, values, needs, desires etc.*

Powerful Visioning

Written as a story, single sentences, drawn as a picture, a collage… visions can take whatever shape is most meaningful to you. The point? Here’s a few….

1. How do you know what you want if you don’t define it?

2. How will you know when you get there if you don’t know where there is?

3. By putting things down on paper, makes what you think or say - REAL.

4. Saying and seeing what you truly want in your life opens you up to HAVING it!

5. Allows you to step back and view your life from a fresh or new perspective.

6. Creates hope and possibility.

7. Compels you to MOVE and get what you want!

Questions that evoke clarity in creating a vision:

What do you truly want to experience or accomplish this year for yourself, personally, and professionally?

Where do you want to see your life a year from now?

What do you want to change/add/eliminate in your life?

If money was not an issue, what would you be doing?

What brings you joy? Makes your heart sing?

Describe your perfect life

” Imagination is everything” - Albert Einstein

I’m a believer in working with visioning and clear intentions for creating power-full outcomes. Imagine yourself on the 31st day of December looking back over this past year. What changes do you want to see? What challenges have you overcome? What are you most proud of having accomplished? Who have you become? Ready to make a 100-day commitment to get what you want?

Three steps to creating a powerful vision

1. First, create a clear vision/intention. It’s important to get a clear vision of the outcome you want. Be specific about what you really, really, want! Write about it and share it with supportive people. Give voice to your vision.

2. Second, create an inspiring connection. Take five minutes per day to open your heart and mind to focus on your vision feeling the joy of that vision already fulfilled. Isn’t it worth five minutes a day to get what you want? Set a regular time each day to envision the outcome you want and to feel the joy of it. Make this a daily ritual. Consciously revisit the intention of your vision throughout the day to keep the energy flowing.

3. The third step - take meaningful action. Vision and connection without action is just a great idea. Identify 5 actions that will move you closer to living your vision. As you complete each step, celebrate your wins and continue to add the next action steps that keep invested in the process of attracting and achieving the desired outcome. * Remember to celebrate along the way!

Note: Creating a vision, making a connection, and taking action will be dramatically affected if you are sabotaging your success!

Here’s an example of how self-sabotage can impact the success of your vision/intention:

1. Your vision is to have more personal time. You create a vision of what that would look like (reading more, having free time, an exercise regime, leaving work earlier, delegating more tasks, setting boundaries with others, etc).

2. Your self-defeating beliefs (what you think) may be - what your role is for others, needing to please people for approval and/or love, being self-ish etc.

3. Your self-defeating behaviors (what you do) may be - inability to say no, difficulty in setting and reinforcing boundaries, trying to take care of everybody, doing it ALL, etc.

To change a behavior, you must first change your attitude. That can be part of your vision - changing/replacing a self-defeating/limiting belief.

* Need help to stay on track? Hire a coach!

Copyright 2003, Lorraine Cohen

Lorraine Cohen of Powerfull Living (http://www.powerfull-living.biz) is a Business Coach and Life Strategist and Team Member of Solo-E (http://www.Solo-E.com). Lorraine Cohen is a Business Coach & Life Strategist who brings more than 25 years of experience in life coaching, counseling, and sales. She helps people through career change, life transitions, and the process of breaking through FEAR and removing barriers to success.

Find more articles like this at http://www.Solo-E.com, the lifestyle-inspired online learning and connection community. Visit now to receive a free copy of our special report, The Four Secrets of Solo Entrepreneur Success, plus a complimentary 30-day membership.

“Man is a goal-seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.” -Aristotle

“Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage, but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal.” -Elbert Hubbard

Millions of words have been written about goal setting. Millions of people set goals. Yet, most goals set by most people remain unfulfilled. I have distilled (from experience and education) the eleven essentials of successful goal setting here for you. Follow these and you will accomplish your goals. Fail to follow these and you probably will not. No hype. No rah-rah encouragement. No fluff. Just the simple explanation of how and why to set and ACCOMPLISH goals.

Your goals must be:

1. Original

2. Inspirational

3. Harmonious

4. Realistic

5. Idealistic

6. Specific

7. Adaptable

8. Visualized

9. Affirmed

10. Time related

11. Written down

1. Goals must be original. That does not mean that they cannot be the same or similar to the goals that others may have; it means that they must be yours, not secondhand. Many people set goals according to the hopes and expectations that they have been programmed to have by parents, teachers, society or cultural norms.

As a consequence they do not own these goals. You cannot generally have or hold what is not yours or even if you do manage to keep it, it will not have any value or meaning to you. What’s the point then of having it? The real reason you set and hope to achieve goals is not just to have the thing, it is to be happy and fulfilled in the accomplishment.

Set goals that are yours; not inherited or assumed. If they are not your own original goals, even if you manage to accomplish them, it will mean very little to you. Why waste your life pursuing something that will end up as meaningless?

2. Goals must be inspirational. They must arouse your passion. This must be a consuming passion, not some whim or ’someday I’d like to’ feeling. You must desire passionately to achieve what you set as a goal. It must drive you to action and you must feel fulfilled in that action because you know that it is leading to the fulfillment of your goal.

It is passion that drives you to move continuously toward your goal. It is passion that keeps you from getting distracted. It is passion that keeps you from getting discouraged. It is passion that fuels your motivation. It is passion that draws others to you to assist in your goals. It is passion that inspires you and others. It is passion that lights your way through the darkness that you will find along the way.

Get passionate about your goals or get passionate about someone else’s. Life without passion is not a life; it is merely an existence.

3. Goals must be harmonious. Obviously, you cannot have conflicting goals in life or you will be conflicted. That’s the easy part. Your goals, however, must also be in harmony with your core beliefs and your self-assigned purpose in life.

It is easy to understand that to having conflicting goals will raise your stress levels and frustrate you. Yet, people do that to themselves all the time.

It is not so easy to understand that you may have some deep set unconscious game plan for your life (whether from some basic spiritual urge or from some sense of undefined purpose) and the goals you set may actually be in conflict with that real, but hidden, game plan.

First, decide who you are and what you are here to do and then set your goals in alignment with that; or you, yourself, on a subconscious or super conscious level will continually be sabotaging your goals.

4. Goals must be realistic. There is not much point in setting a goal to personally live on Mars, if you are today (in 2003) over 95. The goals you set for yourself must be achievable within the framework of what is humanly possible.

But (and this is important) realistic does not mean what the majority commonly accepts as realistic. Most people did not think that it was realistic to attempt to fly a bicycle with wings and a motor attached, but two brothers named Wright did. Most people did not think it was realistic to build a personal computer for people to use in their home, but two guys named Steve did.

These 4 guys changed reality for all of us. Their goals were obviously, in retrospect, quite realistic. Don’t let your imagination be hemmed in by the crowd.

5. Goals must be idealistic. In two waysthey must involve your personal ideals in the five mentioned areas of your life and they must be progressively higher or further ahead than you are at now.

If your goals are not in tune with your ideals, you will be conflicted. Most people are, in some way, in conflict with the different aspects of self: Material and Financial ($$$ & Things); Physical and Environmental (Health of body, home and world); Emotional and Relationship (Happiness, Love, Social contact); Mental and Educational (Learning, Awareness, Self-knowledge); Spiritual and Ethical (Unity, Life purpose, Values, Sacredness). This is why they are unhappy and why they do not achieve their highest potential. Set your goals in harmony with your ideals.

If your goals are not idealistic (in the sense that they are progressive), you will get bored and unsatisfied. People (those who don’t understand) often wonder why those who are already extremely wealthy continue to pursue more wealth. It is because the ideal is always being extended or raised. Great achievers don’t rest on their laurels. Each goal achieved is merely a stepping-stone to more and greater achievement. It is not the end in itself.

6. Goals must be specific. Goals like “I want to be rich” are not worth the paper they are printed on. Rich must be defined. $1 million in the bank might mean rich to most people but it means poor to many others. It is the same for more ethereal goals. I want to be happy means nothing. Happy must be defined just as rich must be defined. I want to be spiritually fulfilled is the same…meaningless, unless defined.

What does rich mean to you? Exactly. What does happy mean to you? Don’t know exactly? Then how on earth will you ever even know if you get there? I have met a lot of people who say that they are on a spiritual path. I like to ask where that path is leading. Most can’t say anything specific. It is all very nebulous. If your destination is not defined, how in heaven’s name will you know if and when you get there?

7. Goals must be adaptable. One of my favorite jokes (which would offend some readers so I will not quote it here) involves a guy who had set a specific goal but when a gal came along to offer a much better fulfillment, he asked her to help him to accomplish his original one. Many people miss the better fulfillment of a goal because their focus on the one they had originally visualized is too intense and narrow to recognize the better one when it shows up.

Be sure that you are focused on the best possible fulfillment of your goal, not just on the method that you foresaw that goal fulfillment happening.

8. Goals must be visualized. If you cannot see it as real and as true and as a part of the way you live your life…it will not happen.

Many folks, when confronted with some seemingly outrageous possibility or goal, will comment, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it made real, not just some imaginary ideal.’ The dreamers, schemers and achievers of history all had a different approach…’I see it. I believe it. It is real if it exists in my imagination.’ Tiger Woods ’sees’ his shots landing on the green a few feet from the cup before he takes the shot. The average golfer looks up (usually too soon) from his shot to see where it went. Guess whose shots end up where most often. Visualize the reality in your imagination and it will become real in your manifestation.

9. Goals must be affirmed. You must tell yourself all day, every day, in your constant conscious and subconscious self-talk that your goal is real and achievable. AND, you must tell others what your goal is so that they can ‘buy into it’ and contribute to it. If you don’t believe in it enough to make it a part of your daily conversation and are not passionate enough about it to be compelled to talk about it to yourself and others, it is NOT real for you and it will NOT become real.

You will be surrounded by naysayers. Someone must speak the truth of the reality of your goal. That is your 24/7 job. Constantly affirm where you are headed and why. You’ll end up not only convincing yourself but the world as well.

10. Goals must be time related. Everything exists in space and time. If something is not defined precisely in space and time, it does not exist. A goal of someday, I’d like to be financially secure, or someday, I’d like to climb that mountain does not, and it is highly likely that it WILL NOT ever, exist as anything other than nebulous wishful thinking. You must set specific times for your goals to be made manifest OR you will be forever going towards you goals and never quite reaching them.

Almost everyone in developed countries sets the goal of retirement in financial security, but the overwhelming do NOT achieve that. Why? One of the reasons is that it is always a ’someday’ goal not a ‘by June 21st 2004′ goal. Of course, it is also likely that these people are also not applying the other 10 rules of effective goal setting.

11. Goals must be written down. If it exists only in your head, it is only wishful thinking. This is the basic, proven by experience, truth of the matter…95% of people who have specific written goals, accomplish them; and 95% of people who have unwritten goals (specific or not) do not. If you can read that sentence and not begin immediately to write down your goals, you might as well resign yourself to the fact that you will not accomplish what you imagine you want to be, do and have in life.

Yes, there are those few high achievers who manage to set clear distinct goals without writing them down and also manage to stay focused on them for their entire lives. Don’t kid yourself…you are not one of those people. I’ll prove it to you. Tell me (or anyone) right now exactly, specifically and in full detail what goals you held 1,000 days ago.

Write them down. Period. Now.

This article was excerpted from the book, Destiny.
To obtain your copy, visit http://LeslieFieger.com/success-store.htm

© Leslie Fieger. All rights reserved worldwide.

Leslie is the author of The DELFIN Knowledge System Trilogy: The Initiation, The Journey and The Quest plus many more success publications. He also the co-author of The End of the World with Hugh Jeffries and Alexandra’s DragonFire with his daughter Ashley. Subscribe to his free and ad-free eZine at http://www.ProsperityParadigm.com or http://www.LeslieFieger.com.

Reprinting and republishing of this article is granted only with the above credit included. Permission to reprint or republish does not waive any copyright.

Can we get Americans to conserve energy on nights of Meteor Showers and Eclipses? The reason I ask is there are several such dates throughout each year, which such special events occur and if we told people of the need to conserve energy and the issues with light pollution then we might save quite a bit of energy over a year’s period?

We could have a rule, or a suggestion that require lights out for light pollution issues during these events in our heavens. We could ask citizens to respect light pollution issues and tout the beauty of the events and ask citizens to be cognizant that others will need the lights off to enjoy the beauty.

If we can save the energy of 25 to 30 night per year with dimmed lights and work to resist the temptation to turn all the lights on which are not needed we stand to save 5% of our lighting energy usage each year and in doing so about 2-3 percent of our nation’s total energy usage on the power grid. That is a huge savings and worth a look see.

Will it really work? Well ask yourself if you were asked nicely to use less lighting during these nights, would you? Sure you would. Now then what if you got into a habit of turning off the lights in the house you did not need? What then, well you would simply use less power and if everyone did this also, well, you get the point. So, perhaps you might consider this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

What you focus on determines your reality because your mind becomes active in acquiring and bringing into your reality the things that you focus on.

You bring into your experience what you focus on.

If you focus on lack, limitation, negativity, and scarcity, then that is what you bring into your experience.

If you focus on abundance, expansion, positive things, and plenty, then that is what you bring into your experience.

A moment of introspection will make this obvious.

Why, then, if it is that easy to switch our reality, from one of suffering to one of joyful experience, do we persist in injuring ourselves?

It is because we are not in charge of our minds. Rather our minds are in charge of us. We, a conscious being, are dominated by our conditioning.

This is why the practice of meditation is important.

Every time we meditate, we dissolve more and more conditioning. We get off autopilot and take over the path our ship is cruising on.

As we let go of more and more of our reflexive thinking, we start to take charge of our own minds, and our reality, slowly, creakingly, turns around for us.

Of course, this is not easy.

Yet, it’s not much fun living a scattered and chaotic life either.

Until our awareness comes to the surface, we can’t really expect to improve our health, boost our finances, or be able to calm the storms of a relationship. Our dreams are always one step ahead of us, lost in the mist of “someday I will…”

The path is simple. Learn a method of meditation and practice it.

The path is also difficult. You have to learn and you have to practice.

The reward, however, is immense. Increased self-awareness, increased control of your mind, and increased appreciation and meaning of your own self and life.

In many religious traditions, we are often said to be asleep.

What exactly does this mean?

It means that we are almost wholly unconscious. We think and act in ways that are not in our best interests.

A conscious person is an aware person and awareness is something that comes when we release the subconscious programs that run our lives.

A brief review of yesterday will show you how your notion of self-control and inner mastery is pretty much an illusion.

If meditation is not your thing, then try contemplation, sitting in silence, quietly reflecting on who you are and what it is that is important to you.

A daily routine where you work on raising your awareness will do you a world of good. It will, in fact, change your world, placing you in one more favorable to your interests.

Saleem Rana would love to share his inspiring ideas with you. Hunting everywhere for a life worth living? Discover the life of your dreams. His free book tells you how. http://www.theempoweredsoul.com/enter.html

Copyright 2004 Saleem Rana. Please feel free to pass this
article on to your friends, or use it in your ezine or
newsletter. It’s a shareware article.

Self is everywhere, shining forth from all beings, vaster than the vast, subtler than the most subtle, unreachable, yet nearer than breath, than heartbeat. Eye cannot see it, ear cannot hear it nor tongue utter it; only in deep absorption can the mind, grown pure and silent, merge with the formless truth. As soon as you find it, you are free; you have found yourself; you have solved the great riddle; your heart forever is at peace. Whole, you enter the whole. Your personal self returns to its radiant, intimate, deathless source.

~ Mundaka Upanishad

This beautiful passage from the Mundaka Upanishad comes perhaps as close as written words can to “speaking the unspeakable” ~ to pointing to that which the tongue cannot utter (nor the ear hear, nor the eye see) … and giving us ~ its fortunate readers ~ a “prescription,” a practice for experiencing this that it is pointing to, directly:

… only in deep absorption can the mind, grown pure and silent, merge with the formless truth.

The prescription, the practice being offered by the Mundaka Upanishad is the practice of “deep absorption,” a state of Being that can be accessed (perhaps most effectively) through meditation practice. So what is “meditation practice”? Let’s explore …

In the same way that the practice of Hatha Yoga includes (at least potentially) thousands of asanas, and in the same way that there exist thousands of different forms of Qigong (Taoist energy-cultivation practices) ~ so also are there thousands of different forms of meditation practice. (I’m using the term “meditation,” in this context, to describe mind-training practices performed with the physical body held in a relatively stationary position.)

Within the Mahayana vehicle of Buddhism, meditation practice is divided, most generally, into two categories: Shamata (calm abiding) and Vipashyana (clear seeing). The most basic form of Shamata/calm abiding meditation ~ and a good place to begin, if you’re new to the practice ~ is simply to sit, in a location where you’re not likely to be disturbed, with the spine in an upright position, relax (body & mind), and do nothing else at all. Easy! Try not to even think of it as “meditation” … but rather a time to just sit and be at ease, to cultivate stillness, with nothing at all to “do,” for five minutes or ten or a half hour. This is called “Shamata without support.”

If this was too easy, you might like to explore “Shamata with support.” In this form of meditation practice, you use a particular “object” as a “support” for you practice. You can, for example, use your breath as support: letting your awareness rest gently on the inhalations & exhalations, perhaps counting the cycles of the breath, from one to ten, and then beginning again. Mantras (strings of Sanskrit or Tibetan syllables) or mandalas (visual representations of aspects of mind), candles, or objects from the natural world (e.g. a shell or a beautiful crystal) can also be used as support for your meditation practice. The idea here is that the “object” acts as “support” by helping us to keep our attention in the present moment (instead of drifting off into thoughts of the past or future).

A more advanced practice is to use as “support” whatever happens to be arising in the fields of the senses. So, for instance, you could decide to use as support every sound that you hear, or the smell of incense or perfume or food in the room, or whatever taste happens to be in your mouth … Emotions and thought-patterns and eventually anything at all that is arising, can be support for our practice. How exactly these things become “supports” (as opposed to distractions) is a subject for a future essay … or perhaps is best left to personal interaction with a meditation instructor. For now, the point is simply this: eventually, every single thing in your experience can act as a support for your meditation practice, for your becoming more Present, more awake, more “alive” in the here and now.

Vipashyana/clear seeing practices (also know as analytic meditation) are meditation practices often used in conjuction with hearing a Dharma talk or studying a particular text/scripture. In such forms of meditation, a particular idea or concept is taken into the space of meditation, and within that place “held” and “examined” in a deeper way than is possible when we’re engaging only with conceptual mind. A certain kind of clarity and certainty can then emerge, with respect to particular aspects of the teaching. This sort of meditation is also a means for yogic exploration: for exploring, in very specific ways, the working of mind, for “going inside” and having a “look” at aspects of ourselves which we may, in our day-to-day living, be quite unaware of.

But if you’re able to be happy with the very first Shamata( without support) practice ~ the practice of simply sitting, relaxing, and “doing nothing” ~ this is excellent … and will serve you well, on your journey toward [merging] with the formless truth … [solving] the great riddle … and [returning your personal self] to its radiant, intimate, deathless source … Sobeit!

Elizabeth Reninger holds Masters degrees in Sociology & Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga ~ in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu forms ~ for more than twenty years. Her teachers include Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. For more essays on yoga-related topics, please visit her website: http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger

Formula 1 motorsport is purely the apex of go-karting. It’s the professional design of the sport in full. Formula One is a universal phenomenon, a multinational business company that receives millions & millions of dollars per annum from advertising, sponsorship, and radio revenues. Well known Formula 1 drivers with a millionaire existence race these wonderful motor cars that are unmatched with hi-tech features - everything from tough to manufacture lightweight structures that glide the mechanism to tires with unequalled grooving style that illustrates the powerful movement on the track.

There is at present no other sport that best epitomizes the turn of phrase “worldwide sport” like Formula 1 racing. Particular countries serve as active contributors in shaping the Formula 1 scene - Malaysia for example, is a hot spot for Formula 1 racing (Fernando Alonso, a Spanish-born F1 driver under Team Renault recently just won a F1 race there) & Italy plays a substantial responsibility in designing and creating 1st class, top-of-the-line Formula One cars. Rivalry is ordinary in F1 - providing an edge of excitement with each and every zip of the curve and nitrous boost of the machine. Catch up with the latest Formula One Results.

Formula 1 cars can be summed up in two words: technological wonder. These shiny, low riding gems completing laps at speeds topping one-hundred and seventy miles per hour consist of nothing more than just a frame, an engine, & four wheels. For a start, the engine is placed behind the cockpit as opposed to regular cars. Find great offers on cycling equipment.

Hypnosis, meditation and visualization are three similar processes for accessing a creative area of the sub-conscious mind. Relaxation Magic lessons use a combination of all three therapies for maximum results. With the exception of people who have mental disabilities such as schizophrenia and severe retardation, everyone can achieve the relaxed focus of hypnosis, meditation and visualization by themselves.

Within themselves everyone has their own unique solutions for solving a situation they want to work on

The way I work is to help a person first reach a relaxed state and then through visualizations find personal imagery to explore their situation. One reason I feel hypnosis, meditation and visualization are so potent for problem solving is that areas of stress can be reached indirectly through analogies and a situation can be discussed without causing more discomfort

Recent research is confirming how connected the mind is in creating and eliminating physical problems. Physicians can fix the body but the mind can create the situation again. This is why adding the mind to a health program is the optimum method for total healing.
The first step to being in control of your life is being in control of your mind. If you’re not controlling your thoughts, who is?

Meditation and visualization enable you to communicate with your physical body, to relax mental and muscle tension even regulate autonomous body systems. Documentation has been out for years that meditation masters can control their heart rate and body temperature. Perhaps we will never need to use body heat to dry wet robes in frigid weather but being in peaceful control of ourselves mentally and physically is an ideal goal.

Where to start

When brand new at any endeavor it is always best to start at the beginning. To experience maximum results with the advanced Active Visualization Lesson spend the ten to fifteen minutes daily building your mental muscles with the beginning lessons.

Be Relaxed Anytime Anywhere and Recognizing & Reprogramming Self Defeating Behaviors lessons may be utilized without first completing the beginning lessons.

Breathe, breathe, breathe I can’t say it enough. The ultimate quickest way to relax is to breathe.

Details - Time, Setting, Clothing, Posture

What time of day is best to practice is whenever it will best fit your schedule. For beginners to make meditation a habit it is recommended to set a definite time. This way if you miss your meditation appointment you are aware of the omission and can reschedule with yourself before the day is over.

When beginning to meditate, it is good to have a routine or ritual. Routine and ritual will key the mind into what is going to follow. The routine / ritual can be simple or elaborate, whatever suits your personality.

A basic routine is deciding to relax and meditate every day at the same time and in the same setting. Meditating in the same place when starting is also helpful to develop habit and focus.

The optimum setting is one that is comfortable and quiet with minimum distractions obviously away from telephones, TV, adults or children interrupting. Some meditators have to compromise on comfort to gain quiet. I know people who meditate in their bathroom or garage to access quiet time. You might want to try several locations before settling on your favorite. If you are interrupted, just acknowledge what is happening and return to your practice when possible. Eventually you will be able to be in a light meditative state anywhere, even with your eyes open.

Ritual can be as simple as just knowing it is the time that you decided to meditate and going to your meditation place. Or, you can elaborate and use candles, incense, crystals and other background objects that aid your sensation of peace or power. I do not recommend using music during meditation as your mind will listen to the music instead of focusing. Keeping brief notes or a journal on your daily sessions is also recommended.

It is best to wear non-restrictive clothing with as much natural fiber as possible. Loosen belts, ties and if possible remove shoes and socks for some styles.

Sit however is comfortable for you. If you enjoy sitting with a pillow on the floor, go for it. It is also perfectly acceptable to sit with a straight back in a chair and let the chair support your back. (I sit in a chair with my back supported and my legs crossed under me.) Your legs do not need to be crossed and the feet can rest on the floor. Observe the position of your shoulders, neck and head. Relax your shoulders down and lengthen them straight out. Relax your neck muscles. Feel that your head is balanced and centered on your neck. Image that your head is a fish bowl and if it is tipped forward or back, you will spill water and fish out! Check if your jaw is relaxed by allowing the lower jaw to drop slightly.

Breathe through your nose. Begin each lesson observing a few breathes expanding the abdomen on the inhale and contracting the abdomen on the exhale. More detailed breathing instructions are given in the Zen lesson.

How long to meditate? A ten to fifteen minute meditation session will give you results. If you choose to meditate longer, it is because you enjoy the activity (or should I say non-activity). Greater results are not necessarily achieved by time spent in practice as much as your consistency and concentration during practice. Decide how long your meditation will be. Choose whatever works best for you to time the session. Set a timer to ring when your session ends or tell your mind to alert you when the set time has passed. Eventually your mind will know precisely when your set time is up. Do not use this method until you have perfected it if you are on a tight schedule.

During mediation and visualization you will be aware of any outer physical situation that requires your immediate attention.

Mediation is a state of heightened awareness not of unconsciousness.

Excerpt from Relaxation Magic:
http://www.lulu.com/maryannlaraia

Certification Hypnotherapy Training Institute of SD, CA Advanced Hynotherapy Diploma 1989 Basic Hypnotism Diploma 1988

Hypnotherapy KWAFC Kent WA 1990 - 1995 Private Practice Encinitas, CA 1995 - 1998 Hartford, CT 1998 - present

Related Education Chapel of Awareness Encinitas CA 1996 - 1998 Meditation classes with the focus on healing Cabrillo College, Aptos, CA 1982 Physical Effect of the Religious Experience Study of what happens physically in the body during altered states Builders of the Adytum LA, CA 1975 - 1980 Lessons on Meditation, Kabala

How do you connect chakras, the energy centres of the body in Eastern tradition, and flowers, pretty, ephemeral, bright, cheerful manifestations of nature?

…by way of color therapy.. yoga energy balancing techniques…meditation… and a simple way of making yourself feel better and reenergized even if you don’t really believe in any of the above.

There are seven main chakras (as well as several others) in a line from the base of the spine to the crown of the head and one more newly recognised chakra just above the head which I believe is important. Each one is associated with various areas of physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. When the energy flow in one becomes blocked it can result in certain symptoms and vice versa. By keeping the chakras open and the energy flowing, we can maximise our body’s ability to keep well and heal itself.

One way of stimulating energy flow is by a simple visualisation. Each chakra has a colour of the spectrum linked to it. Focus on that colour and imagine that colour light pouring into the chakra and saturating it in pure coloured light, then visualise the chakra as a spinning disc of colour. Take 2 or 3 deep breaths as you do so. You can also repeat a mantra or affirmation to intensify the positive energy you are creating. Work through each chakra (see below for summary) in turn from Root to Crown to rebalance your whole energy level.

So what about the flowers? Whatever you use to visualise the colour would work, paint swatches, coloured stones or crystals, an image in your minds eye, but beautiful photographs of flowers saturated in the pure colour of each chakra can bring some extra flower energy into your life as well.

Flowers raise the vibrational energy around them, which is why they have long been associated with celebrations, brought as presents to new mothers, sick people, loved ones. Weddings and funerals are lavish with them. We are rarely aware of the spiritual connection these days, we just know that flowers cheer people up and make them feel glad. So flower photos as visualisation aids make sense and are beautiful to have around. www.aflowergallery.com has a whole section devoted to chakra flower photos.

There are books written about the chakras going into far more detail than there is space for here, as it is a deep and complex subject, with infinite, individual interpretations, but here is a basic, brief summary of the chakras and their associated areas and colours.

1. Root - Red
Situated at the base of the spine.
Emotional grounding and ones roots. The excretory and reproductive systems and the immune system.
Mantra “I am in touch with the earth, my roots”

2. Sacral - Orange
A hands breadth down from the belly button.
Sexuality, creativity, financial issues, honour and ethics, one to one relationships.
Genital and urinary systems, bladder and prostate.
Mantra “I am a creative, sexual being”

3. Solar Plexus - Yellow
Over the solar plexus at the bottom of the rib cage.
Self-esteem, self-confidence and how you see yourself.
Digestive system, worries and fears, the stress of responsibility.
Mantra “I believe in myself”

4. Heart - Green
Over the heart.
Love, forgiveness, unconditional love. Relationships.
Circulatory and immune systems. Heart and lungs. Loneliness.
Mantra “I can give and receive love”

5. Throat - Blue
Centre of the throat
Communication, self-expression and will power.
Thyroid problems, sore throats, addictions(due to lack of will)
Mantra “I speak my truth”

6. Brow - Indigo
Centre of forehead
Intuition, intellect and mind, inner vision.
Brain and nervous system, eye problems.
Mantra “I see clearly”

7. Crown - Violet
Top of head.
Spiritual awakening, search for meaning. Our relationship to our spirit and God.
Central nervous system, overwhelming fatigue.
Mantra “I believe”

8. Soul star - White/crystal
Directly above the crown, about two hand’s breadths from the head
Awareness of ones soul and its connection to the conscious self.
Gives perspective on life and ability to see seemingly random positive or negative events as part of the soul’s journey.
Mantra “I transcend”

This is a personal, simplified interpretation of the chakras. Use it as a stepping stone to finding out more for yourself.

Copyright Kit Heathcock 2005

Sometime flower photographer, keen observer of the resonances of life and fulltime mother. Born in the UK but now living on a farm in the southern hemisphere. Contributor to the creation and maintenance of www.aflowergallery.com one of the homes of chakra flower art.