Get up, Stand up

People who are too sedentary, even if they do exercise frequently, are more likely to develop heart disease, cancer and diabetes, a new report says.

It's well known that too much sitting time is bad for our health. “What we didn't know was whether the sitting time and health relationship was because people were also exercising poorly,” said senior author Dr. David Alter of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network and Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, in a phone interview.

It turns out, he and his colleagues say, that sedentary time and exercise time are two distinct factors when it comes to health outcomes.

“Another way of saying it is just because one does their 30 to 60 minutes of exercise per day doesn't ensure their health,” Alter said. “These are two distinct factors, we need both, we need exercise and need to be sitting less.”

The researchers analyzed 47 studies that tracked groups of people as they reported roughly how much time they spent sitting around and not expending much energy, as well as how often they exercised.

People who were the most sedentary were more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, breast, colon, ovarian and other cancers, and cardiovascular disease than people who spent less time sitting.

They were also 24 percent more likely to die during the studies than those who spent the least time sitting.

The pattern tended to be more pronounced for people who also reported less time exercising, the authors reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine. But regardless of physical activity level, prolonged sedentary time was independently associated with bad health outcomes.

The studies “all seemed to show a similar result,” Alter said. “There is a strong and consistent link between sitting time and a host of diseases.”

Strategies for encouraging people to sit less are different than those used to promote exercise, he said.

“There are very simple things we can do, every half an hour get up for two to three minutes,” he said. “You do that and that's already nearly an hour less sitting per day.”

Standing burns twice as many calories as sitting, he noted. People can also stand during commercial breaks while watching TV or during the last 15 minutes of a sporting event, he said.

These strategies don't replace daily exercise, Alter stressed.

None of the studies in the review were randomized controlled trials, so researchers can't yet say that sitting directly causes disease, Alter said.

There will need to be considerably more research done to fill in those gaps and help develop guidelines for sedentary behavior, like there are for physical activity, Neville Owen, program head of Behavioral & Generational Change at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia, wrote in an editorial published with the study.

Even among adults who meet the public health guideline – that is, they walk at least 30 min a day – “those who sit for prolonged periods have elevated health risk biomarkers,” Owen told Reuters Health by email. “However, there is insufficient evidence yet to know whether very highly active people who sit for prolonged periods are also at risk.”

Regardless, sitting time was most important for nonexercisers, Alter said.

“Those that do not exercise and who sit a lot, the health hazards are accelerated quite markedly,” Alter said.

“If there is a priority population that I tune myself into, it's the nonexercisers high-sitting-time people.”

Are you awake?

What Is Spiritual Enlightenment or Spiritual Awakening?

A definition of spiritual enlightenment or spiritual awakening is hard to pin down. This is, in part, because "spiritual enlightenment" and "spiritual awakening" have been used in so many ways to describe so many things, similar to the way in which "love" is used to describe everything from a preference for ice cream to a merging with everything. And it is also becausespiritual enlightenment and spiritual awakening are such rich and complex experiences that they are innately hard to define.

Some definitions are very specific and narrow. One such definition for spiritual enlightenment is the complete dissolution of one's identity as a separate self with no trace of the egoic mind remaining. This sets the bar very high and means that very few people qualify as enlightened.

The opposite approach is to say that everyone is enlightened, that there is only awake consciousness. In this view, it's only a question of whether this natural awakeness has been recognized or not. Of course, when a word describes everything or everyone, it loses some of its usefulness. If everyone is enlightened, then why even talk about it?

Combining perspectives on spiritual enlightenment

Perhaps there's a definition that includes both of these perspectives, which recognizes that consciousness is always awake and enlightened, but the amount of awakeness, or aware consciousness, that is present in any moment can vary. This definition acknowledges that there's a difference in the amount of awakeness, or enlightened consciousness, that different people experience or that one person experiences at different times but still suggests that the potential for full awareness or becoming enlightened is the same for everybody. If every apparent individual consciousness is infinite in its potential, then each can also be infinite both in its capacity to expand or awaken and in its capacity to contract or identify with a narrow or limited experience.

If all consciousness is made of the same essential awareness and light, and if everyone has an equal potential for enlightenment, then all expressions of consciousness are equally valid and valuable. Everyone truly is a Buddha or enlightened being, at least in potential. So defining enlightenment in many ways now makes sense, depending on what is being pointed to. One may use the word enlightenment to point to the state of self-realization beyond the ego or to point to the innate potential for this realization in all of us.

As for differentiating between the words enlightenment and awakening, "enlightenment" implies a more finished and constant state of realization, while "awakening" has more of the active quality of a verb and therefore suggests a movement or shift in consciousness. An awakening may be defined as a sudden increase in the overall amount of consciousness an individual is experiencing. There can be small awakenings and bigger awakenings. Not only does consciousness have unlimited potential for the amount of awakeness, but it also has an unlimited potential to shift in any way, at any moment. Consciousness can and sometimes does shift from contracted states of fear, anger, or hurt to expanded states of peace and joy in an instant. Unfortunately, it can also shift in the other direction. Consciousness has no fixed state.

What about the spiritual awakening happening now?

As it is being defined here, a spiritual awakening is a sudden expansion or shift in consciousness, especially a more dramatic one (we don't usually refer to a minor realization as a spiritual awakening). Enlightenment, on the other hand can be used to mark a particular level of realization or awakeness, even if the exact definition varies depending on who is using the word, as it does with every word.

What really matters is what your awareness is doing right now. How is your consciousness appearing or shifting in this moment? Are you realizing more of your experience and Essence right now? Or are you contracting and limiting your awareness with thoughts and identification? Is any shifting happening from reading these words?

Enlightenment or awakening is a profound mystery, and the best definition may be found in the actual experience of your own shifts in consciousness. Just as it's more nourishing to eat an apple than read about one, so it can be more rewarding to explore the movements of your own awareness than to try to understand these things mentally. While definitions of such things can be helpful, it can also be beneficial to not have too many concepts, which could interfere with your actual experience. It's a good thing that language isn't so fixed or defined when it comes to spiritual unfoldment. Maybe the best definition of enlightenment is no definition. Then there is only what is found in your own direct experience of awareness.

Get Healthy Together

Sometimes it’s near impossible to take that first step toward a healthier lifestyle. For one, the first week after a person quits smoking is fraught with nicotine withdrawal symptoms, like irritability, trouble sleeping, and a cloudy mind. Many people fear that initial stage, and there are now support systems online and in person that help people get through. A person’s partner, however, may be the best influence in stoking a healthier lifestyle, according to a new study.

Most people spend a lot of time with their partners, making it easy to influence one another into picking up certain habits. These habits can sometimes be bad, but they don’t always have to be. Studies have shown that people who exercise with a friend tend to have more fun with their workout, and they’ll also push themselves harder if the other person is more fit. If this is what happens when we workout with friends, imagine what can happen when working out, or adopting a healthier lifestyle, with a partner.

Researchers from University College London looked at data on 3,722 couples, either married or cohabitating, who were all over age 50 and participating in the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing. They found that people were more likely to quit smoking, exercise, or lose weight if their partner also worked toward those same goals. For example, they found that 50 percent of women were able to quit smoking if they had a partner who had also quit. In comparison, 17 percent of women whose partners were nonsmokers were able to quit, while eight percent of women whose partners smoked quit.

Making lifestyle changes can make a huge difference to our health and cancer risk, and this study shows that when couples make those changes together they are more likely to be successfu. Getting some support can help people take up good habits.

Adopting better habits not only reduces these peoples’ risks of preventable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, which can all develop from smoking, and a lack of exercise and a healthy diet, but it can also strengthen the relationship. Exercising together, for example, pushes a couple to challenge themselves more with their workout. This stimulates physiological arousal, such as sweaty hands and a fast pulse, which mirror the same physiological activities as romantic attraction. On top of that, it also gives a couple one more thing to do together.

When a couple works out together, the actual exercise itself can physically and emotionally have a positive impact. Both partners come away with feelings of synchronicity, cooperative spirit, and shared passion. Then you throw in some spicy endorphins and it can be a real power trip for the relationship.

Spiritual Contribution

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Finding Clarity

Here are some ideas to help you find clarity in your life.

1 Express your thoughts in writing. 

If your mind is a tangled mess of thoughts, it can help to write them down. Start off writing in free-form: record how you're feeling, why you're feeling, and what you want to do about it. After recording this information, you'll have something concrete to reflect upon; this will help you feel a sense of accomplishment, even if you haven't "done" anything.

This really interesting trick will help you literally throw away your thoughts. Write all your troubles down on a piece of paper, discussing why they're bothering you. Then crumble it up and throw it away. Yes, throw it away! Researchers found that people who threw away their written concerns were less likely to be worried by them.

2 Express your thoughts in drawing. 

So you may not be a Van Gogh, but you don't have to be to create art. All you need is a medium and a piece of paper. Have fun decorating with rainbow crayons; experiment with oil painting; get just the right shading with charcoal. Releasing your anxieties and clearing your mind through drawing can be an incredibly powerful force.

3 Have a discussion with another person.

Maybe you're the kind of person who keeps their thoughts and emotions bubbled up inside. That's not a bad a thing, necessarily, but it means that small concerns can quickly snowball into seemingly big ones overnight. In order to free your mind of worries you may be having, worries about love, stress about health, doubts about your job, learn to talk to someone.

Reach out to friends and family first. Your friends and family love you and understand you. They don't need rationalizations, and they won't sugarcoat advice. Tell them about what you're going through and listen for advice. If your friends and family aren't the kind to lean a helping hand, consider talking to a therapist. A therapist is trained to listen to your particular concerns and find solutions based on calculated research and troves of experience. Don't feel like you're inferior for seeking the advice of a therapist. 

Have a deep conversation with someone. Easier said than done, but totally worthwhile. Researchers have found that having deep conversations, in which you go beyond the superficial and share something thought-provoking or intimate, actually makes people happier.

4 Hang out with a pet. 

While there is no scientific evidence that owning a pet can directly help clear your mind, there is a host of evidence that is worth looking at. Owning a pet lowers your risk of depression; lowers blood pressure; elevates serotonin and dopamine; and lowers your risk of visiting the doctor if you're older than 65. If you're happier and healthier, wouldn't it also be easier to let go of things that are bothering you and embrace what you do have in your life?

5 Remind yourself of the truly important things in life. 

Sometimes, our minds become flooded with thoughts that, in retrospects, aren't very important. Perhaps you lost your job, or maybe your girlfriend just broke up with you. While definitely important, these things are by no means the end of the world. Remind your brain of all the truly important things that it has going for it:

Friends and family

Health and safety

Food and shelter

Opportunity and freedom

Finding Clarity in Meditation

1 Try walking meditation. 

Walking meditation is exactly what it sounds: Using the openness and beauty of nature to inspire calm, positive thoughts in the brain. Be like Henry David Thoreau, walking through the wilderness and planning the site of your cabin-to-be. Or imagine you're Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish scientist, who classified many plants and animals. Being outside on a warm sunny day can do wonders for your disposition.

2 Still your eyes. 

This is a meditation technique that helps you clear your mind by obliterating your sense of time. Here's how to do it:

Focus your eyes on one point in the distance. Any stationary object about 10 feet (3.0 m) away works best; objects that are too far away are harder to focus on for longer periods of time. The object could be a wall, a vase, a speck of dirt, as long as it's not moving.

Dim your conscious mind and continue to focus on the object. Your brainpower is all being channeled toward one task. Continue focusing on the object, even if your eyes begin to stray or your mind begins to wander.

After a certain point, time will begin to slow. You'll be in the zone. Your concentration will not waver. You won't begin to worry about what was once worrying you because your concentration is 100% devoted to maintaining its gaze on the object. When you're ready, relax your concentration. Your mind should feel a little worn out, like it's just gone through mental calisthenics. You should feel better.

3 Try breathing exercises. 

Breathing is an essential part of meditation, which can be an essential part of clearing your mind. Mastering several different breathing techniques can help you achieve the open-minded clarity that comes with transcendence. Master this quick breathing technique, the complete breath, in order to better master meditation:

Standing up straight, exhale completely.

Relax your belly muscles as you begin to inhale. Concentrate on filling your belly with air.

Once your belly is completely filled with air, keep on breathing, expanding your chest and rib cage.

Momentarily hold your breath, fighting the instinct to exhale.

Exhale slowly — as slowly as possible. Feel the air moving out of your lips.

Relax your chest and rib cage, pulling in your belly in order to force out any remaining air.

Close your eyes, concentrate on your normal breathing, and clear your mind.

Repeat process for 5 to 30 minutes.

4 Try different forms of meditation. 

There are many ways to skin a cat, and not all of them involve a knife. Learn the different forms of meditation, everything from mantra meditation to zen meditation.

5 Once you've begun meditating, learn to deepen your meditation skills.

Once you've gotten a hang of the basics of meditation, learn how to enhance the effects of your efforts. There are several ways to do this:

Relax the body completely. Make sure your body isn't unconsciously tensing up while you descend into mindlessness. Try tensing your body purposely, and then releasing the tension. Repeat this exercise until you know that your body is completely relaxed.

Try staying completely still while you meditate. It's hard achieving a state of enlightened mindlessness when your body is moving, sending sensation and demanding response from your brain. Make an effort to stay completely still.

Let your breathing flow naturally. After some initial breathing exercises, let go of the conscious exertion of your breath. Let it do what it wants. Focus your awareness out into the farther points of your body, and by doing so, eliminate that awareness.

Finding Productive Ways to Distract Yourself

1 Play sports or make a game out of something. 

Sometimes, clearing your mind is about distracting yourself from negative thoughts that creep into your consciousness. Nothing is more distracting than playing an absorbing game or making a game out of ordinary routine.

Getting physical exercise by playing sports is a great way to feel better and take your mind off whatever is bothering you. On top of that, physical activity is a great way to cure physiological ailments and soothe psychological disorders.

Make a game out of whatever ordinary activity you are performing at the time. Have to organise your room? Make a game out of it by shooting dirty laundry into your hamper. Have to run errands? Challenge yourself to be frugal and spend half of what you normally spend.

2 Challenge yourself to an open-ended task. 

They say that idle hands are the devil's workshop, so the best thing that you can do to keep your mind clear is keep your hands occupied. Your metaphorical hands. And challenging yourself to an open-ended task is a great way to do that. Here are some ideas that you can try out to stay busy:

Take a picture of yourself every day for a year. You're probably seen the montage videos by now, the succession of pictures accompanied by music, chronicling the life of a human being in pictures. It's a great idea, and anyone can try it. But you need patience and persistence to do it every day for a year.

Do something you're afraid of, every day. This was Eleanor Roosevelt's famous advice, and one that strikes a chord with many people. Maybe you're afraid of interacting with other people. (Many people share this fear.) Go out and stop a stranger for directions, and then strike up a conversation. You'll slowly begin to conquer your fear, helping your mind realise that it can let go of other troubles, as well.

Fictional Fitness... Dispelling some Myths

The start of January can only mean one thing for weight loss hopefuls: the diet and exercise craze. Whether you’re exercising to drop the pounds or to stay in shape and be healthy, it’s important to tell apart the half-truths and lies that shape the fitness world. 

“Misconceptions about Exercise.”

Myth #1: Running on a treadmill will result in less knee injury.

Treadmills include padding which softens impact, and running outside can be harder on the knees and legs, but researchers have found runners use a slightly modified stride when running on the treadmill as opposed to running outside. Runners tend to have a bouncier run on the treadmill and they may also over-stride. These differences in form actually do affect the knees.

Myth #2: Replace running shoes every six months.

This depends on your size, running style, running habits, and preferred running shoe. When the shoe lining starts to wear down, you should replace them. An 18-year-long study that started in 1991 found Europeans tended to wear their running shoes for 600 miles, but shoes can be worn safely even after this point. It all depends on how your shoes feel.

Myth #3: Stretching prevents injury.

Studies have actually found that static stretching before exercise does not lower the likelihood. In fact, sprinters who participate in this kind of stretching before running might even have slower speeds. People who stretch before weightlifting can actually feel weaker. The static stretching muscle power lowers by two percent. This is not to say you shouldn’t warm up, but status stretching might not be the way to go.

Myth #4: You have to be sweating or you're not working hard.

Sweat is a biological response that cools your skin and regulates internal body temperature. Sweat is a sign your body is working to cool itself, but you can burn calories in plenty of ways that don't end with you dripping in sweat.

Myth #5: You sweat out toxins.

You’re only using around one percent of your toxins from your sweat gland. Your gastrointestinal tract does most of the detoxing work in your body.

Myth #6: Calorie counters in exercise machines are accurate.

Fitness machines don't know anything about your sex, weight, or fitness level. All of these factors affect how many calories you're burning during exercise. Don’t take calorie counters on machines too seriously, although some are more accurate than others. According to a study, treadmills are pretty accurate, especially if you can punch in your weight, whereas elliptical machines overestimate calorie count by 42 percent.

Myth #7: If you do enough sit ups, you'll get a six-pack.

According to experts, you can't spot reduce fat. Doing strength training and toning exercises will help, but in order to see the muscle definition that you want, you'll probably have to incorporate cardio and a good diet in your routine.

Myth #8: Cardio burns more calories than weight training.

Obviously, this completely depends on you and what workout you've chosen. Some studies have found that typically more calories are burned during cardio workouts, but strength training allows calories to burn for longer after the workout. This is known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption or EPOC. After exercise is over, the body's metabolism continues to work hard, resulting in calorie burn, which happens more after weight training.

Myth #9: Maximum heart rate = 220 - age.

Many people think there's an ideal fat-burning zone for their heart rate, which is between 60 and 75 percent of maximum heart rate, so they stay in that zone to get an effective workout. The problem is that there's no perfect formula to determine your maximum heart rate and therefore, your fat-burning zone. This formula overestimates the heart rate of young people and does the opposite for older people. However, if you’re obsessed with the system, talk to a doctor or trainer to get a more accurate number.

Myth #10: No pain, no gain.

The phrase “no pain, no gain” is not popular among experts who say you should not be in pain while exercising. Discomfort and muscle soreness are fairly normal, but if you're in real pain, you may be risking injury or are already injured. Talk to your doctor if that's the case.

Lay these 10 exercise myths to rest to get the best of your workout.

A question of Balance

After a conversation with a friend today I thought this was a good question, so I did some research.....

What does it mean to be out of balance with spirituality?

If you’re out of balance with spirituality, it means that you are giving the spiritual side of existence too much importance in your life. You may spend all your time focusing on activities such as psychic development and being immersed in that which is supernatural or otherworldly.

You may find it difficult to relate to the rest of the world (when it’s not about personal or spiritual development). And you may take your spirituality so seriously that you have forgotten to have fun in life too. If you are imbalanced in your spirituality, you may also find that you have neglected other, more earthly areas of your life such as making money and your social life.

Steps to balance yourself (without losing your spirituality)

If you recognize that you are out of balance, here are some lifestyle changes to help bring more balance back into your life. I’m sure you’ve heard recommendations to ground yourself such as ‘walk on the grass in bare feet’ etc. Those suggestions are good for people with a temporary imbalance but they are not good for people who are totally out of balance – such people will need to take bigger steps to redress the imbalance.

Note that one of the most effective ways to become more grounded is to get a healing session (such as a cord-cutting, chakra balancing or reiki) and at the beginning of the session, set the intention to bring about more balance between your lower and upper chakras. 

Apart from that, here are some lifestyle suggestions to help bring more balance into your life:

Symptom of Imbalance #1: You feel lightheaded and spacey in your body.

Suggestion: Check in with your eating habits.

Your eating habits can either help tether you to the earth plane or they can destabilize and unground you.

Both veganism and raw veganism I find to be ungrounding for me, personally. Often people ask during spirit guide coaching if a raw or high raw vegan diet is right for them at this time and the answer is usually something along the lines of ‘no, not unless you are willing to suffer some imbalance.’ Being on that kind of diet as a psychic or very spiritual person requires a very strong foundation and a good connection to reality. If you don’t have that, it will unbalance you.

I bring this issue up because many people do become drawn to a really pure and light diet when they begin to get interested in spirituality or psychic development. When you open your upper chakras, you might be drawn to giving up meat (the meat-eating students on my spirit guides coaching course often tell me that they notice an aversion to meat as the weeks go by). 

Then as people become even more sensitive, they may be drawn to giving up fish. Then some people take it one step further and give up animal products. Some then feel drawn to giving up cooked food and become raw vegans. This is a natural (but rather extreme) progression and one I went through about 18 months ago. First, I was vegetarian, then vegan for a while, then I tried raw veganism for 2-3 weeks, twice. Now I have come full circle and I’m eating fish and chicken again. Some people have arguments against eating meat but this is the most grounding diet for me personally.

Other ways to unground yourself with your diet include…

Not eating enough and not eating regularly. Eating three good meals daily and at regular intervals is more grounding than eating small snacks here and there because it sends your energy out of your head and into your digestive system on a regular basis. If you miss meals regularly or if you fast, it isn’t good for the lower chakras – or put in a non-jargon way, it’s bad for you as a human being who is trying to stay tethered to the Earth plane. Regular eating connects us to the earth.

Symptom of Imbalance #2: You neglect your body habitually and you don’t care about your personal appearance

Another Suggestion: Pay more attention to your body

A great way to take your focus away from your upper chakras and put it on your lower chakras is to pamper your body (on an ongoing basis) and really pay it some attention.

Ways to do this include: spending more time and money on grooming – getting a new haircut, painting your nails; getting a pedicure or manicure; updating your wardrobe (throwing out all your old clothes that you no longer wear and getting some new ones that you love wearing and which make you feel great). Investing money and energy on your appearance and the way you feel in your body (instead of investing it in psychic development, spiritual growth or some such thing) will help to move energy out of your upper chakras. If you’re very out of balance, it might be a good idea to set aside some of your budget each month especially to celebrate and take care of your physicality and beauty.

I know that this may seem not a very appealing task, especially if it’s the middle of winter and you have no money but those are the times when you really need to go shopping (even if it’s to the thrift/charity shop). I myself have been guilty of wearing jogging bottoms to work and brown and black all the time (especially in the winter and seeing as I work from home). But it’s great for your sacral chakra if you can dress up in something beautiful and colourful more often, and allow yourself to wear nice things even if you’re not leaving the house.

You have probably seen those TV shows where they take a drab, unhappy-looking person and turn them into someone who looks and feels ten times better because of their haircut and the way they dress. That’s the power of spending time and money on your appearance – it gives yourself and others the message ‘I honour, love and celebrate my physical aspect.’ And that’s important if you are out of balance with spirituality.

Another way to honour your physicality is to exercise regularly – walking is OK but something that raises your heart rate on a regular basis is even better. I walk a couple of miles per day but presently I don’t have activities such as cardio which raise my heart rate. I have done in the past, though and I have noticed the difference it makes to feeling physically present.

Symptom of Imbalance #3: you spend loads of time working on your beliefs, goals and plans but you rarely create real change in your life or accomplish anything

Suggestion: Get out of your head and just take the next obvious step in front of you.

When you have a lot of energy in your upper chakras, you may need to get something done, but you can be stuck in planning, visualizing, dreaming, theorizing, tying yourself up in knots and going nowhere fast with that. At those times, you will need to turn your brain and mind’s eye off and just ask yourself – what is the next step that I could take now to move towards what I want (even if it is really a baby step). And take it. That takes you straight out of the realm of ideas and into the realm of action.

Symptom of Imbalance #4: The world seems like a very harsh and tragic place all the time

Suggestion: Stop taking everything so seriously and go and have some fun (stimulates the sacral chakra)

Spiritual, empathic people can feel people’s plight and are often thinking about how to save the world. From there it’s not an easy transition to having fun and seeing the light side of life, yet you need that too as a human being. Remember that life is not just a school and your purpose isn’t to save the world from itself. Life is also a fun playground, so switch off from your spiritual mission and make sure you do something that really tickles you regularly. This isn’t about going for a walk on your own or something dull like that. I mean real fun. Go and see a stand-up comedy act, see a friend who makes you laugh really hard, go dancing, etc. Connect with the fun and playful you. Find something that you can do regularly in your week to fill this need for fun and playing.

Symptom of Imbalance #5: You are neglecting the practical side of your life

Suggestion: Focus attention on your finances and physical survival (stimulates the root chakra)

Checking your bank balance every day is good because it connects you to your financial reality. Making a budget is very grounding because it reins your energy in and makes you aware of your present limitations.

Cleaning, organizing and tidying is especially good for grounding, as is attending to errands and all those little jobs you have been meaning to do for a while. Preparing food, cooking and baking are all very grounding too. All those aspects of physical life are what you need to attend to, in order to stay grounded.

FINALLY…

All this talk of cooking, baking and budgeting is all helpful stuff to some degree, but let’s get to the heart of the issue.

If you are out of balance with your spirituality, you might be running away from something or someone. Imbalanced spirituality can become a form of escapism.

What are you trying to escape from?

It could be a past situation that is too difficult to address and process in a normal, human, emotional way, so you spiritualize it. It could be someone who hurt you.

Here’s a good way of knowing what you could be escaping from:

What is the thing you still cry about for seemingly no reason? (especially when you’re ill or feeling down)

What do you dislike about your life that you want to change?

At some point, we all have wounds that make us want to stay in bed and hide away from the world. There are very few people who reach a certain age and have no wounds at all. Find out what yours are and address them in an emotional way. We can resolve things on the level of spirit, but we must bring the healing down into the emotional and physical plane for anything to change. Sometimes action needs to be taken to put them to bed.

If you feel your spiritual addiction is connected to something traumatic that happened in the past (or to someone else), you might want to think about booking a cord cutting session. I am passionate about this technique because it is the one that has helped me most with becoming more grounded.

What about you? What keeps you from engaging fully with life?

Sending Energy to yourself and the World - Reiki Meditation

Sit down in a relaxed manner on a straight back chair or crossed legged - which ever way suits you. Hold your hands palm upwards on your knees, in a prayer form or in your lap - which ever you feel convenient.

Tune in to OM Chants or some light music.

Close your eyes and say OM three times.

Meditation on the chakras with Reiki, the universal life force, and with colours, gives you deep relaxation which is very helpful for the body organs.

Steps for energizing body and mind.

Take a deep breath. Close your eyes slightly, just listen to the sounds. Do not try to identify them. Tell yourself that your senses are getting relaxed.

To relax the mind

Take a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. Keep breathing deeper and deeper like this three times. To relax further/ go into deeper relaxation, count from 10 to 1 slowly and you will go into deeper relaxation. Now your mind is completely relaxed.

To relax the body 

Relax the body organs one by one. While relaxing them thank them for their support and request them to do so throughout your life, in a healthy way.

Relax the right toes, right foot, right ankle, the right leg, the right knee, right thigh and the right hip. Now your entire right limb from hip to toe is completely relaxed.

Relax the left toes, left foot, left ankle, left leg, left knee, left thigh, left hip. Now the entire left limb from hip to toes is completely relaxed.

Now relax your pelvic region, and the organs there. Relax the back muscles, relax the abdomen , relax the stomach, liver on the right side and the spleen on the left. The ball bladder and the pancreas bowels in the center and the kidneys at the back. Now the total abdomen and the connecting organs are completely relaxed.

Now relax the chest, heart and lungs . Feel them completely relaxed. Now relax the entire rib cage and the shoulder blades. Feel them completely relax.

Relax the right shoulder, right upper arm, right elbow right forearm, right hand and the right fingers. Now your right upper limp from the right shoulder to the right fingertips is fully relaxed.

Now relax the left shoulder , left upper arm, left elbow, left forearm, left hand and the left fingers. Now your left upper limp from the left shoulder to the left fingertips is fully relaxed.

Relax the neck muscles from the front and back. Feel them completely relaxed. Relax the face muscles around the mouth the eyes and the forehead. Relax the eyes the mouth and also the skull and muscles.

Now your total body is completely relaxed. All muscles and all the organs from the head to toes are completely relaxed. Feel the relaxation. Enjoy the relaxation of the body and mind. 

In this state repeat mentally: ‘I have full faith in Reiki. Reiki will energize and heal me’.

Now let us proceed to energizing the chakras. 

Take a deep breath; inhale through the mouth and exhale through the nose. 

Visualize a beautiful golden glowing ball floating above the top of your head, see it float down and blend with the violet chakra of the head. See the golden violet rays spreading to the various systems energizing the nervous system and the right eyes. 

Say to your self: ‘I am divinely protected, guided and at peace’.

Now imagine the golden ball gently separate from the violet chakra and floating down to merge with the brow chakra and blend with the beautiful indigo wheel of the brow chakra. Visualize the golden indigo rays energizing the pituitary, hypothalamus, nose, the left eye and ears and repeat to yourself: 

‘I am open to new ideas, people and situations and follow my gut feelings’.

See the golden ball separate from the brow chakra and slowly floating and descending into the glowing blue wheel of the throat chakra. Imagine the golden blue rays energizing the entire throat, upper lungs, digestive track, bronchial and upper stomach areas. 

Say to yourself: ‘I feel safe to express my feelings. I love, trust and respect my creative gifts’.

Now imagine the golden ball all separate and descend into the glowing green wheel of the heart chakra. See the golden green ray flow into the thymus, heart, blood, lower lungs, upper liver and arms. 

Repeat to yourself: ‘Love is the purpose of my life. It is everywhere’.

Now see the golden ball separate and enter the solar plexus chakra and blend with the yellow wheel there and spread the golden yellow rays into the entire digestive system, pancreas, liver, gall bladder, intestines and spleen. 

Repeat to yourself: ‘I trust my worthiness. I am worthy of the best in life’.

Now imagine the golden ball separate from the solar plexus chakra and floating down to the sacral chakra, to the orange wheel found three fingers from the navel. Imagine the golden ball blending with the orange wheel and the golden orange rays pass into the entire reproductive system. 

Repeat: ‘What I do is enough, what I have is enough’.

Now see the golden ball separate and floating down to the base chakra, the seat of kundalini energy. See it blending with to the red colored wheel. The golden red rays are spreading into the entire excretory system and energizing the kidneys bladder, spine and lower limbs. Feel the warmth. 

Repeat: ‘I am safe and secure all the time. I love my feet, they show me the way. I love my legs they support me’.

Continue breathing in through the nose, out through the nose. Feel totally at peace. Feel the centers are all flowing with abundance of love. All disruptive emotions have flown away. You are calm, fully relaxed/grounded.

Now imagine that all light is surrounding you. Feel your aura expanding and being protected with white light. No negative energy can harm you. You are fully protected. Relax Relax Relax. Now you are fully energized with Reiki. Imagine yourself in front of yourself. Pass Reiki to yourself. Heal yourself, your family members. Forgive yourself, your family members.

Now with Reiki energize the 5 elements. 

Imagine the earth in your hands

- thank the earth, energize the earth and bless the earth with Reiki. 

Imagine water in your hands,

- thank the water, energize the water and bless the water with Reiki energy. 

Now imagine the fire in your hands

- thank the fire, energize the fire and bless the fire with Reiki.

Now imagine the air in your hands

- thank the air, energize the air and bless the air with Reiki energy.

Imagine the space/sun/stars/moon/planets in your hands,

- thank the space and energize the space with Reiki energy.

You can thank god/angles/spiritual guides etc in a similar manner. 

Your meditation is now over. You are beginning to come back, slowly. From your head, your ears, your torso, your legs to the tips of your toes. Stretch arms and legs slowly. Slowly open your eyes and become aware of the environment. You are fully charged and feel fine in every aspect. 

The meaning of life...

You were on your way home when you died.

It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless.

You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. They tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that’s when you met me.

“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”

“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.

“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”

“Yup,” I said.

“I… I died?”

“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.

You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”

“More or less,” I said.

“Are you god?” You asked.

“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”

“My kids… my wife,” you said.

“What about them?”

“Will they be all right?”

“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”

You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”

“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”

“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”

“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”

“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”

You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”

“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”

“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”

I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had.

“You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.”

“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”

“Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”

“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”

“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.”

“Where you come from?” You said.

“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”

“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”

“So what’s the point of it all?”

The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for YOU to mature.

Mankind does not exist there is only YOU. This whole universe is for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.

There is no one else - there’s just you and God.

You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”

“All you. Different incarnations of you.”

“Wait. I’m everyone!?”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.

“I’m every human being who ever lived?”

“Or who will ever live, yes.”

“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”

“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.

“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.

“And you’re the millions he killed.”

“I’m Jesus?”

“And you’re everyone who followed him.”

You fell silent.

“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”

You thought for a long time.

“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”

“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”

“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?”

“No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”

“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”

“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”

And I sent you on your way.

Spiritual Resolution

New Year's resolutions are hard to maintain. We are very familiar with the routine where we feel Gung-ho about a change we want to make and a few weeks into the New Year, the resolution is already slipping away. 

Even having the desire to make a change is praiseworthy and deserves a pat on the back. Some change is better than no change. A little endeavour is better than no endeavour. If the resolution isn't made, then no action will follow. So, go ahead and make the resolution.

Here are some resolutions that will help us grow spiritually.

Good luck and a Happy New Year!

1. MEDITATE two to three times a week for 10 minutes by focusing on your breath.

2. Spend quality TIME with friends and family, in person or on the phone, at least once a week.

3. Consume COMPASSIONATELY, by eating only vegetarian food at least once a week.

4. Take time to write down and express GRATITUDE for the positive things happening in your life.

5. REFLECT on all the small and big ways in which people are helping you.

6. Feel JOY for another's success even if it is the same success you were hoping for.

7. Mend old RELATIONSHIPS by forgiving those who hurt you and by seeking forgiveness from those you hurt.

8. COMMUNICATE mindfully -- practice speaking in a way that is honest, helpful, yet doesn't offend or hurt others.

9. ANGER can lead to regretful behavior; so don't let anger get the best of you.

10. Don't become proud of your gifts. Instead, just BE grateful.