Wednesday 16 November 2016

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Sunday 30 October 2016

What is Intuition and How To Develop It

What is Intuition Really?

Intuition means being “in-tune” with life. It’s a state where you have the ability to understanding something immediately without the need for conscious reasoning. It’s an instinctive feeling you have about something that directs your focus and attention. In other words, it’s akin to having knowledge or a heightened sense of awareness about something that has been weighing on your mind. Some people describe it as a gut feeling, while others call it a hunch that reveals answers to a dilemma they have been facing.

The moment you tap your intuition, you are no longer emotionally involved within the situation. This subsequently helps expand your perspective and understanding of things. From this place of intuitive thought, things become crystal clear and answers come readily. You become immediately present in the spur of the moment and you suddenly have all the answers you need to make the most effective decision moving forward.

Intuition brings into your life synchronicity, which means that you tend to be in the right place at the right time, all of the time. This is when things (answers, solutions, people) appear in your life just as you need them. This is in essence the manifestation process at work. It means that your subconscious desires are congruent with your conscious intentions, and this brings opportunity and coincidences into your life. However, these are not just haphazard random events that are built upon some sort of luck. These things have appeared in your life because you have no emotional or psychological blockages that are clouding your judgment and perspective of the world. You are free to see things how they should be seen, and as a result you notice more things and therefore can make better decisions because you have more information to work with.

The Role of the Inner Mind

Intuition is often considered a sixth sense. And rightly so, given that it is directly hooked up to the Inner Mind.

The Inner Mind is very much the subconscious part of you that stores all stimuli that you have encountered over a lifetime. In other words, everything that has come through your five senses — whether you can consciously recall it or not — is stored within the Inner Mind. The Inner Mind is therefore a storehouse of knowledge, memories and information about your entire life. It for instance knows what you ate for breakfast on your 6th birthday, and remembers the very first time you stood on two legs. All of these experiences came through your five sensory organs, and they are all stored within the recesses of your Inner Mind.

You might be thinking that you don’t consciously remember everything that has occurred in your life. And that’s perfectly normal. You don’t want to remember absolutely everything. To remember everything that ever came through your five senses would quickly become overwhelming. Your conscious brain would immediately become confused because it would have no priorities to go by. Without priorities there would be absolute mayhem. But thankfully that isn’t a problem thanks to the Reticular Activation System.

The Reticular Activation System

The Reticular Activation System (RAS) was first introduced by Anthony Robbins in his best selling book Awaken the Giant Within. It shouldn’t be confused with the part of the brain known as the Reticular Activating System, however they are most certainly related.

The RAS is a filter that is applied to the staggering amount of data that gets picked up by the five senses of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. This filter works 24/7, and it’s the only thing that’s keeping you from being overwhelmed by the massive amount of stimuli passing through your sensory organs.

The RAS determines what you consciously decide to give your attention to at any given moment in time — while the remaining data gets filtered out and transferred to the unconscious parts of your brain.

All this is very significant, because when you set concrete goals, you at that moment indicate to your RAS that anything associated with these goals is important to you. As a result, your RAS goes to work bringing to your attention data and opportunities that are aligned with these goals. And that is essentially what intuitive thoughts are… well, sort of. At least that’s what they are from a scientific/psychological perspective. However, there is also a spiritual perspective that we must take into consideration.

A Spiritual Understanding of Intuition

From a spiritual context, your intuition is tied to a Collective Consciousness. This is a combined consciousness of humanity that shapes your daily beliefs and perspectives about the world. This consciousness is much like a collective brain that we are all a part of. Every thought, emotion, idea, belief, perspective, etc, already exists within the collective consciousness of humanity. Therefore whenever you have a thought or get an idea, these things don’t just come out of nowhere. You actually borrow them from this collective consciousness and use them in the real world.

Imagine this collective consciousness being much like a gigantic library filled with books that record every human thought and experience from the beginning of time. Every single day you are tapping into the knowledge-base of this library. In fact, every thought and idea you hold onto comes from this library. Therefore there is nothing unique about any thought or idea. It might be unique to you, however it’s certainly not unique from a collective consciousness perspective. In fact, this thought or idea you have had, others have also had; and these other people pulled this thought or idea from the same source you used.

All this is very significant because it suggests that you’re always connected to other people. In fact, we are all connected to every single person on this planet — past, present and future — on a sub-atomic level.

What all this suggests is that whenever you have an intuitive thought, you are actually tapping into this source of infinite knowledge. This collective consciousness knows all and understands all because it exists beyond space and time, which means that the past, present and future are all occurring right now. There is no notion of time, and as such this collective consciousness can provide you with the answers you need to make the best decision that will help fulfill your desired intentions. Therefore, whenever you have an intuitive thought, you are in actuality tapping into this source of infinite knowledge that already has all the answers to the problems you are facing.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of how intuition works from a spiritual context, please have a read of:

Both these articles will provide you with the background information you need to shed some light upon this topic.

A Scientific Understanding of Intuition

From a scientific context, your intuition is tied to your RAS and Inner Mind. You will for instance set a goal that you would like to achieve. This goal sends a message to your RAS that certain things related to this goal are important to you. The RAS then goes to work filtering through your five senses only the things that are important and related to this goal. At the same time, your Inner Mind scours its memory storage banks of all the sensory experiences you have ever had and brings to your conscious attention memories and information related to the goal you are wanting to achieve.

Your RAS therefore filters through your five senses only the most relevant information that is applicable to help you achieve your goal, while your Inner Mind brings forth memories that are also related to that goal. It does this specifically through association.

What this means is that every memory and experience you have ever had is coded into your brain at a subconscious level. These memories are connected through association, meaning that memories which are related in some way are subsequently connected into groups or bundles of information. Therefore, if you suddenly recall one specific memory, you will also tend to recall other memories that are linked to that particular memory through association. And this is essentially what happens when you have a “deja-vu” experience. You have an experience in the present moment, and you suddenly find yourself recalling a feeling or memory from your past that you previously had no conscious knowledge or awareness of.

As with a deja-vu experience, intuitive thoughts come about as a result of the work done by your RAS and the memories brought into conscious awareness by your Inner Mind. The RAS will capture the most important things in the present moment that are related to your goal, and your Inner Mind will bring to light past memories through association that are relevant to the goal that you are trying to accomplish. Then as a result you suddenly see the circumstances in front of you far more clearly than ever before — giving full credit to your intuition.

You are suddenly feeling “intuitive” because you are so intensely focused on your goal or problem, and this has made you far more aware of your surroundings then you would be under normal circumstances. Likewise, because of your focused-attention, this has now stimulated associations within your brain that have brought to light unconscious memories. These unconscious memories now become conscious and provide you with further insights into your circumstances. However, be wary that these insights might very well be flawed because they are based on your past memories and experiences, which might not be accurate or might not apply to your current situation. And that’s why intuitive thought doesn’t always lead us down the right path, mainly because it’s not some miraculous answer that comes from a higher source. It’s rather an answer that comes from an unconscious source that is an integral part of you.

It’s important to keep in mind that intuition can also be triggered by psychological anchors. These anchors can suddenly bring to the surface dormant thoughts and/or emotions that will immediately shift how you think and feel about your situation. Many people might call this “intuition”, however it’s nothing more than a trigger that has brought about a different state-of-mind.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of how the brain functions and how the process of psychological anchoring works in the real world, please have a read of:

The Benefits of Intuition

When you’re intuitive you naturally become more observant and aware of your surroundings. As a result you will tend to make fewer mistakes, which improves your ability to make decisions throughout the day. Likewise, tuning-in to your intuition can help boost your creativity and ability to solve problems, which can subsequently save you time.

All this is possible because you are tapping into a reservoir of memories of past experiences that can help you work through your circumstances far more effectively in the present moment. You might for instance be in the midst of working through a problem. However, little do you realize that at one point in the past you worked through a similar problem successfully. Although, this was a long time ago and you can’t consciously recall what you did or what exactly happened. Moreover, you don’t consciously make the connection between your current problem and other problems you’ve encountered in the past. However, your Inner Mind finds this connection through association, and it goes to work bringing into conscious awareness possible solutions and answers that might help you in the present moment.

These solutions and answers come to you as sparks of inspiration. Consciously you don’t quite understand where they came from; you simply give credit to your intuitive abilities and successfully work through your problem based on a gut feelings. And yet, it wasn’t you gut that provided you with this spark of inspiration. It was your Inner Mind, or more specifically your subconscious that successfully made the necessary associations that connected your present circumstances with past experiences to help bring you the solutions and answers you were after. In other words, your subconscious pulled the necessary information you needed from your old memories and applied them to your current problem, thereby bringing into conscious awareness some interesting insights that you used to solve this problem.

Given this example, it’s clear to see that intuition isn’t some miraculous thing. It’s rather a process that works automatically resulting from the associations made in your brain.

Capturing Intuitive Thoughts

Most of the time the intuitive process works automatically without much thought, effort or attention. This is of course wonderful, however this can certainly make it very difficult to capture your intuitive thoughts as they arise.

Intuitive thoughts are easy to miss because they have a very subtle nature about them. They come from the subconscious, and as such they kind of sit under the surface of conscious awareness and can also appear in many different ways. You must therefore be finely attuned to your body and mind at all times without allowing your emotions to cloud your judgment.

Here are some ideas that will help you recognize and capture those intuitive thoughts:

Gain New Experiences and Acquire More Knowledge

When you’re faced with a problem, it’s easy to fall into the trap of doing things how you’ve always done things. This is the intellectual and rational way of overcoming your problems. However, what worked in the past might not necessarily work in the present moment to help you solve your problem. For this reason it’s important to expand your horizons by seeking out new and relevant experiences and knowledge associated with your problem or the goal you are working towards.

As you go about the process of gaining new experiences, knowledge and skills, your subconscious is constantly being stimulated. It goes to work for you in the background trying to make associations between your current life experiences and the past experiences it has stored within its data bank of memories. And as it does this, some surprising flashes of inspiration might cross your mind as seemingly unrelated things will be associated with your current situation.

What you are essentially doing here is creating a heightened sense of awareness. While your subconscious might not be familiar with your current circumstances, it however still tries to make sense of this new information by combining it with what it already knows and feels comfortable with. This subsequently connects many random and seemingly unrelated memories together through association, thereby potentially providing you with some flashes of insight as you work through your problem.

It is however important not to rush this process. Take small vigilant steps. Don’t try to force answers to come to you. Intuition cannot be forced, it must rather be stimulated through association.

Seek Out Solutions and Answers

Intuition can either lead you in the right direction, or it can lead you astray. And this all depends upon where you direct your focus and attention.

If you recall, your brain has this thing known as the Reticular Activation System (RAS). This system works in the background bringing to your attention the things that it understands are most important to you. Therefore, if you’re focused on the things you don’t want, then your RAS will deem these things as being important. It will therefore direct your attention onto related things that you don’t want, which will lead your intuition astray.

You must instead focus on asking relevant questions that direct your mind and attention onto the answers and solutions you are after. Only in this way will you develop the necessary awareness required to spot relevant people, circumstances and opportunities that will allow you to make better decisions moving forward. This of course is a subtle awareness that will direct the intuitive thought process.

Again, it’s important to remind yourself that intuition cannot be forced. If you’re asking questions but not getting answers, then that’s perfectly okay. Don’t rush things. Intuitive thoughts will come to you randomly when you least expect them. They will come to you when your RAS spots something important, or when your subconscious makes the relevant associations to past memories and experiences. Therefore at times it might actually be worthwhile consciously letting go of finding the relevant answers in order to allow your subconscious time to process what is happening.

Attend to Sudden Changes

In order to capture intuitive thoughts and feelings, it’s absolutely paramount that you stay self-aware and vigilant at all times to sudden impressions, unexpected dreams, people, circumstances, feelings, emotions and impulses that may suddenly arise.

As your RAS and subconscious work in the background, you might suddenly get certain feelings of excitement or discomfort within your body. You might of course not understand why you’re feeling this way; all you know is that there’s something different going on. This occurs because your subconscious might have made some kind of association that has triggered a particular feeling within your body. You can’t quite pinpoint what this feeling is about, however you can kind of sense what direction this feeling is angling you towards.

These random feelings you might at times experience are often recognized through sudden energy shifts within your body. You might for instance feel happy and carefree at one stage, and then the very next moment you’re feeling uneasy about a decision you are about to make. Now this of course might not have anything to do with your intuition. It might simply mean that a psychological anchor has been fired off. However, it’s up to you to recognize what that feeling means and what you should subsequently do about it.

Of course, if we are to assume that this feeling came from a higher source of awareness, then it might very well provide you with a clear direction moving forward. However, first and foremost you must always rule out the possibility that this feeling was not caused by a psychological anchor. If you fail to do this, then you might be misdirected by your own psychological conditioning.

Journal Your Thoughts and Feelings

Take time to write out your thoughts, observations and daily experiences within a journal. Clarifying your thoughts and feelings on paper in this way will help stimulate the unconscious parts of your brain and potentially bring forth relevant associations that might provide you with a better sense of direction moving forward.

It’s important to remind yourself that writing things down stimulates more of your brain than just thinking about things. This subsequently triggers more associations with your brain, which leads to the possibility of gaining some better insights about your life and circumstances.

Make Healthy Lifestyle Choices

When you’re feeling sluggish and low on energy, you will struggle to pick up on the subtle signals coming through your subconscious mind. Moreover, when you’re unhealthy you are more likely to make haphazard decisions based on your emotional state-of-mind rather than based on intuitive feelings. For this reason it’s absolutely paramount that you make healthy lifestyle choices. This starts by eating a balanced diet and undertaking a regular exercise regime.

Exercise can actually be of great value because when you exercise your mind is more relaxed and open to new perspectives and possibilities. Now, of course your body might be in some pain, however the fact that you are breathing more deeply can certainly help bring about more clarity-of-thought, which can potentially trigger intuitive thoughts, insights and feelings more readily.

Use Meditation and Self-Reflection

Meditation can open the doors to some incredible insights and perspectives that you normally would not experience in a normal waking state. It works because the process of mediation helps bring stillness to your mind and body. And with stillness comes a greater sense of awareness of the subtle signals coming through your subconscious.

There are two ways you can meditate. You can for instance use meditation as a form of self-reflection where you reflect upon your current problems and circumstances in order to trigger relevant associations within your brain that may help bring forth the answers you are after. These answers may help you gain the necessary insights you need to help you make better intuitive decisions moving forward.

Alternatively you can use meditation as a means of silencing the chatter within your brain. Here, you are focusing on the silent spaces between your thoughts. Your objective is to rest within these spaces for as long as possible while meditating. This is helpful because within the spaces between your thoughts you may find a way to tune-in to those subtle feelings within your body that can help guide you intuitively in the right direction. This is advantageous because you are removing your intellect and your emotional desires from the decision-making process. This subsequently brings about a clarity of thought that you might not have had before.

Finally, you can use periods of downtime to close your eyes and stimulate your imagination by creating random scenarios in your head about your life and circumstances. These scenarios can help trigger relevant associations that might bring into conscious awareness the answers you are after.

The Intuitive Mindset

In order to capture intuitive thoughts more readily, it’s important that you show patience, discipline and gratitude. You must have the necessary faith and trust in yourself — a state of knowing — that you will make the right decisions moving forward. And this faith and trust is of course dependent upon your ability to distinguish between a rational/emotional decision, and an intuitive decision. Understanding these differences means that you will never be led astray by your decisions.

This of course doesn’t mean that you should never make any intellectual decisions. Oftentimes intellectual/rational decisions are more reliable than intuition. It’s only when making a rational decision isn’t as clear-cut as it should be, should you then turn to your intuition for guidance.

The Intuitive Process

The intuitive process works differently for different people. As such, it’s difficult to outline a set process that will work specifically for you. You must instead test the waters and get a sense of what feels most comfortable over time. However, despite this, there are certain steps you can take that will help you to strengthen your intuitive muscle.

Step One

It’s important to first decide what it is you want. This sends a very clear message of intention to your subconscious mind to go to work and make the relevant associations that will help direct your intuitive thoughts. Ask yourself:

What is it that I want? Why?

What goal do I want to achieve? Why?

What problem would I like to overcome? Why?

It’s helpful to clarify what it is you want on paper and then to post it up somewhere in view where you can refer to it several times per day. This will keep your intention at the forefront of your mind at all times, which will help stimulate your RAS and encourage your subconscious mind to make the necessary connections to past memories and experiences that might be of value in the present moment.

Step Two

Having clarified your intentions clearly, it’s now time to get a little curious and begin persistently asking questions that are aligned with those intentions.

These questions you will be asking yourself throughout the day will help direct your RAS to the things you consider to be of utmost importance. It will therefore go to work in the background alerting you to people, events and circumstances that are most relevant to the intentions you had in mind. Likewise, these questions will help stimulate your subconscious to keep making relevant associations that will help you gain deeper insights and understandings about your life and circumstances.

Throughout the day ask yourself questions that will spark your curiosity about your life and circumstances related to the intentions you outlined within Step One:

How is this of significance?

What is it that I am not seeing here?

What do I need to know here?

How could this best be solved?

How could this be overcome?

What other possibilities are there?

How could I make this work?

What kind of answers am I looking for?

You don’t necessarily need to have an answer to these questions; at least not at the beginning. Just the act of asking these questions will help stimulate your brain to the point that your subconscious mind will go to work in the background to help bring forth the answers you are looking for. Then when it comes to making a critical decision, you will have an inkling that you might not clearly consciously understand. It’s however this inkling that will help direct your path moving forward.

Step Three

As you persistently ask questions, you will haphazardly receive random answers that might at first make very little sense. It is however important that you do not judge the answers you are receiving. These answers might not make much sense right now because they only present you with one piece of the puzzle. There are still missing pieces that may come to you over time in the form of coincidences, and even opportunities disguised as problems.

You may never of course fully understand what everything means. However, you will get those little inklings that tell you what the best decision moving forward might be. These inklings come to you via the work done by your RAS and your subconscious mind.

You might for instance have noticed a few things on an unconscious level of awareness throughout the day. However, these things were very subtle and didn’t quite get your conscious attention. However, these things were certainly there, and may as a result come to you as subtle inklings when it comes time to making a decision. As such you must always be vigilant and self-aware. You won’t always pick things up consciously, however you will get those subtle feelings in your body that will tell you that there’s more to this than meets the eye.

Step Four

It’s now time to make a decision based on your intuition. Remember though that intuitive thoughts don’t need to make any logical sense. After all, your RAS and subconscious mind could have picked up things that might have no logic behind them. And this is because you simply don’t yet have all the pieces of the puzzle in place. However, this doesn’t mean that the decision you are about to make isn’t the right decision to make. After all, these pieces of the puzzle will come together over time, and what started out as a reckless decision might not seem so reckless once the puzzle is complete.

Intuitive Self-Sabotage Patterns

At times an intuitive thought or feeling is not necessary “intuitive”, but rather comes from your rational understanding of the situation. In such instances it’s based on the facts you have collected and on assumptions you have made. And as we all know, assumptions are only opinions and perspectives we have about things. They might have absolutely no basis in reality, and therefore might lead you astray.

Along the same lines, your emotions might also get in the way of your intuitive thoughts and feelings. In such instances, you make decisions based on your emotional experiences, which often mask the reality of the situation. Emotions such as fear, stress, anxiety, anger, overwhelm, and frustration will put you in an altered state-of-mind that drastically interferes with the decision-making process. These emotions will cloud your judgment and prevent you from unlocking the insights that your RAS and subconscious bring to mind.

Whenever you experience a negative emotion, you are at that moment focusing on the things you don’t want. Therefore instead of focusing on solutions and the desired outcomes you would like to realize, you are instead absorbing all your thoughts and attention on worrying about your problems. This of course directs your RAS on what’s not working for you, and it will therefore go to work to try and find other things that are also not working for you. This snowballs when your subconscious gets into the mix and brings to mind past memories and experiences that accentuate the difficulties of your situation.

In situations such as this, it’s important to step away from your problems. In fact, create some separation between you and your problems to help calm your emotions and refocus yourself on the outcomes you would like to achieve. It is only when your emotions have passed and you are once again focusing on your desired outcomes with a clear mind, can you then begin relying on your intuition to bring you the answers you need to solve your problem. Otherwise, you will of course still be guided by your intuition, however it won’t be in the direction of your desired intentions. It will instead direct you onto things that could very well exacerbate your problems.

Even if down the line you find yourself once again on the right path and focused on the things that will help you solve this problem, you must still be vigilant not to rush the intuitive process. Don’t try to force anything. Things will come in their own time and in their own way. And if no major insights come to you in the moment of decision, then that’s okay. In such instances go with your intellect and make a rational decision based on the facts of the situation. However, just make sure that you are not making any assumptions or jumping to quick conclusions about how things should be. Only by questioning these conclusions and assumptions will you put yourself in a position to make the most optimal decision moving forward.

Finally, during moments of decision it’s also easy to be led astray by other people’s perspectives and opinions. In fact, at times other people’s opinions can cloud your intuitive thoughts and feelings. This becomes especially relevant when the opinions you are considering come from people you respect and admire. In such instances, it’s important that you keep an open mind about the decision you are about to make. Take people’s opinions into consideration however make up your own mind about the situation. Then in the end do what feels good, is good for you, is good for others, and serves the greater good. That is probably the best way I know of to follow your intuition.

http://blog.iqmatrix.com/developing-intuition

Tuesday 25 October 2016

Could Spiritual Healing Actually Work?

Could spiritual healing actually work?
Once dismissed as hokum, new evidence is forcing doctors to accept the power of spiritual healing. Click here to see why the laying on of hands may not be quackery after all:

By Dr DANNY PENMAN

Spiritual Healing

After six years of agonising pain, Ailsa Marsh was beginning to despair that she would ever lead a normal life again. 'I was bedridden and couldn't leave the house,' recalls the 28-year-old student.

'All of my senses became hypersensitive. If somebody spoke to me, it felt as if they were shouting. I couldn't bear the light so my parents hung duvets over the windows. Even lying in bed was painful.'

Ailsa's suffering began in 1998 following a bout of glandular fever. At the time she was a politics and philosophy student at Durham University. But the disease robbed her of drive and energy, eventually forcing her to return home to her parents in Newcastle.

Over the following months she became weaker and weaker and was eventually diagnosed with ME. Conventional medicine offered no hope. Ailsa saw more than 20 doctors and was hospitalised countless times. The doctors could find no cause for the ME and could offer no cure.

Then in January 2004, quite by chance, Ailsa read an article about the spiritual healer David Cunningham. 'I'd tried everything else,' she says, 'so I thought I might as well go and see him.

'I didn't know what to expect, but he listened intently to me for half an hour and then put on a tape of soothing music.

'As I began to relax, David placed his hands about a centimetre above my shoulders. I felt as if he was putting his hands inside me and untwisting a tap. The pain just vanished - it went in an instant. That day, I left David with more energy than I'd had in six years.'

Over the following four months, Ailsa returned every week. Within a few months she was able to go shopping and walk from one side of Newcastle to the other.

'That summer, I went on a family holiday and there's pictures of me doing handstands in the sea. I'd gone from being in a wheelchair to being able to do all the normal things a woman of my age could do.'

Although Ailsa is utterly convinced that David Cunningham cured her of ME, many others are sceptical. How can a man with no medical training treat a chronic painful disease merely by placing his hands over a patient's body? For decades, researchers have dismissed cases such as Ailsa's as pure hokum.

But now, in an astonishing about-turn, scientists in the U.S. and UK have compiled a dossier of evidence that might - just might - show that prayer and spiritual healing are not just quackery after all.

Professor Harald Walach, a psychologist from the University of Northampton, says:

'We should take this phenomenon seriously even if we don't understand it. To ignore it would be unscientific. Our work shows that there is a significant effect.'

For despite it being the most widely practised alternative remedy, science has only recently begun to investigate whether spiritual healing actually works. Scientists and doctors simply assumed that it didn't.

One of the first attempts to investigate healing focused on its flipside: the curse. In the late 1960s, U.S. scientists decided to see whether focusing vindictive and negative thoughts on a small sample of mould - chosen because it is one of the most primitive living organisms - could somehow inhibit its growth.

Astonishingly, out of 194 mould samples 'cursed', 151 showed retarded growth.

Another group of scientists began researching whether thought power alone could be used in a positive way, to help diseased animals. Experiments revealed that mice wake faster after a general anaesthetic if healing thoughts are 'sent' their way.

In other studies, mice recovered faster and more completely from a form of breast cancer if healers 'laid on hands' while sending them positive thoughts and energy.

So if healing helps ailing lab animals, might it also help the sick to recover faster? Surprising as it seems, there's growing evidence that it might.

According to cardiologist Dr Randolph Byrd at San Francisco General Hospital, heart patients who are prayed for by Christian groups need less medicine and suffer fewer complications.

Other scientists have found similarly inexplicable results. In virtually every area they have looked, scientists have found evidence that praying for the sick helps them recover faster.

For example, studies at the California Pacific Medical Centre on Aids patients found that they survive in greater numbers, become sick less often and recover faster than those who are not prayed for.

Professor Walach, a psychologist at the University of Northampton, recently conducted an exhaustive analysis of all the data and came to the conclusion that spiritual healing really does work. He is gaining powerful supporters, too.

Professor Peter Fen-wick, a consultant neuro-psychiatrist at King's College London, has studied the phenomenon and says: 'There are four possibilities.

'Either we're dealing with fraud on a massive scale; or large numbers of able and gifted researchers are simply wrong; or hundreds of reports disproving healing haven't been published. All these seem unlikely, so we're left with the possibility that the effect is real.'

'Now we need to move on and understand what "healing" is and how it works. And we're starting to do just that.'

Dean Radin, a parapsychologist working at the Institute of Noetic Sciences in California, is in the vanguard of this research. He has found compelling evidence that one person's positive healing thoughts has a noticeable impact on another's mind and body.

Radin focused his work on couples, one of whom had cancer, reasoning that any 'psychic' connection would be strongest between people who loved each other. He trained the healthy partner to cultivate and project positive healing thoughts towards their ailing loved one.

To help eliminate pure chance, the healthy partner was asked to send the healing 'energy' at a time randomly chosen by computer.

The results were both amazing and startling. At the precise moment the healthy partner transmitted the healing thoughts, remarkable changes occurred in the mind and body of their ailing partner. Their breathing and blood flow increased significantly, while their brain and skin electrical activity changed dramatically. Clearly something profound was happening.

'Patients described having a warm feeling inside,' says Dr Radin. 'Whether this promotes healing remains to be seen.'

The NHS already employs healers to help seriously ill and dying patients. Ruth Kaye is a

healer at the Yorkshire Centre for Clinical Oncology in Leeds. She has spent the past 16 years spiritually healing patients in the NHS. Her aim is to augment conventional medicine and to help eliminate the side-effects of such treatments as chemotherapy.

'The spirit is the missing link that medicine does not address, but it is the key and secret of life,' she says. 'One of my patients described my work as being one part of a three-legged stool.

'There is the medicine, which is one leg, the surgery, and finally the spirit. Without the spirit element, the stool would fall over.

'Patients who use things like spiritual healing often use fewer drugs and are less reliant on antidepressants or sleeping tablets. In short, they are less of a drain on an over-stretched NHS.'

Jenny Quantrell, who successfully underwent treatment for breast cancer, says she was helped enormously by Ruth.

'Ruth has a special gift. I simply closed my eyes when she was healing me and I saw loads of bright lights. It felt as if I was having my battery recharged.

'I hadn't slept for days, but afterwards I fell into the most wonderful relaxing sleep.

I don't know how it works but I know that it does. I don't need to understand it.'

And that's perhaps all the faith you need to benefit from this most mysterious phenomenon.

Sunday 23 October 2016

Spiritual Enlightenment or Spiritual Awakening

What Is Spiritual Enlightenment or Spiritual Awakening?

Spiritual awakening or spiritual enlightenment is the realization of our true nature.

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 because spiritual 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.

(The above is from the free ebook: That Is That: Essays About True Nature available here.)

http://endless-satsang.com/spiritual-enlightenment-spiritual-awakening.htm

Saturday 22 October 2016

Discovering Your Life’s Purpose and Exploring Your Divine Nature

What’s my purpose? This is a huge question that we should all tackle at some point in our lives. If we are ever to really awaken to our life’s purpose and find the deeper meaning of our existence, we must make an earnest effort in understanding our true nature. Self-study and meditation will be your keys to the Kingdom.

A fundamental thing to realize is that you are not your body. You must be able understand this truth not logically, but existentially. Meditation if done with earnestness and unshakable determination will in time reveal this truth to you. Consciousness is your true identity, which is one and the same with the universal consciousness and intelligence that permeates everything.

You will realize that all your life you identified and derived your sense of self from your body, thoughts, and emotions. It’s as if you believed you were the light bulb, but your true identity was the electricity running through the bulb.

The Power of Self-Observation

When you begin to study your inner space you will need to dis-identify yourself from your thoughts (ego) to be able to observe how you work. Through meditation you will become the witness of your inner world, you will create the space and awareness necessary to become a passive observer.

This is very difficult to describe with words, but you will discover it on your own if you try, this is how it should be, you should never rely on someone else to tell you what Truth is. You will see that our inner space is full of contradictions; we are full of divisions, hundreds and hundreds of little ‘I’s (personalities).

Before going on your inner journey you believed you where one ‘I’, but with patient and honest self-observation you will see that you have many different personalities that exist independently of each other. This is why one part of you wants to do one thing and another part wants to do the complete opposite, yet you believed it was the same little voice that decided.

With time you will see all the different ways we are able to lie to ourselves, all the subtle things that operate below our conscious awareness. The more contradictions you have, the more mechanical you are and run on auto pilot. The more contradicting thoughts operating in your inner space, the more psychologically asleep you are. As you remove these contradictions the more awake and conscious you will become.

Are You Asleep?

On your next drive to work, when reaching your destination try and notice if you were truly awake, or were largely lost in your imagination, thus operating in sleep mode. When you are living in your imagination you will see that you are not able to “remember” yourself. This is where we can all relate to the experience of “I can’t believe I just did that”.

You will never do anything that will make you feel bad when you are awake and remember yourself. The more you expand your consciousness the more self-remembrance you will develop, your sense of “I am”. You will be able to simultaneously observe and remember yourself at the same time. Intuitively sensing your presence moment to moment. This is living in the Now. At the end of your day you will be able to recall your whole day with amazing clarity down to the smallest details.

If we are ever to live out our life’s purpose we must become centered in our true self and remove our inner contradictions. This is how you will really feel the power of focus. You will be able to think of your goal and direct your energies towards its attainment, without having contradictions that will sabotage your efforts.

When you are mechanical and asleep life just happens to you, even if you think you are the one who is doing. The more awake you become, the more inspired actions you will be able to take which are in alignment with your higher self and higher purpose. You will slowly create a magnetic center that integrates all your inner divisions. This is how you will start to cultivate true will power.

As you develop a calm mind free of contradicting thoughts the more energy you will feel throughout your whole being. If you are constantly tired and lethargic, you will see that you are full of self contradicting thoughts that are robbing you of your life force.

Dis-Identifying and Understanding Your Ego

All the divisions that exist within you are different aspects of your ego; your ego will tell you that:

1. Who you are is what you have.
2. I am not what I have but what I do also. Because I am what I do my worth depends on my success, which leads to competition with everyone and everything.
3. I am my reputation. Constantly worried about how others perceive you. Who I am is separate from everyone else. I am also separate from all the things I want to have and experience.
4. Finally it will try to convince you that you are separate from god.

You have to realize that you are always connected to a source. This source In the Hindu religion is known as Brahman. It is the unchanging, infinite reality which is the divine ground of all matter, energy, time, space, and being. In quantum physics it is referred to as the”zero-point field”.

You connect to this source by removing your ego. When you achieve a state of “no mind” through meditation, a mind free of thoughts, you will experience this source. You will experience an awareness free of all our worldly limitations. This is where true creativity manifests itself from.

When you begin to gain a deep understanding of your true nature, your life’s purpose will start to become more clear to you.

You don’t attract what you want, you attract what you are. Therefore if you want to change your life you must transform your being.

Discovering Your Purpose

Ultimately the purpose of your life is a life of purpose. We are all unique so we will all have our unique purpose, if you don’t know what your purpose is, it is your responsibility to find it or create it. The more responsible you become for every facet of your being, the more free you will be.

When you strive to improve the lives of others your own life will be elevated to a new vantage point. When you are in a place of genuine service, your ego is removed and the universe conspires to assist you.

One way I have chosen to do this is by sharing my journey through some of my writings, in hopes that it will inspire someone to take their own inner journey to self empowerment. Maybe you will contribute an amazing painting or a beautiful song that will touch the lives of many. Everything you create do with the purpose of selfless service.

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Mahatma Gandhi

You must know your life’s aim and then take action from your magnetic center that is connected to your higher being. My life’s aim is to become a more conscious and awake being. From this state any contribution I make will be a blessing to me and the people I encounter.

We have all been granted a unique set of gifts and talents that will be meaningful and prove to be of immense value to the whole.

“The secret of success is constancy of purpose.” Benjamin Disreali

When you live a life of deep spiritual meaning your ambitions simply become ambitions with meaning. You need the mental clarity and power of setting defined goals and most importantly have the consciousness to act on them.

Developing trust in ones being will give you the courage to overcome fear and greed. Living your life from a place that is free of fear and greed is the path of your purpose. You will activate the non mechanical parts in your brain, and begin to trust your intuition. Your intuition will give direction to your being when the next step is not clear. Learn to mother great things, right things, and right thoughts.

As you begin to feel as one with the whole, you will feel a deep reverence for existence. As you change your inner being, how the outside world responds to you will also change. Your purpose will be found in service, so the question then becomes how can you best serve?

A Purpose Driven Life’s 5 step Process To a Goals Attainment

1. Form a clear mental image of the outcome in its entirety. Not in your imagination, but a vivid visualization. The difference is that in visualization in your heart you also feel that it is possible.
2. Induce some positive pressure on yourself. You can accomplish this through a public pledge with the people who you value in your life.
3. Define your financial, social, spiritual goals. Use an idea book and picture book to keep you inspired and motivated. Examine your relationship to time.
4. Create an empowering habit designed to attain your goals. Make sure you bring complete awareness into it, don’t let it become a mechanical action. Little consistent actions will yield huge results.
5. Enjoy the process and keep growing. This life is an amazing adventure; make sure you learn from the ride in both the ups and downs.

Also please don’t accept or deny anything I have said, this is your life so go find out for yourself, truth cannot be given to you by anyone. We are all different so each journey will be different, ultimately the view from the top is the same, but getting there will be your own unique path.

Live from your true self and dedicate your life to your higher purpose, in the end you will see that your life made a difference and what deeper fulfillment can you find than this?

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