Sunday Family Humour 14 - 27th Feb Personal

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27th February Personal

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Quickstep to enlightenment

17 Biased

We are now aware that we make our own problems. Even where no problem exists, then we still try to imagine problems, using the intellect in combination with the imagination to try to draw the most fearful scenario.

The reason why we see things as problems is that the media and the presentation of daily information is designed to make us afraid. We begin to see problems everywhere, and rarely see any good in anything.

We know that whatever is under consideration is neither good nor bad; it just is, but it is very difficult for us to feel what we know - or to know what we feel. As soon as we experience something new, we are either pleased by it or displeased, before we have time to make a conscious judgement.

What we show of our emotion is under conscious control, but the initial attraction or repulsion is outside of our physical or mental control.

We base our mental process on comparing one thing with another. When we see something for the first time, we will draw to mind the nearest similar thing that we have previously experienced. We make a comparison of bigger or better or smellier or another judgement of the attribute of the object in question. If the base line to which we are comparing has been shifted to the left or right, away from centre, then our decisions and thought processes will also be biased to the left or right. If we associate with a group of people on a regular basis, then we will begin to share the views of the group. This pulls us either left or right.

The process under way is to push the norm further away from the centre, such that the majority of the population considers the true norm as an extreme. Vaccination is not normal, or natural. Pesticide is not normal or natural.

Governments are not normal or natural. Nation-States are not normal or natural. Yet, most of us now consider them normal and natural.

What is natural?

One who practices right speech, speaks the truth and is steadfast in truthfulness, trustworthy, dependable, straightforward with others. He reconciles the quarrelling and encourages the united. He delights in harmony, seeks after harmony, rejoices in harmony, and creates harmony by his words. His speech is gentle, pleasing to the ear, kindly, heart-warming, courteous, agreeable, and enjoyable to many. He speaks at the proper time, according to the facts, according to what is helpful, according to Dhamma and the Code of Conduct. His words are worth remembering, timely, well-reasoned, well-chosen, and constructive.

(Extract taken from S.N. Goenka's The Art of Living).

The Law of Prosperity – How to Make It Work for You

By Nanice Ellis

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

There is not just one law in the Universe that governs all. There exist multi-level laws in our Universe. Your personal vibration dictates what laws apply to you and your life, at any given moment. This means that we cannot expect higher laws to serve us when we are not a vibrational match to those laws.

The laws of the Universe are subject to our personal versions of reality, which is dictated by our thoughts and beliefs which in turn creates our individual vibration. Your vibration is an energy that you emit which is a magnet to the world around you.

All meta-physical laws are vibrational laws and you activate them by aligning vibrationally. For example, the law of karma may exist on a lower level but not on a higher level. Spiritual practice teaches us higher laws, such as the Law of Prosperity. Yet, when we try to invoke the law of prosperity, we often fall short, because we are actually vibrating with the law of scarcity.

For example, if you try to rationalize a purchase by declaring that you are governed by the law of prosperity, but you don’t really believe it, the active vibration in your energy field would be one of scarcity, so that is the law that you invoke. The law of scarcity will predominate because your vibration aligns with this law.

Yes, you can command a law into effect but your vibration, which is created through your thoughts and beliefs, must be aligned with your command. You must vibrate at the same level as your command! You cannot fool the law of prosperity or overcome the law of scarcity with only words or affirmations. Do not abuse the law of prosperity by using it to justify your actions because it will not work and it will back fire. “The Secret” will not work if you are not vibrationally in alignment with the law.

Most of us associate money with prosperity but money is simply a symbol of prosperity in our physical world. Money may measure prosperity but money is not and can never be prosperity. You cannot eat, drink or breathe money. Maybe there is so much scarcity around money because intrinsically we know that money is not prosperity and we keep looking to it as if it is. We can never have enough money to feel prosperous. The outward search for prosperity is an alignment with scarcity.

In fact, the outward search for anything is an alignment with scarcity. Every time we desire something in order to fill an empty space in our lives, we align with scarcity. The world hypnotizes us into a continuous desire for what we don’t have, and no matter how much we do attain, it is never enough. I am not saying that we should never want anything, and we are supposed to live like paupers. It is okay to want things. The problem unfolds, when you try to use things to fill that empty space inside. This dynamic makes “wants” seem like needs. You can never fill that empty space with anything external, so every “want” that you do acquire is tossed into the black hole within – making the internal emptiness bigger and bigger. Of course, you always have everything you need to fill that black hole – because the only thing that can ever fill that empty space is you. The point is, first become fulfilled inside and then you can see what you really want – which has everything to do with prosperity. This is the first step in aligning with the law of prosperity.

An Energetic Tune Up

The second step in aligning with the law of prosperity is an energetic tune up. This means that you must “Tune Your Vibration Up”.

If your thoughts are negative and you often feel down, your vibration is low. The law of prosperity exists on a higher vibration – if you feel happy, positive and energized, you are likely vibrating at a higher vibration. The law of prosperity will not come down and meet you. If you want this law to work for you, you must rise up to meet it. You must raise your vibration in order to invoke the Law of Prosperity.

This means that instead of chasing the ego-attainment of anything, you align with the abundance of the Universe that flows through you and all around you. It is in everything you see, do, and experience. You are at the center of this abundance. You are the very essence of prosperity.

Our ego-minds tend to look for what is missing or lacking and this aligns us with scarcity, but you are not your ego-mind. You can make a conscious choice to place your awareness on the abundance that is already in your life – right now – things like air, water, nature, love, kindness, food, wisdom…. Thinking about having an abundance of air to last your whole life and having unlimited love to share, can make you feel incredibly prosperous.

When you experience yourself as prosperous, you raise your vibration and you align with the law of prosperity. You get what you give. When you give off a vibration of prosperity, the Universe gives you more prosperity.

Finally, the law of prosperity is the law of love. Vibrate with love and you are infinitely prosperous. This means love life, love what you do, love your family, love your friends, love who you are, love the planet, love the Universe. Find anything and everything to love. The more you love, the higher you raise your vibration. The higher your vibration, the more you will naturally tune into the vibration of prosperity, but don’t be surprised if you discover that the Beatles were right all along, and “All You Need Is Love,” because Love is All You Need.

Message to the President from Freedom Convoy USA 2022

Trucker Convoy is Coming to DC— Their Leader Has a Message for Joe Biden.

"This message is for the President of the United States of America.

"My name is Kyle Sefcik of the Freedom Convoy USA 2022 and our routes meet here in DC on March 1st, in time for your State of the Union address.

"We are very organized and our routes are public. I even put a permit for the National Mall to be respectful.

"I just want to be as transparent as possible from the start so there's no confusion.

"We are coming peacefully and we're going to do this lawfully and Constitutionally.

"I want the rest of the world to know our plans so that there's no twisting and lying about who and what we are.

"I'm coming to you as a father, a small business owner who's unaffiliated to any parties.

"We just want government overreach to end.

"On behalf of Freedom Convoy USA 2022, we are asking you to end the State of Emergency. End the mandates once and for all.

"Sir, the world is watching us, because they know that if what's happening in Canada happens to us here in the Land of the Free, then freedom as we know it is gone.

"So, we are leaving the choice to you. The decision is in your hands.

"This whole convoy, this whole assembly on the national mall – it doesn't even have to happen, if you just end things now and we can get on with our lives.

"To you other convoys that plan on meeting us here, we look forward to seeing you and joining with you.

"We're going to do this right. We're going to do this honorably.

"Mr President, we have no other motives in this mission.

"You see, the Government, our elected officials of both parties have failed us tremendously in the last two years and now it's time for us, We the People to fix this. To end this.

"We're ready to get back to our lives, the ones promised and guaranteed in the United States Constitution, Bill of Rights and the contract that you signed and swore an oath to under the One True God.

"This is simple. End this."

Running Time: 2 mins

This is a good time to upgrade your way of thinking, and this book is perfect to get you started on a new path and a new way of looking at life.

A gentle suck on the red pill.

"I read it in one sitting. Great concepts. It’s a high level overview of enlightenment, hence “quickstep”. Definitely left me wanting more... I will continue on my journey to enlighten myself. "

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3 Simple Meditations to Improve Your Life

February 25th, 2022

By Nick Polizzi

Guest Writer for Wake Up World

As meditation becomes more mainstream these days, people are finally beginning to experience not just the mental benefits of this ancient practice, but also the positive effects on their physical health. With so many different styles geared toward specific goals and outcomes, it’s not always easy to pinpoint where to start.

To help you choose a meditation that is right for your unique body and mind, we’ve shared 3 simple methods below:

Focused Meditation

The first kind involves concentrating or focusing your attention on a single object, which is commonly the breath, but could be anything, like an image, a sound, a mantra or phrase, a part of the body, etc. Most people who start out begin by focusing on the breath, because it’s something we all do naturally and once we settle down, it’s fairly easy to tune into it.

The idea is to develop the ability to remain focused on that object consistently, and for longer periods of time, regardless of what is transpiring on the “outside” during the session. Naturally, you become less and less distracted by external stimuli, and the better you get at it, the more this translates to other parts of your life, outside of your meditation routine.

Guided meditation can fall under this category, where the difference is that the you are led, by a teacher, or by a recording of that person. As you become better at remaining focused, you gradually become less and less dependent on the teacher, or recording.

The most well known type of focused meditation is Transcendental Meditation, which many people swear by, especially in the western world. Other examples include Buddhist Meditation (Samatha), Loving Kindness, Kundalini, Pranayama, and certain forms of QiGong.

Open Meditation

In this case, instead of focusing on a single object, the idea is to keep the mind open, and allow our consciousness to be aware of everything that is happening without making a passing judgment. Think of how many things can float through a river, or across the sky if you were an observer.

You can actually acknowledge what you see, hear, feel or sense otherwise, and let it all register, but the idea is to allow each object, memory or feeling to continue on its trajectory, so that you don’t actually become attached to it or fixated upon it. As you improve upon this practice, you’ll develop the ability to NOT react, and be at peace with whatever arises both inside the session, and more importantly, outside the session, in your daily life.

Examples include Vipassana and some types of Taoist Meditation, along with the Zen sitting practice of Zazen.

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

Other types of meditation usually combine both open and focused meditation in different ways, and with different techniques based on what culture or tradition they come from, and on the desired goal or outcome of the practice.

Mindfulness is a great example whereby someone focuses on a single object, but is also aware of their surroundings as the same time. The beauty here is that the mind and consciousness are both active but in a calm state, and the practitioner isn’t necessarily limited to a specific physical space, like a meditation room, or confined to be in solitude. After a certain point, you can practice it at work, in your car, while in the presence of others, or while simply enjoying life outside your home.

There are many successful and famous people, at the top of their respective fields, who practice different kinds of meditation. Oprah Winfrey, Russell Simmons and Jerry Seinfeld swear by Transcendental Meditation, while Ford Motors CEO Bill Ford uses a loving-kindness meditation practice, and Phil Jackson, the former coach of the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers, practices Zen Buddhism. An important point is that they all have been meditating for many years, before becoming successful – and not the other way around.

It’s only a matter of time, and a matter of playing around and testing things out based on your needs, before you find a routine that you swear by too.

Stay curious,

Nick Polizzi

The Rare but Powerful Experience of Freedom in Prison

By Steve Taylor, Ph.D.

Guest writer for Wake Up World

Imagine you have to spend almost all your time in a single room. Even worse, in the short periods when you’re allowed out of your room, you can’t venture beyond a small, confined area. You are also forced to live without possessions (aside from the bare minimum) and are unable to pursue any career or ambitions. You aren’t allowed any autonomy and have to live according to a strict discipline, following preordained rules.

A person might consciously choose to live this kind of life by becoming a monk or nun. Or they might be forced to live this kind of life by being sent to prison.

Of course, there are some massive differences between the lives of prisoners and monks or nuns. Choosing to live a restricted life of solitude and detachment is itself an act of freedom, compared to having a restricted life imposed on you as a punishment.

But as I show in my book, Extraordinary Awakenings, for a small number of people in prison, the lack of distractions may have a transformational effect. It may lead them to reflect on their lives and to explore their being in a way they have never done before, leading to an awakening.

Political Prisoners

As a young man in the 1930s, the author Arthur Koestler was living in Paris as a communist activist and journalist. During the Spanish Civil War, he traveled to Spain as a war correspondent and was arrested by Spanish nationalists. He was charged with espionage and sentenced to death. While in solitary confinement, waiting for his sentence to be carried out, he had a powerful spiritual experience in which, as he described it, “I was floating on my back in a river of peace, under bridges of silence. It came from nowhere and flowed nowhere. Then there was no river and no I. The I had ceased to exist.”¹

This also happened to Sri Aurobindo, one of the greatest spiritual teachers and authors of the twentieth century. As a young man, he was inspired by the cause of Indian nationalism and became a leading figure in the protests against British colonial rule. At the age of 36 he was arrested by the British authorities and spent a year in prison.

Conditions in the prison were appalling. Aurobindo spent long periods in solitary confinement in a tiny cell. With nothing else to do, Aurobindo meditated for long periods. He found that his mind was restless and difficult to control. He was afraid of going mad and became so desperate that he prayed for help. Suddenly, in his words, “A great peace descended upon my mind and heart. A cooling sensation spread over my entire body. The restless mind became relaxed and joyful. I experienced a state of indescribable bliss…From that very moment, my suffering in prison evaporated.”²

The Prison Phoenix Trust

In the UK, an organization called the Prison Phoenix Trust which runs yoga and meditation classes in 82 secure institutions around the UK, supporting around 8 percent of the UK’s total prison population. At the core of the trust’s philosophy is the idea that prison can offer an opportunity for spiritual growth — that is, an environment where growth is more likely to occur than in normal, everyday environments.

The organisation receives a steady flow of letters and emails from prisoners who describe the positive effects of yoga and meditation. Some prisoners describe deep-rooted inner changes. One prisoner spoke of “finding the real me, letting go and shedding all the garbage I’d collected over the years.” Another person described “feeling at last a connection with my inner self. Nothing matters, I’m carefree, empty of worries, and consumed by positive energy, content with who I am.” Another correspondent commented, “There is a deeper me who is not that ego and is kind, compassionate, and cares about people.”

There are also some reports of powerful spiritual experiences, like those of Koestler and Sri Aurobindo. One prisoner described regular experiences of oneness during meditation in which “there’s just a still pool of consciousness without a ripple on its surface.” Another person spoke of being able to “tune in to emptiness”: “Sometimes I feel an expansion that goes out in all directions, way beyond the walls. … It feels like everything, the trees outside, the walls, in fact the whole jail and my body is being held by emptiness.”³

Alone with Ourselves

In ordinary life we human beings spend very little time with ourselves. We are almost always immersed in activities and entertainments. As a result, many of us are estranged from our true selves. To be cut off from ordinary society and all its distractions, and to be obliged to turn our attention to our own being, can therefore prove to be a powerful experience.

For most people, it is simply a painful experience, exposing them to psychological discord on the surface of their minds. But for others it may lead to a profound encounter with their real selves, beneath the surface discord. (There is another major reason for the transformational effect of prison: the letting go of psychological attachments. I’ll explore this in my next post.)

Monks and nuns have always known this. The monastic way of life is based on the principle that external restrictions can bring inner freedom. As one British prisoner expresses it: “All my life I’ve been lost or so caught up in my own self-centeredness, it’s like my whole life I’ve been in prison. And now I’m actually in prison, I feel so free, so calm, and at ease with life, peace.”