When practiced over time meditation takes your awareness beyond time, ego, thought, sensation, emotion and memory. As you move closer to Source frequencies, you move away from the tyranny of the lower mind. After a while you begin to recognize transcendent experience as a sense of fullness, of steadiness or of an appreciation for the infinite.

 Mediation practice helps enhance any other work you may be doing ten fold. It helps cleanse and strengthen the nervous system, as well as increases perception, insight and concentration.  Although it may seem counter intuitive, taking time to meditate regularly actually expands time and opportunities in other areas of your life.

 Fortunately the same techniques that are used to help discover our problem patterns can also be part of the solution. Meditation and strategies encouraging healthier patterns of breathing can help heighten awareness of mind-body patterns that have resulted in a depletion of our energy resources. At the same time these methods begin to help develop an easier inner state of being and can be used to coach the mind to create new patterns and healthier ways of thinking and feeling. The enhanced well being that comes in the practice eventually spills over into real life!

 Numerous studies have shown that these two simple techniques used on a regular basis result in ‘stress hardiness’ and improved health. So even if you have no interest in becoming knowledgeable about energy you can still benefit in very significant ways!  In addition to strengthening the nervous and immune systems, these practices also help quiet the mind and body so you can become aware of subtle energies within yourself and in your environment. They are the cornerstones for other methods that can eventually provide you with greater control over your energy.

Guru Tim has been traveling the globe with Tony Pace and observing the cultural climate in various places in the world regarding stress.

 Listen to hear:

 What are people saying?

How is stress experienced in different cultures?

What are the ways people in other countries cope with ”world stress”?

 MOST IMPORTANTLY, we will be discussing healthy ways that you can move beyond coping, away from suffering and into flourishing despite the external triggers.

Join us live or on the web at 10 A.M., Monday, June 28, 2010 or listen to the download at your leisure.

Stress has been defined as wear and tear on the body and mind as we attempt to adapt to change. We are all aware that change causes stress. We are also aware at some level of the signs that we are stressed. What we are often not aware of are the changes that go on inside us that create the wear and tear and eventually take their toll on our health and well being.

There are many ways to lessen the effects of stress on mind and body: meditation, quiet time for ourselves, learning to breathe properly, energy work and techniques such as imagery, and visualization. All are all helpful methods that can be used alone, or woven into a complete personal stress management program. These tools are also helpful when used to clarify, set and achieve goals. Each in its own way can be a really valuable aid to assist with engaging your inner resources to help motivate you to not only get started, but also to ride the waves of change more smoothly.

Another useful concept for navigating the process of change, whether it is initiated by us or from the outside, is that of support? All growth and development requires adequate support in order to be successful. What are your particular needs? Support does not mean the same thing to all people. Take some time to identify what support means to you. What works for one person may not work for another. In addition, you may need different types of support at different times in as you navigate the stages of change. It is always wise to have a variety of tools available to help you navigate change as well as your path in life. 

So begin by asking what support means to you. What types are important to you? Where can you look for that help? This includes people, places and things! How often will you need these resources? Obviously there will be things you can do for yourself, but you may also need others. Who are they? Can you ask them ahead of time to be available to ensure that what you need will be forthcoming? Do you need professional support, a group or some skill building?

Have a list of all the ways that you may be able to offer yourself support can be useful. When we are stressed our thinking mind tends to shut down and we may not be able to sort out what we need. If it is available to you in written form it can really strengthen your chances of success.

Perhaps also writing out the positives that will result from the change you are going through can help give you some confidence when the going gets rough. You may also want to write out some encouraging statements on index cards and carry them with you. A friend who has committed to be an aid can be of invaluable help….especially if they have gone through similar circumstances.

These approaches may seem self evident in a lot of ways, but they tend to be things we overlook…. maybe because of their simplicity. Nonetheless they can help make a difference in whether you just survive or thrive through transition.

Both our recorded home study programs are filled with techniques and guidance on using these types of methods as well as more specific teaching on how to use energy skills to improve your health, manage your emotions and  bring your dreams alive.

You can access these programs and a complete descripion here: http://www.livingenergyworks.com/store/

Click here to access the show or the archived program: http://www.divatoolbox.com/diva-toolbox-radio-/hosts/2007-peg-donahue-and-karen-kallie-living-energy.html

This session recording includes such topics as:

1. Individual and universal energy connection and conscious creation
2. A historical perspective on thought and creativity 
3. Physics of belief and the necessary link for releasing blocks

In addition there are many suggestions and tools to help you to:

• harness your energy for conscious creation
• develop your ability to manage your energy
• expand consciousness for enhanced intuition and spiritual connection

Here is a brief excerpt from the section of the program where we discuss contributions from various teachers of conscious creation throughout this century:

 In the 1990s we began to hear from William Tiller, a scientist and Stanford Professor who has been very involved in his own spiritual development since the sixties as well as conducting experiments, writing and reporting on matter, energy and the nature of consciousness. Dr. Tiller has contributed much to our understanding of the unseen forces in our universe and our relationship to it all.

 Two essential to solve the puzzle of reality formation:

1. Intentionality combined with coherence is key for creative results.

2. We need to develop our infrastructure, that is our nervous and energy systems, through inner self management methods in order to grow in consciousness and be able to adequately guide universal forces on our behalf.

1. Upon awakening, before you even get out of bed, notice how you feel. If you dreamt something that has a negative hangover effect, consciously release it. Use whatever means you can to accomplish this: EFT, breath-work, imagery and pivoting can help you shift your feelings.
2. Choose you emotional state for the day. Yes, you can! Let yourself feel ease, peace, well being to whatever level you can and imagine flowing that good feeling out from your deep inner center into your day.
3. As you move through the day notice what expands and opens you and make it a point to settle into these feelings. Appreciate and feel gratitude for all that is present that is adding to your life. (These feelings create very real biochemical and neuro-hormonal changes.)
4. Notice what triggers negative feelings or thought patterns and consciously release them as best you can as they arise. At times there may be a need for more than you can manage in the moment. If the latter is the case, schedule time to do what you need to in order to collapse those patterns more thoroughly from your bodymind.
5. As you notice what diminishes and drags you down can you also begin to think about how you can consciously make choices that eliminate those situations from your life. That may not be possible in all cases, but you may be able to let go of more than you realize. Over the longer term you can do what you can to build and strengthen your energy in order to more easily change de-energizing ways of reacting to the situations or people in your life that cannot be eliminated.

We would love to have you join us on our radio show on Diva Toolbox on Monday 11-23-09 @ 10 A.M. where our topic will be Practical Solutions for Holiday Stress. If you cannot make it at that time the show is aways recorded and you can access it from our link on Diva Toolbox.

http://www.divatoolbox.com/diva-toolbox-radio-/hosts/2007-peg-donahue-and-karen-kallie-living-energy.html

Have a happy stress free weekend!

We are in constant contact with information from our higher nature but tend to not understand it, discount it or ignore it. Emotional reactions to people and events, half formed or unexplained feelings, hunches are all ways that our psyche is trying to inform us of the true nature of our interactions. Our thoughts, wishes, desires and attitudes are all also a part of this mix. This can make it tricky to sort out what message is coming from which source. 

Working with your personal energy system so that it becomes more open, clear and flowing helps you to be more clear and in tune with the truth of things…helps you to move past the tangle of fears, old beliefs and conditioned reactions to live more freely from your true center –your authentic self.

It can be useful to have some cognitive awareness regarding the competing messages that crowd our inner world! The following chart may be helpful in sorting out the various “voices in your head”!

Normal Awareness                                       Higher Awareness

 Five Senses                                                        Senses Energy Fields

 Processes via Nervous System                  Experiences Directly

 Interprets via rational mind                       Processes via energy system

 Filters via past experience                          Direct ‘now’ experience

 Me centered, mechanical                             Heart centered

 Concern based in survival                           Spiritually aware

 Cause and effect                                               Non-linear awareness

 Three dimensional                                          Awareness of other dimensions

 Sequential time                                                 No limits to time & space

 Orderly, predictable                                       Not dependent on logic

Future= know present, remember past          Point of power in present         

Being aware of these differences can help you observe yourself throughout the day and help move you to make different choices about where to “live from”.       

We’d love to hear what you notice!

First Attention

Our five senses draw our attention to the outer physical world. When we have an outer directed focus we look for our inner needs to be filled through material sources. This is usually a short lived and unsatisfying solution. You may have experienced this at some time in your life! Interestingly (and painfully!), this orientation tends to lead to blame, criticism, judgments, and compulsivity (repetitive behaviors expecting a different outcome).

 From a spiritual perspective being outwardly directed tends to produce reliance on a spiritual being external to ourselves. We beseech this Great Being to bestow favors upon us –and we continue to define ourselves through the physical, roles and material possessions–a limited consciousness that has limited results. In addition, it a mindset that begins and ends in fear—never particularly useful! Such a mindset, or perspective, leaves us up one day down the next as there is no real inner center to hold on to. Like it or not, change is inextricably woven into the fabric of life and a consciousness that is deeply focused on and attached to the outer world does not help you to move gracefully through cycles of change. AND such a focus certainly does not help to increase your capacity to function in the world in a meaningful way that leads to peace, joy & happiness!

 Second Attention

Second Attention can be likened to your intuition, gut feeling, inner knowing or sixth sense. This sense is about an inner awareness that can assist you to resolve issues, release struggle and longing and receive the true fulfillment of your deepest desires.

Developing this aspect of self is an inner path allows you to (1) examine thoughts, feelings and beliefs that lead to problems and root them out at the core which is far more effective than struggling against the consequences of living with an unexamined mind, (2) open the way to more creative problem solving, (3) expand your consciousness beyond the physical and material world and awaken you to who you truly are, (4) help you to transcend limitations, expand creative ability, and step into your true power. And in the process you can also gain increased tolerance, ease of being, happiness, understanding and vitality!

 Expansion of Second Attention

Proper alignment and attunement of the energies of body, mind and spirit goes to the core of developing second attention through a clear and present awareness. This awareness allows you to know what is good for you, and helps to attract to you those things that assist you to be happy and healthy. You also become more conscious of what robs you of your natural healthy state and eliminate the sources of your struggles.

 Developing your inner awareness and learning how to manage your energy involves learning to listen to your body and mind in a new way that helps you to create health and happiness from the inside out! It is also about bringing balance to your life, fulfilling a basic need for purpose and meaning, as well as opening to the wisdom available to you. Educating yourself about how to work with energy can also aid you in riding the waves of life more gracefully. We all have an innate capacity for joy, pleasure, harmony and a balanced spiritual toughness (resiliency) that goes largely untapped. These inner capabilities can help us to find pleasure in everyday life.

 As a culture we are grappling with yearning for deeper connections within ourselves, with each other, and the world around us. We also are facing challenges that go beyond the capacity of the common mind to rise to and move beyond. We need a higher perspective and more highly creative solutions to birth a sustainable new world. A new human has been posited to be a part of creating that new world as well as being an inhabitant of it. Inner development is needed to fulfill those realities. Learning to develop our mind and its abilities, to masterfully navigate our mind-body systems, and work with personal and universal energy we can accomplish these tasks.

Skill Building: Develop your Second Attention

  1. Do you ever get exhausted after spending time with certain people?

 People who lack energy look outside themselves to “recharge their batteries.” When you are with them, they can take your energy to replenish theirs.

 2. Have you ever felt someone staring at you?

 We emit large amounts of energy from our eyes. When someone is staring at you, you are literally feeling their energy.

 3. Have you ever felt an instant dislike for someone?

 We are always “reading” other people’s energy fields to see how compatible they are with ours. Just as some substances – like oil and water – don’t mix well, when you feel an instant dislike for someone, your energy field isn’t mixing well with theirs.

 4. Do some people excite and energize you more than others?

 People who have energy reserves tend to extend and exchange their energy with others. When you’re with someone who excites you, or whose energy mixes well with yours your energy level is boosted, you feel more energized.

 5. Do you ever know how someone is feeling before they tell you?

 People emit information about themselves through their energy fields. When you can sense how someone feels, you are picking up and decoding this information.

 6. Do you ever experience different feelings in different rooms in your home, or in other people’s homes?

 Environments have an energetic” blueprint,” just as people do. Often this is a result of the emotional exchanges that have gone on in that space. When you get a feeling from a place, you are picking up on this residual energy.

 7. Have you ever had an initial impression that you talked yourself out of, only to find later that you were correct?

 We pick up on energy and register impressions/information unconsciously. When you don’t act on a hunch, it’s because your unconscious mind picks up on the energy associated with the hunch, but, because your conscious mind can’t see or measure your thoughts, it rationalizes it away.

 The above are all examples of knowing that emerges from Second Attention.

 You may want to play with sensing how the different places you inhabit in a day feel when you get out of your mind and settle down inside to simply directly experience them.

Be aware of how your sense impressions feel when you quiet your mind and just allow yourself to ‘be present’ with them.

 We would love to hear about your experience in the comment section!