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the compassionate life by marc ian barasch, newlife expo in newlife nyyoga magazine

Reading The Compassionate Life by Marc Ian Barasch for 15 minutes every day lends a nice touch to the day. Compassion is a rather hot topic with people who are noticing, not so much the “celebrities” who entertain us by wanting to take it all off, rather are noticing the condition of humankind and of the state of our planet. And if we could deeply understand the message of the book, for once and for all, we’d have a great impact on each other, on all living things, and especially on our planet. We wouldn’t want the Intelligence guiding Mother Earth – our sustenance – to decide we’ve not been good and kind caretakers to each other and our planet as we’d be left in dire straits. Since our track record is not looking good, one would think it’s time to turn it completely around. Thankfully, turning it around is something we’re all able to do; if only we could agree to expend the time and effort it takes. www.compassionatelife.com

I recently took a short trip and brought along NEWLIFE NYYOGA magazine which has information about the 21-23 October NEWLFE EXPO in Manhattan at the Hotel New Yorker. Always in these thin issues there are insights about new people and their body mind spirit work, and new information to whet the appetite of someone thinking about buying a ticket. There was a writeup on THE SOURCE FIELD INVESTIGATIONS by David Wilcock who is one of the speakers. In the writeup he mentions Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend, two prominent historians who wrote about a 25,920-year cycle in the Earth’s orbit which is coming to an end, hence the great turmoil now going on. He has a lot to say about our planet, other planets, and many other subjects pertaining to this topic, and it all sounds fascinating. I particularly like the bottom line: “… there is very strong evidence that they have been here all along, guiding and protecting us behind the scenes – such as by making absolutely sure we will never use nuclear weapons against each other. The Golden Age is within our grasp. I hope you will join me in this fascinating investigation of the science that can help us pave the way to the future we all deserve.” Indeed! Whether we’re believers or not, it won’t be boring. Anyway, we can’t know about a subject unless we’re willing to listen and learn. If you want, check out the list of speakers (150), and exhibits (150). It could be an excellent way to spend a weekend.
www.NewLifeExpo.com

Practicing compassion and forgiveness in order to see ourselves and every living being in a loving and caring way can help bring the planets and humankind to a “place we all deserve.”

I hope you’re having a very, very good day.

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depression

My friend has a dear one in her life who is being treated for depression, and so I began perusing a few books, magazines, and some subscription newsletters. It’s not a secret that there are many reasons for depression; the good news is that there are many treatments.

My frequently-looked-at resource book The Sunfood Diet Success System by David Wolfe suggests eating one or more melons in the morning for breakfast every day for 5-6 weeks. (He says that melons should always be eaten on an empty stomach.) And eat no other food until 12 noon. Why melons? He said they are rich in the B complex vitamins and the B complex vitamins bolster nerves. He also wrote that spells of depression are often associated with moments of low blood sugar, and that fruits should be eaten throughout the day to keep the blood sugar up. The short list of foods to avoid are: complex carbohydrates (rice, cookies, cakes, breads, french fries, baked potatoes), and alcohol which can cause erratic blood sugar fluctuations. (from experience I say that if you’ve ever been in the presence of a person who has low blood sugar you’ll want to carry a melon with you whenever you meet that person.)

Also, in the September/October 2011 Well Being Journal from the U.K. there’s an article titled Importance of Vitamin B12. In the article is mentioned that many people who are suffering from various illnesses actually have a vitamin B12 deficiency. If you know of anyone who is going through depression, you might want to read the article, in fact, I’d say that reading the whole magazine is well-worth the time and effort.
www.wellbeingjournal.com

Clara De La Luna, Epoch Times Staff, in an article called Meditation Causes Changes in Brain Structure – Brain scans show increases in gray-matter density, wrote that: “Meditation” derives from the Latin root “mederi,” meaning “to heal.” And that: “In July 1977, the American Psychological Association recognized meditation as an important healing agent and a facilitator of the therapeutic process.”

In her book HERBS – Nature’s Medicine Chest, Susan Smith Jones, Ph.D. also wrote that “one of the primary roles of the B-complex vitamins in the body is to keep the nervous system functioning well, and deficiencies of these vitamins are associated with nerve problems, and an increase in stress-related symptoms such as depression. . . .”
www.SusansRemedies.com

Louise Hay in her book HEAL YOUR BODY – THE MENTAL CAUSES FOR PHYSICAL ILLNESS AND THE METAPHYSICAL WAY TO OVERCOME THEM has a listing from A to Y. I’m looking at the word “Depression,” and the metaphysical reason: “Anger you feel you do not have a right to have. Hopelessness. And the affirmation: “I now go beyond other people’s fears and limitations. I create my life.”

A wonderful book to have is ANCIENT SECRET OF THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH. I have BOOK 2. John Gray, Author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus wrote about this book: “It’s easy. It’s fast. And it works! I love this program.” I looked in the index for depression and on page 258-259 is a story of how the Five Rites worked for a couple, George and Lynell Roberts, who were given the book by their daughter. The story tells of how the Five RITES greatly helped them. Then a tragedy struck and the FIVE RITES were stopped, and George went into a depression. When he finally resumed them, he said, “something changed.” – his energy, his thinking. will to survive, etc. I think the book, from beginning to end, just might catch your attention, if you give it a try.

On page 224, Deepak Chopra wrote in LIFE AFTER DEATH that depression is rooted in abnormal uptake of the brain chemical serotonin.” And if you are interested in reading more, may I suggest that you read this excellent book.

Yoga, qi gong and tai chi, – the books and articles and talks seem endless about their ability to change body, mind, spirit when we consistently practice these ancient arts.

And let’s not forget the efficacy of herbs and spices, castor oil packs.

The exploration for treatments indicates that we live in a world having many possibilities.

* * * * * * *

It is easy to be the person you have always been, for it requires no change, no self-reflection, and no growth. It may appear that changing yourself requires giving up something. In reality, there is no need to give up anything – you must simply add to what has been.

Develop a profound belief in the universal law of cause and effect – the empowering conviction that we all ultimately direct our own lives.

Fall seven times, stand up eight. – Japanese proverb

There has never been, nor will there ever be a life free from problems. It is not the presence of problems but how we tackle them that determines the quality of our lives.

The mind is a powerful and mysterious force. It can make the best of the worst and the worst of the best.

Focus less on treating the symptoms than on eliminating the cause.

Change for the better requires effort. Change for the worse needs none.

If that which is within is not right, it is futile to pray for that which is without. – Japanese proveb

Until we learn the lessons inherent in unpleasant experiences, they will continue to hold power over us, and we will feel compelled to repeat them.

Intuition transcends the limitations of reason.

taken from: OPEN YOUR MIND, OPEN YOUR LIFE
A Little Book of Eastern Wisdom by Taro Gold

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uncomplicate it

I’ve been a seeker of Truth for a very long time. Actually that can mean different things to different people; there’s much to know is all I know. I can smile now at detours taken along that long fascinating road. Detours occurred because many accumulated beliefs always surfaced contradicting just about everything I read and heard, causing the studying to always end with a but. . . . It was an arduous task to get pass all the buts, and how to make sense of it all. When an answer for the “buts” wasn’t forthcoming, books, tapes, etc. were put away with a sigh, and I went back, more or less, to the old way of thinking. It was becoming a pattern, put them away, and when that nagging feeling presented itself, take them out. One day I sensed that the Power within was becoming impatient with frequent packaways; It wasn’t buying the I’m in; I’m out kind of game. It took a while for me to realize that certain things started happening when I decided to be “out” – that outside circumstances made my life quite miserable. Of course, it was really me who was making my life quite miserable and until I made a clear-cut decision I would be riding the steepest of roller coasters, and that wasn’t good. Then one day I knew without a doubt that the old way wasn’t an option anymore; being “in” finally felt wonderful.

We live in a rather complicated world, made so by man himself, and we think everything is this way. Those scientists who are looking at the universe through a new lens are marveling at the elegant simplicity and simple brilliance in which all things were created.

The old way of wallowing in stress, negativity, doubt, anger, envy, fear, feelings of inadequacy and helplessness, etc. has us believing we’re victims of circumstances and that life is indeed complicated. The remarkable truth is that at any time the choice is ours to uncomplicate the way we think and live by using that Power within our own selves.

I know a young person in his early 20s whose teen years were spent in distress and confusion. He left for college and in a relatively short time he’d turned his life completely around. He’s thriving with his music, retreats, meditation, travels abroad, school, friends, choice of foods, and I’m sure the list goes on. There’s serenity, peace, calmness, tranquility (good words, yes?) in his beautiful eyes. And I say, Wow! – it sure didn’t take long for him to get from here to there. Then again, we’re all unfolding, all evolving on our own schedule, and some people are able in “the twinkling of any eye” to reach new levels of development, thereby changing their vibrations.

In the East this change would be explained by pointing to reincarnation: the young man had worked on himself in previous lifetimes, and in this lifetime he had only a few short steps to climb in order to make that change. It makes perfect sense to me.

People often say, I’m too busy to think about those things. It’s true, they are really, really, really busy. Though nothing looks urgent in all that busyness. It’s often just busyness to be busy. And that’s okay; we all get to decide when. The when though sometimes comes with a swift kick in the pants in one form or another – accident, marital problems, addiction, a death – to give us a little help in deciding whether we’re ready to be in or out. I love Tom Shadyac’s movie I AM. It’s alive with the beauty and mystery of life. And his bicycle accident certainly put things into perspective for him, as he says in I AM the movie.
www.iamthedoc.com

Louise Hay tells a little about her childhood in the book YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE, and in so doing explains the power of the thoughts we think all day long. She has a delightfully straightforward manner, and the following story is so simple it’s impossible to miss its point. Her stepfather abused her; additionally the family was at the poverty level. One day at school a cake was brought in to celebrate a classmate’s birthday. Some children got one slice, some two, Louise got nothing. She explains that at that time in her life she felt almost invisible, that she didn’t matter; she had nothing and she got nothing. Don’t be sad for Louise though, she’s not that person anymore; she’s not in that place anymore.
www.louisehay.com

The beauty of the implementation of this subject is that we don’t have to go anywhere to figure out the power of our thoughts. All we have to do is observe them and in the observing we’ll develop a keen awareness.

Enjoy the day! 🙂

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the life you were born to live by dan millman

Have you read the book, The Life You Were Born To Live by Dan Millman? www.danmillman.com

When we bought it, it became an instant success in the family, and also with visitors who came to our apartment. I know they enjoyed the book because there would usually be a phone call a day or two later saying, “I was at the bookstore and picked up that book we were looking at a few days ago.”

What is the book’s appeal besides being entertaining? Because entertaining is not a good enough reason in this instance. So why do people go out and buy it soon after spending a few hours with it? Maybe because the book, the “Life Purpose System,” gently guides. It doesn’t dictate, or get you into a dark mood because it’s complicated and heavy. Rather it suggests and informs. The words, and what they’re expressing, grab the reader. You see a quizzical expression, a smile, a nod, an agreement from the one reading.

I’m not the best person to point to why a book is good reading, or why it isn’t. Every word that’s written about a book, person, movie, restaurant, or place is just someone else’s opinion. And because it’s an opinion, one opinion is as good as another. Perhaps this opinion will bring you to a bookstore. Perhaps it won’t.

And so it goes.

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david wolfe

I’d read in an eletter I’d gotten, perhaps 4 years ago, high praise for a book titled, The Sunfood Diet Success System. The next time I was in a bookstore I looked, but the book wasn’t there. I tried other stores. Couldn’t find it. Finally I went to the stores that were not considered mainstream, and there it was. I reluctantly picked it up. Reluctantly because it looked to me like information overload on a subject I wasn’t sure I wanted to know that much about. There were a lot of words in that book. However, the writer, David Wolfe, had put together a beautiful book.

It turned out that The Sunfood Diet Success System and I became fast friends. I read it from cover to cover a few times, highlighting the information I would need to become a “raw foodist.” I savored the words. They must have reached a part of me that was ready, because I felt, “Yes. I can do this. ” I was really excited. It wouldn’t be easy being in Manhattan and passing block after block of restaurants, bakeries, and take-out places having the most delicious foods. But . . .

David Wolfe came to town and gave a lecture. He taught us about coconuts and how to select the best ones. He opened a coconut and spooned out the milky white meat. It was similar to eating pudding. And the taste? Wonderful. He talked about many things; I was definitely hooked. At the time I was cooking for family, and knew no one would join me this time around in this particular endeavor. My main purpose was to have loads of energy and a clear head. And for one year I enjoyed every mouthful of my raw food meals.

Then there was a summer holiday and two couples came to visit. These four friends spend many weekends grilling steaks in their backyards. We had walked and walked in the East Village and were hungry. There we were in front of the Second Avenue Deli. We went in. It was merry and crowded and the smells came from everywhere. We sat comfortably at a big table- enough for lots of food- and began glancing at the many menu selections. And I noticed the very familiar pastrami on rye. The discussion was leaning towards sandwiches. And everyone knows that sandwiches in a Jewish deli at the right time is a taste worth persuing.

So, I didn’t blink an eye when the waitress pointed pen and paper my way and said, “And you?” It didn’t take but a few seconds to say, “Me. Well, I’ll have a pastrami on rye and a cup of coffee, please.” And my friends looked in my direction and smiled. That’s all they did was smile. Were they thinking, “Thank God. Now we don’t have to sneak out for a pizza anymore.” Or maybe they were thinking about the chocolate chip cookies that used to be in containers in my freezer.

Indeed. It was that way. You try things and sometimes they become a permanent part of your life. Sometimes they don’t. In both instances, you never do things in quite the same way ever again.

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ecuador

I met many savvy travelers of all ages, professions, and personalities last year in Ecuador. It’s a little country where there’s so much exploring to do. I don’t know why people say, “Ecuador? You went to Ecuador? Why?” I want to say, “Go and you will find out. ” However, I don’t know why Ecuador. Why any country?

Quito, the capital, has what every big, wonderful, high-energy city has – museums, fine restaurants, a good transportation system, many clean hostals run by friendly people, hotels with all the amenities, excellent shopping, beautiful parks, magnificent churches, great walking neighborhoods, galleries, etc. Neighborhoods to stay away from and neighborhoods for strolling. Don’t let the armed guards fool you. The situation is not as it looks. The guidebooks say beware of crime. They also say that about Manhattan where I am at the moment.

It was early evening when the plane landed in Quito. The airport is small and clean and uniformed employees direct everyone to the exist. Cafe Cultura was on my list of places to stay, and I needed to call to reserve a room. I experienced a few sweaty moments attempting to use the phone and then the nearby attendant came to help. Cafe Cultura had a room www.cafecultura.com . The brochure in my room said it’s owned by an Norwegian. It was charming and friendly. In Ecuador it’s easy to find places to stay for $10 and they’re really okay places, but I find staying at a really feel- good place the first few nights in a foreign country is important. The location was perfect. After three days, I reserved a room at La Casa Sol to be in a different location www.lacasasol.com . I walked, and walked to get a feel for Quito. My idea was to not stay long in a big city, but to return there before leaving for the States.

It was time to visit Cuenca, a beautiful colonial city in the southern part of Ecuador. My book said that in 1999 it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Trust site. The lovely people at La Casa Sol, realizing I had neglected to learn their language, offered to make a reservation for me at Hotel Inca Real in Cuenca. The Hotel was once a private residence. It was quaint and lovely. The rooms were surrounded by a courtyard. Courtyards play a prominent role in many structures. Most are beautiful and tranquil. The people working at the hotel had an old-fashioned reserve in their manner. They were always extremely gracious to the foreigner who only spoke English. It was almost painful for me to watch their expression every time I approached the desk.

Cuenca has its share of foreigners who have set up busineses, are studying Spanish, or simply enjoying a different culture for a few months. There are many beautiful old churches and parks, outdoor markets, small stores for shopping, and restaurants where you can get a good meal. On Sunday it’s practically a ghost town as natives and tourists alike take off to visit the surrounding areas.

I’d been in Cuenca for a few weeks when it occurred to me to do something about the daily frustration of not knowing Spanish. I enrolled at the Abraham Lincoln on Borrero 5-18. Admittedly, I was not the best student there, but learned enough words to enliven the time I’d be in Ecuador. Once you study the design of the city, Cuenca is small enough to get around easily by foot. The streets are named after historical persons or events and, at first, it was rather dizzying trying to read the map.

After six weeks, it was time to say goodbye. Goodbye to the wonderful big market where I bought all my fruits and vegetables negotiating prices in Spanish, the Austria Cafe, Raymipampa, Plaza Rotary, lunch at El Maiz and Moliendo Cafe, Culture Aborigenes, Musea de las Culturas, San Francisco Market for sweaters, shawls and hammocks, Museo de las Conceptas for delicious pastries made by the few nuns still remaining in the historic convent, Museo del Banco Central, so many places, so much delicious ice cream, and some very wonderful people. But, alas, I grabbed my Panama hat and took a bus to . . .

A place in a valley in southern Ecuador called Vilcabamba.