Tag: Health

The Mind Posted on

The Internet of Pain: When Suffering Goes Viral

Image: Shutterstock It begins with a sickly child, as so many stories do. This week saw two news stories which tested the “viral” potential of bodily suffering. The first was that of Victoria Wilcher, the three-year-old survivor of a pit bull attack who was asked to leave a branch of KFC because of her “scary” facial scarring. The narrative lends itself to social media: hate on the giant fast food chain, side with the child victim, then share your outrage on Twitter and Facebook. Then a second story surfaced: after investigation the entire account was shown to be a hoax. Whatever the parents’ intentions, they must have known their daughter would attract online attention. Her story coincides with another, yet more sinister one: that of Garnett Spears, […] Read More

The Mind Posted on

A Neuroscientist Explains What Happens To Your Brain When You Meditate

Meditation is becoming very popular lately. Perhaps it’s the anecdotal evidence friends are sharing with each other or the fact that more and more science is coming out to confirm the benefits of meditation that it’s encouraging people to take up the practice. Meditation has shown to decrease stress, increase happiness,quality of life, increase gray matter in the brain, making people more compassionate, lowering blood pressure, increasing memory and more. A great series of benefits from such a peaceful practice. Meditation can be discouraging at times. It’s not easy to calm your mind, stop the thoughts and get into a space that is quiet. Since many of us, especially in western culture, are never taught to explore this practice at a young age it […] Read More

Consciousness Posted on

2014: A Neuroscientist Explains What Happens To Your Brain When You Meditate

Meditation is becoming very popular lately. Perhaps it’s the anecdotal evidence friends are sharing with each other or the fact that more and more science is coming out to confirm the benefits of meditation that it’s encouraging people to take up the practice. Meditation has shown to decrease stress, increase happiness,quality of life, increase gray matter in the brain, making people more compassionate, lowering blood pressure, increasing memory and more. A great series of benefits from such a peaceful practice. Meditation can be discouraging at times. It’s not easy to calm your mind, stop the thoughts and get into a space that is quiet. Since many of us, especially in western culture, are never taught to explore this practice at a young age it […] Read More

Living the Illusion Posted on

1999: Eleven Laws to Set You Free

by Guy Finley If we want to grow inwardly we must find new ways to learn about ourselves. These higher discoveries call for higher learning. Think of each of the following eleven laws as individual magic strands of a flying carpet. Make it your aim to weave them together in your mind. Then watch how these lessons combine to effortlessly lift you to a higher and happier life level. The First Law: Nothing can stop you from starting over. The greatest power you possess for succeeding in life is your understanding that life gives you a fresh start any moment you choose to start fresh. Nothing that stood in your way even a heartbeat before stands there now in the same way. It’s all-new, […] Read More

Dreams Posted on

2013: DREAMING WHILE AWAKE PRACTICES

This simple dreaming while awake practice pulls the unconscious mind into the realm of the conscious mind. Meditate with a partner at dusk or in a low light situation with your eyes open. Look into each other’s eyes for a long period of time while blanking your mind. Let your eyes be slightly soft-focused and see. Allow any change in your vision to occur naturally. Be aware of the entire peripheral area and notice the highlights and shadows intensify. The face may disappear altogether or may change to other faces. Whatever you see, there is nothing to fear. A variation of this practice is to stare in a mirror in a low light situation. Another practice is to meditate facing someone, with your eyes […] Read More

The Mind Posted on

Belief and Reality: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

I am the creator of my reality – this belief is a very empowering one and one that is the cornerstone of many a mystical school. But what does it actually mean? “I am the creator of my reality” – it means that I am responsible for my thoughts and feelings, my attitudes and beliefs. Yes, fine. How do these create my reality? Well, my thoughts, feelings etc. are certainly responsible for my inner reality. But if  “I am smart and poor and you are rich and stupid” to borrow a line from the heroine of Erich Segal‘s “Love Story” I cannot change that external reality, or can I? If I am really smart I can use that smartness to become rich. If I […] Read More

Consciousness Posted on

1996: Promoting a Sense of Connectedness

ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, MAY 1996, VOL. 2, NO. 3, 39-45. Promoting a Sense of Connectedness among Individuals by Scientifically Demonstrating the Existence of a Planetary Consciousness? Sperry Andrews Sperry Andrews is the originator and executive director of the Human Connection Project, a scientific and educational media research project designed to test whether it is possible to reinforce the underlying sense that human beings are innately psychologically and physiologically linked, even when in widely separated geographic locations. The subjective experience of feeling consciously connected with others and our environment–to that which is larger than ourselves–has been found to promote physical and mental health or well-being. Various ways of evaluating this sense of connectedness have been studied under controlled scientific conditions. Through these studies, more has been learned about […] Read More