Dare to Dream

Good morning friends.  I came across with an article of Marnell Jameson, while im taking my rest.  It’s a good one.  Many can rely on it.  If you were ask what are your dreams?  Are you ready to make them in reality?  It’s never too late. 

Perks of the Mature Mind

Young minds do have a few advantages.  Children tend to memorize more easily, enjoy better motor skills and have more “plastic” brains, a term used to describe the brain’s ability to mold itself to new information and experiences.  But the advantages of the mature mind trump the advantages of youth any day.

People often compare the brain to computer.  It fact, it’s much more like the Internet, a system that links lots of computers, says George Bartzokis, M.D., a psychiatrist and professor of neurology.  Hitting middle age is like going from dial-up to high-speed.  While adults may have a tougher time than youngsters memorizing, once adults get over that hump, they use what they learn better.

Fortunately, this boost in mental ability comes just in time.  When people move through middle age, they often enter a liberating phase.  “They think, if not now, when?”

THE Power of Desire

Being motivated and interested in learning are key for adults.  One of the attributes of later learners is that they give information meaning.  It has more relevance, so they retain it better,”  says Gary Small, M.D., professor of psychiatry and also the author of The Memory Prescription.  When we’re young and in school, so much of what we learn has no relevance.  When we’re older we have the perspective to put information into a useful contest.  That is a distinct advantage.

Make Time to Meditate – 3

Where?  Chair, cushion, on the ground, in your car while waiting her your kid’s soccer practice to end—these are all ideal places.  Some – people prefer a special tranquil place in their homes, away from the daily hustle and bustle.  Others ae fine with shutting the office door and taking the phone off the hook.  The goal is to make yourself comfortable so you won’t be distracted, say Foust. (take a seat, sidebar).

 

Just as yoga is more powerful in a group setting, so is your meditation.  Seek out a meditation group, or ask your fellow yogis if they’d like to start one, says Foust.  A regular group offers structure to help stay motivated.  It’s like having a personal trainer.  If you have a set date, you’re more likely to show up.  Plus, you’re with people with similar aspirations.

 

When?  Anytime that’s good for you.  Some people enjoy the mornings, while others opt for the end of the day.  Foust’s suggestion.  Try mornings at first.  This is when your mind is most alert, he says.  Another ideal time is right after your yoga practice.  You are relaxed, your previously congested energy is released, your mind is calm and open and your body has already sensitized to the breath,  says Foust.  Don’t be in a rush to roll up your mat and find your shoes.  Take a few minutes to sit with your thought.

ref: fityoga

Vision Quest – 4

The Right time

 

Sorah (Susan) Strum Dubitsky, PhD, is a psychologist and Fellow of the Center for the Study of Spirituality at Florida International University, where she also teaches.  The author of A Chorus of Wisdom:  Notes of Spiritual Living (Ulysses Press, September 2005), Dubitsky set out on her own quest for life meaning 25 years ago, prompted by what she describes as feelings of chronic emptiness.

 

These feelings manifested in a periodic barrage of who am I,” she explains.  My own religious backbground, conservative Judalism, never provided the answers to my existential questions, so I did not turn to religion for help.  Instead, she says, a combination of therapy and astrology led her to begin exploring her deeper, innermost needs.  Astrology opened her to the possibility of an unseen fabric to life, to the realization that she was part of something larger.

 

“I believe that once the seeker’s spark gets ignited, something shifts in the seeker’s DNA,” says Dubitsky.  “The right path makes itself known, and that parth will be different for everyone.  So it becomes like a flight plan or a trajectory; but when you do, the discomfort of being off it becomes too difficult to ignore.”

ref:  fityoga

Simplicity….Meditation for real life

Simplicity retreats at Karme Choling.

 

The Simplicity retreat program was created to five everyone a flexible, simple way to enjoy the benefits of sitting meditation.  Participants can enroll for one day, several days o up to a week – whatever best fits your needs and your schedule.

 

On your own terms.  In our own time.

 

Join the daily life of a contemplative community at Karme Choling.  Take time for guided instruction in sitting and walking meditation.  Time for reading, reflection, and discussion.  Time to walk our trails and savor the natural beauty of Vermont’s Green Mountain.

 

One day.  Two days.  A week.

 

Make your own schedule.  No matter how long, rediscover your natural ability to be present and cultivate peace in your daily life.  Simplicity is intended for all levels – a perfect way to be introduced to meditation and contemplative study.

 

 

ref: yogajournal

 

Uncrowd your life

“CROWDING IS THE ACT OF FILLING OUR LIFE WITH  things that aren’t right for you, thereby limiting your ability to reach for what you truly want”.  Some symptoms of crowding:

 

♦  Your house, briefcase and office are either extremely messy or compulsively neat, to the point that there’s no room for any thing new.

 

♦  You feel like you don’t have time to complete even the simplest of tasks.

♦  You spend a lot of time doing things you don’t  want to be doing.

♦  You feel a general dissatisfaction with your life.

The cure for crowding?  Ridding yourself of unsatisfying things, activities or relationships to make room for more promising ones.  Even small changes will give you some breathing room.  Do one thing you’ve been putting off.  Tell one friend you cant go out this week.  Give away one item of clothing you don’t like anymore.  Whenever you create a space by getting rid of something, you’re telling your subconscious that you deserve better.  Armed with this information, it will begin to see, our something new.”

Ways to Lift Your Spirits – 2

Learn to Trust.  I used to have trouble seeing how gentleness and humility could lighten my load.  Instead, I thought I needed to learn confidence and courage.  Or time management and goal setting.  Or efficiency and effectiveness.  But God knows that the two greatest sources of stress in our lives are aggression and arrogance.  They make us think we can do more and control more than we really can.  Learning to be humble will take you to  deeper level of calm confidence than any time-management seminar ever could.  It comes from trusting God with the details of your life.

This is a process that takes time.  You didn’t develop your stressed-out, overloaded, hyper-drive lifestyle over-night, so you’re not going to change with one simple decision.  You will have to unlearn and replace old habits that cause you stress.  But God will give you the power to change if you trust Him.

America witnessed a remarkable example of Jesus’ formula for coping with stress a few months back in the case of Ashley Smith, which made headlines.  When faced with an incredibly stressful situation-being taken hostage at gunpoint by alleged rapist and murderer Brian Nichols-Ashley obeyed the words of Jesus, and likely ended a killing spree.  First she turned to Jesus for strength and urged her captor to do the same.  Next she explained that God’s purpose for Brian’s life was greater than his problems.  She calmly urged him to stop trying to control things and to surrender to God.  Finally, she served Brian breakfast in a gentle and humble an “angel from God”, and the crisis was defused.

It’s unlikely you’ll ever face the stress that Ashley did, but you’ll undoubtedly experience other sorts of stress this very week.  When you feel like giving up—look up!  And you’ll lighten up as well.

Saying No to Your Kids Sometimes is a Better Way

“Stop it!”,  “No you can’t!”, “Don’t do that!”.  These admonitions from our past echo loudly when we hear ourselves saying them to our children.  We know there is a better way, but none of us is good at it all the time,  and saying no—setting limitations—is an inevitable part of parenthood.

The better way involves attending to your children’s need and feelings, and making sure they’re being heard while still standing your ground.  Reed describes her own learning curve:  “I was a single parent for ten years.  The first four, when I’d come home from work, it was like being attacked by two Doberman pinschers:  ‘Mommy, Mommy, Mommy,”  I’d be so frazzled, I’d just react.  It got so I hated going home.  I finally realized I had to have some time for myself.  So I made new rules.  I told them calmly one night.  When I get home, you don’t ask me for anything for thirty minutes, after that, you can have thirty minutes of me or more.  It gave me the freedom to choose.  Maybe I’d  read, or have a glass of iced tea; sometimes I’d be full of energy and clean the house.  Whatever my need or mood, I could follow it.  And I was much more prepared to be nice because I had some control.