Moving.....

In a flash of inspiration, I have decided to move all new posts to a new blog.  This new location can be found in the link below.  Thank you.

 

neuparadigm.wordpress.com

There is no set path for any destination

    I think most of us grew up in a environment that schooled us to believe that the shortest path between any given 2 points is a straight line.  That is correct as far as most of us are concerned.  With that most of us would also believe that there is always a defined path to get from one point to another.  Another way to say this is - there is always a defined path to get to a goal.  For example, from the Asian cultural perspective, getting good grades in school is the key to landing a stable job and a good life in the future.  However, honestly speaking, do you think there exist 2 people who have the exactly the same job got there via the exact same path?  And how many people does anyone know who took the same path someone took but ended up in a different place in life (different from what was expected)?  These were the truths that came to me as I pondered on the Theory of Happenstance for career counseling; far from thinking about just counseling per se, I was more thinking about life itself and the path/s we each take.

    Despite what high levels of education has afforded me, and what wisdom the words of Elderly people have given me, I do not think there is a set path to get anywhere.  After the first year of working in the real world, you learn very quickly a few things;
1.   There is no right or wrong (ie. the world is not so black and white as we have been led to believe), only grey areas.  Everything is a shade of grey.
2.   Ignore what everyone tells you about getting somewhere (in life) via a certain way.  It NEVER works.  It only worked for that one person who did it.  You have to find your own way there.
    Now, as I review and think about all this, I think its quite true.  The way to your own personal enlightenment is your own way.  You will never experience the same things Shakyamuni Buddha went through to gain enlightenment, similarly you will never understand the things Jesus did by walking in the same footsteps.  This is not to say that there is no wisdom in any of their teachings, or the teachings of any other religion for that matter.  We have to find our own enlightenment, in our own way by experiencing the things we need to go through to get there.  And each of our experiences (or life journey) to get there is unique in its own way.  When we all get to our final destination with the wisdom we have earned, then we will begin the appreciate the wisdom of all the sages that had gone before us.

Detachement

Looking for Happiness....

Going with the flow...

Choosing to walk the path of lower vibration

Positive Thinking

Wow... how time flies when things get really busy.  I had not realized when was the last time I had updated the blog til now.  Anyways, the video attached below was born out of a search to bring hope to my frustration as to how fear can spur us in ways to ignore the bigger picture.  I had hoped that the video can show my students, to inspire them to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.  There is more that meets the eye than just the task at hand.  Enjoy!!

Actions based on love..

In these past couple of months, I have been busy being attached to a school for my practicum to satisfy my Masters graduating requirement for counseling. I have learned something new from my numerous encounters with teachers and students in school.  Different intentions where actions are based out of can have different consequences/effect.  It is common knowledge that the energy of "Love" is one that is very gentle and soothing, however the actions based out of "Love" may not be.  I suppose, one can say that its the intention behind the action that counts.  I had the opportunity to work with 2 teachers with 2 very different methods of approach towards students, but they both achieve similar results, with regards to the student's well being.
    The first a school counselor (my immediate supervisor in the school) who takes the positive gentle approach to help students with their mental well-being.  Students respond very positively to him, and of course from as far as I can tell, the universe takes good care of such gentle caring souls who give much of themselves to the service of others.
   The other a teacher who is also a volleyball coach, who's approach is often the total opposite of the former in most instances.  She would scream/shout/scold her students on the court into submission.  Her students still come back after graduation to thank her for all she has done.  And surprisingly, many of the student's parents support her actions.  Even more surprisingly, the universe takes care of her to make her wishes and life smooth. Both of them are disciples of the Lord (if you know what I mean).
    At first, I was a little puzzled, but gradually I came to see what is happening.  Although for one of them the action may seem harsh and counter to the feeling of what "love" is, her actions are still based on "love".  She spares no thought for herself but treats the charges under her like it was her own children (going by this, she would have close to 40 sons then).  She is very devoted to the Lord, and she is very devoted to her students as well.  Both teachers, in my dictionary can be seen as Great Boddhisattva's in action (according to Buddhist teachings).  They have both shown me that it is not how the action/method present that counts, but the basis/intention of the action.  They were actions based on pure "love" to see their students become better than who they are - selfless actions. I have been truly touched by what I have seen and experienced.
    Conversely, when an action is based on the benefit of the self, is is a selfish action.  That act, can be as gentle as you can imagine it to be, or as harsh as the torturous acts in the abyss of hell.  The actions are still based on the selfish gains, whether if it is to satisfy the wimps of the unconscious personal ego, or deriving pleasure from the performance of the act, ultimately it is a selfish act.
    In short, judge not the action/situation that presents itself to you, or to others, for we may not know what was the original intention of scene that has been presented.  It is the intention that counts MOST!!!!

Emotional Spectrum

The information I am about to post originally came from a website called Elohimlove.com, and the author of the information was called Ashwin Feranacci.  But don't bother looking up that website because for some reason it is inaccessible now, so I was kind of glad I got the information before it "went off the air" so to speak.  As a counselor in training, I thought what he said has some correspondence to Cognitive Restructuring, though the real cognitive restructuring is not exactly like this, but has some minor similarities.  Either case, I thought the information was very useful.

He claims that our emotions have different vibrational frequencies, like white light (I already know this to be true from other different websites on the web, especially in the light of the 2012 ascension).  He said that when someone is depressed (grey color), asking him/her to cheer up and be Hopeful (green color) can cause someone to be Angry (Red color). 

Fear, Grief, Depression, Dispair, Powerlessness
Jealousy, Insecurity, Guilt, Unworthiness
Anger, Rage, Revenge, Hatred
Disappointment, Doubt, Worry, Blame, Discouragement, Sadness
Boredom, Pessimism, Frustration, Irritation, Impatience
Trust, Optimism, Hopefulness, Contentment
Enthusiasm, Eagerness, Happiness, Positive Expectation, Belief
Joy, Passion, Empowerment, Freedom, Love, Appreciation

The reason is that grey has a very low vibration and green has a higher vibration.  Expecting a jump from the grey to the green is HUGE leap for those experiencing that emotion.  Instead what he suggests is reaching for the next level up in the vibration, like reaching for one of the emotions in the dull red vibration - jealousy, insecurity, guild, unworthiness.  Encourage, the person then to feel one of those emotions, then move up another level to Red - Anger, Rage, Revenge, Hatred.  So you kind of work your way up the ladder til you eventually hit violet, where the emotions are more positive; at each step of the way allowing yourself to explore the full effects of the chosen emotion at that level.  Pay attention to the thoughts that arises under the effects of the emotion, try to alter those thoughts that promotes us to reach for the next level up in the spectrum.  As you reach for the higher vibrational emotions, there will be a sense of some relief.  If you find it hard to move up, than you should take a few moments to explore all the feelings in the current color. It may be that there is some form of need that requires fulfilling there.

Yin Yang Balance

Have you ever felt really drained of energy and tired after you walked past someone, or walked past a crowd of people, or after being in a crowded bus/train?  In the past month, I have only come to realize why that was so.  That question has been bugging me for quite a few years now and I only realized what the answer was just about a month ago.  Its the balancing of the Yin and Yang, or in layman's term the balancing exchange of energies during interaction.

Yin energy, contrary to what many would believe, is negative energy.  Well, not all of that is true.  It is a category of energy that includes negative/heavy/low vibrational energy, it is also the possession of having more Yin energy that makes one feel tired and sleepy, otherwise we would not need any sleep (and we all know that sleep is essential to survival).  Yin energy also includes the smooth flowing and soft energies such as feminine energy (no relation to Females).  Forms can also be considered Yin if they are more flowing/smooth/curvy, such as the female body.

Yang energy, on the other hand, is quite the opposite of what Yin energy is.  It is hard/energetic/strong/high vibrational.  A form is Yang when it has hard/sharp angle/s, such as a square or a triangle.  Which is also one of the reason why the inclusion of triangular objects in your home makes the area feel as if it is more energetic.

Therefore, for people who have a higher spiritual attainment, they will have more Yang energy when they are out and about.  Which is also one of the reasons why we feel so at ease and happy when we are amongst people who gives you good vibes (ie. they are on the same frequency as you and vibrate at the same frequency as you).  So when someone who has higher vibrational energy walks past or interact with something/someone/people of lower vibrational energy, an exchange of energy takes place to balance the energy in that area.  If this person has sufficient Yang energy to give, all will be in balance and everyone leaves the area happy.  If this person is overwhelmed by the influx of the Yin energy (ie. the person now has more Yin energy than Yang energy after the exchange has taken place), this individual will feel tired/drained and would feel like a good nap would do him/her a lot of good.

But fret NOT!!!  There is no cure for this, but much good can come out of this.  This exchange means that the individual of higher vibration should feel happy that the balancing has taken place (regardless of whether he/she is feeling drained/tired).  Because, he/she is feeding the masses their energy of light and love that they have stored up.  The next time this happens, make a wish inside your heart that may that energy that was taken be used to raise the vibrational frequency of whomever has gotten it.  Your energy will be replenished the next time you fall asleep and wake up, the Angels and unseen spirits will help recharge you, even Mother Earth Gaia herself will help recharge you!!

Love should feel free

I saw this picture and I thought I must share this here.  I feel that many times people mistake love for possession and dominance.  You don't own someone when you love someone. You allow the person whom you love to grow the way they feel it is best for them; even to the point that if they feel they need to leave you, you would still allow it.  Love is not possession, the person you love does not need to be around you for you to love him/her.  In the ideal sense, LOVE is like the love GOD/Buddha/Allah/Jesus/etc have for all of us (regardless of whether you follow their teaching or not, they love each equally).  They do not place any conditions on their love for us, and neither do they expect us to return their love.  THAT is true love !!

Letting go of negative emotions

For the longest time I have a problem in letting go of my negative emotions. I can keep them under control, but it keeps coming up over and over again like a bad dream, or someone suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Freudian theory says that repressed emotions will always find a way to express itself, somehow. Ferenczi's Trauma Theory says that trauma is "a fixation of the innervations predominating at the moment of the concussion (of the shock)." "The innervations dominant at the moment of trauma become permanently retained as morbid symptoms and indicate that undischarged parts of the affective impulses are still active in the unconscious". Together they are both talking about the same thing. The energy within that was interrupted from being fully expressed will always find a way to be expressed.  Therefore, repressed anger will eventually erupt like a volcano.

For many years, I have always thought that the best way to keep these negative emotions at bay was to accept it and come to terms with it. Understand what causes it, why it arises, then with understanding and acceptance it should go away. SO NOT HAPPENING !!! I misunderstood the Buddhist teachings. What I was doing was still repressing the negative emotions, denying its existence, assuming that it will go away with time. When Buddha said to nip the cause and the effect ceases, he was right. Our perception was the cause of the negative emotion, we created that emotion. If we stop creating that emotion, then it would not have existed. I did not change my thinking/perception, I understood the cause, and then I repressed the emotion.

So what should I do now that I already have that emotion?  It would not die unless I release that energy; and if I do, depending on what that negative emotion is, all hell might just break loose upon my "peaceful life".  A calm exterior, but a turmoil within.  But I found the key to releasing it, through mindfulness and observation. It works !!  I took my anger, I allowed myself to fully experience that episode of anger but at the same time as I am experiencing the anger I took note of what effect the anger had on my physical body, my mental thoughts, and the outwardly manifestation of behavior (but still not acting out my anger towards anyone, or anything).  For example, as I am going through the episode, I would note that my breathing increased, the rate of breathing increased as well, my heart would pump faster, my body temperature rises, muscles tighten up, heart hurts, and started having angry thoughts that supported the manifestation of the anger.  After it passes, and it will fairly quickly, I felt this HUGE relief coming over me.  Depending on what triggered the episode, it may come back, but each time it returns I go through the same process.  So I allowed myself to experience the full effects that the anger episode brought out, but without having to act it out. I let the locked up energy dissipate by allowing it passage.  

Of course it does not solve the problem why I got angry in the first place, but it sure helps to release it responsibly. I am pretty sure it works the same for all the other negative emotions too.  Most definitely, a change in personal perception (Buddha's way) is still the best method to eradicate negative emotions totally.

The Art of Not Being Offended

I take no credit for this post here as the entire post is a cut and paste from this site. I find it very interesting and so I thought I'd share the information.

There is an ancient and well-kept secret to happiness which the Great Ones have known for centuries. They rarely talk about it, but they use it all the time, and it is fundamental to good mental health. This secret is called The Fine Art of Not Being Offended. In order to truly be a master of this art, one must be able to see that every statement, action and reaction of another human being is the sum result of their total life experience to date.

In other words, the majority of people in our world say and do what they do from their own set of fears, conclusions, defenses and attempts to survive. Most of it, even when aimed directly at us, has nothing to do with us. Usually, it has more to do with all the other times, and in particular the first few times, that this person experienced a similar situation, usually when they were young.

Yes, this is psychodynamic. But let’s face it, we live in a world where psychodynamics are what make the world go around. An individual who wishes to live successfully in the world as a spiritual person really needs to understand that psychology is as spiritual as prayer. In fact, the word psychology literally means the study of the soul.
All of that said, almost nothing is personal.

Even with our closest loved ones, our beloved partners, our children and our friends. We are all swimming in the projections and filters of each other’s life experiences and often we are just the stand-ins, the chess pieces of life to which our loved ones have their own built-in reactions. This is not to dehumanize life or take away the intimacy from our relationships, but mainly for us to know that almost every time we get offended, we are actually just in a misunderstanding.

A true embodiment of this idea actually allows for more intimacy and less suffering throughout all of our relationships. When we know that we are just the one who happens to be standing in the right place at the right psychodynamic time for someone to say or do what they are doing—we don’t have to take life personally. If it weren’t us, it would likely be someone else.

This frees us to be a little more detached from the reactions of people around us. How often do we react to a statement of another by being offended rather than seeing that the other might actually be hurting? In fact, every time we get offended, it is actually an opportunity to extend kindness to one who may be suffering—even if they themselves do not appear that way on the surface. All anger, all acting out, all harshness, all criticism, is in truth a form of suffering. When we provide no Velcro for it to stick, something changes in the world. We do not even have to say a thing. In fact, it is usually better not to say a thing.

People who are suffering on the inside, but not showing it on the outside, are usually not keen on someone pointing out to them that they are suffering. We do not have to be our loved one’s therapist. We need only understand the situation and move on. In the least, we ourselves experience less suffering and at best, we have a chance to make the world a better place.

This is also not to be confused with allowing ourselves to be hurt, neglected or taken advantage of. True compassion does not allow harm to ourselves either. But when we know that nothing is personal, a magical thing happens. Many of the seeming abusers of the world start to leave our lives. Once we are conscious, so-called abuse can only happen if we believe what the other is saying. When we know nothing is personal, we also do not end up feeling abused. We can say, “Thank you for sharing,” and move on. We are not hooked by what another does or says, since we know it is not about us.

When we know that our inherent worth is not determined by what another says, does or believes, we can take the world a little less seriously. And if necessary, we can just walk away without creating more misery for ourselves or having to convince the other person that we are good and worthy people.

The great challenge of our world is to live a life of contentment, regardless of what other people do, say, think or believe. The fine art of not being offended is one of the many skills for being a practical mystic. Though it may take a lifetime of practice, it is truly one of the best kept secrets for living a happy life.

By Dr. Jodi Prinzivalli

Dreaming of the new world.....

"When dreaming of new earth let go of all your preconceived ideas. If you want to dream of instant manifestation, do it! If you envision yourself flying, do it! If you see yourself walking through walls, do it! If you see spaceships from everywhere visiting earth or you leaving here to go visit those places – do it! If you see yourself with avatar abilities for you and each person on new earth do it! Dream your wildest dream!" -- Bill Ballard

 What would you do if you were given the opportunity to be part of remaking the world that we live in?  How would you want the world to be like?  How would you want to be like?  Would you still want to be limited by all the scarcity that you see all around us today?

My dream of the new world :-

For the world :

   May peace prevail throughout the lands

   Let safety and security dominate all who live on Earth, no longer would anyone 

     need to fear for their safety or security anymore.

   May everyone regard all others (humans and otherwise) regard all with respect

     reverence, love, compassion, trust and kindness.

   May there be no more scarcity of resources but abundance for all.  No longer will

     there be a need for any competition for resources, or survival of the fittest.  There

     will always be enough for everyone.

   Let greed and selfishness be a thing of the past.

   Let also the need for domination over others dissipate and disappear like smoke 

     in an open field, forever.

   May everyone also forever smell fresh no matter what physical condition they may

     be in.

For myself, I wish :

   I will have the capacity to give love and compassion like the Buddha, or GOD.

   To have a healthy body that will have an above average aesthetic appeal

   To have a healthy body that will be  free from all sickness and ailment

   To have the ability to fly and teleport over long distances (even interstellar). I

      will have no problems traveling through space without any form of protection.

   I will have the ability to move things with my thought (lift very heavy weight even)

   May I have the ability to manifest anything physical (the object may have properties

      beyond just physical properties) with a mere thought, at will.

   Although I will still have a mouth to speak, but I will be able to communicate with

      anyone telepathically with anyone at will, and over any distance and time.

   To never have the need to eat or drink for nutritional intake to stay alive.

   To never have the need to breathe air to stay alive.

   In order to stay alive, all I need is to breathe in the prana/cosmic energy that 

     surrounds  us, and even then I would not need a constant feed; just as and 

     when as needed. Prana/cosmic energy shall be my sustenance (although I will

     still have a nose for olfactory purposes).

   May I also never have the need to defecate, perspire, nor shower to keep clean 

     anymore.  All forms of dirt and filth will just fall off me like how water falls off 

     a duck's back.  Sweat have no more use on me anymore because I would not 

     heat up during rigorous activities.  Defecation will serve no purpose anymore 

     because I would breathe out any waste as harmless air/gas (assuming there is

     still a need for waste output, otherwise no more waste output will be most preferable).

   May I not be affected by heat and cold anymore.  I may still feel temperature

     differences but it will no longer affect me like it affects me in this present 

     3D form.

   Also, to have a body free of anymore lower vibrations accumulated from all

     previous experiences.

There, I have finally put my dream of the future into words.  What would your dreams be?