Lifestyle | Ascension Lifestyle

03 Mar 2022
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Let’s Be Peace

Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us and the world will be as one.“

~ John Lennon

Our planet is experiencing hard times. Before, it was and still is the pandemic; now it is war. Peace seems to be only a nice word, and sometimes a futile desire. How do we bring peace to the world?

There is no doubt in my heart and mind that the first step to manifest peace is to become a being of peace. Being peace means to be able to act in our daily life from an elevated vibration or frequency, it means to approach any hard situation with calmness and love.

We have all experienced traumatic events in our lives, and somehow most of us are able to overcome those hard situations one way or another. Why?

Because in the middle of the emotional storm we might have been experiencing, we have managed to slip into a peaceful mode, where we allowed ourselves to think and see a path of action. This might last only a few seconds, however the repercussions can be felt longer. To be at peace is to be still, stopping all activities and the busyness of our minds.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, peace is “freedom from war and violence, especially when people live and work together happily without disagreements,” and this is more or less the definition we find in most dictionaries. We can see that for many people, peace is the opposite of violence, but for me peace is a state of being and acting in the world.

Peace is feeling the silence between the noise, the pause between words, the “nada” between the beating of our heart. Peace is awareness, is consciousness.

When we realise that peace is always possible and a choice, it is very hard to ignore it. Imagine what the world would be if everyone was able to feel peaceful, because, in reality, peace is a feeling, a thought-form capable of expanding from one person to another, then it is wise to start practising low motion, stopping and acknowledging the inner calmness that comes with us.

Here is one exercise you can start doing now:

Sit down and relax your body
Start breathing in and out a bit slower than normal
Place a hand on your heart and feel its palpitation
Pay special attention to the moment your heart stops for a millisecond before the next beat.
If it is difficult for you to feel your heart, focus on your breathing, paying attention to the moment you stop before inhaling and exhaling
Do this for a few minutes and feel a sweet sensation invading you. That sensation is peace.

And I am also adding a decree for you to repeat as many times as you want: Peace in me, peace around me, peace in the world.

Being peace, in my understanding, makes peace on our precious planet possible.

About the Author:

Veronica Sanchez De Darivas is Chilean-Australian, now living in the UK and a proud mother of teenage twins. A spiritual awakening teacher, bestselling author, pineal gland (third eye) activator and Certified Instructor for the Cyclopea Method, Veronica is currently the only instructor in the world teaching the Cyclopea Method in English.

24 Feb 2022
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What If Legal Personhood Included Plants, Rivers, and the Planet?

“People think of laws being so objective and serious, and almost separate from the social norms,” says investigative climate journalist Amy Westervelt. “But it’s really just a handful of people’s beliefs that have gotten baked into law.”

Uncovering whose beliefs have shaped existing environmental law led her to report on an emerging legal arena that has been making headlines around the world: rights of nature laws.

The idea behind the rights of nature approach extrapolates on the Western legal system’s insistence that a corporation is considered a person. If that’s legally true, then why not grant legal personhood to a watershed or a forest? For those who grew up indoctrinated by the existing legal system, Westervelt says their initial response is often delivered with a scoff: “So, what, like, a tree could sue me?”

But beyond this initial skepticism, she sees a lot of practicality and possibility to the approach. Take, for example, a polluted lake. “It’s almost impossible to say my cancer was caused by this chemical in the water,” she says. “But it’s super easy, scientifically, to say this chemical in this water is destroying this watershed.”

And in this way, granting nature its own rights could provide an avenue to protect specific environments—and the communities that depend on them. Because, she points out, “Humans actually need ecosystems to live a lot more than we need corporations.”

The Proof Is in the Pushback

When it comes to protecting the environment, most existing laws are human-centered. They focus on the rights of people to a healthy environment. Westervelt says that well over 100 countries have these kinds of laws on the books. Still, since they require making a direct, causal connection between a pollutant and a human health outcome, winning a case in court can be difficult.

Rights of nature cases, in contrast, are “playing the long game,” as Westervelt puts it. They approach legal arguments with a completely different philosophy and timescale. Incorporating the rights of nature into the constitutions of municipalities, states, and countries could shift the foundational approach to how environmental cases are litigated, Westervelt says.

And it might just be working. She says the proof is in the pushback.

“We’re starting to see pre-emptive laws get passed to block rights of nature legislation,” Westervelt says. Ohio, Florida, and most recently Missouri have passed laws to this effect. “That’s always a key indicator that something’s working, right?” Westervelt says. “They’re not passing pre-emptive laws against calling your reps—let’s put it that way.”

The other strength of this rights of nature approach to environmental protection is the surprising coalitions it creates. “The Lake Erie Bill of Rights is not a bunch of hippies in San Francisco. This is suburban moms in Toledo, Ohio,” Westervelt says. “I think that’s actually what scares the industry folks and the right wing about the way that [rights of nature laws have] progressed in this country, is you’re seeing it really pop up in the Rust Belt, in working-class towns in the Midwest.”

Take fracking, for example. A person in Pennsylvania might be upset their neighbor has a fracking well that has ruined the water in the surrounding wells, making their land essentially valueless. So, Westervelt says, you have right-wing, anti-government libertarians fighting in defense of private property alongside Indigenous leaders arguing to protect the watershed’s right to live.

The motivations may be very different, but Westervelt says the outcomes they’re fighting for are actually quite compatible.

Take the example of the Te Urewera rainforest in New Zealand. She says this case is the one that international organizations point to as a key success story for the rights of nature, because the government recognized the rainforest as its own legal entity and the Tūhoe people as its legal guardians. In a lot of ways, this is a victory, but at the end of the day, it’s still a compromise on what the Tūhoe actually want: simply the return of their land.

The idea that the government had to grant these land rights is almost offensive to those who live there, Westervelt says. Still, she sees these cases, which aim to bring an Indigenous approach to both nature and justice, as a way to “give Western law an instant upgrade on the environmental front.”

Wild Rice for the Win

One unique aspect of Westervelt’s approach is the way it frames Indigenous science, which she says is all too often viewed as myths or “woo-woo mystical nonsense.”

Westervelt shares an example of a water protector she spoke with in Hawai‘i who was working to protect his people’s sacred mountain, Mauna Kea. He told her the reason it’s sacred is because half the island’s ecosystems are affected by it. Western watershed science eventually came to the same conclusion, but centuries later, after colonization had already caused great harm.

The same goes for why wild rice is sacred to the Ojibwe: it’s an indicator species. They knew its ecological importance and therefore came to reflect that in their cultural values.

In this way, Westervelt says, storytelling—be it through Indigenous knowledge-sharing or a podcast—is an effective way to explain why it’s important to protect water.

Of “Manoomin v. Minnesota,” she says, “This case looks at the rights of wild rice to survive and thrive in local waterways, which the Ojibwe added to their 1855 treaty with the U.S. government. The White Earth Band of Ojibwe, based in present-day Minnesota, has since sued Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 pipeline, which they say will violate the rights of the rice and threaten the health of the ecosystem at large.”

This case could have a major impact on many other potential pipeline fights across the U.S.

“Whatever decision they come down with will be pretty monumental,” she says. The case is currently in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, and if its decision is appealed, Westervelt says this could be “another case where the Supreme Court is deciding whether the U.S. is going to honor these treaties.” And that has far-reaching implications for the treaty rights of tribes across the continent.

“Every time I tell people, ‘Yeah, wild rice sued the state of Minnesota,’ it helps to get people to let go of the idea that the way things are is the way they’ve always been and always have to be,” Westervelt says. She believes exposing people to that idea by way of a story is less threatening than arguing with them about water clarity or carbon emissions. “Showing people a different perspective and what it can look like, I think, is helpful in opening people up to other possibilities.”

Original article here.

05 Feb 2022
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Our Come to Moses Moment

With tonight’s Mercury station direct, we have another equally substantial event: the Sun is conjunct Saturn at the midpoint of Aquarius. This is a combination of aspects that says: Slow Down and Pay Attention. Many more celestial events argue for the same approach.

The astrology so far this year has been exhausting, largely the result of simultaneous retrogrades in Capricorn, with Pluto involved. There have been great moments here and there, though inner-planet retrogradation in Capricorn can feel like waking backwards uphill.

But now we are at a turning point, or at least topping point. The midpoint of Aquarius is called a ‘cross-quarter day’ — that is, one of the balancing points of the zodiac, and of the year. These are the midway locations between a solstice and an equinox (which are called the ‘quarter days’).

The Sun in its Course

The Sun is now 45 degrees from the Aries equinox, which is the beginning of the solar year. In the Northern Hemisphere, spring is coming. The Sun is also 45 degrees past the Capricorn solstice. That is called a midpoint. Earlier this week, most of the world celebrated the lunar New Year holiday in the form of Tuesday’s Aquarius New Moon, the beginning of the Year of the Water Tiger. If you want to have some fun, bring a fruit basket to the Asian-owned businesses who serve you. It is a gesture of wishing them health and prosperity.

Right now, slow-moving Saturn is holding the Aquarius midpoint, and today is being met by a conjunction to the Sun. This is happening concurrently with Mercury stationing direct next door in Capricorn. This is happening right after this past weekend’s Venus direct in Capricorn. All of this is timed with a New Moon close to the cross-quarter.

This is a mini-cluster of events that will be followed by an even more significant one on March 2-3.

In spatial terms, Saturn is halfway through its trip across Aquarius, though in time, it’s closer to two-thirds of the way to Pisces. Saturn began its Aquarius transit in late March 2020, and it ends in early March 2023, just a few weeks before Pluto first touches the shores of Aquarius.

One follows the other. One is preparation for the next. The interval between now and March 2023 is a critical phase of human history. Much will be decided in that short time.

Natural Limits and Boundaries

Saturn is the planet that represents natural limits. The Sun conjunct Saturn is calling for discipline and focus. Aquarius is the sign that represents humanity in the sense of what we do together in groups. The only way we can do things together is if we are not terrified of one another. We cannot be social when we all suspect one another of being disease vectors.

For two years, people have routinely been accusing their neighbors of being killers — not by negligence (absurd enough) but by intent. This is so grotesque I have no words for it.

Normally, humans think nothing of piling into commuter busses, the airport tram, or the Disney World monorail. We like to crowd into discos, parties, rock concerts and mosh pits, and used to be frequently found hugging one another, sharing food and having cuddle parties. We pass around joints and share cigarettes with “nonsmokers” who want a drag for old time’s sake. We snuggle up on the couch.

Now our social patterns are shattered, and we are scrambling as a result. Social patterns means the fragile trust that we had in one another What is worse are all of the young people whose impressions of this scenario will last their whole lives.

Sun Conjunct Saturn: Get a Grip

These impressions are especially critical for all kids, though children under the age of three (forced to “mask up,” with all the attendant feelings) will form their limbic (emotional neurological) pathways around this cruel, pointless insanity. They will grow up thinking that seeing someone’s face is a threat to their life. The effect is the intent.

The Sun conjunct Saturn is saying: Get A Grip. If Saturn in Aquarius is cautionary of a chilling effect on our social relationships, Sun conjunct Saturn is saying a little thawing out is in order.

It is time to wake up to the social reality of our times rather than making endless excuses of how everything is making us safer. Ask yourself if this is really you. Ask yourself why, if you know none this has any actual positive effect, you may still do it.

Soon, we will need to watch fictional Netflix series’ for documentary evidence of how people behaved before they were suffering from phobias and mass delusional psychosis. You will not want to live in the world that this creates, though you may get to. But we are fast approaching that, and may have crossed the point of no return. The Aquarian angle of this these patters will take hold permanently if we allow them to. We are creating a world where it is now socially unacceptable not to be paranoid.

The Significance and Experience of the Body

How is this possible? Consider the relationship between Aquarius and technology. As the sign of social patterns, of electricity and of wireless communication, Aquarius is the perfect metaphor for digital conditions taking over our lives.

Media philosopher Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) suggested back in the 1960s that, “the computer is LSD for the businessman.” That’s because only businessmen had them. Now everyone has one, and we are all tripping balls: we are totally disoriented.

His son Eric put it this way:

“The body is everywhere assaulted by all of our new media, a state which has resulted in deep disorientation of intellect and destabilization of culture throughout the world. In the age of disembodied communication, the meaning and significance and experience of the body is utterly transformed and distorted.”

This is what’s happened to us. This is a big topic, though one that is largely ignored. People in Western society tend to accept new technology without questioning its potential effects, by which I mean what it will make us become. I’ve heard the lines are already forming out in the freezing cold for the iPhone 14, which does not yet exist.

Accepting Technology and ‘Innovation’ Without Question

We tend to accept technology and “innovation” without the meekest question or consideration of the consequences. The purveyors used to care only about making money. Now, they are involved in social engineering on a level never before possible.

Till recently, we were aware of the dumbing down and hypnosis of the population induced by cellphones. We understood the influence of Twitter, which trained everyone to think in 140 characters (and is often used to govern the world).

We have seen how “social media” is anything but social, and is in fact anti-social to the degree of breeding hostility and division on the physical plane.

If you walked into a room full of people high on acid and said loudly, “There’s an evil demon coming for you,” fear would shoot through the room. This is what’s happening now.

Consider the feeling when people raise their “mask” (plastic trash or bandanna) up over their face when they pass you on the street, and lower it once they have walked by.

That is friendly compared to banning your mother from holiday dinner because she won’t take a mystery government injection with a death toll worse than the Vietnam War. These are social issues, not medical ones.

Many people are now terrified of breathing, and of people who like to breathe. Breathing was never such an elite activity!

Why We Must Come to Moses

As someone with a primarily scientific orientation, I am reluctant to call any astrology “important.” Yet Pluto in Aquarius qualifies as something with a message that we must heed or otherwise face personal and collective consequences that most people do not understand at this time.

These involve two things that are really one: social patterns, and the imposition of technology upon us. Aquarius is about electricity, and we now live in an entirely electrical society. We also live in a digital society. The patterns of our lives are now all but dictated by cellular technology. The “net” or the “web” now encompasses everything.

We will soon be living under Pluto in Aquarius, which is approaching like a black hole. We are well into the Great Reset (though it is not yet complete) and entering something called the 4th Industrial Revolution, Agenda 2030, and a diversity of other names designed to confuse you and disarm your intellect.

Part of this project is universal “vaccination” and various forms of the “Green Pass” or “vaccine passport.” Some places call this living in a “smart city.” This is the thing that will only let you into places you could previously go. Who decides the qualifications for what makes your Green Pass flash green? Not you, that’s for sure. You may think the “Covid” vaccine is a fantastic idea even though the federal government admits it has killed 22,000 people (multiply by at least 40 for the real number).

Now they are talking about making the injection of six-months old mandatory for a claimed infection that we know with absolute certainty does not affect children. Perhaps you think that is OK.

Next week it could be mandatory birth control, antidepressants, antibiotics, or some other mystery drug. Nobody actually knows all the ingredients or true effects of any vaccine except the manufacturers. And now it is being connected to existence via the “digital identity.” Once we are there, we are all slaves for life, if you call that living.

Let my people go.

Original article here

25 Jan 2022
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6 ideas from around the world to help boost happiness

Saudade, from Brazil

In [Brazilian] Portuguese, there’s something called saudade, which is a feeling of longing, melancholy, and nostalgia for a happiness that once was—or even a happiness you merely hoped for. The concept is so entrenched in Brazilian ideology that it’s celebrated every year on Saudade Day (January 30^th).

Most of us will have experienced a bittersweet pleasure in moments of melancholy—flipping through old photos or caring about anyone enough to miss them when they’re gone. These sentimental moments can make us appreciate these memories even more and encourage us to pay attention to the details of the here and now. The concept of saudade reminds us to spend time remembering those we’ve loved and lost, then practice being a little more grateful for the ones still around.

Meraki, from Greece

Meraki refers to “an introspective, precise expression of care, usually applied to a cherished pastime.” The idea behind meraki is to challenge yourself to break up the monotony of your regular routine (say, your nine-to-five job) by intentionally carving out time to invest in activities that inspire and relax you.

Having a passion that you can take pride in can be of extra benefit to those who can’t say the same for their primary occupation,” says Russel. It can also give you something to look forward to throughout the day, which will surely boost your happiness.

Dolce far niente, from Italy

This Italian phrase translates to “the sweetness of doing nothing,” a concept that is all about savoring the moment and really enjoying the present.

While many western cultures tend to save up their ‘fun quota’ for an annual escape or a boozy weekend, Italians spread it over the minutes, hours, and days throughout the year. Adopting this attitude can remind you that you deserve to enjoy life all year round, not just while on vacation.

Friluftsliv, from Norway

The Norwegians have a concept of friluftsliv, or “free air life,” which is about enjoying outdoor socials, even in cold winter conditions. In Norway, time spent outdoors is central to their way of life—but the concept of friluftsliv isn’t just about being outside, it’s about engaging with nature in an intentional way.

Most Norwegians believe you have to work for things—to earn them with physical endeavors, or by battling the elements. Only once you’ve [literally] climbed a mountain in the rain and cold can you truly enjoy your dinner.

Now, not all of us will be climbing mountains regularly, or even live in a landscape where that’s an option but embrace the spirit of friluftsliv by going for a walk or sitting in your garden, watching the birds visit your birdfeeder.

Smultronstӓlle, from Sweden

The essence behind smultronstӓlle, which literally translated means “field of wild strawberries” or “wild strawberry patch,” is to establish a place to go when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed where you know you won’t be disturbed.

Even though the phrase is linked to the outdoors, you can also practice this indoors, as long as it’s your happy place that just makes you feel better. Having a smultronstӓllecan be a great way to stay calm, restore balance, and feel rejuvenated.

Wabi sabi and kintsugi, from Japan

Our society often values perfection, which may lead us to put a lot of pressure on ourselves and our performance in life and work, however, the Japanese philosophy of wabi sabi, which translates to “the beauty of imperfection,” can help relieve us of this weight. Accepting the beauty in imperfection can make us feel better when things don’t turn out exactly as planned.

Kintsugi is a physical manifestation of wabi sabi—it refers to the ancient Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with gold or metallic lacquer. While many of us may discard a broken teacup, believing it has been rendered useless, kintsugi celebrates this imperfection by piecing the shattered pieces together extravagantly, highlighting the scar in a manner that makes it even more beautiful than when it was whole or “perfect.”

About the Author:

Helen Russell is a journalist and global happiness expert who wrote The Year of Living Danishly and The Atlas of Happiness.

Original article here

06 Jan 2022
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How Your Diet Affects Your Mental Health

Active people tend to overthink what food is doing for their body — Is keto good for endurance? What’s the perfect post-training macro spread? Butter or no butter in my coffee? — but underthink what it’s doing for their mind. Yet you’ve probably noticed that what you eat impacts what’s going on upstairs. We’ve all devoured a cheat meal and afterward felt off, not just physically but also mentally and emotionally. And new research suggests that the connection between diet and mental well-being is a little more nuanced than scientists once thought.

Earlier studies suggest what you might expect: eating junk isn’t great for your brain. People who consume plenty of fruit, vegetables, and fish seem to be less at risk of depression compared to those who favor fatty meats, processed carbs, and sweets. But emerging research shows that even among healthy diets, some might be better for mental health than others. In a recent review published in Molecular Psychology, researchers analyzed 41 studies that sought to quantify the impact of various diets on clinical depression. The analysis accounted for a variety of eating plans including the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet, and the Healthy Eating Index.

The Secret Behind The Mediterranean Diet’s Health Benefits

The winner? The Mediterranean diet, which according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition features abundant fruits and vegetables, olive oil, dairy products like yogurt and cheese, cereals, beans, fish and poultry, and moderate amounts of red meat and wine. (Sometimes it seems to be the best diet for just about everything: it may help you live longer, and it recently won the top spot in an exhaustive, expert-led analysis of 40 diets based on metrics like being heart-healthy, plant heavy, and easy to adhere to.)

Drew Ramsey, an associate professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and the author of Eat Complete, says the Mediterranean diet may have a positive effect on mental health because it helps fight inflammation. “Molecules that are responsible for inflammation influence things like your mood and energy levels,” says Ramsey. “For example, inflammation gets in the way of the brain’s self-repair process. Many antidepressant medications are also powerful anti-inflammatories that spur brain growth.” The diet may also improve your gut microbiome, which research suggests influences depression.

But don’t purge your refrigerator or medicine cabinet quite yet. Observational nutrition studies, where researchers ask participants to recall their eating patterns, can be unreliable, says Trevor Kashey, an Ohio-based registered dietitian. “People lie, don’t know how to track their intake, and have terrible memories,” he says.

More importantly, every diet in the study showed some positive impact on depression. “When we begin to dissect which particular healthy diet is optimal, it misses the point,” says Ramsey. “The big take home for individuals and for our mental health care systems is that food matters.” The study itself concludes that “adhering to a healthy diet, in particular a traditional Mediterranean diet, or avoiding a pro-inflammatory diet appears to confer some protection against depression.”

To that end, Ramsey recently conducted a separate study that looked at which foods are highest in the 12 nutrients associated with preventing or relieving depression. Low levels of folate and B12, for example, are associated with depression, and the symptoms are often relieved by taking in more of those vitamins. The full list of foods with purported mental health benefits is expansive, but vegetables, organ meats (like liver), fruits, and seafood took the top four categories.

No single food has magical powers, however. “We want to shift [the conversation away] from singular foods and diets and into talking about food categories,” says Ramsey. His study, for example, found that spinach, Swiss chard, kale, and lettuce contain the highest antidepressant nutrients per serving, but that it didn’t really matter which leafy green you ate—what matters is that leafy greens are a regular part of your food intake.

“As a clinical psychiatrist, it’s intriguing to think about food interventions and how they could shift an entire organism,” says Ramsey. “What happens if I get someone using food for a more diverse microbiome, lower overall inflammation, and more connection to a sense of self-care? Those are all great things for someone struggling with mental and brain health.”

These findings could have a big impact. Worldwide, four percent of men and seven percent of women suffer from depression, and the disorder can affect all facets of life, including productivity and athletic performance. Nutrition is just one piece of the mental-health puzzle, but it has researchers excited. “I really am a big fan of responsibly using medications and effective talk therapy to treat depression,” says Ramsey. “But [focusing on] diet allows us to empower patients to think about their mental health as tied to nutrition.”

Original article here

29 Dec 2021
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EarthTalk: What Is “Slow Fashion?” Does It Relate To Sustainability?

In the U.S., millions of shoppers pack clothing stores, excited to key into the newest trends while paying low prices. On the other side of the world, low-wage workers—many of them young girls— are crushed under the hammer of “fast fashion” (the mass production of cheap, poor quality, disposable clothing), laboring without safety protections or adequate rights. Fast fashion’s impacts on both the environment and human rights are evident, and slow fashion may just be the only solution to a greener future.

First off, fast fashion revolves around the concept of speeding up production time while minimizing costs, which prompts producers to use the cheapest textiles and toxic textile dyes. Perhaps one of the most popular textiles, polyester is derived from fossil fuels and sheds microfibers that can end up in oceans. Another common material is cotton, which requires extensive quantities of water, pesticides and labor to produce. More important, fast fashion is constantly changing clothing trends—most consumers fall into this ploy and discard garments once they are out of trend. As a result, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in 2018 11.3 million tons of textiles ended up in landfills and 3.2 million tons were incinerated—releasing high amounts of greenhouse gases.

While fast fashion exploits labor and the environment to make more and sell more, slow fashion focuses on quality over quantity and respects workers’ rights. A foundational principle of slow fashion is simply to buy less in the first place. Social media and other influencers have lured shoppers with the hottest brands and pressed on the idea of wearing your clothing only once. Slow fashion encourages consumers to dismantle that mindset and learn to value every piece of clothing you own or buy.

Since many people shop for the experience and enjoy the feeling of buying clothes more than the clothing article itself, slow fashion emphasizes choosing high-quality pieces made with sustainable materials. Although more expensive doesn’t necessarily mean more sustainable, higher cost investments do promote that shift in mindset for you to better cherish a garment and wear it more often.

For those who are more financially conservative, second-hand shopping is a great alternative to more expensive sustainable brands. Thrifting is an extremely cheap option for you to shop based on individual desires rather than trends while also gaining that sense of fulfillment from shopping. Other second-hand options like vintage or consignment stores allow shoppers to purchase unique, high-quality items at a fraction of the normal cost.

Slow-fashion also encourages making garments last longer, such as washing and drying clothing at the proper temperatures and buying sewing kits to fix small holes or replace buttons.

While fast-fashion brands have been doing well lately, slow-fashion is also gaining ground. For those who want to practice sustainable shopping, it’s simple to take that step into your environmental journey—join a slow-fashion support group, start your own personal challenge to spend less, and spread awareness within your community and beyond.

Original article here

25 Dec 2021
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Distant Healing — The Heart-Opening Technique

Many meditators, healers and people of goodwill are attracted to the idea of distant healing — that in meditation, contemplation and prayer we can help relieve suffering and pain at a distance.

But how exactly do we do this? I will share with you one golden rule, briefly list the most well-known techniques and then describe the strategy that I prefer.

First, The Golden Rule

This is simple: Distant healing must always be done in a relaxed, calm and loving way. Otherwise, you may be sending agitated vibrations and energies. In particular, you need to monitor that you do not have any neediness that there be a healing.

If we are needy for healing, then we radiate neediness. Not useful. So stay calm. The keynote is compassionate equanimity.

The most well-known distant healing strategies are:

Kind thoughts
Sending healing energy (keep to the golden rule above and check you are not interfering)
Praying for help and intercessions from whichever tradition, gods, spirits, angels, saints, gurus, etc., who are in your culture.

Then there is the heart-opening strategy that I prefer to use.

I like it because it is relevant to both suffering and the causes of suffering. It is also realistic about the fact that some illnesses and distress are chronic and long term, and that death is an inevitability.

This strategy is simple. It is in a sense, a visualization, a calm expectation that the hearts open of those who are suffering.

In the same way, the hearts open of those who create suffering.

In a calm state of compassionate contemplation, bring any person or situation of suffering into your loving awareness.

May your heart be open. May your heart be open. May your heart be open.

When someone’s heart opens, they move into a different mood. They connect with the benevolent flow of the universe. Their emotions and minds become more accepting and kinder. Healing at all levels becomes more accessible. Space is created for waves of grace.

There are other ways of practicing this that may better suit you.

If for example you have a Christian background, then you may prefer some wording like this, which has the same effect: May the Christ within you awaken. Or May the Christ consciousness in you be fully awake.

From a Buddhist background, you might feel more at home with: May the Buddha within you awaken. Or May the Buddha consciousness in you be fully awake.

Of course, you are free to adapt the wording in whatever way works best for you.

Within the Buddhist tradition there is also the foundation prayer of Om Mani Padme Hum often translated as “the Jewel in the Lotus.” In many respects, this is a heart awakening mantra. Each of us is a lotus, a beautiful flower with stems beneath the water and roots deep into the earth. And within us is a jewel. Perceive it. Let it be fully present.

Again, this is congruent with the Hindu greeting of Namaste. I greet the soul within you. I greet your soul. I greet the Christ within you. The Buddha within you. The Goddess within you. All of these facilitate heart-opening.

Some people may prefer to work with the chakra system. You can sense-visualize-imagine the love petals of someone’s heart chakra opening with compassion and wisdom.

I use this heart-opening approach when, in meditation, I send healing to the dictators and politicians who are oppressing their peoples. I sense their hearts opening. May your heart be open. I greet your soul.

Similarly, I use this strategy when contemplating those who are suffering with pain and fear.

May your hearts be open. I greet your soul. Om mani padme hum.

Softly, gently, empathically, connect with suffering and sense heart-opening.

As always, you as an individual practitioner can explore and feel your way into the approach that is authentic for you.

Remember, too, to practice basic health and safety. Your fuel, inspiration and safety come from your connection with spirit, by whatever name you call it. At the end of any healing, bring your focus fully home to your own body and close your energy field like a flower at night closing its petals.

I honor and respect activists who work on the front lines to relieve suffering and create safe space for all life to grow and fulfill.

I also honor and support the meditators, contemplatives and prayer-workers who work with distant healing.

About the Author:

William Bloom is Britain’s leading author and educator in the mind-body-spirit field with over thirty years of practical experience, research and teaching in modern spirituality. He is founder and co-director of The Foundation for Holistic Spirituality and the Spiritual Companions project. Visit www.williambloom.com

Original article here

20 Dec 2021
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Why You Need to Protect Your Sense of Wonder — Especially Now

We may be slowly returning to our offices (more or less), but the strains of the pandemic are hardly over. As we enter a transitional stage after almost two years of trauma and strain, more than ever we need ways to refresh our energies, calm our anxieties, and nurse our well-being. One potentially powerful intervention is rarely talked about in the workplace: The cultivation of experiences of awe. Like gratitude and curiosity, awe can leave us feeling inspired and energized. It’s another tool in your toolkit and it’s now attracting increased attention due to more rigorous research.

As a physician and a psychologist, we have facilitated hundreds of resilience and well-being workshops both before and during Covid for the military, physicians, educators, law enforcement, and in the business world. Helping participants to explore, experience, and recall moments of awe is one of the key scientifically supported strategies we engage in during our workshops and it’s been rewarding to see our participants benefit and bring what they’ve learned to their own organizations.

Awe and Its Benefits

University of Michigan psychologist Ethan Kross defines awe as “the wonder we feel when we encounter something powerful that we can’t easily explain.” Often the things which bring us awe have an element of vastness and complexity. Think of a starry night sky, an act of great kindness, or the beauty of something small and intricate. During your workday the colors of the leaves outside your office or an act of sacrifice by a colleague could prompt a similar feeling — especially if you are attuned to it. In the United States and China especially, experiences of awe are frequently related to the virtuous behavior of others: an act of dedication, skill, or courage.

Cultivating experiences of awe is especially important and helpful now as we renew our energy and make plans for a more hopeful future. That’s because beyond physical effects like tingling and goosebumps and a lowered heart rate under stress, awe also affects us emotionally. One experimental group, when asked to draw pictures of themselves, literally drew themselves smaller in size after having an awe experience. Such an effect has been termed “unselfing.” This shift has big benefits: As you tap into something larger and your sense of self shrinks, so too do your mental chatter and your worries. At the same time, your desire to connect with and help others increases. People who experience awe also report higher levels of overall life satisfaction and well-being.

Let’s look more closely at the effects on stress and resilience. Experiences of awe are associated with lowered levels of reported stress and recent experimental research suggests that this may be a causal relationship: That awe can actively help reduce stress. Recent research using fMRI has also shown that experiences of awe, such as watching awe-inspiring videos (compared to neutral or pleasant videos) decreases activity in the brain’s default mode network (DMN), which is associated with self-focus and rumination. The result is decreased mental chatter.

Awe’s benefits extend beyond stress relief, however. Research has shown that experiencing something bigger than us helps us transcend our frame of reference by expanding our mental models and stimulating new ways of thinking. This can increase creativity and innovation, and facilitate scientific thinking and ethical decision-making.

It also helps us build relationships. Though feeling awe frequently happens in solitude, it draws us out of ourselves and toward others and inspires pro-social behavior like generosity and compassion. Some scientists theorize that it has evolved to aid group cohesion and provide survival advantages. For work groups experiences of awe can lead to increased collaboration, team building, and social connection.

There are many ways you can cultivate experiences of awe during the course of your workday.

For Individuals

A simple and powerful way to experience awe if you can step away from your desk is to take an “awe walk.” Take twenty minutes to wander and be curious and observe the everyday beauty around you, even in a familiar place like your yard or neighborhood. In our workshops, this instruction helps people to notice others, as well as places and things they might typically rush past — a bee flitting from flower to flower, for example. Afterwards our participants report feeling inspired, calmer, and better able to focus.

Even better, take an awe-seeking walk in a natural landscape. Research shows that walks in nature, compared to urban environments, have a greater positive effect on our mood and well-being. Nature is an immersive experience of growth and resilience; it can be a powerful source of wonder and awe. Nature’s rhythms also remind us that we are a part of the natural world, and we too are enduring. A CEO of a Michigan technology company one of us (David) has collaborated with schedules frequent bike rides through a landscape of trees and water. Doing so, he feels a part of something larger than himself as well as a boost to his energy and resilience.

If you can’t step away from your desk, take advantage of the wonders at your fingertips on the web. Several studies have shown that videos can stimulate awe. Perhaps you’re inspired by award-winning documentaries such as Free Solo, Planet Earth, or the recent Oscar winner My Octopus Teacher. Let Amanda Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb” give you goosebumps. The harmony and complexity of music can also elevate and inspire awe. Create your own personal “awe playlist” of videos or music and when you’re feeling stuck spend a few minutes being drawn into what you’re seeing and hearing. You can also invite moments of awe by asking the simple question “What’s beautiful here?”

Another option is to tune into news sites that spread good news — acts of kindness, generosity, and perseverance. Keep a file on your computer of stories of the goodness, benevolence, and decency of the human race. Tap it when you are feeling overwhelmed or depleted and want to be elevated. A simple story of one person making a difference can inspire others around the world.

For Managers and Teams

If you’re a manager, you can leverage the power of awe to help your team with its energy and resilience and to provide empathy and emotional support. Encourage your team members to share their awe playlists and create opportunities to share experiences of awe by starting meetings with questions like “What took your breath away this week?” or “What made you glad you’re on this planet?” (Contribute your own stories too, and share their impact on you.) In work one of us (Karen) has done with The Oklahoma City Thunder, leaders asked teams to bring personal photos that sparked awe and gratitude. At a team meeting, the photos were projected, and each person spoke about their photo and experience. Meanwhile the health system where David works offers voluntary noontime resilience webinars featuring awe. Individuals from disparate departments who’ve never met come together and share stories of awe in small group zoom rooms. The positive energy after each of these events is evident and elevating.

Managers should watch out for several potential missteps when creating awe experiences for their teams, however. First, what stimulates awe in one person can stimulate feelings of threat or danger in another — if someone with a fear of heights is forced to look at a vertiginous view, for example. Know your team well enough to understand where to draw the line. Secondly, as you encourage your teams to experience awe, keep in mind that it’s an addition and not a subtraction: Adding experiences of awe does not eliminate grief or anxiety; nor does it mitigate the need for teams to talk openly about the challenges they face and the support they need from leadership. It’s normal and healthy to experience a full range of emotions, especially in highly challenging times. It’s imperative that managers offer as much compassion and understanding as they can muster. Finally, don’t mistake intimidation for awe: We’re not talking about developing a cult of power around yourself as a leader — a very different approach which can do more harm than good.

We spend much of our time at work trying to stake our claim and make our voices heard. It can feel counterintuitive to engage in something that might stimulate feelings of “smallness.” But doing so through a positive experience of awe can, in the end, bring us that sense of grounding we’re searching for, along with a multitude of benefits — such as energy, inspiration, and resilience — for ourselves and for our teams.

About the Authors:

David P. Fessell is an executive coach, faculty associate at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, and a retired University of Michigan professor of radiology. He writes and speaks on positive psychology and emotional intelligence and is a graduate of the Second City Improv Conservatory.

Karen Reivich is the Director of Resilience and Positive Psychology Training Programs at the University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center. She is the co-author of the books The Resilience Factor and The Optimistic Child.

Original article here

14 Dec 2021
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9 Habits That The World’s Healthiest & Longest-Lived People Share

About 20 years ago, working for National Geographic, and with a grant from the National Institute on Aging, I started identifying and studying the longest-lived people, those who are in what we called the world’s Blue Zones. These are people who have eluded heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and several types of cancer.

My goal, in a sense, was to reverse-engineer longevity. Since only about 20% of the average person’s life span is dictated by genes, I reasoned that if I could find the common denominators among people who’ve achieved the health outcomes we want, I might distill some pretty good lessons for the rest of us to follow. I discovered nine powerful lessons—the power nine—that underpin all five Blue Zones. Here they are:

1. Move naturally.

The world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron, run marathons, or join gyms. Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it. They grow gardens and don’t have mechanical conveniences for house and yard work.

2. Find purpose.

The Okinawans call it ikigai and the Nicoyans call it plan de vida; for both it translates to “why I wake up in the morning.” Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy.

3. Downshift.

Even people in the Blue Zones experience stress. Stress leads to chronic inflammation, associated with every major age-related disease. What the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress. Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, Adventists pray, Ikarians take a nap, and Sardinians do happy hour.

4. Follow the 80% rule.

Hara hachi bu, the Okinawan, 2,500-year-old Confucian mantra said before meals, reminds them to stop eating when their stomachs are 80% full. The 20% gap between not being hungry and feeling full could be the difference between losing weight and gaining it. People in the Blue Zones eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening, and then they don’t eat any more for the rest of the day.

5. Eat mostly plants.

Beans, including fava, black, soy, and lentils, are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets. Meat—mostly pork—is eaten on average only five times per month. Serving sizes are 3 to 4 ounces, about the size of a deck of cards.

6. Drink wine at 5.

People in all Blue Zones (except Adventists) drink alcohol moderately and regularly. Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers. The trick is to drink one to two glasses per day (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine) with friends and/or with food. And no, you can’t save up all week and have 14 drinks on Saturday.

7. Find belonging.

All but five of the 263 centenarians we interviewed belonged to some faith-based community. Denomination doesn’t seem to matter. Research shows that attending faith-based services four times per month will add four to 14 years of life expectancy.

8. Put loved ones first.

Successful centenarians in the Blue Zones put their families first. This means keeping aging parents and grandparents nearby or in the home. (It lowers disease and mortality rates of children in the home too.) They commit to a life partner (which can add up to three years of life expectancy) and invest in their children with time and love (and they’ll be more likely to care for you when the time comes).

9. Find the right community.

The world’s longest-lived people chose—or were born into—social circles that support healthy behaviors. For example, Okinawans created moais—groups of five friends that committed to each other for life. Research from the Framingham Studies shows that smoking, obesity, happiness, and even loneliness are contagious. So the social networks of long-lived people have favorably shaped their health behaviors.

To make it to age 100, you have to have won the genetic lottery. But most of us have the capacity to make it well into our early 90s and largely without chronic disease. As the Adventists demonstrate, the average person’s life expectancy could increase by 10 to 12 years by adopting a Blue Zones lifestyle.

Adapted from The Blue Zones Challenge: A 4-Week Plan for a Longer, Better Life (National Geographic/ Dan Buettner/ Pub: 12/7/21).

Original article here

08 Dec 2021
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Feel Lonely? There Are 4 Types of Loneliness. Here’s How to Beat Them

Have you ever gotten into bed at the end of the day and realised that you haven’t spoken out loud to anyone since the day before? Or simply found yourself feeling completely and utterly alone?

We live in a hyper-connected world, and yet we’re lonelier than ever before, a situation that is certainly not helped by the COVID lockdown. We have more social media followers than real-life friends, and it’s easier to swap digital messages with strangers on the other side of the planet than it is to sit down for a chat with an actual person – especially now that we’re social distancing and putting ourselves in isolation.

Despite being traditionally viewed as an affliction that’s limited to the elderly, it’s now 16-24 year olds who make up the loneliest age group of all, a finding confirmed in the UK’s largest study on the subject, The Loneliness Experiment by BBC Radio 4. The study included over 55,000 people and found that 34% of 25-34 year olds are lonely ‘often or very often’ while 36% of 34-44 year olds felt the same.

Now, scientists are warning of the damaging effects of a ‘loneliness epidemic’, with loneliness even being equated to the health equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

As many of us will know, we don’t need to be physically alone to feel lonely. A toxic friendship or relationship can be incredibly isolating, for example, while spending too much time with people we don’t feel close to can have damaging effects on our psyche, even if we’re only interacting with them through our phones. Loneliness affects people in different ways, and for this reason there are four distinct types of loneliness identified by psychologists: emotional, social, situational and chronic.

But how do we know what type of loneliness we’re experiencing and, more importantly, how can we tackle it? Here, Stylist talks to registered psychologist Dr. Becky Spelman, and hears from women who have experienced loneliness – and managed to keep it at bay.

Emotional Loneliness

“Those who are emotionally lonely will find it difficult to improve things without tackling the root of the problem,” says Dr. Spelman. “Emotional loneliness is not circumstantial but, rather, comes from within.”

Dr. Spelman recommends therapy to help tackle the root cause of these feelings of emotional loneliness. “Working with a therapist, possibly with a technique such as behavioural cognitive therapy, or attending group therapy, is likely to lead to the best possible outcome,” she says.

“The person in question can start to understand why they are lonely, how their background and experiences have contributed to behaviours that make things worse, and how they can develop a new, and more useful, set of behaviours.”

Situational Loneliness

Many Millennials choose to work abroad for a few years in their 20s and 30s, and the rise in solo travel means a great number of us are planning to jet off on solo adventures once the coronavirus pandemic has passed.

While these plans are undoubtedly exciting, it can also be a period of adjustment as we try to make new friends while simultaneously getting to grips with a new culture and way of life — potentially leading to situational loneliness, says Dr. Spelman.

“Situational loneliness can result from being in circumstances that make developing friendships difficult,” she says. “Examples include those living abroad, perhaps in a place where they do not speak the language perfectly, stay-at-home mothers (or fathers) with young children, or those with a physical or intellectual disability that makes it difficult to get out and about.”

Situational loneliness is something that digital writer Susan experienced when she moved to Dubai for two and a half years in 2013.

“When I first moved to the Middle East, I was completely alone,” she says. “I didn’t have a friend or a family member I could call when the going got tough, or even just someone to have a cup of tea with. It was my choice to move there for work. And it was my choice to move there as a single woman. But that doesn’t mean it was easy.

“The first month was particularly difficult as I spent two weeks in a hotel on my own, surrounded by a completely different culture, customs and language. I felt the sting of loneliness as I dined on my own every evening and looked for a flat share — going from one viewing to the next without understanding a word of Arabic. But after I found somewhere to call home, I made friends with my housemates by putting myself out there and never turning down an invitation to do something new. Thankfully, I pushed myself to get to know them and my new country of residence, too.”

But situational loneliness doesn’t just arise in those who relocate alone, as social media editor Sarah discovered when she moved countries with her partner. Sarah left her Sydney home in March 2017 to join her partner in London, where he had arrived a month earlier to start a new job and find the pair a home to live in — although she admits that “didn’t mean it was smooth sailing”.

“On my first night an emotional (jetlagged) me fell asleep whimpering into my partner’s shoulder, ‘I had to give up a lot to be here’. Although very dramatic, I was more right than wrong. I knew making friends as an adult, outside of freshers’ week or a friend-of-a-friend introduction, would be preceded by a stint of loneliness – something I dreaded.

“The reality of that fear set in a week later. Without a job, I had less interaction with people and felt starved of company. I took to being overly chatty to baristas and the person on the till at Sainsbury’s. Each day I would surf LinkedIn and talk about the weather with anyone mildly inclined to respond. I would look forward to my partner coming home after work for the sheer joy of talking to someone who knew me beyond what groceries I was buying that day.”

Sarah did make friends in the city but she is also aware that “having a partner at home slowed my efforts”.

“There would be times I would crave going out with a friend rather than my partner. But the reality was that in those initial weeks he was my only friend in London. And that made me feel tied to him in a way that we never were in our hometown of Sydney.

“It did take a considerable amount of effort to form friendships outside of his friendship circle (formed from his middle-school years in south London). Eighteen months on, I keep working on those friendships outside of my relationship – because I now know how very valuable they are.”

Pushing yourself to make new friends – and crucially, maintain those friendships – is exactly what Dr. Spelman recommends for someone who is grappling with situational loneliness. And while we can’t currently make an active effort to meet new people in person due to coronavirus, there are alternative solutions.

“The best approach here is a proactive one,” she says. Once we are out of lockdown and able to socialise in person again, she suggests “joining a language class or a hobby group or getting in touch with like-minded people and actively courting friendships, to help overcome loneliness in these circumstances.

“The internet can help. While socialising online is not the same as meeting up with friends for coffee or a drink, establishing a support network online can help to maintain a sense of being liked and wanted, and keep social skills alive.”

Social Loneliness

“Social loneliness is typically experienced by those who have problems in social situations because of shyness, social awkwardness, or a sense of low self-esteem that makes them doubt their capacity to be competent and entertaining in social circumstances,” Dr. Spelman explains.

“Different approaches can help. For example, if the root issue is one of low self-esteem, tackling this first should make a positive difference. Trying a structured approach to socialising, such as joining an online or virtual group that gets together to discuss or engage in a particular hobby, can be a good way to start to end a vicious circle.”

Chronic Loneliness

“Chronic loneliness is the term used to describe those who have been lonely for so long that it has become a way of life to them,” explains Dr. Spelman. “If solitude has become part of their nature, it can be tricky to break the cycle.”

Chronic loneliness is something that Lyla, now 26, experienced when she moved to London to start university at the age of 18. Lyla had previously lived in Nottingham where she had a solid group of friends who all lived nearby, and spent a lot of time together. Moving to a new city triggered feelings of loneliness for her, which became entrenched over her first two and a half years in the city.

“It was a really bewildering, lonely time,” she says. “The jump of being plonked into a huge arts school, in just one of hundreds of halls of residence in a sprawling city I didn’t understand, made me retreat into myself and I struggled to make friends in the face of it all.

“I spent a lot of time in my tiny room making my mum talk to me for hours and hours on the phone, while I slowly found my footing and met people I connected with. It took me about two and a half years to learn not to hate London, but sticking it out meant it slowly got better, and nine years later nowhere has ever felt more like home.”

Dr. Spelman notes that chronic loneliness is often a by-product of circumstance, such as self-isolation, although unlike situational loneliness, it can go on for so long that it almost becomes a way of life.

“Examples include the elderly whose friends have largely passed away or moved into nursing care, while adult children live far away, or those who are inhibited from socialising by a controlling partner or other circumstances that feel out of their control,” she says. “It is important to remember that we all deserve friends and a social life and that there is nothing wrong with asking for help or making the first step.”

About the Author:

Sarah Biddlecombe is an award-winning journalist and Digital Commissioning Editor at Stylist.

Original article here