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03 Sep 2015
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Traveling May Not Be As Expensive As You Think

Traveling the world doesn’t have to be as expensive as you might think. I have had the pleasure of seeing many parts of the world at an early age, fulfilling a bucket-list that many people don’t have the time for. Most people wonder what it is I do that has afforded me these opportunities but I assure you, I am no jet-setter, I’m simply a smart traveler that knows how to cut corners. This article is for anyone who wants an inexpensive way to travel and experience the cultures of their destinations.

If you wish to jet set, stay in nice hotels and eat at nice restaurants, treating yourself to the kind of places featured on The Cool Hunter, then this article will be of little use to you. But if you’re not picky about your accommodations, how you travel and the food you eat, then this may be a good resource for you when planning your next trip. With regard to travel, accommodation and food, we aren’t going for the 5 star stellar experience here.
This is for students, bachelors, and low-income travelers that want to see the world. This way of traveling is more difficult to do if you have kids.

Lets start with the chosen destination. There are many places outside of North America that are exciting to see and inexpensive to fly to. I would recommend starting off with destinations that are not as costly, then over the years as your money situation improves, you can then experience countries that are more expensive to travel to.

From Canada I’ve traveled to the Caribbean and South America for less or about the same price as a flight within North America. When traveling from North America, airfare to these locations is relatively inexpensive. From the east coast I fly to California yearly to see my sister and I was shocked to have been able to fly to Trinidad & Tobago for less then the cost of flying to L.A!

travel trinidad You also want to go to places with a favorable exchange rate. The American dollar goes a long way in many countries especially the countries I mentioned above. At the time of writing this, Asia, is an area of the globe where you can get a lot more for your money. When I was in Thailand I was able to buy lunch for about $100 Bhat, which converted to $3 American. I could just go out to a restaurant and eat $3 meals all day long, getting breakfast, lunch and dinner for under $10 bucks a day. There were times when we indulged in more extravagant dinners, but because our dollar was more valuable, it hardly left a dent in our travel budget. The cost of the more extravagant dinners were equivalent to the cost of eating at Denny’s in America. With the exception of Japan, Korea and Singapore, Asia is a fairly inexpensive place to travel. The bulk of your expenses will be airfare and accommodations. Once you arrive there, day to day expenses for eating and getting around are fairly cheap.

You’ll save even more money as a group when traveling to countries with favorable exchange rates. In Thailand, we stayed in a 4 Star hotel that cost us $500 per person which included airfare both ways from Hong Kong. The group discount spread the cost among us, lowering our expenses in addition to the favorable exchange rates of Thailand.

Couch surfing and making friends with people in other countries is also a great way to significantly cut accommodation costs when you travel. Even if you don’t know anyone in your desired destination, you can offer a service in exchange for staying at someone’s house, such as cleaning, cooking, or keeping the property in order. Some people are even actively looking for people to house-sit while they travel, all you have to do is plan your trip at the perfect time that they are leaving.
When I travelled to Japan we didn’t stay at a Hotel, we stayed at the dojo of the Sensei who was training us in martial arts (we went there primarily for a martial arts trip). No beds, just sleeping bags on the floor. We ate at good restaurants here and there but for the most part we shopped at local grocery stores and cooked our own food.

If you don’t know anyone in a country you wish to go to, here is a website for couch surfers all over the world where you can meet new people and cultivate friendships with those you have something in common with. The website is for people looking for places to stay and for people willing to accommodate travelers, it’s a cool community of people from all over the world who are willing to open their doors to the right personality types. You can check it out at: couchsurfing.com

If you’re interested in house sitting, this next website will be of use. It’s run by a Canadian couple who have been traveling and house sitting for several years. They created an Ebook detailing everything you should know about house sitting around the world, you can check it out here at Hectic Travels.
House sitting jobs can last anywhere from two weeks to six months and give new meaning to the term culture-immersion. A number of websites, such as House Sitters America, The Caretaker Gazette, Mind My House, and TrustedHousesitters.com among others, provide listings for a fee ranging from $20 to $60. Creating an account on multiple websites will increase your chances of being chosen for a house sitting job.

Another popular way of cutting travel costs is to get a credit card that rewards you with travel points when you travel, with no blackout dates. Take advantage of this by making purchases for other people on your card, as well as major business expenses if you run a business with a high monthly overhead.

For example:

1. Let’s say a family member such as a brother or a sister wants a new pair of shoes, ask if he or she has the cash and then offer to put it on your card in exchange for the cash. You could offer to do the grocery shopping for your family members, put it on your card, and then have them pay you back.

2. If you’re going to dinner with friends, you can pay for the bill on your card and collect the cash from your friends.

3. Put all of your regular bills and spending on your card and pay it off immediately.

If you want to save money, I recommend that you don’t get picky with the airlines you fly. I prefer to fly Air Canada but I also regularly fly United Airlines for 2 reasons.

1. They are less expensive to fly. You get what you pay for and I wouldn’t say that their service is stellar, in fact they mess up a lot by over booking flights, but this leads us to number

2. They compensate their flyers very well for inconveniences. So far I have been offered $1,000 in travel credit by United Airlines. Often when they are overbooked they will ask for volunteers who would be willing to take the next flight in exchange for X amount of travel credit. The last time I volunteered they gave me a $600 travel credit. I had to take the next flight home which was a completely different connection route, plus it was a night flight. I took the next plane to San Fransico, slept on the floor in the SF airport until my final connecting flight was available to board in the morning. It was inconvenient but worth it for a free flight, which I was able to use it for. At that moment in time, the benefit of getting a free flight I could use in the future outweighed the cost of the delay. I fly United because they frequently overbook their flights, which increases the opportunities I can use to get free travel. It all depends on what your comfort level is, after all, it’s totally understandable why someone wouldn’t want to fly United and deal with the hassle for only a chance at an opportunity to get a free travel voucher…… I get that, I’m just throwing it out there in case that was something you want to try.

I must caution that this type of travel requires a certain level of Zen. If long lines, flight delays and less than stellar accommodation stresses you out when you travel, this may not be for you. But if you’re young, don’t have kids and up for an adventure, this can be a great way to see and experiences places you might not have been able to afford otherwise. Anyone considering these methods should assess their situation thoroughly first to see if this kind of traveling would work for their needs and tolerance level.

Many people would prefer a simpler way of traveling with better accommodations and less hassle such as resorts. Everyone has a different comfort level when it comes to the accommodation and lifestyle of the journey, but your cost-cutting adventure doesn’t have to be an overly nit-picky one. It’s important to keep in mind that one of the true joys of traveling is in experiencing the genuine nature of your destination. Staying in a resort may isolate you from that.

Just get out there, see the world, take pictures, bring back stories, create new memories!

01 Sep 2015
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Spiritual Practices of Awakening

Awakening

We live in a time of accelerated change and transformation. There are many names for this time period. Some call it, The Great Awakening, The Rebirth, New Earth, The Second Coming, The Golden Age, The End Times, The New Millennium, The Age of Aquarius, The Return of Christ, The Rapture, The Apocalypse, Armageddon, The Quickening or Planetary Ascension. Regardless of what you call it we are entering the most intensified purification process the Earth and humanity has ever experienced.

In every choice in life we must be mindfully aware of the ebb and flow of energy. Is it time to absorb energy, to dispense it or to conserve it? Your feelings will soon become your primary guidance system for navigating through our experiences. In order to tap into the the highest potential of all life has to offer, energy needs to be maintained in a balance of external energy and internal energy production. We need a certain level of energy for our very survival. If your timing is not in alignment with the natural rhythms, you may be losing valuable resources. These resources can be in the form of energy, as well as time, money, or other valuable tools. Our sources of internal energy come from producing vibration. This vibration is that of purity, lightness, happiness, truth, understanding, and most of all love. We are increasing our vibration to higher frequencies that absorb energy at the DNA level.

Absorbing the wrong energy around us can often deplete our ability to produce internal energy. It is often necessary to clear out these energies before we can begin to truly tap into our own power. This may mean removing yourself from certain energy entirely or learning how to shield yourself properly. It is imperative to learn practices for how you want to manage yourself around energies that vibrate at a lower frequency. High vibration comes from a pure source that rejuvenates and creates energy without depletion. It is renewable and endless. It has the ability to heal and expand in ways that can transform all that comes in contact with it. We may see a glimpse of this energy in times of great joy, however unless we are able to change our vibration at the DNA level, it is most difficult to maintain. We will not see permanent changes in your lives nor the world around you that reflect your state of being.

Changing the frequency of our DNA is the process of clearing out dense energy that no longer serve us. It is the process of infusing our body with light. This can transform our physical bodies and elevate our consciousness. By reaching for the light and transforming our being we can begin to understand the realms of the beyond and step into our infinite potential. What I am speaking to is indeed a lifestyle change. It requires mindfulness with every aspect of our being including what we eat, who we spend time with, what we expose our senses to, how we spend our time, what we think, what we speak into creation and most certainly healing our emotions and forgiving our past.

When you make a commitment to this process of raising your vibration expect to see dramatic changes. You may see all of your relationships transform. You may be surrounded by people who do not understand this process, whom you may need to take space from or even eventually let go of. You may feel compelled to move out of the environment that you are living in. It all depends on your own soul’s personal journey. For me this has been a five year process that required me learning to trust the urges inside of me that were calling me deeply into the unknown. For the most part, my primary support was all in the unseen realms. There were many times that I questioned and doubted myself as it would feel I had stepped into an entirely new world alone. However it was my purpose to serve as a teacher of alignment, ascension and ultimately everything happened exactly as it needed. Only now in hindsight I can say that with confidence. I can truly say there is nothing more beautiful than being alive and awake right now with this level of awareness. I have guided many people to transform their state of consciousness and their life circumstances from all walks of life because this is my highest passion. Please enjoy the following which are many of my favorite practices for raising your vibration.

The Way

Learning to find ease in every situation becomes a major tool in managing energy. We refer to this as the path of least resistance. This is a path of being true to yourself, listening to the heart and living in the here and now fully. Trust the divine plan. Master the art of Allowing. Surrender to the flow and know that All That Is truly is working to support your wellbeing at all times. Recognize the importance of divine timing and understand that sometimes there are certain pieces that must line up before life can play out the way that it is destined to.

Sunlight
Currently, we are in the photon belt, entering a 2,000- year cycle of en-lighten-ment receiving the transformational and transmutational energies of Christ consciousness. Encodings that activate our memory and DNA are sent through the rays of the sunlight and solar flares that are encouraging us to spiritually evolve beyond our current state of consciousness to a more enlightened state of being.

High vibrational food
A much as possible try to nourish your body with highly energized alive alkaline food and beverages. This means more plants that have an abundance of life force energy. Equally importantly as what you eat however from my experiences is the intention and energy that you infuse into your food and water. Speaking prayer and blessings into your food can raise the vibration to nourish your body, mind, spirit. Bless not only the food but also the hands that prepare it. Drink as much charged water is humanly possible.

Cosmic and Natural cycles
All biological processes are a function of electromagnetic field interactions, which are the connecting link between the world of form and resonant patterns. When we align our energy with the nature that surrounds us, we are replenished in myriad ways. Like a wise teacher, the earth uses her seasons to model when to rest and reflect, when to cleanse and activate, when to create and when to return back to self. Ancient cultures lived in accord with the movements of all of the celestial bodies. They knew that tapping into these forces gave them access to supernatural power. They used the movements of the Sun, Moon, the stars and planets to gain insight into the higher dimensional realms. Spending time in nature restores our own biorhythms and brings us deeply into balance. Living in harmony with the cycles of nature we can find the gifts and opportunities that each season offers for deepening our spiritual practices.

Sound healing
A variety of sources throughout history have insisted that vibration is primary to form. The Bible, for example, tells us, “In the beginning, there was the word… and the Word was God. All things came into being through Him.” [John 1:1-3] Long before the written word, music, sound and healing were inseparable in the practices of ancient civilizations. Mantra was considered a musical prayer for healing. The creative and transformative potential of sound has been scientifically verified although these sounds are found in nature and are nothing new. Sound vibration actually changes the structure of matter. Ancient civilizations constructed sacred temples based on the perfect mathematical proportions of sound. Cave paintings were found to have been created in places that had natural sound resonance, supporting the theory that decorated caves were backdrops for religious and magical rituals. These findings indicate that the acoustics of these spaces played a major role in their ability to invoke spirits and other higher vibrational energies.You can tune yourself to the perfect rhythm with specific harmonic tones. But as we learn that everything is vibration we learn that our entire life can become a practice a tuning into the frequencies around us that create harmonic resonance. Cymatics from the Greek word for waves, is the study of wave phenomena and vibration. This science visibly demonstrates the power of sound to “shape, transform and destroy the seemingly solid structures that we see all about us.” Some examples are Tibetan singing bowls, crystal singing bowls, Didgeridoo sounds, gongs, flute, drums, tuning forks, Solfeggio frequencies and Binaural beats.“Divine sound is the cause of all manifestation. The knower of the mystery of sound knows the mystery of the whole universe.” – Hazrat Inayat KhanEarth Medicine
I created Resonance Apothecary based on the principal of divine attunement. Like any instrument, our bodies require regular tuning in order to play in harmony with the delicate orchestra of existence. Keeping ourselves finely tuned is our most fundamental tool for health and well-being. These tools come directly from Mother Earth herself. As mentioned previously the basis of all wellbeing is vibration (sound) the primary building blocks of creation. Given that sound vibration is said to be the primary mover underpinning all of creation, it seems only sensible to appeal directly to that source if we seek the deepest healing available. The tools that I create are based on the vibration of plants, flowers, crystals and stones. Creating harmony involves recipes that include not only high vibrational plants and oils but also raising the vibration with sound, intention, ritual, and prayer. These become allies that we can bring with us throughout the day us that can bring us into alignment at any time. Wherever you are these tools can help you find your rhythm and surrender to the sonic flow.

Brain Entrainment/Hypnosis

These are powerful tools for helping to let go of limiting beliefs and healing mental diseases. Many of the deeper layers of beliefs that we hold true have been programmed or conditioned into our subconscious early during childhood in the formative years, when people of influence around us imprinted their understanding of reality deep into our minds. These imprints evolved into our subjective reality long before we had access to tools such as discernment and have stayed with us as our default “program”. These programs are projected out into the hologram that we refer to as our reality without most of us being aware. Ultimately many of these beliefs have a profound impact on our lives yet they truly do not serve us nor match the true nature of our infinite selves. This is part of the game of this earth realm. Working to remove these beliefs is one of the most important healing practices on the path of nurturing spiritual wholeness.

Movement.

It is no secret that regular exercise helps to maintain a higher vibration and healthy lifestyle. During and after a workout you enjoy a buzz of endorphins that your brain releases. Take a moment every day to stretch, build your endurance and strength, and feel your heart becoming stronger. Practices such as somatic therapies and trauma release exercises are amazing tools for helping to move old stagnant energy from the body. Along with movement incorporating appropriate breathing techniques and breath work into your daily practice can completely transform your health.

Emotional Healing.

I will be covering this topic next month in detail as we move into a new chapter on learning how to heal the heart and tap into our emotional guidance system. I will be teaching Taoist practices for how to transform negative emotions with inner alchemy and how our organs are connected to our emotional essence. Stay tuned for more on that topic.

Fortifying the Aura.

Your aura is an extension of you. Or rather it is the electromagnetic field that surrounds you, in other words it is you as energy. When strong it acts as a protective shield.When fragile or damaged it can leave you drained, unwell and feeling disconnected from yourself. Cleansing and nurturing the aura for the overall integrity of our health and wellbeing is an essential practice. Many ancient cultures believed that illness first starts with a weakness in our auric field. Many of the practices mentioned have a deep impact of the aura. In addition, cold showers have the ability to clear away negativity in your auric field, remove toxins, improve circulation and draw out tension from your body.

A powerful exercise that follows can be used in any challenging interactions

Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
Invoke.
Create an intent to close your aura to all negative thoughts, emotions, and words.
Cross your arms. (This closes the upper half of your aura.)
Cross your legs. (This closes the lower half of your aura.)
This posture automatically closes your aura to negativity. It also makes you more naturally resistant to people trying to influence you.

Meditation and Prayer.

The Practice of tuning into the Source within is my most fundamental spiritual practice. The frequency of Source is a guiding light. When we shift into the receptive mode we come into communion with the God(dess) within and invoke Spirit. This allows us to receive guidance and strength to further us along each step of the path. The Omnipresence of God(dess) means that there is a presence in the midst of every time and every point in space. Begin to realize that this divine Presence is in you and that everything is an expression of this power. Worry is due to a lack of faith and this can debilitate our entire system. Every morning when you wake turn to prayer and meditation and remember that you are a channel for Love and the Divine.

Setting Intention and Visualization.

Recent studies have shown that sending a directed thought generates palpable energy that is measurable. Attention, belief, focus, motivation, and mental state intensify effect. A big reason why people fail to manifest the things they want is because they never actually intend for their dreams to come true.They believe their desires are inconceivable or impossible, or that they are unworthy of happiness, so they simply never ask for what they truly desire. Many are so out of touch with manifesting their desires and their true feelings that they actually do not even know what they truly want. Learning to properly set intentions is key to tuning into the divine principal that creates worlds. Here are a few techniques.Set your intention first thing in the morning.
Write your intentions down on paper. There is something quite powerful and magical about the focus required to actually write something.
VISUALIZE. Use your imagination to actually see yourself experiencing how it would feel to have what you truly want.
Bring in as much emotion and feelings as you can possibly create.
Tell people about your intention
Act and speak as if what you wish is already on the way to you.
Spend time in the evening expressing gratitude for all of your life’s blessings.

Ritual and Ceremony.

Throughout history there has existed an ancient and ongoing tradition of sacred action performed with the aim of improving not only our lives but the condition of the universe itself. Any action that is repeatedly energized with thought and intention gains power, thereby becoming a ritual of sorts. In fact, all our actions have a ritualistic orientation, because action tends toward repetition and reinforcement, thereby gathering specific energies that connect us with certain forces in the world. The power of using magical ritual or ceremony does not rely on the props used however. It depends on how well you use the props to create a psychodynamic change to occur in your own consciousness that then leads to you being able to influence physical reality.

Positive Affirmation..
Last week’s article listed the many amazing affirmations that you can work with daily. If you missed it you can review it here.

Soul mate relationships.
A Soulmate can enter in our lives at any time in different types of relationships from our family, friends to love relationships, even people we refer to as enemies. Many soul mates remain in our lives, others will pass through and then leave once the energy upgrade is complete. Soulmate connections are more than a physical relationship.Of course there is a deep attraction between Soulmates but this connection is much more than just sex. A soul mate can actually be represented through a strong repulsion to someone as well. Again this is about the energy between them two souls. The key to finding true love, the version of soul mates that we often dream of, is to keep your vibration high. This allows you to attract high soul mates rather than the type that are based on karmic debt and soul contracts. When you maintain a high vibrational state you are a magnet for love because you radiate peace, love and joy. Examples of affirmations for attracting a soul mate include: Love is my divine birthright, and I claim it now. I give and receive love fully and I release the past and let love flow into my life.

Radical Forgiveness
This article would be incomplete if I did not include a process for how to learn to let go of anything from our past that is keeping us vibrating in dense emotions such fear, shame, guilt, disappointment, victimhood, or lack of self worth. It is possible to recognize the purpose of events that have caused us pain in our life and to forgive the person we believe has wronged us. The following is a process that can be used in order to call back all of the rejected, suppressed and abandoned parts of our unconscious shadow in order to become whole once and for all.

Describe the situation and allow all of the feelings to come to the surface. You want to let the feelings come up so that they can be expressed. Just let them be exactly what they are. Do not try to judge or suppress them.
As you get in touch with your feelings you might become aware where the emotions are located in your body.
Ask yourself are you willing to be open to the possibility that your higher self created this situation for your ultimate growth?
Are you willing to accept that your feelings are a direct result of something that needs to be healed, even if you cannot see it?
Are you willing to release your judgement of the situation as right/wrong, good/bad?
Are you willing to accept that what upsets you about the other person is that there is a part of you that is crying out to be recognized that they are mirroring?
Are you willing to unconditionally love that part of you that you have rejected? If so welcome it back and love it unconditionally right now.
Are you willing to accept that you unconsciously attracted this person in order to see a part of yourself that is longing to be accepted?
Do you recognize that in forgiving them you are forgiving yourself?
Are you willing to connect to the divine love behind the situation and let go of the story that was attached to this situation?
Your power within is activated when you are willing to let go of the power that the story has over you. Notice any sensation in your body that indicated this has occurred.
You can repeat this practice for as many situations as you feel are holding you back.
I recommend connecting with this practice of radical forgiveness during the full moon which is a powerful time of release, purification and letting go.

By: Ascension Lifestyle Guest Contributor Hasnaa

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31 Aug 2015
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The 4 Qualities Of A Conscious Relationship

We are approaching a period of time when relationships are ready to go through a major redesign. The current paradigm isn’t working. People are unsatisfied in love; people don’t know how to make relationships work.

And, believe it or not, this isn’t a bad thing. Because when systems break-down, that’s when they change. I believe that’s what’s happening in the area of intimate partnership. The break-down is forcing us to move towards conscious love.

So what exactly is a conscious relationship?

It’s a romantic relationship in which both partners feel committed to a sense of purpose, and that purpose is growth. Individual growth. Collective growth as a couple. Growth that makes the world a better place.

As of now, most people get into relationships to satisfy their own personal needs. This might work for a few years, but eventually the relationship fails us, and we end up unsatisfied as a result.

But when two people come together with the intention of growth, the relationship strives towards something much greater than gratification. The partnership becomes a journey of evolution, and the two individuals have an opportunity to expand more than they could alone. Deep satisfaction and long-term fulfillment arise as a result.

So if you’re someone who feels called to take your experience of romantic love to the next level, below are four qualities that characterize what being a conscious couple is all about. Welcome to the path of the conscious relationship. This is next-level love …

1. The conscious couple is not attached to the outcome of the relationship – growth comes first.

Not being attached to the outcome of the relationship does not mean you don’t care what happens! It also doesn’t mean that you don’t have fantasies about how the relationship will turn out.

What it means is: you’re more committed to the experience of growth than you are to making the relationship “work.”

The reality is, we’re here to grow. Physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. When growth stops, we automatically feel like something’s gone wrong. Because it has. Without growth, we aren’t fulfilling our soul’s purpose.

Unfortunately, relationships today tend to stifle growth more than enhance it. This is one of the main reasons we’re failing at romantic love.

We want our partners to act in a certain way, we repress ourselves to please others, and soon enough, we feel small, oppressed and puzzled about who we’ve become. This, inevitably, makes the relationship feel like a cage that we want to break out of. But the unfortunate truth is: we’ve caged ourselves.

The conscious couple values growth more than anything else because they know this is the secret to keeping the relationship alive. Even though growth is scary (because it takes us into the unknown), the couple is willing to strive towards expansion, even at the risk of out-growing the relationship. Because of this, the relationship maintains a natural feeling of aliveness, and love between the couple does, too.

2. Each person in the relationship is committed to owning their s#*t.

Conscious couples know that we all have wounds from the past, and they understand that these wounds will inevitably be triggered, especially in a relationship. In other words, they expect to feel abandoned, trapped, rejected, overlooked and any other shitty feeling that arises when we bond closely with another person.

Most of us still believe that relationships should only feel good, and when bad feelings surface, something has gone terribly wrong. What we fail to see in this situation is that these shitty feelings stem from our own faulty patterning! These issues are not caused by our partners; they’re caused by our beliefs.

The conscious couple is willing to look at their past and current issues in relationships because they know that by facing these belief systems, they can evolve into a new relationship-reality. Dysfunctional patterns will dissolve, but only when we take responsibility for them, first.

3. All feelings are welcome and no internal process is condemned.

In a conscious relationship, there’s room to feel anything. Not only that, there’s room to express those feelings and fantasies to your partner. This is edgy territory… it’s not easy to do. But it’s also one of the most healing things we can experience in a partnership

It’s rare to be completely honest about who you are, and to stretch yourself to let your partner do the same. You may not like what you hear; in fact, it may trigger the hell out of you. But you’re willing to be triggered if it means your partner can be authentic.

Like I already said, we’re used to molding and changing ourselves to please people we love because we don’t want them to stop loving us! This stifles the love out of our connections.

The only option is radical honesty: revealing parts of ourselves that are hard to share, and letting our partners do the same. This leads to feeling known, seen and truly understood — a combination that will automatically enhance your love.

4. The relationship is a place to practice love.

Love, ultimately, is a practice. A practice of acceptance, being present, forgiveness, and stretching your heart into vulnerable territories.

Sometimes we treat love like it’s a destination. We want that peak feeling all the time, and when it’s not there, we’re not satisfied with what the relationship has become. In my mind, this is missing the whole point of love.

Love is a journey and an exploration. It’s showing up for all varied nuances of your relationship and asking yourself, What would love do here?” The answer will be different every time, and because of this, you’ll get to grow in ways you never have before!

The conscious couple is fiercely committed to being the embodiment of love. Through their devotion and practice, love shows up in their lives and relationship in ways they would’ve never imagined before.

By: Shelly Bullard for MindBodyGreen

Shelly Bullard, MFT is a Marriage and Family Therapist, love coach and spiritual teacher. Shelly believes that when you learn how to truly love yourself, your relationships become fulfilling from the inside-out, and you become the person you’re meant to be. She was named the “Love Guru” as one of the 100 Women to Watch in Wellness by mindbodygreen, and her deepest passion is studying and practicing love as a spiritual path. To learn more about her work, visit her here: shellybullard.com.

23 Aug 2015
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Amazing! Zero-Waste Grocery Store for Eco-Conscious Consumers

This zero-waste grocery store has no packaging, plastic or big-name brands

Forget Whole Foods. The Germans have created a store with eco-conscious customers in mind. Well, at least in Berlin—the newest home of Original Unverpackt (Original Unpackaged). You won’t find any paper or plastic bags here—or any kind of bags for that matter. This new grocery store creates zero waste by allowing customers to purchase exactly how much they need, reducing waste in their homes.

Original Unverpackt doesn’t carry any products under popular brand names; instead, they carry mostly organic products. Original Unverpackt stocks their shelves using a bulk bin system with an assortment of fruits, vegetables and grains. Even shampoo and milk are dispensed from refillable containers according to Salon.

The Original Unverpackt is the first Zero Waste Grocery store in the World.

The idea came to be when founders Sara Wolf and Milena Glimbovski were determined to create “something impossible.” They used crowd funding to back the store and decided to challenge the traditional shopping experience. The store’s mission is to stop contributing to waste that’s caused by food packaging by selling groceries in a sustainable manner (16 million tonnes per year in Germany alone).

Three studies conducted in 2013 found that 12 million tonnes of food waste is accumulated annually amounting to a price tag of £19 billion a year. This figure isn’t only swelling landfills, but also contributes to 20 million tonnes of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions annually.

Sara Wolf and Milena Glimbovski are the creators of Original Unverpackt

The same study states that 75% of this waste could have been easily sidestepped with more efficient infrastructure.

In terms of pricing, some of the products offered at Original Unverpackt are more expensive, mainly because they’re organic. But other items are comparable, if not cheaper than standard supermarkets. The “fill-your-own-container” idea can save customers money by preventing them from overspending on food. Customers can bring their own containers, such as tubs and recycled bags—which are also sold at the store—and pay based on the weight of the products.

Although many believe that the sustainable supermarket model is unlikely to reach North America anytime soon, awareness and demand for low-waste alternatives will undoubtedly speed up the process.

BY:

Khadjia Khan for the Plaid Zebra

Traveling May Not Be As Expensive As You Think

Spiritual Practices of Awakening

Awakening

The 4 Qualities Of A Conscious Relationship

Amazing! Zero-Waste Grocery Store for Eco-Conscious Consumers

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