Break on through to the other side.
Well, I committed myself to a two month journey of self discovery and transformation called the Breakthrough Performance Workshop. The workshop is taught by a husband and wife team from California now residing in Charlotte, NC. The basis of the workshop is to use your voice to help overcome limitations and fears
I originally attended their weekend workshop which culminated with me singing in a live band in front of a small group of people. It was quite transformative but I felt I needed to push myself further by signing up for their 2 month workshop which ends with a live performance in front of a couple of HUNDRED people. (Yikes!!.. what have i got my self into!!)
As I am writing this, I am week six into the workshop. We meet every Thursday for practice and are assigned a new song each week until our group (8 people) and myself decide on a final song.
James Ray Harmonic Wealth Experience
I recently attended a free Harmonic Wealth© conference in Charlotte, NC hosted by James Ray of “The Secret” fame.
I arrived a little early to avoid the lines and crowds. When I arrived I was inundated by loud, annoying music and a toasty conference room full of chattering people.
I did not know what to expect and was curious to hear one of the “stars” from “The Secret”. My initial impressions were not good ( I tend to be pessimistic) and was ready to leave as soon as I walked in.
There were sign-up forms on all the chairs with an area for your credit card information. I could tell they were serious about getting people to commit to their weekend courses, Cd’s and videos.
James Ray finally came out after a brief bio by one of his staff. His credentials were impressive but that’s not why I came. I immediately thought that this was going to be a high pressure sales seminar masquerading as a motivational talk.
However, he surprised me by asking each of us to find someone in the room we did not know. We were then told to introduce ourselves as though we were good friends… which I did reluctantly…
He then told us to repeat it two more times with another person, each time with more energy and enthusiasm. This was a great way to break the ice and make us feel more connected to one another.
Why Christians Practice Buddhism by E. Raymond Rock
Thomas Merton, famous Catholic monk belonging to the cloistered Trappist tradition (Order of Cistercians of the strict observance), once said that he wanted, “to become as good a Buddhist as I can.”
Before he converted to Catholicism at age twenty-three, he read about Christian mysticism. He read works such as Augustine’s “Confessions” and Thomas a Kempis’ “The Imitation of Christ,” and other books that subconsciously embedded within him a taste of directly experiencing God through the process of negation.
After ordaining as a monk, Merton was interested only in Catholicism for many years and nothing else, but little by little, as he became older, and after reading such authors as St. John of the Cross and Meister Eckhart, he began to become increasingly interested in mysticism, or a direct experience of God.
Merton then began to understand the universal nature of mysticism, and that Buddhism, especially, addressed mysticism more clearly than Christianity did regarding how to understand it, and more importantly provided a non-religious method to make a fundamental change in one’s life. This attracted him to Zen, and eventually he co-authored “Zen and the Birds of Appetite” with D. T. Suzuki which uniquely spelled out the similarities of Buddhism and Christianity at deeper, mystical levels. Merton began to explore universal spiritual truth within the structure of his Catholic faith.
Kiko the cat and mindfulness
My cat died today. His name was Kiko.
As I was leaving for work, I noticed Kiko was sleeping on the driveway blocking my exit. I stopped the car and walked over to him yelling “kiko”. I knew something was wrong when he did not respond and as I inched closer I could see he had died.
Four hours earlier, Kiko was alive and purring waiting for his morning meal which he never seemed to finish. What was once part of my life was gone forever with no warning or goodbyes.
I feel a deep sense of sadness because Kiko was a great pet and companion- friendly, affectionate and smart.
Ten years ago I walked into a Petsmart and adopted this little orange tabby from the humane society. I was told Kiko’s mother had been hit by a car and he was raised by an old lady who could no longer care for him. This did not surprise me since he was so friendly and loved to be held. I think I had one of the few cats who thought he was a dog and would fetch the little toy mice I would throw. Kiko would reluctantly drop the mouse at my feet for another round before getting bored with the whole thing.
Did I take him for granted? Yes. Over the years, he almost became invisible in my daily rush to and from work. My only interactions seemed to occur when I would feed him or check on his water.
Our connections to others and the universe-Jill Bolte Taylor
I recently saw this video on TED and wanted to share it with anyone who has not already seen it.
Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroscientist, suffers a stroke and has a transcendent experience that causes her to reevaluate her awareness and connections to the world and universe. I think many meditators try to achieve the “awareness” that she experienced as a result of her stroke.
The Key to Genuine Happiness by Jim DeSantis
There are many people who are facing the same circumstances as you but they live fascinating and wonderful lives. How did their lives become so adorably sweet? How do they manage to laugh and play despite their circumstances?
The key to maintaining a happy attitude, no matter the circumstances, is simple. You’ve heard it said – “Love yourself, first.” That’s true enough but it’s not the answer to our question. No, the answer is – “Like you, first.” That’s right – Like You! Be your best friend.
Your real life best friend likes who you are right now with all your imperfections, quirks, and circumstances. For true happiness, you must become your best friend before you can begin to love yourself. Loving yourself means not doing things that will hurt you in some way. You’ll never get me bungee jumping or skydiving because I love this body I live in!
You may also have heard it said – “loving means accepting.” Change this to – “liking means accepting.” To like yourself, and others, means to realize that we are not perfect beings. You will never be perfect no matter how long you walk this earth. No one living today are perfect. No, not anyone!
Mind machine review-To entrain or entertain?
I recently decided to purchase two mind machine AVS (Audio Visual Stimulation) devices which are basically light and sound generators that alter your brainwave states through entrainment. Why do this? Some 
studies show that altering your brainwave state may help decrease anxiety, pain, depression and even help with ADD and memory tasks.
In a nutshell, our brain operates at different frequencies throughout the day depending on what we are doing or thinking. (see graph on left, click to enlarge)
When we are wide awake and concentrating we are operating in Beta and as we relax our brain waves shift to a slower Alpha state. Then next lower state ,Theta, usually occurs when we are ideating or day dreaming followed by Delta which is the sleep and dreaming state. Finally, When we when we are in a deep dreamless state our brains are operating in Sub-Delta.
The mind machines in this comparison are designed to induce the desired brainwave state using pulsing tones and flashing lights which cause our brain to sync or entrain to the frequency of the chosen brainwave state. Read the rest of this entry »
Who are we really?
My partner was recently outed at work by one of his co-workers. He was upset but outwardly appeared calm. For years, I had been telling him that he needed to confide in someone to help break free of the mental chains that have imprisoned him.
He was living a life of loneliness and fear at work. Even though he was popular and well liked, he somehow managed to avoid talking about his personal life for the last 3 years!!
The next day after being outed, he decided to tell one of his uninformed friends and to his surprise discovered that his co-worker was also gay. Go figure.
In the end we had a small gathering at my house with most of his friends. They were supportive and a little upset that he had kept an important part of his life from them. No big deal. Very anti-climactic.
Last year, I was playing with his 8 year old daughter (who visits every summer) and I jokingly mentioned that her dad and I were married. I was half expecting her think I was crazy.
She froze and pensively looked at me saying…”Finally!”
Sunshine buddy tell me your secret
I was at Urban Outfitters the other day and saw this cute solar powered plastic toy called a Sunshine Buddy or Nohohon Zoku in Japanese. I was immediately drawn to it’s peaceful smiling face, over-sized head, and the small smiling baby clinging to it.
When exposed to light the sunshine buddy slowly bobs it’s head affirming it’s peaceful, blissful nature. Somehow this bobbing Buddha-like figure had the effect of making me smile…
I bought one right then no questions asked.
My sunshine buddy has found its home near my coffee maker where it happily smiles and bobs when I make coffee in the morning. … Hmm… if I could only find such bliss in my everyday life.
Maybe the way to inner peace is detachment from material things and more of a connection to other people. For some reason, the more things I buy the more I want, and the less happy I become after the “New” wears off. Maybe the quietly bobbing sunshine buddy knows something I don’t…
Maybe it has something to do with sunlight…or just smiling more. I just wish it would tell me it’s secret.
12 Tips for Overcoming Anger and Gaining Peace by Remez Sasson
Anger appears when one is confronted with frustration, unhappiness or hurt feelings, or when plans don’t turn out as desired. It also shows up when coming against opposition or criticism. Anger never helps anyone. It wastes your energy, and can hurt your health, spoil your relationships, and cause you to miss opportunities. Getting angry is acting against your best interests.
Things don’t always proceed according to plans and expectations. People not always act the way you wish them to act. You may not be always able to be in control of external influences and conditions, but you can certainly learn to control your attitude and reactions. There is no sense of allowing circumstances and people to pull your strings and affect your mind and feelings. You can choose not to let what people say and do affect your moods. You can maintain an inner attitude of emotional and mental detachment, and refuse to allow every minor event play with your feelings and evoke anger.
I often see people getting angry over unimportant and insignificant matters. Some insignificant remark or action, not getting a satisfactory reply to a question or just moodiness are enough to set fire and cause anger, snappy remarks, arguments and even physical fights. This is absolutely unnecessary. Life can be happier without this behavior.
