OMTimes Magazine February A 2018 Edition

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February A 2018

Cover Story

Metaphysics

24

98

Ken Wilber - The Religion of Tomorrow

An Exercise for Opening Your Spiritual Eyes

Health & Wellness

Personal Growth

42 46

106 You Can Become More Confident, Right Now 110 Men and the Divine Feminine

Start Reversing Aging Alternative Answers for Constipation

Spirituality 52 56

Slow & Steady for 2018 5 Surefire Signs You are Facing an Existential Crisis

OM Living 64 68

Japamala and other Devotional Practices Leading a Value-Based Life

Relationships 78 82 88 92

A Different Kind of Valentine How to Recognize Emotional Blackmail Secret Keys to Spiritual Attraction Between Two Souls Facing the Destructive Nature of Gossip

World Vision 118 Bringing Forth The Best In Our World

Ken Wilber: The Religion of Tomorrow In his latest book, The Religion of Tomorrow: A Vision for the Future of the Great Traditions, the author, leader, scholar and founder of the Integral Institute Ken Wilber notes that there is a sensual paradox in the role of religion throughout history. On the one hand, religion has been Omtimes.com

the single greatest cause of war and suffering. On the other, it’s been the single greatest source of redemption, salvation, and liberation for humanity. How could we possibly make sense of this apparently impossible contradiction, he asks. How can we reconcile the very best qualities of religion with the very worst? Ken Wilber joins us today to explain how part of the problem is that the path of waking up needs to be complemented by the path of growing up, to renew and replenish our understanding of enlightenment in the 21st Century. Sandie Sedgbeer: Ken, in The Religion of Tomorrow, you say that a single purpose lies at the heart of all the great religious traditions, which is awakening to the astonishing reality of the true nature of ourselves and the universe. If that is so, how is it that religion and spirituality have come to be the greatest cause of war and suffering as well as the greatest source of redemption, salvation, and liberation? What happened to erode that focus?

Ken Wilber: Well, that’s probably one of the most central questions that we can ask about religion itself. And strangely, we’ve only really gotten some satisfactory answers to this question in the last decade or two. And one of the ways that we can approach this is indeed by what you mentioned, which is by recognizing that there are at least two very important dimensions to religion in general. They’re both equally important, but they’re quite different. And one is what we indeed call waking up, and one is what we call growing up. So, waking up is, in a certain sense, it’s kind of the essential core of what the world’s great spiritual traditions are meant to do. So, most of the great traditions maintain that the typical human being is living in a world that in some sense is less than adequate. It’s referred to as a fallen world, or for Buddhists and Hindus, it’s a dualistic world, a world of fragmentation and even illusion, it’s a world of alienation, for certain Christians, it’s a world of original sin. Any way we look at it, it’s an existentially problematic almost inferior kind of world that we Omtimes.com

typically live in. But, all of the great traditions maintain that there is a certain pathway. A certain set of exercises, either some form of yoga or meditation or contemplation or centering prayer that we can do and that will help us discover an infinitely much more wonderful world, in a sense, a world that’s saved, a world that’s redeemed, a world that is non-dual, a world that’s awakened, enlightened. The New Testament calls it metamorphosis. It’s well known in Buddhism as enlightenment, awakening. And most of the great traditions tell some version of that story. And so, that whole process is what we refer to as waking up. And if you look at the world’s great traditions, the great contemplative core of most of the world’s great spiritual traditions, you can find certain very broad similarities in how they look at waking up, how they view enlightenment and realization. And essentially, it’s moving from a fragmented, divided, isolated suffering self, which is often not entirely correct, but it’s often just Omtimes.com

referred to as the ego or the separate self-sense. And it’s moving from that state to a state that’s oftencalled divide unity or oneness or wholeness. It’s realized in ultimate unity consciousness, a satori or absolute oneness with the entire ground of all being. It sounds rather grandiose because, in a certain sense, it is. It’s literally discovering your fundamental identity on the ground of all being. And that realization is said to lead from a fallen world to a redeemed world, from a fragmented world to a whole world. And this is maintained to also bring relief from suffering and alienation and torment that the typical ego suffers constantly. And so, this is the real core of most of the world’s great religious and great spiritual traditions. As St. Paul put it, “Let this consciousness be in you which was in Christ Jesus that we all may be one.” And it’s that unity consciousness, that oneness, that waking up to

a unified reality that most of the great traditions author as their answer to the suffering, duality, sin, and separation that most typical human beings suffer from the moment they’re born. Now, this kind of realization goes back at least several thousand years, and we can certainly see, if we go back to the earliest Shamanic voyages, it can go back 30 or 40,000 years. It’s certainly a realization that has been with humanity for most of its historical development. So, when and you look at that state of awakened unified awareness, in most traditions, it is indeed defined as also having a sort of profound infinite love. For the Christian tradition, of course, God is love. For the Buddhist tradition, it’s compassion. As we awaken to our ultimate unity condition, as we awaken to this unified ground of all being, we also awaken to a profound love, a profound compassion, a deep care and concern for all human beings, indeed all sentient beings, particularly because all of them, unless they’ve also awakened

or become enlightened in their own case, all of them are suffering, all of them are hurting, all of them are in a great deal of pain. And so, once we awaken and discover this genuine reality and this genuine ground of being, then we feel a natural love and care and compassion and concern for all beings, and we want to help them awaken, as well. Sandie Sedgbeer: How do we encourage that when, according to experts, 70 percent of the world’s population is at a fundamentalist state of development, where their given religion is taken to be the literal word of God. Ken Wilber: Well, that’s where the other part of the story comes in. And so, just laying out the idea that there is this waking up, and there is, but that’s only half the story because we also have the growing up component. And this is where it gets really problematic. This is actually what explains how religion can go from offering, on the one hand, the sort of greatest source of love and compassion of anything, Omtimes.com

but it can also be the source of arguably the greatest amount of suffering, torture, murder, and warfare in humankind’s history. I mean, how are both of those possible? And the answer is that largely depends on the degree of growing up that individuals have. So, even if they have a waking up experience, their growing up component will determine how they interpret it, how they understand it. And this is something that--strangely, this component was only discovered about 100 years ago. So, there’s no religion anywhere in the world that includes this growing up component. So, let me briefly explain what that component is, and I think you’ll start to see why it’s so important regarding our spiritual understanding and how we interpret our waking up experiences. This has to do with the fact that human beings have upwards of a dozen or so what are called multiple intelligences. And so, we have not only a cognitive intelligence, we have emotional intelligence, we have aesthetic Omtimes.com

intelligence, we have inter-personal intelligence, we have moral intelligence, and we also have something called spiritual intelligence. And spiritual intelligence is different from waking up because spiritual intelligence is part of growing up. And what growing up means is that if you look at all of this intelligence, we’re not born with any of them in a fully developed or mature or in some cases even functioning way. All of that intelligence grows and develop. Now, it turns out that you can have a waking up experience, you can have an experience of being one with the entire universe, one with spirit, one with the ground of all being, one with everything, one with the moment, but you interpret that experience based on the stage of growing up that you’re at. So, if you’re at an egocentric stage of development, and you’re a Christian, and you have an experience of being one with Christ, you have an experience of your own Christ consciousness, you have an experience of being one with divine spirit, if you’re truly egocentric, then you might think that that experience

applies only to you, that you are Jesus Christ. And it’s funny because Ram Dass tells a story where his brother was institutionalized because he was schizophrenic. He thought he was Jesus Christ. But, Ram Dass said, as soon as you met him, you could tell that he had had a profound waking up experience. He knew that he was one with Jesus. He said you could see his authenticity. It was unmistakable. But, his mother didn’t think that anybody else could have that experience including Ram Dass. So, here’s somebody who has an authentic waking up experience, but he’s at an egocentric stage of development, so he thinks that he and he alone can have that kind of experience. He could continue growing, and if he moved from egocentric up to ethnocentric. If he moved from selfish up to care, then he might be a fundamentalist Christian, for example, and then he has an experience of being one with Christ, realizes his own true self, his Christ consciousness, being a fundamentalist Christian, he’ll think that only

those people who believe in Jesus Christ and accept him as their personal savior, only those people can have that kind of true spiritual oneness experience. Other people might think they have a spiritual oneness, but if they don’t accept Jesus, they’re not really having that kind of profound spiritual oneness. And so, that person truly believes that. Sandie Sedgbeer: Ken Wilber, I have a question to ask you. Why do we need religion at all? Ken Wilber: Well, in terms of what these two dimensions mean, let me just finish briefly by explaining the growing upside of this question, because we just talked about somebody egocentric and ethnocentric and how they can both have authentic waking up experiences, but they’ll interpret it in terms of their stage of growing up. This especially is important because, if you move from ethnocentric to world-centric or to universal care, then you’ll have an understanding that not only you and not only a Christian, but all human beings have access to and a capacity to experience this Omtimes.com

great waking up experience, to become one with the ground of all being. You could not be at a world-centric stage of growing up and engage in the crusades. It wouldn’t happen. You wouldn’t have that motivation. So, even though they’ve had profound waking up experiences, if they’re at the lower stages of growing up, they’re not going to generate impartial, universal love for all beings. They’re gonna have a great deal of suspicion and even hatred of those who are not part of their own group, their own tribe, so to speak. None of them understand growing up. And that’s the disaster. So, that’s why we have a religion that can both be the source of an enormous amount of love and universal and compassion and care and a source of crusades and ethnocentric Jihad and holy war and overall just disastrous types of consequences. So, it’s important that we understand both dimensions of spirituality. Sandie Sedgbeer: So, what about if we go back to say the Druids or certain indigenous Omtimes.com

tribes who like the Lakota Sioux, for instance, who’ve never had a word for God. As far as they were concerned, nature, you know, was everything. They were at one with nature. They were at one with their surroundings. The Druids, had a great love for humanity, for nature, etc. Would you say that they were awake but not grown up? Ken Wilber: Well, if they were awakened to the ultimate ground of being, and if they really were at a world-centric stage of development, then that would be fine. And if that were the case, then they would not engage in things like, oh, child human sacrifice, they would not engage in things like warfare or judging other tribes to be inferior. And if they did all of that, then fine. And they’re not a problem. If they did all of that, then they would be part of humanity that was truly exhibiting a genuine universal love, and that would be the good thing about spirituality. Very, very few earlier cultures did that, by the way, very few. What happens is, in the growing up dimension, human beings

continue to evolve. And when it comes to the waking up dimension, there was a time, perhaps a million years ago, when human beings did not have access to waking up. And the first human cultures that seemed to be engaged with some of the Shamanic cultures. So, they had nature mysticism. Not too many of them were at world-centric stages of growing up, simply because for most cultures, have to grow, have to go from infancy to childhood to adolescence to adulthood. And regarding continuing to grow and develop, that’s simply what happens with evolution in general. I mean, if you look at almost any discipline that we are involved in, say physics or chemistry or science, human beings continue to learn more and more and more about those areas the longer we exist and the longer we investigate what’s going on. So, we’re continuing to learn. There’s still more and more and more information that exists in the relative world, and therefore, if we’re gonna become one with everything, one with the ground

of everything, that everything is becoming fuller and fuller and fuller as human beings continue to grow and evolve. People 500 years from now, 1,000 years from now will be more developed than we are unless everything goes to hell or the robots take over or whatever dystopia might happen. But we think things are gonna continue to get better. Sandie Sedgbeer: You have talked about spiritual intelligence and waking up and growing up, two stages of development. There are two more, cleaning up and showing up. And you also talk about the dysfunctions in the different states and structures of consciousness. Tell us about the other two, cleaning up, which is shadow work, and showing up. Ken Wilber: What we have been doing here as we look at waking up and growing up is actually looking at the various areas that spirituality itself applies to when it comes to human beings, because what we’re finding is that most people just don’t know the full riches of what a genuine spirituality can encompass and the many extraordinarily positive Omtimes.com

potentials and capacities that a full-bodied spirituality can bring. And one of them is that, as you’re saying, a genuinely full spirituality would help you not only wake up, it would help you grow up. But, then we also find that there are a couple other areas that it can help with, as well. And it’s also important that these areas be considered because they’re going to show up anyway, and if we’re not consciously dealing with them, then they’ll simply sort of unconsciously hit us over the head. And one of them we call cleaning up. And most people know what cleaning up is, and it has to do with the human capacity to have unconscious impulses and values and complexes, commonly associated with the name of Freud. But, there are many different approaches to it. And its sort of generally referred to as doing shadow work, the shadow being unconscious material, stuff that we have that belongs to us but that we’re unaware of or that we repress or push out of awareness, or we don’t want to deal with, or Omtimes.com

we’re afraid to deal with. And so, whenever we have some impulse like that or some idea or some quality or some value, and for whatever reason, we dislike it, we think it’s bad, we don’t like experiencing it, we tend to push it out of awareness. We repress it. We hide it. Often, we’ll project that hidden or disliked quality on to other people, and then we think they possess a lot of that nasty quality, whether it’s anger or sexual impulses or a power drive or a self-controlling tendency. And so, we don’t like that in ourselves. We push it out of our own mind and tend to see it in other people. So, cleaning up simply means working with your own shadow material. Simply including some amount of shadow work in your own spiritual development because one of the things that spiritual development does, on waking up types of awareness, is that a lot of shadow material can be generated in some of these situations. And it simply takes being aware of that, looking for that and knowing some techniques that can help you deal with your own

shadow material. That’s what we call cleaning up. And then the other one, showing up, is a little bit more technical. It simply has to do with the fact that human beings have several different major dimensions that they have access to. All of these dimensions are important, but for some reason, they’re not always included. And there are several different ways to talk about these dimensions. We can say that they refer to the good, the true and the beautiful. That also refers to morals, science, and art. And in Buddhism, we find Buddha, Sangha, and Dharma. The pronouns are I, we and it. These are different dimensions, but they’re all important. Usually, they have completely entirely different types of human investigative techniques that deal with these different dimensions. So, the techniques used to determine what’s morally correct is different from trying to determine what’s scientifically true, and that’s different from determining what’s as artistic merit. But, the point is that all

three of those are important. We want to be able to include the good and the true and the beautiful. We want to include art and morals and science and not simply claim that only one of them like science is true and morals and art aren’t true or aren’t important. That also has to do with how we approach spirituality. So, if you just believe in objective science and you study meditation, then you’ll study changes in brain waves. You’ll study changes in neurotransmitters. You’ll study some sort of objective scientific approach to the brain. And if you believe in a first person or subjective reality, then you’ll approach medication as the changes that occur in your awareness, in your own firstperson feelings and how that changes and evolves as you continue to practice. And the only point is that, again, we want to include both of those. Both are very important. And very few people go to the trouble of including both of those. On this program, as you discuss the relation of science and spirituality, for example, that Omtimes.com

just means that those are two very important dimensions, and we want to show up for both. We want to include both. So, that’s what showing up is. So, the overall sort of sum of this is that the way we look at spirituality today is very, very limited and very narrow in comparison to what it could be. And the stuff that it could be is not just a waking up but also a growing up and a cleaning up and a showing up. And these are things that an individual essentially would want to do in their life, anyway, because each one of those areas deals with something extremely important, and we’re running into all those realities all the time, anyway. And so, we can either acknowledge them and then look at all the evidence for waking up, there’s a striking amount of evidence for growing up, also for cleaning up, and showing up. And if we’re not including those, then we’re simply leaving something important out of our lives. Spirituality can itself expand to embrace these other areas. If Omtimes.com

we do that, we just get a much more complete, a much fuller, more comprehensive approach to spirituality, and it also works better. It’s more effective. It’s more efficient. Sandie Sedgbeer: Your comprehensive integral approach has already been applied to several world religions by some of their adherents in the belief that it can avert a cultural disaster of unparalleled proportions. What evidence of transformation are you seeing among those that are applying it? Ken Wilber: Well, one of the immediate changes is that the addition of the growing up component, because when people are sort of left to their own devices, they don’t tend to notice these interior stages of growing up. These stages are very much like the rules of grammar. You and I are both now following the rules of grammar of the English language - quite complex set of rules. But, if anybody asks us to write down what those rules are, you and I, neither one of us can do that.

So, the stages of growing up that a person’s at are just like the rules of grammar. People are interpreting the world according to that stage, but they have no idea they’re doing it, and they certainly can’t write down what the patterns or characteristics of that stage are. And so, as people become aware of that, it changes their world view considerably because they realize that people that they disagree with or they realize that there are conflict areas in the world not only have, you know, a technological dimension and an economic dimension and a political dimension, they also have an interior dimension where people’s awareness is the stage of growing up that it’s at changes profoundly how they interact with the world. And that’s certainly something that’s important when it comes to the religious dimension of our lives, because unfortunately for most people, religion means just learning a single dogmatic viewpoint, and then you’re supposed to look at everything through that single viewpoint.

As it turns out, every major religion is coming from one of these major stages of growing up. And so, if you’re just plugged into the dogma of your religion, then you’re only looking at the world through one narrow perspective, and that’s not gonna help. It’s certainly not gonna help with world peace or world poverty or global ecological warming. It’s not gonna help at all. As a matter of fact, it’s going to hurt. Most people, as a matter of fact, aren’t even aware that there’s a waking up component to spirituality, that there actually is something called enlightenment or metamorphosis or satori. So, this is a little bit new for a lot of people, and we acknowledge that. Sandie Sedgbeer: Ken Wilber is the founder of the Integral Institute, and the co-founder of Integral Life. If you would like more information about his work, his books, Integral Theory, visit kenwilber.com and integrallife.com.

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Health & Wellness Innovative new approaches to Healing as well as holistic methods for dealing with health issues and personal growth

Start Reversing Aging Now with Glutathione By Kristin Grayce McGary LAc., MAc., CFMP®, CSTcert, CLP.

Ok, I admit it I have lovely silver strands adorning my head and I’m noticing a few things changing in my body. I know there are surgeries, potions and supplements available to counter the effects of aging. If someone wishes to have a facelift that’s their decision, and one I respect. I’d rather grow old gracefully and naturally. I’m less worried about how I look and more concerned with how healthy Omtimes.com

I am. It is my belief that the healthier I am the better I look. Aging is the result of oxidative stress in which the production of free radicals is out of balance with the more protective antioxidants. And the more oxidative stress we have the quicker we age. It damages our cells and shortens telomeres. Telomeres are the repetitive DNA at the ends of our chromosomes which protect the end of the

chromosome from deterioration. (1) When these shorten, we age more quickly and are vulnerable to more disease. So, how can we reverse oxidative stress? Antioxidants counter oxidative stress. There are abundant antioxidants in organic, vine ripened vegetables and fruits. But we often don’t eat enough or a wide enough variety. Enter one of the most potent antioxidants - Glutathione – that will work to protect your health AND your looks! In my opinion, Glutathione is the mother of all antioxidants! It is a substance produced naturally in the liver and it’s also found in fruits, vegetables and meats. I consider it absolutely necessary for anti-aging, cancer prevention, heart disease, dementia, general disease prevention, and optimal health. Our bodily production of glutathione can be impacted by many things such as pollution, radiation, trauma, toxins, and medications so it’s important to maintain a good diet and avoid pesticides, toxins and chemicals that will reduce the body’s ability to produce glutathione.

Interestingly, about 1/3 of all people suffering with some degree of illness, are missing the essential genes that support healthy detoxification and glutathione production. Genetic testing will reveal if you are one of those people and if so you can begin taking glutathione in a supplement form. As well as helping you to fight the aging process here are some of the other ways in which glutathione can help you: • Support the liver, kidneys and intestines which are the all-important organs for detoxification clearing heavy metals as well as many other harmful toxins and reducing oxidative stress and the effects of aging. • Prevents oxidative stress induced disease • Supports the brain in aging. Look and think better. • Regenerate antioxidants like Vitamin C and Vitamin E. • Support immune function, especially functioning of white blood cells and T-cell Lymphocytes, which are necessary to avoid cancers Omtimes.com

and autoimmune disease. • Decreases inflammation • Supports athletic recovery by reducing the effects of oxidative stress that occurs after endurance sports or workouts lasting longer than 1 hour.

that if you’re not going to support it with some form of supplementation. It might also be worth taking some supplements that will help your body recycle glutathione and therefore better produce and utilize it in your body. These include:

• Increases athletic performance

• N-acetyl-cycstein

• Might help rid gray hair.

• Selenium (in the form selenomethionine)

• Improves your skin How to Increase Glutathione Naturally One way to increase your glutathione levels naturally is to eat more foods rich in sulfur such as garlic, onions and the cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, kale, collards, and watercress. Additionally, plenty of exercise will increase glutathione levels while also increasing detoxification. High intensity interval training is a good option because it involves short bursts of full-on exercise. Conversely, long bouts of exercise or long-distance training creates more oxidative stress, degeneration and tissue destruction, so try to avoid Omtimes.com

• Methylation support: B12 (methylcobalamin NEVER use cyanocobalabin), B6 and Methyl Folate in the form of 5 methyltetrahydrofolate (5MTHF) • Vitamin C and E • Alpha Lipoic Acid Taking Glutathione as a supplement Glutathione in pill form is hardly useable. The best source of glutathione is via an IV push, which means it is injected into a vein and that doesn’t work for everyone. The second-best source is liposomal form, which helps its absorption into the body. This delivery system is a liquid that you take in your

mouth and hold under your tongue for about 20-30 seconds before swallowing. The small molecules of a liposomal delivery supplement allow it to immediately penetrate your cells so that the nutrient gets inside. It’s the next best thing to an IV. Food consumption should be avoided for at least 20-30 minutes to help the glutathione absorb. Some products may smell and taste strongly of sulfur. There are also some other brands that might contain phospholipids, derived from soy. However, there is no soy protein so soy sensitive individuals should not fear immune reactions. Buyer beware – not all liposomal supplements are created equally. Many companies produce liposomes that are too large to move through your cell walls hence defeating the purpose. Do your supplement research carefully.* An IV push can be performed by a skilled naturopath. I highly recommend this form of delivery, especially in the beginning of a gut repair protocol in order to create a faster absorption and antioxidant support as well as avoid any digestive challenges.

There are thousands of scientific studies (1) done on oxidative stress and the benefits of glutathione and its positive impact on aging and disease prevention. I encourage readers to consider adding more sulfurrich foods to their diet as well as a using a potent liposomal glutathione. It’s one of the best ways to think, look and feel younger and healthier. Bio Kristing Grayce McGary LAc., MAc., CFMP®, CSTcert, CLP is a highly sought-after health and lifestyle alchemist. She is renowned for reversing annoying and debilitating health conditions and helping people to live with clarity and vitality. Kristin Grayce is also a speaker and author of Ketogenic Cure; Heal Your Gut, Heal Your Life. www.KristinMcGary.com References (www.news-medical.net/health/ Telomere-What-are-Telomeres. aspxSep 15, 2014) *If you would like supplement recommendations contact: www. KristinMcGary.com

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Alternative Answers for Constipation

Constipation results when food moves too slowly through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. About 80 percent of people suffer from constipation at some time during their lives. Brief periods of constipation

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are normal. Constipation is usually diagnosed when bowel movements occur fewer than three times per week on an ongoing basis. Other signs of constipation occur when the stool is hard, dry or there is excessive straining. The stool can often be described as “rabbit pellets” or like “toothpaste squeezed from the tube”. Sometimes it is painful to pass. Sometimes the patient does not feel complete after a bowel movement. There is widespread belief that everyone should have a bowel movement at least once each day. There is no “right” number of bowel movements. Each person’s body finds its own normal number of bowel movements. It depends on the food you eat, how much you exercise and past history. This kind of thinking has led to the overuse and abuse of laxatives. Constipation can arise from lack of enough fiber and water, inadequate exercise, advanced age, muscle disorders and

poor diet. Pre-menstrual and pregnant women can suffer from constipation also but, the most common cause is usually dietary. However, constipation can be a component of irritable bowel syndrome or can result from a wide range of causes, such as a drug side effect or physical immobility. Many medications, including pain killers, antidepressants, tranquilizers, and other chiatric medications, blood pressure medication, diuretics, iron supplements, calcium supplements, and aluminum containing antacids can cause or worsen constipation. Constipation can sometimes have an unknown or idiopathic cause. Some people have a good diet, drink plenty of fluid or do not have a disorder, which can cause constipation, yet become constipated. Their bowels are said to be ‘underactive’. This is rather common. Most cases occur in women. This condition tends to start during childhood or

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in early adulthood and persist throughout life.

form of self-poisoning, called autointoxication.

Transit Time is the amount of time it takes for a meal to go from the mouth to the rectum. A healthy transit time is less than 24 hours. Constipation is the result of poor digestive and bowel habits, which slow down the transit time, allowing waste materials to sit longer in the intestines. Stool (waste products) builds up along the wall of the colon preventing healthy absorption of nutrients. Our stool is made up of our body’s waste including undigested food, toxic waste from the liver and billions of bacteria. As the stool sits longer in the intestines a metabolic process continues. The intestines continue to absorb water, making the stool harder and fermenting the bacteria. This starts the waste to rot creating toxic by-products, which are then absorbed into the bloodstream. This absorption of toxins is a

Symptoms of auto-intoxication include: headaches, brain fog, depression, obesity, diverticulitis, PMS, bad breath, foul smelling gas, bloating body odor and include some autoimmune diseases.

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Serious diseases, including colon cancer, can sometimes first appear as bowel blockage leading to acute constipation. Therefore, particularly constipation of recent onset should be diagnosed by a physician. Dietary and other natural approaches should be used by people with constipation only when there is reason to believe no serious underlying condition exists. Andrew Pacholyk MS L.Ac http://www.peacefulmind.com/ constipation “Living Life Consciously” Therapies for healing mind, body, spirit

ASCENDINGHEARTS.COM

WE ENGINEER SECOND CHANCES

Simply Spiritual To perceive reality from a different perspective is to open oneself to the wonders and unlimited wealth of creation. Simply Spiritual offers the opportunity to visit new places, new methods, and different ways to perceive the vast human knowledge of our Universe.

Slow & Steady for 2018 By John Holland

I’ve always been a fan and a follower of the magic energy of numbers and numerology, especially every New Year. Every number has its own meaning, as well as its unique vibration. This year of 2018, when added to a single digit comes out to the numeral ‘2’ Year. What does that mean? The ‘2 Year’ represents partnerships, relationships, cooperation, sensitivity, gradual process, and above all … one of patience.

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This will be a year to spend time reflecting on the past, present, and future. When I say ‘reflect,’ I don’t mean to get stuck in the past, but more about looking back at the past year, accepting it and seeing what worked, and what didn’t. Yet, try to remain in the present as you use what you learned in 2017 as you start to set your goals and aspirations for this coming year, but there’s no rush, so slow down, be a little more patient to set a more grounded future. This year is not about results, but one of perseverance. As they say: “Slow and steady wins the race!” This is also a time to let go of high expectations. Many of us have a hard time of slowing down, as we’re so used to doing things quickly. Society conditions us to believe that everything has to be done fast, speedily or at lightning speed. You must allow yourself to slow down so you can get the bigger picture of how you got to where you are, learn from your experiences as you set in motion a better idea of where you’re headed in the future with your plans, goals, relationships, and choices.

Last year in 2017 was a very stressful year, not just for our country but also around the world. This year, please do everything you can to let go of the stress that’s around you. Express, share your emotions and let your feelings flow freely. Don’t keep things bottle up, by not expressing yourself. All you end up doing is keeping those emotions in your body, which can take their toll on you, possibly creating or manifesting dis-ease. 2018 is a slower year energetically, so don’t let yourself be hurried or it will cause even more stress on the body. You may want to move or get things done faster – but a 2-year doesn’t allow that. It’s like pushing a cart uphill. Peace, patience, slow and focused perseverance are significant words for you this year. As I’ve said before, try and imagine it this way: You’re in a small boat! There are times when you must grab the oars and row with all your strength towards your goals, and there are times when you must let go of the oars and see where the current of the river takes you. This is a year of letting go of the oars.

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Sensitivity is at an all-time high. We’re all sensitive beings, and more and more people are becoming more intuitive without even realizing it. Your sensitivity level could be increasing, so be aware of the people that push your buttons, which may often make you more aggressive to them. This is a year of cooperation, so be at peace within yourself. Don’t take things too personally from these people, as they could be going through some of their own issues. Listen with kindness and harmony can be shared. This is a good time to understand how the mechanics of your psychic sensitivity works so you can be in control of turning on your intuitive sensitivity or turning it down. You can be the master of your sensitivity and emotions – they don’t have to be the master of you! The number 2 also resonates partnerships. Last year was a ‘1’ year, and we saw our own individuality, and we experienced our independence as we did many things on our own, but this year is about reaching out. You don’t have to do everything by yourself. Try to be around people who Omtimes.com

inspire you, challenge you, and who encourage you to step out of your comfort zone. After all, these people are likely to give you the strength, courage, and inspiration to reach further than you’ve attempted to reach before and to aspire to be more than you thought possible. You really notice this when you work with like-minded people, as it’s so much easier to blend and resonate with each other, not just mentally or intellectually, but with your heart and soul. When you’re inspired, it fills you with a sense of confidence and purpose. Inspiration is a dominant force and provides a natural source of energy that will motivate you to push yourself (gently and slowly) further into 2018. Enjoy and appreciate this slower active time. Be with others, and really try to relax more. You deserve it! Keep your goals in mind, meet them halfway – but don’t force or push. Be gentle, kind, and compassionate to yourself, as well as others. We’re all connected, and all need to work together this year for calmness, clarity, and of course to learn some big lessons in patience. Live a Soul-filled life!

5 Surefire Signs You are Facing an Existential Crisis By Cathedral of the Soul

The existential crises are phases of deep reflection, marked mainly by the personal conflict and that can arise at any moment of the life. In other words, the existential crisis is natural for the human being and, when well lived or understood, it can represent

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a moment of transformation for the individual, such as attaining self-knowledge, moral and emotional maturation, personal growth, and even a spiritual awakening. But if the symptoms are not correctly “worked out,” the person facing an existential crisis may suffer much more, drowning in a host of disorders, phobias, and depressions and isolationist behaviors. According to psychologists, five main symptoms characterize most existential crises. Find out if you have any of them: 1. Anxiety and mental fatigue This is considered one of the most common signs of the existential crisis, the famous psychological fatigue. Even the person pretending to be introspective and “calm,” can endure inside his head, the reigns of total chaos. A constant whirlwind of thoughts, usually pessimistic,

filled with lower emotions that make the individual extraordinarily anxious and exhausted. Like other muscles of the body, the human mind also needs moments of rest. Otherwise, stress increases and with it will make favorable the appearance of other symptoms. 2. Does not feel like being with anyone As your mind is already in constant turmoil, the person with existential crisis seeks to isolate himself to try to find a balance in his thoughts. Also, mental fatigue eliminates any kind of desire to make social interactions, such as hanging out with friends or even being in the company of family members. Playing in bed, listening to music or watching movies is one of the favorite shows of people during this phase. “There is absolutely no worse death curse than the humdrum daily existence of the living dead.” Anthon St. Maarten Omtimes.com

3. Pessimism and discouragement

quite intense.

Defeating ideas and thoughts also prevail in the minds of those who go through this type of crisis. Typically, the existential crisis develops from an impactful event, such as the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, reaching certain years of life, among others traumatic and stressful events.

We do not know how to act and what we want for the future. Impotence and passivity are agonizing, and if not adequately addressed, these emotions will eventually lead to a depressive picture. The sense of Powerlessness will tend to grow.

In these situations, the person tends to reflect on his life, questioning the values and decisions that followed until that moment. For this reason, before the various unanswered questions, a latent feeling of helplessness begins to grow, as if nothing could be resolved and that the anguish will never disappear.

The constant anxiety and nervousness also trigger physical consequences such as mood swings, sleep, and changes in one’s appetite. Some people eagerly eat when they feel anxious, while others totally lose the will to eat.

“Somebody took my actual physical presence away and substituted this� Philip K. Dick, A Maze of Death

5. Changes in appetite

Thus, those facing an existential crisis may also have insomnia and loss of appetite, causing the immune system to weaken, making room for the disease to appear.

4. Feeling lost in the world

How to deal with an existential crisis?

Perhaps it is one of the most striking features of the existential crisis. As our whole existence is put into reflection, the feeling of uncertainty, bewilderment, and insecurity is

As stated, existential crises can be beneficial to our maturation and self-knowledge. But for this, this phase must be lived with care. Otherwise, the consequences will be disastrous

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for the future of the person. Since the existential crisis consists of a reflexive conflict over the individual nature, an excellent exercise to help overcome this moment is to question. Why am I feeling this way? Why do not I think I can? Why do not I feel motivated? In almost every aspect of life, the first step in finding the solution to something is to correctly identify the problem. That is why it is essential to make a reflection to try to understand the source that triggers your feelings. • Try to distract your mind from pessimistic ideas. • Focus your mind on productive, relaxing activities that will relieve you of the weight of the anguish of this crisis. • Take control of your life and understand that it is okay not to have all the answers we seek. • Use some Affirmation to train your mind again into a more optimist pattern

• Practice some Chants, to modify the vibrational frequencies of your subtle bodies, namely your emotional body. But beware, if you feel that no matter how hard you try to understand the reasons for your introspection, the symptoms do not go away, nor you just cannot handle it yourself, by all means, seek someone’s help. Finding the follow-up of a psychologist or a counselor should be your first step if you do not know how to overcome an existential crisis. Cathedral of the Soul intends to undertake the challenge of creating a multidimensional healing space that is dedicated those who seek to enrich, enlighten and heal themselves while serving and assisting in the healing of others. Cathedral of the Soul is one of the many spiritual outreaches of Humanity Healing International, a registered 501-C3 nonprofit with Church status. https://cathedralofthesoul.org

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Japamala and Devotional Practices By Shakti World

Japamala is better known in the West as a rosary of prayers, is an ancient object used as part of various religious practices and spiritual devotions. Used in many cultures and religions to pace prayers or mantralizations, these beads come in many different shapes, sizes, and materials and can have an unusual number of beads, depending on culture or religion.

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In Hinduism and Buddhism, they are used with 108 beads, always having a more significant account representing the Divinity, around which the 108 distinct manifestations, returns or incarnations revolve. It is the representation of the diversity that revolves around a single unit. “Japa” is a Sanskrit word that comes from the verbal root “jap,” which means “to whisper, to whisper.” “Japa” is the yogic practice in the murmuring repetition of mantras, scripture passages, or the name of a deity. The repetition of these mantras for the “Japa,” or a “chain,” a “cord of energy.” Mala is a word of many meanings in Sanskrit, but in this case, it means only “bead of beads. “We then have two chains, one spiritual, “Japa” and another material, “Mala.” Thus, the spiritual energies invoked “Japa,” energize the “Mala.” Generally, the “mala,” used for the “japa,” “whisper,” contains 108 beads. It is believed that in completing the circuit of 108 mantras is one more step on the path of

spiritual upliftment. Each turn performed in the mala is a step on the ladder for union with the divine ether. A Mala encourages its user to do the japas daily. The devotional Practice Reciting japamalas is a most essential prayerful attitude for any devotee who wants to approach the mystical philosophy of Divinity and may consecrate Japamala to the Blessed Vishnu, Krishna, the Blessed Divine Mother, the Christ, or merely the God if you will. To make Japamalas is to worship the divinity, and one humbles oneself. Adopt the practice to do japamalas, many times a day, every day facilitates an individual to advance blessedly. How to pray with Japamalas Hold the Japamala with one hand and with your thumb turn the small beads as you make your prayers or repetitions of sacred mantras or Bija sounds. Hold the first count with your thumb and make your first prayer when you finish pull the second account and continue

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your prayers, continuing until the end, until you complete the 108 accounts. Your Rosary of prayer beads can be magnetized with the “Japa” power of your mantra, for this you will need to practice every day for at least 40 days in a row. After 108 days the mala will be charged with the power of the mantra intoned/ whispered/ meditated, and you may place it lightly on yourself or others to transmit the energy of the mantra, stored in the light mandala, formed in your ‘prayer rosary “or mala.

mala, store it in a clean, holy place. The best place to guard it is on a personal altar or on a sacred statuette of a deity. The mala beads are used so that a person can think about the meaning of the mantra and his words as he chants, without having to keep counting the times he chants. Japamalas, a Tradition in Various Religions Islamic tradition also has a rosary of prayer beads called “Tasbi” which they hold in their hands as they repeat their prayers. They roll the beads between their fingers as they repeat the name of Allah.

The ideal would be to use a different mala for each mantra. When using your mala with a new mantra, the energy of the new mantra will begin to replace the power of the previous mantra, so it is that we strongly recommended using a new Mala with each mantra if possible, of course.

Christians have their “rosary” in their hands as they pray their daily prayers. It is said that the word “rosary,” which has obvious similarities to the mala, came from the traditional Hindu “Japamala.”

Another good idea is to have a Mala for each spiritual ray and or chakras. Each of the seven major chakras carries the energies of one of the seven major consciousnesses of God. When you are not using your

When Roman explorers came to India and found the Prayer beads, they heard “jap mala” instead of “japa mala.” “Jap” means “rose” and a suitcase then was taken to the Roman Empire as “Rosarium.”

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The rosary has 50 beads separated ten by ten by a larger one, and its ends are joined in a cross. Totaling 54 beads (half of the eastern rosary of 108 beads). It is said that all the hail Mary prayer are symbolized by the white roses and all the 5 Lord’s prayers at the beginning of the sequences of ten Hail Mary are symbolized by the red Rose of Christ. Hindus, when they decide to make a mantra for more than 108 times, put one grain of rice for every 108 times, into a bowl. Every time they get to Meru (The central bead in a Japamala), they take a grain of rice from the bowl. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is common to use larger malas, for example malas that contain 111 beads. They count a suitcase like 100 beads and 11 extras to make up for possible mistakes made along the way. In Buddhism, the use of the malas can be done with either hand, and the fingers used for counting can also be other, depending on the will of each Individual. What counts is the repetition of mantras. The Islamic tradition works with a rosary of 99 beads. The rosary

is divided into three series of 33 beads, each representing one world. It is said that the missing bead to complete the hundredth is only found in Paradise. A wide range of materials is used to make the mala beads throughout every culture. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, they can use of bone (animal bones, most commonly ox) or sometimes human bones, the bones of deceased Lamas, are of great value. SACRED HUMAN BONES OF NEPAL Many Sacred and Holy Malas are made of 108 fine human skull bones from Nepal. These are practicing Buddhist skull bones that have already made the passage to the afterlife. Its price is high because of its rarity. The purpose of this Bones malas is to pray, recite mantras and meditate on cutting selfishness, strong attachments, and cultivating a free conscience. Others use wood or seeds from the Bodhi tree. Semi-precious stones such as coral and amethyst can be used, too. The most used material for the making of malas is the sandalwood. Omtimes.com

Leading a ValueBased Life By Maria Khalife

Could you tick off a list on your fingers of what you value most in your life? Could you explain to your best friends what those values are and why they are important to you? It may serve you well to think about your values because of somewhere near the core of your being, they are the reasons behind what’s happening in your life. They are the motivation and the determination you are using to direct your life one way or another.

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When your inner decisions about your core values and your external choices about your actions are aligned, you feel harmonious about your life. When they don’t match up, life feels a bit bumpy. It’s Good to Establish Values A life value establishes importance for how you work and how you live your life. You may have set some values and are unaware of those choices. You might have consciously chosen some. Being aware of all of them help you when you’re working your plan for your life. If you value your career the most, you might not have much time for your family. If you appreciate quiet contemplation, working in a fast-paced sales environment would not provide satisfaction. When you know your values, it helps you make life choices that will serve your preferences best, as well as help you make decisions about your career, your business, your family, your position on a difficult decision, or whether

you want to continue things the same way your family has always done them. Knowing your core values can help immensely with those decisions, and they might require adjustment as you progress through life because new circumstances might require new values. For example, when you become a parent, you might want to think through your career values. How You Can Determine Your Values It’s essential that you look within yourself to discover what you really value. Your opinion matters the most. When faced with a decision, you will look within to see if there’s alignment with your values: • Will this be good for me? • Will this be good for my family? • Am I making a right decision here? Alignment with your core values is immeasurably helpful at decision-making time. Here are some questions to help you Omtimes.com

determine your essential values. What Has Made You Happiest? Look back through both your life and your work experiences when you were most happy. • What was going on? • Who was there with you? • Name one or two things that made you happy. What Makes You Feel Most Proud? Again, look back through your life and your work experiences when you were most proud. • What made you feel proud? • Who else celebrated these moments with you? • What else in the picture contributed to you feeling proud?Bottom of Form What Has Made You Feel Most Satisfied? Look at your life and work for examples of feeling satisfied. • Was there a particular thing I needed or wanted when I felt satisfied? • Did this experience add a Omtimes.com

plus score to your life? • What else was in this experience that made you feel so good? Assembling Your Answers into a List of Core Values. Here is a list of some core values. You can find other examples on the internet. Keeping in mind the answers to your questions above, try to whittle the list down to your top ten or fifteen. You might find that some individual choices can be combined. Authenticity Achievement Adventure Authority Autonomy Balance Beauty Boldness Compassion Challenge Citizenship Community Competency Contribution Creativity Curiosity Determination Fairness Faith Fame Friendships Fun

Growth Happiness Honesty Humor Influence Inner Harmony Justice Kindness Knowledge Leadership Learning Love Loyalty Meaningful Work Openness Optimism Peace Pleasure Poise Popularity Recognition

Religion Reputation Respect Responsibility Security Self-Respect Service

Spirituality Stability Success Status Trustworthiness Wealth Wisdom

Choosing What’s Most Important to You Introspective work might feel challenging to you, and doing it can provide significant satisfaction. Your next step is to create a list of the ten or fifteen values you chose from the table above. In life, when you’re called on for a decision, knowing what you value will help you to make it. The purpose of this exercise is to allow you to place priorities on the values you’ve chosen. Ask yourself when looking at the first two items on your list, “Which of these would I choose first?” Or perhaps you can look at the entire list and simply ask “In what order are these most important to me?” Try to think of examples where you would actually have to choose between your values. Here’s an example: If you chose these three, and you have a fam-

ily, and your employer has asked you to move to another state, which one might you want? Compassion Inner Harmony Responsibility Stick with it until you have all your values in the order that works best for you.

Celebrate After One More Look When you look at your list, and they are in top-down priority order after the last exercise, do you feel better about yourself now than you did at the beginning? Has choosing your top values brought up a prideful feeling inside you? Could you read this list to your spouse or parents and be happy about it before they react? Do you think you’d be in the majority or minority of others based on your list? Your choices reflect what is right for you, and with these inside you, making decisions will be much easier for you into the future because you’ll be honoring your Self. Congratulations on doing this challenging and rewarding work to heighten your self-awareness. Omtimes.com

Relationships

The interconnectiveness among all human beings and, consequently, the relationships among us are the focus of this section. The dynamics of the web of connections we make is one of the most prominent aspects of human existence: how we interlace with each other’s existence in a meaningful way.

AofDiValenti fferentne Kind By Alan Cohen

February is the month of Valentines when our thoughts turn to love. Usually, we give Valentines gifts and affection to romantic partners. This month I would like to shift our focus to expressions of love to our family, in particular, our parents.

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While reading Soul Friends by Stephen Cole, I came upon a quote by Buddha that caused me to put the book aside and think for a long time: “. .the debt of gratitude we owe to our parents is so great that we could carry them on our backs for our entire lives and yet still never fully repay it.” Wow. When I was growing up, I did not appreciate my parents. I was busy living out my own desires, figuring out who I was, and exploring the world. I took mom and dad for granted. I had judgments about them and wished they were otherwise. At times I was disrespectful. I was a selfinvolved teenager. My father passed away when I was 18 years old before I reached a stage of life when I became more conscious about my relationships, so I never

got to express my appreciation to him. As I have matured, I have reconsidered the many kindnesses my folks showed me. They didn’t have much money. My father drove a bus at odd hours, and my mother worked in a hat store during the day and at a factory at night. They did everything they could to keep me safe, comfortable, and happy. For most of my childhood, we lived in an awful section of the city, where crime and depravity were rampant. Realizing the dangers of this environment, they worked harder to earn more money to move to a more beautiful part of town where the rent was quite high. They performed many other extraordinary generous acts. Despite their human frailties and habits, I judged, their parenting was born of pure love. Looking back now, my heart is bursting with gratitude I wish I had shared with them when they walked

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the earth. My regret in not expressing this when I could have is offset by the comfort that wherever they are now in God’s great kingdom, they receive my appreciation. Perhaps your parents were not so loving, and you were subject to mistreatment or abuse. Maybe one or both of your parents were alcoholic or had some other dysfunctional habit. Perhaps they fought bitterly, or one was absent, or they divorced when you were young. Perhaps you harbor resentment, hatred, or guilt about your relationship with them. Perhaps you still have a hard time being with one or both of them. Perhaps you blame them for imprinting you with negative programming that has created pain in your own relationships, and you feel thwarted from the reward you desire. If so, there are three ways

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you can reframe your family experience to open you to more appreciation. The first is to reach for elements of their parenting that you genuinely value. Even if they were bad parents in many ways, they were probably good parents in some ways. What kindnesses did they show you? How did they encourage you? Who were they when they were at their best? They loved you somehow. Feel around for the gifts they did deliver to you. They are there. When you notice those blessings, they will expand. Next, gain compassion for your parents by recognizing that their acts that caused you pain issued from their own pain. “Hurt people hurt people.” I have coached many clients who are seeking to make sense of their relationship with a dysfunctional parent. I ask them, “What was your parent’s own pain? Who trained him

or her to be fearful and mean?” In every instance, my client traces their parent’s dysfunction back to some abuse that parent received from their own parent or another authority figure. The client’s parent did not have the skills or tools to achieve healing, so they passed their pain on to their children. A Course in Miracles tells us that every act is either a skillful expression of love or a call for love. When we reframe our parents’ negative behaviors as calls for love, we ease our own pain and clear the way for us to help them. Finally, consider how you grew as a result of the challenges your parents posed to you. Did you learn to be more independent, or set boundaries, or dig in to find worth within yourself that they denied you? Some teachers say that sometimes we choose our parents because they help

us develop soul strength we would not have gained if our situation was easier. Thus they were our friends who helped us grow and step into our own power as adults. Most Asian families have altars in their homes honoring their ancestors—a practice we could well gain from doing ourselves. If you don’t wish to build an altar to your parents in your living room, you can create a sacred space for them in your heart. This year don’t reserve Valentine’s gifts for your honey only. Honor those who love you more than you know. Alan Cohen is the author of the bestselling A Course in Miracles Made Easy. For more information about Alan’s books and videos, free daily inspirational quotes, online courses, and weekly radio show, visit www.alancohen.com.

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How to Recognize Emotional Blackmail By Ascending hearts

Emotional blackmail can happen in the friendships, within the family relations, or in a romantic relationship. The goal of a blackmailer is to be able to manipulate the other person and turn them into someone who fulfills their desires. Sometimes Blackmailing can be done in such a subtle way that Omtimes.com

the other person may not even realize that it is being manipulated. Although it may seem difficult to believe, a person who resorts to emotional blackmail is also insecure and weak. They need to recourse to blackmail to reach their goals since they do not see themselves really able to achieve things in a healthy way. Although they tend to present themselves as very secure, well mannered, reasonable and selfcontained people.

Here are 4 ways to Emotional blackmail and how to avoid falling into this type of manipulation. 1. Emotional blackmail by pressure or threat Manipulation of this kind consists of putting pressure on another person, in such a way that freedom is limited. If one does not do as one is asked to, there is a punishment or a great deal of upset later. The feeling presented by the victim in the face of this manipulation is fear. The typical phrase spoken by parents to their young children,

“If you do it again, you will be punished,” or someone telling your partner, “If you do it again, it’s all over!” These are basic phrases in which, if the order is not followed, there will be a later consequence. How can we defend ourselves against this kind of emotional blackmail? Making the blackmailer see that he is not capable of causing us fear. A threat or pressure always seeks to generate fear and, thus, the victim ends up obeying. However, if there is no fear or if we make the person feel that we are not feeling fear, we dismantle the manipulation. The answer to an “If you do it again, it’s all over” threat could be “I’m free to do whatever I want, and if that makes you want to leave me, I cannot do anything!” The important thing is to make the person see that, instead of accepting the threat or punishment, we are able to face it, and not for that we will change our actions. 2. Emotional blackmail that creates guilt This Emotional blackmail consists of creating a sense of Omtimes.com

guilt in the victim, making one believe oneself to be a bad person if one does not obey. Phrases like “If you do it, it’s because you do not like me anymore,” “After everything I’ve done for you, this is how you pay me?”, “If you leave me, I will get sick, and I will not be able to bear it,” “You disappoint me, I thought you were a good person.”

the reality is that each person owns his own life and we must live in freedom; we cannot be attached to someone out of pity or guilt because, after all, the victim would be really the person manipulated on that case and the one suffering from emotional blackmail.

What they are looking to do with these phrases is that the other person feels bad and guilty. In this way, the victim could be manipulated and consent to satisfy the other not to get “bad on tape.”

The blackmailer will try to deceive situations until he can find himself in a role in which he is right; will try to become a kind of guide or the sane voice in a desert. To be able to manipulate, the manipulator will know perfectly the weaknesses of the victim and will make the victims believe that they need his advice to be ready to go a right way.

How do you stop this kind of emotional blackmail? Making the blackmailer see that we do not feel bad as bad as a consequence for not following their orders. There are extreme cases, like the person who says, “If you leave me, I do not want to live.” This would be the most exceptional example because not feeling guilty in a case like this is complicated since we would feel responsible for the health of the other. However, Omtimes.com

3. Emotional blackmail that creates Confusing, distorting realities

He will try to create a kind of dependency in which the blackmailer will be the person in possession of the truth. It will have arguments that can come out over any situation, to make the victim realize that salvation is in ignorance. How to stop this kind of distortion? Simply Informing the manipulator that each person

sees things differently and that we, whether wrong or not, wish to make the decision that we think is the best for ourselves. So even if the blackmailer tries to induce the victim to make a mistake, we can respond to him that we do not care whether we can make mistakes or not, but that we want to be able to make our own decisions. 4. Emotional blackmail that creates Positive and present promises Another type of blackmail more hidden that does not even seem blackmail is the promise of something very positive if we manifest the desires of the other. We are awarded or presented with something that we want very much, but only in the case, we do what is requested of us by the blackmailer. Parents often do this to their children, “when you get older, I’ll give you a bike,” “If you behave with your grandmother, I’ll buy you candy.” If a child desires too much, it is normal for him to do his best to get what he wants. This is a positive case for

emotional exchange because the outcome is something beneficial for both parties, but there are other cases where the exchange is an attempt to deceive the victim, such as the case of a passionate person who wants to win over a girl with financial problems. The blackmailer offers some “rewards” or “compensation” in exchange that he knows would convince the victim to date him. Another similar form of Emotional blackmail is reminding someone of the present data and the amounts they owe, such as, “Do you remember the gifts I gave you? “Remember what I did for you? “Is like saying, subtly,” I have given you many material things, and therefore you must obey me. “ How not to give in to this kind of Emotional blackmail? Reminding the blackmailer that each person is free to pay or gift what they want, and we are not obliged to return the favor. Always, in any kind of relationship, be it in a friendship or in a loving relationship, we must feel the same, as equals to Omtimes.com

the other. It is an exchange, it must be reciprocal; the moment someone wants to occupy another position, the internal alarm should go off. Even if someone is in trouble, a healthy person helps reasonably, but if someone takes advantage of it to put themselves in a “hero” position and leaves the other as a “victim that needs to be saved,” we can end up getting into a handling zone. Signs to detect an emotional blackmailer For one, talking with them can be stressful because they continually change the subject of the conversation, change their strategy and try to confuse the victim until they find the weak spot where they feel they can manipulate. - When we are in front of a manipulator, the sensations tend to speak more than the reason, especially if you are an empath. We should always watch our emotions; if we meet a healthy person, the feelings will also be healthy, but if we are faced with a blackmailer, it is widespread for us to feel uncomfortable, unwell, frustrated and undecided.

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On the one hand, our mind may realize that something is not going well, but on the other hand, the fears and blackmail we receive may invalidate reason and come to a point when we feel unable to make decisions. - They usually boast about their lives and properties, since they seek to be seen as “heroes or saviors.” Therefore, people who have low self-esteem are more likely to fall into the hands of manipulators, as they may be overcharged. “They want to be the ones who dominate the conversations and who are always right; are not flexible and do not know how to listen, they tend to speak much more than they are able to hear. - They do not like to receive advice since they consider an insult to their intelligence. - They change their moods quickly, since if they manage to manipulate they are happy, but if the victim resists, their features can change in a matter of seconds. - They wish at all times to nullify the opinion of the other, making only theirs the valid and accurate.

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Secret Keys to Spiritual Attraction Between Two Souls By Ascending Hearts

Sometimes two souls meet like the ancient stars in the sky. Almost without knowing, they enter the same gravitational field where almost everything fits perfectly together. We are talking about the mental attraction that goes beyond the physical one, because it captures and dazzles

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us, through a spiritual and intellectual connection, the two souls caress themselves and sail together in the same course. This type of attraction that goes beyond the skin that delves into other kinds of connections is more common than we may think. However, this does not mean that the weight of physical appearance has ceased to have its extraordinary importance as a catalyst of a relationship. In fact, as was demonstrated by the social psychologist Solomon Ash in his “Implicit Personality Theories,” people continue to think that everything that is beautiful, is also good and therefore beneficial. When it comes to talking about attraction, we must bear in mind that most of these mechanisms are governed by our unconscious mind. The physical aspect is our cover letter in the relationship and the propaganda, we know that; however, this advertisement is not always the perfect bait or the most

infallible to start and maintain a relationship. Biology, chemistry, and our psych emotional give shape to this gravitational field of attraction where we approach specific profiles and voila, almost without knowing how the magic of magnetism arises. We do not necessarily speak of “soul mates,” but of connected personalities, who are in perfect harmony and who can create a stable and enriching bond. This is an exciting theme with many nuances on which we wish to reflect with you. Spiritual attraction does not seek soul mates, it looks for fellow travelers We will begin by talking about a curious fact that should invite us to reflect. According to a study by Dr. Raymond Knee, director of the Laboratory of Social Psychology at the University of Rochester, more than half of people believe that soul mates exist. They believe that people are destined to be together and that this kind of attraction transcends loves at first sight.

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Within the vision of the concept of soul mates, the aspect of spiritual attraction is undoubtedly a fundamental pillar. However, as this same author explains us through articles like “The Science of Soulmates,” this type of attraction would go beyond the simple mental processes associated to a set of values, needs and affections to reach a much more gravitational spiritual field. “Loving is not only liking; it is, above all, it is understanding. “ -Françoise SaganOf course, from a scientific point of view, the spiritual approach is not valid. Because the real mental attraction does not mean magic or destiny, but the set of two mature personalities who, in addition to eternal love, are also looking beyond a present relationship, but looking for a joyful traveling companion through the Life journeys. United by fate or united to grow? For People who believe in the existence of soul mates. From Omtimes.com

this approach, the mental attraction is understood as the process by which the union with the other person is so intimate and exceptional that we do not have to say what we want or what we need for the other person to know. We are one being. For People who believe in effective relationships as part of their personal and emotional growth. In this case, fate has little or no importance. No one is predestined to anyone, it is we who create it by investing time, will, and effort when we meet this fellow traveler. Mental attraction responds in the latter case to an agreement with interests, passions, values ​​ and the ease with which we negotiate, with which we understand ourselves to come to agreements without waiting for the other person to “guess” what is happening to us. The Keys to Mental Attraction Physical attraction is something loud, intense, uncontrolled ... We know and like it. However, the actual

magic that characterizes these more authentic and stable relationships is an ideal balance between both dimensions, where mental seduction is the most obvious, most vivid, and exciting ingredient every day. “Love makes possible the paradox of two becoming one without ceasing to be two.� -Erich FrommSo if we stop to dig deeper into the keys of real spiritual attraction, we can see that there is indeed very little supernatural in it. The main alchemical components are a lot of emotions, instincts, chemistry and that kind of intuition buried in our unconscious that tells us that this is the person who, at this present moment, is the best for us. Let’s see some other aspects. The first element to be analyzed is undoubtedly reciprocity. Something as fundamental as receiving a positive response, feeling recognized and valued, and seeing ourselves as someone relevant in the eyes of

another person. This is a very significant factor for the spiritual attraction. The Spiritual attraction also has to do with similar interests, values, and ethics standard, with seeing the world from the same perspective and under the same principles. There may be differences in some aspects, of course, but these little dissonances are respected and even valued. Likewise, the spiritual attraction is lit through the challenge. Some people make us feel alive, who challenge us with their gaze, their knowledge, with that subtle combination in which the familiar intertwines with the unknown. Little by little, something is formed that excites us, which fills our minds and, irretrievably, ignites our hearts and lets our souls caress each other. Ascending Hearts is a spiritual dating site that reengineers serendipity and spiritual connection between souls. Find more about it at ascendinghearts.com Omtimes.com

The Destructive Nature of Gossip By Judi Lynch

If we examine our hearts and minds more closely in empathy for every soul who has suffered needlessly from jealous gossip, we work to make positive changes in the collective consciousness. We have all been the victim of gossip, through our own words, or the words of

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someone else. Gossip can destroy lives, trust of others and life-long friendships. It is like a spiritual assault on our souls to discuss others without their input or understanding of their privacy. We open the door to being under scrutiny ourselves, even worse, we hurt someone deeply by repeating things we know or hear. It doesn’t matter if the gossip is true or not it only matters that we use discretion and integrity with any information we receive. Is it true? Is it kind? Will this knowledge help someone from being hurt? Is it based on hatred or jealousy for this person that is not justified?

Jealousy is known to be at the root of most gossip. When one person feels threatened by another, it can cause them to make-up or repeat stories about their rival(s) just to eliminate the competition. Even good or best friends have fallen prey to ego and imagined slights when someone feels ignored and it causes a friendship to end. Here are a few biblical quotes from Proverbs that prove we have been gossiping for a very long time now;

Make no mistake that if someone is telling you about everyone else and their life challenges or blessings, they are most likely talking about you too. We live in a very dangerous age of false information, gossip magazines and reality shows. People have started assuming that since others tell every secret imaginable about their lives on these shows it is open season on friends and family too. Truly it is not in anyone’s best interest to be caring all the time about what anyone thinks but it is just not productive to judge and accuse another without a very good reason.

Proverbs 26:22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.

Proverbs 16:28 A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.

Proverbs 26:20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. How do we work together collectively to end this cycle of abusing each other? Compassion, understanding and acceptance for others who think and act differently is a good start. If we could all spend less time reading, repeating and watching gossip about each other much more Omtimes.com

could get done. We could love more, laugh more, learn more and lead happier lives if we can learn to share more instead of gossip. Gathering together in common open discussions with each other and actually listening to our stories together. Stopping someone when they start gossiping or complaining about another is also our responsibility. Stopping ourselves from repeating what someone has said or told us in confidence is something we usually have to learn as children. As adults, we make choices every day on what we will and will not accept into our personal energy spaces. If we are offended by gossip about ourselves or our family and friends then we should as well be offended by the glazed, celebrity magazines in the checkout lines at the grocery stores. If we collectively stop buying and reading these ridiculous headlines, media outlets will have to start printing something more intelligent and worthwhile to read. Such as helpful information on how to meditate, knit a sweater, research a book, make soup, etc. We as a society are responsible for accepting hurtful gossip as a normal occurrence when we Omtimes.com

know in our souls that life would be a little sweeter with more love and acceptance. Gossip is such a negative and demeaning practice to the karmic energies that surround us. There is a big difference between someone admitting a transgression or having to show proof through media exploitation of someone’s actions and hurtful gossip based on ego. If we examine our hearts and minds more closely in empathy for every soul who has suffered needlessly from jealous gossip, we work to make positive changes in the collective consciousness. We all have the power to think about our words and how they affect everything and everyone around us, most of all, ourselves. About the Author: Judi Lynch is a psychic medium, intuitive counselor, healing channel and author. She is president of the Crystal Healing Foundation, Inc. a 501(c) spiritual charity and writer for OM Times Magazine. She has authored two books, Friends with Lights and Conscious Ascension and has read for clients all over the world. To learn more or contact for a session see psychicmediumjudilynch.com

Metaphysics

An Exercise For Opening Your Spiritual Eyes By Guy Finley

There is a universal will that operates twenty-four hours a day that is FOR you, and a will that operates twentyfour hours a day that is AGAINST you. You’re familiar with the will that works against you. It’s that will

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that drags you into internally and externally unprofitable, self-punishing moments. The will that works for you is that which forever says, “Look up. See that there is more to your life than what you presently embrace and that’s causing you this pain.” Put even more simply, the will that wants to raise you up is the will that makes it clear to you that there’s another will that’s trying to pull you down. Were it not for that elevating will, you would never recognize the harmful one.

either of these wills come to have power over you? How do they take hold of you to either pull you down or to help you up and out?

Please make the following substitution in your mind so that you have a clear picture of what your new mind and new eyes can show you. If something is either for you or against you, isn’t that the same as saying that something is either trying to pull you up or pull you down? I want you to see clearly that the two words “for” and “against” are connected to directions of the operation of a will.

The fact is that you do have free will — in a sense. The free will you have is in the choice you make to align yourself with either the will that is ascending or the will that is descending. From now on I want you to picture a hand reaching from below to pull you down, and another hand reaching from above to pull you up. At any moment (even now while you’re reading this), your hand is either in the hand of the will that is ascending, or it’s in the hand of the will that is descending — and it’s your choice. Don’t fall for the lie that says, “No, it’s not my choice because I have to get depressed, I have to get angry, I have to get frightened.” No, you don’t. It’s the voice of deception that accompanies the hand from below that insists you have no choice. In fact, you always have the choice.

If indeed it is true that there is a will that is trying to pull you down as well as a will that is trying to pull you up, how do

Unfortunately, in the initial discovery — and misunderstanding — of these two wills, some men and Omtimes.com

women fall away from their inner work. It happens when, of necessity, individuals begin to feel the strain of two things pulling on them at once. It’s extremely necessary for this to happen. Why? Because, if you don’t feel two things pulling on you at once, it means that only one thing is pulling at you. And if you’re not already living in a higher place, what do you suppose that one thing is? It’s the descending hand. I receive countless letters, phone calls, and e-mails from students who declare “Since I started studying your ideas my life has just fallen to pieces — everything is worse! I don’t understand. Why is it this way?” Then they understand even less when say to them “Congratulations. That’s a great sign.” Their shock turns to comprehension when I tell them “It’s great because now at least you know there is another direction. Before you followed the descending hand without question. Now you know it’s possible to go up, which makes you all the more aware of the pain in going down.”

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Whether you see it or not (and the purpose of your studies is to give you the eyes to see), this world is in the hands of the hand that is coming from beneath the earth. Just think of all the acts of will that are occurring as they never have occurred before on this planet where young children and adults commit unbelievable acts and then say, “I have no idea what came over me.” I’m telling you what came over them. Through years of abuse by a planet filled with people who don’t care, and through years of refusing the tiny moments when their Father did place His hand in theirs, they have reached the point where they can’t recognize the difference between the hand that wants to pull them down, and the hand that wants to lift them up. And once you come to the point where you can no longer tell the difference — you’re a goner. But to know the difference costs something, doesn’t it? It means we have to work, when we would really prefer not to be bothered. We want to feel pleasure with no

disturbance. But that’s spiritual and psychological sleep. Christ said, “Watch. Watch. Watch,” meaning, “Be awake. Be awake. Be awake.” When he cautioned people to “be awake” he was telling them to see whose hand they were holding. Your Father’s hand not only doesn’t let you go to sleep, but it lifts you. The hand from beneath not only puts you to sleep faster and faster, but it puts you to sleep so fast that one day you won’t even know that your hand was held fast in that descending hand. That’s the truth. Work, work, work. Stay awake, regardless of what it seems to cost you. Remember to do this exercise: Come awake every moment and ask yourself “In whose hand is mine?” When you’re driving your car or sitting in a business meeting ask yourself “In whose hand is mine?” The moment you become aware of yourself and ask the question you will know which spirit just possessed you. Now, here’s the problem: There are parts of our own nature that don’t want to ask the question — that don’t

want to know whose hand we’re in! Are you aware of this defensive spirit in yourself? “I don’t particularly want to know right now whose hand I’m in because I would prefer to believe in what it’s telling me — that what I’m doing is good.” It’s not good! Just do your spiritual work and leave the battle up to your Heavenly Father. Leave the battle up to Christ — to Reality — to Truth. Leave the battle up to the Light and I promise you the fight will be a right fight and you’ll come out on the right side of it — guaranteed. Based on a classroom talk by Guy Finley at Life of Learning Foundation Guy Finley is the best-selling author of more than 45 books and audio albums on self-realization. He is the founder and director of Life of Learning Foundation, a nonprofit center for selfdiscovery located in southern Oregon. For more information call 541-476-1200 or visit www. guyfinley.org, and receive your free Guy Finley Starter Kit.

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We grow as individuals as we face challenges and overcome life’s obstacles. This section is dedicated to helping you chart your course

Personal Growth & Development

You Can Become More Confident, Right Now By Marcia Sirota, MD.

Do you envy the person at the party who walks in, glowing with positive self-regard, and who soon finds himself surrounded by fascinated, admiring fellow guests?

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Do you wish you were the person who takes a leadership role in the workplace and who is often given positions of greater responsibility by the bosses?

The way to overcome these unfortunate consequences of a less-than-ideal childhood is to take responsibility today for developing a solid sense of self.

Do you want to become the person who is rarely beset by self-doubt, self-criticism, or insecurities about your abilities?

There are two steps to building self-confidence: establishing belief in yourself and silencing the inner critic.

It’s all possible. You simply need to gain confidence. People aren’t born with confidence; it’s something that is learned. If you grew up receiving sufficient affirmation, validation, respect, encouragement and meaningful praise, you’d grow into a confident person. If, on the other hand, you were overtly or subtly criticized; if you were undermined, neglected, or told that feeling proud of yourself would give you a swelled head, you’d most likely grow up with a lack of confidence. You might even have a harsh “inner critic” that tells you that you’re “not good enough,” or that you “can’t do it.”

These two steps are simple, if not easy. First, you must begin to believe in yourself. You need to start recognizing that you ARE smart; you CAN do it; you HAVE excellent skills and abilities. The only meaningful way to develop this belief in yourself is to do things, and see that you’re able to succeed. Of course, it doesn’t work if you set yourself up to fail by taking on challenges that are too much for you at the outset. If you bite off more than you can chew, it will only serve to reinforce your false belief that you’re inadequate and/or incompetent. So, take on reasonable challenges, to begin with. See that you’re able to meet these Omtimes.com

challenges. Then, take on slightly more difficult challenges, and match these as well. Your confidence will grow, and you’ll create a positive spiral of doing more, feeling better and better, and being able to do even more. If you fail at something, don’t listen to the voice in your head that says “See, I told you that you’re no good. You can’t do it!” Instead, view the failure as a learning experience. Examine what went wrong and use what you’ve learned to do better next time. Not beating yourself up over your mistakes, and learning from them about how to do better will enable you to develop self-confidence, as well as improved skills. The goal isn’t to achieve perfection; it’s to recognize your natural abilities and gifts, as well as those areas of weakness that you can still work on. The second step is to stop allowing the inner critic to convince you that you’re incompetent. You need to identify all the negative self-talk running Omtimes.com

through your brain and begin to reject it and contradict it. This works best once you’ve started taking action, because then, when the inner critic tells you that you can’t do it, you can counter with, “Oh yeah? I just did!” When you hear that voice in your head saying, “Don’t bother trying, you’re just going to fail,” you can see that it’s not the truth but merely the internalization of all the negativity you experienced as a child. You can become immune to this toxic self-talk by refusing to be taken in by it and by continuing to disprove it through your actions. The more you try things and succeed, the more obvious it is that the voice is lying to you. So, you might not have been lucky enough to be raised to feel confident in your abilities, but it’s not too late to begin developing confidence, today. Follow the two simple steps above, and you’ll be on your way to becoming the kind of person that everyone admires, values, wants to be friends with and wants to work with.

OMTIMES

INSTITUTE

THE GAME CHANGERS A New Brand of visionaries, innovators and leaders that changed how we look and Participate in the world.

Men and the Divine Feminine by Jill M. JacksonÂ

A definite crusade is occurring to help balance the duality between male and female. From the #MeToo movement to celebrities such as Ashely Judd and Selma Hayek speaking out against abuse and injustice, the Omtimes.com

momentum is rising towards a revolution of extraordinary proportions. How can men play an important role in this transformation without feeling fear or a loss of their identity? What is the Divine Feminine Movement?

role of midwife to facilitate the birthing of our planet into a place of unity and conscious evolution. It is about honoring and appreciating our Mother Earth for all She provides us. It is about appreciating the diversity of all existence.

For thousands of years, we have resided in a world of male dominance. The disparity caused by the polarity and the lack of balance has contributed to a world in turmoil. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the divine feminine movement seeks to counterbalance the inequality.

The divine feminine movement is not about female dominance. That concept is not even a recognizable attribute of the female archetype. The divine feminine reveres all life. It is about choreographing a sacred dance of equality, tolerance, and justice.

Instead of focusing on power and dominance, the divine feminine movement celebrates the strengths of the female expression including intuition, harmony, creativity, and healing. It honors the Goddess and encourages reconnecting with Source, nature, and beauty.

How Can Men Assist in the Transformation?

Women by nature are responsible for birthing. Awakening the divine feminine is about playing the

Stereotypical male behavior is hardly consistent with the divine feminine movement. According to Wikipedia, those stereotypes include assertiveness, courage, and independence. Many men have their very identity buried in the depths of dominance, control, and leadership. As the divine feminine rises, men may feel their realities are crumbling.

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The perceived loss of control may cause feelings of uneasiness and inadequacy. A few reminders and shifts in perspective may help men welcome the movement and assist in the transformation. First, is remembering that they incarnated to raise their vibration and further develop their soul. By recognizing the need for the perfect balance of yin and yang or masculine and feminine, they can assist with the merging together of a symbiotic union. Some men chose soul contracts to incarnate in this lifetime with their twin flames. Twin flame relationships are not always about rainbows and butterflies. Why is this? The very nature of a twin flame connection is to mirror each other. After all, the twin flames are part of the same soul. If a male twin flame has incarnated now, while the divine feminine expression is undergoing a revolutionary transformation, the male flame has chosen to take part in this cosmic dance.

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A shift in perspectives and belief patterns is also advisable. It’s empowering to move from fear of losing control and feeling powerless into embracing the strength required to facilitate change. It’s helpful for men to realize the movement of the divine feminine is not about female supremacy. Her goals are women standing in their peaceful power, celebrating and embracing the amazing attributes of quiet strength and speaking their truth from the depths of their souls. Men have an opportunity to help orchestrate a beautiful symphony of conscious evolution by celebrating and supporting the sacred feminine. When men remember their authentic selves and the duality that exists within all of us, true synergy between the sexes is possible. How do Men and Women Join Forces? Men have an amazing opportunity to expand their soul growth during these extraordinary times. One

of the main factors in this expansion is men remembering their soul contract to participate in this shift. Most of the men who incarnated during this great change agreed to a soul contract where they will hold space and lift the women in their lives to an even greater height. It’s imperative to recognize the significance men play in this transformation. This journey may be challenging for men. Change is never easy, and the very foundation of what men believe about their place in society is being shaken to the core. Women can help ease men’s fears and resistance. As they celebrate the achievements of equality and respect, women must also remember to embrace compassion, understanding, and appreciation for the changes the men around them are undergoing. The Spiritual Law of Gender is in place to assist both men and women. The key to mastering this Universal Law is to have an equal balance of yin and yang,

masculine and feminine. We are moving out of a masculine dominated World into a more Divine Feminine expression. The perfect symbiotic union between the two is, however, still our goal. As we begin to understand this sacred merger, the closer we are to understanding the Law of Divine Oneness.

About the Author Jill M. Jackson is the 2016 and 2015 Psychic of the Year by Best American Psychics. She was given the Social Activism award in 2014. Jill is an international Psychic Medium, Author, Spiritual Teacher, and Speaker. Spiritual Teaching is Jill’s passion. Click here for info: https://goo.gl/EN36xm Jill is under contract with Creative Laughter Productions for a metaphysical television show. To learn more about Jill and read some of her testimonials, visit https://goo.gl/f9wZy1

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When you look at the view of Earth from space, you are immediately in awe of what you do see: the incredible beauty of Creation. It is not until you look closer that you realize what you do not see. You do not see lines partitioning countries. You do not see separation between races. You do not see division between religions. You do not see the walls people build to isolate themselves from each other. There is only One Planet. There is only One Humanity. This section is dedicated to introducing thoughts and ideas to foster a greater understanding of Humanity’s interdependence.

World Vision

Bringing Forth The Best In Our World By Crystal Presence

A new level of consciousness that is supporting us in bringing forth the best in our world. A knowing that we must forth the best of ourselves be part of the resolution. Creating a new Omtimes.com

context of living with a list of what ways we can bring that forth. Throughout history we have strived to bring forth the best in our world. From harnessing fire, making tools, creating art, forming religions, cultivating food and engaging in war. Some things have made us strong and some have brought on more pain and suffering. Today we have more clarity of how to use the power of our thoughts, emotions, bodies and hearts. Our consciousness is changing as science and quantum physics are proving that there is no separation between anyone or anything. Our souls are uniting with a spirituality that is base on knowing that we are literally One. We know that when we bring forth the best in ourselves it reflects outwardly as the best in our world. We want to be part of the resolution as

we learn new ways to keep ourselves from falling back into old ways of being. We know we live in a society that encourages us to be independent and successful by overriding our bodies and emotions. We are igniting a passion for releasing ourselves from lives of stress, overwhelm, control and manipulation. What if we cultivate a new context of living? One that brings forth lives that are empowering, fun, easy and in alignment with our source and essential selves? The following are a few ways we can do that.... Ask this question: What is the nature of experiencing a new context of living that inherently brings out the best in of us and our world? Embrace the truth that power includes letting go, connection, support, relationship, interaction, surrendering and allowing. Love ourselves and our

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world, no matter what the evidence. Make a list of ten things we love and appreciate about ourselves and our world. Keep our energy in motion with movement that brings us pleasure and joy, supporting us in letting go of tension and control. Opening the space for effectively releasing limiting beliefs about ourselves and our world. Meditate and stay rested. Listening for new possibilities and doing what is ours to do. Release resistance. Remembering that what we resist persists. Embracing the fact that we are all human and are doing our best to make a better world. We may not understand or like the way others think, feel or behave. We all have be conditioned in different belief systems. For example, believing that the best solution is to get rid of the people who are not thinking or doing things the way we think they should. When we embrace and bring

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unconditional acceptance and love to all we open the space for resolution. Embrace the true nature of spirituality. Knowing that we are always connected to the same source with a greater intelligence that is always available to guide us in bringing forth our best selves and world. Explore the meaning of being our essential selves. Are we really saying what we want to say? Are we bringing forth the projects, interactions and things we know support our world? Are we settling for relationships that do not align with are true selves? Are we doing what makes us feel happy, inspired and glad to be alive? Use our past wisely as an opportunity to learn and become aware of metaphors that we have playing out in our lives. We can change our story by recognizing perspectives and beliefs that are not serving us anymore.

Let go of trying to live up to what others think we should be. We each have an inner guidance system that is always showing us the path to bringing forth our best selves and contribution to the world. Make a list of when we have brought forth the best in ourselves and our world. Remember how you felt inside. Notice what you were thinking, feeling and how you what actions were you taking. Use this as a reference point for conjuring up the bodily felt sense of how you want to be everyday. Practicing so that it becomes how you think, feel and act on a daily basis. Remember that we are not alone. Reach out to connect and interact with others. Remember that everyone has their challenges and we can learn from each other. Plant the seeds of our intention. Treat ourselves the way we want to treated by others. Cultivating a loving non

judgmental way of talking to ourselves. Listening to the different aspects of ourselves and respond to what is working and not working. Release shame and blame. Taking 100% responsibility for our lives and letting go of using anyone or anything as an excuse for not being the best we can be. Make a list what you love to do. What makes you want to jump you out of bed to get going. What inspires, and motivates you. What makes you know you are bringing out the best in yourself and yourself. About the Author: Crystal is a certified expansion guide, coach, author and facilitator of the five day live event called Freedom at the Core. Her passion is creating a safe, fun and nurturing space for people to discover what stands between holding back and the freedom they desire. www.CrystalPresenceOnline.com

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February A 2018 Contributors Writers Alan Cohen Andrew Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac. Ascending Hearts Cathedral of the Soul Crystal Presence Guy Finley Jill M. Jackson John Holland Judi Lynch Kristin Grayce McGary Marcia Sirota MD Maria Khalife Sandie Sedgbeer Shakti World

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