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Spirituality

7 Qualities of An Open Minded & Aware Thinker

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We all have a certain degree of admiration for those forward-thinkers who were ahead of their time or for those free-spirited individuals who had the courage, the will and the foresight to speak out their minds despite risking being labelled as non-conformists and cast to the outer fringes of society.

Well, truth be told, that is never a real threat for free thinkers. Actually, that is where they belong and makes them what they are. Free-thinkers breathe and thrive at the margins of society where structure and chaos cross at the borderline. If you want to be a free thinker, embrace chaos, novelty, disruptive change and non-conformity. Free-thinkers live on the brink of social breakdown. They live on the edge, away from the anesthesia of normalcy and institutionalized control.

They are not held captive by the rigid walls of the dominating worldview. They do not fear change, poverty or conspiracy. If you want to free your thinking and become an agent of change and novelty, there are a few things you need to recognize and understand.

1) Creativity is your natural birth right

We stereotype creative thinkers as artists or bohemians who are different than the rest of us. Well that is plainly false. We are all endowed with the gift of creativity.

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Education, or rather schooling, has successfully stripped us from that natural disposition. It has moulded us into mechanistic and reductionistic images of humanity – into cogs in the wheel. The schooling system is designed to make people think within the same parameters – those laid down by the dominating view of society and culture.

Students are discouraged to deviate and think freely outside of those parameters. They just have to follow curricula which channels them to examinations, higher institutions and eventually become part of the workforce. Yet creative thinking is your natural birthright. They only taught you how to unlearn it without even noticing.

2) Beware Group thinking & Herd Morality

Group thinking is the silent enemy of free-thinking when we unconsciously follow the rhythm of the crowd. When the crowd shouts, we feel compelled to shout. When the crowd panics, we panic. Emotions, sentiments and ideas can be very contagious. So is thinking. It’s quite easy to follow the line of thought of your peers and those in authority. Yet as we become sedated with group thinking, we lose the power to claim the authenticity of our own mind. Continue reading →

Spirituality

5 Fundamental Truths Even The Most Awake People Forget

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It’s so easy to get caught up in the business and demand of life that we can often for the most simple of truths.  Even some of the truths that hold together the foundation of our experience, that give life meaning, and that bring us joy often get buried beneath a concoction of thoughts, obligations, and responsibilities.

While it can be excited to experience life and go with the flow, a life without reflection is not worth living.  There has to be some time set aside each day to examine yourself and see if there is something you can improve on.  The funny thing is, it’s usually the case that the solution to our problems is so obvious that we failed to see it.

If you find yourself feeling stuck, upset, or unfulfilled, the solution may be as simple as remembering some of the basic truths that we may have taken for granted.  Here are 5 of the most basic truths that even the smartest people forget.

1) Success and failure go hand-in-hand

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Every single “successful” person you can think of has failed many times in their life.  They’ve lost money, friends, relationships, jobs, and hope.

In the same way that you can’t have light without darkness, you can’t really talk about success until you have a concept of what it means to be unsuccessful.

In fact “success” and “failure” are really just states of mind.  One state of mind is grateful and inspired, and the other is doubtful and fear-based.  Both of these are a part of the circle of life, and there is not coming to success without a few bumps and bruises along the way.

2) “Success” does not mean happiness

A basic truth that often gets forgotten is that having money and financial freedom will not make you happy.  Neither will your relationships, your job, or your social life.  Only YOU can make you happy through your own self-realization and personal development.  You can be happy without money and your dream job, but you can’t be happy without a relationship with yourself and the Universe.

3) Life is short

Life is too short to hate people, hold grudges, and worry about things you can’t change.  It’s also too short to spend time in a place you aren’t happy, spend your daily hours doing something you detest, or make “safe” decisions your whole life.  Take some risks once in a while, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and go on adventures.

4) Everyone suffersshutterstock_287289923

Nobody in the history of planet earth has lived a life free of suffering, pain, depression, anger, of anxiety.  Everybody is experiences these things on a daily basis.  Even the people you look up to in your life the most are fighting their own battles.  Just because the people around you are smiling and talking does not mean they aren’t suffering deep down.

It’s important to remember that suffering is a natural part of the human experience.  There is nothing wrong with you, and you are not “messed up” just because you are sad or confused often.

Everyone you have ever met in your life has, at some point, experienced the same kind of emotion you are dealing with right now.  You are not alone in your struggles.

5) What we see in others exists in us

shutterstock_325003325Life is a mirror.  Everything wrong we see in others exists, at least in part, within us as well.  Everything that irritates us about others shows us what we need to work on.

Everything area we need to improve in is mirrored back to us in our relationships, circumstances, and life events.  When you find yourself frustrated with the world around you, don’t be afraid to stop and ask yourself “How much of this is a reflection of myself?”

By remembering these 5 things, it can take a massive weight off of our shoulders.  Sometimes, life is not so mysterious.  Sometimes the answer to our dilemmas is as simple as stopping, reflecting, and remember some of the most basic truths that seem to get lost in the chaos of life.

News, Spirituality

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying Will Open Your Eyes About Substance Abuse

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“All the substances of abuse, whether they’re opiates or cocaine or anything else, they’re actually pain killers.”

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Whether it’s a sex addiction, or internet or a relationship or shopping or work addiction, these are ALL attempts to get away from distress.

 

Keith Richards, who had a severe heroin addiction, said that ‘all the contortions we go through are just not to be ourselves for a few hours.

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I don’t care what they tell you about genetics or choices or any of that nonsense, it’s always about pain.

But the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, it’s got a wonderful line in it:

‘Whatever you do, don’t try and escape your pain, but be with it.’

Because the attempt to escape from pain is what creates more pain. And that’s the reality with addiction.

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Addicted people need a compassionate present which will permit them to experience their pain without having to run away from it.

And all the attempts to run away, it’s like what another teacher says:

The surest way to go to hell is to try and run away from hell.

We live in a society that, one way or another, is always about instant relief, quick satisfaction, distraction… it’s always the quick getaway.

It is a matter of, at some point, finding a way of being with your pain so that you can actually get to know what it’s really all about.

Source: This article was originally featured on Powerful Primates, and was used with permission from the author.

Science, Spirituality

3 Ways To Know Someone Is Lying By Using Your Intuition

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Have you ever had an experience where you knew someone was lying but you weren’t sure enough to call them out on it, only to find out later that you were right all along?  As much as life is about love and community and friendship, it is also about wisdom and discernment.

As nice as it would be to live in a world where everyone is honest and transparent, the truth is, we have a long way to go with that still.  Something that can really help you on your journey is being able to distinguish between a lie and a truth.  It is good to learn the ways to identify a lie NOW so that you don’t have to learn the hard way through experience later.

Whether it be a co-worker, friend, family member, or peer, here are 3 main ways to tell if someone is lying to you:

1) Their body language changes

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It has been estimated that about 55% of all communication boils down to body language.  We are biologically wired to be able to read body language, and knowing how to identify specific movements and gestures is a good way to prevent yourself from falling victim to a liar.  Here are a few body language signs to look for if someone is lying: Continue reading →

News, Spirituality

What To Do When You Feel “Hatred” Towards Another Person

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Hatred is typically defined as being an intense dislike towards another person.  You have a right to dislike someone, but to HATE someone usually means that there is something that is unresolved energetically and needs to be looked at.

Not to mention, hatred is a very destructive and toxic feeling to carry around with you, and it often times can drive you mad.  It can also lead to physical illness and contribute to spiritual and mental instability.  Life is too short to carry around hatred for another person when it can be resolved, so let’s take a look at some things you can do when you feel this intense feeling towards another person:

1) Ask yourself, “Is this even true?”

We get into a habit of taking our initial thoughts and emotions as absolute truth, when the majority of the time they are just egoic impulses and reactions.  And even when they aren’t mere reactions and are actually grounded in some truth, we still tend to create unnecessary stories around a situation and believe them into existence.  Let me give you an example.

Let’s say a friend of yours goes behind your back and smears you on social media and sleeps with your ex.  A story that would initially arise in our minds may be something like “That person betrayed me, and I hate them for that”.  Now notice what happens in your energy field when we take that story and replace it with “That person manifested a behaviour that was aligned with their level of consciousness at the time, and they clearly lack the insight and wisdom to see that was inappropriate.”.

They are both true, but one comes from a place of unconsciousness and turns you into a victim, while the other comes from a place of higher understanding and gives you your power back.  Or maybe, they didn’t even betray you, they just felt extremely hurt by something you did and said to them without you even realizing it and they didn’t know how to express their pain properly.  We often fail to question if we had anything to do with their behaviour.  Check inside yourself for false stories AND for how may have contributed energetically to the situation.

The next time you feel hate towards somebody, question the story you keep telling yourself in your head about the situation.  If you are at all like me, you will find that the story running through your mind about the person you hate is not only useless, it is almost always untrue.

2) Express it to them

One of the worst pieces of advice we get upset or angry is to just “get over it”.  This typically only results in resentment towards the other person and just puts a blanket over uncommunicative thoughts and emotions.  As uncomfortable as it may be at times, and as resistant you may be to being open and honest with the other person, the best thing you can do is communicate it to them.  Say exactly what you mean,

Keeping anger towards another person inside yourself is like holding on to a flame and expecting the other person to get burnt.  You owe it to yourself out of self-love alone to be honest and open with someone as a way to release yourself from the burden of carrying around something that needs to be communicated.  And when you do communicate it, you will often find that the story you were telling yourself about them as untrue or incomplete.

You have a mouth and vocal chords for a reason.  Don’t be afraid to use them!

3) Release

If you have looked at your story from different perspectives, have considered how you may have played a role in their behaviour, and if you express yourself to that other person from a place of sincerity, groundedness, and honesty, then your job is essentially done. If they still aren’t willing to listen, then you have to accept that they are simply not operating from a state of consciousness that is ready to be open and transparent.  Being frustrated and resentment that they aren’t hearing you out will only cause you more suffering.

Accept that they may not have the self-honesty or wisdom necessary to see things from your point of view, and move on knowing that you have done your part.  “Releasing” yourself from something doesn’t just meaning not thinking about it anymore.  To release does not mean to forget or suppress.  Sometimes, it requires deep meditation and ceremonial efforts to cleanse yourself and fully forgive the other person.

Hatred is just of a natural emotion to experience as anything else.  But with all emotions and feelings that arise within our energy field, it’s important to get into the habit of reviewing them, expressing them, and releasing them.  If you catch yourself feeling hatred towards another person, allow yourself to fully feel it.  Once you feel it , analyze it, express it, then release it, it’s no longer anger.  It becomes a lesson and an opportunity for higher understanding.

Spirituality

3 Myths About Spirituality That Stop Us From Living Fully

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As you begin to awaken to your sense of spirituality, it’s easy to get misguided by all of the disinformation that is spread online and in the book stores.  As we begin to work through our own personal thought programs and belief systems, some additional belief systems can become installed and act as viruses inside our being.

These viruses are really just false beliefs and spiritual myths that get installed inside of us and can prevent us from living fully and authentically.  Here are three very common spiritual myths that block us from living fully:

1) Spirituality is a belief system

Spirituality has nothing to do with subscribing to a new series of thoughts in your head.  When people shift from one worldview or religion to another, it usual comes in the form of switching belief systems and adopting a new ideology.

The number one biggest spiritual myth is that spirituality is just another belief system we have to adopt.  Sometimes, we end up confusing spirituality with a sort of New Age belief system instead of as a skill set, a way of interacting with thought and emotion, and a relationship with the present moment.

Instead of presence, emotional mastery, communication, self-realization, and self-awareness, things like crystals, channeling, divination, and and astrology receive the most attention.  There is nothing wrong with any of those things, but is spirituality about investing your belief in a new field of study? Or is it about self-discovery and the pursuit of wisdom? Continue reading →