Meditation akeger | 31 Jan 2008
Meditation The Art Of Self-Recovery
What you focus on determines your reality because your mind becomes active in acquiring and bringing into your reality the things that you focus on.
You bring into your experience what you focus on.
If you focus on lack, limitation, negativity, and scarcity, then that is what you bring into your experience.
If you focus on abundance, expansion, positive things, and plenty, then that is what you bring into your experience.
A moment of introspection will make this obvious.
Why, then, if it is that easy to switch our reality, from one of suffering to one of joyful experience, do we persist in injuring ourselves?
It is because we are not in charge of our minds. Rather our minds are in charge of us. We, a conscious being, are dominated by our conditioning.
This is why the practice of meditation is important.
Every time we meditate, we dissolve more and more conditioning. We get off autopilot and take over the path our ship is cruising on.
As we let go of more and more of our reflexive thinking, we start to take charge of our own minds, and our reality, slowly, creakingly, turns around for us.
Of course, this is not easy.
Yet, it’s not much fun living a scattered and chaotic life either.
Until our awareness comes to the surface, we can’t really expect to improve our health, boost our finances, or be able to calm the storms of a relationship. Our dreams are always one step ahead of us, lost in the mist of “someday I will”
The path is simple. Learn a method of meditation and practice it.
The path is also difficult. You have to learn and you have to practice.
The reward, however, is immense. Increased self-awareness, increased control of your mind, and increased appreciation and meaning of your own self and life.
In many religious traditions, we are often said to be asleep.
What exactly does this mean?
It means that we are almost wholly unconscious. We think and act in ways that are not in our best interests.
A conscious person is an aware person and awareness is something that comes when we release the subconscious programs that run our lives.
A brief review of yesterday will show you how your notion of self-control and inner mastery is pretty much an illusion.
If meditation is not your thing, then try contemplation, sitting in silence, quietly reflecting on who you are and what it is that is important to you.
A daily routine where you work on raising your awareness will do you a world of good. It will, in fact, change your world, placing you in one more favorable to your interests.
Saleem Rana would love to share his inspiring ideas with you. Hunting everywhere for a life worth living? Discover the life of your dreams. His free book tells you how. http://www.theempoweredsoul.com/enter.html
Copyright 2004 Saleem Rana. Please feel free to pass this
article on to your friends, or use it in your ezine or
newsletter. It’s a shareware article.
Health akeger | 31 Jan 2008
Occupational Health, Safety & Risk Management for the Home
As I attend more and more Risk Management, OH&S and Manual Handling training for work, I’ve noticed that as boring as these courses often are, I am bringing my newly-aware eyes home and looking with dissatisfaction around my house. I went through all the usual kid-safe safaris way back when my children were crawling and toddling from one room to another. Not a furniture corner remained unpadded or a glass object d’art put out of harms way. Yet, freshly trained for the office, I see that I have let things slide since the darling trio reached the independence years of the charming pre-pubescent.
Risk Management trains the eye to assess the inherent risk of building and event sites. Unconfined refuse, unsafe scaffolding, construction left-overs, etc. Every aspect is inspected for safety and potential to injure. The trained eye also casts a knowing gaze over backyard party preparations. Damaged fence posts from soccer balls kicked too hard; wire poking free from the corner where once passionfruit vines had trailed; tree roots and rocks protruding from an unkempt lawn, hidden bone-size holes in same. A long time ago, in the time period generally known as “before kids walking “, our backyard looked quite good with everything in its proper place. Then the kids, followed by an active, partly insane dog, took over and there went paradise. I dragged my husband into the wilds with lectures on risk control, damaged arms and legs not belong to this family, and hazardous waste pooling behind the garage. He assured me the waste was in no way toxic and we made ourselves busy fixing and barricading the rest of the yard. It took a whole weekend.
Manual handling. Ah, now there’s a torturous lesson in how to keep the eyes open, let alone alert! However it also showed me that I really shouldn’t attempt to carry too many grocery bags in one trip just to get the job done quicker. It also further demonstrated the need to insistently share more of the heavy and arduous chores around the home such as vacuuming and bedmaking. At one stage I had been determined that my children would grow up knowing how to make their own beds and look after their personal environments [read, their bedrooms]. Somewhere along the way it became much easier and less stressful to do it myself. So, I am back to insisting they shoulder their share of the burdens in order to receive their share of the subsequent blessings - me in a good mood and with energy! I also, with stern visage, folded arms and tapping foot, insist that husband clean up after himself and learn to put his own clothes away.
Occupational Health and Safety. This is the biggy! I scan the house at all times, often without realising it, and point out the dangers in leaving the hairdryer plugged into the wall with the cord draped over the fruit bowl [don’t ask!]. Warn of the potential fire hazard of not unplugging the laptop from the charger and leaving it nestled among the blankets on the lounge. Gently remind of the dangers of leaving toys, clothing and schoolbags scattered across floors and/or blocking doorways. Trip hazard, children, and probably mine! Being electrocuted, set on fire, tripping over and breaking a leg does not make for a happy and energised mother. And dad won’t be too happy about it either.
I thought it wasn’t really getting through to the children until the other day. I overheard number three darling telling number two that leaving her cd player in the middle of the room with the cord stretched across the walkway was completely unsafe, and “I could have tripped over and broken a leg, you know!” I sighed in bliss. They do listen after all.
So, while the warnings and reminders continue unabated, my husband [equally as trained in OH&S] and I back them up with ensuring our home remains reasonably safe for us all to live in. Those areas deemed irretrievable [at least until the children grow up and move into their own OH&S problems] have been fortified to prevent access. Those areas we can fix, we do. Last weekend we discovered that underneath the growing pile of unused bicycles, roller blades, skateboards and assorted sorry-looking balls, was a boat! We’ve cleaned out the spiderwebs, tested the engines, and this weekend, we’re going to see if the old thing still floats. Don’t worry. With our minds still firmly on the safety and well being of our darling children, we’ve drawn up lists of things that need cleaning, sorting and putting away and have put them, and the young ones, in the experienced hands of their grandparents. Happy Boating!
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~~~~~~~ Trish is an independent writer with desktop publishing, promotional material, content sourcing, location and information research, fiction critique and web group management skills tucked firmly into her work belt. To find out about rates and other services, or to read more of her articles, visit Trish at http://beginningsmiddlesends.blogspot.com/ or send an email to wordcatcher@hotmail.com |
Fitness akeger | 31 Jan 2008
A Guide To Help You Teach Your Children Positve Self-Image Through Fitness
Raising a pre-teen or teenage daughter (or son) is not easy and can cause any parent a lot of stress. There’s so much to worry about - dating, drugs, alcohol, sex, school grades, just to name a few. But one crucial element often gets overlooked until it manifests itself in extreme ways (like through an eating disorder). I’m talking about self-image. It’s extremely important that parents ensure that their children have a positive self-image, especially in relation to their body.
The key to ensuring strong self-esteem and a positive body image starts with the parent. If you don’t feel positive about your self-image, then how can you expect your children to? While this is important for both genders, it is especially critical for raising a healthy daughter. And beginning the lessons when a girl is young is imperative, so don’t wait until it’s too late - teaching your daughter to feel good about her body needs to start at a very young age.
Eating disorder experts say girls are developing eating disorders as young as 5 and 6 years old. And a recent study indicated that 70% of the sixth-grade girls they surveyed said they began worrying about their weight between ages 9 and 11. Why are so many young girls thinking that they are fat? Many are obsessing about their weight because they have parents who are preoccupied with their own poor body images.
While the statistics are disheartening, the good news is that there’s a lot that can be done to help our children have positive self-images. And, even small changes that parents make can help. Here are few tips to help your children avoid warped and negative body images:
- Establish a “no diet talk” rule. When your children are nearby, DON’T talk about dieting or how fat you feel! This is extremely important. Remember, kids are listening all the time (even when you think that they aren’t - especially then). So, even though asking your spouse or friend “do I look fat in this?” may seem innocent, it can have a life-altering effect on your kids when they repeatedly hear it.
- Parents aren’t the only adults that influence their children. Set the “no diet talk” rule mentioned above for all adults that are around your children. This means you shouldn’t allow your friends, parents, siblings, neighbors, or anyone else to talk about being fat or being on a diet when they are around your children.
- Set a good example. If your children never see you engage in fitness or if they hear you complain about working out, then they are going to have a negative image of exercise. Let them know that you workout to stay healthy, to be strong and to have more energy and stamina (so you can keep up with them)!
- Get your kids involved in sports. Experts say that playing sports really helps build confidence and improves self-esteem (especially for girls).
- Teach your children to include physical activity as part of their daily routine. But don’t force them to exercise. Make sure that the physical activity is seen as something fun to do rather than teaching them to think of exercise as a necessary evil. Good activities include taking a nightly family walk, turning off the t.v. and instead turning music on that you all can dance to, or taking a weekend family bike ride.
- Try to prepare (or if you are short are time purchase) healthy meals. And teach them the importance of good nutrition. Don’t let them have the misconception that there are “good” and “bad” foods. If a kid thinks that candy is a “bad” food, then naturally they will just want it more. Just try to encourage your kids to eat a balanced diet each day and to eat sugary and/or fatty foods in moderation.
Remember that something as small as talking about losing weight in front of your kids can have very detrimental effects on their self-image as they age. Damaging behavior learned from a parent at a young age can take years for a child to overcome. So, the sooner you start incorporating the tips above into your life, the better for you child. But don’t forget that it has to start with you - make sure that you are incorporating healthy fitness and eating rituals into your daily routine and that you have a positive body image (no matter what your size or shape is)!
About The Author
Lynn Bode is dedicated to helping people get fit. Through her website company, www.WorkoutsForYou.com, she offers affordable online exercise programs to help you lose weight, tone-up, build muscles, increase stamina and more. Custom programs for all fitness levels. Vist the site for a Free sample workout.
Tags: family, Fitness, Health, self esteem