A Guide to Conscious Business - Living Consciously

Living consciously and being conscious in home business means existing in a state of grace. It's when you start to see the magic in the mundane.

When you can see the scared in the ordinary and become fully a part of the present moment, you understand that every day life, especially your business life, is a joy and an adventure.

When you're dashing through life as if it was a race to the finish line, only to realise that you'll never actually arrive, you're not living authentically.

If you're depressed, frazzled and worn out by the endless pursuit of something, but you're not even sure what that something is, then you're like millions of others who aren't living consciously.

How can you be joyful for your son's victory in the football match, when you're worrying about a client, or thinking about the work you could be doing instead? It's impossible.

The best you can do is to be in the moment at any given time and give that moment you full and complete attention. Be conscious in the moment and see what a difference it makes to your day.

Endless distractions and busy-ness leads to a scattering of consciousness that leads to frustration and unhappiness. Sometimes it seems easier just to deal with whatever comes up during the day - emails, phone calls, bills, kids, your daily round, rather than create the space necessary to start living with purpose and passion.

So, how do you begin to live more consciously?

By carving out precious time alone to listen to the voice within.

By making meditation and prayer a part of your daily life.

By fully participating in the present moment as many times a day as you can.

By training yourself to become acutely aware of your sense perceptions. What can you see, hear, smell, touch and taste at any given point during the day?

As a parent, think of how your toddler sees the world. Children can often teach us great lessons in this regard. Each and every day is an adventure, almost as if they're experiencing everything for the first time and marvelling at its brilliance. Wouldn't it be awesome to live in the same way?

I am constantly inspired to do this by my young daughter. She has been blessed with a fantastic sense of humour and passionately goes forth every day looking for opportunities for fun and laughter. While I am changing her clothes in the morning, she laughs and throws her arms around my neck, trying to stop me from pulling a shirt over her head. To her it's a wonderful game. Some days when I'm in a rush, I find myself becoming annoyed and just wishing she would give it up and let me dress her in the fastest time possible. But then I stop and realise what a joy these moments could be, if I allowed them to be. By simply changing my perception, and joining in her game, or creating a new one where we play peekaboo as the shirt goes over her head brings us both greater joy. What's more, it probably only adds no more than one minute to the entire process, but we're both laughing hard at the end and feeling happy.

Take a moment in everything you do to be aware of it - to be conscious of it. Create that moment of space where you're not thinking about the future or the past, but are committed to the present. It's as simple as noticing the breath going in and out of your lungs, or feeling the muscles in your legs working as you take a step, or how something really tastes as you eat it. Eating consciously is an excellent way to lose weight. When you're really in the present when you eat, your body will tell you when it has had enough. If you eat in front of the television, or while doing something else, you're not conscious of what is going into your mouth, how it really tastes or how it makes your body feel.

Heightened sensory perception helps explain why going on a holiday or trip to a foreign place can make you feel alive, passionate, energised and interested. When you're in unfamiliar surroundings, you're taking it all in. You're seeing, smelling, hearing, touching and tasting everything for the first time. Not only does it make you feel alive but it can relax and recharge. Imagine if you could carry this holiday way of being into your daily life. It's not difficult.

Being in the present is the first step in a process that will create a new way of being. Living consciously will gradually erode your old conditioned negative thought processes. You will find you worry less and experience more - more joy, happiness and abundance.

You are perfect and whole in this instant. Go into the world with a new mindset, live consciously and see the beauty in everything.

c 2010 Home Biz Chicks

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Your Conscious Life - You Always Have a Choice

What does living consciously mean to you? If I asked 20 different people what it means to live a conscious life, I'm sure I'd get twenty different answers.

One person might say living consciously is living simply and leaving a light footprint on the Earth; another would say it's about being mindful in all our relationships; another would put their focus on being authentic and expressing their truth; and yet another would emphasize living their passion and giving their unique gifts to the collective well being.

You see, to a certain extent it depends where we're starting from and there's room for all our differences. For me, there's a central core to living consciously and a very important aspect is the freedom to choose. We don't always have a choice about what life throws at us but we do always have a choice about how we respond to life in each moment, and these moment to moment choices create our experience, here and now and in the future.

To put it very simply, we either make unconscious choices or we can make conscious choices. Unconscious choices come from our conditioned mind, they're habitual and they give us more of what we've had before. This may be a certain level of comfort or a quick fix as provided by comfort foods or a glass of wine for example, or it may be a repetition of old drama which keeps us stuck in familiar misery. We repeat these unconscious choices over and over until we start to wake up and become more conscious.

Conscious choices bring our thoughts and actions into alignment with our authentic values; with what will ultimately bring us real satisfaction and fulfillment. Conscious choices lead to learning, growth, and the opportunity to create something new and fresh.

Let me give you an example. This week I met a young man; his relationship with his partner of several years had become so difficult for both of them, they had decided to part. He was very angry; the immediate pain of losing this relationship was stirring up old childhood pain of feeling abandoned by his parents and he wanted to hurt himself and punish his parents, his partner and his child. Luckily, he made a conscious choice and sought out his long term friend and mentor who encouraged him to see the situation as a new beginning, full of opportunities.

If he wants to free himself from this unconscious pattern of feeling abandoned and wanting to punish he will need to make not just one but many conscious choices, every day. These deeply engrained patterns do not easily go away, as we all know. But knowing that we have a choice immediately frees us from being a victim of our past. It may not be easy to change old patterns but it is possible.

Relationships are the mirrors in which we can see our conditioned limiting patterns most clearly. When things don't work out in a relationship or we feel hurt, it's human nature to blame the other person. If only they would change, then everything would be OK, right? But actually it's much more empowering to see everything that happens in all your relationships as information about you and how you can be different. Then the power and the responsibility is in your hands. You cease to be the victim of other's behavior and become the leader in your own life. This is freedom!

Someone sent me some You-tube video links yesterday, Hopi elder, Oren Lyons talking about our current global situation and the need for each of us to take responsibility. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7cylfQtkDg&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqfvUA2vRAM&NR=1.

Amongst many other wise and true things he says, "the power is always in the people's hands." Yes. We each have the power individually to free ourselves from unconsciousness. The unconsciousness in me is the same unconsciousness in you and is the same unconsciousness that is causing such devastating damage to our world. We each have the power to embark on the adventure of a lifetime: to see ourselves more clearly, discover and express our authentic self, and to live knowing everything we think, say and do matters.

When I realized that the unconscious, conditioned mind is impersonal it was a turning point for me. We take life so personally, but our dysfunctional and limited thought and behaviour patterns, although potentially dangerous, are not personal at all but simply part of being human. We all have these patterns although they play out differently for each of us. We recognize them so easily in others, because we know them first in ourselves.

The more we are willing to see ourselves the quicker we can let go of the old patterns and free ourselves from unnecessary suffering.

And, once we really get that it's all quite impersonal and the only person who can free us is me, myself and I, we stop being so afraid of ourselves. We can learn to look at our failings compassionately, see how we can do better and make conscious choices. And as our self compassion grows, our compassion for others grows too and our relationships improve, as if by magic.

You can take your life into your own hands today; become curious about yourself; decide to change your mind; do something different, even something a little scary. Approach another person more kindly, decide not to be offended next time you get triggered, make an effort to see from another person's point of view, or draw clearer boundaries. Sometimes you may need to walk away and move on. But unless you really see through the pattern that created the difficult situation, and let it go, you will carry it with you and it will simply play out again elsewhere.

This is a time for radical clearing out of the old inside ourselves. That's why we are all feeling so challenged. Join me in noticing what your relationships are showing you about yourself this week; it's a great consciousness practice.

I offer a weekly tele-gathering, Soul Sanctuary, for people on a conscious path. If you'd like to know more, I'd love to hear from you.

Rose Diamond, website: http://www.awholenewworld.net blog: http://magnificentbeing.net/blog

Access Unlimited Potential by Shifting From the Mind Consciousness to Heart Centered Consciousness

We live in a left brain dominant society and as result of this we have become disconnected from our heart consciousness. In essence, we have over-exercised our brains and now they are the dominant muscles of our perception. We are at a time in evolution where we are becoming more aware of the disharmony between the heart and brain and we are being asked to find ways to bring harmony between these two important centers of consciousness.

It has been a natural part of evolution that our brains took the reins for a while so we could learn more about ourselves from that perspective. Each way of being has its benefits. The brain and heart are meant to work together, each come from the same energy source and compliment each other. By being able to shift between the mind and heart consciousness it allows us to use our full range of inner resources, giving us complete access to our unlimited potential.

Our challenge today is to move consciously from one to the other and use the results for the benefit of all. Since we have been living in a brain dominate society the heart and brain have stop communicating and have become disconnected. In order for us access and use our full potential it's important for them to communicate with each other. Because we have free will we can choose which state of consciousness will take the lead at any one time making it possible for the mind and heart to communicate easily.

We can strengthen our ability to use the consciousness of our hearts at will and bring balance to both conscious levels by becoming aware of the steps to living consciously:

Step one is to have the awareness that heart centered consciousness is a possibility and then the desire to want to live this way or be this way in the world.

Step two is the awareness to change. Often, people don't realize that their life can be different and that there are ways to make changes.

Step three is the desire to change. Once we know that we can change, we know that we don't have to keep on living in the way, which creates the desire to change. We start to understand the value and benefit of living from hear centered consciousness and that we are capable of changing unlimited beliefs systems with methods like Focused Intention Technique.

Step four is choice. Once one desires to change, one becomes aware of the importance of making choices from heart consciousness and inner power that comes from heart power.

Step five is about practicing centering in heart center daily. If you use intention and focus to center yourself in the heart center for 28 days you create a new energetic pattern in your life. You develop unconscious competency where all choices automatically come from heart centeredness. It becomes a way of being for you.

When you gain practice in getting in touch with the consciousness of your heart, you are able to strengthen this muscles of choice that has to do with projecting and receiving heart energy. Take quiet time every morning to center yourself in heart consciousness. Practice sending yourself thoughts of love and gratitude for a few minutes. After awhile you begin to feel and know the difference from mind consciousness and heart consciousness.

Remember to take time every day and shift your awareness to your heart. On the days where you find it hard to shift your attention to your heart and change your negative thoughts to love it could be a sign you limiting beliefs are blocking your greatness. This is good example where the use of Focused Intention Technique or FIT can be powerful tool, as it is an easy technique to learn for changing limiting beliefs at the core from heart consciousness.

A Choice For Life - An Act of Conscious Living, Spiritual Awakenings, and Inner Healing

On November 21, 2004, my sister Carla, at 58 years of age, died of breast cancer. My sister was a beautiful woman who rejected her own beauty. She had a passion for conversation and loved to give advice whether you wanted it or not. She wove her husband and three sons into a tight-knit family structure, believing that they would never leave her. Eight years prior to her death her husband Larry died of leukemia. Before her husband died, Carla had a will to live. Afterwards, she slowly slid into a depression. Therapy and medication weren't able to help, nor did her affinity for shopping or her supportive family.

For the past two years my sister hid that she had breast cancer. She blamed her ill health on a car accident. She disregarded medical intervention, refused to get a mammogram and sought treatment that kept her in denial of her prognosis. By the time she allowed an oncologist to examine her it was too late. The family was shocked by the revelation that Carla was going to die.

As my sister lay dying I cried out to the heavens. How could this happen? I stared at her swollen face aching to receive an answer. Carla remained silent, entering into another realm of existence. My mind's eye wandered through menageries of memories: Carla and I dancing on the front porch of our Brooklyn home; playing tag; dressed in frills and lace; fighting over a dress, a brush and our parents' attention. We were sisters through and through.

But now, our differences became apparent; Why did she avoid getting a mammogram? I read somewhere that 13 million U.S. women 40 years of age or older have never had a mammogram. What made my sister one of the 13 million women? Perusing through breast cancer Web sites, I found a multitude of interesting information about technologies, treatments, prevention, genetics, detection, surgery, improved outlooks and more. However, there was no coverage regarding cancer and depression, cancer and nutrition, cancer and meditation, cancer and healing childhood abuse, cancer and creativity, cancer and anger, nor cancer and grief. Though I do not disregard proven medical treatment and the urgency for early detection and treatment, I do advocate for extended research into the emotionality of cancer, more education on carcinogenic foods (sugar, caffeine and food additives) and high-caloric diets, and an investigation regarding the negative mental influences that activate cancer.

As a trained metaphysician and an emotional-body practitioner, I believe stress to the body is caused by traumatized emotions and repressed expression, and that negative thinking causes mental, physical and emotional disorders. And it seems I'm not alone in my beliefs. One of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the world, SmithKline Beecham, distributed the video to hospitals throughout the United States.

Metaphysician, publisher and author Louise L. Hay wrote in her best-selling book "You Can Heal Your Life" that "The thoughts we think and the words we speak create "our experiences" After she self-healed vaginal cancer, she wrote the book to guide individuals to uncover emotional beliefs and traumas that cause illness. A breast problem, according to Hay, is "a refusal to nourish the self" and causes behaviors such as "over-mothering, over-protectiveness and overbearing attitudes." She also wrote that cancer is caused by "deep hurt" and that people who are afflicted with these unexpressed wounds "carry hatreds" and "blame and give up." These intense emotions and thoughts were the exact issues my sister denied throughout her life.

Kabalistic teachings (mystical knowledge of the ancient Hebrews) talk of the body being the vessel for the soul's expression. According to the teachings, if the body is cut off from the soul's life-force, then disease can occur. But even today, the media has become involved in bringing this important message to the forefront:

The recently released movie "What the Bleep Do You Know" explores-through the conscious and subconscious-how repressed emotional expression weakens our immune system. To delve into the self to heal, a person needs to enter into the shadow side of his or her psyche. Though a therapist/healer can try to help an individual dig deep to recover a lost and wounded soul, the person has to ultimately choose to make the journey on his or her own. To direct a person's attention through years of defense into deeper feelings and expression takes focus and dedication. Through the use of breath work, creativity and experiential mind/body processes I help awaken the body's trust to release painful emotions.

There are many answers and questions that guide us to make choices. I hope these facts, both medical and humanistic, will spark at least one person to choose life.

Here are some tips to help you keep your body free of disease:

" Eat a balanced diet and exercise.

" Hug yourself often.

" Express, feel, express.

" Ask for help.

" Never give up.

" Be creative.

" Intimacy heals. Spend time talking with family and friends.

" Receive life as a gift.

" Remember: Your life has purpose.

" Ask: What makes me feel alive?

" Say: I am enough just the way I am.

" Realize that you alone create the meaning of your life.

There was so much my sister loved in life; but what she loved could not save her from what she hated about herself. She stopped caring and therefore denied her body life. My heart hurts knowing my sister is gone. I will miss her smile, her voice and her flamboyant laughter. She will live on in my mind and soul forever. Hopefully, my story will inspire, educate and motivate at least one of you to encourage a sister, mother, daughter, brother, father or son to never give up on themselves or life.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BREAST CANCER

" Every two minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer.

" Each year, 182,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and 43,300 die.

" Approximately 1,600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. About 400 of them are predicted to die.

" One woman in eight who lives to age 85 will develop breast cancer during her lifetime.

" Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women between the ages of 40 and 55.

" Seventy percent of all breast cancers are found through breast self-exams, but not all lumps are detectable by touch.

" A mammogram can detect breast cancer up to two years before a lump is large enough to be felt. Thermo grams (which measure changes in the skin through heat) can detect an abnormality approximately seven years in advance. Found early, there is a five-year survival rate of 96 percent, so get at least one of these tests done yearly.

MartaLuzim.com Conscious Living, Inner Healing, and Personal Transformation. Copyright 2009 http://www.martaluzim.com

Marta J. Luzim, M.S., is a psychospiritual therapist, novelist, poet, and playwright. She runs Primal Healing and Art which specializes in classes ans courses in alternative approach to awaken conscious living and relationship therapy. Family of origin patterns are explored to recognize repetitive attitudes and behaviors that inhibits us from choosing new ways of relating and living.

For more information on Spiritual Healing, Holistic Healing, and Spiritual Awakening, please visit her website at http://www.martaluzim.com

Why Raise Your Consciousness, and Why Now?

Eckhart Tolle once said that, this world has the potential to be a heaven on earth. I agree with him completely.

I don't see any reason why it couldn't be.

So what is preventing us from making this, heaven on earth, a reality? My opinion is that it's our lack of consciousness.

What do I mean by consciousness?

The best way to explain what consciousness is, would be to give out examples of what it isn't. Consciousness isn't, constantly yelling at your kids. It isn't stealing from others. It isn't war.

All of these acts are, most often, acts of unconsciousness. But the good news is that we can change, and I'm already seeing many people shifting in their consciousness around me.

The Many Benefits of Becoming Conscious

For me, learning to become conscious has lead to many changes in my life, and they have happened in a very short period of time.

I've broken myself free from consumerist chains. In other words, I've learned to live with less stuff. I used to think that accumulating nice things would finally make me fulfilled. Now I won't go shopping, unless I truly have a need for something.

I've also dramatically changed my eating habits. I began noticing that I had tendencies of being an emotional eater. I'm now able to notice when my hand is going for the cookie jar.

I might still eat the cookie but now I can control the amount that I eat.

My alcohol consumption has also dropped, without me even making an effort to do so.

All of these changes have improved the quality of my life.

I'm not saying that you need to change in the direction that I have. This is just my individual path. For you, becoming more conscious will most likely be something totally different.

And that is perfectly fine.

External Positive Changes

As I said earlier, everyone's' path is their own but I have noticed many similarities in the people who do get on this path.

Becoming conscious often leads to finding what your passion is. Or if you already know what it is, it might give you the clarity you need to finally begin pursuing it.

Along with finding your passion, consciousness often increases the importance that you place on living in the present moment.

No more is the present moment treated as an obstacle for some, totally imaginary, future moment that will fulfill you. A moment when you are finally successful, rich, or popular.

Rather, the present moment is recognized as the only thing that truly matters, and it is rated higher than any future moment.

And when you combine these two realizations of finding your passion, and respecting the present moment, you will almost automatically begin pursuing your passion - right now.

It will be recognized as the most important thing for you, and from that awareness postponing anything that you feel called towards will no longer fly.

Negative Patterns Revealed

Becoming conscious will also reveal your negative patterns that, for you, used to feel normal.

For me one of the negative patterns was, not respecting my body's energy needs enough by not getting enough sleep at night. Negative self talk, is another good example of a negative pattern that I finally became aware of.

When you're not conscious these patterns go unnoticed.

Luckily they become illuminated automatically when you shine consciousness onto them.

Saving the World

Along with personal gains, becoming conscious will help better the situation of the whole world. There are some messed up things happening around the world, and they are all done in a state of unconsciousness.

None of these acts could be done from a state of true consciousness.

I believe that a massive shift in people becoming conscious is what we need if we want to keep living on this planet together.

We have collectively been leading ourselves into destruction, by polluting nature, and even killing each other. We now need all the people on deck that we can possibly gather.

It's obvious that the current system of running this world isn't perfect and needs change. But when people start awakening, the external problems will begin taking care of themselves.

Inner shifts will lay the foundation for the formation of healthier systems in the external world.

Time of Change

I suspect that the following decade will be a time of great transformation.

I've heard many authors and influencers talk about this. Including people from spiritual, scientific, and economic fields.

It seems that major shifts will be happening from many different directions.

It's our job to stay conscious during this time of great change. We can use it as an opportunity to lead our civilization into a whole new, and better, direction.

Who knows, we might even witness something close to a heaven on earth during our lifetimes.

Start With Your Front Porch

There is a saying - "If we all cleaned our front porches the whole world would be clean."

It is not your job to go forcing your 'porch cleaning' services onto others around you, especially if you haven't cleaned your own front porch to begin with.

Tend to yourself first. I assure you, there will be plenty to work there.

So how can you begin your own awakening process?

I began meditating, and I can't see a reason why I would ever go back to not meditating again.

It was my first Personal Acts of Consciousness. I challenge you to find your own, and put it into action.

It is quite likely that your Personal Act of Consciousness won't go well with the status quo, and people might look at you funny. Even though meditation isn't anything that radical anymore, I still got people telling me that what I was doing was weird.

It's your job to be strong enough to not let others opinions affect your pursuit of happiness.

What do you feel called towards but haven't had the courage to start doing?

-Do you want to try out being a vegetarian?

-Do you want to quit your job and go on a new path?

Whatever direction you feel like going, just get started. It's more important to be happy with yourself than to get acceptance from others.

Juha is the author behind Ever Evolve, a blog on Simple and Effective Self Development. If you enjoyed this post you might also be interested in a guide to Living in the Moment.

Conscious Shifting

Things continue to unfold and shifts are continually taking place whether we are actively aware of them or not. Everything is speeding up and intensifying with greater and greater potency, personally and collectively. It's amazing to be alive right now and even those not currently on the physical plane are so eager to assist and support in these opportunistic, mind-blowing, expansive times. It's no longer a question of how do we manifest? But more so, in having discernment about what it is we are manifesting. Since what we intend has instant creation ability, it is important to be mindful about exactly what we are intending and asking to create. And so, wouldn't it be wonderful to be consciously co-creating and consciously choosing as empowered beings, rather than taking a back seat while the world seemingly unfolds around us?

The changes taking place, on multiple levels, represent a major shift that proves to be probably the most important timing and event that has taken place on our planet. What a gift to be alive right now! Once again, it's all about perspective, in how we choose to experience the changes. Everything is but a thought, feeling, and choice away.

Transitions are and will continue to take place in terms of every aspect of life and co-existing, including: moving more into a sustainable society that does not depend on limited resources, more efficient and renewable sources of energy will continue to become part of everyday living and thinking, working together more cohesively and supportively with the highest good of all concerned on the forefront of our minds and hearts, realizing the equality and value of the gifts we each have and exchanging and sharing them harmoniously, supportively, as well as telepathically, and a time when worries, fears, and concerns transform into living in joy, harmony, and assured trust in each other and the universal support that comes from living consciously, compassionately, embracively, and presently from our hearts as the empowered beings we are.

Everything is accelerating at speeds and rates we aren't even realizing because we're so focused on the day to day stuff, yet believe me it is all moving rapidly. Stop for a moment to take stock of how much has actually been accomplished and at such incredible paces. Sometimes it's challenging to realize how much we are changing because we keep thinking about the next thing we want and still don't feel we have, and so it's important to stop for a moment and review where you're at and be grateful for the amazing things you've been able to move through with greater ease and grace than you probably imagined. Things may have seemed impossible and yet here you are, here we are, and with each challenge, the process gets easier, quicker, and soon will be nothing more than a simple choice of deciding what honors you or doesn't and boom, instant created experience at your fingertips!

There is no need for long drawn out experiences anymore, unless we choose that as our process and need it for our very specifically relevant experiences. There is nothing to judge, just simply to learn to be gentle and loving to ourselves while we are in the process of remembering and re-learning. After all, whenever our experiences take us away from this Earth plane, we will all find ourselves laughing and giggling together, over the very serious and dramatic ways we decided to view and live our lives. Every experience is no more or less serious than choosing to meet up with a friend for tea or a lunch date and that person deciding to show up or not. We can actively choose to show up fully for our lives and consciously experience the miraculous synchronicities that are constantly taking place, whether we know it or not. It's really about embracing our essence and our empowered states of being that lie latent within us. The time is now upon us where fears can easily be shed and a true sense of safety and peace of mind can come, in allowing ourselves to be vulnerable once again. We will NOT recreate the past. It takes enormous amounts of effort and energy to try to recreate the past or even to stand still. These are new times, new energies and a whole new level of being, where we are now able to take everything from the collective "past" experience and integrate the pieces that worked, discard those that didn't, and imbue it with the energy of the new, creating something that has never been and never will be again; as time is always and ever-changing.

We all have a lot of deep-seeded fears, wounds, pains, and walls that have been stored, harbored, and built to protect us from the daunting dangers we are projecting because of what we've been through personally and collectively. It's deeply encoded within our DNA and personalities, and guarded by our challenged egos. Yet, now we can let it all go. Ego can take a small vacation in terms of not having to feel it has to be in the constantly active driver's seat anymore. Ego will continue learning that the energies of these times and the new vibrations and changes we are creating, are very supportive in aiding our processes and so it can now relax and allow our essence to come forth again. It is time to also allow our beautiful inner children to flourish and now ego can be the driving force behind our passions and the strength and vitality to create once again in our full truths. There is no more need to fight, hide, defend, or diminish ourselves. We will continue to learn that it's time to step into all that we are and all that we can be and in doing so, will inevitably be supported. It is not a question of WILL we be supported? It is simply the knowingness that there is no other possibility unless we choose to believe there is.

And so, to be conscious about every choice we make, every aspect of our being, and every moment of our lives, is to become a gentle power of unlimited possibilities. We are learning about choice and intentions and how powerful they are, especially when we are actively engaging them. The understanding that comes with the learning provides us with a new found wisdom and discernment that will honor both ourselves and the higher good. There is no more need to choose from fear, but only to choose from love, while exercising our boundaries in the process of coming to know our authentic truths. It all simply takes practice and with practice comes ease. Enjoy these exciting times in human evolution and universal expansion because magical experiences await you. And cherish the moments, for they will never be again.

Tania Marie is a Visionary Artist & Reiki Master Teacher leading Integrative, Sacred Journeys & Workshops, residing in Incline Village, NV. For more information about her work and services please visit http://www.taniamarie.com or call (775) 343-9244. Treatments & classes available by distance, by request in your area, or at Reno & Tahoe locations. Sacred Journey to Egypt 12/3-12/13/08.

Go Beyond Mind and Into Consciousness

Problems, frustrations, fear and anguish seem to be part and parcel of the human condition. So many people spend their lives in desperate states; trying in vain to destroy their problems. The true problem that underscores the others is a failure to differentiate between mind and consciousness.

You may be facing circumstances that seem rather difficult and reasoning with yourself, "If I could just think of a solution to this problem...," that, my friend, is the crux of the situation. You are trying to use your physical, limited mind to defeat a physical, limited problem. When the truth is you are armed with the power of an infinite consciousness that can easily smash your problems.

What's the Difference?

Many people (most, in fact) see no difference at all between their physical brains and the higher consciousness that lies just beneath the surface. They reason, calculate, plot and maneuver to try and live the higher life. And all of these efforts usually result in nothing, but more problems.

Here's the key, and you need to remember it well - you, the real you, is much more than a collection of physical parts... you are pure, unlimited consciousness. The real solution to your problems lies in tapping into your consciousness for the true answers, not in trying to formulate a solution with your physical brain.

In The Zone

Have you ever been in a situation where the perfect answer to a problem just came to you? Perhaps you've competed in athletics and effortlessly performed better than you ever thought possible. These instances of being "in the zone" are much more than flukes. These are the times when you've bridged the gulf between mind and consciousness and lived like you were meant to live. Think about it. You weren't trying. You weren't formulating answers or dreading circumstances. In those rare moments, you've been guided by the infinite, perfect consciousness that we're all a part of. And the truth is, those moments can be the rule, rather than the exception.

Beyond the Physical

When those moments come, don't simply write them off. Embrace them and learn from them. In order to live the successful, winning life that you were meant to live, you have to operate in this realm more often than not. Then, and only then, will you overcome the limitations of cultural beliefs, racial beliefs, religious beliefs and self-identity beliefs that have been holding you down and hindering you from reaching your true potential.

Albert Einstein said, "You cannot solve problems with the same level of consciousness that created them." He overcame limitations and used the power of his imagination to formulate his breakthrough theory of relativity. And he wasn't successful because his brain was so much bigger than yours. He understood the importance of dividing mind and consciousness, so that the mind is led by the consciousness and not vice versa.

You too can operate like that. Stop forcing yourself to solve problems and listen to that still, small voice that echoes the wisdom of the infinite consciousness. Use your emotions as a guidance system. If you feel good you are led by the consciousness, if you feel bad you are out of sync. Then you'll see the real power of understanding the difference between mind and consciousness, as you begin to harmonize with your higher consciousness to live the life you were created to live.

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How to Get to Conscious Living

Do you feel like days come and go without you taking much notice of them - except in the moment? Do you go from one day to the next giving little thought to where you are going and what that means? What are the goals you are pursuing? Are they leading you anywhere in particular or are you just going through the motions of living? What difference does it all make to you? What difference does it make to those around you?

Have you ever taken stock of your life? Have you ever really evaluated and thought about where you have been and where you are going in your life? If not, maybe now is the time to take a good, hard look at your future. What do you want to experience, to see, to do? What will make you feel fulfilled and happy? What will make you feel successful? Is there a legacy you would like to leave? If so, what is it? Who will it impact? Who will benefit from it?

If you are at a loss for answers take a cue from your past. What have you enjoyed doing the most? What about what you were doing has been the best part? What, exactly, were you doing that was so good? How were you interacting with others when you were doing it? What skills and capabilities were you using? What was your environment like? What in your environment helped you be successful? What kinds of things or ideas were you working with? How were you doing that? Write it all down.

Now that you have written all this information down, you can apply it to your future and to your day-to-day living from now on. What can you do that will allow you to do the things you wrote down in a similar manner to how you used them in your past experiences? How can you apply them in new ways, to new things and opportunities? Once you have this figured out you can create new goals for yourself.

When you have created new goals and have a direction or path to take you can set an intention for your life. As you set your intention you will also find meaning. That intention and meaning will give you focus. It will also give you a reason to move from day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month and year-to-year. You will be aware and conscious of your life and of where you are going.

If you are ready to take the plunge and make a better life for yourself contact me now at lynn@discoverypointcoaching.com for your complimentary consultation.

Lynn Banis PhD, MCC is known as America's High Performance Coach. She specializes in helping women. executives and entrepreneurs make the most of their opportunities and potential. Her years of working with small and large businesses has given her a depth of knowledge that is invaluable to her clients. You can reach her at http://www.discoverypointcoaching.com or at her email address listed on the site. Also check out Lynn's other businesses: Coach Academy Texas, a cutting edge coach training company; and Turnkey Coaching Solutions, a coaching program management and contract coach staffing company.

What is Living Infinitely? Part 1 of 3

What is life about? On our fragile cosmic rock we hurdle through space at enormous rates of speed. Spinning in a giant pinwheel formation around a super massive black hole we travel across the vast reaches of space. The shear size of our universe is beyond our understanding as we look out from our humble perspective and see billions more of these gigantic galaxies. When we look out onto this dynamic universe it puts us in awe of the supernatural like beauty and structure of cosmos. We must thank our brilliant Greek ancestors for the word COSMOS that fittingly describes our universe. Cosmos implies order, orderly arrangement, and a harmonious system and is the adverse of chaos. Understanding the cosmos is about understanding a system that leads us to the Truth.

Is Living Infinitely, living forever? With possibly a few exceptions from religious sources mostly every single person that ever walked the earth has faced death in the physical form. It is one event in our lives that we can be sure will happen. Being that this website is entitled Living Infinitely, it is only appropriate that we address the issue of what happens after our physical life is over. There are two fundamental beliefs on the subject and essentially two main options:

1. There is an afterlife in some form

2. There is no afterlife. That's it lights out

Evidence for the latter option is compelling. There is no hard scientific evidence to prove that life goes beyond our earthly existence. We have never run out of subjects or cases to scientifically observe as death comes to all. Yet the results are inconclusive.

The first option is even more compelling than the second. There are two main areas of evidence; one can be described as slightly scientific, as it is based upon human observation, the other purely based upon faith. Lets take a look at each.

The first area of research is controversial, as confidence men from all ages have used it to make a quick buck. However, areas of research such as electronic voice phenomenon, astral projection, and out of body experiences have made scientists scratch their heads. This research generally deals with the connection between our physical realm and a hidden spiritual realm. Spiritual experts in the field hold that our level of consciousness vibrates on a higher plane of existence as the human body goes from life to death. Despite progress made in these fields, controversy has shrouded the research in skepticism

The second major area of research is not scientific at all, but rather based entirely upon FAITH. Usually backed by a religion, this area of evidence has been passed down throughout the centuries in a variety of forms and customs. Most religions hold that life continues after death in one form or another and allow one to tap into an Infinite power either God, Enlightenment, or if you wish simply Infinite Intelligence. The most compelling aspect of faith being answer to our life after death issue is that faith has been proven to contain the power to transform people's lives on a physical basis as well as spiritual. It has been said when the human spirit loses all hope the result is instant death. Faith has influenced the actions of entire nations, wars, and cultures. Faith has played the largest role in shaping the world into its current state. Faith is not only a property held by the individual, but also the universal. The Catholic Encyclopedia states that faith is both subjective and objective. It is this property of Faith that makes it superlative. Ultimately, faith must be placed in something, whether it is yourself, others, God, or a combination.

Back to the question at hand, do we live forever? Upon looking at the options, between the two choices, I highly recommend the belief that life continues beyond our physical existence. I realize that my brief synopsis of the afterlife is extremely limited in scope and highly encourage everyone to research the subject in detail. However, based upon on two essential options, the belief that life goes on after death provides us with a foundation to establish our person philosophy based upon COSMOS instead of chaos. It also allows us to have an element of Faith, which continually changes with more power than any other concept known to man. Finally, I choose to believe in life after death because it allows us to consciously live without fear with assurance that while on the surface our existence may seem limited, our reality is infinite.

While this may be a part of what Living Infinitely is, it is only the tip of the iceberg into a philosophy that is sure to change your life. Coming soon part 2/3 when we dive more into what it means to Live Infinitely.

Jesse Sherer is an entrepreneur and specializes in helping others achieve their goals and dreams. Read other articles about entrepreneurism and self-improvement at http://www.jmsherer.blogspot.com

Practical Steps to Conscious Living

Many people are interested in living more meaningful lives in which their actions are based on ethical and compassionate principles and a larger awareness of life and our connection to the universe. As life gets faster and the world gets closer through technological advancements, many people are trying to grasp with how they live their day-to-day lives in balance and harmony.

Concepts such as sustainability, green business, organic food, energy efficiency, spirituality, equality, human & animal rights, health & well-being and non-violence become more common and make up part of what I call Conscious Living. Being "aware" of our actions and framing this in a larger context is also an essential part of this philosophy.

Here are a few Concepts & Questions that deal with Conscious Living -

How do we live? How do I live my life?

How do we help others by our choices & attitude? How do we hurt others?

How does my outlook and belief affect my life and the life of others?

How do we use our money? How much do I need?

What kind of food do I eat? Is it healthy and sustainable?

What kind of industry & business do we support?

How do I treat my body and mind? How do I nurture my spirit?

How do I live in a sustainable way?

What is life all about? Why am I here? What is my purpose?

These are all important concepts and questions that many people are asking. And many are making choices based on these questions and more. These concepts need not be defined as liberal or conservative. They are based on evolution, awareness and sustainability...that it is time to ask questions about how we live our lives. That it is time to change certain behaviors and patterns and come up with new sustainable, healthy & conscious ways of living.

THE CONCEPTS & STEPS OF AWARENESS -

For education and simplicity I have divided Conscious Living into Four Parts - Spiritual Awareness, Environmental Awareness, Social Awareness, and Health & Well-Being Awareness. Let's briefly look at each one of these. I will utilize some the questions above to help facilitate our understanding. Many of the questions of course cross over to all parts.

Spiritual Awareness - This is the foundation for Conscious Living. How do I live my life? How does my outlook and belief affect my life and the life of others? Why am I here? To be spiritually aware is to be conscious. It is based on mindfulness - being aware of our thoughts and actions - how they affect ourselves and how they affect others. This is the basis for all of our awareness. This type awareness takes practice and focus. You don't have to be religious to be spiritual. There are many tools and techniques that are useful to your overall growth in this area of awareness.

Environmental Awareness - How do I live in a sustainable way? How much do I need? This is an important subject that many people are becoming aware of. Many realize that the earth cannot sustain over consumption and materialism. Nor can we keep polluting and poisoning our air and water. We need to nurture our natural resources and learn to live in balance. We need to learn to treat our other creatures with respect and guarantee them survival. We need to be aware of our effect on the Earth. When we do so, we find that we live in a more conscious and meaningful way.

Social Awareness - How do we help others by our choices & attitude? How do we hurt others? What kind of industry & business do we support? When someone suffers because of our decisions we are, in some part, responsible. When our government uses violence carelessly and this causes unneeded suffering, we are responsible. When a child is abused, when someone is homeless, when a person is hungry, we are indirectly responsible. This responsibility is not to put shame or guilt on each one of us, it is to show that our individual actions do affect other people. How we live our lives, what industry we support, how we treat others, how we view the world...when we are conscious that our choices and attitudes affect other people then we simply make better choices. We learn to speak out. We learn to walk our talk. We cannot solve all the world's problems, but we can do our little part in helping make it a better place for all. This is social awareness. It is consciousness is action.

Health & Well-Being Awareness - How do I treat my body and mind? How can I live a healthier life? What kind of food do I eat? Is it healthy and sustainable? When a person is healthy they see the world in a much better way. They are more conscious and aware. They operate with a stronger sense of clarity. When we strive towards eating well and keeping healthy, we are an outer reflection of conscious & healthy living. We are model for others and we have the energy to help.

Where do we start? Educate yourself and gain knowledge. Take small steps of conscious living everyday. There are many small steps we can take that help. I also encourage you to subscribe to my monthly Mental & Spiritual Well-Being Report. These reports will include free practical and valuable information on Conscious Living.

Please also visit my website for more free articles and information on Conscious Living, Mental & Spiritual Well-Being and Natural Health http://www.TransformingOurselves.com/Mental-and-Spiritual-Well-Being.html

Clouds of Consciousness

Recently I wrote a little about something called 'clouds of consciousnesses.' It's been ruminating for a while and I am trying to find a way to describe it or play with it. At the moment it really is a case of suck it and see what happens and play around with different ideas.

I am rapidly coming to a place whereby there is a definite idea about this formulating. It is probably nothing new but I have not read about it or seen anything on the internet. Of course the books I have read, the radio interviews I have heard with physicists and other scientists and spiritual people all go a long way to me formulating this idea.

When I was nearing the end of this article it got me researching along a path of: consciousness, reality and spirituality and led me to two scientists; David Bohm, a great physicist who only died in 1994 and Dr David Hawkins a scientist whose work is fascinating me at the moment. I thought you might like to read about them yourself.

The theory just now goes something like this.

Clouds of consciousness are something we all have. There are various levels of these clouds that surround us and, should we wish, and open up our minds enough, we can tap into a lot of them. There are various levels between each of the four levels mentioned below, but for now I will write briefly about the main four clouds.

Self consciousness - These are the clouds which immediately make up who we are, what we think about ourselves and the world around us. Imagine a band of clouds tightly surrounding your head. This is where the self consciousness cloud lies. These clouds contain everything that encompasses your current reality, everything you think about, everything you believe, everything you believe about the world and other people. It almost blinds you as you are only seeing, thinking and feeling what is immediately in front of you. You have not formulated any original ideas about the world and decided to question your life.

The first 4 of Maslows Hierarchy of needs would reside here. Most of us would stay in this state of consciousness until the day we die. However I truly believe there is a global shift happening and that pretty soon most of us will die whilst in the awakening consciousness stage.

Your ego resides here also; everything you do is for the benefit of yourself.

Awakening consciousness - This is the second level in this theory. In this stage you have started to question some of your beliefs about the world, yourself and the people around you. You are not operating from a self point of view you are starting to think about the bigger picture and to help others and to find ways to be able to do this. You can access a higher aspect of yourself, but may not necessarily understand it completely. I believe this is what is happening in the world at the moment, there are more and more people at this level of consciousness and it is culminating in a mass awakening. More and more of us are starting to believe there is something more to life and something more to our minds than was previously imagined.

I am not talking about organised religion, that was a way of stifling the awakening, the real religion is when you've found GOD within yourself, GOD is not an entity with laws, GOD is a belief within yourself and a connection to other states of consciousness. The awakening consciousness is the beginning.

In this state of consciousness you are starting to believe that you create your own world, you create and manifest the things and people around you. It is the beginning of what Maslow would call self actualization

Here comes the tricky bit. I can't write about the other levels of consciousness as I have never experienced them. I believe I have experienced glimpses of them through lucid dreaming, astral projection and inspirational thinking, so from this point on it is mostly hypothesising.

Awakened consciousness - After awakening consciousness there would be a permanent state of awakened consciousness whereby you live in a world dominated by your thoughts to serve others. Your ego is a residual memory however you will still be self aware but from a spiritual point of view. I believe Buddha, Christ, Allah, Mother Theresa, Krishna Marti, and other spiritual beings all lived here. This type of consciousness begins to transcend the reality as we know it. It has one foot in the 'real world' and one foot in the 'pure world'.

Universal consciousness - The 'pure world', this could be where your mind goes when you die, it's the library of the world. The mind could be uploaded into a melting pot of mind, consciousness and spirit for the good of the future world.

We, as living beings, can maybe tap into this universal consciousness when we have that 'a-ha' experience, or astral project, meditate, through kundalini, basically if we momentarily transcend our 'Awakened consciousness', and to transcend the 'Awakened consciousness' we have to have transcended the other levels. So we have to break through various clouds of consciousness to get to the universal consciousness. If we were to live in this cloud we wouldn't be of this world, we wouldn't need our bodies.

Practical value

Having a theory like this brings up a lot more questions than it answers. However, for me, it's stimulates my goal to be 'awakened', I wouldn't be overly concerned about what people think of me, about earning money, about getting clicks on my Google adsense ads, about getting visitors to this blog all the things ego is concerned with.

Okay, it's good having theories but theories should have some practical value. How can this theory have any practical value? For me it reminds me that I am still living in a state of self consciousness and it reminds me to try and have more 'awakening consciousness' moments.

Recently I got back into the habit of checking my stats for this blog, purely an ego thing to do as I had started to think about the money it was earning rather than the content it was providing. I was writing articles that I thought readers would want rather than what I really wanted to put up. I have spent three days on this article as I have a passion for its content, other articles, due to inspiration can be written and uploaded in 1-2 hours. So having theories like this reminds me every day that I am still living in my 'self conscious' world and reminds me to at least try and have more experiences in the 'Awakening consciousness' cloud.

Since writing this it has led to me change my view on reality and what it really is. I have been struggling for a while with the concept of reality and how one's person's world can be so different from my world. This will probably be the subject of my next article.

Change your thoughts and you will change your life.
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http://www.bradlewdesigns.co.uk

How to Live Consciously Every Day

What does it mean to live consciously?

To me living consciously means to live in a way where you are constantly working on the improvement of yourself and your life on a daily basis. It's about the conscious pursuit of happiness or fulfillment where a person understands their life is their responsibility.

To live consciously means to avoid falling into a mindset where you merely react to your life situation rather than creating your life situation. It's about having control over your own mental and emotional state instead of letting the world control you.

Living consciously is about being grateful for the things in your life, having an awareness of your own conscious growth and striving to make every day count. It's also about understanding the direction you want your life to head in, and working towards making that vision a reality.

The problem is, these things are easier said than done and it's easy to frequently slip from a place of conscious living to unconscious existing.

Slipping in and out

Once in a while we all have those bad few days... Things just weren't working out, our plans were falling apart, we got in fights with others, we found ourselves bored or unhappy with whatever's around us, we don't even bother to work on future goals or if we do we run into frustrating roadblocks. Then after the few days are over and we've somehow snapped out of the funk we look back and realize we had been living totally unconsciously during that time. This is usually when I smack myself in the head and laugh about all the problems I had created for myself.:D

After going through this kind of thing it's easy to feel like the days were wasted. All too often I would get caught up in the daily life struggles that took up all of my attention and I'd forget about any big picture stuff. It's all too easy to be unconsciously unhappy about the little things and forget to take a step back and realize how awesome and fortunate my life was. Looking back it's clearer than ever how living unconsciously just makes everything in your life harder and less enjoyable which in turn only perpetuates things worse.

This really got me thinking about ways to ensure I was living consciously on a day to day basis and ensure I didn't slip into this mental state.

Striving to live consciously day to day

The key to living consciously from day to day without slipping into an unconscious funk is to form conscious habits, and by habits I don't mean chores or tasks, I mean routines so deeply engrained they are as natural as brushing your teeth. Habits are formed through repetition and positive reinforcement of emotion behind the repeated actions. I think it was said best by Marci Shimoff in the secret "The only difference between people who live in this way, who live in the magic of life, and those who don't, is that the people who live in the magic of life have habituated ways of being."

Waking Up

The most important time of day to build a conscious habit is right when you wake up. How you start your day has a massive effect on how the rest of the day will unfold. Just like how the first song you hear in the morning tends to stick in your head throughout the day, the first thoughts and feeling you hold will remain prominent in your mind. If you start your day un-rested with a blaring alarm clock and a massive dread to get out of bed and head to work your programming your mind for that day to feel negativity and if you head out the door in the morning before doing some sort of conscious activity your setting yourself up for an unconscious reactive day.

Invest in an alarm clock that allows you to play mp3 cd's and create yourself a disc with some beautiful feel good inspirational tracks. Check out the group Lemon Jelly. Waking up to their song 'The Staunton Lick' is almost guaranteed to put you in an amazing mood! Put the alarm on random song and wake up with a different amazing song each day. This will help break the automatic negativity a normal alarm sound makes and takes the randomness of radio out of the equation.

Gratitude

If you want to set yourself up for a highly conscious day the best way to do that is to have your first thoughts be on gratitude. Feeling good about anything in your life that you're grateful for is the best way to snap yourself out of any kind of morning negativity and appreciate the good things in your life. It doesn't matter what you're grateful for as long as you feel good about it, and if the thought that you have nothing to be grateful about pops in your head remind yourself that over 2 billion people in the world are living on less than $2 a day, and the fact that you are even reading this on the computer is something to feel extremely fortunate and grateful about.

Visualization

Another habit to form essential in living a conscious life is the habit of visualization. Visualizing an amazing future scenario is an incredibly powerful way to relieve stress and feel good, it will also contribute to the manifestation of the future-you image, and ensure your life is a progression towards increased happiness and fulfillment rather than a stagnant routine. Create for yourself in your mind a scenario in the future where you are the happiest you have ever been in your life, then make it feel completely real for you. Make it something you feel is possible to work towards and someday achieve but don't limit yourself because it's also meant to be the perfect scenario if all of your dreams had come true. Put yourself in the situation and feel it as if it was the present moment and not some distant vision. Enjoy this perfect present moment fully feeling it as 100% real and joyful. Bring as many senses such as sight, smell, and taste into it as possible. Come up with as many details as you wish, and have it cover as many areas of your life as you want. Make the feelings of happiness and joy you get from this image incredibly powerful. If it's hard to feel extremely joyful when doing this than your not imagining big enough, and you need to visualize a future with even more awesomeness in it. It should be impossible to keep a smile off your face as you do this. If it helps you, you can write out a list of details and descriptions of this future scenario then visualize about it as you read. Listening to inspirational music or being in nature while doing this can increase the feeling of joy tremendously.

Here are a few lines from the visualization I do daily. Realistically I know the dream is still far away as this website is almost brand new, but as I visualize I feel it as if it is completely real here and now in the present and it really excites and motivates me.

I am on a free vacation sponsored by a travel company that I provide advertisement to by blogging about their amazing trip

I'm having a blast blogging about the vacation; I use the word pure bliss many times

I experience an abundance of friendship and positive energy from the other travelers and people outside of the group

I wake up with a smile on my face every single morning, even if I'm hung over from an amazing night of partying

I interview many other travelers and learn things that surprise me in positive ways

I notice while on the internet my readers thanking me for my previous content and it thrills me when they tell me how they have made positive changes in their lives as a result

I connect with the people I meet on this trip on a deep level, many will consider me a friend they want to keep for life

I start a game of Beer-Frisbee and have a blast

I affect the lives of everyone around me in a significant and positive way

People love my lust for adventure, they are inspired by it

I feel pure bliss and ecstasy sitting under the stars at night on a warm beach

I feel an underlying love in everything I do, even the laundry

I encourage people to live with true freedom

I see limitless possibilities for my future

I'm grateful everyday that I accomplished my dream of travelling for a living, every single day

You really only need to visualize this sort of thing for about 5 minutes a day so you'll never be too pressed for time to make it one of your daily habits. It also makes you feel so good you might find yourself doing it way more often. Feel free to make multiple scenarios for multiple awesome futures and playing a few in your head every day.

Goal Setting

I think it's pretty crucial for personal development to have a few projects or goals that you work towards in your spare time. Figure out what area of your life you want to improve the most and set some goals in that area. If its financial, set a goal to spend an hour working on another source of income per day, if its relationships set the goal of meeting 1 new person a day or if you're in a relationship to do 1 extra nice thing for your significant other per day, if its health set the goal to work out at least 3-4 times every week. The more goals you set in the more areas of your life the more consciously you'll have to pursue and ensure you stick to them. Working on improving specific areas of your life requires focus to keep improving and reflection to see how you're doing on your path. Both keep you more conscious.

Have Conscious Friends

The way I'm most often snapped out of any unconscious state I'm in is talking to my good friend Matt. We constantly talk about conscious living and other related things and it's nearly impossible for either of us to walk away from one of our conversations without reflecting on how consciously we are or aren't living. The more personal development oriented people you surround yourself with the more you're going to grow as a person and the less often you'll slip into negative mindsets or routines.

Become Present

Whenever you realize yourself on a bit of an autopilot take a few moments to become full 100% immersed in the present moment. Forget all things related to the past and future and be completely in the 'now'. Look at everything around you with pure presence and you will notice things that you didn't before, things will seem more alive and real. Quite often when I'm having an unconscious day ill pass by things without noticing them, my awareness of my surrounding is stifled. The next day with a more present mindset I'll notice things that I was completely oblivious to before. Even doing mundane tasks like the dishes becomes an interesting meditative practice when you truly clear your mind and focus 100% of your awareness on your actions in the moment. Practicing remaining centered in the present moment is an extremely valuable habit who's life changing value can only truly be realized by reading 'The Power of Now' by Eckart Tolle.

Keep a Journal or Blog

Keeping some kind of journal to force yourself to reflect on your personal thoughts and daily activities forces you to examine the exact habits you have on a day to day basis. It's quite hard to remain unconscious if you're actually taking the time to become aware of your thoughts and feelings. A journal or blog is also an awesome way to watch how your life progresses over time and is a great way to track and learn from your conscious growth. A great time to write in your journal and put yourself in a personal reflective conscious state is right before bead as your final mindset for the day will stick in your head as you sleep further reinforcing conscious habits.

Final thoughts

Living consciously is not always a matter of 'on' or 'off' it's more of a gradual scale from one degree of consciousness to another. Even if you never find yourself slipping into unconscious mindsets there's always ways to further increase your level of consciousness by bringing more conscious habits into your daily routine.

Read more articles from me about personal development through travel at:
http://www.traveltogrow.com
Make sure to bookmark it for later!

Your Degree of Happiness Depends on Your Degree of Conscious Living

The more you live consciously, with awareness of how the world really works, the happier you are. The path to happiness leads those who know they alone are responsible for how their lives look, to their desires.

Most people think that life happens to them. They look outside of themselves for someone or something to blame when they fail to live their dreams. They chalk their defeats up to circumstances, current events, their jobs, their spouses, their kids, the weather-you name it.

People without awareness live in a dream state, a trance, actually. It is most accurate to say they are asleep to the ways of the world. They see themselves as innocent victims with no control to change their predicament.

When sleeping people pray they plead, they bargain-they expect a supernatural force to do for them what they must do for themselves. Only they really believe they are pawns in the game of life. Hmm.

Most people define themselves by what they do. There is an old saying, "You aren't what you think you are. But what you think, you are." They live in the first part of that sentence. They either do not know about the second part or refuse to accept the possibility that it could be true.

People who live consciously take responsibility for how they create their world and everything that happens to them. They can even step back and see how their thoughts empower or disempower them.

When people understand how their thoughts become real they know what to do to change what they do not like in their world. Well, maybe they feel uncertain how to proceed but they certainly understand the only way to change is make that decision and go within to find the power to move forward.

Conscious living allows people to take charge of their life journey and make sure they reach their final destination of happiness and love. With awareness comes well being across one's life.

Want to learn more about how to be happier and change your unknown belief systems that stop you cold? Grab Ali Bierman's free ebook What You Don't Know You Don't Know now at http://www.creatingthelife.com/ebook2.html.

Prosperity Consciousness

There has been a lot of talk in the past several years regarding Prosperity Consciousness. The basic truth is, as you think and believe, so you become. Note that I said as you think and believe. For those of you who know the practices of hypnotherapy, neuro-linguistic programming or integrative release therapy, you may recall the fact that behaviors are not created by our thinking, they are created by our beliefs.

This is a critical distinction. Thinking occurs in the conscious mind. This is the area where calculations are made and thinking that is not necessarily linked to emotional responses occurs. In fact, it is actually quite easy to think without being at all connected to the body or emotions.

This is why many say they are in a daze when they give in to an addiction. The unconscious and conscious minds aren't connecting in a clear way. If we are in the state of this type of thinking, we often don't feel anything until we are triggered in some way. Triggering occurs when something happens that reminds the unconscious mind of a previous situation. Then the unconscious mind produces a behavioral response which may or may not make sense to the thinking, conscious mind, and yet, does occur. It occurs because of the underlying belief that is deep seated in the unconscious mind. In changing this belief, you can change your consciousness, and your perception of the world around you. This in turn may also change your behavioral responses. This is why people actually behave differently (along with feeling and thinking differently) after hypnotherapy and/or other mind/body sessions.

In a very direct way, these underlying beliefs manifest your outer world by creating how you perceive the world around you. If you perceive in lack consciousness, what you will see around you will often perpetuate that belief. If you believe you are prosperous, then you look at the world in much different way. In fact, the same situations which you may have encountered when your perceptions were derived from lack consciousness will actually be different for you.

To digress for a moment, I firmly know and believe that when we are in a space of prosperity, that is what we mirror to others and, even if they don't in that moment see their own prosperity, we change their world by showing them what is possible. This is what I believe Gandhi was referring to when he said, 'We must first be the change we wish to see in the world.' That is an important factor to realize in all areas of your life. If you see others in a negative light, it makes it much more difficult for them and for you to change.

Back to prosperity consciousness, we know then that it is beliefs that change our worlds, but once I'm living in prosperity consciousness, how does prosperity consciousness create prosperity?

First, by living in the energy of prosperity consciousness, that is what is attracted back to you.

Second, taking the actions that one takes when they are in the state of prosperity consciousness, you change your physical world.

The Energy of Prosperity Consciousness

Let's start with the first one, living in the energy of prosperity consciousness. From an energy perspective, if you think a certain way that is what you are attracted to so that is what you attract toward you. This occurs because prosperity conscious changes how you hold and interact with the energy in yourself and your world. If you are living from a place of prosperity consciousness, you will be living in an open space of energy. This openness allows new energy (which can take the form of money, new clients, new opportunities, etc.) to flow into your world and through you. It also allows you to recognize if something new is an opportunity.

If you are living from a space of lack, you lock your energy. The fear traps the energy and where nothing can flow, prosperity is stymied. I've seen people so tight in their energy that someone offers them money and they either don't notice it, believe it's never enough or dismiss it as a fluke. When you are living in a limiting belief system, even when the universe tries to give you a gift, you may not see it. The more you push the gift away, the more you create the world around you to match your limiting beliefs.

Prosperity Consciousness in Action

Now prosperity consciousness is not all 'in your head'. You must practice it in your thoughts, words and actions. This means, you must interact with your world from a state of prosperity consciousness.

To begin this process, answer the following question regarding an area of your life where you would like more abundance:

When I am/ have _______________(putting in here the language of what you believe needs to happen for you to be prosperous in this area) I can or will be able to _______________(putting in here the language of what it will be like when you have manifested the prosperity in the way you wish to).

(Other language to play with here could be: When I ______I will ___________.)

The purpose of this is to notice where you are having lack consciousness/ limiting beliefs and also see the often unhealthy connections we are making in our unconscious minds.

An example for a woman who desires a new home but is feeling stuck in manifesting it could be: When I am rich I can or will be able to move to a place I love.

The way to look at this from a consciousness perspective is to see the limits this person is putting on themselves with this underlying belief. With this belief, this woman has told herself that she can't enjoy where she is living until she is rich. Note that this is also saying that where she is currently living isn't rich and she doesn't love it.

The process taken once a limiting belief is recognized may take many forms. Personally, I'd begin by gaining a better understanding of what the terms 'rich' and 'a place she loves' mean to this woman. Perhaps, by understanding her definitions of these, she could find a new way to live rich and bring that feeling of richness into her current home. Then she could move forward into a new home, if she still desires to do so (as this often changes when we open up our 'stuck' states), while enjoying her daily life as well.

For example, if this woman found that living in a home that felt both 'rich' and like 'a place she loves' meant being able to have friends over in a space she felt proud of, she might begin by decorating a room in her current space and having a few friends over to share it with her.

One thing see when we work with prosperity consciousness is that we don't live in a black and white reality. This allows us to enjoy the colors of life we do live in.

May we all live in the state of prosperity consciousness that brings us together in celebration.

Blessings, love, and light,

Jenifer

Jenifer Shapiro is a proven intuitive, professionally trained in coaching, hypnotherapy, NLP, yoga, shamanism and other mind, body, soul therapies. She holds an M.B.A. in international business and is the founder of The Empowerment Centre in Paoli, PA and HolisticHometown.com as well as the originator of Integrative Release TherapyTM. She teaches and works with individuals, teens and holistic entrepreneurs to assist them in manifesting empowering, fulfilling lives and businesses. She can be reached at (610) 213-1010 or www.TheEmpowermentCentre.com.