How to Live Consciously and Attract Happiness

Do you live each day consciously or unconsciously? We would all like to think that we are conscious during our waking hours; that we are consciously making decisions, consciously choosing how we act, react, speak, listen, and think. But do you know that in order to be conscious you must be aware of your Self? Do you know who you are? Are you living out who you truly are? Take a moment to think this over, and continue reading on...

Now that you've taken a moment to consider how your actions reflect your inner Self, did you come to the conclusion that how you live just may not be who you really are? You may become angry or frustrated from experiencing certain circumstances, but anger and frustration is not what is composed of your Self. All those molecules and compounds that make up your body, mind, and soul are certainly not angry or hostile ones. This you must realize. So why is it you express every emotion within the spectrum of human emotions? Do you choose to? Or is it a reaction?

If you stop before each thought and action to give yourself time to decide first, you begin to live consciously. If you do not let yourself decide, you defer to reaction: you go into autopilot mode and act or think in terms of your strongest emotion (anger, fear, sadness, etc.) since it is what has taken over. This is how you allow your ego (your mind) to take over and take control away from your real Self (your soul). This does you no good because this is what living unconsciously is. If you are not consciously making a decision, then you are unconsciously and mindlessly reacting. Your ego is not YOU. If you believe there is a difference between your physical body, your mental mind, and your spiritual soul, then you must take into consideration each of their downfalls and learn how to allow your soul to shine through with everything you do.

Do you notice how sometimes after a typical reaction, you may feel a little remorse? Perhaps it really wasn't very necessary to tell off that waitress who got your order wrong for the second time, or speaking rudely back to that customer service representative who was just trying to do his job.

Life can be hard; it can get frustrating no doubt about it, but it doesn't mean we need to project negativity right back at it. This does nothing for us.

How can we begin to live consciously? Here is the secret: right now, close your eyes and find the greatest feeling you have ever felt: such as the immense love you have for your child(ren), or that time when you were the most in love with a partner. Pinpoint that highest note of all your experiences. Feel that fulfilling joy and let it linger until your whole being is saturated with it. Hold onto this...

Love is the purest thought, emotion, and experience a soul can choose to live out. Yes, choose! We can choose to think, act, and live the rest of our lives with love being the core of it all; the seed that grows our human experiences; the cell that divides exponentially. We have this awesome Godly power because we are all God.

Now take this feeling that you have just re-experienced within your Self. Take it with you every morning when you get out of bed; take it with you to work or school; take it with you when you go out with your friends; take it home to your family; and take it to bed at night. This ultimate essence is what you will base all of your thoughts and actions on (notice I did not say reactions!). You will re-experience this each time you are confronted with a problem, a situation, a confrontation. Then, after some practice, you will call upon this beautiful part of you every time you think a thought, speak a word, and take an action. Love will be the root of everything you do. Your ultimate goal is to be who you really are, and who you really are, is love. Love is what creates us, the universe, and everything in between. We attract what we project out. So project out only love!

The funny part about this is that in order to know your Self (love), you must also know and have experienced love's complete opposite: fear. If love attracts like things, fear deflects the same way. So we know fear because we act on it. We make decisions based on fear. We fear our boss, we fear not having money, we fear rejection, and we fear physical pain and death. We know this because we end up reacting out of fear everyday for many of us.

So turn it around. Turn our fear into love. When we stop fearing, we end anger and frustration. We stop feeling like we need to take those negative feeling hostage, only to release them out onto others. We can begin to fill those empty places with much needed love. Fill your life with more of YOU by bringing consciousness into all you do. Love is all there for us to use. So take it. Take it and run with it.

It will not be easy. You have to practice and practice until it becomes second nature to you. It will require intention on your part, which requires energy. If you invest in this, the universe will invest in you.

Love before and after you think or do and your life will evolve. I promise.

Emily A. Rider invites you to browse more great articles she has written about living a more spiritual life at http://www.higherspiritualliving.com. This site contains may topics from meditation to evidence-based research; from spiritual cleansing to the paradigm shift the U.S. is currently beginning. Come gain knowledge and new perspectives on living spiritually now at http://www.higherspiritualliving.com

Living Consciously Opens You to Infinite Choice

This is what conscious living is all about. It is about being aware of the infinite number of choices available to you in any given present-moment situation. It is about choosing what serves you, given your conscious choice about how you define who you are and consciously determine who you wish to be. It's all about choices.

As individuals we make choices constantly, day in and day out, because thoughts run through our heads in a constant parade. We choose to act on some thoughts and not act on others. When you choose to act on one thought, you make the choice to go where that thought takes you. You are constantly choosing. The question is, "Are you making these choices consciously or unconsciously?"

We have the capacity to put things on automatic if we choose (once again it is a choice). This is a pattern we fall into when we live unconsciously. We develop our ability to narrowly define the parameters of our existence into categories of good and bad or right and wrong. Before long we set ourselves on auto pilot and allow our minds to react to events in an unconscious manner.

When you live unconsciously long enough, it becomes ingrained in your mind and you don't have to think anymore. You limit your thought process to only include those thoughts you have thought a million times before. This becomes the parade of thoughts going through your head all the time.

Unconscious living makes it easy to make choices, so easy that it doesn't seem like a choice anymore. If you encounter certain stimuli that, in the past, has made you sad, and you are faced with those same stimuli in the present moment, you automatically become sad. It happens without thinking and you don't believe you chose to be sad. You say it just happened. The reality of the situation, however, is that you did choose to be sad. It was an unconscious choice, but it was a choice. While you are in this state of being called sadness you think that this is your only option, being sad. The sleepwalker is unaware that there are an infinite variety of other choices.

If you live consciously, you are aware that certain stimuli has produced this feeling of sadness in the past. The difference is that you are awake now and aware that you don't have to choose sadness in the present situation. You may choose to be happy. It is your choice. If you choose to be happy, you will do happy things. If you choose to be sad, you will do sad things. Remember your beingness creates your doingness, a point that will be made clearer to you as we explore further and begin to wake up from the unconscious living of the sleepwalker to walking in awareness.

As you make the shift into aware living, you realize that unconscious living is not limited to individuals, but applies to groups of people as well. Neighborhoods, communities, and nations can all be living unconsciously and making unconscious choices.

This impact of unconscious choice has a profound effect on our planet, because just as there are consequences of every action we take as individuals, there are the larger consequences of every action we take as groups of people as well.

Every action we take, from the choices we make, has a consequence. There are man-made consequences and there are natural consequences. The sleepwalkers of the world are conditioned to be mainly concerned with the man-made consequences of their actions. If you kill someone, the man-made consequence of your action may be that society will kill you. This is not the natural consequence of your action because nature does not strike you dead for killing another person. A natural consequence would be more in alignment with "nature's healing ways" and a restoration of peace and harmony, rather than a swift call to judgment and revenge.

What you are going to find as you begin to wake up is that nature does not judge or condemn us for the actions we take or the experiences we have. Nature observes our actions and experiences and allows natural consequences to take place. Only human beings have created a system whereby we judge the actions of others, and then create a series of man-made consequences to deal with these actions, usually in the form of punishment.

The sleepwalker judges and condemns himself all the time. He takes the words of others who tell him how he should define what is good and what is bad, or what is right and what is wrong. He then incorporates these words of others into a value system that is in alignment with what the others have said is the best value system and calls it his own. He chose to do this because he has seen the man-made consequences of not doing this. He does not want to subject himself to the bad judgment of his peers.

Free yourself from judgment. Free yourself from condemnation. Wake up to your authentic self. Live your life consciously and revel in the infinite variety of choice available to you when you do so.

Richard Blackstone is an award winning author and international speaker on Love, Oneness & Creation. Journey into discovery of Self by reading this FREE report; "The 3 Simple Immutable Laws of the Universe" at: http://www.NutsandBoltsSpirituality.com

Management by Consciousness - Overview

I used to live in Besant nagar, a beautiful suburb of Chennai in India, very close to the beach. Every morning I loved to spend at least 45 minutes walking along the seashore. On the shore, one comes across a number of tidbits... like coconut shells, old bags or dresses, shoes, flowers and garlands, plastic dolls and such other junk, washed by the waves. Many a times I used to wonder how people behave irresponsibly, throwing things into the good old sea, polluting the environs. I was considering these objects simply as nuisance... something to put up with.

Till one day, a flash of thought crossed my mind - "Is this not a charming coincidence, that I am here.. at this moment.. on this beach... when this old hat... with a worn-out garland around it... should wash at my feet?". After a brief moment of pensive glance, I was struck by the simple truth behind this thought. It was as if there was an age-old connection that existed between us - the trinkets and I - bringing us together at that particular moment. What a different way of looking at things!

As long as I perceived the trash as a menace, I was uncomfortable with them around me. But the moment I started looking at them as if by some primordial design, the trash and I were brought together, my entire perception changed. I started to look at them with genuine and amusing interest...who could have worn that hat...or how old would have been the person who used that slipper...what happened to the other of the pair. The trash, objects of no interest till a little while ago, suddenly became interesting. Next, I realized that I was no longer uncomfortable with them. Further, I was conscious of that particular moment only. All other thoughts of home, office, and work to do etc. were entirely forgotten. With this perspective, I realized that I am more aware of the moment and the constituents. The thought of why these things should be there, didn't cross my mind. In short, I was conscious of just that moment, and enjoying it.

I am sure, many of you might have experienced similar incidents in your lives. For many, they would have passed without portraying any significance. Well, look out for them keenly. Everyday we all have uncomfortable situations to face, to meet people whom we feel uncomfortable with and many uncomfortable decisions to make. Now, imagine as if this uncomfortable feeling is totally eliminated by some magic. How beautiful our lives will be! Well, we don't have to go anywhere for this magic. It is all very much within each one of us. That is what this article is about.

Management by Consciousness.... Is it yet another high-sounding jargon? There are any number of management theories that have come out ever since Frederick Winslow Taylor started with management of factory workmen through work measurement, time study etc. In particular, the last 50 years had been a golden era for management theories. Management by Objective. Management by Participation. Business Process Management, and many more. Then there are theories on type of managers, theories on decision making, inventory control, reengineering, benchmarking etc, etc. In fact there is a 'jungle of management theories' out there. Then, why one more?

Management by consciousness is all these theories put together and a lot more. It is a holistic approach to managing. It starts with managing your 'self' first. To understand this, let us first understand what we mean by management and what we mean by consciousness.

What are the functions of a manager? In any situation, a manager first studies the data, plans a course of action, organizes necessary resources, delegates the work to a set of subordinates, leads them through their actions and finally keeps a control on the outcome of such collective action. If we notice, all the management theories revolve around some specific functions only. Some will talk about decision-making. In fact there are esoteric mathematical models for decision-making. Some will accentuate the leadership and communications part. Some others talk of the art of delegating (or dumping!).

Anyway, books on management subjects haven't stopped coming. On the contrary they are on the increase. Now, in the last one decade alone, what with the Internet, we are practically deluged by mind-boggling amount of information. It is said that the amount of reading material we come across on a single day now, would have been faced during a whole lifetime of a person 50 years ago. Ultimately, the point we would like to make here is that 'management' is a function of the mind and intelligence.

What is the daily routine of today's manager? Every morning we wake up to the call of the alarm clock. We rush to finish the morning ablutions, push down a mean breakfast, gulp down a cup of coffee and stream out of our home in a jiffy to reach our offices on time. Somebody else fixes breakfast for the kids, shunts them to school and you cannot worry about them all. Once you are in the office, the phone never stops ringing. Your to-do list for the day looks like a death trap. Meetings, reports, deadlines... you are needed somewhere every hour of the day.

Before you downed your second cup of coffee - yes, caffeine is something that keeps you going - you realize that you have 14 hours of work to be done in a space of seven and a half hours. Well, you plod on helplessly. Evenings are no better. You have a Rotary committee meeting to chair, or may be you have to entertain a customer. Weekends are worse. You have to ferry the kids to music or dance classes, or some long pending social calls to make, or your vehicle requiring the healing touch from you. After all these, do we have a genuine sense of accomplishment... even when we have everything? No, we are ever so much left with a feeling of uneasy emptiness.

Well, you don't require an Einstein to tell you what is wrong. All our activities are directed towards controlling the externals. We try to breakdown the whole into essential parts as categories, priorities, tasks etc. We think we are controlling the time we have, but end up becoming slaves to our concept of time. We are always under pressure to finish a task on a time target set by ourselves. Under pressure we tend to stumble a few times, which leads to dissatisfaction and frustration. We tend to use more of logic and mathematics than intuition and creativity. To be precise, our decisions and actions have become mere mechanical rituals than conscious deeds.

Now let us move on to consciousness. What is it? It is the total awareness of oneself. Who is oneself? Is it this body, brain or my mind, or a combination of all these? If it is a combination, then where is the seat of this consciousness? Well, before this gets into any philosophical overtones, let me give a most agreeable definition.

Consciousness can be defined as an emergent quality or function of the complex arrangement of neurons of the brain. The human brain keeps on collecting various bits of information and experienced feelings, and stores them in its neurons. Our brain has a rich tapestry of some 100 billion neurons. Every single transaction of every single incident in our life is stored in specific locations of our brain. It is our consciousness that gives to all these bits and pieces of info, a coherent meaning and purposeful interpretation, followed by an intellectual action.

The brain is a physical entity; it can be separated into its various parts, like cortex, thalamus, medulla etc. But consciousness is metaphysical and always performs as a single whole entity. It decides our personality or our character. It is the combined effect of our mind and intellect. Lot of research is being carried out in the US and Germany as to how or wherefrom this consciousness emerges. But it is generally agreed that the brain is the seat of our consciousness. It has something to do with the way the brain neurons arrange themselves at every thought process. Anyway that is beyond the scope of current deliberations.

While on the subject of the human brain, let me tell you some interesting details. It is a massive computer of unimaginable proportions. Right from the time of its formation in the womb till the time of death, it keeps storing every bit of information and associated emotions in its vast network of neurons. Canadian researcher Dr. Wilder Penfield, of McGill University, conducted a number of experiments on his patients while they were fully conscious under local anesthesia.

He stimulated various sites around the brain cortex by touching at various points with mild current carrying probes and asked his patients to describe what they felt. The accounts of the patients were astonishing. Astonishing because they were able to recall incidents in their lives, which were supposed to have been forgotten totally, in the minutest of details, including the emotions accompanying these incidents. Dr. Penfield describes it as "word for word playback of long forgotten events". Different sites on the cortex evoked different memories. But once the probes were removed they went blank.

Similar evidences are available from many doctors who have succeeded in putting their patients through deep hypnosis. For one lady, a particular musical number was making her feel sad, but she was unable to comprehend why. During the experiment it was revealed that this musical number was played regularly in a bakery, when she was about three, and when she used to cross it walking, holding hands with her mother. After her mother's death a little later, whom she was very much attached to, her mind shut off this memory, since it was painful.

Dr. Penfield surmises that the human brain stores a colossal amount of information including trivial details like number of buttons in a suit on a particular day. So whether we like it or not our brain has everything we need. Even if you have read a book only once or even glanced through it in a hurry it is all recorded there! Still we are told that a human being uses only a fraction, say 5 to 8%, of his brain during his whole lifetime!

Apart from being a huge storehouse of data, the brain has another speciality. It is made up of two distinct hemispheres. Right and left. The left side is what we use during most of our wakeful hours. It is the logical or mathematical brain. Our educational systems unfortunately lay a greater stress on developing the left-brain. The right brain is the creative or artistic brain. It takes care of the imaginative or intuitive side of our personality. The left-brain understands words. The right brain understands pictures. You will notice many times that these two halves are constantly under conflict. What the right brain intuitively suggests as a solution to a problem, the left-brain shoots it down. The left-brain says that such an action can not produce desired results since it does not follow logical reasoning.

The third and the most important aspect of our brain is the recent findings that the brain emits vibrations at a range of frequencies from zero to 22 cycles per second (in certain cases much higher). There are equipments to measure this frequency called electroencephalographs (EEG). The brain frequency depends upon the nature of our thoughts. The calmer you are these frequencies are also low. The more agitated you are, higher this frequency. In our wakeful hours our thoughts work at a feverish pitch, and the frequency ranges between 14 and 22. This state is known as Beta State. Just when we get up from a restful sleep, or are about to go to sleep it ranges between 7 and 14. This is called Alpha state. During sleep the frequency is normally between 4 and 7, and it is called the Theta State. A deep dreamless slumber will lower the frequency below 4, and it is called the Delta State.

Now look what happens to us in these four states. In beta, you are very much of this physical world. It is the world of five senses - sight, sound, smell, taste and touch - the world of time and space. At alpha, you are in a different world - a world where the physical senses are left behind and the intuitive sensing, that is sensing without the sensory organs, begins. At this level, time and space barriers are nonexistent, and your psyche, your intuition, your extra-sensory perceptions begin to work. And as we slip into the theta state these sensations become keener. It has been scientifically proved by psycho-biologist Dr. James McGaugh of Children's Hospital at the University of California at Irvine that under theta state our brains produce vivid memories and creative visions. The western psychologists call this as subconscious state. Whereas, in fact, it is a superconscious state.

Have you heard of the unique meditation techniques introduced by Maharshi Mahesh Yogi? Practically they are a techniques to quieten your mind, to take it to this alpha level. In management by consciousness we tell you to use this sub or super conscious state to actively solve your managerial problems. You would continue to be in the physical beta world, but whenever you have to find an answer to a nagging problem, you naturally slip into alpha level and below, without anybody noticing it. And you will find the right decision to make. Sounds like some magic tale? Well friends it is true.

What actually happens in the dynamic alpha state is that both the brain halves are activated and without conflict of purpose. The left-brain learns to trust the gut feelings expressed by the right half, and the right brain respects the logic of the left half. The result is a balanced verdict.

When you start practicing this, it considerably slows down your usual pace of work in the beginning. You may not meet with success immediately. But one success gives you the faith and confidence to pursue further. And after sufficient practice you will know that you have hit a jackpot. Imagine the day you go to the office without any anxiety of a to-do list or priorities etc. The moment you enter, the whole scenario flashes across your mind's eye. You are absolutely aware of every bit of decision you have to take that day. Without ever having to refer to your memo book or your personal secretary.

This is Management by Consciousness. How to master this, will be described in the next article.

Are We the Architects of Our Lives?

Are We Actually Conscious?

Just how much of what we perceive as ourselves and our life is actually the result of our conscious, intelligent and knowledgeable decisions, and how much is the result of our automatic and unconscious response to the influences of economic, political and social conditioning? And are we even aware of not only what we are, but how we became what we are? And perhaps more importantly, are we afraid of learning the truth about such things?

We seem to assume so much these days, and some of those assumptions can become real problems. For example; we assume that we are conscious and therefore take consciousness for granted, but what if this assumption was false? What if we investigated the idea of consciousness and discovered that we have been asleep for the better part of our lives? Think of the implications! One of which is; if we haven't been conscious, where have we been all this time?

Do We Really Want To Know?

The implications alone are enough to make us run screaming into any safe and protective reality we can find at the moment. But if we go ahead and pop the lid on what we intuitively sense could become a kind of Pandoras box, do we really want to know the truth here? Do we have the courage to go down this path? Most of us are much too comfortable to want to upset the status quo, especially in such a potentially dangerous way. But there are those of us who can't shake the suspicion that something just isn't right, that there should be more to life, that life should be more satisfying, more fulfilling, more complete, more meaningful. But is the truth worth the risk involved?

The stakes are high. Consider what it might mean to suddenly realize, perhaps half way through your life, that you are not really sure what consciousness actually is, much less realize that you may have invested so many years living in a kind of conceptual representation of reality, a kind of abstract picture of what we want thing to be like rather than the actual true experience that we live through, but are unable to experience because we are not consciously present when and where the real world is taking place. Instead, we are in our picture of reality that we create with our mind to protect us from the ever changing reality of the here and now. The question is; why do we need to be protected from reality? Do we fear it?

Two Paths

If this is just one of the assumptions that may be false, and if living in the real world means that we might find ourselves faced with other false assumptions, then I suppose there is good reason to be concerned. But all this seems to indicate that there are essentially two paths that we can take; one is to spend our lives in a kind of fantasy version of reality that makes us feel as though we are actually in control of our lives, and the other which takes place in the actual real world where at first we don't feel that we have any power over our lives but actually do.

Just who is the architect of our lives? If we are not and have not been conscious for possibly many years, then who is responsible for who we are and what kind of lives we are living? Are we and our lives just part of that conceptualized version of reality that we created? And just how real is that? And by the way, how is it that we can live many years of our lives without realizing that we are not really conscious?

Awareness

What kind of person are we and how did we become what we are? Answers to questions like this are found through self awareness which is associated with the development of a higher level of consciousness. This is not easy because essentially the task is that of recognizing the current situation and then doing what it takes to change what needs to be changed. When we are talking about changing habitual behavior patterns that have been in place for possibly decades, and upon which we have relied for our identity and security, such behaviors are not likely to relinquish power easily and will resist change. After all, those conceptualized thought and behavior patterns were designed to protect us from the reality of change in the first place.

Of course, this subject is far too involved to address appropriately in such a short article, but there are resources and tools out there designed to help anyone who finds enough courage to actually set out on the journey of self awareness and self improvement in order to find peace, happiness and fulfillment in their lives. Tools like meditation and visualization are very good at helping us in this area. Also, I recently wrote an e-book at the request of the Agenda of Life Foundation that explores the subjects of success, failure and personal power in depth and provides methods and procedures for implementing changes in our thinking and behavior, you can find a review of it at the link below. I have personally been on this journey for some time now and it makes the best roller coaster rides seem tame, but I wouldn't change a second of it. If you would like to actually feel alive again, go for it!

You can check out the e-book here.

Robert Darby is a self change and personal development specialist who writes for many organizations including The Agenda Of Life Foundation. He focuses on developing personal power since that is usually the cause of all Human problems. Robert takes a practical approach in that he looks at the various tools and techniques out there that are designed to help us achieve our mental, spiritual and emotional goals.

A Conscious Conversation About Spiritual Prosperity

In the times we are living in, paramount on most American's minds are all things financial. How much money did I lose? How am I going to survive now that I have lost my job? Where am I going to live now that I have lost my home? Wow! These are serious concerns! How in the world did so many people from one of the richest nations in the world find so many of its citizens in this dilemma? What got us here for heaven's sake?

Well in a word... consciousness! Your consciousness, my consciousness... OUR consciousness! Yes for years now we have been living in a consciousness of fear and lack. This multiplied even more so after September 11, 2001. In September 2008, seven years later, the financial system in America was announced as being seriously ill. Isn't it curious that in Colin Tipping's book Radical Forgiveness he states that all cancer is preceded by depression which usually occurs around 7 years prior to the diagnosis of the cancer? In 2001 our country went into an emotional depression and now we are living with the cancer-like results!

It is so important that we all awaken to the fact that our consciousness both individually and collectively creates the world that we live in. If we don't learn how to shift out of negative thinking we will continue to suffer these kinds of severe consequences.

Too many of us think only of what we DON'T have. That gets us more of the same... not having! In the Bible's book of Luke (19:26) it says "For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him." (KJV) Why is that? It is because the Bible is a story about man's consciousness and if our consciousness got us into a state of lack in the first place, of course it is going to cause us to continue to lose even what little we may have. This becomes true for whatever lack we are experiencing be it a job, a relationship, fun, time, friends... whatever. If you think all the time that you are short of something, you will be! God always says yes to whatever you believe!

We Americans spent a lot of time and energy focusing on our lack of security back in 2001. Today how much more insecure could we get than to have our banking systems collapsing all around us? Jobless rates are growing and the news media is spewing more fear across the airwaves than ever in history! It is extremely challenging not to buy into the mass hysteria! It really does feel like the sky is falling!

So what is the solution? How does one feel prosperous in times such as these? We as individuals and as a people must stop thinking of how "BAD" things are! As mentioned we are still one of the richest countries in the world - financial crisis notwithstanding! We have so much more than so many on the Earth... even our homeless have access to food, shelter and indoor plumbing if they choose it in most cities. No we don't have all of our problems solved and many are indeed suffering in the US, but our state-of-mind is the cause of these problems and changing it will be our only solution!

We must learn to think abundance. We must claim it, pronounce it and sing it to the high heavens!! We are all made in the image and likeness of God which means that we are all creators. We are given free will to create luxury or lack. Really God doesn't care since ultimately we will all return to "It" one day. How we choose to spend our time on Earth is just that, our choice. God will not interfere yet being the Source of our supply "It" will give us whatever we choose. We choose by our beliefs and our focus. Believe and ponder on what we can't have or can't do and sure enough we won't have and we won't do. Believe and focus on what we can have and do and we will have and we will do! The election of President Barack Obama is a great example of what we can do when we collectively put our minds to something!

Now from a different perspective, what is prosperity really? Is it a big house and a big car joined at the hip with big mortgages and big car notes? Or is being prosperous having fun with friends and family even if it is in a smaller home? Is it yummy and healthy food cooked at home? Or must it be fine dining at a 5 star restaurant?

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with having a wealthy lifestyle if you really enjoy it. I wonder what percentage of people feel as good working themselves like crazy to keep all that they have obtained. How many really like the hours that they have to work? How many like the job, the politics, and the stress? If people were truly honest - are they happy? Are they at peace? Or are they just keeping up a front so no one knows how miserable they are?

Henry David Thoreau said that "the mass of men lead quiet lives of desperation". Many of the people that I see in my work are sad, lonely and in pain. They are not happy with their jobs, their spouses, their children or their lives. Why are so many people, many who claim to be "spiritual or people of faith", living like this? I think it is because we are taught early in life by our families and society to hide our truths. We are afraid to admit we don't like what is going on in our lives for fear that we will be ostracized as "not good enough." We have to save face, stuff our true feelings so we will be accepted in the world. Is that prosperity? I don't think so!

If you are in this category of people who are struggling along (with or without "stuff") please stop now! Please take on a sincere spiritual practice if you don't have one. Learn to meditate daily to connect with your Source and tap the infinite power that is available to you. Also be sure to pray without ceasing! Converse with God, your angels, your ancestors your guardians and your guides! They are really there and they only want to help, but will not without your permission. Practice gratitude, forgiveness and self-love with abandon! Begin now to trust your Higher Self. Talk to it daily and give it permission to take your life over.

Give up all blame and stop complaining! You can actually do that! Try it!! Forgive everyone...radically!! Practice loving and honoring the divinity in everyone you meet and interact with. Decide what would make you happy and do whatever you must to create that world for yourself. Know that the power is within you and you must stay conscious of that with every step you take! If you must, fake it until you make it and don't hesitate to ask for support along the way.

Don't settle for society's stress filled idea of prosperity! Define it for yourself and go for it! Turn that T.V. news off and begin to enjoy your life again. You get what you focus on, so focus on the good. Focus on God. Focus on love and turn away from fear.

If you see your friends focusing on lack and living their own quiet lives of desperation, tell them your truth. Share with them your intent to shift your life and it will give them the permission some folks need to do the same. Then one-by-one we will take each other's hands and change our minds about what defines prosperity. We'll stop living in fear of loss, we'll appreciate all that we have already been given and we'll start sharing our love and our resources. Did you know that in this world there is enough food to feed every hungry person on the planet with plenty to spare? If we only stopped grasping and hoarding and started operating from a mind-set that says that there is enough to go around then there would be!

Help someone else feel safe and you will be telling your subconscious that you are safe. That is what prosperity is to me, feeling safe, secure... warm and happy. If we begin to bond one with another... sharing our resources, money food, shelter, our warmth and our love, how can we not feel prosperous?

It can happen. We can all make this world a joyful, safe prosperous place. Your spiritual self knows what to do. Will you listen to it?

Kym Kennedy is a certified Radical Forgiveness and personal Life Coach. Using the simple but effective Radical Forgiveness tools, Kym helps people to acknowledge those areas of the sub-conscious mind that block them from realizing their full potential! For more information on Kym Kennedy and the Radical Forgiveness methodology, please visit http://kymsconsciousconversations.com

You Are A Self-Conscious Co-Creator: What You Think About Matters

May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children. Rilke's Book of Hours

Our thoughts and emotions are far more powerful than most of us realize. They create our happiness, our unhappiness, and they are totally responsible for the life we are currently living. In fact, they not only shape our own lives, they literally impact the ongoing evolution of our universe.

You probably think I'm overstating it a bit. I'm not. Let's continue.

It's important to understand that our thoughts and emotions create virtually all of the energy we send into the universe and into those around us. But what's even more important is recognizing that our thoughts and emotions don't just happen. If we can learn to become more self-aware, we can develop the skills necessary to have total control over them. We can create whatever life we want to live.

Given that so many of us go through life unaware that what we think about is a choice it's no wonder we create so much conflict and unhappiness for ourselves. Let's take a brief look at the power of thought.

First we need to understand that the creation of all form is first preceded by consciousness. For example, the Consciousness we call Creator created the form we call our universe.

A form may be a thing, but it could also be an emotion, an attitude, a behavior, or words.

Most of us have no trouble accepting the idea of the consciousness of the Creator, but rarely do we move to the next logical step and think about the deeper implications of this simple concept.

Let's go back to the beginning of the story.

Over the last 14.7 billion years the universe has slowly evolved from the singularity of the Big Bang and the hydrogen gas that was created from nothing in that moment of creation. Over time that gas further evolved into matter, stars, galaxies, life, and eventually consciousness.

About 35,000 years ago the consciousness of the human species evolved from animal consciousness into what we call reflexive consciousness. Stated simply, we became a self-conscious species. We became conscious of our own consciousness.

Through the process of evolution, humanity had developed the ability to contemplate the universe and the meaning of life itself.

From that moment on the evolution of the human species shifted from a very slow biological process into the evolution of its new consciousness. If we could imagine it in our minds, we could become it, we could create it.

Because all form is first preceded by consciousness, it meant that humanity had become a Co-Creator with the Creator of the universe. Like the Creator, we now had the ability to use our newly evolved consciousness to create form.

Only recently are we beginning to more fully understand the incredible power of human consciousness.

In just 35,000 years we have learned to create life in a laboratory, and we will soon have the ability to alter our DNA and prevent disease. Our journey to the stars is just a matter of time and immortality could be within our grasp within a few generations.

We may not yet have the wisdom and knowledge of the Creator, but we do have the ability to create language, writing, music, and mathematics; all of the forms we call human civilization.

We are even beginning to understand more deeply the moral implications of our ability to use thoughts to create the forms of pain and suffering, compassion, love, hate, healing, forgiveness, peace, empathy, and friendship.

We are a species with "free will" and we are slowly learning to be more responsible for the forms we choose to create.

Deciding what we choose to create means we have to take responsibility for the thoughts and emotions we think about, because they become the forms that we contribute to the ongoing creation and evolution of the Universe.

We have to be willing to accept full responsibility, individually and collectively, for the evolution of our consciousness. We have to be willing to intentionally become more self-aware that the energy we are sending into the universe is no longer an option.

Until we do, the unconscious primitive ego that resides in each of us will continue to create the negative forms of unhappiness, judgment, conflict, and violence that we see so much of in the world today.

What we think about matters. What we think about is in our control. We can no longer claim to be at the mercy of our thoughts and emotions.

We are fully self-conscious Co-Creative beings.

Stated simply, we are no longer merely observers of the evolutionary process, we "are" the evolutionary process. We can choose the life we want to live and the direction we want evolution to take.

If you want to be happy...make it happen. If you want to be successful...make it happen. With enough practice perhaps someday we can even create a universe together.

c Dick Rauscher, 2010

Dick Rauscher is the founder of Stonyhill.com which is dedicated to exploring authentic spiritual growth and the intentional evolution of both human consciousness and individual self-awareness.

Sign up to get his newsletter here and receive a free article on ways to be happy.

Copyright 2010 Dick Rauscher

Conscious Navigation - Tools For Divining One's Way Through Life!

Some of the familiar divination tools which can empower us in accessing a deeper awareness and conscious communication with life, include the following: A study of Symbols, Sacred Geometry, Metaphor, Movement, Sound, Astrology, Numerology, the Mayan Calendar, the I-Ching, the Tarot and its archetypes, and the mysticism within the Kabbalah. Encoded within each of these tools are universal principles. Through utilizing these tools, we can make important connections that will enhance our spiritual awareness. This awareness assists us in being able to navigate more consciously through life. We can take what we learn as knowledge and gradually turn in into wisdom as we bring our awareness into everyday living circumstances.

Through our becoming aware of universal patterns, we are able to track our own internal process as well as that of the collective and life itself. When we open to see how life informs us, we can identify that there are whole patterns emerging to show us how life interacts in and through wise relationship. Through remembering our relationship, we can identify our connectivity, and comprehend that we do indeed share in a process of cocreative relationship and purpose. We are the universe in person. Universal patterns of life and death play out as ever expanding systems create new life, while contracting patterns break down the old.

As we collectively move into synchronization with the universal and galactic cycles, seasons and rhythms, and planetary bodies align to inform each of us directly. We are involved in a co-communication process that engages stars and planetary bodies as they interface with our Earth and our individual beings and bodies. What happens to these astronomical bodies, directly effects and influences each of us as well as all of creation. Astrology, (a study of the psychology of the soul) is but one science providing a lens into viewing and interpreting how this communication system can assist us in unveiling life's mysteries, so we can comprehend more about ourselves and the world in which we live. We can begin to glimpse into and become familiar more consciously with this process that we have in common, the process of evolution.

Navigational tools assist us in identifying the holographic nature of life. Through identifying the patterns of consciousness within the microcosm and macrocosm, we can create a more conscious bridge between the conscious and unconscious realms of being. Therefore these tools can assist us in connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain so that they can communicate more effectively together. Aspects such as: abstract and logical thinking, sensation, emotion, intuition, motor functioning, can therefore be utilized in ways that allow for greater integration so that we can access our fuller human potential. As we empower ourselves to identify how universal patterns within life can and do inform us, we enter into a richness of living as aware and conscious co-communicators and co-creators.

Much of the dream time and non-ordinary states of consciousness expand far beyond the perimeters of logical thinking and conceptualization. These altered states open us to enter into deeper wisdom spaces. Subconscious material has more of a chance of informing us in these spaces, as the deeper patterns held there have opportunities to surface and heal. As we move through the transformative experiences within life, we are empowered to embrace more of our true self. Our soul, personality and body come into harmonious alignment and eventually we incarnate more of our soul's essence which supports us to integrate our essence with our ego. Divination tools assist us in entering into these states of consciousness and realms of being in support of accessing information to improve the quality of our lives.

When we commit to become more spiritually conscious in life, the tools and resources make themselves available to us to support us seeing through the many illusions and delusions in life which have robbed us of our vitality and joy. As we become more self aware and conscious we begin to make sense of life. True magic lies in our seeing how all of life is speaking directly to us and through us, if we but pay attention.

Through becoming aware of themes, rhythms, cycles, symbols and the metaphorical languages inherent within and throughout life, we can open to perceive and even celebrate the true magic inherent in the greater unfolding story, inherent within life. This then empowers us to connect the dots within our own life story. We literally and figuratively "come to our senses."

Through opening to perceive in new ways, the universal life force (the Source), will inform us directly to assist us in the process of freeing our minds and bodies from the limitations posed by this world. We are then empowered to experience life in ways more empowering as unlimited and multi-sensory beings. These multi-sensory capacities facilitate us in remembering our "Divine' nature and just how magnificent we are as spiritual beings. Through this remembering, we move along the return path to evolve our bodies and beings to live life as integrated whole, alive and thriving beings.

I perceive that together we have created the current unfolding story in order to become aware of, and to heal the consciousness patterns of separation in our lives. Divination tools are a potent resource to assist each of us in gaining a more conscious relationship with life as a whole, and will continue to support us through the process of spiritual awakening. Many of us are being empowered to consciously re-member and make whole our relationships with ourselves and all of life. Consciously navigating through life with the aid of these tools will continue to assist us in real-izing our divinity as we traverse the return path home to the heart. Through a commitment to live as heart-centred beings we are being spiritually quickened to restore the unity within our community. This field of unity is one that is empowering us to co-create and live life as conscious and spiritually realized beings.

Alana Tobin resides in New Zealand and works as a Psychic Counsellor, Medium and Life Coach (over 30 yrs exp) She provides empowering consultations for people all around the world. Alana is also a consultant to businesses and organizations and is available to assist you with your project or organizational needs. In addition, Alana and Max make available spiritually empowering digital page turning ebooks available through their website. For more information visit:

[http://www.heartstory.co.nz]

The Critical Role of Consciousness in Living a Spiritual Life to Deal With the Challenges Ahead

It's inconceivable to me that the universe of which the Earth is a tiny part all happened by chance. It makes more sense to accept there is a mystery which we probably won't uncover, but that the universe's evolutionary thrust is driven by a sacred intelligent energy that is inherent in the way the universe functions. The role of human beings in this cosmic drama is to evolve in order that the universe will know itself. We are the universe becoming aware of itself.

As it is there is reliable scientific theory that the universe has evolved to its present state and continues to evolve. The course of evolution is towards more and more complexity. Human consciousness also evolves being able to handle more and more complexity and to also increase its span of care and concern.

However, it is also clear that even though human consciousness has evolved towards greater complexity and care and concern there is something problematic about human consciousness.

In the western developed world we have created a civilization that confers many benefits but at the same time the Earth's ecology is under serious threat, so much so that our civilization might not survive this century, there is major social division within societies and within the wider global community and there is widespread psychological alienation. Moreover the economic model that emerged out of the 1930's depression and after the Second World War has collapsed.

All of these issues pose major challenges which the current dominant consciousness will not be able to solve.

What then do we make of the sacred intelligent energy that drives evolution of the universe?

Evolution will continue no matter what and the Earth will continue (at least for the next few billion years) but our current human civilization may not unless we evolve beyond and transcend the current dominant consciousness. This means that human beings mightn't be able to fulfill their mission of helping the universe know itself to be replaced by some other form of consciousness.

The stakes are extremely high and they have probably never been higher for human civilization. One of the critical issues is the creation of a new economy, but the danger is that we will create an economy that continues to defy the laws of nature and that will not repair the damage caused to the ecology.

It's around this issue of economic reconstruction that questions of consciousness arises. How do we understand the consciousness that has given rise to the modern world and a consciousness that will take us beyond our current challenges? Along with many others I call the current dominant consciousness modernist consciousness.

Modernist consciousness is a term used by many to describe a whole range of cultural values, norms and practices. People whose consciousness is at this stage experience the self as a separate isolated individual. Modernism values wealth, status and the good life through material wealth and consumption. People are valued in terms of what they own and their income. Progress is achieved through science and technology and seeking the best solution is equated with what advances wealth and status. It values winning and striving for excellence and appreciates individual autonomy and independence, all organized within a meritocracy.

These are the things that people with this level of consciousness identify with. In the current financial meltdown all of these ideas and values are under threat and stand at the heart of the fears and anxieties that have arisen as people have seen their dreams and hope shattered. The danger is that those with shattered dreams will try to recreate the economic conditions that they have lost. The real solution involves building a new consciousness based around what I call a spiritual life of everyday experience.

Modernist consciousness is based on values of wealth, status and the good life based around conspicuous consumption which it is assumed are the core of human nature. Those with this consciousness fashion their lives around these values.

Developmental psychology has taught us, however, that there is no such thing as a universal human nature. Our nature as a human being evolves through different stages and there is no such thing as a permanent human nature common to all people. This has to be a source of hope for the future. There is far more to being human than as an economic optimizer as the economists would have us believe.

This consciousness created the modern world, but it cannot take us to a world that will work in harmony with and value the Earth and allow the Earth to heal, as well as valuing all living forms. It will not be possible to retain this form of consciousness and create a post financial crash economy and a mode of consumption aimed at reversing global warming and repairing the ecosystem services.

Einstein said that you cannot solve the problems created by one type of consciousness with the level of consciousness that created the problem in the first place.

What type of consciousness will be required to replace modernist consciousness? I call this ecological consciousness associated with a spiritual life based around the experience of everyday life.

This new form of consciousness will need to have the potential to solve a series of big questions. It will be needed to create a new economy that obeys the ecological boundaries of the Earth, protects the positive features of our civilization, addresses the social divisions that exist and heals widespread psychological alienation. How would we describe such a consciousness?

Ecological consciousness like all stages of consciousness has six themes:


Ecological consciousness perceives our reality as human beings participating in universal life which is a conscious intelligent energy field, life has us we don't have a life, we are the dance, life is the dancer.
Ecological consciousness recognizes that we have needs in order to serve universal life. In the modern world needs extend to education, health care, safe communities, opportunities to develop our competencies and consciousness and so on. Ecological consciousness sees these things as needs that it requires in order to serve universal life but does not covet them, identify with them or become attached to them.
Ecological consciousness embraces a relationship between ourselves as human beings and the way we make a living in a way that promotes living in harmony with and valuing the Earth and all living forms, and that is an expression of the purpose we fulfill on behalf of life, where service is the prime concern.
Ecological consciousness adopts a life style that makes as few demands on the Earth's resources as possible and weighs up how all activities impact upon the Earth, other people and other living forms. Above all ecological consciousness abandons the pursuit of wealth and status except as a means of supplying our needs in accordance with the Earth's ecology. This is a revolutionary and radical idea.
Ecological consciousness adopts an attitude of abiding in all and everyone abiding in it as a basis for its relationships with others.
Ecological consciousness engages in political, social and economic events. It does so aware that people are at different stages of consciousness so as to manage the spiral of development for the benefit of all, and in a way that facilitates the growth and development of all. It tries where possible to promote amplified ecologically conscious people into positions of leadership. Ecological consciousness looks to the possibility of converting itself into a world wide movement pledged to influence the course of events.

There are clearly huge gaps between modernist consciousness and ecological consciousness. Is the gap so great that it's unbridgeable?

The answer to this profoundly important question needs to be considered in relation to the severity of the challenges we face, the likely outcome if we don't face them and the fact that as human beings we are programmed to evolve and develop. It's important for as many people as possible to face up to the nature of the challenges and to accept that modernist consciousness will hinder our chances of preserving our civilization. Recognizing that we must face this challenge and lead a spiritual life based in everyday experience is one of the critical challenges that we face.

We know enough about consciousness, about how it develops and how people can make real and lasting change. There are also enough people whose consciousness is bordering on ecological consciousness, even though the present numbers who have reached this stage is relatively small.

This suggests that it will be possible for enough people to take on board the evolutionary challenge of developing ecological consciousness to lead the way to a new economy that obeys the laws of the Earth's ecology, that is able to respond to the grievous social division and to healing psychological alienation to be hopeful that we just might have a chance.

In later articles I'll deal with how you can ecological consciousness can be developed. In the meantime to learn more visit my website http://www.bobcalkin.co.nz.

Dr Bob Calkin has launched a new website to assist people live a spiritual life through the engagement with everyday life. If you feel that you would like to experience in a heightened way the wonder of the sunrise, the awesome beauty of the outdoors, the wonder of this beautiful Earth, to be at one with others and the Earth and all living forms, to feel gratitude and to feel blessed by an energy or power greater than yourself then you might like to join this program by visiting the website http://www.bobcalkin.co.nz

What is Consciousness?

I have been taught that everything is Consciousness; that life is consciousness. The concept of consciousness is integral to New Thought philosophies and Science of Mind teachings. So let's explore this idea of consciousness and what it is.

Ernest Holmes, the creator of The Science of Mind and the founder of Religious Science defines Consciousness this way: "Mental Awareness. Consciousness is both objective and subjective. Objective consciousness is a state of conscious awareness, equipped with will, decision, and discrimination. Its reasoning is both inductive and deductive, therefore it has self-choice. The subjective consciousness is entirely a reaction to this objective volition. It is creative but not discriminative. It is of course conscious but it is not self-conscious.... It has no reflective, deductive, or discriminating factors. It is compelled by its very nature to accept and create. When we speak of mind in its self-conscious state, we mean Spirit, whether we think of it in God or man. When we speak of consciousness in a subjective state, we refer to the mental medium, the Universal Subjectivity, which is also the subjectivity of man."

The objective consciousness Ernest Holmes speaks of is the masculine principle. It is thinking and thought. It is the self-awareness that has moved man from the animal kingdom to the human kingdom. It is our awareness of self and the world. Consciousness is our whole mental atmosphere. Do you have a general mental atmosphere of prosperity or lack? Do you have a general mental atmosphere of health or sickness? Do you have a general mental atmosphere of peace or conflict? Do you have a general mental atmosphere of ease or difficulty? Consciousness can be changed. Consciousness can be cultivated. In fact, to continue on an upward progression of your spiritual growth, you must continually raise your consciousness in whatever areas are current challenges to you.

One way to change your consciousness is with Spiritual Mind Treatment.

We can have a mental atmosphere of our own choosing. Wouldn't you rather have a general mental atmosphere of happiness instead of sorrow? A mental atmosphere of prosperity rather than of struggle and lack?

Objective consciousness changes subjective consciousness. That is how Spiritual Mind Treatment works, and that is how consciousness creates from the unseen to the seen.

Subjective consciousness is the female principle. It is feeling and belief. It is the creative medium that accepts what the objective consciousness puts into it. It also perpetuates what has already been subjectified.

Life is consciousness because it is creativeness. Life is always about creating. To create, both the masculine and the feminine is needed. Life is ruled by cause and effect. Cause is objective and subjective consciousness. The creative process is objective thought, subjectified in belief, leading to a physical effect.

Although gifted with self-choice, the power to decide, and the ability to observe and to reason, many of us still live quite unconsciously. This means we don't use our power to choose; we don't use our power of volition. Living unconsciously is just going along, letting old beliefs, old ways of thinking, race thought and others' views of life do the creating in our lives for us. Living unconsciously is letting the subconscious perpetuate what is already in it -- which is race thought and race thought's beliefs in evil, sickness, poverty, war, famine, disasters etc.

I'll let the great Emmet Fox expound: "We have the key to life; and that key is that life is a state of consciousness. The explanation of all of your problems, the explanation of your difficulties, and the explanation of your triumphs in life boil down to this: Life is a state of consciousness. That is the beginning and the end. That is the final step in metaphysics. All the other steps lead up to that.... You are and you have and you do in accordance with your consciousness.... There are other ways of looking at life which are superficially correct, but ultimately the final truth is that your life is a state of consciousness. Your so-called physical body is the embodiment of a part of your consciousness. Your home is the embodiment of another part of your consciousness. The kind of work you are doing -- whether you are in work which you love or work which you hate -- is the expression of your consciousness. The kind of people you attract into your life are the expressions of your consciousness about your fellow human beings.... People are trying to change outer conditions but leaving their consciousness unchanged, and it cannot be done."

Consciousness creates. Whether that is an aware consciousness (objective) or an unaware consciousness (subjective). Everything created has its cause in consciousness. We see the effects, but effects never create more effects. Everything ultimately leads back to a state of consciousness.

Tina Montalto is the founder and president of Conscious Kernels, Inc., an eMedia company specializing in New Thought spiritual eBooks, audio books, eCourses, programs, and music located on the web at: http://www.consciouskernels.com She is the author of "You are What You Think" available for free at the company's website. She is the creator of a one-of-a-kind pop-up electronic Affirmations Calendar, and serves as instructor for several eCourses on Spiritual Mind Treatment also available at the website. Conscious Kernels also offers a free monthly eNewsletter, a community-building blog, and podcasts.

How Corporate Consciousness and Conscious Organisations Can Positively Change the World

Corporate Consciousness affects the world more than any other single influence. Corporate Consciousness can impact, where people live, what they eat, how they speak, and of course, life expectations.

Media companies affect social behaviour in their choices to write about, speak about or stay silent on social topics.

Of course trade and commercial interests impact these choices more than we wish to imagine. China for example, a major part of nearly every western country's economic survival strategy, has one of the worst human rights records of any country on earth, and yet, how much press? Near none.

Corporate Consciousness starts at a far more realistic level than the big momentum issues of relations between China and Western nations. It starts internally, within the company in what is commonly referred to as Ethics.

There are a range of opportunities within the ranks of Corporate Ethics to become a Conscious Corporation and you don't have to be a multinational business to implement this. It can be, a Conscious Corporation with a staff of one: you.

Classical old modelling of Corporate Ethics are an exercise in Public Relations. So, we are talking about a different exercise in Corporate Consciousness than Public Relations and Social Marketing.

The three Key elements of Corporate Consciousness are:

1. Realistic Expectations.

2. Honesty

3. Good Leadership

1. Corporate Consciousness Realistic Expectations:

Throughout time, the master slave relationship has driven most behavioural models of motivation. Such relationships have evolved over time from the extreme physical abuses of the past 2,000 years, to the current abuses which are manipulative, emotional and mental psychological games, such a Engagement Surveys, Myers-Briggs and a range of other tricks used to stimulate fear, shame and guilt in teams. This is the unconscious platform on which most larger organisations build their program of ethics. It is, in short, unconsciously corrupt game playing. And it's playing with people's lives.

Most entrepreneurs understand human psychology better than most psychologists and therefore would agree with the following human realities at work:

People Don't Change... Circumstances Do
Complacency is the worst of all the Baseline Human Circumstances
Enthusiasm is often the most expensive, unsustainable and corruptive Human Emotion.
Groups gravitate to the Lowest Common Denominator in the team. (most Unconscious Person).
Personal disarray, domestic unhappiness and poor health often drive people to work hard but not smart.

Realistic expectations are the first step in Corporate Consciousness and this involves a significant departure from the conventional master slave emotional and mental manipulations. For this we recommend a far deeper understanding of motivation, motivating factors, circumstance and environmental influences, in short, Inspiration versus desperation as a key ethical value in corporate human development.

2. Honesty

Dr Lou Cox, based in New York city has undertaken extensive work in the development of what he calls, "Conscious Conversations" a process of staged and accepted permissions for teams and groups to get past, toxic or radioactive emotional blocks that cause interactions and meetings within groups to be shallow, surface and fact based.

In such permission granting the individual is not really given an option to refuse but more accurately, given an understanding of a human dynamic in which honesty is not punished, and shame prevention is not the core defence barrier for human conversation.

This "Conscious Conversation" is an acceptance of the reality that a significant percentage of corporate interactions are not honest. This dishonesty is not in the classical sense of deceptive behaviours, but more, in the separation of mind, emotion, heart and soul. Robotic interactions where surface face means more than outcome or story.

Although Dr Cox's Conscious Conversation takes us a huge way down the path, what is still missing is a self regulating process for dealing with the personal blocks that stop conscious conversation. In other words, as one goes deeper in conversation to explore the opportunities for innovation and creative management, one will find "radioactivity" which, must be reconciled. Either in therapy, or, in a more simple sense, in self leadership.

This is the second phase of Corporate Consciousness.

3. Good Leadership

Putting the responsibility back in the hands of the individual for well-being, happiness, motivation, mood, temperament, causation, team spirit and professional representation takes a massive shift in self discipline on the part of the leader. This is commonly where leadership breaks down.

The leader might have good intentions, high integrity and great incentive to cause team members to flourish, however, they may also lack the personal regime to live out their hopes for others, in their own life.

The truth of this comes from my own experience working with leaders, entrepreneurs and families throughout the world. Sometimes, the individual cannot bring the qualities of their hopes for others into the own life, and end up living vicariously through the lives and hopes they have, for others.

It can be easily seen in a leader's "Pride."

Sometimes pride takes on a darkness. When a person is proud of what their children, team members, or group has achieved a form of transference can take place, is which they live victory through the life of someone else instead of their own life. Most obvious as an example is the obese parent, proud of the health and happiness, vigour and vitality of their child. As this parent speaks it is easy to get the impression that they are actually living their emotional reality almost inside the reality of their child. Leaders do this in corporate life too.

So, good leadership comes from the manifesto of "being the thing you want others to become."In the Long Term - people in a group cannot have a consciousness greater than the leader" and if they do in the short term, it is called, distress." So, good leadership starts when leaders do what they expect others to do... they actually walk their talk.

This includes:

Family Relationship - Past, present and future.
Health Management - 360 degree wellness
Well-being, mind, body and spirit
Financial Management.. planning and vision
Self Realisation.. motivation or inspiration
Social Contribution - Purpose greater than self
Career Development - Education and Re Education.

Innerwealth is a real life, everyday, raw and nature based awareness that helps people live from the inside out. It opens hearts from past challenges, frees vision, inspiration and life purpose and gives rise to true human potential in all the seven areas of life. Innerwealth is also a process, a process that helps people deal with everyday challenges, tap their intuitive nature and live, in a sense, guided from within. A leaders edge, a lovers heart. There are twenty books in the Innerwealth Series, including Sacred Love and Innerwealth, plus "the Laws of Nature for Better Relationships" weekly blogs and podcasts. Chris Walker also runs consultations, interventions and seminars on Innerwealth at work and at home.

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.

Daddy Come Home - The Need For Consciousness in a Floundering World

"Unconditional love" seems to be a buzz phrase in the global spiritual community. Everywhere you turn, people are talking about it. But what is unconditional love, really? Sadly, it has been deeply misunderstood.

According to the popular view, unconditional love means to accept people "just as they are" -- with all their flaws, addictions, and bad habits -- and not complain or correct. But is this really unconditional love? -- "I will support you wholeheartedly while you mistreat your spouse to the point of divorce. I will bite my tongue while you drink your way into the gutter." I'm sure you can see the problem with that: it's not really loving. It's collusion. It's killing people with "kindness."

The common misconception about unconditional love is supported by another misconception, about the meaning of acceptance. Let's say a woman loves a man, but he acts like a coarse brute most of the time. When she complains about his behavior, he responds with this defense: "Why can't you just accept me as I am?" He believes, wrongly, that any critique or "judgment" is a total failure of acceptance.

The truth is, she does accept him as he is. She knows he's a sensitive, beautiful heart, who actually dislikes and feels guilty for the way he's acting. She knows that if he would just be true to himself, he would act different -- but he doesn't know that. He thinks his brutish ways are who he is.

So, her criticisms aren't because she fails to love him "as he is." She does love him as he is -- the real him, but she doesn't love who he's not -- his false persona and bad habits.

Ego's idea of loving a person "as they are" is to love their affliction, their addiction, their faults. You must have a blanket acceptance of all things as good -- yes, even things that hurt people -- or else "you don't love me."

In order to rationalize the acceptance of aberrant behavior and thought, today's egoic philosophers and teachers have created the idea, "It's all good."

"I celebrate your beauty, your wisdom, your foolishness, your destructiveness, and your shortsightedness."

-- an anonymous philosopher

That is false.

So, what is unconditional love, really?

In truth, neither true love nor true acceptance requires that we accept evil. It requires that we look beyond evil, yes -- and that we love a person despite their faults. But it's not truly loving to accept a person's negative self-views as who they are, or to be okay with their bad behavior. Heaven forbid!

Love the sinner, hate the sin -- that's more like it. After all, if the truth be told:

NO ONE loves brutishness, or carelessness of any kind.

NO ONE loves social dysfunction, neurosis, moodiness, etc.

NO ONE loves bad habits that ruin lives, and prevent people from realizing who they are.

AND,

NO ONE -- not even Jesus, or the Buddha -- can love the false persona, the negative self-image. It is impossible, actually. You would have to be completely insane to love it. Because it's not lovable, and it is not TRUE.

To love a person truly is to love their real self, and not their ego habits or their false persona. Their bad habits are not who they really are -- even if they think that's who they are.

The problem with unconditional denial

Honesty is the heresy of the modern age. Honest critical feedback is absolutely wrong; it is "judgmental." Therefore, one should never speak out against destructive choices, patterns, or processes. It's politically incorrect. That's the prevailing view. Parents, school teachers, friends, lovers, therapists, support group leaders, ministers, gurus -- they're all on the program: accept, and don't criticize.

But all these "unconditional lovers" are helping create a world of unhappy, lonely, spiritually unfulfilled people. Living without honest feedback and moral discernment is spiritually dangerous. It permits a person to develop in directions that are self-destructive.

The popular, cowardly way is to approve of every bad choice as being "their path" or "their truth." "It's right for him," they say. But think about it: that means mass murder was right for Hitler; serial killing was right for the Boston strangler. These things are all right, you just need to be cosmic enough to see it!

Likewise, according to the it's-right-for-you school of thought: if your sister becomes a heroin addict, that choice must be "right for her." And you have to support her in it, because you "love her unconditionally." In that case, a tragedy has been supported: one more self-destructive person has been aided in living a life of pain and suffering. Is that what we need: one more heroin addict who can do no wrong, because there's "no such thing"? Please!

With such twisted notions of "unconditional love and acceptance," humanity has paved the way for their loved ones to live hellish, destitute, unfulfilling lives. The upcoming generation is a perfect example of what happens when we fail to criticize. For lack of adequate steering and discipline, we've raised a generation of emotionally and practically dysfunctional people. Captains of industry, like Chrysler Corporation's Lee Iacocca and Microsoft's Bill Gates, heeding the horror stories from their human resources managers, have issued this impassioned warning: The young people growing up in America are unemployable! They are emotional and intellectual cripples in the workplace. Almost all of them are so egotistical they can't cooperate with their fellow workers, they lack a decent work ethic; and they can't handle correction. Give them any criticism or correction, and they'll pitch a fit.

Friends, these are people raised on "unconditional love." Here's how it's done:

A schoolboy comes home complaining that the teacher punished him for not doing his homework. His mother exclaims: "YOU? You can do no wrong. How dare he punish you? Your teacher is unfair and mean! You poor thing!"

She thinks she's protecting her child's self-esteem. In fact, she is setting him up for terrible humiliations later in life. When he finally leaves home, he will be almost illiterate, incapable of learning, and socially dysfunctional.

A spoiled child can't have a decent relationship, because he thinks he's always right, and he believes that all criticism of him is mean. Relationships are practically out of the question for him, because there's no mate who can be consistently dishonest with him, consistently collusive. So he can't be married -- at least, not happily -- and he can barely have friends.

It's not loving to lock a kid out of human and emotional fulfillment in this lifetime. It's not loving to lock him out of viable relationships, responsible commitment, and moral rightness. True compassion would give him the discipline, criticism, and steering needed to be capable of right livelihood and fulfilling intimacy. And if he doesn't get that, he'll have to pay for his childhood credit line of collusive support with an adult life of emotional and physical deprivation. All because no one would tell him the truth.

Love is not collusion. Truth be told, it is due to excessive self-protective interest, not "unconditional love" that people fail to offer needed feedback and course correction to their friends, children, mates, etc.

Effective support is not always the easiest thing to offer. It takes courage to offer discipline and correction, especially in this day and age, because it is not generally popular, or welcome.

Daddy is out

So now, we have a world full of weak, egotistical people. They fear real authority in any form, and revile any source of critical feedback. Surely you have noticed a strong patricidal impulse among people today [patricide: to kill the father]: "Every form of authority is bad. They should all let me be!" People are really trying to eliminate from their lives the course-corrective impulse.

And people don't just rebel against the usual authority figures: parents, teachers, bosses, etc. They're out to kill the father in one another, too. In the usual friendship or couple, if either person says a critical word, the other will jump on them for being judgmental and mean. There goes honest feedback and steering input from friends and lovers!

Patricide is all the rage

The truth is out of fashion. Consciousness is presumed to be evil. Whenever true consciousness is expressed, it will immediately be attacked, discredited, rebuffed, and nullified, with statements like these: "That is too judgmental. That is not unconditional love."

In such a world, mommy rules. She rules because there are no rules, and, there's no discipline which would enforce rules. So all the kids grow up spoiled: fat, sassy, and stupid. And regarding that tragedy, we are supposed to say, "It's all good."

The lynch mob is out after daddy.

Death to daddy, long live mommy. Mommy is love, daddy is NOT love.

Mommy rules because she gives no rules. Long live mommy!

Critique is not love. Discipline is not love. Intervention is not love. Death to daddy!

Disciplining others is mean.

Self-discipline is bad -- it's too hard.

Death to truth. There IS no truth. It's all good.

Ships without rudders are sunk

In their fervent search for unconditional approval, the unguided hordes are trying to eradicate the voices of real consciousness that could help steer the ship. People have far too much pride to accept real steering.

But here's the problem with no steering: ships without rudders are sunk. No steering means certain disaster -- unhappiness for the individual, and for the whole planet.

The signs are everywhere that rudderless living is tragic. Everywhere, you see neurotic people living their solitary lives in unquestioned fear and delusion. We have a world of people acting stupid, while no one has the courage to say anything about it. In nations, communities, churches, families, marriages -- the same wretched story.

So here's what I'm saying: Daddy come home!

May discerning consciousness live!

May it live, first and foremost, in the heart of every human being.

And may truly discerning consciousness be invited, and embraced wherever it is offered.

Daddy, come home

Mother love and father love are both needed -- that's the complete package. We need both consciousness and unconditional love, criticism and appreciation, discerning awareness and unconditional devotion. Life is not supported by just the all-approving mommy love; only slippery slopes into hellish conditions of dysfunction and pain.

Here we are, with our planet dying of selfishness and greed. There's a crying need for course correction, if life is to be rescued from the trash can. If this generation is to have a real chance at a fulfilling life, they must be retrained, raised up again. And for that to happen, they must open themselves back up to the daddy love they need -- the love that would actually take a hit for them, that would suffer the resistance, the defensiveness, the claws and the spitting -- all to save them from their own bad choices.

Daddy come home. But daddy will not live where daddy is abused, and not tolerated. You can't have a flower on a parking lot that is paved. You can't have daddy in a life that is so afraid of consciousness that it hides in the closet, and snipes at daddy when it can. If we want daddy, we need to welcome daddy, not vilify him, hate him, or crucify him.

So, next time you want to be loved, think about what love really is. Think about it holistically, and honestly. Don't think it is mere collusion, or indiscriminant approval. And next time you want to be accepted as you are, think about who you really are. Those are the kinds of discernments that need to be made. Those are the kinds of things daddy would beg you to consider, in your infinite wisdom.

In a world of confusion, wandering in darkness, we need daddy to help us steer.

David Truman is the founder of the Living Love Fellowship. Over the last thirty years, he has given personal spiritual direction to hundreds of people, in the context of committed, loving friendship. He seeks to serve each person's true self-expression and intimate relationship with God. More articles and free e-books can be found at http://www.heartofspirituality.com/ and http://www.soulprogress.com/

Time Stop Enjoying the Moment - (6) Life Changing Steps For Learning to Live in the Present

To truly be free from the stresses of the world you must learn to live in the present moment. What I mean is to live consciously aware of this present moment. Do you remember grade school roll call where the teacher would alphabetically go down the list of classmates; state their name and expect everyone to respond with "Present". If no present was heard everyone knew the person was just not there. Now imagine that roll call and your name is called but you do not hear it because you are looking out the window daydreaming about the recess fight you had yesterday. When the teacher called your name no "Present" was heard. You really were not there; consciously or aware.

If you want to feel peace, calm, astounding clarity, grounded, grateful, and happy; then you must let go of the past, stop worrying about the future and be consciously aware of what is happening around you right now, in this present moment.

This may sound easy at first, but it will require some real effort for you to change this habit for good. Every day the world swirls a ton of crap at us while our fears, frustrations, worries and stress stand by ready to distract, confuse and pull us away from enjoying the present. The good news is once you learn to master the present you will not believe you could have ever lived any other way.

Do you want try a new way of life by learning how to live in the moment? Well it is said that "if you have a desire for something new, then you must do something you have never done"

I am going to share my personal method of how I learned to truly master living in the present moment.

First, let us prepare ourselves by recognizing we must let go of all expectations and any preconceived results. To do this I want you to get a hold of this principle. Think happy and thankful; no matter what occurs with any outcome, know that all things work out for your good, you are loved, you are not alone and all is well. Yeah, I know it sort of sounds like a Saturday Night Live, Stuart Smiley thing, "I am good enough, I am smart enough, and dog-gone it, people like me"

Seriously, most of our disappointments, constant thoughts, fears and worries are rooted in our egos trying to micromanage the world and control everything in it. So let go a little and try letting life just happen for once. Do not worry for the future, get a hold of the fact that you will never have to worry about a place to live, clothes on your back and food to eat. You can stand on a higher power faith that your basic needs will be provided no matter what you do. From this security, let go of your controlling ego that continues to fight and struggle against what is actually best for you.

I am going to share an antidote. I do not recall where I heard it, but I do think it is an appropriate example to illustrate my point.

There is a story of two friends, living in the country a few miles outside the city. Life on the farm does not seem to match up with all the dreams swirling around in their heads. They each learn of a job opportunity in the nearby city and decide to travel the several miles together for their scheduled interviews. As they must travel on foot it is agreed that a short cut along the river will save the journey much time.

While walking beside the river a deluge of water flash floods them both into the raging river. One of the friends struggles and fights against the powerful force of fast moving water. He desperately thinks in his mind, if I can just get back to the shore, where I was, everything will be fine. In his struggle to fight back against the river while attempting to thrash towards shore, he is overcome and dies.

The other friend, upon being sweep into the river, immediately gains his composure, relaxes, turns to his back and allows the water to naturally push him to the center of the raging current. He takes a fast wild, face up, float down the turbulent river. A sharp bend in the river forces the water and him rolling unto the river bank. He collects himself, looks around and realizes he is only a few hundred feet from the very business where he has the job interview.

Okay, here we go. It is time to learn to enjoy living in the present moment with these six important steps.

1. Yoga and Meditation

You must exercise both the Body and the Mind. Nothing does this more effectively than the healing properties of Yoga and Meditation. The entire focus of meditation is a tool to help you live in the present moment. It will help you find the answers within yourself by beginning to accept things as they are. Meditating takes some time to master, you can learn to be still and the more it is practice the easier and stronger influence it will have on your personal serenity.

Yoga will help your body prepare for meditation by relaxing muscles and increasing circulation. This will help to quiet your mind and enjoy the stillness. The easiest way to shut off your mind is to focus on your breath. With each exhalation strive to release any thoughts and emotions that continue to pop up.

2. Nature- Those tree huggers are really on to something.

You really must take time to reacquaint yourself with nature. The beauty and serenity offered by stopping to smell the roses will have an amazing therapeutic effect. It is often said you can visit the gentle "Spirit of God" anytime you wish in the stillness of a forest. You may wish to simply go for a walk or sit under a shade tree in the park. Whatever way you choose, if you want to experience the feeling of a present moment nothing will allow it easier than a quiet encounter with the energy of nature.

3. The Past- It is so yesterday, you need to deal with it, because "It is over."

If you really want to feel better about yourself all you have to do is learn to accept past situations and relationships. Believe me you will feel a lot better once you learn this. I know it is difficult but come on there is nothing you can do to change the past. So stop thinking about it and accept it. The only thing bringing the past into your present will do is to cloud and confuse your current thoughts. This has no value, joy or peace for you and will only make it harder for you to concentrate on this present moment.

When thoughts of the past arise, learn to accept them for what they were, allow those old emotions to pass through you, then return to the present moment and leave the regret and grief behind.

4. The Future- Back to the future, again and again, Please!

What day has any man added to his life by worrying? None! I think Jesus said that. So now to continue our journey to live in the present moment we will need to accept the future. Since you thought about it over and over in your head, you must realize you have no idea about what is going to happen, and of course worrying about it will not make one bit of difference.

Right now I want you to agree with yourself that you will not waste another day going over and over every possible outcome and option of what or why, you should, or should not. Enough of the "What am I going to do?" How do you know if you are going in the right direction when you are not even moving? If you can stop the worrying, analyzing and endless pondering, you will find you have more time to actually do something about it!

5. Enjoy the journey, for living in the now is really about "Awareness."

Awareness really only needs two friends; their names are "Thankful" and "Happy". It is very important for you to become mindful. You need to start by having gratitude for all the wonderful relationships and things in your life. A sense of being thankful will immediately provide you with a more positive and happy outlook. To be mindful is to be closely aware by paying attention to what you are doing at the present moment.

I want you to consider some task like laundry or dishes as not just another mundane chore. For you to fully experience this activity it is important to perform it with an open mind. Allow all your senses to open up to what you are doing. You may just experience an incredible positive feeling that you were not even aware existed.

6. Finally, to relax you must remember to breathe.

The only way to achieve conscious living in the moment is to maintain a relaxed attitude.

I want you to consider that there is your ego mind and your true higher self both battling for control of your thoughts. Now just allow your higher self to observe how your ego mind races weird thoughts and fears all over the place. Your higher self can ground you back to the present moment, if you will maintain the insight to realize when your thoughts are getting out of control.

This can be achieved most easily with a consistent meditative practice. You can use a simple breathing exercise that helps calm and relax you, if it is not appropriate to meditate. First pay attention to your breathing. Take deep slow breaths pulling air in from your stomach. Allow the thoughts to flow through you as you remind yourself that in this present moment, the past and the future simply do not exist.

If you can successfully be in the present moment during your scheduled relaxation periods of the day, then you can extend this new awareness to the other parts of your day. As you feel more and more comfortable spending time in the present you will begin to notice a better more fulfilling life awaits your enjoyment.

Do you want to learn the rest of the story? Natural Stress Relief Techniques

Satori is a Certified Hatha Yoga Instructor and a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher; she is trained in Reiki and Shamanic healing, and the founder of the Seyoga Illustrated Products, which has enabled her to positively transform the lives of many.
Her unique balanced approach to life has allowed her to joyfully share the knowledge of Physical, Mental and Spiritual transformation. She has a Passion to encourage her students to let go and embrace the "I AM" Divinity within. She is the author of several books on stress relief yoga, children illustrated yoga, and natural lifestyle change.
Satori's light journey began in her early teens when she discovered the power of meditation. The roots of her spiritual understanding evolved from the study of Hebrew and Kabbalah in Israel.She is a humanitarian born in Namibia, South West Africa. She continues to connect with her homeland through organizing fundraisers to benefit the children of South Africa.