Modern Health and Spirituality

Everyone is looking for their soul, finding out who they really are and at the same time trying to find that special person, is there such a thing as a Soulmate, what is a soulmate?

I have often heard people say “I am taking time to find myself”  How have they lost themselves? Where did they get lost? Why did they get lost? When people are finding themselves, what are they looking for? I would say that they are looking for the source energy within them, they are looking for enlightenment, they are looking to complete their soul, looking to a better love for themselves, their environment i.e. love for the earth and all earth humans as well as for that special person.

In my opinion the best way to reach enlightenment is through self healing, this can be achieved by exercise and meditation. There are many exercises one can do, some of which is achieved by practicing yoga as well as working on exercises to open up the various chakras. This will not happen overnight, it will take time, will power and dedication. I myself still  have a long way to go, however, I am enjoying the journey, taking the path one step at a time.

I also mentioned in the title “Finding your soulmate” I am not sure if such a word exists, we all think of a “Soulmate” as someone who is like a twin, who understands us, someone who has a life purpose and values that align/resonate with ours. When you make a conscious choice to be soulmates, you know with certainty, at every level of your being that you are with your soulmate. You create, together, a vision for your relationship that holds you together through the good and rough times and you get to fall in love with each other again and again as your relationship grows.

Most people believe that when it comes to “Soulmates” that there is only one person for you, is this the case? Can we have a soulmate who is just a friend as well as someone who is a love interest?

I guess there are also many questions that needs to be asked,  is there attraction? That instant chemistry, the “Love at first sight” feeling. More importantly, what’s the best way to attract our soulmate and where can we find him or her?

I would be interested to hear from people who have met their soulmate and what process you went through in finding each other.

In this economic climate there is a growing trend whereby more and more people are considering working from home. What are the motivations to work from home? What kind of business can one consider?

A phrase I have heard a while ago “Working for Profits is better than working for wages”, what a great statement, if one understands this then they are on they way to success and prosperity.

What is meant by this statement? For me it clearly means working for oneself, how else can one work for profits. However, if you take your wages, take out all your expenses what you are left with is a profit right? Some would call it disposal income, however, it can be misconstrued as being profit, you give a service you get paid for that service after you take out the expenses what is left is your profit, this is a simple analogy of you being a business even though you are working for a wage.

There are so many opportunities to work from home, these opportunities are based around the Internet.  The major opportunities are based around MLM (Multi Level Marketing) or Network marketing.

These sound very lucrative as these businesses are all based around people recruiting people, the product varies, the success is based around your eagerness and passion for the product.   

Although these opportunities are marketed as being part time, it is far from being part time, yes, you can start as part time but as you get more and more successful it is a full time job.  The real difference is that as the money rolls in you dictate your working arrangements.

The other issue of this kind of business is how you get paid or as it is known in the business compensation terms, one has to make sure one understands these before embarking on such a venture.

As I mentioned above the key is people, you need to create a big list which includes your friends and family to begin with, then you rely on a network of people who you will recruit/sponsor, in my opinion your mindset will determine how successful you are and this is based on the network of people trusting you.

There are lots of sceptics out there, they will try to deter you from even trying. For most part it is not about the money but the person you need to become to achieve your dreams and desires.    

For me the motivation is based on answering the following question what is your number 1 priority?

• Extra income
• More spare time
• Have own business
• Financial freedom
• Time with the family
• Personal Development
• Helping others
• Meeting new people
• Retirement
• Leaving a legacy

Most people will probably choose three or more from that list. All of the above are valid reasons to work for your self and from home.

These businesses are also marketed as being recession proof as you tend to have a passive or residual income, meaning you are always getting paid even when you sleep.

Based on the successes of a number of people in these types of business I think the trend will continue, people from all walks of life are looking to get away from the rat race, be their own boss dictate their working hours and looking for ways to earn extra money or money way in excess of their salaries whilst they pursue activities they always wanted to do, in some cases be like Richard Branson.

A while ago I wrote about working with children with learning difficulties and autism. It has been a few months since I wrote that blog, I thought it was time that I shared my experiences to date.

It is very challenging working with children at the best of times, however, working with children who are challenged within themselves is in itself  a rewarding and challenging experience.

I train at a holistic energy center, where we partake in Yoga, Meditation, Chi Gong as part of the basic training, these are part of what we call HSP Yoga and subsequently there are numerous workshops, all of which culminates in the mastery of the brain. Through this training I became an outreach instructor, whereby we as instructors go out into the community to spread the training to people who would not normally have access to.

When I started working with these children they were not very focused and had very short attention spans, they were not sure about what they were getting themselves into. As the time went by as short as it has been, I have noticed a dramatic change in their ability. At the beginning they were very easily distracted, any chance they had not to do what I was asking of them they would take it, the teachers were letting them do that. As the days went by they started to enjoy themselves more, I tried to make it as much fun as I could.

The sequence of the exercises is to start by doing exercises which are quite high energy, however, each individual does it to their own pace, then the hardest part to get them relaxed and their brain/minds to a state of relaxation and then more lively exercises to get them back to the pace they started the exercises.

As I mentioned the hardest part was to get their brain waves down to a state of relaxation. So as time went on and they started responding, I was amazed the first time when they were actually relaxing, mo movements whatsoever, they were absolutely still, I felt as if I had made a huge breakthrough, it was a fantastic feeling.

The yoga I am teaching is all about the brain, I am getting to see the difference the training is making, I even had the head teacher telling me how much they have noticed the change in the children. When I hear things like that and the compliments I have received I feel as if I am making a difference, with that I know that I am also growing and continue to grow.

I want to continue to work with children, to express my soul, I want to spread peace and love among the children of today to create the foundation for longer lasting peace and love for our world.

All created by helping them to master their brains by self development and spiritual growth. This they can carry with them for eternity, have hope and they then become the provider of their dreams.

Belly fat, its implication and possibly how to help get rid of it.

It seems that most people are obsessed with weight, where in actual fact they are not so much concerned with their weight but more their shape, you could be 13 stone and round or 13 stone and toned, you are still the same weight and yes there is a correlation between muscle and weight. However, it is the shape we all want. We all want to get rid of body fat, thereby having lean muscle and a more toned body.

The term stomach or belly fat is the accumulation of excess fat or lipids under and around the abdominal area which causes a person to have a bloated stomach. often referred to as a spare tire by some people, comes as a result of the food we eat, mostly junk and very bad eating habits which may include eating late in the night, eating more than your body requires (thus excess calories stored as fat) and digestion (that is chewing your food properly), the digestive process begins in the mouth with your saliva.

It is more common nowadays to find both young and old in this predicament, though not a problem at first, over time could cause a lot of anomalies ranging from heart attacks to heart burns and so on. The fat accumulated around the waistline could sometime block veins and arteries from stopping them from carrying out their normal functions as a result of the fat accumulation, making it difficult for the body to function properly.

The truth is that no one is ever happy about having it and are willing to do anything to get rid of it, the good news is that, you can lose that spare tire, experts say, but there’s no secret formula, there is no single formula that target belly fat, it takes the test of time, hard work and dedication to losing it, but the good news is belly fat is the first kind of fat you tend to lose when you lose weight.

Whether you’re an “apple” shape with excess belly fat, or a “pear” with wide hips and thighs, when you lose weight, you’ll most likely lose proportionately more from the abdominal region than elsewhere, why? because the fat around your waistline known as Visceral fat is more metabolically active and easier to lose than subcutaneous fat under the skin, especially if you have plenty of it. I will recommend as will many experts to exercise, this being a very good way to lose the thing called the spare tire or more affectionately known as the love handles.

The best exercises to burn these excess calories stored as fat are aerobic and cardiovascular. And do not ignore weight training, building muscle burns calories. In addition to exercise, to lose weight you will need to educate yourself about nutrition. Learn what intakes are bad and what are good. Also how many calories they hold. Start eating more meals a day 4-6 but with smaller portions, drink more water, substitute product with their healthier alternative.

Also try to reduce stress and get plenty of sleep. Both of these factors are related to emotional eating and weight gain.

Healing Body Mind and Soul

Healing the Body Mind and Soul is important for our growth and attaining a sense of balance in Body Mind and Soul.  We all want to live a healthy life but do not necessarily know how to do so or do the things we need to do.

One of the most important routes to success and being successful in life is to live a life of health, work towards total well being, your body mind and soul.

Total well being
Total well being is working on all aspects of your health, the Body, Mind and Soul. Each part needing to be healthy as one is interdependent with the other two.

The three aspects are like layers in an onion, you have the core which is the soul, on top of that is the mind and then the third outer layer is the body. Each has to be strong enough to support each other, the inner most core (Soul) has to be strongest as it supports the other two, the second layer (Mind) in turn has to support the outer most layer (Body).

There are many ways to heal your body mind and soul, exercising has been mentioned, however, there are many forms of exercises to consider, Yoga, Ki Gong, Martial arts to name a few.

Yoga
Yoga is the most well known and is considered to be the union and balance of the body, mind and soul. This practice has been introduced in the recent years and is recognized as a kind of lifestyle more than a form of exercise and has become a type of training used to develop a deep sense of meditation and relaxation.

There are a lot of benefits Yoga can do to ones’ body. Apart from providing a healthy mind and soul which help enhance full mind concentration, a good disposition in life, and a happy being in general, Yoga also facilitates in keeping healthy through its ability to help an individual lose weight.

Qi Gong (Ki Gong, Chi Gong)
Qi gong is an ancient oriental (particularly Chinese) practice that will help to exercise and heal the body mind and soul, a system of exercise that helps to combat stress, prevent disease, and promote fitness and relaxation.

Practising qi gong will re-educate your body, mind and soul, and through self exploration one will adopt new ways of living that will eliminate and reduce the effects of depression, fatigue and stress.

Creating a Life of Peace
A person cannot live an abundant, rich and peaceful life if their body mind and soul are not in harmony. Let’s look after our Body Mind and Soul.

We can change the way we live and create the way we want to live our lives, to achieve this we must change ourselves, work on ourselves first, we function best when we live in balance, let’s go and re-instate the balance in our lives, go and create a peaceful world for yourself and everybody around you.

How much do we know about our brains? What is Brain Education? Our brain has enormous capacity for storage of knowledge, the power to unleash your hidden potential. What do we do to keep our brains from stagnating and thereby suppressing our potential.

I go to yoga classes and do meditation, but the yoga I do concentrates on the brain. The training is through HSP Yoga centres (in the U.K) and is known as Dahn yoga in the U.S and the far east. This form of yoga is modified from traditional yoga to concentrate on brain education.

The brain education developed of which I am a practitioner is known as  B.E.S.T (Brain Education System Training). It consists of 5 steps.

Step 1- Brain Sensitizing

In this the first step, you become aware of the brain as much of the work is done on a physical level and the connection between body and brain is strengthened. As well as regular yoga class, basic energy meditation techniques are used. Breath work is also used to help restore energy balance while releasing stress. In this step the benefits are as followed.

• Awaken the five senses
• Improve Physiological function
• Encourage Brain Awareness

Step 2 - Brain Versatalizing

Just as the muscles of the body need to be moved and stretched to become more flexible, so does the brain. This step takes advantage of “Neuroplasticity” the ability for the brain to adjust to new environments and to learn new things. This step is likely to have a profound effect on your life because you will learn to break destructive mental and physical behaviour patterns and create new, life-affirming habits. The benefits gained during this step are:

• Creates flexibility in brain circuitry
• Frees brain from rigid habits
• Opens the practitioner to new information

Step 3 - Brain Refreshing

This step is also referred to the rebirth for your brain. Throughout your life, you have experienced things that have lingered on as a kind of emotional residue that has affected your life. From this residue, you may have created the preconceptions and negative thought patterns that made you fall short of your full potential. The intention of Brain Refreshing is to release and clear away these memories for deep healing and renewal.

The benefits gained from this step are:

• Clears away emotional residue.
• Encourages positive life view.
• Develops emotional intelligence.

Step 4 - Brain Integration

After this stage you will be ready to ask yourself fundamental questions about life with sincerity. You will then accept new, positive information into the brain. As you would have learned to empty your brain of emotional baggage, ready to expand your awareness and transcend the boundaries of the ego.

This step is called “Brain Integrating” because all layers of your brain are working toward the creation of your ideal life. Through this deep exploration, you can discover the part of you that is truly meant to be in charge of your brain. The following benefits can be seen after this step:

• Unites diverse areas of the brain.
• Enhances communication between hemispheres.
• Releases latent abilities.

Step 5 - Brain Mastering

This is essentially a spiritual quest because it requires continuous attention to, and development of, the higher aspects of your character. Through the process of Brain Mastering, your brain will continue to transform and solidify neural connections that support the creation of a truly happy life. Your brain will be able to find creative, workable solutions to the basic problems of life. You will become more decisive and your mind will develop the habit of forming more peaceful relationships with other people and the world as a whole. The characteristics developed after this step allows us to:

• Empower authorship of life purpose.
• Enable greater executive control of the brain.
• Expedite decision making process.

HSP (Dhan) Yoga is more than just yoga, it is a philosophy a way of life, it’s a means to spreading peace and enlightment around the world. The mastering of the brain can be achieved within 2 years of practicing HSP (Dhan) Yoga. Apart from the regular classes thers are a number of workshops to participate in, these workshops are carried out during strategic times during your growth, one workshop leads onto another, your growth is always monitored by yourself as you go through the different workshops.

As I have said before I am avid and keen football supporter. Everyone in the footballing world is talking about this imminent transfer of Kaká, the young gifted Brazilian who is to be transferred from AC Milan to the newly mega rich Manchester city.

As much as I think that Kaká is a fantastic player, I don’t think anyone can justify a price tag of £100,000,000.  To me it seems ludicrous to be able to say a player is worth £x million.  Who dreams up these inflated prices for these players. I think that these inflated salaries and transfer fees is killing the game.

It really now really boils down to who can buy the best players. Having said that, having the best players does not necessarily mean that success is guaranteed or you have the best team, although it certainly helps.

To me it also seems to be a little insensitive in this current economic climate, where people are concerned about their livelihoods to hear about a footballer who will earn £500,000 a week.

I understand that people should be paid what they are worth, I don’t think that anyone can justify a footballer being paid that much a week. Yes they are entertainers and yes they have short lived careers but nevertheless I do not think their salaries are justified, the biggest winners in all this are the players agents.

I think the clubs need to review their salary structure, the governing body need to look at the transfer system, okay there is a lot of money in the game but with what has happened the division within the game will get wider and wider.

I feel that this level of investment cannot be sustained. It has already been inferred at Chelsea, with the massive drop in Oil prices, Mr Abromavich’s fortune is dwindling and so is his investment into the club, hence no transfer activity for Chelsea during this January transfer window.

What are your views on this? What should the Football authorities do? Can they do anything?

I have been living life following an holistic approach, looking after myself as a whole, not just any one aspect of my life. As part of this philosophy, I have done a number of courses to become a healer, which I practice on a voluntary basis. I also practice yoga and meditation and am a outreach instructor.

I have been instructing for a relatively short time, I am enjoying it immensely, it has a completely different energy to when you are following an instructor.

I have always liked the idea of working with children, I have now found an exciting challenge which I am looking forward to taking up. I have managed to obtain an opportunity to teach at a local primary school, however, it is not your everyday run of the mill school. It is a school for children with learning difficulties and in the Autistic spectrum.

Today, I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the school and meet the children. The school caters for children of varying ability, they have 2 classes for each year, 1 class deals with the autistic children whilst the other class is for children with learning difficulties and minor disabilities.

To teach these children yoga will not only be a challenge but it will also be a great honour and extremely rewarding for me. It will pathe the way for me to get closer to my goal and vision. It is an experience I will relish, it will go some way in my efforts to give something back to our society, I am really looking forward the challenge.

I must admit at the moment the prospect is quite daunting, I am currently trying to put together a program for the 2 classes I shall be taking. I actually start this on Friday 23rd January, for me it will be a momentous occaision, I can’t express the joy I am feeling.

Has anyone worked with children with Autism or Learning disabilities? Apart from having the patience, what other characteristics will I need to show with these children? If anyone can give some tips I would much appreciate it. I want to be able to do a good job, this will not only be an interesting position, it will also test my leadership skills and credentials.

I will welcome any feedback whatsoever to allow me to improve teaching skills and help me to grow further.

What is Inspiration? What inspires us? How do we keep a check on these inspirations?

There has been many people over the 20th Century who have inspired the community and people around the planet, they have ranged from politicians, sports men and women, actors and actresses, other dignitaries and public figures. What was it about these people that they were so much in awe by others? What made them different from everyday folk like the likes of you and me? What did they have that we do not? What is it that inspires us when we think of such people.

I have many people whom I have been inspired by, they include, Ghandi, Nelson Mandella, Martin Luther King Jr, Jesus, Mohammed to name a few. People like Jesus and Mohammed are beyond comparison as they take on a completely different realm of consciousnesses, inspiration, guidance and leadership.

Many people talk about Ghandi, Nelson Mandella, Martin Luther King Jr, but almost nobody put their principles into practice let alone their own.  Some people would say these were special men and we are not. I would say we are all special and can make a difference, I would say it’s not enough for us to say, I don’t like wars, racism, domestic violence, poverty, It’s not enough to write a poem about the war….etc. We are part of the all problems in our world. If we don’t act now then the all good work that went before us would seem to be futile and a tremendous waste which will  lead to further problems, issues and concern for the future generation.

From my perspective although I try to live my life by their and my own principles, they all had one thing that set them apart from the others, they had a clear vision, unwaivering belief and an abundance of faith. I don’t believe in this generation enough people have a cause strong enough to their principles or their desires that they are willing to give up or sacrifice their status quo to stand up and be counted. One man can make a difference if he has a clear vision and a goal, with the fire in his belly and a believe that is so strong it does not feel a sacrifice or a chore, he has to be selfless and see the bigger picture, he has such a conviction he could move mountains to make it happen.

What inspires you? What could or would you do such that you will become an inspiration to others? Do you have a vision that is greater than you? Could this vision be realised or manifested?

I believe it is now time to change ourselves for the better good, it is the time for enlightenment, self awareness to strive for world peace, we can still save ourselves and our planet. Start looking at ourselves, look deep into our soul and listen to what it is telling us.

There has been a lot said about the Law of Attraction.

• What is the Law of Attraction?
• Who has read or seen “The Secret”?

I have read the secret and was taken back by the philosophy and principles written in the book. After reading the book I had realised that I was somewhat trying to live my life by following the principles in the book, I recalled many people telling me especially a teacher at school that I was a dreamer and I would not amount to anything.

The law of attraction states that whatever we focus on will be drawn to us. The law of attraction can be explained in terms of quantum physics. Quantum Physics has shown or proven that everything is made up of atoms, and sub-atoms, all these are nothing but concentration of energy.

Everything in this universe is made of energy and that each particle or object vibrate at different frequency of the energy. It is clear that the reason why the same particles grow together is because they are vibrating at the same frequency.

The law of attraction works through thought, thoughts are vibrational energy, which means that it will attract to other energy with the same frequency, when we hold a thought in our mind.

We can activate the law of attraction by simply holding a mental picture of what we desire as long as possible and as often as possible. We must feel that we already have what we want with certainty. We need to believe we have it. It is also to make what we want as our reality rather than accept what is our reality as we currently see it. We have to take action both in thought and reality to speed up the process. We should not expect instant manifestations, the thought energy has already been put out there and there is a buffer between your thought and the manifestation of your desire, no matter what you must believe and it will be.

I am still not exactly where I want to be but I believe that I will be soon. For me it’s all about spiritual growth, I have taken many steps and am continuing to take these steps to get me to where I want to be and create the life I want to live.