It is a question of experiencing everything. At present, you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day.”

Rainer Maria Rilke

If Newton had let his conscious mind get in the way, would ge have understood the lesson from the falling apple?

If Einstein had allowed how conscious mind to get in the way, would he have experienced the ride along the sunbeam that allowed him to understand his theory or relativity?

Had Edison allowed his conscious mind to tell him that he’d better give up after 1000 “failures”, would we ever have had the first commercially practical incandescent light?

In what ways do you allow your conscious minds to stifle your genius?

So, the biggest mistake people make when meditating is…. trying to ‘do’ rather than to just ‘be’. This can be a really difficult concept for people to learn, and even harder to explain in writing! The key thing is, meditation is about being, not about doing. It should unfold from within you; it should not be about taking on some externally imposed activity.

It’s about being who you are, not someone else’s ideal you, fully present, relaxed, fully accepting of who you are at that moment.

One way to practice this is to say to yourself, on the exhale…”Just be (insert your name)”. So if I’m doing this exercise, I would say “Just be Nic”.

Another tip, borrowed from Alain and Jody Herriott, is to slow down the exhale as much as you can.  They say that, ideally, the out breath should be so slow that it would not disturb the flame of a candle.

Good luck and let me know how you get on in avoiding the biggest mistake people make when meditating!

What do we mean by spirituality? Does it have a place in the business world? Does it even matter?

First of all, let’s make a disctinction between spirituality and religion. At the spiritual core of all all religions are the same principles:

1. Unconditional Love of God (however you imagine the Divine to be, of self and of others

2. Awe and gratitude for who we are

Religions are then built on top of these principles, unfortunately often distorting or forgetting them. This post is about spirituality, not about any particular religion.

The principles above lead on quite naturally to me saying that I believe that they matter and that moreover, they can be guidees that determine our behaviour.

At a macro level, if everyone applied the principles to organisations we would experience:

1. Employee fulfilment
2. Compassionate capitalism
3. Acting responsibly

At an individual level, I would suggest that Spritual people, or people acting in a spiritual way:

1. Are not restricted to their five physical senses, and think ‘multi-dimensionally’, as I believe Einstein described it.

2. Know that there is more to life than logical cause and effect. Accept that somethings just ‘are’, without any rational explanation.

3. Know that we are not alone and that we can consult our Higher Self for loving guidance.

4. Listen to their intuition, however it expresses itself, as they value intuition as being their Higher Self talking to and guiding them.

5. Avoid being overly-controlling, focusing on empowering themselves and others.

6. Feel connected to all of humanity – modern physics is beginning to show how matter is interconnected – hundreds of years ago the Hopi Indians called this the Web of Life

7. Is motivated by ethics, love, serenity and quality of life and not by power, posessions or achievement at the sacrifice of others.

8. Practise meditation or other ways of being still.

9. Know that a violent response to evil is the same as participating in evil. (S)he rejects evil and fights for good.

10. Focus on what (s)he is for rather than what (s)he is against; this is key as it moves the focus from problems to solution ie being pro peace rather than against war

11. Feel a sense of responsibility and belonging to the universe and are in awe of being here. They work to protect rather than desicrate the environment.

12. Know that there are few, if any, limits and, see ‘miracles’ as stretching boundaries, as achieving results that others think impossible

13. Live a life of understanding and forgiveness rather than seeking revenge or trying to get even.

14. Do what is right, ethical and moral rather than hiding behind ‘it’s legal’.

15. Know that there is nothing unspiritual about earning money, for with money you can do good work and support empowering causes.

16. Know that true happiness comes from within rather than seeking for it externally.

Please note that this list is adapted from a book by Dr Wayne Dwyer called ‘Real Magic, Creating miracles in everyday life’

My challenge is to consistently live and behave in a spiritual way; it’s often challenging, sometimes because of difficult circumstances, sometimes because people believe that if you are spiritual you are somehow a soft touch!

Placebo Surgery

Another variation of this was where patients suffering from knee problems were divided into three groups. The first group received a keyhole surgical intervention that washed out the knee with a high pressure water spray. The second group received a keyhole surgical intervention that involved scraping away the damaged tissue. The third group received a keyhole surgical intervention that put the patient through the same time on the operating table as the other two groups, and the keyhole incision was then closed, without anything being done.

Many patients in the third group reported after recovering from their operation, that their knees felt better and worked more efficiently. Even after they were told that nothing had been done, their recovery continued – there was no relapse.

New Insights Into the Placebo Effect

Until very recently, the placebo effect was considered to be a purely psychological response. However, scientists have now discovered something very exciting. When given a placebo, the body manufactures the same chemicals as would be provided by the equivalent pharmaceutical drug! In other words, we all have a pharmaceutical lab inside us that can produce all of the drugs we need, if we can only trigger the process!

The Placebo Effect and “Miracle” Cures

Scientists are often quick to dismiss “miracle cures” and any benefits arising from complementary medicine as being “just the placebo effect”. Not only is this ironic, given the amazing abilities of the body to manufacture the cure it needs, it also hides a challenging truth. Dr Benson, of Harvard University, opened Pandora’s Box when he conducted a rigorous study that revealed that no treatment for Angina Pectoris, either by drugs or surgery, outperformed the 35% placebo effect.

But when the physician and patient both believed in the treatment, the success rate soared to 90%!

Positivity and Levels of Immunoglobulin-A

In one study, ( Reported in the Journal of Advancement in Medicine, Volume 8 Number 2) subjects were asked to focus on positive thoughts for 5 minutes each morning. Their levels of Immunoglobulin-A (The immune system’s front line defence against a variety of viruses and bacteria) increased sharply and stayed high throughout the day. It didn’t matter what the subjects thought about as long as it triggered positive thoughts and a state of positivity.

Other subjects were asked to remember an angry feeling and replay it in their minds for 5 minutes. Their levels of Immunoglobulin-A dropped and stayed significantly lower than normal for the rest of the day.

The first part of this study confirmed the findings of an earlier experiment by Harvard psychologist Dr. David McClelland, who found that  Immunoglobulin-A levels increased in students who were shown a video about Mother Teresa.

Positivity Leads to Quicker Recovery From Surgery

Digging a bit deeper, there are over 1200 peer-reviewed studies that show that people with established spiritual habits, which by definition includes positivity, recover from major surgery faster and with less pain, with lower 6-month death and re-hospitalisation rates than those with no spiritual beliefs and lifestyle.

These studies have been widely reported in publications such as “American Psychologist”, “Psychosomatic Medicine” and “Family Medicine”, “American Heart Journal”, “American Journal of Psychiatry”, “Journal of Clinical Psychiatry”, “Psychological Reports”, “Journal of Gerontology”, “American Journal of Public Health” etc.

In addition, Norman Cousin’s book “Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient” is a testament to the power of laughter and a positivity in defeating illness.

Positive Psychology

This book echoed the approach of psychologists such as Maslow,  Rogers, Fromm and Seligman who can be considered to be the philosophical fathers of the new area of Psychology, called “positive psychology.” Positive psychology focuses on promoting mental health rather than merely treating illness and as its name suggests, is based on helping patients find happiness and fulfillment.

Unfortunately, as so often happens, people have jumped on the bandwagon, diluted positive psychology and turned some of it into new- age quackery. The outcome has been than in the eyes of the media and of many people, positive psychology as a discipline has become wrapped up with the “get what you desire by saying a few affirmations and thinking a few positive thoughts” brigade.

The Drugs Don’t Work!

Incidentally, contrast the efficacy of a positivity to life with the report from the US Congress Office of Technological Assessment, which stated that 85% of drugs now in use have no satisfactory scientific documentation to back them up!

Or with the statement by Allen Roses, worldwide vice-president of genetics at GlaxoSmithKline, that less than 50% of patients prescribed some of the most expensive drugs got any benefit from them “It is an open secret in the drugs industry that most of its products are ineffective in most patients but this is the first time such a senior drugs boss has gone public.”, reported the Independent on December 8, 2003.

So, if you want to stay healthy, or recover quickly from major surgery, it appears that positivity, married with a consistent spiritual practice, is an important component of health and well-being.

Do let me know what you think about all this!

Motivation Tip 1. Attain your dreams. Avoid damaging people, matters and places. Eleanor Roosevelt once stated the future belongs to those who trust in the beauty of their ambitions. Trust in your self, and in what you are able to accomplish.

Motivation Tip 2. Think about things on every angle and aspect. Motivation issues forth from determination. To be able to comprehend life, you ought to feel the sun from both sides.

Motivation Tip 3. Don’t give in and don’t quit. Edison failed once, twice, more than thrice prior to coming up with his invention the light bulb. Make motivation as your steering wheel.

Motivation Tip 4. Enjoy Life! Work as though you don’t need income. Dance as though nobody’s looking. Love as though you never cried. Learn as though you’ll live forever. Motivation comes about when individuals are happy.

Motivation Tip 5. Loved ones and acquaintances - are life’s greatest treasures. Don’t loose sight of them. Give more than what is adequate. Where does motivation and confidence take place at work? At home? At school? When you exercise extra effort in executing things.

Motivation Tip 6. Hold on to your aspirations. They might dangle in there for a minute, but these little stars will be your drive.

Motivation Tip 7. Brush off those who try to demolish you. Don’t let others get the best of you. Remain away from toxic individuals – the sort of people who detest hearing about your success.

Motivation Tip 8. Be yourself. The key to success is to be yourself. And the key to failure is to attempt to please everybody. Love your self. Now isn’t that simple?

Motivation Tip 9. Continue trying regardless how difficult life might seem. When an individual is motivated, eventually he sees a harsh life at last clearing out, paving the way to confidence.

Motivation Tip 10. Make things happen. Motivation is when your aspirations are put to work. Practice makes perfect. Practice is about motivation. It lets us learn ways to recover from our errors.

Motivation Tip 11. Never lie, swindle or steal. Always play fair.

Motivation Tip 12. Open your eyes. Individuals ought to learn common sense. They discover things in 2 ways – how they wish things to be, and how they ought to be.

Motivation Tip 13. If you give up, you’ll never win. And winners never give up. It’s your choice – are you going to give up? Or be a winner?

Motivation Tip 14. Remember, motivation is about preparation. We have to hear the little voice inside us telling us to get moving before other people will get on their feet and join in. Remember, it wasn’t raining when Noah constructed the ark. Quit procrastinating!

Motivation Tip 15. Take charge of your life. Discipline or willpower jives synonymously with motivation. Both are central factors in confidence.

Motivation Tip 16. Understand other people. If you know how to talk, you ought to also learn how to listen. Long to understand 1st, and to be understood 2nd.

Motivation Tip 17. Envision it. Motivation without imagination is like a boat on the ground. Want it more than anything. Dreaming means trusting. And to trust is something that’s rooted in motivation and confidence.

Motivation Tip 18. Be different from the others. When you’re motivated, you tend to apply “extras” in your life like extra time for family, extra help at work, extra care for friends, etc.

You’re unique. No one in this world looks, behaves, or talks like you. Value your life and existence, as you’re just going to get one.

Do You Control Your Life?

Do you believe you have no control over your life? Are you who you are today, by choice or by fate? Will a change in your actions create a change in your life? Many people have given up on their dreams… they say, “Dreaming is only for the rich. When you have money, you can dream. When you have no money, don’t dream.”

That’s true… not everyone is lucky enough to be born with a silver spoon. If you are lacking in funds, it’s going to be difficult to start living life the way you want to. Money buys you freedom to follow your passions. But you don’t have to give up on your dreams, just because you lack money.

Feeling Out Of Control Of Your Life?

Depending on where you are brought up, you will face limitations depending on your family finance, culture, and environment. Some of us are born to have easy lives, while some are born to take a more challenging path. Perhaps the limitations and obstacles you currently face, that lead to feeling out of control of your life,  are part of your journey — you must overcome them to grow stronger on the path to achieving your goals.

If You Want to Live Your Dream – Take Control of Your Life!

When we are young, we all seem to have clear idea of what we want to be when we grow up. But somewhere along the way, these dreams get buried under the reality of daily living. The focus shifts from ‘living the dream’ to just ‘finding a good job with a stable income’. “Survival first”, as they call it. The sad part is that many people spend much of their lives doing what they don’t like, so they can finally earn enough to start doing what they do like.

I say, that’s a great way to bury your happiness and turn into an economic slave. Doing what you dislike, day after day, will numb the sense of joy within you. Soon you will feel that your life has no greater purpose, and there is nothing to look forward to but work, work, work…. You will have forgotten how much fun it is to spend your time doing the things you like to do.

The Secret to Living Your Dreams

It’s painful if you don’t make enough money to live comfortably. But what ís more painful is if the work you do has no meaning to you. Everyday you can drag yourself to work, perform meaningless actions, and then drag yourself back home. Apart from sleeping, work takes up the majority of our time. So if you’re not enjoying your work, you’re not enjoying your life. And life is so short, isn’t it?

Your Life is Happening Right Now!

We probably have less than a hundred years to make our mark in this world. And you never know… you fail to look while crossing the road and BOOM! You could be gone tomorrow. So why spend your life doing something you don’t like to do? We don’t slog three-quarters of our lives just so we can enjoy one-quarter… we might not live that long. Understand that the essence of your life is happening right now — you are walking a path; making your journey through life.

And if the work you do, is not designed to help you fulfill your higher purpose in life, then perhaps you are walking in the wrong direction. No point taking this path… change direction.

If you want to feel in control, if you want your dream to stay alive, you have to act on it. It’s like a fire that grows brighter and stronger if you fan its flames and keep adding wood. If you leave the fire alone, never doing anything to keep it alive, it will burn itself out. When you fail to act on your dreams, they die.

The Music In You

There is music within you, and you only need to coax it out. The daily grind forces us to forget what we love to do. Imagine you’re retired. You have enough money to live comfortably, but not to splurge. How would you spend your time? What activities would you find purpose in? What would you do to amuse yourself?

If you have an idea of what you would love to do but are not doing, then schedule some time everyday to do it. Making time for what you love is just like fanning the flames of your passion — the fire can only grow stronger. It’s what will bring a sense of purpose and meaning into your life; that spark of joy and wonder.

The happiest people are those who enjoy their work. They’ve managed to make money doing what they love to do, just like Leanne. And this can happen for you… if you are willing to reject the World’s Greatest Lie. Realize that you always have control over your actions, and therefore your results. The only time your start to fail in life, is when you stop believing in your ability to make a difference.

You don’t need a silver spoon; you don’t need to be a genius. What you need is a sincere belief in yourself and willingness to take action towards your dreams. Believe me, you have what it takes. It’s your choice – believe the world’s greatest lie, or take control of your life!

Language is such a powerful tool that, in skilled hands, it can be used to persuade, motivate, seduce and even harm.

That’s right, in skilled hands (or mouths?) language can even create addictions and depression.

This power comes from learning what are called hypnotic language patterns.

Hypnotic Language Patterns

Hypnotic language patterns came out of the studies of hypnosis, psychology and sales. When language patterns were first discovered the psychotherapy community realized that they could be used inappropriately. They then made a sincere effort to limit instruction of language patterns only to psychiatrists willing to pay $2000 for the weekend training.

These language patterns entered the popular culture with weekend long “seduction seminars” that began to spring up to teach lonely and clueless men how talk women into an uncontrollable state of arousal.

Now before you start to roll your eyes in disbelief let me tell you that these language patterns did just that! There are scores of now satisfied men who will attest to their power.

Seduction Patterns

An example of these seduction patterns is one in which the man simple begins talking to a woman about emotions and feelings that precede arousal. There is nothing lurid or suggestive about this because it’s not about arousal or sex itself. At an unconscious level it sets the stage for warm tingly feelings that might elicit a tilt of the head, a smile and a flirtatious glance.

Reagan, Clinton and Language Patterns

Seduction is only one side of how language patterns are being used. They are of course very useful in sales and influence and many a politician have hired speech writers who training in these powerful tools. Ronald Reagan wasn’t known as “The Teflon President” without reason. He could woo and amuse the most uninterested audience by using language. Likewise in spite of the scandals around him Bill Clinton always was able to be liked as a person.

In recent years there have even been language pattern trainings that emphasize how to use language to induce guilt, depression and suicide. While these trainers have been condemned for ìturning to the dark sideî there is no limit of people wanting to learn.

These language patterns often begin by painting the dark picture of the future and describe feelings of hopelessness and despair.

But the genie is out of the bottle now and people who want power, whether it’s to help or to harm, are attending seminars and trainings as well as reading the many books on the subject.

To conclude, never underestimate the power of words. They are used on you in ways that you might never imagine.

The Way we Show Our Love is a Mirror

The way we show our love to others often reflects the way we want to be loved ourselves. Most couples enjoy expressing their love to each other. However, many of us have yet to learn a golden lesson. We all give and receive love every day. Often what makes us feel loved is different to the way others give and receive it. Learning what makes our spouse or children feel loved can be the key to making even great relationships even better.

Talk May Be Cheap

We all enjoy being told we are loved, but for some people, the spoken word is not enough. People who make sense of the world visually want to see expressions of love. To them, “talk is cheap” and if you only tell them that you love them but never follow it up with things they can see, it will create feelings of confusion and concern in even the best of relationships.

Keep a record of what you do for others to show them your love and note the reactions you receive to those actions. As you observe the significant people in your life and their responses to the different ways, change the way you express love to them if necessary; you will soon see what you need to do for them to feel loved.

Tell, Show or Do?

If your partner sees help around the house as evidence of how much you love her, each time you help her you confirm to her you love her. In just one action, you will speak louder to her about your love than if you verbally assure her of your love every day. If your partner wants your physical touch, giving it to him will assure him you love him, more than any number of meals you may cook for him.

Learning to recognise the things that make us feel loved and then identifying what the significant people in our lives need to feel loved is a beautiful self-growth adventure that will revolutionize our relationship. It takes little time and effort to learn how to do this, yet as you learn and use this simple technique,y our significant relationships can be transformed.