Becoming Aware of How Life Force Leaks Away From Us Unnecessarily Today my wife and I planted a cinnamon tree in our garden. We purchased it at a nursery and it is approximately ten feet (3½ meters) tall! The roots were bundled tight in a burlap sack to restrict their growth while it was awaiting someone to come and claim it. Digging the hole, cutting the burlap sack and planting the tree into the earth, allowing the roots to expand without restrictions, all this felt nourishing. Its rich potential can now be fully realized. I look forward to watching it grow. As I was pondering what to write for this month’s topic, I realized a similarity between ourselves and the cinnamon tree. We too have our roots bundled and confined, but not with burlap, with limited consciousness. What can we do to release our full potential, for we are plugged into the matrix of all existence, and so much is available to us? One very effective method that is incredibly overlooked is to increase the life force we have available to us. All living things, plants, animals, insects and human beings draw life force from the cosmic reservoir naturally and without awareness. It just happens, and is a part of being alive. The life force that nurtures the cinnamon tree is the same life force that fuels the barking dog and allows the grasshopper to leap in the field. It is the force and energy that maintains life in all things. It exists everywhere and in abundance. While invisible and undetectable by human senses, its existence has been well documented by various mystery schools and is known by many different names. The term "Life Force" is one of those names, and it is what I will call it as I explore the potential of harnessing this incredible substance. We can enhance our life immeasurably by first becoming aware of this Life Force, and secondly by increasing the flow into our being. Our mind and body are constantly being regenerated and revitalized by this great life-essence, which circulates throughout the cosmos. This life force reaches all, supplying animation to all, tying all things together in one dynamic wash of ever-flowing renewing energy. This river of energy is flowing all around us and in it "we live and move and have our being." Each of us receives a minimum amount just by being alive and human, but the amount of life force each individual receives varies greatly and is affected by a number of factors, which I intend to explore over the next several months. Let me say at the beginning of our examination of this fascinating aspect of human existence that it is possible to draw directly from the great cosmic reservoir of undifferentiated energy and to increase our intake. When we do, this energy is transmuted within our being into all the different forms of activity that go to make up a human life. If our vital energy goes [...]

Stalking yourself is the process of hunting, following and observing your habits, beliefs, thoughts, routines, strengths and weaknesses for the purpose of seeing who you are. It is using the mind to see all aspects of yourself in action. In this guide, you'll learn techniques to stalk your inner dialogue, habits, and energy fluctuations. Let's dive in. Table of Content Stalking Yourself – Rules of the Game Stalking Inner Dialogue Stalking Habits Stalking Energy Fluctuations In stalking yourself, you want to see not only what and how you are thinking, but to identify your central beliefs, those core beliefs that cause you to act in certain ways. The fact is that our mind makes decisions for us and directs us in all aspects of our life, and if we remain unaware of this process, we can lose control of our lives. For indeed the mind is a great servant, but a terrible master. Most of us remain totally unconscious of this internal process. We fail to see how our beliefs influence our choices, or how our inadequacies and hurts cause us to lash out in anger or withdraw into self-pity, according to our nature. Or we fail to see how certain habits like procrastination or lack of imagination keep us stuck in situations that do not serve our best needs. In many ways we don’t see ourselves at all because we are too busy thinking and doing without noticing what we are thinking or why we are doing what we are doing. Stalking ourselves is a novel concept because we assume we know and see ourselves well. In fact, we reason, nobody knows ourselves better than we do. But in this reasoning we are woefully wrong. It is an important turning point in each of our lives when we are confronted with and fully grasp how much of who we are is unconscious, and how these unconscious parts of us have agendas and make decisions for us. Not only that, but if we are not careful and diligent, these unconscious parts of us can take over our thinking without our even being aware it has happened. Each of us is a unique mixture of strengths and weaknesses of conscious and unconscious patterns and beliefs. We are totally unconscious in some areas of our life (usually those areas where we are having problems and difficulty), and hyperconscious and aware in others. No two of us is alike, and so no two strategies will be alike. Each of us must design a strategy that fits our unique situation. But to do this we must first see and understand ourselves without illusion. To be effective in our life we need to be adept at three distinct processes. Seeing: seeing ourselves and our present situation without illusion. Knowing: having the insight and wisdom to make empowering decisions according to what we see. Doing it: overcoming procrastination and fear and mastering the dharma of action. Until you can see yourself, you cannot see your [...]

They were the “no option” patients, people with advanced heart disease who had used up all their bypass surgeries and who were running out of ways to stay alive. But when they joined a study testing laser surgery and a heart drug that grows new blood vessels, remarkable things happened. Their crippling chest pain improved. They had fewer angina attacks. They were able to exercise longer during a stress test on a treadmill. Sophisticated nuclear scans showed an improvement in blood flow to their hearts and heart function. And they didn’t improve for just a week or two weeks or six months. They were still better two years later – a result all the more incredible considering they actually received no active treatment. Yes, a catheter was inserted into an artery and slowly pushed up to the heart. Investigators then went through all the motions of making the patients believe they were using a satellite-guided laser to drill holes into their heart muscle. But the laser was never actually switched on. Another group of patients got “sham” injections of salt water, instead of a growth protein. “We gave these patients big headphones, we played loud music and the only person who knew whether they were receiving treatment or a placebo was the operator, who was not involved in their follow-up,” says lead author Dr. Roger Laham, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. The surprising study, published in August’s issue of the American Journal of Cardiology, adds to growing evidence that the placebo effect not only triggers true physiological changes in the body; it lasts longer than thought. “The traditional thinking was, ‘Well, the patient improves for a couple of weeks after you give them treatment because they have a better outlook on life and then they kind of go back and regress to what they were,’ says Dr. Laham. “What this study shows is, in fact, that is not the case. What does happen instead is that these patients improve, and their improvement is as sustained as the ones given active treatment.” This is bad news for researchers and drug companies, who try hard to quash the placebo effect when testing new drugs in order to know how real a medicine’s effect is. But rather than stifle it, others are racing to mimic it. They are testing different genes, as well as endorphins and hormones that are elevated following a placebo response. “There is no role in medicine for deceiving patients.” Dr Laham stresses. Deceit by any definition “is not very ethical and no licensing body would condone a doctor palming a ‘pill’ made of sugar, starch or chalk off as real medicine. “However, it’s going to be important to see what is in this deceit, or what the placebo effect entails. I’m certain there are certain physiologic effects that do occur. We’re only just starting to scratch the surface.” U.S. researchers are already testing placebos in the treatment of children with attention-deficit disorder, and [...]

In her office in Little Rock, Arkansas, a thirty-nine-year-old woman sits deep in meditation. A regular meditator, she has been practicing for almost nine years and invariably finds it helps her relax. Today, however, her practice will take on a new twist. Using a simple visualization technique she will attempt to control her immune system under the watchful eyes of several researchers from the University of Arkansas Medical faculty. It’s part of an experiment to further understand the remarkable mind/body connection. The team is headed by psychiatrist G. Richard Smith, who wants to see if the woman can turn her immune system’s response up or down like the volume of a radio. The experiment begins with a simple injection of chicken pox virus on the underside of the woman’s arm. Because she has already had chicken pox, the researchers know she can’t develop the disease from the injection. But they also know that her immune system will "recognize" the virus and respond to it by causing a small bump to rise at the injection site within 48 hours. Sure enough, a nickel-size bump appears and then slowly fades over the next four to five days. Blood samples confirm the skin test: Her white blood cell count increases as her immune system confronts the virus.  After the researchers repeat this test twice, the real experiment begins. Can the woman actually lessen her white blood cells reaction to the virus? The virus is injected three more times over the next three weeks. Each time, the woman conjures up mental images depicting fewer white blood cells and a smaller bump. And each time blood tests confirm smaller counts of white cells, and the bump is one half to one third the original size. Finally, the woman is instructed to let her immune response return to normal for a few more injections. It does, and the bumps become nickel-sized again. "We were startled by the outcome," says Dr. Smith. But the Arkansas experiment is just one of thousands of new studies exploring the methods by which visualization can assist in fighting illness and enhancing health. Cell biologist Joan Borysenko was a twenty-four-year-old cancer researcher at Harvard Medical School when she started to use meditation and guided imagery. A strict scientist, she was doubtful, but she had a personal need. The rigors of divorced motherhood and lab work had taken their toll: migraines, spastic colon, bronchitis and high blood pressure. Medicine helped, but not enough. Desperate, she took meditation training and practiced visualization. The first time she tried it she struggled, but she persisted and in time the pain subsided. "I was left with a feeling of having been washed clean, like the earth after a heavy rain," she said. Today, Dr. Borysenko is founder and director at the Mind/Body Group working at Boston’s New England Deaconess Hospital. She and her colleagues use meditation, guided imagery, and other techniques in taking patients, including those with AIDS, referred to them by Boston physicians who want to [...]

Out of nowhere they appear, hoisting a banner that proudly displays their name in neatly embroidered letters, "Juhu Laughter Club," and below that their slogan: HO-HO, HA-HA - LAUGHING IS THE BEST MEDICINE   I'm in Bombay and the sun has not yet risen on Juhu Beach. I have come to see firsthand the work, or rather should I say play, of a most unusual doctor. Each morning forty or fifty men, women and children come to the beach for their daily dose of laughter. These people are members of one of India's almost 500 "laughter clubs"; groups which hold outdoor sessions that are free and open to everyone who believes in the therapeutic value of laughter. Madan Kataria, affectionately referred to as Dr. Laughter, is the founding force behind India's laughter therapy. A general practitioner and yoga expert, two decades ago he became interested in the physical and psychological benefits of laughter, and he has been meticulously researching its effect on the body ever since. Three years ago, when he set up his first laughter club, he was met with ridicule and bewilderment by his medical fraternity, but that did not stop him. Nor did it prevent the idea from spreading like wildfire. This year he is embarking on a worldwide "Laughter Tour" which will include Europe and the United States. "For many people stress has overtaken their lives. We have forgotten how to laugh," Dr. Kataria says. "We are living a very foolish life and we are not at peace with ourselves. We need to remember how to laugh. Laughter is a way to inner peace and relaxation." I watch as he takes his followers through their routines. It begins innocently enough, with hand clapping and a chorus of ho, ho, ho, ha, ha, ha. Then everyone forms a big circle and people take turns laughing, flapping their arms like a bird and performing other inane antics which, before long, have everyone giggling. And of course laughter is contagious; it feeds on itself. It lasts less than a half-hour but everyone, me included, has laughed a lot. And how does it make us feel? Well, great. Laughter is serious business to this Indian doctor. He has taken his clubs into factories where workers from the poorest city slums toil. They start the morning shift with a laughing session right on the shop floor. He takes it into schools, colleges, senior citizens homes. "There is no one who can't be helped by laughter," he points out. Laughter has become a science to him. He has already evolved 25 different types of laughter, including the Hearty Laugh, a deep, loud chuckle; the Gradient Laugh, which starts off as a smile, breaks into a titter and ends in a full-blown roar; and the Cocktail Laugh, emitting polite titters while moving the head from side to side, to name but a few. "The only factor in the therapy is that the laughter must be unconditional, like the laughter of children. We laugh [...]