April 2006 – LoveDriven

The Wheel of the Year

Celebrated As The Natural Cycle Of The Seasons

We have a very special relationship with Mother Earth and celebrate Her turns of the wheel as Sabbats and Esbats. The Wheel of the Year marks the Sun’s journey across the sky, the solstices, equinoxes and the Earth’s changing seasons.
In some aspects of NeoPaganism (particularly Wicca), all of nature is seen as cyclical; the passing of time is a cycle, represented by a circle or wheel. The course of birth, life, decline, and death that we see in our human lives is echoed in the seasons.
Each stop of the wheel denotes an important moment of progression and change in the Earth.

The Wiccan religious calendar contains 13 Full Moon celebrations, or Esbats, and 8 Sabbats or days of power, 4 main Sabbats, 2 Equinoxes and 2 Solstices. The Sabbats honor the ground and are the festivals that make up the wheel of the year. They are also solar rituals, marking the points of the Sun’s yearly cycle, celebrating the passing of the year.
Mythically, each Sabbat also symbolizes a time in the life of the Wiccan God, who is born from the Wiccan Goddess, grows to full manhood, mates with her, and reigns as king during the summer. He then declines and dies, rising anew the next year. The eight Sabbats represent seasonal birth, death, and rebirth.
The Esbats honor the sky and focus on the Full Moon celebrations. There are 12-13 Full Moons yearly, or one every 28 1/4 days. The Moon is a symbol of the Goddess as well as a source of energy. Thus, after the religious aspects of the Esbats, we often practice magick, tapping into the larger amounts of energy which are thought to exist at these times. Most rites are held at night.

This calendar follows the seasons of the northern hemisphere, where the celebrations that form the basis of the modern Sabbats originated. Wiccans in the southern hemisphere usually celebrate the Sabbats on the opposite dates of the year (6 months apart from the northern dates), in order to follow the cycle of seasons where they live; i.e. an Australian Neopagan would celebrate Samhain on May 1, when a Canadian Neopagan would be celebrating Beltane.

HISTORY OF THE WHEEL
The four cross-quarter festivals (often called ‘fire festivals’) of Imbolc, Beltaine, Lughnasadh and Samhain are historically authentic and well attested in medieval Ireland; they probably derive from the first century Coligny Calendar which, being a lunisolar calendar (a calendar whose date indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year), does not correspond to fixed days in the solar calendar.

Modern Interpretations of The Wheel
Some Wiccans are adopting dates for the Cross-Quarter Sabbats, between the Equinoxes and Solstices, based on a count of days rather than the calends of the months, working on the assumption that the dates given above derive from the Roman based Gregorian Calendar. They recognize that the fire festivals are near the midpoints between the solstices and equinoxes, and use the midpoint dates instead of the traditional dates. These modern calculations tend to give dates a few days after the traditional calendar based dates. Others, who cite origins of the fire festivals in the Celtic calendar, dispute this practice as anachronistic and based on faulty logic.

Sabbats
Midwinter/Yule, on the winter solstice
Imbolc, on February 2 and the preceding eve
Ostara, on the spring equinox
Beltane/Beltaine/May Day on May 1 and the preceding eve
Midsummer/Litha, on the summer solstice
Lughnasadh/Lammas, on August 1 and the preceding eve
Mabon, on the autumnal equinox
Samhain, on November 1 and the preceding eve October 31

Esbats

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Improve sexual intimacy with Yoga

by Leslie George
Scientists claim to have found the chemical reactions in our brains that cause sexual desire, but seem to know little, if anything, about what causes 21st century sexual dysfunction ?- attraction without affection, passion without tenderness, attachment without closeness, infatuation without love. “What’s missing from our culture,” says Mark Whitwell, the author of Yoga of Heart: The Healing Power of Intimate Connection (Lantern Books, 2004), “is sexual intimacy that is truly loving and healing and gracious from both sides. That’s the only satisfactory sex, the only actual turn-on. The rest is painful.”
Whitwell, who has been teaching yoga for more than 20 years, says practicing yoga can get couples to a place of sexual healing and love. “Normally, couples rush at each other and focus on orgasm, using sex as a stress-release mechanism,” he says. Instead, he claims, sex can be more intimate and loving if both partners commit to a daily 20-minute yoga practice. “You begin to have better sex because you start to feel your whole body. Sex becomes about enjoying your partner as life, as feeling,” he says. “That’s the point.

Leslie George: In your book Yoga of Heart you write that practicing yoga can bring intimate couples closer, which results in better sex. How does it work?

Mark Whitwell: Practicing yoga ?- moving your body to your breath ?- energizes your system, just as a lover does. Your breathing is related to lovemaking in the way that it teaches you to love and feel as a whole body. You feel the intimacy of your own body, breath and life, and that allows you to move with ease into a relationship with another with energy and full participation. It is loving bodily like this that heals the wounds of unlove.

LG:How does breathing create more intimacy?

MW:Inhaling develops your ability to receive, acknowledging your feminine aspects of nurturing, receptivity and softness. Exhaling comes from your base, acknowledging your male quality of strength. The energetic movement of the inhalation moves from above, down the soft front of your body and can be felt through the whole body. The movement of the exhale moves from the base up your back. The downward movement of the inhale merges with the upward movement of the exhale at your heart. When you breathe and move in a yoga practice, you participate in unifying these polarities. Yoga moves the energy in you and makes you more sensitive to your own body and breath. Hatha [a combination of the Sanskrit words for “sun” and “moon”], strength-receiving, the merging of opposites. It brings the opposites within you into balance and has a wonderful and immediate effect. You feel peace, completeness, wholeness, autonomy. Everything you need in life is already given by nature and you feel it. You get the sense you have already been given everything that you neeed.

LG:What are the polarities of life which you talk about in your book?

MW:We each have the full range of female/male, yin/yang qualities in us and yearn to express both. The fact is we are opposites in union in every way. That’s how the universe works. The negative and positive poles, the left and the right, the front and the back, above and below, inner and outer, inhale and exhale, the female and male are all in union as the form of life itself. This is how the universe works. Participating in these polarities, it reveals the heart. Yogic awareness is the heart, not the head. The openness of the whole body reveals the open heart.

LG:What do you mean by “whole body” loving?

MW:That’s when we embrace as the whole body, and everything is in cooperation with everything else. Unlike conventional sex, there is not a focus on the genitals. We embrace from the heart and head as the area of primary focus. The whole body relaxes. The pleasure of making love is in the desiring and the flow of feeling, the circulation of energy between mutual lovers, not in the fulfillment or ending of desire. But, don’t think of this as method, technique or attainment of anything. It is about love. It is about what two bodies do who love each other. Our bodies know what to do.

LG:Besides yoga what are the other ways to create intimacy?

MW: Nothing can replace sincere feeling and heartfelt attention to your lover. A vital part of intimacy is relaxed time together. Make appointments with each other and see that you are practicing your loving. In the context of intimacy, in every kind of play, make love. Do everything that brought you together in the first place ?- your shared interests ?- and make love. Just like yoga practice, it is a very natural discipline of pleasure, but it requires attention. Do your loving; make a tangible physical link. The energy will move.

LG:Why is sexual intimacy so difficult to achieve for many couples?

MW: Many people feel guilty about their sexual need and feel bad about themselves when they have sexual feelings. Guilt must be removed from each person’s desire to feel sexual! We must learn and understand that sexual desire is a good, honest, natural, positive and loving human activity. Sex is a function of the human condition. Experience it and don’t deny it. Let the desire happen. Let us become sensitive to what our bodies feel and become intimate with our bodies as feeling systems. Let us end the suppression around relationship, including and especially sexual intimacy ?- which is yoga.

LG:What’s the best way to begin a yoga practice?

MW: Find a teacher who can adapt a yoga practice to you. Yoga needs to be fitted to exactly who you are. Just remember that yoga should not be a struggle. It should not be obsessive. It should naturally support your life, like a daily shower or breakfast. The only reason to do yoga is for the pleasure, the literal pleasure of your system relaxing and filling with energy.

LG: How do you find a good teacher?

MW: Look for a teacher who practices yoga themselves. Make sure they have a good teacher. And find a teacher who cares about you and is not arbitrarily imposing a standardized practice, philosophy or culture on you. Also, find a teacher who understands and places importance on the breath. You do the postures (asanas) for the breath, not the other way around. Your body’s movement is the breath movement, and the breath movement is the body movement. Let the breath initiate and envelop each movement. It’s true that your inhale and exhale move to and from the core of your body, but your whole body, extending from your spine, also participates in each breath.

–

Mark Whitwell says he is interested in developing an authentic yoga practice for the individual, based on the teachings of T. Krishnamacharya and his son TKV Desikachar. Whitwell has taught yoga in the United States and abroad for more than 20 years and was the editor and contributor to TKV Desikachar’s classic book, The Heart of Yoga.
Whitwell is the author of Yoga of Heart: The Healing Power of Intimate Connection. For more information, go to YogaofHeart.com

Article taken from iVillage, who recently spoke to M. Whitwell from his home in New Zealand

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Benefits of Aloe Vera

FOR BURNS
Remember what grandma use to say: “that plant is good for everything!”… Keep a potted aloe on your widnow sill. It requires no care, except a weekly watering and, of course, love. For minor burns, snip off a leaf, slit it open and scoop out some gel from the inner leaf. Apply it to the burn.

ALOE VERA AND THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Aloe Vera has been recognised for centuries for its remarkable health-enhancing properties. Although known specifically for external application to the skin, Aloe Juice is now widely used to help a variety of conditions of the digestive tract.
It is important at this stage to stress that, as with any medical condition, a pain in the abdomen should be referred to a medical practitioner in the first instance.
Research work carried out over many years points conclusively to a toxic colon being the cause of a very wide range of illnesses, from minor to very serious. It is widely recognised that problems of the bowel are on the increase with many millions of people suffering a range of conditions including colitis, diverticulitis, Crohn’s disease and spastic colon – this latter condition more commonly known as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
IBS is considered to be the most common of these disorders and symptoms are varied, including exhaustion, lower back pain, constipation, diarrhoea and indigestion. The condition can be most distressing and can continually recur in spite of orthodox treatment.
The digestive tract is designed to ensure nutrients from food are absorbed into the blood stream whilst dispensing with the unwanted waste. Bacteria plays a major role in achieving the breakdown of food matter but, in doing so, also produces toxins. This is perfectly normal and in a healthy system the level of toxins is controlled. Nowadays our diet includes many unwanted substances including various chemicals, fats, insecticides etc. which can result in a high level of toxins, some of which can be poisonous. If these are absorbed into the blood the effect can give rise to a variety of conditions including lethargy and even food poisoning.
The bowel can gradually ‘fur up’ with a lining of unabsorbed food residues. These deposits become impacted and prevent essential nutrients from our diet being absorbed. This situation gives rise to nutrient deficiency which in turn can cause lethargy and exhaustion whilst the affected colon can be the cause of lower abdominal pain, diarrhoea or constipation.
Colonic irrigation is a technique which loosens and washes out these residues. Some practitioners are finding that Aloe Vera Juice, if taken daily for a period of several weeks, helps to ensure that the irrigation process is greatly facilitated. However, it is more usual to find that a regular, daily course of Aloe Vera Juice is sufficient to gently and gradually break down, loosen and assist in the natural dispersal of these residues.
Detoxification also takes place and the results are often most gratifying with reports of ability to enjoy a wider range of foods, relief from pain, reducing or dispensing with prescribed bulking agents or antispasmodic drugs and also a greater feeling of well-being and an improvement in the quality of life.
In establishing a regime of a regular daily dose of Aloe Vera Juice it may not only be found that the effects are gradual, gentle and with no irritant or harmful side effects, but also blood condition will be improved due to Aloe Vera’s ability to detoxify. Also, being a natural healer, any internal ulcers or lesions will be soothed and healing will be enhanced.

ALOE VERA AND ARTHRITIS
Aloe Vera is a stimulant to the immune system, a powerful anti- inflammatory, an analgesic and is able to speed up cell growth. Aloe Vera contains a large number of mucopolysaccharides (basic sugars) which are found in every cell in the body. Aloe also contains large numbers of nutrients including vitamins E, C, B1, 2, 3, and 6 as well as iron, manganese, calcium and zinc. Seven essential amino acids and fatty acids are also found in Aloe Vera.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful, debilitating condition. It manifests itself as stiff, swollen joints with varying degrees of associated pain caused partly due to nerve damage and partly by the pressure of the swollen area.
The swollen area is normally red in colour and described as inflamed. The redness is caused by the blood supply to the ‘damaged’ area being increased.
Conventional treatment includes use of anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids, typically cortisone injections or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These certainly can ease the painful effects but unfortunately do not repair damaged tissues. There can also be undesirable side effects, particularly thinning of the skin and osteoporosis. Although many NSAIDs are available, each one has the potential to cause stomach ulcers.
Repairing damaged tissue by regenerating cells is a function at which Aloe Vera has been shown to be most successful. It not only relieves the painful symptoms but also helps to disperse damaged tissue – a type of detoxification process. Aloe Vera may be taken both internally as a juice or as a gel applied to the painful joint. Here Aloe Vera’s deep penetration may show benefit.
The degree of success with this treatment varies considerably from person to person. With some, relief and improved joint flexibility is virtually immediate – an apparent ‘magical’ cure, whereas in others, the process can take much longer and the degree of recovery may not be so great.
In any event, an important fact must be remembered: Aloe Vera has no known adverse side effects. It is an extract from the leaf of the Aloe Vera plant, known throughout the world where it grows naturally as the ‘First Aid Plant’, the ‘Burn Plant’, the ‘Miracle Plant’ and the ‘Medicine Plant’.

for more info on Aloe see Positive Health

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Gardening -Why getting down and dirty feels so good

“It’s a great source of exercise, not to mention nutrition”, experts say!

You may not be able to tear your boss’ hair out — but you can snatch the weeds from your flowerbeds.
You may not have the desire to schlep to your gym’s power-lift class — but you can lug bags of soil and push your wheelbarrow around.
You may not be able to dictate what your office looks like, but you can have flowers and trees in your yard that directly reflect your personality.
And then there’s the control — all those little plant lives are in your hands.
With warmer weather here, more people are charging into their yards and gardens, or maybe thinking about it.
And health experts couldn’t be happier.
There are oodles of benefits — both physical and mental — that come from the range of activities associated with gardening.
The most obvious benefit is exercise, said Dr. Julie Roth of the Wellness Institute at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. And anyone who has planted trees, created a flowerbed from bare lawn or hauled slate to design a walking path will tell you that dominating Mother Nature is hard work.
“It’s going to give you a good way to burn calories that’s an enjoyable activity for most people,” Roth said, adding that studies show that working in your yard or garden can burn between 250 calories and 500 calories an hour, depending on your level of activity.
Diane Relf, a professor emeritus with Virginia Tech’s Department of Horticulture, said trimming shrubs or trees requires about the same amount of exertion as walking at a moderate pace. Raking the lawn takes as much energy as a leisurely bike ride or water aerobics. And mowing the lawn with a push mower or tilling a garden can equal the exertion you would expend swimming laps, she said.
“Gardening is moderate — and sometimes strenuous — exercise that incorporates many important elements of accepted exercise regimes, such as stretching and stance, repetition and movement,” Relf said. “Some gardening even involves resistance principles similar to weight training.”
And while some people just can’t bring themselves to climb on a treadmill for an hour, it might help to know that when you “feel the burn” in your garden, you’ve actually produced something in the end — besides a toned backside.
Beyond physical exertion, gardening also offers a level of serenity that can help a person’s mental health, experts said.
“For a lot of people, it’s a very soothing activity,” Roth said. “You’re out in nature, which is a very soothing location. You can turn on whatever music you want. It’s a good way to break away from the daily rigor we all go through.”
Relf said just spending time in your garden can provide health benefits.
She noted a study from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City that found that women recovering from breast-cancer surgery discovered that walks in the garden helped restore their ability to concentrate and reduce their depression.
“After a hard, tense day at the office, a slow cruise around the yard will do wonders to restore your perspective,” Relf said. “As you discover seedlings emerging, flower buds opening, even the damage of the tomato hornworm, you forget about the day’s worries.”
And don’t underestimate the stress relief that comes from spending time outdoors after driving your desk in an office all day.
There are several theories why time spent gardening is so soothing, Relf said.
It might be that plants provide a simple aesthetic joy, or that people are responding to ingrained psychological and physical cues borne of thousands of years of evolution. It also may be that caring for plants satisfies the human instinct to nurture and provide support, rewarding good gardeners with colorful and fragrant flowers or luscious, ripe fruits and vegetables.
Which leads to the last reason why gardening is such a health activity — when it’s all said and done, you benefit from a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables.
“It gives you direct access to healthy food,” Roth said. “Whatever you put in there, one way or another, it’s going to be good for you.”

by Anne Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

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Pomegranate Juice Against Arthritis

Q: Can pomegranate juice help against arthritis, as I’ve read? What about other benefits?

A: It’s too soon to say. A lab study at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland found that pomegranate fruit extract inhibited the breakdown of human joint cartilage cells in test tubes. But no studies have tested the juice in people with osteoarthritis.

As we’ve reported, there are other reasons to consume pomegranates. Their plump red seeds are rich in polyphenols, which are antioxidants. Pomegranates also contain lots of vitamin C and potassium. Research has shown that pomegranate juice can lower blood pressure by 5% in people with hypertension and lessen damage by LDL (“bad”) cholesterol on artery walls. In a recent small study in the American Journal of Cardiology, one cup of juice a day for three months improved blood flow to the heart in people with coronary artery disease.

But watch the calories. The leading brand, POM Wonderful, lists 140 per cup. You may want to dilute it with water because of its tartness, which would also reduce the calories. Processing the fruit into juice destroys the vitamin C, which may or may not be added back. And the juice is expensive.

UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, April 2006
www.iVillage.com-Health & Well-Being

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Garlic's Healing Properties

Garlic is part of the onion, chives, and leek family. It’s been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. From the ancient times through WWI, garlic has been used to treat the wounded.

During the 1920s, researchers at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals in Switzerland isolated garlic’s antibiotic compound, alliin, which has no medical value until the herb is chewed, chopped or crushed. Then an enzyme transforms aliin into a powerful antibiotic called allicin.

An another compound, ajoene, appears responsible for reducing blood clots.

Modern antibiotics are more potent and easier to take, but if you’re concerned about ulcers, use more garlic in your diet. Researchers at the University of Washington have shown that garlic kills H.pylori, the bacteria that cause ulcers.

Garlic can also reduce LDL cholesterol while boosting the “good” HDL cholesterol. This can take two to four months to show.

It can also lower triglycerides and blood pressure. This can take from one to six months.

Garlic can also help with circulation and by managing cholesterol ensures that arteries stay clean.

It fights infections (external and internal), may help coughs, asthma, fevers, fungal infections, ear and sinus infections, and gastric upsets.

Raw garlic has the most antibiotic potency. Although it still has benefits, when cooked its effectiveness will be reduced by eliminating certain compounds .

Contraindications: patients taking anticoagulants, hypoglycemic drugs, those with allergies and pregnant women. If taken with diuretics it can result in hypertension or diuresis. People with gastrointestinal irritation should use caution.

Side effects: occasional hearthburn and gastrointestinal problems; may cause eruptions of the skin.

Mostly, garlic is very safe.

Eat anywhere from one to five cloves a day, or take about four grams of minced garlic a day. Try enteric-coated pills for best result, as they preserve the active compounds. Pills are also odourless. You need about 4,000 mg a day.

by Livia
www.reiki-for-holistic-health.com

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Favorite Quotes

What is God? In reality it is your own positive self, your higher Self, your universal Self, the Self which knows no defeat, the Self which can rise again and again and again like a wave in the ocean. Yogi Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Ji

The moment you realize your own identity and realize that your identity is the Will of God, there is no one more divine than you. There’s nothing else to do. YB

I believe God wants you to know that insights come to you and through you. Wisdom does not flow only one way.

You may not have thought of yourself as a source of
Divine Wisdom, but you are — and before this very
week is out someone will be relying on you for just that.

When that moment comes, I am sure you will be ready.
If you were not, the moment would not come. Therefore,
trust the process — and yourself.” Neale Donald Walsch

“Life is meant to be absolutely a fountain of spirit from which you can drink your own peace, & understand & feel your own grace, & can understand the you within you.” Yogi Bhajan

“You must speak straight so that your words may go as sunlight to our hearts.” -Cochise

“Creative consciousness is your birthright. Without creative consciousness life is nothing but stress and failure.” Yogi Bhajan Ji

“The purpose of life, the attitude of life, is to serve the soul.” Yogi Bhajan

“Call upon the Goddess and God to protect you and teach you the secrets of magic. Ask stones and plants to reveal their powers, and listen.” Scott Cunningham

A man of God and a noble person will not react—and that is the worst curse one can ever receive. The noble way of taking care of insults is this: don’t react. Let somebody abuse you, abuse your mother, your children, your dignity, your identity, and you just say, “thank you.” Don’t come down to that frequency. Don’t acknowledge your own bankruptcy because somebody else is insane. Show your power. Yogi Bhajan

As a person puts on new clothes and discards old and torn clothes, similarly an embodied soul enters new material bodies, leaving the old bodies. Bhagavad Gita 2:22

“May the warm winds of Heaven blow softly on your home,
And the Great Spirit bless all who enter there.
May your mocassins make happy tracks in many snows
And may the rainbow always touch your shoulder.” Cherokee Blessing

“Each moment one has to be at ease with oneself – not trying to improve, not cultivating anything, not practicing anything.” Osho

“At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it.” –Thich Nhat Hanh

“The purpose of life is to discipline the mind, discipline the tongue, and discipline the thought. When mind, tongue and thought are disciplined, God is conquered.” –Yogi Bhajan

“The question! The question! Always live within the question!” It is when you think you have all the answers that expansion ends, growth stops, and your arrogance begins.” –Conversations With God

“You should make yourself so happy, that by looking at you, other people become happy.” –Yogi Bhajan

“The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.” –Mark Twain

“If you want to live in this Age of Aquarius , then learn. Learn to call on yourself, learn to vibrate. Let us become prayerful in attitude. Then God will bless us in every field” –Yogi Bhajan

“this life is not for wasting. It is for reaching the wonderlands of your own consciousness. –Yogi Bhajan

Five things we cannot recover in life:
(1) The Stone…………after it’s thrown,
(2) The Word………….after it’s said,
(3) The Promise……..after it’s broken,
(4) The Occasion……after it’s missed,
(5) The Time………….after it’s gone.

When everything changes, change everything.”
— Neale Donald Walsch

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
— Melody Beattie

Who are you? You are a “hu-man being.” “Hu” means spirit, the light. “Man” means the mental, the now. Now you are the spirit of your mind. You are the bright light of yourself. That’s your identity.
— Yogi Bhajan

Take sips of this pure wine being poured. Don’t mind that you’ve been given a dirty cup.
— Rumi

“If you cry because you can’t see the sun, the tears won’t let you appreciate the stars.”
— Rabindhranat Tagore

“Purpose is your expression of the Divine.”
— Jim White Ph.D.

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
— Rumi

Never be afraid to “try your hand” because you don’t want to make a mistake or not do somerthing “right.” Success in life comes from being willing to move into Unchartered Territory. Always remember: Life begins at the end of your Comfort Zone.
— Neale Donald Walsch

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

The quickest way to still the mind is to move the body.
–- Gabriel Roth

“If you cannot see God in all, you cannot see God at all.”
— Yogi Bhajan

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
— Mark Twain

I believe God wants you to know… that how bad things may look right now means nothing.
It’s how good you know they can look with God’s help that counts.

Life has a habit of changing itself completely around in 24 hours. Heck, in 24 minutes sometimes. Don’t you dare give up on Tomorrow because of the way things look Today. Don’t even think about it…
— Neale Donald Walsch

“In order to become who we are, we must let go of who we are not.”
— Robert Brumet

“I offer you peace. I offer you love. I offer you friendship.
I see your beauty. I hear your need. I feel your feelings.
My wisdom flows from the Highest Source.
I salute that Source in you.
Let us work together for unity and love.”
— Mahatma Gandhi

Einstein said, “Intuition does not come to an unprepared mind.” When he discovered the theory of relativity, it came to him in a flash of intuition. But only after he had studied and pondered the great mysteries of physics for years. This preparation allowed him to observe things that would have gone unnoticed to the “unprepared mind.” Get prepared.
— James Ray

Most of us have experienced an event in our lives which illuminated our consciousness as if a second sun had risen within us. It is our choice whether we spread this light as a mirror or a candle.
— An Atzmi Message

“The Kingdom (of Heaven) is inside you and it is all around you. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up the stone and there you will find me.”
— Jesus Christ
The Gospel of Thomas

“Love the whole world as a mother loves her only child.”
— Buddha

“The energy of the universe is yours, it is your birthright, just claim it!”
— Yogi Bhajan

“When the power of Love overcomes the love of power, the world will know Peace”
— Jimmy Hendrix

“To err is human; to forgive, Divine.”
–Alexander Pope

“Whenever and wherever there is decline of dharma (righteousness) and ascendance of adharma (unrighteousness), at that time I manifest Myself in visible form.”
[Bhagavad Gita – Chapter 4 Verse 7 ]

“There is no substitute for experience.”
–Chef Bobby Flay

“Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them; but do not let them master you. Let them teach you patience, sweetness, insight.”
–Helen Keller

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
–Gandhi

“Man loves because he is Love. He seeks Joy, for he is Joy. He thirsts for God for he is composed of God and he cannot exist without Him.”
— Sathya Sai Baba

“Incurable means curable from within.”
— The Secret (the movie)

“The best way to worship the Goddess is to act like one.”
— Ramtha teachings

“It’s not that folks act a certain way around you, but that you attract certain types of folks based upon your thoughts, beliefs and expectations.”
— The Universe

“Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.”
–Jamie Paolinetti

“We are many in body, but one in mind.”
–Nichiren Daishonin

“I never think of the future. It comes soon enough”.
–Albert Einstein

“Amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic.”
–Anonymus

” What a man is contributes much more to his happiness than what he has, or how he is regarded by others.”
–Arthur Schopenhauer

“In this world the wise one holds onto confidence and wisdom. Those are the greatest treasures; all other riches are pushed aside.”
–Buddha

“Yesterday is already a dream and tomorrow is only a vision, but today well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.”
–Sanskrit Proverb

“Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.”
–Anonymus

“Anger or hatred is like a fisherman’s hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it.”?–Dalai Lama

“A day dawns, quite like other days; in it, a single hour comes, quite like other hours; but in that day and in that hour the chance of a lifetime faces us.:
— Maltbie Babcock

“There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.”
Anonymus

“A joyful soul is truly the expression of God made manifest in Human Form.”
My friend, April Colón-Pagán

“Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player.”
— Albert Einstein

“The whole existence is a temple. The trees are continuously in worship. The clouds are in prayer. And the mountains are in meditation.”
— Osho

“Whenever we move off in a new direction, we predictably are beset by waves of doubt, insecurity, worry, and uncertainty. It feels as if it will be much better — definitely much easier — to head for shore and back to the way things were. We long for the familiar and put off charging forward because, in that moment, going forward is unknown. It can feel scary and unsafe as we leave our comfort zone, as we start to plunge into the surf.”
— James Ray

Yogi Bhajan Quotes

“This life is not for wasting it is for reaching the wonderland of your own consciousness”

“What is meditation? When you empty yourself and let the universe come into you.”

“Your strength is in how calmly, quietly and peacefully you face life”

“Recite mantra to cleanse the soul. Meditate to cleanse the mind. Bathe to cleanse the body.”

“You have to understand the purpose of life. The purpose of life is to do something which will live forever.”

” When God gives good times, He wants you to forget him and sleep. When God gives you bad times, He wants you to wake up and face him.”

“When you don’t go within, you go without.”

“Prayer without heart is a waste to time.”

“If your presence doesn’t work, neither will your word.”

“I do not believe in miracles, I rely on them.”

“To conquer the unknown you must trust.”

“It’s not life that matters, it’s the courage you bring to it.”

“If you can’t see God in all, you can’t see God at all.”

“Life is a lie if you do not find the eternal truth.”

“Keep up and you will be kept up.”

“What is the purpose of life? To elevate all, big or small.”

“Our purity lies in our originality. Our intuition lies in our innocence.”

“Where there is love there is no question.”

“What is the power of life? With all the ungraceful dirt, nonsense, you remain graceful.”

“You owe it to yourself to be yourself.”

“Your mind is your servant, your body is your vehicle and your soul is your residence.”

“There is nothing outside of us. It’s all in us.”

“The pair of opposites do not effect a yogi — neither praise nor insult.”

“When you are far away from reality, your fantasy won’t work.”

“Never curse yourself by limiting your students.”

“The art of happiness is to serve all, and all shall serve you.”

“If you cannot bless yourself, then nobody can bless you.”

“To be blessed is to live in gratitude, so that God can fulfill you forever.”

“I want to give you the depth and the strength which is yours… the original you.”

“In the Age of Aquarius, the depression and stress on mankind will tear up people who do not have the technical knowledge of self.”

“Prosperity is the opposite of greedy.”

“Meditation is nothing but taking a mental shower.”

“Creation is ready to serve you, if you just be you.”

“What is meditation? When you empty yourself and let the universe come in you.”

“A spiritual person is vast, like an ocean – but very mighty, very powerful.”

” If you only know one kriya, then share that. Just be humble, teach it. Every student is a teacher.”

“Hope is not a prediction of the future, it’s a declaration of what is possible.”

“If you give your Self a chance, your Self will give you all the chances.”

“When we love there are no barriers, no desires, no needs, no wants.”

“You know how to drive a car, but you do not know how to drive your life!”

“If you want to progress in your life and grow, act not to react.”

“The attitude of gratitude is the highest yoga.”

“If your mind can go along with you it is a blessing. If your mind obeys you, it is a super-blessing.”

“Fantasy and anger totally destroy the human body. Tolerance is the greatest human asset.”

“Every happening is a lesson, a message.”

” The moment you value yourself, the whole world values you. ”

” If you are happy, happiness will come to you because happiness wants to go where happiness is. ”

” When you do not consciously relate to your body, your mind does not relate consciously to you. ”

” Any act in the name of God returns 10 fold. ”

” Improve with each breath. Every negative vibration returns 10 fold. ”

” Ingrown anger is like an ingrown hair. The pain it creates in life is unbearable. ”

” Fools live in fear, a wise man lives in strength. ”

” In all darkness, there is a light and in all light there is a darkness. ”

” You are very powerful, providing you know how powerful you are. ”

” Fake it, you will make it. But you have to believe it. ”

” Happiness is your birthright. Live it! ”

” Life is a lie if truth is not found. Truth is just an idea if it is not lived. It is living that matters. ”

” We must be guided by faith. If we are guided by fear we lock ourselves and our expansion. ”

” Wisdom, character, and consciousness conquer everything. ”

” Your greatest strength is love. Your greatest weakness is fear. ”

” Life is a flow of love, only your participation is requested. ”

” Bless be the ones who serve others. They are the ones who find heaven on earth. ”

” What you say should not just be truth now, but should be a proven truth tomorrow. ”

” Love is the ultimate state of human being where compassion prevails and kindness rules. ”

” Be the answer not the question. ”

” Be the alter not the alternative. ”

” When the heart gets into prayer, every beat of the heart creates a miracle. ”

” The greatest education man has to learn is the science of self. ”

” Every individual has the potential to be original. ”

” When the prayer becomes the vibration of the mind and self, then we can create a miracle. ”

” Never say things to friends which you don’t want to hear from enemies. ”

” Without realizing who you are, happiness cannot come to you. ”

” There are three values: Feel good, be good and do good. ”

” Body is not all. Mind is not all. Spirit is not all. All three make the sense. ”

” Develop your Intuition so that the changes in the years to come may be convenient for you. ”

” Working by heart means using your feelings and emotions to lead you to your spiritual sense of existence. ”

” There is only one thing you should know. Conquer yourself. ”

” Consult your spirit, your soul on everything. ”

” By honoring your words you are honored in this world. ”

” Life is a flow of love. ”

” Truth is everlasting. ”

” You are remembered for your goodness. ”

” Let your heart speak to others’ hearts. ”

” You can never hide from your truth. If you do, you will always be lost. ”

” Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light. ”

” To be calm is the highest achievement of the best of what you have. ”

” Your truth should be so pure that if lifts a person’s soul to the heights. ”

” Through meditation, you can calm the mind and develop what is important to you. ”

” If you make your body very strong, really strong, it can fight off anything. ”

” Sometimes bringing out your inner best is the secret of success. ”

” The greatest progress in life is when you know your limitations, and then you have the courage to drop them. ”

” Your words should be so strong that they affect every your intuition so that you can recognize what is real and heart. ”

” Your job is to control yourself. Your job is to discipline yourself. Your job is to deal with everything in life with affection, love and kindness. ”

” When you are calm, quiet and sensitive then you can expand. But when you are irritated, phobic, fearful, insensitive, and neurotic, you can’t achieve anything. ”

” The Age of Aquarius is the age of excellence in which personal purity shall absolutely matter. ”

” The idea is to just stop. Just wait. Don’t react. Therein lies the whole universe. Just don’t react. ”

” From when you are young, through middle age, you must grow to the point that you glow, so that your light lets people feel the blessings, the virtues, and the happiness. ”

” We meditate so that our minds can be sharp and alert. We chant mantras so that your souls may be ignited like candles. We walk in the light of this beauty. ”

” Know that the most neurotic, most ugly situation is simply testing you. It is testing capacity, beyond his control, your flexibility, your adjustment and your character. ”

” Danger is when you are split three ways: Your soul goes one way, your mind goes another way and your body goes yet another way. ”

” Getting up for sadhana in the morning is a totally selfish act – for personal strength, for personal intuition, for personal sharpness, for personal discipline, and overall for absolute personal prosperity. ”

” Sometimes people do go wrong. There is no judgment needed. Wrong will take a short time or a long time to make the individual aware that something is wrong, and that is the beginning of that person’s awakening. ”

” The fact is that there is nothing more beautiful, more worthy or more conscious than you. ”

” You have to understand the purpose of life. The purpose of life is to do something which will live forever. ”

” Every disability is imagined. Every achievement is an experience. ”

” When you understand who and what you are, your radiance projects into the universal radiance and everything around you becomes creative and full of opportunity. “