Body & Mind Training Center

Finding Inner Peace – 6 Practical Ways to Be More Peaceful

1. Let go of the need to interpret the actions of others. This is my favorite tip for finding inner peace: stop trying to decipher what others meant when they did this or said that! This need to figure out what people really meant by their words or actions will drive you to distraction — and not to mention the effect it has on others. I need to take this tip a step further, and let go of my habit of ruminating on what I said to others and what they think of me. Finding inner peace is about accepting yourself and others for who you and they are.

2. Replace worry with freedom. Worrying about the future and things we can’t control (or even things we can control) isn’t any way to be more peaceful. Worry may be natural to us as human beings, but it’s unnatural to us as spiritual beings. Whether or not you have faith in God, find ways to release worry, anxiety, fear, and doubt. Prayer and meditation helps you find inner peace by reminding you that life is more than the things you worry about.

3. Accept – and even enjoy - every moment in life. A key to finding inner peace is to learn to flow with events and people instead of fighting them. Flowing with even the most difficult moments in life involves not taking things so seriously, letting go of critical or negative thoughts, accepting that there is no one right way for life to unfold, and believing in yourself.

4. Avoid toxic or negative energy. Do you know someone who likes to pick fights, or who sees flaws and weaknesses everywhere? Are you that person — perhaps an emotional vampire? Instead of finding fault or being critical of who and what you see, practice seeing things and people without judging them. Be child-like, and see things as they are.

5. Connect to the hearts and souls of other people. The more love you give and receive, the more connected you feel…and the more inner peace you’ll find. To connect with others, initiate heart-to-heart conversations. Ask people what they think and how they feel – and listen to their answers. Spend time in nature, even if it’s in the arboretum in your office building at lunch!

6. Act spontaneously – and don’t be paralyzed by fears from the past. I love this tip for finding inner peace: don’t let the past stop you from being authentic and real right now. Dr Wayne Dyer calls your past “the wake”, and says it can’t pull you forward…it can only hold you back. Of course you need to deal with problems from your past, but you can’t let those problems paralyze you. Instead, follow your intuition and act spontaneously in the moment.

And, one last way to be more peaceful in this world…

“You have endless energy only when you are working for the good of the whole – you have to stop working for your little selfish interests,” says the Peace Pilgrim. “That’s the secret of it. In this world you are given as you give.”

Source : Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

theadventurouswriter.com/spirituality/ab...urie-pawlik-kienlen/

Holotropic Breathing


Holotropic Breathwork was developed by Stanislov and Cristina Grof during the 1970s and 1980s. But the early stages of its development occured in the late 1960s in Czeckoslovakia. Stanislov Grof, M.D. studied medicine and psychoanalysis at the Charles University School of Medicine in Prague in the early 1950s. In the 1960s, Dr. Grof became a principle investigator in a clinical study of the possible therapeutic potential of a psychedelic drug provided by Sandoz Pharmaceuticals. He noticed that under highly controlled conditions, many subjects entered a "nonordinary state" which was "indistinguishable from those described in the ancient mystical traditions and spiritual philosophies of the East."

In 1967, Dr. Grof came to the United States to continue his research He became an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University and the Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Out of his friendships with the founders of humanistic psychology, Abraham Maslow and Anthony Sutich, they started a new discipline called "Transpersonal Psychology." This form of psychology addresses experiences which are outside the boundaries of our body and personal identity.

During this time, Dr. Grof began to develop his map of human experiences in nonordinary states. This included sensory, biographical, perinatal, and transpersonal experiences. In addition, Dr. Grof developed the Basic Perinatal Matrices (BPMs) of the birth process (BPM1-BPM4) and the an theory on the association between traumas in experienced nonordinary states call Condensed Experiences (COEX).

In 1974, after ten years of yoga practice (including Hatha Yoga and Siddha Yoga/Kundalini Yoga), Christina Grof experienced what might be called a "Kunalini Awakening" (a sudden experience of life-force energy and change in consciousness) during a meditation period led by a Siddha Yoga Master from South India. This led to a roller coaster of emotional experiences over the next year. In 1975, Christina Grof was referred to Dr. Stan Grof who helped her by staying with the emotions and moving through them.

In the late 1970s, Stan & Christina Grof got together in California and began to develop Holotropic Breathwork. Dr. Grof knew from his scientific research that transformation can occur in nonordinary states of consciousness and that the most powerful technique of inducing nonordinary states was psychedelic substances. (Psychedelic plant substances have been used in many cultures to induce nonordinary states and transformation.) However, Dr. Grof also knew that such substances involve serious risks. Therefore, the Grofs developed a safe and effective way of using one's own breath to induce nonordinary states of consciousness.

In 1980, Christina Grof founded the Spiritual Emergence Network (SEN) to help the many individuals who, like her, are struggling or had become stuck with their own inner transformation.

In the early 1980s, Stan and Christina Grof travelled all over the world conducting workshops and giving lectures related to Holotropic Breathwork and Transpersonal Psychology. By 1987 they had developed their first structured training program. Between 1987 and 1994 the Grofs facilitated Holotropic Breathwork Sessions for more than 25,000 people.

Meditation

When you stop to think about all the ways negativity can hold you back, you surely must realize how important it is to bring yourself out of the funk you might be in, and fill your being with positive energy and the light of healing, instead.
One of the best ways to remove negative energy is through various forms of meditation. Whether you meditate alone, with a teacher, or with the aid of a guided meditation soundtrack, you are certain to find that you enjoy the secluded sense of enlightenment as well as the refreshed, positive outlook meditating can bring. There’s no need to visit a church or temple to meditate, unless you feel that doing so helps you to focus. It is something that takes only a few minutes, and it’s one of those wonderful things you can engage in just about anywhere.

There are as many forms of meditation as there are people in the world.

How to be Spiritual Balanced

4
Ways to Stay Spiritually Centered Throughout the Day

1. Awareness. Recognizing when you are off balance provides the opportunity to retune to your spiritual center. Without this awareness you might spend the whole day grumbling and complaining, judging and reacting, or worrying and fretting and miss out on the richness of life. As soon as you notice your ego, thoughts or emotional reactions have taken charge, choose to center within by brining all of your attention into the center of your head, the center of your body, the center of your being. This will support you to maintain spiritual balance.

2.Neutrality. Judgments and reactivity keep us separate from our soul. They are a sign that our ego is in control. Practice viewing situations from a place of neutrality. Buddhist philosophy refers to this as equanimity; a non reactive viewpoint where you see what is happening without getting caught in it. It’s realizing that thoughts, emotions, situations and circumstances come and go, so there is no need to become attached or reactive. This state of being is calm and empowering. Reciting the mantra, “This too shall pass,” will help you to stay neutral.

3. Present. It’s easy to get caught in rehashing the past or rehearsing the future and miss out on the fullness of this moment. This creates a disassociation from yourself and the present where your power exists. Practice being present with each activity, person, sensation and emotion that comes before you. If you get lost in paperwork or the computer, create a signal (post-it-note, alarm clock, picture) to remind you to retune to your present surroundings throughout the day. Try an easy meditation technique such as focusing on your breath, thoughts or physical sensations for a few minutes as a way to connect to the power of the present moment.

4. Love. “All you need is love,” chimed the Beatles, and this is so true. When you are feeling full of love, you are spiritually balanced. Life becomes sweeter, lighter and more joyful. Love emanates from the spiritual center within each of us so it is easy to access. Simply focus on what you love about your family, friends, pets, the outdoors, or the God of your heart to ignite this spark within you. Look for the love within others, behind their façade of control, seriousness or grumpiness, as a way to connect to the soul in each person you encounter.

Play with these 4 ways to stay spiritually centered throughout the day and notice how it becomes easier to maintain spiritual balance on a daily basis.

Source :
Finding the Deep River Within
Author : ABBY SEIXAS

How to Stop Absorbing Other People's Energy

1. Identify whether you're susceptible. The person most likely to be overwhelmed by negative energies surrounding you is an "empath", someone who acts as an "emotional sponge". Signs that you might be an empath include: People call you "hyper-sensitive", "overly sensitive", etc., and they don't mean it as a compliment! You sense fear, anxiety, and stress from other people and draw this into your body, resolving them as your own physical pain and symptoms. It doesn't have to be people you don't know or don't like; you're also impacted by friends, family, and colleagues. You quickly feel exhausted, drained, and unhappy in the presence of crowds. Noise, smells, and excessive talking can set off your nerves and anxiety. You need to be alone to recharge your energy. You're less likely to intellectualize what you're feeling. Your feelings are easily hurt. You're naturally giving, generous, spiritually inclined, and a good listener. You tend to ensure that you've got an escape plan, so that you can get away fast, such as bringing your own car to events, etc. The intimacy of close relationships can feel like suffocation or loss of your own self.


2. Seek the source. First, ask yourself whether the feeling is your own or someone else’s. It could be both. If the emotion such as fear or anger is yours, gently confront what’s causing it on your own or with professional help. If not, try to pinpoint the obvious generator


3. Distance yourself from the suspected source, where possible. Move at least twenty feet away; see if you feel relief. Don’t err on the side of not wanting to offend strangers. In a public place, don’t hesitate to change seats if you feel a sense of depression imposing on you.


4. Center yourself by concentrating on your breath. Doing this connects you to your essence. For a few minutes, keep exhaling negativity, inhaling calm. This helps to ground yourself and purify fear or other difficult emotions. Visualize negativity as gray fog lifting from your body, and hope as golden light entering. This can yield quick results.


5. Flush out the harm. Negative emotions such as fear frequently lodge in your emotional center at the solar plexus (celiac plexus).

Place your palm on your solar plexus as you keep sending loving-kindness to that area to flush stress out. For longstanding depression or anxiety, use this method daily to strengthen this center. It’s comforting and it builds a sense of safety and optimism as it becomes a ritual. 6. Shield yourself. A handy form of protection many people use, including healers with trying patients, involves visualizing an envelope of white light (or any color you feel imparts power) around your entire body. Think of it as a shield that blocks out negativity or physical discomfort but allows what's positive to filter in.


7.Manage the emotional overload. You don't need to be beholden to your ability to absorb other's emotions; turn the curse into a gift by practicing strategies that can free you:

Learn to recognize people who can bring you down. People who are particularly difficult for emotional empaths include criticizer, the victim, the narcissist, and the controller. When you know how to spot these behaviors, you can protect yourself against them, including removing yourself from their presence, and telling yourself that "I respect the person you are within even though I don't like what you're doing." Eat a high protein meal before entering stressful situations such as being part of a crowd. When in a crowd, find places of refuge, such as sitting on the edges, or standing apart. Ensure that you don't have to rely on other people to get you out of difficult situations. Bring your own car or know how to get home easily when needed. Have sufficient funds to be able to make alternate arrangements if you start feeling overwhelmed. Set time limits. Knowing how much you can stand and obeying that limit is vital to ensure your mental well-being. Also set kind but meaningful boundaries with others who overwhelm you; don't stand around listening to them talking for two hours when you can only cope with half an hour. Have your own private place in a home shared with others. Ask others to respect your downtime during which you can rejuvenate. This is especially important to prevent you from taking on your partner's feelings too much. A study, man cave, sewing room, reading nook, etc., all offer your own space. Practice meditation and mindfulness.


8. Look for positive people and situations. Call a friend who sees the good in others. Spend time with a colleague who affirms the bright side of things. Listen to hopeful people. Hear the faith they have in themselves and others. Also relish hopeful words, songs, and art forms. Hope is contagious and it will lift your mood. Cultivate positive emotions that boost your inner strength. If you're surrounded by peace and love, you'll flourish as strongly as negative emotions cause you to wilt. Respecting your own needs through healthy self love will increase your ability to respect others. Learn to use compassion as a way to defend yourself against overwhelming emotions. Compassion allows you to be empathetic to the plight of other people but also requires that you are compassionate toward yourself. This means that you don't need to feel guilty about seeking respite from being overwhelmed; doing so ensures that you can be more engaged with others in the long run, rather than less so. It also means that you keep yourself whole by not immersing yourself in the world of negative people.

Focus on the present


How often are you driving while talking on a cell phone, or thinking about work problems, or the errands you have to do? How often do you eat without thinking about the food you’re eating? How often do you drift off while doing other things, thinking about something you messed up on, or worrying about something that’s coming up? I would submit that most of us are elsewhere, much of the time, rather than in the here and now. If I could only give one word of advice to someone trying to find peace in an overwhelming and stressful and chaotic world, it would be this: simplify. But if I could give two more words of advice, they’d be: be present.

Focus On Now :

There are three things we can think about: The past. Reliving things we messed up about. Being embarrassed about something we did. Wishing we could have something back that is gone. Living in memories of good times past. Being angry about things done to us. You get the idea. The future. Worrying about things we need to do later. Worrying about what might happen, or a big event coming up. Being anxious that things might go wrong, or that we might mess up. Hoping for something wonderful. Dreaming of great things to come. The present. What is happening right now, at this moment. What we are doing now. It is inevitable that we will think about all three. We cannot stop ourselves from thinking about the past or the future. However, with practice, we can focus on the present more than we already do.

But why should we do that? What’s wrong with focusing on the past or future? Nothing’s wrong with it. It isn’t wrong to think about past or future. However, there’s nothing we can do about things that have already happened, and worrying or agonizing about them doesn’t usually do us much good. I’d suggest analyzing what happened, learning from it, and moving on. It’s much healthier.

We also can’t control the future. It’s impossible. We can do things that will change the future, but they might change the future in ways we cannot anticipate. Or they might not change things at all. And the only thing we can do about the future is do something … now. In the present. So focusing on what we do now is the best way to improve the future. Not thinking about the future. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have goals or shouldn’t plan — but goals change. Plans change. We must be prepared for that change not by overplanning, but by being in the moment and rolling with the punches. There’s also the problem of missing the present. If we spend most of our time thinking about the past or future, we are missing life itself. It’s passing us by while we’re elsewhere. You can’t get the most out of life unless you learn to focus on being present, while things are happening. Thinking about your childhood, or your kid’s future, is useless if your kids’ childhood is passing by without you being there.

Benefits of Being in the Moment :

I’ve noticed a ton of benefits from my increased focus on the present. Here are just a few to consider: Increased enjoyment. I find that I enjoy life more if I’m present rather than having my mind elsewhere. Food tastes better, I have more fun with my family, even work becomes more enjoyable.

Reduced stress. Worrying about the past and future gives you stress. But being present is almost like meditation. There are no worries. There is just experiencing. Better relationships. When you really commit yourself to being with someone, to listening to them, you are being a better father, husband, friend, daughter, girlfriend. You have better conversations. You bond.

Get things done. I find that focusing on what I’m doing, rather than trying to multitask or multithink a million different things at once, I actually complete what I’m doing, do a better job on it, and get it done faster. I don’t necessarily do more, but I get things done. Focus tends to get things done, in my experience, and when your focus is split among a lot of things, it is less powerful.

The Magic of Flow :

There’s a concept called Flow that’s been pretty popular among productivity circles in the last couple of years. I’m a big fan of it myself. In a nutshell, it’s basically losing yourself in whatever you’re doing — reaching that magical zone where you forget about the outside world and are completely doing what you’re doing, whether that’s writing or drawing or coding or whatever.

It’s a wonderfully productive zone to be in, and a state that also, incidentally, makes you happier. Productive and happier at the same time. Hard to beat that. However, it can’t happen if you’re switching between tasks or thinking about the past or the future. It basically happens when you are in the present. So practicing being present will help you get to flow, which makes you happier and more productive. Best argument yet for being present, perhaps.

Practice, Practice :

There’s no single method that will get you better at being present. There is no the magical formula, except one word that when you’re learning anything or striving to be better at anything: practice. You won’t be good at it at first, most likely. Your mind will wander, or you’ll do a lot of “meta-thinking”, which is just thinking about what you’re thinking, and whether you’re thinking it the right way, and whether there is a right way … and so on, until you’re no longer in the present. That’s normal. We all do that, I think.

Don’t beat yourself up about that. Don’t get discouraged. Just practice. So what’s the magical method for learning to be present? Practice. You do it in the morning. You practice it while eating lunch. You do it with your evening jog or walk. You do it while washing dishes after dinner. Every opportunity you get, practice. And you’ll get better. we promise.