Blog for Self Improvement

What does it mean to take personal responsibility when it comes to one's own spiritual growth? In order to answer this I will first outline my definitions of spirit and spiritual growth and I think that the answer to the question will become self evident.

What do we mean by "spirit"? Well I think most of you will agree that it relates to the experience that each of us has and knows as our "Self". This is most embodied in the experience of our "self awareness" i.e. the awareness of our Self.

Now by "Self" I am not referring to what many "think" is the Self i.e. their personality. Rather it is a feeling experience that is something other than the accumulated and conditioned beliefs that we call personality.

It is, for instance associated with and felt most strongly when one feels a sense of inner peace, joy, love, or harmony within and with one's surroundings. It is also often associated with a feeling of lightness, solidity, expansiveness, inner knowing, intuition, and buoyancy to name a few.

When one "allows" oneself to come into alignment with their spirit one automatically feels what I have just described and with this also comes a sense of "rightness" about where one is within. It is coming into this alignment that I refer to as "spiritual growth". Clearly, many of us only have such an experience on rare occasions or when we choose to try to focus ourselves there. Why is this?

Well the main reason is that we seem to "choose" to be elsewhere at other times. At the risk of repeating myself, why would anyone "choose" this? Well why would "you" choose to be elsewhere?

Only if you "thought" or were "seduced" or "fooled" into thinking that that "elsewhere" was somehow a better place for you to be. If it wasn't, you see, there would be absolutely no motivation for you to go there at all, would there?

So what could possibly fool or seduce you in such a way? If you look closely at what motivates such decisions you will find that there are lurking within you many beliefs that you've acquired through your lifetime some of which go like this:

1) If I spent all of my time feeling this good I would lose all motivation to get things done.

2) If I don't get anything done my life would just fall apart around me.

3) If my life fell apart I would feel terrible.

So in other words these beliefs are suggesting to you that:

(A) If you spent all your time in alignment with spirit and feeling a sense of inner peace, joy, love, harmony, lightness, solidity, expansiveness, a sense of deep inner knowing and generally feeling fulfilled and complete that this would make you to feel terrible.

Does this sound like a contradiction to you? Indeed it is because it is inherently untrue.

Now we come back to the issue of personal responsibility. When one is not taking personal responsibility for one's spiritual growth or one's life for that matter as they are intimately linked then one is by definition choosing to be a victim.

A victim is simply someone who has given away their power and has made themselves vulnerable to whatever comes along, good or bad.

To take personal responsibility then implies choosing not to buy into beliefs such as (A) above that seduce you away from what is your spiritual destiny. In other words it is about having the courage to reject the idea that being a victim is somehow in your best interests.

By doing so you will find yourself coming head to head with many beliefs that you and others hold inside of yourselves.

If you would like some help on this journey then kindly visit the web link below where I have a special audio message waiting for you.

Dr. Nick Arrizza is trained in Chemical Engineering, Business Management & Leadership, Medicine and Psychiatry. He is an Energy Psychiatrist, Healer, Key Note Speaker,Editor of a New Ezine Called "Spirituality And Science" (which is requesting high quality article submissions) Author of "Esteem for the Self: A Manual for Personal Transformation" (available in ebook format on his web site), Stress Management Coach, Peak Performance Coach & Energy Medicine Researcher, Specializes in Life and Executive Performance Coaching, is the Developer of a powerful new tool called the Mind Resonance Process(TM) that helps build physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being by helping to permanently release negative beliefs, emotions, perceptions and memories. He holds live workshops, international telephone coaching sessions and international teleconference workshops on Physical. Emotional, Mental and Spiritual Well Being.

Business URL #1: http://www.telecoaching4u.com
Personal URL: http://www.telecoaching4u.com/Spirituality_And_Science.htm

As long you are not sure about your mission on earth, about the reason WHY you are here, about your main goal in life, you will feel like a ping-pong ball undergoing the commands of all your subpersonalities.

We all are a mix of different subpersonalities. These are different aspects of ourselves that take turns expressing themselves, and that may at times be contradictory. This split results in a sense of chaos and constitutes the most important hindrance keeping us from finding and implementing our mission. All of these subpersonalities are fighting for attention and keep us from focusing on what’s really important.

We have a lot of subpersonalities, parts of ourselves, that are able to linger around due to a fatal mistake, a wrong idea we have about ourselves and this world.

This is the main trait of our personality, the central misconception around which all the facets of our personality are orbiting like planets around the sun.

The fatal mistake, the central misconception is an idea that is fundamentally flawed, and that can never lead to the real goal of your life. Just like everybody else, you are battling your central misconception but you’re aiming too high or too low. This battle is extremely tiring, it can’t be won and you are being distracted from the goals that matter.

Take for example somebody with the following central misconception: « I always have to do everything by myself ». The subpersonalities revolving around this idea could be: the fearful who thinks she won’t be able to manage on her own; the accusing blaming everybody else; the complaining who goes on and on about how much she has to do in life without any support; the eternally fatigued crumbling under a load that is self-imposed; the diseased going from doctor to doctor hoping to find some miracle potion, and so on.

When you live in the illusion of being on top of your misconception, all of your “positive” subpersonalities will surface. You feel strong, happy, content, courageous, self-confident and so on.

But as soon as you’re starting to lose ground to your fatal mistake, all of the “negative” subpersonalities rear their ugly head. You feel down, irritated, aggressive, depressed and so on.

For most people, this is the very business of their life: to prove that they are right concerning their central misconception. They say: “I told you I always have to do everything by myself!” and then follows a long list of convincing “proof”.

Other possible fatal misconceptions:

q Don’t expect anything and you won’t be disappointed.

q I am responsible for everything, and I have to make sure everything is under control.

q At their core, humans are bad and you always have to be on your guard.

q Living is a sad occupation, we are here to suffer.

q I will never be good enough, no matter what I do.

q I didn’t get the right education, and will always be less than another.

q I can’t do thing on my own, I need a husband/wife.

q I have to hurry, because there is never enough time.

q Nobody loves me.

q Nobody cares.

q I am worthless.

q Life is one big disappointment.

q I am not beautiful/handsome/smart enough.

q Without a partner I am abnormal.

q Without kids of my own I can never be happy.

q Life is a drag.

…

Here I invite you to write down the main misconception in your life, the fatal mistake around which all revolves. You can discover your main misconception by going back in time to moments of enormous stress, where you felt completely deserted, did not know what to do anymore, were totally exhausted or raging mad. What’s that little sentence that comes up in those extreme moments? It’s always the same little sentence.

As long as your life is about this idea, you are on the wrong track and you will only exhaust yourself. This sentence represents a major misconception and it is a big bolder on your personal path.

This is a very uncomfortable, senseless and sickening way to live.

To escape from this prison, one needs to change course and focus on what really counts: your own personal specific reason of existence!

Let your life revolve around what it is that you have on offer for this world, and not around how sad and unfair life is treating you!

Be involved in re-dis-covering your spiritual core, your true nature. This is a way of life that will bring you joy, love, health and satisfaction!

You need to replace this misconception by another sentence that expresses your true, your Divine Nature, like : “I am a Child of God”, “I am already perfect als I am”, “There is enough love for me in the world, I feel loved and I can give Love”, “Life is wonderful”, “I am a Light Person ment to spread Light around me”, “I am loved and there is as much help as I need”, and so on.

As it becomes clear who you really are, and the more you occupy yourself with what really matters, the more the central misconception in your life will lose its hold on you. You are so much more than just a collection of subpersonalities. Before you started playing these roles, you were already your own person. You are more capable and brilliant than you think. The truth about yourself is to be emphasized.

Everytime your misconception pops up in your head (usual under stress, pressure or fear), change it immediately by the truth about yourself!

By: Ineke Van Lint

Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Ineke Van Lint, psychologist, is a spiritual and educational coach and an expert in enthusiasm. She’ll guide you to find out who is the real you and how you can achieve happiness and success. Grab your free e-course and free inspirational quotes at www.theenthusiasm.com

Happiness is different things to different people but there are common threads that run through the achievement of happiness for most people. These threads can be broken down into five ingredients. If you have all five of these you will be happy

1. Gratitude

Happy people are grateful and appreciative of what they have, whatever that may be. They always find something good and positive in their circumstances. This attitude of gratitude is the foundation stone on which happiness is built.

By way of contrast unhappy people are not grateful or appreciative of anything in their world. They are constantly focused on the fact that there is something that they don't have. They live in lack and as a result their spirit is lacking. Nothing ever makes them truly happy.

2. Passion

Happy people are passionate people. It could be a passion for knowledge. It could be a passion for success. It could be a passion for helping others. It could be any passion at all, as long as it truly inspires the person to become more than they are now.

The unhappy person is devoid of passion. They are complacent or apathetic. They have no inspiration in their life, nothing to urge them to evolve and grow into a more developed person. As a result they tend to go around in circles; each year is similar to the year before. They are in a spiritual rut.

3. Challenge

Happy people have a challenge that they are pursuing. It could be a purely spiritual challenge such as finding enlightenment or it could be a commercial challenge such as building a successful business. It could be a sporting challenge such a winning a medal in the Olympics or it could be a career challenge.

The important ingredients of the challenge are that it is in the area of the person's passion and that it is big enough to be inspiring but not so big as to be overwhelming.

The unhappy person avoids challenges. They are waiting for someone or something to give them happiness. They believe that happiness is outside of them and that any form of challenge is work to be avoided.

4. Faith

Happy people have faith that they will achieve the destination that their challenge requires. They have faith that they have the mental and spiritual strength to take on their challenge and to grow in whatever way they need to grow in order to succeed.

They have faith that every experience has its purpose and that something positive can be gained from it, even if the experience is a bad experience or a setback.

Unhappy people are lacking in faith. On the surface they are seeking happiness but they don't really believe that they will ever find it, and they are right. You can't find happiness if you don't have faith.

5. Journey

Happy people are on a journey to their challenging destination. They have a purpose for getting up each day. They have a purpose for the things they do each day. They are doing the things required to follow their passion and they take joy from that fact.

Unhappy people are stagnant. They are not on any journey to anywhere. They are milling around, marking time. They are waiting for the world to give them happiness and they will have to wait forever because happiness requires you to take action, to grow, and to move forward in life.

Happy people have all five ingredients; gratitude, passion, challenge, faith and journey. They may be Buddhist monks on the road to enlightenment following a path of poverty. They may be billionaire business owners following a path of commercial empire building. They may be musicians dedicating their life to mastery their instrument. They could be following any of an infinite number of paths but they all have the five ingredients of happiness.

About the Author: James Delrojo would like to help you by giving you his ebook "Unleash the Success Power of Your Mind" (valued at $27) completely FREE.

Go to http://www.YourSuccessMind.com

Source: http://www.easyarticles.com

By: Max Ng

When I spotted an expensive watch that I like, I would have a series of thoughts. Firstly, I would have thought of the pleasure that I could derive by owning it. Secondly, I would think of ways to make or save enough money so that I could buy that watch. Thirdly, I would take actions to make or save money based on the ways that I had thought of. Finally, I would buy the watch when I had enough money.

Does this process sound familiar to you? It may not be an expensive watch but something else that you truly desired. When you truly desired for something, you will think of all ways and means to achieve it. In other words, you need to think about how to make or save enough money before you can buy it.

What I trying to point out here is that it is the same if I want to achieve great wealth. For example, if I truly desire to accumulate one million dollar in wealth, then I will need to think about how to achieve it. The thinking process must come first before I can actually achieve my goal in the real physical world.

Once I have understood that the thinking process must come first, I realized that my thinking process determines whether I can be wealth or rich. If I think like a poor man, then I will always be poor in my life. This is because I am likely to make poor financial decisions and investments based on my thoughts. If I think like a rich man, then I will likely to be rich in my life. This is because I likely to make good financial decisions and investments based on my rich man thinking process.

The rich man thinking process is what I have understood as a mentally rich mind. I gathered from the Rich Dad Series, one has to be mentally rich before one can be truly rich in real life. A mentally rich person can be materially poor at the moment, but he will definitely gain wealth given time.

Just to give you an idea what do I mean by a mentally rich mind. If you were to ask someone what if he were to loss everything today? If he answered that he would gain back everything in a matter of a few years, then he would be considered a mentally rich person. If he answered otherwise, then he is unlikely to be a mentally rich person.

How can I become a mentally rich person? Well, let us look at how our minds react to television programs series or movies. If I were to watch violence television programs continuously for a period of time, I realized that my mind would think about the violence television programs. My mind would go one step further to create new violence thoughts that are not related to the television programs at all.

Similarly, if I were to watch comedy programs, I realized that my mind would think about the comedy programs. Also, my mind would start generate new funny thoughts that are not related to the comedy programs.

In other words, our mind is very creative. If we feed our mind with violence, our mind will think and create violence thoughts. If we feed our mind with loving kindness, our mind will think and create loving kindness thoughts.

With this understanding of how my mind work, I realize that I can become a mentally rich person by exposing myself constantly to mentally rich ideas. What are the ways that I can expose myself to mentally rich ideas? Below are some ideas.

Firstly, I can read books on how to create wealth. I can get these books from the bookshops or borrow from the library. Also, I can borrow from my friends if they happen to have these books.

Secondly, I can attend seminars on creating wealth. If I find that attending live seminar is too expensive, I may look for a more affordable source. Maybe I will attend recorded online video seminars.

Thirdly, I can attend courses on creating wealth and meet minded people. If I find that attending live courses is too expensive, I may look at self-study course.

Next, I can join forums that discuss on how to create wealth. In this way, I will be exposed to many ideas on how to become rich.

By constantly immersing myself in an environment full of mentally rich idea, I believe I will slowly become a mentally rich person.

* DISCLAIMER *
The author, publisher and distributors particularly disclaim any liability, loss, or risk taken by individuals who directly or indirectly act on the information contained herein. All readers must accept full responsibility for their use of this material.

Article Source: http://blogticles.com

Information about the Author: Max Ng shares about his struggle for financial freedom at www.richdadsecrets4me.com
Get a free sample of his book "Your Greatest Gift! Why Waste It?" at www.yourgreatestgift.com

By: Esther Andrews

In my opinion, creativity is the real genius. Intelligent children learn fast, and apply their knowledge in everyday life situations. But - inventing something new, creating something original, that is real genius. I always admire originality, whether it is original artwork, an original story, or an invention that can make life easier for many people.

How can we teach our children creative thinking? How can we teach them the habit of thinking "outside the box"? Here are a few easy and fun suggestions for activities that will go a long way toward developing this very valuable skill of creative thinking in your child. Slight adjustments may be needed for your child's age and skill.

1. Play the following game: one person starts telling a story. He stops after a few sentences, and the next player continues his story. There is no limit to the number of players. It is a great idea to record the story, so that it can be distributed to the participants later, for the enjoyment of everyone. This is a very fun activity that trains your child (and you too, if you are participating) to think creatively.

2. Prepare a series of pictures. The pictures can be taken from a book, from several books, from newspapers - or even downloaded from the Internet and printed on a home printer. Put the pictures next to each other, and let your child tell a story, using those pictures. You can take turns, your child and you, developing the story based on the pictures. This game can have several variations: put the pictures face down on the table, then turn them over one by one, to continue the story. Gradually increase the speed of turning the pictures over, so that the story teller has to come up with the story continuation faster and faster. When you are done with a set of pictures, just change the order, and see if your child can come up with a different story, based on the new order.

3. Prepare a series of words written on cards. Play the same game - tell a story using these words. You can use the same variations as above.

4. Play a piece of classical music, and let your child tell you what kind of mood does this music create, what kind of story does this music tell?

5. Play a piece of music, and have your child paint a picture that shows the mood this music creates, or tells the story this music is telling.

6. When your child comes up with a story in one of the previous activities, ask your child to change the story in order to change the mood. For example, if the story is sad - can he change the story to be happy? Can he change it to be a mystery? Can he change it to be a comedy, or a funny story?

7. When reading a book with your child, always ask open ended and thought provoking questions like: How would you handle this situation? What could the character do differently? How do you think did the character feel?

8. Print several pictures on paper. (You can use cardboard if you'd like to make the pieces more durable). Cut each picture into 9 parts (or more, if you want to make this game more complex). Now let your child put the pictures back together. After putting all pieces back together into the original pictures, you can mix the pieces, so that your child can create new pictures, combining pieces from different pictures. Start with two pictures mixed together,and advance to more and more pictures. Start with bigger pieces, cutting the picture into 4 parts only, and advance to smaller and smaller pieces, cutting the picture into more and more pieces. Also, use more and more complicated pictures, that include more details.

9. Play "pretend" games with your child often, or use "role playing" with your child. When you read a story, ask your child to play the role of his favorite character.

10. When your child has friends visiting, have them come up with a short play and perform it for the parents. This is always a fun activity for the children, and it also keeps them very busy.

11. Encourage your child to paint a picture of an object. Then have him paint it in different colors. For example, ask your child to paint or draw a bunch of fruit. Then have him change the colors of all the fruit. Have a red banana, yellow apple and so forth.

12. Choose a day a week, and have all family members do their routine activities in a different way. For example, brush their teeth in a different way than usual. Take a different way to school. Sing instead of talking. Get up earlier, and play a new game. Walk backwards... Be creative, and encourage your child to be creative too.

13. Don't ever discourage your child from using his imagination. If your child tells an imaginary story, always praise him and acknowledge the creativity. If your child comes up with an original answer to a question, even if the answer is incorrect, acknowledge creative thinking.

14. Keep your eyes open for any signs of creativity and originality. Always praise and encourage these traits.

Have fun, and enjoy! To your child's creativity!

Article Source: http://www.articlecube.com
www.all-gifted-children.com. For the last 27 years Esther Andrews has specialized in gifted education and grew 2 profoundly gifted children herself. In her "The Manual Your Child Should Have Come With - How to Develop Your Child's Genius" she is teaching parents how to grow gifted children. www.all-gifted-children.com/package.htm

Reassuring Reasons why Hypnosis is your Friend

Believe the hype or think for yourself

For too long hypnosis has had a bad or 'difficult' press. If a person doesn't understand something they have 3 options open to them.

1) They might be sceptical and therefore save the trouble of looking further and possibly benefiting.
2) They may conclude it is dangerous and to be avoided at all costs.
3) They may spend time discovering the truth behind the hype.

If you don't know much about a topic it's easy to be suspicious. Some people assume hypnosis is akin to a carnival side show, others consider it mystic mumbo jumbo or 'mind control.' For those who look beyond the hype the truth is far more illuminating.

The most powerful tool you possess

There are potentially huge benefits for those who use hypnosis as part of everyday life. When you understand hypnosis you start to see its potential to improve human performance in the physical, emotional and intellectual realms. For me, rumour, gossip and suspicion weren't good enough.

I determined to learn all I could about hypnosis - I learned every fact and practised every technique under the sun. I took several training courses - some good, some terrible. I invested thousands of hours of devoted study to hypnosis and discovered just what is possible. I hypnotised friends, neighbours and work colleagues. Hypnosis greatly changed things for me on a personal level

How hypnosis helped me

I used to be shy. Thanks to hypnosis I can now talk to thousands at a time and can approach anybody calmly and confidently.

I used to have poor concentration and procrastinate; thanks to hypnosis I can instantly motivate myself.

I used to find physical work outs and exercise exhausting but because of hypnosis I am now in the best shape of my life.

Incidentally I also stopped myself blushing with hypnosis. Now if ever I have a difficult call or conversation coming up, something I may naturally feel reluctant to do (you know the kind of thing) I spontaneously self hypnotise and rehearse the upcoming situation feeling good, with myself remaining calm. In this way I habitually set my own emotional 'blue prints' for up coming situations. Having said that it's naturally that some people have concerns or half digested 'hand me down' ideas regarding hypnosis. A common one is the one about 'mind control.' However what does this really mean?

Why you are more in control of yourself in hypnosis

If someone expresses concerns about being 'controlled' in hypnosis what they mean is they don't want to be like a robot, an automaton that is forced to obey the every whim of the hypnotist. We can't help but influence others but we don't control them. To understand why you need to understand hypnosis better.

So what is hypnosis like?

Hypnosis isn't like a coma. It's not unconsciousness - more a subtle shifting of consciousness. In hypnosis, you can still think logically but you also have access to the 'software' of your mind so that you can update instinctive emotional and physical responses. In fact the hypnotised subject (not the hypnotist) calls the shots. When I hypnotise someone I need to go at their speed and respond to their needs and expectations. Hypnosis will give you more control in your own life because of what it enables you to do.

How can I be so sure?

Because over the decades I've seen all kinds of people, all ages and from all backgrounds turn their lives around thanks to hypnosis. When you use hypnosis for yourself it improves confidence in all kinds of ways. When you use it to change other's lives it just blows you away. This is what I mean.

When I first hypnotised someone to feel no sensation in a painful arthritic arm it was an incredible feeling. When I first cured life long phobias quickly and comfortably I was astounded. When I stopped hardened alcoholics from drinking and even got a heroin addict off the stuff and back into mainstream life again I started to feel angry that people could just associate hypnosis with entertainment.

With the aid of hypnosis I (and many people I have trained and worked with) have helped severely depressed people feel strong and positive again. The rewards and satisfactions are hard to describe. I'm going to take a stand against ignorance and short sightedness around hypnosis and here's why.

Why you need to reclaim hypnosis for yourself

Hypnosis is your birthright. It's nature's optimum learning tool. In fact to learn and perform anything well you need to experience a natural focussing of attention, a natural kind of hypnosis. To be successful hypnosis needs to be your companion and friend.

Successful people use it naturally all the time because hypnosis is natural. It's the way we learn new responses. Unlike medications its side effects are purely positive - one expectant mother I worked with to feel relaxed during child birth later reported that she was also more relaxed when flying!

Hypnosis is easy to learn and every body can benefit. Hypnosis is a safe environment to 'try out' new behaviours and emotional patterns before you experience them for real. So the young man can ask a woman out for a date many times in calm relaxed hypnosis so that by the time he does it for real it feels real and natural and relaxed. Sports people who use hypnosis learn new quicker and more accurately. So hypnosis gives you more control of yourself and your life, it's natural and gives you instant benefits and it's a way of 'trying on' and establishing new patterns of emotional response and behaviour, Hypnosis enables you to develop yourself as a human being.

HypnosisDownloads.com offer a free course called 'Learn Hypnosis in 5 Days'.

Article by Mark Tyrrell of Hypnosis Downloads.com.

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