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Indigo people have been arriving on the planet for the past few generations, but since the 1970s the number of Indigo children being born has increased dramatically. As many of the generation has reached adulthood, they have found difficulties fitting in, being understood, and finding a place for themselves. Those who came earlier did not have a lot of similar peers to congregate with.
If you’re not sure if you are an indigo, ask yourself if you fit the following description. Indigos are very intelligent, even though they probably didn’t do remarkably in school. Many feel there is a mission that should be directing their lives, but they may be unsure what it is or how to get started. They have a strong sense of ethics and can often tell when someone is trying to pull the wool over their eyes, whether that is an individual or a giant corporation. They may be gifted with psychic abilities or have paranormal experiences.
Indigos are very compassionate. They are creative and inventive. They are attracted to sensual stimulation through taste, touch, scent and sound. They may be foodies, like fine fabrics or perfume. They may be very intense in relationships, which can make others a bit uncomfortable. They are very sensitive and may pick up on the energy fields of others.
Indigos may have a problem with authority. Many are labeled with disorders like ADHD, autism or dyslexia because they are wired differently. They always want to know why something must be done. Once they find something that speaks to them, they become very motivated and disciplined. Early Indigos may have a real talent for healing. Many find themselves facing depression in one form or another and may end up on medications that dull their sensitivities.
Indigo people are the first wave of altered consciousness to help the planet. They may face problems with anger and rage. They are here to blaze the trail for those who follow. The current generation being born now contain some of the Crystal children. The Indigos are paving the way. They must fight with the mainstream beliefs and political machines in place. They are striving to make changes on all levels, though it may be happening subtly at first.
As more Indigos reach adulthood, change will take place at a more rapid pace. Indigo people will be able to find their calling earlier and accomplish more at younger ages. Some of the early Indigos are still waiting to find themselves, while others are just beginning to get an inkling to why they have felt lost their entire lives.
If these descriptions fit you, find out more about Indigo people. Start exploring your interests and find your path. As an Indigo, you will find your destiny and be able to make the change you were destined to make. Indigo people are making a difference now, and will continue to make changes in our world in the years to come. Allow the gifts that you were born with to manifest and bless you.
Here is a good article revealing that there are ways of developing higher levels of clairvoyance.
Are There Levels Of Clairvoyance?
By Richard Wilkins
Some people speak of the levels of clairvoyance. What they are generally speaking of is how developed the clairvoyants skill has become. Of course, with anything, even a natural ability, it must be honed and sharpened to develop into the higher levels of clairvoyance one might be seeking.
You can use the levels of clairvoyance to assess your own skills as you begin to develop new abilities. Pay close attention to your own clairvoyant abilities and watch them grow as you exercise psychic powers. To move on to the next level of clairvoyance it will be necessary for you to work hard at your meditation exercises and creative visualization techniques. Moving up to higher levels of clairvoyance will require an intense period of preparation and training using these techniques.
To begin the process of opening the third eye you can try this meditation technique that works on your attention focusing ability. You must be able to focus attention to a razor sharp clarity before you can begin to open your third eye.
To begin sit upright in a chair in any meditation spot. This area that has been chosen for meditation practice must be quiet and free from any possible disruptions. Focus your attention on the area between your eyebrows and become aware of what is going on in the present. Be aware of the feeling of the body in the present moment. Be aware of emotions in the present moment. Once you are completely aware of the present state of being move on to the next step. The following activity can help hone one’s psychic abilities and raise their level of clairvoyance.
Focus your attention on each of the chakra of the subconscious. These are located in the base of the spine, the back of the navel, behind the solar plexus, behind the heart, where the neck and shoulders meet, at the base of the skull and where the nose meets the forehead. Focus attention from the point between the eyebrows to each of these places.
Finally focus attention to the top of the head. This is where you will find a presence that is observing everything. To be able to move your attention to each chakra point and the point at the top of your head is your third eye. Once you are able to become the presence that is located in the top of the head you are successfully using your third eye.
Practice this meditation daily to develop these skills and move up the ladder of the levels of clairvoyance. It is important that you are able to move attention at will to each of these points quickly to develop your abilities at the highest level of clairvoyance.
Richard Wilkins, co-owner and psychic trainer at the Psychic Academy is a leading researcher in developing psychic powers. To learn more about his research and new psychic training opportunities, visit his website today.
Meditation is good for developing your levels of clairvoyance.
Other benefits are improved mind power, increased IQ levels, greater energy, self-enlightenment, less required sleep, and more. But how many of us REALLY indulge in a strict meditation schedule? And remember, you’re talking HOURS each day if you want to develop the greatest levels of clairvoyance.
Let’s be honest: in the modern world, people just don’t have TIME. Until now, that is. We’ve all heard about brainwave meditation CDs before. Holosync is perhaps the best known example. Long story short, brainwave meditation CDs basically contain specially-created sounds. When listened to with headphones, these sounds help to influence your brainwaves – a process known as “brainwave entrainment.” These sounds basically take your brainwaves down to a low frequency state – similar to that achieved after years of meditation practice.
By listening to these CDs each day, you can begin enjoying the many great benefits of meditation – yet without the need for endless years of strict practice.
Meditation for cheats? Pah – I hope so! The problem, however, is that most brainwave meditation CDs simply don’t work. I’ve tried Holosync, Optimindzation, Hemi-Sync, and many others. Yes, the science behind the technology is infallible. However, each of these uses boring-sounding audio recordings, and require at least one hour listening a day. Many, especially Holosync, also cost thousands to complete the course, and require many years of practice. Technically, they also only employ one mode of brainwave entrainment – a fatal error in the world of brainwave technology. But among the rubble, there’s one diamond that stands out – at least for me – above the crowd.
It’s called the Brain Evolution System – or “BrainEv” – and it’s been causing waves in the industry since it’s launch back in 2006.
It brings about all the benefits of true meditation – greater energy, increased IQ, emotional mastery, developing clairvoyance, sharper thinking, heightened creativity, better relationships, improved memory, less required sleep, greater relaxation levels. And it does it without the shortcomings of its competitors.
BrainEv is a 6-CD system that contains perhaps the most beautiful audio recordings the self-development world has ever heard. It only requires 30 minutes of listening each day, which you can do as you fall asleep, or by waking up 30 minutes earlier than normal – meaning it doesn’t impact on your schedule. You also only need to listen 6 times a week. The entire program also costs just a fraction of its competitors.
Most importantly however, BrainEv has proven itself the most technically superior product on the market. It employs something known as “3P DEAP” technology, intertwining three different methods of brainwave entrainment together – to produce truly industry-pioneering results. That essentially guarantees you’ll experience the most profound benefits around – such as a boost in your mind power, full body relaxation, enhanced levels of clairvoyance, and greater energy levels.
It stands head and shoulders above the rest – and truly delivers the most powerful benefits of meditation, usually within days of starting the program. It’ll revolutionize your life – and help you enjoy the advantages of what would usually take years of strict, regimented practice to achieve. Is BrainEv cheating when it comes to developing clairvoyance? Possibly. But, trust me: this is one sneaky little shortcut for improving levels of clairvoyance I’m sticking with!
Miles Tyler – EzineArticles Expert Developing Clairvoyance – Levels of Clairvoyance. Scrying For Beginners – Scrying Techniques … Symptoms of Psychic Abilities – The Psychic Powers in You …
Developing Clairvoyance – Levels of Clairvoyance Clairvoyance is an all encompassing term for the ability to be aware of information by means other than the five physical senses. There are many different ways for clairvoyance to be expressed and utilized. Some individuals only ever …
Understanding The Power Of Mental Energy Developing Clairvoyance – Levels of Clairvoyance. What is a Psychic? Am I One? … EzineArticles.com. 12 Mar 2009 <http://ezinearticles.com/?Understanding-The …
Free Psychic Advice for de-stressing life There are psychics available who have different levels of clairvoyance. They possess different psychic abilities that include clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience. Free psychic advice from a good clairvoyant psychic reader …
Tarot is probably the most well-known psychic art. Tarot means using a Tarot deck, which usually contains 78 cards that the psychic shuffles and arranges into what is called a “tarot spread.”
Tarot cards provide a visual representation of knowledge that was previously hidden from view, so how the tarot psychic interprets the cards makes the real difference to your understanding. It is not a question of the cards showing that a situation is “good” or “bad”, but the way things really are. Good tarot psychics are not interested in giving you false hopes and expectations.
The tarot psychic might describe particular cards that he or she feels have important messages for you. If you focus your mind on that card, you can then strengthen the power of that message. You might even keep that image and message in mind after the reading so that you keep the energy flowing.
The tarot is believed to originate in northern Italy early in the 15th century (1420-1440). Although many myths claim the tarot comes from Egypt; India; China; Fez, Morocco; the Sufis; the Cathars; Jewish Kabbalists or Moses; or even that the origin of the tarot is unknown.
The Tarot represents an allegorical journey, and as such tell a story through symbol and imagery. There are literally hundreds of Tarot decks available and more being created every day. Over the past twenty-five years the structure and the “traditional” images of the Tarot have lent themselves well to being superimposed upon and linked with the mythologies, spiritual disciplines and philosophies of many cultures and ages.
And they work! Is it perhaps the images themselves that awaken us to an origin within?
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Tarot Psychic Readings Can Give You Direction In Your Love Life For centuries now, people have been consulting with psychics for love readings. Many psychic clients enjoy using tarot cards as a way to receive information about their love lives. Sometimes a love … Author : default@goarticles.com (Charlie Reese) Publ.Date : Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:02:57 EST
The Benefits Of Giving Yourself A Clairvoyant Psychic Reading Giving yourself a tarot psychic reading is a lot easier than you may think. When we learn to focus in on our abilities to give to others, we are actually saying to ourselves that we are learning to e… Author : default@goarticles.com (Charlie Reese) Publ.Date : Tue, 12 Feb 2008 02:33:06 EST
There are many different easy meditation techniques to chose from, but there are two general classifications: concentrative and mindfulness. In concentrative meditation, you focus on clearing your mind to provide you with greater concentration, awareness and clarity. In mindfulness meditation, you open your mind to become more aware of the things around you, such as scents, sounds and thoughts.
The easiest way to engage in concentrative meditation is to sit quietly and focus on your breathing. Relax and count your breaths as you breathe through your nose. Take deep breaths, hold them and let them out slowly. This helps you to get oxygen into the lowest portions of your lungs.
There are times when you mind may wander, but you refocus on your breathing to get rid of your thoughts. You can also focus on an object when meditating or you may want to repeat a phrase or a word. This is called mantra meditation in which you can choose to repeat the word or phrase aloud or silently in your head.
If you are agitated or worried about something, your breathing will be short and fast when you first start this type of meditation. As you start to relax, your breathing will slow down and become regulated.As you focus on your breathing or on an object, your mind will become absorbed with the regulation of your breathing and all other thoughts will vanish from your mind.
Some easy meditation techniques are:
Zen meditation is one type of concentrative meditation in which you concentrate on the functioning of the heart.There are three main aims in this form:
to develop the power of concentration
to awaken your inner sense of wisdom
to recognize the action of the Supreme Being on your inner self
The idea is that once you are able to rid yourself of the thoughts of everyday life, you can reach that inner sense of peace that exists in everyone. It helps to calm the mind and body to give you insight into the nature of your existence. You must be patient and persistent in meditating in order for your mind to become clear.
Raja Yoga Meditation is another type of concentrative meditation.This form of meditation helps you to gain control of your mind to enable to you to develop a sense of peace. The life force of your body moves through the spine so that awareness is able to move into the “Third Eye” which is a point between your eyebrows.
Your mind is not passive and there can be many thoughts racing through it. You try to free yourself of these mindless thoughts and focus on the real meaning of meditating to achieve a pleasant feeling throughout the body.
Mindfulness easy meditation techniques:
These involve a passing parade of thoughts, emotions and images through your mind. You sit in a meditating position and instead of trying to banish the thoughts from your mind, you allow them to enter. You do acknowledge that they are present but you don’t concentrate on them. This allows you to develop a calm approach to your problems so that you don’t react quickly.
Instead of focusing on one individual thought or scene, you allow each though to become part of the bigger picture. It trains your mind to meditate on things in your life over which you have no control so that you have a heightened sense of inner peace that will enable you to go on with your life in spite or extreme difficulties.
Healing Meditation Techniques
If you are looking for easy meditation techniques with healing meditations there is a great guided meditation training program that brings together the most prominent leaders in the field of health and wellness with a beautifully interactive 15-Step Guided Training Program. It is called Healing Rhythms. With a unique interactive program designed to help and aid you to uncover your body’s own natural ability to relax and decompress from day-to-day work overload, it is one of the most easy meditation techniques around.
Healing Rhythms monitors your physical and emotional responses to activities and provides feedback that helps you learn how to activate and balance yourself. The technology measures your body’s reactions to your physical and mental energy. This input drives the beautiful challenges on-screen as you practice the meditation and breathing techniques from the expert guides in each step. The grapher screen allows you to track your measurements as you transform the rhythms of your mind and body. By following the 15-Step Guided Training Program, you’ll begin to see positive, measurable results from the very first step!
With just a few minutes of practice each day, you’ll enter healing meditations that will help you become more present and more mindful, two essential elements to your overall wellbeing. Once you’ve mastered an activity you’ll find yourself returning to it again and again, not only to refine your skill, but to experience the pure relaxation and joy it creates. With just a little practice, you’ll be able to quickly and easily start integrating these new skills into your daily life for a happy mind and a state of enhanced wellbeing.
Best Free Yoga & Meditation Website In addition to the specific yoga and meditation techniques indexed above, there are also many other articles for personal and spiritual development, which you can access easily by going to the various categories of your interest. …
For centuries, clairvoyant psychic readings enjoyed a notoriety usually reserved for circus performers and snake-oil salesmen. Psychic clairvoyance was considered a sort of “underground” activity and indeed, many practitioners could easily be found teaming up with the other fringe elements of society. Psychic performers were a mainstay of circus troupes and often may still be found on the side of what could politely be referred to as the fraudulent arts.
But in the late 20th century, psychics began to enjoy something of a media renaissance, largely due to their extremely close connection to the New Age movement and its application of everyday mythologies and quick-fix spirituality to people’s lives. As New Age literature grew along with its adherents, a merchandising boom came along, carrying with it many other promoters of “naturalistic” approaches to life — in particular the leaders of the non-traditional naturalpathic and holistic medicinal school — who rushed to claim their place in line for the growing business monolith.
Links to Clairvoyant Psychic Readings below
But somewhere along the way to staggering success, as the 70s self-help movement gave way to the 80s self-help-novel movement and the full-on 90s New Age ecumenical-tent movement, people seemed to have forgotten both the original stories of human clairvoyance and today’s all-important questions of certification and validity. This is partly understandable, since anything known as “New Age” usually includes a healthy mix of faith along with reason, and it’s also true that people who visit clairvoyants must undergo a suspension of disbelief. But if you’re going to make a visit yourself, just what should you expect going in? And who exactly are clairvoyant people?
Links to Clairvoyant Psychic Readings below
Clairvoyance can be defined as a human ability to see beneath the surface — of a person, a situation, an intention or anything not seen by the human eye or easily deduced by human logic. Originally from the French, it can be translated as “clear sight” and is often also referred to as a “second sight.” Clairvoyants can also be said to be “precognitive” or to possess a “sixth sense.” Definitions of clairvoyant powers vary greatly, and demonstrations are always inconclusive. So while you may or may not believe in psychic ability, it remains very important to know what psychic ability is not. You must keep an eye out for frauds, and remember that you won’t have to travel far into the “psychic community” to find them. Psychic con-men are everywhere and even have a rich history, dating back to the ancient practices of the “travelling medicine man” in India, which exists to this day.
Links to Clairvoyant Psychic Readings below
So with so many psychic hucksters out there in storefronts, on television, and at travelling exhibitions, there’s a lot to choose from but there will likely be very little to interest you until you get a practitioner with whom you feel comfortable. So take your time, never be afraid to ask a lot of questions, and if you’re very careful, you may very well find your own “clairvoyant prophet.”
If you’re looking for psychics in Minneapolis, visit MinneapolisPsychic.com. It contains everything you need to know about Minneapolis psychics, including psychics near you, local spiritual resources, and upcoming new age events. Visit MinneapolisPsychic.com today for a free psychic phone reading.
Here are Astral Cafe’s links to Clairvoyant Psychic Readings online.
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Classes of Psychic Pictures in Clairvoyant Psychic Readings An English writer on the subject furnishes the following general classification of the psychic pictures manifested in the process of crystal gazing. The said authority might well have added that each and every form of clairvoyant …
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Meaning Of The Tarot Death Card This has to be the one card in the Tarot deck that most, if not all, people fear seeing in a reading, and yet it isn’t as dark and macabre as one might think, which is why some Tarot readers have named this card ‘Transformation’ in …
Energetic Healing facilitates the healing process by clearing blocks in the energy fields, repairing and rebalancing the energy so that the body can move to its optimal level of balance. From this point it is able to access its inherent ability to heal itself. Once your body knows balance, it can always return to that balance.
Energetic Healing provides a professional, alternative and complementary therapy option for people who prefer to take a holistic approach to their health and wellness.
Trauma, emotional and mental stress, false belief systems and blocks to our personal growth can be stored in the energy fields of our bodies, impacting our ability to function at our full potential. These blocks obstruct the vital flow of energy through our body and systems that is necessary for our health and wellbeing. Over time this leads to illness and depleted mental and emotional reserves. Energetic healing can restore these vital flows.
Click for Energetic Healing
Energetic Healing Benefits:
Emotional stress & trauma relief
Alleviation of pain and physical ailments
Relief of everyday stress and anxiety
Relaxation
Increased vitality and energy
Improved performance and concentration
Clearing of old patterns
Recovering from relationship break-ups
Increased motivation and goal achievement
Manifesting and dealing with life changes
Healing on all levels of mind, body, spirit
Personal growth
Spiritual development
Greater fulfilment and life purpose
Energetic healing is a gentle and non-invasive method of healing. As an energy healing therapist, Holly uses a variety of techniques to clear, repair and balance the body’s energy systems. This stimulates the body’s own natural healing ability and facilitates growth and self-awareness. Clients invariably report immediate feelings of change. Some experience the increased feeling of wellbeing, lightness, fulfillment, centeredness and relaxation. The healing effects continue for sometime afterwards as energy and consciousness integrates and toxins are released.
Over a period of time, energetic healing can have a profound and exponential effect on how you live your life. You experience less stress and feel more expanded, happier and healthier. You consciously make life choices that are positive for you, rather than being detrimental to your wellbeing.
What is Energetic Healing?
Energetic Healing is the conscious and skilled use of therapeutic modalities to benefit a person on subtle, mental and emotional levels, as well as in their general and physical well-being.
Energetic Healing is an umbrella term for any therapy that manipulates the energy circuits in our physical or subtle bodies to regain balance and facilitate our body’s innate healing mechanisms.
Some of the more well know therapies that could fall under the heading “energetic healing” include: Reiki, Reflexology, Kinesiology, Thought Field Therapy and Acupuncture. However, energetic healing also encompasses lesser known natural therapies such as: Aura and Chakra balancing, Flower and Vibrational Essences, Crystal Healing, Colour Therapy, Spiritual Healing, Shiatsu Therapy, Japanese Acupuncture and other forms of massage or bodywork. Energetic healing practitioners are usually trained in a number of modalities and will combine these in their own unique way. Many combine intuitive skills with their practical and theoretical skills. Besides having a diploma in Energetic Healing, Holly is also trained in: Nutrition, Polarity Therapy, Shiatsu Therapy, Japanese Acupuncture, Swedish massage, and Holistic counseling. She also focuses on women’s gynecological problems with a focus on natural hormone balance.
Energetic healing takes a holistic approach that looks beyond the physical to manipulating the subtle energy systems (meridians, auric bodies, chakras, and nadis) where the cause of disease can be located. Trauma, emotional and mental stress, false belief systems, physical distress, environment stress, and other blocks to our personal growth can be stored in the energy fields of our bodies, impacting our ability to function at our full potential.
Energetic healing facilitates the healing process by clearing blocks in the energy fields, repairing and rebalancing the energy so that the body can move to its optimal level of balance. From this point it is able to access its inherent ability to heal itself. Once your body knows balance, it can always return to that balance.
Energetic healing can also help identify “issues” before they manifest as pain or similar distortions in the body. It opens our consciousness to the areas we need to work through and heal in order to bring our lives into balance and maintain health, harmony and vitality.
What to expect with Energetic Healing
A typical treatment session consists of the following procedure:
Discussion with the client, taking their details and gaining an understanding of why they have come to see me.
The treatment itself. For most of the therapies, the client will need to lay on a massage table or floor futon. The client remains fully clothed throughout the process and is free to stop the treatment at any stage, if they wish.
Feedback and review following the treatment.
Be aware that you might get homework to work on to move forward, or to help maintain the new found balance.
Holly mostly works intuitively and is guided to which therapy or mix of therapies the client most needs at the time of their appointment in order to best facilitate healing. This means every treatment is customised for the unique needs and highest good of the client. In some cases, a client will need specific healing on one level before the healing to address a particular symptom can occur. For example, if a client’s energy systems are very low and their vitality is low, their system may first need to be boosted before repair and clearing work can occur. To do the clearing work first would be too much for the client and in some cases their system would not be able to cope with the change.
Ambient music and aromatherapy creates a relaxing environment for the client, as healing occurs more easily when the client is in a relaxed state. However, the client can request not to have music or oils burning during their session. The client may sense the flow of energies with feelings of warmth, coolness, tingling or relaxation during the treatment. It is quite common for clients to fall asleep or drift off during a treatment. This is normal and allows for deep healing to occur at an unconscious level.
Clients may experience some form of emotional release during a session. This may be anything from a fit of the giggles to tears! Again, this is perfectly normal and should an emotional release occur, it is important not to suppress it. Releasing the emotion enables healing to occur. Emotional releases may also be experienced after a treatment, and again should be allowed to occur without suppression.
Following a treatment, it is very important that the client drink a lot of water for at least three days afterwards to flush away any toxins that may have been released. Otherwise it is possible that clients could experience headaches or feel very tired after the treatment before any improvement occurs. It is similar to the process that occurs with dietary cleanses/detoxes.
Some clients will immediately feel an improvement, while for others the integration of the energetic change may take several days. In the latter case, the client may experience varying emotional states, memories of past events or changing physical symptoms. When this occurs the client is actually “processing” and clearing “stuff” as a result of the energetic changes. This is sometimes referred to as a healing crisis, but it is just the body’s way of releasing what needs to be cleared and to bring awareness to what we need to let go of in our lives that is no longer benefiting us.
How many Energetic Healing sessions will I need?
The answer is that it varies depending on the nature of the client’s problem and what that client wishes to achieve. Sometimes one treatment is enough, but in other cases several treatments may be necessary to achieve optimal results. This is likely to be the case if the client has a chronic (long term) problem.
Some clients may just want a one-off balance or relaxation session, while others will want regular sessions as part of their ongoing journey of personal and spiritual growth. It’s rather like a massage for the soul. In general, the effects of regular energy balances are exponential, leading to deep and sustained changes in the person’s life.
Healing on an energetic level can be likened to peeling the layers of the onion. Over a period of time we clear more and more issues and learn how to remain balanced in circumstances that would previously have affected us in a negative way.
How long are Energetic Healing sessions?
Treatment sessions are usually an hour, although 1.5 hours is good for the first visit.
Regular clients may only need a 30 minute session.
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ysr_dec_2007 ysr_dec_2007. Uncategorizable-Uncategorizable … To maximize the energetic healing effect of the sun for chronic physical, mental …
Allowing Abundance Attunement A simple energetic healing meant to open up the recipient to letting the flow of … Using Scribd.com. FAQ. Uploading Documents. Sharing Documents Privately …
Ingrid King – EzineArticles.com Expert Author Ingrid King is a writer, Reiki Master Practitioner and owner of Healing Hands. … Alternative] Distance healing, also known as remote healing, is an energetic …
You may not know it but there are guardian angels looking out for you, waiting for you to get in touch.
We all have our own, special guardian angel that travels with us throughout life’s journey and loves and protects us unconditionally no matter what mistakes we may make. Our guardian angel is a powerful being of light and responds to our call the moment we ask for assistance.
History is peppered with sightings of guardian angels, usually in response to some great need by man. During the First World War soldiers afraid for their lives before great battles reported sightings of angels. The most famous sighting was in August 1914, at Mons, in Belgium when the British Army was involved in a desperate clash with overwhelming numbers of German troops. It was reported that an angelic army came to their aid and brought hope and comfort to the men so that they were able to successfully defeat their foe.
How many times have you heard stories of dramatic rescues or near miss death incidents when the person surviving the incident was reported to say ” they felt that someone was watching over them and keeping them safe”
Guardian Angels
So you might ask how would you know if there was an angel with you? Your guardian angels can appear in many different forms.
Many people ’sense their presence; some hear them, whilst others encounter them in dreams and visions. Your guardian angels are around you at all times; but do not wait until you have a time of crisis or sorrow to contact them. Invite this heavenly being to became part of your daily life now. Your angel is waiting to be called upon to help you in any way you need. You can also ask for help for those you care about who may need help.
So here are a few tips on how to get in touch:- Each morning and night find a quiet place. Sit in a comfortable position with your back held straight. Ground yourself by visualizing roots extending from you deep into the earth. Take a few deep breaths until you feel relaxed and calm and then sent out a thought to your angel about any needs you may have. Gradually open your eyes.
I have found that usually and often in the strangest way your request is fulfilled more quickly than you can imagine. Believe and you will get a powerful response. Each time you commune with your angel, your relationship grows stronger. Let your intuition guide you along this fascinating spiritual pathway and you will find there truly are guardian angels living amongst us. Your life will never be the same again.
Copyright Linda Preston 2007
About the author:
Linda Preston works as a professional psychic and has been featured in national women’s magazines and also as an expert guest on the paranormal on various radio stations. She lives in the N.W. of the UK and you may learn more about her at http://www.psychicreadingsbylinda.co.uk
Learn more about Guardian Angels with the Psychic Search Engine – It’s a cross between a search engine and a Wikipedia – you can add, delete and improve the answers for a much more focused result than the general search engines.
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congestive heart failure, dancing with death Congestive Heart Failure Dancing with death If you bothered to click into this article, it only means 2 things; you either have congestive heart failure or know someone who has congestive heart … Author : default@goarticles.com (david verge) Publ.Date : Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:45:28 EDT
The strangest thing is happening to me! I think that I am a living angel. Remember that sayingThere are angels among us. Well, I believe I am one of them. Truth is, I have always suspected that there was something different about me. It wa… Author : default@goarticles.com (Suzanne) Publ.Date : Sat, 07 Mar 2009 07:24:21 EST
Finding that special birthday gift is not an easy task but now with the introduction of personalised gifts, it is possible to present an item that is unique and entertaining. A variety of gifts and… Author : default@goarticles.com (Jerry Richards) Publ.Date : Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:59:12 EST
Divination is also referred to as fortune telling and uses aspects of the supernatural to predict the future or give insight. There are many different forms of divination.
Divination usually involves a ritual or other formal routine.
This could involve the lighting of candles, chanting of incantations or burning of incense. Divination is a way to connect with the other side, which could be those who have passed away, spirits or holy beings.
It is a highly criticized practice. There are many people who believe that this cannot be proven as real.
They believe that since divination usually involves one person connecting with the other side that the person is simply scamming or faking the connection. Many skeptics believe this to be merely tapping into the sub-conscious mind and not communicating with the other side at all. Still others believe that there is no connection at all and the person doing the divination is just saying whatever they believe people want to hear. Despite numerous attempts to prove critics wrong, there is still skeptics out there who will never believe in the supernatural abilities of those who practice divination.
Astrology – Using the positions of the planets, sun and moon in correspondence with time, date, location and the Zodiac to give insight into one’s life and future.
Tarot – The use of a 78 card deck that is laid out into spreads or patterns then read to look into one’s situation.
Palmistry – Reading the lines on ones hand to interpret their life path.
Rune Casting – The use of runes that are cast upon the ground or a cloth to tell a persons situation.
Channeling – Connecting with the other side, spirits, and delivering their messages.
Psychic/Intuition – Connecting with a spirit or other celestial being to deliver messages, can be used with other forms of divination.
Divination may be something that a person is born able to do. For others it is something to be learned. It is widely thought that every person has the ability to tap into the supernatural. It just takes time for some to learn psychic abilities.
Divination has been used for centuries. It is often looked at as evil or as something that is only done by those who do not believe in God. This is not true. Many religious activities often include divination style practices. Anything that brings a connection between a person and a celestial being, be it God, a Saint, an angel, is a form of divination.
Most divination is done in a proper setting. The area used for divination is only used for that purpose. Nothing else is done in that area. Many times there are alters or other things to honor the spirits that may be present. It is done in a manner that shows respect to those beings that are coming to help or send messages. For people that practice divination it is a very serious ritual.
Divination is something that requires great patience and dedication. It may take a person a long time in order to connect to a spirit and when they do it can tae even longer to understand the messages they may be sending. It is a process that should be done with the knowledge of how to do it properly.
Many times people expect to see amazing things, like lights flickering, the person performing the divination to fall into a trance or something else spectacular. This is usually not how it happens, though. It is usually a rather peaceful process that happens almost naturally.
About the author:
Marissa Valentin is owner and webmaster of a top rated free psychic reading resource website . She has been a psychic advisor for 34 years and has the natural gifts of clairvoyance and clairaudience as well as an amazing empathic ability.
Learn more about Divination with the Psychic Search Engine – It’s a cross between a search engine and a Wikipedia – you can add, delete and improve the answers for a much more focused result than the general search engines.
Personal Visions » Blog Archive » Working with the Tarot On the market today you will find many types of card decks that are meant for use in divination. Some of these cards stay with the “classic” theme of historical Tarot and others wide vary as individuals have been inspired to try …
Divination Using 36 Ordinary Playing Cards divination for beginners. download how to read ordinary playing cards … DIVINATION USING 36 ORDINARY PLAYING CARDS ACE of HEARTS-the home;reversed. …
Introducing Divination This is a 7 minute excerpt from the beginning of last weekend’s ‘Introducing Divination’ call, in which I introduce the call and people introduce divination to one another. Participants include Lynne Tolk of lifedirectionscoach.com , Jane English of eheart.com , and Josephine. (Click the blue ‘play’ button to play, or right-click here to download the excerpt. You can download the full-length call recording and handout from the Clarity Friends’ Area - if you’re not already a member, you’ Publ.Date : Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:21:06 -0700
Did you know that you can strengthen your powers of ESP. What follows is some practical advice and easy-to-learn exercises that can help you tune in something which the research of quantum physicists is now confirming – that there is a consciousness shared by all living things.
Every once in a while, you get the feeling that the phone is going to ring… and it does. Or you know who it is that is calling… and you are right. Or you sense that someone is watching you, you turn around and they are. A song is playing in your head; you turn on the radio, and there it is… the same song. You are overwhelmed, somehow, with the feeling that a close friend or relative is in trouble or needs your help at that moment… and you soon learn that is actually the case.
Are these examples of mere coincidence? Or is there something more profound taking place? Are we, in fact, tapping in to what many researchers believe is a shared consciousness – or super consciousness – that connects all people… perhaps all living things? These are no longer just “New Age” concepts, but are subjects of serious speculation and research by a growing number of mainstream scientists in the fields of quantum theory, psychology and other disciplines. The idea that extrasensory perception (ESP) and related psi abilities are quite real (if difficult to measure) phenomena is gaining respectability.
Those who research ESP suspect that most if not all people have this remarkable ability to varying degrees. The ability is often likened to that of musical talent. Some people are naturally gifted with the ability to play and compose music, and practice makes them virtuosos. Others must learn and work and practice to be able to play an instrument even adequately or in the simplest way. But nearly everyone can learn to play to some degree. The same may hold true for psychic abilities.
Here’s what you need to know to develop psychic powers.
1. Acknowledge the Possibilities
The first step is to acknowledge that ESP exists and that it is present within you to develop. Begin by telling yourself that you are psychic. Make it a mantra that you repeat to yourself daily and often. This kind of self-talk has a scientific basis.
It is now known that when a person learns something – whether it’s a physical skill like practicing a trade or a mental exercise like memorizing script lines, or something creative like drawing – through repetition, his or her brain physically changes – “rewires” itself, if you will – to accommodate that task. This process of rewiring your brain for psychic powers begins with your belief in it.
2. Practice
ESP ability requires diligent practice, like learning a musical instrument. Unlike music, however, progress can be hard to measure because it’s difficult to know how or when psychic phenomena are going to occur. The frustration level can be high, so the key to success is to not give up.
Don’t let frustration or failures make you stop. Be realistic.
You can’t expect to practice for a few days, then be able to predict when Aunt Suzie is going to call or who’s going to win the Super Bowl. Psychic powers, even for those who have developed them to a high degree, can be unpredictable and erratic. The trick is to learn to recognize when your ESP is working… and that comes with experience.
Keep a journal of your experiences. Write down the results of your exercises. The physical act of writing it all on paper will help reinforce the conscious-unconscious connection.
For further information on How to Develop Psychic Powers, visit this link:- Open Your Third Eye
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Resolved Question: What about Skeptics of Buddhism, like us ? Please Patiently read everything.? Buddhism for beginners (and sceptical Westerners) Introduction Now that Buddhism is such a fast-growing religion in the West, a lot of Westerners are attracted to its rational approach and rejection of an all-powerful deity. But all too often we Westerners quickly get stuck on the idea of rebirth and the various cultural traditions that have become a part of Buddhism in Asia. I’ve been there myself – wondering if rebirth is for real, if karma is scientific, if Buddhism is rational, why I have to bow to a statue, and so on – and I almost gave up at one point. I’ve noticed also that some Westerners pop up on the Internet looking for others who’ve converted to Buddhism, hoping they can discover the trick to becoming a Buddhist despite a materialist upbringing. So this page is a mixture of useful resources and my own personal experiences in fully accepting Dharma as a way of life. I hope it will be of some use to others on the same path. •Where should I start? •What is Buddhism? •Are rebirth and karma for real? •What is our purpose in life? •What’s the difference between Theravada and Mahayana? •Which tradition should I choose? •How do I become a Buddhist? •Which are good books to read? Where should I start? If there’s one place you should not start, it’s reincarnation/rebirth. Newcomers to Buddhism tend to open every book at the section on rebirth because what happens to us after we die is all-important in the monotheistic culture we come from. But the Buddha wasn’t teaching rebirth as the goal of life. He said many times, “I teach suffering, and the way out of suffering.” That was his message, to make nirvana (Pali: nibbana) – the end of suffering – the goal. So the place to start is with the basics, the Four Noble Truths and a practice aimed at reducing suffering. If this seems worthwhile to you, you’re on your way. In fact, the best way to start is by doing a lot of reading. You need to know about the basic principles of Buddhism, its founder, its history, the different traditions, and what it can do for you. Even though there’s a lot of stuff available free on the Internet, I still think a well-written book is the best way to go. For all of the above, try John Snelling’s The Buddhist Handbook : A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools, Teaching, Practice, and History or Gill Farrer-Halls’ The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Buddhist Wisdom (which is also a handbook). These two books are both excellent primers to start off with. There’s also a short overview titled What is Buddhism? from the Buddhist Society of Western Australia. For inspiring books written by Western monks who really understand Westerners’ problems, try Ajahn Sumedho’s The Mind and the Way : Buddhist Reflections of Life or Ajahn Jagaro’s True Freedom, which is available online: •Chapter 1: True Freedom •Chapter 2: Compassion – The Natural Expression of Awakening •Chapter 3: Buddhism and God •Chapter 4: Beyond Boredom and Depression •Chapter 5: Buddhism and Vegetarianism •Chapter 6: Death and Dying Another book that’s a must-read is Thich Nhat Hanh’s little-known masterpiece, Old Path, White Clouds : Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha, a beautiful and easy-to-read story of the Buddha’s life drawn from accounts in the Pali Canon and illustrated with line drawings. For a thorough explanation of the nuts and bolts of the teachings and practice, check out Ayya Khema’s Being Nobody, Going Nowhere : Meditations on the Buddhist Path (very good at showing how ego rules our lives) or Henepola Gunaratana’s Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness : Walking the Buddha’s Path. There are a lot of good books on Dharma (Pali: Dhamma), but I’d recommend starting of with the original Theravada Buddhism and checking out the Mahayana traditions like Zen and Tibetan when you have a grasp of the basics. What you read will depend on what particular problems brought you to Buddhism in the first place. Some authors, the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, for example, have written books on anger management. But it’s important to practise too. In addition to following the Five Precepts, try practising Right Speech, generosity, compassion, being less self-centred, being less addicted to pleasures of the senses and being less concerned with possessions. And once you have a good grasp of the basic teachings and different traditions, it will be time to start meditating. Your situation in life may affect your practice and progress. If you live near a temple or Buddhist group, you’ll be able to listen to Dharma talks, make Dharma friends and be with a community of like-minded people. If you don’t, there are always the Internet and Buddhist forums such as E-Sangha and the Buddhist Society of Western Australia. I personally live in a Buddhist country where the majority of people don’t understand the deeper teachings of Buddhism, so their focus is on making merit for a better rebirth and participating in ceremonies. So I rely a lot on the Internet, on Amazon and a few friends. I rarely go to temples. What is Buddhism? The following article is from the website of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia. The author explains karma and rebirth in the traditionally accepted way and is somewhat sceptical about the origins of the Mahayana sutras, but otherwise it’s an excellent overview of Buddhism. Introduction For more than 2,500 years, the religion we know today as Buddhism has been the primary inspiration behind many successful civilizations, the source of great cultural achievements and a lasting and meaningful guide to the very purpose of life for millions of people. Today, large numbers of men and women from diverse backgrounds throughout our world are following the Teachings of the Buddha. So who was the Buddha and what are His Teachings? The Buddha The man who was to become the Buddha was born Siddhattha Gotama around 2,600 years ago as a Prince of a small territory near what is now the Indian-Nepalese border. Though he was raised in splendid comfort, enjoying aristocratic status, no amount of material pleasure could satisify the enquiring and philosophic nature of the young man. At the age of 29 he left palace and family to search for a deeper meaning in the secluded forests and remote mountains of North-East India. He studied under the wisest religious teachers and philosophers of his time, learning all they had to offer, but he found it was not enough. He then struggled alone with the path of self- mortification, taking that practice to the extremes of asceticism, but still to no avail. Then, at the age of 35, on the full moon night of May, he sat beneath the branches of what is now known as the Bodhi Tree, in a secluded grove by the banks of the river Neranjara, and developed his mind in deep but luminous, tranquil meditation. Using the extraordinary clarity of such a mind with its sharp penetrative power generated by states of deep inner stillness, he turned his attention to investigate upon the hidden meanings of mind, universe and life. Thus he gained the supreme Enlightenment experience and from that time on he was known as the Buddha. His Enlightenment consisted of the most profound and all-embracing insight into the nature of mind and all phenomena. This Enlightenment was not a revelation from some divine being, but a discovery made by Himself and based on the deepest level of meditation and the clearest experience of the mind. It meant that He was no longer subject to craving, ill-will and delusion but was free from their shackles, having attained the complete ending of all forms of inner suffering and acquired unshakeable peace. The Teachings of the Buddha Having realized the goal of Perfect Enlightenment, the Buddha spent the next 45 years teaching a Path which, when diligently followed, will take anyone regardless of race, class or gender to that same Perfect Enlightenment. The Teachings about this Path are called the Dhamma, literally meaning “the nature of all things” or “the truth underlying existence”. It is beyond the scope of this pamphlet to present a thorough description of all of these Teachings but the following 7 topics will give you an overview of what the Buddha taught: 1. The way of Inquiry The Buddha warned strongly against blind faith and encouraged the way of truthful inquiry. In one of His best known sermons, the Kalama Sutta, the Buddha pointed out the danger in fashioning one’s beliefs merely on the following grounds: on hearsay, on tradition, because many others say it is so, on the authority of ancient scriptures, on the word of a supernatural being, or out of trust in one’s teachers, elders, or priests. Instead one maintains an open mind and thoroughly investigates one’s own experience of life. When one sees for oneself that a particular view agrees with both experience and reason, and leads to the happiness of one and all, then one should accept that view and live up to it! This principle, of course, applies to the Buddha’s own Teachings. They should be considered and inquired into using the clarity of mind born of meditation. Only when one sees these Teachings for oneself in the experience of insight, do these Teachings become one’s Truth and give blissful liberation. The traveller on the way of inquiry needs the practice of tolerance. Tolerance does not mean that one embraces every idea or view but means one doesn’t get angry at what one can’t accept. Further along the journey, what one once disagreed with might later be seen to be true. So in the spirit of tolerant inquiry, here are some more of the basic Teachings as the Buddha gave them. 2. The Four Noble Truths The main Teaching of the Buddha focuses not on philosophical speculations about a Creator God or the origin of the universe, or on a heaven world ever after. The Teaching, instead, is centred on the down-to-earth reality of human suffering and the urgent need to find lasting relief from all forms of discontent. The Buddha gave the simile of a man shot by a poison-tipped arrow who, before he would call a doctor to treat him, demanded to know first who shot the arrow and where the arrow was made and of what and by whom and when and where … this foolish man would surely die before his questions could be well answered. In the same way, the Buddha said, the urgent need of our existence is to find lasting relief from recurrent suffering, which robs us of happiness and leaves us in strife. Philosophical speculations are of secondary importance and, anyway, they are best left until after one has well trained the mind in meditation to the stage where one has the ability to examine the matter clearly and find the Truth for oneself. Thus, the central Teaching of the Buddha, around which all other teachings revolve, is the Four Noble Truths: 1.That all forms of being, human and otherwise, are afflicted with suffering. 2.That the cause of this suffering is Craving, born of the illusion of a soul (see below, note 7). 3.That this suffering has a lasting end in the Experience of Enlightenment (Nibbana) which is the complete letting go of the illusion of soul and all consequent desire and aversion. 4.That this peaceful and blissful Enlightenment is achieved through a gradual training, a Path that is called the Middle Way or the Eightfold Path. It would be mistaken to label this Teaching as ‘pessimistic’ on the grounds that it begins by centring on suffering. Rather, Buddhism is ‘realistic’ in that it unflinchingly faces up to the truth of life’s many sufferings and it is ‘optimistic’ in that it shows a final end of the problem of suffering – Nibbana, Enlightenment in this very life! Those who have achieved this ultimate peace are the inspiring examples who demonstrate once and for all that Buddhism is far from pessimistic, but it is a Path to true Happiness. 3. The Middle Way or Eightfold Path The Way to end all suffering is called the Middle Way because it avoids the two extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification. Only when the body is in reasonable comfort but not over-indulged has the mind the clarity and strength to meditate deeply and discover the Truth. This Middle Way consists of the diligent cultivation of Virtue, Meditation and Wisdom, which is explained in more detail as the Noble Eightfold Path. 1.Right Understanding 2.Right Thought 3.Right Speech 4.Right Action 5.Right Livelihood 6.Right Effort 7.Right Mindfulness 8.Right Concentration Right Speech, Action and Livelihood constitute the training in Virtue or Morality. For a practising Buddhist it consists of maintaining the five Buddhist Precepts, which are to refrain from: 1.Deliberately causing the death of any living being; 2.Intentionally taking for one’s own the property of another; 3.Sexual misconduct, in particular adultery; 4.Lying and breaking promises; 5.Drinking alcohol or taking stupefying drugs which lead to lack of mindfulness. Right Effort, Mindfulness and Concentration refer to the practice of Meditation, which purifies the mind through the experience of blissful states of inner stillness and empowers the mind to penetrate the meaning of life through profound moments of insight. Right Understanding and Thought are the manifestation of Buddha-Wisdom which ends all suffering, transforms the personality and produces unshakeable serenity and tireless compassion. According to the Buddha, without perfecting the practice of Virtue it is impossible to perfect Meditation, and without perfecting Meditation it is impossible to arrive at Enlightenment Wisdom. Thus the Buddhist Path is a Gradual Path, a Middle Way consisting of Virtue, Meditation and Wisdom as explained in the Noble Eightfold Path leading to happiness and liberation. 4. Kamma Kamma means ‘action’. The Law of Kamma means that there are inescapable results of our actions. There are deeds of body, speech or mind that lead to others’ harm, one’s own harm, or to the harm of both. Such deeds are called bad (or ‘unwholesome’) kamma. They are usually motivated by greed, hatred or delusion. Because they bring painful results, they should not be done. There are also deeds of body, speech or mind that lead to others’ well being, one’s own well being, or to the well being of both. Such deeds are called good (or ‘wholesome’) kamma. They are usually motivated by generosity, compassion or wisdom. Because they bring happy results, they should be done as often as possible. Thus much of what one experiences is the result of one’s own previous kamma. When misfortune occurs, instead of blaming someone else, one can look for any fault in one’s own past conduct. If a fault is found, the experience of its consequences will make one more careful in the future. When happiness occurs, instead of taking it for granted, one can look to see if it is the result of good kamma. If so, the experience of its pleasant results will encourage more good kamma in the future. The Buddha pointed out that no being whatsoever, divine or otherwise, has any power to stop the consequences of good and bad kamma. The fact that one reaps just what one sows gives to the Buddhist a greater incentive to avoid all forms of bad kamma while doing as much good kamma as possible. Though one cannot escape the results of bad kamma, one can lessen their effect. A spoon of salt mixed in a glass of pure water makes the whole very salty, whereas the same spoon of salt mixed in a freshwater lake hardly changes the taste of the water. Similarly, the result of a bad kamma in a person habitually doing only a small amount of good kamma is painful indeed, whereas the result of the same bad kamma in a person habitually doing a great deal of good kamma is only mildly felt. This natural Law of Kamma becomes the force behind, and reason for, the practice of morality and compassion in our society. 5. Rebirth The Buddha remembered clearly many of His past lives. Even today, many Buddhist monks, nuns and others also remember their past lives. Such a strong memory is a result of deep meditation. For those who remember their past life, Rebirth is an established fact which puts this life in a meaningful perspective. The Law of Kamma can only be understood in the framework of many lifetimes, because it sometimes takes this long for Kamma to bear its fruit. Thus Kamma and Rebirth offer a plausible explanation to the obvious inequalities of birth; why some are born into great wealth whereas others are born into pathetic poverty; why some children enter this world healthy and full-limbed whereas others enter deformed and diseased… The fruits of bad Kamma are not regarded as a punishment for evil deeds but as lessons from which to learn, for example, how much better to learn about the need for generosity than to be reborn among the poor! Rebirth takes place not only within this human realm. The Buddha pointed out that the realm of human beings is but one among many. There are many separate heavenly realms and grim lower realms, too, realms of the animals and realms of the ghosts. Not only can human beings go to any of these realms in the next life, but we can come from any of these realms into our present life. This explains a common objection against Rebirth that argues “How can there be Rebirth when there are ten times as many people alive today than there were 50 years ago?” The answer is that people alive today have come from many different realms. Understanding that we can come and go between these different realms, gives us more respect and compassion for the beings in these realms. It is unlikely, for example, that one would exploit animals when one has seen the link of Rebirth that connects them with us. 6. No Creator God The Buddha pointed out that no God or priest nor any other kind of being has the power to interfere in the working out of someone else’s Kamma. Buddhism, therefore, teaches the individual to take full responsibility for themselves. For example, if you want to be wealthy then be trustworthy, diligent and frugal, or if you want to live in a heaven realm then always be kind to others. There is no God to ask favours from, or to put it another way there is no corruption possible in the workings of Kamma. Do Buddhists believe that a Supreme Being created the universe? Buddhists would first ask which universe do you mean? This present universe, from the moment of the ‘big bang’ up to now, is but one among countless millions in Buddhist cosmology. The Buddha gave an estimate of the age of a single universe-cycle of around 37,000 million years, which is quite plausible when compared to modern astrophysics. After one universe- cycle ends another begins, again and again, according to impersonal law. A Creator God is redundant in this scheme. No being is a Supreme Saviour, according to the Buddha, because whether God, human, animal or whatever, all are subject to the Law of Kamma. Even the Buddha had no power to save. He could only point out the Truth so that the wise could see it for themselves. Everyone must take responsibility for their own future well-being, and it is dangerous to give that responsibility to another. 7. The Illusion of Soul The Buddha taught that there is no soul, no essential and permanent core to a living being. Instead, that which we call a ‘living being’, human or other, can be seen to be but a temporary coming together of many activities and parts – when complete it is called a ‘living being’, but after the parts separate and the activities cease it is not called a ‘living being’ anymore. Like an advanced computer assembled of many parts and activities, only when it is complete and performs coherent tasks is it called a ‘computer’, but after the parts are disconnected and the activities cease it is no longer called a ‘computer’. No essential permanent core can be found which we can truly call ‘the computer’, just so, no essential permanent core can be found which we can call ‘the soul’. Yet Rebirth still occurs without a soul. Consider this simile: on a Buddhist shrine one candle, burnt low, is about to expire. A monk takes a new candle and lights it from the old. The old candle dies, the new candle burns bright. What went across from the old candle to the new? There was a causal link but no thing went across! In the same way, there was a causal link between your previous life and your present life, but no soul has gone across. Indeed, the illusion of a soul is said by the Buddha to be the root cause of all human suffering. The illusion of ’soul’ manifests as the ‘Ego’. The natural unstoppable function of the Ego is to control. Big Egos want to control the world, average Egos try to control their immediate surroundings of home, family and workplace, and almost all Egos strive to control what they take to be their own body and mind. Such control manifests as desire and aversion, it results in a lack of both inner peace and outer harmony. It is this Ego that seeks to acquire possessions, manipulate others and exploit the environment. Its aim is its own happiness but it invariably produces suffering. It craves for satisfaction but it experiences discontent. Such deep- rooted suffering cannot come to an end until one sees, through deep and powerful meditation, that the idea ‘me and mine’ is no more than a mirage. These seven topics are a sample of what the Buddha taught. Now, to complete this brief sketch of Buddhism, let’s look at how these Teachings are practised today. Types of Buddhism One could say that there is only one type of Buddhism and that is the huge collection of Teachings that were spoken by the Buddha. The original Teachings are found in the ‘Pali Canon’, the ancient scripture of Theravada Buddhism, which is widely accepted as the oldest reliable record of the Buddha’s words. Theravada Buddhism is the dominant religion in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. Between 100 to 200 years after the passing away of the Buddha, the Sangha (the monastic community) split over the political question of ‘Who runs the Sangha?’ A controversy over some monastic rules was decided by a committee of Arahats (fully Enlightened monks or nuns) against the views of the majority of monks. The disgruntled majority resented what they saw as the excessive influence of the small number of Arahats in monastery affairs. From then on, over a period of several decades, the disaffected majority partially succeeded in lowering the exalted status of the Arahat and raising in its place the ideal of the Bodhisattva (an unenlightened being training to be a Buddha). Previously unknown scriptures, supposedly spoken by the Buddha and hidden in the dragon world, then appeared giving a philosophical justification for the superiority of the Bodhisattva over the allegedly ’selfish’ Arahat. This group of monks and nuns were first known as the ‘Maha Sangha’, meaning ‘the great (part) of the monastic community’. Later, after impressive development, they called themselves the ‘Mahayana’, the ‘Greater Vehicle’ while quite disparagingly calling the older Theravada ‘Hinayana’, the ‘Inferior Vehicle’. Mahayana still retains most of the original teachings of the Buddha (in the Chinese scriptures these are known as the ‘Agama’ and in the Tibetan version as the ‘Kangyur’) but these core teachings were mostly overwhelmed by layers of expansive interpretations and wholly new ideas. The Mahayana of China, still vibrant in Taiwan, reflects an earlier phase of this development, the Mahayana of Vietnam, Korea and Japan (mostly Zen) is a later development, and the Mahayana of Tibet and Mongolia is a much later development still. Buddhism’s relevance to the world today Today, Buddhism continues to gain ever wider acceptance in many lands far beyond its original home. Here in Australia, many Australians through their own careful choice are adopting Buddhism’s peaceful, compassionate and responsible ways. The Buddhist Teaching of the Law of Kamma offers our society a just and incorruptible foundation and reason for the practice of a moral life. It is easy to see how a wider embracing of the Law of Kamma would lead any country towards a stronger, more caring and virtuous society. The Teaching of Rebirth places this present short lifetime of ours in a broader perspective, giving more meaning to the vital events of birth and death. The understanding of Rebirth removes so much of the tragedy and grief surrounding death and turns one’s attention to the quality of a lifetime, rather than its mere length. From the very beginning, the practice of meditation has been at the very heart of the Buddhist Way. Today, meditation grows increasingly popular as the proven benefits to both mental and physical well being become more widely known. When stress is shown to be such a major cause of human suffering, the quieting practice of meditation becomes ever more valued. Today’s world is too small and vulnerable to live angry and alone, thus the need for tolerance, love and compassion is so very important. These qualities of mind, essential for happiness are formally developed in Buddhist meditation and then diligently put into practice in everyday life. Forgiveness and gentle tolerance, harmlessness and peaceful compassion are well known trademarks of Buddhism, they are given freely and broadly to all kinds of beings, including animals of course, and also, most importantly, to oneself. There is no place for dwelling in guilt or self-hatred in Buddhism, not even a place for feeling guilty about feeling guilty! Teachings and practices such as these are what bring about qualities of gentle kindness and unshakeable serenity, identified with the Buddhist religion for 25 centuries and sorely needed in today’s world. In all its long history, no war has ever been fought in the name of Buddhism. It is this peace and this tolerance, growing out of a profound yet reasonable philosophy, which makes Buddhism so vitally relevant to today’s world. Are rebirth and karma for real? Is rebirth for real – either as a human or in one of the other realms? This is the question most Westerners ask as soon as they become interested in Buddhism. Karma (Pali: Kamma) – the law of cause and effect – operates across multiple lifetimes, but where’s the proof that there is any life other than the current one? It’s a complex subject and each tradition has its own explanation. It isn’t uncommon for different teachers in the same tradition to have a different take on rebirth. One thing’s for sure, there is no scientific proof of rebirth (yet). There are rational explanations, but they all rest on unprovable assumptions. One way to approach the question of rebirth is suggested by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, who says, “You don’t have to believe in rebirth, you just have to take it as a working hypothesis.” Other teachers, such as Ajahn Summedho, have a similar view, that since we can never know what will happen after death, it makes sense to practise Dharma (Pali: Dhamma) and live this life in the best way possible. Some well-known monks, Ajahn Brahm and P.A. Payutto among them, say that when meditators reach the third or fourth jhana (level of absorbtion) they are able to “read their past lives” as the Buddha did and experience the truth of rebirth. But this ability is by no means universal, even among meditation masters. Another explanation championed by Buddhadasa, Thailand’s most revered monk, is that rebirth in a series of physical bodies is “conventional talk” to make the subject understandable for the masses, but in “Dharma talk” what the Buddha really meant was that each life was the arising of the ego in the mind. So we experience “death” and “rebirth” (of the ego) many times each day. Similarly, the six realms of existence all correspond to states of mind. In the same way, the cause and effect of karma can be observed in our own mental states – when we do good deeds it results in a wholesome mental state, when we do bad deeds, we experience unwholesome mental states. This rational explanation of rebirth and karma doesn’t necessarily exclude the traditional view. It augments it. What works for me is to take both of them as working hypotheses and practise accordingly. Recalling the Buddha’s story about the man shot with a poisoned arrow, if we need to have every detail of the teaching proved to us at the outset, we’ll be dead before we start practising. What is our purpose in life? The traditional answer to this is that our purpose is to attain nirvana and stop the endless cycle of rebirths and suffering. But the idea of a general purpose for mankind suggests that someone or something created that purpose, which in turn suggests an omnipotent deity. The way I think of it is that we have no pre-ordained purpose. We evolved, and here we are. Because we also evolved language and conceptual thinking, we got stuck with this concept of a self, an ego that makes us feel separate from everything else. The ego needs constant reassurance of its importance, which is why we cling to our views and defend them fanatically, and why we are constantly criticizing others. Our ego rules our lives. It is terrified of being snuffed out. We handle this in different ways. Some of us have lots of kids so we can feel that a part of us lives on forever through our descendants. Some of us perform heroic deeds so that our names will live on in history forever. Some of us get onto Ripley’s Believe It Or Not with the world’s longest moustache or beating the world record for smashing melons with our head, or some such nonsense, so that we’ll achieve digital immortality. Some of us cling to the idea that a god will give us eternal life in some form after death. For those of us who don’t find this pseudo-immortality or unguaranteed immortality satisfying, there’s a need to create our own purpose in life. This is where Buddhism fits the bill nicely. Instead of being ruled by the ego and its fears, get rid of it! Being rid of the ego and the suffering it brings is what Ajahn Jagaro called “True Freedom” – a very appealing idea for all of us. If we don’t achieve true freedom in this life, we should get another chance in a future life. But simply diminishing the ego and increasing freedom in this life seems like a worthwhile purpose to me. What’s the difference between Theravada and Mahayana? To preserve the monastic order, the Buddha set down 227 rules for a bhikkhu (monk) to observe and 311 for a bhikkhuni (nun). Before his death (known as parinirvana) he said that some minor rules could be changed. Within a short time of his passing away there was disagreement over what could be changed and different sects emerged. The more reformist sects later called themselves Mahayana (greater vehicle) and referred to the conservative sects as Hinayana (lesser vehicle). The only conservative sect remaining today is Theravada, which is prevalent in Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand. Theravada recognises the Pali Canon as its scriptures and a variety of ancient Theravadin commentaries. Whereas Theravada spread to the south and east, Mahayana moved to the northwest through what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan and then across Central Asia to China, Tibet, Vietnam, Korea and Japan. For historical reasons, the language of Mahayana scriptures was Sanskrit and that of Theravada was Pali. Hence the difference in spelling of some common Buddhist terms: Nirvana/Nibbana, Sutra/Sutta, Karma/Kamma, Dharma/Damma, etc. Westerners are more familiar with Mahayana Sanskrit terms. Mahayana also has its own scriptures in addition to the Pali Canon, the most important of which is the Lotus Sutra. These sutras are purported to be the Buddha’s secret “higher” teachings, which were handed down only to those who were ready for them – an idea emphasised at the beginning of the Lotus Sutra. Apart from a modified monastic code which made monasticism possible in harsh environments such as Tibet, Mahayana emphasises the Bodhisattva Ideal, where a man vows not to achieve final enlightenment until all sentient beings have been saved. So anyone helping others to achieve enlightenment can be considered a bodhisattva. In Theravada, the term bodhisattva usually refers only to the historical Buddha in his previous lives. Historically, some Mahayanists consider Theravadins to be selfish for seeking enlightenment only for themselves, while some Theravadins consider Mahayanists to have deviated from what the Buddha taught. The various sutras and sects of Mahayana reflect different ways of reaching enlightenment appropriate for different people with different levels of ability. Because of this, a number of “mythical” buddhas and bodhisattvas are revered and used as objects of meditation. Theravadins revere only the historical Buddha and only his image is seen in temples. Mahayana tends to emphasise the concept of sunyata (void-ness) in its teachings and tends to have a more specific idea of what passes from rebirth to rebirth (consciousness, comprising awareness and memory). Personally, I found that the more I read about Mahayana and the Tibetan tradition known as Vajrayana, the more I accepted that all sects are going in the same direction and there is no point in considering any one of them better than another. Which tradition should I choose? I suggest reading about Theravada first and then investigating the other traditions to see which suits you best. Your decision may also depend on your Buddhist friends and what is available where you live. As far as I know, the main traditions known in the West are Theravada, Tibetan, Zen, Pure Land and Nichiren. One myth that seems to have grown up over the years is that with Mahayana one can reach enlightenment in one lifetime whereas with Theravada it takes aeons. This notion seems to have been pushed by the Chinese Zen patriarchs, in particular Huang Po, as illustrated in The Zen Teaching of Huang Po. In modern times the idea has been spread by influential author-scholar John Blofeld, who translated Huang Po’s works into English and wrote several excellent books on Buddhism. But it all seems pretty ridiculous because how could anyone know how many lives ago any particular person started consciously working towards enlightenment? Blofeld followed Zen and then Tibetan Buddhist Tantrism, describing both as the “Short Path.” However, it isn’t difficult to see that any tradition that emphasises meditation – as the Buddha did – will be a short path. In the past century, the Thai Forest Tradition is a good example of a Theravadin tradition that produced a number of enlightened masters. According to Blofeld, Mahayana and Tibetan Buddhism in particular offer ways of practice to suit people at every level. After all, not everyone has an aptitude for meditation. A lot of people prefer something simpler, such as praying, chanting, various forms of devotion and pilgrimages. He describes Zen and Theravada as “formless,” meaning the practice is mostly just you and your mind. But in fact there’s a lot more to both than just meditation. Tibetan Buddhism seems to attract Westerners because there are now a lot of Tibetan lamas and monasteries in the West, because of the charisma of the Dalai Lama, because it can be a “Short Path,” because of its reputation for developing psychic powers and because of its many varied methods of practice. However, Tibetan Buddhism has absorbed much of the ancient, shamanistic Bon religion of Tibet, so it’s wise to read up on Tibet thoroughly before committing to it. Zen attracts Westerners because it’s something of a “back to basics” tradition with an emphasis on meditation and very little ritual. Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha, is revered rather than the other mythical buddhas and bodhisattvas of the Mahayana sutras. Although it originated in China, the type of Zen practised in the West is mostly Japanese. Theravada attracts Western practicioners because it is seen as the oldest and purest form of Buddhism, one that reveres only Sakyamuni and in theory concentrates on meditation. The Thai Forest Tradition which developed in the late 1800s was an effort to practise exactly as the Buddha did, wandering in the jungle and meditating in caves. Although the jungle is largely gone now, a number of Westerners joined Ajahn Chah’s international monastery in the 1970s and later spread the practice in other countries: Ajahn Jagaro and Ajahn Brahm in Australia, Thanissaro Bhikkhu in the USA and Ajahn Sumedho in the UK. For a brief look at the origins of this tradition, see Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s Customs of the Noble Ones. For a more detailed treatment, read Forest Recollections. Pure Land was once widespread in China and is still practised among Chinese around the world. A refined form of Pure Land (Jodo and Shin Jodo) developed in Japan and has spread to the West. Pure Land involves purifying the mind by chanting the name of the Amitabha (Amida) Buddha to gain help in reaching a realm after death from where it is easy to reach enlightenment. On a deeper level, Pure Land equals pure mind and Amitabha represents our own qualities rather than an external saviour. Pure Land is sometimes combined with Zen practice. Nichiren is a homegrown Japanese tradition advocating chanting of a phrase hailing the Lotus Sutra. An offshoot of Nichiren is the lay organisation, Sokka Gakai International. There are a few Buddhist sects and organisations that are controversial in some way, usually because of their founder/leader or his particular beliefs. Before getting involved with Sokka Gakai (SGI), the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO), Shugden or Diamond Way (Karma Kagyu), you might want to google for information about their background. How do I become a Buddhist? Although there is a ceremony of taking the Three Refuges (the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha), there isn’t any “conversion” involved and you aren’t required to renounce any other religion or beliefs. In fact, it seems to be more of a social statement to show others that you have become a Buddhist. In my opinion, once you accept the Buddha’s teachings as a way of life and try to follow the Five Precepts for lay people, you’re a Buddhist. For me, this involved a lot of reading Dharma and listening to Dharma talks on the Internet. Rather than read the scriptures (which are often difficult), I chose books by monks and nuns who already had a deep knowledge of Dharma through study and practice, and who had a talent for explaining it. I looked at how Buddhism developed over the millennia and decided to start off with Theravada, which is the original form of Buddhism based on the Pali Canon. Later, I investigated the various Mahayana traditions too. It was obvious to me that reducing the power of the ego to control our lives was a foundation of Buddhism. For my practice, I concentrated on Right Speech (a component of the Noble Eightfold Path) because I thought it would give the fastest results. I expected if I started being nice to people, eventually they’d be nicer to me. That happened, but much more than that. I found myself examining my intentions every time I felt like defending my views, arguing with someone, contradicting them, criticizing them, comparing myself with them or judging them in any way at all. Pretty soon it was obvious that much of what I said or did was designed to boost my sense of self-worth and that “true freedom” was to escape this tyranny of the ego. Later I started meditating, since this is the only way to experience the truth of the teaching rather than just understanding them intellectually. Even though the majority of people born into Buddhism may not meditate, it’s essential for the serious Buddhist. Some Westerners have a problem with whether they are or aren’t a Buddhist, usually because they still have some belief in god or because they haven’t come to believe in rebirth. The following talk by Ajahn Jagaro, a Western monk of the Thai Forest Tradition, will be helpful for anyone asking himself, “Am I a Buddhist?” ________________________________________ Am I a Buddhist? by Ajahn Jagaro Teaching people who have only recently encountered Buddhism I am often asked the question “How do you become a Buddhist?” or “How do you know when you are a Buddhist?” This type of enquiry is indeed healthy and to be encouraged not only amongst those new to Buddhism but also for people born and raised as Buddhists. So go ahead and ask yourself: “Am I a Buddhist?” I expect that there will be many who will answer “Yes” and those who say “No”, but I wonder how many will be thinking “Oh … Ahm,.. I don’t know.” So let us contemplate this business of being a Buddhist a bit more. To begin our enquiry it may be worthwhile to know what the Buddha said on the matter. The following episode is taken from the Buddhist scriptures (Anguttara Nikaya, Vol IV): “Once, the Lord dwelt amongst the Sakyans in the Banyan Tree Monastery at Kapilavatthu, and while there, Mahanama the Sakyan came to him and asked; “How, Lord, does one become a lay disciple?” “When one has taken refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, then one is a lay disciple”. “How, Lord, is a lay disciple virtuous?” “When a lay disciple abstains from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and drinking intoxicants, then he is virtuous.” Here the Buddha clearly states that by taking refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha one becomes a disciple or, in modern terminology, a Buddhist. The classical formula of going for refuge, which has been passed down from the time of the Buddha is as follows; Buddham Saranam Gacchami (I go for refuge to the Buddha) Dhammam Saranam Gacchami (I go for refuge to the Dhamma) Sangham Saranam Gacchami (I go for refuge to the Sangha) However one does not become a Buddhist through the mere repetition of these words nor by the performance of any other ceremony ritual or initiation. On the other hand, though one has not performed any ceremony or ritual, one may still be a Buddhist. Put simply, this means that no one can make you a Buddhist nor can anyone stop you from being a Buddhist. It is a volitional choice that one makes when one has sufficient confidence in the Teacher and the Teaching. In the commentaries to the scriptures it explains this as, “It is an act of consciousness devoid of defilements, motivated by confidence in and reverence for the Triple Gem”… Here I would like to relate something of my own experience to help explain this point. When I first came in contact with Buddhism I did not consider myself a religious person. If anything, I thought of myself as an atheist and felt that religion had little relevance to real life. However, I did find the Buddha’s Teachings and in particular the practice of meditation very appealing. I had a desire to find out more about it and this lead me into a monastery where I was eventually ordained as a monk. One day a young Thai student, wanting to practise his English, casually asked me “Are you a Buddhist?” But in my mind I wondered whether or not I was a Buddhist. I must confess that it was a strange position to be in – a Buddhist monk who doesn’t know whether he is a Buddhist! Yet that situation persisted for over a year before the meaning of both the question and the answer became clear to me. During that year as I continued to study and practise the Dhamma I began to feel very comfortable with the teaching and increasingly confident that this was the way for me. With this came the conscious recognition that I had chosen the Buddha as my Teacher and considered him as the embodiment of the spiritual ideals of peace and liberation. I had also chosen to follow the path contained in his Teaching (the Dhamma) being confident that it would lead to liberation. And while on this path I would seek the guidance and try to emulate the example of all the noble disciples who constitute the Sangha. It was indeed wonderful to discover that I was a Buddhist and not just a Buddhist monk! Now becoming a Buddhist does not mean that one has to either agree with or believe in everything that is taught or practised by all the countless Buddhist sects and groups throughout the world. Nor do we have to believe that it is the only way and that all the other religions are no good. It simply means that having looked at and probed into this teaching of the Buddha, having tried it and having seen that it does work, one has confidence in it and chooses to take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and Sangha. However if you are still unsure as to whether you are a Buddhist or you are not, don’t worry about it, just keep on practising. With Metta, Jagaro Bhikkhu. ________________________________________ If you found this page useful or have any comments you can contact me at craigo@tale ofgenji.org. [ links | home | bibliography ] Publ.Date : Thu, 18 Jan 2007 22:53:12 GMT
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But in the late 20th century, psychics began to enjoy something of a media renaissance, largely due to their extremely close connection to the New Age movement and its application of everyday mythologies and quick-fix spirituality to people’s lives. As New Age literature grew along with its adherents, a merchandising boom came along, carrying with it many other promoters of “naturalistic” approaches to life — in particular the leaders of the non-traditional naturalpathic and holistic medicinal school — who rushed to claim their place in line for the growing business monolith.
– Connecting with the other side, spirits, and delivering their messages.