LifeForce

When attempting to meditate, do you have problems clearing your mind of thoughts? Often those thoughts keep on coming back, and you seem destined for failure no matter how hard you try. The good news is that this is a very common challenge encountered by anyone starting meditation. It is not a sign of failure that you are having difficulties making your mind clear, quiet or supposedly blank. Even those who have practised meditation for many years may at times have problems. The most important thing is to keep persevering, and if necessary try different approaches or techniques, until you find one which works for you.

While quietening your mind is an important goal for any meditation, realise that each of us will achieve different degrees of success. For some people attaining the ultimate goal of full quietness of mind may not be possible, but that does not mean you cannot meditate.

The first and foremost thing to realise is that your very efforts to clear or quieten the mind can often be the cause. Your mind becomes filled with the distractions of the very same ideas you are making an effort to clear. If this is the case or you have a very rowdy mind, then you should shift your efforts to achieving a small area of calmness.

The second obstacle most people face is that they try to erase or eliminate their thoughts. The ability to quell or eliminate thoughts is very difficult to achieve for most of us. So the best approach for success is instead to push your thoughts aside or to the background, thereby diminishing their presence. With time and effort, you can build the skills to be observant of your thoughts, acknowledge them if necessary and push them aside. Then as you push more of these thoughts away, you can establish a small beachhead of quietness in your mind. Be happy with this achievement, as it is an important milestone. As you practice more, you will find that you can expand the quietness outwards, pushing your thoughts farther aside and into the background.

A very useful technique which can be utilised to help with meditation or even mindfulness is called Ekagrata, which simply means focused thought. Applying Ekagrata enables you to focus on one thing, such as your breath, repeating a mantra, or mindfully shifting your attention to a specific thought. As a master of your mind, you are not thinking of everything at the same time, you are being purposeful and focusing on one thing at a time. If stray thoughts enter your mind, you acknowledge them and push them aside to achieve that focus of mind which is Ekagrata. Become the master of your mind with Ekagrata, so that you may learn to clear your mind.

For many years those that believed in astrology were seemingly at odds with those who trusted in the sciences. This is predominately because the observable locations of the Sun, Moon and planets relative to the constellations do not match with the star signs of astrology. While some kinds of astrology such as sidereal astrology are closer to the real positions, there are still significant differences. It had seemed inconceivable for someone to believe in both astrology and the sciences until now, however that all changes with the new paradigm of Astronomical Astrology.

The foundation of Astronomical Astrology is the actual observable locations of the Sun, Moon or planets relative to the eighteen constellations of the extended zodiac which fully aligns with the science of Astronomy. An extended Zodiac is necessary because the orbits of the Moon and the planets are not in the same plane as that of the Earth. Consequently several of these celestial objects can be observed either above or below the ecliptic (the path of the Sun’s motion traced across the celestial sphere throughout a year due to the Earth’s orbit).

The mechanics of the motion of the planets, together with our frame of reference, are explained in considerably more detail at Astronomical Astrology. The greatest cause for the big difference between the astrological constellations to what is observable, is due to a phenomenon labelled the “Precession of the Equinoxes”. This precession of the equinoxes moves slowly westwards across the sky over a cycle of 25,772 years, creating a drift in the observed position of the astronomical constellations. What this means is that each astrological star sign typically will include the astronomical constellation that was formerly to the east. There is a further complication by the fact that the constellations are not twelve equal 30-degree sectors of the ecliptic. Further adding to this complexity, each of the heavenly bodies transverses each constellation at a perceived angle and a different elevation. Once all of these variables are collated, the full picture of Astronomical Astrology emerges as the predicted location of any celestial body aligns precisely with the astronomically observable facts.

This new type of Astrology might be hard to believe for some people, as they have connected with being a particular star sign for most of their life. Importantly Astronomical Astrology does not disregard the aspects of what you have believed throughout your life. It has to be realised that thoughts are their own energies, which can form a layer of reality around you. So you may find that you exhibit aspects of the star sign you think you are, due to your thoughts. While at the same time, you will discover that you react subconsciously as a result of the energies which are the real astronomical influences. This is the nature of the reality of our lives, as we are affected not only by aspects of Astronomical Astrology, but just as importantly we are strongly influenced by our thoughts.

There have been numerous books, films, texts and beliefs which have pertained to some ostensibly mystical power of the Force. Some have revealed that the Force is an energy field created by all living things, which binds the galaxy together. While others have indicated that the Force is within us, so what is this Force and where is it?

The truth of the matter is that we as humans only comprehend a tiny part of the cosmic equation of life, and that there are undoubtedly many aspects to what is loosely referred to as the Force. If you approach the question with an open mind, one which challenges and learns from true knowledge, you might discover that both and all are the Force as it exists on many different levels.

The living energies which exist within all of us is your Life Force. You may well relate to your Life Force energy as an inner awareness, your true essence, your spirit, or your soul, to identify but a few. Some might see this concept as elusive, obscure, intangible and frequently a secret which is concealed within religious beliefs. Though there is an overall acknowledgement from all quarters that we as humans contain an energy which is something not yet empirically identified. This energy is your very own Life Force, part of a much greater whole, yet it is unique and distinctly assigned to you. As such, you are part of the Force and the Force is within you as your Life Force.

The Universal Force is present throughout the universe. Open your mind, even if just for a short moment, to broaden your consciousness outside of the boundaries of time and space. It is an energy which is throughout all of the atoms and particles; in addition to existing throughout all galaxies of the cosmos, transcending and within all the trillions upon trillions of stars and planets within the universe. The Universal Force is within all time and space, it is this force which surrounds us and permeates us. It is the Universal Force that binds the galaxy together and preserves the structure of the Universe as we know it. Without the Universal Force, all matter would decline into an uncontrolled state of entropy.

There is a strong correlation between being happy and optimistic to being physically well. Typically, people who express positive thoughts and emotions are at a reduced risk of becoming ill. Feeling happy or having positive experiences is linked with better general health or more content living. So is there more to this than just positive thinking?

Yes, this is more than just thinking a good thought. Positive psychology is a branch of psychology focused on the character strengths and behaviours that allow individuals to build a life of meaning and purpose. While many other branches of psychology tend to focus on dysfunctional aspects of the human mind, positive psychology is centred on helping people become happier on many different levels. This new branch of psychology encompasses a variety of techniques that focus on developing positive thoughts, positive emotions, and developing positive experiences. You can see how this new form of psychology extends beyond thoughts alone to bring forward the complete picture of the human system of wellbeing.

Positive psychology is often confused with positive thinking, which is purely about thinking positive thoughts, rather than changing your way of thinking into a different frame of mind. Positive psychology works at a deeper level on improving our positive character traits, such as loyalty, humility and integrity. It does not discount that there are negatives that impact our lives. Instead, positive psychology aims to look at the situation to better understand human experiences and determine how to best foster positivity and good thinking. These aspects of positive thoughts are then reflected and reinforced by positive emotions and feelings. As we live in a physical world, if these positive thoughts, emotions and feelings can be bolstered by positive experiences, it creates a more powerful narrative than any of the elements individually. We can all leverage aspects of positive psychology so that we can thrive rather than just survive.

A common feeling that you may experience when starting to meditate is that of being anxious or nervous. First up, do not worry, as many people experience the same feelings when they do meditation, especially when starting or if they have had a gap or lapse in doing meditation.

When you first start meditation, you may feel uncomfortably awkward or out of kilter in some undefined way. This can be especially true if you lead a busy life, or there are lots of things which typically occur around you. These feelings are completely expected and a natural sensation as your mind has been used to the normal hustle and bustle of everyday life. The change of pace when you begin meditation can trigger feelings of anxiety or nervousness to name just a few.

If you do feel uneasy when practising meditation, then be aware it is your mind which is generating these sensations. It can be common for your mind to generate a FOMO (fear of missing out) as it attempts to re-establish its control over your life and your way of thinking.

There are several different ways to address your anxiousness when meditating. One obvious, but often overlooked method is to simply tell yourself that you are not anxious and it is just in your mind. Another effective way to help you feel less anxious is to simply lower your gaze to a spot on the floor or ground before you, rather than closing your eyes. Some other breathing techniques, such as Breathe with Purpose or Life-Force Meditation can assist you to become more comfortable when you start out meditating through the use of specially structured activities.

Identifying and managing stress can result in a more balanced and healthy life. All of us experience stress in different ways due to our own unique experiences and lives. Sometimes you may be able to immediately tell when you are feeling stressed, yet at other times you might keep going without recognising the signs. You might only comprehend just how much stress was present in a situation when it no longer exists. In these circumstances, it is typical that as soon as the reason for the stress has been removed, you may all of a sudden feel like a substantial burden has been lifted. Stress can impact you on many different levels, affecting the way you behave, think and feel.

The structure and function of the brain, our minds and the nervous system are vital to mental health. However, as humans, we are far more than our biology. There are countless schools of thought regarding the origins of stress. Each of us has different ways of handling stress. Some situations that motivate you, could generate the condition of stress in another person because of their personality and the emotions they hold within

A brand-new approach to understanding stress is that stress is simply an accumulation of energy. As you experience life, your thoughts, actions and responses can result in a buildup of energy within various areas of the mind and body. If this buildup of energy is not suitably removed, the overload of emotionally charged energy will create issues for the human mechanism. This overload of emotionally charged energy will lead to what we recognise as stress.

The energies of your thoughts and emotions, especially when to the negative, can increase and flow through your nervous system. Stress intensifies this energy into the body, which then produces additional emotionally charged energies. If you are under lengthy periods of stress, these energies can increase even more. As these energies accumulate within the human mechanism causing damage like that of an electrical short circuit. It is not unusual to hear nowadays that individuals state they have become “burnt-out” as a result of stressful situations in their lives. It is the overload of these emotionally charged energies which causes damage and resulted in this burnt-out feeling.

While you should also bear in mind the more traditional elements of stress, this different view on the underlying mechanism of stress provides you with a new way to manage and control stress before it becomes a major problem in your life. When you begin to experience stress building up, find a means to release this build-up of these emotional energies for the wellbeing of yourself and others around you.

Some simple methods can be used to help you destress by draining away these emotional energy overloads. One effective method requires you to take several minutes out in meditation or mindfulness to see yourself near a lake or sea. Then while maintaining the image of the lake or sea, try to visualise this overload of emotional energy draining off into the water. Another equally effective technique is to stand on the ground as you perform your meditation, then envision the overload of emotional energies being drawn out of you into the earth. Alternatively, if you are practised in conscious breathing, then attempt to see the overload of emotional energies flowing out from you as dark clouds as you exhale each breath.

The capability to really focus your mind is a pivotal aspect of any kind of meditation, mindfulness and certainly many facets in your life. If we were to evaluate the populace in its entirety, it would be discovered that a very small percentage of individuals have the inherent capacity to really focus and quieten their minds without concentration. While roughly two-thirds of the population will regularly struggle to bring focus to their minds. When your thoughts lack focus, it is akin to light travelling through a prism contrasted to light going through a magnifying glass. While the light transverses both the prism and the magnifying glass, what occurs to the light on the journey is very different. The same holds true of your thoughts, where you can learn how to focus your thoughts, as opposed to letting them become scattered or dispersed. This is becoming considerably more important as our awareness or attention spans are diminishing, along with our capacity to retain relevant information as a result of the arrival of social media and contemporary InfoTech.

What approaches can be utilised to aid in bringing true focus to your minds and thoughts and not on the occasional time that you remember to practice? Most techniques which are embodied in mindfulness and meditation can assist you to focus your thoughts, but you may wonder how can this work.

One of the most effective tools to achieve focus is Ekagrata. Though the techniques of Ekagrata are typically only beneficial for a tiny percentage of individuals who have actually been determined to tame their minds and invested the hours of training.

For a lot of people, making use of sounds such as chimes or gongs can provide an external stimulus which will assist in focusing your mind. People can then focus on the sound, as opposed to the various other thoughts which float around their minds. With this focus, you can then establish calmness within, which can then provide the basis for you to discover more advanced or sophisticated aspects of meditation.

Conscious breathing and techniques similar to Breathe with Purpose; which are free, can offer an alternative effective way to help focus the mind. Such techniques are notably beneficial for applying positive affirmations. These are just a few of the numerous techniques which can be leveraged to help you. The most important aspect is your ongoing efforts to bring focus to your thoughts.

Increasingly more of us have ceased noticing many aspects of the world within and around us, especially when we live very busy lives. It is something which may not be immediately obvious as we are so entrenched in our lives. With an ever-changing world, it has become significantly easier to lose touch with the sensations of life and living. As we do, some of us start to act totally via conditioned thinking, apparently reacting unconsciously to life.

You do not need to change who you are or modify your beliefs to become a lot more self-aware. All of us have the capacity to be mindful, to take notice of and be aware of the here and now. The trick is discovering that impetus to break free from the thoughts which your mind generates to keep you living life mindlessly. Active intelligence is the act of engaging in your thought processes beyond unconscious thought, utilising both good judgment and awareness to make real choices. In all of this, it is awareness which is the fundamental key to activating choice in life.

Through the awareness of yourself and your life, which can be achieved via techniques such as mindfulness, you can break those patterns of unconscious thoughts or pre-programmed reactions. At its heart and core, the whole focus of mindfulness is about awareness. Whether that be awareness of a sensation in your body or of some other external subject, the objective is the same. The objective is to focus your mind away from the everyday thoughts of your mind.

So if you find that you have actually stopped noticing the worlds around or within you, spend some time reconnecting with your real intentions with life force mindfulness.

Walking can be beneficial on many different levels. Walking has been used as a means for becoming calm, helping to quieten the mind and even for spiritual advancement for countless years. People are gradually starting to rediscover the diversion and basic enjoyment of walking. A walk can be included in a break at work or at any time of your choosing. If you are experiencing stress or anxiety, then taking a walk may well enable you to ease some of this mental anguish, frequently giving you an opportunity to bring a different perspective to the situation. While we can all appreciate that going for a walk in the country, or other nature spots may be the most beneficial, realise it is the walking which is the catalyst for your changed thinking. Simply taking a brief walk around the block or around the local park can have a beneficial effect on your day.

The basic act of choosing to go for a walk, allows you to have a change of surroundings. This change alone, may be sufficient for you to be more mindful as you are no longer immersed in the situation. The removal of yourself for a particular situation or location is just as important as the act of the walk itself. This is because you actively remove yourself from the emotional triggers, thoughts or energy which were at your previous location. With the proverbial change of scenery, you have the opportunity to enjoy the experience of the walk itself.

As you walk, attempt to be aware of the sensations within your body, such as the motion of your legs or arms, and be aware of your breathing. Depending on where you have gone for a walk, you may additionally take in more of the environment around you. You may become more conscious of the sounds which constantly float into your ears, the smells which fill your nostrils as you breathe, or even the temperate of the air or the feeling of the sun on your skin. All of these acts of awareness or observation of the world around or within you, can help to change the way you think if you allow it.

Often one of the biggest challenges is that when people go for a walk as a break, they bring their problems with them, rather than doing their best to leave them behind so that they can really benefit from the walk. Take some time out and go for a walk to avail yourself of the opportunity to be more mindful, take a break and refocus. You may well find your thinking will be sharper and your mind clearer after a beneficial break.

How many times have you become aware of the expression “You become what you think” or variants on the same concept? Your thoughts are more than simply thoughts, they are what guide you through life and define you. They shape your perspective of the world and those around us. If you believe you can be successful, typically, you will achieve some form of success. However, if you believe you will fail, then more often than not you will face challenges and not succeed. This does not imply that you are prophetic, it just means that you generally believe and act out what rattles around inside your head.

Your mind is a powerful tool when used correctly, but it can also be your own worst enemy. You may not know it, but for most people, your mind can play tricks on you. If you think you cannot do something, at that point you have set yourself up for failure. Before you have even begun you are questioning whether you will be successful, it is a formula for calamity.

Buddha stated, “The mind is everything. What you think, you become“. As you probably have picked up from the above paragraphs, there is an honest truth in this statement. It then follows that if you can control your mind, you can help to direct and guide the direction of your life. We live what we think about constantly. These thoughts might be intangible, however, their power lies in the way they affect and influence us. For every thought or action, there is a reaction or effect. This correlates to the observations made by Newton when he detailed his third law of motion. Realise that your thoughts and reactions all have effects and consequences. There is always an effect even if you do not witness the result. Your thoughts and reactions in life can result in an accumulation of emotionally charged energies within you. These energies can have damaging or detrimental effects on your body, sometimes bringing about illness.

We have the capacity to choose how we feel and to dictate how we will live our lives. That is why our thoughts are so significant, due to the fact that they determine virtually every element of our lives. You can either be shackled by your thoughts or set free by them. If you want to transform your thought process and improve your quality of life – you must take action. So begin to take control of your thinking and reactions to make sure that you only build beneficial energies of thought.

Nowadays it is very easy to lose the battle with Social Media such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Twitter, Quora, Medium, Pinterest, Tumblr, and various other apps taking hold of your life. Even though you may well have reduced your screen time with digital well-being tools, you might have noticed that your attention span has decreased, or that you become seemingly quickly bored by a topic and feel the need to swipe onto the newest fad. Consider for a moment that it is your mind which is winning the battle, and continues to draw you back to scrolling and swiping through Social Media.

If though, you wish to know yourself, your strengths and weaknesses, your brilliance and dark sides, then you need to discover some quiet time in your life. Discovering some quiet time means more than closing the app or turning off your smartphone, it is about really bringing some renewed focus to your way of thinking. Truly quietening your mind can be extremely beneficial for your well-being and quality of life. Choose a technique such as meditation, mindfulness or the more advanced practices such as cognition that can help you to boost your attention span and at the same time provide you with ways to assist in quietening your mind.

The challenge for any kind of advanced meditation is that many individuals are not taught, or realise the significance of knowing one’s own thoughts and emotions. You need to make the effort to recognise and understand yourself, your thoughts, emotions and dreams as an indispensable part of any means to awaken the inner self via endeavours such as meditation. Knowing yourself and building mastery of your thoughts and emotions is an often forgotten aspect in your journey to awaken your Inner self. You should aim to transform every adverse or negative emotion into positive aspects and come to be the master of your life.

People frequently wonder what is the true nature of emotions anyway? Thoughts and emotions are energies, like light itself, they are all an energy particle and energy wave at the same time. At the simplest level, emotions are lower-level responses taking place within areas of the brain and mental form, in response to stimuli and thoughts. Emotions themselves are usually brief in duration, yet can cause longer-term mental associations which are stored within various component parts of your being. Gradually, your emotional responses become subjectively combined with your personal experience, beliefs and memories to produce your feelings.

It needs to be understood that subduing or suppressing emotions can be detrimental as you proceed with any kind of spiritual development. Suppressing an emotion means that the emotion still exists within you, however, it is concealed behind the scenes. Then as you advance and the energy of your Life Force or inner being enlivens, these energies will be transformed into magnetic energies by your physical mechanism. Such magnetic energies can then feed any kind of hidden or concealed emotions. Such emotions will continue to grow through this energy source and can turn into an explosive outburst of emotion. As this emotional outburst now has more energy than formerly possible, it can cause more damage within your body mechanism in addition to causing increased strife and repercussions in your life. Take the opportunity to observe and be aware of your emotional reactions, so you can choose how to respond, instead of just reacting in life.

Thought is a rudimentary human function, and something everyone does daily. The human brain is made up of about one hundred billion neurones, which are interconnected by trillions of connections, called synapses. Each of these connections could be relaying anywhere between one and a thousand transmissions per second powering the basic biological engine of thought. That being said, are your thoughts beyond this biological process within your brain?

It is necessary to consider that the human brain is just part of an intricate system which entails the complete mental form. Thoughts arise not only as electrochemical connections of the brain but are present as electromagnetic impulses. Some cognitive researchers have started to perceive that thought is not confined to the brain, but simultaneously occurs in the brain and the body. It is this electromagnetic nature of thought, which enables it to spread through the brain, the body and our surroundings.

As thoughts are generated via an electromagnetic impulse, thoughts are in their very nature, formed of energy. Let us consider for a moment, that thought is created, and by so doing, you have actually placed within the thought your very own energy. On a fundamental level, you can regard the energy of thought as the biochemical energy which is derived from the metabolism of sugars within the neurones and glial cells of the physical brain. You should additionally regard the energy of thought as being the magnetic energies which flow through the mental form to enliven the thoughts generated in your physical brain. You have created thought with the combined energy within the brain and mental mind, and then because every little thing in the known cosmos is constituted from energy, then it stands to reason, thoughts are in themselves energies.

Astrology has been steeped in misunderstanding, confusion, dogma and even superstition for many years. Yet it strangely is discussed as being separate from the scientific discipline of astronomy and the actual observation of the sky and stars. With True Astrology, these two seemingly inharmonious areas of knowledge are combined, bringing into view astrology backed by precise and scientific knowledge to yield the indisputable observations of the Sun, Moon and planets throughout the skies. This extraordinary form of astrology takes into consideration the complete motion of the planets and the stars, factoring in the precession of the equinoxes and other real-world phenomena.

The awareness, understanding and comprehension of the energies which continually affect and influence you are pivotal to grasping how you live your life. The energies which are patterned by the Sun, Moon and planets as they transit through the constellations influence you and form the basis of True Astrology .

The utmost goal for anyone undertaking meditation is to realise a tranquillity of the mind. However, the majority of us have noisy minds and attaining this preeminent state of a quietness of mind is seriously difficult to achieve. Yet having a noisy mind, does not mean that you cannot meditate, it merely means that you need to take a different approach in which you discover how to become the master of your mind.

If you have a noisy mind, trying to achieve silence of your mind may be tough to achieve. Frequently your very own efforts to quieten the mind will restock your mind with the noise of thoughts comparable to those which you are attempting to remove. Your mind might seemingly inject thoughts such as “I can’t stop thinking” or “I do not know if I am doing this right” feeding the increasing levels of noise as your mind tries to persevere control. This can reveal just how much attention most of us pay to our mind, listening to every single thought which it raises every day.

While you may not have the ability to achieve a quietness of mind at the outset, it is very important that you must not give up. You just need to discover an alternative means to focus your mind. Some people find success in creating a space in between their thoughts of their noisy minds. While others can discover success by learning to become the observer of their thoughts, as if they were being played out on a movie screen. Others may find that listening to a gong or similar tone can assist by the sound becoming the focus of the mind away from the endless stream of thoughts. In all of these ways to accomplish meditation success, the key, whether apparent or not has been on achieving some focus for your mind. The distinction being, that as you come to be that master, you can learn to focus your mind, thereby banishing the noise of your thoughts to the background. So even though your mind is not quiet, you can achieve meditation with focus. Then overtime, you will find that as you repeatedly take control of your mind and focus on meditation, these other thoughts will drift further into the background, so you may attain success.