I at first believed that a still mind is absolutely silent and devoid of everything and anything. I eventually came to accept that a silent mind is alert to surroundings. A silent mind is devoid of judging, clinging, rejecting, comparing. The silent mind is free from hatred, anger, jealousy, confusion and conflict. I began to understand in time that stillness of mind refers to inner peace and serenity and that there may be thoughts of love and kindness or other positive thoughts that do not at all detract from the stillness of connectivity. What I want in fact is connectivity. Being devoid of everything and anything is not the point of stillness at all. The point is connection to everything that is loving.
The meridian system in the human body is the basis for many different healing modalities. Three that immediately come to mind are acupressure, acupuncture and EFT (emotional freedom technique).
What do they all have in common?
They recognize the importance of the meridians in facilitating energy flow in the body and their ultimate effects on the health of the mind-body-spirit triad.
While the entire map of the meridian system is complex, there a few main meridians that are important for everyone to know. Furthermore there are a few basic concepts elucidated below that will help one understand the relationship between time of day and dominance of the various meridians, which may, in certain cases, help explain why some of us experience various symptoms, moods, or feelings at various times of the day. .
. In essence, knowing the meridian system helps one to know and understand themselves better in the process, which leads to greater health, happiness and unification of the mind-body-spirit triad.
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What is the secret to keeping up? You must let the psyche move through the meridians. Whether you are tired or not, whether you have energy or you do not, whether you are sick or healthy – these things are like the rain and the clouds, hot weather and cold, winter, fall – a part of life. But if you let your own energy flow through you, you will be all right.
– Yogi Bhajan
Acupuncture vessels, or meridians, are located throughout the body. They contain a free-flowing, colorless, non-cellular liquid which may be partly actuated by the heart. These meridians have been measured and mapped by modern technological methods, electronically, thermaticly, and radio-actively. With practice, they can also be felt. There are specific acupuncture points along the meridians. These points are electro-magnetic in character and consist of small, oval cells called bonham corpuscles, which surround the capillaries in the skin, the blood vessels, and the organs throughout the body. There are some 500 points which are being used most frequently in a definite sequence, depending on the action desired.
We name meridians by the life function with which they seem to associate. In most cases, this name is similar to the name of a gross organ we’re familiar with, yet muscle indication of energy blockage doesn’t mean there’s damage to the organ named. We cannot say that a weak muscle means a weak organ – we can only note that a portion of the meridian energy flow indicates blockage or constriction.
The Chinese physician can detect imbalances in meridians by feeling the pulses, but this is a sensitive touch, and it may take 10 to 20 years to develop proficiency with it. Kinesiology uses muscle testing to detect these same imbalances, taking advantage of the body’s own wisdom to let us know what’s going on. As Yogis, we can correct imbalances by “being with” the imbalance. We create a pressure in the body system through asana that challenges our minds to make a peace with the moment. When we can come to a place of non-reaction while in the posture, we have made a shift in our internal and external relationship to a set of stresses once we have left the mat.
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The Meridian Cycle Meridians are classified yin or yang on the basis of the direction in which they flow on the surface of the body. Meridians interconnect deep within the torso, but we work wit h t he part that, is on the surface and is accessible to touch techniques.
Yang energy flows from the sun, and yang meridians run from the fingers to the face or from the face to t he feet. Yin energy, from the earth, flows from the feet to the torso and from the torso along the inside (yinside) of the arms to the fingertips. Since the meridian flow is actually one continuous, unbroken flow, the energy flows in one definite direction, and from one meridian to another in a well determined order.
Since there is no beginning or end to this flow, we represent the order of the meridians as a wheel. As we go around this wheel following the meridian lines, the flow follows this order on the body: from torso to fingertip (along inside of arm-yin) from fingertip to face (along outside/back of arm-yang) from face to feet (along outside of leg-yang) from feet to torso (along the inside of the leg-yin) We go through this four-step process three times to cover the twelve major meridians. .
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Running the meridians with the hand can be a quick energizing massage. Complete the massage by running the central and governing meridians, which run directly up the back and front of the body to the upper and lower lip. When this energy flow is unrestricted, the body harmonizes the flow to optimize body functioning. Sometimes, though, the life we lead and the abuses we heap upon our bodies cause stress, and sometimes the stress is so intense or so constant that, in effect, it “overloads” the circuit.
The “circuit breaker” pops, and needs to be reset before energy can flow properly. Our indication of whether this has occurred is the muscle test. If a muscle tests weak, we know we have to go to certain spots on the body and press or hold to reset the body and restore proper flow. This restoration of flow is immediately indicated by a strengthening of the muscle.
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Images and text courtesy of John F. Thie, D.C.
from his book entitled “Touch For Health”
“Get out of your head and into the moment.”
~ Eckhart Tolle
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This post is from work
by Eckhart Tolle
“The past has no power over the present moment.”
What does this mean?
Observe Your Mind Do you complain about yourself, for example, how useless you are? When you hear in your mind repetitive thoughts, you may realize, “I’ve been thinking these same thoughts again and again (almost every day lately) without really knowing it.” Allowing futile regrets, hurts and resentments, bitterness and frustrations to dominate the present moment closes us off from living enjoyably. The repetition of negative thoughts destroy joy, happiness, peace of mind — serenity. We need to stop harming ourselves.
Distinguish Between the Voice of Ego and the Actual Situation Becoming free of destructive ego thoughts comes by way of a dawning of new awareness, first of the happening of this and next by taking action that is freeing. It is in these moments that you realize that your thoughts — and the negative emotions they produce — are dysfunctional. They are unnecessary. You were irritated by what your ego-mind began telling you about a situation. Perhaps instead, you could actually be enjoying that moment. This is the dawning of a new awareness.
Let Go of Limiting Stories We devise and cling on to fairy tales of supposed happiness. We hold on also to futile regrets. Its time to let go and to focus instead on what is actually happening; without judgment.
Bring In Your Awareness When you see the difference between your voice and the reality of the situation, that’s the moment of awakening. Recognizing that the torturous thinking is unnecessary is freeing of itself.
Lay Down Your Defenses Your challenge will be to become more aligned internally with the present moment and of making choices of neutrality in the present moment. Fighting with your ego by self-will just makes the ego stronger. Surrender to being present. Coming into enjoyment will follow from this with practice. Take time in the morning and at night before retiring to enjoy some freedom from the ego mind.
The following are helpful recordings and lessons by Eckhart Tolle.
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Eckhart Tolle – Silence and Stillness from ‘Stillness Speaks’ by Eckhart Tolle Stillness is your essential nature. What is stillness? The inner space or awareness in which the words on this page are being perceived and become thoughts. Without that awareness, there would be no perception, no thoughts, no world. You are that awareness, disguised as a person. When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world. Your innermost sense of self, of who you are, is inseparable from stillness. This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form.
The equivalent of external noise is the inner noise of thinking. The equivalent of external silence is inner stillness. Whenever there is some silence around you — listen to it. That means just notice it. Pay attention to it. Listening to silence awakens the dimension of stillness within yourself, because it is only through stillness that you can be aware of silence. See that in the moment of noticing the silence around you, you are not thinking. You are aware, but not thinking.
When you become aware of silence, immediately there is that state of inner still alertness. You are present. You have stepped out of thousands of years of collective human conditioning.
Look at a tree, a flower, a plant. Let your awareness rest upon it. How still they are, how deeply rooted in Being. Allow nature to teach you stillness.
When you look at a tree and perceive its stillness, you become still yourself. You connect with it at a very deep level. You feel a oneness with whatever you perceive in and through stillness. Feeling the oneness of yourself with all things is true love.
Silence is helpful, but you don’t need it in order to find stillness. Even when there is noise, you can be aware of the stillness underneath the noise, of the space in which the noise arises. That is the inner space of pure awareness, consciousness itself.
You can become aware of awareness as the background to all your sense perceptions, all your thinking. Becoming aware of awareness is the arising of inner stillness.
Any disturbing noise can be as helpful as silence. How? By dropping your inner resistance to the noise, by allowing it to be as it is, this acceptance also takes you into that realm of inner peace that is stillness.
Whenever you deeply accept this moment as it is — no matter what form it takes — you are still, you are at peace.
Pay attention to the gap — the gap between two thoughts, the brief, silent space between words in a conversation, between the notes of a piano or flute, or the gap between the in-breath and out-breath.
When you pay attention to those gaps, awareness of “something” becomes — just awareness. The formless dimension of pure consciousness arises from within you and replaces identification with form.
True intelligence operates silently. Stillness is where creativity and solutions to problems are found.
Is stillness just the absence of noise and content? No, it is intelligence itself — the underlying consciousness out of which every form is born. And how could that be separate from who you are? The form that you think you are came out of that and is being sustained by it.
It is the essence of all galaxies and blades of grass; of all flowers, trees, birds, and all other forms.
Stillness is the only thing in this world that has no form. But then, it is not really a thing, and it is not of this world.
When you look at a tree or a human being in stillness, who is looking? Something deeper than the person. Consciousness is looking at its creation.
In the Bible, it says that God created the world and saw that it was good. That is what you are to see when you look from stillness without thought.
Do you need more knowledge? Is more information going to save the world, or faster computers, more scientific or intellectual analysis? Is it not wisdom that humanity needs most at this time?
But what is wisdom and where is it to be found? Wisdom comes with the ability to be still. Just look and just listen. The truth will come to you as needed. No more effort is needed. Being still, looking, and listening activates non-conceptual intelligence within you. Let this stillness direct your words and actions. You will grow in this wisdom in time. It will be with you and you will be enjoyment.
Deep In Love With You live at the Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas.
I hope that this song and a few quiet moments in your day may awaken the stirrings of true love in your heart.
When I take one moment for myself I am lost. When I take one step in surrender, I am found.
As I listen to this song, I am reminded of the struggle, but I am living in loving surrender. God is unlike a mortal person. I know from experience that when I sacrifice myself into humility that I become an effective loving man and that my friends and family notice this.
I am learning by my surrender to the deep love of God that I am a peaceful sanctuary for love.
Willingness is but a small step to make. In one moment, any of us may make that small step. He requires only this small step.
Directions to accept the Inner Peace Award The only “rule” for the inner peace award is that you write a short piece on
why you are accepting it and link back to this post from it.
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Eric
Eric
Eric
the Hunt for Truth 