Quality of Life

Some people like to say, "Eat well, do good, get exercise, and die anyway," as some sort of excuse for partying, being unhealthy and/or being inconsiderate. This logic has no place in a happy, fulfilling and successful life. Regardless of when you die, you want the life you live today, and tomorrow to be the best life you can possibly have. There is no excuse for not doing the best for yourself and the best you can for those you love. Even if I were going to die in six months, I still would continue my diet exactly as I do (if not do even better) because I want the highest quality for my life. The quantity is quite irrelevant.

~Raederle Phoenix Jacot

"Are you really sure that a floor can't also be a ceiling?" ~ M. C. Escher

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Imagination Fitness

"The power of imagination makes us infinite." - John Muir

"The exercise of the visualizing faculty keeps your mind in order. It attracts to you the things you need to make your life more enjoyable in an orderly way. If you train yourself in the practice of deliberately picturing your desire and carefully examining it, you will soon find your thought and desires come and proceed in more orderly procession than ever before. Having reached a state of ordered mentality, you are no longer in a constant state of mental hurry. Hurry is fear and consequently destructive." Genevieve Behrend, "Your Invisible Power"

"Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort, and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing." - Kim Rohn

The Brain

When you use your brain, little electronic signals are emitted. This has been scientifically proven. It's widely believed that these signals have a much wider effect that science can explain through electronic signals.

"It is well known that the brain is an electrochemical organ; researchers have speculated that a fully functioning brain can generate as much as 10 watts of electrical power. Other more conservative investigators calculate that if all 10 billion interconnected nerve cells discharged at one time that a single electrode placed on the human scalp would record something like five millionths to 50 millionths of a volt. If you had enough scalps hooked up you might be able to light a flashlight bulb." - The Function Of Brainwaves

Water Crystals

Although there have been some studies, such as the ones with water crystals reacting to thoughts and words. Startling pictures reveal that water reacts tremendously to our words and thoughts. Some have devoted their life's study to water, such as a man called Emoto who said;

"When I was a child, I learned from my mother that 'water is a reflection of your soul,'
"In remembering that experience, I decided to embark on this current research for and with water." - The Mystical Properties of Water

Reiki

It's widely believed by those who practice Reiki (and other forms of spiritual healing) that there is great power in one's intention. That through intention we may use our energy to heal others. I personally can attest to having a physical affliction healed through this method that was very memorable to me.

Personal Experience

I was around nine or ten at the time. I had gotten a bug bite of some sort, and hadn't had the sense to leave it alone. The first day it was perhaps the size of a dime. After two days of scratching, applying Benedryl, anti-itch creams, and using ice, it was around the size of a child's palm. After another couple of days the pain had become unbearable, as it has swollen up, and began to burn constantly. It stretched from an inch short of my wrist to an inch short of the inside of my elbow. It was disgustingly hideous to see.

I tried to stop scratching by using ice, and by wearing long-sleeve shirts, but I was having difficulty with using any will-power against the more and more overpowering urge to scratch.

I remember vividly that I was in my mother's office and I was complaining about how much it hurt. She was telling me something along the lines of how it served me right for scratching it so much, and then adding that there was nothing she could do about it.

My father walked in and inquired as to what the problem was. I showed him my arm, looking for sympathy. He asked what it was, and I told him that it had started as a bug bite nearly a week ago. He quietly took my arm between his hands and covered the entire sore area with his hand. It itched terribly as he held it, but there was also a soothing sort of feeling as well as a sensation that I can only describe as feeling like one's circulation is being sped up.

He held my arm for what felt like an interminably long time. At some point the itching stopped, but the 'rushing of blood' sensation continued to grow stronger. Then, finally, with a long exhale he released my arm. To my astonishment (and my mother's) the redness, and swelling was completely gone, and so was the itching. There was no sign whatsoever that it had ever been there.

There are two explanations for this, either of which I believe are correct, but one is more easily swallowed by people who think 'scientifically' and the other is more easily swallowed by those who think 'spiritually.' Although I personally think there is no real separation between science and spirituality except the separation that we make in our perceptions.

Spiritual Explanation

The spiritual explanation is that he used his chakra (chi, energy, light, etc) to send direction to my energy to heal. His energy sucked out the negative energy from the inflamed area, and gave direction to my body to flow the blood out of the swollen area, and to cease itching, since there was no further use in doing so.

Scientific Explanation

The scientific explanation (although not provable at this time, I'm quite sure that it could be proven given funding and time) would be that his brain transmitted imagery and information throughout his body, affecting the water in every cell of the body. The information can then be transmitted to the cells of another person's body given that their mind is relaxed and not over-riding the information with thoughts like 'this won't work' or other negative thoughts. The information flow will grow stronger and stronger as both the giver and receiver imagine that it is happening. The "imagining" is not separate from what is actually happening, since the brain-signals are what is directing the occurrence, although the imagination could be exaggerated from the actuality by quite a degree.

Thereby, the 'healer' uses the discipline of their mind and focus, and the strength of their body's energy to send the right signals to the other person.

Pay It Forward; With Imagination

Consider the implications.

Your mind has the power to influence the particles of everything your body comes into contact with. It's the same principle as "pay it forward" only with thoughts.

Self-Fulling Prophesy

When you think negative thoughts, you are creating a self-fulfilling prophesy. "How can a prophesy fullfill itself?" you ask. Let me give you a short personal example;

An ex-boyfriend of mine whom I was deeply in love with was always paranoid that I would leave him. I couldn't understand why; he had the potential to be everything I had ever wanted in a mate, but somehow he came up short via broken promises and a lack of real commitment.

He claimed I was everything he wanted in a woman, but continually proclaimed that it didn't matter what he did because I was going to leave him anyway. He said he didn't want to give up drinking and partying 'with the boys' because that would mean that when I left him he wouldn't have friends to fall back on. But this was the exact behavior that led me to leave him close to two and half years into the relationship.

It was literally his paranoia that I would leave him that caused the string of events that led to breakup. A perfect example of why fear is the enemy of love, as well as a perfect example of a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Becoming Orderly

If you want to have a life that is not only filled with material wealth, but also with the wealth of the soul and heart, you must have a strong imagination. This does not mean you need to be creative. This only means you need to take the time to visualize your future.

When you take the time to visualize something, you will see any errors in the design and automatically change them. For example, if you visualize yourself going to the beach on the morning you plan on going to the beach, and you imagine lying on your towel in the hot sun next to the hot sand, and walking through the hot sand and letting the water lap over your toes, then you won't forget the sunscreen, the towel (the extra towel for after the one you're lying on gets sandy) or the bottled water. If you imagine the wind picking up and blowing your hair you might think to bring a wrap in case it becomes windy. If you imagine the feel of the sun on your face, you'll remember your sunhat.

These visualizations organize your brain and keep your focused. Your memory improves, as well as your direction and happiness. What you imagine will be a preview of what will come to pass. As Genevieve Behrend stated, you won't be in a constant state of mental hurry when the mind is orderly. Orderliness comes with using your imagination daily in a constructive manner.

Strolling

Your day should be a mental stroll, not a sprint. The difference between people who get angry at tangled cords and people who simply find the knot, and untangle it without so much as ruffling the contours of their face, are the pace as which they think. When you slow things down and take the time to visualize where you are and contrast that with your goal, the answers become clearer and clearer.

Imagining what you don't want to have happen; bad traffic, trouble at the office, not having time for breakfast; will cause it to happen. If you think those thoughts in vivid detail each night (and/or morning), and then fear them coming to fruition... Bang! Manifestation. If you take the time to construct a mental picture of how you wish your day to begin tomorrow before you go to sleep, and visualize the best possible day first thing in the morning, then you'll find that your day goes more smoothly. You'll also find it easier to parry those unexpected glitches in the system and find ways to be productive and peaceful when held up by mundane and unchangeable things such as traffic.

Strengthening Your Imagination

When you first begin to do mini-meditations, your mind will wander quite often. This is fine, and you shouldn't let it bother you. Just try to stay present and aware of yourself and your thought patterns. Pay close attention to how one thought follows another. Pay even closer attention to how you end up thinking negative things and redirect your thoughts towards gratitude.

Gratitude

Grateful people tend to be more optimistic, a characteristic that researchers say boosts the immune system. "There are some very interesting studies linking optimism to better immune function," says Lisa Aspinwall, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Utah. - Boosting Your Health With Gratitude

Being grateful has actually been shown to boost many aspects of your health and functions of your life. When you find yourself at the crux of a serious issue, instead of dwelling, create a deep vivid image of something you're genuinely grateful for. Not something you think you ought to be grateful for, but something you are truly grateful for.

Mini-Meditations

In the art of Tantra (a yogic practice designed to increase happiness and to especially increase sexual satisfaction and spirituality in the bedroom) is often taught to include the practice of the Mini Meditation.

This is a mental practice where you take time to notice how your body feels; where are you warm, where are you cold, are you comfortable, are you stiff, do you feel you use a glass of water? And so forth.

And then, after taking a moment to notice, listen and adjust your body, then take the time to notice your mental state. Are you happy, are you feeling down, do you feel optimistic, do you feel centered, are you annoyed? And so forth.

After taking a minute to contemplate your physical well being and another full minute to contemplate your mental well being, take a third minute to visualize what you would find the most desirable. It can be what you desire right now, what you desire tomorrow, or what you desire ten years down the line.

In the course of this three-minute mini-meditation you will come closer in contact with your wants, needs and goals, and thereby automatically come closer to reaching your wants, needs and goals. By doing this three minute meditation several times a day, or even daily, you'll find you have a better and better understanding of yourself.

"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power."

"Know thyself." - Socrates

"It is wisdom to know others; It is enlightenment to know one's self." - Lao-Tzu

Create A Vivid Metal Image

Imagine yourself. Don't force the image to appear any certain way. Just let it come naturally as it does. Using force will agitate the mind and distort your mental imagery. Allow your thoughts to be dream-like images. Use all of your senses.

If you're imagining the hypothetical trip to the beach as I alluded to earlier, then your imagination should include the sounds of the waves, the screeching of the birds. It should include the smell of the salty ocean water and the scent of sunscreen, deodorant and/or sweat. It should include the taste of what you will bring with you for lunch. (Hopefully a healthy raw snack!) It should include the sensation of sand in between your toes, and the feeling of the water rushing up over your feet and washing that sand away, as well as the feeling of the sun on your face and body.

Attracting Wealth

This practice will attract wealth. As your senses and imagination becomes more sharp, it becomes more real. You'll have more inspired ideas, and you'll feel inclined to act on them immediately. The right people will meet you at the right times. You'll experience what other people call 'luck.'

Things will neatly

fall

into

place.

This will happen as a direct result or organizing your mind through imagination. Use the three minute meditation whenever you have three minutes to kill in order to increase your awareness, and thereby your health, wealth, wisdom and happiness.

6 comments:

Baba Taro said...

Nice. Well organized; well put. Well quoted.

Anonymous said...

Ha! So I sat down and meditated!

Felt good too.

Raederle said...

Nothing like a good meditation. Even a three minute one. :)

Tim said...

According to wikipedia, James Randi offered Masaru Emoto a million dollars if he could replicate his results in a double-blind experiment. Randi's money, as always, has remained unclaimed.

Tim said...

Your explanations of how your bite healed made me think. Out of your "Reiki" explanation and your "Scientific" explanation, which is really the more scientific?

The first explanation posits the existence of a previously unproven energy field that:
1) can damage the body (I think you're proposing this - ie. damage from the bite was caused by negative energy rather than, say antigens)
2) can be controlled by the mind and body to deliberately influence the bodily functions of another.

The second explanation posits the ability of the mind to influence the behaviour of water in another person in such a way as to deliberately influence the bodily functions of another.

In terms of occam's razor, the former explanation may actually be preferable as it has fewer steps - mind>body, rather than mind>water>body.

Here are some other hypotheses that might explain your experience:

- your experience or memory of the event is exaggerated
- the pressure helped reduce the inflammation, redness and irritation (of course, if you apply pressure to your skin for a while, it will go pale, at least briefly)
- your scratching had caused the symptoms and when you were prevented from scratching they receded
- there was a placebo effect (the scientifically acceptable version of the self-fulfilling prophecy)
- the bite would have improved without intervention

None of these explanations, including Reiki and mind-water influence, is mutually exclusive. Indeed, to my mind, a combination is probably the most likely explanation.

These problems help give an idea, firstly, why anecdotal evidence is generally looked down upon by scientists, and secondly, why scientific method is so important. There are always lots of alternative explanations for something (most importantly, placebo and regression to the mean) that you have to be very careful to design a test that excludes them.

Raederle said...

As always Tim, lots of good points. There wasn't a lot of pressure, and I had certainly gone longer than that without scratching; so neither of those work. Also, the only reason I remember the event is because it was so shocking to me and to my mother at the time. If it weren't that dramatic, I would have forgotten it entirely, which makes me believe that my memory is not exaggerated. However, it is possible that the healing took place only because *I* was focused on the thought of it becoming better... But, if that's the case, how is it that I always find energy healing more effective when someone else does it to me?