Tag Archive for buddhism

Money and Mindfulness on The Next Chi For Yourself

April 24, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

Is it possible to be a conscientious citizen of the world and save more money? Our next scheduled Chi For Yourself guest says yes you can.

Jonathan K DeYoe is a Buddhist and a financial planner. He’ll talk about a unique financial plan that’s guided by your deepest beliefs, and how to save, invest, pay off debt, and fund your retirement and dreams by building a lifetime income stream.

Jonathan K. DeYoe

Jonathan K. DeYoe is the author of Mindful Money: Simple Practices for Reaching Your Financial Goals and Increasing Your Happiness Dividend.

Join us on Thursday, April 25th at 4 pm Eastern, 1 pm Pacific time at chiforyourself.com

JohnK 4-24-2019

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A Make-good With the Mystics: Hear the Matthew Fox Interview

September 2, 2014 John Uncategorized No comments

We finally caught up with author Matthew Fox, and last week’s long-awaited interview didn’t disappoint. As you probably know, Matthew Fox became an Episcopal priest after being expelled from the Catholic Church by Cardinal Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. He discussed his latest book “Meister Eckhart: A Mystic Warrior for Our Times, and he gave us some examples of the controversial viewpoints that put him at odds with the church hierarchy. You can hear the show by clicking on the BlogTalkRadio logo below.

Here are some of the talking points from the show:

The meaning of Christian Spirituality
Christian Spirituality and the scriptural story of creation
Meister Eckhart on the women’s movement of his time (the Beguines)
Matthew Fox’s expulsion from the Catholic Church
On the new Pope and chances of change in the church
On Matthew Fox’s call for a new Reformation
Contemplatives and community building
Eckhart, interfaith, and today’s Islam
The historical Jesus and Jesus as “God”

JohnK 9-2-2014

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Matthew Fox on Chi For Yourself

August 21, 2014 John Uncategorized No comments

Though he lived in the thirteenth century, Meister Eckhart’s deeply ecumenical teachings were in many ways modern. He taught about what we call ecology, championed artistic creativity, and advocated for social, economic, and gender justice. All these elements have inspired spiritual maverick Matthew Fox and influenced his Creation Spirituality. You can hear Matthew Fox on Chi For Yourself today at 4pm Eastern, 1pm Pacific at chiforyourself.com.

Matthew Fox

JohnK 8-21-2014

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Happy Days- When Will They Be Here Again?

September 16, 2013 John Uncategorized No comments

The subject of happiness, how to land it and how to keep it has been taking a front seat in many major magazines and news periodicals recently. Figures show that the US currently ranks 23rd on a list of happiest countries despite all its apparent wealth and freedom. What gives? Our guest on this week’s Chi For Yourself says there’s a difference between the usual Western concept of happiness and the experience of deep contentment and joy. Dr. Thomas Bien is a leader in the field of mindful psychology and conducts workshops on mindfulness and meditation. He is also the author of numerous scientific articles and book chapters on spirituality and addiction.

Thomas Bien

Thomas Bien is the author of The Buddah’s Way of Happiness: Healing Sorrow, Transforming Negative Emotion, and Finding Well-Being in the Present. The interview is scheduled for Thursday September 19th, at 4pm Eastern, 1pm Pacific on chiforyourself.com.

Article:

How to Live Consciously and Attract Happiness

By Emily A Rider

Do you live each day consciously or unconsciously? We would all like to think that we are conscious during our waking hours; that we are consciously making decisions, consciously choosing how we act, react, speak, listen, and think. But do you know that in order to be conscious you must be aware of your Self? Do you know who you are? Are you living out who you truly are? Take a moment to think this over, and continue reading on…

Now that you’ve taken a moment to consider how your actions reflect your inner Self, did you come to the conclusion that how you live just may not be who you really are? You may become angry or frustrated from experiencing certain circumstances, but anger and frustration is not what is composed of your Self. All those molecules and compounds that make up your body, mind, and soul are certainly not angry or hostile ones. This you must realize. So why is it you express every emotion within the spectrum of human emotions? Do you choose to? Or is it a reaction?

If you stop before each thought and action to give yourself time to decide first, you begin to live consciously. If you do not let yourself decide, you defer to reaction: you go into autopilot mode and act or think in terms of your strongest emotion (anger, fear, sadness, etc.) since it is what has taken over. This is how you allow your ego (your mind) to take over and take control away from your real Self (your soul). This does you no good because this is what living unconsciously is. If you are not consciously making a decision, then you are unconsciously and mindlessly reacting. Your ego is not YOU. If you believe there is a difference between your physical body, your mental mind, and your spiritual soul, then you must take into consideration each of their downfalls and learn how to allow your soul to shine through with everything you do.

Do you notice how sometimes after a typical reaction, you may feel a little remorse? Perhaps it really wasn’t very necessary to tell off that waitress who got your order wrong for the second time, or speaking rudely back to that customer service representative who was just trying to do his job.

Life can be hard; it can get frustrating no doubt about it, but it doesn’t mean we need to project negativity right back at it. This does nothing for us.

How can we begin to live consciously? Here is the secret: right now, close your eyes and find the greatest feeling you have ever felt: such as the immense love you have for your child(ren), or that time when you were the most in love with a partner. Pinpoint that highest note of all your experiences. Feel that fulfilling joy and let it linger until your whole being is saturated with it. Hold onto this…

Love is the purest thought, emotion, and experience a soul can choose to live out. Yes, choose! We can choose to think, act, and live the rest of our lives with love being the core of it all; the seed that grows our human experiences; the cell that divides exponentially. We have this awesome Godly power because we are all God.

Now take this feeling that you have just re-experienced within your Self. Take it with you every morning when you get out of bed; take it with you to work or school; take it with you when you go out with your friends; take it home to your family; and take it to bed at night. This ultimate essence is what you will base all of your thoughts and actions on (notice I did not say reactions!). You will re-experience this each time you are confronted with a problem, a situation, a confrontation. Then, after some practice, you will call upon this beautiful part of you every time you think a thought, speak a word, and take an action. Love will be the root of everything you do. Your ultimate goal is to be who you really are, and who you really are, is love. Love is what creates us, the universe, and everything in between. We attract what we project out. So project out only love!

The funny part about this is that in order to know your Self (love), you must also know and have experienced love’s complete opposite: fear. If love attracts like things, fear deflects the same way. So we know fear because we act on it. We make decisions based on fear. We fear our boss, we fear not having money, we fear rejection, and we fear physical pain and death. We know this because we end up reacting out of fear everyday for many of us.

So turn it around. Turn our fear into love. When we stop fearing, we end anger and frustration. We stop feeling like we need to take those negative feeling hostage, only to release them out onto others. We can begin to fill those empty places with much needed love. Fill your life with more of YOU by bringing consciousness into all you do. Love is all there for us to use. So take it. Take it and run with it.

It will not be easy. You have to practice and practice until it becomes second nature to you. It will require intention on your part, which requires energy. If you invest in this, the universe will invest in you.

Love before and after you think or do and your life will evolve. I promise.

Emily A. Rider invites you to browse more great articles she has written about living a more spiritual life at http://www.higherspiritualliving.com. This site contains may topics from meditation to evidence-based research; from spiritual cleansing to the paradigm shift the U.S. is currently beginning. Come gain knowledge and new perspectives on living spiritually now at http://www.higherspiritualliving.com

JohnK 9/16/2013

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Upcoming Shows, No-Shows, and a Zen State of Mind

August 5, 2013 John Uncategorized No comments

Well, there we were- all dressed up and nowhere to go! Thursday’s planned interview stream with Cynthia Gill did not come off as scheduled, apparently due to some scheduling confusion. So, I’ve put in the request to Cynthia’s publisher to re-schedule, preferably in mid or late August. Cynthia is the co-author of Jump Starting Boys. The book gives parents a thorough look into possible reasons why their lads are struggling in school. She includes case histories, take-action checklists, and helpful tips.

On this week’s Chi For Yourself you’ll hear the interview with Brad Warner, Zen monk and author of There is No God and He is Always With You. During our discussion we touched on the God-or-no God question and a number of others. The show will air on BlogTalkRadio.com on Friday, August 9th at 1pm Eastern, 10am Pacific.

Ponderous, man! Consider this from speakingtree.in-

The breath, the body, the name, all the forms and shapes in the universe, “It’s all the same like branches of a tree just as one goes deeper and deeper one becomes aware of the fact that the self is consciousness and diversity is a mere mirage. The one who realizes the consciousness is the true self he shall be free from experiencing the mirage as reality..Read the article.

and on a related note, from the New Indian Express:

This whole world reveals the true consciousness within, like the waves rising in the ocean. Knowing that you are this essence, without a doubt, be that form of consciousness without any quivering attachment to the world of movement, names and forms. Read the article…

Tony Burroughs reminded us that we can design our day, not to mention our lives. Manifesting is his thing, and it can be yours, too. This week a guest offering from Alan Charter and his own thoughts on getting what you want for your life..

How To Let All The Prosperity You Want Come Into Your Life

by Alan Charter

In this article you will find solid self-help advice to assist you in working through your problems and attaining the level of success that you desire. The techniques presented here will train you to hone in on potential problems before they get out of hand and negatively impact your life. The tips are simple yet effective.

To achieve successful personal development you need to do more than just set goals. You should visualize them, too. How will it feel when you achieve them? What will the experience be like? This visualization process will motivate you by making your goals seem more tangible. It is also a process you can repeat as often as needed to restore your enthusiasm.

When suffering from a lack of confidence, you should try to engage in physical exercise or a type of sport on a regular basis. Not only will this improve your body shape and therefore your confidence in your looks, exercise releases endorphins which stimulate the mind and body to a natural high.

Always try to present yourself in a positive light. While you should not worry so much about what someone thinks of you, if you need to promote yourself, you do have to be understood. Just do well to be yourself so that you don’t paint a false persona for people just to get their business.

Remember that regardless of the few or the many things you are wishing to improve yourself and your life, you have natural talents that others do not. Capitalize on these talents and abilities as they can bring you to new level or even act as a stepping stone for a new career path or business venture.

Celebrate your successes as you work through your personal development plan to keep you engaged and excited about the process. Do not focus so much on the end result that you fail to recognize the steps you take to get there. Personal development and growth can sometimes be difficult, and acknowledging the small successes along the way keeps you motivated.

One key tip to self-help success is to start by choosing small goals. Whatever part of your life you are trying to improve, it will be much harder if you try and tackle the problem head on. Rather, start setting up small goals you can easily achieve, and this will motivate you to continue on.

Keep flashcards in your pocket! Yes, flashcards are an old fashioned approach to learning but they are also a proven approach. Make miniature flashcards in the desired subject matter and pull them out when you are waiting at the doctor’s office, riding the subway or in any other situation where you have time on your hands.

This article offered advice with respect to seeking Self-help . Many people, for many different reasons at different points in their lives seek help. Each situation and solution to each problem is different. By reading this article you will have the information to get the help that you need when you need it.

About the Author:

Grab this free video of strategy training to learn how to eliminate self-limiting beliefs and understand the secrets of prosperity consciousness. Only limited seats are available. Check this out for more useful information on how to make your dreams reality.

JohnK 8-5-2013

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Notes to Start the Week: July 22, 2013

July 22, 2013 John Uncategorized No comments

We start an important week on Chi For Yourself with a reminder that this Thursday (July 27th) we have TWO episodes of Chi For Yourself on the schedule. I was able to re-schedule with Brad Warner for 10am Pacific Time Thursday.

Brad Warner

..Brad is the author of a number of books, including There is No God, and He is Always With You. (Interesting title, no?) He’ll talk about things like Buddhism (he’s an ordained Zen teacher) and the ‘is there a God?’ question.

Then at 1pm Pacific Time our guest will be Tony Burroughs.

Tony Burroughs

Tony is the co-founder of The Intenders of the Highest Good and he’s the author of Get What You Want: The Art of Making and Manifesting Your Intentions. We’ll talk manifesting and how to bring what you want into your life as easily and effortlessly as possible.

Both calls will be recorded and posted on BlogTalkRadio as well as a number of other hosting sites, but you’re invited to hear the interviews live on Google+ Hangouts On Air. The Chi For Yourself ‘Start’ page will have a screen installed at 10am (Brad Warner) and again at 1pm (Tony Burroughs)..

While we’re on the subject of manifesting I thought you might like to get some ideas on doing it in the reverse. This is from Kathy Wilson:

The Power of De-Manifesting

By Kathy Wilson

Sometimes rather than bringing something into your life, you just want something to go away. Maybe it’s a problem. Maybe it’s a person. Maybe it’s a belief.

This is when using your power of de-manifesting might be useful.

Actually, de-manifesting is often a necessary, albeit commonly ignored, part of manifesting. In order to bring something new into your life, often you have to release something to make space for the new thing.

So what is de-manifesting? It’s simply the art and science of making disagreeable, unhelpful, or dysfunctional things disappear. It’s not so different from manifesting with The Law of Attraction. However, instead of using that powerful law to magnetize something to you, you use it to make something you don’t want go away.

Here’s a simple four-step method for de-manifesting:

1. Focus your awareness on what you want to leave your life. If it’s a person or a thing, visualize it. If it’s an issue or problem, visualize an occurrence of it. Remember, visualizations don’t have to be still or static images. They can be like videos or movies. If it’s something completely intangible, such as an emotion or a belief, focus on it as best you can. Then silently ask for a symbol of it and almost instantly with your inner vision you’ll see an appropriate symbol. Notice the shape, texture, color, and anything else about it.

2. Silently command that this thing you’re focusing on grow smaller or less intense by 50%. Watch as it diminishes in size until it’s half as large. If it’s an emotion, feel it lessen in intensity to about half of what it was.

3. Silently command that it continue to diminish until it disappears entirely. Watch, feel, or sense it become less and less, until it no longer exists.

4. Immediately after you’ve de-manifested whatever you don’t want, replace it with something you do want. Watch the new thing, person, or symbol appear. First it may be very small. Command that it grow larger and larger until it completely fills the space just vacated by the thing you de-manifested. This step is most important. When you release or remove something during energy work such as this, you create an empty space which must be filled with something of your choice. This vacancy will be filled with something and if that something is not of your choosing, it may be as bad or worse than what you just de-manifested.

Now, when the opportunity arises in your physical world to actually release the thing you just energetically de-manifested, LET IT GO. Else all your pre-manifesting, manifesting, and de-manifesting will be a waste of your time and energy. Be willing to allow that which is no longer serving you to leave your life.

Kathy Wilson helps people create a better life using a multi-faceted approach. She and her clients utilize life coaching, spiritual consulting, NLP, vibrational healing, PSYCH-K, Tarot, mentoring, and teaching… whatever is in her client’s highest and best interests. She’s a Certified Professional Coach, spiritual teacher, Reiki master, vibrational healer, author of An Inner Journey: Living Your Life Purpose, and many ebooks and articles. For information about her products, services, and classes, visit her website: http://www.warrior-priestess.com.

Overheard

“A man’s homeland is wherever he prospers.”
– Aristophanes

JohnK 7/22/2013

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What’s Going On Here? Manifesting, Law of Attraction, and Other Fun Stuff

July 1, 2013 John Uncategorized No comments

Before we get into today’s heart of today’s matters I want to give you a link to last week’s re-airing of the E. Dee Conrad 2010 interview. E. Dee talked with us from her home in Dubai..say what?? Dubai? That’s right. She folded up her successful life in the U.S. and moved to the United Arab Emirates to go in a completely different direction. I love stories of folks who leave everything they’ve known and set out on a new (risky?) life adventure. Did the same myself a few years ago..Listen to the show here:

Listen to internet radio with GioHost on BlogTalkRadio

Speaking of the show, our scheduled Chi For Yourself guest on July 25th will be Tony Burroughs, author of Get What You Want: The Art of Making and Manifesting Your Intentions. He’ll talk about manifesting and he’ll share an interesting personal story of the kind I like to feature on CFY. I plan to put it on the CFY home page as a Google+ Hangout On air.

And..this just in- as radio news folks sometimes say- I found out just minutes ago that Brad Warner will be a guest on Chi For Yourself on July 11th. Brad is a Zen priest, filmmaker, blogger and the author of There Is No God and He’s Always With You. No, it’s not a typo. That’s the name of the book and he explains the title in that cool head-scratching way that only the “Zens” can.

Now, time to take yet another look at The Law of Attraction. For some reason today must be LOA day because I’m hearing or reading about it at every turn. I was listening to the radio today and I heard a guy make reference to LOA as part of that “New Age Stuff”…his answer to manifesting is good old fashioned hard work and sweat.

A few minutes later, again on the radio, I heard an interview host say that ‘if you don’t change your thoughts and keep on doing what you’re doing you’ll keep getting what your getting.’ Sounds like Law of Attraction to me!

Here are a couple of more views…see what you think. This is from The Self Help Hipster:

The Law of Attraction: An Analysis.

My preaching of the Law of Attraction and manifesting has always been accompagnied by disclaimers and a message of common sense/reality. At least, I hope so. I know I run a total positivity-for-president website, but still. I hope you noticed.
In case you hadn’t, let’s take a trip down memory lane..Continue reading..

….and, this from examiner.com:

Getting what you want through the law of attraction

We’ve all heard about the Law of Attraction and how it can help us get the love we desire, job we want and that new car. But, how many people have you ever talked to that put it into use? Not many people seem to actually put it to use. Continue reading..

Hmmm. I may do a poll about the effectiveness of the Law of Attraction. More on that later.

Be well..

JohnK 7-1-2013
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A Barrel Full of Monkey Mind is No Fun- Meditation Can Quiet the Chatter

January 15, 2013 John Uncategorized No comments

There you are, fretting over the state of your relationship, or worrying about an upcoming meeting at the office. Those voices in your head are back. It’s the usual chatter that has no rhyme or reason and keeps you totally confused and without real answers. It’s called the monkey mind, and it leaves you feeling as though you’re spinning in circles.

A good way to counter the frontal lobe free-for-all is to practice meditation. This gives you the chance to counter the noise by moving beyond thought. You can become the noticer- aware of your thoughts rather than thinking them. It sounds like the same thing, but there is a difference. When you notice your thoughts you can allow them to move on by without taking you with them. That calms the feeling of being pulled in so many directions. Concentration is key here. It will let you slow down the thought process and keep your attention on observation of those thoughts.

One method of working your concentration “muscles” is by paying attention to your breath during meditation. When the monkey mind begins its cranial chorus observe your thoughts and then return your focus to your breath. Breathing meditations differ. Some have you focus and the inhale and exhale and the movement of the abdomen. Others have you concentrate on the sound of the breath. Then there’s focusing on a candle flame as a way of reigning in the mind. Soften your gaze as you notice the color, shape, and movement of the flame, all the while trying not to blink. You can vary this by closing your eyes though you want to keep watching the flame in your mind.

It seems counterproductive when you realize that quieting your mind for meditation actually provides fertile soil for the mind chatter to take hold. Just remember to be kind to yourself and don’t give up. Meditation is often called “practice”, and continued practice will help you keep monkey mind to a minimum.

JohnK 1-15-2013

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