Mindfulness: Gratitude

 

The attitude of gratitude is the highest yoga.

— Yogi Bhajan

Gratitude sharpens your attention for the good and the positive in your life, which helps you appreciate things that you tend to take for granted. 

We express gratitude by saying “thank you” to someone who has helped us or given us a gift. 

From a scientific perspective, gratitude is not just an action: it is also a positive emotion that serves a biological purpose. We acknowledge the care of others. 

Scientists can actually measure the effect that gratitude is more than feeling thankful: it is a deeper appreciation for someone (or something) that produces a longer-lasting positivity.  It increases the level of happiness and improves your well-being, it literally boosts your immune system, lowers blood pressure, decreases depression, improves your love life, and gives you more patience in enduring times. And you will spark joy in the lives of those around you. In other words, it is good for you to be grateful.

Helping a stranger

A family in Minnesota, USA, who lost their infant son to cancer started a charity to help families in their native Nepal.  The children often have to travel for the cancer treatment that helps them.  The Leonardo Edward Shrestha Foundation contributes any type of support that families need while caring for their children.

Why wait for a big solution to come along, when a small effort helps a few people every day?  More info from the Foundation and a Youtube video.

Mindfulness: Thoughts

How many of your thoughts today helped you get towards your goals in life? And how many of them hindered you? Are you in control of what you think? The answer to these questions is shocking for most of us.

Meditating for just 15 minutes at a time, four days a week can change your life in many ways, it did for me. By definition, it’s the art of developing mindfulness. It’s practiced by consciously directing and maintaining your attention on an unstimulating object, such as breathing and doing this for lengths of time.

Imagine yourself a web made up of thoughts. Every thread of this web a possible thought path, leading to different places. With Mindfulness, you start to identify thought patterns, see where they will lead, and choose to take another one. 

You will always continue to think and be moved to act by thoughts but meditation gives you a choice.

You really want to follow this next thought wherever it leads?

Next week Wednesday: Gratitude

 

The Dreaming Buddha

The Dreaming Buddha is waiting for you... make yourself comfy in one of the swans, click the YouTube sign on the Buddha statue for some perfect dreamy sounds for napping or just relaxing and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Visit the Dreaming Buddha here

 

The Power of Now- Eckhart Tolle

 

It's no wonder that The Power of Now has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 30 foreign languages. Much more than simple principles and platitudes, the book takes readers on an inspiring spiritual journey to find their true and deepest self and reach the ultimate in personal growth and spirituality: the discovery of truth and light. 

You can buy the book or audiobook here

A version of YouTube to listen to you can find here 

The power of now is a life changing book that not only needs to be read but completely understood to grasp its concepts.  

World-renowned spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle conveys simple wisdom that transcends any particular religion, doctrine, or guru. His #1 NYT bestselling book is a modern classic in the field of personal growth and spirituality; Oprah Winfrey credits The Power of Now with helping her to "get through September 11, 2001" and she featured it on her December 2002 "Oprah’s Favorite Things" show. A native of Germany, Eckhart Tolle attended the University of London, and upon graduation went on to become a research scholar and supervisor at Cambridge University. At 29, a profound spiritual awakening virtually dissolved his personal identity and sparked a radical change in the course of his life. It marked the beginning of an intense inward journey and he devoted the next decade to understanding, deepening, and integrating that transformation. For the past ten years, he has acted as a counselor and spiritual guide, facilitating sold-out groups in Europe and North America. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. 

 

Mindfulness Workshops started every Wednesday at 1pm

 

Yesterday we had the introduction to the Mindfulness workshops (weekly for 8-9 weeks) Next week Mindfulness and the influence thoughts have on our day to day life. Come and take this journey with us ♥

The Center moved to a new location!

 

This weekend the Center for Mindfulness moved to Niuka owned by Cythe, she owns the Center now and will be managing everything for you ♥ The calendar (check the top of our blog), meditations and guides stay the same but the immersive nature of this sim makes the Center even more stunning, all event spaces are now simwide at same level. Even your most favorite Dreaming Buddha scene is up all the time. A teleporter at the landing spot makes it easy to visit all spots if you don't like walking, but exploring all the paths and places adds to the experience. New now is the little coin store (slightly north of the landing spot) where you can see the rewards you get for meditating with us, you also find our group gifts there!

Latest one added a beautiful wooden printer tray with a collection of 60 different stones!

Come check it out! 

 

Isha Kriya: Guided Meditation by Sadhguru | 12-min

Isha Kriya is a 12-min guided meditation by Sadhguru. Watch this video for the guided instructions from Sadhguru and experience this powerful spiritual process in the comfort of your own home.

Yogi, mystic and visionary, Sadhguru is a spiritual master with a difference. An arresting blend of profundity and pragmatism, his life and work serves as a reminder that yoga is a contemporary science, vitally relevant to our times  #MeditateWithSadhguru

Wim Hof Teaches Mikhaila and Jordan Peterson His Breathing Method

Wim Hof, also known as The Iceman, is a Dutch extreme athlete noted for his ability to withstand freezing temperatures. He has set Guinness World Records for swimming under ice and prolonged full-body contact with ice, and still holds the record for a barefoot half marathon on ice and snow. He attributes these feats to his Wim Hof Method (WHM), a combination of frequent cold exposure, breathing techniques and meditation. Hof has been the subject of several medical assessments and a book by investigative journalist Scott Carney.

In the video below, Wim Hof teaches one of the breathing techniques in the Wim Hof Method to Jordan B. Peterson, a Canadian clinical psychologist and a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, and his daughter Mikhaila who is the founder of The Lion Diet. This is just a short excerpt from a longer episode that appears on Mikhaila Peterson’s youtube page.

The full episode along with health and safety tips can be found here: The Mikhaila Peterson Podcast #36 - Wim Hof with Jordan Peterson

 You can find out more about Wim Hof and his breathing methods on his website here: Wim Hof Method

 

Change Your Brain: Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman | Rich Roll Podcast

The Science Of Why We Talk Too Much

 

Our brains are wired to reward us for talking about ourselves. You probably talk too much. And there is a good reason for that. Science says that humans, being social animals, are programmed to use communication as a vital tool to survive and thrive.

Our favorite subject to discuss is ourselves. People spend 60% of their conversations talking about themselves, 80% when chatting on social media. The reason, researchers found, was that it just feels good. In combination with our dwindling attention spans, which have been measured between as many as 59 seconds, to as few as 8 seconds, thanks to an overload of information from both verbal and digital sources, most of us may enjoy hearing our own voice more than we do listening to what others have to say.

The ideal conversation should be a give and take, with each person speaking about 50% of the time. That means staying quiet half the time.  

Silence is a greatly underestimated source of power. In silence, we can hear not only what is being said, but also what is not being said. In silence, it can be easier to reach the truth. 

However, listening requires discipline. It also involves being in the moment and not merely remaining silent and waiting for one’s turn to speak, it is important to give the other time to speak, to pay attention to what is being said, to stay in the moment and have a genuine, and reflecting engagement with the other. 

We all go through our own troubles and drama and some of us share and can talk openly and others are quiet, it is time for me to learn and be a better listener so I can hear what is being said and hear what is not being said ♥

Bhagavad Gītā

Some beautiful music shared by Bronus in discord:

 

The Bhagavad Gita, often referred to as the Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic Mahabharata (chapters 23–40 of Bhishma Parva), dated to the second century BCE. It is considered to be the primary holy scripture for Hinduism, the world's third largest religion.

You can read more about Bhagavad Gītā here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita

Master Shi Heng Yi – 5 hindrances to self-mastery

 Shi Heng Yi belongs to the 35th Generation of Shaolin Masters and is the headmaster of the Shaolin Temple Europe 歐洲少林寺 located in Germany.

"To bring meaning to your life, to bring value into your life, you need to learn and master yourself and don't let the hindrances stop you."

Jon Kabat-Zinn 9 Attitudes of Mindfulness

Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, talks about the 9 Attitudes of Mindfulness, how to use them in our Mindfulness practice and daily life.

Jon is the founder of the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is also the founder of it's renowned Stress Reduction Clinic. He teaches mindfulness and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in various venues around the world.

 

Resource: Minds Unlimited / Mindfulnessgruppen

2021 Calendar Positive Thinking in Second Life

 Who doesn't like a good group gift in SL? ♥

CHEZ MOI ♥ 2021 Calendar Positive Thinking