With more emphasis being put on the state of our global environment these days, do you ever stop to assess your local environment? Your home, neighborhood, office, or your regular grocery store… Each one has it’s own “environment” made up of the air circulating throughout, the chemicals and materials that went into building and cleaning them, and even the people and energy the fill each area. All of these considerations go into making where we live and work a healthy or non-healthy environment. Often we spend so much time in these places that we overlook big issues that contribute to our health and well-being when we should be extra diligent in recognizing the harmful components and replacing them with better choices. Doing so qualifies as stress reduction when you really think about it. You are choosing to reduce the stress these things have on your body and mind.

One of the most powerful ways to reduce the stresses of your daily environment is called Quantum Biofeedback. When used along with a general awareness of the places you go each day and the things you expose yourself to, Quantum Biofeedback is a safe, easy way to balance the effects of your environment. Certain elements of your local environment may, to some extent, be out of your control like electrical fields and air pollution and some may have already taken a toll on you causing illnesses, aches, pains, or unexplainable issues. Why not take the steps now to not only reduce your exposure to these harmful stressors, but also clear your body of the effects of years and years of living side-by-side with them by having a Biofeedback session?

Quantum Biofeedback is a technologically advanced interface born out of traditional biofeedback that can administer therapy to reduce multiple kinds of stress, environmental being only one. Quantum Biofeedback uses a highly sophisticated device called the SCIO/EPFX to read the body’s physiological reaction at the subconscious level to the frequencies of over 9000 different items like natural remedies, organs, and environmental stresses. This safe, non-invasive process takes place at the office of a Certified Biofeedback Specialist. The client is “linked” to the SCIO/EPFX by way of a safe, comfortable headband and a chair pad that rests where the client is seated for the duration of the session. After the “testing” phase is over, the SCIO/EPFX returns the findings to the Specialist who then acts as an analyst and coach informing the client of their current stressors so that they can take steps to reduce them. Because the SCIO/EPFX is communicating with the subconscious mind, the effect of the therapy can be very deep and incredibly powerful. If you are ready to find out more about what a SCIO/EPFX can do for you, contact a Certified Biofeedback Specialist today for a Quantum Biofeedback session.

Enlightenment: like falling off a log?

I believe that being enlightened is a very easy state to be in. Certainly being dysfunctional is far more difficult, exhausting in fact. If you take a good look at the average American city-dweller, you generally see the face of total exhaustion regardless of the time of day or day of the week. What is it they are trying to do that is so tiring?

Now on the other hand, from I have experienced of the so-called higher states of consciousness, being enlightened is very pleasant and requires no effort at all. In fact it is the absence of effort that seems to make it possible. If it is so easy, why are so few people doing it?

According to yoga philosophy, we are being pulled in two opposite directions by opposing forces; the extroversive force and the introversive force. The extroversive force draws us out of ourselves into the physical world and the introversive force draws us inward towards the core of our existence, our true Self, our soul, or our own “I feeling” as my teacher referred to it. The one path leads to a world of endless ups and downs, pleasure and pain and the concomitant mental noise and unconscious efforts to manipulate our environment in a vain attempt to achieve security. The other path leads to lasting peace, joy and wisdom. Seems like a no brainer, but the tricky part is that we are dealing with very subtle forces that operate beneath the radar of our normal conscious mind. In addition, we are trying to make decisions that threaten the very existence of that “mind” (as we know it).

Did you ever see the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey? Remember the spaceship’s computer “Hal” that ran everything on board the ship? It was found to be defective and a threat to the mission and therefore had to be deactivated, but of course HAL didn’t like that idea and tried to kill all the crew members in order to preserve its own existence. I reckon it is like that with our own ego.

So, we see the difficulty in just rolling off the dysfunction log into blissful enlightenment, and arrive at the inconvenient need for the spirit of self-sacrifice. A great yogi Swami Rama wrote that enlightenment requires a “determined effacement of the ego.” I still say that doesn’t have to be such a big problem if we can just keep our mind on the goal, the blissful treasures of enlightenment, which are ever waiting to rain down on us as soon as we lower our ego umbrella. It needn’t be that difficult to make the switch. We just need to shed a little light on the process, reflect a little and make a rational decision.

Tending to the needs of the ego is sort of like biting your fingernails, isn’t it? You don’t really notice you are doing it. It’s not pleasurable. It’s just an unconscious habit, a compulsion. Well, if egoity is just an unconscious not very well thought out habit, then awareness must be the cure. When I was in high school a guest speaker on social issues told us all during an assembly: “I’m not telling you what to decide, just to decide.” Good advice, and to make an educated decision about the course of our lives, we need to become intimately familiar with the workings of the tools and materials at hand: the mind, the soul, God. I believe this is what the yogis call “self-reflection” is it not? Examining the mind, the soul, running experiments in our mental laboratories. I don’t think you will have to look far to find there is something worth seeking there. Good luck, and bon voyage.

Peace and Love to you all.

Copyright 2007 Bruce Boyd and BabaNam.com

“Two men look out through the same bars: One sees the mud, and one sees the stars.”- Frederick Langbridge, A Cluster of Quiet Thoughts

If you’ve placed second in a writing contest, will you jump for joy and push for better results the next time or will you be discouraged and find an excuse not to join again?

In life, you are always filled with choices. You may opt to have a pessimist’s view and live a self-defeated life or you may decide to take the optimist’s route and take a challenging and fulfilling life.

So why nurture an optimist’s point of view? And why now?

Well, optimism has been linked to positive mood and good morale; to academic, athletic, military, occupational and political success; to popularity; to good health and even to long life and freedom from trauma.

On the other hand, the rates of depression and pessimism have never been higher. It affects middle-aged adults the same way it hits younger people. The mean age of onset has gone from 30 to 15. It is no longer a middle-aged housewife’s disorder but also a teenager’s disorder’ as well.

Here’s how optimists are in action and researches that back up why it really pays to be an optimist:

Optimists expect the best

The defining characteristic of pessimists is that they tend to believe bad events, which will last a long time and undermine everything they do, are their own fault.

The truth is optimists are confronted with the same hard knocks of this world. What differs is the way they explain their misfortune—it’s the opposite way. They tend to believe defeat is just a temporary setback, that its causes are confined to this one case.

Optimists tend to focus on and plan for the ‘problem’ at hand. They use ‘positive reinterpretation.’ In other words, they most likely reinterpret a negative experience in a way that helps them learn and grow. Such people are unfazed by bad situation, they perceive it is a challenge and try harder.

They won’t say “things will never get better,” “If I failed once, it will happen again” and “If I experience misfortune in one part of my life, then it will happen in my whole life.”

Positive expectancies of optimists also predict better reactions during transitions to new environments, sudden tragedies and unlikely turn of events. If they fall, they will stand up. They see opportunities instead of obstacles.

People respond positively to optimists

Optimists are proactive and less dependent on others for their happiness. They find no need to control or manipulate people. They usually draw people towards them. Their optimistic view of the world can be contagious and influence those they are with.

Optimism seems a socially desirable trait in all communities. Those who share optimism are generally accepted while those who spread gloom, panic and hysteria are treated unfavorably.

In life, these people often win elections; get voted most congenial and sought for advice.

When the going gets tough, optimists get tougher

Optimists typically maintain higher levels of subjective well-being during times of stress than do people who are less optimistic. In contrast, pessimists are likely to react to stressful events by denying that they exist or by avoiding dealing with problems. Pessimists are more likely to quit trying when difficulties arise.

They persevere. They just don’t give up easily, they are also known for their patience. Inching their way a step closer to that goal or elusive dream.

Optimists are healthier and live longer

Medical research has justified that simple pleasures and a positive outlook can cause a measurable increase in the body’s ability to fight disease.

Optimists’ health is unusually good. They age well, much freer than most people from the usual physical ills of middle age. And they get to outlive those prone to negative thoughts.

So why not be an optimist today? And think positively towards a more fulfilled life.

Why not look forward to success in all your endeavors? Why not be resilient? Like everybody else you are bound to hit lows sometimes but don’t just stay there. Carry yourself out of the mud and improve your chances of getting back on the right track. And why not inspire others to remove their dark-colored glasses and see life in the bright side?

Yours sincerely
Daryl Yew