Why You May Be Drinking Soda That Contains a Dangerous Flame Retardant Banned in Europe and Japan / AlterNet

Some soda drinkers may be getting a dose of a synthetic chemical called brominated vegetable oil, or BVO.

READ MORE: Why You May Be Drinking Soda That Contains a Dangerous Flame Retardant Banned in Europe and Japan / AlterNet

"The Making of the 99%"| The Nation

“Class happens when some men, as a result of common experiences (inherited or shared), feel and articulate the identity of their interests as between themselves, and as against other men whose interests are different from (and usually opposed to) theirs.” —E.P. Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class   The “other men” (and of course women) in the current American class alignment are those in the top 1 percent of the wealth distribution—the bankers, hedge-fund managers and CEOs targeted by the Occupy Wall Street movement. They have been around for a long time in one form or another, but they began to emerge as a distinct and visible group, informally called the “superrich,” only in recent years.

READ MORE: The Making of the 99% | The Nation

Post-Menopause Sex Is Great in So Many Ways | Womens eNews

By Marie Cameron

WeNews commentator

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Sex after menopause brings more than pleasure. It lowers blood pressure, boosts immunity and reduces pain, according to a mass of evidence that has been piling up in recent years.

READ MORE: Post-Menopause Sex Is Great in So Many Ways | Womens eNews

Intimacy Intensifies in Women's 'Second Adulthood' | Womens eNews

By Suzanne Braun Levine

WeNews guest author

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Despite conventional wisdom dictating that intimacy ends at midlife for women, Suzanne Braun Levine says this is untrue in her new book "How We Love Now." In this except, she describes how love actually changes and deepens.

READ MORE: Intimacy Intensifies in Women's 'Second Adulthood' | Womens eNews

How Doctors Choose to Die – The Sweet Pursuit – Utne Reader

Doctors have the very best medical care at their fingertips. They read journals that publish the latest medical findings; they know the most up-to-date treatments for various ailments and diseases; they might even play golf with a top surgeon or two. And yet, when faced with death, many physicians forgo intensive medical treatment..........

READ MORE.......

WINDS OF CHANGE for Republicans, Independents, and Democrats ~ Warren Buffet

This morning I received an email being passed around, from Warren Buffet, written in October.  After verifying it through Snopes.com, and discerning that it was refreshing (especially when written by the 1%!), I decided to post it.  It is, as follows:

Winds of Change....

   Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.
 
  In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
 

   Congressional Reform Act of 2011

1. No Tenure / No Pension.
  A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.                     

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
 
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive the message. Don't you think it's time? 

  THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!
  

"7 Reasons America's Mental Health Industry Is a Threat to Our Sanity" ~ Bruce Levine

Drug industry corruption, scientifically unreliable diagnoses and pseudoscientific research have compromised the values of the psychiatric profession.

CONTINUE READING........

"How Ayn Rand Seduced Generations of Young Men and Helped Make the U.S. into a Selfish and Greedy Nation: ~ Bruce Levine

Thanks in part to Rand, the United States is one of the most uncaring nations in the industrialized world...

CONTINUE READING.......

"The Corporate Psychopaths Among Us" ~ James G. Long/The American Thinker

Hannibal Lecter was a fictional psychopath, but there are much worse psychopaths active in American politics and business today.   "Psychopath" and "sociopath" are each defined as a personality disorder marked by lack of empathy or remorse; the two terms are closely related and are sometimes used interchangeably......

CONTINUE READING.....The Corporate Psychopaths Among Us

How stress is really hurting our kids ~ Thomas Rogers/Salon

New science shows that childhood trauma can cause cancer, heart disease and other problems. An expert explains......

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING: http://www.salon.com/2012/01/02/how_stress_is_really_hurting_our_kids/singleton/

Why Kids -- and Adults -- Need More Solitude (repost)

I have high esteem for the author of this article..... she FINALLY discusses the tragically missing link in 99% (just stuck on that number!) of articles and essays about education and parenting:

New York City public school educator Diana Senechal talks about the problems with our educational system, the meaning of solitude, and the dangers of immediacy........

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING THIS IMPORTANT ARTICLE: Why Kids -- and Adults -- Need More Solitude | Personal Health | AlterNet

Schizoid Sexual Society: Focused on the Petty Sex Scandals, Ignoring the Ones That Really Matter | | AlterNet repost

Why isn't it a bigger scandal when politicians chip away at our rights to control our bodies and our sexuality?

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE: Schizoid Sexual Society: Focused on the Petty Sex Scandals, Ignoring the Ones That Really Matter | | AlterNet

Ernesto Ortiz: "The Akashic Records, One Sure Constant Thing...."

The Akashic Records, One Sure Constant Thing… © by Ernesto Ortiz The fact that we are living in the age of technological advancement and achievement is no mystery, we just have to look back ten to fifteen years. It is quite amazing what we can do now from our homes with computer technology. Scott Gardner, knowledge management expert explained at the annual meeting for the SMART Toronto Technology Association in early 2003: The world’s collective library of recorded information is expected to double every 11 hours by the year 2010 So what? We may ask; It took a millennium and a half (from the year 1 A.D. to the year 1500 A.D.) for humankind's knowledge base to double. It is now doubling about every 15 months. Eight years from now, it will be doubling every half-day. Will you be able to keep up when everything you thought you knew at breakfast becomes obsolete before dinner? So the question is, what will remain constant and true in our lives? The one thing that does are the laws of Nature. The laws of cause and effect, law of gravity, law of abundance, law of growth, law of love and more. Our ancestors studied these laws and where able to get to the point of understanding and master the art of living with nature. Living in balance and harmony is an art; it is the art of co-creation. As long as we identify and understand the role of nature in our lives, and how these laws of nature mirror us humans from within, we can then have a greater understanding about ourselves. The amount of technology out there is mind boggling, so much information built into some of the items we use in our daily lives. Like our cell phones, have many features built in that we don’t need or use. How much time we spend in trying to learn these instruments? PDA’s, cell phones, computers etc. and by the time we do the new one is already out. Index The Importance of November 2011 2012 as the End Of a Cosmic Cycle Trance Dance — Dance Bold, Strong, Sensual, Mild and Wild Ten Qualities to Cultivate in Life Tian Di Bamboo Massage - The Art of Massage with Bamboo Why Sacred or Spiritual Travel? Why people don't believe they can live their dreams Seven Principles of Success Success Plan Twelve Signs of Awakening Trance Dance The Wings of a Butterfly Put yourself in the Fun Zone The Dance of the Cosmic Butterfly The Akashic Records Are Primordial Substance Akashic Records One Sure Thing Imaginal Cells Beyond Pleasure and Pain/ Through Integrative/Shamanic Breathwork Tribal Trance Dance All of this is external stuff, and all of it comes with a manual. If we really want to understand it and use it properly, we have to take the time to read and apply what we have learned to the machine. All of this takes precious time, and even then most of the features we will not need or use. At times I have thought the most complicated and beautiful creation is the human being. It is too bad we don’t come with an instruction manual so our parents, friends and most of all ourselves can read and understand the intricacies of the self. There is a blue print, a matrix that is built in or encoded within the self. Our DNA plays a big role in this, also ancestral genealogy influences this blue print; we can label it many different things, past lives, Karma, or encoded DNA. The bottom line is, there are patterns sitting in our sub conscious that get activated at different times in our lives that make us do, and act and re-act to situations in many strange ways. That reaction sometimes is very surprising to us. When this happens we can then question, how is it that I reacted like that? Or where that did come from? Often when our curiosity or desire to know is activated, what many of us do is to go “without” instead of “within” to look for answers to our inner most questions. We may feel something brewing deep within, a desire, or longing. Sometimes we feel uncomfortable because of the way we are handling situations, especially with people we love. So what do we do…? We go outside the self. We have made some psychics very rich and famous by taking to them many important questions about our inner process. If we don’t we retreat to other worldly distractions, like video games, TV, rock music, gossiping with friends, tarot card readers, palm readers, fortune tellers, etc. We humans are constantly looking for several things, we make them a life long quest; these things are Love, knowledge, acceptance and validation. We move through life searching for someone to come and validate our process, someone to share his or her wisdom and knowledge. But life goes on and we continue facing our complications and dealing with the stress of life. Why do we go outside the self if we have heard and possibly know that “we contain within all the knowledge and wisdom we need”? No one knows more about ourselves that we do! About 10 years ago I was introduced to the Akashic Records. I remembered reading in different sacred scriptures about the Book of Life or the Book of Knowledge, and also about Akasha. That word “Akasha” captivated me. It had an energy that took me deep within. It has been my understanding that on this realm, in the Hall of Records there is a volume, a Book of Life that contains our souls progress since inception. “Wow, cool, very cool if that is the case, where do I go to read it? How do I access this magnificent document”? The Akashic Records are primordial substance it is the realm where all souls information is contained. It is past, present and the possibility of the unfoldment of future events. I was taught to open my Akashic Records and it has been the most valuable spiritual tool that I have had in the past ten years. Going back to Scott Gardner’s information, tells me that all accumulated knowledge will be old or obsolete with the planetary acceleration we are experiencing; though my need for validation and personal knowledge will continue. One thing I do know “universal laws are constant”. The Akashic Records are constant. My spirituality is constant, and that I will continue seeking for Truth and personal knowledge. Opening the Akashic Records is simple, and every time I “go there” I get a greeting, an outpour of love and compassion from the Lords of Akasha, from the Masters and Teachers. The Akashic Records are the manual, the guidebook for my life. No, I don’t use the Records as a crutch to validate my every day moves, I certainly exercise my free will, but for deep guidance and direction about my life, for inspiration about classes that I teach, lectures, art projects and more, the Akashic Records and the guidance from Masters and Teachers are there. Opening the Akashic Records is simple. Most of my students are blown away at the simplicity of entering the Akashic realm. Spirit wants to make things simple for us; it is we humans that complicate things. The Akashic Records are part of an ancient tradition and the way is taught and passed is via the oral tradition. There is so much more to learn about the Records other than a simple “Sacred Prayer” to open them. We have to learn how to communicate with the Lords of Akasha and how to translate the information we receive, with this we become confident of our connection and communication, and we open ourselves up to the most caring and sincere guidance and Love. The Akashic Records are encoded Light language, which is Sacred geometry or words encoded in fire, so learning how to interpret the information is crucial. We start learning to use our inner senses to give words and interpretation to what we receive; we also start getting fine-tuned to this new energy. One of the most important things to know in this communication is the “art of questioning”, in doing this we can get deep, very deep in our conversations with the Masters and Teachers. From these depths of the self is where most significant healing occurs, patterns of addiction, codependency and more surface so we can gain clarity and understanding. Then we can exercise one of the most beautiful gifts we posses, the gift of free will and choice to make the necessary changes in our lives. Working with my Akashic Records almost daily is wonderful but having the opportunity to open the Records for someone else is an incredible experience, one that I honor and treasure as sacred. The personal transformation that people go through as the result of the energy from the Records is incredible. People can receive information and validation about issues in their lives, while receiving an energy that is most delicious and healing. We can say that the information is coming to satisfy our need to know, and validate. The energy is coming to heal, as we feel accepted and loved. As the times change and information change, retreat to the knowledge and wisdom of the Akashic Records for your growth and guidance. This I assure you will be a most beautiful and profound guiding light in your life.

What You Didn't Know About the South: Surprises from a White Southerner

An additional view about the denial of white Southerners...creates a gestalt when combined with article below.


CLICK TO READ: What You Didn't Know About the South: Surprises from a White Southerner | Culture | AlterNet

Why the White South Is Still in Denial About Slavery

As a resident of North Carolina, I can heartily attest to the facts in this article.  "Down here", they also refute the term "Civil War" (because that might accurately give the issue a flavor of CIVIL RIGHTS!), and refer to it as the "War Between the States" (a phrase which seems to be a little scrap on a primary school playground...ever so much more 'demure'!) My experience is that there are tens of thousands of "pretenders", who graciously assert "Why, honey, I am not biased at all!)  However, due to my proclivity and skill in observation, I so enjoy "watching people watch people", for that really tells the story.  I recall watching a school cafeteria worker watch the "you people" kids in the lunch line.  While she would smile and gush about her lack of bias, her face was scrunched up in a tightened and somewhat cruel affect when she thought no one was looking. I found it shocking (and nothing much shocks me any more!) to observe how lowly she valued these elementary kids! To add that her hubs was a known member of the KKK would have been unnecessary to this story, because her acrimony for anyone unlike her was etched into her face, following decades of hatred.


On a trip through the South, Civil War culture is presented as "authentic." They just leave out the slavery part.....

CLICK HERE TO READ: Why the White South Is Still in Denial About Slavery | Tea Party and the Right | AlterNet

Bullies, Liars and Impostors: How Facebook and Go Daddy Shield Scott Walker's Online Guerillas | Media | AlterNet

A spate of online disinformation, bullying and outright calls for the destruction of recall petitions raise the specter of fraud in the Wisconsin recall petition drive....


CLICK HERE: Bullies, Liars and Impostors: How Facebook and Go Daddy Shield Scott Walker's Online Guerillas | Media | AlterNet

"Ten Qualities to Cultivate in Life" by Ernesto Ortiz

"Journey to the Heart" and Ernesto Ortiz:
http://www.journey2theheart.com/akashicrecords.shtml

As a retired psychotherapist, I have experienced this Buddhist quote many times ... both as therapist, and as human: "When the student is ready, the teacher will come." 

My new experience with learning about the Akashic records ... will also be yours, if you so desire.  I have been guided to the site and work of Ernesto Ortiz, and his teachings about the Akashic records.  Today, I present this offering from his site.  The depth of these qualities is indeed quite profound:

Ten Qualities to Cultivate in Life © By: Ernesto Ortiz We benefit immensely when we see elders, role models and spiritual guides (gurus) as guides that can teach thoughtfully with specific goals in mind. In fact the first example that we have of these, our first gurus, are our father and mother. No matter if we like it or not, that was the first influence we had, our first role models. Most parents want the best for their child and they teach by example, explanation and giving advice and direction. They can only teach as far as they have been able to learn and experience themselves, and many of us as we grow up look outside of the values we were given by these first gurus for something bigger, higher, something we know we can use to uplift our lives to the next level of our own personal potential. When we think of gurus, we automatically think of teaching. When we look at ourselves as gurus, we realize the importance of our role as teachers with our children (if we have them), friends, co-workers, and the community at large. Have you ever found yourself giving advice to someone? Where is that advice come from? It comes from your personal experience and in doing that you are acting like a guru. What that means if we are becoming conscious is that we must be personally responsible for the advice that we give to others and how we take and give to life itself. Here are ten key qualities we want to possess in order to be happy, spiritual and successful, to live our lives to the fullness of our personal potential. Live them and teach them to your children, and share them with others.		Index The Importance of November 2011 2012 as the End Of a Cosmic Cycle Trance Dance — Dance Bold, Strong, Sensual, Mild and Wild Ten Qualities to Cultivate in Life Tian Di Bamboo Massage - The Art of Massage with Bamboo Why Sacred or Spiritual Travel? Why people don't believe they can live their dreams Seven Principles of Success Success Plan Twelve Signs of Awakening Trance Dance The Wings of a Butterfly Put yourself in the Fun Zone The Dance of the Cosmic Butterfly The Akashic Records Are Primordial Substance Akashic Records One Sure Thing Imaginal Cells Beyond Pleasure and Pain/ Through Integrative/Shamanic Breathwork Tribal Trance Dance
Positive Self-Concept: The confidence that one is a radiant, magnificent, immortal soul worthy of a wonderful life. Giving constructive encouragement and refraining from denigrating remarks or actions, even when correcting misbehavior, creating habits in our lives that nurture this image, learning how to control our previous programming and change our relationship with life. Feeling the radiant Self worth that is within us all. Perceptive Self-Correction: The ability to quickly draw the lesson from each experience and resolve how not to repeat one’s mistakes. Teaching that mistakes are not bad develops this quality; they are opportunities to learn and refine our behavior. Mistakes are the stepping-stones of learning experiences they build character and wisdom. Powerful Self-Control: The restraint of destructive emotions, such as anger, jealousy, greed, altered ego, when tempted to express them. This is cultivated by example and by referring often to the ten restrains taught in Hinduism known as the Yamas, finding illustrations of them in daily life. Ahimsa: Non-violence. Abstinence from injury, harmlessness, the not causing of pain to any living creature in thought, word, or deed at any time. This is the "main" Yama. The other nine are there in support of its accomplishment. Satya: truthfulness, word and thought in conformity with the facts. Achaurya: non-stealing, non-coveting, non-entering into debt. Brahmaacharya: Divine conduct, restrain, faithful in relationship. Kshama: patience, releasing time, functioning in the now, ability to be present. Dhriti: steadfastness, overcoming non-perseverance, fear, and indecision; seeing each task through to completion. Daya: compassion; conquering the hardening of the self, cruel and insensitive feelings toward all beings. Arjava: honesty, straightforwardness, renouncing deception and wrongdoing. Mitahara: moderate appetite, neither eating too much nor too little; mantaining a healthy diet. Avoid the consumtion of heavy meats. Shaucha: purity, avoidance of impurity in body, mind and speech. Profound Self-Confidence: The dignity that endows an individual confronted with a difficult task the certainty that he or she can accomplish it. This is cultivated by helping a child from the early stages of life to gradually accomplish more and more difficult tasks. Playful Self-Contentment: A disposition that is fun loving, happy, satisfied. This is developed by living and verbalizing the adventure that life is meant to be. To learn to live life joyously, spending fun time together, satisfied with what we have, not dissatisfied over what we lack. Sacred or Devotional Character: Abidance in the higher nature, treating others with kindness and appreciation, and seeking the blessings of God, Gods and guru. It is cultivated by worship regularly, meditating and prayer. Proficiency in Conflict Resolution: The knack of resolving disagreements using intelligence and seeking a win-win situation. It is cultivated by example and situation teaching demonstrating how intelligence is superior to violence in dealing with conflict. Parental and Love Relationship Closeness: An eagerness to spend time with loved ones because of an enduring bond of love and understanding. This propensity is developed by sharing quality time together, expressing love—hugging and saying often the three magic words “I love you,” and by positive, methods of reinforcement. Prejudice-Free Consciousness: An open-mindedness that readily embraces differences in ethnic background and religion. It is cultivated by living and teaching that the whole world is our family and all beings are divine, by discussing prejudices, mixing with those of other backgrounds and eliminating bigoted remarks or ethnic generalizations. Gratitude: To be able to look at what life brings us as a wonderful way of learning, with that the opportunity to grow and be better to share with our loved ones and the world with appreciation. To demonstrate our gratitude to everyone for what we have and for what we don’t have. To be grateful for life itself. I hope that these 10 qualities are reinforced in your life and that the New Year brings you love, happiness and you develop the Mind of Enlightenment. Om Shanti Ernesto

SAYING "THANK YOU"

SAYING "THANK YOU!"

By Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D.

       "No matter what I do, it isn't good enough."  "No matter how much I
give, it never seems to satisfy."  Over these past holidays, how many
times have we heard, or made, such comments?

       Let's face it.  There are people who, no matter how much they have
or have been given, never appreciate it.  You could pour your heart
out, work until you drop, share until you're empty, and they still
wouldn't acknowledge your effort with a simple "thank you."

       Somehow, it seems that people who need appreciation are often paired
with people who never express it.  They are caught up in a destructive
cycle: the more person A needs to be appreciated, the more he or she
strives for the "thank you's."  The more A seeks appreciation, the
more obligated person B feels to express his or her gratitude.  The
more guilty B feels, the more likely he or she is to rebel and
withhold appreciation.  This leads to further emptiness in person A,
and the subsequent increase in A's need for appreciation.  This cycle
is often experienced during holiday times when "giving" and
"receiving" is expected

       People caught up in this psychological cycle experience life as an
endless dependency, filled with fear, helplessness, hostility, anger
and above all, unfulfilled needs.  Both parties caught up in this
cycle are very needy of personal validation and support.  Both
desperately need to feel appreciated and valuable.

       This helpless-hostile-dependency (HHD) cycle is simple to change in
theory. (You know how simple we psychologists make things... "in
theory")  Changing the HHD cycle in day-to-day living is often very
difficult.

       Breaking the HHD cycle can begin with saying "thank you".  That's
right.  Saying out loud, "I appreciate..." or, "thank you for..." is
the beginning of altering the HHD cycle.

       "Thank you" communicates many messages.  "Thank you" says: I
recognize you; I like you; I appreciate you; I have seen or heard you;
I realize your effort, work or accomplishments; and best of all, I
value who you are and/or what you do.  Feeling valuable for who you
are as a person, as well as what you do, is probably the most
important consequence of receiving "thank you's."  When we feel
value-able, we feel able to be valued...to be cherished...to be loved.

       Feeling value-able means we are important as individuals in and of
ourselves.  When we feel personally valued, we no longer need to
frantically seek approval from others.  We no longer need to feel
frightened of our own inadequacies.  We are valuable for who we are as
persons.  What we do, or our behavior, may or may not be appreciated.
But that isn't as important, if we feel valuable as the individual
persons we are.

       When we are appreciated for who we are, the need for validation is
filled and the old helpless-hostile-dependency cycle is replaced by
one of confident-caring-intimacy (CCI).  No wonder Nobel-prize winner,
Hans Selye, said the most healthy emotion you can experience is one of
gratitude.  Selye's famous research about stress and it's effect on
human health, indicated that "vengeance" was the most harmful emotion.
 "Gratitude" the most beneficial.

       In changing the HHD cycle to the CCI cycle, the importance of the
regular and persistent saying of "thank you" for being you, and "thank
you" for what you do, cannot be over-emphasized.

       Thank you for reading my column today, for responding to it and
especially for being the valuable people you are.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dr. Thomas is a licensed psychologist, author, speaker, and life
coach.  He serves on the faculty of the International University of
Professional Studies. He recently co-authored (with Patrick Williams)
the book: "Total Life Coaching: 50+ Life Lessons, Skills and
Techniques for Enhancing Your Practice...and Your Life!" (W.W. Norton
2005) It is available at your local bookstore or on Amazon.com.

THIS little girl stole my heart! She = powerful!!!

Schizophrenia: The Split Mind

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/23/schizophrenia-split-mind_n_1166536.html

Rudolph: Profile of A Wayseer

It's My Fault Because I Had a Drink? How Being Sexually Assaulted Introduced Me to Victim-Blaming Culture

The author writes: "When I was sexually assaulted and mugged last month, I was abruptly introduced to the culture of victim blaming — from the police, and even my family and friends."

CLICK HERE TO READ ARTICLE: t's My Fault Because I Had a Drink? How Being Sexually Assaulted Introduced Me to Victim-Blaming Culture | Activism & Vision | AlterNet

I love you, I am sorry, I forgive you, thank you........

It seems more and more that the holidays are becoming mercenary, and sanitized of human compassion and love. People attack each other in stores, for a gift for themselves .. and other head-shaking tales become a norm, rather than a bizarre incident. 
   As a mom, who loved the entire season and celebrated the last quarter of the year, I have found it curious that many parents I observe in public are so focused with 'eyes on the prize'... the material prize.  As they walk, they appear to be oblivious to the holiday's joys through the eyes of the smallest members of their family. Their toddler's cries which are so obviously ones of exhaustion and sensory stimulation, yet go unheeded (at best) or greeted with a Merry Christmas smack on the butt.  Antithetical. Simply antithetical.  
   I just read an article about a Vet who came home, and sold one of his two Purple Hearts to be able to afford some food and gifts for his young family. I admit that took my breath away.  Antithetical. Simply antithetical.
   The holidays, at the very least, are a reminder (allegedly) of the higher sides of us ... some days to reflect on who we are.....even if that reflection takes place cooking a turkey, or wrapping of gifts. What have our minds become that we cannot 'take custody' of them, if you will ....in such a manner?
   This post, one of Ho'Oponopono, is one I post at least twice a year.  It seems timely to do so again. 


 
     Both as a therapist and a human being, it is an interesting clue to me when folks are uncomfortable with regular use of, "I'm sorry" or "Thank you".  However this blog is not for the psychological hints of character.  It is about a celebration for those who can do that, or who actively aspire to and work towards that.
     A couple of years ago, a good friend introduced me to Ho'Oponopono.  I had never heard of the Hawaiian practice until then, but I discovered it to be immensely healing and with a strong code of personal accountability all at the same time. It is used, among other things, as a form of therapy.  Frankly....to me it certainly is.  Some (me included) initially discovered a little resistance to saying (even in private) "I'm sorry" or "I thank you" or "I forgive you" or "I love you"  ......to someone who might have egregiously hurt us.  Therein lies a real point of exploration and personal truth ... and squaring with the Universe!    While I believe some faith in a higher power is likely necessary to truly feel the impact of the process, I think the exercise is immensely humbling, empowering, loving, compassionate ... all at once. Sometimes Ho'Oponopono can seem simple and esoteric at the same time. When we have accountability for our human actions is loving and freeing all at once.


     I am including the video in this blog (above). I shared it with my adolescent male group therapy, actually wondering what the reaction would be.  I was surely surprised with the comments they made to me, one by one, after the group.  As I would hear what they had to say about their experiences, I was joyful.


     I made a practice to play it most evenings as I would fall asleep ... it simply seemed to provide great clarity and comfort to me.  The practice really makes life simple in its own way.  The above meditation also has some directions for EFT, so if you have not experienced that,  just focus on the actual meditation.


     Here is a paste from one of the sites which "breaks it down" into simplicity.  Exploring other sites is also immensely uplifting and :

HO'OPONOPONO - HO OPONOPONO - HOOPONOPONO

A WAY TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

Ho'oponopono (Ho oponopono, Hooponopono) is a process for solving problems. But ho'oponopono does more than just solve problems - it's a means for getting aligned with existence. This might sound complicated or "out there" and maybe it is, but ho'oponopono isn't necessarily easy to put into a neat little package. The truth is, ho'oponopono is both simple and complex. Most important of all, ho'oponopono (ho oponopono, hooponopono) is a big help.

IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU

If you were looking for the key aspect of ho'oponopono, it's probably this: everything comes from you. Within ho'oponopono this is often referred to as 100% responsibility, and it means that every problem you experience is happening because of you. It's a safe bet that ho'oponopono wasn't intended to win popularity contests, because telling someone they are responsible for every problem that's experienced is a sure way to meet up with some strong resistance and also rejection.

Though it is often held up as a virtue, individual responsibility is almost never meant to convey absoluteindividual responsibility. In fact, some people who are heavily into the idea of responsibility will place blame on others very quickly. This may seem completely reasonable to these people and to many others too; but placing blame like this is in opposition to the ho'oponopono (ho oponopono, hooponopono) belief system. In ho'oponopono the problem is never with someone else - it's in you.

RESPONSIBILITY OF HO'OPONOPONO

Can a person not accept 100% responsibility and still practice the ho'oponopono method? Yes. But the belief here is that seeing circumstances as being caused by external events, while at the same trying to use ho'oponopono, is neutralizing the method's effects. You simply can't apply ho'oponopono in full, and probably not even close to full, if you're looking external for causes. Responsibility is too key to how ho'oponopono works.

For those who might reject ho'oponopono 100% responsibility, it may help to know that 100% responsibility in ho'oponopono (ho oponopono, hooponopono) is not the same as blame. You don't need to blame yourself for problems - just know that problems you experience are there for you to resolve.

GETTING TO THE ISSUE

Putting ho'oponopono into practice is not difficult, though it can take discipline. Problems are going to come up, and maybe even come up a lot. The way to resolve problems with ho'oponopono is to use ho'oponopono and to keep using it. This might feel burdensome to some people, but sticking to it ultimately brings about problem resolution and an enhanced life experience overall. The results from using ho'oponopono on a consistent basis can be quite incredible. So how to use ho'oponopono?

Ho'oponopono can be applied through different processes. Mentally saying 'I love you, I'm sorry, please forgive me, thank you' is a ho'oponopono process. Drinking what's referred to as blue solar water -- tap water poured into a blue glass bottle and set in the sun or under a non fluorescent light for an hour or more -- is considered to be a ho'oponopono (ho oponopono, hooponopono) process. The key to these and any other ho'oponopono process is consistent application. The more you put ho'oponopono to use, the more you can experience life changing results.

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