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Hello Candy, Thanks for your message, lovely to 'meet' you too! I enjoy reading mostly fiction, anything with a good story, and recently have been reading self help books too. I do kundalini yoga, have been going to a small local class for several years, and recently have been increasing my meditation/mindfulness. Music is also important to me, I listen to a lot and sing/dance along whenever I can! looking forward to getting to know more like minded people here :)

Gosh that sounds like me! Starting out on a journey of self discovery, wondering what the universe has in store for us. Experiencing mindfulness, meditation, reiki and seeing Echartt Tolle has made me keen to learn more. I too overthink, worry to much and an slowing learning that I'm not going mad!

Hi! This exercise for me was also slow to begin with especially lying down. When I did lie down, I could already feel the tension in my lower back. I would have to refocus my attention to the rest of my body following along with the meditation. What I did learn is that doing the body scan, it calmed me down, helped me to focus and center my mind and literally feel my body. I also enjoy the simple awareness exercise because it literally is staying present in the one activity you're doing. I've done it where I drive to work in silence and just focus on my driving and the sounds. I have washed dishes just washing. Also, just taking breathes and knowing that it is life -the breath- helps me to remember to live by breathing. I also agree that sitting meditation is what I've done more of, so that seems to work. Neverthless, I will work on the body scan. There are benefits to it. I love that with Mindfulness there is no judgment, just being and existing with what is now.

10/18/19 18.10.19 Dear Mr. Steib, Holbrook, whomever else this may concerns, everyone both on/ff of here:, Hi my name is Jessica A Bruno (waybeyondfedup). Live in both Metro Los Angeles and New York on New Jersey side of it USA. Born with a Neurologically based speech impairment/apraxia-dysarthria. Suffering from depression/anxiety for awhile now. Still I’m not one, but have no to little income. I receive Social Security Benefits for all of it. In which I’m glad for, but still wish I had other means as well, but in I still don’t. At the same time still don’t drive or intend to anytime in the future. Whom needs more of a life then what she has had so far. As opposed to what it has been for the most part of her life and etc. Yet to reach this stage of life and beyond. I’m of a student of life and currently looking for her next opportunity. I’m still trying to found myself after all of these years. I’m also no spring chicken. Beyond all of both content and members I am back here yet again because I finally found what I have been looking for. With even one more to add. Especially, the amount of the time it took me to found. Is just me that is still wondering whatsoever happened to all of these chit chat forum/chats/discussions/talks/forums. Thats includes blogs/social media networking platforms/portals. I mean regarding feminist/s/ism/woman/en/s/debate/s/ing/beyond. I mean for one totally think thats because with all of political correctness/censored/bias/beyond. Especially, with all of conventional/fake/majority/mainstream/beyond leading the way. As opposed to with all of alternative/independent/minority/real/truth/beyond. Thats apart of the problem/s as well. In which again I am not giving any promises as to how long I stay, but hoping it is going to be on the more side of it. Especially, regarding this particular subject/s. In which I usually stay away from. Yet again another on this. Especially, one would think all of this should be over now. At the same time I’m also thinking of this being of the many possible scenarios that all of us should be beyond alert/prepared for/disaster/emergency preparedness/survival/shtf. I mean for all of man made/natural ones as opposed to one over the other. Especially, including all of civilians as well as professional. Everyone/where else should all do it as well.I also highly recommend beyond all of start doing your own learning and researching on it as well. I mean this also applies beyond to everything that I have mentioned above here. To me I found its very important so you can be proactive in it. Also, please take everything with a grain of salt as well. Especially, pseudoscience part of it as well. This also applies to beyond as well. waybeyondfedup with my mom’s cancer battle, both my fraternal twin sister, and my coping skills with it. Know that its been couple/few yrs since (4/26/16) and all of this a combination of my blog entries that I did at the time that I combined into all in one. Back because she has lost it and it didn’t go as planned. I mean not just this, but during the whole process. Have to say now I was pretty much in denial with the whole thing. Even through I knew was suffering, but still thought it was less as severe as this. Back again because I forgot to mentioned that she (right after she found) and she found from there that it showed she had BCRA2. Then after both my twin sister and me were both tested for it. It only I showed that I was suspected to 2, but forgot if it was for ovarian and/or breast. I couldn’t remember and even after through all of the paperwork. Now, I really need to look into all (both conventional/mainstream and traditional/integrative) because I for one still have a love and hated relationship with both medicines. In regards to what happened to her and especially, in the end with her brain tumor. In which she never complained at all because she was always beyond doer and carer. I’m back with even more. Basically, she went back to work when she did (couple wks after). At first, it wasn’t a issue until this past wk. When one of her friend from college went into the hospital because of inflammation in her. Then, everything started to spiraled, spl (spelling) for her. Well, not for her work. In which she mentioned opened to doing the support group at Valley Home Care and she called. But hasn’t called back to found out more about. At the same time shes also showing signs of her moodiness as well. I have no clue if its general or something underline. In which she had a little cold again, last wk. By the way shes the maid of honor for one of her best friends wedding and everything that ideals. Her friend is like her with her mom’s cancer (breast) battle. Thinks thats everything and well at least that I can both remember and think of. Well get back to if I have anything else to add to this. Back again with more whom she was and whom we are. I for one prefer more of an integrative form of it. In which my mom, dad, and sister were brainwashed about it. Especially, more after the original diagnosis. Shes also a retired RN and she was one for 45 yrs. Of course my dad and sister still are. That also includes the rest of our remaining family and our friends as well. At least our family friends. We found it was more aggressive than we original thought it was. Basically, its ovarian cancer and she was 1st diagnosed with it as stage IV back in 2008. She had she been receiving on, off, with a few recurrences in between. Then, last yr it came back in a form of a brain tumor and again she was treated for. In which we all thought that was the last of it because she went onto treatment after that. At the first she was a experimental drug, but then that didn’t work. So, went back her old treatment and then it all started from there. Even through after going to a doctor in the city. We have since decided to stopped all of it and go toward with comfort care. Shes currently a inpatient there, receiving treatment, and it appears to be working for her. At moment we are remaining cautionary optimistic about it. At the same time I would love explore other volunteer options at Valley because I don’t know if I can continue with her old doctor because all of this. Back because she took a turn for the worse sometime overnight or early this morning. My fraternal twin sister called my father and me father regarding this morning. Basically, this whole day and beyond has been a whirlwind for all of us. Belated Waybeyondfedup worried about how my fraternal twin sister is coping with our mother’s death and especially over this past week for sure Its pretty much a mo now since her death and everything happened to leading up to it. sI mean we should be getting over the initial shock of it and getting back to normal. Well, of course our new normal. Have to say that I’m really not worried about my father about this because hes not going to change. Still I’m more worried about my fraternal twin sister more because shes more like our mom and that includes our dad as well. Whom takes care of everyone/thing before herself. In which I do get, but then don’t. I mean shes had her issues with certain things and etc. In which I’m not going into on here because whats the point of getting into on her. Belated Back yet again with another hospitalization story with my both depression and anxiety But this time this was totally different hospital and experience. Basically, it all started with my mother’s passing from her cancer battle a mo ago with a little meltdown, but still not a full blown one until this one. In which went to the local hospital emergency room and also went for this past one. Then, lived with it off and on until a couple of wks ago with my period. Trying some new meds, vitamins, supplements (homeopathic, multivitamins, and supplements), but in the end none of them worked because they aren’t a exact science. It was also in combination of nervous about my sister’s live to work lifestyle vs work to live lifestyle. In which it drove me to first er and then hospital. All and all was pretty good experience expect from here to there. Think thats it for now. Thank you, again, in advance. Yours truly,

Hello! Thank you for joining and welcome to our little happiness community! Happiness.com is just in its infant stage, but I can already say that I find it good for very many things! There's a whole community of curious, kind and openhearted people willing to share their life experiences and lessons with others. People willing to help and serve, learn and experience, and welcome and support anyone in need of it. Unlike Facebook, we are a little conscious community for those interested in more "Real" topics related to life, love, loss, mindfulness, peace, dis-ease, etc. It can be whatever you’d like it to be :) All the best on your journey ?✨

I'm reading a book about fertility that swears by it. I recently went to a Kundalini yoga class in Amsterdam and I really enjoyed it. It's more chanting mantras than the asanas, but the whole experience is quite powerful. I left the class feeling a great deal better, and a little blissed out. The book I'm reading suggests Kundalini yoga for pregnant women or those wanting to get pregnant, but I think it's accessible to anyone who wants to clean/heal their energy and just bring some more peace and mindfulness to one's daily life.

Hi, I'm Jade! I've been re-discovering myself for a few years now and mindfulness keeps coming up...The time has come for me to jump right in..Well, I've allowed myseld to just flow into this mindfulness appreciation...I'm loving learning me and being more aware of others...I hope to become more balanced, grounded, a more effective communicator, and just overall...LOVE. #LetsGrow #EnergyOnQueen #SelfLove #Grateful #Love #Priceless

Yesterday I read in a book that in Traditional Chinese Medicine, worry is the same as stress. We all know what stress does to the body... I must admit I am a bit of a "worrier", but reading this article just now, I decided that instead of being a "worrier", I prefer to be a "warrior". ?

My experience in sitting meditation at first it was hard to do it alone but by practicing over and over again, you'll get used to it. I can focus more if l am doing it in my bedroom. I started last year and it really help me concentrate with my studies and it is good stress reliever too. When I meditate, I choose the time when my roommate and neighbor is at work. When they make noise, it will take time for me to focus. Time and place is very important for me to do my meditation.

OVERCOMING NERVOUSNESS BEFORE EXAMS Ms. Arsha (D/o Dr. Nikhil & Smt. Devi) asked: My examinations begin tomorrow. How can I overcome my nervousness? Three Steps of Closeness with God Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! You must think that God Datta is always with you like your bodyguard to fight with the nervousness that attacks you and to protect you from it. Nervousness will surely be defeated by God Datta and it will run away. This is your close relationship with God. If you find the nervousness still attacking you, you should come closer to God by thinking that God is in you. This will almost certainly push away your nervousness because no thief dares to rob the house of the police officer. But if you still find that the nervousness persists, you should become closest to God by thinking that you are God Himself! Now, the nervousness has to run away and it dare not come even close to you since there is no worldly force that can attack the omnipotent God. The three steps of (1) being a close devotee of God, (2) being inseparable from God and (3) being identical with God, reflect the three Vedantic philosophies. These three philosophies were given by the three divine preachers, Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja and Madhva respectively. The first step is Dvaita, the philosophy of dualism of Madhva, in which the soul is separate from God even though closely associated. The second step is Viśiṣṭa Advaita or the special monism of Rāmānuja, in which the soul is like an inseparable limb of God. Rāmānuja explains this through the Śeṣa-Śeṣi Sambandha or the Whole-Part relationship. As per this concept, God is the Whole and the soul is its part. The third step is Advaita or the monism of Śaṅkara, in which both God and the soul merge with each other leaving no room for even the slightest duality between the two. Devotees of God can make use these three steps for any good purpose. The Effect and Cause of Nervousness The student has limited energy in the brain to think and do useful work. Nervousness consumes that limited energy to such an extent that hardly any energy remains to do useful work. As per the first law of thermodynamics, the energy supplied to a system is partly used in raising the system’s internal energy and only the rest is available for doing useful work. Nervousness is like the internal energy of the system. If all the energy supplied through food is used only in raising nervousness, there is no energy left for doing work. The situation will be like a computer with no electricity supplied to it. It has all the information stored on its hard disk but in the absence of electrical energy, no information can be displayed on the screen. When the student’s entire energy is consumed in the nervousness, there is no energy left to display the stored right answers in the brain and to write them on the answer script. The devoted student has prepared well for the examinations and the answers are properly stored in the brain. Studying hard and storing the answers in the brain is the duty of the student. But even when there is no deficiency in the student’s effort, the right answers do not come to the student’s mind. The student is not lacking the answers, but is lacking the energy necessary to display the answer in the brain since all the energy is consumed by the nervousness. What is the cause of this nervousness? The punishment of some sin attacks the student in the form of nervousness, even though the student had performed his or her duty of studying sincerely. The fruits of intense good and bad deeds attack the soul here itself (Atyutkaṭaiḥ pāpapuṇyaiḥ ihaiva phalamaśnute). The fruits of normal deeds are received by the soul in heaven and hell after death. However, if the soul is highly devoted to God, God will provide some chance for the soul to get reformed. Getting settled in life is essential before reformation. Getting a good education is a prerequisite for settlement in life. Passing examinations is like crossing important landmarks in one’s education. Souls who are not concerned about God, will be attacked by the fruits of their intense deeds in the form of nervousness. One should not blame God in this context because God is impartial in implementing the established rules of the divine constitution regarding the karma chakra or the cycle of deeds. But devotion to God is also a deed and this deed must also have its fruit as per the rule of deeds. Thus, the student suffers from nervousness as a punishment for his or her intense bad deeds. But as a result of his or her devotion, the student also receives help from God. Such help rendered by God to the devotee is justified based on the student’s devotion and hence it does not violate justice in the divine administration. The same three steps described by Me above were also preached by Jesus also through the following three statements: (1) I am in the Light. (2) The Light is in Me and (3) I am the Light. The first statement says that the divine preacher is a messenger of God. The second statement says that the divine preacher is the son of God. The third statement says that the divine messenger is God or the divine Father Himself. Jesus also said “I am the truth” which also indicates His identity with God. The first statement describes a high devotee who is close to God. This is Madhva’s dualism. The second statement describes an even higher devotee, which is Rāmānuja’s special monism. The third statement describes the case of the Human Incarnation of God, which is Śaṅkara’s monism. There is a fourth special stage of the highest devotee, who is even higher than the Human Incarnation. Due to the devotee’s exceptional devotion, God becomes a servant of that highest devotee! Assuming Monism Without Committing Sins In order to overcome nervousness while doing a good deed, a devotee can use any of these three steps. But the devotee should not exploit them to overcome nervousness while committing sin. Advaita philosophers claim that they are already God. Such a claim is not necessarily a sin. When the little son of a police officer holds a stick in his hand says that he is a police officer, the father, who is the police officer, smiles. He feels happy and is not angry with his son. If the son beats a real thief with the stick, the father becomes very happy saying that his son will certainly become a police officer in the future. But if the son beats an innocent person with the stick, the father becomes angry with his son. He takes away the stick from the son and slaps the son saying that he will never become a police officer and instead will become a thief! Hence, a devotee assuming monism with God for doing good deeds is recommendable. Simply, assuming monism without doing any deed is also enjoyable fun for God. But assuming monism for doing bad deeds must be avoided. Śaṅkara, in His monistic theory stated that the soul is the absolute truth or God and that the world is relatively true with respect to the soul. Through this concept of monism, He was encouraging souls to do good God-like deeds. But the relative truth of the world was misunderstood by some as its non-existence. Yet, Śaṅkara kept silent allowing people to conclude that the world is non-existent. The idea behind His silence was that when the world is said to be non-existent, the follower of monism would at least not have a strong desire to do bad deeds, even if there would be no desire to do good deeds either. Any deed in a non-existent world is also non-existent like an action done in a dream. A soul doing neither good deeds nor bad deeds would remain more or less inactive, assuming the world to be non-existent. At least such a person would not harm others. Thus, Śaṅkara allowed devotees to assume monism to encourage them to do good deeds and He allowed them to assume the non-existence of the world to at least prevent the soul from doing bad deeds. But He also warned any potential misusers of His concept of monism by saying that the punishment received for one’s sins must be also treated as non-existent! To demonstrate this concept, He swiftly ran away to escape from an elephant rushing towards Him. When questioned by the followers as to why He was running away from a non-existent elephant, He replied that not only the elephant, but also, His running away was non-existent (Yathā gajo mithyā...)! On the whole, Śaṅkara preached that the world is non-existent to the real absolute God, while it is existent to every relatively-existent soul. The world is not existent to God and not non-existent to the soul. So, it can be said to be different from both existence (sat) and non-existence (asat). He called it mithyā, which He defined as different from both existence and non-existence (Sadasat vilakṣanā). Ascending to Monism and Descending from It God is pleased when you use these three steps to overcome your nervousness while doing good deeds. He will be furious only when you exploit these steps to do sins. It is also very important that after ascending from the first step of dualism to the third step of monism, you must also descend back to dualism. There is no harm in continuing to be in the first step of dualism. It is, in fact, better to always continue in the first step. The first step is thinking that one is close to God. Even though an ordinary soul is actually far from God, it is better to think that he or she is close to God. It helps the soul remember that God is watching every deed done by the soul. So, every devotee should think that he or she is close to God, which means that God is always closely watching every deed done by the devotee. Some devotees are eager to ascend to the step of monism but they never want to descend to dualism. That is very dangerous since the soul might easily commit sins as a result of continuing to be in monism. The soul begins to think that it is above justice since it is God and can even commit sins. The Gita says that ascending is done for the sake of doing some action (Ārurukṣoḥ...) and descending is done for the sake of maintaining peace (Yogārūdhasya...). Devotees should clearly understand that ascending to monism in this context does not mean that the devotee actually has become God. It is only an assumption to overcome nervousness. Even the Human Incarnation, who has actually ascended to the third step, has to sometimes come down to lower steps while preaching to devotees. Only if the percentage of ego and jealousy in the devotees around the Incarnation is nearly zero, does He declare His monism with God. If the devotees have a moderate level of ego and jealousy, He claims to be a Son of God, corresponding to the second step. If the ego and jealousy of the devotees is a hundred percent, then the Human Incarnation only claims to be a messenger of God, which is the first step. It is for this reason that Prophet Mohammad always claimed to be just a messenger of God. Another advantage of remaining in this first step of dualism with God is that there is place for the spiritual effort. Only when the soul realizes that it is different and far from God, can it take the effort to come closer to God. Of course, there are people who do not want the closeness of God because it makes it inconvenient for them to do sins in the presence of the God who is so close! To avoid this inconvenient situation, some such people have placed God beyond this world. Others have denied the very existence of God! As a reaction to these two attempts of pushing God away, some people have developed the concept that God is omnipresent. This omnipresence of God serves the purpose of ensuring a constant closeness of God with every soul. But it also has a disadvantage. There is a danger of thinking that since God is omnipresent, He must also be in the sinner. In that case, it would mean that God is doing the sin! This, of course, is not true! Thinking that God is only beyond creation and thinking that God is omnipresent in creation are two extreme ends. The middle golden path between these two extreme ends is that God is beyond this creation, but He enters creation whenever and wherever there is a justified necessity. The omnipresence of God is not to be taken in the sense of His physical presence everywhere. It is to be understood in the effective sense. It means that even though God is not physically present everywhere, He is effectively present since He knows and controls everything in this creation. www.universal-spirituality[.]org Universal Spirituality for World Peace

This week's topic is "Stressful Communications: Interpersonal Mindfulness". As the different types of formal practices are discussed already in the earlier week, where you are also welcome to share this week's experiences with them, this weeks forum entry is about the informal practice, the communication calendar. As we practise applying the skills we are learning in this course to our everyday lives; we are cultivating our natural capacities to be more flexible and to recover more quickly during challenging interpersonal situations. As we grow our awareness of emotions, we may better understand the messages we are sending to others and receiving from others and the barriers to being with ourselves and others in heartfelt and authentic ways. “Once you can communicate with yourself, you’ll be able to communicate outwardly with more clarity.” Thich Nhat Hanh Psychological stress arises from the interaction between us and the world, so we need to take responsibility for our part in relationships with people who “cause us stress” By this, we mean taking responsibility for our perceptions, thoughts, emotions and behaviours. If we react unconsciously when we are having a problem with another person, just as with other forms of stress, this usually makes matters worse in the long run. One of the most useful insights was reading myself when I was about to shut down in a conversation. These days I feel my chest getting tighter, and I become aware that I am no longer listening with an open heart but that I start feeling attacked and I am putting my armour up which will not allow the conversation to come to a satisfying result as I do not hear the other person anymore. Depending on the situation I might take a deep breath and open up again, or I'll explain that I am closing up and need a pause, sometimes I'll excuse myself to the bathroom for a bit to reconsider. If I get to walk the dog for an hour through the forest that's best but that's not always possible. It can also be helpful to repeat what I understood that the other person said in my own words, so we are both sure to talk about the same thing. This shows the other person I am listening and gives us both a chance to be clear about what we are talking about to avoid misunderstandings and assumptions. Have you noticed any changes in how you are communicating with people since you started this course? What have you noticed?

This weeks theme "Working with Stress: Mindful Responding instead of Reacting" invites us to look closely at our mental, emotional and physical discomfort. Pain of any kind (physical, or mental) is our primary experience which can cause suffering and heartache. We may have no control over the situation that caused the pain; however, when we push this away by resisting it, we generate more pain and suffering. Although all life has pain, a mindful life can be free of the additional burden of suffering. If we can gently move towards acceptance of our pain, even a little by saying perhaps “this hurts… can I be OK with this”? We can avoid or reduce suffering. In other words, we can gently pay attention to our experience as it is at that moment without trying to block it out or feeling overwhelmed. I am curious about the experiences you share with the practice of "turning towards" the unpleasant. If you did this course in it's early stages it was the "Soften, Soothe, Allow" practive which is very similar so this is a good space to also share you rexperiences with it here. Are you aware of how resistance shows up for you? Can you describe it? I remember doing this exercice a lot around the feeling of unworthiness, of not being good enough. I was so afraid that if I would look into those feelings they would grow and overwhelm me, crush me. It took me lots of different attempts to finally have the strength to look at them and the closer I looked the more I realized that there was no big, no valid reason behind them, just some notion I picked up from an abusive relative. Only my fear of looking at them, investigationg them made them strong. This has a physical componet too. As I tried to push them away, hide, ignore the feeling of not good enough I made myself small, crouched down, let the shoulders sink and when I dared to look I rose up to my normal size - nothing more than that. I don't think of myself as flawless or anything the like, but I accept myself as a lovable human with good intentions who fucks up sometimes, but now as I see myself as lovable I can also apologize more easily and make things right again. Before with the strong feeling of unworthyness a mistake did feel like I lost my right to exist now it's just that - a mistake which I make up for but which doesn't make me a bad person.

Hi, Everyone! This looks like a great place to be! I am not on or do not trust Facebook, or Twitter anymore. I keep finding out that there are too many harsh people on those. I want to be with other happy folks. I even tried some Senior forums; I am 53 ? they are not that great either loll. I don't feel 53 at all. I still love cartoons, comic books, etc. my inner child:-). I love doing Art acrylic, watercolor painting, drawing, and multimedia art. I love writing, movies, books, computers, and outdoor activities and animals. I have an awesome cat I adopted named Ginger:-). It's starting to snow which I love. All seasons are awesome! I am happy to see a friendly forum. I am a very spiritual person, also. I have had a lot of stress in my life as well and am doing a lot of letting go. Not always easy, but it's a balancing we are all doing and helping each other and our beautiful planet. So lovely to meet everyone! Lots of love, light, and hugs! This is one of my paintings, I do acrylic pouring also this is my latest. ?

The main topic in week 3 is "Mindfulness of the Breath and the Body in Movement: There is both pleasure and power in being present." For week 4 it's "Learning about our Patterns of Stress Reactivity: Wherever you go, there you are." In the two Mindful Yoga exercises, we tune in closely into our bodies which is similar to the bodyscan yet completely different as we are moving. What came up for you during the exercises? How do the practices evolve as you get more familiar with them? Share your experiences during the Mindful Yoga/ Movement exercises with your fellow participants. Personally, this is the exercise where I lead most from my own experience when guiding a group. Like for any other mindful exercise I have a script and a dramaturgical arch for the practice (yes, you do have that in mediations too) but here I let the practice and the group to guide us more. Where, what do we move next? While I enjoy mindful yoga, I struggle with mindful walking. I was mindfully walking in the most beautiful surroundings, in busy streets, even in Plum Village, and yet I struggle to find any sort of engagement with the practice I seem to be stuck with boredom. Now that I have said it out loud, I wonder if it'll change. Acceptance precedes change.

Pretty sure I read a few years back that the blood type diet was pretty much made up and not based on human nutrition. Food can definitely help with mood though. Healthier the better!

No, we are based in Barcelona, Spain. We have two English guys in our team :) @Calvin77 who is in charge of the magazine and @BrettVallance who takes care of the Academy. @Candy from South Africa and @Lizzie from Sweden are doing most of the Community work you see here so far. Then there is @Tine, @Bjoern and myself and a few developers in China :)