NorthPoint Astrology Journal February 9 to 15, 2015 by Pam Younghans Highlighted Aspects:

NorthPoint Astrology Journal

February 9 to 15, 2015 by Pam Younghans

Highlighted Aspects:MON: Venus semisquare Mercury; TUE: Jupiter quincunx Venus; WED: Mercury stations direct 6:56am PST; THU: Uranus square Ceres; SUN: Pluto conjunct Ceres

 

TO THE RELIEF of those who have been struggling with communication issues recently, Mercury completes its retrograde phase on Wednesday. In the past three weeks, since Mercury started moving backward on January 21, we may have met more than our usual share of unexpected delays or detours.

And yet, there is method to the madness. These interruptions in our planned trajectories have been cosmically designed to put us in touch with an alternate way of interpreting our reality. In keeping with that theme, dreams have carried deeper messages and insights during this time. In waking life, magical solutions have appeared, coming first in the guise of issues that needed to be resolved, but soon decloaking and showing us that the problems were really solutions in disguise.

As Mercury begins forward motion again this week, and gradually picks up speed over the coming days, we'll have more opportunities to see the gifts in recent events, and to apply the insights we have gained.

AT FIRST GLANCE, other planetary activity this week seems fairly low-key. But for those who include the "dwarf planet" Ceres on their list of important astrological objects, the latter half of the week is highly energized. Ceres squares Uranus on Thursday and then aligns with Pluto on Sunday, acting as yet another trigger of the ongoing influence of the Pluto-Uranus square.

Demetra George, in her book Asteroid Goddesses, tells us that "Astrologically, Ceres describes the ways in which we face the issues of self-worth and self-esteem, relationship to our parents and children, attachment, dependency, loss and separation, rejection, grief, sharing, work and productivity." With Ceres currently in Capricorn, our self-worth is perhaps overly-defined by our latest accomplishment and whether we've succeeded according to the expectations and rules of society.

HOWEVER, with Uranus squaring Ceres this week, a rebellious attitude is awakened. We may push against the daily responsibilities and goals we've set for ourselves, requiring that we find new ways to define our value.

This Uranus-Ceres square takes us off-balance and opens us up to the possibility for change. And this is just the energetic opening that Pluto needs for doing its transformational work.

AS LORD of the Underworld, Pluto often requires that we let go of something we have become attached to, so that a new, improved form can take its place. It is not that the existing object, person, or situation is bad for us, but rather that our attachment to it has taken control of our lives in some way.

Pluto's ultimate goal for us is empowerment. Sometimes, on our way to achieving that goal, we must first release our grip on an attitude or a situation that has actually become a source of our disempowerment.

As Pluto and Ceres align in Capricorn this week, it will be a valuable exercise for us each to ask ourselves some direct questions:

• What goals am I attached to, that no longer serve me, and am I ready to release them?
• How have I been defining my self-worth, and what would it mean if I were to remove all external requirements for feeling good about myself?
• How would it change my life if I were to let go of the fear of loss and replace it with the knowing that "every death is followed by a birth, and every loss is replenished by a gain?" 

In peace,


Pam

Photo: Auroras over Fairbanks, Alaska on February 7, 2015 (credit: Sacha Layos, posted on SpaceWeather.com)

 

The Golden Key ~ The Balance of Power a message from The Group channeled by Steve Rother

The Golden Key ~ The Balance of Power
a message from The Group channeled by Steve Rother
Tuesday, 15 July, 2014  (posted 13 August, 2014)
http://spiritlibrary.com/lightworker/beacons-of-light/the-golden-key-the-balance-of-power

You can watch the video version of this message here.
http://youtu.be/g27urn3DfEY


Greetings, dear ones.  I am the Keeper of Time.
A Higher Vision

I have moved forward into what you call the group because today I will speak of where you are at this junction of time and space, which is so beautiful. You have been here before to experience very similar energies. Now is a unique time, because many of these challenges on Earth have come from the junctions where realities cross and leave permanent imprints. Let us explain.

Your Multidimensional Nature

You are multidimensional in nature. You look at yourself and see only one being, though of course you are not just one being. You are multiples; you are 11, let’s say for the sake of argument. With all of these beings going on at one time it is actually a grand torus. almost as if you had 11 different rays of light all moving together. Although you see time as linear on your planet, it is actually in the form of a torus. We will just call it ‘linear,’ because with your limited perceptions that is how you view time. You see it as past, present and future only because you see a line. Well, we will use your illustration for this. Of course, with the past, present and future, only one of those is real; the present You can remember when you were three years old. You can also imagine what it is going to be like when you get much older than you are right now, so you prepare yourself and move accordingly. Do you know why you age in your physical body? Because you expect to, dear ones.  Not too long ago the Keeper heard someone on TV say, “I am 70 years old but, of course, 70 is the new 50—is it not?” You are re-defining everything in your world and this is perfect, as it should be. Understand that where you are right now is very unique. Let us explain why.

Crossing of Dimensional Lines

Go back to the concept of a line for just a moment, and imagine a linear line. Your other 10 dimensions of time and space are next to yours and on similar lines. Dear ones, where those lines have crossed and when they cross, they leave permanent imprints on each other. These are very unique moments and greatest stories in your history you share.. These stories, such as the one about your Garden of Eden, never change and continue throughout all of humanity  Although many of you have greatly misinterpreted that one, it is true  and how it evolved was beautiful indeed. It was the story of your first exercise in density, and you have had many of these throughout your history. Your greatest teachers on Earth, those whom you call masters, are simply lines that have crossed each other at different moments. These multidimensional lines, which have always been separate until now, are starting to cross. So you are currently seeing a tremendous amount of this in your lifetimes;  this was the greatest hope of all that you could be here at this time.

Many of you on the other side of the veil stood in a long line so you could come here to experience the possibility of multiple lines crossing at the same time. We have described the multidimensional nature of humanity before; we have also told you that the veil between them, the walls between your dimensions, are thinning. You are starting to have this bleed through where you’re feeling things that are not quite yours. As this has happened you have lost a bit of your security or sureness of yourselves,  because those walls provided you structure that is no longer there in the same way. However, it does mean that you can start perfecting yourselves in new ways. Although none of these individual lines carry all of the truth, together you are a perfect being. It could very easily be said that you had to divide your perfection in order to be here on planet Earth, to play this game of pretending to be a human. You are doing rather well. In fact, you have some very unique opportunities.

Three Steps Forward

There have been waves on planet Earth before where you have gone through similar exercises; sometimes they turned into what you have called very negative experiences. Know, dear ones, that you are in charge. That is the message we want you to have today. No matter what you see coming, no matter any difficulties we share with you in upcoming messages, know that you are in charge. How does one take charge of their lives? You have been trying since you were born with somewhat limited success, or so you might think. No, that is not true. The reality is that you are exactly where you wanted to be. Now you measure yourselves in different ways so you might say, “Oh, I wanted more money. I wanted more excitement in my job. I wanted a relationship that could actually be on the same level as me.” You have all these ideas of your success but we tell you, dear ones, you are in the perfect place. You are in the space that you wanted to be when you came down to Earth in this incarnation. So, how do you take charge of that? How does one bring joy back into their lives? Well, dear ones, at many times it is seeing things from a different perspective and re-evaluating. There is a trick in this which we have spoken of many times: you are creator beings. You are walking, conscious creators on planet Earth, and the beauty of it is you have the ability to create everything in front of you.  Most of you have tried very hard to prove us wrong when we say that. “Oh, I have done everything that you said. I have done every part of it, read the books and followed the ABCs of creation. I have taken the courses and have the credentials.” You have done all the things that you thought you needed to step forward with the exception of one: responsibility. How do you take responsibility for where you are?

When you are in a situation that you do not cherish or are not happy with, the first thing to understand is that you purposely put yourself there. The second thing to understand is that you can change it. Now if you say, “Okay, I am going to sit down and change this whole thing.  I do not like where I am. I am going to shift the energy this day, then, I will turn around and teach it to other people.” Most of you are wired that way, for you have come to Earth many lifetimes. Most of you are teachers at heart, yet you do not completely learn the lessons until you turn around and teach them to someone else. That is the way you think, which is very beautiful. You are part of each other. The challenge comes when you put yourself on a higher or lower level than the people that you teach. You are all part of one another, so how does one assume a level? The first thing to do, dear ones, is to ask yourself: “What was I trying to accomplish to get here?” You may know the actions and mistakes it took to get here and have vowed not to make those mistakes again. However, the reality is that your spirit led you there intentionally. The fact that many of you are in challenging situations right now would seem that there is a difficult energy on Earth, but you asked for this. You not only asked for the energies, changes, and shifts to place you here, but you asked to be one of the very few here in a physical form to experience this moment. 

The Golden Key

There are many ways that you can change your reality. The first is to take responsibility for it, and to know that your spirit placed you there for a reason; the second is to change your perspective on it. Do you understand how many beings on Earth have a job that they dislike? They say, “Oh, if only I were wealthy I did not have to work at all. , then I could really make a difference on Earth. I could really teach what I came to teach.” Perhaps you have a contract at work? Perhaps there are people you agreed to meet and they are just waiting for you to speak the words you promised to. But you think you have to get another job before you can speak your truth. The key is to first find the joy in wherever you are now. Yes, if you take an inventory, joy may be a small portion and discontent may be the larger piece. You may say you still want to change but you cannot change, dear ones, until you find that spark of light. That is the piece we want to share with you today. First take responsibility for where you are, knowing that you are in the perfect place. Oh, some of you do not like that and would much rather be in a gentler place, an easier spot where the energy used to flow like in the olden days. We will tell you that the olden days were not quite as joyous as you think. You had to carry a very low vibration, for sometimes ignorance is truly bliss, and. Although you may have been in a blissful state, you were also very ignorant and it was difficult to understand what the energy was. All of humanity has risen in recent years and months. As a result, many of you are disjointed; you feel as if you lost your magic, wondering where to go from here. You do not quite know what is next, but you are closer than you think. There is a golden key and until you find it, you will not move your circumstances or change. Take responsibility and know that you can only find the golden key by experiencing all that you have just gone through. You may not be happy with the circumstances and you still may wish to change, but that is perfect. Look for the key.

How do you find the golden key? These are the crystals you have placed on your path. Sometimes they jump out at you and other times you have to become good at acceptance in order to receive them. You tend to look at something and say, “Oh, this is not going to do me any good. I need something over here, not over there.” Until you find the light in the moment and live in the now moment, you will repeat the same situation over and over again because that is the cycle. When we tell you about the grand torus and the way it moves together in all 11 dimensions of your time and space, you must understand that each part is made up of a circle. Time is truly circular, dear ones, not linear. Therefore, when you experience something difficult, we guarantee you it will repeat until you find that golden key. When you are able to change your perception of it and find that one glimmer of hope then use it. These are the ways of the new world; these are the ways of the empowered humans, for you are making space on your planet, dear ones.
A New Balance

There is a balance arriving of masculine and feminine in an entirely new way. It has come in before because all the energies have, in waves. Previously you had such a low vibration that you were not able to use it, for it completely overwhelmed you. You ended up in a grand war, which was very difficult. That does not have to happen or work in the same way this time. You are the creator beings; you are the ones creating every moment of your lives through your perception and an individual part of this grand torus, which is yours. Together you are complete and perfect, living on the planet of imperfection. It is not possible for you to carry that, so you hid it in different parts of yourself. Now is a beautiful time, because many of these energies can finally cross each other. So what happens when one of your energies cross and you meet another you or another part of yourself? You become aware of some of your perfection in the most beautiful ways. This is what is ahead and what many of you will be teaching. If you believe you are lacking something in your life then you feel, “Oh, I am not good at this aspect of being a human. I am very good at this part but this part over here is very difficult, because it has always been an enigma for me. I have never been able to figure this one out.” You can know that there is another part of you that has already mastered that part, when you come to these beautiful junctions where these lines cross as they are just starting to do.

You will see the signs in many ways including astrological. And you will see many of the imprints of this opening, for it is starting a new energy on planet Earth. It will be a time when you can fully awaken from the dream. Even if you were awake today, what would you do with it? That is the question. Why wait? Play in your mastery now. Claim it by taking responsibility for exactly where you are and knowing that you are here for a reason. Even in this junction of time and space,  though this density seems to have taken over your cares and your worries on planet Earth, know that you are here on purpose. Look around you, dear ones. There may only be one person that you are here to meet in this particular moment. Make that connection. Pass on that ray of light, or receive that gift from them and it will change everything. How do you direct it? You will learn that through every aspect of yourselves, because you are becoming perfect. You are starting to cross dimensions within yourself in every moment, dear ones, especially during those things that you call challenges. Now is the time to look for that golden key; search for that one aspect that you can only reach by placing yourself in that position. Even if it does not seem all that beautiful to you, find another way of looking upon it. Are you aware that you create something every time you open your eyes and focus? The universe does not exist in the way you think it does. Look around you. I am looking at some of the things on the Keeper’s desk right now; I see pens, letter openers, and what he calls mice. The truth is, that those atoms are scattered in a random pattern. They are moving around all the time, but it is only when he looks at them and expects to see something that they jump together to make those items that he perceives. So, what would it take for you to expect something different? Expect a miracle. It means changing your thought patterns, changing the way you think about time.
Creator Beings that Age

The only reason you age in your physical bodies, dear ones, is because you expect to. You think that is what is necessary. You will find this very soon, for these are the gifts that many of your own parental races have had in the 8-12 foot range on planet Earth. Many of them are re-turning, dear ones. Does that mean you will have a space ship landing on CNN? Well, we really do not think so. But what it means is that you will start to re-member some of the magic in you. You will start to understand your true nature. Look at yourselves in the mirror and you see a limited aging being moving down a linear timeframe. Start to understand that time is circular, which is the reason you repeat things in your lives. So, if you missed it and you made a mistake, do not judge yourself. God does not judge himself/herself, for that is insanity. Leave it go and know that it will repeat through the natural, circular time and you will have many opportunities to do it if you take the pressure off. You will start seeing things from a different perspective. You will dare to go out and make lots of good mistakes. Now you will start to see your truth then you will start to understand who you truly are and in those moments, we will turn around and offer it to each other.

This is the Age of Empowerment, dear ones. It is here in a very clear way. It is here for all humans, most of which are confused by it at this moment. It came in during an incredible wave that we spoke of it 11 years before it came in. You knew it was coming in this lifetime, which is why you placed yourself here. Welcome Home. Welcome to the New Earth. We will help you understand not by teaching you or by giving you new pieces, but by simply helping you re-member what you wanted to do when you first came here. Those are the golden keys that each of you carry. Some of you brought them into the clan that you were a part of, while others brought specific rays of light to planet Earth. Many of you are from the Family of E, the Family of truth and empowerment, here to help all of humanity take this next step into empowerment and create the new world. It has already begun, which is why you are here. Celebrate it! Celebrate the situations which you believe are difficult, and doing so will help you change your perspective. It may confuse some people in the beginning, but once you are able to see it from the viewpoint of a conscious creator then it changes right before your eyes. This is the magic that all of you hold.

You are the greatest angels that have ever lived anywhere. We applaud you, dear ones. You have no idea how very special you are. You have made a veil of forgetfulness. Many of you wear it proudly, and we tell you it is starting to fade. We applaud you and are here with big smiles on our faces as you start to awaken from the dream, wiping the sleep from your eyes. You are taking charge, for a new world is here. Welcome Home. Look for those beautiful keys, those golden keys to help you create a life of your choosing. Celebrate Home, dear ones, and celebrate who you are in this now moment.

Espavo.  I am the Keeper of Time.

The group

Copyright 2000 - 2013 Lightworker. www.Lightworker.com This information is meant to circulate and may be freely disseminated, in whole or in part with the following conditions: Use of this material signifies that the user agress to the following conditions: 1. The words "Copyright 2000 - 2013 Lightworker. www.Lightworker.com" will be included with all published material. 2. User agrees that all rights, including copyrights of translated material, remain the property of Lightworker. If you translate this material we reserve the right to share that translation with credit to you as translator, on the Lightworker site to make it available to all. Further information from the Group may be found at: http://www.Lightworker.com. Thanks for helping to spread the Light!

This message was originally posted here
http://www.lightworker.com/beacons/2014/2014_07-TheGoldenKey.php

The Rainbow Scribe: Hilarion June 1-8, 2014

The Rainbow Scribe:
Hilarion June 1-8, 2014

Beloved Ones,

You have been passing through many portals through the last few months and now comes the process of assimilation of the energies and the shifting into a new perspective on your personal and collective journey. Many of you are arriving and perceiving, however dimly at first, the underlying potential that lies like magical seeds within the garden of your life. You are realizing that it is YOU who does the creating of the direction your life should go and it all involves the constant use of your focus and your thoughts. It is important to remember that your thoughts are now in position to be more potent and more powerful than ever before, for the energies you have passed through have cleared many obstacles that were standing in your way forward. If you have been working on being attuned to these new energies, the way forward will fall into place in magical and wondrous ways. What seemed so difficult and unreachable before will now come into manifestation without too much focus from you.

With these potentials comes a warning to be responsible in your every thought, word and deed, for your power to create has been greatly magnified. Use self discipline and discerning awareness of the thoughts you are holding in each moment. As they come up, along with the associated feelings with them, learn to change all those thoughts and feelings that are from the old paradigm that were keeping you small in your perceptions of your own abilities and how you might use them. Realize that you are no longer in that place and space and that now, you can be all that you have desired to be and that you can have all the good in your daily life that you have desired and deserved. You have done the work and now you are preparing to create the beauty of your new life. Celebrate each moment by rewarding yourself often. Surround yourself with the beauty of nature as often as you are able, for in this lies the power to regenerate and rejuvenate your human operating systems in a safe and conducive way.

Be kind to yourselves in the thoughts and feelings that you hold within yourself and immediately change any thoughts that are disempowering into ones that empower and uplift you. This may be challenging at first because you are still going against the mainstream of old and diminishing energies, but with constant repetition and use of this method, you will gain immeasurably in your own self esteem and confidence. Picture yourselves in the positions of teachers, healers and masters, helping others to learn to balance and bring their own energy systems into equilibrium. See yourselves giving encouragement and upliftment to those around you and practicing random acts of kindness in which you expect nothing in return, only the joy and pleasure of giving to others in a way that uplifts you. This is good practice and a good way to begin to be of service to others without any need for recognition for your efforts.

As the Divine Feminine energy flows into the atmosphere of Earth, people will feel more connected to each other, and will be more willing to risk the opening of their hearts as they let down their shields of protective patterns of thought and behaviour which no longer serve the magnificent future that lies tangibly before them. Many on the Earth at this time are suffering greatly within themselves, for as they become awakened they are realizing that they could have done many things differently in situations that needed their attention. It is important for these ones to realize that they did not have the same perspective at the time of these events that they now hold and to allow themselves forgiveness of their perceived shortcomings during those times. This also indicates that you have come a long way! Celebrate this accomplishment and reward yourself in a way that is meaningful for you.

Life on this planet is a journey of self discovery and just as one must hold the helm on a sailboat to keep it safely afloat, one must learn and adjust to the current that tosses them about as they sail on their journey through life. All of life is about the experience of it and this is how one matures and progresses. There are no judgements from the divine realms, only learning and growth within each individual. Each of you has chosen your soul path in order to gain more awareness and power of the divine attributes of your divine essence and you are directly experiencing that path in your moment of now. In other words, you are fully participating on your chosen journey of life, with all its seeming ups and downs. This is the way that you as soul have chosen to bring into your earthly life all the people, situations and conditions that lie before you in your current moment. Your attitude can make it a pleasant and empowering experience or one that you resist which brings with it, the corresponding feelings of not being supported by the universe. Your power of choice in the attitude you take can help you make a leap forward to a new and happier way of life. When one chooses the path of least resistance, life begins to unfold in a kaleidoscope of enriching and loving experiences. It is all up to you.

Until next week…

I AM Hilarion

©2014 Marlene Swetlishoff/Tsu-tana (Soo-tam-ah) Keeper of the Symphonies of Grace
http://www.therainbowscribe.com/hilarion2014.htm
Permission is given to share this message as long as the message is posted in its entirety and nothing has been changed, or altered in any way and Scribe's credit, copyright and websites are included.

www.therainbowscribe.com

www.movingintoluminosity.com

Thank you for including the above website link when posting this message.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~

OM TIMES: 7 Ways to Bring Reiki Into Your Life By Andrew Pacholyk MS L.Ac

OM TIMES: 7 Ways to Bring Reiki Into Your Life
By Andrew Pacholyk MS L.Ac

Reiki is described as a holistic therapy, which brings about healing on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level. The belief is that the energy will flow through the practitioner’s hands whenever the hands are placed on, or held near a potential recipient. Some teachings stress the importance of the practitioner’s intention or presence in this process, while others claim that the energy is drawn by the recipient’s need to activate or enhance the natural healing processes. (I believe both are true). Furthermore, the belief is that the energy is “intelligent”, meaning that the Reiki knows where to heal, even if a practitioner’s hands are not present in the specific area. This is Universal attention.

Learning to work with Reiki gives you the ability to connect with an inexhaustible source of energy, which can be used to induce a healing effect. Anyone can gain access to this energy by means of an attunement process carried out by a Reiki Master. (I personally believe that anyone can gain access to this energy, because it is Universal. No one holds control or a patent to energy).

Consider these suggestions for bringing reiki energy into your life:

Just for today

1. Life unfolds in the present. But so often, we let the present slip away, allowing time to rush past unobserved and unseized, and squandering the precious seconds of our lives as we worry about the future and ruminate about what’s past. “We’re living in a world that contributes in a major way to mental fragmentation, disintegration, distraction, decoherence,” says Buddhist scholar B. Alan Wallace. We’re always doing something, and we allow little time to practice stillness and calm. When we are at work, we fantasize about being on vacation; on vacation, we worry about the work piling up on our desks. We dwell on intrusive memories of the past or fret about what may or may not happen in the future. We don’t appreciate the living present because our “monkey minds,” as Buddhists call them, vault from thought to thought like monkeys swinging from tree to tree.

2. Most of us don’t undertake our thoughts in awareness. Rather, our thoughts control us. “Ordinary thoughts course through our mind like a deafening waterfall,” writes Jon Kabat-Zinn, the biomedical scientist who introduced meditation into mainstream medicine. In order to feel more in control of our minds and our lives, to find the sense of balance that eludes us, we need to step out of this current, to pause, and, as Kabat-Zinn puts it, to “rest in stillness – to stop doing and focus on just being.”

3. We need to live more in the moment. Living in the moment, also called mindfulness, is a state of active, open, intentional attention on the present. When you become mindful, you realize that you are not your thoughts; you become an observer of your thoughts from moment to moment without judging them. Mindfulness involves being with your thoughts as they are, neither grasping at them nor pushing them away. Instead of letting your life go by without living it, you awaken to experience.

4. Cultivating a nonjudgmental awareness of the present bestows a host of benefits. Mindfulness reduces stress, boosts immune functioning, reduces chronic pain, lowers blood pressure, and helps patients cope with cancer. By alleviating stress, spending a few minutes a day actively focusing on living in the moment reduces the risk of heart disease.

5. Mindful people are happier, more exuberant, more empathetic, and more secure. They have higher self-esteem and are more accepting of their own weaknesses. Anchoring awareness in the here and now reduces the kinds of impulsivity and reactivity that underlie depression, binge eating, and attention problems. Mindful people can hear negative feedback without feeling threatened. They fight less with their romantic partners and are more accommodating and less defensive. As a result, mindful couples have more satisfying relationships.

6. Mindfulness is at the root of Buddhism, Taoism, and many Native American traditions, not to mention yoga. It’s why Thoreau went to Walden Pond; it’s what Emerson and Whitman wrote about in their essays and poems. “Everyone agrees it’s important to live in the moment, but the problem is how,” says Ellen Langer, a psychologist at Harvard and author of Mindfulness. “When people are not in the moment, they’re not there to know that they’re not there.” Overriding the distraction reflex and awakening to the present takes intentionality and practice.

7. Living in the moment involves a profound paradox: You can’t pursue it for its benefits. That’s because the expectation of reward launches a future oriented mindset, which subverts the entire process. Instead, you just have to trust that the rewards will come. There are many paths to mindfulness and at the core of each is a paradox. Ironically, letting go of what you want is the only way to get it.

For more information about Andrew Pacholyk MS L.Ac and Therapies for healing mind, body, spirit visit http://www.peacefulmind.com/reiki.htm

References:

Benor, D.J. (2002) Spiritual Healing: scientific validation of a healing revolution. Professional Supplement. Vision Publications, Southfield MI.

Pacholyk, A (2012) Crystal Ascension Reiki: Combining the Power of Crystals and Reiki Energy Together

Oschman, J.L. (2000) Energy Medicine: the scientific basis. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh.

Wallace, Allan, The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind

Kabat-Zinn, Jon, The Mindfulness Revolution: Leading Psychologists, Scientists, Artists, and Meditatiion Teachers on the Power of Mindfulness in Daily Life (A Shambhala Sun Book)

McTaggart, L. (2002) The Field: the quest for the secret force of the universe. Harper Collins Publishers, New York.

Langer, Ellen, Mindfulness (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) by -Da Capo Press-

The No. 1 Myth About Yoga (And How Learning The Truth Can Change Your Life) By Taylor Wells

The No. 1 Myth About Yoga (And How
Learning The Truth Can Change Your Life)

By Taylor Wells, the founder and owner of Prana Power Yoga™ (with five studios in Massachusetts and New York), author of Create the Best Life Ever and a United Nations Yoga Peace Ambassador.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/15/benefits-yoga-myth_n_5326137.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

"Are you flexible? I don't mean, “Can you touch your toes?” Because honestly that's not important to me. When it comes to yoga, it doesn't matter if you're “flexible.” That's a myth. What matters is that you show up. And breathe. And do your best with breath. With a clear intention.

Allow me to explain. I believe that emotional, mental, and spiritual flexibility are virtuous and life-enhancing, and when it comes to yoga practice, paramount. My metaphor of choice: Compared to reeds in the field, trees look strong. But when the storms come, the trees can be uprooted, while the reeds move back and forth with the wind (read: change) and remain grounded. They're still standing when the storm (read: drama) passes.

When you cling to anything -- your thoughts, beliefs, positions, possessions -- and aren't willing to let your heart and mind bend back and forth a bit with the ideas and actions of others, you can easily be uprooted and slammed. One email can throw you off; gossip can flatten you.

Being like a reed doesn't mean being wishy-washy. It means moving a little with the winds of the time and change while remaining solidly anchored in the earth. In other words, flexible while deeply rooted.

So just how flexible are you? Would you identify yourself as intense or as someone who has a hard time laughing or enjoying things that challenge your opinions or routine? Might the people in your life describe you as rigid? Or are you open-minded and flexible, with an ability to be light and appreciate silliness?

When it comes to your own flexibility, what are you teaching your children, family, colleagues and friends -- or lack thereof?

Another way to assess your openness and/or emotional flexibility (besides asking and being honest with yourself) is to notice how you respond when someone brings up something new -- a different plan than you expected, an idea or a concept. Are you reactive or open? Do you cling to the "original plan" or are you open to another suggestion? Do you agree with what is proposed from a place of people-pleasing but feel emotionally resentful or angry? Does your body tense up, or do you feel stress and aggravation?

The next time something new is proposed, become curious, notice what goes down. Think of it as a journey, not a judgment of yourself. If what you notice on that journey is that you aren't as open and emotionally flexible as you thought or had hoped, that's great too, because now you have awareness and can take simple steps toward change. Because an open, loving heart and mind will translate into more joy in your life.

There are so many things you can do to cultivate openness and emotional flexibility. As the founder of Prana Power Yoga™, it's not surprising that I'd suggest getting on your mat. But you don't need to do it every morning at 4 a.m. for 90 minutes with incense burning. It can literally be two minutes on your mat (which you can place strategically next to your bed before you fall asleep at night) in rag doll (standing forward bend) while slowly breathing in and out and setting your intention for the day.

Here are some simple steps you can take toward cultivating openness and emotional flexibility:

1. Slow down. Breathe. Make eye contact with the person with whom you are speaking. This will allow you to be fully present, which is a precursor to being open.

2. Listen. Very few people actually listen. It's astonishing to me. If you are a good listener you will just naturally be more open and emotionally available. And you will have many friends!

3. Count to 10 in your head before responding. Maybe you don't need a full 10 seconds, but the point is to pause and take in what the person is telling you before reacting or thinking about your response.

4. Wake up 15 minutes earlier and sit quietly with your eyes closed. Set an intention for your day and visualize how you would like it to go. See yourself smiling and open. See others smiling back at you and interacting with you in a positive way.

5. Try something new every day, even if it's just eating something different for breakfast. Build a new pathway. Openness and emotional flexibility are muscles like anything else. So all it takes is practice, practice, practice.

6. Get on your yoga mat as often as possible. (It's worth repeating because it works.)

People often ask me, “Does a regular yoga practice lead to more spiritual and emotional flexibility or is spiritual flexibility required to start a yoga practice?"

All that is needed to start a yoga practice is showing up to your mat. That's it! The rest will take care of itself. Yoga will meet you where you are. Always.

Yoga doesn't require physical flexibility (the No. 1 myth about yoga and the reason more people don't show up to practice), but it will naturally come about over time. And even more fun and amazing, once you cultivate a consistent yoga practice, emotional and spiritual flexibility will also come easier. It won't require thought or planning or angst. You'll just start to notice -- and so will others! -- that you're becoming more flexible in these areas. And just like the reed, the "storms" will be much easier to navigate."