IFGT

Thoughts To Ponder

maryann — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 02:34:37 +0000

APRIL

Dear Members and Friends of the Institute,

Talk about exciting, we are living in exciting times for sure. There is so much apparent turbulence and unrest in all parts of the world. One only has to view the news or read a newspaper or speak with people we know to realize that this climate of change cuts across all boundaries. I use the word apparent to mean that the turbulence and unrest does indeed have a root cause. It just didn’t happen because some people were unhappy or some just wanted to change a few things. It is caused by the increased vibrations that are prevalent on our planet today. An old philosophical axiom states that, when the vibration increases, one’s short suits are exposed. However, the good news is that one’s strengths are intensified also. These intensified strengths give us the tools, courage and patience to handle the challenges that come our way, at an ever increasing rate. As we are able to transmute the lower vibrations that reside within us, our consciousness is raised and we begin to experience the world at a higher frequency of consciousness. This accelerates our main directive for life on this planet, i.e., to grow spiritually through the experiences we attract into our life.

In love and Service, Matthew

MARCH

Dear Members and Friends of the Institute,

Last year we were remarking that indeed, we were living in interesting times. With what has occurred lately, we can intensify that statement ten-fold. So much has happened just this year that, it would seem we could become overwhelmed. However, upon reflection and review of history, anytime there is a substantial elevation of the vibration, and subsequently consciousness, there is also much fall-out. This is due to aspects of the lower vibration that cannot maintain harmony with the higher frequency. Those lower aspects must be transmuted and that is exactly what is taking place now.

It’s important for us to remember that we never attract more than we can handle, and that we have the tools to assist both humanity and the planet during this transformative period, in its history. This is the service work for which we have been preparing ourselves and now is the time to use our soul alignment to help restore balance and harmony to a world in transition.

In Love and Service, Matthew

Acceptance vs The Power To Change

maryann — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:30:43 +0000

By unAsleep

http://unasleep.com/Flash/videos/videopages/accept.htm

Acceptance vs the Power to Change, two hotly debated schools of thought. Which should you choose? Should you surrender yourself like a leaf on the river of life, or should you actively seek to change what does not suit you? Believe it or not, there is no difference between the two, as I hope to show in this video.

I hope this video helps you unleash your innate power, and helps you to understand how you landed in the life you are living, as well as how you can change it. I hope it will resolve the seeming paradox between acceptance and change, and help you get started consciously bringing forward what you would like to see.

First, I’d like to ask you a question: Do you believe in the innate Oneness of all things? If you are watching this video, my guess would be ‘yes’, you probably do. And that’s good, because this belief is your key to unlocking this seeming paradox of acceptance vs. change. However, just like having a key in your pocket, you can possess it, but it will do you no good if you do not use it. I hope today you will use it to unlock your understanding, if you have not already.

Acceptance and Change aren’t two separate schools of thought – not at all. Acceptance and change are two parts of the same thing. They are like breathing. The inhale and the exhale. Think of it – if you didn’t see the larger picture, which is the act of breathing, your mind would position inhaling and exhaling as opposites. They would seem to have nothing to do with each other. In fact, they would seem in opposition to each other, because inhaling focuses on acquiring, while exhaling focuses on releasing everything. They seem utter opposites. But together, they are called breathing. So, seen correctly, they are two parts of the whole. And acceptance and change are exactly the same thing, two parts of the whole. Change is the inhale, and acceptance is the exhale.

These two always walk hand in hand, in fact, to know one is to automatically know the other, whether or not you have brought it into your consciousness. Today, this is what I hope to help you do.

When we begin to align ourselves with acceptance and see it’s beauty ad truth, we have begun to understand that things ‘are what they are’, yet they are not random. I’ll say it once more: Things are not random. Those who still struggle with this issue must take a closer look at their beliefs: Do you believe in the innate oneness of all things, or are do you still need to distance yourself from portions of it because you are unhappy with an outcome? Do you need to somehow still keep it distinct and different from you by saying it is a product of “Chaos” or “Fate” or by assigning it to something or someone you perceive as larger than yourself, often labeled “Life” or “God”?

If we find ourselves in such a position, it’s important to realize that what we are feeling is just an emotional reaction that stems from dissatisfaction, or fear. Or both. In short, we don’t like it, and don’t want anything to do with it’s creation, so we’re trying to distance ourselves by attributing it to ‘chaos’ or ‘fate’. Here is where we must use our key – our knowledge of the innate Oneness of everything, to set ourselves free from this falsity, because nothing can be set outside of you. Where is there to put it?

And when we understand this, the act of acceptance blooms from the numb surrender of some schools of thought into the beautiful flower that it is: It is when we begin to see that it is us, consciously and unconsciously calling the life we experience to ourselves, that we find true acceptance. And true acceptance is beautiful, and in stark contrast to the “there’s nothing I can do about it” type of false acceptance. Because that is resignation, not acceptance, isn’t it? True acceptance occurs when you realize that it is your hand which has delivered all that you experience, as perplexing as that may sound. But as the poet Khalil Gibran said “The veil will be lifted by the hand that wove it.”

I plan to try and do another video later which goes into more detail later, but it is important to go ahead and at least try and explain how this could be. Let’s say that your consciousness (which also includes your unconsciousness because in truth, nothing is unconscious to you) is sort of like a set of shelves. The top shelves are overflowing with the events of our lives. It’s all we focus on, though we aren’t really quite sure how it all got there. So, we make up stories, we say it was good luck or bad luck or fate or punishment, or we worked for it, and got what we deserved, or it’s due to karma, or that it’s random, or perhaps a reward or punishment from god, or whatever. And we pick one of these reasons and we try to believe in it. But it feels wrong, because it is wrong. And it also makes us feel vulnerable, and with good reason because by these choices we have no say or contribution to what happens to us.

So, what is really happening? Yes, the top shelves are overflowing with the people, things and events in our life, but how did they really get there? You have to get on your knees, among the dust and grime and look on the bottom shelf below. What you see when you finally look is actually the gears of your world in action. This is like turning around in Platos’ Cave: When they turned around, they could see for the first time what was actually creating the images they took as ‘real’. Like that, what is there on this lower shelf is actually what is pulling the strings in your life. It determines what happens to us, how we live our lives, what we experience.

This lower shelf is like our unconscious mind. But it doesn’t matter if we are aware of it or not. It takes whatever we have given permission to be there and creates what we call ‘our lives’. This is its function, and it does it remarkably. It doesn’t make judgments. It simply takes what we’ve placed there and uses it.

What have you placed there? What have you given permission to be placed there by someone else? And most of all, how do we change what is there? It is actually simple, though like riding a bike, you get better at it as you go along. Here’s an exercise to begin clearing your bottom shelf right now: Think of the thing you most dislike in your life and ASK yourself why is it there, then listen very carefully. You will have an immediate answer, though sometimes the answers are not at all what we expect, or what we are prepared to hear. This also happened to me, and so it took a few tries before I was prepared to hear the Truth about a particular question, so I will warn you that unless you are prepared to accept the truth, you won’t have any initial hope in changing anything. But that doesn’t matter, because “if at first you don’t succeed, try try again”.

These hidden and often unconscious beliefs on your bottom shelf is what is creating your world – everything you are, everything you see, everything you experience, and collectively we create what we call ‘our world’. As with most higher truths, it is a deceptively simple thing that hands you the keys to the kingdom, and in this case, we must only see what is there, and replace it with what we we’d rather be there. And we see what is there by simply asking ourselves, because we know. We already know. And if you are prepared to hear it, the world is your oyster. Once you see what is there, you simply replace those thoughts with what you WANT to be there. And as you get better and better at discerning, your results come to you more and more quickly and more and more exact. And that’s really all there is it.

So, it is actually through TRUE acceptance of ‘what is’ – Through our understanding and acceptance of whatever is occurring because we have called it forth – It is by this understanding and acceptance that we made it, whether consciously or unconsciously, that we gain the ability to change it. Do you see? And this is how we go about it – simply by realizing that it is occurring and looking on our bottom shelf to see what is there, doing that. We only need to ask ourselves to be told the exact and real reason immediately.

So, acceptance is the exhale. It is the unrestrained release of what we have drawn unto ourselves. And change is the inhale, the deliberate bringing in of the new. Viewed separately, they seem opposites, but viewed correctly, they’re just two parts of the whole. By your inhaling and exhaling, you have created your life you live.

I hope this helps to put to some confusion and debates to bed, and you begin today to discover what is on your bottom shelf, and replace it with what you’d like to see in your world. Because you have this ability. You have this, and more.

http://unasleep.com/FlashX/index.htm

The Key To Civility…….And Greatness

maryann — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:55:45 +0000

By Alexander Green

Dear Reader,

At Mount Vernon last night, I had the pleasure of hearing historian Richard Norton Smith deliver the second of three planned talks on the life of George Washington.

Washington, of course, is best know as the leader of the Continental Army, the first President of the United States and the man who presided over the Convention that drafted the American Constitution, the document that not only limited his power but became a model and inspiration for free people everywhere. Many historians regard Washington as “The Indispensable Man,” the crucial Founding Father and one of the two or three greatest Presidents ever.

Yet while most of us are familiar with Washington ‘s major achievements, few know much about the man himself. And the little we do know is usually folklore or myth. Young Washington never chopped down a cherry tree. And his dentures were not made of wood.

The important thing to know about Washington the man is that he impressed his contemporaries as much by his extraordinary character as with his accomplishments.

Everything about his presence and demeanor commanded respect. Over six feet two inches tall, Washington held himself ramrod straight, was always impeccably dressed and displayed the manners of a European court. On first meeting him in 1774, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John Adams:

“You had prepared me to entertain a favorable opinion of him, but I thought the half was not told me. Dignity with ease and complacency, the gentleman and the soldier look agreeably blended in him. Modesty marks every line and feature of his face.”

Washington worked on developing his character from an early age. As a teenage boy, he admired and copied into a little notebook 110 Rules for Civil Behavior that originated from a Jesuit textbook. He took the rules to heart, carrying the handwritten list with him from his military days at Valley Forge and Yorktown to his two terms as President.

Some of them are antiquated. It’s unlikely, for example, that you need to be reminded to “Spit not into the fire,” or “Kill no vermin, fleas, lice, or ticks in the sight of others.” But most of his rules describe a simple decency that’s often lacking today. He wrote, for example:

Every action done in company ought to be with some sign of respect to those that are present.
Do not speak badly of those who are absent.
When in superior company, speak not until you are asked a question.
Sleep not when others speak, sit not when others stand, speak not when you should hold your peace, walk not on when others stop.
Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another.
Do not overtly value your own accomplishments.
When you speak, be concise.
Submit your ideas with humility.
If you are corrected, take it without argument. If you were wrongly judged, correct it later.
Do not be hasty in believing disparaging reports about others.
Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation. It is better to be alone than in bad company.
Do not reprehend others when it is not your place to do so.
Do not be curious about the affairs of others.
Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.

To Washington , it was not enough to be well-born, well-connected, or well-educated. You had to be–above all–a person of character.

Washington believed that the inner man is cultivated by perfecting the outer man. You show integrity in how you treat others, especially those with whom you profoundly disagree.

All this is not to suggest that Washington was without his faults. Like virtually all plantation owners of his day, he was a slaveholder. (Although Washington was the only Founding Father to free his slaves.) He made military blunders and many errors of judgment, including trusting Benedict Arnold right up until he ran off with the enemy. And he was famous throughout his life for a volcanic temper. After one cabinet meeting, Thomas Jefferson recorded that President Washington “got into one of those passions when he cannot command himself.”

Yet Washington endeared himself to his contemporaries because he combined authority with modesty, skepticism and doubt. He was honored, praised – even revered by his fellow countrymen – like no American since. Yet he never lost sight of his shared sense of humanity. In Robert Frost’s words, Washington was “one of the few, in the whole history of the world, who was not carried away by power.”

He was recognized for his generosity, too. Historian David McCullough notes that “Once, when a friend came to say he hadn’t money enough to send his son to college, Washington agreed to help – providing a hundred pounds in all, a sizable sum then – and with the hope, as he wrote, that the boy’s education would ‘not only promote his own happiness, but the future welfare of others.’”

Washington contributed $20,000 in stock to the founding of what would become Washington and Lee University in Virginia . His gift was the largest donation ever made to any educational institution in the nation until then, and has since grown to a substantial part of the endowment.

But two acts, above all others, show the extraordinary nature of the man. The first was when Washington surrendered his sword to Congress after defeating the British army.

When George III heard that General Washington–having risked everything, suffered much and defeated the most powerful army on earth–had relinquished his command, turned the nation over to his countrymen and gone back to Mount Vernon, he declared, “If that is true, he’ll be the greatest man who ever lived.”

The second act was when he voluntarily resigned the Presidency after his second term, setting a national precedent for the peaceful, orderly transfer of power.

Daniel Webster wrote, ” America has furnished to the world the character of Washington , and if our American institutions had done nothing else, that alone would have entitled them to the respect of mankind.”

To Washington , only civility, conscience and character can create the harmony, the unity essential to the survival of a republic.

Funny, isn’t it? The man most responsible for self-government showed the world that the really important thing is how you govern yourself.

Carpe Diem,

Alex

From Fear to Serenity and Peace

maryann — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:17:06 +0000

From Fear to Serenity and Peace©

by Maryann Miller

”Serenity and peace are not identical. Peace must ever be temporary and refers to the world of feeling and to conditions susceptible of disturbance. It is essential to progress, and an inevitable happening, that every step forward is marked by disturbances, by points of crisis and chaos, replaced later (when successfully handled) by periods of peace…. Serenity signifies that deep calm, devoid of emotional disturbance, which distinguishes the disciple who is focused in a “mind held steady in the light.” The surface of his life may be (from the worldly angle) in a state of violent flux. All that he cherishes and holds dear in the three worlds may be crashing around him. But in spite of all, he stands firm, poised in soul consciousness and the depths of his life remain undisturbed.” ~ Master Djwahl Khul

Fear, on the other hand, is the absence of serenity and peace. It is the expectation of something negative, either immediate or in the future.

Although fear can be a valuable and appropriate response to imminent danger, kicking in your fight or flight response, it can also be an illogical response to certain stimuli. Fear of insufficient of money to make ends meet, fear because you can’t figure out how to work your computer or electronic equipment, fear of losing your job, fear of public speaking, these and many other fears can cause extreme stress in your life and can kick in a fear response that can escalate to a full blown panic attack.

Your subconscious mind is silent, unseen, and unheard yet it is the master of your life and destiny. It can keep you in bondage or open wide the doors to freedom.

The last two decades have produced an enormous amount of research on the brain and brain technologies. Much of this new information dramatically changes how we view the brain, revealing mental and emotional capacities that, once we discover how to use them, can be lifelong assets with which to create positive qualities and dimensions in our lives.

Your brain interprets your thoughts and feelings based upon, not only current thoughts and feelings, but long held emotions and beliefs. Your brain is also influenced by external and internal stimuli such as the thoughts and beliefs you hold in your conscious mind, and how your current thoughts align with your subconscious beliefs. Your thoughts and emotions become wired in the brain and this circuitry elicits intellectual and emotional responses, from your subconscious, according to the beliefs you’ve programed into your subconscious.

Your beliefs empower and rule the way you view and live life. Each of your emotions and reactions are the result of your beliefs. How you perceive and experience reality, and your reactions to experiences, are the result of your beliefs. Your beliefs elicit a counter response to your words and actions thus grounding your currently held beliefs, or your response can help to establish new beliefs and reactions.

How Do You Perceive the Person or Current Situation?

Are you in tune with what a person or situation wants you to know? Does your lower, ego-mind say things like, “I already know this person is greedy, unfair, or is going to verbally attack me,” or “This situation is not going to turn out good and I feel like just opting out.” These, and other repetitive reactions, can keep you trapped in the same or similar disabling thought patterns. As is often said, in neuroscience since the late 1990’s, “… neurons that fire together, wire together”. When a pair of neurons fire at the same time, they build an association or connection between them. When you choose to wire together certain feelings or responses to particular stimuli, patterns are formed in your subconscious mind that are triggered whenever the same or similar events take place.

Self-Examine Your Thoughts and Emotions

When life presents you with the same challenging situations or choices, do you wonder why you seem to repeat them over and over again, without different outcomes? Your conscious mind wants something different, yet you continue to repeat the same cycles again and again. Sometimes, in an attempt to avoid these painful or challenging situations, you go into your default modes of behavior:

Overeating	Aggression
Temper outbursts	Drugs
Outrage	Alcohol
Shouting	Fight or flight
The freeze mode	Passive withdrawal into silence

At times like these, it’s important to discern what’s really causing you to feel the way you do. What thoughts run through your mind when you feel put on the spot, angry, ignored, rejected, put down, etc.? Dr. Athena Staik says, it’s important to remember that “habitual thinking patterns that cause intense feelings of fear, anger, shame, or guilt are not only toxic, but also addictive in nature.” In other words, you are hooked on your reactions because they cause the release of hormonal secretions that make you feel better so you continue to use these reactions to cope with threatening situations.

Any thought that shuts down your reasoning mind is coming from your limited ego-mind, not from your Inner Voice of Wisdom, Love, and Power

When conflict arises, life is expressing itself. Listen to your Inner-Voice and truly examine the situation. What’s happening in the present moment? Is there a deeper truth that is signaling for your full awareness? At times like this, it’s important to be conscious of the moment and understand that the situation or experience is there to support your internal growth; it’s there to help you remove old beliefs and patterns that hinder and no longer serve you.

It’s important to examine the experience a little deeper to perhaps find a solution that is in the best interest for you and the other person/people, or a way for you to develop a more appropriate response? Observe how you have contributed to the situation and determine if you can either rectify it or learn from it. Do you fully understand the other person/people? Are you acting from your ego-mind or your Inner Voice of Wisdom, Love and Power?

Everyone has some type of fear. Rejection of some type is the most common. When you reject others’ ideas, beliefs, feelings, or worth, they will naturally feel wounded and become defensive. Once they are in a wounded frame of mind, they move into their defense mode and their listening shuts off. Think about it, they have the same need to feel worthy, in control, smart, successful, and good enough as we.

Self Discovery

Roberto Assagioli says, “Thought is an energy, and unseen but real power…thought lies at the back of everything we do: building our attitudes, our relationships, and our whole way of life. In the world of the mind are born the practical beginnings of everything that eventuates on earth.”

It’s important to discover what thoughts and beliefs you hold in your subconscious. What emotions and beliefs do you associate with particular people, events, memories, and situations and experiences? How do you react to these feelings, thoughts and beliefs?

Fear

Athena Staik, Ph.D. says, “If you resist your own efforts to change a habit, it speaks to the quality of rapport between your mind and body. Simply put, they’re not in sync. What can disturb this special relationship, essentially, between the conscious logic part of your mind and the subconscious felt-emotion part? In a word, fear.”

Fear equals stress, conflict, anger, resentment, guilt, jealously, shame, violence, etc. If you have any of the following feelings, you are living in fear.

self-doubts
feeling rejected
feelings of inadequacy
a need to be right
a need to be in control
wanting to get back at someone
wanting to avoid someone
a need to get your point across
a need to avoid having a conversation with someone because of anger or resentful feelings
a need to release pent up frustration or anger about something that has happened in your life
feelings of judgment over how some people live their lives, their relationships or their financial status

Don’t let Fear be the Master of Your Life!

Fear is toxic. Whenever energy gets stuck, it restricts the natural flow and becomes toxic. This stuck energy reduces the flow of oxygen in the body and triggers physiological changes that engage your survival mechanisms. This in turn creates hormonal and blood sugar deviations that directly affect your adrenal glands and immune system.

Fear destroys. It zaps your energy, paralyzes, steals confidence, overwhelms reason, and is addictive. When you react in a fearful way, your fight or flight mechanism kicks into gear, your energy is short circuited, and stress is the result.

Fear overwhelms reason and steals confidence. Fear overwhelms reason because it trains the subconscious mind to respond through habit rather than your brain’s intellect, thus the fight or flight response is stimulated at inappropriate times and in unsuitable ways.

Fear is addictive. Dr. Anthena Staik says, “At the root of all addiction is a fear of intimacy, in particular, an intimate knowing of self.” Fear is addictive because it causes a hormonal secretion that continually stimulates the pleasure area of the brain. Dr. Staik goes on to say, “Though toxic thoughts paint images of self and others with colors of lack, gloom or failure, subconsciously they are protective strategies that get activated automatically in our defense when something triggers us. Thus, our body associates them with pseudo “feel good” feelings that lower our anxiety, albeit in ineffective, quick-fix ways.”

Fear as the Great Teacher

Fear can immobilize you but it is also a great teacher. When you encounter stressful situations, you can learn a lot from them, if you pay attention. What was said or done to elicit fear or danger? How did you perceive the situation; was there a different way to see it or respond? Did you truly listen to what the other person was saying or doing or was it old belief patterns that caused fear to rear its head?

Hearing is Different Than Listening

Hearing is different than listening. Listening is being present long enough to observe the situation differently, actually listen to what the other person is saying or sense what s/he might be feeling, hearing a shift in attitude, or sensing a solution arising. Listening allows you to move into modifying or correcting the situation, for you and the other person. Your ego-mind might say, “Gosh, s/he really needs to get a grip.” But, if you come from a little deeper place of compassion, you will genuinely desire to rectify the situation for yourself, the other person, and the issue that separates you.

Wherever you place your attention, the energy will be amplified. If you concentrate on listening to anger, resentment and rage, you will not be able to listen to your Inner Voice. In a stressful situation, the ultimate is to first find your own inner balance. By centering or balancing your own emotional energy, you will be in a place of serenity and can more easily restore peace.

Remember, no one causes your anger, frustration, or stress. When you dwell in serenity, you will not become combative no matter what the other person says. Shifting your thoughts, feelings and beliefs allows alternative solutions to surface and you will be rewiring your brain to shift into higher frequencies of consciousness immediately, which in turn establishes new patterns and reactions for future encounters and events. It’s imperative that you keep your calm knowing the other person might also be experiencing her/his own fears. Listen to your Inner-Voice, even if it is faint.

Ego-Mind Consciousness

When operating from your ego-mind, your reality is formed through the operation of the five physical senses, beliefs held in the subconscious mind, societal conditionings, and humanity’s mass consciousness. The ego-mind restricts your conscious connection with your Inner-Voice, thus you live life in the illusion of separation. Your actions and reactions are based upon personal survival of varying degrees, seeking happiness externally without recognition of the wisdom of your Inner Voice.

There are times we each act from our untrained Ego-mind but each time you recognize the cause and effect of any situation, and grasp the opportunity to operate or deal with it from a higher level of consciousness, you move into higher frequencies of consciousness that allow you to transmute old ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that have previously kept you in painful recurring situations and cycles. As you transmute these old energy patterns, you heal your psyche, your emotions, and your physical body. Old challenges seem to no longer stifle your progress, new and exciting opportunities arise, and you begin to live in serenity, thus proving the old saying that Peace begins within.

Thoughts are Powerful

Your thoughts are potent, dynamic energies that form your attitudes, feelings, relationships, and experiences. Thoughts actually create changes in your subconscious and how you act and react to life’s challenges and situations. In The Intention Experiment, Lynne McTaggart reveals the following research. EMG imagining, is “a real-time snapshot of the brain’s instructions to the body….””As skiers mentally rehearsed downhill runs, the electrical impulses heading to their muscles were just the same as those they used to make runs and jumps while actually skiing the run. The brain sent the same instructions to the body, whether the skiers were simply thinking of a particular movement or actually carrying it out. Thought produced the same mental instructions as action.”

Energy follows attention so wherever you place your attention, energy follows.

Thoughts are strengthened through repetition. If you want to change your reality, you must reprogram your beliefs and create new patterns whenever you feel stress rising up within you. You must replace your old thought patterns by creating new ones, and then be consistent with them long enough to implant them into your subconscious as new beliefs. So how do you stop old patterns and cycles or change their outcomes?

Observe the Situation

Observe yourself when you are feeling stressed, upset, angry, insecure, want to express yourself with a combative tone, or are in the middle of an argument; that’s the time to focus inwardly and center yourself. This will give you time to regroup your emotions and halt the conflict before it begins. Recognize that all external conflicts reflect internal struggles that need balancing or healing.

Look at the situation. What does the situation want you to know? Look for deeper truths that are signaling for your full awareness. Be conscious of the moment and understand that the experience is there to support your internal growth.

Ask yourself, “Is this a repeating pattern in my life?” “Is this what I truly want?” Observe what’s going on inside of you to see if you are reacting from subconscious beliefs and patterns. Look deeper into the experience to find a solution that is in the best interest for both parties, and a way for you to grow from the experience. Examine how you have contributed to the situation and see how you can rectify it. Discern if you fully understand the situation or the other person and observe what, if any, fault might lay with you.

Master Your Life – Release Fear and Reprogram Your Subconscious

You can rewire your subconscious mind and become master of your life thereby attaining serenity, happiness, joy, health, and success but you must first determine that you will listen to a different voice.

The subconscious mind is the storeroom of everything you’ve put into it; i.e., your beliefs, feelings, emotions, memories, experiences, situations, and so on. Fears held in your subconscious are programed by repetition, not by logic. Your subconscious is not capable of original thinking and it doesn’t discern between what’s good for you and what isn’t, it’s simply like a computer that initiates the program you request. If you’ve stored programs for certain fears regarding people, situations, or experiences, your subconscious activates your stored program every time you encounter the same or similar people, situations, or experiences.

There are several techniques you can use to help reprogram your subconscious. Rick Hanson, Ph.D. offers two techniques in his The Enlightened Brain audio learning course, which you can check out at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhhGhF1RFKo

http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/The-Enlightened-Brain/3659.productdetails

Dr. Hanson says, “First, research has shown that when you put words to your feeling, when you just label them, that does two things. On, it stimulates activity in what’s called the prefrontal cortex – the very front part of your brain – and second, it lowers activity in the amygdala alarm circuit. The simple act of naming to yourself what you’re feeling as you’re feeling it helps to dampen this overreaction.”

“The other method is based on science’s new understanding of how memory is actually formed. The brain is so fast and it has so many neurons that it can afford to rebuild a memory from scratch each time it brings it up. When something painful is in awareness, If you also bring to mind positive information – especially positive feelings that are really felt and intense – you gradually infuse that negative experience with positive associations when it goes back into storage. And so the next time it comes up, it’ll bring a little bit of that positive tinge with it. It won’t change overnight; you need to stick with it. But over time, you can gradually help yourself from the inside out to shift your interior landscape. “

Another technique I’ve used, when faced with non-threatening, yet challenging situations, with others, is to:

Observe Both Voices

Go within and clearly listen to what your ego-voice and Inner Voice are saying and discern the difference.

Ego Voice:

Listen to what the ego voice is saying. What thoughts are your ego-mind generating?

Do you feel fearful or angry because of past experiences with this person or situation?
Do you feel rejected?
Do you feel out of control?
Does the person or situation make you feel inadequate?
Do you feel like a failure?
Do you feel you’re not good enough?

Inner Voice:

If you hear anger, fear, self-doubt, or rage, choose to listen to your Inner Voice of Wisdom, Love, and Power, even if the voice is faint.
Be fully present. Be willing to really understand the other person’s point of view.
Inwardly observe your feelings. How does the person or situation make you feel; are you beginning to feel defensive, out of control of the situation, frustrated, angry, or powerless?
Still your emotions long enough to relax and go into the silence for a moment so you can compose your emotions.
Listen to your responses; are you thinking about what you want to say next or are you really listening to what is being said?
Listen for the issue(s) that might trigger conflict.
Listen for the other person’s feelings – are they feeling fear, lack of self-worth, not being heard, etc.?
Even though my past experiences with this person or situation made me angry or afraid, I know I’m in control of my experience and I can change my reaction and the outcome.
I can only feel rejected if I believe I’m not worthy.
Even though I don’t know everything about this subject, situation, etiquette, or problem, I’m capable and can learn from this experience.
It’s never failure when I try.
Never compare yourself with others for there will always be those who are not as knowledgeable as you and those who are more knowledgeable.
Discover, Mentally Create, Rehearse, and Verbalize
Discover the emotions certain people or situations generate.
Discover what beliefs you hold about yourself that make you feel defensive or want to lash out? Do you choose your actions or do you react from outdated beliefs stored in your subconscious? Can you calm your emotions, when they do arise, and listen to your Inner Voice?
Mentally create and rehearse your emotional reactions and what you want the outcome to be with certain people or situations.
Rehearse your mental creations, reactions, and your intention to alter the way you react to certain people and situations. The greatest athletes do this all of the time. Rehearsing is different than visualization. In The Intention Experiment, Lynne McTaggart quotes R.J. Rotella, et al as saying, “Visualization implies that you observe yourself in the situation, as if watching a mental video featuring yourself or seeing yourself through another pair of eyes. Although this may be useful in other areas of life, visualizing oneself from an external perspective in a sports event can hamper athletic performance. Mental rehearsal also differs from positive thinking; happy thoughts on their own do not work in competitive sports.”
Verbalize your mental creations and intentions to help embed them into your subconscious. Resistance to change is a magnet that keeps you trapped. When resistance and pain rear their heads, know that life is communicating with you and it’s important to pay attention.

Act As IF

A very wise person once told me that, if you want to be in control, happy, prosperous, successful, or healthy, you must begin by acting as If. If you haven’t used this technique before, don’t expect to perfect it overnight. I’ve been practicing this skill for most of my life and still find myself slipping back into old habit patterns, when caught off guard.

It’s important to acknowledge your fears and recognize you want to achieve serenity and peace, even though you may not know how to go about it at first. Fully accept yourself just the way you are without undue judgment. Acknowledge you’re striving to change old, outdated beliefs and it may take continued effort to completely transform them into new, more constructive patterns of behavior. When you find yourself repeating an old pattern or belief, don’t blame yourself; instead, recognize you’re reacting and consciously set and implement the intent to modify or change that particular pattern. With repetition and time, you will definitely begin to notice new beliefs and patterns materializing in your life.

Achieving Serenity and Peace

Serenity is a state of harmony you create within yourself. Whenever you genuinely recognize and accept that all things are One and that you are the creator of your reality, you instantly and effortlessly generate serenity. When serenity exists within, you are able to face life’s challenges with calmness and objectivity; your emotions and brain (heart and head) are in a state of balance; one does not dominate the other. You meet your challenges, tests and trials with calm resolve, wisdom, and love.

You clearly hear and listen to your Inner-Voice of Wisdom, Love, and Power and you are at peace within yourself. No matter what the circumstances, you do not become triggered by others. You do not feel the need to argue or lash out. You are able to see the other side as non-threatening and are able to listen to the other person with understanding and compassion. You are able to recognize how you may have contributed to a situation and you are able to speak your truth from respect and consideration for both sides.

Peace is a state of harmony that can be created in the world of affairs; it is attained when we are able to achieve balance and harmony with others. Peace can be reached by all, without exception, when we see, feel, and practice our Oneness. As you live your Oneness, new beliefs will be created within your subconscious and your thoughts, feelings, and actions will move to mirror your new beliefs.

Each time you encounter a challenging situation, you either consciously or subconsciously choose peace or conflict. If you choose peace, you face the challenge with a philosophic, unemotional, unbiased, impersonal attitude. This in turn, allows you to move into higher frequencies of consciousness and act through the wisdom, love, and power of your Inner Voice, thus helping to create a world of lasting peace.

Creed of Peace

maryann — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:37:54 +0000

Creed of Peace

Transforming The World Together

maryann — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:20:47 +0000

One World, Aligned Actions, Infinite Possililities

by Maryann Miller, Msc.D

The Institute For Global Transformation’s vision is a global network of individuals whose purpose is to experience personal transformation, master their own lives, and in some manner share their experience with humanity in order to uplift and transform consciousness and make our world a better place for all. By exploring consciousness, we find new solutions to global concerns. We then apply our discoveries to assist humanity in building a better world. By learning how

the natural laws of the universe operate and how to apply them in practical ways, we not only attain higher states of consciousness, we experience happiness, health, success and most importantly, we find our life’s purpose. Additionally, the more conscious we become, the more potent are the energies of Universal Power, Love, and Intelligence magnetically drawn to us.

The Dynamic Point of Potential^®

At the still point of the turning world, there the dance is. And without the point, that still point, there would be no dance. And there is only the dance. ~ T. S. Elliot

This still point, which we’ll call the Dynamic Point of Potential^®, is an interval in space and time in which an harmonic is created that magnetically attracts higher frequencies of consciousness. It is a point of self-initiated dynamic stillness and a critical midway point or juncture where lower and higher resonating frequencies of consciousness meet and merge. It is here that poles are held in relationship and where balance is restored between divergent polarities of consciousness through the transfer of energy from one pole to the other. The construction of this Dynamic Point of Potential^® is one of the most important phases of the transformation process.

It is also within the Dynamic Point of Potential^® that the Light of Mind is merged with the life of the personality, thus giving it direction and purpose. The Dynamic Point of Potential^® operates like a fulcrum or balance point between the lower, more receptive frequencies of consciousness and higher, more dynamic frequencies of consciousness. The degree of transformation that can occur at any given time is dependent upon the strength of your focus, the frequency of consciousness with which you are able to hold a resonance, and the operation of the Dynamic Point of Potential^®.

If we have been consistent with our meditations or directed prayers, then we’ve established the necessary brain-mind-soul alignment that equips us to act as instruments for the reception and transmission of higher, spiritual frequencies of consciousness. It’s very important that we consciously construct this inner temple, so that we can carry out the Great Work that awaits each of us, if we choose to serve.

We’ve probably all seen pictures of the Charioteer riding in a Chariot pulled by three horses. Symbolically, for the Mystical Marriage to take place, the Charioteer, (the Soul Personality) riding in the chariot, (which is the cave or 3rd ventricle of the brain), must be able to steer all three horses, the physical, emotional, and mental bodies, in unison, or the same direction. When the Soul-Personality is able to align and steer these three etheric bodies, self-mastery is achieved and we are fully equipped to carry out our Soul’s purpose.

If however, any one of the three horses is allowed to dominate and pull in its own direction, disharmony or conflict occurs and our life and affairs reflect that disharmony. We can’t fool our Higher Self. A very wise person once told me “If you want to become a Master, you must begin by acting like one.” But it’s not just the benevolent deed we did two weeks ago or the donation we made to our favorite charity; it’s the person we are every minute of every day, month, and year that demonstrates the degree of consciousness we’ve attained.

I’m sure we’ve all known people whose emotions ruled their personality. They never allow the intellect to step in, sort things out, and intelligently direct a course of action. We’ve also known people who allowed their intellect to become so dominant that they appeared to be like the character Data in Star Trek, The Next Generation. There’s also the person who builds a super physical body to the exclusion of his/her mental and emotional nature.

As we continue to harmonize and refine our brain-mind-soul alignment, with higher and higher frequencies of consciousness, we approach a certain level of initiation and more exalted frequencies of consciousness are transmitted to us so that the work of the Soul can be accomplished here on Earth.

We’re all familiar with the axioms: When the student is ready, the Master will appear and When you knock, the Door shall be opened. Through meditation or directed prayer we build the necessary internal alignment, within the cave or third ventricle of the brain, and established a vibration in harmony with the Door to the Cave. At this point, the Door is no longer a barrier; we pass through freely and easily, and the Guardian of the Threshold bids us welcome.

It is also within the third ventricle of the brain that the Mystical Marriage takes place, in the physical body. When we have attained the required level of consciousness, the Pineal gland dips its transformed fluid into the Pituitary gland. This interaction actually changes the chemical makeup of the glandular secretions in the brain, which in turn affects the endocrine and other systems of the body and the Mystical Marriage takes place on the physical plane.

After self-mastery has been achieved and the Mystical Marriage has taken place, we stand as an Initiate who is a conscious co-creator and true servant of the Soul. We then work in conscious cooperation with our Soul and the unfolding of the Universal Plan for humanity here on Earth.

In order to accomplish the Great Work, we must learn how to work together, not only on the physical plane, but the emotional, mental, and spiritual planes as well. During periods of meditation or directed prayer we can set up a direct alignment among one another thus creating a group alignment with the higher frequencies of consciousness. This group alignment serves to:

make us receptive to a wider range of incoming spiritual frequencies of consciousness;
more easily allow us to gain access to our particular aspect of the great work;
add potency to our individual alignment, which allows for a more powerful and effective projection of higher, spiritual frequencies of consciousness that benefit humanity and the entire planet.

So by uniting our efforts, we become a more powerful and effective force for bringing harmony to the world, thereby bringing the planet one step closer to a paradigm shift that will change the consciousness of every human being on the planet.

So as we each enter the sacred temple within, let us consecrate our hearts, minds, and beings to the Great Work before us. And as we work together, in conscious recognition of our true purpose, let us send Light, Love, Power, and harmony to transform consciousness on a global scale, thus building a better world for all.

Each month the IFGT posts a Monthly Focus on our website. We invite you to join us in this monthly meditation at:

http://ifgt.org/site/branches-home/healing-arts/monthly-transformational-meditative-focus/

“Framed upon memory’s wall is the self we sought to be. Deeds, not time will prove us worthy.” (Author Unknown)

May we ever dwell in Serenity, Love and Harmony and exemplify, by our thoughts and conduct, the followingCreed of Peace: TransformationOfTheWorld

You Can Change Your DNA

maryann — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:28:01 +0000

by Jim Camut

www.heartmath.org

When we are born, the deoxyribonucleic acid/DNA in our bodies contains the blueprints for who we are and instructions for who we will become. For example, it can tell our eyes to eventually turn from blue at birth to hazel later on, our length to grow from 20 inches to 70 and direct a multitude of other changes over the course of our lives.
Many people have mistakenly believed that the DNA with which we are

born is the sole determinant for who we are and will become, but scientists have understood for decades that this genetic determinism is a flawed theory.

Epigenetics and Beyond

The field of epigenetics refers to the science that studies how the development, functioning and evolution of biological systems are influenced by forces operating outside the DNA sequence, including intracellular, environmental and energetic influences.

Since the 1950s scientists have accepted that epigenetic influence is critical in our development. Epi – Greek for “besides” – combines with the word, genetics, to essentially mean “something more than genetics.” That “something more” is widely held today to refer to our environment – thus meaning that our genetic code and the environment in which we develop determine who and what we are.

Researchers have shown through studies that epigenetics entails even more than DNA and the places where we live, the climate around us and all the twists, turns and hard knocks of our lives.

HeartMath deems integral elements of the model for who we are and what we can be are the thoughts, feelings and intentions we have every day. After two decades of studies, HeartMath researchers say other factors such as the appreciation and love we have for someone or the anger and anxiety we feel also influence and can alter the outcomes of each individual’s DNA blueprint.

Bruce Lipton, Ph.D.

Stem cell biologist and bestselling author Bruce Lipton, Ph.D., says the distinction between genetic determinism and epigenetics is important.

“The difference between these two is significant because this fundamental belief called genetic determinism literally means that our lives, which are defined as our physical, physiological and emotional behavioral traits, are controlled by the genetic code,” Lipton said in an interview with the online magazine, Superconsciousness. “This kind of belief system provides a visual picture of people being victims: If the genes control our life function, then our lives are being controlled by things outside of our ability to change them. This leads to victimization that the illnesses and diseases that run in families are propagated through the passing of genes associated with those attributes. Laboratory evidence shows this is not true.”

A Steady Diet of Quantum Nutrients

“When we have negative emotions such as anger, anxiety and dislike or hate, or think negative thoughts such as ‘I hate my job,’ ‘I don’t like so and so’ or ‘Who does he think he is?’, we experience stress and our energy reserves are redirected,” an article on IHM’s website explains. This causes a portion of our energy reserves, which otherwise would be put to work maintaining, repairing and regenerating our complex biological systems, to instead confront the stresses these negative thoughts and feelings create.

“In contrast,” the article continues, “when we activate the power of our hearts’ commitment and intentionally have sincere feelings such as appreciation, care and love, we allow our hearts’ electrical energy to work for us. Consciously choosing a core heart feeling over a negative one means instead of the drain and damage stress causes to our bodies’ systems, we are renewed mentally, physically and emotionally. The more we do this the better we’re able to ward off stress and energy drains in the future. Heartfelt positive feelings fortify our energy systems and nourish the body at the cellular level. At HeartMath we call these emotions quantum nutrients.”

In simple terms most people can relate to, what this means is that when we are having a bad day, going through a rough period such as dealing with the sickness of a loved one or coping with financial troubles, we can actually influence our bodies – all the way down to the cellular level – by intentionally thinking positive thoughts and focusing on positive emotions.

Changing DNA Through Intention

The power of intentional thoughts and emotions goes beyond theory at the Institute of HeartMath. In a study, researchers have tested this idea and proven its veracity.

HeartMath researchers have gone so far as to show that physical aspects of DNA strands could be influenced by human intention. The article, Modulation of DNA Conformation by Heart-Focused Intention – McCraty, Atkinson, Tomasino, 2003 – describes experiments that achieved such results.

For example, an individual holding three DNA samples was directed to generate heart coherence – a beneficial state of mental, emotional and physical balance and harmony – with the aid of a HeartMath technique that utilizes heart breathing and intentional positive emotions. The individual succeeded, as instructed, to intentionally and simultaneously unwind two of the DNA samples to different extents and leave the third unchanged.

“The results provide experimental evidence to support the hypothesis that aspects of the DNA molecule can be altered through intentionality,” the article states. “The data indicate that when individuals are in a heart-focused, loving state and in a more coherent mode of physiological functioning, they have a greater ability to alter the conformation of DNA.

“Individuals capable of generating high ratios of heart coherence were able to alter DNA conformation according to their intention. … Control group participants showed low ratios of heart coherence and were unable to intentionally alter the conformation of DNA.”

Heart Intelligence, the Unifying Factor

The influence or control individuals can have on their DNA – who and what they are and will become – is further illuminated in HeartMath founder Doc Childre’s theory of heart intelligence. Childre postulates that “an energetic connection or coupling of information” occurs between the DNA in cells and higher dimensional structures – the higher self or spirit.

Childre further postulates, according to the Modulation of DNA article, “The heart serves as a key access point through which information originating in the higher dimensional structures is coupled into the physical human system (including DNA), and that states of heart coherence generated through experiencing heartfelt positive emotions increase this coupling.”

The heart, which generates a much stronger electromagnetic field than the brain’s, provides the energetic field that binds together the higher dimensional structures and the body’s many systems as well as its DNA.

Childre’s theory of heart intelligence proposes that “individuals who are able to maintain states of heart coherence have increased coupling to the higher dimensional structures and would thus be more able to produce changes in the DNA.”

Read more about quantum nutrients at Increasing Energy, Solutions for Emotional Well-Being, and about HeartMath and DNA in Modulation of DNA Conformation by Heart-Focused Intention. You can also learn more about HeartMath’s research, techniques and technology at www.heartmath.org.

“This article was reprinted with permission from the Institute of HeartMath (IHM) and it was originally published in IHM’s Summer 2011 newsletter edition (www.heartmath.org).”

DNA – For additional information on changing your DNA, read Dr. Bruce Lipton’s book: The Biology of Belief

http://www.brucelipton.com/store/

http://www.brucelipton.com/

Comment from a Blogger on Dr. Lipton’s book:

“If the existence of what is referred to as the ‘mind/body connection’, which has spawned a massive industry of complementary medicine and given rise to a radical new mindset, still sounds like bunkum to you, hold onto your seat and read on. The new sciences quantum physics and epigenetics are revolutionizing our understanding of the link between mind and matter, challenging established scientific theories and prompting a complete re-evaluation of life as we have known it.

One of the shining lights to emerge from these new sciences is cellular biologist and best selling author, Bruce Lipton PhD, whose book, The Biology of Belief, was awarded 2006’s Best Science Book of the Year.

Lipton maintains that pivotal to this shift in thinking within the scientific community has been groundbreaking insight into the function of genes.

Bruce Lipton: “The old vision was that genes are self-actualizing (turn on and off). But current data reveals that there is no such thing as an on/off function for a gene because genes are blueprints (plans) to make proteins, which are the building blocks that give shape to the structure.”

The significance of this shift in belief is vast in that the original view led to the notion that we are victims of our biology. Whereas the ‘new’ sciences show that we are actually masters of our biology.

The old vision was formulated by Francis Crick, who together with James Watson deciphered the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953. Based on experiments that were taken out of context but supported what he and Watson were thinking, Crick became completely enamored with the belief that DNA controls life. Crick came up with what is referred to in literature as the ‘central dogma’, the belief that DNA rules.

The crucial thing here is that this was only a hypothesis. There was never any scientific validation for it yet we all bought it because a belief already existed that this would be the answer to what controls life so when the data looked like it would fit it was simply assumed that this was right. (Lipton, who taught Cell Biology at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine, was one of thousands of lecturers who taught the theory.)

This dogma became so fundamental to modern biology it was practically written in stone. It was the equivalent of science’s Ten Commandments.

In the dogma’s scheme of how life unfolds, DNA perched loftily on top, followed by RNA – the short-lived ‘Xerox’ copy of the DNA. The new understanding of how genes work is that this hypothesis is incorrect because genes are actually blueprints that are read.

2011 Transform The World Humanitarian Award to be Presented in Ohio

maryann — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:05:29 +0000

All of us at the IFGT are very excited to announce that Hannah Minks is the recipient of the 2011 Transform The World Humanitarian Award. It will be presented to Hannah on March 9, 2012, in Canal Fulton, Ohio. In addition to the award, the IFGT has a commitment of at least $1,000 in cash and goods, which will be presented to Hannah to assist in the continuation of her humanitarian efforts.

The following criteria was used in the evaluation and selection process:

Individual’s actions and contributions promote the mission of the Institute For Global Transformation.
Individuals must deliberately and consistently perform acts of unselfish service in the interest of raising consciousness and bettering humankind. Such acts should be above and beyond the call of duty, necessity, friendship, or normal professional activities.

Individuals who were recommended but are not selected will receive honorable mention during the award ceremony and may be re-nominated in following years. Submissions were voted upon by the IFGT Board of Directors.

If you would like to nominate an individual for the 2012 Transform The World Humanitarian Award, please contact Renée Luczynski by Clicking Here. If you would like to make a donation, Click Here. We look forward to hearing from you.

In Shared Service, Renée Luczynski

Experiencing Universal Consciousness

maryann — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:14:57 +0000

At a personal level, the experience of Universal Consciousness brings:

a sense of wholeness – a sense of connection, balance and integration – an experience of unity and deep trust,
a recognition that each of us is an important part of a greater whole,
a reorientation of self-interest and a realization of deep personal fulfillment that comes out of service to others,
compassionate and loving wisdom,
profound tolerance, and a desire for inclusiveness,
integrity and authenticity, an understanding of the bigger picture and a deep sense of purpose and meaning to life.

Universal Consciousness is a powerful catalyst. When attuned with its frequencies, you develop a deepening awareness of a Divine Intelligence and Wisdom. This wisdom contributes to the upliftment, not just of the individual, but of humanity, and to the unfolding of a higher plan here on Earth.

Our charge, humanity’s charge, is to attune our conscious mind with the higher frequencies of Universal Consciousness. The more powerful our conscious connection with one another at these higher frequencies, the greater can be the spiritual transformative power of energies released, thus producing greater shifts in consciousness on a global scale.

Attunement with Universal Consciousness

Attunement with Universal Consciousness brings with it the means of accomplishing the seemingly impossible. Through heightened intuition we access a special kind of wisdom; through synergy we draw to us that which is needed, bringing with it confidence; and through synchronicity we are able to accomplish outcomes that are vastly more than the sum of each of the individual parts. Humanity has for centuries searched for the meaning and purpose to Life. Tenaciously and steadily, we have reached inward and upward to attune with our Higher Selves, while at the same time our Souls have been steadily moving toward expression within our lives and beings. At a certain point in this evolutionary process we each become conscious of this Divine Plan of the Soul and we begin to consciously evoke self-initiated growth.

Dr. Daniel Siegel on The Science of Transformation

maryann — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:44:28 +0000

by Daniel Siegel, MD

http://drdansiegel.com/

Editor’s Note: In the following dialogue, excerpted and adapted from the Institute of Noetic Sciences’ teleseminar series, The Essentials of Noetic Science, IONS Director of Research Cassandra Vieten talks with psychiatrist-educator-writer Dan Siegel, author of the internationally acclaimed The Developing Mind: Toward a Neurobiology of Interpersonal Experience , Parenting from the Inside Out, and, most recently, Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation.

Mindsight is literally the ability of the human mind to see itself. It is a powerful lens through which we can understand our inner lives with more clarity, transform the brain, and enhance our relationships with others.

Vieten: Let’s jump right in. Would you explain what mindsight is?

Siegel: Mindsight saved my life when I was in medical school. It’s a word I first used to describe the professors I had who could see the mind of their patients and treat them with dignity. When it was absent, I would say to myself, “Oh, that person doesn’t have mindsight, so be careful, because he’s not a good role model.” I actually dropped out of medical school but ultimately came back, trying to understand how so much of what was happening for me and my colleagues in school was a kind of socialization not to see the mind as something real in our patients or even in ourselves. When I became a psychiatric trainee a few years later, I used the word again to mean how we see the mind of others as well as our own mind.

So, mindsight is literally the ability of the human mind to see itself. It is a powerful lens through which we can understand our inner lives with more clarity, transform the brain, and enhance our relationships with others. The word emerged as I realized that people have this perceptual ability, although some don’t have it very well developed.

Vieten: It seems some people have it naturally, others an inkling, and still others remain sort of “mindblind” their whole lives. Can you talk a bit about the possibility of training this capacity for mindsight?

Siegel: There was a study done with deaf children that illuminates what, in the research terminology, is called “theory of mind.” The deaf children whose parents were sophisticated at using sign language could imagine that other people have a mind, but the deaf children whose parents were just beginning to learn to sign showed impairment in theory of mind – similar to children with autism, in fact, who also are impaired in this way. This research taught us that the use of language to imbed terms for feelings, thoughts, perceptions, hopes, memories, all those kinds of words that we share with each other, especially with children while they’re growing up, are the kinds of communication symbols that help people develop mindsight — the capacity to know that I have a mind and you have a mind. Relating with children stimulates this set of brain circuits to grow. Even adults who weren’t fortunate as children to have this ability taught to them can, in many cases, later be taught. In cases where the deficit is not caused by experiential lack, such as autism, mindsight may not be as easy to teach. In fact, sometimes it’s not possible because the circuitry isn’t there. But for many people who haven’t had the opportunity to learn mindsight, it’s a teachable skill. The great news is that once it’s learned, people begin both to develop well-being inside themselves and to improve their relationships with others.

Vieten: You’ve had an interest in meditation and contemplative practices as pathways toward training mindsight. Would you say more about this?

Siegel: During my journey in medical school back in the late 1970s, I was discouraged by professors of medicine because they didn’t teach or address this factor of mindsight. When I went on to study psychiatry, my desire to use this knowledge of “seeing the mind” as an important element in clinical care led me to explore it in the field of attachment research. I studied how parents and children interact and how the mind develops its ability to reflect – what Peter Fonagy and other researchers call the mind’s “reflective function,” which allows us to “mentalize.” My training in attachment research and my work as a therapist underscored the importance of relating for the development of a healthy mind. I then wrote The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are [the paperback version of the 1999 hardcover with a different subtitle] to look at the science underneath mindsight, this ability to reflect on the internal nature of the mind.

When I translated The Developing Mind into a book for parents, Parenting from the Inside Out, which Mary Hartzell wrote with me, we used the term “mindfulness” to mean being mindful in your parenting, but then I learned that there was this whole field of mindfulness meditation which I was unfamiliar with. That’s when I got to know Jon Kabat-Zinn and Jack Kornfield and others in this mindfulness world. I was literally unaware not only of this deep contemplative practice over thousands of years but also of the science that was emerging from studying mindfulness.

In the last five years, much of what I’ve been doing in my writings is looking at the overlap of a number of different ways of knowing, whether it’s in contemplative practice or attachment or psychotherapy or the arts or whatever. What I see with mindfulness meditation is that it encourages people to look inward at their inner experience. You go beyond words and thoughts to get to the sensations and experiential aspects of life, and in doing so, you become clearer about what’s actually going on with yourself in the moment. You let go of expectations and judgments, and in that way, the practice of mindfulness is a direct way of developing one aspect of mindsight, which is to see the subjective inner world.

It turns out that mindfulness meditation is also useful for developing empathic relationships, which is another aspect of mindsight – the empathy that is fundamental to healthy relationships. A third aspect of mindsight is focusing attention to integrate the brain, to link differentiated parts, and mindfulness meditation is an extremely integrative process. The regions of the brain that link widely separated areas to one another are the regions that are stimulated during meditation. There’s also preliminary evidence that suggests these regions seem to grow with continued meditation practice.

The bottom line is that in the field of mindsight, we’re excited to learn about this ancient meditation practice because we see it as profoundly integrative, where you develop fine attunement internally and interpersonally.

Vieten: It is interesting that a personal, introspective practice helps us to connect with other people. Being able to observe your own inner experience somehow allows you to be more aware of other people’s experience or to take their perspective.

Siegel: One time I was with forty neurologists on a meditation retreat. We practiced a form of meditation known as shamatha. On the fifth day of the seven-day retreat, two of the neuroscientists shared similar observations that their partners – in one case a fiancée and in the other a spouse – had made about them. Both said something along the lines of “What’s going on with you? You’ve become so empathetic. You’re so open to me now. You’ve never been like this.” All we had been doing for five days was a breath awareness practice, yet when you look at the circuitry of the brain that is activated during such a practice – which is simple in theory but not easy to sustain – the neural firing of areas of the brain that allow you to tune into your own internal state are the same circuits that studies on empathy show we use to tune into another person’s inner world. A system of neurons called mirror neurons is engaged. When you look at the neural circuitry these mental activities use, you discover how an internal practice of attunement would naturally lend itself to more interpersonal attunement.

Vieten: How do you define mind? When you say mind, I know you mean more than thoughts. What is mind?

Siegel: I’ve now interviewed 94,500 mental health practitioners from around the world – including Australia, Europe, and Asia – and whatever their profession, whether it’s in psychiatry, psychology, social work, nursing, or occupational therapy, the number has been the same: only 2 to 5 percent report ever having a lecture that defined mind. We have defined all these mental health disorders, but we don’t have a framework for health, for the healthy mind.

My operational definition is for a part of the mind, not the whole of the mind. Of course, the mind is a mystery. It’s full of consciousness and incredible majesty – the sensation of red, the feeling of love, the impact of music – all that makes up our subjective inner life. While those are all parts of the mind, a definition I developed for one core aspect of the mind (which helped scientists communicate with one another in a think tank I ran some years ago) explains the mind as an emergent property, something that arises in the interaction of our neural system and our relational system. These two systems allow energy and information to flow in reciprocity – like right now, between you and me. We have energy and information passing between us but also passing through the nervous system. So, the mind can be seen as an emergent property. Where is it arising? It’s arising in an embodied way, not just in the brain in the skull but throughout the whole nervous system, the whole body. It’s also relational. This emergent property that regulates the flow of energy and information is an embodied relational process.

This definition also facilitates our understanding of how relationships deeply affect the way neurons get connected to one another, as well as our understanding that the way your neurons are connected by way of experience and genetics affects how your relationships emerge. Both our relationships and our neural structure influence our mental experience.

The other thing that’s great about this definition – and so useful for application in clinical work or educational work or parenting – is that you can show people how to regulate with more clarity and specificity by teaching them to do the two things involved in regulation. One is monitoring, like when you drive a car, you have to watch where you’re going. The other is modulating or modifying, like turning the steering wheel, putting on the brakes, or accelerating. You can teach people to monitor with more clarity and depth so that they can see more detail. When that’s stabilized, you can teach them to modulate. Once they see the details, they can then modify in a way that moves the system toward integration.

In the work we do with this mindsight approach, we embrace a definition of mind that defines part of what the mind is, and then we are able to define what a healthy mind is. A healthy mind moves us toward integration, a harmonious flow, bounded on either side by chaos or rigidity.

The details in all this are wonderful because we find we can begin to predict what future research might show, and it’s exciting to find predictions coming true as technology advances.

Vieten: So what is new and hot and interesting for you? What are your next steps?

Siegel: One thing that we’ve been doing at the Mindsight Institute is providing an online presence so that people in science, education and parenting, psychotherapy, the arts, and the contemplative arts can apply these principles in various settings. My hope is for people to find practical uses for our definition of the mind and our definition of health as integration.

On the scientific side, we now have two dozen books, most of which are already out in a series about this interdisciplinary field of interpersonal neurobiology – which is different from social neuroscience and not just a branch of neurobiology. We’re trying to weave together a consilient approach in a field that looks at all the different ways of knowing and puts them into one scientifically grounded perspective.

I also worked with fifteen interns to help me revise The Developing Mind, which was published in 1999. I gave them the task of proving the book’s hypothesis wrong and three months to go over all the scientific literature they could find. I’m happy to report that we found seventeen hundred new scientific papers over the last eleven years which support the book’s basic hypothesis that you can work with the concept of health as integration and thereby predict impaired integration in various unhealthy conditions, such as schizophrenia and autism. Psychotherapy is ultimately a process of harnessing the brain’s neuroplasticity, using the focus of attention as an experience that doesn’t just change the structural connections in the brain but that actually integrates them. That’s been exciting.

And finally, in light of the scientific exploration of integration and how it leads to health, we are now trying to make projections of what future technology will show us about various forms of psychiatric disorders. Whether they are experientially induced or genetically induced vulnerabilities, they are examples of impaired integration. Scientific studies of new forms of psychotherapy will examine how such therapies try to integrate the brain through the power of empathic relationships. I talk about specific techniques that can do this in Mindsight and also in my book The Mindful Therapist. Where you snag the brain, you stimulate neuronal activation and growth. The way a surgeon uses a scalpel, a therapist uses attention.

In short, we hope to lay a broad framework of health, to offer a working definition of the mind, and to look for new ways to use the mind to make the brain stronger and relationships more empathic. Basically, we want to bring more health and kindness into the world.

Vieten: It seems that in many fields we’re learning that it’s not so much about what symptom you have or which part of the brain is lighting up but what’s happening with an individual, a family, a community, or a culture – a systems approach. We’re looking at greater integration, greater cohesiveness, and, really, greater relationality in the ways we approach these issues, which are important to everyone.

You mentioned practical steps people could take. We talked about mindfulness. Are there a few others you could identify for us?

Siegel: Well, if you apply the definition of mind we’ve discussed to your personal life and say, “Okay, I’m defining the mind as an embodied and relational process,” then you see that, “I need to honor my body and be tuned into my body.” So, any kind of mindfulness practice that allows you to do that is very important, any kind of body scan, yoga, whatever keeps you in touch with your body.

Then there is the relational part. It is a scientifically established reality that our mental lives are profoundly interconnected with one another. When you see that, you see that you have to pull yourself out of thinking in small ways. “If I’m relational, then what do I do with that?” you ask yourself. Well, you can begin to monitor the energy and information flow inside your body in a new way.

[EXERCISE:] Start tonight by focusing on your breath. That’s the mindfulness piece. But even more than that, see if you can start to open to thoughts, feelings, images, sensations, memories – all of the elements of your mental life – as energy patterns. Just try that as a monitoring thing.

Then, move beyond doing it within yourself alone and begin to extend this practice to others – someone you’re close to, a neighbor, someone you work with. Notice how you’re taking in their internal world. Are you really allowing yourself to resonate with another person? This is a first step in opening up your monitoring ability. In the mindsight way of thinking, your body and your relationships are part of the same system of energy and information flow.

There are many trainings a person can do. On my website, you can stream a formalized practice called the Wheel of Awareness. It facilitates your ability to integrate consciousness by guiding you to feel the centrality of a hub of awareness and anything else you can be aware of on the rim. The Wheel of Awareness allows you to deepen your monitoring capacity. When I was in Australia recently, I taught this practice and a couple of people with severe chronic pain came up to me at the break and said, “I don’t know what happened, but I’ve never been pain free and now I don’t have the pain. What did you do?” Well, it’s not what I did. They integrated their awareness through the practice and put the pain in its proper place, on the rim. They strengthened the hub and found a way to actually differentiate these elements of the rim – in this case, body pain – from the fullness of awareness. They liberated themselves from the prison of pain by doing that.

As for the modulating or modifying part, when people begin to differentiate this rim element from the hub of awareness, they enter a process whereby they can start to modify exactly what’s going on with themselves. I’ve had people with severe anxiety, for example, bring their anxiety to this Wheel of Awareness practice, and the anxiety melts away. You can go through other domains as well, for example, learning what the left and right hemispheres are like and finding a way to link the two areas. Just today I saw a new person who was struggling with being aware of his body and of autobiographical memories, and he had trouble reducing his anxiety. Autobiographical memory, the ability to map the whole body, and stress modulation are all right hemisphere specialties. Both hemispheres share them, but they’re dominant in the right. For various reasons, he had a hard time developing those skills in his childhood. But with these mindsight skills, like integrating left and right, he’s going to develop more of his right hemisphere capacity and then link the two hemispheres. Once you get the general notion of how to master this idea of integration as health, the mind can move the system of energy and information toward integration. The wonderful thing is how it empowers the individual, even independent of therapy.

So, there are lots of things to do. The Wheel of Awareness practice is one of them. A good way to heighten mindsight is to start with something that facilitates the integration of consciousness.

To purchase Dr. Siegel’s new book, Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation, go to:

http://www.amazon.com/Mindsight-New-Science-Personal-Transformation/dp/0553804707

The Science of Transformation, was excerpted and adapted from a teleseminar series, “The Essentials of Noetic Sciences” with Daniel Siegel, MD and Cassandra Vieten, PhD. It was first published in the March 2011 issue of Noetic Now, the online journal of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, located at www.noetic.org/noetic/. With permission from the publisher. ©2011

IFGT

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