3 New "Great Lesson" Promo Videos

Simple Tips For Getting Centered

Do you ever feel disconnected from your body? Think about all of the hours we spend at the office and at home, hunched over a computer. Sure, we exercise the mind, but what about the rest of us?

When we neglect the body, we pay a steep price in our physical and mental health and wellbeing.

In the upcoming movie The Great Lesson, we learn that one of the most powerful ways to connect with the body is by getting centered. Centering is an integral part of mind ~ body practices like yoga, martial arts, tai chi, dance as well as most sports. The center goes by many names: Dantian in Chinese, Hara in Japanese, and the Lower Chakra in Sanskrit. In America, we call it the gut or the belly.

So where is the center? The center is a point in the middle of the body, about two inches below the navel. It is a source of balance and stability. According to Richard Strozzi-Heckler, when you are centered, you are completely relaxed. In this way, you are making an ally with gravity instead of fighting against it.

Think about a time when you felt deeply relaxed and grounded in your body even though things around you were chaotic. Perhaps you even experienced a sense of time slowing down. This is the magic of your center - the place where mind and body come together.

But the center is a moving center. It goes wherever you direct your awareness. If you are deep in thought, the center might be in your head. If you are feeling heavy emotions, it might be in your chest.

However, when you are centered in the mid point of your body, the mind becomes quiet and still. Instead of dwelling on the past or thinking ahead to the future, you get rooted in the present. You accept who you are and where you are unconditionally without trying to change things. According to Chuang-Tzu, “Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free: stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing.”

Here are some simple tips for getting centered right now:

1. Take a few deep, slow breaths.
2. Align the body by sitting or standing up straight.
3. Release any tension and allow the body to relax completely from head to toe.
4. Direct your attention toward the point two inches below your navel.

Some might say that this sounds great in theory, but who has the time to do this? According to Tom Crum, any moment can be an opportunity to find your center.

For instance, when you are taking a walk, you can become more aware of your center with each step. Try pressing your index finger on the point about two inches below the navel from time to time as well. Think of yourself as pushing a button to power up your center.

Another great centering moment is when you are stuck in traffic. Instead of getting frustrated, Crum uses the seat belt as a centering belt. The click of the seat belt can be a reminder to connect with your center. If you are not in a car, use a belt buckle as your centering belt. Adjust the buckle so that it rests on your center.

Unfortunately, most of us spend most of our day OFF center. Becoming irritable and stressed are sure signs that we have lost our center.

To regain the center, choose moments throughout the day to take centering breaks. Give it a try and see what happens! If you think about it, any spare time during the day can be an amazing opportunity to recapture the magic of your center!

Meditation for Beginners

"Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are." -- Old Chinese Proverb

Sure it reduces stress and helps us relax, but who really has the time to meditate these days.

People barely have time to talk to their kids, let alone sitting cross legged on the floor for 20 minutes, staring at a blank wall. Doesn't sound like much fun to me!

But meditation can be much more dynamic and creative. And did I mention that it doesn't have to take much time either...

Here are some simple ways beginners can meditate:

Listening:

Listening is an active way to still the mind. When you are listening to the sound of your breath, music or noises in your home for a few minutes, you naturally become more mindful and aware of your surroundings. The mental chatter seems to dissolve and what's left is a more focused and refreshed mind.

Laughing

When you are laughing, you are mindful and fully present. You are also highly relaxed. It is difficult to be tense and lost in thought when you are laughing. Just look at children. They are laughter experts. They laugh often and easily throughout the day. Laugher is another great way to restore relaxation and clarity to an often clouded thinking mind.

Drinking Tea or Taking a Walk

Sipping hot tea and going for an early morning walk are other great meditations. Think of the hot steam rising from your mug. Or imagine your feet slowly pressing down on cool blades of grass. When you enjoy these activities, you are not thinking about the past or the future. You are in the moment. And being fully present is precisely the magic of meditation!

Don’t let the name fool you. Any activity has the potential to be a meditation when you slow down, turn off your auto-pilot thinking mind and become more aware of what you are doing.

We can all meditate - anytime anywhere. Give it a try!

Choose Happiness

Did you know that happiness is a choice? In fact, happiness is one of the bravest, boldest and most radical acts you can make. It's subversive to choose happiness.

Same thing with health. Last week, I was at a talk by Robert Kenner, the director of Food INC. and he said that the three most revolutionary decisions in your day (and your family's) are breakfast, lunch and dinner. Imagine that - you can choose to be vibrant, healthy, energetic and alive based on your food decisions.

In either of these cases, you are making a choice to be happy and healthy. It's not a result of outside circumstances or genetics.

Often times, we think we have to add something to be happy. Or we see ourselves as the victim of bad genes. The common denominator is that we play the blame game. We're not where we want to be because of something or someone else.

Everything changes when you look within and take ownership of your life. You change your destiny once you realize that happiness, even health, is a choice!

Here's an amazing passage from Mark Murphy's must read book on goal setting called Hard Goals.

"This is why I get cranky when I hear the 'it's all genetic' crowd fatalistically tell us that our lives are predetermined by our DNA (if you don't have the natural talent, oh well, don't waste your energy trying)... I'll tell you what I'm thankful for: I'm thankful that Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa, among others didn't buy into any of those crazy arguments. I'm thankful each one of them was willing to push past what's easy in order to achieve some exceptionally difficult goals. Otherwise they wouldn't have founded a country, put a man on the moon, liberated a nation, freed a people, and so on."

The Future of Food

Dr. Vandana Shiva is one of the world's most inspiring and important voices on behalf of sustainable agriculture and the environment. It was once said by Dr. Max Gerson that the soil is our "external metabolism." If our soil is toxic and deficient of minerals, then we will be the same.

If health is a priority for you and your family, check out Dr. Shiva's talk on the future of food:

I CAN or I CAN'T - you decide!

“Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn't have it in the beginning.”
Mohandas Gandhi

It's been written that by the time you are seventeen, you've heard “I can't” 150,000 times compared to “I can” only 5,000 times. It's no wonder that most of us are programmed to think so negatively.

Write down 5 limiting beliefs that you have. You can start by writing “I can't.........”
Then, below this, change "I can't" to "I can."

Write it, Say it, Believe it, Feel it, Know it.... I CAN!!!!!

We are all so incredibly powerful!

Peace,

D
The Great Lesson - the movie that transforms

The Play State

Did you know that some of the biggest achievers take play very seriously? We often think of play as just for kids. But research by Stuart Brown points out that play can make adults live happier, healthier, more creative and fulfilled lives. Think back to the last time when you were immersed in play. Whatever the activity, if you lost track of time and were fully engulfed in the moment, then you entered the play state!

Check out this amazing video of play in nature:

Hard Goals

Do you ever wonder why many people fall short of their goals again and again?

In his amazing book called Hundred Percenters, Mark Murphy offers a fascinating explanation. He writes that our goals are too safe and conservative - even wimpy!

On the other hand, hard goals - or really REALLY BIG GOALS - are different:

"HARD goals are aspirational. They force us to push through our self-imposed limitations, to focus on something bigger than our own immediate wants, and to solve challenges of vital necessity. HARD goals are also inspirational."

Imagine that - goals so big that you get inspired and fired up just thinking about them!!

I guess you could say that a safe goal is a safe road to failure. Why, because it's not strong and compelling enough to push you through the inevitable obstacles that will come up along the way.

Michael Beckwith reminds us in The Secret that this is a feeling universe. And goals are the same way. They must be more than words on a page. Think of it this way: if your goals don't get you leaping out of bed in the morning and working late into the night, then they probably aren't big enough.

So what are your hard goals?

Low Information Diet

When You Have No Other Choice

"When you have no other choice, you stop making excuses and start doing the things you know need to be done. When you close off all alternatives, it is much easier to commit and make progress.

"Most business people I know love the fact that they are able to get so much work done while travelling on airplanes. At least on most flights, cell and e-mail access isn’t an option, so one is left with the only choices of reading the inflight magazine, reading a book, listening to music or actually getting work done. Goodbye internet, hello productivity.

"Can you go internet free one day a week? Can you go e-mail free a couple times a week? Can you resolve not to answer your work calls after 5pm or before 9am? Can you commit to eating a leafy green salad with every meal? Can you not turn on your TV after 9pm? Can you stop reading so many blogs and focus more on writing more of your own

"What can you do to recreate such situations (like the internet free flight!) in your everyday life – so that you don’t have to rely on your own willpower to achieve a positive result? For example, have organic produce delivered to your door every week so you feel compelled to eat healthy food – so it doesn’t spoil. Join a sports team that will make you feel guilty for not getting out and exercising. Do work in a location that doesn’t have internet access. Sell your TV (or loan it to a friend for a while). Disable your Facebook and Twitter accounts…etc.

"Get creative and design a lifestyle that makes it easy for you to be more disciplined and smarter about how you live you life and spend your time."

Great blog posting from Yogi Ravi

Give Ravi's low information diet a try for a day or a week and see how it works out for you.

Raw for Life

Dr. Gabriel Cousens, Michael Beckwith ("The Secret" and "Oprah") and David Wolfe are interviewed in RAW FOR LIFE. This film can empower people to take control of their health and happiness:

Living in the Now!

Dr. Jerry Lynch is a featured Master Teacher in the upcoming movie The Great Lesson. In this video, he tells the story of "the watch" and what it means to LIVE IN THE NOW!



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