February A 2018
Cover Story
Metaphysics
24
98
Ken Wilber - The Religion of Tomorrow
An Exercise for Opening Your Spiritual Eyes
Health & Wellness
Personal Growth
42 46
106 You Can Become More Confident, Right Now 110 Men and the Divine Feminine
Start Reversing Aging Alternative Answers for Constipation
Spirituality 52 56
Slow & Steady for 2018 5 Surefire Signs You are Facing an Existential Crisis
OM Living 64 68
Japamala and other Devotional Practices Leading a Value-Based Life
Relationships 78 82 88 92
A Different Kind of Valentine How to Recognize Emotional Blackmail Secret Keys to Spiritual Attraction Between Two Souls Facing the Destructive Nature of Gossip
World Vision 118 Bringing Forth The Best In Our World
Ken Wilber: The Religion of Tomorrow In his latest book, The Religion of Tomorrow: A Vision for the Future of the Great Traditions, the author, leader, scholar and founder of the Integral Institute Ken Wilber notes that there is a sensual paradox in the role of religion throughout history. On the one hand, religion has been Omtimes.com
the single greatest cause of war and suffering. On the other, it’s been the single greatest source of redemption, salvation, and liberation for humanity. How could we possibly make sense of this apparently impossible contradiction, he asks. How can we reconcile the very best qualities of religion with the very worst? Ken Wilber joins us today to explain how part of the problem is that the path of waking up needs to be complemented by the path of growing up, to renew and replenish our understanding of enlightenment in the 21st Century. Sandie Sedgbeer: Ken, in The Religion of Tomorrow, you say that a single purpose lies at the heart of all the great religious traditions, which is awakening to the astonishing reality of the true nature of ourselves and the universe. If that is so, how is it that religion and spirituality have come to be the greatest cause of war and suffering as well as the greatest source of redemption, salvation, and liberation? What happened to erode that focus?
Ken Wilber: Well, that’s probably one of the most central questions that we can ask about religion itself. And strangely, we’ve only really gotten some satisfactory answers to this question in the last decade or two. And one of the ways that we can approach this is indeed by what you mentioned, which is by recognizing that there are at least two very important dimensions to religion in general. They’re both equally important, but they’re quite different. And one is what we indeed call waking up, and one is what we call growing up. So, waking up is, in a certain sense, it’s kind of the essential core of what the world’s great spiritual traditions are meant to do. So, most of the great traditions maintain that the typical human being is living in a world that in some sense is less than adequate. It’s referred to as a fallen world, or for Buddhists and Hindus, it’s a dualistic world, a world of fragmentation and even illusion, it’s a world of alienation, for certain Christians, it’s a world of original sin. Any way we look at it, it’s an existentially problematic almost inferior kind of world that we Omtimes.com
Start Reversing Aging Now with Glutathione By Kristin Grayce McGary LAc., MAc., CFMP®, CSTcert, CLP.
Ok, I admit it I have lovely silver strands adorning my head and I’m noticing a few things changing in my body. I know there are surgeries, potions and supplements available to counter the effects of aging. If someone wishes to have a facelift that’s their decision, and one I respect. I’d rather grow old gracefully and naturally. I’m less worried about how I look and more concerned with how healthy Omtimes.com
I am. It is my belief that the healthier I am the better I look. Aging is the result of oxidative stress in which the production of free radicals is out of balance with the more protective antioxidants. And the more oxidative stress we have the quicker we age. It damages our cells and shortens telomeres. Telomeres are the repetitive DNA at the ends of our chromosomes which protect the end of the
chromosome from deterioration. (1) When these shorten, we age more quickly and are vulnerable to more disease. So, how can we reverse oxidative stress? Antioxidants counter oxidative stress. There are abundant antioxidants in organic, vine ripened vegetables and fruits. But we often don’t eat enough or a wide enough variety. Enter one of the most potent antioxidants - Glutathione – that will work to protect your health AND your looks! In my opinion, Glutathione is the mother of all antioxidants! It is a substance produced naturally in the liver and it’s also found in fruits, vegetables and meats. I consider it absolutely necessary for anti-aging, cancer prevention, heart disease, dementia, general disease prevention, and optimal health. Our bodily production of glutathione can be impacted by many things such as pollution, radiation, trauma, toxins, and medications so it’s important to maintain a good diet and avoid pesticides, toxins and chemicals that will reduce the body’s ability to produce glutathione.
Interestingly, about 1/3 of all people suffering with some degree of illness, are missing the essential genes that support healthy detoxification and glutathione production. Genetic testing will reveal if you are one of those people and if so you can begin taking glutathione in a supplement form. As well as helping you to fight the aging process here are some of the other ways in which glutathione can help you: • Support the liver, kidneys and intestines which are the all-important organs for detoxification clearing heavy metals as well as many other harmful toxins and reducing oxidative stress and the effects of aging. • Prevents oxidative stress induced disease • Supports the brain in aging. Look and think better. • Regenerate antioxidants like Vitamin C and Vitamin E. • Support immune function, especially functioning of white blood cells and T-cell Lymphocytes, which are necessary to avoid cancers Omtimes.com
5 Surefire Signs You are Facing an Existential Crisis By Cathedral of the Soul
The existential crises are phases of deep reflection, marked mainly by the personal conflict and that can arise at any moment of the life. In other words, the existential crisis is natural for the human being and, when well lived or understood, it can represent
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a moment of transformation for the individual, such as attaining self-knowledge, moral and emotional maturation, personal growth, and even a spiritual awakening. But if the symptoms are not correctly “worked out,” the person facing an existential crisis may suffer much more, drowning in a host of disorders, phobias, and depressions and isolationist behaviors. According to psychologists, five main symptoms characterize most existential crises. Find out if you have any of them: 1. Anxiety and mental fatigue This is considered one of the most common signs of the existential crisis, the famous psychological fatigue. Even the person pretending to be introspective and “calm,” can endure inside his head, the reigns of total chaos. A constant whirlwind of thoughts, usually pessimistic,
filled with lower emotions that make the individual extraordinarily anxious and exhausted. Like other muscles of the body, the human mind also needs moments of rest. Otherwise, stress increases and with it will make favorable the appearance of other symptoms. 2. Does not feel like being with anyone As your mind is already in constant turmoil, the person with existential crisis seeks to isolate himself to try to find a balance in his thoughts. Also, mental fatigue eliminates any kind of desire to make social interactions, such as hanging out with friends or even being in the company of family members. Playing in bed, listening to music or watching movies is one of the favorite shows of people during this phase. “There is absolutely no worse death curse than the humdrum daily existence of the living dead.” Anthon St. Maarten Omtimes.com
Leading a ValueBased Life By Maria Khalife
Could you tick off a list on your fingers of what you value most in your life? Could you explain to your best friends what those values are and why they are important to you? It may serve you well to think about your values because of somewhere near the core of your being, they are the reasons behind what’s happening in your life. They are the motivation and the determination you are using to direct your life one way or another.
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When your inner decisions about your core values and your external choices about your actions are aligned, you feel harmonious about your life. When they don’t match up, life feels a bit bumpy. It’s Good to Establish Values A life value establishes importance for how you work and how you live your life. You may have set some values and are unaware of those choices. You might have consciously chosen some. Being aware of all of them help you when you’re working your plan for your life. If you value your career the most, you might not have much time for your family. If you appreciate quiet contemplation, working in a fast-paced sales environment would not provide satisfaction. When you know your values, it helps you make life choices that will serve your preferences best, as well as help you make decisions about your career, your business, your family, your position on a difficult decision, or whether
you want to continue things the same way your family has always done them. Knowing your core values can help immensely with those decisions, and they might require adjustment as you progress through life because new circumstances might require new values. For example, when you become a parent, you might want to think through your career values. How You Can Determine Your Values It’s essential that you look within yourself to discover what you really value. Your opinion matters the most. When faced with a decision, you will look within to see if there’s alignment with your values: • Will this be good for me? • Will this be good for my family? • Am I making a right decision here? Alignment with your core values is immeasurably helpful at decision-making time. Here are some questions to help you Omtimes.com
AofDiValenti fferentne Kind By Alan Cohen
February is the month of Valentines when our thoughts turn to love. Usually, we give Valentines gifts and affection to romantic partners. This month I would like to shift our focus to expressions of love to our family, in particular, our parents.
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While reading Soul Friends by Stephen Cole, I came upon a quote by Buddha that caused me to put the book aside and think for a long time: “. .the debt of gratitude we owe to our parents is so great that we could carry them on our backs for our entire lives and yet still never fully repay it.” Wow. When I was growing up, I did not appreciate my parents. I was busy living out my own desires, figuring out who I was, and exploring the world. I took mom and dad for granted. I had judgments about them and wished they were otherwise. At times I was disrespectful. I was a selfinvolved teenager. My father passed away when I was 18 years old before I reached a stage of life when I became more conscious about my relationships, so I never
got to express my appreciation to him. As I have matured, I have reconsidered the many kindnesses my folks showed me. They didn’t have much money. My father drove a bus at odd hours, and my mother worked in a hat store during the day and at a factory at night. They did everything they could to keep me safe, comfortable, and happy. For most of my childhood, we lived in an awful section of the city, where crime and depravity were rampant. Realizing the dangers of this environment, they worked harder to earn more money to move to a more beautiful part of town where the rent was quite high. They performed many other extraordinary generous acts. Despite their human frailties and habits, I judged, their parenting was born of pure love. Looking back now, my heart is bursting with gratitude I wish I had shared with them when they walked
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How to Recognize Emotional Blackmail By Ascending hearts
Emotional blackmail can happen in the friendships, within the family relations, or in a romantic relationship. The goal of a blackmailer is to be able to manipulate the other person and turn them into someone who fulfills their desires. Sometimes Blackmailing can be done in such a subtle way that Omtimes.com
the other person may not even realize that it is being manipulated. Although it may seem difficult to believe, a person who resorts to emotional blackmail is also insecure and weak. They need to recourse to blackmail to reach their goals since they do not see themselves really able to achieve things in a healthy way. Although they tend to present themselves as very secure, well mannered, reasonable and selfcontained people.
Here are 4 ways to Emotional blackmail and how to avoid falling into this type of manipulation. 1. Emotional blackmail by pressure or threat Manipulation of this kind consists of putting pressure on another person, in such a way that freedom is limited. If one does not do as one is asked to, there is a punishment or a great deal of upset later. The feeling presented by the victim in the face of this manipulation is fear. The typical phrase spoken by parents to their young children,
“If you do it again, you will be punished,” or someone telling your partner, “If you do it again, it’s all over!” These are basic phrases in which, if the order is not followed, there will be a later consequence. How can we defend ourselves against this kind of emotional blackmail? Making the blackmailer see that he is not capable of causing us fear. A threat or pressure always seeks to generate fear and, thus, the victim ends up obeying. However, if there is no fear or if we make the person feel that we are not feeling fear, we dismantle the manipulation. The answer to an “If you do it again, it’s all over” threat could be “I’m free to do whatever I want, and if that makes you want to leave me, I cannot do anything!” The important thing is to make the person see that, instead of accepting the threat or punishment, we are able to face it, and not for that we will change our actions. 2. Emotional blackmail that creates guilt This Emotional blackmail consists of creating a sense of Omtimes.com
Secret Keys to Spiritual Attraction Between Two Souls By Ascending Hearts
Sometimes two souls meet like the ancient stars in the sky. Almost without knowing, they enter the same gravitational field where almost everything fits perfectly together. We are talking about the mental attraction that goes beyond the physical one, because it captures and dazzles
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us, through a spiritual and intellectual connection, the two souls caress themselves and sail together in the same course. This type of attraction that goes beyond the skin that delves into other kinds of connections is more common than we may think. However, this does not mean that the weight of physical appearance has ceased to have its extraordinary importance as a catalyst of a relationship. In fact, as was demonstrated by the social psychologist Solomon Ash in his “Implicit Personality Theories,” people continue to think that everything that is beautiful, is also good and therefore beneficial. When it comes to talking about attraction, we must bear in mind that most of these mechanisms are governed by our unconscious mind. The physical aspect is our cover letter in the relationship and the propaganda, we know that; however, this advertisement is not always the perfect bait or the most
infallible to start and maintain a relationship. Biology, chemistry, and our psych emotional give shape to this gravitational field of attraction where we approach specific profiles and voila, almost without knowing how the magic of magnetism arises. We do not necessarily speak of “soul mates,” but of connected personalities, who are in perfect harmony and who can create a stable and enriching bond. This is an exciting theme with many nuances on which we wish to reflect with you. Spiritual attraction does not seek soul mates, it looks for fellow travelers We will begin by talking about a curious fact that should invite us to reflect. According to a study by Dr. Raymond Knee, director of the Laboratory of Social Psychology at the University of Rochester, more than half of people believe that soul mates exist. They believe that people are destined to be together and that this kind of attraction transcends loves at first sight.
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The Destructive Nature of Gossip By Judi Lynch
If we examine our hearts and minds more closely in empathy for every soul who has suffered needlessly from jealous gossip, we work to make positive changes in the collective consciousness. We have all been the victim of gossip, through our own words, or the words of
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someone else. Gossip can destroy lives, trust of others and life-long friendships. It is like a spiritual assault on our souls to discuss others without their input or understanding of their privacy. We open the door to being under scrutiny ourselves, even worse, we hurt someone deeply by repeating things we know or hear. It doesn’t matter if the gossip is true or not it only matters that we use discretion and integrity with any information we receive. Is it true? Is it kind? Will this knowledge help someone from being hurt? Is it based on hatred or jealousy for this person that is not justified?
Jealousy is known to be at the root of most gossip. When one person feels threatened by another, it can cause them to make-up or repeat stories about their rival(s) just to eliminate the competition. Even good or best friends have fallen prey to ego and imagined slights when someone feels ignored and it causes a friendship to end. Here are a few biblical quotes from Proverbs that prove we have been gossiping for a very long time now;
Make no mistake that if someone is telling you about everyone else and their life challenges or blessings, they are most likely talking about you too. We live in a very dangerous age of false information, gossip magazines and reality shows. People have started assuming that since others tell every secret imaginable about their lives on these shows it is open season on friends and family too. Truly it is not in anyone’s best interest to be caring all the time about what anyone thinks but it is just not productive to judge and accuse another without a very good reason.
Proverbs 26:22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.
Proverbs 16:28 A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.
Proverbs 26:20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. How do we work together collectively to end this cycle of abusing each other? Compassion, understanding and acceptance for others who think and act differently is a good start. If we could all spend less time reading, repeating and watching gossip about each other much more Omtimes.com
You Can Become More Confident, Right Now By Marcia Sirota, MD.
Do you envy the person at the party who walks in, glowing with positive self-regard, and who soon finds himself surrounded by fascinated, admiring fellow guests?
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Do you wish you were the person who takes a leadership role in the workplace and who is often given positions of greater responsibility by the bosses?
The way to overcome these unfortunate consequences of a less-than-ideal childhood is to take responsibility today for developing a solid sense of self.
Do you want to become the person who is rarely beset by self-doubt, self-criticism, or insecurities about your abilities?
There are two steps to building self-confidence: establishing belief in yourself and silencing the inner critic.
It’s all possible. You simply need to gain confidence. People aren’t born with confidence; it’s something that is learned. If you grew up receiving sufficient affirmation, validation, respect, encouragement and meaningful praise, you’d grow into a confident person. If, on the other hand, you were overtly or subtly criticized; if you were undermined, neglected, or told that feeling proud of yourself would give you a swelled head, you’d most likely grow up with a lack of confidence. You might even have a harsh “inner critic” that tells you that you’re “not good enough,” or that you “can’t do it.”
These two steps are simple, if not easy. First, you must begin to believe in yourself. You need to start recognizing that you ARE smart; you CAN do it; you HAVE excellent skills and abilities. The only meaningful way to develop this belief in yourself is to do things, and see that you’re able to succeed. Of course, it doesn’t work if you set yourself up to fail by taking on challenges that are too much for you at the outset. If you bite off more than you can chew, it will only serve to reinforce your false belief that you’re inadequate and/or incompetent. So, take on reasonable challenges, to begin with. See that you’re able to meet these Omtimes.com
Bringing Forth The Best In Our World By Crystal Presence
A new level of consciousness that is supporting us in bringing forth the best in our world. A knowing that we must forth the best of ourselves be part of the resolution. Creating a new Omtimes.com
context of living with a list of what ways we can bring that forth. Throughout history we have strived to bring forth the best in our world. From harnessing fire, making tools, creating art, forming religions, cultivating food and engaging in war. Some things have made us strong and some have brought on more pain and suffering. Today we have more clarity of how to use the power of our thoughts, emotions, bodies and hearts. Our consciousness is changing as science and quantum physics are proving that there is no separation between anyone or anything. Our souls are uniting with a spirituality that is base on knowing that we are literally One. We know that when we bring forth the best in ourselves it reflects outwardly as the best in our world. We want to be part of the resolution as
we learn new ways to keep ourselves from falling back into old ways of being. We know we live in a society that encourages us to be independent and successful by overriding our bodies and emotions. We are igniting a passion for releasing ourselves from lives of stress, overwhelm, control and manipulation. What if we cultivate a new context of living? One that brings forth lives that are empowering, fun, easy and in alignment with our source and essential selves? The following are a few ways we can do that.... Ask this question: What is the nature of experiencing a new context of living that inherently brings out the best in of us and our world? Embrace the truth that power includes letting go, connection, support, relationship, interaction, surrendering and allowing. Love ourselves and our
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