Free Forgiveness and Weight Loss Online Series

Hay House is organizing two free online series that you may find useful. It's a good way to start the New Year and to stay motivated on your personal development and diet/fitness goals. If you can't listen live, you will still be able to access the lessons within 7 days. Enjoy!

1.  Forgiveness: An Essential Component in Health and Healing
Anger, resentment, and guilt are often major contributors to stress and most frequently lie beneath emotional pain. Recent research indicates a correlation between chronic anger and hostility, and certain physical symptoms as well. Yet few of us have been taught how to move beyond anger to the full resolution and healing that only forgiveness can offer.

In this insightful, free online series Joan Borysenko, a world-renowned expert in the mind/body connection, and Robin Casarjian, the Founder and Director of the Lionheart Foundation, explore the profound implications of forgiveness for emotional, physical, and spiritual healing. They take forgiveness out of the realm of a “lofty ideal” and translate it into a practical strategy that can be integrated into ones life on a daily basis.

Whether it is with ourselves, in our most intimate relationships or with anyone else, the practice of forgiveness empowers us to relate to life with greater effectiveness, clarity, and ease. It completely transforms the challenge of dealing with difficult people, leaving the forgiver with a greater sense of well-being. Forgiveness is a practical strategy for healing the hurt from painful relationships and cultivating inner strength and genuine peace of mind.

Lesson Details:

January 6, 2011, 9-10 am PT
Lesson 1: What is Forgiveness and How Do We Get There?
Robin and Joan create the framework you need to understand what forgiveness is, what it isn’t, and how to begin this life-changing practice that sets you free.

January 13, 2010, 9-10 am PT
Lesson 2: Forgiving Others
This is the where the rubber hits the road. When you lay your burden down and move on, the result is a whole new level of personal freedom. What do you get by holding onto anger that blocks the ability to let go to greater peace, acceptance, insight, and love? And how can you make the shift from holding onto old hurts and disappointments to living a more joyous and fulfilling life?

January 20, 2010, 9-10 am PT
Lesson 3: Self-Forgiveness
Special Guest LOUISE L. HAY! Self-forgiveness is the heart of healing. With it we learn how to heal shame and guilt, and develop greater compassion, gentleness, and self-acceptance.

Click here to register:
http://www.hayhouse.com/event_details.php?event_id=1282&utm_id=HAYFB

2. What Have You Got to Lose?: The Ultimate Program for Losing Weight and Getting Fit 
Free Six-Lesson Online Course
Date: January 6-20, 2011, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Pacific Time

Six of the World’s Top Weight Loss & Fitness Experts Share Their Proven Techniques!

Are you frustrated that you can’t seem to lose weight, no matter what supposedly amazing diet plan you try? Do you sometimes feel like giving up and blowing off your workout for some deep dish pepperoni pizza with extra cheese? Want to just learn the best proven weight loss and fitness techniques that you can easily apply to your everyday life and will give you results?

Have we got the perfect program for you! Here at Hay House we know how tough it can be to keep taking action on your weight loss and fitness goals in the midst of frustrating setbacks, confusing information, and post-holiday weight woes. We want to support you in being the best, happiest, and healthiest you. That’s why we’re bringing you our all-new What Have You Got to Lose? live online series for free— it’s our New Year gift to you!

In this empowering and hands-on live online program, six of the world’s top weight loss and fitness experts teach you their proven techniques for shedding those extra pounds and getting firm. Join Marianne Williamson, Brad Lamm, Jorge Cruise, Bill Phillips, Dr. Michael Snyder, and Nicole Nichols as they each draw from their years of experience helping people from around the world and from all walks of life finally achieve their dream bodies and improve their health.

Now, it’s YOUR turn! What have you got to lose? Join us to get all the right ingredients to dramatically transform your body, mind, and spirit inside and out!

**Even if you can’t listen live, you can still join us!**

For your convenience, all participants automatically receive an on demand stream of all six lessons. Each lesson will be uploaded into your account within 3 days of its live air date and then be available for you to start to listen to anytime within seven days. Hay House will send you a notification email when each lesson is available to stream from your account. So, you can still take the course no matter your schedule!

Click here to register:
http://www.hayhouse.com/event_details.php?event_id=1294

Mindfullness or Vipassana Meditation

I am reading the book "Mindfulness in Plain English" by Bhante Gunaratana, aka Bhante G. I couldn't put it off last night until 3.00 am, as it is so captivating and easy to read.

One idea that I would like to share with you today is about our addiction to classifying every experience we have. As a result, we have a handful of experiences that we classify as "good". We collect them in a special box in our mind and try to attract more of the same experiences. This is what Bhante G. calls "mental grasping". Then, we have a pile of experiences we perceive as "bad" and we want to push them away or "reject". Everything else we experience is neither good nor bad, so we don't care much about the majority of our life moments. 

This is such a powerful discovery. Yes, I think it is good to cherish  and appreciate precious moments, but not at the expense of everything else. About 90% of experiences that are not that emotionally colored will fall into this "neutral box" and just be forgotten or mechanically lived through without even noticing. This idea is similar to Eckhart Tolle's message about living in the now instead of reliving the past or waiting for the future. When I think that I can potentially miss most of my life if I don't become more mindful of the present moment,  I feel very motivated to learn how to meditate and control my thoughts.

The book focuses on vipassana meditation, or insight meditation, practiced in Theravada Buddhist tradition. Insight meditation  in Pali sounds like vipassana bhavana, which is translated as cultivating your mind to see the fundamental essence of everything. I see it as getting rid of dualistic limiting thoughts and perceiving every moment and every things as it really is, neither good or bad. I can see how this practice can make my life full with meaning that is real, or in other words, mindful.  

Message for All Lightworkers for 2011 fro Rachel Willis

This interview of Rachel Willis, creator and editor Lightworker Magazine and a conduit for the Ascended Masters, is a great way to start 2011. Lilou Mace again did a good job asking interesting questions.

You can read Lightworker Magazine for free at http://www.lightworkermag.com/. Below is Ascended Masters' message for 2011 Rachel channeled for her web-site.

"Dear One, we assemble with you now as your guardians of your soul - we worship your goodness and see your greatness, we honour your commitment to life and all it brings, we support you in your every endeavour and are here to lessen your load. Whatever you require, we lovingly assist with and secure your future for all of time. We assure you of your perfection and lovability, for your soul is shining so brightly into the heavens, and beyond.

We ask that you listen to our words carefully and accept them into your heart. There is no one on this planet who is better than you, no one who could be better than you. You are brilliance and perfection, right as you are, in this moment, right here. You are here to bring gifts of joy to the planet and we ask that you surrender your fears to us so that we can assist you fully on your path. Giving your fears to us is as simple as releasing them with love, replacing them with love, filling yourself with love.

Focus on love and love shall be your experience.

Each and every time you resist this and turn to fear, you create pain for yourself and for others. You need not do this, for pain leads to nothing but suffering. Nothing was created from pain, save suffering.

Love brings gifts beyond your imagination and with them the opportunity to grow and learn as you do now. Love elevates your energies and allows others to do the same, love creates connections, marriages, births and communions. Love bridges age groups, races and social divides.

Love conquers all. And this is the truth.

Love supports you, love graces you, love guides you. We love you. Please love yourself as we do, and allow yourself to receive abundance and goodness, for this is your right as a human soul. Open your heart wide and attract more love into your life, this in turn creates momentum and belief. Belief is the fuel for the fire of creation, and with it comes the goodness of loving spirit and divine inspiration.

We stand with you now as your cheerleaders, your comrades and your advisors. We honour your path and the lessons that you have already learned. Now is the time to learn to create from loving greatness; to put aside fears and replace them with truths, to put aside procrastination and replace it with inspiration, to put aside worry and replace it with faith, to put aside imbalance and replace it with peace, to put aside regrets and replace them with wisdom, to put aside doubts and replace them with trust - all that you need, want and desire is yours in this moment. Feel the truth of what we say, and welcome it into your heart, for as you do so you create it in your reality.

The planet needs love. The planet needs you to love.

The planet is evolving and you are part of this revolution of loving change. You can lead the way with your heart; allow yourself to be a role model for the future of love-based living, allow your fears to subside as you glimpse the visions of the coming years. With change comes renewal, and this new world is pure love, truth and respect for one another. This world already exists, both in your heart and in your mind; you can feel it to be so. This world is what you are living, it is your human experience, it is the truth of humanity.

As we stand by your side to help you with your creations, we send you love and devotion; we heal you, and we empower you to heal others.

This is our message to you, for 2011."

Some Things are Always True: A Speech Charlie Chaplin Gave on His 70th Birthday

Today, I found these profound words of wisdom that are a perfect inspiration to start the New Year. It’s the speech that Charlie Chaplin gave on his 70th birthday.

As I Began to Love Myself

As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering
are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth.
Today, I know, this is “AUTHENTICITY.”

As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody
As I try to force my desires on this person,
even though I knew the time was not right and the person was not ready for it,
and even though this person was me.
Today I call it “RESPECT.”

As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life,
and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow.
Today I call it “MATURITY.”

As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance,
I am in the right place at the right time,
and everything happens at the exactly right moment.
So I could be calm.
Today I call it “SELF-CONFIDENCE.”

As I began to love myself I quit stealing my own time,
and I stopped designing huge projects for the future.
Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do
and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm.
Today I call it “SIMPLICITY.”

As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for my health—
food, people, things, situations, and everything the drew me down and away from myself.
At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism.
Today I know it is “LOVE OF ONESELF,”

As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right,
and ever since I was wrong less of the time.
Today I discovered that is “MODESTY.”

As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worry about the future.
Now, I only live for the moment, where EVERYTHING is happening.
Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it “FULFILLMENT,”

As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me
and it can make me sick.
But as I connected it to my heart, my mind became a valuable ally.
Today I call this connection “WISDOM OF THE HEART.”

We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems
with ourselves or others.
Even stars collide, and out of their crashing new worlds are born.
Today I know THAT IS “LIFE”!

New Year Resolutions for 2011

Putting Knowledge into Action

The end of 2010 is very significant for me. It marks the end of a period of accumulation of knowledge and preparation and the beginning of a new era of conscious, responsible, and productive life. I am setting new goals and developing new ways of achieving them. The new year is going to be focused on putting knowledge into action, practicing what I have learned and taking responsibility for my thoughts and deeds.

Up to this point in my life, I have been reading and collecting knowledge piece by piece, until I got to this point where I know intuitively what works and what doesn’t work for me. I also have a list of favorite authors and people who inspire me and whose teachings are a constant source of wisdom and guidance. I know which thoughts, feelings, and activities I enjoy. The only missing part is putting all this knowledge into action. How can I do this? This is a challenging question that I want to find answer to.  

Sources of Inspiration: Pieces of a Puzzle

One of my recent realizations is that it is extremely important to know who and what inspires you the most and helps you to stay connected to your true self. It is true that our sources of inspiration change over time. What inspired me yesterday may not work today or tomorrow. I would like to mention a few authors and people that inspire me right now.

1. I recently read the book “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill and was very inspired by his scientific approach to studying the elements of success. I had this book for a long time and just couldn’t start reading it until now. I think I am ready now to start practicing his findings.
2. Klaus Joehle, the author of a series of “Living on Love” books, has a special place in my heart. I feel so close to him and share many of his beliefs and experiences. He is a true blessing and inspiration. I am extremely grateful that he is a part of my life. It has been four or five years since I read his first book, “The Messenger”. About a month ago, I had a strong desire to read his books again. I think I can get something new out of them right now.
3. Abraham-Hicks teaching has been a part of my learning process for the last 4-5 years. I find them helpful because of the detailed and specific instructions of how to shift your thoughts from a destructive to a constructive pattern quickly and effectively. 
4. Lilou Mace and Lincoln Gergar are both great visionaries who provide a great service to humanity by posting their videos on Youtube and their web-sites. Although the material they share with public free of charge is very different, they are a great example of a self-less service. Lincoln connect to his Higher Self in a meditative state and delivers messages that can help spiritual seekers to connect to their true selves. The quality and energy of the materials are very high and transformative. Lilou’s mission is to interview people who can “inspire, motivate and empower millions of people to pursue their dreams” and to “help spread joy, freedom and empowerment”.  Both of them have posted hundreds on videos on their Youtube channels.

As an additional motivation tool, I have signed up to participate in 100-Day Reality Challenge. This is an online community, created by Lilou Mace and her two partners. Participants begin by declaring what they want to create in their lives and for the next 100 days practice Universal Laws & Principles, such as the Law of Attraction, Law of Deliberate Creation and the Law of Allowing. After stating their goals, members of the community document the process of their achievement by posting video and text posts, watch and comment on each other’s posts, interact, and encourage each other.

Cultivating Harmony

For me, participating in 100-Day Reality Challenge is related to material in the books of Napoleon Hill and Klaus Joehle, as well in the Abraham-Hicks teachings. I think it will help me to stay on track with my goals. My own practice will combine recommendations in all these sources and introduce something new. I believe that the more I am in harmony with my inner self the more the outer world will reflect my true self, and therefore, the happier my life and the lives of those around me will become. So cultivating harmony within and without is going to be the biggest theme for the next year.

Taking Responsibility for My Life

Some people associate the idea of consumerism with the concept that we create the life we want with our thoughts. I see our material creations as a consequence of happy, purposeful, and harmonious thoughts. An important difference between these two points of view is that the material object is not the primary goal, but taking responsibility for all of our thoughts is. I recently found that taking responsibility for my life has a magical effect. It gives me power to change my life, instead of waiting for it to change as a passive observer. I know that everything I experience is a result of my own thoughts, emotions, and actions. Even though I can’t see the direct relationship immediately, because the causes are often far in the past, knowing this helps me not to react in the same way to outcomes that are perceived as negative. This breaks the cycle of similar causes and effects, and creates a new more productive and healthy pattern of thinking. 

Just the Way It Is

"The world is one big bowl of soup

Spinning around

And if peas and carrots

don’t like each other

That’s too bad.

Because they’re sure going

to see a lot of each other

And nobody is leaving until

We are all nice and tender

That’s just the way it is"

from "The Messenger" by Klaus Joehle If you would like a great read that can also answer many of your questions about Life, Love, and how to create the life you really want, you can download the book for free here: http://k.livingonlove.com/books.shtml#Messenger

I'm reading the book for the second time, but have much more appreciation for it now. Because I know how much heart was put in the book to make it alive and to translate all the magic into words. It can't be expressed with words fully, but the book takes you into the mood and creates the atmosphere where you can suddenly imagine that you are with Klaus everywhere he goes. Just wanted to share this adventure with you! 

Old Cherokee Story about Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that was going on inside himself. He said, "My son, it is between two wolves. One is evil: Anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other is good: Joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith". The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?" The old Cherokee simply replied: "The one I feed".

Live Webcast: Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva on Nov. 29th at 10.30 pm EST

His Holiness the Dalai Lama will teach on Gyalsey Thokme Sangpo's "37 Practices of A Boddhisattva (laklen sodunma)" His Holiness will be teaching mainly in Tibetan with Russian, Chinese and English translations.

The teaching will be from the main Tibetan temple in Dharamsala on November 30th, 2010 from approximately 9-11:30 am Indian Standard Time. For timings in your region 9 am Indian Standard time on November 30th is the same as 10:30 pm November 29th Eastern Standard Time in New York, USA.

Watch English live webcast here.
Watch Russian live webcast here.
Watch Chinese live webcast here.
Watch Tibetan live webcast here.

Time to Create with Love

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving week-end filled with good food, movies, music, and conversations! Onur could come from Houston to spend a week here in Atlanta. The weather was perfect and we spend a great week together. Here I am enjoying seafood dinner at Carpe Diem. Our last night together has ended with some very nice blues music.

And the week-end is not finished yet. Today I spent some time thinking about my plans for the future. I need to focus on what I want to achieve. I have collected many tools that work for me. I think what has been so far missing is the direction towards one goal. And I believe I have determined this one goal that I am going to focus all my efforts on. The goal is simple, but at the same time challenging for me. Learning to love myself completely and unconditionally is going to be my new lesson.

I'm planning to discover gradually a way of life that I find myself most happy living. This should include tall aspects of life - the choice of food, exercise, spiritual practice, meaningful service, etc.  Most peaces of the puzzle are already in place, I just need to polish them, and focus towards my bigger goal.

To start with, I decided to read again Klaus Joehle’s books and start creating unconditional love for myself. I would like to learn to love myself fully and unconditionally, regardless of what I do, think, or say or regardless of what happens around me. I believe this is the key to creating the best possible life I can live. I have read his books on working with love about 4-5 years ago in Russian. I would like to read them again in English. I think I can reinterpret them for myself in a new way after I have read many other books and lived through different experiences. It might help me to complete the circle of looking for unconditional love to myself. So I downloaded all his books today from here: http://k.livingonlove.com/books.shtml  . I have also downloaded Klaus’ meditations on the same web-sites. I’m excited to start and will post my reflections here.

Here is Klaus Joehle’s blog on sending love, where he answers questions and provides additional instructions on sending love: http://klausjoehle.blogspot.com

Peace Pilgrim

What an amazing woman!!! She said: "I am a pilgrim, a wanderer. I will remain a wanderer until manking has learned the way of peace, walking until I am given shelter, fasting until I am given food." Her words are full of energy, enthusiasm, and wisdom. Everyone could learn the most important lessons of life from just listening to her talk over and over. So much experience is in her words, so much kindness and pure intentions. Enjoy! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ2vqPqknfs&feature=related

You can download an e-book about her titled "Peace Pilgrim : Her Life and Path in Her Own Words" here: http://books.google.com/books?printsec=frontcover&id=1T6u5l3Xi1YC#v=onepage&q&f=false 

I was just thinking yesterday that it would be helpful to have a few role models whose way of life feels inspirational to me. She is a wonderful role model! In a 20-minute interview, she talked about everything I spent years trying to understand and still couldn't fully integrate into my life, like the power of positive thoughts, the importance of controlling thoughts and living in the moment, creating our life with these thoughts and many more. And she didn't have the benefit of reading Eckhart Tolle and didn't know anything about the Law of Attraction and "The Secret". She "just" walked for 25 years or more around the country...