By: Jim Francis, Author of The 7 Real Mind Power Secrets

When you were born you arrived without an instructional manual! You were expected to figure things out as you evolved. And everyone else was in the same boat.

We learnt initially by imitation. Repeating words that our parents taught us. By the time we were 4-5 years old we were starting to figure things out and our individual personality began to develop.

Then we went to school and were moulded into a functioning individual. Rather like a bakery. The dough is placed into hundreds of bread moulds and when cooked all the loaves look the same.

So it is with us by the end of our basic schooling. We have learnt to fit into society and have been taught the basic reading and writing skills that enable us to join the workforce. And here the pressure to conform really begins. If we displease our boss our job is on the line.

Likewise in our social environment we don’t really want to displease our church, family or members of our social groups.

Everything is a compromise because we have no real individual freedom.

That is we are not free to do things the way we really want to.

And as we grow into adulthood and start a family the same pressures to conform are still with us. Society expects us to behave in an acceptable way… that is… acceptable to the society we live in.

As we progress through life we slowly come to the realisation that we are not a free spirit and never have been. It gets to the point where many individuals suddenly rebel and go off at a tangent.

Which is why so many marriages fail these days. In the “good old days” unhappy marriage partners stuck together “for the sake of the family”. There used to be tremendous social pressures on married couples to “hang in there”.

These days there is no such pressure. People who have been confined and restricted all their life suddenly break out.

There are plenty of alternatives available to unhappy individuals and a massive amount of information available thanks to the internet and a more open news media approach.

You have the right to be free and happy

The point is… you have the right to be free and happy. If you are not then you are denying yourself this basic freedom. The old attitude might have been acceptable 40 years ago but it now no longer applies.

Many of you reading this will recognise the truth of the above analysis and will be asking what you can do about it.

To pull yourself away from the personal traps you need to sit down and rethink your beliefs and attitudes.

Many of us have developed beliefs that are simply no longer valid and we pursue them merely from force of habit. We need to break these habits and reprogram our personal belief system so that we feel we are the master of our own destinies!

At any one point in time each and every sane individual is either doing that which makes them the happiest or doing that which makes them the least unhappy. Most individuals operate in the latter category.

Think about the things you have done so far today. Did they make you seriously happy or did you do them so that you wouldn’t be unhappy? I’ll bet that less than 5% of them actually made you happy!

In fact think back over the past week and isolate one single event that made you blissfully happy and personally satisfied.

It has taken me many years to sort out my belief system to the point where I now feel almost totally free. And I made a ton of mistakes along the way because I didn’t have an instruction manual to help me.

An instruction manual for personal freedom

But you are in a totally different position because you are currently reading this vital instruction manual!!

The vast majority of individuals get stuck in this rut all their lives but occasionally a traumatic event breaks them out of it. For example a person might become seriously ill and their doctor advises that they only have 6 months to live.

Now some people will roll over and pretend to be dead the moment they hear this while others will suddenly realise that they haven’t lived life at all and go hell-bent on catching up.

These are the ones who get so involved in doing all those things they always wanted to do that their illness suddenly disappears. There are many recorded instances of these miraculous cures, particularly in regard to cancer.

Just stop for a moment and visualise what you would do in this situation.

You might be stuck with a time-wasting family situation of visiting Auntie Nellie and Uncle Erntwhistle every Sunday fortnight for dinner because that’s what you have always done and it is expected of you.

If you got sudden bad news like this would you continue to visit them or would you head off to do some jet-skiing or parasailing?

Chances are you would mentally cut all the things out of your life that didn’t matter and do only those things that did. And this is where you can sit down and make a list of all the important things you do each month.

Take some time about it and make a complete list. Now imagine which items you would cross out if you knew you had limited time left. You would probably find that 80% of the so-called important items had been deleted.

This is the exercise I did many years ago when I realised I was wasting my life on garbage non-productive events. I crossed out all the things that didn’t really matter, particularly those items that I felt obliged to participate in because of social or family pressure.

I got somewhat unpopular initially but others soon realised I had taken a new lease on life and left me alone.

My thinking was that this life of mine was not a practice run and I’d better start living it otherwise I would go to my deathbed with a ton of regrets.

Just visualise lying in a hospital bed with all your family around you in the certain knowledge that you are dying and suddenly realising that there were many things in life that you hadn’t done.

You had “missed out” because of your inertia and were extremely sad about it. Do you want to spend the last few moments suffering from massive regrets? No… I don’t think so!

It is over to you to correct this situation NOW.

Source: Conscious Life News

Weaving our way through this journey we call life wouldn’t be something I call an easy task. I would say that it’s comparable to staying in shape, which takes a great deal of will power.

However, with the guidance of the enlightened soul and identifying the boundaries of the ego, we are given these gifts by way of life lessons to keep ourselves aligned on a path of spiritual truths.

What is a spiritual truth? The truth is simple, but yet oh-so hard. It is pure love without attachment, without boundaries, and has been spoken since the beginning of time.

This beautiful dance with life allows for our spirit to grow, pushing away the attachment of the “egoic mind,” operating out of the space of the “God Mind” or soul.

It takes a great deal of courage and self-discipline to align with the truths of our soul. The following are five steps to get you in shape on the spiritual path.

Do I listen?

Have you mastered the art of listening? How much of your day do you truly listen to the world around you? Listening is one of our greatest senses, relaying a significant amount of information to feed our soul, but this tool is becoming endangered as we speak (pun intended).

When we listen closely, the world around us has many messages to deliver. However, in the age of information, we are so distracted and disconnected that we are losing our ability to truly listen.

Access your ability to listen by asking yourself a few simple questions. What types of thoughts do you have while in a conversation with a loved one?

Are you in a constant state of thought, readying your response instead of being present for the conversation? Do you feel uncomfortable if there is a silent pause in a conversation? Does silence make you feel uncomfortable?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, your listening skills are not as sharp as they could be. A good platform to enhance your listening skills is by spending quiet time in nature, which will restore some primal intuition.

Additionally, start by observing your conversations without judgment. Just listen and see where that takes you. Oftentimes awareness is just the remedy to get you back to spiritual health.

Do I chase spirituality?

Are you constantly chasing the idea of a guru or spiritual teacher? I have known many who have “chased” spirituality all over the world, but the truth is already inside of you waiting to be discovered.

Spiritual teachers and lessons come in all types of packages, most often in the most unexpected ways. It may not always be the metaphorical cross-legged, white bearded sage, but everyday we are blessed with experiences to grow and learn.

It could be learning patience as you as you sit in an unexpected traffic jam while you miss an important meeting, or maybe it shows itself as a difficult financial situation that will teach you how to release fear as it comes to money.

Regardless of how the lessons come into our lives, it is important to dispel the idea of searching and move toward looking inward to embrace your lessons in all shapes and sizes.

Do I gossip?

Have you ever found yourself being pulled down the rabbit hole of gossip? It is so easy to gossip about others, but it takes a positive, conscious mind to move away from this behavior. Gossip is a way to seek false power, an insecure source of measuring up our lives.

Unfortunately, it is often the foundation that will hold a group together and it is all kinds of wrong. The answer is simple; hold yourself to a higher standard by conducting conversation as if everyone is present.

Remember the words of the wise, “Do what is right even when no one is looking.” If someone in the group goes down the rabbit hole then you can just extend a hand to bring them back.

There is no doubt that you will lose some friendships, as many friendships are bonded by gossip, but it feels so good on the inside to embrace this standard.

Do I get defensive?

Do you regularly see the other person’s point of view with compassion? Often times when something doesn’t go our way, we immediately try to make the other person wrong.

As it may be a natural reaction, being defensive will get you nowhere. Try to get a deeper understanding of where the other person is coming from will take you miles along the road of life lessons.

We have a lot to gain from trying to understand walking in another’s shoes, but don’t get lost.

Do I take things personally?

Do you find yourself taking things personally? The concept of the mirror is a very difficult one to embrace. It is a form of measure to help progress us on our journey. However, when we take things personally, it is quite easy for our mirror to break.

Another way to work around this until you can honestly assess where you are on this path is to connect with the idea of “I.” The world around us is set up to help us grow and evolve our soul.

Training wheels are not just for learning to ride a bike; we can always reach for training wheels in life, just till we are ready to move forward on our path.

Look at the world around you as a continuous lesson. If someone cuts you off instead of reacting simply say, “Why did I do that?” When you look at everything in the light of “I,” it makes it easier to embrace instead of constant and emotionally draining reaction.

Many spiritualists believe that everything in life happens for a reason. For this reason alone, see the gift instead of being the victim. The road will be much more fulfilling.

It isn’t always easy to keep ourselves in spiritual check. It is important to have the right tools on this path to retraining the brain to support our soul.

There are a number of small tools that have great impact, but starting small isn’t as overwhelming as trying to change it all in one sitting. Baby steps, compassion, and understanding are the keys to spiritual growth.

By: Marcus T. Anthony / Source: Conscious Life News

Marcus T Anthony (PhD) is a futurist of the human mind, writer and spiritual adviser. His web site is www.mind-futures.com. The following is an extract from his new book, Champion of the Soul.

Some new age teachings place the intuitive – and especially the psychic ream – at the centre of the spiritual journey. This is a mistake. In order for you to awaken, the intuitive must be made subservient to the mindful.

Many new age teachings elevate the psychic to the status of ultimate wisdom. This is probably because for the layman who has never experienced much of the psychic realms, either directly or through education (who ever does?), the psychic seems incredible and superhuman.

There are some very, very gifted intuitives in the world, and some of them are practicing psychics. I have met and worked with several of the most amazingly gifted clairvoyants you could ever imagine.

Some are so far ahead of their time that current science fiction doesn’t have a patch on them. Some of these intuitives are well-balanced and wise people.

But others have poorly developed life skills. These individuals lack emotional and spiritual maturity. For example, one I know is constantly on social media wailing about how awful people are.

She always has some drama going down. So being “psychic” is no guarantee of spiritual maturity or wisdom. Given this, you should not blindly follow the advice of a “psychic” just because he channels the Archangel Michael.

Nor should you expect that just because you are very intuitive – or are training to become such – that you have an advanced understanding of human spirituality. Some psychics I have met know absolutely nothing about awakening.

I am very psychic myself, a cognitive capacity that spontaneously opened up when I was in my mid-twenties. I immediately had visions of spiritual guides and alien intelligences.

I found I could peer into the minds of people regardless of physical distance from me. I often foresaw events before they occurred, had out-of-body experiences and was visited by long- dead ancestors.

I had lucid dreams where I could fly or leave the body at will. But I knew very little about spirituality. Nor did I understand my own mind. I was certainly no Buddha merely because I had some profound dreams and visions.

Indeed, I was a deeply wounded individual who was barely connected to his own body. The intuitive realm can be a useful source of information.

But so is the Internet, and a person is not going to awaken simply because he spends twelve hours a day online. Give a fool a computer and you don’t suddenly get a genius. All you have is an idiot sitting in front of a machine.

The psychic can be distracting, and it can be confusing. I can tell you from personal experience that is very easy to misinterpret psychic information.

The ego will tend to see what it wants to see and distort the rest. The mind will also tend to view psychic messages in black and white terms – as either positive or negative. This is especially the case if the person does not have a strong capacity for mindfulness.

If the mind exists in a state of polarity, a psychic message has the potential to throw the individual right off course.

Most of the spiritual information I have received via the psychic is ambiguous. The meanings are often unclear, the messages foggy. And I believe that this is deliberately so. Spirit will not give you all the answers.

It wants you to develop wisdom by figuring out the answers yourself. I struggled with the psychic for many years, attempting to work out what was being asked of me.

Make no mistake. Ultimately, the information and guidance gleaned from so many years of self-reflection has made me a far wiser man. But it is not so much the data itself that has made me wiser; it is the process of self-reflection.

Basically I had to go out and test what I was being led to explore. And nobody made me do it. Nobody told me how to do it. Nobody told me why.

By: Maria Benardis / Source: Mind Body Green

The ancient Greeks have much to teach us about life and how to live it in a conscious, joyous and peaceful way. Below are 10 philosophies I learned from the ancient Greeks that have provided me with the courage and strength to live my best authentic life.

They’ve also provided me with the tools to live a joyous and peaceful life.

1. Do everything with “agapi” (unconditional love).

Do in life what you are passionate about and what you truly love. Be authentic and strive to be your true self.

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” — Aristotle

“Love is the cause of unity of all things.” — Aristotle

“Love that shines from within cannot be darkened by obstacles of the world of consequences!” — Pythagoras

2. Embrace and learn from your challenges.

Find peace with your challenges; be present and open to new opportunities and ideas. Interpret a NO as a new opportunity to knock on another door or to move you in a new direction. The biggest obstacle in our lives is ourselves.

“Live today, forget the past.” — Ancient Greek Proverb.

“Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” — Demosthenes

3. Believe in yourself, listen to yourself and not to take too seriously what others say.

No one knows you better than you. You will encounter many people who won’t share your ideas, views and vision. There will be many who will provide you with free advice on how you should run your life. Listen without judgment and follow your heart’s direction.

“Know how to listen, and you will profit even from those who talk badly.” — Plutarch

“Learn to be silent, let your quiet mind listen and absorb.” — Pythagoras

“Only when your mind is silent and listens, and your heart is full of love — only then God talks with you.” — Pythagoras

4. Dream about what you want not what you do not want.

It is important to dream, dream big and to never stop dreaming.

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” — Epicurus

5. Never give up and never lose faith.

Replace fear with faith. Humility, love and faith attract miracles. All will happen at the right time and the right season.

“No greater thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.” — Epictetus

6. Always strive to think and feel positive.

“Think good thoughts” the ancient Greeks would preach. When negative thoughts enter your mind, wave them goodbye and replace them with happy thoughts.

Focus on the present and things for which you’re grateful. Eliminate negative people around you and always surround yourself with positive and happy people.

“Medicine is woven into the stuff of the mind.” — Hippocrates

“Happiness is an expression of the soul in considered actions.” — Aristotle.

“Happiness depends upon ourselves.” — Aristotle

7. Search within for answers and direction.

It’s important in tough times and in times when we need guidance to pray, meditate and to increase self-knowledge.

“What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.” — Plutarch

“You have in yourself something similar to God, and therefore use yourself as the temple of God, on account of that which in you resembles God.Honor God above all things that he may rule over YOU. Before you do anything think of God, that his light may precede your energies. The reason which is in you, is the light of your life. Ask those things of God, which you cannot receive from man.” — Sextus the Pythagorean

8. Find courage from within during challenging times.

Tough times never last, but tough people do.

“You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships every day. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.” — Epicurus

“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” — Aristotle

9. Follow your flow.

Fate has all to do with it.

“Fate leads him who follows it, and drags him who resists.” — Plutarch

10. Look at your mistakes positively as experiences that will move you in the direction of your dreams.

Forgive yourself and others. You will make many mistakes along the way.

“To make no mistakes is not in the power of man; but from their errors and mistakes the wise and good learn wisdom for the future.” — Plutarch