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Energy Vampires! How to Spot, Repel, & Avoid Them

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Energy Vampires! How to Spot, Repel, & Avoid Them

We’ve all met these types of people. They are either sad, broken, emotionally dramatic, or simply narcissistic. Somehow they refuse to own their stuff and seek to improve themselves. While these people deserve our love and compassion, they do not necessarily deserve our attention or time.

Are you feeling continuously drained at work, home, or social events? Do you often feel stressed so you cannot enjoy the things you once loved? Are you feeling unmotivated and unable to engage in life?

These symptoms may be surfacing for several reasons:

An introverted personality strained by constant social interaction

Depression born from repressed emotions

Confusion due to various life stressors and changes

Or

Being the victim of an Energy Vampire!

Are you ready to take back your life and cast out all that bad energy?

It’s time to learn which people in your life are sucking the happiness right out of you and preventing you from enjoying the activities you once enjoyed!

What is an Energy Vampire?

At first, the term “Energy Vampire” seems fantastical, but it’s becoming a common term used to label several types of personalities. Simply put, Energy Vampires are people who feed on your energy and who selfishly use that energy solely for themselves, kind of like new-age narcissists. 

That definition makes it seem like these people are dark, twisted villains who are looking for vulnerable people to prey upon, but that’s not often the case. Most of the time, Energy Vampires don’t realize how challenging they are or how their toxic personality traits affect the people around them. 

Certain personalities lend themselves to evolving into Energy Vampires due to learned behavior. It’s possible that Mom or Dad was an Energy Vampire and nurtured their child into an equally dramatic and needy personality. Or maybe the Vamp in your life had a difficult childhood and now craves attention from anyone that will lend an ear.  Unable to give to others reciprocally, they become accustomed to unstable and imbalanced relationships.

Like many other behaviors, Energy-Vampirism is often representative of an unconscious lifestyle that can go undetected by the person exhibiting it for a lifetime.

The Energy Vampire Spectrum

Spotting an Energy Vampire might be difficult, especially if these folks are close to you. It can be hard to see relatives, friends, and coworkers with an objective point of view. Further, Energy Vampires can emerge within a broad spectrum of a variety of personalities and behaviors.

At the very least, Energy Vampires are often narcissistic. They assume that the world revolves around them and that everyone exists to serve them in some way. Emotionally or psychologically entrenched in their desires and problems, they cannot consider other peoples’ needs and feelings. Every time you encounter them, you might be unable to get a word in to express your thoughts and feelings.

In the middle of the spectrum, these narcissistic Vamps become manipulative. They actively use you to get what they want, whether it’s constant attention, validation, an exalted ego, or worse. These people demonstrate little concern for how their ongoing needs affect you. Whether they’re conscious of it or not, they take advantage of everyone around them. 

On the extreme end, these types of vampires are psychopathic. Their social behavior is often exaggerated or intense due to innate aggression or ongoing mood instability. This type of person is draining because you’re either constantly giving to them, tensely on guard, or nervously uncertain about what they’ll do next. In many ways, you might be bracing yourself for the eventual and likely consequences of their behavior.

Sound familiar? You might have at least one person in your life that exhibits this type of behavior. If you’re not sure, then ask yourself if there’s a particular person that leaves you feeling exhausted and stressed after every encounter.

Who Are The Typical Victims of Energy Vampires?

Because these human black holes drain energy from those around them, they thrive in social situations when more vulnerable, passive people are available to them. The ideal victim of an Energy Vampire is someone who always sees the good in others, listens to those who need to vent, and doesn’t stand up for themselves when they feel offended or manipulated.

While we’re never truly a victim, only an experiencer of aspects of reality, one cannot help but feel lessened and burdened by ongoing exchanges with Energy Vampires.

If you are a compassionate and open-hearted person, good for you! You should never choose to feel bad about your glowing and positive personality. For healthy people, you are a life-saving support system. For Energy Vamps, you’re dessert.

Energy vampires don’t only prey on compassionate and passive people. They negatively affect everyone around them, including other Energy Vampires! 

How to Know If You’re An Energy Vampire’s Prey

Not sure if the source of your problems is an Energy Vampire? There are some telltale signs that your energy is being drained without you being conscious of it. Even though you have a busy and fulfilling life, you might feel lonely, lost, confused, exhausted or unloved. You might feel as though nobody truly knows you, hears you, or “gets” you. When we are loving a narcissist, it’s easy to lose site of our needs that have long-gone unmet.

Energy vampires manifest in many different forms. Maybe a parent or close relative constantly commands your attention while also provoking your guilt for taking any time for yourself.

Perhaps a coworker is a considerable presence at your workplace and doesn’t care who they hurt amid their climb to the top. Maybe you have a friend who constantly involves you in their personal drama without considering your personal space and wellbeing.

At the end of the day, energy vampires can be anyone. To figure out the source of this stress, focus on these points while you meditate:

Do you feel drained after conversations?

Do you feel like your life is engulfed in someone else’s problems?

When you try to express your thoughts or feelings to someone else, are you made to feel guilty or crazy?

Most of all: do you fail to see yourself as the center of your own life?

Protect Yourself from Energy Vampires

Once you’ve identified the source, you can begin to take measures to protect yourself. It’s not always as easy as cutting the Energy Vampire out of your life, but if that’s possible, it’s time to do it. If it isn’t possible, it’s time to start guarding yourself against their energy-draining effects.

First, become an expert at spotting these Vamps. While it’s not healthy to always look for the negative aspects in people or situations, it is essential to be wary of people’s motivations and repeated actions.

Employ tactics that repel these people from your inner sphere. If it’s possible to block or avoid them, such as declining social events they’ll be attending, then it’s best to protect yourself by staying away.

If you can’t stay away, learn to respect yourself and set proper boundaries. Be clear about what behavior is acceptable in your relationships and stick by those rules. 

Second, lower your expectations for your relationship with that person. Often, we can be our own worst enemy when we get our hopes up for a healthy relationship with someone incapable of empathy.

Third, do not expend any energy on them. Do not overreact, do not accept their advances, and don’t give them the responses they want. Eventually, they’ll realize you’re no longer an easy target.

Fourth, surround yourself with people who can be your reality check. Talk to friends and family who can look at the situation from an outside perspective. They can be your support system for when you need to guard yourself.

Finally, begin to heal. Being the victim of an energy vampire for any period can be damaging to our senses of Self, our hearts, and our minds. Accepting that a person has been manipulating you and stopping the energy drain is the first step. Then, incorporate self-love practices like daily meditation, deep breathing, and reflection through a diary or my personality cards!

REMEMBER!

You are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire. 

Pray for others and the Universe prays for us. 

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Transform Your Life with Intentions and Vibrations

Intentions and Vibrations Create, Transform You, Your Relationships, and Reality

When a loved one is hurting or in need, many of us will send a message saying something like, ‘I am praying for you,’ or ‘Sending good vibes your way,” or ‘Thoughts And Prayers!’ Earnestly and lovingly, we recognize that on some level, thinking good thoughts for a person improves their lives. Little did we know we were operating on a level of intentions and vibrations!

THIS IS TRUE! THINK GOOD THOUGHTS & THEY TRAVEL, IMBUING LIGHT & BLISS INTO EVERY FACTION THEY TOUCH!

Did you know that setting positive intentions for yourself and others can change your world for the better – and improve the vibrations and lives found throughout the Universe? This is also true.

Knowing how to set intentions can help you to improve the positive energy around you and make your world a better, happier place to be.

Read on to learn more about intentions and vibrational energy and how they impact not only your life today, and your life in the future, but the lives of everyone around you for all time.

Goals vs. Intentions

Before we dive into how vibrational energy and intentions can change your life, let’s talk some about what intentions are. Many people think of intentions as something similar to daily goals – today I’ll eat healthier or today I’ll make better financial decisions. But goals and intentions are quite different.

Goals tend to focus on what we don’t have and need to get, and oftentimes, goal-setting can lead to a sense of failure if we don’t meet those goals. Goals are desires built upon contrived pursuits. They are born from the mind and they don’t necessarily uplift us.

Intentions are built upon feelings, hope, and faith. Intentions don’t have a fail safe; there’s no way to fail to meet an intention. It lives within the fabrics of our Beings.

Intentions are soul-prayers pointing to  how we are approaching the world and our life in any given moment.

How Vibrations Interact with Intentions

If intentions can change your life, why are we talking about the energy of vibrations? Because science tells us that everything around us is moving, humming with vibrational energy.

The Entire Universe Is Made Of Light & Sound!

 

Electrons zing around in their orbits, protons and neutrons jumble together in our cell nuclei, and the water in our bodies hums with the power of the Universe around us.

OMMMMMM is the sound of the Earth giving birth to itself.

AUM, AUM, AUM: The mantra of Yogis for eons.

Scientific experiments have shown that our thoughts can have a physical influence on the world around us. The observed will change when other forces are witnessing them.

As we set positive intentions for ourselves, we not only awaken and improve the vibrations in our own lives and bodies, but also in the world around us.

In simplest terms, our intentions can create good vibrations that make our world better.

This is why Sanskrit mantras are so powerful – they are born from the purest intentions. Chanting in Sanskrit can vibrate our souls into healing and great transformations.

Intentions Center & Focus Your Power

One of the best things about setting intentions each day is that it helps to center and focus our power.

Oftentimes, we may say “I wish” about various things in our lives. The problem with this terminology is that it places the power with something outside of us; we have to wait for God or the Universe or people around us to grant that wish.

When you set an intention, you use the language “I will.”

“I WILL!” – This simple phrase returns your power to where it belongs – within your control. You can come to believe and understand that you have the power to change your life, and that your daily intentions can be powerful tools for doing so.

Improve Your Outlook & Attitude

For many of us, if we take the time to listen to what we say each day, we’d find that it’s often overwhelmingly negative. We complain about our jobs, our kids, our looks, our challenges, and our bills.

All of this leads us to view our lives, at least in the moment, as being full of hardship, strife, and injustice.

While life can be challenging, setting intentions for your day can help you to improve your outlook and attitudes on the world around you.

You may start to notice those intentions manifesting in your life, which, over time, can raise your positive energy and overall magnetic vibration. With the best and most uplifting intentions, you’ll begin to see all the beautiful things around you. You’ll focus on your positive hopes and faith, rather than the negative and unseen space surrounding unmet goals.

Overcome Limitations

You may have heard before that the biggest thing holding you back from the life you want is YOU! In many ways, that may be true. Oftentimes, we’re told that we’re not good enough, that we can’t achieve our dreams, or that we’re not worthy of love. Over time, we come to believe this, and we act more timidly, afraid of what might happen if we dare to live boldly.

We project our fears and early childhood experiences onto our daily realities, forgetting that we can change everything with one intention and one small shift in attitude.

As Abraham says, the law of attraction is what drives the Universe and all Creation. Embody and speak that which is an embodiment of your highest vibration and you will naturally see your world improve.

Setting positive intentions and harnessing the positive energy from divinely inspired vibrations can empower us to live a life free of limitations.

With a little effort, we can begin to see how our thoughts can shape the world. Truly, we are built to believe we can do amazing things.

Throw off the false barriers that have been placed upon you, and become free!

Life your life as a full, loving, powerful, and radiant BEING!

Selflessly Serve Others

Although intentions can have a powerful impact on our lives, the benefits don’t stop there. Raising your positive energy can improve the lives of everyone around you – even of the whole world.

Vibrational experts understand that the Universe, heck, the entire eternal, ever-expanding Cosmos, is connected by these vibrations. By improving your inner world, your outer world will improve and expand.

Within your immediate circles, your positive intentions and the benefits they have for you will improve the lives of your partner, your children, and your friends. This can create a ripple effect, raising the positive energy of your community as your circle moves out into the world, happier and more empowered.

Your intentions help to improve the vibrations of one small area of the Universe, and that improvement shifts the balance to the good.

From an energetic standpoint, your energy permeates all realities. So be careful what you project!

How to Set Intentions

So how do you go about setting intentions and reaping all these positive rewards? It’s best to begin your intention-setting practice with meditation.

Meditating helps to center us, removing all of the extraneous distractions and expectations of the world around us. With meditation and a focus on our inner silence and Being, we allow our nature to expand – and we find peace.

After meditation, take some time to focus your thoughts toward what you want and need in your life and from the world around you.

Allow these desires to condense into one specific phrase that begins with an “I Will” – an action statement about how you’ll make this request a reality in your world.

An example:

I WILL EMBODY PEACE AND LOVE AND ATTRACT GOODNESS TO MY LIFE AND TO THOSE I LOVE.

 

Repeat your phrase a few times, allowing the weight of your focus to settle on it, before you set it down and move on into your day. 

You might also pray for others. When we pray for others, the Universe prays for us. 

How to Improve Your Vibrational Energy

In addition to setting intentions, there are also several other ways you can improve your vibrational energy.

Once more, meditation and breathing exercises play a large role in making these changes. Deep breathing can calm you and help you to expel any negative energy you may be carrying.

Pranic breathing is when we breath deeply into our bellies then rapidly exhale through either our noses, one nostril, or our mouths. Pranic breathing can help us accept ourselves, accept reality for what it is, expand, and find peace.

Practicing Kundalini Yoga is a wonderful way to work on your mind-body connection and improve your positive energy at the same time. You may even want to consider taking your yoga mat outdoors when the weather is nice.

Spending time in nature can be another great way to raise your vibrational energy. 

Practicing GRATITUDE might be the best way to embody positive energy.

Each day, make a list of things in your life for which you’re grateful. You may even want to incorporate these into your meditation practice to keep your positive vibrations growing.

Learn How to Set Intentions

The intentions we set each day can have a huge impact both on us and on the world around us. By creating these positive thoughts, we change the energy of vibrations around us and put more positive energy into the world. You can reclaim your amazing inner power, overcome your limitations, and improve the world around you just with your thoughts.

Your mind is nothing but a tool that can help you live in a physical reality, like here on Earth! Your mind is also something that sustains itself. We never have to be in our minds. Even if we extinguish our connection to our minds, we’ll still know how to drive and cook. These things are instinctual.

Releasing our minds and egos, we become free.

I am here to help you awaken and bravely create an inspired life. Learn more about my loving services today and start changing your life in the most positive way.

REMEMBER!

You are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire. 

Pray for others and the Universe prays for us. 

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Starseeds: Did We Come from the Stars?

Starseed

Starseed Infusion – A Shutterstock Licensed Image

Starseeds: Did We Come from the Stars?

For as long as history remembers, humans have always asked that unanswerable question: Why are we here? We gaze up to the stars and wonder just how far the sky reaches and how we came to exist on this planet. Does our consciousness extend beyond our limited understanding, and what is the truth about the human soul?

We all crave a more profound sense of calling, of purpose, and it very well may be that we have one! There is a trend among many seekers who believe that we may not be from this planet, but reincarnated souls that originate from far away places.

Starseeds, or alien souls in human bodies, may be walking among us without our knowledge. Who knows, you might be a Starseed yourself!

The Legend of the Starseeds

There are many different interpretations of the Starseed legend. Still, the most common concept of the Starseed derives from those who closely study the Akashic Records, which originate from the Sanskrit phrase “that which holds all.” Seekers can access the Akashic Records by elevating into the 8th dimension as we reach our higher self. For humans in the third dimension, Akashic Records are like an expansive database of information consisting of all the choices we’ve made and events we’ve experienced throughout our existence.

Each individual’s Akashic Records can help them see themselves as if in a mirror, reflecting their soul’s journey. Seers who have accessed their higher selves and viewed their Akashic Records have found trends in their soul’s journey, including the choice to reincarnate to a new planet — Earth.

Overall, the consensus on Starseeds is that they are advanced individuals who have abnormally high intelligence and the ability to empathize with others deeply. Many Starseed souls also report the ability to predict the future or sense when things will occur.

Why Would Starseeds Choose Earth?

For most seers who have accessed their higher self and discovered their Akashic Records, their choice to reincarnate on Earth involved benevolent intentions. Others believe that there are Starseeds among us with selfish motivations, looking to use our resources to benefit their home planets.

While physical human bodies only last a century if they’re lucky, Starseed souls have aged hundreds of thousands of years. As a result, they hold the knowledge and experience of which mortal humans can only dream. Our young planet has not yet had the opportunity to learn and grow even a fraction of the amount that other planets in other universes have.

Many say that Starseeds chose Earth so that they could bring their advanced resources to our planet, which lags behind other universes’ innovations and development. Others say they’re here to guide our race towards our ultimate purpose and help us elevate to our higher selves.

Types of Starseeds

The knowledge we’ve received from seers and channelers of the higher self has given us the ability to make out different types of Starseeds. There are a few commonly known types of Starseeds, each descending from distant galaxies and accredited with varying contributions to Earth.

There are 14 different types of Starseeds popularly accepted: Sirian, Pleiadian, Arcturian, Andromedan, Indigo, Crystal, Rainbow, Lightworker, Orion, Feline, Maldek, Lemurian, Atlantean, and Reptilian. 

Sirian Starseeds get their name from their origination from Sirius A and B stars, visible from our planet! These Starseeds are accredited for bringing masters like Jesus and Mary to our planet and being from the home of human beings’ ancestors.

On the other hand, Pleiadians come from the Taurus constellation and are known as historians of Earth’s existence. These Starseeds are matriarchal, family-centered, and operate with high levels of creativity, love, and spirituality. 

Arcturians are the most advanced of all the Starseeds and originate from an angelic realm, acting as the gateway between physicality and spirituality. Andromedans are telepathic beings from the Andromeda Galaxy and exist to achieve complete love and peace for their beloved enslaved cousin races, like the humans. Reptilians are the slave masters, shapeshifters who attempt to manipulate the human race through political power.

Taking the time to meditate on your being and access your soul, in combination with researching types of Starseeds, will allow you to learn more about your soul’s journey and identify yourself.

How To Know If You’re A Starseed

Before I get into the traditional answer to this question, I must say this:

It does not matter if you are a Starseed or not. And it might be absolutely impossible to know whether or not you hail from another planet or galaxy. In most cases, especially within the new-age community, people are looking to escape their realities rather than face them.

The reality is that you are HERE NOW.

HERE NOW means you are a spirit in a human body. There is nothing more important than this idea.

If you’re interested in the knowledge or wisdom from another galaxy, remember that all spiritual knowledge is accessible through meditation. And all scientific knowledge must be proven in this physical world. 

That said, here’s more of the Starseed candy you’ve come to love:

According to those in the know, Starseeds are likely laying dormant in their human bodies and are unaware of their core wisdom. When Starseeds reincarnate into human bodies, they experience total amnesia. Their experiences, thoughts, emotions, and choices that make up their journey as a soul are locked into their core, waiting to be accessed. It is the Starseed’s mission to access that core by flipping the switch on their higher self.

If you’re reading this, it’s already more likely that you are a Starseed! It means you have an inner calling to something more and an inherent discomfort in your current state. While everyone should access their higher selves, Starseeds depend on it to unlock their true identity and purpose.

Do you have a longing for home that never goes away, even when you are home? Do you feel like you belong somewhere else, far away? Do you feel lonely and no one’s company can satisfy this ache?

While some Starseeds experience more subtle loneliness and longing for home, others have more urgent feelings that they don’t belong. Many Starseeds thrust themselves into learning about the higher self, reincarnation, and other mystic concepts. They look fervently for answers to their discomfort in their human bodies on the three-dimensional plane. 

These are all huge indicators of being a Starseed, especially if these feelings are combined with a fascination for space, an inability to understand the confusing and irrational ways of other humans, and the excitement that you might not be a human after all!

To know for sure if you’re a Starseed, though, you’ll need to have an awakening. Some Starseeds can have subtle and sudden realizations while others can experience more dramatic and stunning awakenings. 

Accessing Your Core Starseed Wisdom

If you’re serious about achieving awakening, especially if you feel that your soul comes from another place, you’ll need to follow the path of the masters. The great news is that you don’t have to travel anywhere or do anything drastic to achieve enlightenment. As long as you learn the practices, you can awaken your core self in your own home!

An excellent way to start your journey is to find a spiritual guide, someone who has already walked the path and is eager to take your hand and guide you towards your own awakening. There are so many options for directing your mind towards your higher self, and you might need to experiment to land on the perfect practice. Set goals for yourself and be clear about precisely what you wish to achieve before you begin setting practices for yourself, such as prayer and meditation routines. 

For some, awakening comes easily and quickly. For others, it is a long and challenging path. It’s important to remember that every soul’s journey is unique and that you should never be hard on yourself. Spiritual enlightenment and self-discovery should be exciting and fulfilling!

You might get swept up in the legends, myths, and other ideas that float around among seekers, but don’t lose yourself in the process. Remember to accept YOU as YOU. Don’t force labels on yourself, and don’t be discouraged when a label you want doesn’t exactly fit you. Maybe you aren’t a Starseed, but who YOU truly are is so much more important and beautiful!

Summary

While it might be interesting and exciting to imagine that Starseeds are more evolved than Earth’s human beings, the truth is that any of us can expand at any moment. A Starseed might have the ancestry that points to expansion, but they may or may not have the intention to pursue their highest self.

It’s easy to become distracted by the latest spiritual systems or the most charismatic spiritual media stars. It’s even easier to want to leave our lives and bodies so that we can transcend the Universe and become Everything.

To truly transcend, we don’t have to go anywhere. We can do it from our living rooms.

We’re built to enjoy our minds and all the fantasies they conjure. We are constructed in such ways that one thought can lead us into heaven, while another leads us into hell. When it comes right down to it, as a species, we’re not very stable.

Whether you’re Starseed, Muslim, Lutheran, Japanese, Iranian, brown, red, tall, fat, wonderful, itchy, angry, or hilarious, your current “you” is a temporary construct that you continually co-created with your pre-birth guides, and the parents and cultures you chose for this life. None of these things are concrete. [link text=”

They are temporary sets of constructs and conditions.

Your “you” is a layer atop a beautiful, powerful, vibrant soul, and you have unlimited potential in any direction. Your soul is not small letters; it’s an all-cap YOU, all the time. When we’re too distracted by our small yous, we can miss out on our fulfilling a purpose and embodying the Universe.

Always be careful with the labels you place on yourself. Every label is temporary, only partly true, and only at this moment. Each of these temporary self-identities has limitations and consequences. Try not to hold onto them so tightly.

We are in this life because we were called to this life. Live it as if you are here, in the now. Looking to the stars can be fun, but looking within is where you’ll find the gold. “Within” is your forever home.

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ASMR: The Wild Wonderful World Of Living Sound

asmr-healing-benefits

asmr-healing-benefits

Shutterstock licensed image.

 

ASMR: The Wild Wonderful World Of Living Sound

If you love to feel intimately connected with yourself and nourish the parts of you that need some love and attention, you might LOVE ASMR!

Do you remember the feeling of having someone you loved brush your hair when you were a child and how relaxing that was? Do you love the sound of cellophane crinkling for some reason you can’t explain? Do you enjoy going to the doctor because of the one-on-one attention you get while you’re there?

If any of this sounds familiar, you aren’t alone – millions of people around the world are seeking out the relaxing experiences that can trigger ASMR. Read on to learn more about ASMR and what some of the most common triggers are. 

ASMR is alike an auditory hug or an intimate exchange with a lover. 

What Is ASMR?

ASMR stands for “autonomous sensory meridian response” and is a specific sensation people sometimes get in response to certain stimuli. Most people describe ASMR as a tingly feeling in the back of their head, although it can be more complex than that. In general, ASMR describes a feeling of deep, almost primal pleasure and relaxation.

There isn’t yet a lot of scientific study of ASMR and what causes it. The term was first coined in 2010 by a woman named Jennifer Allen, who launched a Facebook group to find out more about the phenomenon. Since then, millions of people have become fascinated by ASMR and have devoted themselves to finding new ways to experience this sensation. 

How Does ASMR Work?

The first thing to note about ASMR is that not everyone experiences it, and it’s different for everyone. In general, people have certain “triggers” that cause them to experience those sensations associated with ASMR. These triggers can include sounds, sensations, or even certain types of interaction.

There are millions of ASMR videos available on the internet with a wide variety of different triggers. Some of the most common triggers include having one’s hair brushed, listening to crinkling or brushing sounds, or getting devoted attention from some variety of caregiver. Some people may have a lot of ASMR triggers, while others may only have one or two. 

What Does ASMR Feel Like?

Many people describe ASMR as being a little like an orgasm for your mind. Although the experience isn’t necessarily sexual, it carries the same sort of relaxation and intense pleasure as an orgasm does. People who experience ASMR describe feeling almost as if they’ve gone into a trance, lulled into relaxation by their triggers.

For most people, ASMR takes the form of tingles beginning at the top of their scalp and making their way down the neck and back. You may experience a deep, primal sort of pleasure and a powerful sense of relaxation, almost floating. Some people find ASMR so relaxing that they go to sleep to ASMR videos or use them as a form of meditation. 

Brushing Sounds

Brushing sounds are one of the most common forms of ASMR triggers. For many people, their first experience with ASMR may be having a loved one brush their hair or brushing a childhood pet. These gentle sounds can still trigger those powerful feelings of safety, relaxation, and nostalgia.

You can find millions of videos geared towards brushing sound triggers for ASMR. Content creators film themselves brushing wigs, someone’s hair, pets, or even squares of carpet. These videos are filmed with binaural sound, which creates a more realistic 3D experience that can make you feel like you’re actually in the room with the person. 

Crisp Sounds

Crisp sounds are another common auditory ASMR trigger. This sound may remind us of paper rustling in books we read as a child, leaves crunching underfoot, or your parents reading the newspaper. 

As with brushing sound videos, content creators use binaural audio to record ASMR videos with crisp sounds. They may crumple up and then flatten out sheets of paper or tear that paper into small pieces. You can find videos of people crinkling cellophane and foil, combing their fingers through gemstones, or turning the pages of a book. 

Hair Brushing

For many people, physical touch is an important part of triggering an ASMR experience. As social creatures, we crave touch and physical affection from the people we love. In some cases, that physical touch can cause the sort of deep relaxation and platonic pleasure associated with ASMR.

You may find that you’re extraordinarily relaxed by the simple act of someone brushing your hair. If you don’t have anyone in your life who will do this for you, you can find videos of people brushing wigs or even other people’s hair. While these videos don’t recreate the full experience, they can simulate some of the relaxing sensation.

Ear Touching

You might be surprised to learn that many people find their ASMR trigger is in their ears. You have tens of thousands of nerve endings in your earlobes and in the shells of your ears. Some of these nerve endings even connect to other areas of your body, including your internal organs.

Many people find it relaxing – and in some cases, even erogenous – to have their ears touched and stroked. There are dozens of ASMR videos in which someone brushes their ear with a makeup brush. The soft head of the brush and the sound of the bristles moving over the ear can simulate the experience of someone stroking your own ear. 

Personal Attention

It’s no secret that many of us crave close personal attention. We love feeling like we’re the center of someone’s attention and that we’re really being listened to. In some cases, this pleasure may be so deep that it causes that ASMR reaction associated with deepest relaxation.

Some ASMR content creators film videos of themselves looking directly into the camera and speaking as though to you. They use positive, reassuring tones and put their hands near the camera to simulate touching your face. Even this simulation of close personal attention can give people that ASMR sensation.

Role Playing

Role playing is another popular form of personal attention for people who experience ASMR. You may have found that you enjoyed going to the doctor’s office or to get your hair done because of the one-on-one attention you got during those appointments. These situations also allow you to follow the direction of the caretaker, which can be relaxing for people with anxiety.

Some ASMR videos simulate an appointment with a doctor or similar caretaker. The creator may don a white coat, speak in a welcoming tone, and talk you through the steps of the appointment. They may give you small pieces of praise throughout the video and thank you at the end for being such a good patient. 

Color Matching

If you’ve seen color matching videos go by on social media, you know how engaging this content can be. Watching someone blend different shades of paint to achieve the perfect match is enormously satisfying. For some people, it can cause those tingles that go along with ASMR.

People who do color matching videos may focus on a couple of different ASMR triggers. They might create different color swatches that go well together or try to mix a paint that blends perfectly with another surface. Just watching someone mix paint can be extraordinarily relaxing in and of itself.

Learn More About ASMR

ASMR is a relatively new concept, but it has taken the internet by storm in the last few years. As of this writing, there are more than five million ASMR videos on YouTube, and that number is rising by the hour. If you’ve never experienced those tingles for yourself, try some of the triggers we discussed and see what is the most relaxing for you.

If you’d like to learn more about ASMR, check out the rest of my site at PaulWagner.com. I am here to help you awaken and bravely create an inspired life. Learn more about my services today and start changing your life in the most positive way.

REMEMBER!

You are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire. 

Pray for others and the Universe prays for us. 

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H.I.I.T. Exercise (HIIT): Short Spurts To Improve Your Heart, Mind, And Body

Fit woman completing a H.I.I.T Exercise
Fit woman completing a H.I.I.T Exercise
Working out every day with HIIT. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

H.I.I.T. Exercise (HIIT): Short Spurts To Improve Your Heart, Mind, And Body

Exercise is one of the best ways to love your body. When we love our bodies, we improve our vibrations and we make better decisions. With a healthy and loved body (from head to toe), we have fewer health issues, better emotional and psychological health, and improved energy, resilience, immunity, and productivity.  

Are you ready to take care of your body and LOVE your body?

Be honest: What is your main excuse for not getting your daily exercise? For many people, it’s that they don’t have time. With a HIIT exercise routine, you’ll no longer have that excuse! HIIT can help you feel peaceful, less stressed, more empowered – and it can help you take control of your self-development and wellness.

With HIIT, or “high-intensity interval training,” exercise can be invigorating and productive without being time-consuming or tedious.

As the new year begins, consider gifting yourself a new healthy resolution you can stick to beyond a few weeks: check out this guide to HIIT and how you can personalize it to your lifestyle and needs!

What Does a HIIT Workout Mean?

High-intensity interval training is a technique for exercise that combines short, intense sets of exercises with recovery periods. HIIT workouts take your cardio routines to the next level, turning up the heat on your body while still allowing it the time it needs to recover safely. Busy professionals or stressed parents love this technique because it delivers a powerful workout in a very short period so that it can fit it into even the tightest schedule. 

HIIT workout routines are very safe and effective, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach, either! HIIT can look however you need it to look, whether you’re a beginner or an expert. If you aren’t used to exercising regularly or doing cardio, you can start with very short periods of intense exercise with a low-impact technique like the elliptical. If you’re already at an advanced stage in your exercise routines, you can push your body to endure much longer bursts of intensity with higher-level techniques. 

No matter where you are currently on your exercise journey, HIIT is wonderful because it evolves with your needs at whatever pace makes you comfortable!

How Long Is A HIIT Workout?

Let’s get right into it. HIIT is a favorite technique for busy people because it can last as little as 20 minutes! If you like exercising in the morning before your shower, waking up just 20 minutes earlier to fit in your HIIT workout will start your day right. 

If you can’t wake up earlier, try ending your workday with a quick session or burning off those dinner calories at night! Only have time for it on your lunch break? Why not take 20 minutes out of your hour lunch to give yourself that much-needed second wind for the afternoon?

Most HIIT lovers will keep their workouts to 20-30 minutes long. Many experts say that if you feel like your workout needs to go beyond half an hour, you aren’t working hard enough during your high-intensity intervals.

How Long Should HIIT Intervals Be?

HIIT workouts are highly customizable, so setting up your workout is entirely up to you and your abilities! If you’re just starting to explore this workout routine, you can try to keep intervals at just 30 seconds long. As your body warms up to this technique, you can lengthen your intervals to 3 minutes long.

For example, if you’re just starting with HIIT, you might want to try doing only a few high-intensity intervals throughout your workout. You can choose to make your intervals equal in length to each other or make your recovery intervals longer than your high-intensity intervals. No matter what you do, the idea is to push your body a little harder every time to improve your performance slowly. 

Listen to your body! Do not cause yourself pain or any injury, as exercise should be a routine of slow improvement. Regardless of the exercise technique you choose, you’ll never see results right away. Exercise is a journey in which you check in with your body, pay close attention to your health, and build a relationship of respect and growth. By building a healthy relationship with your body and exercise, you’ll start seeing results without obsessing over achieving them.

Do I Need Equipment for HIIT?

No equipment is necessary! HIIT is about working with your body to build stamina and strength through interval training. You don’t need any fancy machines, a gym membership, or weights. Anything you choose to add to your workout is entirely up to you and your goals.

HIIT focuses on cardio, so it doesn’t necessarily help build muscle or improve flexibility. To focus on these goals, you’ll need to choose exercises for your high-intensity intervals that work on these areas.

For example, you can choose to add weights to your workout to build muscle. If you’re looking to improve your legs and glutes, you can choose to add cardio exercises that target those areas, such as stair-climbing. There are so many resources that will help you choose the right activities for your goals, but the main point is that almost anything can be achieved with your personalization of HIIT!

What are the Benefits of HIIT?

HIIT is high-intensity cardio training, so you can achieve the benefits of cardio workouts within a shorter time. Cardio exercises, especially HIIT, can help improve your oxygen consumption — your body’s ability to use oxygen.

Further, in many studies, HIIT has proven to help lower blood pressure and heart rate for overweight individuals. In addition, it can improve insulin resistance while lowering blood sugar. Including high-intensity intervals in your workout also boosts your overall metabolism and increases your metabolic rate for hours after your workout!

However, many people who begin working out in the New Year are most interested in how a workout can help them lose weight. Thankfully, HIIT can do just that! Along with the many health benefits above, HIIT has also proven to help people lose weight by reducing body fat and the waistline, even without any dietary changes.

Should I Do HIIT Every Day?

Ultimately, your workout routine depends on what feels right to you. HIIT is absolutely a routine you can institute daily, but it is also a routine that doesn’t demand daily commitment. If you haven’t previously followed a daily exercise routine, committing to HIIT every day might be too stressful. Start with a comfortable routine while still being consistent, such as three times a week.

For those who already exercise but are looking to improve their routine, doing HIIT every day can help boost your health and get results faster. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to listen to your body and only do what feels comfortable while still challenging!

Ring in the New Year with HIIT!

Ready to commit to your development and wellbeing? HIIT can help you see results in a few weeks, helping you to keep the exercise habit throughout the year rather than dropping it by March! It is also highly customizable and a great routine for any experience level, all while only needing 30 minutes or less.

Further, HIIT can be an incredible addition to your self-development journey. As you reflect on your goals and set intentions for the next year, keep this option for exercise in mind. You might even choose to add it to your meditation routine, allowing the repetitive intervals of physical exertion to help you delve deeper into your thoughts and prayers. You might also choose to use your yoga practice as a cool-down period after your HIIT workout. This routine could help increase flexibility and prevent muscle injury while you reflect on how your body feels. Get in touch with yourself as you stretch, breathe, and pray.

The opportunities for your self-improvement journey are endless!

REMEMBER!

You are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire. 

Pray for others and the Universe prays for us. 

 

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Somatic Experiencing: The Wisdom Of Our Bodies

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Somatic Experiencing: Listening To The Wisdom Of Our Bodies

We have all been through hell and back. Life can be quite the challenge. While it’s helpful to soldier through it all and do our best to stay positive, it’s not too healthy to ignore what is stored within our bodies.

Emotions from life’s challenges and trauma can be stored in our organs for the entirety of our lives. These emotions connect with toxic memories. When we work to release it all, it can be even more painful – but in the long run, we clear ourselves for smooth and peaceful sailing ahead!

Working through past trauma can be one of the most horrible experiences you may face in your life. Living through that experience once was terrifying enough. Having to relive it in order to process what you felt during that time may be more than you can bear.

Somatic Experiencing uses the mind-body connection to help you stay calm during triggering events and to find your way back to a more peaceful way of being. It also helps you to release the excess energy that you may have trapped in your body – when the original trauma occurred.

Read on to learn more about Somatic Experiencing and how it could help you move forward into a happier life.

Impact of Trauma

Before we dive into the process of Somatic Experiencing therapy, let’s talk some about how trauma impacts us.

After a traumatic event, many people experience post-traumatic stress disorder. This is not a cute little thing. It can be the most difficult thing you’ve ever dealt with in your life. 

PTSD is a condition that produces a several physical symptoms. PTSD can range in severity from a mild inconvenience to an incapacitating disorder. In some cases, a PTSD patient may choose to be institutionalized for a time. This might help the person establish new boundaries and processes in her life.

Nightmares are one of the more common symptoms of PTSD, often in the form of panic attacks. These are usually flashbacks and re-imaginings of the original event, in which the person seems to relive the traumatic event and various related trajectories.

Panic attacks, anxiety, and insomnia also tend to go along with this disorder. In the most extreme and serious cases, a patient may lose the ability to differentiate from their flashbacks and nightmares and reality.

If you’re experiencing these things, you can choose to work with a Somatic Experiencing therapist, a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, a CBT or ACT therapist, and more. 

There are MANY options for healing if you are feeling completely freaked out & messed up by a horrible event in your life.

The Freeze Response

For many people, PTSD symptoms are born from the “freeze” response to danger. You may have heard that, when animals are exposed to danger, they have a fight or flight instinct in which they choose to fight for their lives or run away. However, there is also a lesser-known response to danger: the freeze response.

The freeze response causes you to stop in your tracks, unable to move or respond to the situation. Think of a deer in the headlights; even though the danger is barreling towards her, the lovely animal soul is wholly unable to move forward.

This response is central to prior and ongoing trauma, whereby we feel trapped in the moment of danger even after the threat has passed.

What Is Somatic Experiencing?

Somatic Experiencing is a therapy technique – much like others invented like neurofeedback and ACT – that aims to help people to process their traumas and find new ways to move forward. Peter Levine, who developed the theory, believed that our nervous systems might never move forward past where they were in the moment we were traumatized. Our emotions and memories get “stuck” there and have to be “reset” before we can feel empowered and clear enough to live our lives in the present moment.

Dr. Levine noticed that while people are often traumatized by the dangers we face, animals don’t deal with the same sorts of ongoing trauma. He believed this was because, at the time of the threat, their bodies let off enormous amounts of energy, even after they escaped the threat. 

Because we don’t expend this energy in the same way, that energy gets trapped in our bodies. Later, when we might least expect it, these energies can become expended. This might occur at inappropriate moments when an unrelated trigger takes us back to the original traumatic event.

If you’re experiencing any of this right now, it’s important to seek the help you need to open up your mind and heart so you can expand. If you’re feeling this right now, see if you can breathe through it and find some tears. If not, call a friend to be present with you in this moment.

When you’re feeling clear and open enough, formulate a plan to find the best modalities for your healing and recovery.

The Reasons For Somatic Experiencing

Somatic Experiencing is extremely useful as a treatment for PTSD and other trauma-based disorders. Even challenging one-off experiences can leave an imprint within us. You might consider using Somatic Experiencing to heal even the smallest fissures within your Being and body.

Oftentimes, people may feel guilt, shame, or anger after a traumatic event. Working through the mind-body connection can help to ease these painful feelings and get your body back into a healthy rhythm.

In some cases, Somatic Experiencing Therapy can help with physical symptoms related to previous traumas. This can include muscle tension, chronic pain, digestive problems, and even sleep issues.

Dealing with the physical symptoms of a trauma can give us more resources to handle the psychological aspects that are driving them.

Recognizing Bodily Sensations in Somatic Experiencing

One of the first steps of Somatic Experiencing is to start recognizing the bodily sensations you’re feeling in this moment. In many cases, people aren’t aware of the physical response they’re having to a situation or how badly it’s affecting them. They might not realize the a pain in a knee or a twitch in an arm is born from a prior trauma or their bodies reaction to a new event in the moment.

For instance, you may not realize how tense a muscle is until it relaxes and you feel what it’s like not to have that strain there.

Your Somatic Experiencing therapist might begin your therapy by helping you become more aware of the physical sensations you’re experiencing.

Your SE therapist may use mindfulness and other meditation techniques to help you discover any tension, pain, or discomfort you may be feeling.

The most wonderful Somatic Experiencing Therapists will help you note these sensations without judgement, fear, or the intent to fight them.

Just like in The Sedona Method, it’s all about witnessing what is there, embracing it, accepting it, and then releasing it.

Resourcing

Once you’ve become aware of what your body is holding and experiencing, your Somatic Experiencing therapist will help you start tapping into the inner pool of resources you have to deal with these challenges.

Resourcing can you seek the tools you need to handle that excess stored energy when it emerges. Soon enough, you’ll be able to draw on a deep inner pool of peace, strength, and resilience.

Your therapist will begin by asking you to remember a place, person, or thing that you love and that you associate with positive memories. When you start feeling that excess energy being triggered, you’ll learn to draw on this source of positivity in your life.

This can help you remain calm and present as the energy expends itself, making it easier to transition back into your most healthy and vibrant rhythms.

Titration

Once you firmly establish your resources and tools, your therapist will begin putting your new coping and healing mechanisms to the test. Armed with the tools to deal with it, you’ll begin wading back into your trauma, re-examining the event that threw your life into chaos. This will be a gradual process that allows you to slowly build your resourcing response until it’s strong enough to tackle the next challenge.

This process is known as titration. It stays focused around the physical sensations you experience as you relive that past trauma. 

You’ll step through the traumatic event in slow motion. Meanwhile, your therapist will watch your body language and physical responses. They may also ask you to report if you’re feeling hot or cold sensations, dizziness, numbness, or an overwhelming sense of weightiness. 

Your SE therapist might also ask about the emotions that are emerging and which ones feel overwhelming. They might help you walk through those emotions and eventually release them.

All of your healing is up to you. The more open and vulnerable you are with your SE therapist, the more you will heal.

Chanting mantras, sutras, and other types of prayers can help you improve your vibration. Doing so, your mind, heart, and body might naturally release many of the things your body has stored throughout years in this life – and from prior lives.

Pendulation

As you begin to experience these releases and physical effects, your SE therapist will guide you through the process of Pendulation. Somatic Experiencing therapists believe these symptoms are the way your body discharges that excess energy – the emotional energy that’s still trapped and connected to the original traumatic experience.

Faster breathing, pranic breathing, clenched hands, and allowing dizziness, shaking, anger, and crying are all considered a helpful part of this discharge.

As you work through these releases, your therapist will guide you through the come-down process. They’ll help you slowly transition back into a calmer, more peaceful state. You’ll be able to experience these discharges in a safe, judgement-free space. 

They may help you use certain breathing or relaxation techniques to ease back into a more relaxed state of energy. Doing so, you won’t be in danger of trapping that excess energy in your body – more so, you can eventually release all of it. The more you practice this pendulation, the more natural that response will become.

Learn More About Somatic Experiencing

Somatic Experiencing is an exciting technique that can help people process and release PTSD, old trauma, and the most challenging events.

Somatic Experiencing relies on the brain-body connection and inspires patients to walk through the physical and emotional symptoms of their traumas – all the while releasing all of the related imprisoned energy.

Although this technique is still considered “new,” it is helping millions of people walk through their body’s responses to traumatic experiences and become healthier and happier than ever before.

I am here to help you awaken and bravely create an inspired life. Learn more about my loving services today and start changing your life in the most positive way.

REMEMBER!

You are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire. 

Pray for others and the Universe prays for us. 

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The Metaverse: Realities Colliding

Spirituality & The Metaverse. Shutterstock licensed image.

The Metaverse: The Walls Between This Reality And Others Will Evaporate

One day soon, there will be a metaverse tech launch that enables people to connect with others outside the restrictive and data-driven umbrellas of corporate-run social networks. 

This new Social Sphere will allow users to port their identities and customized data into a free and multi-way encrypted experience. 

The tech will empower everyone to create and engage in unique, protected, anonymous, custom, interactive experiences with friends, fans, and customers. 

Nothing will be compromised, manipulated, accessible, “hackable,” or owned by anyone other than each unique user. 

The interactive environment, sessions, and elements can be extinguished in an instant, creating inaccessible ghosts that can be turned on and off at will. 

In addition to manual participation, the interactivity can also be generated by brain impulse, eye movement, and gesture, but without the cumbersome attachments of cumbersome virtual gear. 

While many of the prior concerns about data and safety will evaporate, new and more serious concerns will emerge around virtual addictions and losing our identities to the enrapturing vapors of projection and illusion. 

While things like projection, illusion and all the related psychological disorders are already occurring in our current reality, they will become far more dangerous and toxic as time goes on – because the veils between the here-and-now and the fabricated digital realms of the metaverse will become far less obvious and far easier to traverse. 

We will become the robots that we are building, not because we envy them, but because we’ll need robotified identities in the metaverse to protect ourselves from our own wandering and self-negating tendencies. 

 

We can see glimpses of the forthcoming reality in the lives of celebrities. They contrive social identities to fulfill their own egos, desires, and the projections of others. The more money they have and the more attention they get, their identities become isolated and warped. They become facsimiles of themselves, unable to meander back to their original God-Given Selves. 

Lost in seas of delusion and paranoia, they break themselves, their relationships, and the hearts of everyone around them. 

The remedy for all of this has and always will be prayer, meditation, selfless-service, nature, healthy eating, and solitude.

REMEMBER!

You are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire. 

Pray for others and the Universe prays for us. 

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The Wonderful Benefits of Drinking Tea

Health benefits of herbal tea

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The Wonderful Benefits Of Drinking Tea

I love the magic found in tea. The warmth, the subtle flavors, and the healing feeling that emerges as the heat travels down your spine and into your belly. How I Love Tea! How about you?

When it comes to the benefits of drinking tea, it’s important to note that it can heal our hearts and open our minds to allow rebirth.

We can make our own teas from fresh herbs. Some of which could also induce deep emotional and physical healing.  You might want to explore these teas, which you can make from scratch – each with a unique set of healing attributes:

        • Chamomile Tea: Relaxes the mind & heart
        • Peppermint Tea: Relaxes the stomach and body
        • Ginger Tea: Stimulates healing in the stomach, anti-inflammatory
        • Lemon Tea: Vitamin C, Liver Detox, Digestion
        • Echinacea Tea: Colds, flus, cough, immune system, anti-bacterial anti-viral, anticancer
        • Reishi Tea:  soothes nervous & immune systems
        • Sage Tea: Calming, removes toxins, anti-bacterial
        • Jasmine Tea: anti-inflammation, promotes sleep and relaxation, anti-bacterial, anti-viral
        • Matcha Tea: antioxidants, boosts energy levels, contains l-theanine
        • Lemon Balm Tea: Calms the nerves, mind, and body
        • Cinnamon Tea: Blood sugar
        • Dandelion Tea: Cleansing & Detox
        • Goldenseal Tea: Releases toxins, clears system, boosts immunity
        • Marshmallow Tea: soothes mucus membranes of the digestive system, respiratory tract and urinary tract
        • Chaga Tea: immune-booster, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant
        • Passionflower Tea: sleep, relaxation, lower your blood pressure
        • Turmeric Tea: anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer
        • Fennel Tea: digestion, coughs, colds
        • Maca Tea: Sex drive, boost energy, hormonal balance
        • Licorice Tea: digestion, anti-microbial, anti-bacterial.
        • Lavender Tea: Calms the mind, sedative, invites a spiritual heart
        • Ashwagandha Tea: Relieves mental and physical stress, boosts energy, reduces inflammation

If you love tea, find the time to dive more deeply into its riches!

When you think of a cup of tea, what comes to mind?

You may imagine the strong brews the British favor, enriched with splashes of milk and sugar. Or your mind may desire small cups of Chinese green tea, or mugs of steaming chamomile sitting on your bedside table.

Tea has a rich heritage all over the world, and it’s as diverse a drink as the cultures from which it springs.

There are so many benefits to drinking tea. Tea can create calm, provide nourishment, and give you the space you need to contemplate and process your life.

Tea is liquid therapy for the soul.

Read on to learn more about the benefits of drinking tea, as well as the many different types of this amazing beverage.

Black Tea

For most people, when you hear the word “tea,” black tea is what springs to mind. Black tea, green tea, white tea, oolong tea, and pu-erh tea all come from the Camellia sinensis plant. The difference among these teas is how they’re processed after the leaves are picked.

Black tea uses tea leaves that have been oxidized – the same process that turns apples and avocados brown after they’re cut. All tea leaves go through some level of oxidation, but black teas undergo the most strenuous form of the process. When we talk about the benefits of drinking tea, black tea is high in caffeine and comes in a wide variety of flavored blends, including chai.

Green Tea

Aside from black tea, green tea is perhaps the most popular form of the beverage. While black tea tends to have a stronger flavor and may be somewhat bitter, green tea is lighter in both flavor and color. The leaves are “fired” as soon as they’re picked to prevent the oxidation that would turn them into black tea leaves.

There are a number of potential benefits of green tea, ranging from improving brain function and weight loss to preventing cancer and heart disease. Green tea generally contains less caffeine than black tea, making it a good option for people who are sensitive to caffeine. Like black tea, it comes in a variety of styles and blends that vary widely in flavor.

Matcha Tea

Matcha tea is a form of green tea that has become extremely popular in recent years. Matcha tea leaves are grown in the shade, and the veins and stems get removed prior to processing. The remaining leaf material is ground down into a fine powder that later gets mixed with hot water to form a blended tea drink.

Matcha is different from other teas in a variety of ways; for one thing, the leaf matter is consumed whole, rather than being steeped. This can give matcha some additional benefits, including higher levels of antioxidants and other beneficial compounds. Matcha is often used in Japanese tea ceremonies and is one of the highest-quality teas on the market.

White Tea

Like the other teas we’ve discussed so far, white tea comes from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. However, it is much more minimally processed than either green or black teas. While it doesn’t get fired like green tea to prevent oxidation, it also isn’t put through an intentional oxidation process either.

There are only three different styles of white tea: silver needles, white peony, and Shou Mei. The flavors of this tea tend to be somewhat lighter, since no steps to strengthen the flavors are taken during processing. When it comes to the benefits of drinking tea, white tea tends to have lower caffeine levels than either green tea or black tea, depending on how you brew it. 

Oolong Tea

Oolong tea sits somewhere on the oxidation spectrum between white tea and black tea. This tea is often described as “partially oxidized,” although this is only a part of what defines oolong tea. In addition to the lighter oxidation process, oolong tea goes through a distinctive set of transformations that shape the leaves into something new.

Oolong tea may be shaken, rolled, dried, pan-fired, withered, or baked to achieve a distinctive flavor in the cup. Different regions have different ways of processing their oolong teas, and you may find brews from different regions have very distinctive flavors. Overall, oolong tea is somewhat less bitter than black tea, but has a stronger flavor than white or green tea. 

Pu-erh Tea

Pu-erh is the last of the “true” teas we’ll talk about here. This tea is similar to black tea, but instead of being oxidized, pu-erh tea leaves get aged in the open air. This exposure to oxygen, as well as various bacteria and enzymes, actually cause the leaves to ferment somewhat, creating a unique, full-bodied taste. 

Like champagne, pu-erh tea is defined by the region from which it originates. This tea came from the Yunnan province of China, and today, most pu-erh tea in the world is still produced there. In general, pu-erh tea leaves are aged for about three years, although there are two different processes that take varying amounts of time. 

Herbal Tea

Herbal teas and the rest of the teas we’ll discuss here are not “true” teas – that is to say, they don’t come from the Camellia sinensis plant. Herbal tea is a large umbrella that can cover teas made from a wide variety of other plants. Popular herbal teas include peppermint tea, chamomile, ginger tea, mint tea, and many others.

Herbal teas, as a rule, are caffeine-free and may have a variety of flavor profiles and potential benefits. For instance, the benefits of peppermint tea include easing nausea, reducing inflammation, and making drinkers feel more alert. Chamomile is an anti-spasmodic that can help to relieve some of the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.

Rooibos Tea

Rooibos tea comes from a reddish bush native to southern Africa. This tea technically falls under the umbrella of herbal teas, and, like its cousins, it doesn’t contain any caffeine. However, it has a somewhat bolder flavor than many of its herbal cousins and is traditionally fermented to make the flavors stronger.

The benefits of rooibos may include reducing your risk of heart disease and cancer, as well as potentially helping people with Type 2 diabetes. Rooibos has high levels of antioxidants, which can have a variety of health benefits. And the lack of caffeine can make this a great option for people who are trying to cut back.

Mate Tea

Mate is another herbal tea that has gained a large enough reputation to deserve its own mention. This tea is made from dried holly leaves and originates in South America. Unlike most herbal teas, mate is very high in caffeine and was traditionally served in a gourd and drunk through a metal straw.

Some people say that mate tea has the strength of coffee, the joy of chocolate, and the health benefits of tea. The benefits of mate can include improved focus, reduced risk of infection, and weight loss. Mate is high in antioxidants, and the caffeine boost can help you to be more productive in your day.

Specialty Teas

In addition to the more common types of tea we’ve discussed here, there are also dozens of other specialty teas, some of which fall into the “true” tea category. Purple tea originates in the Assam region of India and is made from a rare type of tea plant that grows wild there. Yellow tea is processed more gently than green tea and produces a flavor somewhere between green and white tea.

Learn More About the Benefits of Drinking Tea

Tea is an amazing drink that is as widely varied as the cultures it comes from. From the strong, rich flavors of black tea and mate tea to the delicate flavors of white tea and herbal teas, you can go a whole lifetime without experiencing all the flavors of tea that are out there. Many of these teas also have potential health benefits, in addition to the simple joy of holding a warm cup between your hands.

REMEMBER!

You are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire. 

Pray for others and the Universe prays for us. 

I am here to help you awaken and bravely create an inspired life. Learn more about my services today and start changing your life in the most positive way.

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Neurofeedback, ACT, And CBT: Powerful Healing for the Heart & Mind

Shutterstock licensed image:  Heal your heart, your mind and life will follow.

Neurofeedback, ACT, and CBT: Powerful Modalities for Healing the Heart & Mind

The events and conditions within our lives can feel dramatic or difficult. At various junctures in our lives, we might feel completely overwhelmed and unable to cope.  We might even lose hope, faith, and focus.

Luckily, our world is constantly changing – and so are we. And while many of the aspects in our lives can feel insurmountable, we are always in control of our perspectives, attitudes, and abilities to look deeply within ourselves. 

Even the darkest night has a dawn.

Shadows disappear when obstacles are dissolved.

Science is working on behalf of all the people who are in pain. Many are creating inspiring, life-changing technological advancements that promise to improve life as we know it. All of these emerging innovations are making life more peaceful and bearable for those who are struggling.

Let’s be honest.

Most of us suffer from at least one of these things: stress, frustration, anxiety, depression, panic attacks – or all of the above. Sadly, each of these things is fueling an accelerating mental health crisis.

It might seem difficult to significantly change our immediate environments or have lasting impacts on the world around us. We might not realize just how powerful and impactful we can be!

Regardless, we can change how we respond to everything. If we’re disciplined, we can deeply heal ourselves and become more resilient. By approaching life with a sense of warriorship – a sense of adventure – we can accomplish just about anything. 

Upon every challenge, we must focus on the positive and forge ahead with courage. It’s vital that we dig deeply within ourselves so that we may heal our hearts, minds, and spirits.

While God and Guru are here to nourish and guide us, the only person who can truly heal and save us is ourselves. 

We’re actually lucky to be on the planet right now.

There are so many unique healing and scientific innovations appearing almost every day —  ever heard of somatic experiencing? Specifically, new therapies are gaining momentum in the mental health space that could unlock a future of brighter days.

No matter the modality, begin by being vulnerable with yourself. Ask yourself what you’re feeling and what you need. If you can, call out to God and ask for Her loving guidance. When we’re open and vulnerable to the Divine, angels and transformative forces will come to our aid.

Knowing which options are available to you during your healing process is important. Here are a few that I love: CBT, ACT, and Neurofeedback therapy. 

What is CBT?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, commonly shortened to CBT, is a wildly successful therapeutic method that has recently gained a lot of recognition. The idea behind CBT is that we can train the brain to respond to certain situations differently than it had before. This method involves talk-therapy mixed with Gestalt-style experiencing. This modality can also be found integrated into mobile phone apps that prompt and guide seekers to change the way they speak, feel, and think about their current situations and feelings.

Why does this work? The mind functions by firing neurons and creating neural pathways. The more your brain responds to a particular event, the more permanent this pathway becomes. People who often react negatively to events might do so because this is the most familiar way the brain knows how to respond. 

In other words, the more you can coax yourself to respond differently or positively to things, the more familiar and comfortable it becomes to stay positive rather than react negatively. 

Through CBT, we can learn to not only cope with stressful situations, we can learn to master and transcend them. Through CBT processes, we can learn to respond positively to even the most disruptive chaos. Breaking our negative cycles and teaching our brains to respond positively help and heal our minds, hearts, and spirits. 

What is ACT?

ACT, or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, is a direct descendent of CBT, and for many people, it’s the most important modality they’ve adopted in their lives. This method uses CBT in conjunction with acceptance therapy, which teaches the patient to genuinely accept the world and all situations so that they can find peace. Another word for this technique is mindfulness, which encourages us to live in the present and be aware of ourselves and our decisions within the moment. 

An adjunct to ACT and CBT – or something that can replace them entirely – is The Sedona Method, a uniquely powerful and effective technique that helps participants acknowledge, accept, and release every experience and related emotions that emerge. More on that, later!

ACT comes in two steps. First, you accept the things out of your control, whether it is the people around you, your environment, or negative events. Then, you commit to specific actions that will help you handle the stress and pain within your situation. 

This method is useful for everybody, from all walks of life. It can help you,  your mind, heart, and spirit become more flexible, open, and (eventually) more detached. The more we can respond positively or proactively under stress, the stronger we become.

What is Neurofeedback?

While CBT and ACT rely solely on human beings changing their behaviors, Neurofeedback elevates these methods utilizing technology. In Neurofeedback therapy, a practitioner uses EEG Biofeedback to help the patient visualize, track, and understand exactly how their brains respond to a variety of stimuli.

With this technology, the practitioner and patient watch a screen to see the way the brain responds, which becomes a primary tool within the therapeutic model. The practitioner applies electrodes to the scalp and shows the patient how their brain waves appear. Then, the patient is asked to alter this activity consciously through a video-game-like interface. 

Through this method, the brain is trained to reroute its pathways, alter its activity, and ultimately respond positively, all within a fascinating reward system. This method is being used to treat conditions like anxiety, panic attacks, depression, anger, attention-deficits, sleep disorders, migraines, and even seizures and autism.

CBT vs. ACT vs. Neurofeedback: Which Is More Effective?

Whether CBT, ACT, and Neurofeedback therapies are effective has been in question for years. Many therapists are committed to using only these modalities, while more traditional therapists worry that aspects of these things are superfluous and ineffective. 

Experts are regularly and rigorously testing new therapy methods to determine which are truly beneficial to psychotherapeutic practitioners. This trend is especially true for recent attempts to administer CBT through mobile apps, which had once threatened the commonly-held belief that professional therapy requires consistent human interaction and face-time with a therapist.

In 2017, a German study revealed that CBT and Neurofeedback showed the same positive results in adults who had attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The kicker? The same positive results were found in the control (placebo) group. If nothing else, doesn’t this show that it’s not about what technologies and advancements we apply, but what our perception of them is? Maybe knowing you’ve acknowledged the problem and taken action to better your health is the most significant step towards healing.

It’s all about you. How do you feel? What helps you heal? What will help you change your mindset, and in turn, your response to the world around you? Whatever that is, that’s the answer.

Using Mindfulness To Heal

Being present and aware is natural to us, yet it often seems so far away from us. With the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, amid all of our complex webs of  responsibilities, we don’t realize how far outside of our bodies we usually are. We are too often living in tomorrow, next month, or even 5 years ahead of this present moment. When we aren’t in the future, we’re thinking of the past. All the while, we’re neglecting ourselves in the present.

Mindfulness is the first step towards healing, and it can be achieved through any of the above therapies. If you choose to attend a CBT or ACT group or individual session, you’re choosing to acknowledge your problems and pain in the present and take action now.

 If you choose to explore Neurofeedback therapy, you’re choosing to be aware of how your brain reacts and performs upon various stimuli and in the moment. 

When conscious of ourselves in the present, we’re paying attention to who we are, what we feel, and what we want. Knowing some of these things, we can successfully heal the aspects that are most troubling to us.

Of course, you don’t need CBT, ACT, or Neurofeedback to become mindful. Mindfulness is the most basic of all modalities for healing. All you need is yourself and the conscious decision to become fully present. 

Just like with CBT, you can train your brain to be mindful by default. Like with ACT, you can accept your reality in the present without being too reactive or overwhelmed. If you sit quietly amid a challenging feeling, you can find its source, accept the feeling, and then release it. This might take some time to master, but along the way, you’ll clear years of stealth emotions and experiences. Doing so, you can become free.

Find a way to make meditation a habit in your life. Encourage yourself to regularly turn inward so that you can acknowledge how you feel  in the present. This alone will train your brain to advance. 

Through mindfulness, we can become non-judgemental of ourselves and others. Instead of judging and feeling ashamed of our thoughts and feelings, we can fully explore them and get to know who we are. 

What can be more healing than completely and unconditionally embracing our authentic selves? Nada. Dive deeply and you’ll find that you are part of a luminous and expanded consciousness.

Get To Know Your True Self

If you truly want to heal your heart and mind, begin with a 10-minute meditation every morning and evening. As you meditate, focus on your inward and outward breaths. You might even imagine that your inward breaths are full of light and your outward breaths carry away stored negativity and stress. 

Explore different methods of therapy and tools for self-reflection. 

Seek a guru like Amma (Amma.org), Jesus, Buddha, or other living saints like Mother Meera and Karunamayi Ma. 

Talking to a professional or a trusted friend can help you acknowledge your pain and hear out loud what you’re really thinking for the first time. 

Use a diary or my Personality Cards to delve deeply into your soul to source and release behaviors and emotions that are stifling you. 

Any resources that help you pause, breathe, and explore yourself in the present will put you on the path to healing.

REMEMBER!

You are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire. 

Pray for others and the Universe prays for us. 

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