OMTimes Magazine February B 2020 Edition with Dan Millman

February B Issue

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CONTENTS

64

46 Growing Old is All About Maintenance

66 Animals and the Use of a Heart-Based Telepathy

86

How Has Your Animal Helped You?

72

The Surprising Relevance of Sanskrit Today

78 Importance of Teaching Our Children How to Think

A Conspiracy as Old as Time

98

54

The Secret of Dismissing Discouragement

Why Use Ho'oponopono in Children?

112

104 Where to Find the Love of Your Life

The Tao of Saint Augustine

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44 HEALTH AND HEALING

ANIMAL SPIRITUALITY

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PERSONAL GROWTH

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DAN MILLMAN Beyond the Peaceful Warrior Way Dan Millman Interview by Sandie Sedgbeer

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

FEBRUARY B EDITION

OMTIMES MAGAZINE

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The Way of the Spiritual Warrior Dan Millman is the author of The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, which became a word of mouth international bestseller. A former world champion athlete, university coach, martial arts instructor, college professor, speaker, and teacher, Dan Millman and Sandie Sedgbeer, talk about the Spiritual Warrior’s Way, an approach to life which offers us the answers to many of life’s challenging questions.

Sandie Sedgbeer: The Peaceful Warrior tells the story of a chance meeting with a gas station attendant who becomes a mentor and spiritual teacher to a young gymnast named Dan, who is recovering from a severe motorcycle accident that shattered his leg. Like the character in the book, you were a gymnast, you had a bad injury and were told it would never completely heal, but it did.

Was that injury the catalyst for your spiritual quest?

Dan Millman: Yes, it certainly was one of the catalysts. There were others as well, but many people who’ve suffered some dislocation in their life, whether financial, personal relationship, or physical injury, know how every adversity like that can have hidden gifts of strength and wisdom and perspective. So, we don’t have to go looking for those types of things. And I don’t recommend fracture as a method of personal development, but it did shake me up - and I’m pointing up right now - and, perhaps, opened me up to seeing and hearing more than I might have paid attention to.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: You’ve written that Socrates, as you called the gas station attendant, was a compilation of four people who were like mentors to you. How did the idea for the book, and merging those four mentors into the character of Socrates, first blossom within you?

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SANDIE SEDGBEER: You’ve said that you put your heart and soul into your writing.

I think that shows in your books. There isn’t a wasted word in them, and they appear to be very thoughtful and well-constructed.

Did it take you a long time to write The Way of the Peaceful Warrior?

DAN MILLMAN: Sometimes, a book at the end finds a title, and other times the title finds the book. The term Peaceful Warrior came about organically through my own life experience. I used to love that TV Show called Kung Fu, which featured a Shaolin Priest who was a peaceful type, but a well-trained warrior - and I wasn’t aware until more recently that Gandhi used to call himself a Soldier of Peace, so the term has been around.

But I was creating a course when I was a college professor in Aikido and Tai Chi, two martial arts that are more internal arts dealing with energy, healing, and reconciliation, and I was going to call the course The Way of the Warrior, but that didn’t quite fit, so I called it The Way of the Peaceful Warrior. And a decade later, when I began to write the book, that phrase just grabbed me and became like a hologram that gave me entryway into writing about experiences I’d had with two of those mentors. They inspired insights and perspectives that I wanted to share so much that they ended up shaping themselves into a book.

DAN MILLMAN: It did. It actually was in fits and starts. It wasn’t continuous writing, but over seven years, I’d say the book took shape over many drafts. And even after the book was sold to my first publisher, the editor asked some stimulating questions that inspired me to go into a frenzy of writing again. I hardly slept, and I did the final draft that ended up being published. So, I had a chance to choose my words carefully because of draft after draft.

Jack London once said that it takes hard writing to do an easy reading and that’s what I continually strive to do in all my books.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Purpose is a theme that runs throughout all of your work. You’ve written several books with ‘Purpose’ in the title. Do you believe now that the work you’ve given the world with The Spiritual Warrior’s Way was your purpose?

DAN MILLMAN: Well, it’s easy to find one’s purpose in retrospect. What’s that saying: ‘We can only understand life looking backward, but we have to live it forward?’ So, I can certainly say, at this point, ‘Yes, it was my purpose and destiny,’ but I had no idea at the time. I just did what my heart told me to do; I just knew I had to write it, and I did my best to share it and put it out there. Even after the book came out, and word of mouth got some momentum building, I didn’t write another book for at least seven years because I felt I’d said what I had to say. Then, the influence of new mentors, new experiences, drove that excitement again. Things I wanted to share in my own words, that’s what was behind the writing that has happened to this day.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: When you published The Life that You Were Born to Live -The Guide to Finding Your Life Purpose, which is a book on numerology, I was intrigued. What took you into that area?

DAN MILLMAN: I can answer that in two ways.

I wanted to share what was valuable and practical and helpful to people. So, somehow my writing gravitated around elements of life purpose because it’s something so central to our lives. The Life You Were Born to Live is only one of the books on ‘purpose.’ There’s another book called Living On Purpose, and another called The Four Purposes of Life. So, it’s been an important part of my teaching, as well as my own expression of the importance of what it means to live or focus on the present moment, and also the Spiritual Laws.

My work is not based on just my opinion.

Hopefully, it’s based on Universal Laws that apply to all our lives, and that’s been a foundation of this way.

Now, when you talk about that particular book, I had written The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, then ten years after the initial hardback, I wrote Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior and both were stories.

People were saying to me: ‘Dan, I really loved your two books, but how do you apply this stuff in daily life?’ So, I ended up writing a book called No Ordinary Moments, and there was too much information in that to convey in the context of the story, so it was a non-fiction guidebook, A Peaceful Warrior’s Guide to Everyday Life. Then, there was this new mentor in my life who revealed a system that was more accurate than any I’d ever come across for self-knowledge. Now, I think we all understand the importance of knowing ourselves, because if we don’t know ourselves, then we make the wrong decision for the wrong person - the one we thought we were.

So, this emphasis on self-knowledge was what drove me to share this ‘Life Purpose system,’ as I call it. I’ve never really been interested in numerology per se. It didn’t make any sense to me how adding up the numbers of your date of birth could get valid, reliable, accurate information about one’s life. But the system I learned was so accurate, I had to share it, and I could only do so many readings myself. So, over a process of about seven or eight years, I went from doing readings to finally teaching professional training in this system and then writing the book.

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So, it developed organically and emerged from the mentors who impacted my life. People thought I’d gone off on a numerology tangent.

It seemed like a left turn, but it was the most effective means I’d ever come across—and I’d studied many systems for accessible selfknowledge—it was a leap in understanding what we’re doing here and what we’re here to do. That’s why I wrote that book and went out on a bit of a limb to do it.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: I’ve always believed that the Universe, Source, has given us everything we need. And I think that the Spiritual Laws in your books—the truths, the gateways, all of the things you write about, which are so simple and fundamental that one has to recognize them as truths—are a part of that.

And so is numerology, and astrology, and the other systems that exist for us to learn about ourselves.

DAN MILLMAN: Exactly. I’m in alignment with the idea that we are given all the resources, we just haven’t uncovered them all. Scientists might look at my book and say, ‘Well, it may work in practice, but does it work in theory?’ I can only say that someone else is going to have to come up with a theory that we haven’t embraced yet. How could the planets and the motions of the planets and our date of birth possibly lend such accurate information? So, I leave that to the theorists, but the book was a major task to put out. I’m always a bit selfconscious mentioning theory of my books, but if I’m a tree, these are my branches. They’re an essential part of my life and how my work developed. I’m working on my (probably) last long-form work right now.

It’s going to tell the story of those four mentors and how they influenced my life and work. It’s really not just a memoir, which means it has no fiction, it’s as completely true as I can make it, but also, it’s a story behind the story and about my lineage. And it may inform others’ lives about this whole idea of the spiritual quest.

So, that’s what’s calling me to work on this final book right now.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: You released an updated 25th-anniversary edition of The Life You Were Born to Live. What more did you want to add to it? I mean, in numerology, there are clear laws, and there’s a structure to that. What more can you add?

DAN MILLMAN: When the book came out in 1994, nobody ever thought about what it was going to be like after the year 2000. It was just too far in the future. So, there were 37 life paths, but it turns out that certain children born after the year 2000, some are now 19, almost 20 have a quite radically different life path. Some have a single-digit which, to those who understand numerology systems, is quite interesting. So, I wanted to include those. The new edition I felt needed to include all the life paths and some more insights I had recently about what we call master numbers, which hadn’t been communicated before as far as I know. So, that’s what moved me to sit down and work on significant revisions in the basic system.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: In 2011, you published The Four Purposes of Life – Finding Meaning and Direction in a Changing World. What are those Four Purposes?

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DAN MILLMAN: Let me say, first, that we are all hardwired goal seekers. When I watch my grandchild, as an infant, crawl the floor, they’re not just getting some helpful exercise, they want something.

They are moving toward some toy or sparkly object.

That’s true for any of us. In the Peaceful Warrior Movie, the character, Dan, had this revelation and said to Socrates: ‘I just realized that it’s not the destination that makes us happy; it’s the journey.’ That’s a nice insight to have because most of our lives are the journey. Yet, without a destination in mind, without a goal or purpose, there is no journey. We just wander around. So, from point A, we need a point B. I would define success and maybe some element of happiness as making regular progress towards a meaningful goal. Those working towards a goal, whether it’s interpersonal, financial, in a sport or hobby, have this absorption in life, this submersion that really connects us to life.

So, that’s why I think the purpose is so important in our lives. There are many purposes, of course, but just as we divide the points of a compass into four primary directions or the days of the year into four seasons, by highlighting four purposes in that particular book, it helps us to make more sense out of our lives.

In brief, The Four Purposes are first, learning life’s lessons. That may not sound like much; we’re learning just from our life experience, but there’s more to it. I won’t go into it right now, but it has to do with twelve courses in the School of Life. We’re all studying, and we can’t fail at anything as long as we’ve learned a lesson. That’s the core of our lives; we’re here to learn and to evolve.

The Second Purpose is what we normally think of as ‘purpose’—our career and calling and how those two are different; calling doesn’t need to make money, whereas a career does. That’s central to the career, even if it has ancillary benefits.

So, that’s important to all of us; how to choose through self-knowledge the most appropriate career and to reawaken our calling as well because they can be the same or they can be different.

The Third Purpose is the one I write about to provide a context in The Life You Were Born to Live: our life path, our hidden calling. What we’re here to do beneath the theatre and behind the stage of everyday life.

The Fourth Purpose may be the most important one of all, which is our purpose in each arising moment. I may not know my cosmic purpose. You may not either, but you and I both know our purpose right at this moment. Having a conversation. So, most of us can get grounded again with all this information we’re exposed to by saying, ‘OK, what do I need to do at this moment,’ which brings us back to this present moment and back on Purpose.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Now, there’s a paradox there, too, because you also write about how many people are so goal-oriented they spend most of their time in the future and completely miss the present.

DAN MILLMAN: The Writer, Mark Twain, once said: ‘I’ve had many troubles in my life, most of which never happened.’ Most of our troubles are projected into the future, something we think we’re going to do, and it’s going to unfold this way. Or, our troubles are in the past. ‘I wish I hadn’t, I shouldn’t have done that, I wish I could change this.’ That’s why I bring people back to the idea that there is no such thing as the past and future except as concepts. Time is a convention. All we ever have is this eternal present, and this present, and this present.

Now, it’s impossible to grasp the present moment, as any physicist will tell you.

How do you grab a Nano-second? A millionth of a second? What teachers like myself mean by that is to focus on what’s in front of us because what we call the past is a seven-neuro impression in our brain we call memory, but it no longer exists except in these impressions we carry.

The future is simply our imagination.

There’s no such thing as future happiness.

Either we’re either happy now,or we’re not, because the future never comes.

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So, the more we become realistic and Understand that all we have, our moment of power, our moment of reality, is right now, the more realistic and powerful we become.

We have more presence because we are present, and we start to realize, just as meditators do, noticing that the waves of thought pass, we begin to see it and get a distance from it and get more in touch with what’s real and what’s right now. It makes us more effective and more functional in everyday life.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: There are many sentences and short phrases in your books that carry so much truth, I want to pin them on the wall.

For example, ‘There’s no such thing as a future decision.’ I know people who struggle so much with making decisions that they become paralyzed and don’t make any. Then they bemoan the fact that they couldn’t make a decision, or they made the wrong decision, or they have to change and learn to make decisions, but they never do. Perhaps reading that phrase might be helpful to them.

DAN MILLMAN: Thinking about doing something is the same as not doing it. You might have heard that phrase: ‘We don’t want to act without thinking, and we don’t want to think without acting.’ There is a balance between the two. So, in several of my books, I share a method to make fully educated decisions, bringing in our imagination and our subconscious to make more appropriate, more holistic decisions. Many people fear to make the wrong decision which leads to paralysis.

So, there’s a time we need to make a decision.

There’s a story I tell in one of my books called The Laws of Spirit, where this ageless woman sage asks me to choose when we come to a fork in the road.

She says, ‘Please, choose which way you’re going to go,’ and I look in both directions and, finally, I go, ‘you know I think I’ll take that path.’ She says, ‘Thank you, and now please make a decision.’ And I go, ‘Oh, maybe you didn’t hear me, I said I’m going this way.’

She says, ‘Yes, now I’m waiting for your choice.’ And I get a little irritated and finally just start walking, and she says, ‘Ah, thank you.’ We actually make our decisions not up in our head, we make our decisions when we act. In fact, E.M. Forster, a favorite writer of mine, said: ‘How do I know what I think until I see what I do.’

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SANDIE SEDGBEER: Yes. Exactly. Another phrase I liked is ‘The challenge of attending to the present.’ You say that much of the time, we humans are bored with the present. We don’t want to stay here.

DAN MILLMAN: Well, there’s a more complicated response to that idea. It has to do with our RAS, our Reticular Activating System, which is located near the brain stem. The RAS has several functions, but it tends to habituate. You notice in society today how people seem to want more; more gourmet or fancier, sweeter or stronger spiced foods? They want more spectacular movies or a stronger emotional event to hold our attention because our attention tends to wander a lot. There are ways to retune the RAS. Meditation and sensory deprivation experiments and practices can help. For example, after a fast, not eating for three to five days or seven days, we can really enjoy the subtle taste of a carrot, a banana, or simple foods.

There are ways to retune the RAS so that we are no longer bored with the present moment. We start to actually notice the world again with the eyes of a child. Children are always noticing things. When we travel, we notice things we wouldn’t look at home because we kind of wake up in that way.

When most people say they’re bored, it just means they are focusing on the currents of the mind rather than what’s around them and so there are various practices that I occasionally teach to retune that and start to notice and appreciate the subtle and to quiet everything down and appreciate simplicity. I think that’s a fundamental life skill.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: In No Ordinary Moments and you tell the story of when Dan was practicing gymnastics with Socrates watching him, and when shrugged off his jacket afterward and asked Socrates what he thought of the performance, Socrates said ‘that was great, but not the bit where you dropped the jacket on the floor because, at that point, you were no longer engaged at the moment you were in.’

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DAN MILLMAN: Exactly. He was reminding me, again, that there are no ordinary moments. Yes, I was paying strict attention when I was flying off the horizontal bar doing somersaults, but when I pulled off my sweatshirt, I wasn’t paying attention. I was treating one moment as special and another as ordinary. But he added something to that—and this is a fundamental life skill and technique anyone can practice—he said: ‘Dan, the difference between us is you practice Gymnastics, I practice everything.; What he was saying was there’s a difference in doing things and practicing them. I mean, we do the dishes and do our homework and do our job at work, but when we are practicing our work and practicing doing the dishes, we have more a sense of intention to improve, to refine, to expand. When we do that, it brings us into that state of flow that makes us more mindful of what we’re doing as we practice.

So, I’m practicing speaking with you right now. I practice breathing on occasion. I practice walking. I practice doing the dishes. My wife says I still have a way to go on that account, but I am working on it. So, when we start to practice life, little by little, we become more absorbed in it and attain a different state of awareness. It’s a simple technique and idea that we can bring into our lives at any time we remember.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Socrates said this many years ago, and now we have the mindfulness movement, which is trying to remind us all to practice, to be attentive to the present moment.

DAN MILLMAN: Practicing is one way of doing that. The idea, the concept that I am practicing. Mindfulness has become a thing, like a meme, but actually, mindfulness simply means paying attention, but it’s also to the present moment without judgment. So that’s a wonderful life skill practice we’re not taught in school, although our schoolwork can call us to that, can teach us concentration. I remind people of awareness in general.

Awareness is consciousness, but it manifests in the human being as attention. That it’s focusing awareness, like a magnifying glass can focus the sun’s power and light. By attending to things, we can also improve that ability. We call it concentration, and like any skill, we can improve on it over time.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: You mentioned The Laws of Spirit in which your character goes on this journey with the female sage he meets. Along the way, she presents 12 Laws. She’s teaching the spiritual principles, the Law of Balance, the Law of Integrity, the Law of Action, etc. Is there one among them that you would rate as being more important than any other?

DAN MILLMAN: The answer is no and yes because one of those Laws may be more important in one moment than another, and so there is no particular hierarchy in it.

I do start with the Law of Balance. But the Law I might cover right now is the Law of Action, which is a foundational element in this approach to living that I call The Peaceful Warrior’s Way, and that is that we have less conscious control over the emotions that pass through us. We have conscious control over the thoughts that appear in our field of awareness. Thoughts happen to us. We don’t say, ‘I think I’m going to think this thought next.’ Thoughts just appear. Random thoughts in our field of awareness, and we don’t have a spam filter in our heads. So, rather than trying to fix our insides so that we can live well, and trying to think positively and have positive emotions, like courage and gratitude and love and so on, we can bring these qualities into life by focusing on what we do. Because we have more control over how we act and behave than we do over what emotions we happen to be feeling or thoughts, we happen to be thinking at any given moment.

That is the core of what I call the Law of Action, and that can change our lives. It’s a real form of liberation when we can do what needs to be done despite fear. Whether or not we’re motivated and so on.

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A favorite quote of mine that I often remind people of is: “To progress toward the goals, we need to choose one of the two following methods. We can find a way to quiet our mind, create empowering beliefs, raise our selfesteem and practice positive self-talk to find our focus and affirm our power to free our emotions and visualize positive outcomes so that we can develop the confidence to generate the courage, to find the determination, to make the commitment, to feel sufficiently motivated to do whatever it is we need to do.’ Whew, that’s pretty complicated. Or, the second method, which I recommend, is: ‘We can just do it.’ Life is always going to come to that. What will we do? What needs doing at this moment?

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Paradox, humor, and change—these are the three eternal truths on which Socrates founded his message and teachings. He says, ‘the more we accept paradox, humor, and change, the more skilfully we ride the river of reality.’ We are in an unprecedented time of change, and many people are incredibly fearful, so talk to me about paradox, humor, and change.

DAN MILLMAN: Let’s start with change. When things are going well, we don’t want anything to change and usually don’t find any need to change ourselves, either.

When things are not going well, then we’re definitely interested in change, and sometimes we take the big step of changing ourselves, which we have more control over than changing the world.

Life comes at us in waves of change, which we can’t predict or control, but we can learn to surf those waves. We can learn, like any good martial artist with multiple attackers coming at them, to step aside and use the force that’s coming at us, to make use of that energy.

We can learn to do that in everyday life, to make use of change, to turn on a dime and be more adaptable and flexible, which is one of the big benefits of training in certain martial arts where you kind of learn to embody that. So, dealing with change is a major element of life.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: Paradox, humor, and change —these are the three eternal truths on which Socrates founded his message and teachings. He says, ‘the more we accept paradox, humor, and change, the more skilfully we ride the river of reality.’ We are in an unprecedented time of change, and many people are incredibly fearful, so talk to me about paradox, humor, and change.

DAN MILLMAN: Let’s start with change. When things are going well, we don’t want anything to change and usually don’t find any need to change ourselves, either. When things are not going well, then we’re definitely interested in change, and sometimes we take the big step of changing ourselves, which we have more control over than changing the world. Life comes at us in waves of change, which we can’t predict or control, but we can learn to surf those waves.

We can learn, like any good martial artist with multiple attackers coming at them, to step aside and use the force that’s coming at us, to make use of that energy.

We can learn to do that in everyday life, to make use of change, to turn on a dime and be more adaptable and flexible, which is one of the big benefits of training in certain martial arts where you kind of learn to embody that. So, dealing with change is a major element of life.

When we talk about humor, I’m not talking about laughter or telling jokes; I’m talking about cosmic humor.

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That is fundamentally reaching a point where we don’t take ourselves or our lives quite so seriously in that we realize that life is the kind of game we play.

It’s important to play as if it matters, but we have this detachment, this distance from it. It’s almost like going from the foothills of a mountain, where we’re down in the weeds and, suddenly, we find ourselves on the mountain top and we look at the Panorama below, and everything looks more beautiful from a distance.

So, it’s being able to step back and look at our lives from a distance and kind of sigh, and go ‘ah, yes.”

Sort of a Taoist idea of accepting the way, the winding watercourse way, and flowing with it and with change.

That’s humor, cosmic humor, and we need humor, especially today, with all the changes happening.

And it doesn’t mean we don’t act. We can respond more effectively like any good martial arts practitioner when we’re flexible and relaxed and have a sense of distance and perspective. We don’t get wrapped up and uptight so much. That’s why it’s so helpful to understand and embody both the ability to change and grow and also to have a cosmic sense of humor about it all.

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The key, for me, is a paradox. Most people confuse paradox with irony, but paradox really means two opposing ideas that are both true.

If we recall the wonderful book Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, it opens with ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,’ followed by some other opposing pairs of statements that convey paradox. The paradox is the key to understanding spiritual life or the transcendental world because we spend most of our time in the conventional world, as we should. Our work and children, raising families and doing what we need to do in everyday life, but that’s not enough. There is more to life than news, weather, sports, and politics. We’ve all had a yearning for the transcendent at times. I believe every human is on a spiritual journey, whether they know it yet or not. B when we understand that there is another dimension, another world, the transcendent world, the world that calls us to religion or to spiritual practice, to understand the bigger picture of life, what we call spirituality or inspiration, we start to understand that different truths operate.

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For example, does time exist?

Conventionally speaking, yes.

Transcendentally speaking, time is an illusion. Do we have free will? Conventionally speaking, sure, we make choices all the time.

Transcendentally speaking, no, we don’t necessarily choose what we will choose. That may be shaped by destiny.

There are other questions about are we separate selves?

Sure, conventionally speaking, it’s demonstrable, but transcendentally speaking, we’re certainly all one, and so on. That’s how paradoxes can be a key to a much deeper understanding of the foundations of our lives.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: You cover happiness several times in several of your books –the meaning of happiness, feeling happy versus acting happy – and thinking about what you wrote, it occurred to me that people don’t whistle anymore. When I was a child, you used to see jolly chappies wandering down the street, hands in their pockets, whistling as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Nobody whistles anymore. People seem to be very serious.

It’s hard for them to find humor and see this as a game.

Everything is becoming so fearful for so many people.

DAN MILLMAN: That’s why there are so many somatic symptoms today of tension, problems, and illnesses. A young man came up to me once. I gave a talk at a University, and he walked up to me and said: “Dan, I know you do consultations with people, sometimes, and you must charge a lot of money.

What can you tell a poor college student for a dollar?”

So, I smiled at him, and I told him six words that could change his life, a lifetime practice, and those six words were: “Here and now breathe and relax.” And if we just practice that a little bit each day: ‘Just remember, where am I? I’m here. What time is it now? Just breathe, take a deep breath.

No matter what circumstance, we can always take a deep breath, and we can relax. We can shake loose. You see, people are worried about stress, and stress is an idea, it’s not a thing. Stress is just a word we have, a concept when we resist something we don’t like.

People can get stressed at happy occasions, weddings, family gatherings. It’s not just a bad thing to cause stress.

I joke with people sometimes and say ‘I can tell you exactly how to feel no more stress in your life.’

And they go: ‘Oh, what is that?’ I say, ‘Just don’t care about anything.’ But we do care about things, and it’s not realistic advice because we’re engaged with life, we do care.

So, stress is part of our lives. It’s a natural thing. However, I can offer more helpful advice in the sense that stress, when we’re relaxed, is very different from stress when we’re tense. So, while we’re going through stressful situations, it’s especially important to shake loose and take a deep breath, and that can change our relationship to stress because it’s not the stress that hurts us; it’s the tension associated with it. We have control over that.

We don’t have control over stress, but we do have control over whether we’re tense or relaxed.

So, that’s just a word to the wise.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: You have mentioned earlier when we were talking about your book on numerology, the children that have been born since the millennium.

Their lives are much more stressful than my children’s lives were growing up. Apart from the fact that we live in a digital age, there’s a lot of stress on them, a lot of pressure, and we’re seeing a horrible rise in young people committing suicide, which is really sad. You’ve written two books for children, Quest for the Crystal Castle, A Peaceful Warrior’s Children’s Book and Secrets of the Peaceful Warrior which is for the nine to tenyear-olds. Let’s talk a little bit about The Peaceful Warrior and what people or parents, especially, can learn from that to help their children.

OMTIMES |FEBRUARY B

DAN MILLMAN: I have three daughters, and I’m proud of all of them, and we have grandchildren, so it’s a second helping. My publishers said, can you write A Peaceful Warrior book for children, and I sat back, and I tried to model it after the first book. But I wanted to inculcate some fundamental values that children could relate to.

It wasn’t preachy. So, I ended up writing these two children’s books, but parents ask me: ‘Should I teach my children, my three-year-old to meditate?’ I often don’t recommend that because children are like puppies. Their needs are simple. They need to be hugged, they need attention sometimes to show they’re valuable and worthwhile, and they need to eat when they’re hungry and get enough rest and then we just need to get out of their way. So, I think we don’t need to help children. Let them play and discover life and have some alone time away from screens and that sort of thing.

That’s what we practice with our children and grandchildren.

If I can return for a moment to the idea of happiness, as I didn’t really respond to your question. I would say, in terms of happiness, I don’t see it as a good feeling. Certainly, it’s nicer to feel happy than the alternative, but feelings are not really under our control, and if we were happy all the time, we wouldn’t even know it. It’s been said the measure of our sorrows is also the measure of our joy.

EXCLUSIVE

So, when we have a cold, we really appreciate good health. When we’re feeling unhappy, we appreciate the sense of happiness, fulfilment, satisfaction, so to me, happiness is a practice.

People ask me: ‘What do you mean, a practice?

How can you practice it?’ Well, I tell people: ‘I do not recommend that you feel happy, or peaceful, or loving, or grateful, or kind, or courageous, or confident.; I recommend you practice behaving that way, and people go: ‘Well, isn’t that kind of inauthentic behaving that way if you don’t feel it?’ I ask: ‘Well, what if you’re feeling afraid, but you behave with courage? Is that inauthentic or is that a virtue?’

Just as we can behave with courage when we’re feeling afraid, we can behave with kindness when we’re feeling irritated.

Feb B | OMTIMES

We can behave with gratitude and say ‘thank you’ whether or not we happen to be feeling grateful at the moment, and we can practice happiness by behaving the way we do when we’re feeling happy.

We’re more expansive, we’re kinder, so happiness can be a radiant practice, and that’s the practice I do in everyday life. I practice all these things; whatever feelings happen to be passing through me. This is a radical teaching, and you don’t hear it very much. So, I wanted to share that with your listeners.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: I’m glad you did because that also is extremely relevant for parents. I was going to ask you if you had any suggestions on advice that parents might give to their children but, you’ve already answered that: we don’t have to give them advice; they don’t want to hear it. But if we model happiness and show them how they also can act happy in those moments in their lives that are challenging for them, we’re giving them a great gift right there.

FEBRUARY B | OMTIMES

DAN MILLMAN: I would agree with you. You know, the Writer, James Baldwin, once said: ‘Children have never been very good at listening to what their parents tell them, but they never fail to imitate them.’ It doesn’t mean we have to be perfect; nobody is. We make mistakes, but we own up to it.

That’s something a parent can do. ‘I’m sorry, I ask your forgiveness, I apologize because I messed up.

I was miserable and tired, and I yelled at you.’

That sort of thing. We’re open. Children learn from that. Albert Schweitzer once said: ‘In influencing other people, the example is not the main thing; it’s the only thing.’

By the time we’re really good parents, they call us grandparents, and by that time our children don’t want to listen to our grandparents' advice as they have their own children to raise. Somehow, generation to generation, we’re learning, and even today with the chaos of politics in the world today, and trends and changes, we are learning. These are teachable moments, and I think we will come out stronger on the other end of it. It may not show right away, but I believe we are evolving. Life is better today than it was 100 or 200 or more years ago. There are fewer wars today, fewer people being killed, fewer impoverished people on the planet compared to 100 years ago, and so on. So, ultimately, I’m an optimist even though I’m not always in the short term.

SANDIE SEDGBEER: I’m glad you ended with that because we need to remember this, especially in such difficult times. Dan Millman, thank you.

For more information on Dan Millman’s work, books, and to use his free Discover Your Life Purpose calculator, visit www.peacefulwarrior.com.

OMTIMES

|

FEB B

Health & Wellness

Innovative new approaches to Healing as well as holistic methods for dealing with health issues and personal growth

Growing Old is All About Maintenance

by Carrie Rutledge

W

e’ve all heard our

prescription. We are trained to believe

parents say that

that our health care costs will increase

growing old is

as we age; for general health care,

the worst as they

prescription drugs, and long-term care.

trek themselves to another doctor's

We begin to wonder if it’s even worth

appointment to pick up yet another

it to retire at all if your days are spent

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

racking up bills with a doctor. We’ve

being plopped down on the couch

probably even heard friends say they

with an icepack scrolling through

don’t want to live past… insert age

Facebook? Let us be inspired by

cliché here. Society has conditioned us

the 101-year-old still-practicing yoga

to work as long as we can and to save

teacher or by the 107-year-old who is

as much as we can only to wipe it all

still skiing! This is possible for all of

out on health care in the end. Everyone

us by simply practicing daily health

experiences aches and pains no doubt,

habits.

but this shouldn’t stop or slow us down in pursuing our hobbies in retirement.

As we age, flexibility training is vital to maintaining physical health. In

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could look

fact, most trainers, acupuncturists,

forward to good health and active

and chiropractors will say it’s the

participation in society instead of

most important component to a daily

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

exercise routine. Just a few minutes of

Hopefully, we are all eating organic,

stretching can relieve the dreaded low

fresh, whole foods daily. Of course,

back pain caused by tight hamstrings.

this isn’t always possible in today’s

The benefits of daily stretching

busy world. Therefore, supplements

include improved posture, range of

are becoming more important in our

motion, balance, flexibility, strength,

nutrient-deficient world today. From

relaxation, less pain and fewer injuries.

the highly processed convenience

Not everyone has time in the day for

food to toxic chemicals and metals

a workout or can devote eight hours

changing our DNA. This is drastically

a week to yoga. However, if you can

affecting nutrient absorption. It’s

merely devote five minutes a day to

not surprising that the Millennial

stretching and flexibility, you will be

generation is one of the unhealthiest

giving yourself a wonderful gift that

generations in terms of high blood

will help you age more beautifully and

pressure, diabetes and chronic illness.

pain-free.

It is imperative to help our bodies OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

expel and recover from all of the toxins

Chlorella and spirulina are extremely

and medications taking tolls on our

nutrient-dense. They detoxify the

daily health. Supplements that boost

blood by removing pollutants and

our immunity, improve detoxification,

other toxins as well as increasing

and decalcify our pineal gland (life

the most powerful antioxidant,

force) can have a significant effect on

glutathione. Naturopathic doctors

our health and overcoming illness.

are having their patients supplement with spirulina and chlorella to help

A quality Nascent Iodine supplement

lessen the absorption of heavy metals

will remove toxins from the

and toxins from the vaccinations

body, boost immunity and raise

that many individuals are required to

energy levels. It helps to maintain

receive today. This helps to protect

thyroid health, is antibacterial, and

the pineal gland from exposure to

supports cognitive development in

vaccine adjuvants such as aluminum

children. Iodine deficiency is one

and mercury. Chlorella and spirulina

of the leading preventable causes

are a whole food that can be mixed

of mental retardation worldwide!

into smoothies or taken in a capsule

Therefore, making sure your prenatal

with or without food. It’s affordable

supplement contains iodine is very

and a worthy investment for you and

important. Some more recent studies

your family’s health.

are showing that decreased iodine levels are contributing to ADHD in

Nothing else matters if we don’t

children and dementia in adults. The

filter our water. Unfortunately, our

reason iodine is extremely hard to

municipal water plants do very

obtain from food is that our once

little to protect us from all of the

plentiful soils have been depleted of

contaminants in tap water, as it’s

this important element. Furthermore,

heavily treated with chlorine, lead,

the recommended daily value of

and fluoride. When we ingest these

iodine is just enough to prevent

chemicals, we are placing added

goiter. For this reason, it’s important

pressure on our liver and kidneys to

to supplement with a quality,

filter out all of these harmful toxins.

highly absorbable Nascent Iodine

Fluoride in our water also displaces

supplement to support our body in

the good iodine in our systems. If you

detox and optimal health.

eat out, spend the extra few bucks OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

and order bottled water. According to

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked

the Council on Environmental Quality,

to a myriad of problems such as

drinking tap water increases our risk

arthritis, lowered immunity, cancer,

of all cancers by 90%! For me, it wasn’t

high blood pressure, reproductive

until I started filtering my water with

problems, cardiovascular disease,

a quality water filter that I was able to

multiple sclerosis, and even autism.

stay pregnant.

Most of us are not getting enough OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

Vitamin D due to sunscreen use,

and mental burden on us, it also

lack of exposure to the sun in the

takes a huge toll on our families. We

winter, and not taking an absorbable

are productive and have a positive

supplement. To notice a drastic

influence on our communities

increase in our immunity, we need

when we are healthy. By devoting

to be absorbing 10,000 to 20,000 IU

ourselves to good health, raising

per day which is way more than the

consciousness and practicing self-

400 IU recommended by the FDA.

love, we can help one another to stay

The truth is (depending on skin tone)

free of the healthcare system.

twenty minutes to an hour of direct sunlight midday (arms and legs)

Taking control of your health is the

is the best way to stock up on this

best financial investment you can

important vitamin/hormone. During

make for 2020 and beyond. A true

the wintertime, using a supplement

expression of confidence, self-love,

of 10,000 IU may be necessary to keep

and virility is a gift we can all value.

levels at optimal levels. Getting your D levels tested twice per year (spring and

Carrie is a full-time working mother

fall) will keep you informed on what

who spent five years struggling with

you need to maintain your levels. You

infertility and miscarriages. Through

will notice a quicker immune response

research and lifestyle changes, she

and recovery time from the cold and/

was able to put an end to frustrating

or flu when you keep your levels at 60-

doctor’s visits and expensive

80 ng/ml.

pharmaceutical drugs that worsened her condition. At forty,

It’s not cheap to be sick in today’s

she gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

economy. Investing in quality

Although she was diagnosed with

supplements, water filters, and an

Postpartum Depression, Anxiety,

exercise program that works for you

and OCD, she continues to treat

is far less expensive than a cancer

her symptoms through nutrition,

diagnosis or a heart attack. Life is to

exercise, CBT therapy, Yoga and

be enjoyed, and if we can’t afford the

meditation. She is devoted to

few extra bucks, it costs to be healthy.

helping women take back their

Eventually, we will have to afford to be

health and heal their bodies on their

sick. Being sick isn’t only a financial

own terms.

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

Esoteric Knowledge

Why Use HO'OPONOPONO For Children

By Humanity Healing

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

Every time a child is saved from the dark side of life, every time one of us makes an effort to create a difference in a child's life, we add light and healing to our own lives.

Oprah Winfrey

T

properly, tend to appear in the adult's personal and affective life - and change how we become parents.

Even if you read all about being a good parent, the inexperience of firsttime parents, and the influences of our upbringing always speak louder.

The fact that we were influenced by the upbringing our parents gave us is not always wrong, of course. But it is

he moment a child is born,

noteworthy that in family therapies,

so are her parents. It's a

the fears and problems shown by

new and challenging path,

children are linked to their parents

and as much as everyone

and the way they were raised (and

wants to get it right, the parents'

unconsciously passed on to their

unconscious blockages and fears are

children).

often reflected in their children.

The practice of Ho'oponopono

ATTITUDE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN LESSON

for children can help cure these obstructions, as children learn

Have you heard that “A son that

to cleanse themselves of these

doesn’t follow counsel, will follow the

unconscious and unworthy parental

example”? It is true. Up to 7 years old,

teachings and assimilations when

children unconsciously reproduce

they acquired some self-knowledge.

what you DO, not what you SAY.

DIFFICULTIES BETWEEN PARENTS AND CHILDREN MAY BE FELT FOR GENERATIONS

Hence, from early childhood, children act with issues that are challenging for parents: highlighting their shortcomings and shortcomings.

HOW SO?

The way our parents raised us can dramatically influence the formation

For example, the father complains

of our personality. Problems with

to the psychologist that the child is

parenting, when not worked out

stubborn, that she has a tantrum,

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

and does not want to share her toys

Another typical case is when a child

with her playmates. In a more in-

starts vomiting without explanation.

depth conversation with his father,

If parents experience significant

the psychologist realizes that he is

emotional instability at home, if

extremely attached to his ideas, that he

they fight a lot in front of their child,

has difficulty accepting other opinions

or if they show agitated behavior;

that are very attached to material

often the children vomit because

goods, dogmas, and truths that he

they cannot understand or “digest�

considers to be absolute. Finally, the

what is happening, and their way

child only reproduces these same

of demonstrating this is by ejecting

characteristics in her child-like form.

food from their stomach.

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

HOW CAN HOOPOPONO BE USED TO HELP CHILDREN?

The Ho'oponopono method is to practice 4 powerful phrases: “I love you.

I'm sorry.

Ho'oponopono is a healing tool that

Forgive me.

can help clear children of the limiting

I am grateful�.

beliefs, self-sabotage instincts, emotional blocks, and negative

By speaking these phrases with our

memories we may carry in our lives

children, we can (unconsciously) clear

and inadvertently transmit to our

them of all the pain, discomfort, and

children.

fears we carry within us so that they OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

realize that their parents can also be

only if the child doesn’t develop any

wrong, too, and they do not have to

adverse symptoms regarding it.

absorb everything from their parents

The idea is to make the routine a

as if it were always absolute Truths.

constant, daily cleansing of negative

Parents need to take care of their

memories, to bring the unconscious

own unconscious and to be aware

feelings to consciousness and

that their unconscious content can

prevent them from becoming

passively pass to their child.

symptoms of blockages and ancestral fears.

The rule is that past painful memories need to be released. Childhood traumas, pains, fears, rebukes accumulate within our being, need to be clear by saying to ourselves:

PRACTICING HO'OPONOPONO SHOULD NOT BRING GUILTY TO PARENTS

“I'm so sorry.

Forgive me.

Seeing our children reproducing

Love you.

symptoms and attitudes that are a

I'm grateful (the)…….”

result of our own behavior can bring parents the feeling of guilt. But this is

You can tell them out loud or in

not the idea behind Ho’oponopono.

silence, as you feel more comfortable

The idea is to bring awareness that

to do so.

we transmit these memories to our

WHEN AND HOW TO APPLY HO'OPONOPONO TO CHILDREN?

children and that it is possible to clear and heal them from ourselves and our children. It is why it is important to start self-healing early on.

There are no appropriate number of

Have you healed yourself up today?

times, timeframe, or age, as there are

I'm sorry, forgive me, I love you, I'm

no contraindications to this method,

grateful.

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

OMTimes Magazine Relax…

Let your worries drift away into the moment…

OMTimes is a free publication and can be delivered right to your inbox…

Subscribe at: Free OMTimes Subscription Visit our website at: www.omtimes.com

OM Living For those living a more Conscious Lifestyle

How Has Your Animal Helped You?

A

By John Holland

nimals are miraculous

but also responds to sign language

gifts to us. The power

or a special cat that made the news

of an animal’s love,

by instinctively knowing when its

intuition, and wisdom

nursing-home residents were about to

is greatly underestimated—whether

leave this world. Then there’s the dog

it’s an ape that not only understands

that helps its therapist owner detect

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

abnormalities in her patients’ bodies

They love us unconditionally and teach

and the story of the amazingly brave

us to play, to be in the present, and,

elephants that impulsively knew they

most important, to live in the now.

had to save themselves by moving to higher ground when a devastating

Animals are such healing creatures.

tsunami hit the west coast of Sumatra.

Amazingly, dogs can detect when seizures are about to occur in their

Animals have been our spiritual

owners, and studies show that animals

companions since the dawn of

help lower our blood pressure, increase

time. Humans have honored them

longevity after a heart attack, and even

throughout history, as can be seen in

detect cancer!

those early drawings on the walls of

—

caves—man and dog hunting side by side. Egyptians have treated cats like

Animals help us to be much more

gods, American Indians have honored

than we really are. They allow us

many different animals on totem poles,

to reach higher than we have ever

and the elders in the tribe would teach

reached before, to spiritual heights

the children about the importance of

that we could never have imagined.

each living thing.

All we need to do is … let them.

Do you have an animal in your life

Long before I got my little dog Koda, a

that is your spiritual companion?

friend gave me a refrigerator magnet

Has your pet helped you through

with a quote attributed to Anatole

a life crisis? Please share your story

France. It speaks volumes to me:

about your pets and how they have assisted you on your journey on my

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains un-awakened.”

Never have truer words been said.

Animals help us let go and forget about the past and help us remember that each day is a new opportunity.

Whether they have fins, feathers or fur, two legs or four—they touch our lives as well as our hearts and our souls.

Facebook page!

Equally, if you want to share this newsletter with anyone you think might appreciate reading this, feel free to share these Soul Inspirations or recommend they join our community.

Live a Soul-filled life!

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

The Animals and Use of a Heart-Based Telepathy

By Ministry Earth

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

ARE ANIMAL NATURAL EMPATHS?

Telepathy - through images, sensations, understanding, and empathy - is the heart of the spiritual,

There is no doubt that animals are

linguistic matrix. It is also our common

very responsive to spirits and are

metaphysical language with animals,

naturally in tune with more energetic

combining with vocalizations, gestures,

frequencies than their humans'

facial expressions, and body language.

counterparts. This is because we developed unconscious blocking

Animals can communicate with

mechanisms when we leave childhood.

each other across species and inter-

We tend to alienate our natural abilities

dimensionally due to their continuous

rather than nurturing and developing

affirmation and acceptance of their

our connective skills.

intuitive access. It is humans who weaken these more profound forms of

Animals, to the contrary, can be very

communication through doubt, fear,

empathic, even sometimes they can

misuse, disuse, and other barriers that

present some “medium� capabilities.

animals naturally do not have. Animals

Maybe because of their innate

can help us demystify telepathy and

innocence, they reside closer to the

broaden our awareness of the world.

Divine, giving them a deeper and broader understanding of the natural world, including the unseen world of spirits.

Much of the mediumship in animals is often underestimated or dismissed as an instinct or genetic memory. But they do have an ability to exchange information through telepathy and other forms of energy transference.

TELEPATHIC GIFTS IN ANIMALS OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

ANIMAL MEDIUMSHIP AS A SPIRITUAL GIFT

hunters feature night vision goggles, infrared and full spectrum cameras, and digital image analysis. Animals have some of these high-tech optical

Like, in different people, each animal

“equipment” incorporated, which

is unique and endowed with unusual

contributes to what we would call

gifts, and some are more spiritually

“mediumship” in animals.

fit than others. Some are young souls with limited understanding

Cat and dog eyes have more

of their mission and purpose, while

biosensors, with high resolution,

others have learned spiritual mastery

for better motion detection, and

through many lifetimes of experience.

specialized cells in the back of the eye

Everything, however, can help us

give cats six times better night vision

develop fluency in the language of

than humans. Some lizards have night

heart-based telepathy.

vision three hundred and fifty times

HIGH SENSES: THE ANIMAL VISION

better than humans, see colors clearly in the dark, and have multifocal eyes.

The mantis shrimp has sixteen color receptors that detect colors unknown

Human vision is quite limited

to humans, and they can see polarized

compared to some other members of

infrared, polarized and circular

the animal kingdom. Modern ghost

polarized light. Even the humble

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

mouse has amazing optical abilities,

is accurate, and those who are

moving his eyes independently on the

spiritualists, mediums, and those

vertical and horizontal axes, one eye

who can contact beings from other

scanning the sky for predators while

dimensions confirm this theory.

the other inspects the ground.

Faced with these statements, we

MEDIUNITY IN ANIMALS: CAN ANIMALS ALSO BE MEDIUMS?

may wonder whether or not animals have the ability to act as mediums.

According to some scholars, a "psychic phenomenon, in fact, in the fullness of its semantic connotation,

Can animals be 'mediums' like men?

is that of intellectual effect, in which

It is a complex and controversial

the sensitive actually functions

issue, no doubt. There is evidence to

as the communication channel

show that animals have a sensitivity

between the incarnated and the

so much (or even more) that many

discarnate." Because of this concept,

highly sensitive people. Have you ever

it is challenging to consider an

heard anyone say that their pet seems

animal as a medium because, despite

to understand their thoughts and

having intelligence, they have no

feelings? They are not exaggerating;

intellectual capacity. “For intelligent

animals have unique empathic and

communication, there is a need for

psychic abilities that have not yet

an intelligent intermediary, and that

been explained by science.

is the spirit of the medium.�

CAN ANIMALS EVEN BE EMPATHS? That animals have a specific type of intelligence already proven, and each species has a different degree of the developmental capacity of their brain. However, some capabilities are difficult to ascertain by the difficulty of communicating with them.

Have you heard that dogs can see spirits? Many people claim that it OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

Excuse Me… Did you Say Sanskrit?

The Surprising Relevance of Sanskrit for Today

By Sarah Mane OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

I

was recently on a long-haul flight

To get an insight into the care of

from Sydney to Vancouver. In the

that young mother taking her boys

row in front was a young mother

home to Canada, let’s look at the

with two little boys. The flight

power of ‘mātri,’ the Sanskrit word

attendant announced that no one

for ‘mother.’ Our English ‘mother’ is

was to use peanuts as these boys had

cognate with matri, so, when we’re

a severe peanut allergy. All through

speaking English every day, we’re

the flight, this mother provided her

connected with Sanskrit meanings

children with carefully pre-prepared

whether we’re aware of it or not.

food. Making sure the boys were occupied, answering their questions,

The second, deeper level of Sanskrit,

resting when she could. It was very

is as the language of the Universe.

impressive. But what has this got to

But how is this so? And how did that

do with Sanskrit? I’ll get to that.

universal language affect a young family on a trans-Pacific flight?

First, what is Sanskrit? It is an ancient language, some would say timeless.

The word ‘Sanskrita’ means ‘purified

It is described as the language of the

and perfectly formed.’ When we are

Universe, and a Mother of Languages.

quiet, open and receptive, without

These are grand claims to be sure, so

mental distractions, we hear a still

let’s look at Sanskrit on two levels.

small voice within. That voice is always pure and perfectly formed—

First, Sanskrit is a spoken language

it is sanskrita. In that quiet state, we

with grammar, vocabulary, sentence

just ‘know’ the truth of that voice.

structure, and so on. As a Mother of Languages, Sanskrit is an

This communication occurs in

etymological matriarch in the vast

our hearts. This perfectly formed

Indo-European family of languages,

language then needs to be

which includes Latin and Ancient

interpreted into our vernacular

Greek and the Germanic, Indian

language so that our mind and

and Romance families of languages.

body can take action. This sense

English, of course, is an Indo-

of ‘knowing,’ a simple alignment

European language.

and resonance with this Universal OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

language, shapes itself into a form

these words comes from the verbal

that our mind and body can use.

root. This is the powerhouse of the meaning. These roots are verbal, that

Sanskrit reflects that universal

is the key to the system. Verbs are

language. It uses a subtle system of

‘doing’ words, they are actions.

verbal roots to establish a connection to that universal language

We generally think of ‘meaning’ as a concept or an object. We think a

Each simple verbal root, called a

‘table’ is a thing, not as the ‘act of

‘dhātu’ (धातु), gives rise to a myriad

tabling,’ the service that the table

of words. The core meaning of all

performs for us. Sanskrit, on the other

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

hand, is based on the idea that the

the meaning of their particular verbal

actual meaning of something is what

root. This is one of the astonishing

it does, the action it performs. So if a

and perhaps unique features of

table ceases to do the act of ‘tabling,’

Sanskrit - that meaning is conveyed in

in other words, provide us with a

experience not merely in concepts.

surface upon which to put our dinner, then it is no longer a table; it becomes

Now let’s go back to that flight to

something else.

Canada. Consider the word ‘mother’

Actions are a form of energy, so words in Sanskrit carry the core energy of

—mātri —written as मातृ in the

beautiful Devanāgarī script. It draws its meaning from the verbal root ‘mā’

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

(मा). Mā means ‘to measure.’ So, the

of presence and awareness in the

essential meaning behind ‘mother’ is

mother, the more precise the measure

the act of measuring.

is. That was certainly in evidence on that plane.

Measuring what?

Delving into the deeper meaning of A mother cares for and nurtures the

words like this is very important. The

body, mind, heart, and spirit of a

meaning we give to things shapes our

child. She provides everything just

world. Things such as Values, Attitude,

in the right measure, the perfect

Truth, Being, Love, Mother, and Father

amount for the time and place. The

are not actually things. They are

measures of what is needed change

actions. What is your attitude doing

all the time, but a mother is perfectly

to you and to the people around you,

designed to give the child what

what are your values doing?

is needed when it is needed. The knowledge of this measuring is innate

Through the timeless wisdom of

and comes in response to the child.

Sanskrit, we can redefine, clarify and

It is known and expressed in the very

realize new meanings, which can

act of mothering, it is not a theory

have a powerful and positive impact

or a concept. The true meaning of

on our life.

‘mother’ is in the action and the experience.

About the Author

Any woman, whether they have given birth to a child or not, has this natural and innate power of measuring or mothering in the presence of a child.

Measuring love, encouragement, discipline, boundaries, knowledge, food, what to wear in the winter or summer, the list is endless. The measures needed to care for a baby, a young child, or a teenager are different, but the act of measuring is the constant. The greater the level

Sarah Mane has been studying Sanskrit since she was a teenager.

Today she teaches practical selfawareness, philosophy, meditation, and Sanskrit to both children and adults. She also coaches individual clients and business professionals all over the world.

Conscious Confidence is her first book from Findhorn Press. For more about Sarah go to sarahmane.com

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

Importance of Teaching Our Children How to Think

By Omtimes

Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.

Margaret Mead

U

nfortunately, many parents and teachers find it best to pass knowledge to their children in an already

processed way. It is like to present a child with a fruit already peeled, cut

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

and chewed. Indeed, the society and schools are so structured that they focus more on the handover of the education of absolute truths, than on teaching children how to think for themselves and how to draw their own conclusions.

From a cognitive point of view, there is nothing more challenging than problems and errors, as they require not only effort but also a process of change or adaptation. When we face a problem, all our cognitive resources are put into action and often, this

Parents that were educated in this manner also will tend to repeat it at home, although they are not always aware of this.

solution involves a reorganization of the mental scheme.

So, if instead of giving children absolute truths, we pose challenges

However, to teach a child to blindly believe preconceived truths without developing at its base, a critical thinking strategy, will be taking away one of their most valuable human skill: the ability to exercise self-determination.

The Task to educate a child should be not to build them, but to help the children to create themselves.

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

William Butler Yeats

for them to think about, we are strengthening their ability to observe, reflect, and make decisions. If we teach children to accept without thinking, this information will not be meaningful, will not produce a big change in their brain, but will simply be stored somewhere in their memory, where it will gradually disappear.

On the contrary, when we think about solving a problem or trying to understand what we are wrong, there is a restructuring that gives rise to growth. When children get used

Self-determination is the guarantee

to thinking, questioning reality, and

that if we choose what we choose, we

finding solutions for themselves, they

will be the protagonists of our lives. We

begin to trust their abilities and face

can make mistakes. In fact, we are very

life with greater security and less fear.

likely to do so, but we will learn from

Children must find their own way of

the mistake and move on, enriching our

doing things, give meaning to their

toolkit for life.

world, and form their core values.

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

How to achieve this?

Do not indoctrinate your children. Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate evidence, and how to disagree with you.

Richard Dawkins A series of experiments developed in the 1970s at the University of Rochester gives us some clues. These psychologists worked with different groups of people and found that rewards can improve motivation and effectiveness to some OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

extent when it comes to repetitive

have control. This would enable the

and boring tasks but can be

individual to think outside the box.

counterproductive when it comes to

3. Maintain an interaction with

problems that require thought and

others to feel supported and

understanding. Creative thinking.

connected.

Interestingly, people who did not

Finally, I encourage you to enjoy this

receive external awards had better

Pixar short “La Luna,” which refers

results in solving complex problems. In

precisely to the importance of letting

fact, in some cases, offering rewards to

children find their own way to think

the children caused them to look for

and not giving them predetermined

shortcuts and even engage in unethical

answers and resolutions but instead

behavior. The goals changed, and they

allowing them to come up with

were no longer to solve the problem,

their creative solutions. Written and

but instead, they aimed for the reward.

directed by Enrico Casarosa, “La Luna” was inspired by Casarosa's childhood

These results led psychologist Edward

and tales by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

L. Deci to postulate his Theory of Self-

and Italo Calvino. The style comes

Determination, where he observes

from Hayao Miyazaki's anime and

that motivating people and children

from La Linea by the Italian cartoonist

to do their best is not necessary to

Osvaldo Cavandoli. [Wikipedia]

resort to using external rewards. He believes that the best way to motivate the children would be to provide an appropriate environment that meets these three following requirements: 1. Providing the feeling of a degree of competence so that the task does not generate exaggerated frustration and anxiety.

Modern education is premised strongly on materialistic values. It is vital that when educating our children's brains that we do not neglect to educate their hearts, a key element of which has to be the nurturing of our compassionate nature.

Dalai Lama

2. Enjoy a degree of autonomy so that we can look for new solutions

Originally published at

and implement them, feeling that we

www.pensarcontemporaneo.com

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

Metaphysics

A Conspiracy as Old as Time Jill Mattson OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

K

nowledge is a beautiful

civilizations guarded their secrets of

thing… until it’s misused

music, magic, art, dance and healing

to the detriment of others.

practices. Each one of these endeavors

Powerful knowledge comes

created subtle energy concoctions

with great responsibility. It’s this

that could be used to influence and

responsibility that birthed the tradition

alter the world around them.

of hiding and concealing certain information in ancient China, Sumeria,

Ancient people used extreme methods

Egypt, and Greece. A widespread

to keep these secrets hidden. They had

belief held that the great continent

good reason to hide it. For example,

of Atlantis sunk due to the misuse

Hitler sought these ancient secrets in

of subtle vibratory energy, such as

his quest for world domination. Think

music and magic. You decide what

that Egypt never let a secret slip on

you believe, but I assure you, in the

how to build a pyramid in 3,000 years.

mystery schools there was no doubt

Wow. Ancient China only trusted high

of such possibilities. Ancient “Mystery

ranking officials to employ musicians

Schools” around the world hoarded

(that could alter their world with sound

subtle energy information, only

energy). Death was the punishment

sharing their wisdom with initiates

for leaking Pythagorean secrets. The

who demonstrated values, people who

Sumerians had code words, “for those

believed in the welfare of all.

who have ears to hear,” before talking in riddles, only allowing a few to

What was so important that

decipher the code. Egyptian art looks

this knowledge was so carefully

the exact same during their 3,000

hidden? Ancient people surprisingly

years as a superpower because it was

understood that everything was

strictly controlled. No one was allowed

comprised of malleable energy…

to introduce innovations in art, music

the energy that could be changed

or dance, which was contrary to what

with sound and other tiny energy

was established to be “good.”

sources. When these tiny changes were amassed, the physical matter

In ancient China, music was controlled

was altered, aka, magic occurred. He

by the emperor to instill harmony and

who understood subtle energy had

strength in its people. For example,

great power. How carefully ancient

they widespread the tuning notes

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

from village to village. They carefully

Why was music and subtle energy

tuned each town to the exact same

prized? Subtle-energy-practices of

frequency. They believed that a

music strengthened populations,

tuning note and its music would

increased crop growth, instilled a

be heard, absorbed and radiated by

ferocious nature in warriors, lifted huge

the villagers. Therefore, if the tuning

rocks, rehabilitated criminals, and

notes of different villages were

more. Not only music but the energy

dissonant, these villages would clash.

within the food, items of nature and

In another example, Chinese music

things used in “magic spells” were all

kept their people “in tune” with the

ingredients of a subtle nature, that

changing seasons, balancing the lack

when combined, had a strong enough

or abundance of frequencies they

reaction to alter matter.

needed – with the energy of sound.

They listened to watery music during

The tradition of controlling music for

the dry season.

power continued as time marched on.

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

The early Catholic Church intended to

When ancient musical secrets were

eradicate Pythagoreanism, Platonism,

suppressed, it was “hidden” in carvings

Mithraism, Egyptian Hermeticism,

and dimensions in churches. In 2005

Zoroastrianism, the Hebrew Kabbalah,

Thomas and Stuart Mitchell matched

and similar Gnostic teachings. The

cymatic images found in England’s

Cathars of southern France were

Rosslyn Chapel’s carvings and musical

executed or exiled, forced to roam the

notes. The carvings served as a musical

countryside as “gypsies.” The Knights

score. The Mitchells performed and

Templar, the primary keepers of the

recorded the music of the carved

Babylonian and Egyptian mysteries,

cubes, called the Rosslyn Motet. These

were hunted down and murdered by

musical codes were hiding – in plain

the Church on Friday 13, 1307.

sight in a chapel – where no one would suspect them to be!

Just as these religions were deemed enemies of the Church, so was

Pope Gregory was a violent enemy

their music. The devil was believed

of pre-Christian culture and burned

to be summoned through music.

all ancient books, which explains

In 1234, the Catholic law, entitled

in part why ancient musical

Liber Extra… banned the musical

techniques were lost. Burning the

interval that formed phi (triton) from

only available reference materials

music. This sound was revered by

made understanding the complicated

ancient musicians because it exists

modal system of the Greeks close to

abundantly in nature. What is the

impossible. Gregory created a modal

impact of listening to the tri-tone or

musical form similar to the Greeks,

the phi sound? This sound equates to

but he lacked an understanding

branching, spiraling and scaffolding

of how or why Greek music was

patterns – found in nature. Perhaps

performed.

it helps us to grow, develop new ideas and lift our energy towards

The tradition of dictating musical rules

God. Clairvoyant seers observed that

continued, but without knowledge of

listening to the phi sound created

why it was done. For example, mixing

by the musical triton purified and

modes was considered a sin. King

enlightened one’s aura, resulting in

Louis IX gave permission to form an

improved well-being.

academy of music, but the Parliament OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

of Paris closed it because musicians ignored ecclesiastical rules and used too many modes. A variety of similar modes were prescriptively used in the Middle East to “cure� people with mental health issues. Now, this was outlawed.

In 1550, Luther wrote scathing pamphlets about the Catholic Church in Germany, where many of the Renaissance composers lived. With the ensuing birth of the Protestant

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

Church, the Catholic Church’s iron

the known grandmaster, the Priory

grip on music weakened, which

of Sion, Joseph von Sonnenfeld.

allowed musical innovations and

Beethoven was familiar with ancient

the resurrection of ancient musical

ideas regarding the power of music.

wisdom to run rampant.

Using music to control the masses Classical composers prized ancient

came to an abrupt halt during the

secrets about the power of music.

Classical period when the popularity

In a few examples, Beethoven’s

of music dictated what sounds

composition master, Christian Neefe,

were heard, rather than church

was a known Mason and a member

officials or government. Rules were

of the secret Illuminati. Beethoven

now created by mass consensus;

dedicated his piano sonata, Opus 28, to

the paying audience was allowing

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

the musician to make a living. In

People are impacted by music and

this period, after a musical style

sound. Yet, it is deemed as mere

lost popular favor, the culture

entertainment, just frivolous. Not only

transitioned with the rebirth of

have we lost the ability to use music

new music. The musicians daringly

and sound for our benefit, but we are

created diverse masterpieces

clueless that it can harm us.

without any fear of negative consequences. This music not only

Sound and music can be used for

changed the world forever but did so

good – for nutrition, encouraging

with lightning speed.

positive emotions, elevating our consciousness and awareness, and

It is well documented that sound

more. Should we be educating people

entrains brainwaves (brain waves

about how we ingest sound? Monitoring

mirror sound waves that are

unheard vibrations? Warning of their

nearby), creating specific states of

effects? When are we going to take

consciousness, and of course, music

what we listen to seriously?

makes us feel good as we dance to a lively beat and feel sad with another

One method to counter unseen

song. Clearly, sound changes us. At

negativity is to be such a strong

least within the hearing spectrum,

positive force; the stronger overcomes,

we have a clue as to the impact of

the weaker. Our harmony can

sound vibrations. Vibrations, even

overcome dissonance.

those unheard, can intensify our emotions – for better or worse. Our

Plotinus of ancient Greece wrote:

brain waves can be deliberately

“Harmonies unheard create the

altered with sounds, with similar

harmonies we hear.” He suggested

results – altering our consciousness.

that subtle, unheard sounds (such as

Can we be brainwashed or

those coming from nature) influence

influenced – without a clue as to

musicians to create beautiful works

what is impacting us? Are their

of art. We are impacted by all kinds of

unheard broadcasts dumbing

vibrations, without being conscious of

us down? Making us compliant?

their power. It is time to wake up and

Encouraging us to buy things?

take control of our vibratory world!

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

Personal Growth & Development

We grow as individuals as we face challenges and overcome life’s obstacles. This section is dedicated to helping you chart your course

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

The Secret of Dismissing Discouragement

By Guy Finley

T

he more you know, the

The only thing that discouraged

farther you can see, so

feelings do is to keep you busy

take as long as you need

doing nothing except feeling sorry

with the following Higher

for yourself, which is the perfect

Lesson and allow yourself to see

guarantee that your sorry situation

something new about the true nature

will remain hopelessly the same.

of discouragement. Then watch how

Enough is enough! You don’t have to

a new and greater personal freedom

put up with one more discouraged

dawns in your life.

day. There is another choice you can learn to make besides falling into

The only purpose discouraged

those familiar feelings of failure.

feelings serve is to keep your thoughts

Use this next Higher Idea to help

on what you can’t do. And with

you start thinking about those old

your attention fixed in this fashion

discouragements in a new way.

on the impossible, there’s no room for discovering what is possible — for

Whenever we suffer over what we

what you can do.

aren’t able to do, have, win, grasp, OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

or work through, our attention in

these voices that reach our inner ears,

these moments is always riveted on

speaking to us with our own voice —

our own thoughts; thoughts that are

seem to be genuinely concerned

busy telling us we’re somehow stuck.

with our unfortunate condition.

Maybe you can recognize some of

But a deeper look into their covert

these heavy-hearted inner voices?

operation reveals something totally

They say in one way or another . . .

different. Follow the next 4 new ideas closely and see something that is

“I’ll never get out of this mess.”

both shocking and self-liberating.

“I’m too stupid to learn these things.”

“I must have done something terrible

1. The more these gloomy voices talk

to deserve this!”

to us, the more discouraged we

“There’s no point in going any farther.”

feel.

“This is definitely hopeless.”

2. The more discouraged we feel, the Now on the surface of things, these

more certain we are that we have

all-too-familiar whispers of defeat —

no other choice but to feel that way.

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

3. 3. And the more convinced we are

a Higher Action you can learn to take

that we have no choice, the less

when faced with the presence of any

choice we have.

discouraging inner state.

4. 4. These unconscious inner

See that the size of the

dialogues actually produce the very

discouragement you feel is directly

dead-end we fear!

proportionate to the size of your insistence that life conforms to your

We end up being able to go no farther

demands. Then, having verified this

with our wish for broader personal

truth for yourself, dare to drop that

horizons because, unbeknownst to

self-defeating demand quietly.

ourselves, we now unconsciously believe that there’s no way to get past

Now watch in amazement as your

where it is we perceive ourselves to

discouraged feelings fade away,

be limited or tied down. The key idea

leaving you with fresh new energies

in this part of our investigation lies

that allow you not only to see a brand

within the word “perceive.”

new way to proceed with your wish but which also grant you the strength to

For the purposes of this study, always

begin that next new leg of your quest.

remember that the word “perceiving” rhymes with deceiving. And that’s

For instance, maybe you’ve felt

precisely what this faulty perception

discouraged because you wanted

is: a self-deception. Here’s proof.

to learn something new -- a higher skill or a difficult lesson -- but felt

There are no dead ends in Real Life.

sure that it was beyond your abilities.

That’s right. Now here’s why this is

And so you just resigned yourself

true.

to feeling discouraged. While this kind of self-defeating behavior is

There are no dead ends in Real Life

commonly accepted as natural, it’s

because -- in any given moment --

totally unnecessary. You can learn to

there is always something Higher to

do something Higher.

do with your life besides suffering over what you think you can’t have or

Instead of falling into those familiar

do or be. Here’s just one example of

feelings of futility over yourself, try

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

dropping that unconscious demand that you have to be who you think you should be. And then, instead of dwelling in discouragement over who your own thoughts are telling you you’ll never be, get started working on who, and what, you are right now.

In other words, do what’s in your power and refuse to be discouraged about anything else. And keep repeating this new conscious action one step at a time, over and over again. It is in your power to learn whatever it takes — one lesson at a time — and make it all the way to your designated goal.

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

Here’s one last special thought to help

this new action gives you the last

summarize this important life-lesson

laugh on discouragement.

in liberating ourselves from dark discouragements. Let it reveal a life free of all doubts and despondency:

— Guy Finley is the founder and

Any conversation you permit yourself

director of the non-profit Life of

to have with discouraging thoughts

Learning Foundation. He is the

guarantees you’ll wind up with a good

author of “Relationship Magic:

reason for feeling discouraged. When

Waking Up Together” and 45

it comes to any negative thought, the

other books and audio albums

first word you have with it is the same

on self-transformation. For more

as giving it the last word with you.

information on Guy Finley or to sign up for free weekly email Key Lessons,

Practice these Higher Lessons in

call 541-476-1200 or visit www.

self-liberation until you’re free of all

guyfinley.org

feelings of futility. You’ll soon see how OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

Where to Find the Love of Your Life OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

W

hen I asked my

from her husband. She wrote herself a

friend, Brenda, “How’s

passionate, poetic love letter as if from

your love life?” she

a man who worshipped her. “Georgia,

sighed and answered,

my love, you are the light of my life.

“Working on it, like everyone.”

I am entranced by your ravishing beauty, deep wisdom, and generous

Were we really born to be constantly

heart. You are sexy beyond words. I

working on our love life, or were we born

have never felt so deeply for anyone. I

to be enjoying it?

want to hold you in my arms and love you like no one ever has. I cannot wait

After many years of coaching and

to see you again. Until then, my heart is

leading seminars, I have discovered two

with you. I love you forever.”

areas that most people ask about most frequently: prosperity and relationships.

Receiving such an inspired missive,

Most people are looking for their love

even from an imaginary lover, felt so

mate, or, if they have one, are seeking a

good that Georgia decided to write

better connection. Since February is the

herself another love letter the next

month of Valentine’s Day, let’s dive in

day. And the next, and the next, until

to illuminate what makes relationships

she was writing and receiving an

work.

impassioned message daily. Gradually she felt lighter, freer, and more filled

The simplest answer comes from a

with the love she had been missing.

woman named Georgia who told an

Then her husband found one of the

astounding story in a seminar in Greece.

letters. Since it was unsigned, he

Georgia reported that she had been

believed it had been written by a secret

married to an emotionally abusive man.

lover. He came to Georgia, waving the

When she requested a divorce, her

letter in his hand. “I can’t compete with

husband refused. In Greece, it is harder

this,” he blurted out. “You can have your

to get a divorce than in America, so

divorce!”

Georgia realized she had to stay with him for a while at least.

Georgia literally loved herself out of a bad marriage. When her husband

In the meantime, Georgia decided to

had been unkind to her, she was

give herself the love she was missing

agreeing with her diminished self-

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

worth. Thus the empty marriage kept

Just as you can love yourself out of a

the two stuck together like pieces of

bad relationship, you can love yourself

Velcro with matching hooks. When

into one. The way to do this seems

Georgia up-leveled her vibration and

antithetical to the way nearly every

established her mind and heart in

romantic book and movie has taught

self-love, there was no more match.

you to find a great partner. You have

Her husband had to either rise to

been taught that when you find

meet her or leave.

someone who loves you, you will know OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

that you are loveable. Yet it works just

a person to make you whole. When

the opposite way: When you know you

two whole people get together and

are loveable, you will find someone

celebrate and support each other rather

who loves you. To try to get someone to

than trying to get from each other,

love you when you don’t love yourself

your relationship becomes completely

defies the law of attraction, which

satisfying and miracles of love manifest.

clearly states that as you think and feel, so you attract. Great relationships are

A Course in Miracles tells us that

not achieved from the outside in. They

relationships offer the quickest route to

proceed from the inside out.

healing. Not by finding someone who will satisfy your needs, but by joining

When coaching clients complain to

with someone with whom you can

me that their partner is not meeting

practice knowing that all your needs

their needs, I ask them a question that

have already been met. Empty people

seems completely insane in light of

create empty relationships. Whole

how we have been trained to have a

people create whole relationships.

happy partnership: “Why do you allow

The recognition of your deep, innate,

your partner’s behavior to be a factor in

perfect lovableness is the key to finding

your happiness?” This question seems

someone who matches the light you are,

absurd because we have been taught

and with whom you both shine brighter.

that the role of a partner is to make

When you are your own Valentine, your

us happy. But if you have ever given

perfect Valentine will show up beside

the power of your happiness to your

you.

partner, you know that this approach always backfires. If you wish to have a good relationship, you must look not outside for love, but within. Any sincere journey within will lead you to all the love you have sought without.

This does not mean you cannot have a great partner with whom you share a deep love and who enhances your life.

This will happen only when you come from wholeness, rather than seeking

Alan Cohen is the author of many inspirational books, including A Course in Miracles Made Easy. Join Alan for his life-changing Holistic Life Coach Training beginning September 1, 2020. For information on this program and Alan’s books, videos, audios, online courses, retreats, and other inspirational events and materials, visit www.AlanCohen.com.

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

When you look at the view of Earth from space, you are immediately in awe of what you do see: the incredible beauty of Creation. It is not until you look closer that you realize what you do not see.

You do not see lines partitioning countries.

You do not see separation between races.

You do not see division between religions.

You do not see the walls people build to isolate themselves from each other.

There is only One Planet. There is only One Humanity.

This section is dedicated to introducing thoughts and ideas to foster a greater understanding of Humanity’s interdependence.

World Vision

The Tao of Saint Augustine Precepts for a more Abundant Living

By Cathedral of the Soul

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

L

eading philosopher of the

Among the variety of topics on

period of philosophy known

which he had worked on, he

as Patristic (1), Augustine of

explored the question of human

Hippo, or Saint Augustine was

freedom in the form of free-will,

a Middle Age philosopher, Doctor of

arguing that Divine Grace would

the Church whose work helped to lay

be the true guarantor of freedom.

the foundations of philosophy adopted

He also formulated the doctrine

by the Catholic Church, as well as to

of Original sin and the theory of

raise questions that influenced the

justified War.

entire later history of philosophy.

According to Augustine, Christians Until Augustine, Christian theologians

should be philosophically and

and philosophers argued that the

personally be a pacifist. This means

foundation and essence of life should

that Christians should defend the

be faith, particularly the Christian faith.

peace by choosing it on principle

From their faith, men would be able

whenever possible, but it allows war

to make important decisions in their

when peace cannot be established.

lives and make moral decisions, and

He understood that a peaceful

that the human reason should only

posture towards an evil that could

influence the small acts in everyday life,

only be stopped by violence is a sin

in minor and routinely made decisions.

since its acceptance only allows the perpetuation of this evil.

Augustine, on the other hand, as an individual well knowledgeable about

Augustine left a giant legacy, with

philosophy and theological teachings

important Short Teachings that,

from various faiths and walks of life,

regardless of your religious views,

sought in reason the justification for

they will make you reflect upon in

faith.

how you view your own life.

Faith is to believe what you do not see;

We have selected some teachings

the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.

- Saint Augustine

from St. Augustine that are true teachings, whether you are a Christian, an atheist, or a pagan.

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

What is the Limit of love?

Love is ever new because it never

“The measure of love is to love without

- Saint Augustine

groweth old.

measure�

- Saint Augustine

Love is one of those things that do not know excess. When the

Choose to love whomsoever thou wilt:

feeling is true and healthy, there

all else will follow.

is no reason to measure or limit it.

- Saint Augustine

Therefore, Love without limits!

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

Don't Do it just By Doing

“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” - Saint Augustine

“It is not enough to do good things; we must do them well.” - Saint

Patience is one valuable lesson for

Augustine

most people to learn. We live in a generation accustomed to the

“If two friends ask you to judge a

immediacy of things and instant

dispute, don't accept, because you

rewards. But, not everything in life

will lose one friend; on the other

happens at the moment you want

hand, if two strangers come with the

them to happen. We must learn to

same request, accept because you

wait. Sometimes we need to wait for

will gain one friend.”

the pace of Nature, where the fruit

- Saint Augustine

waits for the right time to be ripe.

For something to work - whether

Patience is one of the most important

it's a task, a plan, or a goal - we need determination and commitment to what we want to accomplish.

Willingness is important, but it is worthless without hefty doses of effort, commitment, and dedication.

So, put your heart into everything you do. Do not content yourself merely finishing the goals but with the learning process along the way and doing your best to overcome each

steps toward acquiring wisdom.

“The world is a book, and anyone who sits at home reads only one page.”

- St. Augustine The world is so much more than your eyes can see! Allow yourself to explore and experience feelings, places, and customs that are outside your "comfort zone."

new challenge!

The world is a great book, of which

Learn to Wait, and to be Patient to Learn

only a page.

“There is no place for wisdom where

Don't live trapped in your “glass cube,”

there is no patience”

where everything is familiar and easy.

- Saint Augustine

Go, get out, try, fall, and get up a few

they that never stir from home read - Saint Augustine

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

times! Only then will you be able to

“Even if you have already taken a

know the world and know what it's

long walk, there will always be one

really like to live in it

more way to go.” - St. Augustine

The Practice of Stillness

“Every infinity... is made finite to God.”

“Let us leave a little room for

- Saint Augustine

reflection in our lives, room too for silence. Let us look within ourselves and see whether there is some delightful hidden place inside where we can be free of noise and argument. Let us hear the Word of God in stillness, and perhaps we will then come to understand it.”

- Saint Augustine

The Truth (almost always) hurts

Do not take anything for granted.

However long the search or walk may have been, never give up on continuing your journey.

What should be really important to you “You are not finding out how much you have, but what you are. True happiness does not consist in having much, but in being content with little.

“People often love the truth when it

”

illuminates them, but they tend to

- Saint Augustine

hate it when it confronts them.”

"Love and do what you wish. If you

- St. Augustine

shut up, you will shut up with love; if The truth will not always be what we

you shout, you will shout with love; if

wish to hear. We may be aware that

you correct, you will correct with love;

we are not necessarily perfect beings.

if you forgive, you will forgive with

Everyone has limitations, but it is in

love. If you have love rooted in you,

the attempt to improve ourselves and

nothing but love will be your fruit. ”

change that we grow and strengthen.

- Saint Augustine

In constant renovation

Things may not always go as planned, but when they are made with the right

“Nothing will be lost while we are

"ingredients," you can be sure that

searching.” - St. Augustine

everything will be worth it.

OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

Three Ground Rules

The Daughters of Hope

“Know Yourself, Accept Yourself, Surpass

“Hope has two beautiful daughters; their

Yourself.” - Saint Augustine

names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are and Courage to see

These are three significant steps that we

that they do not remain as they are. -

always need to go through.

Saint Augustine

“We need each other to be ourselves.” Saint Augustine

One is a mirror of the other

Strengthening what is really worthy

“Where there is no charity, there can be

“Do you worry if the tree of your life has

“In the absence of justice, what is

rotting branches? Do not waste time;

sovereignty but organized robbery?”

take good care of the root, and you won't

Saint Augustine

no justice.” - St. Augustine

have to walk through the branches. ”- St. Augustine

Share with the world what you would like to be shared with you. As "ugly"

Seek not abroad, for in the inner man

and "rude" as humanity may seem,

dwells the truth. Saint Augustine

sometimes all we need to change the energies around us is to fill the world

Augustine refers to the importance of

with as much goodness and light as we

prioritizing and valuing our essence, our

can.

core, our foundation. If you have sound principles, however, few branches of your

(1) Patristics or Patrology is the study

life may break, but you will never wither

of the early Christian writers who are

away. The main factor for spiritual renew

designated Church Fathers. The names

is the purity and goodness of our essence!

derive from the combined forms of Latin

Eliminate evil by its source

pater and Greek patḗr (father). The period is generally considered to run from the

"Pride is the source of all weaknesses

end of New Testament times or end of

because it is the source of all addictions."

the Apostolic Age to the Second Council

- St. Augustine

of Nicaea in 787 OM TIMES | Feb B Edition 2020

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