February A Issue
DR.
KELLY NEFF
Sex Positive +
Redefining Our Attitudes to Love and Sex Log On Our Website and Learn more in how to Live a Conscious Lifestyle: OMTimes.com
CONTENTS CONSCIOUS TRAVEL
64
5 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO TO CHINA
SPIRITUALITY
52
THE PATH OF THE ASPIRANT & THE SEARCH FOR ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE
METAPHYSICS
102
THE MISSING BRAIN PROBLEM
108
5 WAYS MONKS USE PLANTS AND HERBS TO ACHIEVE HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS
JUST LIFE
PERSONAL GROWTH
THE SPECIAL MAGIC IN A SMILE
STEP OUT OF THE FLOOD OF
118 NEGATIVE THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS
126 EMPOWERING QUESTIONS FOR CHANGING OUR WORLD
RELATIONSHIPS
90
SUPERFOODS TO IGNITE YOUR PASSION
OMLIVING
60
SEVEN WAYS TO BRING MORE PEACE INTO OUR LIVES
74
CAN FENG SHUI HEAL YOUR NEGATIVE EMOTIONS?
+
DR. KELLY NEFF SPOTLIGHT SEX POSITIVE REDEFINING OUR ATTITUDES TO LOVE AND SEX
WWW.OMTIMES.COM
DR.KELLY NEFF Sex Positive - Redefining Our Attitudes to Love and Sex
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
FEBRUARY A EDITION
OMTIMES MAGAZINE
FEBRUARY A | OMTIMES
The Future of Love and Intimacy. Interview by Sandra Sedgbeer
After the last few years of struggle, anger, and purging prompted by the #MeToo Movement, the time has come for a new narrative that embraces sexual diversity, freedom, and autonomy. Redefining sex and love as a constructive, harmonizing experience is a crucial part of how we move forward as a human collective. Dr. Kelly Neff is a Social Psychologist, Author, Professor, Futurist, and Talk Radio Personality who has electrified the transformational media world with her unique focus on the intersection of psychology, consciousness, and human sexuality. An academically trained research psychologist, she spent almost a decade teaching thousands of people in her online and in-person psychology of human sexuality courses at Saddleback College, California. Sandie Sedgbeer recently sat down with Dr. Kelly Neff to talk about her new book Sex-Positive – Redefining our Attitudes to Love and Sex which epitomizes her desire to empower sexual freedom, inspire healing, and improve people’s relationships by fusing cutting edge scientific findings with Eastern philosophies and her own deeply personal insights. SANDIE SEDGBEER: Dr. Kelly Neff, Welcome! Congratulations on producing such a fascinating book with such deep, broad, and thorough research. KELLY NEFF: Thank you so much. This book has been many, many years in the making, and it feels good to get it done.
F
inding the Path of Esoteric
the sweet words of Busiris and then
knowledge is not easy. Many
battle the many-headed Hydra before
aspirants assume that if they
he could take the Golden Apples of
read a book about esoteric
the Hesperides. The golden apples
knowledge, they will find it. Esoteric
represent esoteric knowledge. The
knowledge is never easily available
Hydra is a symbol of a particular type
and is not given out in a simple logical
of barrier within us that we must face
format like a textbook at a university or
and overcome before we can enter
college. Yet there are a few books that
the Path to Esoteric knowledge.
contain hidden esoteric knowledge scattered within their pages. One technique is the ‘scatter method’
Before one can obtain esoteric
where esoteric concepts are scattered
knowledge, one must first enter the
in bits and pieces within the text, and
Path of the Aspirant. The path of the
it is up to the aspirant to find them,
aspirant can be likened to a wanderer
and put them together, just like in a
(parivajaka). One wanders from
jigsaw puzzle to get the entire picture.
teaching to teaching, listening to
Sometimes it is right in front of your
different teachers and lecturers taking
face, but if you’re not ready to receive
many courses experimenting with
the esoteric information, you will
different techniques of self-discovery.
pass it by. This is one of the reasons
This period of searching can last for
meditations is so important. One has
many lives. It is sometimes called
to learn to take time to meditate and
the ‘probationary path.’ Then at
think deeply about the more subtle
some point, the sincere aspirant
ideas that may be found in some of
is tested. Karma is a great tester.
these special books.
This test happens naturally and will place the aspirant face to face with
Entering the Path of Esoteric
certain aspects of their own character
knowledge can be compared to a
where a choice has to be made, just
jet going through the sound barrier.
as Arjuna faced his own relatives
There is a barrier, and like the sound
and friends on the battlefield of
barrier, it is invisible. In this case, the
Kurushetra. A teacher is watching and
barrier is within us. In the “Labors of
waiting to see the outcome. This test
Hercules,” Hercules had to see through
may have occurred before in a past
OM TIMES | Feb A Edition 2020
Seven Ways to Bring More Peace into our Lives by Judi Lynch
I
n a time when everything seems
invaluable to us for the rest of our
to be in constant transition and
lives. The strength we may need to
confusion out in the world, it
get back up again could be in one
becomes necessary for us to seek
sentence or gesture that someone
more peace in our lives. Finding peace
says or does. When we also can
within helps us with stress, anxiety and
listen to others who would benefit
fear which can prevent us from feeling
from our experiences, we create a
joy and hope.
wave of peace inside our own hearts.
Remembering how to play and
Meditation is an amazing way to
dream. Just like a child, we still
connect with our inner spirit to
possess the ability to laugh and
better understand our emotions,
imagine. A little daydreaming can
helping us gain insight into our
help us create new ways of looking at
thought process. It helps us stop,
situations that help us find solutions
look, and really listen to the peace
to challenges. Playing games helps us
we can create inside and shut down
relax and focus on the outcome and
the noise which challenges our
strategy. When we can dream, we can
positivity. There is a myriad of ways
create. A new life, a new career, a new
to practice meditation. Try a few
invention can manifest when we are
different methods to find the best fit
focused on a future vision.
for you.
Talking to someone who brings calm and reason, when we feel lost
Learning to say no to negative
and unsure, is a big help when our
situations and challenges, we
anxiety is on a high. Someone who
no longer have time for through
can listen without judgment and just
learning to say yes to what is good
be there brings in an energy of peace
for our soul’s journey. If we keep
which helps us realize things can get
walking into the same situations
better. Feeling that someone else
that steal our peace of mind and
understands or has been through,
good nature, we allow negative
what has given us the courage to
forces to be in control of our
keep going. Knowing that others
thoughts. Practicing self-care when
have survived things we thought
it comes to our time and mental
we couldn’t get through can be
health is very necessary.
OM TIMES | Feb A Edition 2020
5 Things to Know Before You Go to China By Fiona Wood
N
owadays, it is actually very
be a huge shame to go there and
difficult to find an exotic
not see some of the most important
destination in the world
landscapes from their own history.
where people rarely travel.
The best way to do that is to consider
This is all due to the big demand for
a group tour, as this will, first of all,
traveling, and people often visit the
save your time on doing research, and
most distant and exotic destinations,
secondly, you will have a tour guide
not only trying to experience some
that is completely familiar with the
of the most unique and different
things that you want to hear.
cultures of the world but also to see some of the world’s hidden beauties
Another reason why this is a great idea
and landscapes. This being said, Asia
is the fact that speaking Chinese is
is also a continent that is becoming
quite difficult, so it is not only enough
more and more popular with tourists.
to take a phrasebook and go around trying to find the place you were
When you mention Asia, though, one can think of many different countries to visit, as each one is different from the previous, so this continent is
looking for.
Don’t forget to bring your visa
indeed a lot of fun to experience. But, if you are not going to choose India,
The most important tip before traveling
Thailand, UAE, or something else
to China is not to forget about your visa,
that is popular right now, you can
as without it, you will not be allowed to
always turn to the good old China,
enter this country, especially if you are
a place with thousands of hidden
a USA citizen (if you are from another
gems. However, if you have plans to
country, make sure to find this piece of
travel to China and see what it has to
info online as not all countries have the
offer, these are the most important
same requirements).
things to know:
Consider a group tour
So, what you will have to do is fill out an application where you will give the most important info – which means
China is a vast country, and it is so rich
that this is not difficult to acquire, but
in history and culture that it would
you will have to go through the process.
OM TIMES | Feb A Edition 2020
Can Feng Shui Heal Your Negative Emotions? By OMTimes
OM TIMES | Feb A Edition 2020
Each and every being has an innate ability to heal as a gift from the gods. Mikao Usui
ะก
emotions we are expressing, helping us to feel good, alive, vibrant, and calm within yourself. Feng Shui is the study of energies within and of those energy fields
ultivating Negative
around you. The main goal of this
emotions can prevent us
ancient art is to create a balance in our
from feeling well and can
homes, thus making it easier to find
even lead to psychological
balance with ourselves.
illnesses such as depression and emotional stress.
Emotion is a reaction we have to events and circumstances in our
Our emotional bodies form a complex
lives. Our Inner world is completely
world that depends on various
influenced by how we respond to
circumstances and on the quality of
these circumstances.
OM TIMES | Feb A Edition 2020
The Special Magic in a Smile By Sarah Mane
T
he other day I arrived at a
the warmth, the beauty, the radiance
cute café in Santa Monica,
of a simple interaction near the Santa
California, to meet a dear
Monica Pier?
friend for lunch. I was early.
The café was crowded, and the wait
Let’s look to Sanskrit and see if we can
staff was busy. One of them made her
get another perspective.
way over to me, careful not to bump or disturb other patrons. She had a look
Sanskrit shows us how to experience
of concentration on her face, but when
the meaning of a word. It has an
she got to me, she smiled. That smile
ingenious way of leading us beyond
transformed her; she was warm, friendly,
the dictionary, meaning to the felt
and beautiful. Such a genuine, open
experience of a word. It gives us a real
gorgeous smile! Her face lit up and I felt
understanding of a ‘lived’ experience, a
completely welcomed and uplifted.
happening, rather than through mere thought or concept.
Such a simple interaction, and such a common one. But I was inspired to find
Words in Sanskrit can be traced back
out what had really happened there
to a root form. This root form is where
at that moment in the café in Santa
the magic happens. It is like an acorn,
Monica. My secret resource for delving
the seed of an oak tree, immeasurably
behind the curtain, to find out how
small when compared to what grows
things tick, is Sanskrit. Sounds unlikely?
from it.
Let’s find out if Sanskrit has something The essential meaning of a word in
to tell us about that smile.
Sanskrit is contained in these roots. First, in English, we define the word
And these roots are verbal. A verb is an
smile as a ‘pleased, kind, or amused
action, and an action is a form of energy.
facial expression, usually with the
So, at the heart of a Sanskrit word is its
corners of the mouth turned up.’
powerful intrinsic energy. This is what we understand through experience and
Yawn.
not through thought.
Seriously, how does that technically
To understand the real meaning of a
accurate dictionary definition relate to
smile, we need to really smile, we need
OM TIMES | Feb A Edition 2020
Superfoods to ignite your passion By Johanna Kern
Tasty, yummy, delicious, sublime, heavenly, divine, orgasmic! Oh, yes!
E
tremendously to the pleasure of consuming a meal. The sky is the limit once you include
ating is a primal need
some of the superfoods that are
associated with pleasure,
also well-loved aphrodisiacs in your
somewhat similar to arousal.
candlelight romantic dinner loving
When delightful food melts
menu.
in our mouth, the pleasure washes away our worries and stress.
For instance, a simple snack made
Many researchers agree that certain
of fresh strawberries, oranges, and
foods contain properties that
bananas dipped in dark chocolate
stimulate pleasure centers in the
melted with chopped chili peppers,
brain. It is also well known that the
coconut or pistachios will send your
so-called superfoods loaded with
taste buds through the orgasmic
vitamins and minerals boost our
roof. It will make you and your lover
energy – and so can positively affect
crave for each other like never
our libido. Apart from that, who
before.
wouldn’t enjoy a romantic, sensual meal that perfectly enhances the pleasure of the feast of our senses?
Dark Chocolate (at least 70% cacao). Cacao bean pods were used by the Aztecs and Maya as a
When preparing for our celebration
form of currency. The Maya were
of Love, we can “spice up” the room
known to exchange a few beans for
not only with light and music but
a night of passion at the brothel,
also with scents, shapes and colors
while the rumors about the Aztec
of food that trigger the “palate of our
emperor Montezuma say that
imagination.” Actually, most of the
he consumed no less than fifty
aphrodisiac mythology stems from
cups of chocolate daily to satisfy
food with symbolic appearance, while
his numerous wives. The famous
famous chefs in the world agree
Casanova also mentions chocolate in
that before we put any food in our
his memoirs as a means to maintain
mouth, we tend to eat it with our
his libido. Dark Chocolate is not only
eyes. Its attractive presentation adds
sensual because of its taste and
OM TIMES | Feb A Edition 2020
5 Ways Monks Use Plants and Herbs to Achieve Higher Consciousness
By Lauren Laporte
M
editation is the way
Monks from around the world have
to achieving a deep
therefore been using various natural
spiritual connection
aids to help them achieve this blissful
with a higher power,
state throughout history, especially
and it has been so for millennia,
during those trying times when they
across the world, and across
are still at the beginning of their path
all religions and teachings. No
towards spiritual enlightenment.
matter the religious path one
Today, let’s take a look at some of the
takes towards enlightenment,
way monks use plants and herbs to
there is always a need to achieve
achieve higher consciousness.
some form of meditative state, a lucid dream in which the soul establishes a higher connection
Deepening the Power of Visualization
with a divine entity. This connection needs to be practiced
Many plants exhibit hallucinogenic
and strengthened day after day, as
properties that can be found all
you cannot expect to communicate
over the globe and are even readily
with any divine entity before you
available on the modern marketplace,
learn how to release your mind,
such as cannabis, some of which will
body, and soul into their embrace.
be used to by certain orders to aid
OM TIMES | Feb A Edition 2020
The Missing Brain Problem Concrete proof of human holism and why Sound Healing is so effective
C
oncrete proof of human
of the brain in a mechanism called
holism and why Sound
"Embodied Cognition" (EC).
Healing is so effective You have no doubt heard
The traditional view of cognition holds
the tired clichĂŠ: "she's thinking outside
that all thinking and awareness goes
the box" ... how about the one where we
on inside the brain. It has been taken
do our thinking outside the brain?!
for granted that processes responsible for abstract thinking, interpretation of
It's true, recent work in the fields of
the senses, and subsequent decision-
Psychology and Cognitive Science
making are all centered somewhere
shows abundant evidence that the
inside our brains.
body and the environment around us are intimately linked to our cognition.
The long-accepted paradigm relies
The body can think independently
on the all-powerful brain creating
OM TIMES | Feb A Edition 2020
Step Out of the Flood of Negative Thoughts and Feelings
T
here's a very old saying….
None of us want to think that we lay down and give ourselves over to
“If you lay down with dogs,
the dogs of dark states, but the fact
you get up with fleas.” Why
of the matter is we do. And one of
are you going to get up with fleas if
the reasons that we give ourselves
you lay down with dogs? Because
to the dog states (the dark states)
dogs and fleas generally go together.
is because something inside of us is directing us to identify with the
We look at life and then let something
feeling -- to think about it, to think
inside of us direct us to lay down with
from it. So that in doing so, there’s an
negative states. We embrace them.
itch that can never be scratched. We
We cuddle up with that sense of anger
identify with and derive our sense of
or frustration or fear. Who's at fault if I
self from whatever the state is that
get up with fleas? Who's at fault if I'm
we are stewing in.
negative? Is it the dog's fault? Is the dog responsible for the fleas that are
When we do that, we get up with
on me?
fleas… meaning when we get up from being in that negative state, we are
You may say, "No, I hate these negative
worse off for being in it – not better
states that I'm in!" But your hatred of
off. When we're negative, and we're
a negative state is the same as you are
thinking about how to free ourselves
lying down with the dog and picking
from some condition we’re looking
up the fleas.
at, or who's responsible for the way we feel, our situation gets worse.
Think about this: Something happens. It doesn't have to be anything in
When we're negative, and we get
particular. I might just get up "on the
solutions to our negativity (someone
wrong side of the bed" that the dogs
to blame, something to do about our
were in, and “I'm just negative today.”
negativity, a plan), we think that we
I don't have a particular reason until
have scratched the itch -- the itch
I look at you, or until I'm someplace
being the negative state. We have
where somebody says something I
not scratched the itch! We have been
don't like. Then I absolutely know why
led to make a condition in ourselves
I'm negative.
worse! OM TIMES | Feb A Edition 2020
Empowering Questions for Changing Our World by Crystal Presence
“A question not asked is a door not opened.” – Marilee Adams Asking empowering questions can shape the landscape of our lives. Asking questions opens up
motion to respond to us. We can craft questions in such a way that the answers come as the bodily felt a sense of having the experience that we want. For example, if we ask the question, “What is lack of freedom?” we get the answers in the form of experiencing a lack
new aspects of our minds, bodies and
of freedom. This is not what we
hearts. We can set ourselves in motion
are looking for! What if we had
for a process that leads down paths
structured the question, “What is
of shaping the internal and external
the nature of experiencing freedom
experiences of our lives. What if we
from the inside out? The answer
learn how to ask better questions?
would come as the experience of
Understanding the power of our questions can free us to experience what we want in our lives. Marilee Adams, author
freedom from the inside out! • Change habits around how we ask questions. Like any habit, we need to go through a process of
of Change Your Questions Change
letting it go. We can (a) Identify
Your Life, encourages us to focus on
what triggers us to ask a certain
learning from our experiences rather
question. (b) Notice the details of
than being judgmental. Learning
how we are asking that question.
how to empower ourselves with an
Are we being judgmental of
attitude of optimism, hope, and new
ourselves i.e. What’s wrong with
possibilities to make our lives better no
me? (c) Write down details of how
matter what our condition.
we could change the question.
Suggestions for the asking empowering questions:
Remember that repetition is the mother of skill so practice, practice, practice!
• Structure questions wisely. When we ask a question, something inside
• Ask, “What am I thinking right
of us starts to shift immediately.
now? Are we focusing on what
Our questions set the universe in
we do not want or are we focusing
OM TIMES | Feb A Edition 2020
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