LifeForce

When you find yourself in the middle of a negative or unproductive reaction, perhaps you may have noticed how your breathing often becomes superficial and more rapid, and you may well feel unsettled in the stomach area, or a pulsing in your head. Sometimes your face might become flushed, or your chest area could start to tighten up as your emotions seem to start running out of control. After that, it can become like a slippery slope as thoughts can arise and emerge, which seem to make the matter even worse, and your emotions seem to go into overdrive.

There are many different techniques which can be leveraged to help you stop sliding deeper into this reactionary process. Simple breathing with conscious intent, can be a very effective means to stop this slide, anchoring your thoughts to one point. With yourself anchored, you have the opportunity to pause and choose to stop the continued reactionary process. The next time when you experience an adverse reaction to anything in life, do your utmost to apply some conscious breathing. By engaging your mind to bring focus to your breathing for a couple of moments, you can start to regulate your reactions. Then as you begin to take deeper and more rhythmical breaths, they can help you to find an anchor for your calmness. Allow this anchor to grab hold, and steady your emotions as you continue to breathe consciously.

Usually each of us does not have issues with thinking or expressing what would be identified as positive thoughts or emotions. Unfortunately, it is a normal human response to avoid or wish to bury difficult emotions, and even in some cases those which might seem to be neutral but have become taboo as a result of societal norms. Sequestering your emotions and thoughts can be an appropriate way of managing them from a mental mind standpoint. These subdued emotions will normally not create problems when you undertake mindfulness or basic meditation, as the power of your mind can maintain them metaphorically under control. Even if these concealed thoughts or emotions are not leading to problems, be aware that you have pushed them aside. Suppressing an emotion does not admonish an emotion. The emotion still exists within you, secreted in the background of your mind and subconscious. So for your own wellbeing, you should take the opportunity to understand them whenever the time is right.

The state of affairs changes considerably when you start on the pathway to the awakening of your inner light. It is very important to know that suppressing or subduing thoughts and emotions, especially the unfavourable ones, can be perilous as you advance on your journey of attunement or advanced meditation. As you progress with your meditation techniques, increasing levels of the power of your Life Force enlivens your form. These energies flow into all parts of your being from the energy centres and along the meridians. As these energies circulate throughout the human mechanism, their increased energy can activate thoughts or emotions which have been hidden, and may have laid dormant for years or even numerous lifetimes in the body’s think centres and chakras. When these energies trigger one of these suppressed thoughts or emotions, the intensity of that thought or emotion will be increased as a result of the greater energy levels from your awakening. Hopefully, you can now comprehend why it is so necessary to know yourself, to be aware of and understand all of your thoughts and emotions, even those which you might not wish to deal with.

We are all part of the Universal Force which binds the galaxy together, and preserves the structure of the Universe as we know it. As Life Force beings, we are the individual components of the Universal Force, in much the same way that stars form part of a galaxy. Our Life Force energies are the component of the Universal Force which is unique to each one of us, and are what some consider the spirit or soul. As we reside on this physical plane of existence, within each and every one of us as human beings resides the Spark of Life, which is the true unemotional part within you. It is the creative principle of the cosmos within you to enliven you within this material existence.

The Spark of Life is an important part of you. It not only binds your Life Force to this physical existence, it importantly is the key which allows you to tap into the creative component of the Universal Force within you. For those individuals who step onto the path of knowledge, the Spark of Life can be very beneficial. Through right thoughts, you can leverage the potential of the Spark of Life to raise into higher states of understanding and awareness.

Often in life, we become side-tracked by matters that annoy, upset or perturb us, which can lead to overthinking. When you start to overthink something, your mind can become overloaded and overwhelmed as associated thoughts and conditioned reactions are replayed over and over in your mind. The original thoughts have triggered conditioned thoughts, emotions, feelings and reactions. These aspects of overthinking can pull you down the path to additional worry, concern and sometimes stress.

At such time, if you were to stop or pause to carefully examine your life, you may discover that some of these matters are totally out of your control. You may realise there are some situations in life which you could not change in a proverbial million years. While we may recognise this in hindsight, many of us still attempt to change these apparently immutable aspects, which can lead to more anguish and upset emotions.

Rather than dwelling on what is beyond your control, you can choose to take a different path. Instead redirect your thinking to focus your intent on the things which you can change. As you begin to shift your focus, you will feel more in control of your life. Those aspects which you cannot control will usually lose some of their significance, or may completely fade away.

When attempting to meditate, do you have problems clearing your mind of thoughts? Often those thoughts keep on coming back, and you seem destined for failure no matter how hard you try. The good news is that this is a very common challenge encountered by anyone starting meditation. It is not a sign of failure that you are having difficulties making your mind clear, quiet or supposedly blank. Even those who have practised meditation for many years may at times have problems. The most important thing is to keep persevering, and if necessary try different approaches or techniques, until you find one which works for you.

While quietening your mind is an important goal for any meditation, realise that each of us will achieve different degrees of success. For some people attaining the ultimate goal of full quietness of mind may not be possible, but that does not mean you cannot meditate.

The first and foremost thing to realise is that your very efforts to clear or quieten the mind can often be the cause. Your mind becomes filled with the distractions of the very same ideas you are making an effort to clear. If this is the case or you have a very rowdy mind, then you should shift your efforts to achieving a small area of calmness.

The second obstacle most people face is that they try to erase or eliminate their thoughts. The ability to quell or eliminate thoughts is very difficult to achieve for most of us. So the best approach for success is instead to push your thoughts aside or to the background, thereby diminishing their presence. With time and effort, you can build the skills to be observant of your thoughts, acknowledge them if necessary and push them aside. Then as you push more of these thoughts away, you can establish a small beachhead of quietness in your mind. Be happy with this achievement, as it is an important milestone. As you practice more, you will find that you can expand the quietness outwards, pushing your thoughts farther aside and into the background.

A very useful technique which can be utilised to help with meditation or even mindfulness is called Ekagrata, which simply means focused thought. Applying Ekagrata enables you to focus on one thing, such as your breath, repeating a mantra, or mindfully shifting your attention to a specific thought. As a master of your mind, you are not thinking of everything at the same time, you are being purposeful and focusing on one thing at a time. If stray thoughts enter your mind, you acknowledge them and push them aside to achieve that focus of mind which is Ekagrata. Become the master of your mind with Ekagrata, so that you may learn to clear your mind.

For many years those that believed in astrology were seemingly at odds with those who trusted in the sciences. This is predominately because the observable locations of the Sun, Moon and planets relative to the constellations do not match with the star signs of astrology. While some kinds of astrology such as sidereal astrology are closer to the real positions, there are still significant differences. It had seemed inconceivable for someone to believe in both astrology and the sciences until now, however that all changes with the new paradigm of Astronomical Astrology.

The foundation of Astronomical Astrology is the actual observable locations of the Sun, Moon or planets relative to the eighteen constellations of the extended zodiac which fully aligns with the science of Astronomy. An extended Zodiac is necessary because the orbits of the Moon and the planets are not in the same plane as that of the Earth. Consequently several of these celestial objects can be observed either above or below the ecliptic (the path of the Sun’s motion traced across the celestial sphere throughout a year due to the Earth’s orbit).

The mechanics of the motion of the planets, together with our frame of reference, are explained in considerably more detail at Astronomical Astrology. The greatest cause for the big difference between the astrological constellations to what is observable, is due to a phenomenon labelled the “Precession of the Equinoxes”. This precession of the equinoxes moves slowly westwards across the sky over a cycle of 25,772 years, creating a drift in the observed position of the astronomical constellations. What this means is that each astrological star sign typically will include the astronomical constellation that was formerly to the east. There is a further complication by the fact that the constellations are not twelve equal 30-degree sectors of the ecliptic. Further adding to this complexity, each of the heavenly bodies transverses each constellation at a perceived angle and a different elevation. Once all of these variables are collated, the full picture of Astronomical Astrology emerges as the predicted location of any celestial body aligns precisely with the astronomically observable facts.

This new type of Astrology might be hard to believe for some people, as they have connected with being a particular star sign for most of their life. Importantly Astronomical Astrology does not disregard the aspects of what you have believed throughout your life. It has to be realised that thoughts are their own energies, which can form a layer of reality around you. So you may find that you exhibit aspects of the star sign you think you are, due to your thoughts. While at the same time, you will discover that you react subconsciously as a result of the energies which are the real astronomical influences. This is the nature of the reality of our lives, as we are affected not only by aspects of Astronomical Astrology, but just as importantly we are strongly influenced by our thoughts.

There have been numerous books, films, texts and beliefs which have pertained to some ostensibly mystical power of the Force. Some have revealed that the Force is an energy field created by all living things, which binds the galaxy together. While others have indicated that the Force is within us, so what is this Force and where is it?

The truth of the matter is that we as humans only comprehend a tiny part of the cosmic equation of life, and that there are undoubtedly many aspects to what is loosely referred to as the Force. If you approach the question with an open mind, one which challenges and learns from true knowledge, you might discover that both and all are the Force as it exists on many different levels.

The living energies which exist within all of us is your Life Force. You may well relate to your Life Force energy as an inner awareness, your true essence, your spirit, or your soul, to identify but a few. Some might see this concept as elusive, obscure, intangible and frequently a secret which is concealed within religious beliefs. Though there is an overall acknowledgement from all quarters that we as humans contain an energy which is something not yet empirically identified. This energy is your very own Life Force, part of a much greater whole, yet it is unique and distinctly assigned to you. As such, you are part of the Force and the Force is within you as your Life Force.

The Universal Force is present throughout the universe. Open your mind, even if just for a short moment, to broaden your consciousness outside of the boundaries of time and space. It is an energy which is throughout all of the atoms and particles; in addition to existing throughout all galaxies of the cosmos, transcending and within all the trillions upon trillions of stars and planets within the universe. The Universal Force is within all time and space, it is this force which surrounds us and permeates us. It is the Universal Force that binds the galaxy together and preserves the structure of the Universe as we know it. Without the Universal Force, all matter would decline into an uncontrolled state of entropy.

There is a strong correlation between being happy and optimistic to being physically well. Typically, people who express positive thoughts and emotions are at a reduced risk of becoming ill. Feeling happy or having positive experiences is linked with better general health or more content living. So is there more to this than just positive thinking?

Yes, this is more than just thinking a good thought. Positive psychology is a branch of psychology focused on the character strengths and behaviours that allow individuals to build a life of meaning and purpose. While many other branches of psychology tend to focus on dysfunctional aspects of the human mind, positive psychology is centred on helping people become happier on many different levels. This new branch of psychology encompasses a variety of techniques that focus on developing positive thoughts, positive emotions, and developing positive experiences. You can see how this new form of psychology extends beyond thoughts alone to bring forward the complete picture of the human system of wellbeing.

Positive psychology is often confused with positive thinking, which is purely about thinking positive thoughts, rather than changing your way of thinking into a different frame of mind. Positive psychology works at a deeper level on improving our positive character traits, such as loyalty, humility and integrity. It does not discount that there are negatives that impact our lives. Instead, positive psychology aims to look at the situation to better understand human experiences and determine how to best foster positivity and good thinking. These aspects of positive thoughts are then reflected and reinforced by positive emotions and feelings. As we live in a physical world, if these positive thoughts, emotions and feelings can be bolstered by positive experiences, it creates a more powerful narrative than any of the elements individually. We can all leverage aspects of positive psychology so that we can thrive rather than just survive.