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24 January, 2017 by Choki team

Quantum Theory sheds light on what happens when we die: The Afterlife

The biggest question so many of us have in life, one that we have been seeking to answer for years: what happens when we die?

Even modern day science seeks to answer this question. Where does human consciousness come from and what is its origin? Is it simply a product of the brain, or if the brain itself is a receiver of consciousness. If consciousness is not a product of the brain, it would mean that our physical bodies are not necessary for its continuation; that awareness can exist outside our bodies.

Asking these questions is fundamental to understanding the true nature of our reality, and with quantum physics gaining more popularity, questions regarding consciousness and its relationship to human physicality become increasingly relevant.

Max Planck, the theoretical physicist credited with originating quantum theory — a feat that won him the Physics Nobel Prize in 1918 — offers perhaps the best explanation for why understanding consciousness is so essential: “I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.”(source)

Eugene Wigner, also a theoretical physicist and mathematician, stated that it’s not possible to “formulate the laws of quantum mechanics in a fully consistent way without reference to consciousness.”

Does Consciousness Move on After Death?

In 2010, one of the most respected scientists in the world, Robert Lanza, published a book titled Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding The True Nature of the Universe.

An expert in regenerative medicine and the scientific director of Advanced Cell Technology Company, Lanza is also very interested in quantum mechanics and astrophysics, an interest that led him on a path to developing his theory of biocentrism: the theory that life and consciousness are fundamental to understanding the nature of our reality, and that consciousness comes prior to the creation of the material universe.

His theory implies that our consciousness does not die with us, but rather moves on, and this suggests that consciousness is not a product of the brain. It is something else entirely, and modern science is only beginning to understand what that might be.

This theory is best illustrated by the quantum double slit experiment. It’s is a great example that documents how factors associated with consciousness and our physical material world are connected in some way; that the observer creates the reality.

Physicists are being forced to admit that the universe could be a mental construction, or at the very least, that consciousness plays a fundamental role in the creation of matter.

R.C. Henry, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University wrote in a 2005 publication for the journal Nature:

According to [pioneering physicist] Sir James Jeans: “the stream of knowledge is heading towards a non-mechanical reality; the Universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine. Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder into the realm of matter… we ought rather hail it as the creator and governor of the realm of matter.” . . . The Universe is immaterial — mental and spiritual. Live, and enjoy.

(“The Mental Universe”; Nature 436:29,2005) (source)

Lanza’s theory implies that if the body generates consciousness, then consciousness dies when the body dies. But if the body receives consciousness in the same way that a cable box receives satellite signals, then of course consciousness does not end at the death of the physical vehicle. This is an example that’s commonly used to describe the enigma of consciousness.

The double slit experiment has shown repeatedly that “observations not only disturb what has to be measured, they produce it. . . . We compel [the electron] to assume a definite position. . . . We ourselves produce the results of measurement.” (source)

The idea that we could be living in a holographic-type of universe is not so far-fetched, and if the observer is required for physical matter to manifest, then the observer must exist before the physical body.

The hypothesis that the brain creates consciousness dominates the mainstream materialistic world of science, despite the wealth of evidence showing that the brain (and our entire physical reality, for that matter) could be a product of consciousness.

Below is a great quote to illustrate what is meant by “material” science.

“The modern scientific worldview is predominantly predicated on assumptions that are closely associated with classical physics. Materialism—the idea that matter is the only reality—is one of these assumptions. A related assumption is reductionism, the notion that complex things can be understood by reducing them to the interactions of their parts, or to simpler or more fundamental things such as tiny material particles.”– Manifesto for a Post-Materialist Science

Examining the neurochemical processes in the brain that occur when one is having a subjective experience is important, and does offer certain insights. It tells us that when ‘this’ type of experience is happening, ‘that’ is going on in the brain. But it does not prove that the neurochemical processes are producing the experience. What if the experience itself is producing the neurochemical processes?

Determining how consciousness causes matter to materialize is our next step. One thing is for certain, however; with all of the information out there postulating the existence of consciousness as independent from the brain, it’s time to push the boundaries of our current accepted framework of knowledge and question what we think we know.

The implications of this theory are immense. Just imagine if life after death were confirmed by the mainstream scientific community — how much would this impact not only our understanding of science, but also philosophy, religion, and many other areas of our lives?

A Great Lecture

Below is a great video from Dr. Gary Schwartz, a professor at the University of Arizona, discussing whether consciousness is the product of the brain or a receiver of it. It’s a little overview of a subject that is full of peer-reviewed scientific research that not many people have the time to go through. It would actually be almost be impossible to go through all of it.

Some materialistically inclined scientists and philosophers refuse to acknowledge these phenomena because they are not consistent with their exclusive conception of the world. Rejection of post-materialist investigation of nature or refusal to publish strong science findings supporting a post-materialist framework are antithetical to the true spirit of scientific inquiry, which is that empirical data must always be adequately dealt with. Data which do not fit favored theories and beliefs cannot be dismissed a priori. Such dismissal is the realm of ideology, not science.

– Dr. Gary Schwartz, Professor of Psychology, Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Surgery at the University of Arizona (1)

What About Near Death Experiences?

Below is a video of Dr. Bruce Greyson speaking at a conference that was held by the United Nations. He is considered to be one of the fathers of near death studies, and is a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Science at the University of Virginia.

In the video he describes documented cases of individuals who were clinically dead (showing no brain activity), but observing everything that was happening to them on the medical table below at the same time. He describes how there have been many instances of this — where individuals are able to describe things that should have been impossible to describe. Another significant statement by Dr. Greyson posits that this type of study has been discouraged due to our tendency to view science as completely materialistic. Seeing is believing, so to speak, in the scientific community. It’s unfortunate that just because we cannot explain something through materialistic means, it must be instantly discredited. The simple fact that “consciousness” itself is a non-physical “thing” is troubling for some scientists to comprehend, and as a result of it being non-material, they believe it cannot be studied by science.

Near Death Experiences (NDE’s) have been documented and studied for a long time. For example, in 2001, international medical journal The Lancet, published a 13 year study on Near Death Experiences (NDEs):

Our results show that medical factors cannot account for the occurrence of NDE. All patients had a cardiac arrest, and were clinically dead with unconsciousness resulting from insufficient blood supply to the brain. In those circumstances, the EEG (a measure of brain electrical activity) becomes flat, and if CPR is not started within 5-10 minutes, irreparable damage is done to the brain and the patient will die. (2)(3)

Researchers monitored a total of 344 patients, and an astounding 18% of them had some sort of memory from when they were dead or unconscious (no brain activity), and 12% (1 out of every 8) had a very strong and “deep” experience. Keep in mind that these experiences have occurred when there is no electrical activity in the brain following cardiac arrest.

Another study comes out of the University of Southampton, where scientists found evidence that awareness can continue for at least several minutes after death. In the scientific world this was thought to be impossible. It is the world’s largest near death experiences study ever published, and it was published in the journal Resuscitation: (4)

In 2008, a large-scale study involving 2060 patients from 15 hospitals in the United Kingdom, United States and Austria was launched. The AWARE (AWAreness during REsuscitation) study, sponsored by the University of Southampton in the UK, examined the broad range of mental experiences in relation to death. Researchers also tested the validity of conscious experiences using objective markers for the first time in a large study to determine whether claims of awareness compatible with out-of-body experiences correspond with real or hallucinatory events. (source)

Concluding Comments and Video

Nikola Tesla said it best: “The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.”

There’s a reason why every year, internationally recognized scientists continue to push this commonly overlooked topic into the mainstream scientific community. The fact is, matter (protons, electrons, photons, anything that has mass) is not the only reality. If we wish to understand the nature of our reality, we cannot keep examining physical reality while ignoring the fact that the ‘unseen’ makes up most of it.

Perhaps the most imperative question is, what is the role of non-physical system, such as consciousness, in relation to physical systems (matter)?

“Despite the unrivaled empirical success of quantum theory, the very suggestion that it may be literally true as a description of nature is still greeted with cynicism, incomprehension and even anger.” (T. Folger, “Quantum Shmantum”; Discover 22:37-43, 2001)

This is what’s known as post-materialist science, and in my opinion, it’s clearly the next area of study to further understand the nature of our universe. And the study of ‘consciousness’ is right at its heart.

Author: Joe Martino – Collective Evolution

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26 September, 2016 by Choki team

What Actually Makes Us Happy? Lessons From The Longest Study On Happiness (Video)

What is the key to a happy and healthy life? It’s a loaded question. Psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, the director of a 75-year-old study on adult development, shared three important lessons learned from the study, along with some practical, age-old wisdom on building a long life of contentment in his Ted Talk, “What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness.”

During his talk, Waldinger discusses a survey of millennials on their most important life goals. He reveals that, among their biggest ones, they want to get rich and become famous.

“We’re given the impression that these are the things that we need to go after in order to have a good life,” he says.

We’ve come to rely on hearsay as a means for distinguishing what happiness is. “But what if we could watch entire lives as they unfold through time? What if we could study people from the time that they were teenagers all the way into old age to see what really keeps people happy and healthy?” Waldinger asks.

“We did that. The Harvard Study of Adult Development may be the longest study of adult life that’s ever been done. For 75 years, we’ve tracked the lives of 724 men, year after year, asking about their work, their home lives, their health, and of course asking all along the way without knowing how their life stories were going to turn out.”

But what’s been learned? The lessons aren’t about wealth, fame, or working harder. “Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period,” he says.

What Really Makes Us Happy?

The study has revealed some lessons about relationships. The first is that social interaction is necessary, as loneliness is a killer. Being more connected to family, friends, and community makes for happier, physically healthier, and longer lives compared to people who are less well-connected.

People who are isolated experience a decline in health earlier than those who are sociable. Their brain functioning declines, and their lives are shorter. “And the sad fact is that at any given time,more than one in five Americans will report that they’re lonely,” Waldinger notes.

The study also discovered that living in the midst of conflict is extremely bad for our health.”High-conflict marriages, for example, without much affection, turn out to be very bad for our health, perhaps worse than getting divorced. And living in the midst of good, warm relationships is protective.”

When you think about it, the idea that good, close relationships are the key to happiness and health seems so much more achievable, so much simpler, than anything else. It’s wisdom as old as the hills, but seems so hard for us to get. Why? “Well, we’re human. What we’d really like is a quick fix,something we can get that’ll make our lives good and keep them that way.”

Messy and complicated things scare us, like relationships. But the people in the study who were the happiest in retirement were those who had actively worked to replace workmates with new playmates. And while they had once also believed fame, wealth, and high achievement were the answers to a good life, the study found over and over again that those who fared the best were the ones who came to the realization that they needed relationships — with family, with friends, with community — to survive and thrive.

And how can we begin? According to Waldinger, the possibilities are endless. It could be as simple as doing something new with your partner, or reaching out to a family member you haven’t spoken to in years.

Watch the full talk below:

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Author: Alexa Erickson – Collective Evolution

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20 September, 2016 by Choki team

What Is Your Vibration?

Your vibration is your personal energy frequency. It is a culmination of every life you have ever lived, every thought you have ever had and every action you have ever performed. It is the energy that surrounds and permeates every cell in your body. Your vibration is your divine signature, your soul essence, and it is special only to you.

Just as there are no two snowflakes alike, no two souls in the entire universe have the same name or “soul signature”. That’s how incredibly unique and special you are. Your vibration is a direct reflection of your inner thoughts, feelings, beliefs, choice of words, how well you take care of yourself, the Earth and others. The higher your vibration the more light you hold, the faster your light particles vibrate, the higher your consciousness and the stronger you are connected to your soul and God self.

When your vibration is low, your light particles are vibrating slowly and become condensed. Your energy literally feels heavy because you are not in alignment with your soul or divine self and are mostly operating from your lower self or ego. Distorted beliefs, fear, anger, resentment, blame, guilt, jealousy, judgment, shame, addiction, unforgiveness, conditional love, lack of self worth, greed, separation consciousness and poor health keep you in very dense low vibrating energy. When you are a high vibrational being you recognize your divinity and the divinity within others. You are in alignment with your soul, which is nourished by spirit, you are vibrantly healthy and your life flows with ease and grace.

We are much more than our physical body; we are actually multidimensional, energetic, spiritual beings having a physical human experience.

It is important for us to bring into our awareness the many layers of our energetic body. This is the key to our self-empowerment. When it is brought into our awareness, our soul will begin to integrate all of the layers of ourselves bringing us into a state of wholeness. Each of us needs to become aware of who we really are and reclaim all of our energy.

When we become aware of our energetic bodies and set our intention to heal, balance and activate them, we have the potential to raise our vibration to such a point that each layer of our energetic body will unify and activate the creation of our “light body”. When this occurs we have reached a very high vibrational state where our spiritual self or God self is able to merge with our physical body. This cannot occur until we have raised our vibration high enough for divine union to occur. This is the moment of en-lighten-ment and the return to one’s true spiritual essence and identity.

Although we identify ourselves with our physical body we are actually energy or light beings. EVERYTHING IS ENERGY. Every thought, word, feeling and thing is energy….everything! Things that appear to be solid are actually very tightly compacted energy particles creating a shape, form or physical matter. Our physical body, that part of us that is not eternal, is surrounded by our eternal divine essence consisting of our emotional, mental and spiritual energetic layers.

Being reborn is when our divine essence or God self merges with our physical body and we experience complete oneness with God and all beings. We experience our true nature, the truth of our being, which will catapult us into a new journey of self-transcendence. This is divine plan for everyone to eventually reach this state of divine union helping us to bring Heaven (Spirit) here down on Earth (Matter).

We are in the process of planetary ascension and everyone choosing to stay on this planet will raise their vibration high enough to anchor in their Spiritual self or God self. Each of us are being asked to surrender to this process allowing ourselves to be “reborn” shedding the illusions of the ego and shining light on our shadow consciousness so we can bring all of our disowned rejected parts of ourselves into wholeness. Although our spiritual self is never separated from us it does reside in a higher vibrating dimension, several feet above our head, called the spiritual realm. The Creator has given us free will and it must be our choice to choose to climb the mountain of self in order to access and activate our divine birthright of God realization.

This is divine plan and bringing our higher vibrating, loving, true selves down into our physical body is how we will heal the planet. Expecting someone or something outside of ourselves to save us is dis empowering and will not get us anywhere. No one is going to save us; we have to save ourselves. We have to heal ourselves and we have to heal the planet. We have to take personal responsibility for our own vibration and salvation. We cannot give our power away anymore to the churches, the governments, the healthcare system or the financial system. Your power to change resides in yourself. You must commit to your own soul growth and spiritual development and shift your focus from trying to accomplish “things” to devotion and connection with your God self.

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Author: Sabrina Reber – Awakening People

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9 September, 2016 by Choki team

The Mandala: The Sacred Geometry of Meditation

A mandala is a visual symbol often utilized in meditation practices and teachings. The mandala symbol itself is a geometric construction of geometric points, lines, planes and solids which symbolizes our universe. These geometric symbols can be used as a visual meditation tool, called a yantra. Other designs can similarly be used as meditation tools, but may not be mandalas by definition.

Mandalas and all other yantras work as visual meditation points of concentration. Pictured (top) is the sri yantra: sri meaning‘king’ or ‘most important’. Ancient yogis of India and Tibet considered it to be the most powerful of all geometric symbols, representing the geometric structure of the sound of creation — the Om.

Conversely, a mantra is the audio version of the mandala; an aural meditation tool. Whether the sound of the mantra is a single syllable tone, such as the Om, or a series of metaphysical musings, such as the ancient Gayatri Mantra, mantras are wavy linear expressions of universal connection, voiced as concentrated sound vibrations.

Meditation tools also extend far beyond the visual and aural; the terms asana and mudra both refer to physical positionings used as meditation tools. An asana is a body posture (such as those used in the practice of yoga) and a mudra is a hand gesture or posture. Asanas and mudras enable our own bodies to become a geometric representation of meditation. The postures transform the physical self into one’s own geometric figure or plane, both among the space and sensitive to the space of self and its surroundings.

Bringing these concepts and tools together is tantra. Tantra is integration; the integration of yantra (visual), mantra (sound) and mudra (positioning), each of which is an important, intertwined aspect of yoga, and life itself. Essentially tantra is the spiritual understanding of the relationship and connections between individual and universal energies. An ancient spiritual philosophy preceding both Buddhism and Hinduism, tantra signifies confluence and integration — a fusion— and refers to the unification or weaving together of principles and practices, instructions and individual actions. It unifies the macrocosm with the microcosm, the universal and the individual, the feminine and the masculine, the yin and the yang. It also refers to integrative knowledge and its continuation and refinement, through the interaction of teacher and student, and the acceptance, integration and transmutation of knowledge between individuals — like the string of life.

Etymologically, the word tantra is Sanskrit for loom, the device that weaves together string into cloth. It is an ancient word with many properties and has been variously used to describe the knots of strings weaved together in a rug, the cord on which sacred mala beads are strung, (mala beads are Tibetan prayer necklaces of 108 beads, which are used to assist with the mental or vocal repetition of a mantra 108 times — a number of great spiritual significance) and more broadly, to describe practices that unify the individual with the universal. Although the word tantra is often used in reference to the union of sacred lovemaking, the concept is not necessarily limited to the act of lovemaking. In fact, humanity itself is a tantra; a fused weaving knot or many strings, of many instructions and many individuals.

Related reading:

Unifying Meditative Principles and Practices

Unifying meditative principles and practices potentiates the power of tantra, yantra, mantra and asana. This is further enhanced by the incorporation of Yin Yang tantra. The combination of the Yin and Yang potentials and energies within leads to all sorts of aspects of personal development. This can be energetically understood in the idea that there are only two types of energies, straight and circular — straight for Yang potentials and circular for Yin potentials. It can be understood on a tangible level that rest and work are both required. When straight and circular energies combine, a spiral results. A spiral is one of, if not the, highest expressions of life energy.

There is not necessarily the need for a specific yantra, or specific mantra, or specific asana in the practice of meditation, however each are tools that can be used and considered, and are most powerful when practiced in a unified tantric manner, or tantric mind state. A tantric mind state recognizes unity expansion and aims toward it, rather than cultivating a mind state of separation. Essentially, using yantras, mantras and asanas as meditation tools helps to establish your sacred space and to unite with entirety in tantric balance.

No matter how one approaches meditation, the unifying tantra of meditation principles and practices bring about the unified expansion from the central source, as symbolized by the mandala yantra (the visual). No matter our level of refinement of posture, we are always in an asana, whether or not we also utilize mantra or yantra. For most of us, we still see and hear, and those who cannot can still concentrate and connect. And no matter the mantra, yantra or asana we utilize, it is the principles and energy behind (and pertaining to) their symbolism that contains the real spiritual power — the highest potential for tantric connection, which is inherently within us all.

The Geometry of Energy: How to Meditate

Want to learn more..?

In his book ‘The Geometry of Energy: How to Meditate’, author Ethan Indigo Smith explores meditation and meditative energies through the sacred dimensions of geometry. Simple and profound, it is an empowering four-step meditation designed to lead to individuation, self-development, and an enhanced understanding of energy and vibration. Useful to meditation newcomers and longtime practitioners alike, ‘The Geometry of Energy’ provides insights into a variety of meditative processes for psychological and spiritual cleansing and enhancement.

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Author: Ethan Indigo Smith – Wake Up World

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27 June, 2016 by Choki team

The Mysterious World of Synchronicity

Do you often see 11:11? 12:34? 3:33? Or any other synchronistic patterns?

Do you ever have strange coincidences that defy logic, and often lead to magical unfoldings?

In this article we’ll explore the strange world of synchronicity.

What brought you here? Why in this very moment when you could be anywhere doing anything, is it that you have found yourself on this blog? Chances are that you saw the image and it made sense to you! Do you see 11:11? Does it boggle your mind and at times create weird and wonderful confusion? Are you struggling to make sense of its meaning? Don’t worry, I totally understand, and I hope this article can be of some comfort…

This article is not going to be just about numerology, that is only a small part of the mysterious world of synchronicity. I am going to try and bring some kind of meaning to something that is hard to understand at a purely logical view point, and something that I have to admit I do not fully understand. But it is my belief that synchronicity does not work on that kind of level. I know it is significant, I know that following it can bring great things, but it is not something that can be fully understood by the mind.

What is Synchronicity?

Synchronicity is a sequence of events that coincide with each other, and have significant meaning related to each other. These events would appear on the surface to be just chance, but are in no way a coincidence.

An example would be: You want to pursue your dream job and you are trying to make an excuse not to do so and for every excuse you make a solution seems to fall in your lap. Or you attend an event you would usually avoid because every time you switch on the TV, radio or speak with someone it’s all you hear about. Then as a result of attending that event you meet someone significant, like a partner, a business associate or a future friend.

One extreme example from my own life was when I was thinking about giving up on my passion of writing and sharing information about spirituality and growth due to the financial strain it was causing. I had gone online looked up some jobs and was ready to quit, that night I went to bed and said, “If you are going to give me a sign, now is the right time”. The next day I received a cheque from a family member that fixed that problem.

Synchronicities differ from coincidence, a coincidence could be you sneezing and at the same time a firework going off. It may be a little weird that it happens, but in most cases there would be no significant meaning.

Types of Synchronicity

Predictive: This is where you see, think or do something that links to an outcome. The classic example is thinking of someone and them calling you.

Guiding: This is where all signs guide you to a specific outcome. This could be you thinking of giving up on your music career because of a lack of work and just as you are about to do so, you get a phone call from someone trying to book you for work.

Reflective: This is where you are forced to reflect due to a synchronistic event. An example would be if you decided to cancel your gym membership and then as you go to do it an email hits your inbox about the benefits of exercise, making you reflect on if you have made the right decision or not.

Testing: This is where synchronicity tests you ego. An example would be if you had a food addiction and absolutely loved fried chicken, when thinking about this addiction a fried chicken advert comes on the TV. Testing your ability to fight the temptation. Be strong, don’t do it!!!

Synchronicities are Always Happening

One thing I have noticed is that there have always been synchronicities in my life, maybe not quite in the quantity that they are happening now, but they have always been there. Your job is to follow the synchronistic events. The magical thing is, the more you follow them the more they happen.

Don’t go searching for something that is not there, but learn to recognise when something is in front of you. If the perfect relationship seems to fall from the sky at the perfect moment and you decide not to pursue it, you are seeing the synchronicities, but not following them.

When you start to live out these synchronistic events you will start getting the little cosmic nudges, like 11:11 or in my case 33, I see this number everywhere and it was only on a doing a little research I realized the spiritual significance of it.

Synchronicity in Your Life

Think back to every significant event in your life, I am sure it is full of synchronicity and it is usually the bigger the life event the more synchronicities coincide with it.

A while back I had been trying to get in front of a bigger audience. These events led towards me being able to work at Truth Theory:

Synchronicity number 1: I had a list of around 30 blogs I wanted to write for, out of that list I sent my article: 6 Ideas For An Educational Revolution to Truth Theory.

Synchronicity number 2: The owner of Truth Theory was working on an educational website so he was drawn to the article.

Synchronicity number 3: Out of anywhere in the world he could have lived, he lived just 5 minutes from my house.

Synchronicity number 4: We decided to meet up and it turned out we were pretty much on the same wavelength and that he needed someone to write for Truth Theory.

If anyone one of these events didn’t happen, I would not be here writing this article. But they all did and now I am here.

What Is The Point of Synchronicity?

Synchronicity serves many purposes; it can serve as a reminder that you are on the right path, it can be for guidance, sometimes it is to test you, sometimes it will lead you to form significant relationships and other times it is just for you to stop and be present!

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Author: Luke Miller – Wake Up World

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12 May, 2016 by Choki team

In Search of Happiness: A Journey to the Last Shangri-la

Choki Nonprofit, for the benefit of all at the expense of none, is proud to sponsor Motivational Speaker, Photographer, Author, Fifa Agent and Spiritual Seeker, Donaldo Barros for a 21 day journey to Bhutan, one of the most inaccessible and unknown destinations in the world. Following the footsteps of Buddha’s teachings personally, Donaldo seeks the secret of true happiness to be used as an aid and inspiration to all. During his journey, Donaldo will be exploring some of the most sacred sites of Bhutan, while conveying his daily teachings of beauty and culture daily on social media with the world.

Barros believes that his visit to the land of the Thunder Dragon will encourage people to learn about the teachings of Bhutan for the world. “I feel that going to Bhutan is like having in my hands a proof of the statement: ‘The impossible exists until someone makes it possible’. With this opportunity there will be pages written that will be part of tomorrow’s history and that makes my responsibility even bigger. Do we want to change the world for good? This trip is my contribution in my efforts to do so, said Barros.”

During his journey, Barros will begin in the spiritual center of Punakha where he will visit the classroom supported by Choki at the Nalanda Buddhist Institute. There, he will spend several days learning from the lamas and interacting with the monks. Then, he will head north venturing to Gasa within the highlands of the Himalayas, where he will spend the next 19 days traveling by old footpaths to sites that are treasures of this world.

At Choki, we are excited to be collaborating with Donaldo Barros on this journey to benefit the Bhutanese community and the world. Through Donaldo’s vision and Bhutanese values, Choki hopes to express deep understanding of the Bhutanese people, by communicating the underlying causes of true happiness with the world.

Follow this amazing journey from Monday, May 16th through our Choki’s Fanpage or Choki’s Instagram @choki_org and stay tuned to discover what this great adventure might teach us.

Donaldo Barros – Established Motivational Speaker, Photographer, Author, and Spiritual Seeker

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5 May, 2016 by Choki team

Why Education Must Come Back to Nature

“Unless we are willing to encourage our children to reconnect with and appreciate the natural world, we can’t expect them to help protect and care for it.” – David Suzuki

Humanity has lost its connection with the Earth. As a species, we too easily distance ourselves from the war being waged on the environment. Most of us are opposed to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the oil pollution in our oceans, yet we continue to let it all happen. We care, but we don’t care enough to put a stop to all the madness. Why? Because we have lost touch with nature. Sadly, we do not feel the planet’s hurt. Her cries of protest are falling on deaf ears. For the most part, we have become anaesthetised by modern society and the trappings of economic pragmatism.

We have a responsibility to the future generations to make sure they do not make the same mistake that we have made in severing our connection to the land. Our children must learn to empathise with the natural world if our species is going to reverse the damage we have done. The youth are the future caretakers and custodians of the planet, and the Earth’s fate will one day rest in their hands. The only way for our children to experience a real connection with nature is to immerse them in nature. Education cannot be confined to the classroom. We cannot teach our children about plants, animals, rocks and streams through textbooks and computers. They need to experience these things for themselves in the real world. They need to get out of the classroom as much as possible and learn through direct exposure to the natural environment.

Children need to be given the freedom to explore and discover the world around them. I’m not talking about excursions or field trips that happen once every year or two, or even the occasional school camp… I’m talking about a revolution in education where children regularly spend time learning outside the traditional classroom. One of the big problems with the education system is that we think that in order for children to learn they have to intellectualize everything. We think that they don’t gain any important lessons unless they can put pen to paper and demonstrate they have acquired the concepts set out in the curriculum. What our schools keep failing to understand is that life xperience imparts a far greater wisdom than any teacher could. The rivers and the mountains and the songbirds have much to teach us, but as pupils we make no attempt to understand the language they are speaking. If we only learned to attune to that language, we would defend and protect the natural world at any cost.

Schools should be introducing children to the marvels of plant consciousness. At the Federation of Damanhur in Piedmont, Italy, plants have been taught to express themselves through song. By hooking up an electrode to the leaf of a plant and then connecting it to a MIDI-synthesizer, plants are able to create their own music. The plant controls both pitch and rhythm entirely by itself, only the instrument is predetermined by the synthesizer. You can see a video of this phenomenon here.

Experiments carried out in the 1970s by Cleve Backster, a former CIA polygraph specialist, showed that plants are capable of telepathy. Backster hooked up a common houseplant to a polygraph machine to gauge its reaction to various stimuli. After establishing a baseline reading, he dipped one of the leaves in a mug of hot coffee and the polygraph needle did not move. He figured that the plant would be more likely to react if he burned one of its leaves with a match. Immediately on the intention entering his mind to burn the plant, the polygraph needle jumped across the page. Backster had not moved from his seat. He had not physically reached for his matches. Somehow, the plant picked up on his intentions to cause it harm. He repeated the experiment and found that the plant did not react when he merely pretended to burn it, but only reacted when he fully intended to burn the leaves.

Fascinated by this, Backster continued his research on plant telepathy. He set up another experiment by placing brine shrimp in a dish suspended above a pot of boiling water. He configured the apparatus to tip the brine shrimp into the pot after a random interval of time, more than a few hours. In a separate enclosed room, well away from the apparatus, but in the same building, he hooked up a houseplant to a polygraph machine and established his baseline reading. Backster then left the building and drove hours away from the lab. When he returned to check the reading on the plant, he found a huge spike in activity at the precise moment that the brine shrimp fell to their death in boiling water. Sadly, much of Backster’s work has been scoffed at by the mainstream scientific community and this area of research still remains largely underground. For more on plant consciousness, see the documentary The Secret Life of Plants.

There is much about our natural world that still remains a mystery. One thing is for sure – these experiments give great credence to the notion that we are all bound together by the fabric of consciousness that makes up the entire universe. It is absolutely crucial that children are able to establish a conscious connection with nature if they are to learn to respond to environmental injustice with action instead of indifference. We need to completely change the way we educate our kids so that we can sustain life on our planet for many generations to come.

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Author: Will Stanton – Wake Up World

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30 November, 2015 by Choki team

3 Steps to Changing the Future

Seers, oracles, mystics… these are just some of the names given to those who were able to look through a window from the present into the future present. Operating using the vehicle of consciousness computing complex patterns, processes, and possibilities based on the unfolding of present circumstances, these able-ones have a perspective that potentially holds a greater power for changing the reality we experience on this planet than anything else.

If you knew with absolute certainly what will happen in the future, be it on a personal level or on a global scale, what would you do with that knowledge? Would you stand idly on the sidelines allowing “destiny” to play out? Or would you take an active role in shifting the present timeline in a way that alters events so that a different future plays out? Nothing is set in stone, for the one constant in existence is that of change.

3 Steps to Changing the Future

The future becomes the future if what happens in the present continues on its trajectory without being modified. The first step towards changing a future that didn’t happen yet is to have conviction that you can change the course of what one day will be called History. The next step is to have the courage and determination needed to become a change maker. The third step is to use the power of the heart-mind symbiosis to expand your awareness to see into the future present based on the present’s actions and reactions.

The first step is accomplished by raising your self-esteem and belief in yourself. Get motivated. Seek out the various practices and techniques that help you accomplish this. If you don’t feel that you can alter reality, you will never do so. Those who do believe they have the power to do so, will, and are doing so right now. Some of those that are doing this are not altering the dynamics of the present in a way that will lead us into a bright future. They actually have much to lose if such a prospective future were to materialize. Do you want others to direct the course of the future that may lead to oblivion of all that we hold dear and all that we aspire to see become a reality? Take a stand. Take a look at the people in positions of power and influence in society… those who are actively shaping what the future holds for us. If they seem impotent in guiding us all towards a peaceful world that is thriving with abundance, while reducing suffering, then why don’t you take the reins instead? If there was anything you should ever doubt, it’s the limits of what you are capable of.

The next step is accomplished by elevating your energy level. Provide your body with the sustenance and nourishment it needs for your vitality to rise in both body and mind. This means eating foods with as much life-force as possible (i.e. the fresher/more recently harvested the better), practicing body-mind modalities like yoga (vinyasa, kundalini, integral), qi gong, tai chi, breath work (pranayama, vase breath, Tsa Lung) and others. There is much to be explored in this domain, so look at what lies in the repository of human knowledge and practice what feels most in alignment with you.

The final step relies on expanding your perceptive abilities. There are advanced yogas, such as the Six Yogas of Naropa, as well as awareness-expanding and insight meditations such as the jhanas and kundalini, that are some of the ways in which you can activate the dormant abilities contained within you. When you pick up a crystal, do you feel the sensation of streams of movement through your hands or does it feel like you’re just holding some rock? When you sit with your eyes closed and breathe, do you gain insights and realizations into the nature of your Self and of Reality or does it feel like you’re just sitting there? Jumping ahead to this step without first laying the groundwork of the previous steps will not give you the results that you will anticipate. A pyramid needs a solid base before the capstone is put atop it. So to, must you prepare your body and mind so that all the ingredients act together to activate your ability to see and alter the future becoming of the present.

Gazing Into the Window of Opportunity

We are in a particularly unique and opportunistic time in human history. Never before has humanity been so connected, thanks to tech like the internet and wireless communication. Never before have we had access to nearly the entire repository of human knowledge in an instant. We are inside a window of opportunity right now. This window may quite possibly close very soon. We can already see attempts to shut it down, with the movements by certain powerful and influential forces. If this happens, we may never get another opportunity like this again. Humans are a very smart species, but their ability at foresight, or seeing into the future, is usually lacking. This inability to see what is becoming imprinted onto the fabric of reality has the potential to be humanity’s demise. If we’re fortunate there will at least be legends of our existence and what we accomplished.

If in the distant past humans had achieved as advanced, or even greater advancement than present day humans have, those achievements have been lost in the sands of time, leaving only subtle clues and hints of what was possible. Will our rubble one day be looked at with the great mystery as megalithic stone blocks are today? Will this civilization that we have created become so unbelievable that it will join the likes of Atlantis as just a legend?

We have the ability to alter our collective path. This massive organic star craft we call Earth, Terra, Home…this is the only vessel that is sustaining and supporting our continued existence. If this ship breaks down, so do we. The lack of looking at the cosmic perspective and outside the box hinders our ability to make the critical changes that must be made if we are to thrive in a bright future. Seeing the big picture is an ability of an evolved human being… an evolution that is intentionally and consciously guided. No need to wait millions of years for this, as this is organic tech already within us, yet dormant and latent in most. It doesn’t have to be. All it needs is a trigger to activate it…the trigger of your conviction, courage, and determination.

Dwell in Possibility

The adults of the world today still, by and large, suppress rather empower their children’s latent abilities that are contained within. This suppression model makes children grow into adults that become numb and oblivious of the incredible abilities they are capable of. The grooves of conditioning get dug deep, and while these abilities in adulthood (if cultivated and developed) may not be as strong as if their development was started encouraged from birth, they can still emerge and be powerful tools.

Will you see a cinematic playing out of the future in your mind? What is more likely is that you will have the activated ability to see the elaborate and complex nature of the interconnected Whole of all that is happening on this planet, in the collective consciousness. Seeing the all the elements of the Whole, and understanding how each element is playing its role in shaping the present into what becomes the future, you see what the most likely outcomes will be. With that knowledge, you will then possess the power of alter the direction we are headed.

The single biggest barrier to a bright future is the feeling and the feeding of fear. The more fear that humans generate personally and collectively, the more we fuel a dark future. Don’t allow yourself to succumb to unconsciously being food for the manifestation of dystopia. Have belief in yourself and have compassion for others. We’re all on this ride together after all, whether we like it or not. We can make it as enjoyable or as miserable as possible. The choice is always up to us. As Edward Everette Hale once said, “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.” Now that you know how to change the future, redefine what our timeline is leading to. Let’s steer this ship towards a thriving and peaceful future where we can step into the next phase of our evolution towards supramental transformation.

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Author: Paul Lenda

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17 November, 2015 by Choki team

Understanding Ascension: The Geometry of Energy

“The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.” ~ Lao Tzu

After climbing through the jungle, making my way through the grueling forest, dense and bewildering with trails, I came to a clearing on a ridge, on what I sensed must be the very top of the great mountain in the clouds. And as I made my way to the ridgetop and clearing, I saw that this was not the top. I saw it was beautiful and magnificent, but it was after all only a plateau. And from the plateau above the bewildering and winding complex of trails I now stood, I could see in the distance what could only be assumed at this point to be the peak. Perhaps there was a mountain more massive behind it too.

And on the story goes…

There are so many narrative accounts as well as fictional and metaphorical stories that ring out the same truth in the same way as the above narrative. Many of us often have this experience on one level or another at one point or another, where we come to this point in our lives, in ourselves. The reason this story is so often true, metaphorically and specifically, is because that’s how it is, both aesthetically and energetically. No matter how things go, no matter the plateau or peak you reach, there are always more heights to scale, another plateau or peak above you. As soon as you think you’re on top, you’ve stopped evolving, you’ve stopped ascending. And while you may end up at quite an enjoyable and beautiful place there could be a whole series of heights just beyond you that you won’t realize — until you realize ascension is a process, not a destination.

Once you begin on this infinite and exponential journey of discovery, you might stop, but there is no turning back.

The Nature of Ascension

The Geometry of Energy is a meditation teaching of focus, clarity, connection, circulation, unity and expansion. It is also a formula for energy comprehension — through meditative understanding of points, lines, shapes and solids — and a way toward simplification of the ascension process. Through examining the four dimensions of geometry, we are able to engage individuation, understand energy, visualize the big picture, and understand its importance.

In ascension, first you find out what is your current point of view; your plateau. Understand the process of growth, and celebrate the view.

Then you ask: What am I afraid of? Why do I always do X? What do I want to change, or experience? When you know where it is you want to go, and you can visualize the next point ahead of you, then you can visualize your line to it. If the point is something simple like quitting smoking, you can then enhance your line – your approach – to your goal accordingly. If the point is something more esoteric or intangible, like becoming more intuitive, you retain and maintain that point of focus, and the lines rise up to meet you as you ascend. Then you find your higher point, your more true self.

The key is to consciously make connections with lines and directions that most resemble your true nature and the nature you wish to become. Choose the next plateau you want to rise to. Become, embody, meditate and even chant if you will, boldly and simply: “I am X…” and watch your ascension unfold before you. We have a point in focus, lines arise before us. Of course, try to make sure the direction of your lines of ascension are as unselfish as possible; you do not have to destroy the mountain on your way up to its peaks. Consider your approaches in modest and achievable terms, and great heights can be attained as you travel, step by step.

Next, emancipate your energy to be unrestricted and flow with it in a way that opens the linear (direction) and circular (pattern) formations of energy in your life. These openings allow the ‘cocooned you’ to expand and break out, and fly! Be present… get grounded… meditate on the breath… acknowledge and embrace your unique place in the cosmic order. It doesn’t matter what self-realization or self-actualization practice you engage in, but in ascension, energetic circulation and expansion must occur.

Edgar Cayce observed there are four aspects to wellness; relaxation, circulation, assimilation and elimination. These four aspects to physical wellness are also applicable to our energetic bodies. Consider the blood being of our physical bodies being illustrative of our energetic bodies. If we are physically unfit our bodies go to shit. If we don’t move, we eat a lot of crap, or we consume alcohol frequently, our blood literally coagulates and slows down. The same is true for our energetic bodies. If we don’t practice some form of meditation or meditative movement, or get involved with nature and our natural state of being, the flow of our energetic bodies coagulates too, impeding our wellbeing and journey to the next spiritual peak.

Arriving at the Next Peak

Lastly is the process of expansion; the arrival at the peak where the next new peak can be seen. The expansion process is the “breakthrough” that people speak of. It often involves the crumbling of so many outer-shells that it may seem like a breakdown, but it’s actually a breakthrough. Expand your thoughts and focus on the linear and circular openings, psychologically and spiritually, so that the openings can lead to a flooding – but cleansing – unity expansion.

Initially, being mentally and emotionally present can be confronting. The human mind is nearly always clouded by life’s desires and traumas, so when we remove ourselves from distraction and engage in the realization of our deepest consciousness, we may experience an influx of unresolved (circular) thoughts and feelings; the traumas (past) and fears (future) of life may come into our consciousness, seeking to be cleared. Don’t just sit there in a half broke cocoon, half way to being a butterfly, hampered instead of freed, like so many figuratively do. Face the darkness. We may feel that this takes us farther away from an immediate sense of peace and progress, yet we can only achieve peace in the long-term if we acknowledge and resolve the thoughts and feelings that continue to arise in our consciousness. Know that these feelings, now acknowledged, will clear over time. Allow them to pass through your consciousness as you return to the serenity of the present moment.

Each energy dimension opens you up more and more to increased ascension because of their enhanced vibrations and complexities. Each time you engage this process the more the superfluous aspects of your character fall away. The more we move energy the more our unnecessary mental and emotional ‘add-ons’ all crumble from the cocoon; all of our induced masquerades, the less-real pieces of our psychological makeup, the constructs and shells that otherwise restrict our true butterfly nature.

Breakthroughs are often painful at one stage or another, and certainly during the unity expansion process things tend to break. The more you take an active part in your own ascension process, the more likely things will break on your way to becoming. The shell of your ego must be broken too, and then slightly modified, returned to working order with a new greater perspective on life and your unique place in it.

And remember, no matter how far you go, there is certainly always further to go. No matter how your level of being changes as you ascend, there is always another higher summit to climb.

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Author: Ethan Indigo Smith l Wake Up World

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4 November, 2015 by Choki team

Karma: Can You Live With It?

Over the years I’ve seen people refer to karma in various ways, and it’s clear that the general public isn’t really aware of exactly what karma is, what its function is, and how it’s created. I would like to dedicate this article to dispelling some myths, clarifying the concepts of karma, and also discussing how karma is a very powerful tool which must be viewed with honesty during one’s own journey of awakening.

Let’s start by understanding what karma is, and by contrast, what it is not.

Karma is a an ancient sanskrit word, originating from the word “kamma” which means “action” “word” or “deed”. The concept of Karma originated in ancient India, with Hindu’s, Buddhists and other Eastern Philosophies. The idea of karma is that one’s own actions, words, or deeds are creative on an energetic level as well as physically, and that what you do, think, or say is put out into the Universe as an energetic creative force, and it will then draw back to you, energy of a similar state of vibration.

To better understand this, let’s look at Karma as a Universal law, such as Gravity, the law of attraction, or relativity; for this is exactly what Karma is. Karma is the natural law of “as above, so below”, in that what you do, think, or say on an Earthly level (below) also enacts itself on a higher level (above).

What Karma Isn’t

Now we must dispel a few myths attached to the concept of Karma, before going further. I often hear people talk about karma as though it is a person, or an entity, referring to it as some righteous law keeper who rewards the good and punishes the wicked. Karma is not a person, or an entity of any sort. Karma has no conscience or consciousness; Karma is a principle put in place in this free will universe which is tied very closely to duality. We live in a reality which is built upon the principles of duality; you understand that every action has its reaction; and that all things have their mirror. Up is always mirrored by down, happy has it’s counterpart in sad, even life is mirrored by death.

Duality is the way this universe is set in to motion, so that our every experience can be fully appreciated by knowing it’s similarity and its opposite. This is a learning tool which is invaluable to every soul alive; we could never truly appreciate the lush and wondrous sensations of Love and Peace unless we had something opposite by which to compare them to. So to better understand Love and Peace we get to experience loneliness, abandonment, and anxiety or chaos. This is duality. And for such a system of duality to work fundamentally it must be governed by a law which acts as a system of checks and balances; and this law is Karma.

You understand now that Karma is not a person, or a being with a consciousness; indeed it is simply a law of physics, much like gravity. It exists to measure our every action, word, and thought and then deliver us a result, or consequence so that we can fully learn about what we have put forward into the world.

If you say something hurtful to someone, that will have a consequence; the tenets of Karma dictate that what you put out will return to you equally. Neo-Pagans and Wiccan’s talk about the threefold rules of Karma, and suggest that what you put forth will return to you three-fold. I tend to disregard this type of thinking, as the law does not seem to favor taxing you times 3 on any of what you put out into the world. So let’s look at Karma as a system by which what you put out you will receive back an equal amount of reaction, response, or consequence.

As Karma is a law of the Universe it is not biased, it has no favorites, in fact it is not invested in your words, deeds or actions. Human beings like to personify things like Karma in order to feel validated, but the truth is Karma isn’t personal on any level, it is a natural law of energetic give and take.

How Does Karma Work?

Now that we understand what Karma is not, and truly see that it is a simple Universal law of balance, we can explore how Karma works. And it’s really very simple to be honest, and won’t require much explanation on my part; Karma gives back to you what you give away. If you do something kind, that goes into the Universe as positive energy, which will shine back to you in some way in your life. If you do something unkind, that goes into the Universe as negative energy, which will also shine back to you in some way in your life.

It’s important at this point to note, this is not a system of reward and punishment!! Karma is not about rewarding the good and punishing the wicked; it is a tool by which we can grow, by reaping the rewards or results of our previous words, actions and thoughts. What better way to learn about how what we do affects the Universe energetically, than to have it affect us energetically as well?

Karma is active always; it is a constant law, and is at work in your life every second of every day. Now, being that it is a Universal Law, much like the Law of Attraction, it is wired up to your inner world, and your inner dialogue.

As with the Law of Attraction, you can say nice kind flowery things about someone, yet think negatively about them, and both Laws will disregard what you’ve said, and go to what you have thought – this is because this is where the truth of your energy is present. It is your deepest truth within that activates any Universal Law.

How to Keep Karma Positive?

Honestly you can’t keep your Karma positive, the point is not to manipulate Karma, or change it. Karma isn’t set in place to make you try to behave; it exists to help you change from the inside out. And that change can only come through experience, self-awareness, honesty, and ardently trying to become the highest and brightest version of yourself that you can.

So rather than trying to keep your Karma positive, focus on being a kinder and gentler person. The ways you can affect your Karma are so simple; follow your intuition. Intuition is a direct link to your Higher Self, or your Soul. And your Soul always knows what is best; Love. When in doubt, ask yourself “what would love do?” If you respond from that place of Love within you then you can be sure your Karma will be balanced.

Making Conscious Choices and Living With Them

So now that we have a better understanding of Karma, as a Universal Law of balance and equanimity, we can talk about living with the results of your actions, thoughts, and words. There will always be opportunities in this world to react out of anger, or sadness, or jealousy etc, and while most of the time I would say “turn the other cheek” and just let it go, there are times when you just have to express your negative feelings in order to stand up for something or some one, or to make a point, or defend yourself or a loved one. We can’t always turn the other cheek and sometimes you have to do something which will undoubtedly turn your Karma into the negative. If you are aware of this, and have weighed your options, consulted your intuition, prayed about it, and still feel you must stick by your convictions, then you must ask yourself “can I live with the Karmic results of this?”

And you must understand, Karma works in mysterious ways, and the cost could be anything from a “bad day” to an illness, or some great loss in your life. Depending on what you put out there, what you receive back could be life changing. So always be certain you are prepared to receive your Karma, before you do anything which will draw any negative Karma back to you.

Karma seems to work at it’s own pace too; sometimes Karma plays out quickly, other times it seems to take ages. In fact lots of Karmic debts play out over several lifetimes. Depending on the amount of harm you’ve caused, you may carry Karma over into the next life, in order to truly learn from the negativity you have caused and expressed to the Universe.

So instead of worrying about what your Karma may be in the future, work towards clearing your Karma in the now.

How do you do this?

Get Honest, Humble, and Aware.

Sometimes you can clear your Karma with a simple heart felt apology. But giving that apology must come from a place of humility within you, where you realize you’ve caused harm. It is best to always follow your heart; if you’ve treated someone with less care than you’d like to be treated, perhaps you should take the time to right that wrong. It’s best to always act from Love, as opposed to letting your ego feel “right”. Most acts of negative Karma come from the ego itself, and it’s need to be the center of attention, it’s need to be right and validated and revered. But we know that the ego is an illusion; it is a false self which we build up around us in this very mundane world of petty insecurity. The ego wants more, whereas Love wants to express itself. So express yourself honestly, with the highest intentions of giving love, and creating positivity all around you, and if you’ve done or said something in your life which you regret; make amends. And don’t do this to make your Karma different; do it because it is simply what Love would do.

The next time you wish someone’s Karma upon them, remember that Karma is always at work, in their lives, and in yours. Karma reacts to our deepest thoughts, and our every action, so instead of focusing on how so-and-so needs a good dose of Karma, focus on yourself, and what you’re putting out there. If you can live with yourself, chances are your Karma will be good. If guilt eats at you in some way, it’s a good time to start making a humble attempt to make things right between yourself, and anyone you’ve hurt, in any way.

With that said, I wish you the deepest Love that is within you — may it blossom through your every deed, word, and thought. With abiding Love, Dee.

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Author: Dee Bernstein – Wake Up World

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