Pregnancy Guided Meditaion

If you are in your first month of pregnancy this video is for you!

I'm a clinical hypnotherapist and I very much enjoy helping others. since I am pregnant now I've really been searching for some good meditations to help me focus on my body and my new baby. I couldn't find what I needed, so I made it! Ill be making one for each week of pregnancy so it you are farther along keep checking back! Ill be doing a lot at a time. Here's a nice little meditation focused on your first month! Please leave feedback, I aim to improve and please any one who needs anything!

WHERE MY GAYS AT? Lets worship like its 2013

Camping trip of the century!

Information about monsanto

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL

EVERYONE needs to read this!

http://paranoidstayathomemom.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-letter-to-my-daughter-about-beauty.html

Youre more beautiful than you think you are

The REAL Origin of tarot decks...

I'm sure you've heard someone tell you at some point in your life that Tarot is evil, its a game of the devil, or that it allows evil spirits in to your space. If you use or have a deck I'm sure someone judged or looked down at you. After this article you'll be able to return the favor by asking them to remove ALL playing cards and board games from their home under the same pretenses... Or you could do your best to explain how their claims are unfounded and obviously not researched. People tend to believe media hype, or even lies their preachers tell them - but its not their preachers fault, he just believes the not researched information preachers, parents, and popes before him told him. Frankly people need to start researching this stuff for themselves.

"Tarot" refers to a family of games played with an augmented deck, (that is, decks with a fifth "suit" serving as permanent trumps), and also to the decks themselves. Most other card games using trumps select one of four regular suits to serve as trumps for a particular hand.
"Tarot" (these days) also refers to similar decks that are used for fortune-telling and other esoteric purposes. In English-speaking countries, despite a slow but growing interest in Tarot's gaming heritage, fortune-telling is currently the only common use of Tarot cards, but their origin is merely a card game such as "go fish" that were just that for 350 years before they were used as divination tools.
the Tarot deck consisted of a regular 56-card deck, augmented with a hierarchy of 22 allegorical trump cards. This created the standard 78-card Tarot deck, originally referred to as "carte da trionfi," cards with trumps.

In 1540 Francesco Marcolini published in Venice a fortune book that can be considered the first known document about cartomancy (using cards for magic.) The cards that were used in the divination process were not tarot and actually played a rather marginal role.
The Church never spoke against Tarot, and the one known sermon (16th century) which strongly condemns Tarot, along with dice and regular playing cards, does not suggest that Tarot was anything other than a game of chance. The confused preacher denounces Tarot for its moral allegory in which the Emperor and Pope are subject to the same fate as the rest of mankind. (To me this suggest that they are almost god-like, which is a contradiction of the religion in itself, but more importantly reminds me of the mindset of the people of ancient Egypt.)

In the later 18th century Fortune-telling with playing cards had developed from their use as a randomizing device to pick a page in a book of fortunes in the 1500s, through the use of special fortune-telling decks in the 1600s, and finally to the point of regular decks being given symbolic meaning in the 1700s. A few scattered indications of this appear earlier in the century, but the first book on cartomancy was published in 1770. It was written by Etteilla, the world's first professional cartomancer, who became one of the founders of occult Tarot. In the 1780s he and two other French writers developed much of the occult lore and fortune-telling methods that would reinvent Tarot in the late 1800s.
These three writers changed Tarot forever. Neither knowing nor caring much about Tarot's 350-year history, its original and common use as a game, or the intended meaning of its allegorical cycle, they interpreted the images freely. They used the twenty-two trumps as signs designating the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. These newly-minted correspondences made the Tarot deck into a novel emblem system for Cabalistic magic and mysticism. The two esoteric uses, Cabala and divination, became permanently attached to Tarot. The authors of this newly invented Tarot also wrote up a detailed fantasy about Tarot's origin and history, involving Egyptian initiations, Jewish mystics, and vagabond Gypsies. These fictional histories were intended to validate the correspondences the occultists had devised, by appeal to alleged ancient wisdom and secret traditions.
In addition to fortune telling, modern Tarot applications include soul-searching exercises and meditation for personal growth, and as a randomized input for free association and brainstorming techniques. Not surprisingly, they have even been used by some psychologists in a therapeutic context. The main distinctions between Waite and the contemporary Tarot enthusiasts are specificity and authority. Waite was in some ways closer to the earlier occultists who saw and emphasized a particular design to the trumps and their sequence, rather than the contemporary approach which validates any intuition one might posit about what are seen as archetypal subjects. Waite's authority for his design was personal insight and the history of Christian mysticism, whereas the contemporary Tarotist is likely to cite C.G. Jung and neo-Jungian psychologists.

So to sum things up its a playing card deck that some people pretended was magic in order to make a profit off of unsuspecting paying customers. Today it is basically taught as an intuitive tool in which the magic is taken out of it and your natural problem solving is the focus.

We have all had the experience where we already knew something but weren't sure we knew it until someone told us and we realize we already knew it. It's just a brain storming tool so stop giving in to people judging you and let's call it what it is.

Actions for social transformation

If you havent seen any of the zeitgeist movies you need to.

The time has come for us to not be dependent on debt and not be slaves to a government that doesn't care about the individual. It is a system of scarcity and not abundance.

Here are some steps on how to change the world for the better: (also can be seen here http://thezeitgeistevolution.blogspot.com/2009/01/steps-toward-sustainable-future-social.html)

Action Steps for Social Transformation

"Zeitgeist was created in the hope that it will inspire people to start looking at the world from a more critical perspective, and to relay the understanding that very often things are not what the population at large think they are. The true understanding of events, both historical and modern, are crucial to the development, awareness and spirituality of the human condition."

"Therefore we need to expose this financial failure for what it is, using this weakness to our advantage. Here are some suggestions [slightly paraphrased]:

1. Boycott Citibank, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America, the most powerful controllers in the corrupt Federal Reserve System. Expose the banking fraud. Move your money, credit cards or mortgages to other banks. If you own stock in them, sell it. If you work for them, quit. This gesture will express contempt for the powers behind the private banking cartel known as the Federal Reserve, and it will create awareness about the fraud of the banking system itself.

2. Boycott the news networks (CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox, etc.) and visit the emerging independent news agencies on the internet for your information. With four corporations owning all the news media outlets, objective information is impossible. The true beauty of the internet is that the establishment has been losing control because of this free flow of information. We must protect the internet at all times, as it is truly our savior right now.

3. Boycott the military. Don't ever allow yourself, your family, or anyone you know to join the military. This is an obsolete institution now used exclusively for maintaining an establishment that is no longer relevant. US soldiers work for US corporations, not the people. Propaganda forces us to believe that war is natural and the military is an honorable institution. Well, if war is natural, why are there eighteen suicides every day by veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder? If our military men and women are so honored, why is it that twenty-five percent of the American homeless population are veterans?

4. Boycott the energy corporations. If you live in a detached house, get off the grid. Investigate every means of making your home self-sustainable with clean energy. Solar, wind and other renewable energies are now affordable consumer realities. Considering the never-ending rising cost of traditional energies, it will likely be a cheaper investment over time. If you drive, get the smallest car you can and consider using one of the many conversion technologies that can enable your car to be a hybrid, electric, or run on anything other than establishment fuels.

5. Reject the political system. The illusion of democracy is an insult to our intelligence. In a monetary system, there is no such thing as a true democracy, and there never was. We have two political parties owned by the same set of corporate lobbyists. They are placed in their positions by the corporations, with popularity artificially projected by their media. In a system of inherent corruption, the change of personnel every couple of years has very little relevance. Instead of pretending that the political game has any true meaning, focus your energy on how to transcend this failed system.

6. Create critical mass. Join the movement. Go to our website and help us create the largest mass movement for social change the world has ever seen. We must mobilize and educate everyone about the inherent corruption of our current world system, along with the only true sustainable solution declaring all the natural resources on the planet as common heritage to all people, while informing everyone as to the true state of technology, and how we can all be free if the world works together rather than fights.

"The choice lies with you. You can continue to be a slave to the financial system and watch the continuous wars, depression, and injustice across the globe, while placating yourself with vain entertainment and materialistic garbage. Or, you can focus your energy on true, meaningful, lasting, holistic change, which actually has the realistic ability to support and free all humans, with no one left behind.

What if money didnt matter?

The Narrator of this video (Alan Watts) was an inspirational man who died in 1978. Google him for more info. I love what he says in this video, and I love his voice =)

Hypnotherapy and Life coaching

Benefits of Life Coaching and Hypnotherapy together

There is a lot to say about affirmations. Whether or not you believe in the universe or god calling the shots and taking care of you there is obvious and scientific evidence that supports the benefits of focusing your mind to accomplish goals. Both Hypnotherapy and Life Coaching deal with affirmations as goal setting techniques to help both your conscious and subconscious mind achieve a reality that best suits them. Who doesn’t want their dreams to come true? With each of these modalities this goal is easily accomplished by helping you do the work to achieve your own personal bliss. Separately they are both very beneficial and cause profound growth, and together they tale the healing process even further.

Life coaching is is easily confused with traditional therapy. Coaches should not be giving advice or telling the client what to do. A coach asks powerful questions to help the client bring awareness around an issue they have been dealing with. Coaches have the fundamental belief that all people have their own answers within themselves. A coach does not simply listen, they really hear you. Life coaching is more individualized so each client resolves their own issues in their own perfect way.
Hypnotherapy works with your subconscious. You will be brought into a trance, which is a dream-like state of mind that before you sleep, but deeper than waking consciousness. As with life coaching each client will take their own particular adventure that is not lead by the therapist as much as guided. Hypnotherapy is very useful with sealing affirmations and ideas into the deeper parts of your mind so that you can unconsciously unlock the doors to the life of bliss that perfectly suits you.

Together any client can be sure that they have been heard and that wherever the path takes them it will be exactly what they need to progress further. Each are perfect separately, but together both the conscious ad subconscious mind of a client are sure to be covered, and goals become as easy as just going through life as you did before – only now your direction is chosen and authentic. Your unconscious motivation to succeed in whatever area is best for you is sealed and mobilized while your conscious mind is confident and ready to take on day-to-day tasks as well as new adventures that will help you achieve your bliss. 

If you want/need more information on either check out my website (Melodyinyourhead.com) and click what you want to learn about!

The Eightfold path

Here is the promised continuation of the last post, on the path to Enlightenment.

The Eightfold Path

1. Developing a deep understanding of the Four Noble Truths to inspire us to engage with the rest of the path.
2. Making a commitment to self improvement.
3. Speaking in a kind and truthful manner
4. Developing right action through behaving with compassion toward others.
5. Earning a living without harming any being.
6. Banishing negative thoughts to conquer ignorance and desires.
7. Encouraging wholesome thoughts, because all that we say and do arises from our thoughts.
8. Developing and strengthening the depth of our concentration.

The 5 Precepts

I resolve not to take life.

I resolve not to steal.

I resolve not to mistreat others.

I resolve not to tell lies.

I resolve not to indulge in Excess.

The 4 Noble Truths

In Buddhism there is a beginning point known as the 4 noble truths. No matter your religion, morals, ethics, or thought patterns there is truth in the idea that we cause our own suffering.

The 4 Noble Truths

1. Life means suffering.

Struggling is part of Everyone's life.

To live means to suffer, because the human nature is not perfect and neither is the world we live in. During our lifetime, we inevitably have to endure physical suffering such as pain, sickness, injury, tiredness, old age, and eventually death; and we have to endure psychological suffering like sadness, fear, frustration, disappointment, and depression. Although there are different degrees of suffering and there are also positive experiences in life that we perceive as the opposite of suffering, such as ease, comfort and happiness, life in its totality is imperfect and incomplete, because our world is subject to impermanence. we are never able to keep permanently what we strive for, and just as happy moments pass by, we ourselves and our loved ones will pass away one day, too.

2. The origin of suffering is attachment.

The cause of our Suffering is our own greedy mind that constantly wants “more” and “better.”

The origin of suffering is attachment to transient things and the ignorance That they are impermanent. Not only Material things, but also Ideas., and -in a greater sense- all objects of our perception. The reasons for suffering are desire, passion, ardour, pursuit of wealth and prestige, striving for fame and popularity, or in short: craving and clinging. Objects of attachment also include the idea of a "self" which is a delusion, What we call "self" is just an imagined entity, and we are merely a part of the universe.

3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.

Suffering can be overcome.

This means that suffering can be overcome through human activity, simply by removing the cause of suffering. Attaining and perfecting dispassion is a process of many levels that ultimately results in the state of Nirvana. Nirvana means freedom from all worries, troubles, complexes, fabrications and ideas. Nirvana is not comprehensible for those who have not attained it.

4. The path to the cessation of suffering.

There is a path to the end of suffering - a gradual path of self-improvement, This is the Eightfold Path. It is the middle way between the two extremes of excessive self-indulgence (hedonism) and excessive self-mortification (asceticism); it leads to the end of the cycle of rebirth. because these do not have a final object. The path to the end of suffering can extend over many lifetimes, throughout which every individual rebirth is subject to karmic conditioning. Craving, ignorance, delusions, and its effects will disappear gradually, as progress is made on the path. The Buddha taught that through diligent practice, we can put an end to craving. 

Ill write more on the eightfold path in a later entry! 

Just a reminder - 10 rules to being human

Ten Rules for Being Human
by Cherie Carter-Scott
1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it’s yours to keep for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, “life.”
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The “failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately “work.”
4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There’s no part of life that doesn’t contain its lessons. If you’re alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6. “There” is no better a place than “here.” When your “there” has become a “here”, you will simply obtain another “there” that will again look better than “here.”
7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life’s questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. You will forget all this.

Household Management Book

 Around here I keep a LOT of lists. I clean a LOT, and I have a child to take care of. I decided to combine these things into one home made binder that me and the Boy dually use to manage cleaning, finances, health, and organization!



When you make it Im sure you'll feel very Obsessive Compulsive as I did, but it does wonders for making progress in the home.

What you'll need:
*Sheet Protectors, Diamond Clear - 100 Count (V) -
*Expo Dry Erase Markers - 18 ct. - Dry-Erase Markers (Used to write on the clear sheets to save work, ink, and paper!)
*A 3 ring binder (not a super thin one, depending on how much you incorporate.)
*A word processor on your computer. And a printer! (Leave a comment if you want me to email you the template for any of these pages!)
*Section Dividers.


 

SO far there are 4 sections, but its a work in progress.

The Finance Section:


This form just make sure that every thing gets paid every month and no bills get skipped.




 Debt repayment Page: The following page got a bit messed up because I didnt realize I didnt have any colored ink, so I just wrote it in.
Write the minimum payment amount, how much you actually pay. Then you figure out (if you can afford it) a day that you would like the bill paid off by, divide total amount owed by the number of months that is, then you write down ho much you would have to pay in order to complete your goal.

This is a great way to organize things, make getting out of debt more likely and easier to figure out. Its my way of figuring out how realistic financial goals are.

The sections (If you cant read it) on the form from left to write are: "As of" Date. Type of payment. Minimum payment amount. Projected date/number of payments (based on min. payment.) Actual amount of money you pay monthly. Projected finish date (with the amount you actually pay - this can be hard if there is interest involved.) When do you WANT to have it paid by?  Amount of money needed in order to achieve this date. And the Number of payments that would be.

The Food Section:
I have a page like this for both Oliver and I. Of you wanted you could track exercises, too. I use my Android for that.

On this page I make sure he is getting a rounded diet by having the checks in the end - Meat, Veg, Fruit, Beans, Nuts/Legumes, and grain. Theres no dairy because we dont eat dairy except occasional cheese, and you may want to put Sugar on there, too.



The TO DO/Chores Section:

This page is for long term stuff that doesnt need to be on the chore list but we need to do some time soon.


This section is the only one I have in plastic sleeves.
Ok this may seem like over kill, but Ill explain why there are 3 chore lists in a minute. First look them over.
Weekly Form. This way I can look over what I need to get done every week. Also, I dont "work" on weekends =)





This one is both weekly and daily. Sometimes I have time to do extra chores and sometimes not enough. As long as its all done by Friday Im in the clear. This is so I can just check them all off. Just trust me, I had to do it this way from experience.



Not everything needs to be done all of the time. These are things I get done when I have extra time, or something REALLY needs to get done. Itsthe lowest priority list.

This above form I have been keeping on the fridge until Adam has been trained to look in the book. Its just man chores to remind him to keep busy as well.

The Stuff Section:

Things to save up for like large appliances, or even luxury items you really want go on this list:




Eventually Ill make a lists section, but this is my bonus time funzies craft list! I made the table really thick so I can write all of the supplies in it.


I hope you like it! Give me some feedback!

Other ideas:

A section just for all of my ridiculous lists.
A list of peoples Birthdays, anniversaries, and interests (gift ideas) they have.
FAVORITE family recipes as a quick reference when you arent sure what to go shopping for.

I would LOVE to hear other ideas you guys may have for the book!

Fancy up your lamp!

I got the idea from Pinterest to put cut out words inside the shade and make a pretty sweet fancy lamp.




The orignal is here under "DIY and Tips"

Its very easy. First I drew out what I wanted on cardboard, or card stock.



Then I carefully cut it out using a combo of a Slice tool (or an exacto-knife) and scissors.



Then you just tape it to the inside of a amp shade! In my case it was a sweet mushroom paper lamp from IKEA!

FUNZIES

The Golden Buddha

If you watch the (best ever) documentary Finding Joe - based on Joseph Campbells theory you'll see that it starts out with a story of inspiration. The Golden Buddha is really some food for thought. The Documentary only tells a vague version of the story in order to make a point, but I looked around and found pieces of it - and actually found that its a true story!

In 1957, a group of Tibetan monks were informed that a highway was being built and the highway would have to go through the location where the shrine for which they were responsible was currently located. The shrine, a huge clay Buddha, would have to be moved. Arrangements were made and the day of shrine moving arrived. The shrine, located under a roof to keep it safe from the elements, was prepared for its journey. A crane began lifting the clay Buddha. The Buddha, as it rose off of its block resting place, began to crack. It was far heavier than all the engineers had estimated. The monk supervising the movement of the Buddha frantically called to the crane operator. Telling him to set the Buddha down. Quickly, the alert crane operator carefully set the Buddha on the ground. As the monks and the engineers examined the Buddha, they found several large cracks. A larger crane would be needed. That crane would not be brought in until the next day. The Buddha would have to spent the night in its current location. To make matters worse, there was a storm building and the next would be a stormy one.

The monks covered the Buddha with water proof tarps on poles to keep it dry overnight. All seemed to be well. During the night, the head monk awoke and decided to check on the Buddha. With a flashlight, the monk carefully checked the condition of the Buddha. As he walked around the huge clay figure shining his light on the cracks, something caught his eye. He returned to the spot on which he had just shined his light. He peered into the crack. What he saw he did not understand. He needed to see more. He went back to his quarters, found a chisel and a hammer and returned to the Buddha. He began carefully chipping at the clay around the crack. As the crack widened, he could not believe his eyes. He ran to wake the other monks and instructed each to bring a hammer and chisel. By lantern light the monks carefully chipped all the clay from the Buddha. After hours of chiseling, the monks stepped back and stared in awe at the sight before them. There, in front of the monks, stood a solid gold Buddha.

When the moving crew arrived later that morning to complete the job of moving the Buddha to its new location, there was much confusion and excitement. Where had the clay Buddha gone? From where had the Golden Buddha come? The monks explained. Historians were called and research was begun to discover the origin of the Golden Buddha.

After much research, the pieces of the story were put together. The Golden Buddha was the cherished responsibility of a group of monks several centuries earlier. These monks received word that the Burmese army was headed their way. Concerned that the invading army would loot the shrine for its Golden Buddha, the monks covered their Buddha with 8 to 12 inches of clay. When they were finished the Golden Buddha appeared to be a Buddha of clay. The invading army would surely have no interest. The monks were correct. The invading army had no interest in the Buddha. They did, however, kill all the monks before they moved on. The Golden Buddha was lost in history until 1957.

The Moral, as I learned it at SWIHA:
There is a Golden Buddha inside each of us. Hidden away and covered with layers and layers of clay. We start out life as a true Golden Buddha. Overtime through survival, protection, and trial we cover ourselves in clay to protect ourselves from the outside world and keep our self from being hurt. One day you do something amazing and a little shimmer of gold will shine through - and you think "Woah thats beautiful. I need more of that!" So you should spend your time revealing more and more of your own gold!

Here are more moral summations I found while tracking pieces of the story on the internet:
The Golden Buddha story gives us tools we can use every day - the flashlight, the chisel and the hammer. The flashlight represents the power of our individual vision. The hammer represents the power of our individual level of responsibility. The hammer represents the power of our individual sense of team that will get each of us on our road to success. The team we each have available to us are those individuals whom we know are committed to us unconditionally - our true friends and family.

homemade silly putty and play-doh

Playing with kids is fun, but you dont have to pay top dollar for the simple little things you played as a kid!

These are super easy, and when you make them youll either be super Mom, or the coolest kid on the block!

Play-Doh recipe:

• 1/2 cup salt 
•  1/2 cup water 
• 1 cup flour 
•  food coloring! Whatever colors you want
•  news!paper for your work area.

Silly Putty

• 1 cup white Elmer's glue 
• 2 1/2 cup liquid starch
• Food coloring

In a medium bowl, mix glue with 1 cup starch. Add a few drops of food coloring. Cover bowl and let it stand overnight. The next day slowly stir in with a spoon 1 to 1 1/2 cups of starch until a big blob forms. Pour off extra starch. Store in air tight container.

If it is too sticky add starch, if it is to stringy add glue.