Peace and Love

@Leo Gura Do you have a vision board? What does it look like?

@Sarah Marie Omg!!!! YESSSSSS! I'm so adding you on facebook right now! I'm so excited too! Do you have any experience with seeing the spiritual eye? Or Astral Planing?

@Callum A your welcome!

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/01/eight-weeks-to-a-better-brain/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2015/02/09/7-ways-meditation-can-actually-change-the-brain/#33f6ce451465 Meditation Helps Preserve the Aging Brain Last week, a study from UCLA found that long-term meditators had better-preserved brains than non-meditators as they aged. Participants who’d been meditating for an average of 20 years had more grey matter volume throughout the brain — although older meditators still had some volume loss compared to younger meditators, it wasn’t as pronounced as the non-meditators. "We expected rather small and distinct effects located in some of the regions that had previously been associated with meditating," said study author Florian Kurth. "Instead, what we actually observed was a widespread effect of meditation that encompassed regions throughout the entire brain." Meditation Reduces Activity in the Brain’s “Me Center" One of the most interesting studies in the last few years, carried out at Yale University, found that mindfulness meditation decreases activity in the default mode network (DMN), the brain network responsible for mind-wandering and self-referential thoughts – a.k.a., “monkey mind.” The DMN is “on” or active when we’re not thinking about anything in particular, when our minds are just wandering from thought to thought. Since mind-wandering is typically associated with being less happy, ruminating, and worrying about the past and future, it’s the goal for many people to dial it down. Several studies have shown that meditation, though its quieting effect on the DMN, appears to do just this. And even when the mind does start to wander, because of the new connections that form, meditators are better at snapping back out of it. Its Effects Rival Antidepressants for Depression, Anxiety A review study last year at Johns Hopkins looked at the relationship between mindfulness meditation and its ability to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and pain. Researcher Madhav Goyal and his team found that the effect size of meditation was moderate, at 0.3. If this sounds low, keep in mind that the effect size for antidepressants is also 0.3, which makes the effect of meditation sound pretty good. Meditation is, after all an active form of brain training. “A lot of people have this idea that meditation means sitting down and doing nothing,” says Goyal. “But that’s not true. Meditation is an active training of the mind to increase awareness, and different meditation programs approach this in different ways.” Meditation isn’t a magic bullet for depression, as no treatment is, but it’s one of the tools that may help manage symptoms. Meditation May Lead to Volume Changes in Key Areas of the Brain In 2011, Sara Lazar and her team at Harvard found that mindfulness meditation can actually change the structure of the brain: Eight weeks of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) was found to increase cortical thickness in the hippocampus, which governs learning and memory, and in certain areas of the brain that play roles in emotion regulation and self-referential processing. There were also decreases in brain cell volume in the amygdala, which is responsible for fear, anxiety, and stress – and these changes matched the participants’ self-reports of their stress levels, indicating that meditation not only changes the brain, but it changes our subjective perception and feelings as well. In fact, a follow-up study by Lazar’s team found that after meditation training, changes in brain areas linked to mood and arousal were also linked to improvements in how participants said they felt — i.e., their psychological well-being. So for anyone who says that activated blobs in the brain don’t necessarily mean anything, our subjective experience – improved mood and well-being – does indeed seem to be shifted through meditation as well. Just a Few Days of Training Improves Concentration and Attention Having problems concentrating isn’t just a kid thing – it affects millions of grown-ups as well, with an ADD diagnosis or not. Interestingly but not surprisingly, one of the central benefits of meditation is that it improves attention and concentration: One recent study found that just a couple of weeks of meditation training helped people’s focus and memory during the verbal reasoning section of the GRE. In fact, the increase in score was equivalent to 16 percentile points, which is nothing to sneeze at. Since the strong focus of attention (on an object, idea, or activity) is one of the central aims of meditation, it’s not so surprising that meditation should help people’s cognitive skills on the job, too – but it’s nice to have science confirm it. And everyone can use a little extra assistance on standardized tests. Meditation Reduces Anxiety — and Social Anxiety A lot of people start meditating for its benefits in stress reduction, and there’s lots of good evidence to support this rationale. There’s a whole newer sub-genre of meditation, mentioned earlier, called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts’ Center for Mindfulness (now available all over the country), that aims to reduce a person’s stress level, physically and mentally. Studies have shown its benefits in reducing anxiety, even years after the initial 8-week course. Research has also shown that mindfulness meditation, in contrast to attending to the breath only, can reduce anxiety – and that these changes seem to be mediated through the brain regions associated with those self-referential (“me-centered”) thoughts. Mindfulness meditation has also been shown to help people with social anxiety disorder: a Stanford University team found that MBSR brought about changes in brain regions involved in attention, as well as relief from symptoms of social anxiety. Meditation Can Help with Addiction A growing number of studies has shown that, given its effects on the self-control regions of the brain, meditation can be very effective in helping people recover from various types of addiction. One study, for example, pitted mindfulness training against the American Lung Association's freedom from smoking (FFS) program, and found that people who learned mindfulness were many times more likely to have quit smoking by the end of the training, and at 17 weeks follow-up, than those in the conventional treatment. This may be because meditation helps people “decouple” the state of craving from the act of smoking, so the one doesn’t always have to lead to the other, but rather you fully experience and ride out the “wave” of craving, until it passes. Other research has found that mindfulness training, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) can be helpful in treating other forms of addiction. Short Meditation Breaks Can Help Kids in School For developing brains, meditation has as much as or perhaps even more promise than it has for adults. There’s been increasing interest from educators and researchers in bringing meditation and yoga to school kids, who are dealing with the usual stressors inside school, and oftentimes additional stress and trauma outside school. Some schools have starting implementing meditation into their daily schedules, and with good effect: One district in San Francisco started a twice daily meditation program in some of its high-risk schools – and saw suspensions decrease, and GPAs and attendance increase. Studies have confirmed the cognitive and emotional benefits of meditation for schoolchildren, but more work will probably need to be done before it gains more widespread acceptance. This Is Your Brain on Meditation The science explaining why you should meditate every day https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/use-your-mind-change-your-brain/201305/is-your-brain-meditation For those of you who are curious as to how meditation changes the brain, this is for you. Although this may be slightly technical, bear with me because it’s really interesting. The brain, and how we are able to mold it, is fascinating and nothing short of amazing. Here are the brain areas you need to know: Lateral prefrontal cortex: the part of the brain that allows you to look at things from a more rational, logical and balanced perspective. In the book, we call it the Assessment Center. It is involved in modulating emotional responses (originating from the fear center or other parts of the brain), overriding automatic behaviors/habits and decreasing the brain’s tendency to take things personally (by modulating the Me Center of the brain, see below). Medial prefrontal cortex: the part of the brain that constantly references back to you, your perspective and experiences. Many people call this the “Me Center” of the brain because it processes information related to you, including when you are daydreaming, thinking about the future, reflecting on yourself, engaging in social interactions, inferring other people’s state of mind or feeling empathy for others. We call it the Self-Referencing Center. What’s interesting about the Medial PreFrontal Cortex (mPFC) is that it actually has two sections: Ventromedial medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) – involved in processing information related to you and people that you view as similar to you. This is the part of the brain that can cause you to end up taking things too personally, which is why we referred to it as the unhelpful aspect of the Self-Referencing Center in the book. (In reality, this brain area has many important and helpful functions – since we were focusing on overcoming anxiety, depression and habits you want to change, we referred to it as unhelpful because it often causes increases in rumination/worry and exacerbates anxious or depressive thoughts/states/feelings.) Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex (dmPFC) – involved in processing information related to people who you perceive as being dissimilar from you. This very important part of the brain is involved in feeling empathy (especially for people who we perceive of as not being like us) and maintaining social connections. Insula: the part of the brain that monitors bodily sensations and is involved in experiencing “gut-level” feelings. Along with other brain areas, it helps “guide” how strongly you will respond to what you sense in your body (i.e., is this sensation something dangerous or benign?). It is also heavily involved in experiencing/feeling empathy. Amygdala: the alarm system of the brain, what most refer to as the “Fear Center.” It's a part of the brain that is responsible for many of our initial emotional responses and reactions, including the “fight-or-flight” response. (Along with the Insula, this is what we referred to as the Uh Oh Center.) The Brain Without Meditation – Stuck on Me If you were to look at people’s brains before they began a meditation practice, you would likely see strong neural connections within the Me Center and between the Me Center and the bodily sensation/fear centers of the brain. This means that whenever you feel anxious, scared or have a sensation in your body (e.g., a tingling, pain, itching, whatever), you are far more likely to assume that there is a problem (related to you or your safety). This is precisely because the Me Center is processing the bulk of the information. What's more, this over-reliance on the Me Center explains how it is that we often get stuck in repeating loops of thought about our life, mistakes we made, how people feel about us, our bodies (e.g., “I’ve had this pain before, does this mean something serious is going on?) and so on. Why is the Me Center allowed to process information this way, essentially unabated? The reason this happens, in part, is because the Assessment Center’s connection to the Me Center is relatively weak. If the Assessment Center was working at a higher capacity, it would modulate the excessive activity of the vmPFC (the part that takes things personally) and enhance the activity of the dmPFC (the part involved in understanding other’s thoughts and feelings). This would lead us to take in all the relevant information, discard erroneous data (that the Me Center might want to focus on exclusively) and view whatever is happening from a more balanced perspective – essentially decreasing the overthinking, ruminating and worrying that the Me Center is famous for promulgating. One helpful way to think of the Assessment Center is as a sort of “brake” for the unhelpful parts of the Me Center. The Brain on Meditation – I Can See Clearly Now In contrast, if you meditate on a regular basis, several positive things happen. First, the strong, tightly held connection between the Me Center (specifically the unhelpful vmPFC) and the bodily sensation/fear centers begins to break down. As this connection withers, you will no longer assume that a bodily sensation or momentary feeling of fear means something is wrong with you or that you are the problem! This explains, in part, why anxiety decreases the more you meditate – it’s because the neural paths that link those upsetting sensations to the Me Center are decreasing. Said another way, your ability to ignore sensations of anxiety is enhanced as you begin to break that connection between the unhelpful parts of the Me Center and the bodily sensation/fear centers. As a result, you are more readily able to see those sensations for what they are and not respond as strongly to them (thanks to your strengthened Assessment Center). Second, a heftier, healthier connection forms between the Assessment Center and bodily sensation/fear centers. This means that when you experience a bodily sensation or something potentially dangerous or upsetting, you are able to look at it from a more rational perspective (rather than automatically reacting and assuming it has something to do with you). For example, when you experience pain, rather than becoming anxious and assuming it means something is wrong with you, you can watch the pain rise and fall without becoming ensnared in a story about what it might mean. Finally, an added bonus of meditating is that the connection between the helpful aspects of the Me Center (i.e. dorsomedial prefrontal cortex) – the part involved in processing information related to people we perceive as being not like us – and the bodily sensation center – involved in empathy – becomes stronger. This healthy connection enhances your capacity to understand where another person is coming from, especially those who you cannot intuitively understand because you think or perceive things differently from them (i.e., dissimilar others). This increased connection explains why meditation enhances empathy – it helps us use the part of the brain that infers other people’s states of mind, their motivations, desires, dreams and so on, while simultaneously activating the part of the brain involved in the actual experience of empathy (insula). The end result is that we are more able to put ourselves in another person’s shoes (especially those not like us), thereby increasing our ability to feel empathy and compassion for everyone. Daily Practice is Important Essentially, the science “proves” what we know to be true from the actual experience of meditating. What the data demonstrate is that meditation facilitates strengthening the Assessment Center, weakening the unhelpful aspects of the Me Center (that can cause you to take things personally), strengthening the helpful parts of the Me Center (involved with empathy and understanding others) and changing the connections to/from the bodily sensation/fear centers such that you experience sensations in a less reactive, more balanced and holistic way. In a very real way, you literally are changing your brain for the better when you meditate. In the end, this means that you are able to see yourself and everyone around you from a clearer perspective, while simultaneously being more present, compassionate and empathetic with people no matter the situation. With time and practice, people do truly become calmer, have a greater capacity for empathy and find they tend to respond in a more balanced way to things, people or events in their lives. However, to maintain your gains, you have to keep meditating. Why? Because the brain can very easily revert back to its old ways if you are not vigilant (I’m referencing the idea of neuroplasticity here). This means you have to keep meditating to ensure that the new neural pathways you worked so hard to form stay strong. To me, this amazing brain science and the very real rewards gained from meditation combine to form a compelling argument for developing and/or maintaining a daily practice. It definitely motivates me on those days I don’t “feel” like sitting. So, try to remind yourself that meditating every day, even if it’s only 15 minutes, will keep those newly formed connections strong and those unhelpful ones of the past at bay. Addendum: For those wanting to start a meditation practice or who might be experiencing emotional issues, memories, etc. when meditating, please seek out an experienced meditation teacher. I have received some comments from people stating they do not believe meditation works (which is likely true for some people) or that it could be harmful if done incorrectly. Obviously, meditation has been very positive for me, but I have always worked with a meditation teacher or mentor and I would suggest you do the same, as a teacher can help you figure out what is right for you and guide you through any difficulties you may be having.

Great Post! thanks for sharing! I'm Raw vegan and my diet reversed a lot of my health problems including my painful ovarian cysts. I no longer am dependent on medications to keep me stable and functional. It's so sad how this knowledge is hidden from the general public. And it's mainly because the big pharma is a multi-billion dollar industry. They make money off of us if we are sick. You can't make money off of clean eating or turn healthy eating into a pill that someone can buy at a pharmacy.

HI @Sarah Marie !!! Just wanted to say thank you so much for creating this post and sharing your knowledge and insight. I'm a Reiki Practitioner soon to be Reiki Master (yay! class starts tomorrow) that has experienced some of the things you have mentioned above while on my journey to enlightenment and expanded consciousness. I've been hesitant for quite some time to share my knowledge and experiences on here because I figured people would think what I was saying was BOGUS, and off the wall. It's nice to know I'm not alone. Because of the energy work that I do, when I close my eyes I can see the colored flames of energy healing my body and other people. It also has the same effect when I work with Angels in my hypnosis/reiki sessions as well as my personal meditations. I can see the multiple colored flamed entities which let me know there is more than one there... I love working with angels they are amazing! Within the last few months, most especially since I've been super rigid with cleaning up my diet I started to hear those voices you speak of. One morning I was in the mirror looking at myself and I heard a strong voice say "You look beautiful today!" and I was like...ummm wtf...where did that come from? This went on for an entire week with the random compliments. I've always been quite insecure with my body so I knew it wasn't my subconscious mind. The good news is I've started on a journey of self love and no longer feel this way. I've had the random smells in the middle of the night a few times. They usually wake me up, but I have no idea what they are trying to tell me or trying to communicate to me at the moment. I went to see a Shaman and had my Akashic records done and I was told that I need to follow the path of a healer and become a Shaman at some point, so I can communicate with the other side such as yourself. May I ask if you have received special training to heighten your skills? I know of one other psychic medium and she told me she took a few classes so she had a better understanding of how they communicate and better interpretation. I've had people from the other side try to communicate with me as well. When my dad passed away last October, he gave clear signals to my niece that he was still around. My mom and I have had a few instances where we could sense his presence. Before my dad passed away, for two weeks he was seeing spirits including his deceased brother, who died 6 years ago in a tractor accident. My uncle also gave me clear signals he was still around after he passed. Do you work with healing stones and jewelry? I have a lapis lazuli necklace that I wear that gives me Clair-cognizance. I use it with my hypnosis sessions and it brings me divine knowledge and insight to give to my clients. And I don't have a lot of training....I just know this information, and it just comes out of no where!

Break out the GLOW STICKS!!! lol JK. This is a great video btw.

@Falk Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!!!! So TRUE! Life purpose MUST be your top priority!

@I_Like_Thing @Shin Ok, I may be having an Asperger's moment here.... did this really happen? Or is this a joke? This flew right over my head! lol

@Toby I was the one that mentioned it. We both had talked to each other in a different thread/topic about Asperger's and disabilities. He has Asperger's, and I'm learning disabled, with dietary induced ADD and a huge possibility of being Asperger's myself (although I've never been properly diagnosed, but know people that had Asperger's and shared the same classic symptoms). We were talking in a previous topic about how these "ROLES" (our disabilities)...these labels.... can mentally hold us back. And we are labeled a lot of the time because we may not learn or understand things in a typical academic teaching style. The education system is sad, and very far behind. If they changed or shifted the way they taught to different people they would pick up on things very quickly. (And I can personally account to that because I taught my ex best friend who had Asperger's how to add, subtract, multiply and divide using different techniques in four days. And he's a very highly intelligent person who ran a multi-million dollar business). There are many people with Asperger's out there that are very famous and successful. I understand that we can sometimes not pick up on social cues that others would normally pick up on, or even catch on to jokes. That's why I sympathize to his cause, because if I was in his position I would want someone to do the same for me! And I think it's an excellent question because it's considered not normal to do that, but I've encountered times where I've been asked online in facebook messages and I was perfectly comfortable being honest. I'm sure there may come a time where the sexes can openly things of that nature and it will be perfectly normal. I think if there is a way that it can be done, why not explore it? And who really cares what anyone thinks?

@jse If you're the guy in blue....I'm the one taking the picture! lol!!! I'm not giving up though. I think we all deserve to be loved unconditionally, but I'm learning to be perfectly ok by myself too, which is even better! All this consciousness and enlightenment work really does make a HUGE difference!

@Colin I've done walking meditations too! However the sound of the trees rushing and hearing the birds chirping is heaven to my ears for me!!

@I_Like_Thing @Colin Awww you guys are too kind! You're making me melt!!! I honestly don't consider myself a guru. LEO is the guru!!! (Besides I haven't even met Mr. Right as of yet! lol) I've been through a lot in my life, and I discovered that many people seem to benefit and appreciate when I share my personal experiences (both dating, and non dating related). I feel, sympathize, and understand a lot of men's pain that I don't think a lot of women can comprehend because I worked in adult entertainment for several years. I've had a ton of exposure to many different types of men and I always felt that I was playing the "sex therapist" role for men. I may be by no means a dating expert, but I can tell you what I do know... Episode #4!! Step 1: Before you start getting into dating, I can not strongly emphasize how important it is to love yourself! I mean this is REALLY a BIG DEAL! You really can't love another person unless you fully and unconditionally love yourself. Yeah...of course you can be a in a long term relationship, and things can work, but you really won't have that satisfaction you are looking for until you fulfill your inner self. Self love changes you. It gives your life, and it gives you PASSION. You're not even the same person anymore. And when you love yourself you won't put up with anyone else's crap. It helps you avoid abuse, and alleviate repetitive negative dating patterns. You feel a sense of peace and awe with yourself. You are comfortable in your own skin and people are drawn to you like bees to honey. When you love yourself you have something called BOUNDARIES. Boundaries are actually a form of self love, and lets other people know what is ok and NOT ok. How you should and shouldn't be treated. Boundaries need to be created to promote respect in a relationship. There are a lot of LONELY people in this world. They feel that they NEED someone to fulfill them. To make them feel whole and complete. Love doesn't work that way. If you're life is like a beautifully baked cake, the loving romantic relationship is like the cherry on top. A loving relationship doesn't make you complete, but enhances who you are. What makes up the cake is the rest of you....your hobbies, your talents, your life purpose, friends, family, your health and how you take care of yourself, etc.. All those beautiful things put together make up your beautiful CAKE OF LIFE! And to create this beautiful cake of life you need something called BALANCE. Balance is so important. Yeah it's nice to focus on meditating and enlightenment all the time, but we all know that we need to LIVE. What many people don't know is that when we crave to be in a relationship, it is actually a sign of being UNBALANCED. We are using the relationship to fill a void in something we don't feel adequate about. Ask yourself...are you using relationships as a form of a security blanket? Some people use relationships to feel better about themselves (SELF ESTEEM) others use it to feel validated and feel wanted and needed (which could mean they don't love themselves enough, or don't have enough friends, or hobbies, or things to keep them busy). Romantic relationships should never be sought out for emotional comfort. ASK yourself...where can I create more balance in my life??? And make it happen! It is worth the time and the wait to work on yourself. You will not regret your decision if you put in the hard work and the effort. I firmly believe that relationships are for us to help enhance spiritual growth. When you are in a relationship it's not about satisfying you...it's about satisfying and serving the person you are with! You become selfless! My goal as of right now is to balance myself out, and discover an even deeper love within me....our real true selves.....from a higher consciousness and an enlightened perspective. STEP 2: After you have found and attained SELF LOVE.... this is what I would do NEXT! I've listened to and watched a lot of Leo's videos on dating and sex. And I'm not here to kiss his A$$ and get "brownie points" but he does seriously know what he's talking about. (PLEASE WATCH HIS VIDEOS) There are quite a few books on Leo's book list that would be beneficial in helping one to have a healthy, passionate, and balanced relationship. I would read all of them, and become a MASTER of that knowledge. There is also another book on his list under his "emotional master section" that talks about unconditional love. Although I have not personally read this book as of yet, (I'm planning too soon) but I think there is a missing link here. I think many of us really don't understand what real LOVE is. We all need a firm grasp and understanding of what Love truly is. This is a time to become excited about YOU! To have a life purpose and passion. Changing your thoughts and how you perceive life! You need to start thinking: "I love my thoughts. They are my best friends" (No really I'm serious...become your own best friend for REAL!!) "I am on a path where positive thinking and an optimistic attitude guide all of my choices". (Positive Emotional Mastery) "Every moment presents a wonderful new opportunity to become more of who I am!" (Living in the present moment, always seizing the day) If you want to find, seek and acquire knowledge of spiritual relationships this is what I've found so far. Book: "Spiritual Partnership, The Journey of Authentic Power" by Gary Zukav Video: The Nature of Nondual relationships - TRUST ME, It's worth the $10 bucks to watch this entire video!!! http://shiningworld.com/site/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=133 Once you have a solid idea of what kind of relationship you want, it's going to be a lot easier to attain it. STEP 3: You could also do this while completing step one and step two... Start taking care of your looks and your body. But DO NOT do this to impress someone else, do this to impress you! This is about feeling good about you. Don't worry about the girl part, when you take care of you, they WILL NOTICE. Top 10 Most Attractive Men's Hair Styles: Pick the one that looks most attractive on you. One is not better than the other necessarily. It's a matter of taste and style, and what makes you feel like YOU. What if I am going BALD?!? What if I have a receding hair line??? Well.....the shaved head look happens to be one of the top 10 most attractive hair styles!! Leo totally pulls it off! And then to bring it over the top, get artistic and creative with the facial hair if needed. Grow a goatee! Sport some side burns, mustache, beard, etc... It can really help to shape your face and give it more structure and angle. This can really help you ALOT! Sorry Leo, but you're such an awesome example! (Maybe he'll just stay in the Enlightenment Section of the forums like he normally does, and will never see this post! lol quietly tip toeing......) Like if you look at Leo's face, he has more of the round look, but he enhances his handsome facial features by his facial hair. It like literally transformed his face. He has the more chiseled look now because of his facial hair. Keep in mind....Usually.....Women are enhanced by curves, but men become more attractive by angles and a more chiseled look. This works really well for Leo! Top 10 Colognes Women Love: Maybe I'm simple, and I'm a little biased but I like Gio, Georgio Armani Cologne. lol Both of my long term bf's wore it. Find one that you like and test it out!!! Have fun with this! WHAT TO WEAR?? How you dress is really important. Look for clothes that are form fitting and enhance your body. Do your RESEARCH. You don't have to break the bank to look good! Look at what Leo is wearing in this video...it works really well for him!! And the color is very flattering. Wear colors that enhance your skin tone and your eyes!!! Find out what colors look most flattering on you!! Intimacy and SEX.... I'm keeping the words PG in here, because I really have no idea what kind of audience is looking at this....lol Here is my ADVICE... Trust me when I say this....DO NOT worry about the size of your anaconda. It REALLY doesn't matter if it's a pencil or a soup can. What matters is how you use it!!! Master the art of the bedroom and keep both of you happy! I cannot not over emphasize how many men I've met that are clueless when it comes to pleasing women, especially the younger generations. It's really sad how selfish they can be. Please don't be one of them, because in the end one of you will be dissatisfied and end up leaving. No really....I"M FREAKING SERIOUS....don't worry about the size of your light saber. What matters is the intimacy. Leo's videos really hit the mark here. HIS TECHNIQUES DO WORK. Learn to balance the masculine dominance and the soft gentle playful side. Women like that!

Now knowing all this stuff about how forests heal you....I wonder what the benefits would be if you were meditating in nature? Would it be easier to meditate? Would we get better results when it comes to shifts in consciousness and enlightenment experiences????

I third this!!! I was just thinking about creating a post about asking how to journal the other day! It is so therapeutic, but I want to make the most out of journaling. I want to know what exactly I should be documenting, or if I should just splurge my heart out or both. I think journaling is great in the sense that it helps you see the growth you have made so far, and to help you express emotions and topics you may not want to openly share with other people.

@electroBeam @Elton @Principium Nexus Pick up increases your ability to attract the right girl and keep her by TENFOLD! I can recall numerous men that I've been attracted to that are usually not my type at all. Here are some examples.....lol Episode #3 1.) A few years ago when I was living in south Florida I met this older man named Robbie. He was 50 years old, 6ft 4, but he had the face and body of a 35 year old, and a full head of dark thick hair! He was vegan and because of his diet and taking care of his body, he reversed and slowed down the aging process. Well atleast I can say it worked for him. I'm usually not attracted to older men at all, and he was certainly the oldest man I've ever been attracted to. And I met him when I was 29. He was one of the most influential men if not the most in my life. He has a very special place in my heart, that no man has been able to replicate. He was my superman. When I met him, I was very sick, and overly medicated. He helped educate me on vegan dieting and helped me to reverse my serious health issues that I had, including my ovarian cysts which could have made me permanently infertile. He was extremely intelligent and was always teaching me new things. He taught me to research, and read things before i made decisions. We had the most incredibly intense sexual chemistry. And this man wasn't even a gamer or my type! A lot of the attraction we had was emotional, and was built over time. He was one of the most interesting people that I ever talked to or met. It was a shame that we had met at the wrong time. Even though he asked me out nearly 4 times in a span of 3 years, the universe deemed that we were not meant to be together! There was a fine line between being incredibly in love with this man and lusting. After I moved back home to live with my parents and spend time with my dad while he was still alive, I literally pined over this man. I even secretly contemplated for a while on dropping my career in hypnosis and running away to be with him! lol. Love and lust makes you do crazy things! And he certainly beat the odds! 2.) 2 years ago when I was taking my Masters in Hypnotherapy I met this guy on my facebook named Kris. If there is such a thing as the term "soul mate", this man was definitely it. We could literally complete each others sentences, and we had so much in common it would make anyone puke. We would talk for hours upon hours online, laughing and giggling. We were literally two peas in a pod. I've had a lot of wild spiritual things happen in my life involving birds and there was something going on there between me and Kris. We even had shared some identical dreams which made me contemplate if we had met in a past life or astro-planed, etc. Unfortunately Kris lived across the USA in Washington State. He was a game designer that worked in the industry for many years, including with big companies like Bungie Games, and Microsoft. He even worked on my all time favorite game Kings Quest 6!!! Kris was going through a lot in his life. His best friend passed away on vacation in another country, his dog died, and his ex wife that he was married to for ten years left him and moved to Puerto Rico to live with an 18 year old man. (We're talking about someone that's in their late 30's early 40's here!) Because of all these series of unfortunate events Kris gained a ton of weight, and was sporting this ugly straggly beard that turned a 30 year old man into a 50/60 year old man!. He literally had aged from all the stress. And it was very hard for me to swallow. I wanted to make things work, and see healing take place with this man. He needed time, but unfortunately he lived too far away to make things work. 3.) Greg from episode 2, was definitely another great example of someone that is usually not my type. I think many of us have a tendency to get into dating patterns. I've always been drawn to men with dark hair and dark eyes, not to say I wouldn't be attracted to anything else, I just think it was just natural for me because my dad had those very same features. Greg was bald, and had pretty light blue eyes. He also had a 7 year old daughter. Usually I refuse to date men with kids, because there is a possibility that I might have to take on that "mommy role", and I haven't personally come to the decision in my life on whether or not I really want to have kids! He made me seriously consider that! lol 4.) One of my ex best friends was another exception to the rule. We never dated because he was in a serious committed relationship with someone else the majority of the time we knew each other. This guy was a bi-sexual man, that was in a gay relationship. He was also very influential in my life because he taught me how to be more feminine and dress attractively. I grew up not knowing how to put on makeup, and how to really take care of my hair and look beautiful. I grew up as a nerd, and was considered the nerdiest kid in the 6th grade! This man changed all of that for me. And I started getting all this masculine attention I never really received before. He would make me laugh so hard, and we would make the craziest jokes with each other. We almost had like this brother, sister close relationship. If my friend was not in the relationship he was in, we most likely would have dated. He had more of the sporty/rocker look. It's not that he wasn't attractive, it's just that he wasn't physically my type, or someone that I would normally go for. He wasn't a gamer dude, but we both had a strong interest in personal development and making ourselves better. (He was a close "runner up" with Robbie and the influence he had on my life.) I will be honest. The majority of men out there I'm not physically attracted to at all. For men physical attraction is a big deal, but for women we need things to be a lot deeper on a an emotional level. Physically unattractive men that I do have a connection with can easily become my type by doing simple things to improve their appearance- dressing better, putting on some nice cologne, and a good hair style, and facial hair shaping. Men that are emotionally stable and balanced can go from a 2 to 10 instantly with the right clothes and hair cut! Pick up is most definitely worth your time and effort! And most importantly the inner work that it will create within you is priceless.

@Leo Gura

@Steph1988 Thanks! I took them this afternoon on my walk. My hiking exercise also turns into a form of art expression for me. I love capturing the beauty of nature with my iphone. If you love walking that much, you should definitely bring that more into your life!

@Bebop - it could be. I'm going to be more aware next time.

@jse I feel like it's obsessive now that's for sure! lol

@Shin @electroBeam True that!

Hiking is awesome too! And so is Kayaking. (It's great for the arms!) I just went hiking this morning. It is so beautiful outside where I live. 80 degrees. There is something about being outside in nature when exercising. It's amazing! I could walk all day if I could! lol

@electroBeam @Shin @Steph1988 @Leo Gura @Elton @Principium Nexus @Space @ElenaO Oh I wanted to mention something about my previous comment I left last night...I completely forgot. (My Episode 2 advice) The guy I went on a date with 2 years ago, Greg., he did in fact ask me WHY I didn't go on a second date with him on facebook about a week later. And I did tell him the truth, no lies, no bs, no coverups. I felt because it was an instant messenger conversation rather than face to face or by phone it was a lot easier to be honest with him. Plus he was such a great guy. He had mastered pickup and dealing with women. I didn't feel threatened or uncomfortable talking about it. We had established good communication in person when we went on our date. He was non judgemental, easy to talk to, and he was very emotionally developed. I just told him I wasn't into having multiple relationships, or an open relationship. I was looking for a serious committed relationship with one person. I wasn't mean about it. I was kind and understanding of his situation and why he had gone down this road. We stayed good friends on face book. And he just recently moved to San Francisco to start a new job! My mom and I also recently talked about this thread. And she could not agree more with me, about talking about why things didn't work out. And as I'm typing this I'm thinking about other examples that are popping into my head...lol I think I'm going to need to write an episode 3 at some point! Communication is key in any relationship. It's how you carry and handle yourself. If you're calm and collected, why wouldn't someone not want to be honest with you?

@see_on_see @Whywolf I've had synchronicity happen multiple times for years, and even before I saw repeating numbers. I've changed my spiritual and religious beliefs multiple times throughout my life during personal development and I've noticed this synchronicity take place. I used to be a heavy law of attraction junky. I would think about things I wanted answers to, and I would just go through out the day and I would find answers randomly in different spots without even trying. Sometimes I would see patterns. A lot of it has been recently with actualized.org surprisingly. I've had my moments where I wanted to take a break from this site and work on other things and I kept feeling like I was being drawn back to here. Like there was something that I needed to learn. I kept getting the name Leo in multiple places throughout the coming days, and it was just plain WEIRD. For example my mom gave me the ninja turtle LEO- Leonardo for Christmas! Than I would go into work and there would be this lady checking out with purchases, and the kid's name was Leo! lol And Leo is not a popular name! Then I had this random conversation about horoscopes with this lady and she was LEO!!!! WTF? lol When Leo released this new video that just came out..I was having this pattern with POST-ITS! My mom asked if she could borrow post-it notes. I was at my hypnosis job and my instructor was showing me this business advertising card thing that had post-its in it. Then I go home a few hours later and watch Leo's video and it's talking about POST-Its! lol Ok I get it now....I'll carry a to do list or some post it notes so I can get everything I need done! lol This morning I slept in and I woke up at 12:22. Then I went hiking later and drove back home and I looked at the clock again...lol.....2:22. Seriously I'm not making this shit up! lol I have a pretty good idea what my intuition is trying to tell me. So I guess it's trying to get my attention and to focus on what's important right now, enlightenment, consciousness, healing, bringing balance back into my life.

@Trond @Whywolf I'm definitely paying attention to my thoughts now when this happens. From what I read 11:11 is like saying watch your thoughts, because they are manifesting what you are thinking. 444 if you believe in angels, means that they are with you at this time supposedly from a source I've read. The 777's are pretty rare, but they usually happen when I'm on the right path. I'm thinking in the line of God Consciousness. When I think with out the ego, and focus on serving and loving other people the numbers have a tendency to pop up at some point. Yesterday I was thinking this way and I saw 777 on a license plate...I was like are you FREAKING KIDDING ME?!? lol