Free things

FREE THINGS

TO SCRATCH WHERE IT ITCHES
TO THINK FOR YOURSELF
TO SMILE WHEN YOU’RE HAPPY
TO FROWN WHEN YOU’RE NOT
TO SING WHEN YOU WANT TO
TO DANCE TO YOUR OWN MUSIC
TO CRY WHEN YOUR HEART HURTS
TO CHOOSE YOUR OWN WAY
TO PLAN AHEAD
TO LOOK BACK NOW AND AGAIN
TO CHOOSE TO BE HERE
TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE
TO VOTE
TO EAT
TO DRINK
TO SLEEP
TO WISH THINGS WERE DIFFERENT
TO PLAN TO CHANGE THINGS
TO ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE
TO TRY, AND FAIL
TO TRY AGAIN
TO BE THANKFUL OR UNGRATEFUL
TO BELIEVE WHAT YOU WILL
TO SAY A SILENT PRAYER
TO LEARN ABOUT WHATEVER YOU LIKE
TO RUN AROUND NAKED IN YOUR ABODE
TO TAKE A WALK
TO OGLE OTHER PEOPLE
TO WONDER “WHAT IF?”
TO ACT ON YOUR DREAMS
TO LIVE WITH YOUR CHOICES
TO DRAW A PICTURE
TO PAINT A CANVAS
TO LEARN AN INSTRUMENT
TO LISTEN TO MUSIC YOU LIKE
TO LEARN TO JUGGLE
TO CHOOSE YOUR ATTITUDE
TO LIVE WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR CHOICES
TO CHANGE YOUR MIND
TO APOLOGIZE FOR SOMETHING YOU DID
TO APOLOGIZE FOR SOMETHING YOU SHOULD HAVE
TO FORGIVE YOURSELF
TO FORGIVE OTHERS
TO DISAGREE WITH SOMEONE
TO LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES
TO WRITE A BOOK
TO WRITE A PLAY, A POEM, A SCREENPLAY, OR A SONG
TO ENJOY A BABY’S GIGGLE
TO HELP SOMEONE WHO CAN’T HELP THEMSELVES
TO GIVE YOUR TIME, ENERGY, AND/OR MONEY TO WHOMEVER OR WHATEVER YOU LIKE
The freedoms listed above may or may not have positive or negative consequences should you choose to use them. Anything illegal, immoral, harmful to oneself or others or just plain downright nasty  is not a freedom.
You even have the freedom to think of your own freedoms and share them, if you like, by sending them to me by snail mail at the Human Potential Center, 2007 Bert, Austin, TX 78704.
Namaste Ramdassnt

A Guy Walks Into a Bar…

Many classic jokes start that way. Humor. It leads to laughter, which is good for the body and the soul, especially a fall on the floor, tears in your eyes belly laugh. It’s why comedians who regularly succeed in making us laugh are paid so well.

I’m not talking about humor that denigrates of demeans entire races of people, or blondes, or is based on cruelty in any form towards other people or animals. That kind comes from insecurity, ego, over-sublimating for one’s own sense of inferiority. It comes from the dark side. Its also a subject for another blog….maybe.

I’m going to drop some names of funny people who’ve tickled my funny bone over the years. Folks who earned a good living making fun of themselves or society in general, or human foibles.

Fantastic Discussions On A Saturday Night

For the first three Saturdays of the month, here at the Human Potential Center, we have a video. We watch the video, eat popcorn and generally enjoy ourselves.

After the video we have a discussion. This is not your usual chit chat. We are discussing things that are very important to us; ourselves, our feelings and our lives. Some of us can go very deep. I remember one man saying that he couldn’t believe that he had found a place where he could look more closely and discuss his personal issues in a group and end up understanding himself more that he had before.

The movie itself is not the point of the discussion. It is more about the themes in the movie that were the most personally effective. At the end of the movie, we create questions using the themes, whether it be jealousy, anger, or any other feeling that came up for us during the viewing. We learn how to form open ended questions, using I statements, and begin the questions with a what, when or how. Plus, the group assists in the creation of the questions as many of us are new to this kind of thinking. We end up creating evocative questions that help us think about our personal involvement in our lives or life circumstances more deeply.

And we can get the best questions from a light movie. It is amazing how involved our discussions can be after a movie like Green Lantern. This last Saturday we had a great discussion about arrogance, fear and quitting things we love.

I find that even though the person is talking about their own experience, I can always find something that I can relate to in my own life. I love these great discussions which I don’t get in any other part of my life.

Here are the questions we came up with last Saturday. These questions help us to focus our thoughts more clearly on what we want to say about the feelings we had during the movie.

GREEN LANTERN QUESTIONS

1.    If for once I didn’t quit something I cared about, what’s the worst that could happen?
2.    How does my anger originate from my fear, and vice versa?
3.    When have I failed to acknowledge other people’s pain?
4.    What is it about arrogance that attracts me?
5.    What does it take for me to walk away from something I know is not good for me?
6.    In what situations has fear served me?
7.    When have I thought that bad things were happening when I didn’t deserve them?
8.    What am I willing to die for, and why?

So, if you live in or around the Austin area, we would love to have you come and join us, for what always promises to be a great learning experience for all of us.

First three Saturdays from 6 pm to 10:30 pm. The next video will be on May 19th. Check out the video calendar at humanpotentialcenter.org. If you can’t join us this month, maybe we will see you in June. Hope you can make it.

I need a hug!

“We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs a day for growth.”   Virginia Satir

It just makes sense donesn’t it?   It should be easy enough to get four a day.  Just ask. You’ll be surprised at how many folks are receptive to being hugged. Of course, some aren’t. In my personal research over the years, I’ve found that co-workers are more inclined than management. Something about maintaining a professional distance.  I can understand that. I can only hope they’re hugging someone, somewhere. Their emotional well-being can affext those they “manage”.

Many moons ago,  I read about a study done on newborn rhesus monkeys who were deprived of their mother’s touch.  Provided with warmth, food and shelter, they withered until an upright furry stand was placed near them and they could cling to it. Surrogate mom? To me it points to an innate need to give and receive physical contact/affection among the members of the animal kingdom…us included.

Those of you old enough to remember the last episode of  the Mary Tyler Moore show witnessed a group hug. A little difficult to orchestrate, but worth the effort. My favorite kind of hug is the “oreo”, involving  three people. I’m sure you can picture it. And each person can take turns being in the middle.

I should mention here that all hugging I’m referring to is done standing up. Any done in a prone position becomes “cuddling” , which may become the subject of a separate blog.

Hugging is pretty much universal, meaning there may be some cultures that just don’t. The only one I can think of may be the Eskimos, but then I’m not very well-versed on international cultures.

Hugging has been the subject of many art forms including sculpture and painting dating back hundreds of years. It can imply many things; shared joy, shared sadness, affection and love. They also vary in length, the longer suggesting a closer relationship.

There are different kinds of hugs between two people. The upper body hug …friendly. The full body hug…a little more intimate. The side hug. The handshake-backslapping hug, and the back hug. One comes up behind the other and encircles them with their arms.

Hugging can also reduce blood pressure and reduce levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. So it feels good and its good for you.  Win, Win!   CAUTION! It is a good idea to ask first. Make it known to those around you that you are available should they need one, with the agreement that should you need one….

I heard about a man in Australia who started a “free hug” movement in 2006.  It’s never too late to start one here. You could start by purchasing a “professional hugger” button soon to be available on the Human Potential Center website. And keep an eye on the HPC link on Facebook. A “how to” video is now in the planning stages. You can also get one for free by attending any of the classes or workshops offered by the HPC.

Remember, 4 a day to survive, 8 to stay “alive”, and 12 to thrive.  The more people are hugging, the less they’re fighting.  Do your part for whirled peas.

Now get out there and start hugging!                                           Ram Dassnt

What Does Self-Esteem Look Like?

Healthy self-esteem or healthy self-regard is a very sought-after quality. On some level we are aware of our innate and unique gifts in varying fields or relationships and wish we could better realize our potential or improve the level of happiness felt in our relationships. At times, our efforts to have productive careers or have affirming relationships are compromised by the attitudes about ourselves or life in general that we carry with us throughout the experiences of our day. Often, these self-sabotaging attitudes are the total of the emotional effects of pivotal events that have taken place previously in our lives. Some of these events left profound imprints on our personalities and behaviors, others had more slight impacts on us, but the sum of all of those events, both affirmations and slights, form a very firm sense of us, our limitations, but also our potential in some ways.

Hopefully, this entry will illustrate some not-so-common beliefs about the notion of healthy self-esteem and the deep-seated positive effects it can have both for your self as an individual and the person you are in your relationships and the affirming qualities they can have.

Simple Meditation Techniques to Stumble Upon Peace

In this messy and chaotic life, human has become a highly stressed and disturbed. People are too busy in their professional life or in other activities; they are so busy that they don’t bother about themselves. They don’t have time for themselves. Human’s biggest strength is peace of mind as it gives him strength to think better and act intelligently, and human’s biggest foe is stress, he loses what he wants and becomes an ugly person, he loses sense of humanity, he becomes totally insane. For people with stressed life, should follow the art of meditation.

Here are few simple tips for meditation to gain peace of mind and walk forward towards quality and happy life.

Daily routine of meditation
Make meditation your daily routine. Involve this habit in your life. Make a suitable time, when you are completely free and no one is there to disturb you. Daily meditation helps you to learn self-control and be disciplined.

Stretching before meditation
You should perform some stretching exercises before you start up with the mediation. Stretching helps you to feel relaxed and promoted flexibility. Stretching program releases tension from tendons and muscles. The stretching exercise helps to concentrate better.

Candle gives light
One of the best techniques of meditation is by using candle. Keep a lightened candle and continuously gaze its inner flame (the red part of the flame). Try to concentrate on the flame. While you concentrate on the flame, you forget the world and for few seconds you are fully concentrated on the candle. This is called meditation. This enhances your concentration power and also gives peace to your mind. The state of total null or void is known as meditation. Your mind is free from worldly chaos and worries. It is free from the bad spirits. Daily practice will increase your mediation time and help to improve concentration. This would accelerate your mind activity and your will feel more energetic and happy.

Feel the nature
Feeling the cool breeze through you is also one kind of meditation, for a movement you forget the world and get immerse in a peaceful reservoir.

Focus your breath
Sit straight, close your eyes and breathe deeply. Remove all the thoughts from your mind. Just focus on your breath. This is one of the effective meditations. This meditation cleanses your system as you do deep breathing. Deep breathing removes all toxins through the air. It makes you feel fresh and increases your concentration power.

Sleeping is not Meditation
Don’t think that when you are sleeping, meditation process is on. Sleeping is a passive process, you are taking rest but your mind or inner conscience works in some or the other way, for example dreams. In meditation you are actually giving rest to your mind and this is very active process. In meditation you keep your mind focused to one point and this need extreme concentration level.

Place for meditation
Always be very particular while you choose your meditation place. It should be clean, quiet and calm. Best place for meditation is within nature, like garden or lawn.
Conclusion

Meditation should be your integral part of daily routine. It helps to release stress and make you more active. Always choose a clam place for meditation and fix your time. Daily meditation has wonder effects to for your health.

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About the author: Margaret is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on environment and technology. Beside this she is fond of books. She recently bought cool flash drives. These days she is busy in writing an article on right brain left brain test.