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Lynne McTaggart: Intention, quantum physics, the bond – Bridging the science and spirituality

 

Lynne McTaggart is the author of The Field, The Intention Experiment, & The Bond.

If you are interested in science and how your mind influences your world i.e Law of Attraction then these books are a must read. The Field is one of my all-time favourite books.

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Michael Talbot & the Holographic Universe

Michael Talbot is the author of The Holographic Universe – one of the most powerful and fascinating books I have ever had the pleasure to read.


Here’s a taster from the back cover

“Despite its apparent materiality the universe is actually a kind of 3-D projection and is ultimately no more real than a hologram.

This astonishing idea was pioneered by two of the world’s most eminent thinkers, physicist David Bohm, a former protege of Einstein, and the quantum physicist Karl Pribram. The holographic theory of the world encompasses not only reality as we know it, including hitherto unexplained phenomena, but is capable of explaining such occurrences as telepathy, paranormal and out-of-body experiences, synchronicity, ‘lucid’ dreaming and even mystical and religious traditions such as cosmic unity and miraculous healings.

Now, in The Holographic Universe, Michael Talbot reveals the extraordinary depth and power of this radical theory. He explains the theory behind a holograph and how it provides a model for aspects of brain function and for whole areas of quantum physics. Illustrating the paranormic way in which the the holographic model makes sense of the entire range of mystical, spiritual, and psychic experiences, Talbot pushes the barriers to explore the implications for other universes beyond our own. Daring and ground-breaking, The Holographic Universe is a classic in the vein of Friijof Capra’s The Tao of Physics

Here’s one of the things that grabbed my attention in a discussion about Bohm’s ideas that the Universe is a continuum with no separation, other than the illusory one, between any of its parts. “…every cubic centimetre of empty space contains more energy than the total energy of ALL (my caps) the matter in the known Universe” and just to put that in perspective, Michael Talbot explains that that’s the energy of a trillion atomic bombs in every cubic centimetre of empty space.

Earlier in the book there was discussion about memory and how, apart from a few unreproducible experiments with epileptics by Wilder Penfield in the 1920?s, the brain seems to store memories in much the same way that a holographic image is stored on a piece of film. Every part of the film contains all of the image. It’s just that the more of the film you use the clearer and more detailed the hologram becomes. The brain seems to work like this. But, and this is where it starts to get weird, all of our senses seem to operate holographically too.

A chap called Fourier found a mathematical way to store patterns (Fourier patterns) and then reproduce them. Then he looked at the patterns on holographic film and discovered they were Fourier patterns. Then a few experiments later it seems it seems our brains store and interpret all of our sensory input the same way. Now if you’ve seen a holographic image you will know it’s 3D and sort of hangs in the air and you can look around it. But it isn’t real. No instrument can detect anything different in the air where the holograph appears to be, from the air anywhere else. The image is an illusion. The image is actually the pattern on the film and that looks like a series of dots or random patterns.

Now since your external sensory world is a similar pattern of dots held spread throughout the whole of you brain, this is quite powerful evidence to suggest that external reality is an illusion in the same way that a hologram is an illusion.

One final exert.
“The idea that consciousness and life (and indeed all things) are ensembles enfolded throughout the universe has an equally dazzling flip side. Just as every portion of a hologram contains the image of the whole, every portion of the universe enfolds the whole. This means that if we knew how to access it we could find the Andromeda Galaxy in the thumb nail of our left hand. We could also find Cleopatra meeting Caesar for the first time, for in principle the whole past and implications for the whole future are also enfolded in each small region of space and time. Every cell in our body enfolds the entire cosmos. So does every leaf, every raindrop, and every dust mote, which gives new meaning to William Blake’s famous poem:
To see a World in a Grain of sand
And a heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

Powerful stuff and raises the whole question of pre-destiny without even trying.

Grab a copy – it’s mind blowing stuff.

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Alternative health weight control

Goal Weights: What Are They and Why Do I Need One?

Your goal weight is the target you are aiming at. It is also, for about half of dieters, a place that is forever in the future. For those who keep up the struggle and achieve their goal weight, it is the point at which celebration takes place, and a return to normal eating, which very quickly puts that goal weight back in the past.

The goal weight is important. It lets you know where you are aiming and when you get there. These are good things. Using arrival at this goal as a signal to return to normal eating; that’s a bad thing.

The goal weight needs to be attainable and maintainable.

It also needs to be thought about, rather than a number you just pick out of the air.

I have had many clients sitting in my consulting room, carrying anything up to 7st (100lbs ish) excess weight, deciding that their goal weight is what they weighed at 16 when they were sylph-like and hadn’t yet discovered the joy of over-eating to solve a whole stack of emotional problems.

The goal weight needs to be realistic.

Targets that are attainable with just a little effort, create huge internal rewards. There is nothing like success at something that was at least a little challenging to make you feel really good about yourself. It also sets you up with an increased chance of success with the next target. So if you need to lose 7st (100lbs) then do it in 1st (14lb) steps. Or even 7lb steps.

The goal weight does not need to be your final weight.

The goal weight is really just a tool – something to help you get where you want to go. One of the big problems, if you are very overweight, is that the job of returning to a normal weight is really difficult. There is no other way of looking at it. It is no use kidding yourself it will be easy. You can’t undo years of food abuse in a couple of weeks. There isn’t a pill you can take that will let you off the personal responsibility hook.

Acknowledge that the weight is there because you eat too much and exercise too little.

It’s no big deal. But taking responsibility means you can own the results and the successes that will come your way. So think sensibly about the weight you are aiming for. Bear in mind also that this is just a number you are picking influenced by the weight of all the people around you who are a healthy weight. They are not you. It does not matter what other people weigh. What you probably want is to be a specific shape, or clothes size, (again influenced by the opinions of others) and are guessing the weight that matches that vision of the future you. That’s ok as long as you understand what you are doing.

But bear in mind that fat and muscle have different densities and you can be shapely with lots of muscle or blobby with lots of fat and be exactly the same weight. So choose your goal weight wisely.

If you need to lose a lot of weight then set an easily reached goal initially like 1st or maybe 10lbs to give yourself a taste of success. Learn to maintain that lighter weight for a couple of months before moving on to the next step of losing a little more. The key to successful weight loss is not losing the weight – it’s keeping it off.

If  you want to know a little more about how easy it is to keep that weight off once you have lost it then check out my book How to Lose Weight Easily and Free Yourself form Diets Forever.

Inspired by:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/how-to-pick-a-goal-weight/

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health self-help

Is ADHD Really Just A Problem With Food?

 

When my oldest daughter was around 5, we noticed that every now and again she would go totally crazy. I think the current term is hyper, I suspect that schizo is now politically incorrect. It was distressing to watch because she was totally out of control, over-excited, tons of energy, reason went out of the window, and it was impossible to control her. It would last an hour or two, then she would calm down and be perfectly normal.

Our first thought wasn’t “oh she’s sick better get her to the doctor”, it was more like “what can be causing this.”

I suspect, nowadays, a trip to the doctor’s would have resulted in a Ritalin prescription and the diagnosis of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyper-Activity Disorder) without a great deal of investigation.

Still we cared about what was happening to our daughter and so we watched and made connections and eventually realised that it was the green food colouring found in sweets and cakes that was causing the problem. No green food colouring, no problem. Eat something green and out-of-control.

I treated one 14 year old young man who had been diagnosed with ADHD and was taking medication – but it wasn’t enough. He was a very intelligent young man and I suspect this is quite often a factor in ADHD – boredom in school. His home life meant his parents had little time to give him the attention and love he craved, so he acted out because that brought him the attention and excitement he needed in his young life.

Peter Breggin MD writes about abandoning responsibility for our children in his book Toxic Psychiatry where he suggests that medication for ADHD is simply a substitute for the love and attention our children need.

A recent New York Times article suggests that around 1 in 10 school age children suffers from ADHD, and that 1 in 5 of 14-18 year old boys will also receive that diagnosis.

Just looking at the numbers, anyone with any sense would realise that this is not a mental health problem – it’s affecting just too many people. It must either be an environmental problem or misdiagnosis.

A Netherlands study reports that around 2 out of every 3 diagnosed cases of ADHD is actually food hypersensitivity – as it was in my daughter’s case.

The three main problem food areas are Dairy, Wheat, and Colourings/Additives.

So if your child is going a little crazy from time to time, do a little investigation yourself by eliminating food types from their diet and see if that makes any difference. If it doesn’t then spend a little more fun time with them and enjoy their presence in your life, rather than treat them as a nuisance getting in the way of what you would rather be doing. Once you get them started on medication they will probably be hooked for life. The side effects of these drugs long-term are an unknown and I suspect we will have a major epidemic of mental illness – because of drugs like Ritalin – in 20 or 30 years time.

Dangers associated with food dyes

Categories
Alternative health

You Can Heal Your Life

This is the title of a book written by Louise L Hay. Louise Hay is also the founder of Hay House; publisher of many famous self help authors like Wayne Dyer, Don Miguel Ruiz, Esther Hicks, and  Marianne Williamson.

Hay House is certainly the place to go for high quality Mind, Body, Spirit books. But I wanted to write a little about You Can Heal Your Life to follow on from yesterday’s blog post If the Mind Creates Illness, How Can We Use it to Create Wellness? This book has been around since 1984, but it is still completely relevant. It was written when the exploration of the Mind-Body connection was in its infancy and pioneered by just a few – people like Caroline Myss. My copy of You Can Heal Your Life is a beautifully illustrated gift edition full of colour and wonderful illustrations that provide a real lift to the spirit. It is cheering just to leaf through the pages.

At the beginning of the book Louise Hay lists several statements about her philosophy.

Two of special note are:

We create every so-called illness in our body.

Releasing resentment will dissolve even cancer.

One of my favourite parts of the book is the quick reference guide which consists of several pages of health problems and their likely causes. I find these disturbingly accurate and very helpful.

If you are interested in self-healing, and there is no suggestion here that you should do this instead of seeking medical advice, then this book is a must for your bookshelf. Louise Hay even healed herself from cancer using what she teaches in this book. She states ‘dis-ease can be healed, if we are willing to change the way we think and believe and act.’

This book is much more than just a list of physical problems and their possible causes it is a way to live. It is split into four parts. Part 1 is about Louise Hay’s beliefs about life and living. Part 2 is about how problems arise, how we resist change and what we need to do on a daily basis to ensure healthy living. Part 3 looks at those main areas of life that we pretty much all need to be working well in order to live happily: relationships, work, success, prosperity, and the body. It also includes that list of problems and solutions I mentioned earlier. Part 4 winds things up and Louise Hay writes about her own encounter with cancer and what she did to heal it.

If you know nothing, or very little, about self-healing then this book is the best place to start. It is easy to understand, well-written, and will leave you feeling as though you are back in control again.

It is also the start of a journey, a journey where you will never look back.

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Alternative health self-help

If the Mind Creates Illness, How Can We Use It To Create Wellness?

Let us assume, just for now, that the Body is the expression of the Mind. What I mean by this is that you need to pretend that your body reflects back to you what is going on in your mind. So, if there is an ache in your body then we must assume there is an ache in your mind. If there is a pain in your body then there is a pain in your mind. If there is irritation on your skin then there is irritation in your mind.

You get the idea.

Of course, you will be way ahead of me by now, looking within your own BodyMInd for those connections past and present to discover if what I say is true – but remember I said to pretend, just for now.

Naturally in your thoughts about this it will be obvious that serious disease processes in the body cannot escape from this allusion. So you would also have to pretend that problems like cancer, diabetes, asthma… all fall into this category. And then we step into that minefield of babies who are born sick, or develop life-threatening or debilitating diseases while they are very young. Then what about genetic problems like cystic fibrosis?

It gets very complicated very quickly.

Then there is another aspect too.

If your body’s ill-health is a reflection of your state of mind, then surely that means that all disease is self-inflicted?

Well that would be a yes too.

But there is a world of difference between deliberately causing something to be, with full awareness of the consequences, and innocently causing something to happen because you had no awareness of  the negative consequences 20 years later. No one in the process of dying from lung cancer would ever have lit up a cigarette 40 years earlier had they been fully aware of the anguish and agony they and their loved ones would eventually have to endure.

So yes, there are problems with this assumption, but let’s just keep it simple for now and pretend the assumption is true for minor illnesses and that it isn’t true for children at all.

Give yourself a quick body scan.

Is there any discomfort, irritation, ache, pain, anywhere in your body? If there isn’t then do this when there is.

Get a good sense of that area of your body. Feel into the discomfort fully. Move your mind, as best you can, into the space the discomfort occupies. Feel its boundaries and limitations. Then allow your mind to wander and feel your way to what these sensations remind you of. Say, for example, you have an itch – a skin irritation – who or what in your world causes you to prickle inside? Who do you want to scratch when you interact with them? Who makes you see red.

If you have a painful knee, then think about what it prevents you from doing that you don’t like.

Look for the connections between your discomfort and your world. See the similarities.

Remember we are pretending. This is just a game of the imagination to see if you can see connections and similarities. Don’t forget also to let your mind drift back into the past. Sometimes these things take a while to germinate. Have fun with this and don’t take it too seriously.

See what you come up with, maybe keep a notebook on you. One of the interesting things that happens with this game is that you may not be aware of a connection while you are deliberately looking for one, but that connection can pop into your mind at any time. A notebook is a handy way to make sure you don’t forget those fleeting connections.

Just collect the connections – no matter how crazy they may seem. Once you have a dozen or so, ponder on your records and see if you think this was just an interesting game or a new reality you have just entered.

If you would like to get a little deeper into this exploration and learn some techniques to actually change your body’s responses then check out my book Change Your Life with Self Hypnosis. In these pages I go into much more detail on this subject. In fact a large section of this book is dedicated to exploring the possibilities for using the Mind to Heal the Body.

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Weight Loss is Not the Same as Fat Loss

 

The real problem with losing weight in general, is that the focus is on totally the wrong thing. You don’t actually want to lose weight, what you want to lose is fat. When you lose fat the weight takes care of itself. It truly doesn’t matter what you weigh, as long as your mirror reflects back to you a body that pleases you.

When you focus on losing fat rather than weight, the waistline takes care of itself. If you build muscle at the same time, then body-shape moves towards what looks attractive all by itself. Your body knows how to look good. It just can’t manage it when you cover it in fat.

Does that mean throw away the scales?

No, the scales can be a useful tool as long as you remember what they are measuring – total body weight. Pound for pound, muscle takes up one-fifth less space than fat. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it makes a huge difference. Muscle tissue is also smoother and less ‘lumpy’ than fat so replacing fat with muscle gives the body a smoother look.

Businesses like Weight Watchers focus on reducing body weight by doing a weekly weigh-in. The start of a diet often produces a dramatic weight loss in the first week or two – this is hugely encouraging – and the likes of Weight Watchers use this to convince you that what they do works. In fact it is mostly water loss and that happens when you drastically reduce calorie intake, or change the kinds of food you eat. Of course once the water is gone, you suffer dehydration, drink more, and in subsequent weeks struggle to lose weight. But that early success has you hooked on that Weight Loss System and you are subtly encouraged to feel that your failure is actually all down to you – not the flawed Weight Loss System you are using.

Even if you are aware of the body fat problem and use a scale that measures body fat, you are likely to be misled. These scales work by measuring the electrical resistance of your body and using that information to carry out a body fat percentage calculation. The trouble is that electrical resistance is affected by the amount of water in your body and so as you lose a lot of water at the beginning of a diet you can be fooled into thinking that you have lost body fat.

We tend to believe numbers and electronic gizmos without question – especially when we have spent a lot of money on a hi-tec body fat measuring scale like the Tanita BC-587 that costs around £300. The truth is that these devices are wildly inaccurate and not worth spending your money on.

A much cheaper option to gauge body fat is the mirror you probably already have in your bedroom.

 

Normal body fat percentages for women

Body Builder 8-9%

Female Athlete 18-20%

Normal 25% – 30%

Obese 30%+


Normal body fat percentages for men

Body Builder 3-4%

Male Athlete 10%

Normal 18% – 25%

Obese 25%+

 

How you look is a pretty good guide and once you are over the 30% it’s going to be hard, but worthwhile, work to get that number down.

Still it’s nice to have some numbers and to keep a record so that when you feel the urge to eat there is something to look at to keep you motivated.

One the cheapest solutions for measuring body fat is a set of body fat callipers like the Accu Measure which is only around a fiver (plus postage). With these you grab a lump of skin around your hips and use this simple piece of equipment to measure the thickness of the skin fold. This then allows you to calculate your body fat percentage. Or if that is too complicated just use it to keep track of the skin thickness measurement and watch it shrink as you lose fat.

Measuring skin fat, and focusing on building muscle, as you lose weight guarantees that the weight lost is fat and not muscle. So you get a much greater reward for your efforts at changing your eating habits.

And if you want an easy way to change those eating habits for good then check out my book How to Lose Weight Easily and Free Yourself from Diets Forever which sets out 10 easy steps to set you on the right track to permanent weight loss without any food restrictions. If you are curious about how you can eat what you want and still lose weight then check it out.

For an in-depth look at this subject:

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/02/body-fat-percentage/

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Bruce Lipton – The Biology of Belief

 

Bruce Lipton’s book The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter,& Miracles is one of the most powerful books I’ve read in a long time. It will shift your thoughts about what is possible with regard to your thoughts, disease, illness, and aging.

The video is quite long (roughly 1hr 10mins) so watch it when you can relax and enjoy it without needing to keep an eye on the clock.

Hope you like it.

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Green Mental Health: An Alternative to Toxic Psychiatric Drugs

Genita Petralli, Nutritional Biochemist talks about alternatives to toxic psychiatric drugs. Genita suggests that challenges, such as depression and anxiety, are caused by environmental toxins and so adding more toxins in the form of drugs simply makes things worse.

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Peter Breggin M.D. on the Dangerous Effects of Psychiatric Drugs.

 

Rebel psychiatrist Peter Breggin, author of Toxic Psychiatry,  talks to Michael Savage about suicide and the dangerous effects of commonly prescribed psychiatric drugs.

I highly recommend that you get hold of a copy of Toxic Psychiatry – especially if you know, or have, hyperactive children on prescription drugs, or friends/relatives who are depressed and being pressured by their physician to undergo ECT.