Stress and the Mayan Calendar

Because the Mayan Calendar ends in 2012, many fear that this may also mark the end of the world. There have been many ways  to approach the study of the Mayan Calendar. We are most interested in the calendar as a recording of the cycles of human development and of the evolution of mind and consciousness. This calendar identifies nine great cycles encompassing millions of years, with 13 sub-cycles in each of the nine.

Of interest here is the fact that about 300 years ago, the study of spirit and mind were separated in order to create a quantifiable study of the mind in the realm of “pure science”.  Prior to this, psyche was identified and understood as the inseparable mind/spirit. This occurred during the Mayan cycle which viewed everything in terms of duality. Most human beings living today have known only this pervasive duality consciousness.

This split between mind and spirit underlies the limited success in clinical results in the field of mental health. It also contributes to the difficulties we have and are experiencing as we’ve moved into new Mayan cycles of intuition, telepathy, and wholeness.

The hippie movement of the 60’s and 70’s reflected dissatisfaction with consumerism, image based lifestyles, and conformity.It also expressed a desire for spiritual enlightenment, love and peace. It was brought forth from the energies of a consciousness rapidly evolving toward the completion of the cycles in 2012.

The term “stress” was first used in 1946 to show that psychological reactions can cause illness in the body. Carl Johan Calleman, author of The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness, says “Stress is a product of the modern mind and reflects the confusing influences on the individual of two different frames of consciousness linked to two different Underworlds (major cycles).”

He points out that when high high-frequency spiritual pulses of light started to be transmitted to the right-brain hemisphere as early as 1947 and more significantly in 1999, the influence of these pulses created a conflict between the rapidly developing higher consciousness and today’s dominant materialistic social values, resulting in significant stress and burnout.

Calleman adds, “The body seems to be telling the individual that it is not being aligned with the divine plan and refuses to go on. Those afflicted are not the lazy, but rather the compassionate – individuals who cannot shield themselves from the high-frequency pulses of the new (cycle)” He also indicates that stress and burnout may be a wake-up call that can lead to greater awareness and expansion of consciousness.

Our study of innate Brilliance has created a new mindset for these unique times. We understand Brilliance to be that innate part of ourselves that has access to all we need to know. It is our link to the Universe and our higher state of mind. When we access our Brilliance we move past conditioned thinking and old patterns of awareness and we move into all of the awaiting possibilities and potentials of our human beingness. Learning to live from our Brilliance keeps us aligned with the Now energies of creation and allows us to flow with universal oneness regardless what cycles are ending or beginning.

Learn more about utilizing our Brilliance Formula in our book, Activate Your Brilliance: 12 Keys to the Art of Living Happy.

The Age of Aquarius and the Evolution of Mind

As children of the 60’s we have been revisiting this fabulous song, “Aquarius”, and it’s applications for today.

Check out these lyrics:

Age of Aquarius

When the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars,

Then peace will guide the planets and love will steer the stars.

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, Age of Aquarius,

Aquarius, Aquarius.

Harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding.

No more falsehoods or derisions, golden living dreams of visions.

Mystic crystal revelations and the mind’s true liberation.

Aquarius, Aquarius.

These words portray a new world of peace and love. There is a connection between this song and what is happening today.

Here’s what Allison Rae, Master Astrologist says:

“Astrologically, 2010 is the most volatile year of the 2012 transition, and the energies reach a climax in the first three weeks of August.  The celestial energies have been ramping up steadily since the March Equinox and reach a crescendo during the first three weeks of August.

Outer planets Pluto, Saturn, Uranus and Jupiter are joined by Mars and Venus in hot configurations over the next several weeks. The planets aren’t just making hard aspects to each other. Saturn, Mars and Venus align with the orbital center of the cluster of galaxies that includes our Milky Way. The energy of the cosmos fuels the ongoing outer-planet t-square, the Grand Cross….

All heaven is breaking loose, and the effects will be felt for a long time to come.”

Everyone we know is reporting extra sensitivity, big endings in many life areas, and a sense of new beginnings. There is a great clearing-out going on. On a global scale this pattern of dramatic change is also occurring.

Since the 60’s we’ve had a yearning for this promised time of peace and love. However, we didn’t expect to see the chaos that absorbs media attention today. Looking farther we find many signs of hope and love. People of all ages are finding ways to make a difference in their communities and the world.

All year, the equinox, the solstice, eclipses of sun and moon and planetary alignments are bringing ever expanding energies to earth and all of us. People with open hearts are coming together in unprecedented numbers to shine light into the world and the hearts of all.

It is their Brilliance that lights people up. This Brilliance also allows us to remain steady in our love and peace in the midst of chaos. What appears to be chaos is the breaking up and letting go of old habits of mind. Moving into Brilliance rather than being immersed in old habits and patterns of thinking is the evolution of mind that is creating a new world.

Welcome to the Age of Aquarius.

Zachary Bonner: Brilliance In a 12-Year Old

Zachary is on his third fund-raising trek, this time walking from his home near Tampa, FL to the Pacific Ocean, for a total of 2,478 miles. His purpose is to raise money for homeless kids. He founded the Little Red Wagon Foundation when he was six years old; his project at that time was getting water to people after Hurricane Charley hit Florida in 2004.

Zachary Bonner

The Little Red Wagon Foundation has provided school supplies, food, clothing and toys to homeless children. His efforts have raised over $50,000 in years past and he has received pledges of about $120,000 from sponsors this year, including $50,000 from Elton John, when Zachary reaches Los Angeles.

Zachary said “I feel we should meet their basic needs but take it a step further and meet their kid needs. I feel it’s important for everyone to have the opportunity to just be a kid.” Ironically this wisdom comes from the mouth of a 12-year old little boy who studies at home so that he can finish his school requirements quickly to give more time to his charity work.

What is it that gives Zachary his motivation, his wisdom and the heart to do this work? It has to be something deep inside that inspires him to greatness. We believe that Zachary’s work comes from his innate Brilliance, that conscious and creative energy than enlivens all of us. His special expression of Brilliance is remarkable and reminds and inspires us to live full out from our unique Brilliance.

How do we touch base with our Brilliance? Laurie Bonner, Zachary’s Mother, gives us a clue. In a conversation, she shared: “I have parents that ask me all the time: How do you get them involved?” She continued: “I don’t think you can. Unless the kid loves that thing they are doing, there is no way. I used to think it would end; but now I think maybe this is what he’s supposed to do.”

If we follow our hearts, and find what we love doing, we can be sure that we are acting from our Brilliance and contributing to make a better world. This is what most of us are looking for, our purpose, what brings meaning to our lives. Along the way, Brilliance inspires others to do the same. As the old song lyric says, What the world needs now, is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of. Let your Brilliance lead you to what you love, and watch what happens.

Quotes from Star Tribune, “Big Heart, Little Boy” 8-1-10

Zach’s website: http://littleredwagonfoundation.com/ and

Utube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHx2IJ-xGVw&feature=player_embedded

Wikileak: A Wake Up Call

Wikileak’s release of classified documents on the Afghanistan war has ignited new conversation about the potential for any chance of a successful outcome. Is it possible to assist the Afghanis to create a democracy? Do they want a democracy? Is it possible to subdue Al-Qaeda? Is it worth the financial costs, loss of life, and corrupted values?

Wake-Up Call

Or, is this another in a succession of Wake-up calls? We have been lulled into accepting the unacceptable. We are so caught up in maintaining our daily lives and the status quo that we aren’t responding to the signals around us. We are conditioned to tolerate excessive violence in video games, TV shows and movies. In war, civilian casualties are seldom recognized and become collateral damage. Using drone warfare and other long distance weaponry may save our soldiers but doesn’t save our souls as it disconnects us from the damage done to innocents. Daily the media are showing us current events that are meant to wake us up.

We are able to sleep at night as 12.4 million children go to bed hungry in the United States. There is enough food available on this planet to easily feed everyone but it is kept from those who need it until the price is right or it rots in warehouses. We are asleep: to the potential for alternative clean energy while we live with pollution, to the impact of outsourcing jobs to other countries, leaving many of us without work or income, and to a news media that promotes propaganda as fact. We could go on and on. What keeps us from seeing what is right in front of us and taking action to stop it?

We are lulled into inaction for many reasons, all of which relate to our habits of thinking. Are there any good reasons why we should tolerate hunger, warfare, pollution, child labor, a failing economy, and living in a Corporatocracy? Are you thinking: It’s always been that way; I can’t do anything to change it; There have always been poor people; or, That’s just the way it is? We cannot afford to indulge those thoughts if we wish to live in a better world. Are we letting the fear mongers rule – from Birther theories to Billion dollar military budgets?

A wake up call is any opportunity to rise above our conditioning and to see that all problems have solutions for the good of the whole. A wake up call is a call for action.  This action has to come from our highest values and visions to serve the higher good.

Learning to access Natural Brilliance is the first step to acting for the higher good. Our Brilliance Formula is the blueprint for living and creating our lives and our world from the highest. To resolve the problems in front of us we must learn to act from our Brilliance. When we wake up, we can create a New World.

Apology to Shirley Sharrod

All for One and One for All

Imagine finding yourself in the situation Shirley Sharrod has experienced in the last few days. A highly edited video portrayal left her reputation in tatters. Then insufficient investigation and blatant assumptions resulted in her losing her job. In the mix it appears that distorted mindsets put this in motion to meet personal agendas.

• It seems that the blogger who cooked the video was deliberately intending to undermine the NAACP and the current administration and claim some fame at the expense of Ms. Sherrod.
• Fox News then grabbed the video and used it to attack both her and the administration.
• It seems that her employer also jumped to conclusions in a context of fear over past racial discrimination in his department and fired Ms. Sherrod.

This story appears to be the norm rather than the exception. We are living in a world of distorted beliefs and thoughts that are contributing to fear, conflict, and destruction on a personal and global level.

Here are some other examples:

• There was the BP employee who reported problems with the Gulf oil well which were ignored by his supervisor resulting in a disaster of untold proportions.
• For the past month there has been a supreme effort in Congress to block the passage of an extension of unemployment benefits for millions who have been out of work for months, even years, as a result of our economic crisis. These workers were portrayed by some members of Congress as lazy and unwilling to get a job.
• Then the latest discussions on the news of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan indicate that we will need to be there for many more years.

Are we living in an insane world? Perhaps we are, and it’s our thinking that is creating the chaos around us.

• Our conditioned beliefs, our thoughts, that it is our right to put our agendas above the good of the whole lead to permission to deliberately distort the truth and cause harm to others.
• Our beliefs that safety is less important than bottom line profits opens the door to negligence and resulting catastrophe.
• Our greedy thoughts that we can have everything our way regardless of the needs of others, leads to extreme imbalance in personal, national and international relationships.

When is this going to stop? If you have ever felt alone, victimized, cheated, wounded, or hopeless, you have experienced the insanity resulting from dysfunctional habits of thinking. Each of us has the power to stop this insanity.

• When we clear our distorted habits of thinking and focus on thoughts that bring us peace, joy, and harmony we will create the new world.
• When we take the time to tune into other perspectives, to see the value and strengths in everyone, we will increase the quality of our lives.

So, Shirley, we apologize. We admire your dignity and honesty. And, we will work to build a consciousness of Brilliance in our communities so that all can benefit and live together harmoniously.

Back to Brilliance ©2010

Feelings Tell All

If you are feeling a zest for living and enjoy physical health, you need only check in when your appetite for life diminishes. You will likely find a temporary thought that has caused your low mood and low energy.

If you experience tension headaches, racing thoughts, are forgetful, or have cloudy thinking, it’s

Feeling down?

time to take a closer look at your micro-mirror to determine what is creating those experiences and stress in your life. Short of a medical condition, these are not common or normal and no one needs to believe that they simply have to accept these symptoms or that they will somehow miraculously disappear.

It is up to us to discover the cause and shift our thinking, filtering out the old patterns of thought that aren’t creating the health and happiness we all desire. Is it really that simple, just shifting our thoughts to eliminate our stress? Yes!

When you understand how we create what we pay attention to, the choice is clear. We can focus on solutions, not problems, and move out of the line of fire. Stress isn’t an option when our minds focus on our Brilliance, our unlimited inner resources, and our zest for living life full-out.

Letting Go of Judgments

Have you noticed that communities come in many forms? A community could be as simple as going to a baseball game and rooting for the Twins instead of the Red Sox.  We feel an immediate sense of shared purpose and get caught up in the emotional ups (or downs) of our team.

A community might involve coaching Little League or soccer, or supporting the kids at a game, with your presence or by selling raffle tickets or baking cakes for a fund raiser. We actually get to know the people in this small community and feel a personal sense of belonging over the season.

What about our family community? Do you have one of “those” families where everyone is spreading the latest gossip; or do you have one of those “other” families that work to support everyone through their latest hardships or greatest accomplishments? Either type of family community allows us to really get to know each other, like it or not.

Most community members have a habit of making judgments about others, those we know well and those we don’t really know at all. It may be that we have a set of categories that people fall into. Or we see certain characteristics in others that are different from us and so we create stories about them.  Some may be “big” talkers so we identify them as pushy. Others may dress down and we assume they lack manners and social savvy.

Whenever we find ourselves having such thoughts we need to remember that our judgments speak more about us than about others. It is our perception of the world, of how things should be, that separate us from others. When we do this we miss out on all of the gifts those “others” are bringing to us. When we cannot accept others, it is a reflection of something in ourselves, something that we are not accepting, something we fear or perhaps doubt about our adequacy.

In reality, judgments are simply opportunities for us to grow. When we are making judgments there is a “distress” within that we often project onto those we judged. We can use these feelings to recognize that we have slipped into a judgmental habit. This recognition can give us pause to let go of our limiting beliefs and ideas that separate us from those around us. The easiest way to stop judging others is to stop judging ourselves. We can do this when we learn to see the natural Brilliance in ourselves, and in others.

In today’s world, it will take all of us to make it a better place, to right the wrongs, and to bring more love and healing to its problems and injustice. The more we’re able to drop our judgments, the closer we are to building a community that can thrive and bring out the best in all. In these communities we will begin to see others through new eyes and appreciate them, and ourselves, in the process.  Letting go of negative judgments allows us to build positive and sustaining communities.

The Problem with “Problems”

We are conditioned to find answers and solve problems in all of our life experiences. If we are good at solving problems, it is likely we will attract more of them so we can affirm being successful in finding their solutions. We have adopted, as part of our identity, this success in solving problems. Eckhart Tolle spoke about problems (in Practicing the Power of Now) when he said the following:

“All problems are illusions of the mind. The mind unconsciously loves problems because they give you an identity of sorts. This is normal and it is insane. Focus your attention on the Now and tell me what problem you have at this moment. I am not getting any answer because it is impossible to have a problem when your attention is fully in the Now. A situation needs to be either dealt with or accepted. Why make it into a problem?” (Eckhart Tolle. Practicing the Power of Now. p.41)

Knowing the potential and the power of living in the present moment, we have a choice: We can express brilliance in the world or continue solving problems. Taking time to experience the simple joys of the present moment makes us aware that we are capable of experiencing authentic joy, trust, and happiness, not simply solving, or making, more problems.

Present Moment

We’ve usually activated our old patterns from the past because we didn’t know we had a choice. We didn’t know thoughts are just thoughts. We didn’t know we could choose which thoughts to pay attention to. We didn’t understand that our feelings follow our thoughts and that they can be a guide to shift us away from thoughts that make us unhappy to thoughts that make us happy.

Humans are creative beings. Regardless of whether we are focused in our thought systems or our natural brilliance, we are creating every minute of every day. When we get lost in our thoughts, we are still creating—we are creating what we have our attention on. Isn’t it interesting that if we focus on how careless, irresponsible, and messy a family member is, that individual’s messy, careless, and irresponsible behavior appears to get bigger? That person may go into someone else’s house and be neat and clean and responsible. However, when he is around us, he lives up to our expectation and the viewpoint from which we see him.

We can create our lives consciously or unconsciously. When we are unconscious, our habits of thinking continue to reappear as we have experienced the world. We keep bringing the past into the present. When we consciously envision who we want to be and what we want to do (our future), we create a new experience of life. Unconsciousness brings frustration, and consciousness brings freedom.

When living from our Brilliance we are proactive, seeing the best in all and understanding that we all are doing the best we can. We are seeing ourselves and others in the moment and not reacting out of our past beliefs. Living in the present allows us to experience the quiet calm that exists in the eye of a hurricane. No matter what is going on around us, we can center in the moment, in our brilliance, to weather the storm.

When we understand that we can live and express our natural brilliance, we are free, free from the past, free from the problems of the past, and free to create a life that comes from our innate wisdom. In this moment, in any moment, we can choose to let the past be the past.

©2007, Back to Brilliance, Excerpt from Activate Your Brilliance

Has Thinking About Taxes Stressed You Out?

We have again reached the tax deadline date of April 15. Guess what!  “Taxes” are just a thought, unless of course, you have to write a check to mail before midnight.

We’re here to tell you that thoughts are really just thoughts. The thoughts we choose to pay attention to become energized and real in our lives.  Why think “taxes” when you could be thinking “tax return”?

If you want to re-tune your thinking a little, read our tips on thinking listed below. They will help you re-focus on the reality you truly want to create.

1. Become Aware if the thoughts you think.
2. Choose the thoughts you pay attention to.
3. Realize that thoughts come before feelings.
4. Remind yourself that thoughts are just thoughts.
5. Use your brilliance to open the door to possibility.
6. Eliminate thought attacks.
7. Ask yourself, “What Was I thinking?”
8. Connect with your Brilliance, your self-esteem.
9. Recognize that thoughts become things.
10. Create the life you really want.

How Brilliance Stops Stress

When we experience the feelings of stress, we can slow down and shift to the wealth of Brilliance that our mind can access. Brilliant thoughts attract more of the same and our view of the world changes in a minute. In the case of a lost sale that occurs, our first thought is likely to be the same:

• “I was counting on that sale and it just fell through; I can’t believe it!”
• In our brilliant mind, our next thought might be “I think I’ll call and get the details of why this happened.”
• A few minutes later after that call you might think, “There is a real problem in production and layoffs ahead.”

A nano-second later other inspired thoughts might occur:

• “Who is their competition – I’ll get on the phone with them”, or “My brother-in-law specializes in business consultation and I’ll let him know that he might be able to help them.” 
• Not long after that, you are relaxed and refocused: “My next sale is coming soon. I have five good prospects I can move ahead with.”

Each thought we have attracts more of the same; it’s like you are putting your order out to the Universe and it sends back more of what you have put attention on. If you shift your thinking and start focusing on what it is that you truly want, then you will begin to experience more of that in your life. We know it sounds simplistic, but when you work with this, you will find the truth hidden within it.  By letting go of those thought attacks we gain the time and energy to move in the direction we really want to go.

Our thoughts are the foundation for how we experience our lives. Once we know how thoughts create our lives, it is easier to understand how thoughts create our stress. If given full control, our computer mind will keep repeating the past and projecting into the future. This pattern does not assist us to manage today’s demands and pressures with confidence and ease.

It is essential that we learn to access our core of Brilliance, through our transmitter mind, so that we can find new answers, build supportive and loving relationships, and let go of the past beliefs and patterns that limit or suppress our real and authentic capacities. Isn’t it true that we all want happiness, satisfaction, and a sense of being fully alive in a world where all are held in respect? It is equally as true that our thoughts will either create stressful lives or create stress-free lives in which we are able to contribute our best to the tasks, desires and dreams we hold dear.

Excerpt from Stop Stress Guide, Back to Brilliance © 2009