This is the Manual for Teachers of A Course In Miracles Series. Readings: MANUAL: What Are The Characteristics Of God's Teachers? [para 1-3], MANUAL: What Are The Characteristics Of God's Teachers?: TRUST: [para 1-2], MANUAL: What Are The Characteristi...
Tag: tolerance (page 1 of 2)
By Mercedes Kirkel My mother is in the hospital and seems like she may be dying. Like many elderly people who seem to be approaching death, her process has been up and down, and none of us really know if this will be “it.” The sense I have is that she’s hovering between the worlds. […]
Marco Torres, Prevent DiseaseHundreds of millions of people indulge in one of the most dangerous drugs which is sold right over the counter. When it comes to harm done to other people and the users themselves, not heroin, crack cocaine, methamphetamines, marijuana or even tobacco come close to the health and safety hazards caused by this one depressant.Drug harms fall into two broad categories: those that affect you, and those that affect others. The personal ones include death, heal [...]
Excerpt from huffingtonpost.com When I was in kindergarten, a boy in my class tossed my favorite book over our elementary school fence. I remember crying profusely, not because I was sad to see it go, but because I was so furious that he was s...
Excerpt from independent.co.uk
By Jordan Gaines Lewis
In neuroscience, food is something we call a “natural reward.” In order for us to survive as a species, things like eating, having sex and nurturing others must be pleasurable to the brain so that these behaviours are reinforced and repeated.
Evolution has resulted in the mesolimbic pathway, a brain system that deciphers these natural rewards for us. When we do something pleasurable, a bundle of neurons called the ventral tegmental area uses the neurotransmitter dopamine to signal to a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. The connection between the nucleus accumbens and our prefrontal cortex dictates our motor movement, such as deciding whether or not to taking another bite of that delicious chocolate cake. The prefrontal cortex also activates hormones that tell our body: “Hey, this cake is really good. And I’m going to remember that for the future.”Not all foods are equally rewarding, of course. Most of us prefer sweets over sour and bitter foods because, evolutionarily, our mesolimbic pathway reinforces that sweet things provide a healthy source of carbohydrates for our bodies. When our ancestors went scavenging for berries, for example, sour meant “not yet ripe,” while bitter meant “alert – poison!”
Fruit is one thing, but modern diets have taken on a life of their own. A decade ago, it was estimated that the average American consumed 22 teaspoons of added sugar per day, amounting to an extra 350 calories; it may well have risen since then. A few months ago, one expert suggested that the average Briton consumes 238 teaspoons of sugar each week.
Today, with convenience more important than ever in our food selections, it’s almost impossible to come across processed and prepared foods that don’t have added sugars for flavour, preservation, or both.
These added sugars are sneaky – and unbeknown to many of us, we’ve become hooked. In ways that drugs of abuse – such as nicotine, cocaine and heroin – hijack the brain’s reward pathway and make users dependent, increasing neuro-chemical and behavioural evidence suggests that sugar is addictive in the same way, too.
Sugar addiction is real
Anyone who knows me also knows that I have a huge sweet tooth. I always have. My friend and fellow graduate student Andrew is equally afflicted, and living in Hershey, Pennsylvania – the “Chocolate Capital of the World” – doesn’t help either of us. But Andrew is braver than I am. Last year, he gave up sweets for Lent. “The first few days are a little rough,” Andrew told me. “It almost feels like you’re detoxing from drugs. I found myself eating a lot of carbs to compensate for the lack of sugar.”There are four major components of addiction: bingeing, withdrawal, craving, and cross-sensitisation (the notion that one addictive substance predisposes someone to becoming addicted to another). All of these components have been observed in animal models of addiction – for sugar, as well as drugs of abuse.
A typical experiment goes like this: rats are deprived of food for 12 hours each day, then given 12 hours of access to a sugary solution and regular chow. After a month of following this daily pattern, rats display behaviours similar to those on drugs of abuse. They’ll binge on the sugar solution in a short period of time, much more than their regular food. They also show signs of anxiety and depression during the food deprivation period. Many sugar-treated rats who are later exposed to drugs, such as cocaine and opiates, demonstrate dependent behaviours towards the drugs compared to rats who did not consume sugar beforehand.
Like drugs, sugar spikes dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Over the long term, regular sugar consumption actually changes the gene expression and availability of dopamine receptors in both the midbrain and frontal cortex. Specifically, sugar increases the concentration of a type of excitatory receptor called D1, but decreases another receptor type called D2, which is inhibitory. Regular sugar consumption also inhibits the action of the dopamine transporter, a protein which pumps dopamine out of the synapse and back into the neuron after firing.
In short, this means that repeated access to sugar over time leads to prolonged dopamine signalling, greater excitation of the brain’s reward pathways and a need for even more sugar to activate all of the midbrain dopamine receptors like before. The brain becomes tolerant to sugar – and more is needed to attain the same “sugar high.”
Sugar withdrawal is also real
Although these studies were conducted in rodents, it’s not far-fetched to say that the same primitive processes are occurring in the human brain, too. “The cravings never stopped, [but that was] probably psychological,” Andrew told me. “But it got easier after the first week or so.”In a 2002 study by Carlo Colantuoni and colleagues of Princeton University, rats who had undergone a typical sugar dependence protocol then underwent “sugar withdrawal.” This was facilitated by either food deprivation or treatment with naloxone, a drug used for treating opiate addiction which binds to receptors in the brain’s reward system. Both withdrawal methods led to physical problems, including teeth chattering, paw tremors, and head shaking. Naloxone treatment also appeared to make the rats more anxious, as they spent less time on an elevated apparatus that lacked walls on either side.
Similar withdrawal experiments by others also report behaviour similar to depression in tasks such as the forced swim test. Rats in sugar withdrawal are more likely to show passive behaviours (like floating) than active behaviours (like trying to escape) when placed in water, suggesting feelings of helplessness.
A new study published by Victor Mangabeira and colleagues in this month’s Physiology & Behavior reports that sugar withdrawal is also linked to impulsive behaviour. Initially, rats were trained to receive water by pushing a lever. After training, the animals returned to their home cages and had access to a sugar solution and water, or just water alone. After 30 days, when rats were again given the opportunity to press a lever for water, those who had become dependent on sugar pressed the lever significantly more times than control animals, suggesting impulsive behaviour.
These are extreme experiments, of course. We humans aren’t depriving ourselves of food for 12 hours and then allowing ourselves to binge on soda and doughnuts at the end of the day. But these rodent studies certainly give us insight into the neuro-chemical underpinnings of sugar dependence, withdrawal, and behaviour.
Through decades of diet programmes and best-selling books, we’ve toyed with the notion of “sugar addiction” for a long time. There are accounts of those in “sugar withdrawal” describing food cravings, which can trigger relapse and impulsive eating. There are also countless articles and books about the boundless energy and new-found happiness in those who have sworn off sugar for good. But despite the ubiquity of sugar in our diets, the notion of sugar addiction is still a rather taboo topic.
Are you still motivated to give up sugar? You might wonder how long it will take until you’re free of cravings and side-effects, but there’s no answer – everyone is different and no human studies have been done on this. But after 40 days, it’s clear that Andrew had overcome the worst, likely even reversing some of his altered dopamine signalling. “I remember eating my first sweet and thinking it was too sweet,” he said. “I had to rebuild my tolerance.”
And as regulars of a local bakery in Hershey – I can assure you, readers, that he has done just that.
Jordan Gaines Lewis is a Neuroscience Doctoral Candidate at Penn State College of Medicine
by Zen GardnerWe’re undergoing an amazing transformation. Absolutely diametrically opposed to the constant, gradual attempt by elitists to shut down humanity via eons of engineered subjugation, we’re being consciously and vibrationally liberated by the very nature of the Universe in spite of all their efforts.It’s not readily apparent to most, but it’s very clearly there.It’s subtle and yet obvious at the same time. Knowledge of this change or shift in conscio [...]
My dear friends...
I hope and trust that your life has
been wonderful this week. Let me say that the important thing is to be
friends.
Be friends with everybody.
Be friends with
your spouse. Be friends with your children. Be friends with your
relatives. Be friends with your neighbors and your fellow workers and
your acquaintances. And yes, even be friends with your enemies.
Just...be friends.
I never, ever forgot that. Because I knew it was true. It is absolutely, stunningly true that I had more tolerance for, more patience with, more leniency regarding my friends' behaviors than I did with the person with whom I was sharing my life.
I said things to my life partner that I would never say to a friend. I criticized my life partner for things that I would simply "let go" with a friend. I noticed things with my life partner that I would overlook with a friend. And I let things bother me---annoy me, actually---that my life partner did that wouldn't even phase me if a friend did the exact same thing.
What is this about? I began to wonder. Why do we so often treat those closest to us as if they were not "close" to us at all? Is it because we know them better than we know our friends, spending more time with them day in and day out as we do? Could it really be true that "familiarity breeds contempt"?
No, no...say it isn't so! Shouldn't familiarity breed compassion, understanding, patience, tolerance, acceptance, and deeper and deeper love? Shouldn't intimate relationship be the place of greatest safety, not of the least?
When I was a small child (which was very, very long ago) there was a song that was popular. Even then it was an Oldie But Goodie, and we had an old phonograph record of it sung by the Mills Brothers that I used to play on the family Victrola (Ha! Does anyone even know who or what I am talking about here---???)
The song was called, You Always Hurt the One You Love. And the lyrics went something like this...if I can remember them now...
You always hurt the one you love
The one you shouldn't hurt at all
You always take the sweetest rose
And crush it `til the petals fall
You always break the kindest heart
With a hasty word you can't recall
So if I broke your heart last night
It's because I love you most of all.
The irony of that song sticks with me to this very day. I have come to deeply regret (and to beg them and the heavens forgiveness for) the many ways that I have treated beloved others who have been close to me, and to realize that one of the greatest gifts we can give to a loved one is friendship. Pure and simple friendship. Just treat them like a Friend. Like we would treat someone we are afraid of losing.
So yes, be friends with your spouse. Be friends with your children. Be friends with your relatives. Be friends with your neighbors and your fellow workers and your acquaintances. And yes, even be friends with your enemies. And most of all...be friends with yourself!
That may be the hardest thing to do of all. And so we'll take a close look at that next week.
Love and Hugs,
Neale. © 2009 ReCreation Foundation - http://www.cwg.org - Neale Donald Walsch is a modern day spiritual messenger whose words continue to touch the world in profound ways. His With God series of books has been translated into 27 languages, touching millions of lives and inspiring important changes in their day-to-day lives.
Humanity is experiencing a quantum shift this year in every
facet of our lives. The end result of this acceleration of energy,
vibration, and consciousness will be an extremely positive event for
everyone. Unfortunately, due to the challenges surfacing in people’s
lives to be healed, many do not realize the opportunity at hand. Instead
of empowering their hopes and dreams during this unique opportunity,
people are being overwhelmed with fear and feelings of helplessness. For
this reason, the Company of Heaven is asking Lightworkers around the
world to redouble our efforts. We are One, and we have the ability to
serve as surrogates on behalf of our sisters and brothers in the Family
of Humanity. We are being called to action! The time for us to accept
the responsibility of being our sister’s and brother’s keepers is NOW!
At this very moment, our I AM Presences are increasing the frequency of vibration within our physical, etheric, mental, and emotional bodies the maximum we can endure in every 24-hour period. This may feel a little bit stressful, but it is enabling us to receive higher frequencies of Light than we have ever experienced. Remember, Light is infinitely more powerful than the fragmented, fear-based mis-creations of our human egos which are surfacing to be healed. The more Light we can project into this surfacing negativity the faster it will be transmuted, and the sooner the patterns of perfection for the New Earth will tangibly manifest in our lives.
The year 2010 is being heralded as the Year of Manifestation by the Legions of Light serving this planet. After decades of tenacious work by millions of Lightworkers in every conceivable location on Earth, we have reached a critical mass, a tipping point, that will allow the patterns of perfection for the New Earth to begin physically manifesting. Pay attention to the positive things that are being brought to your awareness and you will confirm this for yourself. Do not focus on the bombardment of negativity that is designed to polarize people and to perpetuate fear and separation. Focus instead on the evidence of positive changes that are happening everywhere. Where your attention is, there you are. Empower only what you want to co-create in your life not the things that you do not want.
Here are some powerful invocations that have been given to Humanity by the Beings of Light in the Realms of Illumined Truth. When we say these invocations with deep feeling, we join in consciousness with thousands of Lightworkers around the world who are also saying these invocations. Together we create a tremendous Chalice of Light through which the Light of God will flow to heal the maladies manifesting in our individual and our collective lives. This will clear the way for the manifestation of our hopes, our dreams, and the patterns of perfection for the New Earth.
Invoking The Violet Flame
Through the Beloved Presence of God, I AM, now
blazing in my heart, I invoke ALL of the Legions of Light throughout
infinity who are associated with the 5th-Dimensional frequencies of the
Violet Flame.
On behalf of myself and ALL Humanity, I AM now
blazing the 5th-Dimensional frequencies of the Violet Flame through
every atomic and subatomic particle and wave of Life on Earth that is
vibrating at a frequency less than the harmony and balance of God.
Beloved I AM, look into my life and the lives of ALL Humanity and see
what yet remains to be balanced by us to any person, place, condition or
thing we may have wronged at any time, in any way, for any reason.
Reach your great loving hands of Light into all of the positively
qualified energy we have released throughout our Earthly sojourns, and
draw forth a thousand times as much perfection as we have ever done
wrong.
Fashion from this substance of perfection a Gift of
Love, whatever is necessary to balance every debt we have created which
still remains unpaid to any part of Life.
Beloved I AM, I
ask you to forgive every person, place, condition or thing which may
have wronged us in any way, and balance all debts owed to us by Life
everywhere.
I accept this done through the Power of God I AM.
And so it is.
I AM CO-CREATING THE NEW EARTH
Through
the Divinity pulsating in my heart, I consecrate my life now to the
reestablishment of my Covenant with God. I clearly know and understand
with my new level of Divine Consciousness, that whatever I AM thinking,
feeling, saying, or doing I AM empowering, cocreating, and magnetizing
into my life.
From this moment forth, I dedicate my thoughts,
words, actions, and feelings to empowering and cocreating the patterns
of perfection for the New Earth. I begin with me, but I know that
simultaneously I AM a surrogate serving on behalf of ALL Humanity, for
we are all One. As I AM lifted up, all life is lifted up with me.
I invoke the entire Company of Heaven to come forth now. Blessed Ones,
please assist me in this holy endeavor, and empower these activities of
Light a thousand times a thousandfold.
Beloved Father-Mother
God, I AM my I AM Presence, and I AM enveloped in the invincible
protection of God’s Light and Divine Love as I sojourn through my
Earthly experiences.
I AM manifesting perfection in my
physical, etheric, mental, and emotional bodies.
I AM
co-creating loving relationships in my life.
I AM fulfilling
my Divine Purpose and reason for being, and I AM financially and
creatively rewarded in my job.
I AM an example of Divine Family
Life, including my place in the family of Humanity.
I AM
fulfilling my Divine Potential as a son or daughter, a wife or husband, a
mother or father, a grandmother or grandfather, a woman or man, as a
friend, a relative, a coworker, a steward of the Earth, a teacher, a way
shower, a Lightworker, and a cocreator of the New Earth.
I AM a
living example of Divine Love, Trust, Integrity, Honesty, Tolerance,
Acceptance, and Reverence for ALL Life.
I AM able to listen,
understand, and communicate openly and honestly with every evolving
soul.
I AM effortlessly Ascending into the Divine Heart and
Mind of God with every Holy Breath I take.
Within the Causal
Body of God, I AM tapping into the Divine Guidance and the viable
solutions that will assist me in fulfilling my Divine Plan and my
purpose and reason for being.
I AM open to the Divine Guidance
of my I AM Presence and the Legions of Light in the Realms of Truth. I
easily communicate with these Beings of Light through open heart and
mind telepathic communication.
I AM One with ALL Life, and I
communicate openly with the Angelic and Elemental Kingdoms as well.
I AM daily and hourly fulfilling the Immaculate Concept of my Divine
Plan
and the Divine Plan for Beloved Mother Earth.
Sealing
Affirmation
I now invoke the full-gathered momentum
of the Violet Flame to transmute every thought, word, action, or feeling
I have ever expressed in any time frame or dimension, both known and
unknown, that would in any way interfere with or prevent these patterns
of perfection for the New Earth from manifesting tangibly in the world
of form.
I AM the Immaculate Concept of these patterns of
perfection NOW made manifest and sustained by Holy Grace.
I AM
the Immaculate Concept of these patterns of perfection NOW made manifest
and sustained by Holy Grace.
I AM the Immaculate Concept of
these patterns of perfection NOW made manifest and sustained by Holy
Grace.
I accept that these patterns for the New Earth are
victoriously manifesting even as I speak.
In God’s most Holy
Name, I AM. And so it is!
(These invocations are from the
book of invocations,
I AM Co-creating the New Earth
by Patricia Diane Cota-Robles)
This article is copyrighted, but you have my permission to share it through any medium as long as the proper credit line is included.
©2010 Patricia Diane Cota-Robles - Patricia Diane Cota-Robles New Age Study of Humanity's Purpose, Inc. a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit educational organization www.eraofpeace.org E-mail: PattiCR@aol.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License.
unless otherwise marked.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
— Up ↑ —
Day 4 – Reclaim your Body Temple
Today we begin… Right here and now, we take total personal responsibility and cancel contracts, etc. We breathe and find our center. We meditate. With these simple steps we have opened a doorway to reclaim our minds. The past two days experiences have given a glimpse of what can be achieved with daily practice. As we progress, weave the previous days experiences into more intricate patterns during your day. Catch yourself as you commute to work. Someone challenges you on the road, send Love. Breathe consciously for a few minutes for every hour worked. Bring these new awarenesses into your life. We have started to reclaim our mind and now we begin to support our bodies.
View Article Here Read MoreWhat do you eat? Do you know where it comes from? Do you know what it is made of? Can you pronounce all the ingredients? Do you look at the ingredients? Are you completely aware of the food and beverages you ingest on a daily basis? Are you conscious in this area of your life? Is your food prepared in a Loving manner?
This can be a very profound experience, so here we go…
Shine the light of your awareness into the area of your personal diet, eating and drinking habits. Begin your quest for the Truth. Come to know the things that you put into your Temple, the Body. Become intimately aware. If you don’t know what it is, find out. Perhaps you will be surprised to find out that much of our mass processed and distributed “food” is pretty devoid of nutrition and more importantly, life energy.
So, today I ask you to take stock of the situation. Get your journal to the ready, keep it close by all day and become an investigator. Check everything you are inclined to eat and drink. Know what it is before. Ask the questions…
From personal experience I can share that I was very addicted to fast food and other very unhealthy and “unnatural” foods. Today I can barely eat out with the rampant infusion of artificial ingredients, corporate greed and unconscious food preparation so prevalent in many restaurants today. I have seen the food services industry in a new light and it has completely changed my life, health and vitality.
So, please become keenly aware of your intake.
Today, find and commit to a detox program. There are many products and supplements out there, find what resonates with you. Drink lots of clean, pure, fresh water and label your water bottles with short inspirational inscriptions or words such as Love, Gratitude, Peace, Balance, Abundance, Success, Highest Good, Trust… You get it. Water becomes structured and takes on the resonant frequency of these words, so when you drink it your body which is mostly water takes on these frequencies as well… Investigate… google: messages from water
Consider everything… Start right now. What did you eat and drink since you got up this morning. Write it down. A pattern will emerge. You will discover something about yourself that was previously not known. You will awaken in you a desire to know what is going into your Temple and as your practice deepens your tolerance for impurity may and likely will change.
I have come to discover that our bodies are made to function perfectly. We just need to fuel them in the right way. So, today… Eat something local, organic, fresh and prepared consciously. You will find it or you will make it, either way bring consciousness into your diet, find and start an internal cleanse program and become a food investigator.
It’s your body… the only one you get this go ’round. No matter where you are on your path your body will respond to this change. Take notice now and commit to the practice that brings purity to the food and drink you put in your temple. You are, Worth it!
Please share your experiences in the comments or on Facebook! I know there will be a great many discoveries to share. Some fascinating information and deeper understanding can and will come in your investigation. Welcome it. Open to it. Share it. I am very interested in comments relating to HFCS and wheat and gluten allergies… Thank you and Blessings on your Journey, my Brothers and Sisters.
Love and Kindness,
Marc
Heroes of the Now