by David Hamilton Ph.D.

The scientific view of the brain was previously that it is hardwired. In other words, we are born with brain cells wired up in a particular way that is unchangeable except that our total brain cell count declines with age.

New discoveries in neuroscience have revamped that view. A common term now used is ‘plasticity’, where the brain moulds, changes, and grows depending upon what you are focusing upon.

So, say you were focusing on things that you were grateful for. Brand new connections would spring up between brain cells as you begin to grow an entirely new network connecting brain cells (neurons). This is called a neural network. Many neural networks are created by us….by what we choose to give our attention to.

Therefore your brain and body is not something that you are simply born with, whose health and functioning you can do nothing about. Instead, you are continually growing, changing, moulding, and shaping your brain and your body. You have far more of an effect on your mental and physical health than you’d think. In many ways, it comes down to what you choose to give your attention to.

And with practise you can develop great control over what you give your attention to. In a sense, you can build up your ‘attention muscle’ in the same way that an athlete might develop leg or arm muscles. Regular meditation is a great way to do this, and some recent neuroscience discoveries of meditators have confirmed this. Through repetitive meditation their brains grew significantly more neural connections than control groups who didn’t meditate. And in particular, much of this growth was found in the area of the brain that controls free will.

www.drdavidhamilton.com

David Hamilton is one of the experts featured in the documentary Beyond Belief.  Get the DVD at:  www.beyondbeliefthemovie.com

by Dr. David Hamilton

I love to meditate and have made it a daily practice. Being quite scientifically minded I love to monitor how it benefits me. Among other methods I often use the Heartmath FreezeFramer (see http://www.heartmath.com ) so that I can see how my meditations affect the rhythms of my heart.

Doing this helps me to stay in a meditative state for the duration of my meditations (usually 30 – 45 minutes). Any loss of concentration usually shows up quickly on the screen of my laptop as my rhythms lose their coherence. By periodically glancing at the screen, I am reminded to keep my focus.

Meditation has been shown to have many positive effects on the body. It is believed that around 80% of all health problems are either negatively affected by stress, or that stress had a hand in their creation. Meditation is a well-known antidote to stress and so has a positive effect on many health complaints.

Since the widespread use of MRI scanners, scientists have been able to explore the effects of meditation on the growth of the brain. In one recent study (published in the journal, ‘Neurobiology of Ageing’), scientists Giuseppe Pagoni and Milos Cekic, from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Emory University in Atlanta, looked at the grey matter volume of the brain to measure the effects of Zen meditation.

Cerebral grey matter volume usually decreases with age, so the study compared the grey matter volume of 13 people performing Zen meditations against that of 13 control people who weren’t meditators.

What they found was that grey matter volume decreased as expected in the control group but not so with the meditators. In other words, meditation had a ‘neuroprotective’ effect: It slowed down the rate of ageing.

Many studies have shown similar anti ageing effects. It has been found also, for instance, that meditation can slow down the decline in levels of the hormone DHEA, which also usually declines with age.

David Hamilton is one of the experts in the documentary Beyond Belief: www.beyondbeliefthemovie.com

by Rev. Greta Sesheta, Minister at Agape Intl Spiritual Center

(excerpt from interview for the documentary)

To awaken to your life’s purpose is an opportunity. to awaken, to listen, to do what we call lowly listening.  To get still, to get quiet, to move into a place of serenity, and actually, listen. Sometimes this involves asking a question.  And it’s important to ask the right question; the questions that will get you the results that you’re hoping for.

So the questions would not be for example, “Why is this happening to me?”, which then just brings up all of the justifications, the excuses, and keeps me in the place of a victim, but the question might be, “What is it that’s happening now?  What is it that’s wanting to be experienced by me?  What is it that’s wanting to express itself as me?”

And then having asked the question, listen, and be aware of the ways that the question might be answered.  It might be something that I hear, it might be just a sense that I have about things.  There might be a sign or a symbol somewhere, even in a bumper sticker.  The signs are all around us.  Listening, asking the questions, being aware, being open, being receptive to the answers that you get.

To move out of judgement about what the answers might be, or my preconceived ideas about what a good answer is, or what the answer wasn’t that I was looking for, but to be open to the divine wisdom, guidance, and direction that is within me and is all around.

I think that meditation, having a time of quiet reflection and contemplation is like it’s a requirement for the day.  Start the day with it, end the day with it. Take a couple of moments, it doesn’t have to be hours and hours.  It can just be, on the breath, an inhalation, and exhalation, breathing in the breath of god, a meditation.

And reflective reading, reading things that inspire and uplift me and support my ideas and stretch my imagination in terms of what is possible for my life.

I think that being of service is very importaint in the community.  Wherever it is that I am, where I can support someone, that I can offer, that I can give a smile, that I can share something of myself, that I can volunteer my time.  Any way of being in service to some greater good, within community is the idea of come unity, people coming together.  Like minded people coming together to grow and to share together.  Those are very important tools.

Greta Sesheta is one of 24 experts featured in the inspiring documentary Beyond Belief.  To see the trailer and get the DVD go to:  www.beyondbeliefthemovie.com

By Becky Hays, Producer

One of the tools presented in the film, Beyond Belief, is “present moment awareness’ or ‘being present’, being in the moment.  There are many ways to do this, but my favorite is yoga.

Last summer when Jim and I were in the midst of producing the film Beyond Belief we made a pact to ‘do yoga everyday’ until the film was complete.  This daily yoga practice helped us to stay centered and focused throughout the production.  And now yoga is a part of my life.

I LOVE Ashtanga Yoga!  Stepping up to the edge of my mat, bringing my hands into prayer position against my chest, might be compared to a diver stepping up to the edge of the board on a high dive, or a runner putting a foot on the starting block, bending to put hands on the ground before a race.

There is a brief glimpse into the future, of what is about to come, and then, you become present in the moment, allowing the outside world to fade into the distance, as you bring the focus to the breath.

Ashtanga is an intense form of yoga that is physically demanding.  The primary series leads you through a sequence of about 75 postures, combining a sweaty workout with a meditative focus, synchronizing movement and  breath.

Moving through the sequence of 75 postures can be both frustrating and  enlightening, as you become aware of the endless thoughts roaming through your head, even as you attempt to ‘quiet the mind’.

Why do people spend a good 90 minutes of their day sweating from head to toe, doing the same physically demanding postures, over and over again, twisting and contorting their bodies like a corkscrew, and then come back for more?

Perhaps at least part of the answer lies in the experience, which I now call “The Ashtanga Zap!!”

One day when I least expected it, I had this experience.  In the middle of my practice, moving and breathing, and trying to remember which posture came next, my mind just suddenly went “blank…”    Simply, completely, totally…..blank

Tabula Rasa…

There was no thought about what posture I just completed, or which posture came next.  This was different from times in the past, when I simply had trouble remembering the next posture.  This felt more like…

Silence.  Stillness.  Calm.

I took a step back and looked with amazement at the space where I had just been standing, wondering what just happened?!   It was like an ‘energy source’ had zapped my mind, and all the noise was gone.  Stillness.

It lasted only a moment, before my mind kicked in:

“What just happened?”

“What’s the next posture?  Keep moving!’”

Then I was moving again, breathing, twisting, sweating, thoughts roaming in and out and through my head:

“Focus on the count, focus on the breath, inhale, exhale, focus… focus….”

This Ashtanga Zap is what I imagine the ultimate feeling of being present must be like.  No longer lingering in the past, no longer looking to the future, but simply ‘BE-ing’ in the present moment.

I would encourage you to find your own way to take a moment and be present, each and everyday.  Of course, I highly recommend YOGA:)

But you will find the method that works best for you, and when you do, it will transform your life.

Namasté

Becky

To see the trailer and get the DVD Beyond Belief go to:  www.beyondbeliefthemovie.com

Mar 1, 2010:   The innovative self-empowerment documentary, Beyond Belief,  reviewed in Elevated Existence magazine.  To see review click here.

Elevated Existence has featured inspirational mentors Deepak Chopra, Joe Vitale, Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Russell Simmons and Dr. Judith Orloff.  The digital magazine continues to seek out the best topics and teachers to enlighten, inspire and heal its readers.

The magazine covers topics such as the Law of Attraction, manifestation tools, yoga, meditation, and holistic and alternative healing methods.  Elevated Existence Magazine is aimed at positively improving the lives of its readers and their overall well being – mind, body and soul.

For more  info on Beyond Belief visit: www.beyondbeliefthemovie.com

By Brad Morris

Hello & Cowabunga Namaste;

Did you know that you have the most powerful intuition out of ANYBODY you know!?

Did you know that you have the ability to tell what is in the highest and greatest good for YOU in each & every moment?

Before participating in this article, lets just take a few breaths together so we can get into our bodies, get grounded onto Planet Earth and allow ourselves to be present and in our hearts. By being in our hearts weʼre able to decipher Truth & Falsity much easier.

Take a slow breath in through your mouth…….gently exhale through your mouth. Breathe in fully through your mouth……..gently exhale through your nose. Breathe deeply & fully through your nose…..slowly exhale through your nose. Take a deep breath in through your nose…………..gently exhale through your mouth.

Now that youʼre feeling more present, YES, it is TRUE that your intuition is more powerful than anyoneʼs you know! There is nobody on Planet Earth who can tell you what choices will serve you best and which ones wonʼt, better than you. That strong, silent, yet powerful voice inside of you is the TRUE voice that you want to be listening to. It is the voice of Destiny.

Have you ever had all of the closest people in your life telling you that ʻyou should do this and you should do thatʼ…. but never stopping to ask you what you are doing or what you plan to do???

I have found that with a consistent daily practice of yoga and sitting meditation (doesnʼt matter which kind) have helped me to become more powerfully attuned to MY OWN INTUITION. Before I learned to quiet my mind I would feel confused and chaotic inside because everyone around me was telling me what to do, how to do it, where to go, etc…I was never listening to My Inner Calling. Sound familiar?

ʻLife can be like the currents in the Ocean; throwing us around, left & right, smashing us up against painful rocks. That is until we find the power to ground ourselves like a rock and listen to that intuition. When we are grounded, centered and focused, it does not matter what the current around us is doing, because we are All Knowing & Confident.ʼ

I want to re-affirm to any of you self-doubters out there. Listen to yourself, to where inspiration leads you. If you practice tuning in to what your body is speaking, then youʼll know more often when to say ʻyesʼ and when to say ʻno.ʼ If you listen to what everyone thinks about you and if you let other peopleʼs judgments get the best of you, then youʼll remain in a stagnant, unfulfilling rut in your life.

To practice the power of your intuition, you have to practice LISTENING to it and FEELING what it is saying. So, here is a simple & FUN exercise for you to begin practicing today. . . . We are given many choices everyday, often multiple choices each moment. Your mission is to begin questioning the actions you commonly take without thinking about.

YOUR 24-Hour Intuition Challenge:

For the next 24-hours and beyond if you decide, your mission is to ask yourself before making choices this question, “Is this in my highest and greatest good?” OR “What is in my highest good right now?” You will know, based on your bodyʼs response if it is, or if it isnʼt. And the challenging part of this exercise, is saying NO when itʼs not in your highest good and YES when it is!!

When youʼve completed the 24-hours, share your experience, thoughts and opinions at my blog site, www.CowabungaLifestyles.wordpress.com

Good luck. And have fun communicating & listening to YOUR intuition!

– Cowabunga Namaste           

Brad Morris Biz’: ‘the GratiDudes’ & ‘Grounded Perspective’

www.theGratiDudes.com   www.Cowabungalifestyles.wordpress.com

Brad Morris is one of twenty four experts featured in the documentary Beyond Belief: www.beyondbeliefthemovie.com