by Jonathan Ellerby Ph.D. (part two)

Of all the things that people have in common around the world, stress and suffering rank at the top of the list. Regardless of how much you make, your age, looks, culture, or job, you likely do not escape frustration and aggravation with ease – it’s a part of being on planet earth. Fortunately, we also share the ability to rise above these things, and in many cases we can even learn to heal the stress and suffering in our lives. Spiritual traditions have long been the refuge from stress with simple techniques and philosophies that can transform daily life.

It is easy to feel that stress and suffering are unavoidable or that somehow you are doomed to face them again and again. This helpless feeling stems from the mistaken assumption that our emotions need to drive our decisions and our lives. The strong emotions that create suffering are rooted in either hurts of the past or unfulfilled expectations of the present.

A spouse, friend, or boss that talks to you the way a parent did while in a cruel or impatient mood will trigger the same old feelings, as if you were a child encountering the hurt again. If you have an expectation that people should always be polite or that airplanes should always be on time or that traffic should not be heavy when you are late, then you will consistently encounter the stress of that disappointment.

A spiritual perspective says that emotions like anger, anxiety, and sadness are normal and need to be felt, but when it comes to making decisions and taking action, we need to look deeper. It is possible to be less driven by old hurts and release the tight grip on unrealistic expectations. Learning about the power of perception and the mind-body connection can turn everything around. Here are six timeless techniques for managing or ending stress and suffering.

(continued from part one..)

FOUR:  Learn from Everything

Another common spiritual perspective that transforms hard times is to look for the lesson in each situation life presents. Even the most unpleasant and unexpected situations can offer you a great chance to learn what to do better next time or what to avoid or heal in your life. This is about the power of optimism and the ability to take a disappointment and turn it into something that makes you a better person.

Failed relationships can teach you things like the importance of having clear boundaries, the importance of good communication, the importance of trust, or how to let go of self-doubt. A loss of work can open a door to find new opportunities, refine your focus on what gives you joy, or show you where you have things to improve.

People who learn from each situation are always bettering themselves and bettering their chances at not running into a wall again. They understand that you will always be happier and less stressed if you learn to define your situations, instead of letting your situations define you.

FIVE: Set Inner Intentions

One of the biggest hooks that catches most people in life is attachment to outer goals and desires. Spiritual  traditions have long been warning people about how dangerous it is to place all your hopes and intentions on wealth, sex, beauty, a dream house, and clothing. These things come and go and are based on things we cannot always control. Even the most wealthy find that possessions can be taken away at a moment’s notice, and the desires of life often go unfulfilled.

An inner intention is a goal that is based on the type of person you want to be. It is about growing your character. It is about being more balanced and mature. The desires to be peaceful, loving, kind, or patient are all examples of inner intentions. If my goal is to love myself or be kind, then, no matter what happens, I can practice working toward that goal. In contrast, if my goal is never to be alone, I might fall apart every time a relationship ends. Inner intentions are goals we can take responsibility for and influence through choice. Outer intentions are like traps waiting to go off in our lives. Learn to let go of expectations about things that are beyond your control! Commit to one inner intention for the week. Try being grateful, non-judgmental, or kind.

SIX: Commit to a Spiritual Practice

A spiritual practice is a regular time out from life to do something that helps you to feel at peace, learn about yourself, and connect to a sense of what is important. It is a time apart from stress and helps put pain and loss in perspective. It could be taking a daily walk in nature (without cell phone), meditation before work, prayer before bed, yoga, Tai Chi, bible study, volunteering at the hospital, or working in a garden. The key is to make it regular, intentional, and a non-competitive, non-work related activity. It should last long enough that you get a real break from the rush and demands of life.

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About the Author: Jonathan Ellerby, Ph.D., Spiritual Program Director for the highly acclaimed Canyon Ranch Health Resorts, has a doctoral degree in Comparative Religions and has traveled throughout the world, studying with spiritual teachers from more than 40 cultural traditions. He is the author of a new book published by Hay House, Return to the Sacred: Ancient Pathways to Spiritual Awakening. Jonathan Ellerby is also an interfaith minister and leads workshops, retreats, guided travel journeys, and trainings.

Jonathan Ellerby is one of the experts featured in the documentary Beyond Belief: www.beyondbeliefthemovie.com

by Jonathan Ellerby, Ph.D.

Of all the things that people have in common around the world, stress and suffering rank at the top of the list. Regardless of how much you make, your age, looks, culture, or job, you likely do not escape frustration and aggravation with ease – it’s a part of being on planet earth. Fortunately, we also share the ability to rise above these things, and in many cases we can even learn to heal the stress and suffering in our lives. Spiritual traditions have long been the refuge from stress with simple techniques and philosophies that can transform daily life.

It is easy to feel that stress and suffering are unavoidable or that somehow you are doomed to face them again and again. This helpless feeling stems from the mistaken assumption that our emotions need to drive our decisions and our lives. The strong emotions that create suffering are rooted in either hurts of the past or unfulfilled expectations of the present.

A spouse, friend, or boss that talks to you the way a parent did while in a cruel or impatient mood will trigger the same old feelings, as if you were a child encountering the hurt again. If you have an expectation that people should always be polite or that airplanes should always be on time or that traffic should not be heavy when you are late, then you will consistently encounter the stress of that disappointment.

A spiritual perspective says that emotions like anger, anxiety, and sadness are normal and need to be felt, but when it comes to making decisions and taking action, we need to look deeper. It is possible to be less driven by old hurts and release the tight grip on unrealistic expectations. Learning about the power of perception and the mind-body connection can turn everything around. Here are six timeless techniques for managing or ending stress and suffering.

ONE: Breathe

When stress rises, the body moves in to a reaction mode: the body tightens, the mind races, and it is hard to gain a better perspective. Try taking some deep breaths. Breathe in through the nose, and instead of puffing your chest out, try imagining that you are sending the breath into your belly – push your stomach muscles out.  Then, notice where you are tense or tight, and imagine you are breathing it all out your mouth, slowly and easily. When you are in a difficult moment, take at least 2 full minutes to be with your breath.

TWO: Stick to the Facts

One way we create our experience of stress and suffering is through emotional ideas like worry and regret. Instead of keeping our attention in the present moment and focusing on the limited truth we know for certain, too often we spend our energy on worrying about things that haven’t happened, or we dwell on the past we regret. Remember, “sticking to the facts” doesn’t include judgments like “she’s wrong” or “he’s a fool” or “what if I lose my job?” Those are emotional ideas, not facts.

A fact sounds like this “all I know is that he is late, but I don’t know why.” An emotional idea sounds like “he is late because he is selfish and doesn’t care. I must be a pushover.” A fact sounds like this “lots of people are losing their jobs these days, and some fall on hard times, and some find new work.” An emotional idea sounds like this “I am so worried every day I go into work. What if I lose my job and then cannot pay my bills and car payment – I cannot concentrate.” Learn to limit those thoughts, and stick to the facts.

THREE: Forgive

The cornerstone of most spiritual philosophies lies in learning to forgive. Forgiveness does not mean that you pretend you are not hurt by someone or something, nor does it mean you condone a cruel or harmful act. Forgiveness does mean that you are committed to letting go of the energy, stories, and actions you have become caught up in.  Forgiveness means that you are committed to letting go and moving on. It doesn’t start with a feeling; it starts with a decision. Start by changing the way you act and think, and then, eventually, the feelings will follow.

For example, if you have been hurt by a coworker or a romantic partner, you can invest a lot of time in complaining to friends, gossiping, and reviewing the offense in your head. Or you can say that being hurt once is enough, see that each time you replay it you are only hurting yourself again, and learn to change the topic.

Each time we encounter stress or hurt there is a small chance to practice forgiveness. The quicker we forgive a situation and accept it for what it is, the quicker we end our suffering and move on to better things.

TO BE CONTINUED in Part Two…

Jonathan Ellerby is one of the experts featured in the documentary Beyond Belief: www.beyondbeliefthemovie.com

Short video by Jonathan Ellerby, PhD.   See more of Jonathan in the inspiring film Beyond Belief:  www.beyondbeliefthemovie.com

Join host Toni Boehm as she interviews producers Jim Holzknecht and Becky Hays about the innovative film Beyond Belief.

What do you really want for your life? What is your passion? Are you living it? Each week Yes You Can! will focus on an aspect of the creative energy of yes and how to work with this creative pulse – in combination with intention, focus, grace and faith – to create a life connected to infinite possibility, moving towards highest potential.

To listen click here to download mp3 file.

To view trailer and get the DVD go to:  www.beyondbeliefthemovie.com

by Julia Cameron

The following is an excerpt from the interview with Julia Cameron for the documentary Beyond Belief.

I think that people have a lot of mythology around artists, they think that real artists are born knowing they are artists, and they are fearless and they pursue their craft w/out any thought of criticism.  In fact, the truth is, quote real artists are people who have learned to live with their fears and make their art anyway.

So if people come to me hoping to be taught to be fearless, I say I can’t really teach you that, but I can teach you to live with your fears, and when they start living with their fears, and becoming more intimate with themselves they begin to get just the smallest glimmering of, “Hey it might be fun to try this, or I’d like to try that”  and that’s the little tell tale whisp of creativity that people learn to listen for more and more clearly.

I think we come from a culture which demonizes creativity.  We have a belief system that says artists are broke, artists are crazy/  We have a lot of confusion with alcoholism and creativity, because many of our finest artists were also alcoholic, and so we think in order to be an artist I have to be a down and out alcoholic, and we hold these beliefs as a sort of club over our head, and we say if you try creativity you’re going to really rock the boat.  What I tell people is, well maybe you’re going to rock the cradle and not the boat.  Maybe it’s a much more gentle process than you believe it is.

As people start working, I have them do a tool called shadow artists.  I have them take a look and see in what ways they have been batteries for someone else’s creativity, someone who is officially creative, and very often we find that people surround themselves with other people, or a significant other, who they say their dreams are more important and they are more talented.  So what we start to do with morning pages is say your dreams matter, you are talented, try gently to do just a little bit today.  As people do this they begin to experience an alternative to their negative belief system

That inner voice isn’t the truth, and I have people do an exercise where I ask them to write out the reason I can’t be a brilliant and prolific creative artist is…??  ..and they will find that they have lots of irrational thoughts related to being an artist.

Many times people have either or thinking:  either I can be an artist, or I can be in a loving relationship, either I can be an artist, or I can be solvent.  Usually they put something that they hold precious high up on the list of what they will lose, and then they scare themselves, they terrify themselves out of trying art.  Because, you know, who wants to be an artist if it means you’re going to be crazy, who wants to be an artist if it means you’re going to lose your house, who wants to be an artist if it means you’re going to be a bad parent.  So when we get people to look at these subconscious beliefs, people begin to say, oh, that’s sort  of silly, that’s not true.  I have them do an exercise where they replace their negatives with positives.

Artists are crazy might translate into artists are free-spirited.  Artists are broke might translate into artists are solvent.  So we just sort of peak under the rug of people’s consciousness and see what the lumps are.

When people start to connect to themselves they can be lead in many different directions.  One of the things I find kind of sad, is how thorough our brainwashing is around money, and how deeply we tend to believe if we work our creativity we’ll be broke.

People are often very surprised to move into their creativity and find that their earning power in fact goes up.  I can’t promise you, work The Artists Way and you’ll be solvent and self-supporting through your art, but I can say work The Artist’s Way and you’ll be led to more sense of support.

I believe that when people pursue their creativity they are in effect pursuing a spiritual path, they begin to have more intution, they begin to have more coincidence, they begin to experience guidance.

NOTE:  Extra interview clips that were not featured in the documentary may be found on the Audio CD Set at:  www.beyondbeliefthemovie.com/store

by Timothy  Freke

based on his amazing new book  ‘How Long Is Now?’

I’m sitting in a room sparkling with candles and poignant music is playing quietly.  Around me is a peaceful circle of people with their eyes closed.  Through the windows my gaze reaches out into the stillness of the night.  Outside these walls is Chalice Well Garden, a beautiful sanctuary nestled below the Tor in my home town of Glastonbury. I’m running a weekend seminar here to help people experience an amazing ‘deep awake’ state of consciousness I call ‘the magical mystery experience’.

I have spent my life exploring this ‘deep awake’ state.  And I have found that it is something I can share with others, because states of consciousness are catching. What is ‘the magical mystery experience’?  In an attempt to speak about something that truly cannot be described by words, people who have experienced the magical mystery with me have said things such as limitless love … oneness … gnosis … pure bliss … buddha-nature… self-knowledge … peace beyond understanding… the Christ within… utterly orgasmic… the thing I’ve been searching for all my life…

It doesn’t matter what words we use to describe the ‘deep awake’ state, all that matters is that we experience it. And it is clear that this is what is happening for the young woman sitting in front of me tonight.  She is tying to fight back tears of joy and relief that are welling up in her eyes.

It’s the end of a very special evening and everyone is sitting silently in a circle, looking at the young woman, who is slowly gazing around the circle, making eye contact with each of us in turn.  But we’re doing much more than just looking at each other eye to eye…. we are connecting I to I. We are meeting in that deep place where all is one.

As the young woman’s eyes meet mine I see a beautiful face, full of character and kindness.  But I also see through the veil of appearances to connect with her deeper identity, which I can’t see or hear or touch. I am meeting the mystery of awareness conscious through a different person.  We are communing as one and this is making us both feel emotional, because it’s an experience of what I call ‘big love’.

The young woman closes her eyes, embarrassed that she’s so tearful.  But she needn’t be, because the whole group is grateful to her for expressing the collective emotion that is filling the room. The atmosphere is charged.  It’s as if the air is heavy with vibrating energy.  We are all vibrating together.

We have just completed a simple but profound ‘initiation’ into the magical mystery experience. An initiation is usually thought of as the beginning of something and so it is. But in the ancient world an initiation was seen as a glimpse of the goal towards which we are travelling.  I see our initiation tonight as an opportunity to taste the reality of oneness and the ecstasy of big love.  Then, when we return to our everyday lives after the seminar, we will have a clear idea of where our journey of awakening is leading.

Whenever possible I like to lead this initiation after sundown, because there’s something magical about the night.  I prepare a beautiful space that opens the heart, and I ask everyone to enter in silence and sink into the stillness.  I wait while the poignant music massages away the tensions in our souls. Then we begin to slowly connect ‘I to I’, until we dissolve into the mystery of love together.

Tonight we are all experiencing the magical mystery and the room is thick with big love.  Everyone can feel it and some people are emotional.  I look around me at the group of beautiful people sitting serenely in the effervescent stillness. No one wants to speak in case it breaks the enchantment of this precious place.  Occasionally someone attempts a few words… ‘ecstasy’ … ‘connection’…‘enlightenment’.  A young guy smiles cheekily and adds ‘it’s better than sex!’, which makes us laugh.  Then an elderly lady sings a sweet song and we sink into the silence again.

As I look around me at all these gorgeous faces I celebrate our individuality. We are all one and yet so unique.  Tonight we have amongst us a physicist, an artist, a  retired business man, two young sisters, a diplomat who speaks five ancient languages, and a transvestite called ‘Colin’. And in this oneness we can delight in the differences.  That wise gentleman over there is a priest in the Church of England… and he’s sitting next to a wonderful lady who is a Wiccan High Priestess!

I take the hands of the people either side of me, and this ripples around the circle, until we are all holding hands. Then I gently say

“So here we are… deep awake in the magical mystery … conscious that we are unique individuals and yet we are all one.

“And it’s because we are both individual and all-one that we can love each other.

“How cool is that?!”

There is general agreement that this is very cool indeed. And we sit there in the vibrating silence… one and many… bathing in big love.

Over the years my understanding of life has constantly changed, but one simple conviction has remained. All that really matters is love. And I feel, somewhere deep inside, we all know this.  There is nothing better than to be in love with life.  And only love can heal our heartbreak when we’re hurting.

When I run a seminar my deepest desire is that we wake up to oneness and commune together in big love.  Spiritual awakening is not a sterile realisation.  It is a vibrant emotion and a bodily feeling. It is a love that fills the hole in our soul and makes us feel complete. The adventure of becoming deep awake is a journey to the heart of love.

No one wants to break the circle, so I’m beginning to wonder if anyone will ever go home.  But eventually, one by one, we embrace each other then leave, and our quiet party fades away.  I lock the door of our meeting room and wander alone into the moonlit garden. In the black and white light of the night I appreciate the rich textures of the flowers that surround me and I sit by the Chalice Well dropping loose petals into the water.

It feels like fairyland.  I’ve returned to the secret garden I frequented as a child.  I’m drunk with love and overwhelmed with gratitude.  To be in love with one person is sweet. To be in love with all is indescribable. It is a love so deep it has no end. I’ve often made this pilgrimage to the sacred temple of love that lies at the heart of the secret garden… and it feels like home.

Timothy Freke is one of twenty four experts featured in the documentary film Beyond Belief: www.beyondbeliefthemovie.com

Join host Paul Roach as he interviews  filmmakers Jim Holzknecht and Becky Hays about the innovative documentary Beyond Belief.

Our planet is becoming a global village, yet enormous differences remain between culture and spiritual tradition – differences that lead to misunderstanding, hatred and war.

The World Spirituality program explores the unity within all cultures and traditions.   A global journey across the spiritual landscape, exploring the variety, differences, and common values, with insight, humor and practical advice.

To listen click here to download mp3 file.

Filmmakers Becky Hays and Jim Holzknecht join host Valleri Crabtree on the inspiring radio show Universe Responding.

Universe Responding’s mission is a spiritual path that teaches how to co-create with the Universe, by applying constructive positive thought, by listening (with intellect and intuition) to the Universe Responding.

To listen click here to download mp3 file.

To learn more about the film Beyond Belief visit: www.beyondbeliefthemovie.com