Home Articles Channels Daily Retreat Inspiration Classroom Boutique Community Singles Resources Contact

SoulfulLiving.com :: Personal Growth, Spiritual Growth, Self Help and Self Improvement

Your #1 Online Resource for Personal and Spiritual Growth Since 2000.
Mandala and Chakra Pendants
New Age Gifts and Products, Buddhist and Tibetan Jewelry, Meditation and Yoga Supplies
Mandala Art Prints

  Welcome!

 

Our Sponsors:

The Mandala Collection :: Buddhist and Conscious Living Gifts
Inspirational Gifts


Energy Muse Jewelry
Energy Muse Jewelry


Body of Grace
Eco-Friendly Gifts


Yoga Download
Yoga Download


The Mandala Collection
Give a Gift with Soul


Chrissie Blaze

Workout for the Soul
November 2002

Click Here to See
Chrissie's Current Column

by Chrissie Blaze


We are very pleased to welcome Chrissie Blaze to SoulfulLiving.com as our newest monthly columnist!  Each month, Chrissie will share one of her Eight Steps to Inner Fitness from her book,
"Workout for the Soul."


Step 4 - Awakening Your Creative Powers

To awaken our creative powers we must focus and control our mind and awaken our imagination. People often decry imagination as some vague condition that is the opposite of reality. However, as my own Spiritual Master, Dr. George King stated: "Imagination is your only creative faculty."

You may not think imagination is your strong point. However, people with logical, scientific types of mind can be far more creative once they learn how to develop and control their imaginations, than some people who would consider themselves "imaginative." This is because one of the best ways to develop this creative force is through concentration and focusing of the mind.

Concentration is not an end in itself, but is a method by which you can enhance your entire life. When you concentrate you are using your will to control your conscious mind so that it can focus one-pointedly on an idea or an object.

First of all, you should understand the relationship between the brain and the mind, as they are not the same. Dr. King was extremely knowledgeable about this relationship and he explained it very simply. He likened the brain to a radio-receiving set. Waves of thought (or mind stuff) are transmitted through space and detected by the tuner, which is your brain. The type of mind you attract to yourself depends upon the quality of your own thoughts and feelings at the time.

Most of us recognize this scenario of like attracting like. When we feel down and depressed we seem to attract ever more gloomy thoughts to us. This is in fact exactly what we are doing; our negative mental state attracts negative thoughts to us from the sea of mind. The way to change a mental state is to think differently. We can do this in many ways. One simple way is to study a piece of inspirational writing and as we do this we begin to attract similar inspirational thought-waves to ourselves. This stimulates the higher part of our mind, known as the super-conscious, and this in turn enables us to be more creative, inspired and intuitive.

Using imagination and creativity can bring success in many areas of life. Studies have shown that children who have a balanced "diet" of left-brain, analytical activities, with right-brain creative activities, such as art and movement, have better examination results. Also that the most successful people tend to be well balanced between the two sides of the brain. Forcing the left-hand side of the brain to learn more, to analyze more facts and figures is not the way to success, and is typical of the unbalanced society in which we live.

Your conscious mind likes to regard itself as your boss and master. Because of this there is no point in dictating to it but instead we must learn to "reel it in" and control it. Treat your conscious mind as you would a fish. Imagine you are catching a fish on a line and the first thing you do is let the reel go and let the fish take the line with him until he gets tired, then you pull him in. Imagine your mind is like this, because you are not going to control it by force.

By consciously placing a mental visualization on your breathing, you can take your breathing practices "up a notch." Perform the complete breath, using the three parts of your respiratory system as taught in Part Four, and mentally pull the prana into your body as you do so; feel this charging you up with life and vitality. You are no longer just breathing in a controlled fashion, now you are enhancing your breathing process through the use of your concentration and visualization. This is the next, more advanced stage, in your breathing practices.

Now you are ready to practice guided visualization. There are several beautiful visualizations in my book "Workout for the Soul"; otherwise write yourself one and make it beautiful, visual, and uplifting. Now read aloud your visualization. Through doing this, you are actually creating the beautiful scene you visualize. This will benefit you physically, mentally and spiritually from the vibrant colors and scenes from Nature.

Another way to encourage your mind to reveal its riches is through the practice of contemplation. There is a difference between concentration and contemplation. We all understand the importance of concentration and know that without it we cannot achieve very much. When we concentrate we use our will to direct our mind or brain. The difference with contemplation is that you lead your mind and then allow it to make its own deductions. Contemplation is, therefore, a more advanced state of mind and because of that it takes a good deal of hard work and effort to achieve.

We may think contemplation is when the mind wanders, but this is a negative state of daydreaming or reflection. In this state, information may come to us indeed, but it will be random information.

Contemplation is when you concentrate on something with the idea of learning about that thing. In other words, during that state, your conscious mind is open to impulses being sent to it from your super-conscious or higher mind.

Meditation is an even higher state than contemplation and during this highly elevated state the "meditator" becomes at one with the object of meditation. This state of consciousness will take lives and lives of hard work and practice. Meditation is a popular word, but when most people refer to "meditation" they are referring to a reflective state. When the yogis and spiritual masters refer to "meditation" they refer to the highest state of enlightenment available to us, also known as "samadhi" or "conscious death". Once this is reached, the meditator becomes truly enlightened, as was my Spiritual Master, Dr. George King.

There is another technique, called samyama, during which you concentrate and contemplate on a person or attribute that is noble in some way. During the samyama, or contemplation on greatness, you actually acquire an aspect of that attribute yourself. For example, if you feel fearful about having to speak in public, you may wish to contemplate on a person who is extremely brave and fearless. You would think of all these positive qualities of courage until you actually feel the qualities filling you. Certainly, if the person was great enough you should be able to do this. In fact the greater the person is, the better will be the results of this contemplation practice.

Do the following practice and before you do, select the person that you will be contemplating upon. Make this the greatest person you have ever heard of, a person worth all your efforts, someone who you really respect and admire and preferably one who is no longer alive. If you wish to think of a great Saint or Avatar -- such as Buddha or Jesus -- then do so. Perhaps it will be Hercules, Ghandi, Samson, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Louis Pasteur, George King, or someone that you have read about who has really moved you. Ensure the object of your samyama is a truly noble person, one who has qualities of courage, compassion and strength, worthy of your efforts.

This practice can really strengthen you but do not make it into a personal thing where you talk to the person or try and relate to them. Do not try and bring these high, altruistic qualities down in any way, but just leave them where they are and imbue yourself with them. We are all part of the whole and we all affect each other. We can choose to spend every day watching violence on television and attune ourselves to that basic vibration, or we can choose to study and contemplate upon the lives of the great ones in our history, or to study higher truths and so attune ourselves to a far higher vibration. Samyama is an effective way to raise our vibrations quickly and simply and so enjoy this state of heightened awareness, compassion and sensitivity.

Read Chrissie's Introductory Article, "Workout for the Soul."

Read the Introduction, "The Eternal Quest."

Read Step 1 - "Preparing Your Temple."

Read Step 2 - "Refreshing the Soul."

Read Step 3 - "Harmonizing with the Breath of Life."


© Copyright Chrissie Blaze.  Excerpted from "Workout for the Soul: 8 Steps to Inner Fitness," published by AsLan Publishing, Inc., November 2001.


Mercury Retrograde by Chrissie Blaze


"Every breath we take, every mouthful of liquid or solid we consume, is charged with that vital force known in the East as Prana.  In fact Prana is the sum total of all Cosmic energy.  It is the energy which enables you to bend your little finger; it is the energy which, manifesting as gravitation, causes a passing meteor to be drawn into the orbit of a planetary body. Without Prana, there could be no motion of any kind and all Cosmic manifestation would fade into its original state of dark, motionless potential; for Prana is the energy which brings forth the realization of the original possibilities into the numerous phases of activated manifestation which constitute the whole of Cosmic Creation."

© 2002 The Aetherius Society. Excerpted from Contact Your Higher Self Through Yoga by Dr. George King, published by The Aetherius Press, Los Angeles. All rights reserved. No publication in whole or part can be done without written permission from The Aetherius Society.For further information, contact The Aetherius Society, www.aetherius.org or telephone (323) 465 9652. For a brief biography of Dr. George King visit www.chrissieblaze.com.


Chrissie Blaze
Chrissie Blaze, a teacher, author, astrologer, media personality and senior Aetherius Church minister was a close student of Dr. George King (Yoga Master and founder of The Aetherius Society) for 25 years. Chrissie Blaze has written books including Workout for the Soul: Eight Steps to Inner Fitness, AsLan Publishing, Inc., November, 2001, Mercury Retrograde: Your Survival Guide to Astrology’s Most Precarious Times of the Year, Warner Books, Inc., April, 2002, and The Baby’s Astrologer: Your Guide to Good Parenting Is In the Stars, Warner Books, Inc., 2003 publication. For further information and details of classes and workshops in the Los Angeles area, please visit www.chrissieblaze.com. Tel: (323) 252 6391 (voicemail) or (323) 465 9652.

 

Visit:
www.ChrissieBlaze.com


BACK TO "SOULFUL THOUGHTS"BACK TO "SOULFUL THOUGHTS"



Daily Soul Retreat at SoulfulLiving.com
Soul Retreat Goodies!


Support SoulfulLiving.com
Show Us Your Love ♥

 
 

Energy Muse Jewelry
Energy Muse Jewelry


Wild Divine Meditation Software featuring Deepak Chopra
Meditation Software



Energy Muse - Sacred Yoga Jewelry

Copyright © 1999-2014 Soulful Living®.

Soulful Website Design by The Creative Soul®.