Garden of Paradise

In Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairytale called The Garden of Paradise, he tells of a young prince enthralled by the stories of the Garden of Paradise and spent all his time thinking about it, searching for it, and considering what it would be like to live there.  One day, while lost deeply in the woods, he fortuitously meets the East Wind on his way to the Garden.  The East Wind agreed to take him there.  The East Wind took him to the other side of the world into a very deep cavern with many twists and turns before finding the Garden. After arriving, he meets a Fairy in the Garden who showed him the wonders there.  He loved it so much, he asked her if he could stay there always.  She said, “That depends upon you.  Every evening, I must leave. When I do, I must say ‘Come with me’ and I must beckon you.  But, do not come with me, for with every step you take, your longing for the tree of knowledge will grow stronger.  If you follow me and kiss me, Paradise will sink deep down into the earth and will be lost to you.”  She adds, “I must repeat ‘Come with me’ every night.  But every time you resist, you grow stronger and at last you will not even think of following.”

This “tale” illustrates life and the benefits of the Ishayas’ Ascension.  We learn the Ascension Attitudes to return the mind to its Natural State of Innocence.  Every time we use the Ascension Attitudes, we are opening the forgotten doorways to experience more and more of our expanded state of Awareness. 

The world with all of its sensory pleasures is still part of the Ascendant.  But, we lose sight of the Ascendant One and get lost in our experience of the senses.  As MSI said in Ascension, “it is our continual, moment-by-moment decision that keeps us turned away from the Infinite inner light and toward the incessant problems of relative life.” 

During an Ishayas’ Ascension Retreat, one has the opportunity to go very deeply inward.  During this time away from the world, the nervous system can relax and slow down enough to find that Unchanging One waiting for recognition.  Once we recognize the One sufficiently and cultivate the nervous system to experience expanded states, we then have a clear choice. As the Fairy says, the more we can remain in the Garden, the stronger we become in the ‘Ascended State of Awareness’ and no longer get lost in the experience.

With a tool, such as the Ascension Attitudes, one can cultivate the experience of the Infinite inner light continually.  Ishayas’ Ascension Retreats increase the momentum inward, because even a 3-day retreat is equivalent to six months of daily practice of Ascension.  Longer retreats accumulate the benefits exponentially.   If you are searching for Paradise, consider an Ishayas’ Ascension Retreat. Our world wide retreat schedule has just been released!

Breath

Many band-aid approaches can be taken toward Stress Management, such as learning to breathe correctly, guided imagery, self-help books, etc.

From medical journals to holistic practitioners, everyone seems to be touting the benefits and importance of proper breathing… also known as belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing.  The way you breathe affects your whole body.  Webmd.com says, “Deep breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress in the body.”[1] Everyone knows how to do it, but due to stress and other societal conditioning, other forms of breathing take precedence in most people.

A person under stress takes small, shallow breaths, using their shoulders rather than their diaphragms to move air in and out of their lungs. Shallow over-breathing (or hyperventilation) can prolong feelings of anxiety by exacerbating physical symptoms of stress.

In Enlightenment by MSI, a book that describes what happens as one expands consciousness, it states, “As the mind settles down during the practice of Ascension, the breath naturally stills. Refinement of the breath, then, can be considered the cause of the increasing health and happiness that are the common results of Ascending.”[2]

Other benefits of regular Ascending are:

o    Lowered blood pressure and heart rate
o    Improved immune system functioning
o    Increased physical energy
o    Feelings of calm and well-being
o    Relaxed breathing

Why manage stress?  The purpose of Ascension is to release ALL the stress from the nervous system and achieve full human consciousness.  Since the mind can only do one thing at a time, if it is floating in the pure experience of Unlimited being while using the Ascension Attitude, it has no time left to be caught reacting to the stress.
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[1] http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stress-management-breathing-exercises-for-relaxation

[2] MSI (Maharishi Sadasiva Isham), Enlightenment!, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali New Translation and Commentary by MSI, (The Ishaya Foundation, 1995), Pada 2 Sutra 49

The World is Your Mirror

Life may seem very unpredictable at times in our modern society; filled with surprises, ups and downs and mixed messages.  In actuality, there is perfect order in the world around us; it is like a mirror that is continually responding to our thoughts, feelings and actions.  The more that we connect to the greater truth of who we are on the inside, the more we start to see that we have a choice in our thoughts and ultimately in how we view the world. 

The universe is forever giving and will constantly provide us with opportunities to see the world anew.  Perhaps it is time that we have more self-love and, courage in being who we are, and express ourselves unapologetically to others.  Ascending allows us to gradually and effortlessly move from victim-consciousness to creator-consciousness where we know that we have a choice in life, and that we are not helpless victims to the world around us, but powerful Creators with the ability to view and experience the world in whatever way we choose.  As we practice turning inward and clearing the mind and body of stress, we will start to create less chaos on the outside as the universe responds to our one pointed minds and hearts.

The Ascendant is everywhere.  It permeates and underlies everything. There is nowhere that the Ascendant does not reside.  That is why everything that is happening on the outside is the Ascendant, and is being created for our higher growth.   As MSI writes, “At all times, there is only good. What a relief to a tired mind to think such a simple thought!  Entertaining this one thought challenges us to see the good in that which the surface mind has judged to be bad or unworthy.  Entertaining this one thought propels us deeper and deeper into the growth of our individual consciousness.  Entertaining this one thought inspires us to learn of the good in all things.”  (Ascension!, p. 106).  

Toxic Thoughts & Emotions

Every time you have a thought, it is changing your brain and your body – for better or for worse. 

Dr. Carolyn Leaf has studied the human brain since 1981 and wrote a book about the effects of toxic thoughts.  Below is a list from her book of common toxic thoughts:

•    "could-have", "would-have", "should-have" statements
•    "if onlys" statements
•    replaying situations that pained you or that haven't even occurred yet
•    creating the unpredictable future
•    making comments like "nothing ever goes right for me"; "everything I touch fails";
     "I always mess up"
•    Are you at cross-purposes with yourself - going through the motions, but not really
     committed to the goal, saying one thing but meaning another? How honest are you
     with yourself?
•    How distorted is your thinking? Are you forming a personal identity around for example,
     a disease? Do you speak about "my arthritis", "my multiple sclerosis",
     "my heart problem"? [1]

On a surprising note, Dr. Aaron Beck believed that toxic emotions arise from three negative and incorrect beliefs that people commonly think:
1.    I must do well
2.    You must treat me well
3.    The world must be easy [2]

Dr. Marion Diamond, another groundbreaking brain researcher, describes memory networks. In effect, these networks create "copies" of your "thought life" along with the emotions that the chemicals coursing through your bloodstream literally carry around your whole body like an information highway.  Information molecules are then able to cause changes at the cellular level, actually restructuring the cell's makeup on the outside and the DNA on the inside.  This is how diseases are able to take hold in the body. [3] The toxic waste that builds up actually distorts your memories!

The list of diseases and chronic disorders caused by toxic thoughts and emotions is quite long and includes all the major maladies of the day.

Unmaking or unlearning old belief patterns is extraordinarily difficult by consciously attempting to unmake them or change them.

But it is possible to change deep-seated belief patterns easily and effortlessly. This is done by the introduction of a few new seed thoughts. These seed thoughts have the unique and invaluable characteristic of systematically and effortlessly expanding the conscious boundaries of the individual’s mind. Each of these seed thoughts has the result of unmaking past belief patterns that keep our lives from unfolding in a healthy and harmonious way. Each of these seed thoughts, correctly practiced, causes the entire range of the personality to become aligned with the most basic force in the Universe.

"The Ascension Attitudes are designed to clear out past beliefs and behavior patterns which inhibit full mental and physical functioning. By effortlessly introducing these seed thoughts at a deep and refined level of thinking, the entire structure of the mental framework gradually and gracefully transforms to reflect Reality." [4]

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[1]  Leaf, C. PhD, 2007.  Who Switched Off My Brain; controlling toxic thoughts and emotions.
[2]  Beck, A. et al., 1979. "Cognitive Therapy and Depression." New York: Gilford Press.
[3]  Diamond, M. and Hopson, J. 1999.  "Magic Trees of the Mind: How to nurture your child’s intelligence, creativity and healthy emotions from birth through adolescence." England: Plume.
[4]  MSI, Ascension!