I do not believe that God, Allah, Yahweh, the Divine, or whatever term we use for the higher power has a gender, nor race, ethnicity. These labels are all made from humans assuming that something greater and beyond us could be labeled as categorized by clergy, linguists or scientists is quite narcissistic on our part. Over the history of humanity, there were only two choices of male or female, so the higher power had to be one or the other in view of humans. When the Bible states in Genesis 1:27 “And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” If man (humans) was created in the image of God, many are led to think that God must be a male as Adam was the first human and a male.
If we can break away from our thoughts that the earth and humans are the center of the universe, we may be able to entertain the idea that other life or entities exist beyond what we know here on Earth. Perhaps elsewhere in the universe, their exists something beyond male or female, animal, or plant, etc. Perhaps when humans or other life passes on to their relative afterlife, all labels are removed. I would like to think that in heaven, Valhalla or whatever comes next, our age, gender, race, ethnicity, or any other dividing status would not follow us to that place of bliss.
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I teach and offer lectures about holistic health, stress management, qigong, tai chi, baguazhang, meditation, phytotherapy (herbs), music for healing, self-massage, and Daoyin (yoga).
I look forward to further sharing more of my message by partnering with hospitals, wellness centers, VA centers, schools on all levels, businesses and individuals that see the value in building a stronger nation through building a healthier population. I also have hundreds of FREE education video classes, lectures and seminars available on my YouTube channel at:
I have a tent space rented from 10am-4pm at Lake Eola, near the bandshell. I will have many of my books, posters and herbal extracts (dit da jows) for purchase at a discount, for those who stop by. If you are not near Orlando or have no time, consider clicking some of my links below to see what type of education I am offering.
Many people don’t know that Tai chi is a type of qigong, which has roots in yoga. Tai chi is often referred to as “yoga in motion.”
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I teach and offer lectures about holistic health, stress management, qigong, tai chi, baguazhang, and yoga.
I also have hundreds of FREE education video classes, lectures and seminars available on my YouTube channel at:
I think yes, definitely. Severe trauma mentally or physically can trigger a “hard reset” where an individual is so affected that they are basically a different person(ality) after such events. See the soldier who returns home and can no longer relate to their friends and family due to what they have seen and experienced during war. Or the person who survives cancer or some type of near-death event, where they promise to make drastic changes to their lives once they recover. It is these types of events that shock an individual into what is truly most important to them, often being their own health, and the people around them that they hold dear.
I have come to understand that there are basically two paths to ego death. The first is what I have just been describing, through the trauma of pain and suffering. It often comes unannounced and free of a monetary charge. The second path to ego death is through self-cultivation, through prayer, meditation, skillful means, and perhaps other methods that inspire self-reflection. This path is most often deliberately pursued and usually comes with costs of time, sacrifice and resources whether monetary or otherwise.
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I teach and offer lectures about holistic health, stress management, qigong, tai chi, baguazhang, meditation, phytotherapy (herbs), music for healing, self-massage, and Daoyin (yoga).
I look forward to further sharing more of my message by partnering with hospitals, wellness centers, VA centers, schools on all levels, businesses and individuals that see the value in building a stronger nation through building a healthier population. I also have hundreds of FREE education video classes, lectures and seminars available on my YouTube channel at:
I used to think that mindfulness was just the latest buzzword for the health and wellness industry. A few years ago, I would have defined mindfulness more simply as “paying attention”. However, I have come to understand this term to have more depth and complexity than merely paying attention. Having been involved in meditation and many mind, body and spiritual practices for almost 4 decades, I have come to understand that paying attention is most often what someone else requires or expects from someone. Mindfulness however, originates from within the individual as they themselves are responsible for becoming aware of their own thoughts, emotions, and actions.
A study from 2022 at the University of Queensland reported that mindfulness training improved the psychological well-being of management students. This training was delivered via online methods. Participants chose to use one of two methods of training to manage mindfulness. The first method was Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) consisting of mindfulness meditation, yoga, delivered weekly through 45 minutes of educational videos. Participants were requested to practice methods for 30 minutes per day, five days per week over the course of eight weeks. Those that chose physical exercise as a method to manage mindfulness could pick their own method of exercise. Participants in the exercise group were also requested to practice their exercise methods for 30 minutes per day, five days per week over the course of eight weeks. The exercise group also watched videos but theirs focused on physical health, fitness, nutrition, physiology, etc. instead of mindfulness topics. The researchers concluded that the participants that completed the mindfulness training as instructed, when compared with the physical exercise participants, online mindfulness training can noticeably increase how often people experience states of mindfulness. This study further reported that mindfulness training can help students develop a sense of authenticity or the ability to see themselves more neutrally or unbiasedly, mostly by way of increased self-awareness (Kay et al., 2022).
The four categories of psychophysiological relationships are outcomes, markers, concomitants, and invariants (Cacioppo et al., 2016). Mindfulness methods can help practitioners to become more aware of their thoughts, emotions, and perceptions happening in the present moment, often leading to more positive outcomes in their life. By practicing mindfulness, individuals can increase concomitants or the relationship of cause and effect when the physiological stress response is reduced, leading to increased well-being and happiness. Other studies have reported that mindfulness can affect psychophysiological stress markers such as heart rate variability (HRV) and brain activity patterns that can increase better autonomic nervous system regulation and cardiovascular health. It can also reduce cortisol levels, which can have an effect on lowering stress levels (Aguilar et al., 2021).
References:
Kay, A. A., & Young, T. (2022). Distanced from Others, Connected to Self: Online Mindfulness Training Fosters Psychological Well-Being by Cultivating Authenticity. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 21(2), 261–281. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2020.0316
Cacioppo, J. T., Tassinary, L. G., & Berntson, G. G. (2016). Handbook of Psychophysiology. p.10-, Cambridge University Press. Kindle Edition.
Aguilar, R. C., Stoffel, M., Hernández, C., Rahn, S., Moessner, M., Steinhilber, B., & Ditzen, B. (2021). Effects of a mindfulness‐based intervention on mindfulness, stress, salivary alpha‐amylase and cortisol in everyday life. Psychophysiology, 58(12), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13937
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I teach and offer lectures about holistic health, stress management, qigong, tai chi, baguazhang, meditation, phytotherapy (herbs), music for healing, self-massage, and Daoyin (yoga).
I look forward to further sharing more of my message by partnering with hospitals, wellness centers, VA centers, schools on all levels, businesses and individuals that see the value in building a stronger nation through building a healthier population. I also have hundreds of FREE education video classes, lectures and seminars available on my YouTube channel at:
In spite of bad circumstances, good things may emerge. For example, the recent COVID-19 pandemic did actually produce some positive results for some people. For others, not so much. I think this concept requires a greater understanding of the bigger picture of how the pandemic has brought some level of clarity, meaning and purpose into many individuals’ lives, in spite of having affected so many in a negative way. Some people lost their lives, while others more “fortunate” lost their businesses, jobs, homes and friends. Others made vast amounts of income by acting upon opportunities. This leads me back to the dichotomy of yin and yang, that is found in almost all things. In order to appreciate the “good” in anything, we need to also see the “bad” in order to understand the contrast. While some people were quite traumatized by lockdowns, mandates, isolation, job loss and the illness itself, others thrived while working from home and around their family and loved ones. Some used this time to re-invent themselves, cook and eat healthier at home, exercise more and other positive events and realizations that might have never come about.
Conversely some people ate less healthy, exercised less, and acquired mental ailments of depression, anxiety, and others. I bring this back to the realization that I have discussed before that everyone perceives stress, pain, suffering and trauma differently in relation to their own availability of coping mechanisms. I think it takes a certain level of wisdom to be able to see the good and bad in all things, while also choosing to see the good in people in spite of their attempts to prove otherwise. The COVID-19 pandemic gave many more than ample opportunities to tone their personal social skills while trying to keep their relative stressors in check. There will almost always be good and bad in all things. It is our choice how we choose to see things and act upon them accordingly.
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I teach and offer lectures about holistic health, stress management, qigong, tai chi, baguazhang, meditation, phytotherapy (herbs), music for healing, self-massage, and Daoyin (yoga).
I look forward to further sharing more of my message by partnering with hospitals, wellness centers, VA centers, schools on all levels, businesses and individuals that see the value in building a stronger nation through building a healthier population. I also have hundreds of FREE education video classes, lectures and seminars available on my YouTube channel at:
United Martial Arts Association 