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An Interview with Don Miguel Ruiz – About The Fifth Agreement

Here is a wonderfull interview with Don Miguel Ruiz, who speaks from the heart about a new age of self help and spiritual development. Discussing his new book  The Fifth Agreement and what it could mean for humanity. This interview was created by Miriam Knight from www.ncreview.com

Enjoy!

Part 1 of 4

Part 2 of 4

Part 3 of 4

Part 4 of 4

We hope you enjoyed this series. It’s one of many great interviews you can find at this new website we just found.

Discover the New Consciousness Review

We are very happy to have found the New Consciousness Review. If you haven’t discovered them yet,  it’s time.  NCR is a fabulous resource for discovering books on enlightened living and other resources from many progressive spiritual teachers and authors.

As a FREE NCR Reader, you’ll discover timely book reviews, LIVE video interviews, best sellers, events and more.  If you’re an Author, their unique membership services let you reach readers with extraordinary ease.  We just love them and hope you do too.

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We received this from a friend and wanted to share our slightly modified version with you…

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How Much for a Miracle?

A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even… The total had to be exactly perfect… No chance here for mistakes.

Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to the drug store. She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment.

Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

“And what do you want?” the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. “I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen in ages,” he said without waiting for a reply to his question.

“Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,” Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. “He’s really, really sick….and I want to buy a miracle.”

“I beg your pardon?” said the pharmacist.

“His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?”

“We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I’m sorry but I can’t help you,” the pharmacist said, softening a little.

“Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.”

The pharmacist’s brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?”

“I don’t know,” Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he’s really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money.”

“How much do you have?” asked the man from Chicago.

“One dollar and eleven cents,” Tess answered barely audible.

“And it’s all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.”

“Well, what a coincidence,” smiled the man. “A dollar and eleven cents is the exact price of a miracle for little brothers.”

He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the miracle you need.”

That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neurosurgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn’t long until Andrew was home again and doing well.

Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.

“That surgery,” her Mom whispered. “was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?”

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost….one dollar and eleven cents…plus the faith of a little child.

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Miracles and the Circle of Life

A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law. So by acting in harmony with these higher laws it’s possible to keep miracles moving through our circle of friends!

A circle has no beginning and no end. It is connected like we are to each other. How many more miracles would we see if we all acted like we really are connected in the circle of life?

We never know how many miracles we may need in our lives, so today we share our commitment to support you in these (and other :~) ways through the work we do.

When you are feeling sad …we will help dry your tears.

When you are feeling scared …we will help comfort your fears.

When you are worried …we will help give you hope.

When you are feeling confused …we will help you cope.

When things seem darkest …we will help make them bright.

And when you are lost …we’ll help you see the light.

This is our commitment …our pledge till the end.

Why you may ask? Because you’re our friend.

Today we pass along our commitment through our circle of friendship to you.

You can pass it along to your circle of friends by your commitment to see every person you meet as a friend and every need as an opportunity for a miracle.

Then the next time you see, speak to, or e-mail someone you know you can tell them of this story about Tess, and share with them your commitment to creating miracles in the world.

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We received an e-mail today from a dear friend and we want to share her gift with you–the gift of inspiration.  Thanks Dale!

Since we in the United States celebrate the Fourth of July as our Independence Day–we thought it would also be an excellent time to celebrate all that we are blessed with, and to consider all that we could be giving to others who don’t have as much. Kind of an Interdependence Day.

WE Are The World!

We Are The World by USA For Africa
Written by Michael Jackson & Lionel Richie

We thought you might  also enjoy having the lyrics. . .

“We Are The World”, U.S.A. for Africa

There comes a time when we need a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
Oh, and it’s time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can’t go on pretending day by day
That someone, somehow will soon make a change
We’re all a part of God’s great big family
And the truth – you know love is all we need

( CHORUS )
We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
so let’s start giving
There’s a choice we’re making
We’re saving our own lives
It’s true we’ll make a better day
Just you and me

Well, send’em you your heart
So they know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us
By turning stone to bread
And so we all must lend a helping hand

( REPEAT CHORUS )

When you’re down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There’s no way we can fall
Well, well, well, let’s realize
That one change can only come
When we stand together as one

( REPEAT CHORUS AND FADE )

We hope you enjoy your Interdependence Day Celebrations!

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Choice — Both an Opportunity and Responsibility

Every moment of every day we have the opportunity to consciously choose where we focus our attention.  It is one of the few choices that no one can take away from us.

Maybe it’s more than just an opportunity. Maybe it’s also a responsibility since what we choose impacts how we are, what we do, and ultimately who we become. And collectively, our becoming is what will become of the world.

Here’s a video that we found very inspiring, and we hope that you will too!

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This morning we received an e-mail from a dear friend talking about the presidential election. The suggestion in this e-mail is in harmony with what we believe and we will begin this practice tomorrow morning during our meditation. Here is our interpretation of the e-mail we received.

This election has raised much excitement, but also controversy, stress and confusion. If you are like us and the friend that we got this e-mail from, you are receiving very emotional emails and seeing news from both “sides” expressing great fear and anger, and fiercely attacking the other side.

Which man would be a better president–for our country and the world– Obama or McCain?

In our experience what you focus your attention on grows. And what we’re seeing is most people focusing on what they don’t want, their fears, and the worst possible scenarios. This focus can only bring more of this into our lives. So let’s stop focusing on what we “don’t” want and start focusing on what we “do” want.

My friend mentioned in her e-mail, and it is true for us as well, that we have seen the power of intention work wonders. In some cases, seemingly working miracles in fact. So let’s put it work to make this world a better place for everyone.

Below is the e-mail my friend received from someone today. I have no idea if the following story is true (couldn’t find it on online), and I don’t know the person who wrote this. But the idea has great merit in our opinion. And as I said above, we start tomorrow.

Received E-mail message:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let’s join together now with the intention of meditating daily for the HIGHEST GOOD TO COME FROM THIS ELECTION FOR THE PEOPLE AND ALL LIVING BEINGS IN THE UNITED STATES AND OUR WHOLE PLANET

Good Morning Everyone,

This is a true story. I just read an article which reminded me of the power of meditation. The summer of 1988 was hot, the crime rate in the 80′s in this country was rising rapidly in the cities. A study was done in Washington D.C. and published in the Yale Journal of Conflict Resolution (32:776-812) in Dec. 1988 about the results of a meditation study conducted during that summer with the intention of reducing the crime rate in D.C. by 20%. The Police Chief in D.C. said something like it would take a snowstorm in the middle of summer to lower the crime rate. 2000 meditators committed to meditating daily for a few months with the intention of peace and lowering the crime rate in D.C. The number grew to 4000. I think they said that the population of Washington D.C. at that time was over 1,000,000 people (one million). Within 2 months the crime rate of Washington D.C. in the hot summer of 1988 was reduced by 25% with (let’s call it an average of) 3000 people meditating daily for peace!!! That means that 1/3rd of 1% of the population were able to reduce the crime rate by 25% by meditating with that intention! The Police Chief was shocked to say the least – so the story goes. In this hostile election climate and given the importance of the issues before us as a country and a planet today, Let’s join together now with the intention of meditating daily for the HIGHEST GOOD TO COME OF THIS ELECTION FOR THE PEOPLE AND ALL LIVING BEINGS IN THE UNITED STATES AND OUR WHOLE PLANET .

3% of 300,000,000 people in this country = 1,000,000 people. If each of us friends join together with the intention of meditating daily for HIGHEST GOOD TO COME FROM THIS ELECTION FOR THE PEOPLE AND ALL LIVING BEINGS IN THE UNITED STATES AND OUR WHOLE PLANET and we each invite 10 more friends then a million friends (3% of our population here in the U.S.) could join together to start meditating today! And if we all invited 10 friends who agreed to invite 10 friends then our intention would begin today!

These times are crucial for the health and well-being of Earth. Please let’s join together and do this. I KNOW THAT IF WE JOIN TOGETHER WITH THIS SHARED INTENTION WE WILL MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE.

I suggest 10 minutes daily until the election at least.

I ask that each of us invite at least 10 people and ask that our invitation be confirmed.

LET’S START NOW!!!!! There’s not a nano second to loose.

Love,

Diane

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We love this idea.

We believe if a large group of people focus even a small amount of attention each day on creating the highest good to come from this election for the people and all living beings in the united states and our whole planet, only good things can happen.

What do you think?

With love,

Beth and Neill

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How do you deal with disappointment, pain, rejection, and the grief that these can bring?

A friend and I were talking today about this. She just called it quits with the man she was seeing and we were discussing the different ways people deal with these issues.

At one point in the conversation, I had said to her that spending time in pain is a choice. And frankly, I don’t quite get the appeal.

If I understood her correctly, I believe spending time in the pain surrounding the end of this relationship helps brings her to new depths of clarity. This clarity then allows her to move forward from that pain. So for her, the pain of disappointment, rejection and grief can be a gift that moves her forward.

For me, and–I am admittedly very cerebral–my process is acknowledging my pain, choosing to focus on uncovering the thinking causing the pain, identifying what was missing for me in the situation that caused my dissatisfaction, and then coming up with strategies that help me focus on the happiness and pleasure in my life. This is what helps me move forward. The pain of disappointment, rejection and grief can be a gift.

We both do our best to consciously move towards the gift that the pain is offering.

I’m positive there is not one “right” way. What I do know is that I often see other people spending time with their pain–delving deeply into it–but seemingly never really moving forward from it.

Coleman Barks in his book, The Soul of Rumi, said: “There is a shedding that’s healing, that makes us more alive, a grieving required to enter the region of unconditional love.

“The heat in the oven cooks us to a loaf that’s tasty and nourishing for the community. Rumi is always affirmative about grief and disappointment, mad with the YES inside all the no’s.

“Rumi eats grief and the shadow and metabolizes them into his bewildered, surrendered self, then tries to live simply and generously from there.

“Rumi said: ‘I’ve broken through to longing now, filled with a grief I have felt before, but never like this.’”

I believe the difference is being conscious about your intention.

What do you think?

With Love,
Beth

You find out more about Coleman Barks and his book, The Soul of Rumi, by going to his website at: http://www.colemanbarks.com

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First of all, I dislike using labels such as “terrorist.” Labels such as these tend to dehumanize the person we’re talking about and help perpetuate a culture of “enemy images.” And “enemy images” are the driving force that perpetuates terrorism.

But to unwrap this label, let’s agree that terrorism means: “the systematic use of fear, especially as a means of coercion.” The question that comes to my mind is: How could anyone come to believe that using fear to influence someone else to do what we want is the best strategy? (Just look at the history of the Middle East if you want to see how ineffective this strategy is at truly resolving issues.)

Well, the best answer I’ve found to this question has to do with how we unwittingly adopt our culture’s beliefs and then unquestioningly act on them. I haven’t seen anyone who explains this more succinctly than this talk given by …

Dan Dennett: On ants, terrorism, and the awesome power of meme

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/dan_dennett_on_dangerous_memes.html

Here’s one of those talks that can change your view of the world forever. Starting with the deceptively simple story of an ant, Dan Dennett unleashes a dazzling sequence of ideas, making a powerful case for the existence of “memes” — a term coined by Richard Dawkins for mental concepts that are literally alive and capable of spreading from brain to brain. On the way, look out for:
+ a powerful one-sentence secret of happiness
+ a compelling insight into terrorists’ motivation
+ a chilling view of Islam
And just when you think you know where the talk’s heading, it dramatically shifts direction and questions some of western culture’s fundamental assumptions.
This Is Unmissable.

After viewing this talk, it’s not hard to understand how a dangerous set of relationship memes has hijacked most of the brains in today’s culture, and why people end up acting the way they do on “dating” and Survivor type reality shows.

Fascinating stuff! What do you think?

Committed to Your Success,
Neill Gibson

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I’m glad you found us!

A Brief Personal Introduction.

I’m Beth Banning and I’d like to tell you little bit more about myself and why I’m willing to sit in front of my computer exploring the world via the Internet and write these blog posts. I love it, that’s why. I have found this to be one amazing way to investigate new things, develop my own personal understandings, and to share what I know with others.

I am a student of life. Always have been and always will be. My passion is people. I just love us! We are extraordinary, diverse magnificent beings. I’m very curious and interested in our behaviors, motivations and our interactions with one another. This is been true for me as long as I can remember.

The Road I’ve Traveled.

I clearly remember the moment that I decided there was something missing for me in the way people interacted with each other. It was in junior high school during a riot. In those days, sadly, riots were commonplace. I watched my younger brother being pushed down the stairs. This was a terrifying moment for me and also a turning point in my life. I began questioning… What is causing this? Why is everyone so angry? and my questioning has continued to this day.

Because I love people, learning and experiencing life. And I love sharing, giving and contributing anything I can to others, I have made this my life’s work. So in this blog, I will offer understandings that Neil and I have developed, I will offer practical strategies that I have personally used to create a life I love and because I continue to search I will also offer new and useful tips that I find along the way.

My Commitment To You

I offer all of this with love and to support you in boldly exploring your life, consciously choose what works best for you, and live your life authentically and with integrity for the highest good of all concerned. I believe with all my heart, if each of us take 100% responsibility for creating the life we desire, the world will be transformed from one of eat or be eaten to a world that works for everyone. Where we as human beings can live our true nature– where the joy of contributing to each other flourishes and no one goes without. I am here for you.

With love and appreciation for who you are and what you contribute to the world,

Beth

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Welcome to the first of many New Age Self-Help blog posts. Our goal in this blog is to provide you with personal growth and professional development skills and techniques to help you improve relationships, increase self-esteem, support full self expression, relieve stress and reduce anger so you can lead a happy and more satisfying life.

In this post, we’d like to take the time to introduce ourselves and give you an idea of what’s important to us about these topics.

We are Beth Banning and Neill Gibson and we will both be writing posts. We each have very different styles of writing and thinking. So even though we usually end up in similar places, the roads we travel to get there can be quite different.

Neill is more analytical, abstract and typically a global-big picture kind-of-guy. Beth is more linear and typically uses more everyday language, and is definitely a glass-half-full kind of gal.

As we said in the About Us section of our blog, we believe that the shortest path to a happy life is found through conscious choice. Our mission is to play a significant role in supporting the global evolution toward greater consciousness that supports a shift from the belief in scarcity, domination and “the survival of the fittest,” to a global culture that embraces the values of abundance, prosperity and inter-reliance–one that promotes “the evolution of everyone.”

We are confident that the most effective way for this shift to happen is one relationship at a time, beginning with the relationship we have with ourselves and then extending that shift out to the people in our lives.

Our vision for this blog is to share with you what we’ve learned along our journey. Our desire is to support you in the process.

You may find some of the information we offer in our blog will be familiar to you, while some will seem radically different than what you’ve learned in the past. You’ll probably agree with some of our opinions, be shocked by others, hopefully inspired by many, and possibly even irritated by a few.

As Buddha said:

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe anything because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything because it is written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”

Whatever your reaction or response, our goal is to offer ideas that promote conscious conversation, inspire conscious action and to create a more conscious world. We look forward to your comments and questions, and the opportunity to support you in your personal evolution and your ability to create more happiness in your life and your world.

With Love and a Commitment to Your Success,

Beth and Neill

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