Sunday, March 3, 2013

Spiritual and Psychic Development - The Essentials

The first and most important thing to say is that everyone is a spiritual being - we are pure light beings experiencing and learning about what it is to be a human on the planet earth. As we are all spiritual beings, we are all psychic and we are all born psychic. There are no exceptions. It's just that some of us come into the world with more of an awareness of that than others. But anyone, and that means you with practice and focus, can develop their spiritual awareness and therefore their psychic abilities.
I always teach spiritual and psychic development together, because I believe they belong together. It is possible to be psychic and not spiritual, but impossible to be spiritual and not psychic because once you make that connection to your true spiritual identity you have access to unlimited energy and intelligence through the source of All That Is. It is important to develop spiritual awareness as you develop psychic awareness because otherwise our egos, the very human part of our identities with all its hurts and wounds, can misuse those psychic gifts for personal power and gain. This is turn has a karmic impact on your spirit and can cause a lot of struggle for you in the future, so I always teach the two together. I have done a lot of healing on a past life where I misused my spiritual gifts and I know it's been a long hard slog to get back to my current state of awareness, so I would not wish that on any of my students!
Unfortunately, there is still a tendency to think of psychics and spiritual people as being airy fairy with their heads in the clouds; all wispy and ineffectual. This couldn't be further from the truth for anyone who has developed effectively. If you develop spiritually and psychically at the same time then it is vital to be fully present and comfortable in your physical body, and to nurture a strong connection to the earth. This is called being grounded.
Being grounded means you can maximise the flow of life force energy in your body and optimise your physical health; you can conduct spiritual energy from the Source and manifest it as a physical reality here on earth to help people and the beautiful planet we live on. A grounded person can access the highest qualities of love, compassion and wisdom that exist in their spirit through its connection to Source and express those qualities to humanity and the earth through their human form. Wow! I always get incredibly enthusiastic when I think about what that means and how much impact it would have if the world were full of people doing exactly that!
The other essential of spiritual and psychic development is to learn to clear and still the mind. Because of that, some form of meditation is a must. There are many different methods of meditating and it doesn't really matter which one you use, but it is extremely difficult to listen to the quiet, peaceful voice of your spirit when your overactive mind is jabbering away constantly in both ears. In the modern era when we live at a super-fast pace and are bombarded all day with information from all directions, this is especially important. So even if you begin by simply sitting quietly for five minutes every morning breathing as slowly and deeply as you can, you'll notice the benefits.
It's all very exciting when you start to become aware that there's more to life than just the material world, but it can also be confusing and challenging to know where to start. I suggest you find a teacher you feel drawn to, go with your gut feelings and intuition, and perhaps try out a few of the psychic disciplines such as reading cards, mediumship, numerology or dowsing and see which method you find easiest to work with or generates most interest in you. We are all different and so your strengths and what works for you will not necessarily be the same as for your friend. It's one of the great spiritual lessons; there is no one like you and you should not be afraid of being different from others!
I recommend looking for a trustworthy teacher who can help you to develop your spiritual awareness and psychic ability in a safe and effective way using the essentials of grounding and meditation. Try out a number of psychic disciplines and spiritual approaches and find out which ones work best for you.
Semele Xerri is a spiritual healer, Reiki Master/Teacher and psychic intuitive. Based in Wales, she offers healing and readings, runs spiritual and self-development workshops and trains Tarot readers. She also provides email courses for spiritual development and Tarot reading, including a 12 week Spiritual Development Course which is also available on CD

Spiritual Healing Holistic Techniques - How to Increase Healing Energy Now

The true nature of healing is about generating optimum energy in order to fully enjoy living your life. Healing is much more than a technique of doing, it is a state of Being; Being at peace with ourselves, our bodies, our relationships and our lives. Let's explore how to create more healing energy to improve your health and the quality of your life.
Healing is a return to wholeness by achieving balance in your life. To get started, we need to explore the nature of health and let go of some outdated concepts. During childhood, were taught that healing is only a means to fix and cure. We learned that healing happens as a reaction to illness or something to focus on when we're sick. Many traditional methods of healing in our culture are about fighting and conquering illness and disease. However, the fundamental flaw with these approaches is that they consider healing a static, something to "do" once you're already sick.
There is a saying,"a person is alive, but not really living." Traditional healing is about keeping the body alive, sometimes at all costs. In the medical field, death is seen as failure. There are many souls trapped in physical bodies due to the advancement of medicine. There are even machines that will keep your lungs breathing for you. Just keeping a body alive, doesn't produce a state of healing.
Wholeness honors and respects all four levels of your being. It begins by owning and respecting your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. These four levels of being or "bodies" are the foundation to wholeness that leads to creating optimum health. Genuine healing is a return to wholeness by achieving balance in your life.
The Four Levels of Your Being that Produce Health and Wellness.
The first level of healing is with your physical body. It's the most visible aspect of our being. We can easily identify and see the symptoms of illness physically. However, the lack of illness doesn't define a state of health and wellness. Unfortunately, many people use their body as the only barometer to determine if they are healthy or ill. If there are no symptoms or pain in my body, then I must be healthy. Right? That like saying, well if we aren't at war... then we must be at peace! Right? Wrong! You'll soon see that the physical body is only the first of four bodies to evaluate your state of health and wellness.
Healing begins by making choices to care for your body. Ask yourself these questions to evaluate your relationship to your body.
Do you appreciate your physical body? Do you find it easy to accept or do you constantly criticize your body? Are you ashamed of your body? Are you measuring it against standards of perfection that are impossible to achieve? If so, then ask yourself why and write down your answers in a journal. Writing it down helps you reflect deeper. These four questions will help determine your current relationship with your physical body and can be a catalyst to jump start your healing process. Be honest with your answers and write them down.
You may discover you have been in a very dysfunctional relationship with your body. If so, forgive yourself and begin to accept, appreciate and respect your body, just as it is. Acceptance, appreciation and respect will quickly change the dysfunctional relationship with your body. It can also help develop positive habits to care for your body and nuture it toward health.
A Few Suggestions to Appreciate and Respect Your Body;
o Exercise daily to provide stimulation to your internal organs.
o Eat nourishing foods with live energy such as fruit and vegtables.
o Breathe oxygen filled air to continually renew your energy.
o Expose your body to sunlight in small doses on a regular basis.
o Sleep well and allow for plenty of time to rest and revitalize.
o Discover new ways to experience pleasure and comfort.
o Accept any physical limitations and love your body as it is.
The Second Level of Healing is with Your Emotional Body.
The next level of healing is within your emotional nature. Many people experience a dysfunctional relationship with their emotional body. This is due to a lack of understanding about the nature of emotions. We were never taught how to keep our emotions healthy. Instead, we were encouraged to devalue and repress them producing emotional negativity. This unhealthy relationship leads to emotional stress and can be the source of many physical health problems.
Science is now discovering how emotions have a direct and immediate effect on the physical body. It is almost instantaneous and is the basis of the body mind connection. For example fear triggers adrenoline and causes the fight or flight response in a millisecond of that feeling being triggered. Mental emotional stress influences your physical health, by changing your chemistry, immune system and blood pressure.
What constitutes a positive emotion versus a negative one? Many people get stuck when it comes to dealing with their emotional body. The most common reason is that we divide our emotions into categories of "good" and "bad" feelings. The "good" ones we have deemed worthy of feeling. On the other hand, the "bad" emotions are deemed unacceptable, and we tend to ignore, deny or repress them. It is our judgement of our emotional nature that creates the dysfunction on this level of our being.
Judging emotions as "good" and "bad", creates emotional negativity. Traditionally we're taught to feel the "good" or as I prefer to call them, "expanding emotions", then we are being positive. However, if we feel the "bad" or "contracting emotions", we are being negative. This division of good and bad with your emotions produces negativity that leads to dysfunction.
You'll begin to create healing on this level rapidly, by changing how you define your emotions. Begin by letting go of the judgments of good and bad. Instead, think of them as expanding and contracting. Then think about breathing and ask your self, "Is inhaling good and exhaling bad?" No... you need to do both to breathe properly, and so it is with your emotions, they work together expanding and contracting to guide and protect you through your life. When you let go of the conditioned judgments from your childhood you will take a major step toward emotional health and wellbeing.
Honesty is the most positive emotional state of being. Being emotionally aware of your feelings regardless if they are expanding or contracting is being honest about how you really feel. Simply being honest, is the most positive relationship you can have with your thoughts and feelings, so drop the judgments of good and bad, and just be honest. Self respect is not having to apologize for how you honestly feel, it is a state of honoring your thoughts and feelings. This is one way to develop self respect.
All emotions have purpose and offers feedback about your life. Every emotion is a natural feedback mechanism to gain greater understanding of how you're doing in your life. They are meant to provide guidance on your journey through life. To fully respect yourself is to be honest with how you feel emotionally so that you can change it. Denying emotions keep them alive and can haunt you for years. When you think about an area of your life that isn't working the way you want, you will naturally feel constricting emotions and likewise, the areas that are working well will feel expansive.
If you feel anger, then be angry! Don't try to convince yourself that your not. Feel it, express it (responsibly) and release it (forgiveness) and then get back to feeling happy and free again. Emotional honesty is the most powerful and positive way to be. However, if you deny your anger, you can attract all kinds of negative experiences, all in the name of trying to "be positive". It never works to deny what you are honestly feeling. Honesty is the best policy and will set you free especially on an emotional level.
How to Develop a Healthy Relationship with Your Emotional Body.
It begins with honesty and a willingness to feel and express your emotions and then release them. Whether its anger, hurt, love, or joy, the emotions need to be felt and released. This creates a positive emotional state of being. How we relate to our emotions determines their positive or negative impact in our lives.
Can Love be Negative and Anger be Positive? Yes, they both have the potential of being either positive or negative depending upon how you relate to them. When you express your emotions, they become a positive influence in your life. Likewise, when you repress them, they turn negative and can wreck havoc on your health.
Unexpressed love can be tremendously negative. Repressed love can change the chemistry of your body, your blood pressure and eventually contribute to heart disease. Love on an emotional level is energy. When we refuse to let energy flow, it becomes repressed and can cause many physical complications.
How to turn anger into a positive experience: Anger that you feel (honestly), express (responsibly) and release through forgiveness, can create positive changes in your life. Anger holds a part of your will power. When you feel your anger and express it constructively, you can access this trapped will power to create discipline and positive changes.
How to begin honoring your emotional nature. Begin to give yourself permission to feel all of your emotions without judgment and to express them constructively. You can best do this, by journaling. Write down your feelings on a regular basis is a great way to express this energy and release it from your emotional body. It may take some practice, but it will ultimately lead to a healthier state of being.
The Third Level of Healing is on the Mental Level
The power of our mind is limitless. How do you relate to this God given gift, called your human mind? Do you recognize the value of it to change your life or do you disregard your mental power? Most people have never been taught to appreciate the power of their minds.
Mental empowerment begins by making a personal choice. Understanding how the mind works and how to use the mental tools that are available to you, begins mental empowerment. The four mental tools to create wellness (as well as any other change in your life) are:
1. Imagination 2. Thoughts 3. Beliefs 4. Choice
These four mental tools contain the power to improve or destroy your life. They create the nature of your attitude and your self image. You can not fully understand your inner power without owning these tools and using them to create the life you desire.
Mental healing begins by making a choice to use the power of your mind.
THE CHOICE: To believe your thoughts are powerful and attract and create your experiences... or, to believe that it doesn't matter what you think. Life isn't a choice, it is only an experience that you have no control over.
If we deny our thinking and imagination, we are out of alignment with our mental power on this third level of our being. Thus, disempowered on the mental level of our being; leading to illness rather than wellness.
When you believe your mind holds the key to your personal power, you become more conscious of your thoughts and choices. You understand that your imagination is where all change begins; First in your mind and then in your life. Make the choice to understand these tools, learn about them and use them to lead you closer toward healing and wholeness.
"Imagination is more powerful than knowledge." -Albert Einstein
Disempowered individuals believe that the imagination is just "pretend" and has no power, it is only make believe. When we engage our imagination and visualize the healthy expression of ourselves in our minds, we will create the blueprint of our future. Your imagination is a preview or your lifes experiences. Use it!
How to Access the Power of Your Imagination to Change Your Life. The quickest way I know is to practice visualization and guided imagery techniques. You can discover how to focus your attention and use your imagination by learning to meditate. This is the quickest method I know to gain access to the power of your mind. (See my guided meditations)
The Forth Level is Spiritual Healing: Your Relationship to the Divine.
Your spiritual nature, regardless of your religion or lack of it, is about a personal and private relationship with the Divine, with God. What is God? Most simply put, God is Love. To honor God is to honor your relationship with love.
Beyond the emotional expression of human love is divine love. A love that begins by being understanding, compassionate and forgiving. Divine love is so much more than emotional love. It is the ultimate state of being. Being a loving person, becomes the foundation through which you establish permanent healing and activate your life-force energy to create wholeness that leads to mental, emotional and physical healing.
Spirituality is your personal relationship with God. If God created... all-that-is, then everything is a creation of God (love). Spirituality is the way we relate to our lives with love or without it. Spirituality is not a ritual we do on Sunday and it's not a book with rules and regulations, that's religion. Spirituality's only rule is love. Love is the way you relate to living your life.
Spirituality is your personal relationship to everything in your life. Spirituality is your relationship with your body, emotions, and mind. Spirituality is your relationship to your work, money, family and friends and it all hinges upon wether those relationships are based on love and understanding or judgement and separation. Being loving is the most healing and powerful experience to change the nature of your life. It is the ultimate healing energy.
When we honor our relationship with God we recognize that our free-will choice to love God is really about choosing to love ourselves and everything and everybody in our lives.
The true nature of healing is focused on loving yourself enough to:
o Nurture your body by meeting its needs for health
o Honor your emotions and handle them honestly
o Value the power of your mind to overcome resistance to change
o Knowing that spirituality is simply about choosing to love
o Ask God for healing and strength to reach your full potential
o Remember that God isn't separate from the physical world.
The purpose of holistic healing is to create heaven on earth by becoming whole and at one with all that is. Only then can wholeness and healing become as natural as breathing. The true nature of health becomes the way we live our lives, not just a quick and temporary cure to fix or keep our body alive!
Aliveness is the natural way to increase your energy. Aliveness emerges from a healthy relationship with all four levels of your being, physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Aliveness is being physically energized, emotionally free, mentally clear and spiritually connected to life. Spirituality healing is a choice available to everyone. The choice to access the power within whenever we choose and to remember we are loved by God and the way to love God is to love our lives and create a healthy wholeness with all-that-is. Applying these secrets will increase your healing energy and create positive changes on all levels of your life
Michaiel Patrick Bovenes is a personal empowerment teacher, professional speaker, healer and author. Since 1994, he's been the author of a popular series of guided visualization meditations, he calls, Soul-utions. He offers classes and writes articles for various magazines and ezines worldwide. He currently resides in San Francisco, CA.

How to Blend Your Earthly and Spiritual Beings

Most spiritualists find it difficult to be accepted by family and friends who don't understand your spiritual goals and experiences. While you go through your ascension process, it is important to remember that your ascension process is yours and yours alone and shouldn't be shared with non-spiritualists. Not that ascension is a secret, it is just a personal process.
When you are not on a spiritual journey, focusing on fitting in with family and friends is vital to psychological wellness and overall physical health. The process of ascending spiritually comes with many lessons, both exciting and upsetting incidents will occur along your journey. Theses incidents can affect your normal life and routines. Friends and family may start to question your sanity and become worried at first. Keeping your spirituality and your earthly being separate can keep you from losing close friendships or family relationships.
Ascension Candidates are typically unstable as earthly beings. Most will change jobs often, go through karmic relationships quickly, and are financially unstable. Mastering your two selves means you will be a happier being in both realms.
It is tough going through all your lessons, initiations, and ascension syndromes without having a good number of people think you are off your rocker a bit. The best way to do that is to build an earthly reputation as being fun-loving and lighthearted. Making fun a part of your routine tends to make the rough patches in your road, smoother and easier to handle.
Let's face it, when negativity surrounds your earthly being, it blocks your spiritual being from evolving. Make sure you do something you enjoy everyday. I recommend things you liked to do as a kid, like dating, watching or playing sports, any source of entertainment, or having an occasional glass of wine or beer.
Your friends and family may notice you are going through a tough time. Being humble and trying to laugh it off by having some fun may make your friends and family much more supportive. They will be supportive even though they don't know what it is exactly that is causing your rough patch.
In the end, it is all about getting through your ascension process as safely and quickly as possible. At some point in the process you will have past life lessons and major initiations to go through. All lessons must be learned and all initiations must be accepted with honor so your spiritual being can ascend to where it needs to go.

The Key Role of Emotional Health In Your Physical Health

In the first years of family medical practice, I became very aware that my patients were coming to me in a lot of fear and distress despite receiving maximum therapy from medical treatments, in particular treatments for cancer. They were feeling fearful and helpless and I felt helpless to help them.
I wanted to help reduce my patients' fear and suffering. I wondered if there were ways to help my patients feel less fearful, helpless and powerless and with doing so, surely better results would be possible.
I also realized that despite the many strengths of Medicine, it cannot do everything. Surely better results will be possible if the patient gets involved and feels able to contribute.
I have come to understand that there is a whole disease - that disease and illness have mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects not only a physical one.
Certainly the first priority is to treat and manage the physical disease. However, I have found, as many other doctors and therapists have experienced, that when a patient also deals with the associated mental and emotional aspects the benefits of medical treatment can be greatly enhanced. I discovered that when I helped my patients heal their life, they often healed physically.
Several well known researchers and doctors have written of their experience in treating the whole disease -
• Dr. Bernie Siegel - formerly a general surgeon who did a lot of cancer surgery. He noted that some 15 % of his patients did much better than expected. When he spoke with these patients, he discovered they were using the opportunity of cancer to give focus to healing their lives. In 1978 Dr. Siegel started cancer patient groups (ECaP - Exceptional Cancer Patients) -around the United States which helps cancer patients become aware of their healing potential - facilitating personal change and healing their lives and healing physically.
• Dr. Deepak Chopra - American board certified Endocrinologist who has established a centre for spiritual and emotional well-being and healing in California. He has spoken and written extensively on the link between thoughts, emotions and beliefs and the effect on the physical body. He is at the forefront of and one of the key contributors to mind-body medicine.
• Dr. Gabor Mate - one of our own Vancouver physicians, reports in his book 'When the Body Says No - The Cost of Hidden Stress' many interviews with patients in which there is an uncovering patterns of stress. Throughout the book, he makes reference to innumerable studies that investigate the interplay of emotional stress and disease.
To quote from page 60 - "A rich body of evidence, drawn from animal studies and human experience, supports the impression of cancer patients (themselves) that emotional stress is a major contributing cause of breast malignancy.
Contrary to the assertions of the Toronto researchers, the 'evidence for genetics' is not high. Only a small minority of women are at high genetic risk for breast cancer and only a small minority of women with breast cancer - about 7 % - acquire the disease for genetic reasons. Even for those genetically predisposed, environmental factors must be involved, since far from everyone with one of the three genes known to be associated with breast cancer will actually develop a malignant tumour. In the vast majority of women and men diagnosed with breast cancer, heredity makes little or no contribution."
... and from page 61 -
" Many studies... fail to appreciate that stress is not only a question of external stimulus but also of individual response. It occurs in the real lives of real persons whose inborn temperament, life history, emotional patterns, physical and mental resources, and social and economic supports vary greatly... In most cases of breast cancer, the stresses are hidden and chronic. They stem from childhood experiences, early emotional programming and unconscious psychological coping styles. They accumulate over a lifetime and make someone susceptible to disease."
Dr. Mate's comments above totally concur with the body experience of doctors and psychologists that I have been following in the last 15 years or so.
What I do in my practice is make sure the patient is getting ongoing medical care and treatment as needed. I then approach the disease within a wider context of the mental, emotional, psychosocial/spiritual aspects.
In doing so, I am often able to engage the patient in bringing up knowledge of his/her life and the impact of hidden, unconsciously held patterns of stress and provide tools to help him/her release and heal. There is no absolute guarantee for full healing and the possibility is there.
Remember you are the power in your life to create your own greater health and happiness.
Dr. Nelie Johnson is a family physician and facilitator for healing - inspiring and guiding people to tap into their own healing potential. She is a contributing author to a bestselling book and provides seminars, workshops, and private consultations

The Spiritual Side of Health - Exercise

Becoming what God created you to be!
Spiritual Elements of Exercise
Romans 12:1--And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
I Corinthians 6:19-20--Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you
and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought
you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
a. Recognize that you need His help.
b. Turn to God for strength, for motivation, accountability, guidance, consistency.
c. Be obedient.
d. Keep motives/perspective God-honoring.
e. Pray for support team.
Physical Elements of Exercise
Hebrews 12:11--For the time being, no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness---in conformity to God's will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God.]
I. Improve functional strength for daily living-Focus on core strength movements
II. Improve lung capacity and heart strength through cardiovascular training
III. Improve flexibility, mobility
IV. Practice relaxation and self-massage
Questions
1. How can you apply the concept of exercise as a way to worship and honor God? How does this idea affect your perspective and motivation in working out?
2. What are ways to keep your perspective and motives God-honoring? How can your thoughts easily become manipulated?
3. What are ways you will incorporate the spiritual element of exercise into your physical routine? How will you apply the physical element of exercise into your spiritual routine?
Application
Shift your focus from working out for your own good and health, to that of worshipping God. Pay attention to how that changes the intensity and motivation behind your daily workouts.
Specifically pray for God's hand in your workout prior to working out. (ex. Pray He will help you maintain a Godly perspective, motivation, etc.)
Set a personal goal this week for exercising. Record what you will do each day on your planner and hold yourself accountable to maintain and increase your spiritual and physical endurance.
Mantra for Week:
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Psalm 16:3
Workout for Week--
Complete 3 days a week:
10 Jumping Jacks
10 Push-Ups (at wall, floor, or on knees)
10 Sit-Ups (on ball, anchored feet)
10 Tricep Dips
10 Squats
Choose to complete the entire list of exercises as many times as you can without stopping for 15 minutes....or complete the list of exercises 3 times through without stopping. Record on the fitForum how many times you make it through the list, or how long it took you to complete the 3 sets.
Cardio Exercise (1-2 days a week): Swim, Bike, Run, Jumping Jacks, Stair climbing, Elliptical, etc.
Work hard 30 seconds: go easy or rest 15 seconds...repeat 10 x without stopping. Record the distance you travel or number of reps completed during the 10 sets.

Positive Aspects of Spiritual Health Holidays

Physical health
A gentle sojourn that brings together travel to stunning natural settings and interesting destinations is known to possess tangible overall health benefits. Studies prove that holidays, particularly those with plenty of leisure time, can lower the blood pressure, increase the defense mechanisms and even improve memory.
Day-to-day pressures of work and family can lead to severe sleep deprivation. Spiritual health holidays including meditation, exercise in nature, comfortable lodgings and a leisurely schedule are certain to enhance the quality and quantity of sleep. A 15-minute siesta in the warmth of the day is a great way to refresh the exhausted brain!
Mental health
Spiritual health holidays are also beneficial from a mental wellness point of view. Resting the mind is as important as resting the body. Cerebral exhaustion is a known side effect of contemporary life that can lead to a mental breakdown.
Health and wellness holidays that combine solitude, serenity and exercise with travel to new, interesting destinations allows the mind to refresh and re-focus on the bigger picture of life.
Emotional well-being
Stress, difficulties at work and daily setbacks can have a negative impact on emotional well-being. Many folk find it tricky to deal with the way of the world and are simply swamped by negativity.
Spiritual travel to new environments allows one to reflect on the objective of existence. By being separate from colleagues, family and even buddies, you'll be able to focus on the real priorities. Thinking positively and getting the right balance can enhance standard of living and psychological well-being.
Deeper connection with nature
Health and wellness holidays generally consist of travel to remote locations in nature. It can be spectacular desert landscapes, secretive forest hideaways or towering mountain peaks.
Nature walks, star gazing or simply meditating in stunning surroundings help remind people of their innate connection to the universe. The awareness of the interconnectedness of all things and everyone in the world offers both meaning and a feeling of belonging.
Personal growth
Travel is a mind-opener that provides an excellent leap in personal development. Experiencing different creeds, cultures, customs and rituals increases one's perspective. Moving out of a comfort zone into the wide world supplies a more powerful feeling of direction and purpose, as well as a comprehension of well-being and accomplishment.
Book a spiritual health holiday in South Africa
Book a spiritual health holiday to the Karoo Desert in South Africa, a tour that provides all the necessary elements for enhanced physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Find specialist South African wellness operators online where you can browse a detailed itinerary and explore the advantages of health travel to the Karoo Desert. Visit a site now and book a trip of a lifetime!
Time out of Time operates spiritual health holidays to the Karoo Desert in South Africa, a destination known for its healing qualities.

Healthy Relationships Revealed

Healthy relationships are dependent on the health of the people in the relationship. This is not exclusive to physical health; in fact the physical health is lower in importance for realizing a healthy relationship. Mental and spiritual health are the most influencing factors when it comes to the health of a relationship.
Mental health
The easiest way to explain mental health is to say it is how an individual views and treats themselves. Yes, mental health is often influenced by outside stimuli, but it still boils down to how the individual responds to that stimulus towards themselves. Besides, life in itself is nothing more than an accumulation of outside influences and experiences. It is how that individual responds, grows and matures from those experiences that measure their mental health. By looking at it in that manner, it is much easier to see how important mental health is to a healthy relationship. If someone does not have a healthy relationship with themselves, then they will not be able to experience or contribute to a healthy relationship with anyone else.
Spiritual health
While typically people tend to associate spirituality with religion, there is actually a great difference between the two. For the concept of healthy relationships, we will have to separate the two even more. Spiritual health is better associated on how an individual views and treats others. This is our spiritual health because, if we are kind and generally loving to others, we tend to be spiritually sound. But if someone generally takes advantage of others and generally mistreats people, then their spiritual health is very lacking, and over time can completely dissipate. Spiritual health may be more apparent to the contribution of a healthy relationship, as it is how someone treats others. Since a relationship is the cohesive interaction and growth of two individuals, each individual's spiritual health is important.
The interesting thing about the spiritual health is that people who have a poor spiritual health will typically find themselves partnered with those who have poor mental health. This type of coupling tends to produce not only an unhealthy relationship, but more likely a completely toxic relationship. When people get depressed, place their personal happiness on the shoulders of someone else, they open themselves to those who thrive on that negative energy. It is this type of relationship that is most common, and of course the most damaging to both individuals. People with sound mental and spiritual health might find themselves with someone who is lacking in either area, but they will remove themselves from this unhealthy relationship as soon as possible. Failure to do so, will begin to drain on their own health, until they eventually, for lack of a better word, compliment their partner deficiency.
Understanding these basic foundational concepts will provide you with the pathway to be able to contribute and experience healthy relationships. Not only healthy romantic partnerships, but friendships and even family as well. If you find yourself in unhealthy relationships from time to time, then that might be a good indicator for you to look at yourself. Now if you find yourself in those toxic relationships, especially if they seem to go on and on for long periods of time, then you must immediately look at yourself. Focus on your own mental health. If you are unable to look at yourself alone, then get some help. Work on the things you don't like about yourself, retrain the way you treat yourself. Focusing here is where your efforts will pay off the most, as an individual's mental health will affect their spiritual health. Raise one, and the other will follow. Sometimes your mental health will depend on your physical health. If so, then start there.
The most important thing to remember is that if you want to have a healthy relationship, you have to be healthy yourself. You cannot depend on someone else to do this for you. It is completely impossible. Healthy people will not stay with unhealthy ones. And if you are able to bring a healthy person to an unhealthy level, then it is no longer capable of being a healthy relationship. So fix your broken parts till you can smile at yourself in the mirror. Treat others as you wish to be treated. Respect yourself, and don't allow others to take advantage of you. Be willing to go out of your way for someone special for nothing in return. When you are able to be at that point, you will find yourself with someone similar to you, and the two of you will experience the most incredible, lasting, healthy relationship you ever imagined.