resilience

[panatmansam]

These are links to some documentaries I enjoy.

Andrew Marrs: History of the World

BBC: Planet Earth with Sir David Attenborough

The Buddha by David Grubin with Richard Gere

500 Nations: Complete History of the Native Peoples of America

The Elegant Universe with Brian Greene

The History of God by Karen Armstrong

BBC: Today I died - Near Death Experiences

From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians

War and Civilization: With Historian John Keegan

Was Jesus a Buddhist Monk?

Journey to the Edge of the Universe

Mathematics Explains the Universe

The Story of Earth

Secrets of the Human Brain

PBS Nova The Mystery of DNA (five parts)

PBS Nova Secrets of the Pyramids of Egypt

PBS: The Historical Origins of the Bible

BBC: Did Jesus Die on the Cross?

Bart Ehrman Lectures: The Historical Jesus

Nat Geo: History of the World in Two Hours

The Science of the Mind - Sacred Teachings of Tibetan Buddhism

The Dawn of Religion: Beliefs of First Humans

Alan Watts: The Nature of Consciousness

[fearistheword]

“Rest and self care are so important. When you take to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.”

— Eleanor Brown (via purplebuddhaquotes)

[purplebuddhaquotes]

“Whatever causes night in our souls may leave stars.”

— Victor Hugo

[themotivationjournals]

If we could look into each other’s hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other more gently, with more love, tolerance and care.

Marvin J. Ashton   (via themotivationjournals)

[pagewoman]

Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.

Henry David Thoreau (via pagewoman)

[panatmansam]

Sam’s Guide Directory (Updated 05/05/2015)

[panatmansam]

Sam’s Guide to Dealing with Difficult People

Sam’s Guide to Problem Solving

Sam’s Guide to Mending a Broken Heart

Sam’s Guide to the Six Types of Love

Sam’s Guide to Depression

Sam’s Guide to Panic and Anxiety

Sam’s Guide to Improving Your Grades

Sam’s Guide to Maintaining a Healthy Weight

Sam’s Guide to Conspiracy Theories

Sam’s Guide to Feeling Good Right Now

Sam’s Guide to Ego

Sam’s Guide to Ego Death

Sam’s Guide for the Empath

Sam’s Guide to Spirit Animals

Sam’s Guide to Chronic Pain

Sam’s Guide to Visualization and Affirmation

Sam’s Guide to Deep Relaxation and Self Hypnosis

Sam’s Guide to Compassionate Living

Sam’s Guide to Adulthood

Sam’s Guide to Overcoming the Fear of Death

Sam’s Guide to Overcoming Shyness and Making Friends

Sam’s Guide to Reincarnation

Sam’s Guide to Freewill and Determinism

Sam’ Guide to Attachment

Sam’s Guide to Karma

Sam’s Guide to Dealing with Anger

Sam’s Guide to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Sam’s Guide to a Good Night Sleep

Sam’s Guide to Dream Interpretation

Sam’s Guide to Controlling Intrusive Thoughts

Sam’s Guide to Dealing with Loneliness

Sam’s Guide to Dealing with Grief

Sam’s Guide to Negative Core Beliefs

Sam’s Guide to Dealing with Negative Self Comparing

Sam’s Guide to the Shamanic Trance

Sam’s Guide to Dealing with Adversity

Sam’s Guide to Habits: Making and Breaking Them

Sam’s Guide to Controlling Thought

Sam’s Guide to the Law of Attraction

Sam’s Guide to the Psychedelic Experience

Sam’s Guide to Self Observation

Sam’s Guide to Eating Disorders

Sam’s Guide to Lucid Dreaming and Sleep Paralysis

Sam’s Guide to the Great GMO Controversy

Sam’s Guide to the Self Forgiveness

Sam’s Guide to Fasting

Sam’s Guide to Dealing with a Suicidal Person

Sam’s Guide to Survival

Sam’s Guide to Critical Thinking

Sam’s Guide to Dealing with Traumatic Experiences

Sam’s Guide to Mindfulness

Sam’s Guide to Habits: Making and Breaking Thems

Sam’s Guide to Mastering One Pointed Concentration

Sam’s Guide to Compassionate Living

[panatmansam]

Some Keys to Freedom

I do not have to always be right.

I do not have to the “the best” at everything.

I know that I will fail sometimes. I treat failure as an opportunity for learning and growth.

I know that not everyone will like me or approve of me and I am okay with this. I do not live for their approval.

I know that to keep from stagnating I must learn something new every day.

I know that I must strive to be compassionate and kind. I also know I will fail in this at times.

I know that all things pass away. I do not allow this to make me sad. Instead it gives me incentive to appreciate what I have today.

I know that we must give other people the right to disagree with us and even to be wrong.

It is not my job to change others even “for their own good”.

I know that others will disappoint me and so I give up my expectations.

I can love even those who are imperfect for we are all imperfect.

I am improving every single day and each new day is another opportunity.

I know that my happiness does not depend on you or any other external thing.

I forgive not for you but for my own freedom.

I know that life will always contain some pain.

I can love even when I am not loved in return.

I know that right is right even when nobody is watching.

I know that to be true to my word is right.

I know that others do not do anything because of me.

I know that I am not responsible for acts of others good or bad.

I know that giving must be done without expectation of return.

I know that I am never truly alone.

๑ Samsaran ๑

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

You are most powerful when you are most silent. People never expect silence. They expect words, motion, defense, offense, back and forth. They expect to leap into the fray. They are ready, fists up, words hanging leaping from their mouths. Silence? No.

Alison McGhee (via onlinecounsellingcollege)

[panatmansam]

Letting go" is not a euphemism for stamping out craving by other means. As with suffering, letting go begins with understanding: a calm and clear acceptance of what is happening. While craving (the second truth) may be the origin or cause of suffering (the first truth), this does not mean they are two separate things  any more than the sprout is separate from the daffodil that emerges from it. Just as craving crystallizes into suffering, so does understanding flower into letting go. Letting go of a craving is not rejecting it but allowing it to be itself: a contingent state of mind that once arisen will pass away. Instead of forcibly freeing ourselves from it, notice how its very nature is to free itself. To let it go is like releasing a snake that you have been clutching in your hand. By identifying with a craving (“I want this,” “I don’t want that”), you tighten the clutch and intensify its resistance. Instead of being a state of mind that you have, it becomes a compulsion that has you. As with understanding suffering the challenge in letting go of craving is to act before habitual reactions incapacitate us.

Stephen Batchelor, “Buddhism Without Beliefs” (via panatmansam)

[panatmansam]

[panatmansam]

Not to be able to stop thinking is a dreadful affliction, but we don’t realize this because almost everybody is suffering from it, so it is considered normal. This incessant mental noise prevents you from finding that realm of inner stillness that is inseparable from Being.

Eckhart Tolle (via panatmansam)

[petapeta]

[unclefather]

I don’t want to hear the dog ate your homework. 

[anqel]

is that professor mcgonagall

[panatmansam]

Numerous studies have indicated the many physiological benefits of meditation, and the latest one comes from Harvard University.

An eight week study conducted by Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) determined that meditation literally rebuilds the brains grey matter in just eight weeks. It’s the very first study to document that meditation produces changes over time in the brain’s grey matter. (1)

“Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day. This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing.” – (1) Sara Lazar of the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program and a Harvard Medical School Instructor in Psychology

The study involved taking magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the brain’s of 16 study participants two weeks prior to participating in the study. MRI images of the participants were also taken after the study was completed.

“The analysis of MR images, which focused on areas where meditation-associated differences were seen in earlier studies, found increased grey-matter density in the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion and introspection.” (1)

For the study, participants engaged in meditation practices every day for approximately 30 minutes. These practices included focusing on audio recordings for guided meditation, non-judgmental awareness of sensations, feelings and state of mind.

“It is fascinating to see the brain’s plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life. Other studies in different patient populations have shown that meditation can make significant improvements in a variety of symptoms, and we are now investigating the underlying mechanisms in the brain that facilitate this change.” – (1) Britta Holzel, first author of the paper and a research fellow at MGH and Giessen University in Germany

[questionall]

[macaulay--sulkin]

Steve Powers

[im-just-a-charity-case]

[motherofhermes]

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.“

Marcus Aurelius (via motherofhermes)