Meditating works. The benefits of meditation go beyond the pleasurable state of mind achieved during the process. This state of mind allows true relaxation, and it is conducive to creative problem solving. It gives you greater access to the subconscious parts of your mind, thus making real change in yourself a more practical goal.

One of the more obvious benefits of meditation is the reduction of stress. Imagine yourself rushing to the hospital to see a friend that just received head injuries in a car crash. The roads are icy, one of your headlights burns out, the traffic is crazy, and the knob on the radio breaks, leaving a half-tuned station blaring in your ears. Then you recall that you were trying to decide when to quit your job and which type of business to start. Are you ready to make the decision?

Obviously stress isn't conducive to good decision-making (or good living), but sometimes we forget this lesson and push our way through problems despite an overloaded mind. The scenario above isn't necessarily more extreme than what's going on inside our busy minds when nothing so obvious is happening externally. Our "monkey minds" may take us on a wild, noisy ride on icy roads with one headlight while we are just sitting there eating breakfast. One of the benefits of meditation is that it can tame those monkeys, lessening our stress level. Less stress means better decision-making and better living.

There are meditations for many purposes. The simplest and most quickly learned are the types that involve just relaxing and closing your eyes, while concentrating on your breath. There are many variations on this technique, but the important thing is to keep your attention on your breath. You also want to let go of your thoughts as much as possible, but you don't want to try too hard too push them away. Try the easy exercise outlined below.

Sit or lay comfortably, and close your eyes. Starting with your toes,and working up to your head, become aware of each part of your body for a moment, and feel the tension leaving that part. Then bring your attention to your breath and begin watching it. Breath through your nose, deeply at first, but then in whatever way is most comfortable. As thoughts arise, dismiss them and return your attention to your breath. Again and again return your attention to your breath.When you are done, simply open your eyes and take a deep breath.

You may notice that things look different; "new" in some way that you can't explain. This is because in our normal busy-minded state, we see what we expect to see-our idea of what a tree is, for example, instead of just seeing the tree. When our thoughts have quieted, we just see what is there in front of us, without preconceived ideas. You may or may experience this at first, but in any case, you should feel more relaxed.

To get the full benefits of meditation, your mind needs to quiet down. This is the biggest stumbling block for most. Be aware that your thoughts will most likely never leave you alone. Your "monkey mind" will continue to chatter away no matter what you try. So don't worry if you don't have "complete" success. You can probably move the mental noise more into the background, though, and reduce the volume. Try some of the following tips, and remember that different techniques work better (or worse) for different people.

Letting Thoughts Go: When thoughts or feelings arise during meditation, it helps some of us to name them. It is like writing something down so you can get it off your mind. Say to yourself "Pain in my leg," or "Old argument," or otherwise label whatever is distracting you. Then return your attention to your breath. If this doesn't help, just accept that your mind will rattle on, but repeatedly bring it back to your breathing anyhow.

Releasing tension: If the tension in your muscles persists when you are meditating, try tensing up each part of your body. Hold the tension for a few seconds, then let go, perhaps saying to yourself, "relax." Pay attention to the feeling of release. By doing this, you are basically training your body to relax on command. Another technique is to let a little tension drain from your body with each exhalation. You'll notice right away that it is easier to relax when breathing out, than when breathing in.

Length of meditation: Try to meditate for at least ten minutes to begin with, and work your way up to twenty minutes. Longer meditations are beneficial, if you have the time, but somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes seems to be useful to most people. Also, once you have trained your body to relax, and have gotten used to watching your breath, you can take two to three minute meditative breaks during the day, when you need to refresh your mind or relax.

There are more types of meditation than you could learn in a lifetime, and many of them are subtly different in the benefits they offer. Guided meditation may work better for those who have too much difficulty meditating on their own. Prayer can be a form of meditation. Meditation involving visualization can help change habits and possibly cure some illnesses. Practicing the Buddhist "meditation on the

corpse" may change your outlook on life. Once you seen the benefits of meditation from the simple technique above, you may want to explore other forms.

For a simple mindfulness exercise/meditation, see the page "Mindfulness Exercises."

How To Stop Worrying : Don't let worrying sap your brainpower.

If you want more information on meditation, go to my new website here: TheMeditationSite.com

One key to success is to find successful people to emulate. Be careful, though, if you think you can ask them for advice. People often don't really know why they succeed, but they will give you as many explanations as you want. For example, I saw a 100-year-old man explain that smoking a big cigar every day was one of the secrets of his longevity. It would be nice to know why he lived so long, but I'm pretty sure we won't learn by asking him.

The key, then, isn't in doing as they say, but rather doing as they do. This is how to learn success from the successful. Of course, you have to look closely and apply a little brainpower to see what they are really doing that is causing their success.

A wealthy real estate investor told me once that he didn't believe in setting goals. Watching him and listening to him, though, I came to realize that he knew just where he expected to be with his projects in six months. This is goal-setting - he just called the process something else.

You shouldn't stop listening to what successful people have to say, but you should read between the lines. Listen to their words for insight into how they think about things, how they approach their challenges. Suppose a successful basketball player only advises you to practice more, but he casually mentions "I saw that going in," after a great shot. Its time to start visualizing your shots going in.

We won't always know what is causing a person's success. Successful internet marketers promote their websites by exchanging links, but when I first tried to exchange links with other websites, the owners didn't respond to my emails. Then I found a letter used by a successful internet marketer to get links. It sounded silly to me. I wanted to change it, but the first time I tried it, it worked.

The point is clear. It is more important to do the right things than to understand why they are right. To understand too is great, but at first, it may be best to just copy many of the actions, attitudes and

Then, as you learn, you can drop those parts that aren't contributing, and add elements of your own. Suppose you model a successful parent, for example, and life with your children is better. Does it matter if you know right away which changes were the most effective.

Is it better to understand why what you are doing works? Of course, but you may not ever understand why some things work, and this is okay too. Better to have success than to explain it, so find successful people and do what they do, not what they say. That's a vital key to success.

Maybe you've heard these words of inspiration:

"What does it profit a man to have gained the whole world, and to have lost his soul?" - Jesus Christ

Words of inspiration, whether sayings from the present day or centuries past, can inspire and instruct us. It is true regardless of the religious, spiritual, or even non-spiritual tradition they come from. In fact, quotes that strike at the truth of the matter can come from scoundrels, saints, and ordinary people. They help us "program" our brains for a better life.

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old. Seek what they sought." - Basho

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit" - Aristotle

Logical arguments and philosophies often attempt to "capture" truth in a net of words to build systems of knowledge, or to satisfy egos. Logic is important, but when mis-used it leads to confusion. Inspirational sayings cut through the fog and point at the truth, so you can see it for yourself.

Suppose you are trying to decide whether to do what you love now, and possibly fail, or wait a few more years. Since, outside of mathematics, virtually all reasoning is tainted with rationalization, and you have sufficient brainpower, you can support whatever you decide with "logical arguments," right? It's no wonder we're often confused and demotivated! How can we trust our own reasoning, if it just finds a logical construct for whichever fear or other feeling is strongest!

Now suppose you read the following words of inspiration:

"You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take." - Wayne Gretzky

You can see how this hockey metaphor might touch you precisely because it isn't just a logical argument. It simply points at a truth you can see for yourself - the fact that you can't get what you want without "taking that shot." Simply seeing the truth is far more motivating than arguing about it. That's the value of reading words of inspiration.

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity" - Albert Einstein

The above quote is a good one, and it may well help you look at the positive side of a situation, but what if it just doesn't get you excited? In that case, you need to apply a little brainpower and make the idea your own. You need to make it a truly motivational thought for YOU.

What does "making it your own" mean? It means experimenting with a good thought until you find a way to use it in your own recipe for motivation. For example, suppose you are in a difficult situation and you just don't feel like dealing with it. Then you play around with the idea of opportunity coming from difficulty, and you discover that it pulls you out of your slump to think about yourself in the future, explaining to a friend how you turned the difficult situation to your advantage.

That is making it your own motivational thought. Of course, it might be more motivating to imagine yourself being interviewed someday about how you overcame this difficult time. Whatever kind of thinking works for you is what you should be doing.

Experiment and see what works. For myself, I find that more than just thinking a thought, if I explain it to someone, I get excited. This is my own recipe. If I feel unmotivated about writing, for example, all I have to do is explain an idea I have for some article to my wife. By the time I have done that, I am very motivated to work.

Get creative in your motivational experiments. If thinking about being poor makes you get up and get to work, then that is a great motivational thought. If a visual thought is more motivating than a mental conversation, then use that. See a picture in your head that gets you going. If when people say you can't do something, you do whatever it takes to prove them wrong, then think about them saying you can't.

If you have a truly uninspiring task you have to do, try promising yourself some reward for completion that means something to you. Hold that thought in your mind to keep you motivated. A bowl of ice cream or a trip to the beach may be more powerful motivational thoughts than any famous quotes.

Ready for your inspirational thought for the day? It sounds too simple, but if you think about it for even a moment, you'll see that the implications are profound. Here it is:

"Whatever you want to do in your life, and no matter where you are starting, someone has done something similar or even something more difficult, starting with less than you have."

Okay, there are some of you out of the six billion on the planet for whom this doesn't apply. Some really want to do things that are far beyond anything a man or woman has ever done. I apologize to the fifty of you. As for the rest of us, what do we want?

Do you want a loving partner? Someone less attractive, less charming and less intelligent than you is getting happily married somewhere today. Do you want to create a new food and successfully market it? Most of you reading this already have more resources than Harlan Sanders had when he started trying to sell his Kentucky Fried Chicken. Do you want a big beautiful home? At least three people in your town have such a home after being poorer than you at some point in their lives, right?

In the movie "The Edge," Anthony Hopkin's character says "What one man can do, another can do," and he goes on to kill the bear that is stalking him. You can do what others have done, even if you aren't currently as strong, as rich, or as smart. Not all who have done great things were always stronger, smarter and richer than you. Like them, you can learn the right things, take the right actions and put in the effort. That is why this is an inspirational thought. Consider where some people have started from, and you will find yourself saying, "If he can do it, I can too."

When I tell friends they can save money to buy a home, they often claim they just don't have any extra to save. They forget that they already know several people who are making less money and surviving just fine. If they lived like those people for a while, couldn't they bank the difference? (Just say yes - finding reasons why you can't do something is a terrible habit to encourage.)

Want to get a date for this Friday? Here's a clue: I saw a young man ask a woman friend why he couldn't get a date. She asked him if he asked anyone out. He thought about it for a moment and said, "No." "That's why," she told him. I knew a jerk who always had a date - after asking twenty women a week out. These are lessons, aren't they? If a jerk can get a date, you can, right?

Colonel Sanders, by the way, drove around in an old van living off his social security check as 900 restaurants told him they were not interested in his recipe. Eventually one said yes, and he made millions. Could that inspire you to try something more than three times?

Poor families come here speaking little English and end up owning restaurants and stores. Find out why, if you want to own a restaurant or store. Want to be a millionaire? There are over two million millionaires in the U.S. alone. Read their stories, talk to them, and learn how to make money. Whatever your situation, someone has been in a worse one and made it far better. If they can do it, so can you. That is your inspirational thought for the day.

Why does personal goal setting sometimes fail to work?

When people want things, situations or accomplishments, they often call these goals. Then they are disappointed when they don't get them. You can call desires goals if you want, but just naming your desires sure isn't effective goal setting. Good personal goal setting results in goals that have some or all of the following:

1. The goals are specific. "I want to be healthy" is too general. "I want to lose weight and walk three times a week," is much better.

2. The goals are measurable. Exactly how many pounds do you want to lose, or how much money do you want to make? How will you know (by what measure) if your relationship is better?

3. They're written. There is power in writing down goals. Writing makes them more real, and this influences your subconscious mind, especially if you review the goals regularly.

4. They're realistic. Even if it is possible that you could become an astronaut, if you're already 55, you better try for becoming a pilot for now. Goals that are unrealistic set you up for failure.

5. Good goal setting uses deadlines. You'll have that new job by when? Setting dates and keeping track of them really helps your progress.

6. Good goals become plans. Making a goal into specific steps makes it much more likely, and it is less overwhelming to take one step at a time.

7. They're motivated. Having the right reasons is a good start, but you should also learn how to re-motivate yourself, and reward yourself when you make progress.

8. They take into account personal factors. Can you really get what you want if you feel like you don't deserve it? Well, maybe, but good goal setting takes into account personal changes that are necessary or useful.

9. They're followed by action. One of the secrets to motivation and to getting where you want to be is to start with any movement towards the goal. Action begets action. Start slow if you must, but start.

10. They're not written in stone. Your goals will naturally evolve. Why would you become a doctor once you learned that you liked doing lab work better?

This last one is a tough one. Making an excuse or making a change of course are not the same thing, but to know the difference means you need a certain level of self-awareness. Develop that, then apply the keys to personal goal setting above, and you'll get to where you want to be.

A definition of perseverance, from my dictionary: "Persisting in or remaining constant to a purpose, idea or task in spite of obstacles." With that definition, it is clear that perseverance can be either a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes quitting might be the wisest choice.

Here is my "wise perseverance" definition: "Persisting in or remaining constant to a purpose, idea or task in spite of obstacles, when such persistence is effective and congruent with one's higher values." For example, if in your hierarchy of values, happiness ranks higher than money, don't persist in making money in ways that cause you to be unhappy. When making money is ranked higher than a particular business, you may need to quit a business when you see a better way. To wisely persist is to persist in the pursuit of your values, but not necessarily in the means to achieve them.

Of course, the problem with the idea that you should quit when something isn't worth the effort, is that it's often used as a rationalization. The idea of quitting comes to mind when the effort is difficult, but really does serve your purposes. This is confusing at times, so how do you wisely persevere? Here are three ways.

Watch yourself objectively:

Note when you look for excuses, rather than the truth. Ask questions. Is it possible you're letting fear or laziness cause you to quit or to procrastinate? Is there a pattern in your life that is repeating here?

Honestly and objectively watching ourselves is difficult. You can probably think of a time when you saw that a friend was lying to himself about something. Your perspective was more objective than his. Why not use this objectivity of an "outsider" to catch your own little lies? Before quitting anything, explain your reasoning to a friend, and ask him to honestly tell you what he thinks. He's more likely than you to recognize your rationalizations.

Look at costs and benefits:

To wisely persevere, you need to see the costs and benefits of what you are doing. If moving to Hollywood to become a star is going to cost you your business or family life, you have to see that clearly before you decide. An honest and good decision requires honest and good information, and when you are more certain about your decision, you are more likely to find the strength to persevere.

Learn to motivate yourself:

When you've made a decision, and you're sure you made it for the right reasons, you have to motivate yourself. In fact, perseverance requires that you regularly remotivate yourself. Write goals down, do daily affirmations, and whatever else works for you.

Start watching yourself, and make self-awareness a habit. Get used to analyzing costs and benefits objectively. Find ways to motivate yourself. Do these three things and you will wisely persist. That's a more useful definition of perseverance.

Why energy boosters? More energy equals better brainpower. I've had problems with fatigue and a lack of energy all my life. It would be wonderful to know why. I've asked doctors, read books, and I have decided that some questions just won't be answered in my lifetime.

Fortunately, I've also learned that even without discovering the root causes of my tiredness, there are things I can do to alleviate it. The following are some of energy boosters that have worked for me and others over the years. It may help to use several at once.

1. Deep breathing. Three slow deep breaths through the nose help oxygenate the blood supply better, and especially seems to wake up the brain. As those of you who meditate may already know, breathing through the nose uses your diaphragm more and draws the air deeper into your lungs.

2. Move around. Often just getting up and washing the dishes, or walking around the house helps boost energy levels.

3. Listen to energetic music. Different types of music have different effects on us, but you can do this one by trial and error. Once you find the ones that work for you, keep them ready.

4. Try "energy drinks." The verdict isn't in on most of them, but it's a cheap option to try. I seem to get something from the ones with Ginkgo Biloba in them.

5. Get better sleep. As long as you get at least five hours of sleep, the quality seems to be more important than the quantity.

6. Talk about something interesting. Get a tired person to talk about something they're passionate about, and watch their energy level rise. This one really works well.

7. Drink a cup of coffee. Caffeine makes some of us more tired when it's abused, but short-term, it can work wonders.

8. Exercise. This is a longer term solution, but many people notice an increase in their energy level when they get regular aerobic exercise.

9. Take a hot and cold shower. One minute of hot water, one minute of cold, alternating for six minutes. This isn't for those with weak hearts, but it will wake you up. Incidentally, research shows that this also revs up the immune system.

10. Get outside. Sometimes a little sunshine and fresh air can be very energizing.

Of course it makes sense to try to find the reasons for your tiredness or fatigue. However, in the meantime, why not try some of the energy boosters here? None of these are expensive, and you just might have more energy, and brainpower, starting today.

What is self talk? It is something we all do. Aren't we always explaining things to ourselves, and making comments to ourselves? The real question is, what are we saying, and does it matter? It does. What you say to yourself radically affects the quality of your life, and your ability to do things effectively.

Are you using primarily positive self-talk or negative self-talk? Some of the things that positive and negative people say follow. Look closely at the difference. When you do, you will immediately see how these "mere words" can affect your life.

Negative people explain bad things by internalizing them ("It's me again."). They consider them permanent ("It's always this way."). They generalize ("Life sucks."). When they explain good things, they externalize them ("That's just lucky."), consider them temporary ("That went well TODAY."), and see them only in a specific context ("At least THIS went right.").

"It's ALWAYS a mess when I meet someone new."

"This party is great, not like mine."

"This is fun for now."

"Well, THAT went okay, I guess."

"I screwed up again."

"This good weather won't last."

Positive people explain bad things by externalizing them ("The weather caused it."). They consider them temporary ("That was a rough couple hours."). They see them as isolated ("THAT part of the plan didn't work, but..."). When they explain good things, they internalize them ("Life is great!"), consider them to be more or less permanent changes ("Now I know how to do this."), and generalize from them ("Things are working out well.").

"I've done well with this."

"I like the way things are going."

"This has become a great business to be in."

"That just went bad due to the weather."

"It was rough for an hour or two."

"The car broke down, but the trip was fun."

Why not explain things to yourself in a positive constructive way? You'll see a difference in your attitude today. When you make positive self talk your normal mode of operation, you'll see a difference in your life. One of the quickest and simplest ways to change your experience of life is to change your self talk.

What do you win when you play the blame game? If you could convince others that your parents are to blame for the way you are, what good would it do? If your business failure could be blamed on something that really wasn't your fault, would that help? Can blaming our personal problems on outside factors ever be helpful?

Possibly. There is some evidence that assigning failure to things outside our control may be useful for maintaining self esteem and motivation. An example is when someone says "Oh, the rain ruined the event," then adds, "I'll have to plan for that next time." The truth is, though, that many would just blame the rain without adding the second part of the thought.

Focusing on outside factors that contribute to our problems de-motivates us. Even if it was true that a friend made you late for an interview and you lost the job, it just can't help to dwell on it. When you do so, you just feel like giving up, don't you? What can you do then? Two things.

1. Learn Your Lessons.

2. Take Responsibility.

If, for example, it was an accident on the part of your friend, you just let it go. If your friend is always late, however, you note that. Now you tell yourself, "I'll get a ride with someone else next time," or "I'll plan to be there thirty minutes early and I'll have a back-up plan."

It's one thing to recognize when others do something wrong, or storms rain on your parade. It's another thing - a useless thing - to persist in blaming outside factors for where you are in life. If someone stole all your money, they did you wrong, but don't persist in blaming as your ongoing response. Ask yourself what you can do to make more, and to keep it from being stolen again. Always focus on what YOU can do, not on what others have done.

Ah, but the blame game can be a subtle one. There is a fine line between the necessary recognizing of "problem factors" and giving control to them. If a person gains weight easily, they have to recognize that fact. Repeating that fact to oneself or others, however, is usually a subtle way of saying, "My body type is to blame, so there's nothing I can do."

To overcome this tendency, include what YOUR decisions are when talking about outside factors. Follow, "John just depresses me," with "but I choose to spend time with him." Say "My parents screwed me up," but add "that's why I'm working to change my beliefs." Have you ever known someone that subtly blames the world for his problems, but never seems to recognize his own contribution to his problems? How happy and successful is he?

Everyone of us could think of dozens of people and things that have caused us problems in our lives. Who and what are they? Who cares?! What are are we going to do about it? That's the important question. Have you ever seen someone blame their way to success? It's time to give up the blame game.

Good quality sleep is important to the functioning of your brain. Short naps can be a part of that, but you can't let them get too long, as Kacper Postawski explains in the article below.

One of the biggest questions I get asked all the time is “Are naps good for you? Or bad? I've heard both sides of the story.” I'd like to settle this argument once and for all right here, and reveal to you how you can properly manage your sleep to create an abundance of energy in your life, with LESS sleep.

Yes, naps are VERY good for you, IF you understand how the sleep system works, and you know how to nap PROPERLY.

In my “Powerful Sleep” course I teach people how to properly understand their sleep system, circadian rhythm, light exposure, and how it affects their inner sleep system. While we can't get in this article, here's what is true:

Most people don't realize that sleep is actually quite a complex and fascinating inner system. When we're sleeping, we're not just dead zombies off in an unknown universe. Your inner sleep system is a mechanism which follows specific time periods and stages to energize your body.

So how do you nap properly?

You take what are commonly referred to as “Power Naps”, or what I usually refer to as “Stage 2 limited naps.”

You see, when you sleep you go through what are called “sleep stages”, there are 5 stages in total. The first two stages, Stage 1 and 2 are your “Light Sleep”. It's during this stage that we sleep “lightly”, we are easily wakable, and our circadian rhythm isn't altered enough to create a disturbance in the sleep system.

The Energizing effects of Stage 1 and 2 sleeps are very beneficial, just 10 minutes of sleeping in these stages can restore your energy to the point where you feel as if you slept for 8 hours.

However, why do most people do more HARM than GOOD to themselves by napping?

It's simple, they don't know about “deep sleep.” Deep sleep comprises of all the other sleep stages. It's during deep sleep that your body undergoes a MASSIVE physiological change, your body temperature, heart rate, respiration drops. Your blood vessels dilate and all the blood that is usually stored in your main organs during the day is channeled to your muscles to repair them.

If you enter deep sleep during the day, your circadian rhythm, and your “inner sleep clock” (see link below for details) will be altered and out of wack, often resulting in an in-balanced, weak sleep system and lower energy levels all together.

For an average person it takes about 45-90 minutes to enter “deep sleep”, this is why for an effective nap you MUST keep your nap down to a MAXIMUM of 45 minutes. Even 45 minutes is sometimes too much. The most energizing naps are usually 10 to 20 minutes long.

If your naps last too long, you will enter deep sleep. Waking up from a deep sleep phase is more harmful to your sleep system and your energy levels than good! You will often feel lethargic, low on energy, and in that “zombie” state of mind.

If you use naps properly, you can boost your energy levels drastically, and lower your sleep time down drastically.

However, there are still two vital things you must know about napping in order to make them super effective during your day, so that you're capable of lowering your sleep, and boosting your energy.

1. You must know exactly what the best time during the day is to take your nap.
2. You must know what to do AFTER your nap to speed up your body temperature rise.

Human error? It is often just a matter of thinking errors. These include equating correlation with causation, over-generalization, and even under-generalization. To avoid making errors in your thinking, it can help to get in the habit of asking a few important questions. Start with the following.

Am I over-generalizing?

Perhaps it is true that avoiding debt is a good general rule. Avoid debt when going into business, though, and your business may fail before it can grow large enough to provide a livable income for you.

Am I under-generalizing?

We have to generalize. If I didn't have the general rule that "most email offers are junk," I would have to spend hours daily analyzing the merits of the various offers.

Do I have enough information?

Over-estimating knowledge is a common human error. After a few weeks study, a man thinks he is ready to pick stocks to invest his money in, for example, when even those who have studied this area for years typically under-perform the market.

How are my emotions involved?

Emotions need to be involved, if for nothing more than motivation. To think clearly, though, you need to identify when emotions are pushing you - and in what direction. Anger might lead an article writer to waste time on a petty violation of a copyright, for example, when his time would be better spent writing something new.

How are labels affecting my thinking?

You need to use words, but they come with their own problems too. Thinking of someone as a "liberal" or "conservative" might cause you to miss the value in their arguments, due to the preconceived notions you have about people with these labels.

Am I applying the same rules to all?

Double-standards are often subtle in their development. A man thinks of those who are using illegal drugs as different, so it never occurs to him that his wine is a drug as well. He excuses this attitude by pointing out the legality, while never asking himself whether he would really give up cigarettes, alcohol or caffeine if they were made illegal.

Am I confusing causation and correlation?

Even scientists often make this mistake. For example, Americans with higher salt intake are more likely

to have high blood pressure - this is correlation. Does it mean that salt causes high blood pressure? If that were the case, the problem would be epidemic in Japan, where they eat much more salt than in America - and they also have a low incidence of high blood pressure.

This last one can even lead us towards racist feelings and ideas when we note a higher incidence of some behavior in a given population. Cofusing correlation with causation is one of the toughest errors to overcome, but all thinking errors can damage our ability to analyze things and make rational decisions. To prevent this "human error" we first need to identify our own mistaken ways of thinking.

MYTH #1 ) “If you sleep longer, you'll be more awake and have more energy in your life”

TRUTH: Sleeping Longer ROBS You of Energy and Damages your Sleeping System.

There are several reasons why sleeping longer damages your sleep system. What most people don't know is that there is a very important element of your inner sleep clock which is prior wakefulness. When you sleep longer you limit your prior wakefulness which puts stress on a number of other factors such us your melatonin hormone levels, your exposure to sunlight, and your body temperature rhythm.

Getting longer sleep or "catching up on sleep" only weakens your sleep system, which in turn can even lower your immune system. The common belief that trying to sleep less makes you tired and low on energy is simply because people don't understand how the bio-temperature rhythms work (what you will learn soon).

MYTH #2) You need to “Catch Up on Sleep” if you missed some before.

TRUTH: Unless you...

Unless you go on a huge sleep deprivation marathon, you do not need to "catch up on sleep", if you downloaded the 2 free chapters of the powerful sleep eBook, you learned precisely why this is true. It is only during the first 3 - 4 hours of sleep that we experience most of State 3 and Stage 4 sleep. Sleeping longer than you usually do isn't physically beneficial to you in anyway, and puts your body temperature rhythm out of balance.

MYTH #3) “I feel so low on energy, I Must Get More Sleep”

TRUTH: More Sleep DOES NOT Provide You With more Energy!

You don't need MORE sleep, you need QUALITY sleep.

People think that sleep is a very basic thing. We don't really think about it do we? We sleep, we wake up, and we magically feel refreshed, don't we? In truth, sleep is actually quite a complex and fascinating system that most of us take for granted. Because most of us don't understand how our inner sleep system works, we aren't even aware of all the actions we're taking in our lives that are damaging our sleep systems and depriving us of energy. There is a difference between MORE sleep, and POWERFUL sleep. The only way to make your sleep more physically energizing is to learn about the inner science of sleep! Only once you learn how to optimize your sleeping system for maximum performance, can you try to reduce your sleep.

A lot of people feel "tired", and blame it on getting not enough sleep, or other external factors. Basically, the fact that they're tired is always "out of control." What they don't know is that there's a reason for feeling "tired", and that there's a simple method to change "tired" to "energized" in a heartbeat....

Most of us feel tired during one of the four:
1) After waking up in the morning.
2) After intense physical activity, or long hours of work.
3) After sitting in one place for a long period of time.
4) During the evening, or in the late evening hours.

What do all four of those have in common? There's one very common process that happens in our bodies in all four cases. During all of these we all experience very similar "symptoms" of tiredness. These include yawning, rubbing our eyes, feeling sllooowww, and having the urge to just get into bed and sleep.

Why Do We Get These "symptoms?"

Our bodies have a natural temperature rhythm. Our body temperature rises when we are awake, and promotes feelings of alertness. Our body temperature also falls when we're sleeping, and promotes feelings of drowsiness, and a desire to sleep.

The natural DROP of body temperature in our bodies is a CUE for our body to produce feelings of tiredness, drowsiness, and the strong urge to sleep. I call this the "natural sleep response". When we're exercising, or putting excessive physical demand on our body, our body temperature RISES rapidly, however when you END the physical activity, there is a RAPID body temperature DROP until your body temperature regulates sometime after. It's during this DROP that most of us think there's no other way out but to sleep, and we usually jump into bed and do just that.

The feeling of the body temperature drop after long hours of work is usually mistaken by us as a deep need for sleep. In reality, we don't need to sleep, we just need to "cool down". Allow me to give you a personal example:

As a kid I used to work at a FULL SERVE gas station for 8-9 hours in a row. This meant I had to be on my feet running around pumping gas for 8-9 hours with one 10 minute break. It was hell! Even when I had the early morning shift I would come home and feel TOTALLY DRAINED and TIRED, I usually fell asleep and slept till the evening.

However, as I began learning the inner science of our sleep system and the inner sleep clock, I tried a little experiment one day. Instead of going to sleep I came home and played fetch with my dog out in the yard for about 45 minutes instead. To my surprise, after just a few minutes of a little light activity (throwing a plastic chewed up Frisbee across the backyard), the feeling of tiredness faded and I was able to stay awake and alert WAY into the early morning hours.

How did this work?

I simply allowed my body temperature some time to return back to the normal pattern it proceeds. I gave it time to "come down." When it returned back to normal, I didn't feel tired and the intense pressure to sleep faded.

This same body temperature drop happens after you sit in one place for a long time. Listen, you could take a person who is robust, athletic, and naturally energetic, but if you put them in front of a TV for 3 hours, THEY WILL GET TIRED! This is simply because our body temperature drops when we're NOT MOVING.

That's why the biggest antidote to feeling tired is exercise and movement, NOT SLEEP.

During the morning our body temperature is low too, which creates feelings of drowsiness and tiredness, however, most of us chose to mask this feeling by consuming large amounts of caffeine. The other main temperature drops happen in the afternoon, and in the mid-evening.

In the Powerful Sleep system I describe the EXACT methods to gain a full understanding of your body temperature rhythm, so you can create a quick RISE of body temperature in the morning, and delay the body temperature drop in the evening. This allows you to stay awake and ALERT longer, have more energy and MORE TIME (time is a precious commodity!)

About The Author:

Kacper Postawski is an innovative sleep science researcher and the creator of the “Powerful Sleep - Secrets of the Inner Sleep Clock” system on www.PowerfulSleep.com. He can show you how to reduce your sleep by up to 3 hours, create more time, and an abundance of energy in your body by sleeping LESS! Not more. He dispels the “8 hour sleep myth”, tells you what most people never realize about sleep, and what the drug companies DONT WANT YOU to know.

Do you need to make a decision, but you're not sure what to do? The following seven step decision making process can help.

1. Start with your immediate intuitive feelings.

Take a few notes about your immediate intuition. Suppose, for example, you're not sure whether to take a particular job. Ask yourself if you should take the job, imagine taking it, and then jot down whatever comes to mind and how you feel about it.

2. Question your intuition.

At its best, intuition is the efficient use of all the information and past experience you have in your unconscious mind. But at its worst, it's feelings based on faulty thinking, greed or fear. Watch for these other motivations before relying too heavily on intuition. You want your intuition to be simply an efficient use of your unconscious resources.

3. Start gathering information.

You should always gather information before making a big decision - and take notes. For example, when deciding where to go for vacation, you can write down the costs of the various choices, and what things you'll be able to do at each destination.

4. Consider the pros and cons.

What are the good points about each possible choice, and the bad points? Write them down. For uncertain possibilities, good or bad, make a note about whether the risk or possible reward is "not very likely," "likely," or "very likely."

5. Imagine worst and best cases.

With each of your possible choices, consider the worst that could happen, and the best that could happen. Which is more likely, and how do the various options appear when considered this way?

6. Use your intuition again.

Look over the information you have gathered, and review everything you have considered. Now make a few notes about how you think and feel about your choices. This is the next-to-last step in this decision making process.

7. Make a decsion, and act immediately.

The power of intention is the latest reincarnation of the "power of positive thinking" idea. But does it work? Perhaps - as long as the goal is more important to you than the idea.

You see, intention alone won't get you where you want to go. In fact, the new age writers on the power of intention seem to have forgotten the very insightful saying that "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Contrary to what they say, the universe may not give a damn what your intentions are.

If the universe doesn't care about you or your thoughts, can the "positive thinking" or other ways to focus your thoughts help you get what you want in life? Yes, because there are other reasons why it matters what you think and what you intend to have happen. This is why using the "power of intention" can help you if used right.

For example, my wife and I were looking for a car. After some searching, we decided that a Chevy Astro Van would work well for our purposes. We wanted a used one at a good price, and only a few years old. With that intention in our minds, we began to see Chevy Astros all over. Of course they were there before, but now we were "tuned in" to them.

You have probably had a similar experience. When you become aware of anything in life, and it is somehow important to you, you start to see more of the same all over. Do something as simple as counting the red bicycles you see this week and there will soon seem to be more red bicycles than you thought were around. This is nothing mystical, but is due to the reticular cortex - a small organ in your brain that directs incoming stimulus to your conscious or unconscious mind. This "gatekeeper" works in any area you direct your attention. It will help you "tune in" to whatever you decide to focus on.

To get the reticular cortex working for you then, you just have to focus on what you want. The more specific you can be in what your intentions are, the better. But just intending to do something, be someone or get something isn't enough. By itself, this is nothing more than wishful thinking.

You see, once we were seeing those Chevy Astros all over, we had to call on them and set up appointments to test-drive them. We had to have the money set aside as well. I had to find a friend who knew about mechanics, so I would know we were getting a good car. We did these things, and bought exactly what we needed, and for 40% less than it was worth. That is the power of intention when it goes beyond wishful thinking to actions that make things happen.

The "power of intention" is a nice idea. But ideas are not ultimate and infallible truths. They are tools. Use them as such and you will get much further. Don't be like a man who discovers the wonders of a hammer while pounding nails, but then tries to use it to cut wood or pound in screws. A wiser person drops a tool and picks up another when needed.

It may not seem like it at the time, but clinging to an idea in all circumstances is just as silly as clinging to that hammer when it's time to cut a board or bolt something together. In other words, use the power of intention as far as it works (to program your reticular cortex), then drop it and put those other tools to work.

Matthew Lieberman and colleagues at UCLA found that naming emotional states calmed them down. This is a common technique in mindfulness meditation. The meditator deals with random disturbances by saying, "fear," "anger" "annoyance," or otherwise putting a label on interfering thoughts, emotions and feelings, and then returns attention to breathing.

In the study, fMRI brain scans were done on 30 people, who were asked to look at photos of people's faces, showing various emotional states. Some photos had words below them describing the possible emotional states of the person, such as "angry," "depressed" or "excited." They also had two possible names, male and female.

Participants were asked to choose the appropriate emotional label or gender-specific name. If the label chosen was a negative emotion, the activity in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex region became more active. This area is associated with thinking in words about emotional experiences. The area associated with emotional processing, the amygdala, was calmed.

Interestingly, this change in brain activity was not present when the subjects simply chose the appropriate name for the person in the photo. Also those subjects who were rated as more "mindful" according to a questionnaire they filled out, showed a much greater effect. Their "thinking area were much more active, and there was a much greater calming effect in their emotional processing area of the brain after labeling their emotions.

This may partly explain the beneficial effects of mindfulness meditation in reducing stress, and so improving overall health. The research was reported this year (2007) in the journal, "Psychological Science."

Now for my own speculation. If this training of the mind makes it possible to calm our negative emotions, it should also be useful for increasing our ability to think clearly. In other words, it may be yet another way to increase your brainpower.

Being in the midst of negative emotions probably reduces your ability to think clearly in almost any situation. But it probably just reduces the efficiency of your thinking when doing a math problem. You might be slower, but you will probably still get to the right solution most of the time.

On the other hand, what if the negative emotions are triggered by the thinking itself? For example, what if you are debating a political issue, and your opponent's argument has made you angry? In this case, the outcome of your thinking is more likely to be changed. You are not likely to agree with much he says from

that point on, for example, even if you might have under other experiences.

Naming your emotions, then, might be a way to think more clearly in a situation like this. You might take a breath and tell yourself, "anger," and "hurt." Having then calmed these emotions - especially if you practice mindfulness meditation - you can then be more objective and think better.

It will be interesting to see what other research is done in this area, and what it will show. For now, though, it is certainly a safe experiment to try. Start naming those negative emotions. A little mindfulness might just be good for that brainpower.

You hear the expression "in other words" all the time, and probably use it yourself. But how often do you actually think about the words you are using, and the effect they may have? Do you sometimes change the words you use in order to change your perspective? If not, maybe it is time to start.

The words we choose affect how we see things and even our physiology. This isn't a new idea, and it is easy to demonstrate it. To prove it to yourself, have a friend try to relax while you tell him, "make that tension jump right out of those muscles." Then try it again with, "let the tension drain from your muscles." Either instruction communicates the same basic idea, but you'll find that the second is more effective at getting the desired result.

In other words, we use words to accomplish something, so why not use the words that are best for the purpose? This makes sense in communicating with others, but it is perhaps especially important in communicating with oneself. The words you use in your own "self talk" can dramatically affect whether you get the results you want in life.

For example, suppose you repeatedly say something like, "I can't handle this," when in a tough situation. What you are doing, of course, is programming your subconscious mind to believe that you are not capable of certain things. With time, this will become more true the more you say it. That probably isn't the result you want.

As a matter of fact, you are probably just frustrated or tired. You are "handling" the situation in some way, but you would like to do so in a better way. Why not say that? Every time you are tempted to say "this is too much for me," or "I can't handle this," say, "I will find a better way to deal with this." This kind of instruction to your subconscious mind is bound to be more productive.

Here are a few words or phrases that may not be getting you the results you want, and some possibly more productive alternatives. They are just to get you thinking. Use them if they make sense for you, but experiment with your own alternatives as well, always thinking in terms of the goal, and which words are most likely to help achieve it.

"I can't..." Possible replacements: "I can..." or "I choose not to right now.."

"It's always the same..." Possible replacement: "Sometimes this happens..."

"I always do that... Possible replacement: "Sometimes I make this mistake..."

"It's so overwhelming..." Possible replacement: "I am busy with many goals..."

"I have to..." Possible replacement: "I choose to..."

That last one reminds you to accept responsibility for your actions, and so you either reaffirm them, or you change them. Either way it can prevent you from thinking that others or the "situation" forces you to do things - a very negative and unproductive belief. Find areas like this where your beliefs or repeated statements are getting in the way of your success, and start finding better words.

You'll notice that "never," and "always" commonly show up in phrases that are counter-productive. These can be powerful de-motivators. "I always screw up," or "This never works for me," are not likely to help you get results that you want. Avoid this kind of over-generalizing, unless it is more like, "I always find a way to achieve my goals." In other words, start using other words.

Interestingly, a little stress may improve attention and memory in the short term. This makes sense from an evolutionary viewpoint. When faced with real physical threats we need to have a heightened awareness and ability to deal with the crisis.

However, most of us in the modern world rarely face real and immediate physical threats, yet we still have the stress response. In fact, we normally have it as a reaction to nothing but our own thoughts. Unfortunately, unlike animals (or our human ancestors) which release the stress and the hormones they create by running away or taking other actions, our stress tends to remain for hours at a time, sometimes getting worse as we have more anxiety-causing thoughts.

The result? Possibly brain damage, the research suggests. Cortisol and other adrenal steroid hormones are released during the stress response, and if the exposure is repeated and for long periods of time, these substances can damage the brain. They can block the formation of new neurons in the hippocampus, preventing the storing of new memories. Some recent research suggest that chronic stress can lead indirectly to cell death as well.

This is especially disturbing because the damage may reduce our ability to creatively solve our problems or even make the changes necessary to reduce the stress which is causing the damage in the first place. In other words, it can become downward spiral of reduced brain function which reduces one's ability to deal with the causes, which then allows for more of the same. It appears that our modern stress does far more harm than good, both to the brain and the rest of the body.

How do you best reduce or prevent chronic stress? There are a number of ways that have been covered in the Brainpower Newsletter and on this website. Meditation is very helpful for some people. The use of relaxing brainwave entrainment CDs helps as well. Regular exercise, humor and positive social interaction all seem to work for many people. Alcohol and other drugs may provide temporary relief, but generally cause more damage than they can prevent.

Of course, removing the causes of stress may seem like a natural solution, but this can be a tricky one. Often this approach becomes a mere avoidance of things and situations which cause us fear or discomfort. This can limit your opportunities in life and stunt your growth as a person. In fact, responding to fear by avoiding the people and situations which cause it may strengthen the fearful response, causing more anxiety.

This is where a bit of self awareness and a different perspective may be necessary. If we watch ourselves closely, we can see that with the exception of fear and stress related to immediate threats, like an animal attack, our response is not primarily to the event itself, but to our own thoughts. In other words, the causes are not out there, but in our own minds. If we see it from this perspective, then we can start to resolve the causes without avoidance of the things and situations we imagine to be the root of the problem. This is a much healthier approach.

I have written on this before, especially on the problem of identifying with one's anxious or fearful thoughts. The short lesson: Your thoughts are not you, and you do not have to take their advice, nor do you have to believe their demands. I will write on this topic again both on this website and others, but for now I will leave you with a quote:

What do I mean by the art of thinking? It may seem that powerful thinking should simply be logical, and nothing more. The ideal thinker then, might be Spock, the "Vulcan" in the "Star Trek" television show and movies. Of course, if you watch the program, you may recall that the humans aboard the spaceship had most of the solutions and new ideas. Spock only knew how to analyze.

The most useful processes of thought need to do more than run a "logic program." After all, we need to choose what to think about, and we also sometimes need new ways to think about things. These tasks are not a matter of applying logic, but of choosing values and pursuing them creatively.

This is where the art of thinking comes into play. A definition of art: "Disciplines, or those parts of disciplines, which do not rely solely on the scientific method." This includes such arts as economic forecasting and psychological therapy, which might someday rely solely on the scientific method. However, at the moment neither these nor thinking can be described, taught, or practiced solely as a scientific method.

To understand this it might help to use another art as a metaphor. Painting, for example, can shed some light on thinking. The goal is to express something on canvas. You start with the paints, brushes, palettes and other tools. But all the best tools aren't enough.

You need to learn how to paint. You learn to draw, and perhaps learn the geometry of creating perspective in a scene. You learn how to mix the colors and how to show light reflecting. This is the science of painting.

The tools and science still aren't enough, though. You need to practice, so you paint again and again to learn how to best get various effects. Then, with the tools, the knowledge, and the practice, you are ready to create something new of your own. Perhaps. Of course there is nothing in your painting books that says, "This is what you want to say with your painting."

Here, the "art" enters. First, you choose according to your values what you will paint. Then, you find a way to express it creatively. Perfect science would get you nothing more than a photograph - less actually, since even the art of photography finds a way to show a subject from a new and creative perspective. Instead, you're relying on your intuition to find a way to show something new, some unique perspective.

How do you know how well you did? First, the painting either makes sense to you or it doesn't. Second, it makes sense to others, or not. Of course, some won't appreciate a good painting, but if nobody sees the value in your painting, it isn't likely that they are all aesthetically "blind." Feedback matters, because painting is not just about expressing yourself, but also about communicating your vision to others.

Want to improve your art of thinking? Start with better tools. Just as a better paintbrush can help produce a better painting, better reasoning skills, or more observation, or more experience can lead to more useful, valuable, and even beautiful thoughts. Your intuition, which guides you in the use of these other tools, should be developed. But good tools are not enough.

You need knowledge. Knowing more things gives you more options in combining those things into new ideas. Practice gives you more skill in doing this as well. Expand the base of your knowledge then, and practice thinking of new ideas. But tools, knowledge and practice are still not enough.

Like a painter, you need to start with your values to decide where to apply your thinking. What is worth thinking about? Then you need to look at your thoughts and ask if they make sense. You also need to throw them out there into the public sphere - at least among friends - to see if they make sense to others. Do at least some people understand the picture you are painting with your words?

By the way, talking to others is a form of thinking (at least it can be). Just as the communication between the various parts of your brain creates new ideas, so does the interplay of two minds in a conversation. Good conversation can be an important part of the art of thinking.

What else? Like a painter, you should experiment. You should mix those "paints" up differently from time to time, just to see what you get. You should try a new type of canvas (think on paper, in poetry, in stories?), or a new subject matter.

You should watch the process of your own thoughts, learn from it, and adapt accordingly. Much of what you learn will be at a level below consciousness. To use this, even as you guide your thoughts consciously, you have to allow for the intuitive as well. It is in this interplay between the conscious and unconscious that the art of thinking really blossoms.

1. Think as many positive thoughts as you can. Each positive thought you think is a Happiness Lottery Ticket you're gathering.

2. If you're having trouble being positive, put in the effort to master your negative thoughts by meditating, journaling, working out. Each of those habits are happiness lottery tickets you're gathering. (For added motivation, tell yourself you are "negative thought intolerant," the way some people are lactose intolerant. You simply cannot think negative thoughts because they weaken you and make you feel yucky. You can only think positive thoughts which nourish and energize you, and give you better odds of winning that metaphorical happiness lottery!

3. Studies show the top three happiness determinators are (1) high self-esteem, (2) intimate connections with others, and (3) doing acts of altruism. So make sure your daily to do list is full of (1) doing actions which you are proud of (2) spending time in intimate conversation/experiences with loved ones (3) spending time giving back to the world in some way. Each of these action items are metaphorical life happiness lottery tickets you're gathering around you.

4. Control your stimulus-response mechanism, which makes you reactively pick bad choices in the moment, choices which you later regret. Instead decide to gather around you as many "long term happiness lottery tickets" which will set you up for life, well into your crickety old age. How? Every day make sure you choose actions which move you towards your long term life fulfillment, instead of only doing easy, lazy, reactive actions, based on your short-term emergency/impulse needs.

5. Nourish your body/mind/spirit with healthy foods, exercise, meditation, sleep, sex, hugging, smiling. The more habits you do from these areas, the more metaphorical happiness lottery tickets you're gathering.

6. Go on a "No Nuts Diet." Remove nutsy crazy people from your life. Nutsy crazy-makers lower your odds of winning that metaphorical big ticket life happiness lottery. Likewise, surrounding yourself with lots of loving, growth-directed people increases your odds of being a Mega-Happiness Winner!

Remember...each of these "free will" habits are equal to snagging a metaphorical happiness lottery ticket. The more tickets you gather, the more you stack up the odds that a happy destiny awaits you.

And best of all, each of these "free will" habits are ALL available to EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, rich or poor, young or old!

So do your part to create your own good luck, starting today!

What Are Binaural Beats And How Do They Improve Mind Power? 

INTERESTED? VISIT: http://www.positivemindstates.com/

Do you make resolutions at the beginning of every year? Resolutions can be powerful tools. In fact, they can help you take your business to the next level. The catch is, once you make a resolution, you have to work to make it come true.

If you want action, you need an action plan. Goal setting is the best way I know to transform lofty resolutions into bottom-line results. Research shows that when entrepreneurs set measurable goals for themselves, they're more like to achieve them.

When you engage in true goal setting, you define your objectives in pragmatic, measurable terms. You also need to identify the resources, time and funds you'll need to invest to attain them. That's how you develop action plans. Once you know where you want to go, the next step is to figure out how you'll get there and how much you're willing to spend on the trip.

Use the SMART SystemWhen it comes to goal setting, the SMART system is simple, down-to-earth and gets the job done. Each goal must be defined so that it meets the following criteria:

S SpecificM MeasurableA AchievableR RealisticT Timely

Specific, achievable and realistic--Make sure your goals are concrete, concise and attainable. Instead of, "I want to make a lot more money this year," specify "I want to increase my revenues by X percent (a realistic amount) by the end of the year."

Measurable--Frame your goals in such a way so you can measure your progress. For example, plan on measuring monthly or quarterly revenues against last year's figures--something you should be doing anyway.

Timely--Give yourself a reasonable time frame for achieving your goal. Then break it down into smaller, short-term increments. Realistically, you may not achieve that X percent increase early in the year, but you can work toward it. Divide your goal percent increase into monthly or quarterly increments that allows you to build on your momentum. This produces measurable, attainable and short-term goals to pursue.

Record your goals and action plans on paper. Whether you write them down or type them, the very act of recording them will help you flesh out your ideas. Once your plans are complete, you'll have a detailed roadmap with directions to follow.

Review your goals and plans regularly. Make a monthly appointment with yourself if that's what it takes. This will help keep you on track as time unfolds.

Also, beware of "BHAGs"--big, hairy, audacious goals. Super-ambitious goals are great when it comes to long-range planning and decision making, but they don't lend themselves to goal setting. Focus on attainable goals that you can realistically reach within the year.

It's easy to make resolutions, but it's hard to make them come true. No wonder some entrepreneurs make the same resolutions every year, without ever achieving them. Don't let yourself fall into that group. This year, resolve to set SMART goals and action plans.

Ray Silverstein is the "Sales" columnist at Entrepreneur.com and president and founder of PRO: Presidents Resource Organization , a network of advisory boards for small-business owners.

by WellnessGoods.com

Water has a very important message for us. Water is telling us to take a much deeper look at our selves. When we do look at our selves through the mirror of water, the message becomes amazingly, crystal, clear. We know that human life is directly connected to the quality of our water, both within and all around us.The photographs and information in this article reflect the work of Masaru Emoto, a creative and visionary Japanese researcher Mr. Emoto has published an important book, "The Message from Water" from the findings of his worldwide research If you have any doubt that your thoughts affect everything in, and around you, the information and photographs that are presented here, taken from the book of his published results, will change your mind and alter your beliefs, profoundly.

How the molecular structure of water is affected...

From Mr. Emoto's work we are provided with factual evidence, that human vibrational energy, thoughts, words, ideas and music, affect the molecular structure of water, the very same water that comprises over seventy percent of a mature human body and covers the same amount of our planet. Water is the very source of all life on this planet, the quality and integrity are vitally important to all forms of life. The body is very much like a sponge and is composed of trillions of chambers called cells that hold liquid. The quality of our life is directly connected to the quality of our water.

Water is a very malleable substance. Its physical shape easily adapts to whatever environment is present. But its physical appearance is not the only thing that changes, the molecular shape also changes. The energy or vibrations of the environment will change the molecular shape of water. In this sense water not only has the ability to visually reflect the environment but it also molecularly reflects the environment.

Mr. Emoto has been visually documenting these molecular changes in water by means of his photographic techniques. He freezes droplets of water and then examines them under a dark field microscope that has photographic capabilities. His work clearly demonstrates the diversity of the molecular structure of water and the effect of the environment upon the structure of the water.

Discover how each source has an effect on the visual photographed structure...

Snow has been falling on the earth for more than a few million years. Each snowflake, as we have been told, has a very unique shape and structure. By freezing water and taking a photograph of the structure, as Mr. Emoto has done, you get incredible information about the water.

Mr. Emoto has discovered many fascinating differences in the crystalline structures of water from many different sources and different conditions around the planet. Water from pristine mountain streams and springs show the beautifully formed geometric designs in their crystalline patterns. Polluted and toxic water from industrial and populated areas and stagnated water from water pipes and storage dams show definitively distorted and randomly formed crystalline structures.
 

With the recent popularity in music therapy, Mr. Emoto decided to see what effects music has on the structuring of water. He placed distilled water between two speakers for several hours and then photographed the crystals that formed after the water was frozen.

After seeing water react to different environmental conditions, pollution and music, Mr. Emoto and colleagues decided to see how thoughts and words affected the formation of untreated, distilled, water crystals, using words typed onto paper by a word processor and taped on glass bottles overnight. The same procedure was performed using the names of deceased persons. The waters were then frozen and photographed.

Heavy Metal Music	You Make Me Sick, I Will Kill You
Thank You	Love and Appreciation

            Adolph Hitler                                                          Mother Teresa