Cultivate GREATNESS | Leadership Training & Life Hacks

By Charles A. Breeding

Recall the opening scene in the blockbuster movie, Forrest Gump – a feather floating in the wind, up and down and all around with no control or sense of direction whatsoever. I would argue that many business people feel that awful feeling of being powerless, being blown around by the latest change of which they have no power, influence or sense of control. Helpless. It is not a good feeling.

Later in the movie, as Forrest’s son is about to leave for his first day of school, he asks his father a thought-provoking question: “Is life like a feather (I’m powerless over many events which affect me) or do I have destiny (I can set goals, and purposefully move toward them)?” Forrest’s answer: “ I guess it’s just a little bit of both, son.” Isn’t it?

Stuff Happens, says the cleaned-up version of the famous bumper sticker. Yet, 10% of success is what happens to you -90% of success is what you DO with what happens to you. In other words, do you respond or react? Do you quit, or get up and try again? Are you a golf club thrower, or do you recoup quickly? Do you let your feelings of resentment or anger get the best of you, or are you as cool as a cucumber in a crisis? Do you say things that you later regret? Or, when attacked, respond with calmly spoken, kind words, and perhaps make the other person regret their attack?

IQ or EQ?
Emotional Intelligence, sometimes abbreviated EI or EQ, in a takeoff of IQ, has become a hot management leadership consulting area in the last two years. Emotional skills have replaced experience and IQ or intelligence as the most important markers of personal success. EI is rooted in the belief that success is only partly explained by IQ, or one’s intellect. More important is how one behaves in response to events, and how well they interact with people.
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So I was using StumbleUpon earlier this evening. And I ran across this page HealthMad.com

According to Wikipedia:
A mudrā (Sanskrit, मुद्रा, literally “seal”) is a symbolic gesture, used in the iconography of Hindu and Buddhist art of the Indian subcontinent. They are usually made with the hand or fingers. Along with āsanas (seated postures), they are employed in the yoga meditation practice of Hinduism. Each mudrā has a specific quality that is said to be imparted to the practitioner. Common hand gestures are to be seen in both Hindu and Buddhist iconography. Other regions, for example Thailand and Laos use different but related iconographic conventions.

The Mudra above is called: Prithvi Mudra [Earth Mudra]

Method:
Tip of the ring finger touches the tip of the thumb, with the other three fingers stretched out.
Specialty:
It reduces all physical weaknesses.
Time Duration:
It has no particular time duration. You can practice it any time you want.
Benefits:

* It helps to increase the weight for weak people
* It improves the complexion of skin and makes the skin to glow
* It makes the body active by keeping it healthy

Check out the rest of the Mudras. They feel great!

by Laura M. Turner

Let’s face it, stress is everywhere. It lurks in every corner and around every bend, just waiting to “get” us. And study after study concludes that although some stress can be productive, prolonged stress can lead to chronic illness.

Yet, stress can only “get us” if we let it. If we can agree that the mind and body are interconnected, than I believe you can actually decide to manage stress, take control of it and instantly over-come the negative influences brought to you by your environment.

Now, stay with me for the “clinical” stuff. Scientific evidence supports that the stress of the body comes from the nervous system’s “fight or flight response.” If you haven’t heard this term before, it’s when the body suspects trauma and instantly shifts into “survival mode” based on the stimulus of an oncoming stress factor. This “survival mode” response, does terrible things to the body including increasing heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, muscle tension. These are the bad boys that can lead to harmful changes over time.

Now for the good news: you can teach your body not to make the shift into survival mode. Do this by retraining your body to create its own relaxation response. How? Begin by incorporating these three proven relaxation rescue techniques into your own life:

Meditation:
Meditation provides an escape from stress as it refocuses the mind on something else - most often the breath. The benefits of meditation counteract the negative stress-responses by creating a mode of deep inner peace and physical health. It does this by slowing the heart rate and lowering the blood pressure. It also includes many other benefits including those of anti-aging.
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Dr. Zhi Gang Sha is an M.D. in China and a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine in Canada and China. He is an extraordinary divine healer, teacher and spiritual master. Dr. Sha is a grandmaster of many Eastern disciplines including Tai Chi, Qigong, Kung Fu, Feng Shui and I Ching. He has authored the New York Times bestseller, Soul Mind Body Medicine, plus the bestselling book Power Healing. He is also the founder of the Institute of Soul Mind Body Medicine.

Cg.com Podcast #016 - Dr Zhi Gang Sha

In this podcast, he talks about how chi works. Apparently, chi is the result of the vibrations of your protons, neutrons, and electrons rapid movement within each cell. This vibration of each cell resonate to create chi. Sometimes, we have too much energy in certain places in our body, and too much energy can cause illness in the body. He teaches us Soul Wisdom to help diffuse the additional energy to heal ourselves.

PBS has featured Dr. Sha in two documentaries: Power Healing with Master Sha and Qigong: Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century. In recognition of his achievements, Dr. Sha was named Qi Gong Master of the Year at the 5th World Congress on Qi Gong. He is dedicated to transforming the consciousness of humanity and all souls in the universe.

He talks about how we can use the Soul to heal ourselves. His book, Power Healing, is the only book that I have ever purchased additional copies of, to give to other people. This man is a Saint. I recommend becoming familiar with his work.

By Kathryn Weber

Life is good. Wouldn’t you like to say that? Many people are looking for a way to improve their lives. Feng shui is one of the easiest, quickest and fun ways to make a change in your life. Better than a 30-day rice and water diet or jogging three miles a day, using feng shui doesn’t require you to make a shift in your diet, your thinking or somehow alter your moment to moment existence. By simply making some small changes in your home or office, you can influence your
life on a number of levels.

It’s important to know that feng shui is energy that exists…like gravity, air waves, or air. It’s not “made” and it’s not a spiritual philosophy. It’s tapping into what already exists in the earth. Feng shui is founded on the belief that, like water that runs in underground rivers, there are also lines of energy that run in the earth and our atmosphere. Harmonizing your home with that energy helps you benefit from that energy that translates into more money, better health, happy children… a good life. When your energy runs against the energy of the earth, you are saddled with bills, your health is rundown, you’re stressed, life is a hard, uphill battle and every day is dreaded. In short, you might describe your life as being “hard,” “in a rut,” or just plain stuck. It’s a terrible position to be in. Feng shui can help you out of that rut.

Feng shui and the practice of harmonizing your home will help you to improve good energy and help you to hold down – or muzzle – negative energy. The practice of feng shui isn’t magic. It’s not a religion and it’s not meant to replace any spiritual beliefs. It’s there to help you tap good energy and control negative energy. Why control negative energy?
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by Travis Wright

Back in 1995, I noticed that I was breathing incorrectly. The more I noticed it, the more that, it seemed, it got worse. Little did I know, the Law of Attraction was in full effect. Energy flows where attention goes. My breathing got worse. Then stress began to prevail in my neck and throat, and for the last 12 years, I have been inflicted by this stressful inconvenience.

As a result of my poor breathing, I put on about 60 pounds. Obviously, without as much oxygen in the system to help with burning of calories, weight gain will take place. Exercise would become more of a chore, because when you are breathing incorrectly, it puts more strain on everything.

The more you notice something like this, more it takes over your thinking. I began to think that the stress in my throat and poor breathing might end my life prematurely. This is a scary thought. The more focus I put on it, the worse it got.

According to many sources, they say that 40-60% of people breathe incorrectly. So, I’m not alone, I thought. Factor in that most people nowadays, spend numerous hours sitting incorrectly at a PC, and that makes everything worse. In fact, most people who breathe incorrectly, do so by having the ‘Goose Neck’ effect, which is a posture of extending the head forward.

So, I had the opportunity to listen to the Vocal Coach audio series, and they had a visual exercise that really helped me out:

HOW TO CORRECT POOR BREATHING
Imagine a string on the back of the top of your head, and imagine two strings on each side of your collarbone. These strings are then pulled tight to the ceiling, and you stand upright, like a marionette. This lifts up your head and chest and allows for proper diaphragm breathing, as opposed to shallow chest breathing. DO NOT hold your stomach in, let it flow in and out, expanding and contracting. Instead enjoy the feeling of your tummy. Ahhhh.
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