Why Meditation Should Be A Part Of School Education

Proponents of meditation who support the positive results and outcomes from this exercise believe that this practice should be a critical component in schools for the benefit of students of all ages. In fact, even the Dalai Lama noted once that if every eight-year-old in the world was taught meditation, “we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.”

In today’s society, people become overly preoccupied with work and their social lives that they lose sight of who they truly are, deep down inside. People morph themselves in many ways in order to fit in, whether it’s with their family, at the office or with a group of friends. This also can cause people to become self-centered and lose sight of the world around them. But some fans of meditation believe that if humans felt at peace with themselves, in tune with themselves, from an early age and were taught meditation in school, they would tap into their passion, their creativity, their interests, and core.

Benefits Of Meditation

There are many perks of meditation, especially in helping school-aged students excel not just academically, but personally and spiritually. One study by Harvard University professors Sara Lazara and Catherine Kerr showed that this form of mental exercise, when regularly practiced, can bring about changes in a person’s mental state and resting electroencephalogram patterns that continue even once the meditation session is done. In this study, Lazar and Kerr concluded that regular sessions of meditation could be directly linked to an increased thickness in the subset of cortical regions in the brain related to somatosensory, auditory, visual and interoceptive processing. It also slowed the age-related thinning of the frontal cortex. People who practice meditation are less prone to stress, worry and illness.

In a study conducted by Robert Schneider, Clarence Grim and Maxwell Rainforth, a group of people who suffered from coronary heart disease took part in either a transcendental meditation program or a health education program. After 5.5 years in the study, the group that participated in the transcendental meditation program showed a 48 percent reduction in their risk of heart attack and stroke.

Meditation also has brain-boosting power. A study by Giuseppe Pagnoni and Milos Cekic compared the gray matter in the brains of people who practiced Zen meditation versus non-meditators over a considerable period of time. While gray matter typically shrinks with age, the gray matter of those Zen meditators was not reduced at all.

Meditation Is Not A Religion

Meditation is not a religion, but rather a practice or exercise, supporters say. The term meditation refers either to a state of mind or to the practices and techniques utilized to meditate.

Meditation Heightens Mindfulness

In a sizable study of more than 3,5,00 people who participated in mindfulness meditation programs, the study leaders Madhav Goyal and Sonal Singh detected evidence of decreased anxiety, a drop in depression and a reduction in pain levels.

Meditation In Schools

It isn’t too late for the next generation still in school to reap the benefits of mindful meditation. Activist Will Stanton recently wrote a book called Education Revolution that proposes a new global education model called The Six Dimension Model that focuses on meditation. Stanton believes that students who engage in meditation in school would bond with all living things and feel less of a need to compete with peers.

Meditation’s goal is to promote relaxation, build an internal energy or life force and develop compassion, love, generosity, patience and instill forgiveness. While there are different forms of meditation that have been linked to numerous religious traditions and beliefs, it is designed to merely cleanse the mind and soul of concerns, and even boost health. Meditation can be done sitting, standing or even while carrying out daily tasks like Buddhist monks do. But no matter how you try it, you will enjoy the benefits of meditation and our world just may be a better place if it is introduced in the school system.

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How To Create Multiple Streams Of Income To Make Extra Money

Having multiple streams of income is becoming more and more common as freelancers, work-from-home entrepreneurs, writers, and other types of flexible jobs are out there. With the laptop becoming more widely available, internet-only companies cropping up left and right, and internet access becoming available at almost every coffee and food show, it’s no surprise. Having multiple streams of income (some of which are even totally passive, meaning zero work involved) allows you to retire early.

Here’s how to make extra money:

1. Become a Freelancer

Over 15 million people are self-employed in the U.S. as of May 2015. Being self-employed is becoming less of a dream and more envied than ever, and people are doing it. You can find freelance work in these areas:

• Writing
• Web design
• Graphic Design
• Programming
• App development
• Customer service
• Consulting

This list isn’t nearly extensive. There are tons of other ways you could freelance. To find work, check out:

• Fiverr
• Upwork
• Toptal
• Elance
• Craigslist

Yup, even Craigslist. Poke around these sites and see if any of the work catches your fancy. You might like being a freelancer!

2. Become an Uber Driver

Uber is a taxi service ran entirely by “freelance” drivers – ordinary people with no formal taxi experience who have a car and are willing to drive people around for a fair rate. If you’re wondering how to make extra money, using your car, helping others get around could be the answer.

3. Rent Your House or Spare Room with AirBNB

AirBNB, if you haven’t heard of it, is a way for travelers to stay in people’s homes. If you have a spare bedroom or guest house, you can rent it out to people traveling in your area who can’t find a vacant hotel room or want something a little more homey. For bonus points, show them around the area, tell them about local cuisine and the best “secret” spots to go. They might give you a better tip!

4. Invest in a Rental Property

This strategy takes more time and money to commit to than the others, but it can be very rewarding if you do it well. Befriend a local real estate agent and get them to show you the ropes of purchasing a property. Once you have it set up well, renting can be passive income other than looking for tenants and fixing up the place every so often.

5. Rent Your Car on Turo

Turo is similar to AirBNB in that you’ll be renting to travelers. However, instead of renting a space to sleep, you’ll be renting them your vehicle. If you’re not using it, you may as well make extra money off of it – just be sure to have great insurance coverage and read the rules thoroughly.

6. Start an eCommerce Store

Opening an online shop is actually a lot easier than you might think. You can have one up-and-running in less than an hour using a tool like Shopify or BigCommerce. And, once you get it set up and running, it has the potential of being another passive stream to make money.

Don’t worry if you don’ have any experience, there are plenty of free resources to help you get started with your online store and marketing “hacks” to help you make your first sale.

7. Write a Blog

If eCommerce isn’t your cup of tea, you can still make money with your own website. Creating a blog has never been easier – you can even get started for free with tools like WordPress or Blogger. What are you passionate about? Cats? Computers? Backyard chicken coops?

Start writing about your passion in your blog. Writing high-quality content consistently on the same days every week will get you going in the right direction. There are other things to worry about, like SEO (Search Engine Optimization), but you don’t need to know about that to get started.

Once you acquire a steady following, there are tons of ways to make money off your blog, like:

• Affiliate Marketing
• Google Adwords
• Selling Your Own Products
• Sell a Subscription (like a course or eBook)

8. Teach Something

The final idea I have for you on how to make money is teaching. You don’t have to be a professional teacher or coach. Do you know a lot about basketball? Can you play the piano really well? How about math, English, science, or even video games? You can get paid to teach almost anything. To get started, sign up for a site like eCoaches, Udemy, or Cogno.

I hope this article has taught you how to make extra money with multiple income streams. Good luck – and let me know if you find success in any of these methods, I love success stories!

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Want To Be A Millionaire? You Should Add These 10 Things To Your Bucket List

So you want to know how to become a millionaire, eh? With that kind of money, you’ll have the freedom everyone in the world desires. You’ll no longer have to work a job you hate just to pay the bills, or be forced to spend 8 or more hours a day sitting in an office cubicle – or in any other restraining setting. Here are 10 things you should turn into habits for making your first million dollars:

1. Start Generating Multiple Streams of Income

The wealthy are not dependant on any one source of income. They have multiple streams of revenue coming in, be that through a business they own, a property they invested in, or a blog they run. You must learn how to increase your revenue through multiple sources.

2. Learn to Be More Frugal

Millionaires didn’t get to where they are by frivolously spending money on stupid things. You need to learn how to keep money in the bank. That doesn’t mean you aren’t going to spend it – oh no, it means you’ll spend a great deal of it. However, instead of buying a new car, clothes, or electronics, you’ll spend it on assets with a high return on invstment (ROI). Speaking on investing…

3. Save to Invest, Not Simply to Save

A millionaire’s worth is not merely the sum of cash in the bank plus the value of the things he owns. Yes, these things factor in. However, much of their worth comes from their assets; the businesses or items they own that make them money. Most millionaire’s are not savers – they are investors.

Money sitting in the bank pays a pitiful amount of interest that will never amount to anything unless you have an incredibly high sum of it; and even then, investing it would still make you more money. With depreciation of the value of the dollar every year, you must invest money in order to gain from it.

4. Speaking of Investing – Invest in Yourself

Investing in assets outside of yourself is great – but bad things can happen. Your building can burn down, your supplier can quit, you could get sued. Once you’re out of assets, you lose. But what if you’ve invested in your own mind? If you’ve learned how to build a business yourself, rather than simply buying an existing one, that knowledge stays with you even if you lose the business. Buy more books, go to more seminars, watch more webinars, take an online course. Never stop learning.

5. Stop Working to Make Someone Else Rich

Every day you go to work for a paycheck on Fridays (or whichever day). In the meantime, the owners of the business you’re working for are making bank. Stop making them all the money and start building a business of your own.

6. Set Goals and Review Them Daily

The biggest, most well-known and under-utilized secret of how to become a millionaire (or accomplish anything, for that matter) is writing goals down. Physically write them down on paper – but don’t stop there. You must review your progress daily, and make sure you’re on track every single day.

7. Be Wary of Who You Befriend

They say your sum can be guessed as the average of the 10 closest people in your life. Whether that’s true or not, the company you keep definitely affects you a great deal. If you want to become a millionaire, you need to start hanging around people who know how to make money.

8. Learn the Language of Money

How can you ever expect to own a lot of money if you don’t know how to speak it’s language? Take an online accounting course or even buy some books. Take a free accounting course on Coursera.

9. Start Reading More

Leaders are readers. Warren Buffett reads 8 hours a day. He runs a book club with Bill Gates. If you need a place to start, check out Tai Lopez’s book list – I’ve read half of them and they’re amazing.

10. Think Big

Screw $1 million – shoot for $10 million. Have you ever heard the saying, “Shoot for the moon – even if you miss you’ll land among the stars”? It’s true. Set stretch goals and SMART goals.

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Why Some People Are Afraid Of Talking On The Phone

Today’s society communicates more than any previous generation, however it also “communicates” the least at the same time. Before text and email were invented, people either had to have face to face conversation, talk on the phone, or write letters to one another. Now, more and more people find that they prefer texting and emailing over any other form of communication. Although we communicate more, we have lost the true art of conversation. A new part of today’s problem, is phone anxiety disorder. Here are a few habits that could indicate you have phone anxiety:

1. You often let your phone ring, only to text the caller pretending you missed their call.
2. Your voicemail message says “don’t leave a message, just text me”
3. You have disabled your voicemail altogether.

Why Does Phone Anxiety Exist?

1. Insecurity – When you can’t see the person you are talking to, you don’t really know how they’re reacting to your words. People can feel insecure about phone conversations because even though the person on the other end sounds like they are in agreement, they may actually be rolling their eyes at what you are saying.

2. Social Awkwardness – The thought of running out of things to say can strike fear into a person’s heart at the very mention of talking on the phone. Dead air is one of the worst things that can happen to someone with phone anxiety!

3. Distraction – Some people need to type out their responses in a text message, or see the person to whom they are speaking to, in order to stay focused on the conversation. Distractions while on the phone can be a huge problem because there could be so many different things happening around you, you may end up losing track of what the other person had been saying for the last good amount of time. It’s embarrassing and awkward to have to admit that you weren’t paying attention, and then ask them to repeat their story.

4. Ending the call – Some people with phone anxiety struggle with how to end calls. You need to hang up the phone, but because you feel awkward, winding down the conversation ends up being blunt or clumsy, causing you even more anxiety.

5. Lack of control – Texting and emailing allow you to have total control over what you are saying and how you are generally being perceived. You can plan out your responses, take your time, read over what you’ve written, and re-write parts that could possibly be taken the wrong way- or decide not to respond at all! With a phone conversation, none of the options above are possible.

What Can You Do About Your Phone Anxiety?

Psychologists have a number of suggestions as to how people who suffer from phone anxiety can deal with their problem:

1. Remember you are not alone. Psychologists report that phone anxiety disorder is extremely common, so the chances are pretty high that the person on the other end could also be feeling anxious talking to you! Think about how you can help the other person through their own phone anxiety, and it might even help you forget about your own.
2. Figure out why talking on the phone makes you anxious. Sometimes the root of the problem has nothing to do with the problem itself. For example, you might have suffered rejection over the phone earlier in life, and what you are really afraid of is experiencing that rejection again, not actually speaking on the phone! Deal with the root of the issue, and the symptoms of the problem will go away.
3. Take baby steps. If you have an issue, it can take a while to fully deal with it. Don’t get discouraged if you can’t seem to overcome your phone anxiety right away. Baby steps are still steps in the right direction, so don’t despise small beginnings! Start slow, and work your way up. Try ordering take-out over the phone instead of doing it online this week. You will never see the person on the other end, so if you mess up a little bit, it doesn’t even matter. Once you don’t feel nervous about it, you can move on to more serious phone calls.
4. Change the way you think. Someone wise once said, “If your way of thinking has brought you to a place you don’t like, then have another thought! Think again!” Changing the way you think can seem like a daunting task, but according to psychologists, it is possible. You literally have to rewire your brain to associate talking on the phone as a normal thing to do, instead of associating this activity with fear and anxiety. The only way to do this is to face your fear. Don’t worry though, baby steps are still recommended.

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Pressing This Button On Your Body Can Relieve Stress And Anxiety

For years, some people scoffed at traditional Chinese medicine, but today, this 2,500-year-old practice of traditional Chinese medicine is a globally accepted method of treatment for many health problems, including for alleviating stress and anxiety. In fact, Dr. W. Kenneth Riland, personal physician to former President Richard Nixon, believed that acupuncture would be “one of the greatest contributions that any group of people has made to the future of all medicine.”

Traditional Chinese medicine follows the belief that every person has specific acupressure points all across the body that lie along what’s called energy meridians. A person’s life force, or qi, flows through these energy points and acupressure will help stimulate them if they aren’t functioning up to par. Chinese theory identifies 12 of these energy meridians that connect major organs and keep the body balanced. When one of these energy points aren’t working properly, your body won’t work properly either.

By applying pressure to certain parts of the body, a person can ease the side effects of stress and anxiety. Commonly called acupressure, which is similar to acupuncture but without the needles, pressure applied to an area called CV 17 provides immediate relief. CV 17 stands for conception vessel 17, the chest center. If you are feeling stressed or anxious, this area will be sore when you apply pressure to it. The CV 17 area feeds into the pericardium energy center of the body, which protects the heart. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the heart is the seat of a body’s emotions and when a person is stressed, this area becomes sore and is out of sync.

It’s also been explained that because of its location in the center of the upper torso, the CV 17 also balances the levels of yin (reflective, quiet) and yang (action-oriented, energetic) energy levels of the body and will bring your body and emotion and physical sense back in balance. Accupressure believers say that any imbalances in a person’s nervous system can be remedied by applying pressure to the CV 17, even boosting the immune system.

How To Find CV 17

via Power of Positivity

• The CV 17 area is located four finger-widths up from the base of the breastbone, almost at the center of the chest. It’s also known as the sea of tranquility in Chinese medicine.
• Place your fingertips in the small indent in this area and gently, slowly, rub up and down the center of the breastbone to find the spot.
• Then sit so your spine is straight and upright, palms placed together with the fingers pointing upward. This is called the prayer pose.

What To Do With CV 17

• Once seated in the prayer pose position, use the back of the knuckles of your thumb to gently press into the center of the CV 17 area for two to three minutes.
• Be sure to close your eyes.
• Continue to inhale and exhale deeply and regularly.
• Keep your head upright, but not tense.
• Another effective way to do this is to gingerly place the middle fingertip on top of the CV 17, resting your index and ring fingertips just above and below that point.
• You also can gently tap this area with your fingers, which some say is a helpful manner in which to fall asleep at night.

How CV 17 Offers Stress and Anxiety Relief

• First of all, the deep breathing used in this treatment encourages the body to relax.
• Pressure applied to the CV 17 aids in stress and anxiety relief.

Not only does manipulating the CV 17 pressure area help in alleviating stress and anxiety, it also helps relax those who have depression, chronic fatigue, post-traumatic stress disorder, hormonal imbalances and during the recovery phase after an injury or surgery.

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7 Things You Didn’t Know That Would Hurt Highly Sensitive People Deeply

Do you tear up at those super sad SPCA animal rescue commercials? Are your feelings often hurt when your friends tease you? Do you brood over it for days? Are you able to sense sadness in those around you and quickly pick up on the moods of others? Do you deeply empathize with others?

If you answered “yes” to most of the questions above, you may be a highly sensitive person.

Highly sensitive people (HSP) are all around us. Between 15 and 20 percent of the population have the innate trait of extreme sensitivity. It is not a disorder or a disability. But it is misunderstood.

About 70 percent of all highly sensitive people are introverts. Both introverts and HSPs reflect deeply, like meaningful conversations, and need lots of down time, which is not surprising. But the other 30 percent of HSP’s who are extroverted are the most misunderstood. Most people equate introversion and extroversion with sociability. But these two traits only account for someone’s tolerance level in having a large circle of friends and enjoyment in meeting strangers and socializing in large groups. Introversion and extroversion have very little to do with heightened sensitivity. High sensitivity lies deeper. It is an inherent trait.

Characteristics of Highly Sensitive People

Highly Sensitive people:

• Are easily overwhelmed by such things as bright lights, strong smells, coarse fabrics, or loud sirens.
• Feel stressed when they have a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time.
• Avoid violent movies and TV shows.
• Withdraw during busy days. They may escape and go to bed or hide in a dark room or some other place where they can have privacy and relief from the situation.
• Take great pains in arranging their life to avoid, or at least minimize, stressful situations
• Love aesthetic beauty. They notice and enjoy things like delicate or fine scents, tastes, sounds, and works of art
• Have a rich and complex inner thought life.
• Were seen as sensitive and shy as children.
• Have a low thresh hold for pain.
• Crave deep and meaningful relationships.
• Cry frequently.

Understanding is the number one key in dealing with highly sensitive people. Know that the best way to love a HSP is by supporting them. Avoid shaming them because of their sensitivity. Validate their feelings and let them know it is OK to feel the way that they do.

Here are 7 things that deeply hurt highly sensitive people

1. Withholding your emotions and being dishonest about how you really feel

HSP’s can pick up on how you feel, and lying about your feelings only makes things worse. Openness, honesty, and transparency are key when dealing with a sensitive individual. They detest people who play emotional games.

2. Refusing to give them space and alone time

HSP’s need to decompress–frequently. Know that they simply need time to process and recharge after dealing with society. This is not meant to hurt or alienate you. They are not retreating or avoiding you, but rather, replenishing their energy stores.

3. Disregarding their heightened sensitivity and emotions

They have a keen sense and deep insight into the emotional world. They can literally feel other people’s pain. They wear their heart on their sleeve. They have a deep, complex personality and long to be loved and accepted as they are. They understand that they can be difficult to deal with.

4. Criticizing them

This is one of the worst things you can do to highly sensitive people. They experience your words in a deep and very personal way. Criticism penetrates their heart and seeps into their soul. They are natural people pleasers and have a tendency to engage in self deprecating behaviors to win the acceptance and approval of others.

5. Withholding or limiting love and affection

HSP’s crave love and affection. It is the fuel that energizes their very being. The highly sensitive are prone to depression and feel heightened levels of anxiety. Physical touch helps to reduce anxiety and depression, which they feel on a much deeper level.

6. Trying to change them

Trying to change the sensitivity level of the super sensitive is an exercise in futility. It just will not happen. Your efforts to alter them will be sensed and then internalized. They will feel unloved and rejected.

7. Not Encouraging them to get out of a rut

Highly sensitive people are paradoxical in that they love spontaneity and are very adventurous but yet are hesitant to try new things. They can easily slip into the habit of staying home too often and become reclusive. Encourage them to get out of the house. Challenge them to get involved in things they love.

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Commenting On Your Child’s Weight Can Bring Terrible Results, Study Finds

Childhood obesity is a major problem currently facing our nation today. The statistics are staggering. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in the past 30 years the obesity rate in children has doubled, and quadrupled in teens. The health risk associated with children who develop issues with their weight early are astronomical.

Most parents may not fully understand all of the health issues stemming from childhood obesity. But most are concerned with the overall well-being of their children and are aware that being overweight is unhealthy and carries consequences.

How a parent approaches this issue is of the utmost importance. So before telling your child that they are looking a little “thick” or “chunky,” here are a few things you may want to consider.

Dealing with a child’s weight can be a touchy subject

Should parents talk to an overweight or obese child about their weight? Or do they say nothing? Parents in this situation can really be torn. On one hand, if they do say something they run the risk of shaming a child, damaging their child’s self esteem and distorting his or her body image. This can lead to eating disorders, binge eating, depression and other psychologically damaging issues. On the other hand, if they choose to say nothing, they are missing an opportunity to help prevent their child from having potentially serious and long-term health problems.

A new study offers this guidance: Don’t make comments about a child’s weight.

Researchers did not distinguish between positive or negative comments in the study published in the journal Eating & Weight Disorders, because they found that any comment a child (especially girls) remembered hearing about their weight predicted a heavier body mass index and more overall dissatisfaction with their body type–even if weight was not an issue.

Other studies have been able to link the critical comments of parents to an increased risk of obesity. One large government-funded study that followed thousands of 10-year-old girls found that, at the start of the study, nearly 60 percent of the girls said an adult close to them had told them they were “too fat.” By age 19, those who had been saddled with that label were more likely to be obese, regardless to whether or not they were actually overweight when they were 10.

In an interview with The Guardian, Dr. Rachel Rodgers, associate professor at the department of applied psychology at Northeastern University in Boston, put it this way:

“Parents should avoid commenting on their children’s weight or appearance: that includes criticism, teasing, or even ‘positive’ statements. They should avoid encouraging their children to diet, or suggesting they need to lose weight. They should avoid ‘not allowing’ certain foods, telling their children that certain foods are ‘bad’ or trying to restrict their children’s diets.”

Dr. Rodgers went on to convey the idea that in the minds of children weight and their physical appearance becomes associated with their self-worth and how they value themselves as a person.

How to approach the issue of children, weight and your concerns

Experts suggest a more delicate and indirect approach when dealing with issues of children weight concerns and getting them to eat healthier.

1. Model healthy eating

Sit down and eat meals with your child whenever possible. When you are watching TV with them, prepare yourself (and them) a healthy snack. Model good portion control and how to stop eating once you’ve had enough

2. Avoid rewarding and punishing with food

Try to avoid labeling foods as good or bad. Find new ways to reward your children for good grades or other major accomplishments. Instead of going for ice cream, let them pick a fun activity to do. And in lieu of letting them pick the restaurant to celebrate, allow them to select the movie for movie night.

3. Allow them to help you prepare meals

Preparing healthy meals with your children is a great way to bond and model healthy alternatives. It is also a great way to discuss how to make healthy food choices.

4. Avoid dieting in front of them and refrain from suggesting that they go on a diet

If you decide to go on a diet, you may not want to share the details with your children. Also, be careful how you frame your responses. Instead of saying you are dieting to fit into a dress or look better, you may want to tell them you are trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Featured photo credit: Jeri Johnson via stocksnap.io

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