The 7 Natural Laws of the Universe

by Deepak Chopra. Author of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams

The Law of Attraction is just part of one of the 7 natural laws of the Universe: the Law of Vibration. Of the 7 Laws, it may be the most important in how our everyday lives play out, but all of the laws are in effect whether we are aware of them or not. Knowing what the 7 laws are and how they work can make a significant difference in applying them to create the life you truly desire. The 7 natural laws are in no particular order, but since the Law of Attraction has been discussed so much in The Secret, we'll start with it.

The Law of Vibration states that everything vibrates and nothing rests. Vibrations of the same frequency resonate with each other, so like attracts like energy. Everything is energy, including your thoughts. Consistently focusing on a particular thought or idea attracts its vibrational match. How to apply it: Focus on what you want instead of what you don't want.

The Law of Relativity states that nothing is what it is until you relate it to something. Point of view is determined by what the observer is relating to. The nature, value, or quality of something can only be measured in relation to another object. How to apply it: Practice relating your situation to something worse than yours, and you will feel good about where you are.

The Law of Cause and Effect states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Every cause has an effect, and every effect has a cause. Be at cause for what you desire, and you will get the effect. All thought is creative, so be careful what you wish for... you will get it. How to apply it: Consistently think and act on what you desire to be effective at getting it.

The Law of Polarity states that everything has an opposite. Hot-Cold, Light-Dark, Up-Down, Good-Bad. In the absense of that which you are not, that which you are... is not. Polar opposites make existence possible. If what you are not didn't coexist with what you are, then what you are could not be. Therefore, do not condemn or criticize what you are not or what you don't want. How to apply it: Look for the good in people and situations. What you focus on, you make bigger in your life.

The Law of Rhythm states that everything has a natural cycle. The tides go in and back out, night follows day, and life regenerates itself. We all have good times and bad times, but nothing stays the same. Change is constant. Knowing that "This too shall pass" is great wisdom about life's ebb and flow. How to apply it: When you are on a down swing, know that things will get better. Think of the good times that are coming.

The Law of Gestation states that everything takes time to manifest. All things have a beginning and grow into form as more energy is added to it. Thoughts are like seeds planted in our fertile minds that bloom into our physical experience if we have nourished them. How to apply it: Stay focused and know that your goals will become reality when the time is right.

The Law of Transmutation states that energy moves in and out of physical form. Your thoughts are creative energy. The more you focus your thinking on what you desire, the more you harness your creative power to move that energy into results in your life. The Universe organizes itself according to your thoughts. How to apply it: Put your energy and effort, your thoughts and actions into attracting what you desire, and you will surely attract the physical manifestation of that energy.

The 7 Natural Laws of the Universe are working with you and for you. Take charge of your life by focusing on what you want, and by law, you will have it.

Be sure and take a look at Andrew's wonderful Seven Natural Law Necklaces!

8 Ways to Let Go (of a person place or thing)

by Therese J. Borchard, Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression & Anxiety and Making the Most of Bad Genes

Buddhism asserts that attachment is the primary source of suffering. So then detachment or "non-attachment" would be our ticket out of that pain. Except that it's not so easy... letting go of a person, place, or thing that has our heart temporarily held hostage.

You may be grieving the death of a loved one, or the end of a friendship you had hoped would be more, or merely the realization that your father will never be able to give you what you need from that relationship. It seems as though every moment of this life is about letting go, of something or someone that is renting far too much space in our heads. And while there is no way I’d call myself a "let go" expert, I have done a considerable amount of research in this area. So the following are some techniques that... well... will at least get us started.

One of the most beautiful descriptions of grief I've ever heard was from Owen Stanley Surman, M.D., a practicing hospital psychiatrist who lost his wife and wrote a memoir about it, The Wrong Side of an Illness: A Doctor's Love Story. In my interview with him awhile back, I asked him how, exactly, does a person concentrate on the moment and know that love is a precious gift not to be taken for granted. He explained:

"In Lezlie's passing, I began to live in the present. Tragedy had cast a spotlight on the beauty of life and the power of love. In Swan's Way, I learned from Marcel Proust that the past resides in what one has shared in love. Lezlie was with me. Given an opportunity to present at a conference in Jerusalem I explored the Via Dolorosa. At the 12th Station of the Cross, I gazed at the extraordinary crucifix and lit a candle. 'Lezlie,' I said amid an outpouring of soul wrenching tears, 'This one is for you!'"

So much of letting go is finding the right timing. You let go too prematurely, and your process is going to be harder and more time-consuming than it needs to be. You wait too long and things spoil … the relationship or the project. In Dennis Merritt Jones's book, The Art of Uncertainty: How to Live in the Mystery of Life and Love It, he includes this great quote about timing by Gary Zukav:

"Fruit drops from the tree when it is ready. Staying too long, or moving too early, misses the mark. The mark is the appropriateness that causes the fruit to fall when it's ready... The process has its own timing, and it creates changes in your life when those changes need to happen.

The act of letting go for me is less overwhelming when I go into it knowing that there will be days that I'm clinging for dear life to that person, place, or thing from which I need to detach, or "non-attach". If I can go into this process recognizing the three-steps-forward, two-steps-back pattern, then I won't fret when my footsteps start reversing, and I can celebrate any progress I have made.

If you think about it, we have trouble letting go because it requires relinquishing control. That's frightening for a person like me who wants to hold the reins 24/7 so that I know exactly what's coming next. Non-attachment is about swapping the things we know and can control for those things we don't know and can't control. But we must remind ourselves that just because we have never met them before, and are not familiar with them or their relatives, does not mean they are inherently bad or harmful. We essentially have to close our eyes and trust that we will find our way to a new, potentially better place. And that God will provide plenty of guides.

My mom had a rule growing up that for every article of clothing that came into the house, one had to go out. The result was that my childhood closet didn't look like my bedroom closet today. It was a tad tidier... a tad. This exercise was a simple ritual of making room for something new. If we can see the letting-go process as a transition to a new beginning, one full of potential and prospects – much like getting a nursery ready for a baby - then we can shift some of our energy and concentration from loss to opportunity. As Joseph Campbell says, "We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned so as to accept the life that is waiting for us."

In Bob Stahl PhD's book, A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, he teaches you how to meditate through pain. Much like a woman does in labor, if you can break up the cycle of pain into pangs of acute pain, followed by interludes less- intense pain, then you can begin to manage it, and breathe through it. I have found the same with swimming. I will be sprinting, trying to make a short interval, and then I get two lap to regain my breath. If you process letting go that way, you can enjoy the brief reprieves between the periods of intense pain.

This one is geared more for those letting go of a toxic relationship. Inevitably we hang on to false beliefs about the person or about the relationship that impede the detachment process. In the past, when I've had to let go of an important friendship, I remind myself to focus on the facts, not the feelings. Her actions communicated a very clear message, even if I don't want to accept that. At one point, I would write down the events so that I wouldn't forget the hurt I felt when she would come back around and want to be my friend again.

"I go back to this one a few times each day. I can try all these steps, but when I'm left still clingy as heck, I have to give it to God. Because God is the only one who can take it from me and bring me the peace that I am so craving by my attachment."

The Art of Listening: Sound Psychology

by Andrew Pacholyk MS, L.Ac

Hearing is a special sense. Sound waves hit the tympanic membrane > the tympanic membrane vibrates and moves the ossicles of the ear (the incus, malleus and stapes) > which transmits the sound to the basilar membrane > this vibration causes the stereocilia hairs to move > causing an action potential which travels to the cerebral cortex > which translates into what we hear.

I am in a profession where I am constantly listening. People have a situation they need to explan and I must be able to listen carefully to them. Listening is important in order to pick up not just what they are literally saying, but having the ability to listen to their subtle nuances in their inflection and tone can help to determine the situation they are trying to convey, but may not be expressing.

Communicating is both verbal and non-verbal through body language and intonation. A large part of communications is listening. What commonly gets in the way of good communication is when someone is more interested in pushing their own particular point of view rather than hearing what the other person has to say.

Giving someone our full attention is very important to communication. We should truly want to understand the other person's views, feelings, and the meaning of what's being communicated.

Great conversation can best happen when we are listening. It is certainly a joy to share our point of view, but our life is made so much more enlightened when we choose to listen to all that is around us!

The Throat Chakra represents the eloquence of expression. The Throat chakra rules the faculty of speech, being midway between the heart and the tongue. There is also a listening component to this Chakra. It is associated with clairaudience (hearing spiritual voices), and with hearing sounds, words, and music. Another function associated with this chakra is taking in and assimilating of physical and emotional nourishment. Experiencing taste and smell including the sensuous desire and enjoyment for food.

Here we experience the world symbolically through vibration, such as the vibration of sound representing language. We experience the incredible gift of music and it is this Chakra where creativity comes to full terms and can be expressed outright. The "spark" of creativity occurs in the Sacral Chakra, but finally manifests here in the Throat Chakra.

As ether is the elemental association to this Chakra, in Vedic tradition, the ancient sages explained this element as lighter than air. Often referred to as "space", it is the essence of emptiness. It is the space the other elements fill. These qualities are based more upon the absence of its opposing quality than on the actual quality itself. That which is the most subtle and difficult to perceive is a function of the element ether.

When our Throat Chakra is out of balance, we can feel arrogant and self-righteous or scared, quiet and inconsistent. Holding tension in the Throat Chakra is often due to lack of support in the early years regarding self-expression and freedom of speech.

I have a friend who does not stop talking! He must hear himself speaking constantly. When he does not, he feels uncomfortable. After a half hour of speaking, he may ask, "so how are you?" The minute someone speaks more than a sentence of two, he interupts and brings the conversation right back to himself.

The yin side of sound is silence. Someone who talks without listening, interrupts or talks over someone's conversation is speaking from a place of imposing his or her power. Instead of listening to the silence between the words, the space (ether) between breathes, the fearful and ungrounded person can babble annoyingly and incessantly. The self absorbed, egotistical personality of this Chakra out of balance, is a person with Solar Plexus (ego) imbalance as well.

I have a patient who uses food as an emotional crutch. Her lack of self esteem and self loathing is expressed in her bing eating and then going to the extreme of bring the food back up.

When there is an insufficient flow of love or emotional nourishment to the Heart Chakra, the person may try to compensate by desire for physical nourishment through the Throat Chakra. Problems with gluttony or compulsive eating would then result. When there is also a negative functioning in the Throat Chakra the result could be bulimia or anorexia.

When this Chakra is in balance, we find it easy to express ourselves and one's speech is clear and smooth. We listen as well as speak at appropriate times. We fearlessly express our truth and hear the sound of the universe. We make sure to be heard and understood, as well as transmit and receive the Truth. When in balance, we are content, centered, creative and expressive, lives in present. With a healthy Throat Chakra, one's words are kind, thoughtful, clear, and truthful. The voice is strong and alive with many tones of expression. Usually there is ease with writing, speaking, and sharing thoughts with others. A healthy Throat Chakra cannot sustain lies, coercion, or manipulation.

The Throat Chakra also connects to the hand charkas, where we express creative works and manifest symbolically, as well as literally.

The lesson of the Throat Chakra is being able to speak our truths from a place of honesty and integrity. Learn to master the art of listening as well as the eloquent expression of speaking. True communication comes from understanding this balance, not dictating it.

Tools for Better Communcation

1. The key to good listening to know where to focus. Learn to discern between the words and the emotions of a situation.

2. Good listening also involves getting the message so we know what the other person is feeling and thinking.

3. Good listening skills minimize misunderstandings. If we're really paying attention we'll know immediately when a misunderstanding occurs. Clarification follows and keeps the communication flowing.

4. Paraphrase in your own words. This lets the other person know you understand what's being said and that you're not merely repeating.

5. Mirror back their sense of the facts, their evaluations, and what they desire and expect. Let them know you recognize their feelings.

6. Let someone see when you appreciate what was just said.

7. Know when to speak up and give your message. Get a sense of the rhythm of the give and take.

8. Avoid long stretches of muteness without some feedback on your part. Often the speaker may feel some unease that their message is not being heard.

9. If you're confused by what the other person is saying, speak up and ask for clarification or say it in another way so you'll have a clearer understanding.

10. Be accepting and empathetic with the person. Be respectful of their viewpoint even if you still hold yours and it is different from theirs.

Music is a magical medium and a very powerful tool. Music can delight all the senses and inspire every fiber of our being. Music has the power to soothe and relax, bring us comfort and embracing joy! Music subtly bypasses the intellectual stimulus in the brain and moves directly to our subconscious. There is music for every mood and for every occasion. Music Therapy is incorporated in a number of areas of medicine. Some of these include labor and delivery, oncology, pain management, physical rehabilitation, and good study habits. Music Therapy has been shown to have influences on the immune system, blood pressure, heart and respiratory rates, and concentration. Take the opportunity to listen to some music right now!

Absolute silence is also a form of sound therapy and can be very effective in helping someone to learn how to focus and pay attention to details of what they are working on. This type of "silence therapy" often works best for those who are often distracted by the slightest noise or have attention deficeit issues. This is where meditation is a good tool for listening.

Meditation can transform our lives. As we meditate and expand our consciousness we open ourselves up to love and light. We begin to see things from a more loving, spiritual view. We become more tolerant of others. We find more inner peace and joy...that inner peace touches everyone we come in contact with.

Yoga gives us the opportunity to listen to our teacher and then repeat back through our bodies what we heard. It also gives us the ability to "just be" with our intention, in silent contemplate. All aspects of mind, body and spirit are engaged in our yoga practice. It is here that we can truly learn to listen, pay attention and become more conscious of our surroundings, our teachings and ourselves. Nadanusandhana or to hear our "inner sound" is considered the practice of listening. Listening is one of the four divisions or limbs of Hatha yoga.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

by Andrew Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac.

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic, often life-long, autoimmune disease that ranges from mild to severe and afflicts mostly women. The primary characteristics of the disease are fatigue, joint pain, and recurrent injuries in the vessels that course through the body. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may affect widespread sites, but it often manifests in the skin, joints, blood, and kidneys. SLE was first described in 1828. Its name includes "lupus," from the Latin term for wolf, because the disease often produces a rash that extends across the bridge of the nose and upper cheekbones and was thought to resemble a wolf bite. The term erythematosus (from the Greek word for red) refers to the color of the rash, and the term systemic is used because the disease can affect organs and tissue throughout the body.

Lupus is a chronic, often life-long, autoimmune disease that ranges from mild to severe and afflicts mostly women. The primary characteristics of the disease are fatigue, joint pain, and recurrent injuries in the vessels that course through the body. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may affect widespread sites, but it often manifests in the skin, joints, blood, and kidneys. SLE was first described in 1828. Its name includes "lupus," from the Latin term for wolf, because the disease often produces a rash that extends across the bridge of the nose and upper cheekbones and was thought to resemble a wolf bite.

The term erythematosus (from the Greek word for red) refers to the color of the rash, and the term systemic is used because the disease can affect organs and tissue throughout the body.

Treatment of SLE varies depending on the extent and severity of the disease. Many therapies can suppress symptoms and relieve discomfort. Milder treatments are usually effective for symptoms such as fever, arthritis, pleurisy, mild kidney involvement, inflammation of the tissue surrounding the heart, headaches, and rash. More aggressive treatment is needed if there is serious disease progression, evidenced by the following: hemolytic anemia, low platelet count with an accompanying rash (thrombocytopenic purpura), major involvement in the lungs or heart, significant kidney damage, acute inflammation of the small blood vessels in the extremities or gastrointestinal tract, or severe central nervous system symptoms.

Consider this:

Patients have reported benefits from certain herbs, such as Essiac Tea (used in tea and other preparations).

White Willow Bark is a good anti-inflammatory that works like aspirin (it is an ingredient in aspirin) with out side effects to the stomach or gastrointestinal tract.

Cultivating a healthy diet low in saturated fats and high in whole grains and fresh vegetables and fruits is essential. Obtaining most proteins from vegetables, particularly soy, and avoiding dairy and meat products may help protect the kidneys.

Patients should take extra calcium (1500 mg in divided doses, a.m./p.m.) and vitamin D, particularly if they are on corticosteroids. Supplements of vitamins B12, B6, and folate may be necessary, especially in people whose blood tests show high levels of homocysteine. According to some studies, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can lower homocysteine levels. Homocysteines are a by product of protein digestion. A normal level of homocysteine is 9mg/dl or less. 800 micrograms a day of the B vitamin, folate, lowers homocysteine to normal levels.

Exercise is safe. Take it slow and at your own pace.

Certain Chinese herbal formulas and acupuncture have been very effective in treating symptoms and regulating the immune system. Seek out a qualified herbalist/acupuncturist in your area.

Studies on foods containing omega-3 fatty acids, including fish oil and flax seed, have been showing benefits for SLE patients. Take 1,000 mg of flaxseed or fish oil 2 times a day.

Researchers are also investigating compounds called indoles, also known as mustard oil, which are found in broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, collard and mustard greens, rutabaga, turnips, and bok choy. Indoles stimulate enzymes that convert estrogen to a more benign type. Eating vegetables certainly will not cure SLE, but they offer many health benefits in general.

Patients should minimize their exposure to crowds or people with contagious illnesses. Immunizations against influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia are usually recommended, although flu shots can cause flares. Careful dental hygiene is also important.

Simple preventative measures include avoiding overexposure to ultraviolet rays and wearing protective clothing and sun blocks.

Allergy shots, which increase certain SLE antibodies, should be avoided. In general, SLE patients should use only hypoallergenic cosmetics or hair products.

Chronic stress has profound physical effects and influences the progression of SLE. Patients should try to avoid undue emotional or physical stress. Getting adequate rest of at least 8 hours and possibly a nap during the day may be helpful. Maintaining social relationships and healthy activities help prevent the depression and anxiety associated with the disease.

Consider diffusing essential oils into the air such as Lavender, Clary Sage or Chamomile when stressed.