Accommodations

Our housing options are designed for a range of budgets and personal needs and vary from self-pitched tents to luxurious beachfront suites to comfortable cabins. All of our accommodations are welcoming and simple, and the diverse spectrum allows you to relax and enjoy your time with us at the ashram.

Please note

Payments We accept Visa and MasterCard. We do not accept American Express, Discover, personal checks, or travelers checks. All deposits and payments in US dollars only.

Deposits To guarantee your reservation, a $300 deposit is required. The balance is due at least 14 days before your arrival; we will send you an email reminder a week before we process the balance.

Our rates are seasonal

The rates below are per person, per night, and are listed in US dollars. A Bahamian VAT tax of 12% will be added.

Delight in breathtaking, wide-open views of the sparkling ocean from your own beachfront private balcony. Our Beachfront Deluxe Rooms are simple and spacious, furnished with two double beds and include a private bathroom with shower and tub. You will have a miniature refrigerator, kitchen sink, tea kettle, and tableware. These rooms are air-conditioned and available for reservations of at least two adults.

Relax into gorgeous views of the turquoise ocean from your balcony, and be within a stones throw distance from our beachfront yoga platform. Choose from either one king bed or two extra-long twin beds, and enjoy your own private bathroom with shower and tub. These spacious rooms also have a rocking chair, desk, and kitchen area with a small refrigerator, kitchen sink, tea kettle, and tableware. Fully air-conditioned, these rooms are available for reservations of at least two adults.

Our Bayside Rooms with Bath have two single beds and a private bathroom with shower and tub. Within a short distance of the bay, these rooms include simple furnishings, a small refrigerator, tea kettle, and air conditioning.

Private or shared:

The Classic Room with Double Bed allows for single or couples occupancy. They feature one double bed, simple furnishings, and air conditioning. Situated in various locations throughout the ashram, shared bathrooms are always close by. The prices below are for one person, single occupancy. For couples occupancy, the prices per person are the same as those for the Garden Room (shared); see above

Ideal for solo travelers, our Classic Single Room offers a comfortable space with one bed, simple furnishings, and air conditioning. Single rooms are situated in various locations throughout the ashram, including within our main building. Depending on the location of your room, various shared bathrooms are available within a few seconds walking distance.

Fall asleep to the relaxing sounds of ocean waves. Our Beach Huts are comfortable, simple, and seconds from the beach. These shared rooms feature two single beds, simple furnishings, and air-conditioning. Full bathrooms are located within one minutes walk from your room.

Private or shared:

These Garden Rooms are shared rooms, situated within various locations of the ashram. Featuring two single beds and air conditioning, these rooms are simply furnished with shared bathrooms nearby. If you choose this room as a solo traveler, you can expect to share it with a roommate of the same gender.

Private or shared:

Perfect for couples and close friends, our Tent Hut Doubles feature one double bed and allow you to sleep in the Bahamas breeze. Sized for two people, these Tent Huts are comfortably furnished with a simple closet, nightstand with bedside lamp and fan, and electrical outlets. Towels and bedding are provided for you, and shared bathrooms are a short walk away. Tent Huts are available from November through June.

Sleep in the fresh, tropical air while still enjoying indoor comforts including a single bed, electrical outlet, simple furnishings, and a nightstand with bedside lamp and fan. Its the easiest camping youll ever do, while youre safely surrounded by your Tent Hut neighbors. Towels and bedding are provided for you, and shared bathrooms are a short walk away. Tent Huts are available from November through June.

Make friends with interesting people from around the world! Our single-gender Dormitory accommodations are simple and comfortable, furnished with 3-4 single beds. They are located in various parts of the ashram, and shared bathrooms are nearby. Bedding and towels are provided.

Many of our guests are nature lovers. Set up your tent near the beach, bay, or amongst the palm trees. Create your own sacred space within in the ashram to reconnect with nature and sleep close to the earth. And you wont be completely alone get ready to meet tent neighbors from around the world! Bring your own tent (sized up to 8x8), camping gear, mattress, bedding, and towels. Tent Spaces are available from November through May.

Are you new to the idea but want to give it a try? View our blog for some good tenting tips.

Here is the original post:

Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas International Day of ...

Accommodations

Our housing options are designed for a range of budgets and personal needs and vary from self-pitched tents to luxurious beachfront suites to comfortable cabins. All of our accommodations are welcoming and simple, and the diverse spectrum allows you to relax and enjoy your time with us at the ashram.

Please note

Payments We accept Visa and MasterCard. We do not accept American Express, Discover, personal checks, or travelers checks. All deposits and payments in US dollars only.

Deposits To guarantee your reservation, a $300 deposit is required. The balance is due at least 14 days before your arrival; we will send you an email reminder a week before we process the balance.

Our rates are seasonal

The rates below are per person, per night, and are listed in US dollars. A Bahamian VAT tax of 12% will be added.

Delight in breathtaking, wide-open views of the sparkling ocean from your own beachfront private balcony. Our Beachfront Deluxe Rooms are simple and spacious, furnished with two double beds and include a private bathroom with shower and tub. You will have a miniature refrigerator, kitchen sink, tea kettle, and tableware. These rooms are air-conditioned and available for reservations of at least two adults.

Relax into gorgeous views of the turquoise ocean from your balcony, and be within a stones throw distance from our beachfront yoga platform. Choose from either one king bed or two extra-long twin beds, and enjoy your own private bathroom with shower and tub. These spacious rooms also have a rocking chair, desk, and kitchen area with a small refrigerator, kitchen sink, tea kettle, and tableware. Fully air-conditioned, these rooms are available for reservations of at least two adults.

Our Bayside Rooms with Bath have two single beds and a private bathroom with shower and tub. Within a short distance of the bay, these rooms include simple furnishings, a small refrigerator, tea kettle, and air conditioning.

Private or shared:

The Classic Room with Double Bed allows for single or couples occupancy. They feature one double bed, simple furnishings, and air conditioning. Situated in various locations throughout the ashram, shared bathrooms are always close by. The prices below are for one person, single occupancy. For couples occupancy, the prices per person are the same as those for the Garden Room (shared); see above

Ideal for solo travelers, our Classic Single Room offers a comfortable space with one bed, simple furnishings, and air conditioning. Single rooms are situated in various locations throughout the ashram, including within our main building. Depending on the location of your room, various shared bathrooms are available within a few seconds walking distance.

Fall asleep to the relaxing sounds of ocean waves. Our Beach Huts are comfortable, simple, and seconds from the beach. These shared rooms feature two single beds, simple furnishings, and air-conditioning. Full bathrooms are located within one minutes walk from your room.

Private or shared:

These Garden Rooms are shared rooms, situated within various locations of the ashram. Featuring two single beds and air conditioning, these rooms are simply furnished with shared bathrooms nearby. If you choose this room as a solo traveler, you can expect to share it with a roommate of the same gender.

Private or shared:

Perfect for couples and close friends, our Tent Hut Doubles feature one double bed and allow you to sleep in the Bahamas breeze. Sized for two people, these Tent Huts are comfortably furnished with a simple closet, nightstand with bedside lamp and fan, and electrical outlets. Towels and bedding are provided for you, and shared bathrooms are a short walk away. Tent Huts are available from November through June.

Sleep in the fresh, tropical air while still enjoying indoor comforts including a single bed, electrical outlet, simple furnishings, and a nightstand with bedside lamp and fan. Its the easiest camping youll ever do, while youre safely surrounded by your Tent Hut neighbors. Towels and bedding are provided for you, and shared bathrooms are a short walk away. Tent Huts are available from November through June.

Make friends with interesting people from around the world! Our single-gender Dormitory accommodations are simple and comfortable, furnished with 3-4 single beds. They are located in various parts of the ashram, and shared bathrooms are nearby. Bedding and towels are provided.

Many of our guests are nature lovers. Set up your tent near the beach, bay, or amongst the palm trees. Create your own sacred space within in the ashram to reconnect with nature and sleep close to the earth. And you wont be completely alone get ready to meet tent neighbors from around the world! Bring your own tent (sized up to 8x8), camping gear, mattress, bedding, and towels. Tent Spaces are available from November through May.

Are you new to the idea but want to give it a try? View our blog for some good tenting tips.

Read more:

Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas Preksha Meditation ...

GEORGE IVANOVICH GURDJIEFF

George Ivanovich (G.I.) Gurdjieff was a spiritual leader who advocated for achieving a higher state of consciousness through what he called "The Work" which was internal work on oneself. Born in Russia in the late 19th century to parents of Greek and Armenian origin, Gurdjieff taught in Russia, Georgia, Turkey, France, and eventually the United States.

Gurdjieff taught that the way to experience "The Work," was actual physical labor. He emphasized strenuous labor combined with lectures, music, and sacred dance. His focus was to increase mindfulness and minimize daydreaming. Gurdjieff's choreography, called "Movements," was one method he used to help followers clear and focus their minds. The Movements were not intended for performance, but for spiritual contemplation. Practitioners would repeat movements over and over again until they were perfect and second-nature, allowing them to use the Movements as a form of meditation.

His followers included composer Thomas de Hartmann and his wife Olga, who became Gurdjieff's secretary; Jeanne de Salzmann (who founded the Gurdjieff Foundation in 1949); Alfred Orage (who would eventually supervise The Work in New York); P.D. Ouspensky (one of Gurdjieff's earliest followers) and many others. Among his early pupils was Jessmin Howarth, who became an expert on Gurdjieff's Movements and how they should be performed. Other Movement students included Alfred Etievan and Marthe de Gainernon.

JESSMIN HOWARTH

Jessmin Howarth began her career as a dancer in 1912 when she registered at the Institute of Dalcroze Eurythmics in Germany, which eventually led to a job with the Paris Opera in the early 1920s. In Paris, Howarth encountered Jeanne de Salzmann, who introduced her to Gurdjieff. She immediately began studying the Movements and assumed the task of teaching and preserving the Movements as they were created.

On a Movement Demonstration trip to New York in 1924, Howarth discovered she was pregnant with Gurdjieff's child. After giving birth to her daughter Dushka Howarth later that year, she moved to California and then London, returning to the United States at the start of World War II.

After Gurdjieff's death in 1949, Howarth set about compiling accurate Movement notations and recordings and supervised the training of Movement instructors, assistants, and pianists. She travelled to France to assist Jeanne de Salzmann with filming Movements for posterity. She was also a consultant on the 1979 film Meetings with Remarkable Men. She retired from teaching Movements at the Gurdjieff Foundation in 1978, but continued to lead Movement Seminars until her death in 1984.

DUSHKA HOWARTH

Dushka Howarth was raised in the United States and London by her mother and had little contact with Gurdjieff as a child, though she learned of his teachings and the Movements. In 1949, she traveled to Paris with five other young women to train with Gurdjieff in the Movements, and went on to lead Movement classes in London. Howarth also worked as a tour guide in Paris, followed by a career as a folk singer under the name "Dushka, the Jet-Set Gypsy."

In 1986, Jeanne de Salzmann's daughter Nathalie de Etievan (wife of Alfred Etievan) asked Howarth to return to teaching Movements and join her in South America to help supervise and establish Movement classes. Howarth went on to visit South America many times over the next ten years and conducted Movement seminars, trained teachers, and recruited new pupils.

GURDJIEFF HERITAGE SOCIETY

Dushka Howarth was a founding member of the Gurdjieff Heritage Society, which sought to preserve the Movements and Gurdjieff's teachings in their original form. To do this, members gathered original notes, photographs, music, and descriptions of Movements from around the world in order to compile definitive instructions for as many Movements as possible. The Society also lent resources and support to others undertaking Gurdjieff preservation projects, such as Gert-Jan Blom's preservation of Gurdjieff's harmonium recordings. As the artistic director of Netherland's Metropole Orchestra, Blom was also able to produce full orchestra recordings of Gurdjieff's music with assistance from the Society.

In 2009, the Gurdjieff Heritage Society published Dushka Howarth's book It's Up To Ourselves: A Mother, A Daughter, G.I. Gurdjieff, A Shared Memoir and Family Photo Album. Howarth researched the material for the book over a ten-year period and used her mother's essays, correspondence, photographs, and the accounts of others to piece together the story of Jessmin Howarth's life and her own experiences with Gurdjieff and his pupils. Dushka Howarth continued to work with the Gurdjieff Heritage Society until her death in 2010.

Read this article:
archives.nypl.org -- Howarth Gurdjieff Archive

In the 1920s,Edward Bernays, the so-called father of public relations, wrote several influential books outlining the principles of successful propaganda. In his book by that title, Bernaysarguedthat the mind of the peopleis made up for it bythose persons who understand the manipulation of public opinion and know how to skillfully supply the public with inherited prejudices and verbal formulas.

Bernays comments come to mind in the current climate of hostility and intolerance being directed against individuals pejoratively dubbed by the vaccine lobby as anti-vaxxers. The dumbed-down propaganda being plastered across the mainstream media on an almost daily basis would have the public believe that anyone who questionsanyaspect of vaccination is ignorant, selfish or both. However, there is a glaring flaw with this logic. The incontrovertible factwhich the legislators, regulators, reporters and citizens who are participating in mass tarring and feathering are not honest enough to admitis that many of the people classified as anti-vaxxers are actually ex-vaxxers whose dutiful adherence to current vaccine policies led to serious vaccine injury in themselves or a loved one.

Parental compliance with the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDCs) heavy-duty vaccine requirements for infants is often the catalyst for the injuries that start families down the path of becoming ex-vaxxers.

Vaccine coverage in the United States is high. In their first three years,over 99%of American children receive some vaccines. By the governments indirect admission, however, vaccine-related adverse events are also commonwith fewer than 1% of vaccine injuries ever gettingreported.

Parental compliance with the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDCs) heavy-duty vaccine requirements forinfantsis often the catalyst for the injuries that start families down the path of becoming ex-vaxxers. In one tragic case, a parent who followed doctors orders lost her six-week-old infant girl 12 hours after the child received eight vaccines; medical experts conclusion that vaccination was thecause of deathprompted a different valuation of risks and benefits with a subsequent child. There aremany othersuch stories. Moreover, when individuals who suffer nonfatal vaccine injuries stick to the standard vaccination regimen, research shows that they often experienceeven more severe injuriesthe next time around.

In the U.S., vaccines have been liability-free since 1986and evidence suggests that vaccine safety hasdeterioratedsignificantly as a result. The only current recourse for the vaccine-injured is to file a petition with the stingy and slow-moving National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP). Although the NVICP has paid out over$4 billionin taxpayer-funded compensation, it denies far more petitions than it awards. The family of the six-week-old described in the preceding paragraph eventually received NVICP compensation, but not before the program expended considerable effort to leave the cause of death unexplained. And, literally adding insult to injury, the maximum payout for any vaccine-related death is only$250,000.

The chair of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) committee has stated, Congress is getting paid tonothold pharma accountable.

When people or their loved ones are vaccine-injured, many begin to unravel the unscrupulous world of pharmaceutical influence on our media, government agency leaders and lawmakers. Connecting the dots is a horrifying and enlightening experience, exposing facts to which the general public generally remains oblivious. These revelations weigh heavily when someone makes the decision to permanently change into an ex-vaxxer.

Why would the peoples elected representatives (and the officials they appoint) propagate smears,promote censorshipand ignore the testimonials of the many families that have experienced devastating vaccine injuries?

Why would officialdom ignore the escalating fiscal implications of vaccine injuries, which are imposing a staggering financial burden onhouseholdsandtaxpayers?

Why do the media increasingly advocate for theeliminationof informed consent and vaccine choice?

One of the inescapable answers has to do with the overt and covert influence of pharmaceutical industry funding on those who shape vaccine policy and public opinion.

At the government level, senior Senators openlyadmitthat drug companies have too much influence in Washington, with big pharma spendingmore than any other industryon lobbying and campaign contributions. For example, the pharmaceutical industry poured an estimated$100 millioninto the 2016 elections, rewarding politicians on both sides of the aisle with its largesse. The chair of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) committee hasstated, Congress is getting paid tonothold pharma accountable [emphasis added].

studies show that medical journal advertising generates the highest return on investment of all promotional strategies employed by pharmaceutical companies.

Not content to just influence legislators, the pharmaceutical industry puts equallyhigh valueon print advertising directed at doctorsthe all-important gatekeepers between drug companies and patients. In fact, studies show that medical journal advertising generates thehighest return on investmentof all promotional strategies employed by pharmaceutical companies.

Covering all bases, pharmaceutical companies also advertise vaccines and other drugs directly to U.S. consumers. The U.S. is one of onlytwo countriesin the world (along with New Zealand) that permits this type of direct-to-consumer pandering. Drug company spending on television and print advertising in the U.S. rose to $5.2 billion in 2016a60% increaseover 2012with untold additional amounts spent on digital and social media advertising. Astoundingly, pharmaceutical companies even get a tax break for these marketing expenditures, a corporate deduction that costs taxpayersbillionsannually.

The media benefit handsomely from the steady infusion of pharma advertising dollars. Four networks (CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox) receivedtwo-thirdsof the TV ad monies spent on top-selling drugs in 2015, with the Prevnar 13 vaccine representing the eighth most-advertised pharmaceutical product that year. Under these bought-media circumstances, it is somewhat astonishing that a few media outlets were willing to concede that drug money coursing through the veins of Congressdirectly contributedto the opioid crisis. So far, however, no reporters have been willing to connect similar dots between drug money and unsafe vaccines.

What the WHO failed to mention, however, is the preponderant role of commercial interestsand especially pharmaceutical industry interestsin shaping its goals and strategies.

Pharmaceutical industry influence makes itself felt not just domestically but also globally, and this has led to a corresponding amping-up of rhetoric against anti-vaxxers around the world. In early 2019, theWorld Health Organization(WHO) hyperbolically declared reluctance or refusal to vaccinate to be one of ten major global health threats. What the WHO failed to mention, however, is the preponderant role of commercial interestsand especiallypharmaceutical industryinterestsin shaping its goals and strategies.

Back in 2009, sleight of hand by WHO scientists rebranded the swine flu from a perfectly ordinary flu into a dangerous pandemic. This maneuver successfully generatedbillionsin profits for vaccine and anti-flu drug manufacturers; however, the vaccine in question (Pandemrix) caused cases ofnarcolepsymany inyoung peopleto surge all over Europe tonearly four times higherthan prevaccine levels. In all likelihood, the parents of the narcolepsy-afflicted youth joined the ranks of ex-vaxxers. A researcher looking back on the Pandemrix fiasco recentlystated:

If vaccine regulators were serious about safety, the entire vaccine fleet would have been grounded following the Pandemrix narcolepsy disaster, to check for the same mechanism of failure in other vaccines. But nothing of that sort happened.

If consumers want to learn about the potential risks of widely used FDA-approved drugs, they canwith a little legworkfind detailed information on hundreds of drugs on the FDAs website. Forazithromycin, for example, the FDA links to studies showing that the antibiotic increases risks of cancer relapse and cardiovascular problems. A link forfentanylclearly warns of the potential for life-threatening harm from accidental exposure and deadly risks to both children and adults. Although it can be an uphill battle to get drugs taken off the market, the ongoing pressure of lawsuits has succeeded in removing some egregious offenders such as Vioxxand Merck, Vioxxs manufacturer, has been forced to pay outbillionsin settlements.

In contrast, consumers who go to the FDA website for risk information about vaccines (classified as biologics rather than drugs) will search almost in vain, finding sparse information for onlyfour vaccines. One of the four is Gardasilalso manufactured by Merck, and one of the most notoriously dangerous vaccines ever rushed onto the market. While the FDA cautiouslystatesthat concerns have been raised about reports of deaths occurring in individuals after receiving Gardasil, the agency asserts that there was not a common pattern to the deaths that would suggest they were caused by the vaccine. The 2018 book,The HPV Vaccine on Trial, contradicts this benign narrative and describes how Gardasil has caused thousands of perfectly healthy young women and men to suddenly lose energy, become wheelchair-bound, or even die while Merck continues to enjoy soaring revenues.

For government and the media to dismiss these and other accounts of serious vaccine injuries as insignificantwhile falsely labeling injured individuals and their advocates as irresponsible anti-vaxxersis both shameful and insulting.After revealing how the mainstream narrative about Gardasil is riddled with discrepancies and half-truths, the authors ofThe HPV Vaccine on Trialissued a call for greater civility. Noting that marginalization and bullying of the vaccine-injured destroys civil public discourse and discourages scientific inquiry, they pointed out that we urgently need both.

Sign upfor free news and updates from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Childrens Health Defense. CHD is planning many strategies, including legal, in an effort to defend the health of our children and obtain justice for those already injured.Yoursupportis essential to CHDs successful mission.

The demand for Collective Evolution's content is bigger than ever, except ad agencies and social media keep cutting our revenues. This is making it hard for us to continue.

In order to stay truly independent, we need your help. We are not going to put up paywalls on this website, as we want to get our info out far and wide. For as little as $3 a month, you can help keep CE alive!

SUPPORT CE HERE!

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Barbara Marx Hubbard Peacefully Passed Away April 10th, 2019 ...

Exercise is a form of stress on the body and mind. Weve all fought to overcome flagging willpower during a workout thats our brains telling us to stop stressing our bodies. Surprise! Meditation can help with that, too. For example, football players who frequently practiced meditation during preseason training showed considerably higher mental resilience, better attention, and improved mood over other players.

Meditation has been shown to provide Marines preparing for deployment with a kind of mental armor. Despite intense stresses, meditation exercises improved their mood, their ability to control emotion, and their focus on complex tasks.

General mindfulness research has shown that mindfulness can reduce stress and increase attention and focus, and these are some of the psychological skills required to achieve enhanced athletic performance. Additionally, research on mindfulness and optimal performance, flow state for athletes, shows a powerful alignment. Mindfulness practice, through awareness and acceptance, has been found to be significantly correlated with increased flow in athletes.

A study involving sport shooters showed mindfulness-based interventions decreased pre-competition stress measured by reduced cortisol, and another study involving young golfers showed that mindfulness and acceptance was associated with performance improvement in competition.

The benefits of meditation for sport are no secret to some of the best athletes in the world: Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Carli Lloyd, Trey Burke, Sam Darnold, LeBron James, Derrick Morgan, and many others reportedly have used meditation to boost focus and performance.

More here:

Meditation - Headspace

You've heard of Zen. You may even have had moments of Zeninstances of insight and a feeling of connectedness and understanding that seem to come out of nowhere. But what exactlyis Zen?

The scholarly answer to that question is that Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that emerged in China about 15 centuries ago. In China, it is called Ch'an Buddhism. Ch'an is the Chinese rendering of the Sanskrit word dhyana, which refers to a mind absorbed in meditation. "Zen" is the Japanese rendering of Ch'an. Zen is called Thien in Vietnam and Seon in Korea. In any language, the name can be translated as "Meditation Buddhism."

Some scholars suggest that Zen originally was something like a marriage of Taoism and traditional Mahayana Buddhism, in which the complex meditative practices of Mahayana met the no-nonsense simplicity of Chinese Taoism to produce a new branch of Buddhism that is today known the world over.

Be aware that Zen is a complicated practice with many traditions. In this discussion, the term "Zen" is used in a general sense, to represent all different schools.

Zen began to emerge as a distinctive school of Mahayana Buddhism when the Indian sage Bodhidharma (ca. 470543) taught at the Shaolin Monastery of China. (Yes, it's a real place, and yes, there is a historic connection between kung fu and Zen.) To this day, Bodhidharma is called the First Patriarch of Zen.

Bodhidharma's teachings tapped into some developments already in progress, such as the confluence of philosophical Taoism with Buddhism. Taoism so profoundly impacted early Zen that some philosophers and texts are claimed by both religions. The early Mahayana philosophies of Madhyamika(ca. third century A.D.) and Yogacara(ca. third century A.D.) also played huge roles in the development of Zen.

Under the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng (638713 A.D.), Zen shed most of its vestigial Indian trappings, becoming more Chinese and more like the Zen we now think of. Some consider Huineng, not Bodhidharma, to be the true father of Zen since his personality and influence are felt in Zen to this day. Huineng's tenure was at the beginning of what is still called the Golden Age of Zen. This Golden Age flourished during the same period as China's Tang Dynasty, 618907 A.D., and the masters of this Golden Age still speak to the present through koans and stories.

During these years, Zen organized itself into five "houses," or five schools. Two of these, called in Japanese the Rinzai and the Soto schools, still exist and remain distinctive from each other.

Zen was transmitted to Vietnam very early, possibly as early as the seventh century. A series of teachers brought Zen to Korea during the Golden Age. Eihei Dogen (12001253) was not the first Zen teacher in Japan, but he was the first to establish a lineage that lives to this day. The West took an interest in Zen after World War II, and now Zen is well established in North America, Europe, and elsewhere.

Bodhidharma's definition:

Zen is sometimes said to be "the face-to-face transmission of the dharma outside the sutras." Dharma refers to the teachings, and sutras, in a Buddhist context,are sacred texts or scriptures, many of which are considered to be transcriptions of the oral teachings of the Buddha. Throughout the history of Zen, teachers have transmitted their realization of dharma to students by working with them face-to-face. This makes the lineage of teachers critical. Genuine Zen teachers can trace their lineage of teachers back to Bodhidharma, and before that to the historical Buddha, and even to those Buddhas before the historical Buddha.

Certainly, large parts of the lineage charts have to be taken on faith. But if anything is treated as sacred in Zen, it's the teachers' lineages. With very few exceptions, calling oneself a "Zen teacher" without having received a transmission from another teacher is considered a serious defilement of Zen.

Zen has become extremely trendy in recent years, and those who are seriously interested are advised to be wary of anyone proclaiming to be or advertised as a "Zen master." The phrase "Zen master" is hardly ever heard inside Zen. The title "Zen master" (in Japanese, zenji) is only given posthumously. In Zen, living Zen teachers are called "Zen teachers," and an especially venerable and beloved teacher is called roshi, which means "old man."

Bodhidharma's definition also says that Zen is not an intellectual discipline you can learn from books. Instead, it's a practice of studying the mind and seeing into one's nature. The main tool of this practice is zazen.

The meditation practice of Zen, called zazen in Japanese, is the heart of Zen. Daily zazen is the foundation of Zen practice.

You can learn the basics of zazen from books, websites,and videos. However, if you're serious about pursuing a regular zazen practice, it is important to sit zazen with others at least occasionally; most people findthat sitting with others deepens the practice. If there's no monastery or Zen center handy, you might find a "sitting group" of laypeople who sit zazen together at someone's home.

As with most forms ofBuddhist meditation, beginners are taught to work with their breath to learn concentration. Once your ability to concentrate has ripened (expect this to take a few months), you may either sit shikantazawhich means "just sitting"or dokoanstudy with a Zen teacher.

As we find with many aspects of Buddhism, most peoplehave to practice zazen for a while to appreciate zazen. At first you might think of it primarily as mind training, and of course, it is. If you stay with the practice, however, your understanding of why you sit will change. This will be your own personal and intimate journey, and it may not resemble the experience of anyone else.

One of the most difficult parts of zazen for most people to comprehend is sitting with no goals or expectations, including an expectation of "getting enlightened." Most peopledo sit with goals and expectations for months or years before the goals are exhausted and they finally learn to "just sit." Along the way, people learn a lot about themselves.

You may find "experts" who will tell you zazen is optional in Zen, but such experts are mistaken. This misunderstanding of the role of zazen comes from misreadings of Zen literature, which is common because Zen literature often makes no sense to readers intent on literalness.

It isn't true that Zen makes no sense. Rather, "making sense" of it requires understanding language differently from the way we normally understand it.

Zen literature is full of vexatious exchanges, such as Moshan's "Its Peak Cannot Be Seen," that defy literal interpretation. However, these are not random, Dadaist utterings. Something specific is intended. How do you understand it?

Bodhidharma said that Zen is "direct pointing to the mind." Understanding is gained through intimate experience, not through intellect or expository prose. Words may be used, but they are used in a presentational rather than a literal way.

Zen teacher Robert Aitken wrote in "The Gateless Barrier":

No secret decoder ring will help you decipher Zenspeak. After you've practiced awhile, particularly with a teacher, you may catch onor not. Be skeptical of explanations of koan study that are found on the internet, which are often peppered with academic explanations that are painfully wrong, because the "scholar" analyzed the koan as if it were discursive prose. Answers will not be found through normal reading and study; they must be lived.

If you want to understand Zen, you really must go face the dragon in the cave for yourself.

Wherever Zen has established itself, it has rarely been one of the larger or more popular sects of Buddhism. The truth is, it's a very difficult path, particularly for laypeople. It is not for everybody

On the other hand, for such a small sect, Zen has had a disproportionate impact on the art and culture of Asia, especially in China and Japan. Beyond kung fu and other martial arts, Zen has influenced painting, poetry, music, flower arranging, and the tea ceremony.

Ultimately, Zen is about coming face-to-face with yourselfin a very direct and intimate way. This is not easy. But if you like a challenge, the journey is worthwhile.

Aitken, Robert. The Gateless Barrier. North Point Press, 1991.

Visit link:
Zen 101: An Introduction to Zen Buddhism - learnreligions.com

If you intend to retire, you must initiate a retirement eligibility check and submit your retirement application on myPers. You can do this by going to the Retirement Personnel Processing Application, located on the vMPF through AFPCSecure, using the following steps:

1. Input Common Access Card PIN or enter AFPCSecure User ID and Password; click on Secure Login

2. Click on vMPF

3. Click on Self Service Actions

4. Click on Retirements

5. Click on Request Retirement

You can review information on retirement eligibility by selecting the Eligibility link. Select the Restrictions link to review tables that contain information regarding conditions that preclude the submission or processing of your retirement application and conditions/restrictions that may be waived in the best interest of the Air Force or for hardship not common to other Air Force members. Select the Entitlements Counseling link for information on basic entitlements involved with retirements. It is recommended that you review these areas before applying for retirement.

After reviewing this information, click on the Check Retirement Eligibility link to submit your request. The Total Force Service Center Retirement Section will review your record and respond via email within five duty days of receipt.

Originally posted here:
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Sales Training in New York

Richardson offers a variety of customizable sales training programs in NYC and Northeast Region. At the core of our approach to sales training is the consultative sales skills program. Consultative selling focuses on teaching sellers how to add value to every moment the send with their customers by engaging them in customer-centric based dialogue. More targeted or advanced program offerings like ourselling with insightssolution or ourhigh-performance selling&sales negotiations trainingsolutions, take the consultative selling approach to the next level teaching selling behaviors that will help sales professionals further advance their ability to connect with clients. Sales coaching training programs in New York City and the Northeast Region are also available.Sales coaching training programshelp sales leaders learn how to sustain and develop the lessons taught in our programs designed for sales representatives. Organizational leaders who complete sales coaching training learn that every interaction with their team is an opportunity to enhance their skills. Enhanced coaching skills support an organizations overall dedication to constant and consistent improvement.

More and more, clients have a concerted focus on reinforcement, both to retain knowledge and to optimize investment in training. One tool proving popular is Richardson QuickCheck, an email-based program that delivers bite-sized learning to sales professionals while engaging their competitive drive using a game approach, with real-time tracking of results on leaderboards. These short, daily bursts of scenario-based questions appeal to multiple generations, as all learners basically want short, relevant, and easily accessible content. Coaching has become an integral part of reinforcement plans for clients. Richardson provides personalized coaching in several ways: one-on-one meetings, by phone, or by preparing individuals at the client company to take on the role of coach.

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Sales Coaching and Sales Training In New York | Richardson

Sales Training Courses

Sales is a trying, but necessary part of any business. In order to be successful, you need people skills, tenacity, organization, persistence, and a great voice on the phone. If you are bringing on a set of new hires, trying to improve the productivity of current hires, or even offering a refresher to the current veterans, you will need a sales training course.

Opinions of how to conduct a sales training course vary drastically. One way to consider is walking through the sales process from the very beginning. Walking your learners through the prospecting process all the way to their closing question and then a relationship maintenance lesson is likely the best way to advance through the course. When your learners understand each step in the process while walking through you can describe the conceptual benefit of each area as well as the advancement of the overall process.

Above, you will find our sales training course online. Free lessons can offer a great place to start your training program. You may find that the above lesson even fits your team so well that you can just use it to train your team. In that case, great! We love helping teams learn.

Some sales training ideas are designed to improve the communication skills and others are designed to improve the cold email or cold call skills of your team. You will likely need to invest time in both areas to improve your team throughout the entire process. Consider offering your team some role playing scenarios with customers so they will learn to handle objections properly and start negotiating at a skill level beyond their years.

Starting with sales skills training can establish the foundation of your team. Communicating what skills your team is going to improve upon before the process even begins can lay out the roadmap. If you are going to incorporate sales training videos into your process, make them fun. Your learners are more likely to remember a video that made them laugh rather than one of those cheesy videos of a guy in front of a green screen with a typical Oh, hello, I didnt see you there. Wait, that could be hilarious. If you can make that funny ironically, definitely do that and send me the video.

If you decide to invest in a sales training software, I know a great one. Anonline training softwarecan offer a great way to easily build lessons to train your team and then track your employees. The free sales training above is a great way to try out our application and see what you think. The above lessons are a how a learner will view their assigned lessons.

Numerous sales training programs already exist. It can be a daunting task to try to sift through the unhelpful programs and find the top sales training programs. If youve made it this far, you have successfully sifted. Online sales training programs, like the one above, can give you great insight into where you want to take your sales training for your team. Below are some examples of some sales lessons that have worked in the past.

Sales 101 is the first lesson for your sales team. It will nostalgically take them back to freshman year where initially it may have seemed like a struggle, Sales 101 training may not be easy. For your veterans taking a victory lap or a refresher, it should seem like a breeze.

Make sure to throw in a tough question to throw off your veterans after they get complacent in the lesson. A tough question will also give your new learners insight into how much they will learn in your sales training program.

Action selling is defined by five buying decision stages. Those stages are made up of nine acts. In the first stage of defining the plan to win, the salesperson and their manager must create a plan to win and commit to it.

The second stage is for the salesperson. It is a base foundation level training that includes people skills, asking the right questions, and agreeing on a need. Following this process will be a great way to categorize your sales training and order it.

The fifth act is based primarily on the company, which comes before the sixth act of selling the product. If your customer knows you are a product expert in your industry or in their industry, they will want to do business with you. Next, you sell them on the product. By selling the company before the product, you establish a rapport with your prospect.

The fourth stage is time to buy. Notice Action Selling does not rush the prospect through the funnelbut instead lets them take their time getting to know the company, salesperson, and then the product. In the seventh and eighth act, ask for the sale. Get a time commitment as well as a confirmation of the sale. In the ninth stage, you can review the call and bask in your success.

Dale Carnegie is one of the most renowned names in business and in sales. If you take the Dale Carnegie Sales Training approach to your sales team, prepare for higher engagement, more positive attitudes, and higher close rates.

The Dale Carnegie sales advantage offers an eight-session course that can be helpful for anyone whether they are in sales or not. For a quick session, consider sending your team to a few Dale Carnegie workshops.

With a name like Zig Ziglar, he likely didnt have a difficult time making friends. Its a great name, Id try to be friends with him, and it may have helped his great sales technique go viral. Anyway, Zig Ziglar was a bestselling author and motivational speaker.

His techniques worked so well that others have continued his legacy through Zig Ziglar videos and Zig Ziglar seminars. Consider checking out a few options for your team to see the impact Zig Ziglar can make. I just like saying his name. Zig Ziglar.

You may think that sales should just be a natural skill to enthusiastic and extroverted people. It may be for some, but even ones naturally skilled can improve. Ensure that you are getting the most potential out of your team and invest in training. You will notice the difference of your team once you start to climb the ranks of the best sales training companies.

Even if it doesnt work out between your new sales team and your company, they will be grateful they got to experience your sales training.

Remember The Pursuit of Happyness, that movie where Will Smith is homeless? He was a struggling salesman until he landed that job as a broker. If only his company had invested in some medical sales training programs, he may have gone on to not even need to work that temporary job.

International companies or traveling salesman may have a more difficult time in their training. Trying to accommodate different cultures in techniques and knowing different areas is an intimidating task.

Training is arguably more important in these companies to increase across-the-globe sales performance. International sales opportunities can be challenging but it can be a great feeling to accomplish, I assume.

For ongoing training, consider sending a few members of your team to regular sales training seminars. It will be a great opportunity to learn from valuable speakers as well as networkwith peers. You may even close a few deals out of it. Sales training workshops can be a valuable opportunity to role-play different scenarios with individuals outside of the company.

If you are looking for a less expensive form of ongoing training, share regular sales training articles with your team. Even if they are fundamental tips, its always helpful to review.

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FREE Sales Training Courses- Lessonly

Online sales training programs and courses that use the exact same materials, exercises and modules as used in leading management training institutions and business schools. Giving salespeople the training and coaching to integrate, measure and scale sales habits that acts as a platform for change and drives real revenue

Our online sales training programs and courses cover social selling training, digital selling,sales prospecting and business development. Sales training programs that helpssalespeople become successful by learning what it takes to attract customers, engage prospects and close moresales. Online sales training courses and courses that covers all the key sales skills from social selling, sales prospecting, lead generation, cold calling, value propositions,sales calls, and digital selling.

Our online sales training programs and courses will help salespeople achieve their goals and develop valued selling skills for their career. The Digital Sales Institute training programs and courses will give any salesperson the selling skills to start selling successfully in the digital era!

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Online Sales Training Programs and Courses