SUNday Global Unity MeditationsEvery SUNday at 8:11am, 11:11am and 5:11pm PDT .Join thousands for 33 minutes as we amplify the HUman Heart grid and Ascension.See this page in the free tools section for detailsand a free Christ Light guided meditation download.

Soul Shine Live Online EventDecember 20 22, 2017 at 12pmPT each dayJoin host Lauren Galey for this free online event as we celebrate the Solstice! Global teachers provide activations to expand your consciousness. Register at http://acoustichealth.com/soulshine17.htm

Beyond the Ordinary with John BurgosTuesday, February 6, 2018Join Sandra and John for another High-Vibe conversation about Ascension!Grab a virtual seat at https://www.beyondtheordinaryshow.com/

Conscious Media FestivalMarch 3 5, 2018Austin, TexasThe preeminent gathering and inspirational launching pad for conscious content influencers! Conscious Media creators unite at this fun, energetic and informative event. Sandra returns as a key speaker on SUNday.Details and Tickets at http://www.consciousmediafestival.com/

Light Tribe Gathering with Sandra in SedonaSaturday, April 14, 2018 11am-2pmSedona Creative Life Center, ArizonaSandra returns to Sedona for a High-Vibe gathering and presentation!Check back soon for details.

Sedona Cosmic AwakeningApril 20 22, 2018 Sedona, ArizonaA unique cosmic conference in Sedona. Sandra will speak on Saturday, April 21. Details and tickets at http://sedonacosmicawakening.com

Ascension Path Online Seriesavailable24/7Sandras life-changing class in Ascension!Ascension Path is available anytime you choose to take your process to the next level.Registration, video trailer and detailsHERE Participant Testimonials HERE

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Events with Sandra Walter | Sandra Walter - Creative Evolution

A Process of Metamorphosis to Realize Our Full Potential SelfThe purpose of the 52 Codes is to awaken us to the guidanceof our own Universal Self, the highest frequency of our being,so we can integrate these higher frequencies within ourselvesto become Whole Beings, Universal Humans ready for theevolutionary event or birth the actual emergence andgreater fulfillment of ourselves as members of a planetarycocreative society. ~ Barbara Marx Hubbard January, 2011

The key is to yearn with all the passion of your being for your own evolution, beyond the separated state. You must put this purpose first. This does not mean that there is nothing else in your life or that you become a hermit in isolation from others. No! It means you keep your attention on the highest frequency of your being and, to whatever degree possible, bring your Whole Being into harmony with that frequency. The purpose is to be able to live your daily life in such a way that you both lift yourself and others. You become a beneficent presence. Your own experiential evolution is the energy that evolves others and flows through your work with the fire of the force of life itself. The same force that brought atom-to-atom and cell-to-cell is now integrating you and radiating out to others.

Be compassionate with yourself. You are taking a monumental leap here and are evolving our species! This is neither a self- help course nor an effort to be better at what you already do. This is self-induced conscious evolution toward a new human and a new humanity, for which there is no full model yet. Through this process, you are modeling the Whole Being within your own imaginal realm and with two or more sharing this purpose with you.

This is not a linear process. Just like a toddler, you may return to the infantile state in a moment of pain or reactivity. Remember, we are all very young as Universal Humans. Yet, gradually, you will feel the metamorphosis taking place. When you look back on your former state of being, you will notice that there have been phase changes that are definitive and irreversible.

As you evolve beyond the human-creature, you naturally let go of your worldly self image and your need to have position and status in the existing world.

The existing world does not give status to you as a young Universal Human just learning how to be your Full Potential Self.

However, when the world community encounters a great being like Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, Lao Tse, Confucius or Gandhi they will transform whole cultures in their name.

Eventually, Universal Humans will cocreate a Universal Humanity, a culture in which all people are free to do their best and be their own Universal Self-incarnate.

Evolution creates greater consciousness and freedom through more complex and harmonious order. You are evolving toward higher consciousness and greater freedom in a world that is increasingly becoming more complex. Your flashes of freedom are actually awareness of your coming state of being as a new norm.

Surrender your illusion of separation and join whole-heartedly with the creative intent as it expresses itself personally through your yearning to cocreate and participate in the evolution of self and the world.

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Initiation through 52 Codes of Conscious Evolution

During the 1920s and '30s, George Gurdjieff accumulated followers who were interested in his methods for attaining a higher level of consciousness.

G.I. Gurdjieff was born circa 1866 in Alexandropol (present-day Armenia). In 1922, after settling in France, he reopened his Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man. There, he taught students to reintegrate their spiritual nature with their daily modern lives. Gurdjieff's followers included writers P.L. Travers and Katherine Mansfield. He died in Neuilly, France (near Paris) in 1949.

George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, generally referred to as G.I. Gurdjieff, was born in Alexandropol, in the Armenian region of the Russia Empire (present-day Armenia). His birth date is possibly January 13, 1866a date that is listed in one passport. However, another passport puts the date as December 28, 1877, and some close friends believed that his birth year was 1872. Gurdjieff himself was vague about his origins.

Gurdjieff's mother was Armenian and his father was Greek. Though his father worked as a carpenter, he also regaled Gurdjieff and others with recitations of legends, such as the epic of Gilgamesh. These tales may have spurred Gurdjieff's later belief in the existence of ancient knowledge that surpassed what was offered by science and religion.

Gurdjieff received early tutelage from the dean of the military cathedral at Kars, who was a priest and family friend. According to his autobiography, Meetings with Remarkable Men, he journeyed across Central Asia, Egypt and India in a voyage of spiritual discovery. However, there is no corroboration for Gurdjieff's self-reported accounting of his travels between 1887 and 1911.

When his travels were over, Gurdjieff returned to Russia. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, he moved to Tiflis, Georgia, where he opened the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man in 1919. A few years later, Gurdjieff settled in France, where his institute took shape once more.

From his base at the Chteau du Prieur, near Fontainebleau, Gurdjieff shared his new philosophy. He believed that man was in an almost constant sleep state, and that people must work to revive themselves in order to regain the higher consciousness that they are capable of. He also averred that the sleep state made people easy to manipulate, and was therefore a proponent of questioning everything.

At Fontainebleau, Gurdjieff often required people to listen to his writings as they were read aloud. People at the center also performed exercises and dance movements, sometimes to music created by Gurdjieff and composer Thomas de Hartmann.

Though he had brought followers with him to France, Gurdjieff gained more once he was ensconced in Fontainebleau, particularly as one early acolyte, P.D. Ouspensky, elucidated and propagated his teachings. His prominent followers included architect Frank Lloyd Wright's third wife, Olgivanna Hinzenburg, writer Katherine Mansfield, editor A.R. Orage and Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers.

Gurdjieff developed a special vocabulary of his own in some of his writings, using words such as "blastegoklornian." For his disciples, these words increased his aura of deep understanding and mystery. For Gurdjieff's detractors, they made his writings even more nonsensical.

Gurdjieff continued teaching even after his Fontainebleau center closed its doors in 1933. He remained in Paris during World War II, surviving under the German occupation. On October 29, 1949, in Neuilly, France (near Paris), he died at the approximate age of 83. He left behind works that include All and Everything (containing Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson, Meetings with Remarkable Men and Life Is Real Only Then, When 'I Am') and The Herald of Coming Good.

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George Gurdjieff - Religious Figure - Biography.com

Money comes from foreign business and investment.

The emphasis on prevention, the strict protection of groundwater and measures to prevent its deterioration are both necessary and an investment for future generations.

While the gulf between rich and poor countries is widening, it is difficult to accept this desire to include new subjects such as investment, competition or public markets.

What we need is investment in research and qualifications, so that our best people do not drift away to other continents.

I would be pleased to hear whether you accept that we ought to drop the push for investment to be included.

Clearly, this situation will continue until we are in a new phase that offers brighter prospects, which is vital for new business and investment strategies.

As far as the business world is concerned, it will obviously pay for renewal to be possible at the point where information is created, thus getting a return on investment.

There has been chronic under-investment in health services in developing countries for many years, including under-investment in training of health workers.

He also enhanced marketing and media relationships by forming strategic communications/marketing opportunities to help partners get maximum value on investment.

Without competitive economies there is no investment.

I would reply to this that the lack of investment is structural and that we should act against speculation on the money markets, which has paralysed the investment mechanism.

Clearly this also requires financial investment.

On the domestic side, investment should normally benefit from the positive global environment, the very favourable financing conditions in the euro area and the improvements in corporate efficiency.

The poverty often leads to crime, and neighborhoods become further neglected because they continue to be unattractive to outside investment, and continue to be redlined by banks.

In view of the importance of the matter, it is most unfortunate that investment firms should in practice have been exempted from trading at the advertised prices.

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investment Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary

In Buddhism, Dhyna (Sanskrit) or Jhna (Pali) is a series of cultivated states of mind, which lead to a "state of perfect equanimity and awareness (upekkhii-sati-piirisuddhl)." It is commonly translated as meditation, and is also used in Hinduism and Jainism. Dhyana may have been the core practice of pre-sectarian Buddhism, but became appended with other forms of meditation throughout its development.

According to Henepola Gunaratana, the term "jhana" is closely connected with "samadhi", which is generally rendered as "concentration". The word "samadhi" is almost interchangeable with the word "samatha", serenity.[4]

In the suttas samadhi is defined as mental one-pointedness.[4]Buddhaghosa explains samadhi etymologically as:

... the centering of consciousness and consciousness concomitants evenly and rightly on a single object... the state in virtue of which consciousness and its concomitants remain evenly and rightly on a single object, undistracted and unscattered (Vism.8485; PP.85).[4]

In the widest sense the word samadhi is being used for the practices which lead to the development of serenity. In this sense, samadhi and jhana are close in meaning. Nevertheless, they are not exactly identical. Samadhi signifies only one mental factor, namely one-pointedness, while the word "jhana" encompasses the whole state of consciousness.[4]

Samadhi also covers another type of concentration, namely "momentary concentration" (khanikasamadhi), "the mobile mental stabilization produced in the course of insight contemplation of the passing flow of phenomena."[4]

The Pli canon describes eight progressive states of jhna. Four are called meditations of form (rpa jhna), and four are formless meditations (arpa jhna).

There are four stages of deep collectedness which are called the Rupa Jhna (Fine-material Jhna). For each Jhna are given a set of qualities which are present in that jhana:[5]

Beyond the four jhnas lie four attainments, referred to in the early texts as aruppas. These are also referred to in commentarial literature as immaterial/the formless jhnas (arpajhnas), also translated as The Formless Dimensions, in distinction from the first four jhnas (rpa jhnas). In the Buddhist canonical texts, the word "jhna" is never explicitly used to denote them, they are instead referred to as yatana. However, they are sometimes mentioned in sequence after the first four jhnas (other texts. e.g. MN 121 treat them as a distinct set of attainments) and thus came to be treated by later exegetes as jhnas. The immaterial attainments have more to do with expanding, while the Jhanas (14) focus on concentration. The enlightenment of complete dwelling in emptiness is reached when the eighth jhna is transcended.

The four formless jhanas are:

Although the "Dimension of Nothingness" and the "Dimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception" are included in the list of nine Jhanas taught by the Buddha, they are not included in the Noble Eightfold Path. Noble Path number eight is "Samma Samadhi" (Right Concentration), and only the first four Jhanas are considered "Right Concentration". If he takes a disciple through all the Jhanas, the emphasis is on the "Cessation of Feelings and Perceptions" rather than stopping short at the "Dimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception".

The Buddha also rediscovered an attainment beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, Nirodha-Samapatti, the "cessation of feelings and perceptions".[5] This is sometimes called the "ninth jhna" in commentarial and scholarly literature.[6][7]

The time of the Buddha saw the rise of the ramaa movement, ascetic practitioners with a body of shared teachings and practices.[full citation needed] The strict delineation of this movement into Jainism, Buddhism and brahmanical/Upanishadic traditions is a later development.[full citation needed]

According to Bronkhorst, the practice of the four dhyanas may have been an original contribution by Gautama Buddha to the religious practices of ancient India in response to the ascetic practices of the Jains. According to Wynne, the attainment of the formless meditative absorption was incorporated from Brahmanical practices,[pageneeded] These practices were paired to mindfulness and insight, and given a new interpretation.[pageneeded] The stratification of particular samdhi experiences into the four jhnas seems to be a Buddhist innovation.[pageneeded] It was then borrowed and presented in an incomplete form in the Mokadharma, a part of the Mahbhrata. Kalupahana argues that the Buddha "reverted to the meditational practices" he had learned from ra Klma and Uddaka Rmaputta.

Thomas William Rhys Davids and Maurice Walshe agreed that the term samadhi is not found in any pre-Buddhist text. Samadhi was first found in the Tipiaka and not in any pre-Buddhist text. It was later incorporated into later texts such as the Maitrayaniya Upanishad.[13] But according to Matsumoto, "the terms dhyana and samahita (entering samadhi) appear already in Upanishadic texts that predate the origins of Buddhism".[note 2]

The Mahasaccaka Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya 36, narrates the story of the Buddha's awakening. According to this story, he learned two kinds of meditation, which did not lead to enlightenment. He then underwent harsh ascetic practices with which he eventually also became disillusioned. The Buddha then recalled a meditative state he entered by chance as a child:[pageneeded]

I thought: 'I recall once, when my father the Sakyan was working, and I was sitting in the cool shade of a rose-apple tree, then quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful mental qualities I entered & remained in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from seclusion, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. Could that be the path to Awakening?' Then following on that memory came the realization: 'That is the path to Awakening.'

In the Mahasaccaka Sutta, dhyana is followed by insight into the four noble truths. The mention of the four noble truths as constituting "liberating insight" is probably a later addition.[pageneeded] Originally the practice of dhyana itself may have constituted the core liberating practice of early Buddhism, since in this state all "pleasure and pain" had waned.[pageneeded] According to Vetter,

[P]robably the word "immortality" (a-mata) was used by the Buddha for the first interpretation of this experience and not the term cessation of suffering that belongs to the four noble truths [...] the Buddha did not achieve the experience of salvation by discerning the four noble truths and/or other data. But his experience must have been of such a nature that it could bear the interpretation "achieving immortality".

Discriminating insight into transiency as a separate path to liberation was a later development, under pressure of developments in Indian religious thinking, which saw "liberating insight" as essential to liberation.[pageneeded] This may also have been due to an over-literal interpretation by later scholastics of the terminology used by the Buddha, and to the problems involved with the practice of dhyana, and the need to develop an easier method.

Alexander Wynne attempted to find parallels in Brahmanical texts to the meditative goals the two teachers claimed to have taught, drawing especially on some of the Upanishads and the Mokshadharma chapter of the Mahabharata.

The suttas describe how the Buddha learned meditative practices from two teachers, Uddaka Ramaputta and Alara Kalama. Alex Wynne argues that Uddaka Ramaputta belonged to the pre-Buddhist tradition portrayed by the Buddhist and Brahmanic sources, in which the philosophical formulations of the early Upanishads were accepted, and the meditative state of "neither perception nor non-perception" was equated with the self. Wynne further argues that the goal of Alara Kalama was a Brahminical concept. Evidence in the Chandogya Upanishad and the Taittiriya Upanishad suggests that a different early Brahminic philosophical tradition held the view that the unmanifest state of Brahman was a form of non-existence. According to Wynne it thus seems likely that both element and formless meditation was learned by the Buddha from his two teachers, and adapted by him to his own system.[note 3]

It appears that in early Brahminic yoga, the formless spheres were attained following element meditation. This is also taught as an option in the early Buddhist texts. The primary method taught to achieve the formless attainment in early Buddhist scriptures, on the other hand, is to proceed to the sphere of infinite space following the fourth jhna.[30]

Wynne claimed that Brahminic passages on meditation suggest that the most basic presupposition of early Brahmanical yoga is that the creation of the world must be reversed, through a series of meditative states, by the yogin who seeks the realization of the self. These states were given doctrinal background in early Brahminic cosmologies, which classified the world into successively coarser strata. One such stratification is found at TU II.1 and Mbh XII.195, and proceeds as follows: self, space, wind, fire, water, earth. Mbh XII.224 gives alternatively: Brahman, mind, space, wind, fire, water, earth.

In Brahmanical thought, the meditative states of consciousness were thought to be identical to the subtle strata of the cosmos. There is no similar theoretical background to element meditation in the early Buddhist texts, where the elements appear simply as suitable objects of meditation. It is likely that the Brahmanic practices of element-meditation were borrowed and adapted by early Buddhists, with the original Brahmanic ideology of the practices being discarded in the process.

On this point, it is thought that the uses of the elements in early Buddhist literature have in general very little connection to Brahmanical thought; in most places they occur in teachings where they form the objects of a detailed contemplation of the human being. The aim of these contemplations seems to have been to bring about the correct understanding that the various perceived aspects of a human being, when taken together, nevertheless do not comprise a 'self'. Moreover, the self is conceptualized in terms similar to both "nothingness" and "neither perception nor non-perception" at different places in early Upanishadic literature.

The latter corresponds to Yajnavalkyas definition of the self in his famous dialogue with Maitreyi in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and the definition given in the post-Buddhist Mandukya Upanishad. This is mentioned as a claim of non-Buddhist ascetics and Brahmins in the Pacattaya Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 102.2).[37] In the same dialogue in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Yajnavalkya draws the conclusions that the self that is neither perceptive nor non-perceptive is a state of consciousness without object. The early Buddhist evidence suggests much the same thing for the state of "neither perception nor non-perception". It is a state without an object of awareness, that is not devoid of awareness. The state following it in the Buddhist scheme, the "cessation of perception and sensation", is devoid not only of objectivity, but of subjectivity as well.

The Brahmanical texts cited by Wynne assumed their final form long after the Buddhas lifetime. The Mokshadharma postdates him.[27]

The Buddhist tradition has incorporated two traditions regarding the use of jhana.[pageneeded] There is a tradition that stresses attaining insight (bodhi, prajna, kensho) as the means to awakening and liberation. According to the Theravada tradition dhyana must be combined with vipassana, which gives insight into the three marks of existence and leads to detachment and "the manifestation of the path".

But the Buddhist tradition has also incorporated the yogic tradition, as reflected in the use of jhana, which is rejected in other sutras as not resulting in the final result of liberation. One solution to this contradiction is the conjunctive use of vipassana and samatha.[43] In Zen Buddhism, this problem has appeared over the centuries in the disputes over sudden versus gradual enlightenment.[pageneeded]

Schmithausen notes that the mention of the four noble truths as constituting "liberating insight", which is attained after mastering the Rupa Jhanas, is a later addition to texts such as Majjhima Nikaya 36.[pageneeded][pageneeded] Schmithausen discerns three possible roads to liberation as described in the suttas, to which Vetter adds a fourth possibility:

According to the Theravada-tradition, the meditator uses the jhna state to bring the mind to rest, and to strengthen and sharpen the mind, in order to investigate the true nature of phenomena (dhamma) and to gain insight into impermanence, suffering and not-self.[citation needed] According to Nathan Katz, the arahant is aware that the jhanas are ultimately unsatisfactory, realizing that the meditative attainments are also anicca, impermanent.[47]

Contemporary scholars have discerned a broader apllication of jhana in historical Buddhist practice. According to Alexander Wynne, the ultimate aim of dhyana was the attainment of insight, and the application of the meditative state to the practice of mindfulness. According to Frauwallner, mindfulness was a means to prevent the arising of craving, which resulted simply from contact between the senses and their objects. According to Frauwallner, this may have been the Buddhas original idea. According to Wynne, this stress on mindfulness may have led to the intellectualism which favoured insight over the practice of dhyana.

According to Richard Gombrich, the sequence of the four rupa-jhanas describes two different cognitive states: "I know this is controversial, but it seems to me that the third and fourth jhanas are thus quite unlike the second."[note 4] Alexander Wynne further explains that the dhyana-scheme is poorly understood. According to Wynne, words expressing the inculcation of awareness, such as sati, sampajno, and upekkh, are mistranslated or understood as particular factors of meditative states, whereas they refer to a particular way of perceiving the sense objects:

Thus the expression sato sampajno in the third jhna must denote a state of awareness different from the meditative absorption of the second jhna (cetaso ekodibhva). It suggests that the subject is doing something different from remaining in a meditative state, i.e. that he has come out of his absorption and is now once again aware of objects. The same is true of the word upek(k)h: it does not denote an abstract 'equanimity', [but] it means to be aware of something and indifferent to it [...] The third and fourth jhna-s, as it seems to me, describe the process of directing states of meditative absorption towards the mindful awareness of objects.[note 5]

According to some texts, after progressing through the eight jhanas and the stage of Nirodha-Samapatti, a person is liberated.[5] According to some traditions someone attaining the state of Nirodha-Samapatti is an anagami or an arahant.[53] In the Anupadda sutra, the Buddha narrates that Sariputta became an arahant upon reaching it.[54]

The emphasis on "liberating insight" alone seems to be a later development, in response to developments in Indian religious thought. Vetter notes that such insight is not possible in a state of dhyana, since discursive thinking is eliminated in such a state. He also notes that the emphasis on "liberating insight" developed only after the four noble truths were introduced as an expression of what this "liberating insight" constituted. In time, other expressions took over this function, such as prattyasamutpda and the emptiness of the self.

Both Schmithausen and Bronkhorst note that the attainment of insight, which is a cognitive activity, can't be possible in a state wherein all cognitive acitivy has ceased. According to Vetter, the practice of Rupa Jhana itself may have constituted the core practice of early Buddhism, with practices such as sila and mindfulness aiding to its development. It is the "middle way" between self-mortification, ascribed by Bronkhorst to Jainism, and indulgence in sensual pleasure. Vetter emphasizes that dhyana is a form of non-sensual happiness. The eightfold path can be seen as a path of preparation which leads to the practice of samadhi.

According to the contemporary Vipassana-movement, the jhna state cannot by itself lead to enlightenment as it only suppresses the defilements. Meditators must use the jhna state as an instrument for developing wisdom by cultivating insight, and use it to penetrate the true nature of phenomena through direct cognition, which will lead to cutting off the defilements and nibbana.[citation needed]

According to the later Theravda commentorial tradition as outlined by Buddhagoa in his Visuddhimagga, after coming out of the state of jhna the meditator will be in the state of post-jhna access concentration. In this state the investigation and analysis of the true nature of phenomena begins, which leads to insight into the characteristics of impermanence, suffering and not-self arises.[citation needed] According to Richard Shankman, the sutta descriptions of jhna practice explain that the meditator does not emerge from jhna to practice vipassana but rather the work of insight is done whilst in jhna itself. In particular the meditator is instructed to "enter and remain in the fourth jhna" before commencing the work of insight in order to uproot the mental defilements.[61][note 6]

A meditator should first master the lower jhnas, before they can go into the higher jhnas. According to Nathan Katz, the early suttas state that "the most exquisite of recluses" is able to attain any of the jhnas and abide in them without difficulty.[47] According to Sujiva, there are five aspects of jhna mastery:[63]

According to the Pli canon commentary, access/neighbourhood concentration (upacra-samdhi) is a stage of meditation that the meditator reaches before entering into jhna. The overcoming of the five hindrances[note 7] mark the entry into access concentration.[citation needed] Access concentration is not mentioned in the discourses of the Buddha, but there are several suttas where a person gains insight into the Dhamma on hearing a teaching from the Buddha.[note 8][note 9]

According to Tse-fu Kuan, at the state of access concentration, some meditators may experience vivid mental imagery,[note 10] which is similar to a vivid dream. They are as vivid as if seen by the eye, but in this case the meditator is fully aware and conscious that they are seeing mental images. According to Tse-fu Kuan, this is discussed in the early texts, and expanded upon in Theravda commentaries.[65]

According to Venerable Sujivo, as the concentration becomes stronger, the feelings of breathing and of having a physical body will completely disappear, leaving only pure awareness. At this stage inexperienced meditators may become afraid, thinking that they are going to die if they continue the concentration, because the feeling of breathing and the feeling of having a physical body has completely disappeared. They should not be so afraid and should continue their concentration in order to reach "full concentration" (jhna).[66]

Mahyna Buddhism includes numerous schools of practice. Each draw upon various Buddhist stras, philosophical treatises, and commentaries, and each has its own emphasis, mode of expression, and philosophical outlook. Accordingly, each school has its own meditation methods for the purpose of developing samdhi and praj, with the goal of ultimately attaining enlightenment.

In China, the word dhyna was originally transliterated with Chinese: ; pinyin: chnn and shortened to just pinyin: chn in common usage. In Chinese Buddhism dhyna may refer to all kinds of meditation techniques and their preparatory practices which can be used to attain samadhi. The word chn became the designation for Chan Buddhism (Korean Seon, Zen). The word and the practice of meditation entered into Chinese through the translations of An Shigao (fl. c. 148180 CE), mainly the Dhyna sutras, which were influential early meditation texts.

Dhyna is a central aspect of Buddhist practice in Chan. Nan Huai-Chin:

Intellectual reasoning is just another spinning of the sixth consciousness, whereas the practice of meditation is the true entry into the Dharma."[68]

According to Sheng Yen, meditative concentration is necessary, calling samdhi one of the requisite factors for progress on the path toward enlightenment.[69]

B. Alan Wallace holds that modern Tibetan Buddhism lacks emphasis on achieving levels of concentration higher than access concentration.[70][71] According to Wallace, one possible explanation for this situation is that virtually all Tibetan Buddhist meditators seek to become enlightened through the use of tantric practices. These require the presence of sense desire and passion in one's consciousness, but jhna effectively inhibits these phenomena.[70]

While few Tibetan Buddhists, either inside or outside Tibet, devote themselves to the practice of concentration, Tibetan Buddhist literature does provide extensive instructions on it, and great Tibetan meditators of earlier times stressed its importance.[72]

Hindu texts later used that term to indicate the state of liberation. According to Walshe, citing Rhys Davids, this is not in conformity with Buddhist usage:[73][pageneeded]

its subsequent use in Hindu texts to denote the state of enlightenment is not in conformity with Buddhist usage, where the basic meaning of concentration is expanded to cover meditation in general.[13][pageneeded]

But according to Vetter, the practice of dhyana may have been the original liberating practice in Buddhism.[pageneeded]

There are parallels with the fourth to eighth stages of Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga, as mentioned in his classical work, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,[74] which were compiled around 400 CE by, taking materials about yoga from older traditions.

Patanjali discerns bahiranga (external) aspects of yoga namely, yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, and the antaranga (internal) yoga. Having actualized the pratyahara stage, a practitioner is able to effectively engage into the practice of Samyama. At the stage of pratyahara, the consciousness of the individual is internalized in order that the sensations from the senses of taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell don't reach their respective centers in the brain and takes the sadhaka (practitioner) to next stages of Yoga, namely Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (mystical absorption), being the aim of all Yogic practices.[78]

The Eight Limbs of the yoga sutras show Samadhi as one of its limbs. The Eight limbs of the Yoga Sutra was influenced by Buddhism.[79][80] Vyasa's Yogabhashya, the commentary to the Yogasutras, and Vacaspati Misra's subcommentary state directly that the samadhi techniques are directly borrowed from the Buddhists' Jhana, with the addition of the mystical and divine interpretations of mental absorption.[81][not in citation given] However, it is also to be noted that the Yoga Sutra, especially the fourth segment of Kaivalya Pada, contains several polemical verses critical of Buddhism, particularly the Vijnavda school of Vasubandhu.[82]

The suttas show that during the time of the Buddha, Nigantha Nataputta, the Jain leader, did not even believe that it is possible to enter a state where the thoughts and examination stop.[83]

There has been little scientific study of these mental states. In 2008, an EEG study found "strong, significant, and consistent differences in specific brain regions when the meditator is in a jhana state compared to normal resting consciousness".[84] Tentative hypotheses on the neurological correlates have been proposed, but lack supporting evidence.[85]

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Dhyna in Buddhism - Wikipedia

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An Immersive Journey Into

Peruvian Earth Regenerative Healing & Ceremonial Arts With Renowned Peruvian Shamanic Healer and Transpersonal Psychologistdon Oscar Miro-Quesada

17-week Live Video & Audio Training Starts Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Its clear to anyone with eyes that planet Earth is hurting. Our people. Our ecosystems. Even Pachamama herself. They are all sending out signals of very real distress.

As someone who is sensitized to the plight of our planet, you are no doubt troubled by what youre witnessing.

How, you ask, can you be of highest service in helping shift humanity into a new, earth-honoring possibility?

The answer begins with realizing your own gifts as a shamanic practitioner someone who is able to work with energies, intentions, and the spirits of nature.

Developing your shamanic skill set empowers your own humble acts of service, fueled by the natural forces and energies of Pachamama.

Thats how YOU begin to offer the sacred medicine our world desperately needs through simple acts of wisdom, kindness, and heartfelt ritual mastery of shamanic forces and powers.

You walk a path of profound beauty, imagination, myth and ritual... in which you fall deeply in love with the winged ones, swimmers, crawlers, and the 4-leggeds, listen as much as you speak and heal with your presence as much as with your words.

You become one of the courageous 2-leggeds heeding the call to a life of reverence for the Earth, Great Mother of the human family.

Its particularly valuable now that we draw from the wisdom of traditional Andean people, who know themselves as Runa, Children of Pachamama, Mother Earth.

They understand we live on a planet where gods, goddesses, and myths are alive in the landscape. Its all part of Mother Earths multi-layered divinity revealed through the beauty and magnificence of her physical body.

Aware that Earths landscape is a sacred geography, traditional Andean peoples see life as an act of loving presence and reverence in partnership with All Our Relations. As humans, we are beholden to respect the wisdom ways of Mother Nature and beautify our world for future generations.

This ecological path of shamanic wisdom is governed by a universal law known as Santu Kamachi Qelqa our Dharma, our lifes purposeful mission as two-legged children born from the generosity of Pachamamas dreaming womb.

To gracefully embody the spirit of this living wisdom, we must first learn to heal our human estrangement from the sacred dimensions of life, restore our essential wholeness, and reclaim our Truth that aligns our lives with Love.

In this way, we prepare ourselves as evolutionary catalysts in service to healing the heart of Gaia-Pachamama.

The Reverence, Ritual & Renewal Advanced Program will apprentice participants in long-forgotten shamanic rituals related to the proper ceremonial activation of sacred powers and spirit bridges into Pachamamas subtle energy body.

Called Seqe an, "spirit pathways," by Perus ancestral wisdom keepers, the ritual sustenance of this luminous planetary matrix is considered a vital human contribution for maintaining Mother Earths health as well as a means of informing the evolution of all sentient life on Earth.

Ancient temples and sacred ceremonial sites around the world are like hyperspace portals or multi-dimensional wormholes from astrophysics. They are outward, visible signs of an invisible, numinous order.

Called a waka ("earthen sanctuary"), these repositories of sacred power play a part in the human effort to define the cosmos, name the divinity or higher principle behind it, and experience the interdependence of self, culture, and nature.

As ancestrally sanctioned places of veneration, every natural landscape shrine, revered pilgrimage destination, stone cairn, and artful ceremonial offering sustains the complex web of our collective spiritual heritage upon Pachamama.

By performing the earth-honoring rituals you will learn in this advanced Universal Shaman course you gain access to multiple dimensions of Being, helping you understand your essential Self through a direct experience of the sacred in life.

You will dramatically empower our human re-membering as a united planetary family with a common origin in the starlight of the cosmos.

don Oscar has distilled the cosmology of his kamasqa and Paqokuna ancestors into ritual practices that enhance your path of healing service to Pachamamas sacred web of life.

If you recognize the truth in the above description and the calling in your bones to be of shamanic service, we invite you to join our global community to engage in Earth-regenerative and soul-restorative practices passed down by our Andean ancestors.

Reverence, Ritual & Renewal offers an unparalleled opportunity to receive shamanism teachings never before shared in a virtual setting, from Peruvian curandero and great lover of life, don Oscar Miro-Quesada.

don Oscar is one of the leading lights in 21st century shamanism, pioneering this modern, yet ancient path. He speaks humbly from his heart in a way that anyone can recognize as the voice of the soul. He creates rituals that draw from his Peruvian Pachakuti tradition that also weave in the wisdom of other peoples.

He teaches us how to live in new-but-ancient ways: connected with the daily blessings of life, filled with love and committed to acts of precise shamanic service.

The stories from don Oscars life are truly miraculous, and yet, his demeanor is humble and filled with gentle laughter.

Hes a respected kamasqa curandero and altomisayoq adept from Peru, as well as co-author of Lessons in Courage: Peruvian Shamanic Wisdom for Everyday Life. Hes also Fellow in Ethnopsychology with the Organization of American States and a United Nations Invited Observer to the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

don Oscars advanced studies in modern psychology have given him the tools to understand the common threads of shamanic teachings and weave them together into a more integrated framework. He blends ancient traditions with modern evolutionary understandings to create a holistic, integral synthesis.

This results in a unique and beautiful gift to you: a chance for you to harvest the most important insights, practices and perspectives from millennia of shamanism to integrate them with modern psychological and spiritual teachings, and to apply it all to living your highest potential.

If you want to go deep into the wisdom held within indigenous shamanic traditions, but are unable to spend months in remote rain forests or mountaintops, this 17-week virtual apprenticeship is your best opportunity to be in weekly communion with a powerful spiritual teacher who is bringing together relevant and essential wisdom for our modern lives.

You will gain a unique exposure to Peruvian Pachakuti practices that are designed for healing yourself and the larger world.

Youll participate in distance-healings to help detoxify and purify lands and communities in distress as well plus don Oscar will guide you in the fascinating work of accessing the healing energy of sacred sites throughout the world.

Ancient temples and sacred ceremonial sites are like hyperspace portals, which don Oscar describes as outward and visible signs of an invisible, numinous order.

These waka (earthen sanctuaries) are repositories of sacred power, which play a part in the common human effort to define the cosmos; name the divinity or higher principle behind it; and unite self, culture, and nature.

The rule of no realm is mine... But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail in my task if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bare fruit and flower again in days to come. For I too am a steward. Did you not know? Gandalf, from The Lord of the Rings (1954-55) J. R. R. Tolkien

don Oscar will be live streaming video of selected teaching sessions deepening your connection with him and the community and increasing the potency to his wisdom transmissions. This live video connection will be easy to use and is designed to increase your learning and transformation.

Course sessions are on Wednesdays at Noon Pacific.

Each weekly LIVE teaching and training session will build harmoniously upon the next, to give you a complete, holistic understanding of the shamanic tools, practices and principles.

This advanced apprenticeship is specifically designed to apprentice you in long-forgotten rituals related to the proper ceremonial activation. Through these rituals, youll harness and bring forth a host of sacred healing powers and spirit bridges into Pachamamas subtle energy body.

Called Seqe an, spirit pathways, by Perus ancestral wisdom keepers, the ritual sustenance of this luminous energetic planetary matrix is considered a vital human contribution for maintaining Mother Earths healthful physicality as well as a means of spiritually in-forming the evolution of all sentient life.

Note: If you have not experienced Oscars Universal Shaman teachings before, youre welcome in this advanced training; however, you must build a basic mesa as a mandatory prerequisite before the course begins. Instructions are supported by a video teaching and also outlined in the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition (PMT) Basics Guide, which are both included in your registration.

MODULE I: The Andean Cosmovision

Wisdom Transmission: Historical overview and legendary mythic insights about the ever-present lived experience of Creation as a soul animated sphere of interdependent relationships and balanced dualism sustained by the principle of sacred reciprocity known as Ayni.

Imaginal Journey: A don Oscar facilitated visionary sojourn through the multiverse of Perus perennial shamanic wisdom.

Wisdom Transmission: Teachings on gratitude inspired sacrificial obeisance to Pachamamas ancestrally venerated spirit pathways and natural landscape shrines.

Imaginal Journey: A don Oscar facilitated visionary process for the spatio-ritual embodiment of earthen sanctuaries revered by Perus kamasqa wisdom traditions.

Wisdom Transmission: Teachings on the importance of internalizing our external perception of elemental reality as a transpersonal springboard in fulfillment of our souls destiny.

Ritual Demonstration: The PMT Pachamama Renewal Process

(No Class December 27)

Youre encouraged to use the session time to apply what youve been learning. Engage in the practice of the PMT Pachamama Renewal Process (preferably outdoors and barefoot) a minimum of three times before our next class. Youll receive ongoing support from the sanctioned teachers and don Oscar on the online community group.

MODULE II: Travels Behind the Veil

Wisdom Transmission: Teachings on the nature of Sombra, or Causal/Higher Mental Body, as understood and used within the northern coastal and central highland curandersimo traditions of Peru, focused on influencing the temporal dimension in our shamanic healing work.

Imaginal Journey: A don Oscar facilitated ritual befriending and willing of ones Sombra in shamanic healing service.

Wisdom Transmission: Teachings on the nature of the Ensueo, or Astral/Higher Imaginal Body, as understood and used within the northern coastal and central highland curandersimo traditions of Peru, focused on influencing the spatial dimension in our shamanic healing work.

Imaginal Journey: A don Oscar facilitated ritual evocation and projection of the Ensueo process in shamanic healing service.

Wisdom Transmission: Teachings on the nature of the Desdoblamiento, or Aetheric/Source Sentience Body, as understood and used within the northern coastal and central highland curandersimo traditions of Peru, focused on influencing the higher vibrational matter/energy dimension in our shamanic healing work.

Imaginal Journey: A don Oscar facilitated conscious soul releasement ritual for encounter with shamanic healing alliances beyond our physicality.

Youre encouraged to use the session time to apply what youve been learning. Select the apprenticed skill you most resonate with in this module and engage its ritual use a minimum of three times before our next class. Make sure to keep a journal of your experiences for sharing with others who selected the same skill. Youll receive ongoing support from the sanctioned teachers and don Oscar on the online community group.

MODULE III: A Labor of Love

Wisdom Transmission: Teachings on traditional highland Andean views and practices related to the importance of providing prayerful nourishment to our shamanic spirit helpers.

Imaginal Journey: A don Oscar facilitated visionary sojourn to meet and offer obeisance to the Tirakuna, the protectors and watchers of natural places of shamanic power.

Wisdom Transmission: Teachings on understanding the mystical dynamics at play when establishing relationships of trust and service with the ancestral Paqokuna landscape deities through the sacred ritual use of Mamakuka (Coca leaves).

Imaginal Journey: A don Oscar facilitated story of the legendary origin and ritual shamanic use of the three leaf coca kintu as an embodiment of Andean ethos.

Wisdom Transmission: Teachings on the shamanic wisdom behind the creation and traditional use of three distinct ceremonial approaches to living in balanced soul relationship with Mother Natures unseen spiritual powers.

Ritual Demonstration: A Pachakuti Mesa Tradition inspired despacho ritual to serve as sanctified earth honoring nourishment and gratitude offering to Pachamama.

Youre encouraged to use the session time to apply what youve been learning and engage in your own PMT inspired despacho ritual(s). Youll receive ongoing support from the sanctioned teachers and don Oscar on the online community group.

MODULE IV: Our Shamanic Self

Wisdom Transmission: Teachings on the millenary origins and contemporary adaptation of a ceremonial art for shamanic cultural unification known as the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition Link Up Ritual.

Imaginal Journey: A don Oscar facilitated guided practice of the PMT Wednesday Link Up Ritual.

Wisdom Transmission: Initiation into the the pre-Columbian Andean mythic knowledge contained within the prayerful ritual creation of a sacrosanct stone cairn known as an apacheta for releasing our human burdens as well as connecting our shamanic service to the will of our apukuna.

Ritual Demonstration: A Pachakuti Mesa Tradition based ritual for the creation and shamanic sustenance of a personal apacheta.

Wisdom Transmission: Teachings on the shamanic pilgrimage as both vision quest and rite-of-passage aligned with the perennial wisdom traditions born of Perus highland Paqokuna shaman-priesthood.

Imaginal Journey: A don Oscar facilitated Viaje con Sombra visitation to ones primary regional sacred landscape shrine or Apu to receive a bestowal of kamasqa (creative shamanic power) in soul awakening service to your Shamanic Self.

Youre encouraged to use the session time to apply what youve been learning. Engage in the creation and consecration of a personal apacheta as preparation for our final class. Youll receive ongoing support from the sanctioned teachers and don Oscar on the online community group.

A Pachakuti Mesa Tradition inspired ritual alignment with the harmonizing powers and evolutionary forces of the Andean Cosmos, followed by a wisdom integrative soul nourishing Q&A live sharing with don Oscar.

In alignment with the traditional manner in which Peruvian shamanic teachings are conveyed from teacher to student, don Oscar requests that all course participants be open and receptive to his ever evolving and emergent style of teaching.

To maximize your lived integration of this very valuable corpus of millennial wisdom practices, make an effort to be fully present in the moment and witness the shamanic soul medicine being offered, trusting you will be able to revisit the details as needed via the recordings and transcripts.

Youll be expected to have assembled a basic Pachakuti Mesa by our first class session following the instructions in the PMT Basics Guide found in your Pachakuti Mesa Tradition Basics Toolkit which is included in your registration for the course. To ensure you have enough support to have your mesa assembled before the course begins, youll be invited to attend a video orientation call which will also be available as a recording on your Course Homepage.

Youll need to gather certain ceremonial items over the 17 weeks to deepen your personal ritual space. Materials can be found, purchased, or lovingly gathered from the earth. Supplies will be engaged during class sessions and also applied during each practicum week. In addition, to receive the most benefit from this program and the powerful practices youll be initiated into, youll be encouraged to spend at least 30 minutes outside of class time each week in transformative practice.

Some of the Supplies Youll Need to Participate in the Course:

don Oscar will provide more detailed instructions about gathering your supplies upon your registration in the course.

In addition to don Oscars transformational 17-week live virtual training, youll receive these powerful training sessions and bonus materials. These bonuses will complement what youll learn in the course and take your initiation and work with your mesa to an even deeper level.

Yola Dunne, Chelsea, Qubec

Steve Guettermann, Montana

Eve B., Switzerland

The course arrived synchronistically to me, I needed re-equilibrium for my elements and a way to gain spiritual mastery on my own. More confidence and healing the shadows. A purifying fire and deeper contact with my divine Self. Just shine and get in contact with Source! Bendiciones! May I remember, experience, and be! Begoa, Catalonia, Spain

My whole life has changed. Im absolutely more present and aware of the magic that surrounds us. It is no accident that I found the shamanic path and ultimately don Oscar and his teachings. It has been a blessed re-membering of who I am and a call to action. Anonymous

The course was exactly what I needed, I wanted to enrich and expand healing techniques, applicable in occasional healing sessions provided for friends and myself. I did not need to ask any questions, all mine were asked by other participants and so fully and amazingly elaborated on by don Oscar. Im so happy to be living a new beginning with Pachakuti Mesa in my space. THANK YOU! Malgosia Urbanowicz, Burlington, Vermont

The benefits of this and other courses with don Oscar have been to bring me into peace in my soul and allow me to be more fully who I am. I am more centered and draw my energy from Pachamama and Source rather than from others. My connection with the unseen world grows and deepens as does my connection with the galactic energies... The joy of this course goes on and on! Miriam, Syracuse, New York

I received so many healings, dreams and energetic shifts in all aspects of my being and walking my spiritual path. So much wonderful knowledge imparted and imbued. Thank you! Shaun Ryan, Los Angeles

don Oscars teaching were heartfelt, and profoundly strengthening at the spirit level. I was so excited to tune in each week and feel the love that accompanies this sacred work. This course offered me the opportunity to be fully engaged with my soul purpose, while focusing my action and intent through the ritual of the mesa. Astraea, Perth, Western Australia

I have taken many classes with don Oscar, in person and with The Shift Network. This class, even though the material was not new to me, still raised my vibration and elevated my light body. His transmissions come through clearly and I feel them. The feeling lasts for days. Amejo Amyot, Saratoga Springs, New York

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Reverence, Ritual & Renewal with don Oscar Miro-Quesada ...

Business literature is packed with advice about worker motivationbut sometimes managers are the problem, not the inspiration. Here are seven practices to fire up the troops. From Harvard Management Update.

by David Sirota, Louis A. Mischkind, and Michael Irwin Meltzer

Most companies have it all wrong. They don't have to motivate their employees. They have to stop demotivating them.

The great majority of employees are quite enthusiastic when they start a new job. But in about 85 percent of companies, our research finds, employees' morale sharply declines after their first six monthsand continues to deteriorate for years afterward. That finding is based on surveys of about 1.2 million employees at 52 primarily Fortune 1000 companies from 2001 through 2004, conducted by Sirota Survey Intelligence (Purchase, New York).

The fault lies squarely at the feet of managementboth the policies and procedures companies employ in managing their workforces and in the relationships that individual managers establish with their direct reports.

Our research shows how individual managers' behaviors and styles are contributing to the problem (see sidebar "How Management Demotivates")and what they can do to turn this around.

Three key goals of people at work To maintain the enthusiasm employees bring to their jobs initially, management must understand the three sets of goals that the great majority of workers seek from their workand then satisfy those goals:

To maintain an enthusiastic workforce, management must meet all three goals. Indeed, employees who work for companies where just one of these factors is missing are three times less enthusiastic than workers at companies where all elements are present.

One goal cannot be substituted for another. Improved recognition cannot replace better pay, money cannot substitute for taking pride in a job well done, and pride alone will not pay the mortgage.

What individual managers can do Satisfying the three goals depends both on organizational policies and on the everyday practices of individual managers. If the company has a solid approach to talent management, a bad manager can undermine it in his unit. On the flip side, smart and empathetic managers can overcome a great deal of corporate mismanagement while creating enthusiasm and commitment within their units. While individual managers can't control all leadership decisions, they can still have a profound influence on employee motivation.

The most important thing is to provide employees with a sense of security, one in which they do not fear that their jobs will be in jeopardy if their performance is not perfect and one in which layoffs are considered an extreme last resort, not just another option for dealing with hard times.

But security is just the beginning. When handled properly, each of the following eight practices will play a key role in supporting your employees' goals for achievement, equity, and camaraderie, and will enable them to retain the enthusiasm they brought to their roles in the first place.

Achievement related1. Instill an inspiring purpose. A critical condition for employee enthusiasm is a clear, credible, and inspiring organizational purpose: in effect, a "reason for being" that translates for workers into a "reason for being there" that goes above and beyond money.

Every manager should be able to expressly state a strong purpose for his unit. What follows is one purpose statement we especially admire. It was developed by a three-person benefits group in a midsize firm.

This statement is particularly impressive because it was composed in a small company devoid of high-powered executive attention and professional wordsmiths. It was created in the type of department normally known for its fixation on bureaucratic rules and procedures. It is a statement truly from the heart, with the focus in the right place: on the endspeoplerather than the meanscompleting forms.

Stating a mission is a powerful tool. But equally important is the manager's ability to explain and communicate to subordinates the reason behind the mission. Can the manager of stockroom workers do better than telling her staff that their mission is to keep the room stocked? Can she communicate the importance of the job, the people who are relying on the stockroom being properly maintained, both inside and outside the company? The importance for even goods that might be considered prosaic to be where they need to be when they need to be there? That manager will go a long way toward providing a sense of purpose.

2. Provide recognition. Managers should be certain that all employee contributions, both large and small, are recognized. The motto of many managers seems to be, "Why would I need to thank someone for doing something he's paid to do?" Workers repeatedly tell us, and with great feeling, how much they appreciate a compliment. They also report how distressed they are when managers don't take the time to thank them for a job well done yet are quick to criticize them for making mistakes.

Receiving recognition for achievements is one of the most fundamental human needs. Rather than making employees complacent, recognition reinforces their accomplishments, helping ensure there will be more of them.

A pat on the back, simply saying "good going," a dinner for two, a note about their good work to senior executives, some schedule flexibility, a paid day off, or even a flower on a desk with a thank-you note are a few of the hundreds of ways managers can show their appreciation for good work. It works wonders if this is sincere, sensitively done, and undergirded by fair and competitive payand not considered a substitute for it.

3. Be an expediter for your employees. Incorporating a command-and-control style is a sure-fire path to demotivation. Instead, redefine your primary role as serving as your employees' expediter: It is your job to facilitate getting their jobs done. Your reports are, in this sense, your "customers." Your role as an expediter involves a range of activities, including serving as a linchpin to other business units and managerial levels to represent their best interests and ensure your people get what they need to succeed.

How do you know, beyond what's obvious, what is most important to your employees for getting their jobs done? Ask them! "Lunch and schmooze" sessions with employees are particularly helpful for doing this. And if, for whatever reason, you can't immediately address a particular need or request, be open about it and then let your workers know how you're progressing at resolving their problems. This is a great way to build trust.

4. Coach your employees for improvement. A major reason so many managers do not assist subordinates in improving their performance is, simply, that they don't know how to do this without irritating or discouraging them. A few basic principles will improve this substantially.

First and foremost, employees whose overall performance is satisfactory should be made aware of that. It is easier for employees to accept, and welcome, feedback for improvement if they know management is basically pleased with what they do and is helping them do it even better.

Space limitations prevent a full treatment of the subject of giving meaningful feedback, of which recognition is a central part, but these key points should be the basis of any feedback plan:

Equity related5. Communicate fully. One of the most counterproductive rules in business is to distribute information on the basis of "need to know." It is usually a way of severely, unnecessarily, and destructively restricting the flow of information in an organization.

Good communication requires managers to be attuned to what employees want and need to know; the best way to do this is to ask them! Most managers must discipline themselves to communicate regularly. Often it's not a natural instinct. Schedule regular employee meetings that have no purpose other than two-way communication. Meetings among management should conclude with a specific plan for communicating the results of the meetings to employees. And tell it like it is. Many employees are quite skeptical about management's motives and can quickly see through "spin." Get continual feedback on how well you and the company are communicating. One of the biggest communication problems is the assumption that a message has been understood. Follow-up often finds that messages are unclear or misunderstood.

Companies and managers that communicate in the ways we describe reap large gains in employee morale. Full and open communication not only helps employees do their jobs but also is a powerful sign of respect.

6. Face up to poor performance. Identify and deal decisively with the 5 percent of your employees who don't want to work. Most people want to work and be proud of what they do (the achievement need). But there are employees who are, in effect, "allergic" to workthey'll do just about anything to avoid it. They are unmotivated, and a disciplinary approachincluding dismissalis about the only way they can be managed. It will raise the morale and performance of other team members to see an obstacle to their performance removed.

Camaraderie related7. Promote teamwork. Most work requires a team effort in order to be done effectively. Research shows repeatedly that the quality of a group's efforts in areas such as problem solving is usually superior to that of individuals working on their own. In addition, most workers get a motivation boost from working in teams.

Whenever possible, managers should organize employees into self-managed teams, with the teams having authority over matters such as quality control, scheduling, and many work methods. Such teams require less management and normally result in a healthy reduction in management layers and costs.

Creating teams has as much to do with camaraderie as core competences. A manager needs to carefully assess who works best with whom. At the same time, it is important to create the opportunity for cross-learning and diversity of ideas, methods, and approaches. Be clear with the new team about its role, how it will operate, and your expectations for its output.

Related to all three factors8. Listen and involve. Employees are a rich source of information about how to do a job and how to do it better. This principle has been demonstrated time and again with all kinds of employeesfrom hourly workers doing the most routine tasks to high-ranking professionals. Managers who operate with a participative style reap enormous rewards in efficiency and work quality.

Participative managers continually announce their interest in employees' ideas. They do not wait for these suggestions to materialize through formal upward communication or suggestion programs. They find opportunities to have direct conversations with individuals and groups about what can be done to improve effectiveness. They create an atmosphere where "the past is not good enough" and recognize employees for their innovativeness.

Participative managers, once they have defined task boundaries, give employees freedom to operate and make changes on their own commensurate with their knowledge and experience. Indeed, there may be no single motivational tactic more powerful than freeing competent people to do their jobs as they see fit.

See the latest issue of Harvard Management Update.

by David Sirota, Louis A. Mischkind, and Michael Irwin Meltzer

There are several ways that management unwittingly demotivates employees and diminishes, if not outright destroys, their enthusiasm.

Many companies treat employees as disposable. At the first sign of business difficulty, employeeswho are usually routinely referred to as "our greatest asset"become expendable.

Employees generally receive inadequate recognition and reward: About half of the workers in our surveys report receiving little or no credit, and almost two-thirds say management is much more likely to criticize them for poor performance than praise them for good work.

Management inadvertently makes it difficult for employees to do their jobs. Excessive levels of required approvals, endless paperwork, insufficient training, failure to communicate, infrequent delegation of authority, and a lack of a credible vision contribute to employees' frustration.

Reprinted with permission from "Stop Demotivating Your Employees!" Harvard Management Update, Vol. 11, No. 1, January 2006.

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Why Your Employees Are Losing Motivation - HBS Working ...

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Investment | Wealth Management

There are no traffic jams when you go the extra mile.~Zig Ziglar

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Go as far as you can see:when you get thereyoull be able to see further.~Zig Ziglar

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You have made some mistakes,and you may not be where you want to be,but that has nothing to do with your future.~Zig Ziglar

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You never know when a momentand a few sincere wordscan have an impact on a life.~Zig Ziglar

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A negative thinker sees difficulty in every opportunity.A positive thinker sees an opportunity in every difficulty.~Zig Ziglar

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If you are not willing to learn,no one can help you. If you are determined to learn,no one can stop you.~Zig Ziglar

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You are the only person on earthwho can use your ability.~Zig Ziglar

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Anything worth doingis worth doing poorlyuntil you learn to do it well.

~ Zig Ziglar

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Failure is a detour,not a dead-end street.

~ Zig Ziglar

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If you go out looking for friends,youre going to find they are very scarce.If you go out to be a friend,youll find them everywhere.~ Zig Ziglar

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F-E-A-R has two meanings:Forget Everything And RunorFace Everything And Rise.The choice is yours.~Zig Ziglar

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Thought for the Day

Expect the best.Prepare for the worst.Capitalize on what comes.

~ Zig Ziglar(1926-)

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Thought for the Day

The more you recognize and express gratitudefor the things you have, the more things you will haveto express gratitude for.

~ Zig Ziglar(1926-)

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Thought for the Day

Building a better you is the first stepto building a better America [World].

~ Zig Ziglar(1926-)

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Thought for the Day

You can have everything in lifethat you wantif you just give enough other peoplewhat they want.

~ Zig Ziglar(1926-)

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Thought for the Day

It was characterthat got us out of bed,commitmentthat moved us into action,and disciplinethat enabled us to follow through.

~ Zig Ziglar

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Thought for The Day

What you get by achieving your goalsis not as important as what you becomeby achieving your goals.

~ Zig Ziglar

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Zig Ziglar Quotes | Thought for Today

Investment Calculator

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Whether you're considering getting started with investing or you're already a seasoned investor, an investment calculator can help you figure out how to meet your goals. It can show you how your initial investment, frequency of contributions and risk tolerance can all affect how your money grows. We'll walk you through the basics of investing, tell you about different risks and considerations and then turn you loose. Ready to put your money to work?

Investing lets you take money you're not spending and put it to work for you. Money you invest in stocks and bonds can help companies or governments grow, and in the meantime it will earn you compound interest. With time, compound interest takes modest savings and turns them into serious nest eggs - so long as you avoid some investing mistakes.

You don't necessarily have to research individual companies and buy and sell stocks on your own to become an investor. In fact, research shows this approach is unlikely to earn you consistent returns. The average investor who doesn't have a lot of time to devote to financial management can probably get away with a few low-fee index funds.

The closer you are to retirement, the more vulnerable you are to dips in your investment portfolio. So what's an in investor to do? Conventional wisdom says older investors who are getting closer to retirement should reduce their exposure to risk by shifting some of their investments from stocks to bonds.

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In investing, there's generally a trade-off between risk and return. The investments with higher potential for return also have higher potential for risk. The safe-and-sound investments sometimes barely beat inflation, if they do at all. Finding the asset allocation balance that's right for you will depend on your age and your risk tolerance.

Say you have some money you've already saved up, you just got a bonus from work or you received money as a gift or inheritance. That sum could become your investing principal. Your principal, or starting balance, is your jumping-off point for the purposes of investing. Most brokerage firms that offer mutual funds and index funds require a starting balance of $1,000. You can buy individual equities and bonds with less than that, though.

Once you've invested that initial sum, you'll likely want to keep adding to it. Extreme savers may want to make drastic cutbacks in their budgets so they can contribute as much as possible. Casual savers may decide on a lower amount to contribute. The amount you regularly add to your investments is called your contribution.

You can also choose how frequently you want to contribute. This is where things get interesting. Some people have their investments automatically deducted from their income. Depending on your pay schedule, that could mean monthly or biweekly contributions (if you get paid every other week). A lot of us, though, only manage to contribute to our investments once a year.

When you've decided on your starting balance, contribution amount and contribution frequency, your putting your money in the hands of the market. So how do you know what rate of return you'll earn? Well, the SmartAsset investment calculator default is 4%. This may seem low to you if you've read that the stock market averages much higher returns over the course of decades.

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Let us explain. When we figure rates of return for our calculators, we're assuming you'll have an asset allocation that includes some stocks, some bonds and some cash. Those investments have varying rates of return, and experience ups and downs over time. It's always better to use a conservative estimated rate of return so you don't under-save.

Sure, you could count on a 10% rate of return if you want to feel great about your future financial security, but you likely won't be getting an accurate picture of your investing potential. That, my friend, would lead to undersaving. Undersaving often leads to a future that's financially insecure.

The last factor to consider is your investment time frame. Consider the number of years you expect will elapse before you tap into your investments. The longer you have to invest, the more time you have to take advantage of the power of compound interest. That's why it's so important to start investing at the beginning of your career, rather than waiting until you're older. You may think of investing as something only old, rich people do, but it's not. Remember that most mutual funds have a minimum initial investment of just $1,000?

Its a good idea not to wait to start putting your money to work for you. And remember that your investment performance will be better when you choose low-fee investments. You don't want to be giving up an unreasonable chunk of money to fund managers when that money could be growing for you. Sure, investing has risks, but not investing is riskier for anyone who wants to accrue retirement savings and beat inflation.

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Investment Calculator | SmartAsset.com