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Ashram Yogas Ohui Retreat (pronounced oh-hooey)is located on a beautiful 20-acre beachfront property at the northern end of Opoutere Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Just two hours from Auckland (see map), find yourself transported to the expansiveness of white beaches, endless ocean and stunning sunrises. Yoga is on your doorstep every morning plus much more to help ease the mind and revitalise. We welcome all, whether you are new to yoga or you have been practising for many years.

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Even though it gets cooler in winter, Ohui is still a beautiful place to visit. The average temperature in the Coromandel during winter is between 12-14 degrees Celsius, so there is never any snow and nothing that a hot cup of tea, warm blanket or cosy fire cant fix.During winterwe can almost guarantee that you will have Opoutere Beach all to yourself and it is 5 kilometres long.

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Additionally, we accept wwoofers who are willing to experience a yogic lifestyle.

Continued here:
Ohui Retreat | Ashram Yoga

By brian@brianschell.com, on December 1st, 2008

Question:

I have heard the phrase If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him! many times. Can you explain this?

Answer:

It actually comes from an old koan attributed to Zen Master Linji, (the founder of the Rinzai sect). Its a simple one:

If you meet the Buddha, kill him. Linji

Im sure you already realize that its not being literal. The road, the killing, and even the Buddha are symbolic.

The road is generally taken to mean the path to Enlightenment; that might be through meditation, study, prayer, or just some aspect of your way of life. Your life is your road. Thats fairly straightforward as far as metaphors go.

But how do you meet the Buddha on this road? Imagine meeting some symbolic Buddha. Would he be a great teacher that you might actually meet and follow in the real world? Could that Buddha be you yourself, having reached Enlightenment? Or maybe you have some idealized image of perfection that equates to your concept of the Buddha or Enlightenment.

Whatever your conception is of the Buddha, its WRONG! Now kill that image and keep practicing. This all has to do with the idea that reality is an impermanent illusion. If you believe that you have a correct image of what it means to be Enlightened, then you need to throw out (kill) that image and keep meditating.

Original post:
If You Meet The Buddha On The Road, Kill Him Daily Buddhism

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to transhumanism:

Transhumanism is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities.[1] Transhumanist thinkers study the potential benefits and dangers of emerging and hypothetical technologies that could overcome fundamental human limitations, as well as study the ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies.[1] They predict that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label "posthuman".[1] Transhumanism is often abbreviated as H+ or h+ ("humanism plus").

Transhumanism can be described as all of the following:

Neophilia strong affinity for novelty and change. Transhumanist neophiliac values include:

Survival survival, or self-preservation, is behavior that ensures the survival of an organism.[7] It is almost universal among living organisms. Humans differ from other animals in that they use technology extensively to improve chances of survival and increase life expectancy.

Technological evolution

Hypothetical technology technology that does not exist yet, but the development of which could potentially be achieved in the future. It is distinct from an emerging technology, which has achieved some developmental success. A hypothetical technology is typically not proven to be impossible. Many hypothetical technologies have been the subject of science fiction.

Some people who have made a major impact on the advancement of transhumanism:

Originally posted here:
Outline of transhumanism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the world of personal development, motivation, public speaking and sales, there will never be another Zig Ziglar. His infectious sense of humor, his masterful story-telling skills, his uncanny ability to inspire, and his downhome Southern charm' that is the legend of Zig Ziglar.Zig Ziglar is the world's foremost authority on motivation and teaching proven paths to success.

An internationally renowned speaker and authority on high-level performance, Zig Ziglar has traveled more than 5 million miles across the world delivering powerful messages with humor, hope and unbridled energy and enthusiasm. These messages have touched millions of people and helped to improve countless lives.Zig Ziglar is one of Nightingale-Conant's most popular and beloved authors. His audio programs and DVD videos, both new and old, continue to be experienced by people who wish to reach their goals, enhance their sales careers, strengthen their family bonds, and simply win at life.

Among his most popular titles are The Born to Win Seminar, Goals, See You at the Top, A View from the Top, Selling, and Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World.

Facing multiple hardships, his father and his sister died when he was just six years old. Zig Ziglar's mother had to raise eleven children on her own.After serving in the Navy and being discharged in 1946, he begin studying at the University of South Carolina. Deciding to pursue a sales career, he started selling pots and pans for the Wearever Aluminum Company. It wasn't long before Zig Ziglar honed his sales skills and became the top salesman at several organizations.Zig knew his experiences and his passion paved the way to become a motivational speaker and self help author. He published his classic book 'See You at the Top' in the early 1970s. The success of that first book blossomed into more bestselling books, audio programs, and sold-out seminars.'You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.' ' Zig Ziglar'Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.' ' Zig Ziglar

Over his long and illustrious career he has published more than twenty-five books and several audio and video programs on leadership, personal growth, sales, faith, family, Christianity, and success. His messages and quotes have been engrained in millions of minds, while his instruction on winning has been utilized in countless businesses and organizations.Zig Ziglar passed away at the age of 86 with pneumonia.

He died on the 28th of November, 2012 in a Plano, Texas hospital.To this day, Zig Ziglar's inspiring words develop champions. To his family, friends, peers, and business associates, he certainly was one.Click here to watch Zig Ziglar share his insight on "setting goals."

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Mr. Zig Ziglar - Nightingale Conant

One Stop Resource Center For All Your Aerobics Exercise Needs

Dear Friend,

We've all heard of aerobics exercise, but few people really appreciate the various types of aerobics and the benefits. This website is designed to raise the awareness of the fabulous aerobics exercise. We hope that the articles and resources in this website can help you.

Aerobic plainly means with oxygen and the exercise uses large muscle groups in order to maintain them over a period of time and is also performed in a rhythm. The major fuel is oxygen that is used to sustain activity over lengthy periods of time. Generally speaking, the exercises require the muscles to work in great part in order to raise the heart rate to between 60 percent and 80 percent of its maximum rate and should be continuously performed for a quarter of an hour, up till a full hour.

Aerobic exercise is a kind of workout that not only helps in maintaining your fitness level, but also makes your heart stronger. A person who performs aerobic exercises will be able to work longer and with more vigor and will also be able to recover quicker when the session ends. You can read more about the benefits of aerobic exercise and some tips and guides on aerobic exercise in All About Aerobics and Get Ready For Aerobics.

Some common examples of aerobics exercises include cycling, biking, jogging, running, swimming and dancing. You can also carry out your aerobic workout on different machines in the gym like treadmill, stationary exercising bike, stair-stepper etc.

Recently, Step Aerobics, Dance Aerobics and Water Aerobics are growing in popularity. As such, we have added various articles on these aerobics exercises. We have also added some Alternative Aerobics such as chair aerobics.

In spite of its popularity, it may come as a bit of a surprise that many people find a thousand and one excuses to not take up exercise, at least not three workouts per week and people often claim that they do not have the time to go to the gym or they say that the gym membership is too expensive.

No matter what excuse is found, there is still good news for those who want a heart pumping and sweat filling aerobic exercise in the comfort of their home. Since Jane Fondas video on aerobic exercises came out there have been a plethora of similar videos and there are hundreds of them to choose from. There are low-impact as well as high-impact videos as well as specialist videos that cater to women in maternity as well as those that cater to the elderly and the range is pretty awesome.

Last but not least, if you have an interest in aerobics and would like to consider becoming an aerobics instructor, be sure to check out the articles in Be An Aerobics Instructor.

Excerpt from:
Aerobics Exercise | Aerobics Fitness

Conscious Evolution: Awakening the Power of Our Social Potential by Barbara Marx Hubbard Posted by: DailyOM

A Seminal Work of Visionary Hope, Updated for the 21st Century

In this era of government gridlock, economic and ecological devastation, and seemingly intractable global violence, our future is ever more ripe for and in need of fresh, creative reimagining. With her clear-eyed, inspiring, and sweeping vision of a possible global renaissance in the new millennium, Barbara Marx Hubbard shows us that our current crises are not the precursors of an apocalypse but the natural birth pains of an awakened, universal humanity. This is our finest hour.

Conscious Evolution highlights the tremendous potential of newfound scientific knowledge, technological advances, and compassionate spirituality and illustrates the opportunities that each of us has to fully participate in this exciting stage of human history. As we do, we will bring forth all that is within us and not only save ourselves, but evolve our world.

EXCERPT

Discovering the Importance of the New Story

It was a cold November day in Paris in 1948 during my junior year abroad from Bryn Mawr College. Somehow I had separated myself from my classmates and wandered into Chez Rosalie, a small caf on the Left Bank. A wood fire was burning and the smell of Gauloises cigarettes filled the air.

I sat at one of the wooden tables and ordered my lunch. A tall, handsome young American man opened the door, letting in the cold. There was only one place left for him to sit, opposite me. I smiled at him, immediately attracted, and introduced myself. He told me his name was Earl Hubbard. He had such a special intensity that I decided to ask him questions that had dominated my thoughts ever since the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Japan three years earlier, when I was fifteen years old, in 1945. My horror had stimulated these questions: What is the meaning of our new scientific and technological powers that is good? What is the purpose of Western civilization? What are positive images of the future commensurate with these new powers?

In my quest for answers, I had read through philosophy, science fiction, and world religions. But amazingly, except for brief glimpses in science fiction and mystical revelation, I found none. The philosophers looked back toward a golden age, as the Greeks did; or were cyclical, as in Eastern thought; or were stoical, believing there was nothing new under the sun as the Roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius said; or were existentialist, like Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, proclaiming that the universe has no inherent meaning except what we give it as individuals. Finally, I read the materialistic philosophers who proclaimed that the universe is nothing but matter and is inevitably degenerating to a heat death through increasing disorder or entropy as stars burn out, and with them all life will die. Although some visionaries and mystics foresaw a life beyond this life, beyond death, I found no positive visions of the future to work toward in this life.

With these questions I became a metaphysical seeker. My upbringing had been Jewish agnostic. I was a spiritual tabula rasa a blank slate with no religious beliefs. When I asked my father What religion are we? he answered, You are an American. Do your best! But at what? I wondered. My father was a Horatio Alger type, a poor boy from Brooklyn who had become the toy king of the world. He told his children that the purpose of life was to win, to make money. But I couldnt believe him. I knew that even if everyone had money, everyone would be as frustrated as I was, seeking the meaning of life but finding nothing. Material comfort alone could not be the goal of existence. I had grown up with so many toys that by the age of six, I knew that more toys would not make me, or anyone else, happier.

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DailyOM - Conscious Evolution: Awakening the Power of Our ...

Here's a collection of Zig Ziglar quotes to pump you up with motivation and enthusiasm.

If you've been on the self-development arena for a length of time, I believe you would have encountered Zig Ziglar's name or even be familiar with his motivational products.

I've gathered some of his best quotes here for you to digest.

You'll find many of these quotes very motivational and inspiring. I hope you'll be inspired and motivated to go after your goals and life plans!

Don't become a wandering generality. Be a meaningful specific. -- Zig Ziglar

Don't let the mistakes and disappointments of the past control and direct your future. -- Zig Ziglar

Duty makes us do things well, but love makes us do them beautifully. -- Zig Ziglar

Every choice you make has an end result. -- Zig Ziglar

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

For every sale you miss because you're too enthusiastic, you will miss a hundred because you're not enthusiastic enough. -- Zig Ziglar

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Great Inspirational Quotes: Zig Ziglar Quotes

You yourself must strive.The Buddhas only point the way. ~ Shakyamuni Buddha

If you are exploring Buddhism, or a beginner, you are probably utterly confused about why there are different branches of Buddhism and which one you should pick (or if it really matters).

For someone just starting out on the path (exploring or practicing Buddhism), this is by far your most difficult decision as you dont want to feel like you wasted your time.

Rest assured, there cannot be a wrong choice for youinpicking a branch or school, but each one has its ownadvantages and disadvantages based on what path you wish to follow. Before I get any further, its worth mentioning that when I describe both branches they are broad strokes, because schools within each branch can practice differently.

Lets startwith the basics. There are two main branches (sometimesreferred to asschools) of Buddhism:

What about Tibetan? Vajrayanaor Tibetan is sometimes calledits ownbranch but incorporates the Mahynatradition, and forms 6% of all Buddhists.

At itscore, all Buddhism is exactly the same, but have some fundamental differences on how it is practicedand what the laity (thats you and me) can hope to get out of it.

All branches of Buddhism believe in:

As you can already tell, both branches of Buddhism pretty much believe in the samethings! So you are probably scratching your head right about now because you believe (or were told) that they are wildly different. So lets get right into the differences.

The historical Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, teaching the four noble truths.

Go here to read the rest:
Schools In: Comparing Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism

A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine the taste and increase the knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to please or to educate" ("aut delectare aut prodesse est"). Salons, commonly associated with French literary and philosophical movements of the 17th and 18th centuries, were carried on until recently[when?] in urban settings.

The salon was an Italian invention of the 16th century which flourished in France throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. The salon continued to flourish in Italy throughout the 19th century. In 16th-century Italy, some scintillating circles formed in the smaller courts which resembled salons, often galvanized by the presence of a beautiful and educated patroness such as Isabella d'Este or Elisabetta Gonzaga.

One important place for the exchange of ideas was the salon. The word salon first appeared in France in 1664 (from the Italian word salone, itself from sala, the large reception hall of Italian mansions). Literary gatherings before this were often referred to by using the name of the room in which they occurred, like cabinet, rduit, ruelle and alcve.[1] Before the end of the 17th century, these gatherings were frequently held in the bedroom (treated as a more private form of drawing room):[2] a lady, reclining on her bed, would receive close friends who would sit on chairs or stools drawn around. This practice may be contrasted with the greater formalities of Louis XIV's petit lever, where all stood. Ruelle, literally meaning "narrow street" or "lane", designates the space between a bed and the wall in a bedroom; it was used commonly to designate the gatherings of the "prcieuses", the intellectual and literary circles that formed around women in the first half of the 17th century. The first renowned salon in France was the Htel de Rambouillet not far from the Palais du Louvre in Paris, which its hostess, Roman-born Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet (15881665), ran from 1607 until her death.[3][4] She established the rules of etiquette of the salon which resembled the earlier codes of Italian chivalry.

The historiography of the salons is far from straightforward. The salons have been studied in depth by a mixture of feminist, Marxist, cultural, social and intellectual historians. Each of these methodologies focus on different aspects of the salons, and thus have varying analyses of the salons importance in terms of French history and the Enlightenment as a whole.

A Reading in the Salon of Mme Geoffrin, 1755

Major historiographical debates focus on the relationship between the salons and the public sphere, as well as the role of women within the salons.

Breaking down the salons into historical periods is complicated due to the various historiographical debates that surround them. Most studies stretch from the early 16th century up until around the end of the 18th century. Goodman is typical in ending her study at the French Revolution where, she writes: 'the literary public sphere was transformed into the political public'.[5] Steven Kale is relatively alone in his recent attempts to extend the period of the salon up until Revolution of 1848.[6] Kale points out:

'A whole world of social arrangements and attitude supported the existence of french salons: an idle aristocracy, an ambitious middle class, an active intellectual life, the social density of a major urban center, sociable traditions, and a certain aristocratic feminism. This world did not disappear in 1789.'[7]

As recently as the 1940s, salons hosted by Gertrude Stein gained notoriety for including Pablo Picasso and other twentieth-century luminaries like Alice B. Toklas.

The content and form of the salon to some extent defines the character and historical importance of the salon. Contemporary literature about the salons is dominated by idealistic notions of politesse, civilit and honntet, but whether the salons lived up to these standards is matter of debate. Older texts on the salons tend to paint an idealistic picture of the salons, where reasoned debate takes precedence and salons are egalitarian spheres of polite conversation.[8] Today, however, this view is rarely considered an adequate analysis of the salon.[9] Dena Goodman claims that rather than being leisure based or 'schools of civilit' salons were instead at 'the very heart of the philosophic community' and thus integral to the process of Enlightenment.[10] In short, Goodman argues, the 17th and 18th century saw the emergence of the academic, Enlightenment salons, which came out of the aristocratic 'schools of civilit'. Politeness, argues Goodman, took second-place to academic discussion.[11]

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Salon (gathering) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The rest in meditation is deeper than the deepest sleep that you can ever have. When the mind becomes free from agitation, is calm and serene and at peace, meditation happens.

The benefits of meditation are manifold. It is an essential practice for mental hygiene. A calm mind, good concentration, clarity of perception, improvement in communication, blossoming of skills and talents, an unshakeable inner strength, healing, the ability to connect to an inner source of energy, relaxation, rejuvenation, and good luck are all natural results of meditating regularly.

In today's world where stress catches on faster than the eye can see or the mind can perceive, meditation is no more a luxury. It is a necessity. To be unconditionally happy and to have peace of mind, we need to tap into the power of meditation.

Sahaj Samadhi Meditation is a mantra-based meditation where a sound vibration (mantra), when used in a specific way, gives you deep relaxation and also keeps you alert. It effortlessly allows the conscious mind to settle down. And when the mind settles down, it lets go of all tension and stress and centers itself in the present moment.

read more >>

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Meditation | The Art Of Living Global