Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The Last Day of Summer

Summer's coming to an end, and as fall approaches, we -- and the world -- are in a period of transitions. In her blog Morristown Green, Maureen Tillman, offers some ideas for ways to weather transitions. Among her tips: Prepare for change, relearn past lessons, and avoid negative self-talk.

Personally, I welcome the coming of Autumn. Already, the morning and evenings are taking a turn for the crisp and cool, and that brings a degree of clarity that the heavy heat of summer can muddle. How do you weather change? What do you plan to change with the coming of fall?

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The Power of Giving

Azim Jamal and Harvey McKinnon have extended their offer for their new book The Power of Giving: How Giving Back Enriches Us All. For another week, if you buy the book and share the order number with them, you can enter a drawing for some fantastic prizes, as well as access a host of freebies donated by their friends and peers.

Journey to the Infinite

To Robert Scheinfeld, the ultimate reality is that we are spiritual beings who have convinced themselves that they are mere human beings possessing all of the failings and foibles characteristic of humans. We are infinite beings who have taken on physical form to play the human game.

His Journey to the Infinite program purports to help us become fully aware of our potential as these infinite beings and live a better life because we cognizant of the human game we're playing. Scheinfeld offers a guided tour of his ideas and the project online, using technology developed by Articulate.

The introduction is a little stilted and slow moving, but his ideas have potential -- and his experiences in the human development world for the last few decades could have uncovered something really useful. His remarks on the "self-help industry" are pretty insightful.

For $500, what the course costs, you get a ton of material -- 15 DVDs (including four movies that resonate with his ideas), audio recordings of the DVD material, transcripts of the material, worksheets and toolkits, and additional material. That's a lot of moolah; has anyone checked out the course? Post your impressions here.

Our Ultimate Reality

Adrian Cooper, author of "Our Ultimate Reality: Life, the Universe, and the Destiny of Mankind," is offering the first seven chapters of his book for free as an ebook. Originally issued in 2005, the 155-chapter book addresses the nature of the universe, mentalism, polarity, ghosts, astral projection, pranic healing, and other topics.

According to the table of contents, the first seven chapters touch on the definition of God the major world religions. The book covers a wide range of subjects; it'll be interesting to see how everything connects.

Free Course on Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now

Bill Harris and Centerpointe Research are offering a free course Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now and whether it resonates with an integral approach to life.

The class comprises seven talks over the course of as many weeks, and if you sign up now, it's still in the first week, so you won't have to catch up. Participants include Genpo Roshi, Ken Wilber, Diane Hamilton, Bill Harris, and others -- and looks like an excellent free opportunity to thoughtfully consider Tolle's work.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Outing an Ashram

In her book Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, Elizabeth Gilbert never quite identifies the ashram that provided the impetus for her transformation. A feature in today's Boston Globe identifies that ashram, Siddha Yoga Meditation Center of Greater Boston in Watertown, Mass.

Founded by Swami Muktananda, the centers are now led by Gurumayi Chidvilasananda -- and the group appears to concentrate on deep meditation and avoid publicity and attention.

What Deepak Chopra Knows

Today's Observer in the UK features a piece concentrating on ideas and lessons learned by Deepak Chopra. He addresses expectations, fulfillment, celebrities, desire, and the benefits of meditation. It's a quick bit, but it's worth checking out.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Teleseminars on Change

Distinctions for Life just announced a free series of teleseminars on change. The three free sessions feature NLP expert Steve Bauer, Net marketer Caroline Middlebrook, and a couple that's lived in five cities on two continents in one year. A mixed bag, but it'll be interesting to see where host Ron Davis goes!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Tools for the Life Coach

Paradigms Ltd. is holding a special offer on a bunch of tools for life coaches. For just more than $100, you can order more than 100 life coaching tools, relationship tools, and additional material. And the bonuses look well worth buying the bonus pack, which includes seven months of email and MP3 training and coaching, as well as a subscription to new tools as they're available.

I've yet to pick it up, so I can't speak to the quality of the material. Anyone who's checked it out? Leave your feedback here.

The School of Practical Philosophy

I'm fascinated by the Philosophy Works course offering at the School of Practical Philosophy. The 10-week course is designed to help people put great philosophical ideas into practice in their everyday lives -- practical philosophy. And at $175, it seems quite reasonable.

Has anyone ever taken one of their courses? Any insights or feedback you can share?

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The List: Free Entrainment Recordings

The folks at XtremeMind pointed me to these free entrainment recordings. Download 'em while they're still available, and report any results here!

Energy Through Gemstones?

Energy Muse Jewelry has been all over the place in recent days, with reported sightings of David Beckham and Olympic athletes wearing the company's Health, Prosperity, Strength, Transformation and Performance necklaces as they compete.

While I've never experienced augmented success through the use of crystals or gemstones, I'm intrigued by the notion. Can anyone share any first-hand accounts?

Book Summaries for the New Philosopher

Last week or so, I subscribed to a new book summary service that focuses on self-help and -development books. PhilosophersNotes offers "concentrated wisdom for your hero's journey."

You can request free PDF and MP3 samples, or you can subscribe for either $97 or $167. Titles summarized include books by Stephen Covey, Joseph Campbell, Wayne Dyer, Eckhart Tolle, T. Harv Ecker, and others. Summaries run about six pages (MP3s are 20 minutes long), and the site's founder, Brian Johnson, also founded Zaadz, now Gaia.

It's a wonderful project -- a good way to digest some of the better self-help and -development books out there, and an interesting next step for this dotcom millionaire. I'm looking forward to see how it unfolds!

"Spa Musicians" Seek Respect

There's an interesting article in the Los Angeles Time about how spa-music makers struggle for legitimacy. Partly a profile of record label Gemini Sun, the piece takes a look at the role of spa music, which taps into New Age, Celtic, world, ambient, Native American and other music.

Intended to straddle the conscious and unconscious, spa music aims to provide a kind of white noise for the spa experience -- to provide a soundtrack for the self-repair and -healing that spas can bring. Made me wonder what music might aid self-development.

Post your recommendations here.

Integral Life Beta Launched

The new Integral Life site, influenced by the work of Ken Wilber, launched in beta today. I haven't had a chance to fully explore the new landscape, but it looks promising.

There's a free version of the site, as well as a relatively inexpensive ($15) premium version that grants access to more content. Might be worth exploring!

Anthony Robbins at Success Summit 2008

Anthony Robbins is speaking in Palm Desert, Calif., this week at the Success Summit 2008 event put on by Tom Ferry.

Through Aug. 15, the real estate-oriented conference will explore the changing marketplace and new success strategies. Anyone attending who can report on the proceedings?

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Practicing Spirituality with His Holiness the Dali Lama

I've taken a couple of e-courses now with Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat through their wonderful site Spirituality & Practice. Starting Aug. 15, they're offering a course called Practicing Spirituality with His Holiness the Dali Lama.

Running through Sept. 23, the e-course will blend readings from the writings of the Dali Lama with suggestions of daily practices participants can use to make the ideas real in their every-day lives. The e-course also features an online practice circle in which people can discussed their shared and individual experiences. That, to me, is always the most valuable part of the e-course.

I won't be participating in this particular e-course, but I highly recommend it. They're quite affordable, and it's an excellent experience.

New Blog from Success Magazine Publisher

Darren Hardy, publisher of Success magazine, which has recently relaunched after another not-too-long-ago redesign and relaunch, recently emailed subscribers about his new blog, Your Insider's Guide to Success. There's not a lot there yet -- Hardy's only posted five times since July 3, but it's a good trigger to check out the magazine, if you haven't recently.

I picked up the current issue on a recent trip to the Midwest and will post a full review upon completion. So far, I'm intrigued. It's a lot closer to the old Success Unlimited than previous incarnations have been, and the addition of the CD/DVD in every issue is a wonderful value-added tool -- and what got me to subscribe.

Check out the blog. Check out the magazine. And let me -- and other EmpowerMentor readers -- know what you think.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

New Eckhart Tolle Musical

Broadway and off-Broadway performer Freddie Weber has completed a musical based on Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now and The New Earth -- and will be staging it in Boonton, Penn., and other locations over the next several months.

You can see a video of the workshop on YouTube, and Weber's written several books on meditation and her spiritual learning. The video struck me as a little hokey, but I'm glad to see people inspired to create something of their own resonating with Tolle's work.

Wayne Dyer Feature Film?

Word is that there's a feature film about Wayne Dyer being filmed in Monterey County, Calif., and that the production company is looking for extras for the next few weeks.

I don't see anything about this production in IMDB, but there are listings in Craigslist, Auditions.com, and Tribe, so it seems to be the real deal.

Does anyone know more about the project?

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Goal Setting 101

Dr. Ken Gee Ehrlich, a chiropractor, contributed a good article on goal setting to the Los Angeles Downtown News a couple of days ago. It addresses a lot of the usual goal-setting tips -- write them down, review them often -- but one part of his piece stood out for me.

"I like to have goals in different areas of my life such as spiritual, diet, financial, marriage, family, travel, business and fitness," he writes. That reminds me of the item I recently posted about points on your compass. Franklin Covey suggests that you do something every day that is physical, social, mental, and spiritual.

What's on your goal-setting checklist?

Human Potential Writing Contest

Canadian-based publisher InHousePress is holding its first human potential nonfiction contest. For the next two months, roughly, the press seeks 1,000-word essays and articles on human potential.

Entries could include cultural criticism, literary journalism, memoirs, nature writing, or personal essays. Winners will be announced in the December issue of the Human Potential Newsletter.