SPRING BREAK IS OVER

It seems I have been gone for a good month & a half, not on purpose... March is when sun starts to shine a lot more in Finland ( has to do with tilt of the earth ) and I almost always have the same reaction to it which is I get tired ( very odd, it's suppose to be backwards ) and it takes me a while to yawn my way to latest to May to cheer up. ( seriously yawning even as we speak )

Now what has been going on while I was gone, I've been going to work every work day and watched spring come to life with the kids. I got tired to my hair being in Winter shape and cut myself a fringe/bangs. ;)

 
Went to see "Wicked" with my sister who turned 14, had my husband's 39th Birthday where I got him a PS3, discovered that part of my March Blues were probably due to the fact I stopped exercising during the winter so picked that up again just lately, and it has helped as I am here! in my blog again! Also returned to Sparkpeople.com a free and the sanest workout and diet site on the web ( if you are there, you can find me as SlimmerMe82 - 4,776 fitness minutes so far! ).

Last post I made was about my hair, and about coloring it. It's driving me mad! Mad! Right now it's the color that makes it look always dirty, my natural hair color is lighter than the package brand I've bought so what happens is the roots do look 'dirty' if I don't wash my hair daily - and even wind will cause problems - but I will ride this out, I'm strong - and also I Am Not My Body, that bit always helps when a nasty little though "people must think I'm a slob" crosses my mind. It's still hard for my ego to come to craps with the idea that people don't really think of me that Much, you know! ;D

Also there are bad news from the past month as well, my husband's brother's grand kids, two adorable little girls were killed in a car crash, their parents were very badly injured. There is no pain like children dying. Them living in america and seeing them only few times didn't make it easier.

But now I'm enjoying finding my happy, energetic Niina again - with the help of eating prober food again, exercising and visiting my blog. Bring on the Spring! I want green grass and warm weather. :)

Love, Light and Joy!

Niina

P.S: Check out the third to last Teleseminar episode March 20th, 2011: Michael Dowd – “Big Integrity: Deep-Time Eyes and a Global Heart” HERE for a truly wonderful view on Knowledge and Science being an Island in an Ocean that is Mystery - and there is no harm to making the Island bigger it will always be surrounded my Mystery. ( at 29:00 in the teleseminar )
Another gem in the Beyond Awakening Series - and it's still Free, always will be.

31 FREE 1H 30MIN SPIRITUAL AUDIOS

If you've been reading my blogs for a while now you will recall "Beyond Awakening" free teleseries hosted by Terry Patten, an Integral Spirituality teacher. Beyond Awakening Free Teleseries begun with September 12, 2010 Kick-off Call “The Evolution of Awakening” with Terry Patten and Craig Hamilton.

The teleseminars with various but similar topics have now 31 episodes in the online archive, and there is more to come. You can still sign-up for the teleseminar and receive emails of the coming event ( 1 - 2 per month ) and links to audios after they been held.
In the Archive you can listen to the Episodes online or Dowload them in mp3 and listen to them on your phone on your way to work, or during lunch break, where ever you need a dose of confirmation and intellectual conversational spirituality.

If some of these Topics sounds interesting visit http://beyondawakeningseries.com/blog/archive/

Feb 20th, 2011: Lynne Twist
“Changing the Dream”
Feb 13th, 2011: Craig Hamilton
“Integral Enlightenment: Embodying the Impulse to Evolve”
Feb 1st, 2011: Dr. Jean Houston
“Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose: How Living Your Highest Calling Can Change the World”
Jan 9, 2011: Raphael Cushnir 
“Blinders Off! Seeing Through Evolutionary Eyes”
Dec 19, 2010: Terry Patten
“Awakening to Higher Octaves of Our Humanity”
Dec 12, 2010: Marc Gafni 
“Identifying Your Unique Gift”
Dec 9, 2010: Adyashanti 
“The Inner Revolution of Spiritual Awakening”
Dec 5, 2010: Barbara Marx Hubbard 
“Conscious Evolution: Communing with a Future that Wants to Manifest Through Us”
Dec 2, 2010: Sally Kempton 
“The Transformative Cycle and the Upward Shift: What is Progress on the Spiritual Path?”

And much more...

Don't forget to have a listen at The 3 Essential Practices of an Integral Spiritual Life Introduction @ http://evolvingwisdom.com/integralspiritualpractice/download/

Love, Light and Joy!

Niina

LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS & THE NOW

An idea dawned on me as I watched this video, that I hadn't though of before in quite the same way.
Before this April when this stage of happiness begun ( I wish I had a better name for it ) I was spiritual and in a state of awakeness - but I had problems, all life troubles and stress and anxiety from time to time. It seemed it went in cycles of three months of happiness, three months of sadness, and so on and so on...
Now what changed in April 2010? What was the catalyst for the change?

I came across Eckhart Tolle's Findhorn Retreat DVD.

After reading my blog entry I recommend you watch these two:

Part 1 of Findhorn Retreat HERE.

Part 2 of Findhorn Retreat HERE.

It was like gentle knock in the head - the slapped in the back of your head kind of "Duh!".
And I got it.

I got it.

It was the power of Now. This here, right now. Now.
I realized suddenly without reading any of his books that everything wrong in my so called life was because I kept wondering into the Past ( oh no what have I done, they will hate me, they will think badly of me, I feel so embarrassed, I can't believe they still kill people, I cannot believe they destroyed that, I'm mortified by that betrayal - you know all those feelings ) and into the Future ( oh shit I have meeting tomorrow, oh shit I have to pay this bill I haven't got money for in two day, oh shoot I can't find my red sweater for tomorrow, I have to meet someone downtown, I don't want to watch the news, I don't want to go to work, I don't want to go to dentist tomorrow, I have to see him/her later, someone could be mad at me now, I could be mad at someone if they happen to do this or that - that sort of things ) for my chance at unhappiness.

I was seriously looking for trouble, everyday.

I was spiritual, I meditated, I was "green", I was vegetarian, I was conscious, I was reading channelings, I was sort of an activist BUT despite all my good intentions I was stuck in the Past and Future for my unhappiness fix.

Photo by Pat Goltz

Change came, the Now came - and like turning on the lights, the darkness was suddenly gone. I knew there had been darkness, and I could still see it far away from me at the edges of my bright light, but it wasn't with me anymore. I was not sad, I was not depressed, I was not worried. Everything made me smile because I got it - what is wrong in right Now? Nothing. Right now with everything going on around me, there is nothing wrong with me or in me. I am smiling, happy, calm, spiritual - even at the most uncomfortable moment ( if I would allow them to be ) I kept smiling, because I had got it, I am strong within me, I am strong in my own self, no one else can make dents in my armour, because I have let go of my armour, there is nothing to dent. It is just me, the essence of me showing constantly always lit with a bright light.

What this next video made me aware of was that the source of my unhappiness was the Post-Modern Level of Consciousness - as great as it is in our process of awaking it is still a place with Pain and Fear.
Now I have been aware of Integral for few months sense the Free Beyond Awakening Teleseminar begun and they had Ken Wilber as quest speaker, explaining these Levels of Consciousness - but before this next video no one had called the integral level, The Level of Now.
This is where it hit me. My leap in April 2010 had been a leap to The Level of Now from Post-Modern Consciousness.
It made perfect sense and I now finally have a name and place for my Transition. ( Not that that should matter, and it doesn't but it helps me to write this blog so yay for that! )

Love, Light and Joy!

Niina

BEYOND AWAKENING PT.11 & PT.12 (FREE)

Eleventh and twelveth enstalment of the Teleseminar series Beyond Awakening!

Well, it's time to download the free MP3 / Listen Online for the eleventh and twelveth podcast!

Over 30 000 people have signed up already - if you haven't already then now is the time to spread the light, Connect and show that we exist!

This time they have Sandhguru as guest - and don't forget to sign up!

"Sadhguru is a genuine Indian yogi and mystic in the tradition of the ancient Rishis, but he has translated his spiritual understanding and transmission into accessible contemporary terms. Spontaneously eloquent in English,Tamil, and Hindi, Sadhguru is able to speak with playful wisdom and profound insight to mundane and pragmatic matters as well as inner experience and wisdom." ~Terry Patten

http://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=15255732

Listen right there or right-click and Save As mp3.

This time they have Diana Musho Hamilton as guest - and don't forget to sign up!

"In this dialog, Diane and Terry will directly engage the collective field of awareness that opens up between everyone gathered for the call. They will invite a dance with the emergent energies of that field, employing Diane’s instinct for speaking to the unspeakable shadow dimensions in an dynamic exploration of integral evolutionary spirituality." ~Terry Patten

http://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=15255921

Listen right there or right-click and Save As mp3.

BEYOND AWAKENING PT.10 (FREE) SYNCHORONICITY

Tenth enstalment of the Teleseminar series Beyond Awakening!

Well, it's time to download the free MP3 / Listen Online for the tenth podcast!

Over 30 000 people have signed up already - if you haven't already then now is the time to spread the light, Connect and show that we exist!

This time they have Howard Martin and Debbie Rozman as guest - and don't forget to sign up!


Synchronicity at it's best - just yesterday I had thei webpage open but never got it it and this morning you can tell I smiled seeing what the topic of teleseminar was! 

"For twenty years, The Institute of Heartmath has been conducting groundbreaking scientific research and consulting at the highest levels of large organizations and governments around the world. Although they usually don’t use the word “spiritual” to characterize the intelligence of the heart, we think it can be considered a central spiritual resource because it is such a profound and trustable source of insight, peace, joy and inspiration. We’ll explore how we can each take advantage of the latest findings in neurocardiology (the study of “the brain in the heart”) to balance and strengthen ourselves so we can better serve our larger world." ~Terry Patten

http://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=15255165

Listen right there or right-click and Save As mp3.

BEYOND AWAKENING PT.9 (FREE)

Ninth enstalment of the Teleseminar series Beyond Awakening!

Well, it's time to download the free MP3 / Listen Online for the ninth podcast!

Almost 30 000 people have signed up already - if you haven't already then now is the time to spread the light, Connect and show that we exist!

This time they have Thomas Hübl as guest - and don't forget to sign up!

 (The beginning is very echo-y but it is soon fixed - no need to stop listening. ;) )

The next stage of evolution requires an “Inner Science” that’s freshly inspired by an intuitively open “memory” of the future, a new culture that intuits and creates a future that’s wanting to be born. It is possible to give birth to it together, by becoming a new culture .

http://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=15254913

Listen right there or right-click and Save As mp3.

BEYOND AWAKENING PT.8 (FREE) UNITY

Eight enstalment of the Teleseminar series Beyond Awakening!

Well, it's time to download the free MP3 / Listen Online for the eight podcast!

Almost 30 000 people have signed up already - if you haven't already then now is the time to spread the light, Connect and show that we exist!

This time they have Katherine Woodward Thomas as guest - and don't forget to sign up!

Most of us have been working on ourselves by ourselves for decades, struggling in isolation to bring forth our gifts and talents into the world in a way that represents the realization of our highest potentials. Yet, even though we may have supportive and caring friends and families, and belong to loving spiritual communities, most of us still feel as though we don't have the kind of support we need to be able to bring forth the unmanifest potentials of our lives into the manifest world, and powerfully pioneer that which is ours to create.

http://AttendThisEvent.com/?eventid=15254535

Listen right there or right-click and Save As mp3.

BEYOND AWAKENING PT.7 (FREE) NEUROSCIENCE

Seventh enstalment of the Teleseminar series Beyond Awakening!

Well, it's time to download the free MP3 / Listen Online for the seventh podcast!
I myself am doing it as we speak and then uploading it to my cellphone so I can plug in my earphones and lay down and really have listen.

Almost 30 000 people have signed up already - if you haven't already then now is the time to spread the light, Connect and show that we exist!

This time they have Rick Hanson as guest - and don't forget to sign up!

Don't miss tonight's conversation, when we'll be venturing far from the traditional path to explore the latest findings in the neuroscience of awakening. Be sure and tune in for tonight's Beyond Awakening presentation, Awakening Your Brain, with Dr. Rick Hanson.

http://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=15254283

Listen right there or right-click and Save As mp3.

BEYOND AWAKENING PT.6 (FREE)

Sixth enstalment of the Teleseminar series Beyond Awakening!

Well, it's time to download the free MP3 / Listen Online for the sixth podcast!
I myself am doing it as we speak and then uploading it to my cellphone so I can plug in my earphones and lay down and really have listen.

Over 28 000 people have signed up already - if you haven't already then now is the time to spread the light, Connect and show that we exist!

This time they have Gangaji as guest - and don't forget to sign up!

In our spiritual lives, is there anything more fundamental than meditation? Is there anything more important than how we relate to our thoughts and feelings? And not just when we're alone in silence, but when we're fully engaged with the world? Find out tonight as Beyond Awakening presents: Gangaji: What Are You Practicing?

http://AttendThisEvent.com/?eventid=15170052

Listen right there or right-click and Save As mp3.

BEYOND AWAKENING PT.5 (FREE) FEMININE SPIRITUALITY

Fifth enstalment of the Teleseminar series Beyond Awakening!

Well, it's time to download the free MP3 / Listen Online for the fifth podcast!
I myself am doing it as we speak and then uploading it to my cellphone so I can plug in my earphones and lay down and really have listen.

Over 25 000 people have signed up already - if you haven't already then now is the time to spread the light, Connect and show that we exist!

This time they have Claire Zammit as guest - and don't forget to sign up!

http://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=15169737

Listen right there or right-click and Save As mp3.

Great gem at 1:26:00 - Do you think women's fear of the effect of their feminine powerhas prevented us from making this leap on our own spirituality?

In our Beyond Awakening series, I just had an incredible dialogue with Claire Zammit in which she described her personal story and recent work catalyzing an  explosive community centering on feminine power and  spirituality. We waded into what is sometimes "dangerous territory" -- what sometimes makes things difficult between men and women, and how women becoming empowered can paradoxically open up new co-creative synergies between men and women.
~ Terry Patten

BEYOND AWAKENINGTELESEMINAR PART 4 (FREE)

Fourth enstalment of the Teleseminar series Beyond Awakening!

Well, it's time to download the free MP3 / Listen Online for the fourth podcast!
I myself am doing it as we speak and then uploading it to my cellphone so I can plug in my earphones and lay down and really have listen.

25 000 people have signed up already - if you haven't already then now is the time to spread the light, Connect and show that we exist!

This time they have Andrew Cohen as guest - and don't forget to sign up!

http://AttendThisEvent.com/?eventid=15057660

Listen right there or right-click and Save As mp3.

Many people today are discovering the liberating truth that we are all part of a vast evolving process. But how often do the lives we lead become a dynamic expression of this higher vision and all that it reveals? What does it take to truly become extraordinary examples of a life lived for the sake of the evolutionary process? In this Beyond Awakening dialogue, Andrew will shed light on the role and purpose of spiritual practice in an evolutionary context and will explain how sincere spiritual practice can help transform our lives to become a reflection of a greater care--a care for the evolutionary process itself.

I myself had a very hard time listening to this one because I am somewhat familar with Cohen's style of teaching and speaking. I had to have a good few minute cleansing breath before listening to this.
The high points were 40:40 where he talks about how we came from utter peace from absolute stillness and that we are here because we want "action". ;) And 54:30 why and how to get excited about our spirituality and 1:05:16 word "enlightenment is going to be out dated sooner or later..."

Past Dialogues and links to the recordings and Upcoming Dialogues!

BEYOND AWAKENING FREE TELESEMINAR PART.3

You probably still call my entry of Beyond Awakening Free Teleseminar.

Well, it's time to download the free MP3 / Listen Online for the third podcast!
I myself am doing it as we speak and then uploading it to my Nokia XpressMusic so I can plug in my earphones and lay down and really have listen.

25 000 people have signed up already - if you haven't already then now is the time to spread the light, Connect and show that we exist!

This time they have Michael Murphy as guest - and don't forget to sign up!

http://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=15057345

Listen right there or right-click and Save As mp3.

WHAT IS INTEGRAL? AND WHY DO I HAVE TO KNOW?

Ken Wilber's map of the Four Quadrons.

Last Beyond Awakening teleseminar touched on Integral world view.

I had heard of it before in passing but hadn't registered it, probably cause the word to a non-native-english speaker was bit too foreign.
I have to credit Ken Wilber for speaking about it in a way that I connected with immeadiately.

It locates four states of consciousness on one axis (the horizontal): Gross (Nature), Subtle (Deity), Causal (Formless), and Nondual; and, usually seven stages/levels of worldview on an orthogonal axis (vertical): Archaic, Magic, Mythic, Rational, Pluralistic, Integral, and Superintegral. Thus it becomes an elegant interpretive device with 28 points of intersection, each representing the results of a particular transitory state of consciousness being interpreted from within one of the more enduring stages/levels of consciousness. They can distinguish and make sense of previous conflations among spiritual experiences, both for individuals reflecting on their own inner life and for researchers. Integral Spirituality (2006) and The Integral Vision (2007) present greater details such as a more graphic representation of the Wilber-Combes grid and several phenomenological illustrations. From  http://www.integralworld.net/gross1.html

Few things that stuck to my mind from the podcast the other day were how these 7 stages were explained.
Before religion everything was Magic, Religion created the Myth evolution where everything in your chosen book is real, really happened, really existed, Rational appeared with science, Pluralistic divided everything in two and having finally past Pluralistic we are at Integral where Everyone is right to certain degree, no one is flat out all the way wrong (like in myth), we all know part of the whole truth. And after Integral mind set (you don't have to join any church or internet site for this - you either regocnise the values or you do not) gains enough ground (Ken Wilber states 10% of humanity) we evolve again... to SuperIntegral.

But this video will help to understand it as well:
http://integrallife.com/files/articulate/what%20is%20integral/player.html
And now that you have heard of the Integral Map:
http://integrallife.com/files/articulate/what%20is%20the%20integral%20map/player.html

BEYOND AWAKENING PT. 2 (FREE)

You probably still call my entry of Beyond Awakening Free Teleseminar.

Well, it's time to download the free MP3 for the second prodcast! I myself am doing it as we speak and then uploading it to my Nokia XpressMusic (I really didn't know buing a music phone would become so handy - I you are buing a new phone and cannot afford or don't want an iPhone, go for this touch screen phone, I've had mine for 1,5 years, and it's good, pretty and clear to use. I'm not marketing it, heh, just suddenly felt love for the little thing and decided to share. ;) ) so I can plug in my earphones and lay down and really have listen.

25 000 people have signed up already - if you haven't already then now is the time to spread the light, Connect and show that we exist!

This time they have Ken Wilber as guest - and don't forget to sign up!

http://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=15014190

~☮♥☮~ HAVING LISTENED TO THIS: ~☮♥☮~

After listening into this I joined Integral Life.

I especially enjoeyd 00:30 College example of how many of us are actually "Spiritual, not religious"  it reminded me of Barbara Marx Hubbards statement how we are many but like the imaginal discs of catepillar turning to butterfly we haven't quite come to point where we connect, know the existance, of each other. That day is coming. And like Ken Wilber later state in the podcast when we pass the 10% limit we become aware of each other and... Evolve. :)

BEYOND AWAKENING FREE TELESEMINAR

A FREE Teleseminar series! http://beyondawakeningseries.com/

Over 20 000 people have already signed up! 

My name is Terry Patten, and as your host and the series founder, I'm very happy to have you join us for our free teleseminar series with 27 of the most dynamic spiritual teachers on the planet today.

Over the next few weeks we'll gather together online every Sunday and Thursday evening, by conference call and online, to participate in conversations that will dive into the important, timely, and sometimes vexing questions that we all face as conscious beings alive in the 21st century.

If you missed my introduction to the series on September 12th, you can listen or download the audio here:  http://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=14914209

I spend the last hour listening to the first introduction, and after when they get to business, after introducing each other, it's full of gold! I am amazed and delighted this is being talked about. We do need to all have some common ground, a place to agree in.
I especially enjoyed 00:31:00 how can our spirituality create a second renessance: "What can be our agreement that holds us together when we disagree" and 00:39:00 where they talk about how "Humanity is evolving now at a fast track compared to our early history".
Do sign up and receiver emails, addresses and information. Do. Do. Do! :D

Our Next Event in the Series will feature an in-depth discussion on the past, present and future of spiritual practice with Integral philosopher Ken Wilber, on Thursday, September 16th @ 5 PM Pacific. You will receive an email with all the access information prior to the event.

Question about joining the Teleseminars?

How To Participate from Anywhere in the World:

Before each event, you'll receive an email with access codes and a description of what to expect.
There are several ways to participate.

• You can participate live by dialing into the conference lines using the access codes we'll provide you with
• You can listen to the webcast live online.
• You can listen to the recording by phone or online anytime after the event is complete.
• You can download the recordings and listen to them anytime at your convenience on your computer, or even your iPod.

There will be a 30-minute period for questions and comments at the end of each conversation, so we encourage you to attend the live events, to listen in and speak up!

You can send us your questions and comments before or during the live dialogue by posting them on our Beyond Awakening Facebook page.