We have all seen that commercial right, about the Easy Button?  I think it is for Staples or something, you know what I am talking about, right?  Ok, well, did you ever wish for your own Easy Button sometimes when you are working?   I have, many times, let me explain.

Ok, countless times each day, I have a customer that walks in the door with his/her ear to the phone, walks around the store carrying on a conversation, and continues to do so as he/she approaches my register.  The ones who really get on my nerves are the ones who never acknowledge me as a human being, never say one word to me, and never answer anything I might ask them, because they are so involved in their conversation that they do not even realize they have not spoken to me at all during the entire transaction.  Sometimes I wonder if I said something completely inappropriate to them, if they would even notice!!

Well, one day my manager and I were talking about that, and she informed me that her sister, who also works for the same store we do, had a great idea that we really wish someone would invent.  The idea was to create an “Easy Button” for us that could be placed at our feet behind the counter, that the customer would have no idea existed, and that we could simply step on as someone approached our register and INSTANTLY disconnect any phone reception.   Can you imagine the look on the customer’s face when their phone just went completely dead for no reason at all as they stepped up to pay for their purchase?   How great would that be for us?!!  We could actually force that person to look at us, communicate with us, acknowledge us as a human being, and answer the questions we asked them!!

But you know, why stop there?  What if we all had an “Easy Button” that automatically stopped the car engine of the person who pulled out in front of us on the highway, or better yet, what about one that would shock the socks off someone who tried to pick up something in the store they had not paid for and intended to walk out with?  This really does need to be invented, y’all, I promise you.

Anyway, we decided that anyone who is so deeply into their phone conversation that they cannot even speak to us, or acknowledge us, should not expect us to be overly polite or friendly to them either!  So, today, this guy came into the store with his ear to the phone and I watched him as he walked all around the store picking up whatever he needed and never once paused in his conversation with the person on the phone.  I thought, well, when he gets up here to me, he will surely, at least, speak to me……..but he did not.  I smiled and spoke to him, as I do with every customer, and proceeded to bag his items and ask him the standard, “is there anything else I can get for you sir”, to which he did not reply.  He reached into his wallet, never making eye contact with me, never speaking to me, and continuing his conversation.  I bagged his items, placed his receipt in his bag, and told him to “have a good day, sir”.  Never once, did that man say one word to me or even look at me!  I thought to myself, “oh, you just wait, mister, one of these days I will have an “Easy Button”, and you WILL shut down that phone and talk to me!”

I understand that today, in this fast-paced world, everyone has to keep connected in order to stay on top of their job and life, but COME ON FOLKS!  It is customers like the one described above that make me want to keep my cell phone beside my register, pick it up, and have an imaginary conversation the entire time I am waiting on that person.  I bet you half of them would never even notice!!  The other half would probably email my corporate bosses and tell them how rude I was to them.   DUH, when you approach me with the phone in your ear and never once speak to me, is that not YOU being rude to ME?   I think so.   So, in conclusion, I will keep waiting on customers who ignore me, I will keep smiling, and doing my job as best I can, but, I will also continue to wish every day that someone will soon invent the “Cashier’s Easy Button”..   How about you, any ideas as to how an “Easy Button” would help you in your job?

Just another day in the life of a cashier.  Y’all have a good one, ya hear?

By Jan Ballard

Heal Yourself Magazine’s Newest Humor writer.

by Diana Daffner

Anytime is a good time for intimacy. Try mixing it up and being intimate at a different time each day for a week! Intimacy can only be experienced in the present moment. These moments can be part of a one-minute intimacy break or an hour-long lovemaking session. Find the time, make the time, take the time… to be intimate with one another.

1. In the Morning

Wake up to your lover’s hands gently caressing you.

2. In the Afternoon

Delightfully enjoy the sunlight draping your bodies.

3. In the Evening

Instead of watching television, look at each other. Instead of washing dishes, wash each other.

4. In the Middle of the Night

Was that a dream or did we ride among the stars together?

5. Before Dinner

Automatic oven-timers are a handy invention!

6. During Dinner

Feeding one another, by hand, as a tantric practice, what fun!

7. After Dinner

Delicious dessert!

8. When You’re Feeling Sad

Intimacy, like singing the blues, opens your soul to its intrinsic joy.

9. When You’re Feeling Lonely

Expand into intimacy, instead of contracting into separation.

10. When You’re Feeling Happy

Let the good energy take you to great places, together!

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Diana Daffner, with her husband Richard, leads “Intimacy Retreats” for couples and provides coaching in sexual intimacy as a spiritual path. The Daffners are the authors of  Tantric Sex for Busy Couples: How to Deepen Your Passion in Just Ten Minutes a Day. They originated the Tantra Tai Chi™ program, a partnered movement practice to enhance intimacy in body, heart and soul. For a schedule of workshops, visit www.IntimacyRetreats.com or call 1-877-282-4244 (tollfree).

I know, everyone talks about letting go these days. Although I have been talking about it LONG before it became in vogue, let me share something with you that has absolutely changed my life. It is not something new, but SOMETHING THAT WORKS and my guess is, can change your life as well.

This tip is about admitting that you actually do have something you want to “let go of” or change in your life. I know, and I bet you do to, LOTS of folks who BELIEVE that only others have stuff. When they see the title of my book, the first thing they say is, “I know exactly who needs this…” and they often get it as a gift to give away - and that is a good thing.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Perhaps you are in denial about your stuff. Only you know. WHAT CHANGED MY LIFE is being able to accept that I, as the author of the book titled Letting Go of Stuff, have stuff too. YES! I have stuff.

Everyone has stuff, something they want to change about themselves. The key is to ACCEPT AND ACKNOWLEDGE that you have stuff. Many are in denial. SO, how do you know when you have stuff and what can be done to get you to the point in which you accept it, so you can LET IT GO?

Well first, we have to DEFINE STUFF to know whether we have it. Stuff is defined in my book (p. 2) as the intangible, random thoughts that keep you from being able to accomplish what you want in life. Guilt, shame, frustration, anger, dislikes for ones self, holding on to past events as if they happened today, and the like. That is stuff. Some of us live and flounder in stuff. Some of us have an innate ability to shake things off, and keep moving forward. Either way, we all have stuff and there is not avoiding that fact. A great question is, “how to we manage our stuff”, and thus, let it go?

Well, a part of letting go of stuff is in what we say to ourselves about our
“stuff”. The internal conversation is key. Talking to your self is not a problem. The challenge is in what you say to your self. The MOST POWERFUL conversations you will ever have, are the ones you have with your SELF. That is the conversation that you will believe in the most, whether you realize it or not. That is the conversation that your subconscious reacts to, which leads to your overt actions.

In chapter three (p. 35) of my book I quote the theologian Martin Luther. He is credited with saying, “Faith is permitting ourselves to be seized by the things we do not see.” He is not referring to he things we cannot see in the darkness, but the things we fail to recognize in the light. When a person is in denial of having “stuff” they are living as a blind person. It is only when you begin to recognize and face your stuff, that you truly begin to see.

Accepting and acknowledging that you have stuff is not a sign of weakness, but of strength. It is an indication of how much you truly love YOU. Do you love self? I know that for some of us, we have to overcome many internal conversations before we can even admit to loving ourselves. For example, part of the internal conversation that some people have to deal with before they can actually claim love for self is that loving one�s self is being too selfish. This kind of thinking can only lead to feelings of guilt, anguish, and frustration. The fact is that we are love, we were all created out of love, the Universe/God is love, so therefore loving one’s self is part of the natural order of things. This is why, when you don’t love yourself, there is so much anguish and feelings of frustration (among other things). You are going against the natural order of things when you don’t love YOU.

Letting Go of Stuff is also about getting to know your self. When I coach people who are having relationship challenges, I don’t suggest that they work things out with their partner or spouse, I begin initially with looking inside of that person. You see, we have to first develop a relationship with SELF before we develop a relationship with anyone else. Here is the kicker “if you can’t get along with your self”, then what makes you think you will get along with anyone else? Think about it.

Take the time to examine your life and your stuff. What do you want to change, make better, and let go of? Use your courage to face your STUFF, acknowledge your STUFF, and then begin the process of Letting Go of Stuff. Begin today!!

You owe it to your self AND you deserve it.

Until next time!
Darren L. Johnson
The Letting Go Pro

Darren L Johnson is an expert on Letting Go of Stuff® and is known as the Letting Go Pro. He has written and published numerous articles on letting go. In 1994 Darren created and began teaching Letting Go of Stuff®.

During his twenty-five year career stint, Darren has worked with fortune 100 companies such as General Motors and Nissan, USA. As a speaker and consultant he combines personal experience, theory on change, and proven methods - all leading to success for his clients in the process of letting go of stuff.

In 2009 he founded the National Letting Go of Stuff Day and in 2007 founded a 501c3 NGO called the Global Business & Organization Development Foundation.

I have known Lynn Taylor for what seems like forever We met online several years ago while networking and have worked together on projects, Lynn has been a wonderful support to me over the years with both personal and business matters. Now it is my turn to return her undying love and support.

Lynn’s husband Tracy is in need of a kidney transplant. Below you will find information about Tracy and how you can help!

The economy has hit this family hard and even though they have insurance, they need our financial support to help defray the costs of a kidney transplant that are NOT covered by insurance. Out of pocket expenses include travel, co-pays, medicines, etc.

Tracy Taylor is a man with character and integrity. He served for several years as a volunteer fireman, saving lives and property without a paycheck. Now it’s time for that wonderful character to be saved by us. Imagine watching your father die of kidney failure far too young, then being diagnosed with it yourself! Tracy Taylor endures daily dialysis treatments and has been on the kidney transplant list at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis for a year.

Tracy has 4 sons: Jesse 20, Kevin 17, Bobby 14, and Cory 11. He has been blessed by a loving, supportive wife, Lynn.

If there is a way you can help, step forward, make a difference, and have fun doing it!

They are in need of:

1) spread the word to be an organ donor
2) cash donations to help cover medical expenses
3) cash donations to help cover any food we do not get donated
4) people to attend our dinner dance auction
5) donations non monetary- but donation such as gift baskets etc.

Cash donations can be made at any US Bank in the name of  Tracy A. Taylor Benefit Donation Account

or

National Transplant Assistance Fund
150 N. Radnor Chester Rd  Ste F-120
Radnor, PA  19087
in Honor of Tracy Taylor

Thank you to all who can help in anyway!

Rebbekah White

by Diana Daffner

Men enjoy sex. (Yes, of course, that’s a generalization.) They appreciate sex as a release, a satisfying outlet for their masculine energy. They rarely question whether or not it’s good for them. (At least, not since they learned they wouldn’t go blind…) They may suspect that women have different feelings about it but they’re not really sure what that means or what to do about it. They think that if they have sex with their partner, any emotional distancing will be resolved or dissolved and they’ll both feel intimate again.

Of course, men don’t actually use words like “emotionally distant” but they do recognize when they feel intimate with their spouse, their partner. It’s not always or only about sex. They might be aware of a special shared intimacy while gazing together at their sleeping child, or a beautiful sunset. However, men are mostly aware of feeling intimate during actual physical intimacy.

I (Richard) am probably typical of most men - we define intimacy as the act of being intimate. I (Diana) consider this a circular definition.

Women like to feel intimate before having sex. They appreciate sex as a loving expression of intimate commitment, a manifestation of their heart’s longing for closeness.

Yes, another generalization. There are many men with low sexual interest and lots of women who enjoy recreational sex without needing to feel intimate. For the rest of us though, the above generalizations seems to be pretty accurate.

So, unfortunately, couples often find themselves on opposite sides of a gender divide. Which should come first, the emotional experience of intimacy or the intimately physical activity itself? Or, more directly put, the heart or the genitals? There we go again - using non-male language. Guys rarely talk in terms of their “heart.” They’re much more likely to think that their emotions are stored in - and expressed through - their genitals. (”See how much I love you?!”)

Women, on the other hand, are more inclined to express emotions verbally. They often feel compelled to engage a male partner in emotionally-laden dialog. This is a challenge for most guys. Recent research shows that due to brain wiring, men may be less able than women to feel and speak at the same time.

Luckily, there is hope for this “Mars” and “Venus” dilemma. An ancient spiritual path from India, called Tantra, has come to the rescue of relationships caught in the confusion of stereotypical masculine/feminine viewpoints. Couples can learn to merge the intention and the action, the feeling and the behavior of intimacy. They can learn to share their love in a way that touches the true essence behind his physical desire and her emotional longing.

Tantra was not originally designed as a marital enhancement program. It was meant to lead its practitioners to enlightenment. Yet these teachings, as well as similar teachings from other cultures, present the concept that our life force is fueled by sexual energy. You may be familiar with chakras - energy centers represented in the body at key positions along the spinal column. Well, the first chakra is found right at the base of the pelvic floor. Touching that very first chakra clearly falls within the boundaries defined by intimate activity.

Sexual energy is said to rise up (no pun) from the lower to the higher chakras. Midway up the body is found the heart chakra, in the center of the chest area. Vibrating with the frequency of universal and unconditional love, an open heart chakra also clears the way for the more personal love that a couple shares.

The old adage, the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, was almost right. A little lower is probably more accurate. When a man is invited to explore his heart via a sexual experience, the connected pathway opens and expands to the mutual delight of both partners! The resulting embrace, the merging of soul to soul, is a delight that resonates way beyond both the physical and the emotional. It can literally take a couple into true spiritual union.

Tantra expects its practitioners to recognize the sacred in all of life. When intimate partners regard one another as truly sacred, the whole tone and purpose of lovemaking changes.

Tantric lovemaking validates the male logic that sexual connection is a doorway to intimate bonding. At the same time, through intentional, eyes-open focus, it endorses the female knowing that a deep level of heart-felt intimacy and presence is what puts the love into lovemaking.

Diana Daffner, with her husband Richard, leads “Intimacy Retreats” for couples and provides coaching in sexual intimacy as a spiritual path. The Daffners are the authors of  Tantric Sex for Busy Couples: How to Deepen Your Passion in Just Ten Minutes a Day. They originated the Tantra Tai Chi™ program, a partnered movement practice to enhance intimacy in body, heart and soul. For a schedule of workshops, visit www.IntimacyRetreats.com or call 1-877-282-4244 (tollfree).

I called my friend in California one day to see how she was doing. During the conversation, she asked my opinion of the direction she was going with her life. She said she was up for a new management position, but neither she, nor some of her friends, thought she was ready for it. She was bored, because she was not in a relationship, and had no one to occupy her time. She really wanted to “find a man,” but in her spare time had started reading philosophical books.

As she continued, I listened intently. Eventually, she asked, “What do you think? Should I take the position or not?”

I asked, “Are you sure you want to hear my HONEST response to your question?”

“Yes!” she replied.

So I responded with three questions that would help her reflect on her own situation:

1. What do you really want to do with your life?

2. When was the last time you truly answered question 1 for yourself?

3. When was the last time you dreamed about your future?

“Because you are not involved with anyone,” I continued, “I would spend this time doing some real soul searching.”

I gave her the name of some good self-help books and suggested she spend her free time “GETTING TO KNOW HERSELF”, instead of looking for a MAN.

You’ve got to get to know yourself first, set your goals, and live your dreams. Otherwise, when you meet someone, you will end up following that person and living his/her dreams instead of your own. Develop a relationship with yourself first; learn to love you.

Some people are so afraid of getting to know themselves that they live and define their lives through the dreams and goals of others. How can a person be truly happy living someone else’s dream? My suggestion is to take the time to know you and to know what you want, and then develop relationships with others.

Letting Go of Stuff is about getting to know your self. When I coach people who are having relationship challenges, I don’t suggest that they work things out with their partner or spouse, I begin initially with looking inside of that person. You see, we have to first develop a relationship with SELF before we develop a relationship with anyone else. Here is the kicker  if you can’t get along with your self, then what makes you think you will get along with anyone else? Think about it.

Take the time to examine your life. What do you want to change, make better, and then let go of? Have the courage to face it, acknowledge it, then begin to make the changes.

You owe it to your self AND you deserve it.

Until next time!

Darren L. Johnson

Darren L Johnson is an expert on Letting Go of Stuff® and is known as the Letting Go Pro. He has written and published numerous articles on letting go. In 1994 Darren created and began teaching Letting Go of Stuff®.

Dareen L. Johnson “Letting Go Pro”

During his twenty-five year career stint, Darren has worked with fortune 100 companies such as General Motors and Nissan, USA. As a speaker and consultant he combines personal experience, theory on change, and proven methods - all leading to success for his clients in the process of letting go of stuff.

In 2009 he founded the National Letting Go of Stuff Day and in 2007 founded a 501c3 NGO called the Global Business & Organization Development Foundation.

by Diana Daffner

What type of sex are you having?

Ancient texts from India describe human activity as falling into one of three states, or qualities, called, in the Sanskrit language, tama, raja and sattva.  Each characterizes a specific state of awareness and is reflected in all the ways we live our lives, including how we eat and how we make love.  By understanding these qualities, we can transform our sexual activity into a sacred event.  Instead of just grappling about, hoping for a positive outcome, we can envision physical connection as a soulful experience for the purpose of deep communion and intimacy.

Tamasic Sex
When you scratch an itch, it feels good.  Simple, uncomplicated pleasure.  Once relief is achieved, the whole matter of the itch disappears.  After a delightful moment, the itch-energy is released, and the scratching can stop.  There are rarely lasting memories or books to be written about the wonders of satisfying an itch.

Sexual energy is often treated as if it were an itch.  The energy begins to stir in your genitals.  If you’re fortunate and have a willing lover close at hand, you reach out for them, letting them know of your need.  Together, you “scratch the itch”, soon experiencing relief, a delightful release as the tingling intensifies and then dissipates through an explosion of muscular contractions.  An orgasm!  To the body, much like a welcome sneeze, which has a similar pattern of build-up, intensity and discharge.

Without a nearby lover, you may reach out for your favorite vibrator or your own hand to help bring you to that desired state of release.  Often this is satisfying, sometimes equally or more so than having the assistance of another.  After all, you sneeze by yourself.

I love having my back scratched where I can’t reach it.  While there’s certainly something intimate and personal about having my lover reach up under my shirt to scratch my back, those long handled Chinese backscratchers can do the job really well, and they always scratch exactly in the right place!

Still, when it’s over, it’s over.  The impending sneeze has reached its climax and become history.  The itch is gone.  The sexual urgency has passed.  Or has it?

Tantra, a spiritual path, originating in India, embraces sexual energy as a way of reaching blissful consciousness.  In the lexicon of Sanskrit language, sex which resembles the scratching of an itch can be referred to as tamasic sex.  Tama refers to that which is impure, heavy, low.  A diet consisting mostly of meat is considered tamasic.

Tamasic sex, in its benign form, is sexual coupling that is pretty much restricted to one partner “getting off”..  Little effort is made to provide pleasure another.  A man experiences tamasic sex when he limits his activity to the in and out thrusting of his penis; a woman when she lies passively on her back and allows him to do so.  A dutifully delivered hand-job or blow-job can also be very tamasic.  Many experience tamasic sex out of ignorance, lack of interest, or because they have had unpleasant sexual history and have shut down their sexual response, declaring it boring.  As Alexander Pope wrote:

She, while her Lover pants upon her breast,
Can mark the figures on an Indian chest.

Limited in pleasure and creativity, tamasic sex, like the sneeze or the scratching of an itch, is an organic response to a biological event.  Sex for the sake of sex.  It is functional physical exercise, and for most men, can be quite satisfying because of the resulting climax.  For women, this type of intercourse leads more to bore-gasm than orgasm.  She will often fake pleasure in order to hasten the end more quickly.

One-night stands, especially when drug or alcohol induced, are frequently tamasic in nature.  Sexual gratification is sought with no attention to relationship or spiritual nurturing.   Men have an easier time being sexually satisfied, and so generally enjoy one-night stands, or quickies, more than women.

At its lowest and most reprehensible level, tamasic sex involves rape and sexual assault.   One meaning of the word tama is anger.  Couples who together express anger and rage through their sex can push themselves deeper into the darkness of tamasic realms.  For some, this total immersion in tama actually frees them to experience the next higher level of sexual bonding.  However, the cost of this approach is heavy with emotional scarring.

Rajasic Sex
Rajasic food is hot and spicy.  Rajasic sex is passionate and energetic.  There is emotional content, and sincere effort is made to excite one’s partner.   Still orgasm-oriented, both men and women pursue the big O, the pulsating orgasm that through its intensity will propel them into the timeless moment aptly called by the French, le petit mort, the little death.   A brief escape.

A loving relationship forms a good basis for rajasic sex.   Rajasic couples engage in foreplay, exploring one another’s bodies, touching, sucking, thrusting, manipulating.  Fantasy and erotica can provide additional fuel, arousing and stimulating the body through the mind.

In rajasic sex, lovers seek to bring each other pleasure and to create pleasure for themselves.  There is a warm and tender connection between the lovers.  There is much giving and receiving.  Yet, exhilarating as it is, rajasic intensity takes place on a personal level, and at its completion can still leave each person alone with his or her own thoughts and emotions.

A rajasic lover is often driven by a need to prove herself or himself, a desire to be a good lover.  Failure, or the fear of failure can have dire effects on the ability to succeed in doing so.  The dreaded performance pressure can create a downward spiral into unhappiness.

Some relationships begin with a great deal of rajasic sex, but cannot sustain the required energy output.  Often a couple’s sexual activity becomes routine and dull, as both partners slip into a tamasic quality, with only occasional spurts of rajasic sex.

Movies are filled with hot rajasic sex.  Audiences enjoy the vicarious pleasure and excitement and then return home to the torpid, sluggish affair their own lovemaking has become.   They hunger for more passion, more intimacy, more something.  The more can be found - not in more action, but in stillness, in quietude.

Sattvic Sex
When sattvic sex takes place, there is a reversal of activity.  Instead of the headlong rush toward the release of orgasm, there is a continual renewal of energy as it circulates within and between the lovers.  The timeless moment expands with unlimited boundaries, allowing a prolonged experience of delicious and conscious awareness.   No longer is there a concern for sexual performance.  Personal pleasure is expanded to include a cosmic sense of being.  Individual satisfaction gives way to the universal presence of love.  Spiritual oneness prevails.  Sattvic sex is calm and tranquil, and can best be enjoyed in complete stillness.

The ancient teachings of Tantra are designed to bring forth this spiritual experience through sexual energy, which is honored as the sacred and vital force of life.  With only occasional movement to keep arousal alive, lovers embraced in sattvic sex find themselves able to abide together in a sustained state of deep peace.

There is a sweetness to sattvic sex.  And like a well-flavored dessert, the sweetness lasts beyond the moment, permeating the core of your being and refreshing your sense of existence.

Sattvic sex is not divorced from the realm of tamasic sex but rises upward from its physical roots into a rarified atmosphere of meditative surrender.  Couples in a relationship that is rich in sex, love and spirituality will find themselves moving in and out of these various types of sex, sometimes even during one lovemaking session.  Similarly, while the most sattvic foods are natural, uncooked vegetables and fruits, our diets usually include all types of food.

Scratching an itch brings relief.  Active love play brings relief and also provides us with a sense of being cared for, taken care of.   Conscious awakening into spiritual connection fulfills our innate yearning to know the truth of who we are.   Sattvic sex allows us to joyfully encounter what the great sages and teachers of meditation have written about.  Sattvic sex at its highest level is an impersonal experience, taking us out of our limited selves into a place where separation no longer exists.

When we enter into this third level of sexual joining with someone who is our beloved partner on the journey of life, we partake in a lasting gift of communion that endures and nourishes us on an ongoing basis.  Before sattvic sex, we may have been best friends and lovers.  After sattvic sex, we become divine mirrors for each other, reflecting our shared ecstasy and bliss.

Diana Daffner, with her husband Richard, leads “Intimacy Retreats” for couples and provides coaching in sexual intimacy as a spiritual path. The Daffners are the authors of Tantric Sex for Busy Couples: How to Deepen Your Passion in Just Ten Minutes a Day. They originated the Tantra Tai Chi™ program, a partnered movement practice to enhance intimacy in body, heart and soul. For a schedule of workshops, visit www.IntimacyRetreats.com or call 1-877-282-4244 (tollfree).

This Vision Board software tool is a powerful system that enables you to visualize your dreams and keep you inspired to achieve your goals. You can include your own dream images, empowering affirmations and chosen power words in your Vision Board, displaying the amazing future you intent to manifest. You can even add your choice of music and you can record your own voice to accompany your Vision Board! Your self chosen affirmations also show up in a pop up balloon on your screen for extra exposure. This unique system comes with libraries of affirmations, power words and images to make creating a personal Vision Board fast and easy. The software also includes a Poster Creation Module and their newest edition Vision Board even includes a set of new presentation themes and a revolutionary MovieRecorder! This fantastic addition allows you to create a movie of your Vision Board and display it on websites, iPod, iPhone, digital photo frames, etc. By focusing on your Vision Board at least twice a day, you are applying The Law of Attraction in a most powerful way. By constantly feeding your subconscious mind with positive affirmations and images of your dreams, feeling as if you have already achieved them, and taking inspired action you will attract your goals into your reality.

You can also set your vision board as your wallpaper, send it to a friend and print it out. Now you can even create a movie of your vision board for your mobile devices like your cell phone, iPod, PDA and digital photo frames. The possibilities are endless! Vision Board is the most complete and powerful Vision Board product on the market!

Take your life to the next level, follow your bliss to success and enjoy a happier and fulfilling life by creating your own powerful Vision Board. The power of the mind is amazing; make your dream life come true NOW!

by Diana Daffner

Tantra is an ancient Sanskrit word, meaning “to weave or to expand.” In tantric sex, we weave and expand our energy with our love partner, for the purpose of opening up to the entire universe. Shaped variously by Hindu and Buddhist traditions, sometimes constricted by Confucianism, Tantra in its widest meaning describes an approach to living that links the physical universe to the cosmic whole.

Sexuality, the most physical and intimate of human interactions, is thus seen a sacred activity, continuously reenacting the original creation of the universe. The First One, separating from Itself to know Itself, embracing Itself to experience Itself.

Tantra proposes that each one of us must undergo within ourselves this total union, a joining of the female and male within us. And when love partners dance the path of Tantra together, the relationship is transformed into a sacred journey to Oneness.

Tantra describes a movement of energy, a welling up within us, of joyous excitation. Unlike forms of meditation that cause us to withdraw from the world of senses, Tantra encourages us to start with the senses, building on their ability to focus us in the present moment.

This energy need not be explicitly sexual; all sensual experience is appreciated as a tool for awakening the energy within us.  In the moment that we shift from overt physical pleasure to an internal joy, to a focus on the internal movement of energy, the subtle nature of our being is exposed and Tantra takes place. Nor does Tantra exclude experiences which are not overtly pleasurable; this same internal shift of focus can take place as we experience outward pain, even death.

Tantra occurs only in the present moment; yesterday’s experience has no relevance.

When I smell a rose, I smell it in this moment, not yesterday or tomorrow, but right now, right here. And if I embrace that moment of smelling the rose as the prelude to a spiritual experience, if I invite the rose-smelling into my total being, aware both of the scent and my total bodily response to the scent, aware of the softness of the petals and the rose energy in my heart, then in that moment I am open to the fullness of who I am. This is Tantra.

And if you and I both smell the rose together, and sharing that experience, dissolve our separateness into an infinite Oneness, then together we experience Tantra.

Tantra brings poetry to lovemaking. When my lover caresses my face and our eyes meet and we breathe together and acknowledge our rising passion, sense our hearts joining and our spirits soaring, the energy rising through the power centers of our bodies, this is Tantra.

Some spiritual paths teach us to deny, to say not this, not that; they teach that who we are is not the body, not the mind, not our actions, not our thoughts. Stripped of what we are not, these paths allow us to see the emergence of who we may be. Tantra takes the seemingly opposite approach and teaches us to say YES! to this, YES! to that. I smell the rose and I am that experience, my lover touches me and I am that experience, there is nothing that I am not, I am everything. All experience can be a doorway to who I am, provided I focus on the experience itself, with the intention of energetic awareness.

To learn and benefit deeply from Tantra, we must practice being still, undistracted. When I am smelling the rose, I smell the rose.

To make love in the Tantra way means to be fully present, to allow each moment to be the entire experience. In Tantric lovemaking, there is no goal, no race toward release or orgasm.  Instead, there is complete attention to each touch, each breath, each movement of energy.

Every moment in our lives can be shaped by Tantra, can be lived in fullness and acceptance.

However, our minds, our thoughts, are constantly darting here and there. We are consumed with busy-ness, at our jobs, at school, taking care of our children, our home, our parents. Birthday parties.  Thanksgiving, Christmas, weddings, funerals. We are bombarded by input from phone, TV, fax, e-mail and junk mail. Bills.

When we finally get away on vacation, often as not we’re busy skiing or snorkeling, eating, shopping, museuming, being transported from place to place.

Stop the World, I Want to Get Off! But first, I need a haircut, car wash, new blouse, shoe repair, show to see, and of course, those bills to pay. Our lives are structured around busy-ness, not around living in the moment.

While we are skiing, or snorkeling, or playing tennis, basketball, or golf, the world does disappear, leaving only the action of the sport. This is the attraction of athletics. It is a natural occurrence.

But how do we make time for a momentary tantric relationship with a flower, let alone an hour with our lover? How do we say Yes! to each moment, when the next moment is already here and then gone?

We need to do even more than make time to smell the roses. We need to learn how to let the scent permeate into our belly, deepening our breath and opening our heart to the expansiveness of spiritual experience.

Athletic pursuits require practice and training. They are designed to take place in a zone outside of daily living.  Tantra provides us a way of living daily in that zone.

An Intimacy Retreat is a great way of starting on the Tantric path with your lover!

Diana Daffner, with her husband Richard, leads “Intimacy Retreats” for couples and provides coaching in sexual intimacy as a spiritual path. The Daffners are the authors of  Tantric Sex for Busy Couples: How to Deepen Your Passion in Just Ten Minutes a Day. They originated the Tantra Tai Chi™ program, a partnered movement practice to enhance intimacy in body, heart and soul. For a schedule of workshops, visit www.IntimacyRetreats.com or call 1-877-282-4244 (tollfree).

• Identify the reason for grieving - for example - loss of family members, co-worker, and the like. Sometimes the not so obvious reasons cause us to grieve without realizing it. For example, if one is terminated from a previous employer; that person may come into the next (new) job feeling sad, and grieving over the loss of that previous job. Another example, people may grieve over the loss of a department, due to downsizing, and still some may grieve from the loss of a co-worker “not from death” but because that person left the company unexpectedly. There reasons to grieve are many. The key is to first identify the reason for the grief, if possible, because that will determine what needs to happen to help work through the grief.

• Identifying the reasons also allows you to begin to accept and acknowledge the situation and your feelings. This is part of the first step in Letting Go of Stuff that may be causing the feelings of grief.

• Make sure you have someone you trust in the work place, whom you can talk to in confidence. If that situation does not exist, then make sure there is someone outside the company you can talk to and share how you are feeling. It doesn’t have to be a counselor, but just someone who cares enough to listen without judgment.

• Take advantage of the employee assistance offered at work. These programs are designed to help on to work through any grief and depression one may be experiencing.

• Know who “not to talk to” about your feelings and situation. Talking to the wrong people, or to too many people in the work place could leave on open to criticism, judgment, and sometimes ridicule. So think carefully about whom you confide in.

• Don’t blame your self for what has happened, and for experiencing the grief. You have a right to feel the way you do and cannot process through this time until you allow yourself to experience the feelings associated with it.

• Do not take on any feelings of guilt about grieving. Again, it is your right to feel the way you do. And for goodness sakes don’t let anyone make you feel as though something is wrong with you because of what you are experiencing.

• If you have time off  vacation, sick time, and/or personal days take them if you are getting a gut feeling you should. Don’t ignore that feeling, it is there for a reason. So act on it as soon as you can. By honoring this feeling and need to take authorized time off, you will protect yourself from burnout, depression, and other challenges that could mount while at work. But remember that when at home, take the steps to move forward with your life as you work through this period.

• Love yourself, be good to yourself, and if you have a personal journal write in it.

Darren L. Johnson

Darren L Johnson is an expert on Letting Go of Stuff® and is known as the Letting Go Pro. He has written and published numerous articles on letting go. In 1994 Darren created and began teaching Letting Go of Stuff®.

During his twenty-five year career stint, Darren has worked with fortune 100 companies such as General Motors and Nissan, USA. As a speaker and consultant he combines personal experience, theory on change, and proven methods - all leading to success for his clients in the process of letting go of stuff.

In 2009 he founded the National Letting Go of Stuff Day and in 2007 founded a 501c3 NGO called the Global Business & Organization Development Foundation.