Drunk with Wonder with Steve Ryals

Steve went from being homeless and shooting drugs in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury District at age 17 to graduating from UC Berkley on the Dean’s List six years later.

From 1994-2004, Steve was a free-lance music reviewer for New Age Retailer and then the Sedona Journal of Emergence. He wrote and published over 1,200 reviews, hundreds of which are available online.

What others are saying:

“Drunk with Wonder is a book that can untangle and reweave your life. Make no mistake-if you read this book, you can never go back to being a victim, a loser or a couch potato helplessly watching the movie of your life. You will come into a never-before-imagined power and finally learn what it means to grow up.”

Barbara Gardner, PhD

Author of The Sai Prophecy

Quotes from Drunk with Wonder

“You can’t do life wrong, only with more or less suffering”

“Ecstatic states of bliss are as adrenaline-fueled as the darkest scream of terror”

“All growth requires that you step out of what’s comfortable and try something new”

“Life is the ultimate gift of love”

Drunk with Wonder at a glance:

Who will be the great spiritual teachers and philosophers of the Twenty-First Century? Drunk with Wonder author Steve Ryals suggests they will be us, as one by one, we awaken to God within and practice directing our power of choice for personal and planetary transformation.

Through the ancient system of questions and answers, Ryals shares his dialogues with God, clarifying gems of traditional Eastern, Western and Shamanic thought, plus the latest scientific discoveries about the evolution of human higher consciousness. Unprecedented times of crisis like ours compel us to advance as a species.

Listen and learn…

* Adrenaline: It’s instinctive and addictive, but do we have to be run by it?

* How to release old stories that protected us from our core childhood wounds, but also hold us in fear.

* How can you overcome seeing yourself as a victim and be glad you live in a world of free will?

* How breathing and mindfulness meditation can increase happiness.

* Why sharing our darkest secrets with another loving person can free us and give us the strength to stop defending against our disowned past.

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What is Reiki?

What is Reiki? Reiki is a Japanese type of spiritual practice also used for stress reduction and relaxation. It is a technique that also helps promote healing either for self or for other people. It is characterized as a practice of “laying of hands”.

The healing powers of the technique are based on the idea that there is an unseen “life force energy” that flows through each person. This life force is said to be the reason why people are alive. When one’s life force energy is low, then people are likely to get sick or feel weak. If the life force is high, people fell healthy and happy.

Reiki is also a form of meditation used as a type of therapy for treating physical, emotional, and mental diseases. The name Reiki is taken from two Japanese characters that describe energy itself. The word “rei”, which means “unseen” or “spiritual” and “ki” which means “energy” or “life force” is combined to become Reiki. In English, its meaning is usually given as “universal life energy”.

It was Mikao Usui who was known to have developed Reiki in 20th century Japan.  Story has it that Usui received the ability of healing after going through three weeks of fasting and meditating on top of Mount Kurama. Practitioners of Reiki use a technique similar to that of the laying on of hands.

This action is said to promote the channeling of “healing energy” to another person. The energy flows through the palms and brings along with it healing powers that can be used for self-treatment as well as for treating others.

Reiki is a simple, natural as well as safe method of dispensing spiritual healing and self-improvement. It is said to be effective in providing alternative treatment for virtually every known illness and malady. Not only that, Reiki also helps create an added beneficial effect, that of spiritual healing. This method is also said to work well when combined with other medical or therapeutic techniques to help relieve side effects and promote recovery.

Reiki, although seen as a very powerful healing technique, is an amazingly simple to learn. Reiki and the ability to use it effectively cannot be taught in the usual sense. The skill is said to be “transferred” to the student during a Reiki class.

This ability is not merely learned but is passed on by a Reiki master to the student during a gathering known as “attunement”. After the skill has been passed on, it allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of “life force energy” that can then be used to improve one’s health and enhance the one’s quality of life.

Although the practice of Reiki may be spiritual in nature, it is not considered as a religion. There are no set of beliefs that one should learn about before learning to practice the technique known as Reiki. The practice does not depend on any form of dogma.

It will work whether the student believes it or not. But it is said that the practice of Reiki helps people to keep in touch of their spiritual selves rather than the intellectual concept that it provides.

The practice of Reiki also aims to develop and promote living in harmony with others. Aside from practicing Reiki and its principles, the founder of the Reiki system, Mikao Usui also recommends the practice of simple ethical ideals that can lead to peace and harmony among people.

Getting to know what Reiki is may help people not only become a healing channel but also a tool to promote peace among other people.

What is Meditation?

The modern times have given people “instant” everything—including convenience, solutions, and results among so many others. But, amidst all the advantages it gives to people, it also brings a lot of stress that would eventually lead to serious problems. Because of this stress, more and more people are getting into one of the most powerful means of concentration called “meditation.”

Meditation 101

Described as a state wherein a person is in deep concentration on something, either awareness or some object of thought, meditation can be considered as one of the oldest means of calming the mind and the soul. Usually involving one’s attention to be turned into a single point of reference, meditation is practiced by so many people because it can lead a person to a consciousness an inch higher than the ordinary person.

Meditation traces its history back some 5,000 years ago. It is said that the practice has been a very important constituent of various religions in the Eastern part of the world. Through the years, people who practice mediation were able to develop various disciplines. These disciplines were known to involve a large range of psychophysical and spiritual—or a combination of both—that leads to the enhancement of a person’s higher level of mental concentration.

Derived from the Latin word “meditatio,” equivalent to “all types mental or physical exercise,” the meaning of meditation has also evolved as times went by. Now, mediation is more popularly perceived as “contemplation” or “inward reflection.”

If you are one of those who planning to indulge in practicing meditation or just interested in its seemingly limitless possibilities, then you should start by familiarizing yourself with the various forms of meditation known today. The most common forms of meditation include “Bodhidharma,” “Hinduism,” “Bahá’í Faith,” “Buddhism,” “Christian meditation,” “Islam Meditation,” “Jainism,” “Judaism,” “Sikhism,” and “Taoism.” Each and every one of these forms mentioned has their own understanding of meditation and also have different sets of practices that come with it.
 
Another important thing to take note about meditation is that it involves various physical postures to be able to perform the practice well. These postures include standing, sitting, and supine depending on the tradition of that you would want to follow.

Aside from the postures that are used, it is also important to take note about the various types of meditation before finally indulging into it. Experts say that the most common type is the prayer because this is the one of the most practiced types people does. Aside from the simple prayer, other types of meditation also include what is called transcendental meditation (TM), the mindfulness meditation, and some of the forms included in the Eastern tradition including the buddhist, Taoist, and zen meditation.

If you are just starting, the first thing that you need to concentrate on is the elements for involved in a basic traditional meditation. Usually, there are four elements that greatly affect traditional meditation including a place that is quiet, a posture that is comfortable, an object that a person can to focus his or her attention and n attitude that is relatively passive.

Mediation can indeed be a great mental exercise for anybody. It can also serve as a stress buster because it allows the person to empty his or her mind in other things for a moment and focus the attention to only one thing. Once this is done, the person can feel relief and lighter feeling that can enable him or her to think clearly.

How to do meditation at home…

Different meditation techniques follow their own set of meditation instructions in order to be effective and lead a person to a higher level of relaxation and consciousness. These guidelines are there to help provide the steps that an individual can follow as he or she begins a meditation session. Duration may differ according to the different techniques and may involve different exercises to achieve that higher level of awareness.

Any meditation practice may be done at different parts of the day. But it is suggested that you do it in the morning. Morning is the ideal time to do a meditation session since it is the time of the day with the least interruptions. It is also good to find a place somewhere in the home that is quiet and private. Here is an example of how you can do your meditation in your own home.

First of all, try to sit upright, keeping your spine relatively straight. You can either sit on a bed, on the floor, or in a chair, whichever is most comfortable for you to sit on. You can cross your legs as you sit down, which is the usual position for meditation. But if crossing your legs will result in discomfort or stoppage of blood flow in the legs, try to uncross and extend them. You may also try to alter to a more comfortable sitting position. Meditation can also depend on how comfortable you are to be effective.

After finding yourself in a comfortable sitting position, the next step is to close the eyes and relax. Do this for a brief moment to calm your body and mind. The next step is to try and visualize a certain object. Visualization is one of the important steps in meditation. Try to focus on the object in your mind and try to be aware of its characteristics. Focusing and concentrating on something in your mind may take time and it will take a lot of practice. This is important since meditation depends on putting your focus on just a single object in your mind while minimizing the distractions as much as possible.

Now that you have visualized a specific object in your mind, try to feel yourself as if you are that object. Try to get a sense of how it is being that object. Feel how it is to be that shape, that color or that texture. Become the object in your mind. In doing so, try to feel calm and relaxed. Don’t try to force your mind to do it. Just be aware of that object and let it effortlessly become you. This too may take some time to get used to. But practice will make you get better at it.

What is important in this meditation exercise is that you try to make yourself visualize a certain object effortlessly without forcing your mind to do so. What may be even harder to do the first time you are doing this exercise is how to maintain your visualization. There may be times that a passing thought or a distraction may occur in your mind that may let you lose focus.

With practice in following these simple meditation instructions, you may be able to get used to developing your focus and concentration and keeping your mind free form distractions. By then, you will learn how to relax not only your body but also your mind.

Rediscovering the Benefits of Meditation

People are now going back to ancient practices because they know that the modern times have been causing them too much stress. Of all the means of relaxation out there, more and more people are looking forward to experience the benefits of meditation.

Because of its effectivity in terms of calming the mind and developing a person’s level of intuition, meditation has now being performed not just a means of clearing the mind and inner reflection but also to heal various illnesses in the mind, emotions, and physical aspects.

Meditation and its benefits

One of the most celebrated benefits of meditation is that it greatly helps the person’s physical state. Among the physical benefits of meditation involve the heart through a deep rest because it decreases the person’s metabolic rate as well as the heart rate, which leads to the reduction of workload for the heart. Aside from that, it is also known to lower the levels of a person’s cortisol as well as dissolving the chemicals that are closely associated with everyday stress.
Other physical benefits of meditation also include reduced free radicals in the body by eliminating oxygen molecules that are unstable, decreases a person’s high blood pressure, develops the ability to have more resistant skin, lowering or totally dropping the person’s level of cholesterol, improve air flow to the lungs to aid easy breathing, delays biological aging and increases the levels of DHEAS in older people.

When it comes to psychological factor, meditation aids in increasing the person’s brain wave coherence, decreasing anxiety levels, often irritability, deep-set depression, and swing of moods, improves the person’s memory as well as his or her learning ability, increases the person’s ability for self-actualization, increases the person’s feeling of youthfulness and rejuvenation as well as vitality, leads to positive outlook in life and joyfulness, and increases a person’s emotional status and stability.
 
Other noted benefits of meditation for an individual and his or her community include:

- Relaxation to the person’s the body, mind, and soul.

- Rejuvenation of energy to face the heavy challenges and stress ahead.

- Healing of various illnesses that are closely-associated with the mind and the body.

- Making a more stable person in terms of emotions.

- Developments of relaxed family life and instilling positive outlooks in life to younger people.

- Enhances the person’s ability to make his or her mind function properly.

- Letting a person discover his or her inner self, this in turn releases the creativity in them.

- It helps people to free themselves from various vices and addictions such as alcohol and cigarettes as well as in various medications such as tranquilizers and narcotics.

- It also helps a person to gain higher self-confidence, thus, resulting to stronger power of the will.

- It can be an effective and safe way of discovering one’s self instead of focusing the attention to other unhealthy practices.

- It aids in the development of the power of the mind.

The list goes on about the benefits of mediation in an individual and to his or her community. In so many cases, these are positive benefits but once mediation has not been used properly, people should be aware of the side effects. To avoid this from happening, people who are planning to get serious in meditation should always consult a professional before performing any meditation techniques.

The Background of Meditation

Meditation generally refers to the state of concentrated focus on an object of thought or awareness. The background of meditation stems from the aim to get into a higher state of consciousness. It is usually based from ancient beliefs that make up the component of eastern religions. Its practice has bee going on over 5,000 years.

When it comes to meditation, different beliefs hold different spiritual and psychological practices in order to develop or achieve a higher degree of mental consciousness and awareness. Many religions have developed their own method and technique of meditation that allows their adherents to arrive at a higher state of consciousness.

The differences of the techniques used may be classified according to their focus. There are certain techniques that focus on a certain perception or experience while there are others that focus on a specific object to achieve a higher consciousness. There are also some forms of meditation that combines the use of open focus and the use of a specific object for focus in their practice to achieve a higher state of consciousness.

One of the popular religions known to practice meditation is Hinduism. It is considered as the oldest religion that focuses on meditation as a spiritual and religious practice. There are several forms of meditation that is practice in the different Hinduism sects. Principal of them is the Yoga, one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy. It provides several types of meditation that Hindu believers and even a number of Western adherents have learned to practice.

On of the many forms of Yoga is the Raja Yoga which states the eight limbs of spiritual practices, with half of them classified as meditation. Then there is the Vedanta which is a form of Jnana Yoga. The Surat Shabd Yoga uses a form of meditation that uses sound and light to achieve a higher state of consciousness. There is also the Bhakti Yoga which practices a form of meditation that focuses on an object of love or devotion. The Japa Yoga which practices a form of meditation  where a mantra is being repeated aloud or silently. There is also the Hatha Yoga where different postures and positions are used in meditation in order to raise one’s spiritual energy.

In Hinduism, the object of meditation is to achieve a calm state of mind. In the Yoga Sutras, there are five different states of mind being described. There is the Ksipta which describes an agitated state of mind that is unable to think listen or remain quiet. Then there is the Mudha, a state of mind where no information seems to reach into the brain.  The Viksipta is considered as a higher state of mind where information may reach the mind but it is not able to process it. In this state, the mind moves from one thought to another and in a confused inner speech.

The Ekagra is another higher state of the mind characterized by calmness but not asleep. This state allows a person to stay focused and pay attention. Probably the highest state that a mind can achieve is in Nurodha where the mind is no longer disturbed by erratic thoughts and is completely focused and totally centered in what a person is doing. This will provide you with a basic background of meditation that will allow you to understand better how it is being practiced.

Ho’oponopono as a way of life

To walk a path of peace, love and truth I invite that you consider Ho’oponopono “the Hawaiian art of forgiveness” as a way of life.   It is mine.  What does that mean?  It means allowing ourself to walk the talk. 

As soon as I open my eyes in the morning I say, “mahalo (thank you) for another day of life I thank creator for the new dawn and all that I “get to” experience today.  I bless my family and friends, and give thanks for special people in our lives.  I bless the animals, the earth, yes and those who do not like me because we are to leave no one behind.  I await the lessons I shall surely learn today as if am opening a new present on this new dawn day because for me yesterday ended at midnight.  Before we end our prayer we ask pardon for any offenses that may occur today both willingly or unwittingly.  We  are to leave no one behind in our prayers.

Hawaiians were shown to walk the path of peace and love by adhering to the conduct code of our ancient people.  To comprehend the depth of this one must know the kaona (hidden meanings) of the word ALOHA.  Aloha is more than hello or goodbye.    

 Let me preface by saying that we have known from our beginning that life is fluid therefore we know ours is not the only way.  For example, if four of us were to climb the same mountain from four different sides our perceptions would be different.  Yet when we each reached the summit and observe from that vantage our perceptions would be similar but still different in many ways.  This is why.  Our own life experiences matter in thought processing.  For example I might see the coming storm cloud as beautiful for I know built into each storm is calm.  Another might see it as scary and dark while another may want to stay and experience the potential storm and the facination of lightening etc.  Perception, attitude and fluidity of living are in motion every second of every day.  Wow!

Please remember this simple sentence, “we cannot know what we do not know. ”   As we take this journey together this saying may pop up to provoke thought.  It is my intent to share mana’o (thoughts) with you in a way that teaches and builds your knowledge of healing in its multi forms. 

What  unique value do we bring to you?  Lineage.  What does that mean?  Visualize standing behind  you a majestic line of ohana (family)  knowledge stretched as far as the eye can see into infinity.  They are guiding, lending of strength, holding this humble and most unworthy being upright with the wisdom of ancient warriors sharing hope, insights and incredible knowledge fround within.  That is lineage. It is of course your choice to accept or reject any of our words.  A’ole Pilikia.  No problem.

ALOHA is a way of life for me.  Others who practice this art may have different views.  Mai kai!  (wonderful~good)  I am happy for you and honor your path of wisdom.  In ancient Hawaii the code of conduct identified for us as follows:

.Kala means to miss the path.

.Hewa means to go overboard with thinking or committing a wrong.

.Ino- means an intentional slight or significant betrayal with hate in mind.

To comprehend Ho’oponopono’s intent we acknowledge that each of these offenses requires forgiveness and once complete we do not speak of the offense again.  That means once the healing love of forgiveness is extended in both directions it is pau.  (complete)  Release is the final step in the process.

To summarize;   Forgiveness is the process, release is the completion.  In the release one says,  “I forgive you.  Please forgive me too.”  It is a cleansing from both parties whether you engage face to face or in meditation and visualization.  Choice is yours to make.  In this series I will walk you through these three ways. 

In our next article we shall elaborate on Aloha 101 and give you the code of conduct that we follow.   If you have questions feel free to ask and I will answer either in the next article or before.

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Your Soul Purpose through Meditation

 

“Where we give our attention to is where are lives will be. What you focus on you will feel, what you visualize you will internalize, what you think about comes about.” Woody Woodworth

People are searching for their soul purpose and are reaching out through meditation or prayer.  Garrett Gunderson is our guest speaker this week talking about meditation for the right reason, God and Spirituality or as Garrett says for Soul Purpose.

Garrett guides us on how to calm our minds for meditation, where to meditate, focusing on the gratitude in our livesand how meditating has helped both his personal and business life.

Garrett B. Gunderson is a passionate, natural-born entrepreneur.  He began his first business at the age of 15 and immediately began winning business competitions throughout the state of Utah, including the SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at age 18.

Garrett began a career in the financial services industry at the age of 19 while attending college at Southern Utah University. He soon became an advisor to a number of his college professors, and became the youngest member to ever be placed on the Alumni Board of the University.  He also earned a six-figure income his first year out of college.