photo: Hakini Mudra, aka Rememberance Mudra
The Hakini mudra helps thinking and concentration. Powers the brain.

Example: I am open to joy.
breath in as you say I AM OPEN, on the out breath say TO JOY.

Saying the incantations without visualizing them is my downfall. Eric instructs the reader not to create images in his mind while doing these incantation, but to focus only on the words and the breath. I’ve been practicing and doing better. I have also created my own chakra-zen incantations that are intended to be used for chakra balancing.

Chakra Zen Incantations

(My energy)(is free of blockages)
(My root chakra)(is deeply grounded)
(My sacral chakra juices)(are creative and bold)
(My solar plexus)(feels mellow and calm)
(My heart)(is filled with love)
(My throat)(speaks the truth)
(My third eye)(intuits inner knowledge)
(My crown chakra)(projects inspiration)
(My chakras)(are spinning in alignment)
(My aura)(is colorful and clutter-free)
(My lightbody)(beams brightly)
(I am)(centered and balanced)

TEN ZEN SECONDS interview with Eric Maisel

What is Ten Zen Seconds all about?

EM: It’s actually a very simple but powerful technique for reducing your
stress, getting yourself centered, and reminding yourself about how you want
to live your life. It can even serve as a complete cognitive, emotional, and
existential self-help program built on the single idea of “dropping a useful
thought into a deep breath.”You use a deep breath, five seconds on the inhale and five seconds on the exhale, as a container for important thoughts that aim you in the right direction in life—I describe twelve of these thoughts in the book—and you
begin to employ this breathing-and-thinking technique that I call incanting
as the primary way to keep yourself on track.Where did this idea come from?

EM: It comes from two primary sources, cognitive and positive psychology
from the West and breath awareness and mindfulness techniques from the East.
I’d been working with creative and performing artists for more than twenty
years as a therapist and creativity coach and wanted to find a quick, simple
technique that would help them deal with the challenges they regularly
face—resistance to creating, performance anxiety, negative self-talk about a
lack of talent or a lack of connections, stress over a boring day job or
competing in the art marketplace, and so on.

Because I have a background in both Western and Eastern ideas, it began to
dawn on me that deep breathing, which is one of the best ways to reduce
stress and alter thinking, could be used as a cognitive tool if I found just
the right phrases to accompany the deep breathing. This started me on a hunt
for the most effective phrases that I could find and eventually I landed on
twelve of them that I called incantations, each of which serves a different
and important purpose.

What sort of hunt did you go on?

EM: First, I tried to figure out what are the most important tasks that we
face as human beings, then I came up with what I hoped were resonant
phrases, each of which needed to fit well into a deep breath, then, most
importantly—which moved this from the theoretical to the empirical—I tested
the phrases out on hundreds of folks who agreed to use them and report back
on their experiences. That was great fun and eye-opening!

People used these phrases to center themselves before a dental appointment
or surgery, to get ready to have a difficult conversation with a teenage
child, to bring joy back to their performing career, to carve out time for
creative work in an over-busy day—in hundreds of ways that I couldn’t have
anticipated. I think that’s what makes the book rich and special: that, as
useful as the method and the incantations are, hearing from real people
about how they’ve used them “seals the deal.” I’m not much of a fan of
self-help books that come entirely from the author’s head; this one has been
tested in the crucible of reality.

Which phrases did you settle on?

EM: The following twelve. I think that folks will intuitively get the point
of each one (though some of the incantations, like “I expect nothing,” tend
to need a little explaining). Naturally each incantation is explained in
detail in the book and there are lots of personal reports, so readers get a
good sense of how different people interpret and make use of the
incantations. Here are the twelve (the parentheses show how the phrase gets
“divided up” between the inhale and the exhale:

1. (I am completely) (stopping)
2. (I expect) (nothing)
3. (I am) (doing my work)
4. (I trust) (my resources)
5. (I feel) (supported)
6. (I embrace) (this moment)
7. (I am free) (of the past)
8. (I make) (my meaning)
9. (I am open) (to joy)
10. (I am equal) (to this challenge)
11. (I am) (taking action)
12. (I return) (with strength)

A small note: the third incantation functions differently from the other
eleven, in that you name something specific each time you use it, for
example “I am writing my novel” or “I am paying the bills.” This helps you
bring mindful awareness to each of your activities throughout the day.

Can you use the incantations and this method for any special purposes?

EM: As I mentioned, folks are coming up with all kinds of special uses. One
that I especially like is the idea of “book-ending” a period of work, say
your morning writing stint or painting stint, by using “I am completely
stopping” to ready yourself, center yourself, and stop your mind chatter,
and then using “I return with strength” when you’re done so that you return
to “the rest of life” with energy and power. Usually we aren’t this mindful
in demarcating our activities—and life feels very different when we do.

Is there a way to experience this process in “real time.”

EM: By trying it out! But my web master Ron Wheatley has also designed a
slide show at the Ten Zen Seconds site that you can use to learn and experience the incantations. The slides that name the twelve incantations are beautiful images provided by the painter Ruth Yasharpour and each slide stays in place for ten seconds. So you can attune your breathing to the slide and really practice the method.

How can people learn more about Ten Zen Seconds?

EM: The book is the best resource. You can get it at Amazon

Or you can ask for it at your local bookstore. The Ten Zen Seconds website is also an excellent resource: in addition to the slide show that I
mentioned, there is a bulletin board where folks can chat, audio interviews
that I’ve done discussing the Ten Zen Second techniques, and more. It’s also
quite a gorgeous site, so you may want to visit it just for the aesthetic
experience! I would also recommend that folks check out my main site,
www.ericmaisel.com, especially if they’re interested in creativity coaching or the artist’s life.

What else are you up to?

Plenty! I have a new book out called Creativity for Life, which is roughly
my fifteenth book in the creativity field and which people seem to like a
lot. I also have a third new book out, in addition to Ten Zen Seconds and
Creativity for Life, called Everyday You, which is a beautiful coffee table
book about maintaining daily mindfulness. I’m working on two books for 2008,
one called A Writer’s Space and a second called Creative Recovery, about
using your innate creativity to help in recovering from addiction.

And I’m keep up with the many other things I do: my monthly column for Art
Calendar Magazine, my regular segment for Art of the Song Creativity Radio,
the trainings that I offer in creativity coaching, and my work with
individual clients. I am happily busy! But my main focus for the year is on
getting the word out about Ten Zen Seconds, because I really believe that
it’s something special. So I thank you for having me here today!

ericmaisel@hotmail.com
ericmaisel@sbcglobal.net

for information on Eric Maisel’s books and services
please visit http://www.ericmaisel.com

for information on Ten Zen Seconds,
the next step in mindfulness practice,
please visit http://www.tenzenseconds.com

Ananga Sivyer, Living by Design posts The Power of One: Mono Tasking. This was the last carnival entry I received (and reviewed) for this week’s carnival. I wish I had read it first. Which is why I put it here at the top. Mono-tasking is a great concept. Although I tried to stay on task putting the carnival together, I wasn’t Mono-tasking by a long shot. I was Interuptus-tasking…. that is, allowing interuptions. Some were unavoidable, but not all.

Stew Pot: Emotional Stuff

Gia Combs-Ramirez, The Science of Energy Healing, gets my thumbs-up for her carnival entry Emotions as Energetic Messengers, That might be because I’m on emotion overload today due to time constraints and looming deadlines to meet. Her post helped me to compartmentalize some of my “feeling” eruptions. Gia says “Understanding your emotions as messengers from your energy body can help shift how you work with them. Discover the meaning behind five emotions, from an energy healer’s perspective.”

Gary van Warmerdam, Happiness Blog. posts Not Ready to Heal Emotionally. This is an interesting read about how we can’t allow our fearful feelings to interfere with us taking action in our personal healing journeys. We have to be willing to swing the bat before we can hit a home run. Nice, thoughtful post.

Kara-Leah Masina., writes a heartwrenching post How to survive near-drowning in an ocean of tears revealing a difficult patch of time she struggled with, and continues to struggle with. But the clouds are clearing.

Food and Diet

Weight Loss Dude, James D. Brausch posts An Apple A Day? sharing an Internet supplier of organic apples. Granny Smith his favorite apple variety. Mine too!! Tart and Crunchy!

JoLynn Braley from The Fit Shack, made my taste buds quiver nervously while reading her post What is the Ingredient “Natural Flavor”? She says “The ingredient “natural flavor” is prevalent on everything from so-called health drinks to ground turkey. It isn’t as natural as it sounds, though.” Eewww.

Conan Stevens presents Breakfast – The Most Important (Bodybuilding) Meal Of The Day posted at Bodybuilding Muscle, saying, “Breakfast, the forgotten medicine. Too many people in modern life skip breakfast and then find themselves overweight and energyless from eating ‘quick’ foods as hunger overtakes their thinking” He suggests unflavored oatmeal, fruit, and eggs for breakfast. I guess my leftover pizza and orange juice this morning wasn’t the best choice, but at least I ate something. I am a recovering breakfast-skipper.

Spirituality and Spiritual Growth

I suppose I should have expected a brief and simple post from a blogger of a blog entitled Tao of Simplicity but it surprised me none the less. Praveen posts Garbage In, Quality Out which “simply” teaches us not to pass on negativity. Whenever you’ve been crapped on, discard the dung… don’t react by shoveling more of the same onto others.

Addiction Recovery Basics. outlines 7 Tips For Spirituality, Making A Connection – The tips are simple, they have a holistic feel and balance to them. Bill Urell, says “Addiction recovery and spirituality can be viewed as the process of becoming connected. The more connections in our lives, the greater the chance of coming into harmony with our surroundings.”

Personal Power

Julee Hoy,Homeschool Daze, journals her and her husband’s decision to be tested as possible organ donors. The post journals the need for a transplant, the prayer requesting a donor, making the decison to be tested, which all resulted in her husband being a match.
Kidney Donation – Our Journey Part One

Motivational/Empowerment Coach Debra Moorhead answers questions from her readers about knowing what you want and how to go about chasing those dreams in her post Your Magic Wand.

Jenn Givle, Thriving Holistic Business, posts Are You Open To Receiving? Jenn says: “We know that the Law of Attraction brings us what we put our attention on. But, are you open to receiving? Being open to receiving is a critical piece to the puzzle. This article talks about what it means to be open. Then, we discuss how to tell if you are open.”

Life Lessons

Alvaro Fernandez, SharpBrains, posts his Mind & Institute notes from a training experiment, in the form of a breathing & meditation retreat, with some neuroscientists and Adam Engle, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Mind & Life Institute.

Cardin Lilly Routh, OptmistLab.com, offers two posts this week. Remembering What I Once Knew and Keeping Your Precious Things Precious.

Meredith, Reiki 4 Life, shares a somewhat rambling post, The Healing Body. My definition of “rambling” is Thinking out Loud With Unformed Opinions but in this case, writing out loud. She is using her blog platform as a self-healing process. She’s working stuff out in her mind and body. And at the same time, giving others something to think about. She says” by becoming mindful and shifting our focus to the Lessons instead of the specific teachers…we can learn our soul lessons and healing can occur in a more kinder, gentler fashion.”

Health Notes

David Maxwell, Medical Health, posts a consumer education post regarding using room temperature Emu Oil.

Phil for Humanity, offers suggestions for Reducing Stress. Phil says “All to often, I see people around me looking for short term solutions to stress, such as taking “must needed” vacations, and then they go right back to their hectic and stressful schedule immediately afterwards. I equate this with yo-yo dieting that does not work in the long term. Handling stress must be a lifestyle change that minimizes everyday stress.”

Aparna, Beauty and Personality Grooming. posts yoga poses, Sitali and Sitkari Pranayams to cool your body in summer. Aparna also suggests home remedies for sore throat.

Greenwoman’s Wisdom gives preference to natural herbal remedies: Personal Remedies: Saw Palmetto

Christopher Depelteau, MRI LINKS AND OTHER COOL THINGS, posts about rare disease, Erdheim Chester histocytosis. Christopher says, “The Radiologist working that night said to me a few words I’ll always remember. He said, ” this is the rarest case you will see over and over and over again.”

Self Exploration

Albert Foong, Urban Monk, posts What your ego is and how to stop it from obscuring your inner peace and unconditional love . This is a lengthy blog post broken down into 8 separate pages.. Rather than a blog I’d call it a bloga (blog saga). There is a lot to read. I’m afraid I didn’t have the time to read the whole thing. My job as the carnival host is to review all the entries, but I failed getting through this one. I’m certain it will be a worth the read when I have more time to give it. Admittedly, Al says “This is by far my longest, favourite, and most heartfelt article ever.”

Why I Learned Reiki blogged by Lexi Sundell at Energies of Creation, I’m always interested in what leads practitioners to the practice of Reiki. Lexi says it was due to recurring problems with her husband’s “out-of-rhythm heart” that led her to Reiki.

Exercise

Having A Ball In Your Office. Dianne M. Buxton, manifestingsuccess posts Healthy Office Space Workouts which describes mini-workouts at the computer while sitting and bouncing on a physio ball.

Raymond David Salas presents The Powerful Benefits of Walking posted at ZenChill.com Power Tools Blog.

Well, folks, this concludes this edition. Thank you for your attendance. And a special thanks go out to bloggers for their contributions. See you next week!

Send in Your Submissions Host A Future Carnival Carnival of Healing Archives

Some people do their best meditation with thoughts, in the shower, candles, quiet and stillness.
Not me.
I mean, if this arises in me, I can sit still in silence and love it. But if I force this on me…it’s like jail. Body imprisonment.
Me…I do my ‘best’ or most helpful meditation in movement with music (or silence sometimes)….
three ways specifically…
either with dance…
or with swimming…
or with stretching/body balance type classes.
Read full post

I think it is helpful to isolate the individual chakras while working on certain issues. And if a person if very flightly, it is important to focus RED RED RED to give those roots significant depth as well as girth. But, in reality, our chakras naturally bleed into each other. I imagine it may be easier to separate a yolk from the egg white (which can be tricky) than it is to separate the root and sacral chakras, they are so closely connected.

Dr. Isahak says:

Today I will take you through the “Charging The 7 Chakras Exercise”, to help you increase your qi, develop your chakras, and if you practise enough (preferably with meditation, and best if guided by a teacher or guru), you may even improve your character to become more balanced, calm, patient, positive, intuitive, altruistic and wise.