How to Plan a Green Date: Eco-Friendly Date Ideas

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The Heart Chakra is the fourth chakra. Energetically the heart chakra vibrates
to the color green. Some people do see the heart chakra as pink also.

SANSKRIT NAME: Anahata (unstruck)

LOCATION: The heart chakra is located in the middle of your chest between
your breast.

PHYSICALLY: This chakra governs your actual heart and your compassion for
others. The heart chakra also governs the lungs, immune system, thymes gland
and lymph glands. This is the center of how you connect with humanity. The
heart chakra activates during the ages 22 through 28. Whatever happens from
ages 22 to 28 years of age effects the heart chakra. If you have had some
trauma in that time period and find yourself to be unbalanced it is probable that
it is a heart chakra issue.

BALANCED ENERGY: A balanced heart chakra person will feel compassion
for others, people, animals, plants and humanity. A balanced heart chakra does
not mind having time alone and will wait for the right relationship to come to
them. They are not rushed into being in a relationship for the sake of doing so.
A balanced heart chakra person is outgoing empathetic and kind.

UNBALANCED ENERGY: An over active heart chakra person will be
excessive emotionally, one who uses the word love as a weapon, IE, "You don't
love me." or "You won't do this if you love me." an over active heart chakra
person can be manipulative, demanding, overly critical or melodramatic. An
under active heart chakra person may feel unloved, unworthy, not good enough,
feel sorry for themselves, terrified of rejection or afraid to let go and be free of
things/people that no longer serve their highest good.

GEMSTONES: Some gemstones for the heart chakra are, green aventurine,
rose quartz, green and pink jade, malachite, emerald, kunzite, rhodochrocite,
rhodonite.

HOW TO BALANCE: You can balance your heart chakra by listening to
soothing music or sounds. You can pamper yourself in some way like taking a
nice warm bath with bath salts. You can freely give yourself to others without
expecting something in return. You can give yourself or someone else a reiki
treatment.

The Purpose of Relationships

- By Paramahansa Yogananda (author of Autobiography of a Yogi)

"Have you not read that from the beginning of creation. God created soul mates among males and females and signified that due to the divine soul attraction between a man and his mate, he will leave father and mother and cling to his wife? When a man and wife are united as true soul mates they will be one flesh, they will act in harmony and unison in body, mind, and soul; their souls will not act with different ideals, but as two bodies, two minds, two souls, with one ideal."

" When God divided Himself as man and woman, both dualities expressed the same unified consciousness, rather than the differentiation or polarity necessary to sustain the illusion of individuality in the manifested world. So He conceived a clever plan, a trick to keep man and woman different from each other and separate from Himself:
He created superficial distinctions in their bodies and minds. When He made man, He used reason and feeling and cosmic energy, keeping reason uppermost and feeling hidden; that is why man's features manifest dispassionate reason. God made woman by using feeling, reason, and cosmic energy, keeping feeling uppermost and reason hidden; that is why her features express softness and call forth feeling. Reason, being aggressive, made man positive with positive sexual processes; and woman, with deep feeling, was negative and thus formed deep sexual recesses.

The ideal spiritual union between man and woman was ordained that man might bring out the hidden reason in woman, and that the woman might help man uncover his hidden feeling. By so aiding each other to develop a perfect balance of these pure divine soul qualities, they would transcend their delusive differentiation as man and woman and realize their true nature as inviolate souls. Liberation was to be
accomplished by their becoming united first to each other in divine friendship, the purest expression of God's love shared between two individuals; and then, thus perfected, ready for the ultimate union with God.

It is clear from Jesus' references to Genesis in these verses that he was citing the law of true soul mates, the immutable law of spiritual love, which should motivate all marriages. This was, as Jesus emphasized, the divine law "at the beginning": that for every true man there was a true woman, and each one who lived rightly on earth would automatically be drawn together in soul-companionship with a mate by
the operation and decree of this law. True marriage serves as a spiritual device for perfecting the full expression of souls and freeing them into God by proper union—a process of evolution through which souls projected away from God into creation would be brought back through restoration, realization, of their divine nature assisted by the companionship of the ideal helpmate."

"Thus man and woman are the two natures of God—reason (knowledge) and feeling (consciousness, emotional reaction)—expressed on the material plane in differentiated bodies. God gave the first human beings the power to commune with Him in spite of this delusion-imposed dual consciousness. He placed them in paradise—the unified consciousness of the soul manifesting in the awakened spiritual eye and the pure divine expression of the causal-astral body. In the original plan of creation, man and woman, ideal soul mates, were to lead a heavenly life by keeping their minds in the divine region of Bliss-Will in the forehead. Spiritual
marriage consisted in the feminine force or feeling uniting with the masculine force or reason and thus becoming whole in oneness with God.The souls that went out of God were to be brought back to God by the process of harmony in body, mind, and soul.

The harmonious balance of reason and feeling leads to intuitive perception and the ability to know what is Truth. Achieving this balance, men and women become gods. In the unbalanced human consciousness, the feminine quality, or feeling, loses its calm intuitive powers under the influence of the restlessness of body consciousness and emotional excitation; and the masculine attribute, or reason, loses its calm intuitive powers when it succumbs to the restlessness of body consciousness and egotistical self-sufficiency. The original man and woman fell from the awareness of their divine state by physical misuse of the sex force, forfeiting the heavenly union of reason and feeling and becoming identified with their material body rather than their
heavenly causal-astral consciousness with its faculty of intuitive perception of God and knowledge of their souls as one with Him.

When two souls come together and bring out the wholeness in each other and ultimately unite with Spirit, that union is a true marriage between soul mates. Soul companions, being primarily united in Spirit and love, find the ever new joy of God as the breath of their existence. The more strongly they become united in Spirit the less they concentrate on sex life. Soul companions in perfect marriage—even if they have sexual union for the propagation of spiritual children to bring good souls to earth—have their minds primarily engaged and engrossed in the perfect love of God."

"To love one's spouse with the pure love of God, and to share a marriage blessed by self-control through mental development, and to create spiritual children, is a noble way to live. To be drowned by material cares, weariness, overwork, greed for money, overindulgence in amusements, buying more things, and slaving for more money and
saving no time for God leads marriage partners to the misery kingdom of Satan. A happy, contented, simple, harmonious married life of self-control and meditation leads them to God.

Success in marriage is very difficult if partners expect too much from their spouses. When each demands fulfillment from the other and that demand is not met, they become enemies. That is why I believe that a lasting and fulfilling marriage is in most cases impossible without spirituality—without a mutual effort to seek satisfaction of
the soul's yearning for perfect love and the joy of fulfillment where alone it can be found: God-communion."

"A husband and wife should be loyal to each other and try to make each other happy in every way. The spiritual wife should not forsake the unspiritual husband, nor should the spiritual husband forsake the unspiritual wife; they should try to influence and help each other as long as it is possible to do so."

Credit:

- Excerpts from "The Second Coming of Christ, The Resurrection of the Christ Within You", A revelatory commentary on the original teachings of Jesus, Volume II, Paramanhansa Yogananda (author of Autobiography of a Yogi)

About Paramanhansa Yogananda:

Please visit http://www.yogananda-srf.org/py-life/index.html

Of particular interest:

On March 7, 1952, Paramahansa Yogananda's passing was marked by an extraordinary phenomenon. A notarized statement signed by the Director of Forest Lawn Memorial-Park testified: "No physical disintegration was visible in his body even twenty days after death....This state of perfect preservation of a body is, so far as we know from mortuary annals, an unparalleled one....Yogananda's body was apparently in a phenomenal state of immutability."

Marriage Throughout the Ages

In ancient Egypt, a woman's rights and privileges were
equal to that of her husband. After marriage, women held
control of their independence, property and wealth, and
either person could easily get a divorce. For two people to
be considered married, all they had to do was move in with
each other.

***

Marriages in ancient Greece were arranged by parents and
approved by the gods. Women in their early teens were
married to men in their mid-thirties, and a husband had to
buy his new wife from her father. Many couples did not see
each other until after the ceremony, when the bridal veil
was removed. On the night before the wedding, the girl's
hair was cut off and she was bathed in holy water from a
sacred fountain.

***

The Spartans believed that a person's athletic ability
matched their fitness for marriage. Before marrying, a
couple was required to wrestle in public to show their
compatibility. The groom's father chose a bride for his
son. Twelve months after the selection, the couple was
married. During the marriage ceremony, the bride wore a
white robe, a veil, and jewelry given to her by her new
husband's family.

Roman brides wore white tunics with orange veils and orange
slippers. Following the ceremony, the groom carried his
bride over the threshold of their new home to symbolize his
ownership of her.

***

Christian church marriages were thought to be made in heaven
and therefore could never be broken. The father of the bride
gave a dowry of land or money to the groom. If the marriage
was unsuccessful, the wife and the dowry were returned to
the father's home, but neither partner was allowed to remarry.

***

Until the 1400s, married couples did not live together in
Japan. They stayed in separate homes, meeting only at night.
The old Japanese word for marriage meant, “slip into the
house by night.”

Release Toxic Emotions
Although we are all aware of the health-depleting effects of toxic substances and toxic foods, toxic emotions are often the most harmful accelerators of the aging process.

Whenever you carry resentment, hostility, regret, or grievances in your heart, your vitality is eroded. Try this simple practice:

- Find a quiet place, sit comfortably, and close your eyes.

- Now take a few minutes to settle your mind with a meditation.

- After a while, bring your attention into your body and scan it for any area of tension or resistance. If you identify a place of congestion, have the intention to let it go.

- Bring your attention into your heart and acknowledge all the things for which you feel grateful.

- Now listen to your heart and ask yourself the question, "What am I carrying with me from the past that is no longer serving me well in the present?"

- If you identify any encumbrances in your heart, have the intention to release them now. Let go of any resentments, grievances, or regrets that you find.

- As you release these toxic emotions, see if you can find the gift that this toxic emotion was hiding. For example, if you felt pain as a result of someone's behavior, the gift may be that you learned more self-reliance.

- Make the commitment to regularly acknowledge gratitude and relinquish all grievances from the heart.

Encumbering your heart with toxic emotions prevents you from fully experiencing the magic, mystery, and joy that is available to your right now. Make the commitment to release the resentments, regrets, and grievances that are causing more harm to you than anyone else.

The process of releasing emotional toxins is similar to that for releasing physical ones. You must first have a clear intention that you want to replace life-depleting emotions with life-enhancing ones. The metabolism of regret and resentment into compassion and forgiveness can dramatically awaken your body, mind, and spirit to your primordial vital energy.

Write about the history that created the toxic emotion, describing both what happened and how you feel as a result of the situation. Studies have shown that journaling about upsetting emotional experiences can improve your immune function, as well as help you gain clarity and insight.

In his book, Nonviolent Communication, psychologist Marshall Rosenberg teaches an emotional vocabulary that avoids victimization. Steer clear from words like abandoned, abused, neglected, and mistreated; instead, describe the actual feelings of anger, sadness, loneliness, and fear that the circumstances evoked.

Once you have written about the circumstances leading to the toxic emotions, perform some physical ritual with the intention of releasing the hold these feelings have on your soul.

Do some deep breathing, get a massage, pound a pillow, dance with abandon, or go for a long run until your body has released the tension that is stored with the emotion.

Then, open your heart to feelings that generate the age-reversing emotions of forgiveness, harmony, laughter, and love rather than the entropy evoking onces of anguish, resentment, regret, and despair.

Toxic emotions are often the most harmful accelerators of the aging process. Commit to releasing them from your hear and mind.

- Grow Younger, Live Longer by Deepak Chopra, M.D. and David Simon, M.D.

What else? What else do you think will help?

The philosophical explanation of Karma can differ slightly between traditions, but the general concept is basically the same. Through the Law of Karma, the effects of all deeds actively create past, present, and future experiences; thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy it brings to oneself and others. Karma is the expression of the Cosmic Law of Retribution and it can be manifested in various forms; internally and externally, through both pleasurable experiences and disagreeable ones.

The content that comprises Internal Karma refers to the realms of the personality. Therefore, the Internal Karma is the main factor that helps the process of self-expression and enlightenment of the true Self.

When we analyze the External Karma, we face it from a different perspective. It may be good or bad; but it cannot be consider positive or negative, because the real value of Self finds no balance or reference from it. This may be the result of diverse interactions though assorted contacts and situations through our lives, but they never determine the qualities, gifts or development of the Soul which is experiencing them.

A heavy Karma can be expressed as an opportunity of spiritual progress and transcendence, as a light and pleasurable Karma can be presented as a challenge for the human character, values and ethics; as an example, we can see how one behaves in the case of becoming an instant celebrity, or being wealthy.

External Karma cannot be described as either negative or positive; because what determines the dimension of the experience is the response we have in the face the challenges of those specific situations. In other words, the way we react to outside challenges.

Only through the profound analysis of Internal Karma can the seeker truly dimension the amount of internal work they need to undertake in order to develop the path of balancing and releasing their personal Karma. The external aspect of Karma determines under what circumstances the work on releasing must be developed during this incarnation's time. The awareness of this state expresses the first position on the Path of Consciousness.

In order to manifest this work, the seeker must analyze carefully the essence of his External Karma in retrospect. With special meditations, the consciousness tends to expand and, at the same time, allows in a near future the realization of the scope of responsibilities and acceptance of the Life Path; therefore, the recognition of Karma and the consequential correct release.
When applying these concepts to the analysis of our relationships, one must recognize the range of reactions and how they directly interfere in all the personal relationships, especially the romantic ones.

Here are some suggested meditation topics:

1. Remembrance of facts and situations of one's live in different periods of time: the challenges, conditions, alternatives and the more important episodes.

2. The determination of the Character in each event or fact: if they were agreeable or disagreeable, or if they have a positive or a negative effect on your life.

3. Try to remember your reaction on each one of those past events or situations and try to determined if those reactions, attitudes and choices were Karmically correct or incorrect and why.

4. Try to determine what extent the external conditions or events from your past associated with your individual reaction to them and influenced the conditions of your internal life.

The duration of these guided meditations will depend on the extension and the broad scope of the experiences and, as also related, directly to the intensity of the experience.

The understanding of the External Karma allows the Seeker to realize a basic task, which is to affirm oneself as a conscious individual, relying on the Internal Observer to guide one through correct reactions and aligning one's will with a higher purpose.

This correct understanding of the different Karmic states affirms the individual onto a higher path, giving them strength to resist "regressive temptations", especially ones that come with the brilliance of good moments and happy resting times. Spiritual practice is nothing else than a practice, it is internal work, and it never really ceases per se. This posture will equip the Seeker with gifts of fortitude and spiritual assertiveness during times of trial when the "disagreeable Karma" manifests in the Seeker's life.

These are some of the many reasons internal spiritual work has to be developed in a continuum with an awaken mind and a sensitive consciousness.

What can I do with a guy who's cheap?

Dear Sherry:

How do I tell my boyfriend that he's cheap? He's great in every other way, but his inability to spend a buck is really a bummer.

Sonya

According to my informal poll (40 friends and friends-of-friends), women would rather date a man who's a so-so kisser than one who's cheap! But, since you say he's got redeeming qualities, let's work on taming his Scrooge-like tendencies rather than discussing tactics to hook you up with a sugar daddy.

Your worst tactic is to put him on the defensive. In other words, don't start out by calling him cheap or whining that he holds onto his money more tightly than Donald Trump in a pre-nuptial agreement. Start by saying how much you care about him and what a great person he is (yes, it's tiresome, but flattery really smoothes the way). Then, launch into a general discussion on money. Tell him how your money views and values were shaped. (For example, as a child, were you given an allowance that you could spend on anything that struck your fancy, or did you have to work at part-time jobs to afford clothes and makeup?) Ask him to share his money persona with you. Where did his fears about spending come from? Were his parents unemployed for long stretches of time? Remember, money can be tied to his feelings of security or self-worth. Gently let him know that his reluctance to spend money on you makes you feel he doesn't value you. End by suggesting a compromise: You cook him dinner and rent a movie three dates in a row, then he takes you out somewhere wonderful.

If, despite his innate cheapness, he's open to compromise, you've got a keeper. A man who wants to please his partner is better than money in the bank. Well, almost.

Technology Trouble:

10 Twenty-First Century Ways to Wreck a Relationship

by Eileen Livers

1. Answer your cell phone during a date

2. Proceed to chat on said phone through appetizer, entree and dessert

3. Hang up on his answering machine ten times each day

4. Or leave "breezy" messages on his machine that are anything but

5. Ask for his IM name on your first date

6. Proceed to IM him every day, several times a day

7. Write an email to your friends all about him and cc him (accidentally)

8. Ask him why he hasn't responded to your calls, IMs, and emails

9. Send him a suggestive IM while he's having a meeting with important clients in his office

10. Break up with him by sending your friends

Who should pick up the tab?

After 10 years of being single, I have started dating a gentlemen who is financially secure and definitely making more money than me. I need advice on how to handle paying the tab when we go out. I feel uncomfortable letting him pay for everything. However, if I insist on paying my half, or even paying for the whole bill, I will have to limit the activities that we do together. How do I politely decline functions that I feel I cannot afford, without appearing uninterested in being with him? Should I discuss this with him? If so, how do I do that without making it appear as if I want him to pay for it? --labottor

Here's some advice that's free. Yes, level with the gentleman about your money concerns, but first make sure you understand their origins. Does your discomfort stem from worry that if he pays on the one level you'll be required to "pay" on another? Or are you uncomfortable with being cast in the traditional woman's role? Or do you simply like to feel that everything is equitable?

Once you examine where you're at on this issue, initiate an honest, non-threatening cash-oriented talk. Have some possible solutions in mind: You let him treat you to expensive functions while he lets you treat him to home-cooked dinners, movie dates, etc. Plus, you can buy him little treats on occasion: a CD you know he'd like, his favorite author's new book (out in paperback), etc.

While neither of you want to feel that the monetary balance must be tit for tat, you should be able to compromise on a fluid, comfortable way to handle the "who pays, when and for what?" hurdle -- one that all couples have to get over at some time or another.

Do Guys like it when a woman makes the first move?

If you're already in a relationship with a guy, the answer is yes, men love it when the woman makes the first move. It's exciting, makes the man feel wanted and allows him to express himself more confidently as things progress. If, however, you're at the beginning of a relationship that hasn't gotten physical yet, the answer is no -- if you put your arm around him and then lean in for the kiss, it will weird him out.

The thing is, it almost never happens. Even the most sexually aggressive woman isn't usually making a move per se; she's just making it very clear that she wants the guy to. But do guys like that? Definitely. In fact, they lie awake at night dreaming about it.

But Mr. Answer Man knows what you're thinking: "I thought I was making it really clear!" Sometimes men are dense -- here are five ways to enlighten them:

1. Invite him in. A beverage makes the best excuse: "Would you like to come in for a ... "

2. Touch him. On the forearm with your hand is easiest, but on the upper arm with your breast is better. Also, the closer you can comfortably sit or stand, the better.

3. Shower him with approval. Laugh at his jokes. Look him in the eyes and smile. Respond positively to the things he says. Men find all these things encouraging.

4. If the conversation lulls, let it. Guys generally get silent before they bust a move -- don't chase the moment away.

5. Ask a totally provocative question. How are you at foot rubs? Are you a good kisser? What time do you have to get up? You get the idea ...

There is nothing more inconvenient in this world than start a relationship and find out that it will be an exhausting one.

Most relationships usually present themselves as toxic from very beginning, when you feel completely depleted after a brief conversation, or when you try to reason with someone and nothing that you say or do seems to make things different. As Spiritual beings (most of us are real empaths), we have a hard time saying no or simply discarding someone. When it does not appear to be the proper thing to do, what can you do to avoid those “end of the road” relationships?

The trick to avoiding them is to learn how to detect their early signs and gain the knowledge of keeping away from their harmful side effects. This is possible to do while, at the same time, you will be able to keep a polite posture and your set of values intact!

1. Learn if the person that you are interacting with has a tendency to make or feed drama. If noticed as a recurrent situation in conversations, be aware that you may be into a potential toxic relationship. Gossiping is also a good sign to help you perceive a prospective toxicity in future interactions.

2. Always be alert if the person you are conversing with tends to blame others for their problems. This is symptomatic sign that this person may not be one that takes responsibilities for their actions. In prime relationships, mature hearts usually interact better when everyone is aware of the influences of their thoughts and actions. Avoiding responsibility is definitely a "No No".

3. We are Human beings and we understand the pain and suffering of others very well. Nonetheless, we should always be aware of people that are always presenting themselves as needy and even as black holes. They are what we potentially call “the train wrecks” - just an accident waiting to happen. Remember that to help others is fine, but always use the common sense of that old Chinese saying: "Always meet the other in the middle way” Someone that really wants to be helped will walk to the middle way to meet you and be helped…not the other way around.

Relationships are often complicated; there are many different faces at play at the same time. Learn how to identify the ones that can harm you, and politely say "No". There is nothing wrong with preserving your ways and your spiritual path.

Namaste.