Good Connection Really Does Lead to Mind Meld | Wired Science | Wired.com

Neurolinguistic linking! When someone tells a story, the listener's brain literally synchs up with the storyteller's -- fMRI evidence:

Good Connection Really Does Lead to Mind Meld | Wired Science | Wired.com

Dances with Ducks

I've been hanging out at the American River lately to escape the heat in Sacramento valley. Almost every late afternoon, you can find me sitting in the shade, with my feet in the river. I'm often accompanied by a flock of mallard ducks, who nest nearby.

The ducks are teaching me, just like every other part of nature. Here is some of what I'm learning:

• You are made for your surroundings. Ducks are perfectly suited for their environment. Their food is everywhere -- under water (algae and other aquatic plants, tiny fish) and on land (insects and seeds). They are built to swim both above water and under water (those webbed feet are so efficient that ducks can even run short distances on the water), to fly in the air, and even to walk a bit on land. The transitions between these different ways of traveling are seamless and beautiful. (Have you ever seen a duck land on water? It's kind of like watching someone waterski). Their feces fertilize the areas to feed other plants and animals. 

 Humans are no different.  Each of us is made for the specific niche in which we find ourselves. It may not be obvious, because it may feel awkward -- but the duck is as nervous about predators as you are about that next meeting or next job.  Think about all the ways in which you are suited to your circumstances. At the very minimum, if you are reading this, it's because you are interested in your own self-development. You have therefore surrounded yourself with opportunities for this, whether that's through your work, your family, your friends, your health or your hobbies.

• When you have nothing else to do, take care of yourself.  Ducks spend a lot of time grooming their feathers, in the same way that cats do. All that feather maintenance must keep them waterproof and optimally aerodynamic, both of which are necessary to their safety and finding food.

Humans are no different. You need to maintain your physical body so you can hunt later. Maybe you need to exercise aerobically, or stretch, or do strength training, or sleep, or do any of a million things you know will help you perform better when it matters.

• Stick close to your mates -- they'll keep an eye out for you. Ducks seem to sleep, or at least nap, in groups, and one of their number always has his eyes open.

Humans are no different.  Even though we no longer live in clans in our society, good friends will look out for you. No single one of us can keep our eyes open all the time, and no single one of us can see in all directions simultaneously. Stick close to your friends, appreciate when they look out for you by covering for you with the boss, or finding a bargain for you -- and look out for them, too.

• Just because your mates are looking out for you, doesn't mean they're not looking out for themselves. When humans show up with bread treats, the same duck who was keeping an eye out for the group will still elbow (wing?) her way to get to the bread first.

Humans are no different. Your best friend will likely tell you about that hot new guy, or the person who's looking for your services -- but only if she's not interested.

• Each duck is unique, and no duck is truly different.  If you sit with the ducks long enough, you begin to notice that each duck's feathers are subtly different. This one has stripes under his tail, that one has only white feathers there, the other one has an adorable curled feather on top of her back. And all are covered in feathers, have a head, two wings, two webbed feet, and a heart and other organs that support all of this.They are all governed by the law of gravity, and the fact that their specific gravity is less than that of water. Do they feel the same inside? Who knows?

Humans are no different. You may feel alone, misunderstood, like you are the only person in the world with your beliefs or your history or your problems. And we all have a head, two legs, skin without feathers or fur, and organs to support it all. Perhaps we do feel differently inside, as we each have a different history, and yet all of us are subject to the law of gravity, the laws of man, and the fact that our bodies will some day wear out.

Pointing towards Reincarnation

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/health/13mind.html?src=me&ref=general

Try This @ Home -- How Psychics Have Fun, Part 3

The West Coast Dowsers' Conference was wonderful! Not only did I get to change a few lives by teaching how to access intuition without tools, but I got to have fun. As one of the old time dowsers said from his podium, the dowsers, as a group, are the best psychics he ever met, they just don't necessarily want anyone to know that. So I got to hang out with lots of other psychics for a couple of days and learn some things, too.

One presentation was on orbs, which are energy phenomena that no one can exactly explain. (For more orb photos, see here.) Some theorize that they're angels, or devas, or extraterrestrials, or spirits of one sort or other, but no one really knows. (Yes, someone talked for 1 1/4 hours on orbs; where else but a dowsers' conference would that happen?) They seem to like good energy, including nature. They show up on digital photos quite easily, though only rarely on film. I learned that orbs' 'social distance' seems to preclude them from hanging out in rooms with standard 8' ceilings, and that they like to hang out in good energy if the ceilings are at least 12'. The room was a sort of bowl, with about a 16' ceiling at the bottom, where the presenter stood, so I aimed my camera at the ceiling and took a random shot. Guess what? if you look at the photo above, you'll see a clear orb at the top center, with a fainter one immediately to its right.

Another presentation was so much fun -- we got to use our minds to hold dimes to our foreheads (no spit, no tools, nothing, believe me). Try this yourself -- if you just put a dime on your forehead (without tilting your forehead back), it'll fall right off. Then try imagining your forehead as a giant magnet and see what happens. The photo at right is what happened for me.

Then we held spoons to our heads in the same manner. Yes, it works! You have to begin with your head tipped back a little, and concentrate a little more, but it does work.

Then we had a spoon bending party. The presenter handed us cheap spoons that she got from the cafeteria, and told us to put the bowl of the spoon against the fleshy part of our left hand. Then we were supposed to push on the handle and it would bend. Well, you can't just push and have it bend. However, if you run energy into the handle, it will twist with almost no pressure.

Almost everyone could do it. The woman next to me, who told me that she used to do it regularly, but had 'lost' the ability in the last few years did several full revolutions. At left is what my spoon looked like. Please note that this is not a 180 degree bend -- it is a 540 degree bend. See the loop at right?

Then I got to do something I have wanted to do since I was a teen. I got to be part of a group of five who took turns lifting each other with just 2 fingers each.  One sat in a chair. The other four each clasped our two hands together with our paired index fingers pointed forward. Two of us were stationed with our paired index fingers under the seated one's arm pits, one person on the right and one on the left. The other two were stationed with our paired fingers under the seated one's bent knees, one person on the right, and one on the left. When I was seated, they couldn't lift me -- until I thought of myself as being held up by a helium balloon. Then they lifted me a good 18 inches off the seat -- with just 2 fingers each! And I was the smallest person. Two of the guys easily topped 200 pounds, and we lifted all of them! For the last 2 people, I could actually see their energy bodies lift up above their physical bodies from what they were visualizing, and they they were quite easy to lift, where it had been impossible before.

And yes, you can try all of this at home! (Don't try the lifting if you have any physical issues.) It will help you develop your own psychic abilities. Let me know what happens.