Tag: Consciousness

Unseen Addictions

When we think of addictions, we usually think of them in the physical sense, like smoking or gambling for instance; but the addictions that give us the greatest challenge exist well below the surface and are not as easy to see.

All of us have below the surface addictions that include: Approval, Recognition, Attention, Enabling Others, Control, Chaos, Anger, and Judgment.

Which of these do you relate to most?

Your free will lets you decide if you want to be an addict to the Light or the addict to the Ego.

Being aware of our addictions below the surface will make it easier to resist them the next time there is an opportunity to forgo the quick fix in favor of earning the eternal joy that comes from being a Creator in your life.

With Love & Light,

Katherine Goh

What’s the one thing you’re never gonna give up?

I sat down. I was Meditating. A question came to my presence. “What’s the one thing you’re never gonna give up?”. I feel within myself, in search for an answer ; I meditate on this question. I have an answer. That is LOVE.

Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about. For me, that is LOVE.

I am In Love everyday. From the moment i open my eyes in the mornings, i will anticipate my day with love. The Love for my Work, my husband, my family and friends…practically EVERYTHING. I gave my love to them and i felt the Love they have for me. I am bless. We are bless. 

I’m not gonna give up Love. How about you? Ponder on this question and do share with me your thoughts.

With Love & Light,

Katherine Goh

Review your goals for 2012

We are now 8 1/2 months into 2012 –have you completed at least seventy five percent of your annual goals?

September is always a great time to review what you have accomplished so far and to consider what changes are needed to meet your annual goals.  My strategic goals are such an important component in my business success.  My strategic  goals  are the longer term goals that I want to achieve in the coming year.  Each quarter I create quarterly, and then monthly goals which will keep me on track and focused on what I want to achieve while I maintain successful businesses and continually introduce new tools, programs and products.

How often do you review your goals? Every year? If so, you may be ahead of most people. Even so, I recommend a more frequent review period at least every quarter. To me it’s the key to maintaining focus on your goals and actually making them a reality.The key habit to actualizing your goals: Review your goals at least once every quarter.

Let’s be honest: if you don’t think about your goals, you won’t make them happen. If you aren’t doing anything about your goals, they are just wishes. 

Too often people set their goals for the year and then put them in a filing cabinet or computer folder never to be looked at again.  Successful business leaders regularly review their goals and identify the gaps and items achieved. Each time you accomplish a goal put a Check Mark beside it. Gaps represent opportunities for positive change and accomplishments should be recognized and celebrated.  They reflect your successes.

While working towards your strategic goals, life happens! This means new opportunities come your way, distractions happen and set-backs get in the way. Your quarterly reviews allow you to reassess where you are now in comparison to where you want to be. Readjusting your goals to be more realist to current environments, incorporating new information or opportunities will improve your overall success.

It is not uncommon for me to have a very aggressive plan for the year which is rejigged during the year. Some components are scaled back, others are postponed to another year or totally irrelevant at this present times and have removed from my goal list. Others may be increased, when I have more successes than originally anticipated. At the end of the year, review your goals again and what you achieve, make more adjustments and create new goals for the next year.

If you would like to get connected to your goals, check out our Goal-Setting Workshop.

Till then,

Katherine Goh

5 Ways to create Good Karma

In its most basic sense, the Law of Karma in the moral sphere teaches that similar actions will lead to similar results. Let us take an example. If we plant a mango seed, the plant that springs up will be a mango tree, and eventually it will bear a mango fruit. Alternatively, if we plant a Pong Pong seed, the tree that will spring up will be a Pong Pong tree and the fruit a Pong Pong. As one sows, so shall one reap. According to one’s action, so shall be the fruit. Similarly, in the Law of Karma, if we do a wholesome action, eventually we will get a wholesome fruit, and if we do an unwholesome action eventually we will get an unwholesome, painful result. This is what we mean when we say that causes bring about effects that are similar to the causes. 

The law of Karma teaches that responsibility for harmful actions lies with the person who commits them. Karma thus has to do with cause and effect. Every action you take creates the cause for events to happen to you. This means that, every single thing that happens to you – good and bad – is in truth caused by you, yourself, your own actions and your own thoughts. There is no escape from one’s karma. There are many ways to create good karma.

  • ACTIONS REPEATEDLY DONE CREATE POWERFUL KARMA

When the same action is repeated many times, be it good or bad, powerful karma gets created. Actions directed at powerful objects such as one’s parents, one’s spiritual teachers or at monks, nuns or temple priests also create powerful karma. This is true of even the smallest disrespectful act or the smallest virtuous action.

The karmic results of actions done to powerful objects can usually be experienced in this life. Suffering results come from negative actions while favorable results arise from virtuous actions. It thus follows that we should really be very mindful of our actions and the thoughts that accompany our actions, because it is from mindfulness that we can develop habits that lead to actions that create good karma. This is especially important in the present era, a time Hindu masters refer to as the period of the kali yoga when karmic results tend to ripen much faster, usually within this same lifetime.

  • CHANT A MANTRA

Chanting mantras is the easiest way of getting started on the road towards opening new horizons for the mind. To start with, it is a very powerful way to purify the negative karmic imprints we all bring into the world with us. Negative imprints linger on in every one’s consciousness, the mind-stream that we carry from one lifetime to the next. Start with the most famous mantra in the world, the mantra of the Compassionate Buddha:  Om Mani Padme Hum

This is a very popular mantra. It is wonderfully uplifting as it is the mantra of the Buddha of Compassion whom the Chinese know as the Goddess Kuan Yin. Reciting one mala of this mantra 108 times a day will awaken hidden yogic abilities within you. This mantra will calm your fears, soothe your concerns, heal your broken heart and answer all your prayers. Chant this mantra aloud, as you eat, as you bathe, as you make up your face or when you are waiting for someone or for something. You can chant it anytime anywhere. Chant it aloud or silently, inside your head, inside your mind. Asleep. Awake. Let this mantra permeate your being. Do not worry about the pronunciation. What is important is your motivation.

While reciting the mantra try to concentrate on its sound and allow it to penetrate deep within, into your inner consciousness and eventually, into your subconscious mind. Always chant it with the thought of benefiting others. It will not take you long to sense wonderful benefits permeating through your consciousness. In no time at all, you will feel yourself become kinder, more tolerant, and less prone to getting upset.

Many high lamas say that just reciting Om Mani Padme Hum can bring us all to Enlightenment, simple and easy though it is. This mantra is one of the ten most powerful mantras of all time.

  •  MAKE KINDNESS YOUR RELIGION – My religion is kindness

Creating good karma is not about being religious. One need not even be a Buddhist or belong to any religious faith to create good karma. What you do need is to develop a kind attitude towards others. So creating good karma is simply about being kind. Not just for a moment but always, throughout one’s life, in every aspect of our living, in every relationship – in the way we conduct our business, in all our interactions – when you approach everything you do motivated by an attitude of kindness, you are creating a great deal of good karma, the kind that creates the cause for others to be kind to you. It is the surest way of developing a life where aggravations simply dissipate.

  • PRACTICE SPIRITUAL MEDITATION

When you sit down on a cushion with your legs crossed, your spine straight and your eyes slightly closed looking three feet in front of you, the first thing to do is to set your motivation. Tune into your mind and focus on why you are doing the meditation – to develop your mind to benefit all beings. Setting this altruistic motivation establishes the basis of meditation practices. And from then on you can meditate on any subject related to the development of your understanding of life. When you meditate this way lightly reflecting on how precious your life is, how lucky you are to have been born at all, to be alive and to be well … in time you will come to realize just how lucky you really are in just having a human life, having the ability to think, to analyze, to understand and yes, to philosophize. This is how meditation can lead to wisdom realizations and good karma.

I have blogged some time back that meditation is therapeutic. Check out the post here.

  • CONNECT WITH A SPIRITUAL TEACHER

Start by meditating on your path to ultimate happiness, the kind that is permanent rather than transient. Think through all the things that make you happy and slowly come to the realization that nothing makes us happy forever. All of life is in the nature of impermanence. The pathway to ultimate happiness is elusive and permanent happiness seems so impossible to attain, since in the end we all grow old and die … so unless we are able to grasp new attitudes and perspectives; new ways of rationalizing our existence, how can we find permanent happiness?

To see the light, we need to connect with a spiritual teacher who has affinity with us and who can open our eyes to a greater awareness of our own Buddha nature, our own spirituality, our own continuing consciousness which lives on from life to life. By generating the desire to meet a special teacher who can show us the way to think and meditate correctly, we are creating the cause for just such a sage to manifest in our life. The genuine and heartfelt inner expectation of wanting to connect with a higher spiritual being generates the karma for it to manifest. And then when you are ready, the right teacher for you, will come along. As i have always said: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear”

With Love & Light,

Katherine Goh

Inspiration and Affirmation – The Rock aka Batu

INSPIRATION:

Half encrusted in a mossy mound of green, I found the rock that speaks to me and sings. An imperfect stone nested just off the path, Unique in its plainness, it sings in my hand!

The above is about a rock I once found. It was “just off the path” and a truly homely reprehensive of the gem and mineral kingdom. In appearance or perceived value, it would in no way be offered a place among others of high esteem: diamond, marble, granite, or even coal. One would never assume it to have anything to offer, such as the powerful healing qualities of a crystal. But this stone, this lonely outcast, lying forgotten and nearly buried at the side of an obscure path, had a song to sing!

It called to me, “Come here, come here and talk to me, I have something for you.”

I picked it up out of curiosity and wondered at what such an ugly rock could be. As I stood there dumbfounded, it began to sing its song. This would not be a song for the ear, but rather a song for the soul, a song of hope and healing at a time in my life when I desperately needed both.

The moment I picked up that craggy chunk of Earth, I was introduced to a new life that I had never tasted, and I am savoring it still today, where 14 years later it occupies an honored and sacred place in my home, my room.

“Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet!”

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AFFIRMATION (You may say it out loud)

I look for and easily discover the spark of the Holy Spirit in every living thing I see. My world is alive with wonder!

And so it is, and so I let it be.

With Love & Light,

Katherine Goh QY

Science Vs Meditation – Is there a Connection?

As more and more research emerges on the importance of meditation for healing, I encourage everyone interested in natural health and wellness to engage in this simple yet meaningful practice of relaxation and regeneration. My own personal meditation sabbatical has been profound for me, and as this process winds down, it is my deepest desire to share what I have learned during this time with anyone seeking deep healing and rejuvenation.

Regardless of your age, health, or belief system, simple regular meditation practice can benefit you on all levels. As more and more doctors and health practitioners are recommending this ancient, time-tested practice, meditation is on its way to holding a well-deserved reputation as a simple, yet powerful and safe modality for supporting health and preventing illness. 

After listening to Kelly McGonigal’s talk, I have no doubt that meditation is therapeutic. I am CERTAIN. In my years of healing career, i have shared this techniques with my patients, many of whom are cancer-related and or stress, depression-sufferings individuals. 

It seemed that we are able to go into an alternate default mode which does not engage our evaluation system, (in other words our experiential system is decoupled from our evaluation system) which helps us to function more effectively. We become more mindful, and suffer less.

The Talk describe  that the neuroscience of meditation can help us understand how practice shapes the mind, and offers fresh insight into concepts like mindfulness and suffering.

Waking Up is Not Enough

I was listening to a preview clip by Rinzai Zen patriarchs Jun Po Roshi and Doshin Roshi with Keith Martin-Smith while i was browsing in the net one day. In the discussion, Rinzai Zen patriarchs Jun Po Roshi and Doshin Roshi discuss why meditation and spiritual insight alone cannot transform ourselves or the world. From an Integral point of view, simply “Waking Up” isn’t enough. We are also being called to” Grow Up” (mature emotionally and psychologically), “Clean Up” (engage in shadow work), and “Show Up” (embody our insight in our daily lives).

This is much akin to “Awareness”, “Growth”,”Clean Up our baggage” and “Take Action” which i have shared in our sessions. A different words but may have the same meanings.

Pure Awareness is definitely not enough. I totally agree with the two masters –  Rinzai Zen patriarchs Jun Po Roshi and Doshin Rosh. Awareness is only the first step to enlightenment. But what’s the point with just awareness and not doing anything? Therefore, we must Learn, Adjust and Grow in our daily lives. Didn’t we mention before, if you stopped learning, you stopped living?

As we grow, we learn. Simultaneously, we must also clean up our baggage – those stuffs that do not serve us well. Holding onto baggage (attachments) will only hinders our learning journey. But we must acknowledge that these “baggage” were there for a purpose – to let us learn something. Once we learnt the lessons, we must let it go and “housekeeping” our shadow work.

Lastly, Take Action. Apply what we have learnt in our life. Embody these learning in our daily living.

May Enlightenment be with us. Namaste Om.

“From this point of view, Enlightenment is essentially two embodied realizations. First, Enlightenment is the direct realization of your Bud — the naked pure consciousness found deep within your ordinary mind. We call this realization wisdom. And second, Enlightenment is the realization of the fearless heart found in the profound depth of this wisdom. We call this realization compassion. But please be aware: Enlightenment is also the philosophical and emotional re-indoctrination and reformation following this discovery. To accomplish this philosophical and emotional maturity we offer Mondo Zen. Zen Enlightenment is the marriage of this wisdom realization and the unconditional love realization—all embodied in our daily lives.” –Jun Po Kelly Roshi

Apr 2012 Connective Goal Setting Session

Hello Goal Setters,

Having great idea is great, however what’s the use of them if we do not TAKE ACTION on them? With respect to goals, projects, and other to-do items, it’s easy to get stuck too long in the thinking and planning phase. You can sit around writing and rewriting your goals, delving into your subconscious mind, working through emotional blocks, summoning the power of Thor… whatever.  But if you don’t eventually get into action, you’re wasting your time.

People at the top of every profession share one quality — they get things done. This ability supersedes intelligence, talent, and connections in determining the size of your salary and the speed of your advancement.

Despite the simplicity of this concept there is a perpetual shortage of people who excel at getting results. The action habit — the habit of putting ideas into action now — is essential to getting things done.

During our April session, we have engaged the use of oracle decks to give guidance to our participants what needs to be done. What are the directions. I shall not delve deeper here.

What are some of the way you can grow the ACTION Habit?

  •  Be a doer – Practice doing things rather than thinking about them. Do you want to start exercising? Do you have a great idea to pitch your boss? Do it today. The longer an idea sits in your head without being acted on, the weaker it becomes. After a few days the details gets hazy. After a week it’s forgotten completely. By becoming a doer you’ll get more done and stimulate new ideas in the process.
  • Live in the present – Focus on what you can do in the present moment. Don’t worry about what you should have done last week or what you might be able to do tomorrow. The only time you can affect is the present. If you speculate too much about the past or the future you won’t get anything done. Tomorrow or next week frequently turns into never.
  •  Remember that ideas alone don’t bring success – Ideas are important, but they’re only valuable after they’ve been implemented. One average idea that’s been put into action is more valuable than a dozen brilliant ideas that you’re saving for “some other day” or the “right opportunity”. If you have an idea the you really believe in, do something about it. Unless you take action it will never go anywhere.
  • Don’t wait until conditions are perfect – If you’re waiting to start until conditions are perfect, you probably never will. There will always be something that isn’t quite right. Either the timing is off, the market is down, or there’s too much competition. In the real world there is no perfect time to start. There is only NOW! You have to take action and deal with problems as they arise.

 Most people live and die with their music still unplayed. They never dare to try.  – Mary Kay Ash –

What is the MUSIC in your life?

Next class, we will share and reveal more on Being Present.

Assignment: Take One Action everyday to reaching your Goals.

With Love & Light,

Katherine Goh

Mar 2012 Connective Goal Setting Session

Hello Goal Setters,

Its great to connect with all in our March session again. For those who attended the class fully appreciate and knows that Universe is at work all the time. Definitely not coincidence, miracles indeed happened.

One of  our life goals is Relationship. I called it our Relationship Pillar.  However, it will be great if we can go deeper exploring and connecting the idea of “Enlightened Relationship”. I have shared this alot in our class and i will not discussed in details here.

Some important insights to note:-

Why should people orbit in love and not falling in love?

Falling in love, energy resonate only one way…..falling down (One direction) but orbiting in love is a continuous energy (just like our tango dance). I always love and support the idea of orbiting in love.

Why do people orbit in love?

People orbit in love because they want to offer someone something good that they have. They want to be with someone not as to depend on him or her but to share their life with them. They have something good to offer and they want something good in return. Its about Giving and Receiving, then energy will continue to flow. They want to spend time with someone not because they are scared to be alone but because they enjoy the other person’s company. Being in love is about giving and receiving what is good. A lot of people love the idea of being in love but not the actual fact. A lot of time is spent and wasted looking for the right person instead of making yourself the right person. Instead of looking for Mr. Right, be Ms. Right, and Mr. Right will find you, and vice versa. If you want something good, you should be willing to offer something good.

We live in a world where we spend a lot of time asking ‘what can you give me?’ rather than asking ‘what will I give you?’ If you get without giving, you are most likely to lose what you get.

How to remove the barriers we built to protect ourselves from getting hurt?

When we get hurt by others we start to erect barriers to protect ourselves. The key is to find the barriers that trap your passion, that stop you from doing what you love, and removing them. After a hurtful past relationship, often we “closed” ourselves. We built barriers to thinking that will protect ourselves. However, this is always not the case.

Through oracle guidance, we can see and feel deeper what are the barriers that are stopping you from living your life to the fullest and in this session, we worked on the important episode in our life called LOVE. Each of us have different set of challenges with regards to Love and i have shared to each of you your challenges through our oracle guidance. I will not discussed this here.

In order to get what we want, we must be willing to receive it when it comes along, and to do that we must be open to it. Perhaps all it requires is a compromise. However, over the years we build defenses in protection for ourselves; barriers, walls we’ve needed  to feel safe. The thing is, now they only serve to shut out desired direction. So an essential part of being receptive to what we want is to alter these barriers enough to let those things in when they arise. For example, we may spend a lot of time unaccompanied as a way to protect ourselves from being hurt by others, Do you see how this now prevents us from meeting new friends, or receiving support from others? Then how can you find your love? 

Now, start to be receptive, Be Open, Open your heart…..

  And finally … how to orbit in love?

  • Find a complete stranger.
  • Reveal to each other intimate details about your lives for half an hour.
  • Then, stare deeply into each other’s eyes without talking for four minutes.

Next class, we will share and reveal more on Being Present in Love.

Assignment: Do one thing that you loved a day to keep the love energy revolving around yourself and your environment.   

With Love & Light,

Katherine Goh