Every Christmas the Yuletide card portrays a silver star in a navy blue sky and every year the same heavenly object sparkles from the top of the decorated evergreen. At season's end the three wise men and their fellow shepherds gather at a hastily set up manger for the familiar nativity scene. Though it shimmers on the greeting card and its brilliance lights up the tannebaum, it wasn't a star that erupted into a supernova on that dark Judean night. The star that shone so brightly two thousand years ago was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

Paul and Silas were escorted to the lowered dungeon, uncomfortable, in chains, mistreated, hurting and still probably bleeding from the beatings. One would expect them to be belligerent, angry, complaining but instead we find them singing and rejoicing. At midnight when it would seem they would have been trying to rest and soothe themselves, they prayed and sang praises to God.

Want to try a centuries-old practice to evoke a generosity of the heart towards others? Use this meditation on loving-kindness.

The Lord’s Prayer is a special prayer asking that we may recognize Reality/Truth and eventually be that Truth, just as Jesus was the Way, the Truth and the Life. My interpretation of The Lord’s Prayer is not the only one, there are many others, but I am sharing mine with you in the hope that we can experience this prayer rather than just recite it.

If the majority of doctors and academics are convinced there is no soul - how can they treat it?

So it is with all of us who confront our garden; whether we are on our beds of affliction, behind prison walls, or just struggling to live in the midst of life’s chaos and pettiness and brokenness. We know that when we get to Gethsemane, nothing else matters.

Many of us tend to cling to the familiar, even if we don't enjoy it or benefit from it anymore. We're afraid to let go of what we have, because even though it's not great, at least it's ours. Releasing these circumstances is a difficult process, like saying a permanent goodbye to old friends.

I beheld the sky and its wonders and saw Astonishment I beheld the earth and its flowers and saw Beauty I beheld the animals and beasts of the air, land and water and saw the hand of the Creator I b...

Awareness constantly leads to more questions. The closer you get the farther away you are. One morning after years of writing, all the questions came up at once and then the next day the answers. The same questions and answers. Life is about experiencing all aspects of being from every conceivable angle, and so the questions may seem the same but the answers are slightely different each time. I have come to realize that the questions are more important than the answers.

Got the urge to splurge on a favorite charity, but always short of funds? The desire to help can be a wonderful motivator for change. Here's an idea that can help you help others, without feeling a pinch.

Just like Abraham of old, we often try to bring about results through our own efforts.

Over the past five years, many people have been committed to mental institutions, tortured, detained, imprisoned, and even killed, simply for refusing to give up this practice...

Stress relief real results let's take a moment to consider what stress actually is. This is an important first step in the process of stress relief. We must understand the nature of the beast before we can seek to tackle it effectively. In essentially simplistic terms stress is the opposite of relaxation and as such there isn't much to understand. The real complications arise when we attempt to identify the factors that cause stress and seek methods and techniques to reduce it.

No matter what you do to successfully stop your panic attacks, the most important thing is to have a plan and practice it. You will not be able to beat anxious thinking until you have faith in your own remedy.

Do you feel discouraged because you are not reaching the milestones that you have given yourself in school? Are they not going through the way you thought they would? Do you feel that you are letting your parents down with the grades you are bringing home? The thing to do is to take a look inside and what is making these things happen.

If you are one of those people who wish to be free of stress and anxiety, and long for a life filled with lasting peace and happiness, then this article is just for you. I'm going to reveal the root cause of all the stress and anxiety you have experienced in your entire life.

There are many reasons for teenagers’ susceptibility to the symptoms and consequences of negative stress, anxiety and depression. They may need a bit more guidance from their adult role models along the way, but there is no reason why they cannot learn to effectively manage their stress, anxiety and depression symptoms effectively. Read on to learn more-

While we all experience anxiety to some level on a daily basis and this is quite normal when faced with tasks and upsets in our daily life. Some people suffer from extreme anxiety. In cases such as this the anxiety becomes severe and prolonged and will gradually begin to interfere with the person’s day to day life and the way they live.

The energy center Chakra is discussed in the ancient Hindu system of energy healing known as Pranic healing. The word Prana means life energy, and the word Aura, its roots in Pranic healing as well, refers to the non-physical body (that exists with the physical body) made up of energy.

Offers some suggestions to help with stress management.

While incidences of stress related illnesses are almost cliche in the most stressful jobs, no job is perfect and even workers in supposedly low stress jobs have been showing stress symptoms. Luckily, you do not have to be one of the stress statistics. By simply taking heed of these proven stress management tips you can go a long way towards relieving your workplace stress and anxiety.

Don't let preparing for the holidays be a source of stress. Take a minute and reflect on what holidays are all about.

Today, I looked out the window while the world slept and watched the moon. It is the water of our lives. It causes tides, and menstrual cycles, and emotions and stock market crashes and fills our hospitals with mental breakdowns when it's full. We, in our mind driven lives forget the moon. We listen to the guru talk about self mastery and think we are the master, and therefore accuse others of deliberate unconsciousness, but we are wrong in this. The moon pushes and pulls us, and we must not fight her. We must learn to play with her. This is the human heart.