WP_Query Object
(
[query] => Array
(
[category__in] => Array
(
[0] => 67
)
[post__not_in] => Array
(
[0] => 7141
)
[posts_per_page] => 50
[ignore_sticky_posts] => 1
[orderby] => desc
[_shuffle_and_pick] => 3
)
[query_vars] => Array
(
[category__in] => Array
(
[0] => 67
)
[post__not_in] => Array
(
[0] => 7141
)
[posts_per_page] => 50
[ignore_sticky_posts] => 1
[orderby] => desc
[_shuffle_and_pick] => 3
[error] =>
[m] =>
[p] => 0
[post_parent] =>
[subpost] =>
[subpost_id] =>
[attachment] =>
[attachment_id] => 0
[name] =>
[pagename] =>
[page_id] => 0
[second] =>
[minute] =>
[hour] =>
[day] => 0
[monthnum] => 0
[year] => 0
[w] => 0
[category_name] => creative_living
[tag] =>
[cat] => 67
[tag_id] =>
[author] =>
[author_name] =>
[feed] =>
[tb] =>
[paged] => 0
[meta_key] =>
[meta_value] =>
[preview] =>
[s] =>
[sentence] =>
[title] =>
[fields] =>
[menu_order] =>
[embed] =>
[category__not_in] => Array
(
)
[category__and] => Array
(
)
[post__in] => Array
(
)
[post_name__in] => Array
(
)
[tag__in] => Array
(
)
[tag__not_in] => Array
(
)
[tag__and] => Array
(
)
[tag_slug__in] => Array
(
)
[tag_slug__and] => Array
(
)
[post_parent__in] => Array
(
)
[post_parent__not_in] => Array
(
)
[author__in] => Array
(
)
[author__not_in] => Array
(
)
[suppress_filters] =>
[cache_results] => 1
[update_post_term_cache] => 1
[lazy_load_term_meta] => 1
[update_post_meta_cache] => 1
[post_type] =>
[nopaging] =>
[comments_per_page] => 50
[no_found_rows] =>
[order] => DESC
)
[tax_query] => WP_Tax_Query Object
(
[queries] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[taxonomy] => category
[terms] => Array
(
[0] => 67
)
[field] => term_id
[operator] => IN
[include_children] =>
)
)
[relation] => AND
[table_aliases:protected] => Array
(
[0] => wp_term_relationships
)
[queried_terms] => Array
(
[category] => Array
(
[terms] => Array
(
[0] => 67
)
[field] => term_id
)
)
[primary_table] => wp_posts
[primary_id_column] => ID
)
[meta_query] => WP_Meta_Query Object
(
[queries] => Array
(
)
[relation] =>
[meta_table] =>
[meta_id_column] =>
[primary_table] =>
[primary_id_column] =>
[table_aliases:protected] => Array
(
)
[clauses:protected] => Array
(
)
[has_or_relation:protected] =>
)
[date_query] =>
[request] => SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS wp_posts.ID FROM wp_posts LEFT JOIN wp_term_relationships ON (wp_posts.ID = wp_term_relationships.object_id) WHERE 1=1 AND wp_posts.ID NOT IN (7141) AND (
wp_term_relationships.term_taxonomy_id IN (67)
) AND wp_posts.post_type = 'post' AND (wp_posts.post_status = 'publish' OR wp_posts.post_status = 'acf-disabled')
AND ID NOT IN
(SELECT `post_id` FROM wp_postmeta
WHERE `meta_key` = '_pilotpress_level'
AND `meta_value` IN ('','employee')
AND `post_id` NOT IN
(SELECT `post_id` FROM wp_postmeta
WHERE `meta_key` = '_pilotpress_level'
AND `meta_value` IN ('' ))) GROUP BY wp_posts.ID ORDER BY wp_posts.post_date DESC LIMIT 0, 50
[posts] => Array
(
[0] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 6988
[post_author] => 3
[post_date] => 2018-04-17 21:25:20
[post_date_gmt] => 2018-04-17 21:25:20
[post_content] =>
Sometimes it’s tricky to avoid thinking of the chakras as having a hierarchy. Even though they’re all equally instrumental in our development, certain ones get more attention than others, and I hear people mention the “heart chakra” the most. It’s understandable, since, as we discussed early in this series, the functions of the chakras are difficult to distinguish from other physiological and spiritual processes, and we are in many ways creatures of the heart.
Until science elevated the brain to the position of highest esteem, humans instinctively saw the heart as the center of our ability to feel and connect, to experience love and compassion. As our language conveys in phrases such as “the heart of the matter,” we see the heart as symbolic of the center or core of something. In the same way, the heart chakra is considered to be our spiritual core.3 As the pivotal chakra between the three below it and the three above, it has the role of integrating and bringing wholeness and balance to all parts of ourselves and our world – above and below, inside and out, body and mind, spirit and matter.
The heart chakra is called Anahata, which means “unstruck” – like a drum that beats without ever being hit. It’s located in the center of the chest and is associated with the air element and the breath. Physically it relates to the heart and pericardium, the lungs, the thymus (an immune gland that produces T-cells), breasts, and the arms and hands. Psycho-spiritually, it governs all those functions we historically attributed to the heart – the capacity to love, to feel, to empathize and relate. Different from the love associated with the second chakra, which relates more to physical connection, sexuality, getting needs met, and which always has an object, the love of the Heart Chakra transcends objects and needs.3 It is inclusive and unconditional.
Although the chakra system is from India, there is a tremendous amount of overlap between these Tantrik concepts and those of Daoism and Traditional Chinese Medicine, where the heart is referred to as the Emperor or Empress among the internal organs. The emperor in ancient China (and Greece, Japan, and other cultures) was seen as a human representative of God. Thus, the heart, as emperor, was viewed as the main portal for the Divine to enter a human being. The first acupuncture point on the heart channel is called Utmost Source, and it is used to restore a person’s connection to Spirit.
The empress’s job, like a divine metronome, is to set the rhythm to which the kingdom will be synchronized. In such a way, she generates the atmosphere within which the world will be held. A loving empress, like a healthy heart, includes and unifies all the citizens, not excluding anyone or anything.
The connection between the heart and upper limbs is also easily explained within the framework of acupuncture, where the heart and its three accessory organs are all accessed through channels that run along the arms and hands. In this way, our hands help us communicate the truth within our heart and to do the heart’s work in the world.
Harish Johari wrote that when we evolve to living with an open heart chakra, we “have overcome the preoccupations of the lower chakras: security (first chakra), sensuality and sexuality (second chakra), name, fame, authority, social status, power, and physical immortality (third chakra).” He said that we naturally orient around this chakra between the ages of 21 and 28, “becoming aware of one’s role, one’s actions, and one’s life goal. Dedication, devotion (bhakti), faith, and self-confidence are the motivating forces as one strives to achieve balance at all levels.”1
Caroline Myss writes that this chakra teaches us “how to act out of love and compassion and recognize the most powerful energy we have is love.” She says this center represents “our capacity to ‘let go and let God.’” And she proposes that its energy enables us to “accept our personal emotional challenges as extensions of a Divine plan, which has as its intent our conscious evolution.” Instrumental in this evolution, she explains, is forgiveness – and releasing “our lesser need for human self-determined justice.”
Besides cultivating love and acceptance, listening to your heart, and practicing forgiveness, there are some body-oriented ways to support the heart chakra. Breathing deeply and freely helps this center to open – and, in contrast, restricted breathing promotes (and is promoted by) a relatively closed heart chakra. Chest-opening stretches, like cobra and behind-the-back prayer pose, can also help.
Finally, if compassion is one of your gifts – or you’d like to grow in this area – I'd love for you to attend this workshop Briana is hosting today about clearing the blocks that stand between you and your heart's work.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
RSVP for You Are Enough: a free workshop on clearing the blocks that stand between you and your heart's work
Sources:
- Johari, H. (1987). Chakras. Energy Centers of Transformation. Destiny Books.
- Judith, A. (2004). Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to the Self. Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts.
- Judith, A. (1999). Wheels of Life: The Classic Guide to the Chakra System. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications.
- Khalsa, G. K. (1991). Energy Maps: A Journey Through the Chakras. La Crescenta, CA: CyberScribe.
- Myss, C. M. (1996). Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing. New York: Three Rivers Press.
- Svoboda, R. E. (1995). Aghora II: Kundalini. Albuquerque, NM: Brotherhood of Life Publishing.
- Wallis, C. D. (2013). Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition. Petaluma, CA: Mattamayūra Press.
- White, J. W. (1990). Kundalini, Evolution, and Enlightenment. New York: Paragon House.
- Woodroffe, J. G., & P. (1931). The Serpent Power: Being the Shat-chakra-nirūpana and Pādukā-panchaka; Two Works on Laya yoga. Madras: Ganesh.
[post_title] => Love: Our Greatest Power
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => love-greatest-power
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2019-06-28 19:10:36
[post_modified_gmt] => 2019-06-28 19:10:36
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://thedragontree.com/?p=6988
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 5
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[1] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 7149
[post_author] => 5
[post_date] => 2018-10-10 17:27:20
[post_date_gmt] => 2018-10-10 17:27:20
[post_content] =>
At my grandma’s funeral, there were lots of tears and lots of laughs. We shared beautiful memories and shoulders to cry on. She was 91, she had as big of humor as she had heart, and she did life her way.
While I looked around at the church where her service was held, three things really struck me:
1. 64 of the 66 of us from her family made it to the middle of Montana from all over the world with 4 days notice. She had cultivated relationships with all of us, she had prioritized family, and therefore we prioritized her, even in her passing.
This closeness transcends into all of our relationships, even if we disagree and live completely different lives, we love each other deeply. It’s taught me to always aim to understand rather than judge, because we are all indeed one big family.
2. Her faith was so strong, that I could almost feel her version of heaven in the room. She was devoted to god. In fact, one Sunday morning my sisters were hanging out with my grandma, who was getting ready for church, and my sister Hannah said, “come on grandma stay and hang out with us, what could be more important than time with your family?” To which my grandma replied, “god.”
Whatever our spiritual beliefs are, having faith in the divine, or the universe, or ourselves, is a huge blessing in life. But it also takes cultivation and space for that practice, so if we want to hear the voice of god, or be more in tune with our inner guidance, we have to prioritize it, like my grandma did.
3. We buried my grandma on my grandfather’s birthday. He was the love of her life, and it felt like a huge cosmic gift to be giving her back to him. He died over 30 years earlier and yet was ever present in her life.
That kind of love is so beautiful and everlasting. And . . . it takes work, not just work in the relationship, but work on ourselves to evolve and grow when we are met with obstacles together.
I’ve been so inspired by these parts of my grandma’s life and passing, and as I think about my own mortality I see there are ways in which I would love my ending days to look: healthy, vibrant, full of family and friends, feeling connected to the divine, feeling like I made a positive impact on the world, having my sweet husband by my side (either physically or metaphorically), and being able to look back and say I really enjoyed the heck out of life.
Recently I’ve had a few people from our Dreambook community ask me why we put such long-term goal setting in a year-long planning book. They shared that it felt very difficult to have any real goals for that far away when life is so unpredictable, and some even said that they felt so stuck on this that they couldn’t move forward with the rest of the work in the book.
I totally get it.
Setting goals for any amount of time in the future, 3 months, 6 months or even a year takes practice. We are able to get better and better at envisioning a future, the more we just do it. So if it’s something that seems unnatural to you, know that that is totally normal, and continually trying is the only way to really get “better” at it.
If 10-year goals or lifetime goals freeze you, then wait on them. 10 years and your lifetime will be there later and there is no reason to beat yourself up for not getting them down on paper. And if you want to dabble in them, you can just use it as practice and fantasize about whatever you might consider fun to have in that time.
However, we include setting these goals in a one year planner with the intention of considering life holistically. For me, most of my 10 year and lifetime goals are less specific and more related to the closeness of my community and family and how I want to feel in my body. They are goals that don’t happen overnight, and that what I do this year and every year greatly affect.
If we don’t consider that we are going to age, and things are going to change, then when we get to that moment in time, we may have regrets that we didn’t take better care of ourselves, or that we didn’t spend as much time with our families, or that we made no space in our life for magic.
So instead of getting 10 years in the future or to the end of life and wishing for the past to be different, we encourage people to imagine the ideal for that time and then put some things in place now to support that ideal future.
This same logic can be applied to 3 year and 1 year goals as well if you don’t feel like you have specific concrete goals in mind either because you just aren’t clear yet, or because your life is in such flux that it would be hard to imagine. Instead, imagine how you want to feel in the different areas of your life, and then be open to circumstances falling in place to support your most ideal experience — whether that experience is one year, 10 years, or a lifetime away.
Wishing you the most exceptional life you can imagine.
Love,
Briana
Click here to order your 2019 Dreambook + Planner!
[post_title] => Setting 10 Year Goals When You Can Barely Plan Next Week
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => 7149
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2019-05-29 21:14:29
[post_modified_gmt] => 2019-05-29 21:14:29
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://thedragontree.com/?p=7149
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 17
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[2] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 6937
[post_author] => 5
[post_date] => 2018-03-21 15:50:15
[post_date_gmt] => 2018-03-21 15:50:15
[post_content] =>
For 15 years now, Briana and I have been leading this company to provide tools and services that help people heal and grow. We never stop feeling honored and humbled by it.
One thing has troubled us, though.
The great majority of our clients are middle class white people. Don’t get us wrong, we love our clients, but we also know that there are lots of other people who are unlikely to ever find us or have the chance to benefit from our work. And we believe that many of these individuals stand to experience huge transformations when given the opportunity and resources.
There are clear personal benefits to the wellness strategies we teach. More than 50,000 people have used our books and courses, and they’ve shared countless success stories about leaving soulless jobs and finding meaningful work that pays well; repairing damaged relationships; overcoming addiction; regaining vibrant health; getting out of debt; claiming their power; and in many ways, living lives with greater sweetness, peace, and connection.
But the benefits go beyond the individual. When people break free of the struggle to survive, they begin to look outside themselves. When they grow, they naturally want to give back. They discover their worth and they want to share it. And simply by living their potential, they demonstrate new possibilities to their children, friends, family, and coworkers.
It has long been our mission to “seed our community with centered, peaceful, and healthy individuals” and now it’s time to broaden this community. We recently founded a nonprofit charitable organization called The Well Life Foundation for the purpose of empowering women, awakening their dreams, and fostering peace. While there are many communities we want to help, we have a special interest in programs that serve women in transition.
Even in a country as progressive as the U.S., women are still taught, in ways both direct and subtle, that their feelings are less important, their voices less worthy of being heard, and their contributions less valuable, than those of their male counterparts. Meanwhile, our world is facing some big challenges. We believe that women’s ideas are vital to the solution, that women’s insights are instrumental to healing our collective wounds, that women’s voices are essential in the big conversation, and that women’s leadership is integral to our evolution.
Through the Foundation, we will inspire women to set their sights beyond simply making ends meet: we'll help them see themselves in a new light - not as victims, but as contributors, healers, and even heroes. We'll teach them the skills to bring their gifts into the world.
Your donations can make this work possible. We've started a training program to build a team of coaches to deliver our Well Life curriculum to women in vulnerable populations, and 100% of the profits go to the Foundation. We will be sharing more about these trainings in the upcoming weeks, but you can help us today by making a direct contribution to the Foundation here. And all of your purchases of Dragontree products and services sustain our ability to devote our energy and resources to the Foundation.
We appreciate your support! Together we’ll change the world!
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
[post_title] => Empowering Women. Awakening Dreams. Inspiring Peace.
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => empowering-women-awakening-dreams-inspiring-peace
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2019-06-28 19:27:32
[post_modified_gmt] => 2019-06-28 19:27:32
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://www.thedragontree.com/?p=6937
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
)
[post_count] => 3
[current_post] => -1
[in_the_loop] =>
[post] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 6988
[post_author] => 3
[post_date] => 2018-04-17 21:25:20
[post_date_gmt] => 2018-04-17 21:25:20
[post_content] =>
Sometimes it’s tricky to avoid thinking of the chakras as having a hierarchy. Even though they’re all equally instrumental in our development, certain ones get more attention than others, and I hear people mention the “heart chakra” the most. It’s understandable, since, as we discussed early in this series, the functions of the chakras are difficult to distinguish from other physiological and spiritual processes, and we are in many ways creatures of the heart.
Until science elevated the brain to the position of highest esteem, humans instinctively saw the heart as the center of our ability to feel and connect, to experience love and compassion. As our language conveys in phrases such as “the heart of the matter,” we see the heart as symbolic of the center or core of something. In the same way, the heart chakra is considered to be our spiritual core.3 As the pivotal chakra between the three below it and the three above, it has the role of integrating and bringing wholeness and balance to all parts of ourselves and our world – above and below, inside and out, body and mind, spirit and matter.
The heart chakra is called Anahata, which means “unstruck” – like a drum that beats without ever being hit. It’s located in the center of the chest and is associated with the air element and the breath. Physically it relates to the heart and pericardium, the lungs, the thymus (an immune gland that produces T-cells), breasts, and the arms and hands. Psycho-spiritually, it governs all those functions we historically attributed to the heart – the capacity to love, to feel, to empathize and relate. Different from the love associated with the second chakra, which relates more to physical connection, sexuality, getting needs met, and which always has an object, the love of the Heart Chakra transcends objects and needs.3 It is inclusive and unconditional.
Although the chakra system is from India, there is a tremendous amount of overlap between these Tantrik concepts and those of Daoism and Traditional Chinese Medicine, where the heart is referred to as the Emperor or Empress among the internal organs. The emperor in ancient China (and Greece, Japan, and other cultures) was seen as a human representative of God. Thus, the heart, as emperor, was viewed as the main portal for the Divine to enter a human being. The first acupuncture point on the heart channel is called Utmost Source, and it is used to restore a person’s connection to Spirit.
The empress’s job, like a divine metronome, is to set the rhythm to which the kingdom will be synchronized. In such a way, she generates the atmosphere within which the world will be held. A loving empress, like a healthy heart, includes and unifies all the citizens, not excluding anyone or anything.
The connection between the heart and upper limbs is also easily explained within the framework of acupuncture, where the heart and its three accessory organs are all accessed through channels that run along the arms and hands. In this way, our hands help us communicate the truth within our heart and to do the heart’s work in the world.
Harish Johari wrote that when we evolve to living with an open heart chakra, we “have overcome the preoccupations of the lower chakras: security (first chakra), sensuality and sexuality (second chakra), name, fame, authority, social status, power, and physical immortality (third chakra).” He said that we naturally orient around this chakra between the ages of 21 and 28, “becoming aware of one’s role, one’s actions, and one’s life goal. Dedication, devotion (bhakti), faith, and self-confidence are the motivating forces as one strives to achieve balance at all levels.”1
Caroline Myss writes that this chakra teaches us “how to act out of love and compassion and recognize the most powerful energy we have is love.” She says this center represents “our capacity to ‘let go and let God.’” And she proposes that its energy enables us to “accept our personal emotional challenges as extensions of a Divine plan, which has as its intent our conscious evolution.” Instrumental in this evolution, she explains, is forgiveness – and releasing “our lesser need for human self-determined justice.”
Besides cultivating love and acceptance, listening to your heart, and practicing forgiveness, there are some body-oriented ways to support the heart chakra. Breathing deeply and freely helps this center to open – and, in contrast, restricted breathing promotes (and is promoted by) a relatively closed heart chakra. Chest-opening stretches, like cobra and behind-the-back prayer pose, can also help.
Finally, if compassion is one of your gifts – or you’d like to grow in this area – I'd love for you to attend this workshop Briana is hosting today about clearing the blocks that stand between you and your heart's work.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
RSVP for You Are Enough: a free workshop on clearing the blocks that stand between you and your heart's work
Sources:
- Johari, H. (1987). Chakras. Energy Centers of Transformation. Destiny Books.
- Judith, A. (2004). Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to the Self. Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts.
- Judith, A. (1999). Wheels of Life: The Classic Guide to the Chakra System. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications.
- Khalsa, G. K. (1991). Energy Maps: A Journey Through the Chakras. La Crescenta, CA: CyberScribe.
- Myss, C. M. (1996). Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing. New York: Three Rivers Press.
- Svoboda, R. E. (1995). Aghora II: Kundalini. Albuquerque, NM: Brotherhood of Life Publishing.
- Wallis, C. D. (2013). Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition. Petaluma, CA: Mattamayūra Press.
- White, J. W. (1990). Kundalini, Evolution, and Enlightenment. New York: Paragon House.
- Woodroffe, J. G., & P. (1931). The Serpent Power: Being the Shat-chakra-nirūpana and Pādukā-panchaka; Two Works on Laya yoga. Madras: Ganesh.
[post_title] => Love: Our Greatest Power
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => love-greatest-power
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2019-06-28 19:10:36
[post_modified_gmt] => 2019-06-28 19:10:36
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://thedragontree.com/?p=6988
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 5
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[comment_count] => 0
[current_comment] => -1
[found_posts] => 108
[max_num_pages] => 3
[max_num_comment_pages] => 0
[is_single] =>
[is_preview] =>
[is_page] =>
[is_archive] => 1
[is_date] =>
[is_year] =>
[is_month] =>
[is_day] =>
[is_time] =>
[is_author] =>
[is_category] => 1
[is_tag] =>
[is_tax] =>
[is_search] =>
[is_feed] =>
[is_comment_feed] =>
[is_trackback] =>
[is_home] =>
[is_privacy_policy] =>
[is_404] =>
[is_embed] =>
[is_paged] =>
[is_admin] =>
[is_attachment] =>
[is_singular] =>
[is_robots] =>
[is_favicon] =>
[is_posts_page] =>
[is_post_type_archive] =>
[query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => ce016ca616bf9b96fed16c9704d5d7f6
[query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] =>
[thumbnails_cached] =>
[stopwords:WP_Query:private] =>
[compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => query_vars_hash
[1] => query_vars_changed
)
[compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => init_query_flags
[1] => parse_tax_query
)
)
Cart
