Do you find yourself struggling in a close relationship? Many of us do.  Despite a long history of spiritual or healing practice, it is not uncommon to yet feel stuck in at least one challenging relationship.  Whether this be with a family member, friend or anyone else, it may seem like this is the one place where there can be no peaceful resolution.

The temptation here is to treat this as the singular exception where we are not responsible in any manner.  But without taking responsibility, we cannot bring in change. Hence, we end up feeling stuck and helpless, blaming the other. We make our lack of influence here an ‘unassailable fact’ instead of recognising that it is our perception of the situation that makes it what it is. 

This ‘spiritual failure’ then lingers in the background.  It occasionally erupts with a surprising intensity that can leave us feeling all the inner work has been useless and we may as well give up.

The oldest of two siblings Ano El a now 32 Year Old Army Veteran from Oakland, California has undergone a life shattering spiritual awakening after spending from 2000-2004 on active duty returning in 2007 to carry out another 3 year contract.

In 2008, a friend showed him the movie “zeitgeist”and consequently Ano, took what he was given and never looked back. The United States Military awarded Ano an honorable discharge after he refused to continue his service and this is his remarkable story.

“My PTSD, like many others, is more on the subtle subconscious and psychological programming that all soldiers are subject to upon living underneath the prison and military industrial complex, then amplified by entering the military. My awakening came one year in to my second tour in the summer of 2008 when I stumbled across on a documentary that opened my eyes to the grave injustices of our society. After that rabbit hole was cracked, the rest led up to the cosmic freedom of the Self, embodied.  I then contacted my family to alert them I was going AWOL in light of my new found information, to which I was calmed down and reassured that everything would be OK, and just to “take it slow”.

Travelling is a great way to rejuvenate, recharge and even reprogram our perspective of life. By ensuring that we take those allotted vacation days to get away somewhere foreign, there is so much we can learn and explore in new surroundings effectively giving us a little boost– that unexpectedly creates a new you!

Here are 4 Spiritual Benefits of Traveling Abroad

(backed by Science)

1. Personality Enhancer

Travelling takes you away from your daily routine and throws you out of your comfort zone where you are forced to be more open. Openness is one of the Big Five in terms in psychology of the major personality traits we all have. When we are open we are more likely to overcome fear, take chances, stay in the moment and discard judgement of others. Being open is essential in spiritual practice because when we are open we are in a position of receiving all of life’s gifts.

Cats are a monumental part of the internet. If something was to represent the internet, it would probably be a picture of a cat surfing on pizza through the universe.

In 2014 alone, over 2 million cat videos were posted on youtube with a growing reach of 26 billion views collectively. People love the cute, cuddly and hilarious energy of felines; and for good reason.

A new study at an Indiana University shows that watching uplifting cat videos boosts your energy and decreases negative feelings.

Lead by assistant professor Jessica Gall Myrick, the study consisted of almost 7,000 people being surveyed about their cat viewing experience and how it affects their moods.

We often think to ourselves that playing it safe is a smart bet. To play it safe, many of us take the job with the good benefits, drive the car with the good mileage and purchase the home in the safe community.

However, while it is unnecessary to swing for the fences with every life decision, playing it safe as your standard decision-making practice is actually the most dangerous thing that you can do with your life. Here are three reasons why:

3 Reasons Why Playing It Safe Is Dangerous

1. Playing it safe often means that we are going along with herd...

At night, while we’re asleep, we dream. We may not remember what we have experienced in this state, but the pictures and impressions are stored in our subconscious. They are communications from our deepest selves, offering course corrections, insights, warnings, and sometimes, congratulations.

Then, there is the day, while we are awake. Are the experiences we have during our waking hours different than the dreams we have during sleep? Surprisingly, perhaps, the answer is no. These experiences are exactly the same. They offer the same kinds of spiritual communications that we get from our sleeping dreams.

How does it work? The answer is that we are living in a paradox. On one hand, waking life demands that we interact with it objectively. We cook our meals, go to work and raise our children. Simultaneously, these same life experiences offer us an overlay of metaphors that are nothing more than dream symbols. These metaphors contain the same sort of imagery we experience during sleep. The trouble is that most of us don’t pay attention to them.