There will be times in your life when you experience accelerated energies. During those times, you can feel like things are coming at you from all directions, that things are choppy and unpredictable, and that all you can really do is hang on the best you can. While those times may feel very intense, they always lead to a better place. Always. Imagine going down rapids in a raft. The ride, initially, is very busy. You are getting bounced all about! You may get spray in your face, and you can’t even see the scenery around you because you are […]

On Wednesday, Michael Nutter, mayor of Philadelphia, signed legislation decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana in the city. The law downgrades possession of 30 grams of marijuana or less to a mere civil offense and will go into effect on the 20th of this month. Reported by The Philadelphia Magazine:

Those possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana will be cited and fined $25. Those smoking in public will be cited and fined $100, or made to perform nine hours of community service.

But keep in mind, you can still be arrested for selling marijuana, possessing more than 30 grams, or driving under the influence of marijuana. This isn’t exactly the sweeping reform that legalization activists are fighting for, but it’s definitely a step up from, say, Oklahoma’s draconian marijuana laws.

The city will be doing outreach to make sure its citizens understand the new laws.

Dehydration definitely isn’t a joke. Water helps with every single system in our bodies, from our skin to our bones. Chronic dehydrated leads to digestive, skin, bladder and kidney problems, as well as fatigue, and that’s really just the beginning!

Did you know that when you feel thirst, it’s not a sign that you need a sip of water, but it’s a sign that you’re already badly dehydrated. I typically drink about a gallon and a half of water a day (as a 195 pound man; I think the rule of thumb is at least an ounce for every 2 pounds of body weight) but the trick is not to slam it all at once, but to sip all day.

Drinking a couple glasses of water after you wake up is a great idea, especially if you’re not a morning person. It will boost your blood pressure to normal levels and help get your daily hydration kick-started.

And remember, it&...

In Colorado, where labeling GMO products is on the ballot, the debate has begun to heat up. According to an ABC News poll, 90% of Americans believe the federal government should require GMO labels, but whether or not that can make it through campaign season is another issue entirely. Especially with big money flowing in from the mighty Monsanto itself.

From the Denver Post:

If the measure passes in Colorado, by 2016 packaged or raw foods made with GMOs that are sold in retail outlets must be labeled with the phrase “produced with genetic engineering.” Exemptions include processed food intended for immediate human consumption, like at restaurants and delis.

Opponents say that GMOs are harmful to human health, pointing to s...

Randi G. Fine, Contributor
Waking Times

Have you ever wondered why people who are strangers or people you hardly know open up to you and share their most trusted thoughts? Do you have an instant connection with animals? Are you unable to watch violence, cruelty, or tragedy on television or in the movies because your soul just can’t bear it? Do you have an instant knowing about the character of the people you meet upon first meeting them? Are you highly spiritual and find the physical world and everything in it heavy? Are you often tired and have physical ailments that cannot be medically explained? If you answered, “yes” to any of these questions you may be an “empath.

Empaths are people who are highly sensitive to the energy and the emotions of the people, animals, and sometimes even the spiritual imprints that exist around them. Some are even sensitive to the energy of plants. This ex...

My life can get kind of hectic sometimes, and I’m sure yours can too. That’s one of the reasons why I like taking quick 5 minute meditation breaks throughout the day. It’s a great way to recharge yourself midway through the day. Let’s get into the five reasons why we should all be meditating.

For starters, it increases your mental clarity. Do you ever get that midday fuzziness in your mind? Find it hard to focus? Meditation can help you put an end to that. Doctors studying the brain using Electroencephalography (say that ten times fast) have discovered that during meditation, the brain’s alpha and theta waves drop, while beta waves increase. This basically means that you’re consciously choosing to relax and your brain is responding by also relaxing. This relaxation helps keep the...

I stumbled upon this really excellent essay written by Lieutenant Commander Diane Goldstein. She has spent her entire professional life on the front lines of the “war on drugs” and can see through the facade into what it all really is. She penned this essay on Substance.com. Here’s part of it:

I was a police officer for 20 years, enforcing drug laws in California and thinking I was doing my part for society. But what made me think properly about drug use for the first time was my experience with my older brother, Billy. I had watched him struggle with a lifelong problem with drugs. But I still did not understand what it meant to be Billy until my husband convinced me to open up my heart and our home to save him in 2002.

It was in this intimacy of watching Billy try, during the year he lived with us, to live up to the expectations of society and those he l...

Grass is great, don’t get me wrong! Nice to sit on, maybe have a picnic, but at the end of the day, it’s an ecological disaster and an enormous waster of water. If you’re not going to go with the low water use method of xeriscaping, you’d might as well use that water for something productive, right?

Growing vegetables at home is one of my favorite things to do. The food is delicious, it saves money, and it’s helpful for the planet. Give it a try!

The post Watch: A Video Guide To The Benefits Of Tearing Up Your Lawn And Planting Food appeared first on Higher Perspective.

Last year, on a nighttime swim with Manta rays off the coast of Hawaii, these divers came upon a bottlenose dolphin hat lingered around them and appeared not to be able to swim normally. Keller Laros, the diving instructor, recognized that the dolphin wasn’t just curious but was asking them for help. It was then he saw a hook was lodged in his pectoral fin.

Wasting no time, Laros approached the dolphin. As if it knew exactly what was going to happen, the dolphin complied and positioned itself so that Laros could get the hook out of him. “I was at the right place at the right time. I am honored to share the footage with all of you,” writes Martina S. Wing, who shot the footage above.

The post Incredible! A Dolphin Tangled In Fishing Line Asks Divers For Help appeared first on Higher Perspective.

Keep looking up at the stars! Stars renew you. Stars are suns that brighten your heart. Want to be inspired? Look up at the stars.

You are My Created Being. We can say that you come from the stars. You are on Earth now, and yet you come from a different dimension from Earth. On Earth you may feel lonely. You may be a stranger to Earth but never to the stars. Do some star-gazing. Feel yourself drawn to the stars. No matter how far way science says the stars are, you are no distance at all from the stars. Of course, the same goes for Me. There is no distance from Me. Distance between Us does not exist.

If there were distance, We could not be One. The stars and you and I are also One. And the Moon and the Sun and the Waters of the Seven Seas, and all that exist in Heaven or on Earth are also One.

What a composition I created. What pictures I drew. What music I created. And now what a story you tell.

On Earth, you see differently from how you see in Heaven. You come from a different angle. Earth is new to you, and you look at it every which way. You look to recognize the beauty that you are accustomed to. You are exploring all the newness before you on Earth, and you yearn to make something of it. You want to see better and make out what life on Earth is really about. You wish to discern. You wish to see and feel the beauty that you have long been accustomed to.