Mercury Retrograde and Zodiac Signs

When Mercury is in retrograde, its influence depends on which of the 12 zodiac signs the planet is in when it goes retrograde. Below is a brief look at what to expect:

IN ARIES: Expect to be frustrated and frazzled. Assertive,
 impulsive Aries wants to move
 ahead, and all of the energy is going backward. Watch what you say and how you say it. Pay attention to what people say to you; you might be pleasantly surprised.
IN TAURUS: Take time to formulate your thoughts. Taurus, an unhurried sign, slows down the
mental processes. He also governs banking, so delay money matters. Review financial matters, and position yourself for growth.
IN GEMINI: Because Gemini
rules communications, be prepared for miscommunications
 when Mercury is in this sign. Expect lots of phone calls or none, and lost or misplaced mail. You may not articulate clearly, and gossip abounds. Old friends may reconnect.
IN CANCER: Expect annoyances 
at home with baking, gardening,
 and household duties under domesticated Cancer. Complete repair projects that weren’t finished or done correctly.
IN LEO: Avoid speculative investments. It is not a good time to
 buy and sell or do any trading.
 Instead, analyze your investment
 portfolio. Use your know-how and advisory skills to help friends and associates.
IN VIRGO: Challenging situations arise, especially in the 
workplace. Expect product delays and equipment breakdowns,
 as well as crankiness among coworkers under finicky, detail-oriented Virgo. Double-check your work before you call it finished.
IN LIBRA: Accept your physical
 attributes; do not have a makeover. Indecision reigns, so limit
 purchases—or risk returning
them. Libra, representing beauty, grace, charm, and diplomacy, is out of balance. Refresh, relax, and rejuvenate.
IN SCORPIO: Emotions rule—not common sense—so beware.
 Avoid affairs of the heart. Passionate Scorpio is also secretive,
and your secrets may seep out. Keep them in a diary.
IN SAGITTARIUS: It is not a time 
to travel, so reschedule or expect
 delays, lines, and lost directions.
 Instead, take care of local affairs.
 Patience and a sense of humor are needed.
IN CAPRICORN: Avoid buying, 
selling, or renting real estate un
der Capricorn, the sign that governs property matters. Expect
problems with paperwork, packing, and movers. Reunite with family or vacation at home.
IN AQUARIUS: With Mercury retrograde in Aquarius, the sign 
that governs relationships, 
friendships are put at risk. Petty
squabbles, misunderstandings, and miscommunications abound. Know who your friends are.
IN PISCES: Foggy thinking,
 daydreams, and escapism are 
the norm; day-to-day realities
 confound otherwise clear heads
when Mercury, the planet that rules logic, is in Pisces, which governs illusion. Practice creative pursuits—writing, dancing, photography, film, or painting.
http://www.almanac.com/content/mercury-retrograde-and-zodiac-signs

Interview with Deepak Chopra and Rudolph Tanzi on Super Brain

The authors talk about Super Brain which shows you how to use your brain as a gateway for achieving health, happiness, and spiritual growth.

Your brain is capable of incredible healing and constant reshaping. Through a new relationship with your brain you can transform your life. In Super Brain, Deepak Chopra and Rudolph Tanzi guide you on a fascinating journey that envisions a leap in human evolution.
Interview with Deepak Chopra and Rudolph Tanzi
Q: How would you define super brain?
A: It’s the brain you have now but maximized. Everyone uses the brain at every moment, but we use it unconsciously. We let it run in the background without realizing the power we have to reshape the brain. When you begin to exercise your power, the everyday brain, which we call the baseline brain, starts to move in the direction of super brain.

Q: The power to reshape the brain—can you be more specific?
A: It means being more mindful of your own thoughts and feelings and becoming more proactive in taking charge of your brain. Each of us plays four roles in relation to the brain. We lead, we inspire, we invent, and we use it. Most people do not actively use their brains. They passively let their feelings and thoughts control their lives. Or they only use their brains without giving it much inspiration or leadership. They don’t invent new ways to use their brains, either, settling instead for the same routine and repetitive thoughts every day. But if you master all four roles, you create your super brain. The bottom line is that you when you are the active observer of your feelings and thoughts, you become the user of your brain. Your super brain then serves you, not vice versa.

Q: How did you hit upon this power to create super brain?
A: Directly from breakthroughs in neuroscience. Modern brain-scan technology has revealed that each person shapes a completely unique brain. Other studies have documented the amazing regenerative ability of the brain, which can be reshaped by the power of your mind to bring you the world you desire. Knowing that, the obvious question arose: Why not use your mind to create the brain you want, using conscious choice?

Q: What does that mean on a practical basis?
A: We give a lot of pointers in the book, but the quickest answer is this: All experiences are either positive for your brain or negative. If you maximize the positive ones, you are shaping the brain you want to being you the world you want.

Q: Can you give a few examples of what you call “a positive lifestyle for the brain”?
A: We divide it into inner work and outer work. Outer work includes diet, exercise, stress management, social engagement, intellectual stimulation, and good sleep—very familiar advice, but we have made it specific for the brain. Inner work is even more important and little understood until now.

Q: Can you describe inner work?
A: The brain is a dynamic system that constantly processes and creates your reality. It works best if you balance all the things that the brain is good at. The brain is good at being adaptable, flexible, creative, and intelligent. But it’s also good at playing and just being. A balanced life provides time—every day if possible—so that every function of the brain is allowed to come alive and flourish.

Q: Do you think that “work” might be more than many people want to do?
A: By work, we mean doing the best you can for yourself. If you want lifelong good health, intact memory, reduced risk of Alzheimer’s, and inner fulfillment, your brain plays the central part in all of them. The old adage of “use it or lose it” applies to the brain. The “work” is actually quite simple but requires persistence. One must simply choose to be the observer of the thoughts and feelings brought to them by their brain and use them to create a positive and constructive world that best suits them.

Q: Where is super brain taking us in the future?
A: We believe that super brain is the next evolutionary leap for the human brain. The last leap was the neocortex, the higher intellectual brain, which gave humans the ability to reason, to plan ahead, to love, to feel compassion and empathy, to attribute meaning to the world. Now we can build on that. Choice is the key, because human beings are the only creatures who can choose to evolve, who can shape their destiny. Furthermore, we have been given the gift of “self-awareness,” which allows us to step back into our true selves to observe and use our brains to create the world we wish to live in. For us, super brain is the future and starts now. 

http://crownpublishing.com/feature/interview-with-deepak-chopra-and-rudolph-tanzi-on-super-brain/#.VV2OtkYyGTQ

The Grain That Damages The Human Brain

With increasing recognition among medical professionals and the lay public alike that the health of gut and brain are intimately connected (i.e. the 'gut-brain' axis), the concept that gluten-containing grains can damage the human brain is beginning to be taken more seriously.  
Books like Dr. William Davis' New York Times best-selling Wheat Belly made great progress in opening up popular consciousness to the subject of gluten's addictive properties, my own e-book The Dark Side of Wheat explored the role that wheat and grains in general played as an addictive agent, and Dr. David Perlmutter's new book Grain Brain places significant emphasis on this connection as well. 

After all, if wheat is a common cause of intestinal damage ("enteropathy") both in those with celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity, it is no wonder that gluten-associated damage to the gut – sometimes called the "enteric brain," or "second brain," – could have adverse effects to the central nervous system as well.  

Indeed, our research project at GreenMedInfo.com has identified in biomedical literature directly from the National Library of Medicine over 200 adverse health effects linked to gluten-containing grains, with neurotoxicity top on the list of 21 distinct modes of toxicity associated with this grain's effects.[i]  These neurotoxic properties extend from neuropathy and ataxia, to distinct psychiatric conditions such as acute states of mania, and schizophrenia.

A recent study published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry titled, "Hyperexcitable brain and refractory coeliac disease: a new syndrome," has identified a "new syndrome" within the broader array of so-called "gluten related disorders (GRD)" which the authors are calling "Hyperexcitable brain and refractory celiac disease."

According to the study, "Whilst coeliac disease (gluten sensitive enteropathy) remains one of the best characterised GRD, neurological dysfunction is one of the commonest extraintestinal manifestations with a range of presentations such as cerebellar ataxia, neuropathy, sensory ganglionopathy and encephalopathy (headaches and white matter abnormalities)."

They point out that neurological manifestations of gluten-induced toxicity can occur with or without evidence of intestinal damage (enteropathy). While wheat-induced intestinal damage is far more common than most suppose (read: Research Proves Wheat Can Cause Harm to Everyone's Intestines), the problem with gluten stretches far beyond the intestinal wall to so-called "out-of-intestine" adverse health effects. And given the fact that many of the peptide sequences within the vast array of proteins that we colloquially refer to as 'gluten' -- as if it were a singular entity versus the 23,000 plus proteins it is actually comprised of -- are pharmacologically psychoactive, it is no wonder that adverse neurological/cognitive consequences follow its ingestion. 

The new study describes a case study involving 7 patients (5 male, 2 female) who were identified from a cohort of 540 patients with neurological manifestations of "Gluten related disorders (GRD)." These patients showed signs of "myoclonic tremor," which is an involuntary muscle twitching, which initially occurred in their face, tongue, one arm or one leg, "but then spread to affect other parts of the body."  So severe was the tremor that 5 of the patients suffered from epileptic seizures, progressing from "Jacksonian seizures," a type of epilepsy that are initiated with abnormal electrical activity within the primary motor cortex, and may involve a wide range of behaviors from drooling, smacking of the lips, apparently purposeful movements such as turning of the head, etc. Furthermore, all the patients were described as having "limb ataxia and more prominent gait ataxia" – ataxia being a lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements.

Electrophysiology 'brain tests' showed evidence of cortical myoclonus, which is defined as 'as involuntary brief muscle jerks originating from an abnormal discharge of the cerebral cortex.' Further clinical, imaging and/or pathological evaluation revealed some evidence of cerebellar involvement, but this was a secondary feature, distinguishing this new condition from gluten ataxia, where cerebellar ataxia is the most disabling feature.

 http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/grain-damages-human-brain

Crown Chakra

The Seventh, and final of the primary chakras, is your Crown Chakra. This is the energy vortex that connects you to your True Self, or the Divine. It also plays a “master” role, much in the same way that the pituitary gland is the “master gland” of your endocrine system. This is the seat of your illumination, godliness, and spiritual enlightenment. Much the same as your Root Chakra is responsible for physical energy and well-being in this life, your Crown Chakra is responsible for your spiritual energy.
 

The Crown Chakra is also known in Sanskrit as Sahasrara, which means “infinite,” “thousandfold,” or “thousand-spoked wheel.” It is the chakra of consciousness, and symbolizes the threshold between psychic and spiritual realms. It is where one attains the highest levels of consciousness and enlightenment.The Crown Chakra also governs the brain, hypothalamus, and pituitary glands.

 

Location: Above the top of the head, over the “soft spot”
Color: Violet, white, gold
Element: Beyond element; Spirit
Musical note: B
Sense: Beyond sense; thought
Symbol for Sahasrara has one thousand petals which represent the Supreme Self, all virtues manifested, and experience in the atom point

Crown Chakra governs:

• Spiritual connection
• Devotion
• Inspiration
• Selflessness
• Oneness
• Nirvana; bliss
• Divine awareness and understanding
• Brain
• Nervous system
• Right eye
• Pituitary gland
• Hypothalamus gland
• Thalamus gland
• Cerebral cortex
• Ability to transcend the physical laws of nature; “miracle working,” performing miracles
• Enlightenment
• Joy
• Divine guidance
• Spiritual energy and well-being

Signs of Crown Chakra imbalance include:

• Depression
• Frustration
• Lack of joy; no “joie de vivre”
• Headache, including migraines
• Catatonic
• Constant worry
• Stress
• Right-brain/left-brain imbalance
• Right eye blindness; right eye vision problems
• Disorientation
• Paralysis
• Multiple sclerosis
• Lack of grounding
• Feeling of disconnect from spiritual source
• Feeling of disconnect from others
• Lack of inspiration
• Indecision
• Lethargy
• Lack of purpose/life purpose unknown
• Hot and cold personality (sometimes passionate, sometimes distant)
• Apathy; indifference
• Bipolar disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Multiple personality disorder
• Attention Deficit Disorder
• Stroke
• Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS)
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Brain tumor
• Brain aneurysm
• Epilepsy
• Dyslexia
• Dementia
• Amnesia
• Coma
• Delusions
• Addictions
• Constant frustration
• Destructive feelings
• Inability to manifest physical needs
• Messiah complex
• Out of touch with reality
• Inability to perceive/connect with higher awareness and consciousness
• Inability to recognize Divine signs and answers
• Lack of connection with Spirit; no spiritual life
• Blocked intuition
• Complete belief in only the five senses, the physical; belief in illusion
• Sense of not belonging on Earth
• Anger/blame towards God
• Cynicism; overly skeptical about all things spiritual
• Fear of all things spiritual
• Fear of death
• Lack of faith
• Sense of great personal power with frustration over being unable to connect with it

Signs that the Crown Chakra is in balance include:

• Detachment from illusion
• Intuitive, psychic
• Wise
• Faith beyond what is physically sensed
• Knowing how to “live in this world but not of it”
• Ability to enjoy physical pleasures without becoming addicted
• Ability to recognize and receive intuitive/spiritual guidance
• Ability to know the difference between ego-mind and Spirit-mind
• Sense of oneness; “one is all and all is one”
• Deep sense of divine connection
• Love of life with no fear of death
• Joyful – joie de vivre – spark of joy
• Ability to transcend physical laws, including levitation, telepathy, “miracles”
• Non attachment to the physical
• Healthy nervous system
• Healthy brain and endocrine system
• Total access to subconscious and unconscious mind
• Awareness
• True freedom
• Self-acceptance
• Generosity; able to give and receive freely
• Ability to make good decisions and proceed forward through spiritual guidance
• Feeling peaceful
• Love and acceptance of God/Creator/Source/Divine; no anger or blame
• True power
• Knowledge, acceptance and following of life’s purpose
• Connected with others; comfortable on Earth

Things you can do to help balance your Crown Chakra include:

• Visualizing or wearing the colors violet, white, and/or gold
• Violet/white/gold ball of light meditation – simply visualize a glowing violet, white or gold ball in meditation
• TFT/EFT meridian tapping
• Listening to musical note B
• Meditate, meditate, meditate
• Praying
• All spiritual activity
• MEDITATE
• Breathing exercises
• Physical detoxification
• Wear diamonds (or just stare at them), amethyst, amber, gold, quartz crystal
• Use frankincense, lotus, star tulip, juniper and myrrh oils for aromatherapy
• Did I mention already?… MEDITATE
• Oh yes, and meditate

Your Crown Chakra is indeed sacred to your well-being in mind, body and Spirit in this life – and beyond.  All energy blocks keep you from connecting to your true Source – That Which You Really Are.  To really enjoy living life on Earth, the more we can do to release the limiting programs and emotions, the more quickly and easily we manifest our desires, create our lives as we intend them, live life fully, and achieve real enlightenment – where all things are possible.

http://energetic-mastery.com/crown-chakra/