Death, Life and Choosing to Be Awake

/
Death, Life and Choosing to Be Awake

I held my older brother in my arms as he died. He had drunk himself to death. The night he died, he was in a hospice because of liver failure. He was only 45. His last breath is forever burned into my mind.

 That could have been me. I had quit drinking 17 years earlier, when I was in my late twenties. I had found my bottom, which alcoholics and addicts need to do. The beginning of the end for me was an acid trip during which I did a number of exceptionally stupid things.

The following month was pretty hardcore, even by my standards. I had “the buzz” down to an art form. I knew how much I needed to drink so that when I smoked the weed, I found the perfect oblivion.

Read More

Listen to Paul Crouse Radio Show #005 - Walking in the Land of the Gods

/
Listen to Paul Crouse Radio Show #005 - Walking in the Land of the Gods

Listen On Demand

Show #003 Guest: Walking in the Land of the Gods with Ted Taylor

Ted is an American writer, traveler and long time resident of Japan. He shares his experiences studying Zen Buddhism, yoga, and his extensive walking journeys through the Japanese countryside.

In this wide ranging conversation, Ted and Paul discuss the old spirituality and how it can be applied in daily life. 

You contact Ted, and read his blog Notes from the Nog.

Read More

Be Right or Be Kind? Surviving Holiday Family Gatherings

/ Paul Crouse Personal Development Consulting/
Be Right or Be Kind? Surviving Holiday Family Gatherings
“If you think you are enlightened, go spend a week with your family.” -- Ram Dass
“You have a choice either to be right or to be kind.” -- Wayne Dyer

With the holiday season approaching, many of us will be participating in family gatherings. While many families have wonderful times together, others don’t. Family members can drive you crazier than anyone else on the planet. 

If you want to have a better holiday experience, and a better life experience in general, you might want to consider a new approach to dealing with challenging or difficult people. 

Read More

Listen to Paul Crouse Radio Show 003 - One Simple Shift to Transform Your Life

/ Paul Crouse Personal Development Consulting/
Listen to Paul Crouse Radio Show 003 - One Simple Shift to Transform Your Life

Listen On Demand

Show #003: One Simple Shift to Transform Your Life with Kevin Akash Olver 

Kevin has many years of experience of bringing together psychology and spirituality and helping all kinds of people to enrich their personal and work lives. Based in Hove, England, he has a gift for clear seeing and is known for his warm, peaceful nature and inspiring approach.

We talked about getting how getting in alignment with our inner nature can transform your life. This can be done in simple, practical ways. 

Read More

Chakra Meditation - Free 16 Minute Audio MP3 File (Updated Version)

/ Paul Crouse Personal Development Consulting/
Chakra Meditation - Free 16 Minute Audio MP3 File (Updated Version)

(This is a new recording with improved audio quality and without the jarring bell at the end. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Life is about progress, not perfection, right?)

Feel calm, centered and energized with the Chakra Meditation.

Listen to this sixteen minute guided meditation in the audio player, or download it to your phone or other device. Click "Read More" below. The audio player at the bottom of the page, with the download button on the right hand side.

You will be guided to open and activate your chakras (energy centers of your body) and then sit in silence.

Read More

Chakra Meditation - Free 15 Minute Audio MP3 File

/ Paul Crouse Personal Development Consulting/
Chakra Meditation - Free 15 Minute Audio MP3 File

Feel calm, centered and energized with the Chakra Meditation.

Listen to this fifteen minute guided meditation in the audio player below, or download it to your phone or other device. Simply click "Download" on the right hand side of the audio player.

You will be guided to open and activate your chakras (energy centers of your body) and then sit in silence.

Read More

Listen to Paul Crouse Radio Show #002 - Spirit, Mind, Body Balance

/ Paul Crouse Personal Development Consulting/
Listen to Paul Crouse Radio Show #002 - Spirit, Mind, Body Balance

Listen on Demand

Show #002: Spirit - Mind - Body Balance with Ela Albisser

Ela is a shiatsu practitioner and a health coach in Kyoto. We talked about the importance finding the balance between mind, body and spirit; about moving forward by getting out of our comfort zone; and simple things that you can do to live healthier.

Read More

Listen to Paul Crouse Radio Show #001 - Making Your Vision Reality

/
Listen to Paul Crouse Radio Show #001 - Making Your Vision Reality

(This post corrects the problems some people had listening to the recording of the show).

Listen on Demand

Show #001 : Making Your Vision Reality with Larendee Roos 

Larendee is a strategic business advisor in Brooklyn, NY who helps people build their dreams step by step by harnessing their gifts and talents within a practical structure. We also talked the importance of living a genuine life from your soul.

Read More

8401 Miracles: 23 Years of Sobriety

/
8401 Miracles: 23 Years of Sobriety

Today is my 23rd re-birthday. I have been sober 8401 days, each one-day-at-a-time. 

Each one of these days is a miracle. I could be dead right now. Or living in a lower level of hell than I used to.

One of my brothers died from alcoholism. I held him as he drew his last breath at the youthful age of 45. I know where that path leads. It could have been me. 

Read More

How to Do the Diamond Heart Meditation

/ Paul Crouse Personal Development/
How to Do the Diamond Heart Meditation

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”  — Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Today, I would like to teach you a very simple and powerful meditation you can do to empower yourself. It is called the Diamond Heart Meditation. With this meditation, you will consciously share the love in your heart with everyone and everything. 

This is a very powerful meditation that can change your life. It will show you that you have an unlimited power source from within yourself. By sharing this love energy, your vibes will be tuned higher and your energy will shift. You will become brighter and your darkness will melt away. 

Read More

"Shields Up, Mr. Sulu!": Simple Protection from Bad Vibes

/ Paul Crouse Personal Development/
"Shields Up, Mr. Sulu!": Simple Protection from Bad Vibes

Today, I want to teach you a simple technique to help you protect yourself from other people’s bad vibes.

Imagine that people are like two-way radios. We are constantly broadcasting our thoughts and feelings, as well as receiving the thoughts and feelings of other people.

Read More

Live Your Life That the Fear of Death Can Never Enter Your Heart

/ Paul Crouse Personal Development/
Live Your Life That the Fear of Death Can Never Enter Your Heart

(Reposted with the video added. This is my favorite quote. I read this often to remind myself how to live in a good way.)

"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.

Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours.

Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.

 

Read More

What Does “Living From the Heart” Really Mean?

/
What Does “Living From the Heart” Really Mean?

“Living from the heart” is one of the those phrases used in self-help circles that borders on cliché.  Unfortunately, excellent ideas often get lost when phrases like this are overused in a Stewart Smally-like fashion. 

Yet, the idea of “living from the heart” is profound and beneficial. Like all symbolism, it is open to interpretation and can evolve over time....

....I believe that “living from the heart” means moving away from living totally from thought. Our soul is our core and the reason we were born. Our minds (including our emotions) are layered on top, superimposed.

The key is learning to move our minds off the side and to live from this deepest place. The heart is our center and is an access point to this deep place.

Read More

How to Stop Worrying

/ Get Rid of the Box/
How to Stop Worrying

Worry is focusing your attention on your fears repeatedly. It is a habit; a form of condition thinking.

Why is Worrying Bad?

Worry is a waste of time and energy. It does absolutely nothing to change what you are worried about.

It is also destructive. It causes a great deal of stress, which is unhealthy physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Worrying simply reinforces living of your life in fear. Fear is paralyzing and keeps you away from living your life to the fullest. 

The good news is that you can stop worrying if you choose to.

Read More

After a Near Death Experience, a Woman Shares How to Live Better

/
After a Near Death Experience, a Woman Shares How to Live Better

Anita Moorjani had a near death experience after battling cancer for four years. She came back from the Other Side and healed herself completely in a matter of weeks.

Please watch the video above. In it, I read and expand upon a page from Anita's book "Dying to Be Me." She describes how she totally changed the way she approaches living life.

She has moved from living her life in fear to living her life with joy.She allows herself to simply be herself, not being burdened by other people's dogma or judgements. We can learn a lot from someone with such an experience.

Read More

Awareness Training: Bring Your Attention Back to Your Body

/
Awareness Training: Bring Your Attention Back to Your Body

“Yeah, when you call my name, I salivate like Pavlov’s Dogs.” -- The Rolling Stones 

A huge amount of the thoughts in our heads are there because of conditioned thinking. You remember Pavlov’s Dogs from school, right?  Ring the bell and salivate. Conditioned thinking is an automatic response. Event X happens and you respond with Reaction Y, just like you learned to do in the past.

What is this means is that we are not in control of our thoughts. Our thoughts control us. This conditioning started when we were very small children. A baby is hungry, she cries and she gets fed.  She gets hungry again, she cries and she gets fed again. We learn that one pretty fast.

To take back control of our thinking, we need tools to help us break the slavery to our trance-like conditioning.

Read More

Great Moments in Life: Kids on the Bus

/
Great Moments in Life: Kids on the Bus

On the morning bus recently here in Kyoto, I sat down next to a bunch of elementary school boys. They all look at me suspiciously, and then start saying to each other "You go talk to him in English!" 

After it was determined that one of the boys could speak English better than the others, the one boy looks at me and says "hello!"

Read More

Be Right or Be Kind? Surviving Holiday Family Gatherings

/ Get Rid of the Box/
Be Right or Be Kind? Surviving Holiday Family Gatherings

“If you think you are enlightened, go spend a week with your family.” -- Ram Dass

"You  have a choice either to be right or to be kind.” -- Wayne Dyer

With the holiday season approaching, many of us will be participating in family gatherings. While many families have wonderful times together, others don’t. Family members can drive you crazier than any other people on the planet. 

If you want to have a better holiday experience, and a better life experience in general, you might want to consider a new approach to dealing with challenging people. 

Read More

Simple Energizing and Centering Meditation

/ Get Rid of the Box/
Simple Energizing and Centering Meditation

Today, I would like to share with you a simple visualization exercise that can help increase your energy level. This is especially good if you are feeling drained, lethargic or depressed. It is also an excellent daily exercise to keep you strong, centered and balanced.

It only takes a few minutes and you can incorporate this into your regular meditation practice.

Read More

Put Your Camera (or Phone) Down and Experience Life

/ Get Rid of the Box/
Put Your Camera (or Phone) Down and Experience Life

The next time you pull that camera or phone out of your pocket to take a picture or video. Don’t. Put it back.

Instead just look at what you wanted to take a picture of. Experience it. Listen to what is going on. Smell it. Feel it. Be in the present.  Life is now. It is not later when you are looking at your photos on Facebook.

When you breathe your last breath and your life is flashing in front of your eyes, will you be thinking about the pictures that you took, or of the experiences you had and the people you loved?

Read More