Freedom Is Found In Detachment

I am looking for freedom in my life. And I know the only way I can find it is through detachment.

Every morning as I am preparing to begin my day I ask for a direction which will ultimately shape my life. During my day little signs will come to me that give me guidance toward my lesson. These come to me in a very profound manner and truly deepen my spiritual connection to all things. It has taken me a long time to learn how to hear this guidance. What I have come to know is that nature's messages do not come in form of a bolt of lightening as much as they come as a subtle breeze or light fragrance. And I find that unless I listen very carefully they go overlooked.

The other day I had asked for guidance and wisdom for this New Year. As I journeyed on my daily hike I passed my neighbors house. He had borrowed my ladder a few weeks ago and failed to return it. I saw it in his front yard. I was more amused than I was irritated. But, it lead me to think about him. He has not worked in nearly 3 years. He took a second out on his home some time ago and has been living off of his equity in the hopes that work will come to him. He has almost depleted his equity and has become very over leveraged. If the real estate market ever pulls back he will be in financial ruin.

An old sage had once told me how they use small wooden boxes to capture monkeys in Southeast Asia. There is a small whole cut in the top just big enough for the monkey's hand. Peanuts are left in the bottom of the box. The monkeys descend upon the boxes and reach inside for the peanuts. However, with a fist full of peanuts the monkey is unable to get his fist free from the box. His attachment to the peanuts has lead to his capture.

The world is my mirror and my neighbor's dilemma was a mirror of my dilemma, thus my lesson for the day. How am I the monkey? What are my attachments? How do my attachments keep me captive and impugn my freedom? How can I transcend my attachments and dependency that I hold so dearly and transform them into love and admiration? I know if I listen very carefully the answers will come to me. All I have to do is ask.

These were all great questions for me and maybe for you as well. It has started me on my journey for this New Year. And the Journey is where the answers are as opposed to the destination.

Thom King is the President of Steviva Brands, Inc. Steviva manufactures and distributes Stevia powder, Stevia blend, Stevia leaves and Yerba Mate. All of Steviva's product are all natural and have no calories or carbs. Subscribe to Mind, Body and Spirit is a weekly email publication which covers topics pertaining to a sharp and focused mind, motivation, healthy body and spiritual growth. It's free and you can cancel anytime. Go to http://www.steviva.com for more information.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

President-elect Barack Obama introduces, Nancy Killefer, not shown, to the newly created position of chief performance officer, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, at his transition office in Washington. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)AP - President-elect Barack Obama said Thursday that the nation's recession could "linger for years" unless Congress acts to pump unprecedented sums from Washington into the U.S. economy, making his highest-profile case yet on an issue certain to define his early presidency.



Shoppers on New York's Madison Ave. pass a DKNY clothing store promoting a sale  of up to 90 per cent off, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. Fears about the effects of rampant discounting on shoppers' psyche and its impact on stores' profit are running high as many retailers are expected to announce same-store sales declines of more than 10 percent for December on Thursday, marking the  third consecutive monthly decrease, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)AP - Retailers are reporting dismal sales for December, confirming fears that the holiday season was the weakest in four decades.



Israeli mobile artillery units fire shells towards Gaza from their position outside the northern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2009. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)AP - Lebanese militants fired at least three rockets into Israel early Thursday, threatening to open a new front for the Jewish state as it pushed forward with a bloody offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 700 people.



Illinois U.S. Senate Appointee Roland Burris smiles as he meets with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)AP - Illinois Republicans are promising tough questions Thursday for Senate-appointee Roland Burris on why he accepted a position offered by disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich and whether he promised the governor anything in return.



A sign instructs job seekers at the California Employment Development Department in Sunnyvale, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. The country lost nearly 2 million jobs through November and more bad news is expected this week when the government releases data on weekly jobless claims and December unemployment. No matter how bad those numbers are, and economists expect at least another 500,000 jobs were lost last month, the pain is stretching into 2009.  (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)AP - Pink slips are piling higher as companies scramble to cut costs even deeper to survive the country's economic and financial storms.



President-elect Barack Obama, flanked by President George W. Bush, and former President George H.W. Bush, speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2008, during a meeting, with former presidents Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)AP - The House and Senate are coming together in a centuries-old tradition to count the electoral votes from the November election and formally declare that Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the United States.



Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, January 6, 2009. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)AP - Wall Street headed for a mixed open Thursday, bracing for what are expected to be more bleak data on employment and retail sales.



Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer delivers the keynote address Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)AP - Microsoft Corp.'s next version of the Windows operating system is almost ready for prime time. That's one message Chief Executive Steve Ballmer delivered on the eve of the official opening of the International Consumer Electronics Show.



Christian Bale accepts the favorite action movie award for 'The Dark Knight' at the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards on Wednesday Jan. 7, 2009 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)AP - "The Dark Knight" soared away with every trophy it was nominated for Wednesday at the 35th annual fan-favorite CBS ceremony. The caped crusader flick won five awards, including favorite cast, superhero, action movie and on-screen matchup for Christian Bale's Batman and the late Heath Ledger's Joker.



Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops poses with the BCS championship trophy during a press conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. Oklahoma will play Florida for the NCAA BCS football championship Thursday, Jan. 8. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)AP - The Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida Gators meet tonight for the BCS championship. It's a matchup that includes a pair of Heisman Trophy winners, an SEC vs. Big 12 debate and more than its share of trash talk.



President-elect Barack Obama arrives with Nancy Killefer, his appointee as White House Chief Performance Officer, during a news conference at his transition office in Washington, January 7, 2009. (Jason Reed/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama will seek Thursday to rally support for a massive fiscal stimulus package by warning that the United States could remain mired in recession for years without bold action.



A Palestinian girl with dual citizenship waves as she leaves the Gaza Strip with her family January 8, 2009. (Suhaib Salem/Reuters)Reuters - Several rockets fired from Lebanon struck northern Israel on Thursday, slightly wounding two people, police and medics said, in an attack seen as linked to Israel's war on Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip.



Pedestrians are silhouetted on an electronic board displaying share prices outside a brokerage in Tokyo January 8, 2009. (Yuriko Nakao/Reuters)Reuters - Citigroup forecast a synchronized global recession in 2009 and said developed economies may "flirt" with deflation while emerging market economies will slow sharply, adding that global corporate earnings were only a quarter of the way through an expected 50 percent drop.



Reuters - The incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama will name Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law School professor who pioneered efforts to design regulation around the ways people behave, as regulatory czar, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Senator Charles Schumer on Capitol Hill in a file photo. (Jason Reed/Reuters)Reuters - Citigroup Inc is leading other lenders in advanced talks with key U.S. senators on legislation that would allow judges to set new repayment terms for millions of mortgage holders who wind up in bankruptcy court, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people involved in the talks.



People walk past the Bank of England in central London, January 8, 2009. (Rob Bodman/Reuters)Reuters - The Bank of England cut interest rates by half a percentage point to a record low of 1.5 percent on Thursday as it battles to keep Britain from falling into a deep and lasting downturn.



Media persons stand outside the headquarters of Satyam Computer, the country's fourth-largest software company, in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad January 8, 2009. (Krishnendu Halder/Reuters)Reuters - India vowed to strengthen laws to prevent corporate fraud after Satyam Computer, the country's fourth-largest software company, shocked investors by revealing profits had been falsely inflated for years.



Oleh Dubyna, the head of Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz, arrives at the European parliament Foreign Affairs Committee in Brussels January 8, 2009. (Francois Lenoir/Reuters)Reuters - Russia and Ukraine failed to resolve a gas row at a meeting in Moscow but will continue talks to end the dispute which has choked off supplies to Europe, a senior Ukrainian gas official said on Thursday.



Fake coffins wrapped in black with the Arabic words AFP - Rockets fired into northern Israel from Lebanon on Thursday jolted efforts to end the war in Gaza where Israeli jets carried out mass strikes on smuggling tunnels.



A Palestinian protestor flashes the V for 'victory' sign in front of an Israeli soldier near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's old city. Israeli warplanes bombed suspected arms-smuggling tunnels in southern Gaza early Thursday, as diplomats worked to secure a ceasefire in an offensive that has killed 700 Palestinians.(AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)AFP - Israeli warplanes bombed suspected arms-smuggling tunnels in southern Gaza early Thursday, as diplomats worked to secure a ceasefire in an offensive that has killed 700 Palestinians.




Hemorrhoids & its Symptoms

Hemorrhoids are conditions where there is a swelling of the veins around... Read More

What AreThe Symptoms Of A Sinus Headache?

Problems with sinuses, give rise to headaches, so you have to know... Read More

Fun is a Powerful Alternative Medicine - Just Dont Confuse it with Funny

You're familiar with the phrase, "there's the rub," meaning "there lies the... Read More

Laughter and Your Health

Alternative medicine: jokes and humor for your healthWhen thinking about alternative medicine,... Read More

Constipation Remedy Using Citrus Juice

Citrus JuicesCitrus juices are a constipation remedy that is an excellent way... Read More

Once You Discover and Act on This ?Secret? to Health and Energy, You May be Changed for the Better

I discovered something completely, 100% amazing about 5 years ago. The first... Read More

Know About the All Purpose Holistic Medicine

Understanding what holistic medicine is:Holistic Medicine is a wellness-based approach to medicine.... Read More

Oregano Supplements : An Effective Natural Treatment for Fungus and Other Ailments

What's the big deal with oregano? Many of you have eaten foods... Read More

Ganoderma the Miracle Herb - Can It Help You?

Let us see if Ganoderma which has been discribed as the "miracle... Read More

Learn About Falun Dafa

I have been practicing an advanced form of qigong for almost 5... Read More

Powerbreathe, Lung Conditioner, and Breathing Exerciser

What is The Powerbreathe?POWERbreathe is the result of nearly a decade of... Read More

How Pain Relief Visualization Statements Work

Visualization statements represent the specific language that your subconscious wants you to... Read More

Why Use An Aromatherapy Diffuser?

We breathe 22,000 times a day, inhaling 400 cubic feet of air.We... Read More

A Morning Smoothie to Help You Stop Constipation

Chronic constipation can be hard to stop or elimination, since the colon... Read More

Natural Pain Management

Life in today's hectic society is going more and more in the... Read More

Home Remedies

Ever have a bee sting? Try rubbing an aspirin on it. Gum... Read More

Thyme: Elegance Drifting Through the Ages of Time

Thyme is a herb that has been cultivated for centuries for both... Read More

Diet Food Stinks!

One big thing that can keep you from eating healthy is the... Read More

Superfood or Superfad

I have been reading a lot lately on the subject of anthrocyanins.... Read More

Preventive Medicine - Ayurveda

It should not be hard for anyone to imagine that man sought... Read More

The Effects of Stress

Stress can affect you in four different ways:The Physical Effects of StressThese... Read More

Some Alternative Health Strategies

CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) therapies are generally classified into 5 seperate... Read More

Herbs For Protection

If you have never used plant matter in magic before, I explain... Read More

Allergy Control: Reducing Airborne Allergens in Your Home

Those who are plagued by allergies are always struggling to diminish those... Read More

Constipation and Toxicity

Having regular constipation can lead to some serious illnesses. Fecal matter should... Read More

Herbal Products

HERBAL PRODUCTS are comprised of herbal care remedies, such as ointments like... Read More

Treat Cold Sores, Sore Throats, and Warts Naturally

Tired of costly medications, prescriptions and time lost for doctor's appointments, I... Read More

Hypnotherapy ? Does It Really Work?

Okay, so some of you are familiar with hypnotherapy. You've heard it... Read More

Whipped Shea Butter & Its Many Uses

Shea butter, also referred to as karite, which means "life" has been... Read More

Mental Health Maintenance Is Made Simple

Your mental health is often drastically improved when you use the techniques... Read More

Bodily Attributes!

The revolution is indeed underway. Money married to desire, imagination and necessity... Read More

Home Saunas and Kits: Benefits, Pre-Planning, and Purchasing Tips

For quite some time now home saunas have gained massive popularity across... Read More

Dandelions! This Common Weed is a Wonderful Spring Tonic

Those Glorious Dandelions! Taraxacum officinale (composite family)Spring is coming! Starting about this... Read More

Herbal Medicine for Diabetes

Herbs used in traditional Indian medicine to treat diabetes seems to lower... Read More

Alternative Health Care is Under Attack by a Hidden Standard - The Unfortunate Case of Dr. Shortt

A recent case in the news highlights an alarming trend in "alternative"... Read More

Eucalyptus: The Way to Smoother Breathing

The eucalyptus is a popular Australian remedy that was first introduced to... Read More

An Udderly Ricidulous Home Remedy

Home Remedies - Facts or Quacks?That's what I recently asked myself. Myths... Read More

What Disorders Can Acupuncture Treat and How Does It Work?

How did acupuncture start?The story was met with widespread disbelief.During a visit... Read More

Natural Sleep Aid Tips and Remedies

This article is a summary of some of the sleep aid remedies... Read More

Your Body is a Map of Your Consciousness

Everything begins with your consciousness. Everything that happens in your life, and... Read More

Moles, Warts & Skin Tags Remedy

Are you worried about your moles, warts, and skin tags? Are scared... Read More

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Symptoms

Urinary tract infection is caused by bacteria in one of the tracts... Read More

Reflexology & Meridian Therapy

Reflexology & Meridian Therapy are combined healing arts that utilize stimulation of... Read More

Proper Medical Identification Could Save Your LIFE

Everyone with a medical condition or allergy should have a medical id... Read More

What is Reiki, Benefits of Reiki, Healing Sessions, Herbs that Heal

In Japan, in the early 1920s, Mikao Usui developed Reiki-ho (Reiki method)... Read More

How Visualization Is Different from What You May Have Tried for Pain Relief

You've probably tried everything you can think of to ease your chronic... Read More

Honey! Natural Treatment for Gum Disease

There is quite a bit of talk going on about the antimicrobial... Read More