Some find the term, monkey mind, upsetting, derogatory, and insulting. This is a shame, as the point is lost, the ego is involved, and a natural human defense goes up. After all, we are supposed to be the king of the primates, arent we?

The first time I heard the expression, monkey mind, in regard to meditation, I thought of Swayambhunath Stupa, in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Sometimes, this is named, the monkey temple, and it made me laugh inside, as monkeys need supervision in human settings. The picture of unsupervised monkeys got into my head, and I was suppressing laughter during a serious conversation.

Monkeys can be nuisances, when allowed to roam without some guidance, and it is the same with the untrained mind that runs from topic to topic, without getting much accomplished. So please dont waste time being offended by the term, and try to look at the comical side.

When you allow yourself to enjoy life, and try not to take anything too seriously, you can see that monkeys dont have it so bad after all. Very often, the human mind spends too much time defending, worrying, posturing, influencing, fearing, and feeling embarrassed, to enjoy life to its fullest potential.

In fact, you are not your mind. You are responsible for your actions, but many things happen in the thought process before you do take action. For example when you think, images and options are created. As a result of those images, you get a physical feeling somewhere around your heart.

Whether the feeling is, good or bad, you process it into action, or treat it as a fleeting thought that passes and may be forgotten. So if you have a fleeting evil thought and it passes – should you waste time feeling guilty about it? The natural safeguard for ethical behavior is your heart or gut feeling. This is the best indicator of wrong or right.

Mankind has the ability to influence the universe, and create different realities, but separating what is sacred, from what is evil, has been a dilemma for thousands of years. The disconnection from your inner self, nature, and God, has led to excessive confusion.

Thank God for meditation; it allows you to harness the power of the mind, settle down, and focus, on one subject at a time. If you take the time for a daily meditation practice, your decision-making process will be much more controlled and clear. The end result will be to look at the monkey with much more respect, appreciation, and a bit of humor.

You can be the creator of your own manifest destiny. Through daily meditation practice and focus on changing your life for the better. In fact, you have the ability to redefine yourself in any direction you desire. The power that you can cultivate is limited only by your own imagination.

As I have mentioned earlier, this will change the lives of people who you come into frequent contact with. Therefore, you must always be kind, trustworthy, and considerate to others. You should make a change in that direction at this very moment.

Why the sudden need for character improvement? It goes hand-in-hand with using power and influence wisely. Remember Lord Actons saying Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The power of your mind has the ability to alter reality. Therefore, this is a power that must be controlled.

How is this possible? Here is an example If you had two identical twin boys, who havent eaten for two days, and you put an apple in front of them; what would they do?

Most likely, they would fight over it, and the winner would eat, most or, all of it. You and I know they should divide it equally, but each of them has really felt starvation, and that is a reality you and I do not feel at the moment. So we are not talking about imagination, but three legitimate points of view, that each becomes our own reality.

Meditation will allow your mind to see multiple points of view, without judgment. If you can see only one point of view, you havent meditated long enough. The best leaders, negotiators, and diplomats, know that you have to understand the opposing viewpoint, to move forward, on any issue. There is always justification, on both sides, in any conflict, but true compromise is meeting the opposition in a different reality, than you both started from.

If you had the ability to travel in the space shuttle, your view of earth, from within your space vehicle, would be much different from the person living in poverty, within a refugee camp. You could not see, or feel, that persons pain, and each of you would have a vivid picture of life on earth.

You can meditate from a mountain top, but once you have seen the full picture, you have an obligation to help mankind, with acts of kindness. Once you have discovered how easy it is to help others, you are no longer struggling with; who is right and who is wrong.

Your new reality becomes, how can I help?

Physical exercise is the performance of some activity in order to develop or maintain physical fitness and overall health. It is often directed toward also honing athletic ability or skill.

There are literally zillions of exercise benefits to be gained through a regular fitness and nutritional plan. When you read this list, you’ll wonder why everyone isn’t taking advantage of what fitness has to offer.

Improving Mental and Physical Health
Physical exercise can improve both your mental and physical health. The benefits of aerobic exercise include improved cardiovascular endurance, muscle strength and flexibility. Exercise pumps more blood through your veins. This increases the size of your arteries, prevents fat from clogging your arteries and helps prevent blood clots.

The great thing about training the upper body is that there are tons of choices for working each muscle group. The bad thing is that there seem to be a lot of muscles in the upper body and, if you’re like me, you have your favorites and your not-so-favorites.

Exercise tip for an exercise benefit
Take a walk every day with your entire family. If your children are old enough to ride a bike or roller-blade, let them while you walk, jog, ride a bike or roller-blade yourself;

Increased Energy
The right combination of exercise and nutrition creates an hormonal environment conducive to fat loss, increased muscle strength and increased energy. When your body is working at peak efficiency, your energy levels soar!

How much exercise do I need?
Talk to your doctor about how much exercise is right for you. A good goal for many people is to work up to exercising 4 to 6 times a week for 30 to 60 minutes at a time. Remember, though, that exercise has so many benefits that any amount is better than none

Kids exercise all the time without even thinking of it. Just being active, like when you run around outside or play kickball at school, is a kind of exercise. What else counts as exercise? Playing sports, dancing, doing push-ups, and even reaching down to touch your toes.

Balance Ball
One of the best exercise methods is to exercise with a balance ball! So, we urge you to find out more about the balance ball exercise today.

A vacation can do wonders for reducing stress levels, but it can derail a healthy fitness regimen. Even some of the most die-hard exercisers find it difficult to stick with a workout program when away from home. Sure, many have good intentions. They may even pack their workout attire. Unfortunately, their gear never makes it out of the suitcase until they’re back home.

But travel from home doesn’t have to result in an interruption or complete abandonment of your healthy habits. You can still fit in exercise time when away from home, regardless of whether you find yourself in a warm or a cold climate. Even if bad weather forces you into seclusion in your hotel room, there are exercises you can complete without a single piece of equipment.

Below are some tips to help you stay fit while traveling and avoid coming home with unwanted extra baggage.

. Be realistic. You probably won’t be able to fit in your normal weekly workouts and that’s okay. Shoot for completing at least 50 of your normal regimen.
. Plan ahead. Before leaving town, find out what type of workout facilities your accommodations will have or if there is a nearby park or jogging track weather permitting, of course.
. Scope out local gyms. If you are staying somewhere that doesn’t provide a workout area then inquire at the nearby local fitness centers for their rates. Often they offer day passes for minimal fees.
. Pack a resistance band in your suitcase. The band takes up very little space, yet can provide you with an entire upper and lower body workout routine.
. Don’t deprive yourself of all local delicacies. You can enjoy some special meals without going overboard. Ask the restaurants to prepare your favorite dishes with a few lower fat ingredients.
. Be creative. Find unique, fun ways to exercise instead of doing the same routine you do when you are at home. Try biking, hiking, a pedal boat excursion, water-skiing, beach volleyball, etc. Effective workouts aren’t limited to the standard fares of walking, jogging and fitness machines.
. Try out your travel routine at least once at home. A new workout that you’ve never done before will require more time and preparation. This type of frustration just makes for an easy excuse to skip the workout.
. Prepare snacks. If your journey includes a lot of time in the car, be sure to pack some healthy snacks so you aren’t forced to eat at all the fast food and convenience shops along the way.
. Play in the pool. If lounging poolside is part of your vacation plans, then hop in the pool every 20 minutes for 5-10 minutes of pool walking try it in waist-deep or higher water for a really challenging workout.
. Get comfortable. Don’t forget to pack comfortable workout attire that fits your destination’s climate.

Here is a quick, simple circuit workout that only requires a resistance band and can be done anywhere. Complete at least one set of 8-12 reps of each exercise.

. Bicep Curl
. Tricep Dip
. Lat Pull Down
. Front Raise
. Push-Up
. Squat
. Abductor lifts
. Adductor splits
. Hamstring Kicks

For detailed instructions for each of the above exercises, visit www.workoutsforyou.comtravelplan.htm