The Power of Your Subconscious

June 11, 2010 at 5:00 pm
By sanora bartels

We’ve all heard the phrase “the devil made me do it.” The idea being, of course, that some unknown, hidden part of self, caused us to misbehave.

There have been many recent scientific studies on the “subconscious” and whether or not it rules our actions while our “conscious” mind takes credit. This phenomenon was defined in an article by Dennis Overbye of The New York Times: “conscious mind is like a monkey riding a tiger of subconscious decisions and actions in progress, frantically making up stories about being in control.”

Many people feel this way and that feeling leads them to the conclusion that “free will” is an illusion. How can there be free will if my subconscious controls what I do and, even worse, I don’t know what it’s thinking at any given moment?

First of all, where did the term “subconscious” come from? Most think of Freud but “subconscious” was not a term Freud invented and as a matter of fact, he abhorred it. In Freud’s world there was “unconscious” – that which was once conscious but has been repressed and “preconscious” – that which is still unknown but will eventually bubble up to the surface of consciousness.

The term “subconscious” was coined in order to put both of those things in the same mishmash pot so that now when people talk about the subconscious, they are speaking both of repressed conscious awareness and untapped consciousness.

These days, I think “subconscious” is often used as an excuse for bad behavior or a reason one hasn’t reached their full potential. It’s not my fault – I just need to figure out what my “subconscious” blocks are and everything will flow to me. It’s a nice idea and a piece of blue sky that has been sold to many believers in many workshops. I don’t mean to poo-poo workshops that allow the participants to discover another layer of self and tap into hidden potential, but to tell someone that the subconscious is the factor deciding our fate seems a little simplistic to me.

The question is not whether we have free will (we do) – the question is whether or not we have awareness. And this is where meditation comes in. Meditation raises our perception. I have written about the ability to be so fully in the present moment that one is able to tap into the thoughts and intentions of another – this ability grows from the inside out. When we sit in meditation, we drop to the level of Pure Consciousness. This allows us access to both preconscious awareness and unconscious, suppressed knowledge. Meditation is the experience of consciousness at all levels. The practitioner gains knowledge and insight from the experience of meditation. (As opposed to knowledge gained from intellectual concept.)

If we think of the subconscious as the darkest shadows in the dim room of our mind, then the experience of Pure Consciousness is like walking into that dim room, full of shadows, and turning on the light switch. The shadows literally disappear and we can see each detail of our mind. Nothing is hidden. Where before we moved through the room, one hand out, hoping not to rap our knee on an end table, now we move freely, choosing our path with grace.

Is the subconscious a tiger running wild and your conscious mind merely a monkey holding tight and jabbering away? Is it the devil? Or is it all simply shadow and light? It doesn’t matter.

You, post-meditation, informed by unconscious and preconscious desires, are in control of the next step.

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Reincarnation Explained

May 29, 2010 at 5:00 pm
By sanora bartels

Most people have some cursory idea of reincarnation — if we don’t get things spiritually right in this life, we are brought back to try again in a subsequent life. Depending on how well or badly we behaved in our previous incarnation, we might come back as a lower life form or with fewer amenities. If we’re good, we might return a little richer, with a higher IQ or higher social status.

This is most people’s casual idea of reincarnation. But what if reincarnation is not a small “s” self, individual soul phenomenon? What if it is not a system of checks and balances to punish or reward? Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase becoming ONE with the universe?

If you ascribe to the belief in Advaita, the experiential understanding that all is One — manifest and unmanifest at the same time, then we are each of us, wholly One thing experiencing Self through the illusion of multiple individuals.

If that idea seems too complex to grasp then think of what you feel when you sit in meditation – a connection to the universe, one soul, one Pure Consciousness. This Pure Consciousness could be like the white light that shines through the prism of existence, refracting in all directions creating a rainbow of individual colors. The rainbow is an illusion. Orange is still white. Purple is still white.

Hold on, you may say, there are people who can remember a past life and Clairvoyants who can read your past life. Doesn’t that indicate individual experience? Not necessarily, if there is One single consciousness, then I may well have a memory of living as Napoleon Bonaparte. I am That, he is That. All of this (throughout history) is nothing more or less than That. It would explain why two people can have the same past life memory, and why several people remember being the same famous person. Along that same vein, the Clairvoyant is accessing this consciousness database as well.

Now, am I literally saying that I remember being Napoleon? No, the fact is I have manifested as small “s” self with a specific set of spiritual lessons to experience. But lately, I have realized that I, individual Sanora, am not the center of this existence. I am the conceit, the form, the physical vehicle that moves through lessons about money, knowledge, commitment and communication. The physical vehicle is circumstantial and ephemeral, as is the emotional database, the intellect, the ego – all of these will drop when the body drops. The experiences though will be absorbed and recycled again and again in other vehicles that allow the unmanifest One to manifest as Self.

And yes, we can remember those experiences because we are That. Is there reincarnation? There can be no doubt, but as a system to make you, small “s” self, a better, more pious individual? Not necessarily, think about your own existence in this lifetime. What are your recurring themes? How do they bring you in contact with other individuals? That contact is the point of multiplicity.

Perhaps reincarnation is simply Oneness living as many selves over and over in order experience itself through the eyes of an Other — in order to ultimately experience the greatest unity – love.
If this makes you feel small or unimportant as an individual, you merely need to go back to the immense beginning: I am That. Thou Art That.

We are the One experiencing Self through multiple manifestations and the colors refracted through the prism are infinite – as is the conscious storehouse of memory.

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4 Ways to Improve Cash Flow

May 23, 2010 at 5:00 pm
By sanora bartels

The first thing you need to understand about money is that its energy is meant to flow. That’s why it’s called currency. This doesn’t necessarily mean spend, spend, spend. The human body offers an excellent analogy: We need fuel in order to function properly, but that fuel needs to be nutritionally valuable and taken in moderation. Overfill the tank, and movement slows down. Again, proper flow does not mean eat, eat, eat.

Living in prosperity proposes a shift in consciousness, an awakening. According to J. D. Roth of the blog Get Rich Slowly and author of the book, Your Money: The Missing Manual, “Money management isn’t about numbers; it’s about goals and dreams. If you feel stuck, the first step is to figure out why you feel stuck. One way to achieve clarity is to take some time to actually set some financial goals.”

With this in mind, I admire J. D. Roth’s simple approach to flow, balance, moderation as it relates to gaining financial freedom. Roth advises to take charge of your debt by assessing what you can live without and stop spending money on it, i.e. change the flow of currency.

How do you go about applying this to everyday life? I give up my latte every day before work, for example and at the end of the week I have $20, sometimes more. This equals $1040 per year or about enough for an overseas plane ticket, or a nice dent in debt.

While Roth offers solid advice on changing the direction of the flow, Edwene Gaines, who wrote The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity, takes this shift deeper by acknowledging the flow of currency and its impact on spiritual community. She lays out four spiritual laws of prosperity:

1) You must tithe 10 percent of all that you receive to the person, place, or institution where you receive your spiritual food.
2) You must set clear-cut, tangible goals.
3) You must forgive everyone all the time, especially yourself.
4) You must seek, discover, and follow your divine purpose.

Late last year, I faced many financial roadblocks. I picked up Edwene’s book and applied her rules to my life. Every time I tithe, money does come back to me in abundance. I feel lighter in my life because I have let go of the burdens of regret and recrimination. Letting go allowed me to receive. I have clarity not only about what my monthly income needs to be, but a deeper understanding of self, which answers the question of how to attain that income.

At first, there is fear about the 10% tithe. “I don’t have enough as it is! How can I tithe?” As soon as it becomes your consistent practice, the power of currency becomes immediately apparent. You find yourself in the flow of money.

The forgiveness rule is tricky, as well. “You mean I have to forgive my parents for raising me to believe that there is never enough!?” Yes. And then forgive yourself for believing it years after childhood. When you let go of grudges, you make room for gratitude. Gratitude invites abundance.

Deepak Chopra, in Creating Affluence, puts it this way: “Knowledge has organizing power inherent in it. It is simply enough to know, to be aware of the principles; the knowledge will be processed and metabolized by our bodies, and the results will be spontaneous. The results do not occur overnight, but begin to manifest gradually over a period of time.”

Maybe that’s the real shift in consciousness. When we decide to get our bodies into shape, we have to acknowledge that we didn’t gain weight overnight, and that losing that weight doesn’t happen overnight either. For many of us, debt did not happen overnight. The solution is a long-term spiritual shift around your control of currency. Go with the flow!

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Spirituality is No Luxury

April 21, 2010 at 5:00 pm
By sanora bartels

Even in this tough economy, students continue to show up to learn Vedic Meditation. Part of the reason is that they’re looking to relieve the stress they feel just trying to keep up with bills. But I sense in them something else. They are seeking a way to tap into something deeper — they are looking for a spiritual path that will confirm they are more than the sum of their job or their possessions or their checkbook. And interestingly, more and more people are making this a practical priority.

In Friends on the Path Thich Nhat Hanh said:
“It has been said that the twenty-first century will be a century of spirituality, and I think it must be a century of spirituality if we are to survive…Spirituality is something we can cultivate. To be spiritual is to be solid, calm, and peaceful, and to be able to look deeply inside and around us. It means having the capacity to handle our afflictions – our anger, craving, despair, and discrimination. It means being able to see the nature of interbeing between people, nations, races, and all forms of life. Spirituality is not a luxury anymore; we need to be spiritual in order to overcome the difficulties of our time.”

He’s right, of course. We can no longer ignore our connection to one another and our role in the larger context. A lot of people are at a loss though when they hear the word “spirituality”. What does it mean to be spiritual? I think Eckhart Tolle put it best in A New Earth:
“What is spiritual realization? The belief that you are spirit? No, that’s a thought…Spiritual realization is to see clearly that what I perceive, experience, think, or feel is ultimately not who I am, that I cannot find myself in all those things that continually pass away …

What remains is the light of consciousness in which perceptions, experiences, thoughts, feelings come and go. That is Being, that is the deeper, true I. When I know myself as that, whatever happens in my life is no longer of absolute but only of relative importance…The only thing that ultimately matters is this: Can I sense my essential Beingness, the I am, in the background of my life at all times.”

That’s great, you might say. But you then ask: “How do I get there? There are so many paths available, what if I choose the wrong one?” The Dalai Lama doesn’t believe you can choose incorrectly as long as you keep true to yourself according to his writings in The Good Heart:
“When embarking on a spiritual path, it is important that you engage in a practice that is most suited to your mental development, your disposition, and your spiritual inclinations. It is crucial that each individual seek a form of spiritual practice and belief that is most effective for that individual’s specific needs. Through this, one can bring about inner transformation, the inner tranquility that will make that individual spiritually mature and a warm-hearted, whole, and good and kind person. That is the consideration one must use in seeking spiritual nourishment.”

Maybe that’s why students continue to come to me to learn Vedic Meditation. You can be Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or Wiccan (I have students of each of these faiths) or have no religious affiliations. Meditation is a spiritual practice that allows you to dip inward, find your heart and in that discovery, recognize that within you is the pulsing rhythm of the Universe. It is within us all. It is the basis of all belief and the beginning of every path.

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Attract Abundance

March 26, 2010 at 5:01 pm
By sanora bartels

These tough economic times have us playing the ‘blame game.’ What we really need to do is re-activate abundance and bring prosperity to our lives. This is where Adele Slaughter and Bird Sizelove come in. Slaughter has worked as a journalist covering personal health for USAToday.com. In 1993 the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars named her a Distinguished Teacher. She co-wrote a non-fiction book entitled, Art That Pays: The Emerging Artist’s Guide to Making a Living (NNAP, 2004). Sizelove is a mind, body, and massage therapist with a long list of affluent clients. These two extraordinary women teach a revolutionary workshop called, appropriately, the Abundance and Prosperity Workshop. I sat down with them to get a few pointers:

1. What’s the first thing you tell students?
“Everyone always thinks ‘that job, that man or woman, that house, that car, that thing is my source of all that is good in my life,’ and nothing could be further from the truth. The Universe is your source. God, nature, Higher Power, totality, whatever you know as greater than yourself … is it. When you accept this idea and surrender to Source, all good things come to you. When we feel happy, we are in joy and abundant, and our needs are easily met. We find health, wealth, and vitality.”

2. What’s a common stumbling block for your students?
“People create a ceiling that keeps them crouched down and in lack. They do this through negative thoughts and emotions. Thoughts are the causes, which are creating the life we currently have. Everyone’s life is an out-picturing of his or her thoughts. We are what we repeatedly think. Some experts say that we think 2,000 to 3,000 thoughts a day (about three per minute, in case you were wondering). Others say it is more like 50,000 (which is 100 to 150 per minute). Whichever it is, the scary part is that most of our thoughts are the same we had yesterday, and 80 percent of these thoughts are less than positive. This means we are mentally creating our world through mostly negative thoughts and feelings.”

3. Can you give an example of advice that seems unrelated to creating prosperity?
“Each person is a unique sequence of thoughts and emotions, and although it may seem counterintuitive, the way to an abundant life may not always be to go get a job and earn more money. One of my students, who clearly wanted to earn more money, began to speak about her life, and it became crystal clear that she was lonely and had been isolated. For good things to come to her, she needed to explore her friendships and stop being alone. Her instruction was to call friends, deepen existing friendships, stop isolating. She did that, and came back the following week and reported that a dinner party ended up in her husband being offered a job, and another friend helped her get a writing assignment. The place where she was blocked from receiving abundance was in her friendships.”

4. Name three things one can do to reactivate abundance?
“The main thing we have to do is to let go of old ideas. But how do we accomplish that? You need to have a solid meditation practice. Something you do every day, something you are committed to. Learn to meditate and stick with it. Why? Because you need two different upgrades. First, you need the hardware upgrade. The body needs to let go of fear and stresses it has accumulated over a lifetime and the only way I have found to do this is to meditate. In meditation, we settle down into our least excited state. This is where we intersect with abundance, the infinite creativity that is our birthright.

The second upgrade you need is software. Your thinking needs to change — you need to run a new program. In this program, you begin to recognize that the Universe is your Source, not the job, the guy, etc.

Einstein said (and I’m paraphrasing here), “the mind that created the problem is not the mind that can solve it.” Take a class — get someone to help you think outside the box.

Finally, tithing is important. Tithing is giving 10 percent of your income to Source energy. When you tithe to God — Source, Universe, whatever it is you know as greater than your own self, this essence gives back to you. It is a difficult principle for many to wrap their heads around. It’s a personal choice and scary for many people. However, when we tithe, money comes back to us tenfold. It keeps money in circulation and breaks down the fear of ‘not enough.’ It is a principle of the Universe: As you give, so shall you receive.”

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Psychic or Simply Present?

March 19, 2010 at 5:00 pm
By sanora bartels

Clairvoyance is a gift, much like an ear for music or an eye for fashion — one is usually born with it. I can’t sing and my socks are often mismatched, but recently I discovered that my power of perception has blossomed.

When I first returned home from my meditation teacher training, I jumped right back into teaching writers’ workshops. My students, many of whom I had taught before, began to notice and comment on my observations. Several asked me point-blank, “Did your meditation training make you psychic?” They felt I had the ability to read their thoughts. At first, I laughed it off, thinking that I was simply very present in that moment, and then I realized that was the whole point! After my concentrated meditation practice, I had brought my conscious self into being completely present.

With this, came the understanding that being fully present leads me to observe visual and vocal cues I may have missed before. How did I miss such obvious signs in the past? Perhaps by thinking of a ‘to-do list’ while listening to a friend talk about their job interview, or wondering what to make for dinner while standing in line at the bank.

I think many people are like this. Their body is in one place, but their mind is miles away. Maybe they have read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle or seen a bumper sticker or poster that extols the virtue: ‘Be right here, right now,’ but few people realize that with the ability to ‘be here’ comes the ability to observe far more than the moment. You will be privy to the intentions of other people, and by extension, perhaps the thoughts behind them.

So how do you bring the self fully into the present? The only sure way that I have discovered is Vedic Meditation. When the mantra leads the mind to drop below action — below our distracting trivial thoughts — it drops us into the level of Being (pure consciousness). This pure consciousness is the fountainhead, the source, of all creative intelligence. Once we experience that source, eyes closed in meditation, we then open our eyes, literally and figuratively, to every nuance in the present moment.

If this sounds too airy-fairy for you, then think about the science of what happens when you meditate regularly. Recently, it was discovered that the effects of meditation aren’t just psychological — they are physical. Scientists have recently discovered that MRIs show an increased thickness in the brain matter of people who regularly meditate. One of the areas of the brain impacted is the frontal cortex.

This part of the brain is in charge of emotional response, planning and reasoning, and self-conscious awareness. With this increased thickness comes more integrated brain activity and clarity of thought. So, not only are we more in the present moment and more observant, but physiologically our brain is able to integrate those observations more quickly and allow us to communicate our insights more gently and with greater clarity.

My teacher, Thom Knoles, a man who has been practicing Vedic Meditation for 40 years, was once asked, “Can you see the future?” He answered, “No, I’m just really good at the present.” He meant that he was able to see patterns that give him insight into what would happen next.

If you want to ‘read another person’s intentions’ or identify patterns in the now that will allow you to predict the next moment, try some body-building for the brain and learn to settle your mind. Learn to meditate.

Do you have trouble being present? Get a psychic reading to help clear your way. Call 1.800.573.4830 or click here now.
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Find Your Guru

March 12, 2010 at 5:00 pm
By sanora bartels

In the 20th century, it was “My therapist says … ” but more and more in these early days of the 21st century, we’re hearing “According to my guru …”

Guru simply means ‘teacher’ in Sanskrit — it doesn’t mean ‘Indian teacher’ or ‘teacher of Hindu beliefs.’ A guru is a special kind of teacher who leads us toward spiritual evolution. This is especially helpful for people who want to move forward, rather than dwell on a painful past. One way that we, as students of life, can progress is by seeking a role model — someone who personifies spiritual enlightenment — or a personal guru. But how does one accomplish this?

How do You Learn?
The first thing you have to ask yourself is “How do I learn — through imitation or conversation?” In other words, if you’re the kind of person who likes to ‘watch and then do,’ or ‘imitate’ the teacher, you’re sitting pretty because you have your pick of thousands of potential gurus, both living and passed on, as long as they have left a legacy of writing or, even better, a legacy of recordings and videos that are easily available online. You can attend satsang (sitting in the company of truth) at a keystroke. In this day and age, we are not always able to sit in the personal company of our guru, so we make do with recordings and writings.

If, however, you learn through conversation, through the ability to ask your own questions and receive one-on-one answers, you’re going to have to be a little more resourceful. Check your local paper, and see if there are any readings or lectures scheduled for the author of your favorite spiritual book. If you don’t have a favorite and you don’t know where to start, begin asking around for a referral — query your friends, your yoga instructor, or even the always-cheerful waitress at your favorite cafe … “Where do you find spiritual guidance?” “Who do you recommend?”

After you gather referrals, use a little personal discretion regarding whom you choose to follow. You have to ask how long they have been teaching and what they expect from their students. You have to observe how they move in the world. Because you are so ready for a guru to guide you on your path, you might mistake a magnetic personality for a guru — so here are three things to watch for:

1. Do They ‘Walk the Walk?’
Does your newly found guru have amazing life-affirming meetings, where they speak of love, peace, and the ability to adapt quickly and objectively to changing circumstances, but then seem overly annoyed at the glitch in the sound system? Do they claim to know the secret to finding your soulmate, but have been divorced twice or single for 20 years? These could be signals that you need to keep looking — the advice may be good, but it will be hard to follow it when the transmitting device is sending mixed messages.

2. Is It ‘My Way or the Highway?’
Whatever your guru’s message, it should include a caveat, such as “This is what worked for me, but enlightenment takes many roads, and you may find certain variances on your path.” Not everyone needs to give up material wealth and meditate underneath a Bodhi tree. Buddha did that because he found that being Prince Siddhartha and having wealth and power didn’t do much for his spiritual life. On the other hand, Bill Gates, while acquiring great wealth, has evolved into a caring individual and a wonderful philanthropic instrument of abundance for many people around the world. A true guru will see these two paths as equally valid for spiritual evolution.

3. Is the Belief System Inclusive or Exclusive?
In other words, does your Buddhist guru welcome Christians to satsang? If the knowledge offered is anything close to ‘Truth’ with a capital ‘T,’ then all should be welcome. As Christ said, “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” He was a guru who understood the wisdom of inclusion.

Finally, no matter whom you choose to emulate, know that ultimately we are our own teachers. Fulfillment is contained within, and in seeking, we allow the world to find us.

Do you need some direction in life? Get a reading today! Call 1.800.573.4830 or click here now.
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Meditation’s Big Thinkers

March 11, 2010 at 5:00 pm
By sanora bartels

I teach Vedic Meditation, an effortless form of twice-daily meditation. But there are many forms of meditation, and all lead to the experience of peace. Meditation stills those nagging thoughts about money and basically relieves you of silly insecurities, but don’t take my word for it. Here’s what some famous, long-time teachers have said:

Basics for Beginners
Alan Watts puts it most clearly for beginners. He (1915-1973) was an eclectic British thinker and writer who moved to California and played a key role in the counter-culture movement of the 1960s. He wrote The Way of Zen (1957) and Psychotherapy East and West (1961). This quote is from Still the Mind: An Introduction to Meditation:

“When somebody plays music, you listen. You just follow those sounds, and eventually you understand the music. The point can’t be explained in words because music is not words, but after listening for a while, you understand the point of it, and that point is the music itself.

In exactly the same way, you can listen to all experiences, because all experiences of any kind are vibrations coming at you. As a matter of fact, you are these vibrations, and if you really feel what is happening, the awareness you have of you and of everything else is all the same … This is always going on, whether you pay attention to it or not.

Now, instead of asking what you should do about it, you experience it, because who knows what to do about it? To know what to do about this you would have to know everything, and if you don’t, then the only way to begin is to watch.”

Nourish Yourself
Pema Chodron has written several books, including The Wisdom of No Escape, Start Where You Are, When Things Fall Apart, and most recently, Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears, to name just a few. This passage is from Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings:

“Meditation takes us just as we are, with our confusion and our sanity. This complete acceptance of ourselves as we are is a simple, direct relationship with our being. We call this ‘maitri,’ loving-kindness toward ourselves and others. There are four qualities of maitri that are cultivated when we meditate:

1. Steadfastness: When we practice meditation, we are strengthening our ability to be steadfast with ourselves, in body as well as mind.

2. Clear seeing: This is another way of saying that we have less self-deception. Through the process of practicing the technique day in and day out, year after year, we begin to be very honest with ourselves.

3. Experiencing our emotional distress: We practice dropping whatever story we are telling ourselves and leaning into the emotions and the fear. We stay with the emotion, experience it, and leave it as it is, without proliferating. Thus, we train in opening the fearful heart to the restlessness of our own energy. We learn to abide with the experience of our emotions.

4. Attention to the present moment: We make the choice, moment by moment, to be fully here. Attending to our present-moment mind and body is a way of being tender toward self, toward others, and toward the world. This quality of attention is inherent in our ability to love.

Changing Perceptions
Francis Lucille speaks more poetically. He is a spiritual teacher in the tradition of Advaita Vedanta (non-duality), which is the common ground of Ch’an Buddhism, Zen Taoism, and Sufism. This is from Welcoming the Totality:

“Ask yourself, ‘In my experience, do I stand separate from that which I perceive?’ Your experience is the only point of reference in deciding this question. We are not talking about philosophy here, but about perception, how we perceive the body and the world, our life itself. It may sound theoretical, but it isn’t. It is only practical. Practicality demands that we eliminate anything that has no purpose, no meaning, and which is a waste of energy. Any activity, thought or feeling based upon the illusion of separation is such an unnecessary burden. And that is especially true of the way we perceive the body and of the way we perceive the world.”

Sanora Bartels is an independent teacher of Vedic Meditation working with individuals to sustain balance and achieve success in all areas of life. Her training included a year of study that took her from Los Angeles, California to Rishikesh, India to Flagstaff, Arizona.

Need more peace of mind? Get a reading today! Call 1.800.573.4830 or click here now.
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