Reincarnation is real.

You can influence anything, even a single cell.

Your future is yours to see now.

Too out there?  Or too good to be true? Maybe one, maybe both.  But you can't deny these topics have got you by the edge of your seat. Especially considering the economic downturn and the tough times everyone is going through.

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Angelique Bianca with FinderMinds founder, Vishen Lakhiani

During my travels, I get lucky enough to meet some of the most amazing people in the field of personal development. Recently, I've had the pleasure of meeting one ardent student of this field, and her name is Angelique.

Truth be told, I actually got to know Angelique through FinerMinds as she's a regular reader of it.

I was really impressed by the amount of knowledge she had gathered as a ferocious reader and practitioner of meditation. However, what certainly intrigued me the most was her story in regards to healing and her real age, especially after I had met her in L.A.

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Because of the overwhelming response we've had to our post on Super Brain Yoga, we'd like to introduce you to an amazing study conducted in the field of meditation.  For the first time there is scientific evidence that meditation does indeed affect the physical structure of the brain.

For decades the benefits of meditation have been known, studied, and advertised.  But it wasn’t until recently that science has come around and acknowledged the physical and cognitive advantages of meditation.  Researchers at Yale, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered that meditation can indeed change the physical structure of the brain.

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Super brain yoga. It’s exactly as it sounds.  Yes, there is a specific type of yoga that not only increases your mental capabilities but also can prevent Alzheimer’s and cure learning disabilities.  Whether the proof is indisputable or it’s just wishful thinking, practitioners of super brain yoga swear by its power to heal and re-energize.

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Arjuna Ardagh

If you’ve watched the television news in the last few months, or listened to the radio, or been on the internet, or looked at a magazine… or even just talked to well… anybody, you must be aware that the general consensus is that this is a time of unprecedented challenge and transition. Economically, that often gets focused onto the United States, but actually in the wider implications, the transition that we are passing through is global.

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Our emotions, our behavior, and our perception of ourselves--all comes from our mind, specifically our thoughts. What have you been thinking about today? What are you thinking about right now? What do those thoughts say about you? About your life? And how well do they really match your plans for your life and your image of yourself?

Think about these 8 tips to think better--collected over the past 2,500 years, and then visit the blog post link at the bottom for some more inspiration.

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Hi there! Keep reading to find out more about Part 13 in our FinerMinds 19-Part Series on Becoming Just Awesome. This week is all about Getting Out of Your Head and Into Your Body.

Most of us live our lives in our heads. We’re either thinking about the past or the future. It begs the question: Are we really living or are we thinking about living? Rarely do we live in the present moment – truly aware of ourselves and others in time and space, conscious of our current surroundings. We’re such ‘head’ creatures that we utterly forget about our bodies, how they’re operating, as well as what is happening around us right now.

Our bodies also say a lot about us. It only takes us a few seconds to register whether a person is shy or confident by the way they’re standing. In certain instances, researchers report that body language accounts for a whopping 55% of communication. Surprisingly, what is said only counts for a minuscule 7%.

Our bodies are a window into how we’re feeling. Be present and notice your breath. If you’re calm, cool and collected, chances are your breathing is steady and even. If you’re anxious and stressed you’ll have short breaths where you’ll inhale quickly. The depressed person will often have long exhalations.

The importance of the body cannot be underestimated. You can use your body to help influence the mind.

Do the following exercise: Take a warrior stance – feet placed firmly, chest and head up, arms strong but relaxed at your side, and smile pleasantly. Now say, “I’m so sad.” The second step is to take a depressed posture and frown. Now say, “I’m very strong.”

What happened? Chances are you don’t feel sad or weak (even if you’re verbally expressing it) when you’re standing strong. I’d also guess that you don’t feel particularly confident when you’re body is projecting weakness, even if your words say otherwise.

This is the power of the body.

Your body is a hugely important instrument in helping you increase your confidence, wellness and success, but one that is not focused on enough. We read and read and read in order to improve ourselves, but it’s time to recognize your body in the development process.

Any physical activity, whether yoga, martial arts, breathing exercises or dance, will help you become more aware of your body – your muscles, how your body moves in space, how it feels when it’s tensed or relaxed. Increased body awareness also helps to bring you into the present moment.

As you become more aware of your body, you can monitor your posture and body language to help you reach your personal and professional goals. You might be wondering how posture and professional goals go together. Well, posture has actually been described as a leadership skill, as you’ll find out in the following video.

Watch This 3 Minute Video to Discover Your Power Posture

Wasn't having better sex one of your New Year resolutions? What if we told you that there was a natural and relaxing way you can improve your sex life, which you can practice in the comfort of your home right now? Still listening?

A recent study has revealed that sexually unsatisfied women who practiced Yoga and mindfulness techniques improved levels of arousal and desire, and had better orgasms. A study of a sample of men also found similar Yoga techniques were as effective in preventing pre-mature ejaculation compared to pharmacological treatments such as Prozac.

For Years, Eastern practices such as Yoga have been touted to have many positive sexual benefits, with many techniques originating from the Kama Sutra of the fourth to sixth centuries. By focusing the mind, a greater level of awareness and concentration on the present moment is achieved, and thus sexual experiences become more vivid and intense.

Practicing naturally available techniques such as Yoga and other mindfulness techniques are fun and will provide your body and mind with greater levels of physical and mental flexibility.

Whose sex life couldn’t benefit from a little mental and physical flexibility?

Article on MSNBC.com »

We all know that exercise is gold for the body – it improves cardiovascular function; reduces the risk of certain cancers; helps people maintain a healthy weight; and builds and maintains muscles, bones and joints.

If this isn’t enough to get you moving, new evidence suggests that exercise can also help you keep your mind young. And this doesn’t mean you have to start training for a triathlon. Taking three brisk 50-minute walks a week will do the trick. 

This news is coming out of the University of Melbourne in Australia, where it was found that exercise helps to treat memory problems in adults. Participants in the study had memory problems, but didn’t yet meet the criteria for dementia.

The study looked at 138 people age 50 and older who had an increased risk for dementia. They were randomly assigned to either the 24-week physical activity program or to receive their regular care. Findings showed that a 24-week home-based physical activity program led to improvements in cognitive function.

The participants in the exercise group were encouraged to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week in three 50-minute sessions. The exercise group ended up doing an average of 142 minutes more physical activity per week than those individuals in the regular care group.

Over 18 months, those in the exercise group had better Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog) scores and delayed recall, and lower Clinical Dementia Rating scores, than those in the usual care group. The findings were published in the Sept. 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Exercise and other lifestyle factors may benefit older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease, Dr. Eric B. Larson, of the Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle, wrote in an accompanying editorial in the journal.

"Health advances of the past century have led to more individuals surviving to extreme old age, when their risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias increases substantially," Larson added. "Exercise -- and possibly other lifestyle factors -- appears to affect vascular risk and late-life brain health."

Similar findings were also reported in the first part of this video, a Dan Rather news report on the mind.

We’ve basically taken it for granted that the brain naturally decline with age. We believe that with age people become more forgetful, memories become fuzzy around the edges and learning doesn’t happen.

But this simply isn’t true, according to many scientists who investigate the brain.

Rather, it’s possible for the brain to keep changing and evolving throughout life. This wondrous phenomenon is called neuroplasticity. 

At any age, when you learn something new or engage in an activity that strengthens brain processes, your brain will adapt – new connections between cells will be established and, if you’re talking about long-term memory, the cell itself will alter. Moreover, exciting studies are coming out reporting on the positive impact brain exercises have on such conditions as dementia.

Right now we treat the ages between 0 and 25 as the ‘learning window’, as though we have to cram in every bit of learning into these ‘special’ years. After 25, we tend to specialize. By the time we’re 40 or so, we know how to do our job pretty well. Work no longer requires the mental investment it once did. Instead of searching out new opportunities to learn and grow, we get cozy and plateau. Then we reserve retirement and beyond for TV and drinking tea.

This is an unfortunate state of affairs, because our brains, no matter what age, are hungry to learn.

Thankfully, the word is getting out about neuroplasticity. More and more adults are investing in activities that strengthen the brain: brain exercises, puzzles, reading, learning a new language, going back to school, etc. Even physical exercise has a positive effect on brain function.  

Check out this report from Dan Rather that covers this fascinating topic.

What are you doing to keep your brain active as you grow older?