Are you looking for transformation?  Have you found that affirmations are not working for you?

In Analysis of the Art of Ascension Maharishi Sadasiva Isham (MSI) said, “Simply decid­ing with the surface mind that “I am well” is not only useless but potentially mentally deranging. Affirmations repeated by the conscious thinking level of the mind, although occasion­ally soothing distraught emotional states, are all but worthless for bringing about a deep transfor­ma­tion of perception of Reality. An affirmation repeated a few times a day does little to counter­act the intensity of the habitual patterns created by the average adult human’s 50,000 daily thoughts.” 

Dr. Joanne Wood at the University of Waterloo examined whether affirmations made students feel better.   68 students were asked to repeat to themselves every 15 seconds, "I am a lovable person."  Those with high self-esteem felt better, those with low self-esteem felt worse. She theorizes that those with low self-esteem feel worse because they did not believe the statements and also they could not resist negative thoughts.  First, they felt bad because they had not responded to the affirmations as they thought they should and secondly they had negative thoughts. 

Targeting beliefs at the conscious levels of the mind only go so far. As Einstein said, “"No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it." 

In Enlightenment MSI said “There are a number of different teachings today that encourage a constant repetition of positive or idealized statements. One unfortunate effect of this is a polarization between conscious ideals and the unconscious belief systems of the destructive internal programming. If we fail to recognize, accept and change unconscious emotional and psychological imprints, these forceful tactics of the ego will only serve to create tension and resistance in the personality and can lead to a dangerous split between the conscious and unconscious minds”

Trying to deal with duality from the surface of the mind only divides the mind.  The only “cure” for a divided mind is to Ascend.  Every time we use the Ascension Attitude, which has no opposition, the mind returns to the One Source of Everything.  Even if it is brief, as it may be when one first uses the practice, the mind moves out of duality for that moment.  Unity or duality? If one learns The Art of Ascension, there is choice.

The placebo has a lesser known flip side called the “Nocebo”.  Placebo means “I shall please” whereas the nocebo means “I shall harm”.  When the doctor tells you ‘you have an incurable illness’, or that you’ll be on medication for the rest of your life; if you believe it, they are invoking the nocebo effect.  

Nocebo is at least as important as the placebo effect and may be more widespread.—­ Ted Kaptchuk, Program in Placebo Studies, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard University.

In an oft-cited case from 1886, John Mackenzie, a surgeon in Baltimore, obtained an artificial rose of such superb workmanship it was like the original. He exposed a woman with severe rose allergy to the fake flower. Unaware that it was fake, the woman had a full-blown allergic reaction, including a running nose, swollen nostrils, and a tight chest.

The nocebo effect is not confined to clinical trials.  A school in Tennessee was forced to evacuate after a teacher reported smelling gas fumes and became dizzy.  Ultimately, over one hundred people were admitted to the Emergency Room; 38 were so sick they were kept overnight. Later, after an extensive investigation, no evidence was found of a chemical or any problem at the school.

After treating over 1000 melanoma cases at Sydney Hospital, Dr. Milton warned of another form of the nocebo effect.  Upon delivery of a cancer prognosis, many of his patients became so disheartened, they died a premature death before the cancer had developed enough to cause death.

A study showed that “patients about to undergo surgery who were “convinced” of their impending death were compared to another group of patients who were merely “unusually apprehensive” about death. While the apprehensive bunch fared pretty well, those who were convinced they were going to die usually did.”

Other studies have noted that study participants became “addicted” to their placebo and had to be weaned off of it. In a chemo-therapy study, 30% of the participants receiving a placebo lost their hair.

The power of suggestion can have tremendous effects upon the unsuspecting mind. Did you know that our society has even given us a standard time to die? There is a day and a time when it is more likely you will die than any other? 9 AM on Monday morning. Why is that? Possibly, it just seems easier to die than face another week of this horrible job! This is a truly remarkable achieve­ment of our species. Presumably no other species recognizes which day Monday is. 

The power of the mind is everything.

Beliefs hold sway over our lives only as long as we give them power.  But through a regular practice of Ishayas’ Ascension these faulty belief systems begin to collapse.  By redirecting the mind with this practice, to perfect statements of Truth, one is lead to the Source of Everything.  Through choice, one can break up these belief patterns and restructure the mind back to an innocence, back to its original design of perfection.

Are you worried about your brain-power as you get older?  Studies have shown that with age, most people experience cognitive decline, specifically, dwindling attention span, impaired memory, and greater reaction time. 

Experiments from 2007 demonstrated that those who meditate are better at paying attention.  Those studies inspired the likes of Google, Target, Intel, General Mills and many more to sponsor meditation related education for many thousands of their employees.  Some of these companies even have meditation rooms on site for their employees to use during the work day.  Results tabulated at Intel for those who meditate, show on a scale of 1 to 10,

• A two-point decrease in stress 
• a three-point increase in overall happiness and well-being
• a two-point increase in new ideas, mental clarity, creativity, ability to focus, quality of relationships at work, and level of engagement in meetings, projects, and team efforts

Plus, NBC News reported that a school in San Francisco began a daily 30-minute meditation break in 2015, which resulted in suspensions decrease by 75 percent, as well as an improvement in academic performance overall.

And now, just published in 2018, a 7 year study on effects of meditation following sixty 22-69 year old meditators.“"This study is the first to offer evidence that intensive and continued meditation practice is associated with enduring improvements in sustained attention," according to lead author Anthony Zanesco, a psychologist at the University of Miami. 

The study began with an initial retreat.  From testing following the retreat, they concluded the training enhanced the participants' emotional well-being, ability to deal with stress, and they performed better on tasks related to focus and sustaining attention. This alone is significant for people dealing with depression. 

Seven years later, forty of the sixty reported that they continued to practice meditation. Evaluations showed that their mental improvements held up for the most part.  In fact, the more the older participants meditated, the better they maintained the benefits already mentioned. This is in stark contrast with people taking medication for depression who see efficacy loss and require stronger doses of their medication with additional medications being added to attempt to maintain relief.

According to the study, those who meditated at least one hour per day showed no cognitive decline. 

The message seems pretty clear. Rather than spending time worrying about cognitive decline, finding and committing to a regular practice 20 minutes 3 times per day would be a more productive use of one’s time.  

In Ishayas’ Ascension, we often discuss how powerful the mind is…that the mind is capable of anything.  A review of some of the latest studies on Placebos is just another example of the power of the mind – and evidence that the power seems to be increasing!

As many know, a placebo is a non-active substance or procedure required in clinical trials by the FDA as at least one of the control groups.  The placebo effect is a documented fact working 18-80% of the time.  The effect is physical, not just subjective - healing ulcers, warts disappearing, relieving pain, easing symptoms of many stress related illnesses, etc.  

One of the leaders in the field of placebo research, Fabrizio Benedetti, a neuroscience professor at the University of Turin School of Medicine and member of the Placebo Study Group centered at Harvard, recently wrote: “The placebo effect has evolved from being thought of as a nuisance in clinical pharmacological research to a biological phenomenon worthy of scientific investigation in its own right.”

In one survey by the NIH, as many as half of rheumatologists and internists surveyed said they had intentionally given patients ineffective medication [placebo] in the hopes it would have a positive result.

Joel Block, MD, a well-known osteoarthritis specialist says “The placebo effect is still an effect and a very important one….It is “extraordinarily strong” in osteoarthritis for reasons that aren’t entirely clear. The experience from randomized trials shows a 40% response rate. The trial data indicates that placebo responses last beyond a year, he said.

Kaptchuk, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) is a man with a fierce intellect and curiosity.  His researchers enrolled 80 people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, explaining the experiment while framing it positively -- they called it a novel "mind-body" therapy.
Half the patients were given a bottle with the word "placebo" printed on it. They were told the bottle contained “sugar pills”. The patients were told they didn't even need to believe in the placebo effect, but had to take the pills twice daily. The other half were given no treatment at all. At the end of the three-week trial, 59 percent of the patients taking the placebo said their symptoms had been adequately relieved!

"We were all taken aback," Kaptchuk said. "We triple-checked the data before we decided it was real."
A study published online Oct. 27, 2016, by PLOS Biology showed evidence of changes in the brain during a placebo effect. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, researchers scanned the brains of people with chronic pain from knee osteoarthritis. After being given the placebo, everyone received another scan. For those who felt pain relief, researchers noticed greater activity in the middle frontal gyrus brain region, which makes up about one-third of the frontal lobe.

Other studies have noted that study participants became “addicted” to their placebo and had to be weaned off of it. In a chemo-therapy study, 30% of the participants receiving a placebo lost their hair.
Here’s a video from Fox News discussing the power of the mind: http://video.foxnews.com/v/4473758/surprising-study-on-placebo-effect

The body is continually listening to our thoughts. If we live with self-defeating thoughts, the mind produces in kind. It is only our habitual thoughts that steal our youth and health and replace them with sickness.  Imagine if we could learn to still the internal chatter and learn to experience life again in the present moment?

The purpose of Ishayas’ Ascension is to erase those self-defeating thoughts and allow us to live life in freedom. Are you ready to activate a new effect in your life?

Lisa May, author of a 2016 study said recently, “Most people are used to the idea that we can change our experience with chemicals, but sometimes we forget that we can change the chemical activity of our brains depending on how we use our brains. The way we choose to engage our minds—our thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and practices—shapes our brain chemistry, our habits, and our future experience.”

A simple practice such as The Art of Ascension retrains the brain, teaches non-judgement and acceptance and develops the skills for directing attention, all which assist in changing our relationship to pain.

Over the last 10 years, over many tests, researchers found that when meditators are stimulated with pain, which is compared before vs. during meditation, meditators typically report either a drop in pain intensity (how strong the pain is), pain unpleasantness (how bothersome the pain is), or both.

Dr. May has been on a mission to discover how meditation reduces pain.  She designed a test with experienced meditators involving the administration of naloxone which inhibits opioid pathways. In 2014, Mind and Life funded her study as well as a similar study by Dr. Fadel using novice meditators.

The 2 separate studies of experienced and non-experienced meditators achieved the same result when opioid pathways were blocked. The results were completely unexpected!  

Researchers set up a pain test.  After testing and determining that the meditators received at least 15% reduction in pain through meditation, they gave them a second test and administered naloxone, which blocks opioid pathways.  Researchers expected either less reduction in pain or no change.  However, they were amazed to find naloxone produced significantly greater reductions in pain intensity and unpleasantness than the control groups. Naloxone has been used in pain research for over 30 years and has never been shown to improve pain.  

The results suggests that endogenous opioids are clearly not the chemical the brain uses to reduce pain during meditation. Therefore, the treatment of chronic pain may be more effective with meditation due to a lack of cross-tolerance with opiate-based medications.  This seems to be good news and indicative of more success for patients with PTSD as well as patients with previous opioid addictions in using meditation for pain reduction.

​Different types of meditation have been shown to result in psychological and biological changes that are actually or potentially associated with improved health [1].

Meditation has been found to:

1. Produce a clinically significant reduction in resting as well as ambulatory blood pressure [2, 3] 
2. Reduce heart rate [4] 
3. Result in cardiorespiratory synchronization [5] 
4. Alter levels of melatonin and serotonin [6] 
5. Suppress corticostriatal glutamatergic neurotransmission [7] 
6. Boost the immune response [8] 
7. Decrease the levels of reactive oxygen species as measured by ultra weak photon emission [9] 
8. Reduce stress and promote positive mood states [10] 
9. Reduce anxiety and pain and enhance self-esteem [11] 
10. Have a favorable influence on overall and spiritual quality of life in late-stage disease [12] 
11. Decrease in anxiety and improvement in positive mood, spiritual health [13]
12. Tolerate pain [13]

With so many biological and psychological changes seen as a result of meditation, it seems like the only question that remains for each person is which meditation and how often!  Finding a practice that you will do regularly is very important because regularity is key.  

If you are looking for a practice, check out our free webinar to learn more about The Art of Ascension.
 
 
 
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2802370/
2. Barnes VA, Davis HC, Murzynowski JB, Treiber FA. Impact of meditation on resting and ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate in youth. Psychosom Med. 2004;66:909–14. [PubMed]
3. Anderson JW, Liu C, Kryscio RJ. Blood pressure response to transcendental meditation: A meta-analysis. Am J Hypertens. 2008;21:310–6. [PubMed]
4. Solberg EE, Ekeberg O, Holen A, Ingjer F, Sandvik L, Standal PA, et al. Hemodynamic changes during long meditation. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2004;29:213–21. [PubMed]
5. Cysarz D, BІssing A. Cardiorespiratory synchronization during Zen meditation. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2005;95:88–95. [PubMed]
6. Solberg EE, Holen A, Ekeberg O, Osterud B, Halvorsen R, Sandvik L. The effects of long meditation on plasma melatonin and blood serotonin. Med Sci Monit. 2004;10:CR96–101. [PubMed]
7. Kjaer TW, Bertelsen C, Piccini P, Brooks D, Alving J, Lou HC. Increased dopamine tone during meditation-induced change of consciousness. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2002;13:255–9. [PubMed]
8. Davidson RJ, Kabat-Zinn J, Schumacher J, Rosenkranz M, Muller D, Santorelli SF. Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosom Med. 2003;65:564–70. [PubMed]
9. Van Wijk EP, Ludtke R, Van Wijk R. Differential effects of relaxation techniques on ultraweak photon emission. J Altern Complement Med. 2008;14:241–50. [PubMed]
10. Jain S, Shapiro SL, Swanick S, Roesch SC, Mills PJ, Bell I. A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation versus relaxation training: Effects on distress, positive states of mind, rumination, and distraction. Ann Behav Med. 2007;33:11–21. [PubMed]
11. Bonadonna R. Meditation's impact on chronic illness. Holist Nurs Pract. 2003;17:309–19. [PubMed]
12. Williams AL, Selwyn PA, Liberti L, Molde S, Njike VY, McCorkle R, et al. A randomized controlled trial of meditation and massage effects on quality of life in people with late-stage disease: A pilot study. J Palliat Med. 2005;8:939–52. [PubMed]
13. Wachholtz AB, Pargament KI. Is spirituality a critical ingredient of meditation? Comparing the effects of spiritual meditation, secular meditation, and relaxation on spiritual, psychological, cardiac, and pain outcomes. J Behav Med. 2005;28:369–84. [PubMed]

Studies abound showing the improvements in the immune system for those that meditate.  Here’s an overview of just a few:

1. Meditation shifted gene expression that related to stress, inflammation and wound healing.

A study by a team of researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, University of California at San Francisco studied 20,000 genes in 3 groups of retreatants, non-meditators on a vacation retreat, experienced meditators, and novice meditators.  
 
Everyone experienced improvement in mood up to a month later. Novice meditators experienced significant boost over depression even 10 months later. 
 
All the groups showed shifts in the expression of genes related to stress, inflammation and wound healing.  Experienced meditators showed greatest shift in these as well as telomerase activity.
 
One of the research leaders,Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, said, “Based on our results, the benefit we experience from meditation isn't strictly psychological; there is a clear and quantifiable change in how our bodies function. Meditation is one of the ways to engage in restorative activities that may provide relief for our immune systems.”
 
 
2. Meditation can directly improve immune response
In a study combining meditation, breathing, and cold water therapy, trained students were injected with Escherichia coli, a bacteria that normally induces violent sickness; yet they had no symptoms from the e coli injection 
 
Review of 20 studies showing improvement in immune response through meditation:      

• Reduced markers of inflammation, high levels of which are often correlated with decreased immune functioning and disease.
• Increased number of immune system’s helper cells that are involved in sending signals to other cells telling them to destroy infections.
• Increased telomerase activity; (telomerase deterioration leads to cancer and premature aging).

 
3. Regular meditators show reduced need for medical treatments.
A large study of insurance statistics of 2,000 meditators over a 5-year period indicates meditators had 55% less medical care utilization, both in-patient and out-patient, compared to controls matched for age, gender, and occupation. The group had lower sickness rates in all categories of disease, including 87% less hospitalization for heart disease and 55% less for cancer. The difference between the Meditators and non- Meditators was greatest for individuals over 40 years of age.
 
There are 3 possible ideas floating as to why immune systems are so much better with meditation:
1.   Decreased Stress, Increased Emotional Regulation
2.   Targeted Brain/Immune System Communication
3.   Activation of the Second Brain (the Gut)

​Are you one of those people that are too busy to meditate?  

Studies suggest that people with jam-packed schedules and intimidating to-do lists stand to benefit most from meditation, which can help reduce stress, improve focus, and even increase one's ability to relate to others.

Like a car that never gets maintenance, the mind can also need some downtime to continue running on all cylinders.  You never know when you’ll need to solve a tough problem, focus intently on a task, or search for creative inspiration for a project.

Still, the idea of sitting in a quiet room seemingly “doing nothing” for a few minutes each day can sound absurd unless you understand what might really be happening on the physical and psychological level.

So here’s a peek at what is happening “under the covers” when you meditate:
1. Meditation helps us gain perspective.
Being able to observe your thoughts as a spectator helps you to realize that thoughts and experiences are temporary, which is known as decentering.
In one study of people with severe depression, gains in decentering ability were linked with a reduced rate of relapse and better outcomes in terms of life satisfaction and overall feelings of well-being.

2. Meditation can also reduce stress by helping us deal with negative feelings we might otherwise ignore.
It is common in our western culture to push aside those feelings that we judge, completely ignoring them.
A large review of studies involving close to 3,000 people found that mindfulness meditation was linked with a reduction in feelings of depression, anxiety, and even physical pain.
 
3. Meditation may also help improve our memory, 
Researchers at University of California at Santa Barbara studied undergraduate students. 2 groups of students took a GRE exam twice. One group of 48 students met 4 times per week to meditate for 2 weeks prior to the second GRE exam. Another group of students focused on nutrition during that time.  After retaking the course, the average score of the meditating class improved from 460 to 520.  There was no change in the group that focused on nutrition.

4. And it may strengthen our ability to relate to others.
A group of researchers at Stanford University showed that meditation can increase positive social interaction

5. People with a steady meditation practice also see decreases in blood pressure.
A study of 200 people over 5 years, half following a healthy life-style, the other half meditating regularly, found the meditators not only reduced their blood pressure, but reduced their chance of heart attack by half over the healthy life-style folks!

6. Meditators experience less fatigue.
For a small study in 2016, researchers had over a dozen participants aged 24 to 76 spend a week at a spiritual retreat. The researchers scanned the brains of their participants before and after to observe the behavior of two chemicals linked with mood — dopamine and serotonin. Following the retreat, the participants' saw marked improvements in their perceived physical health, while negative feelings like stress and fatigue decreased. 

7. Meditators may get sick less frequently than those who don't meditate regularly.
For a recent study, researchers split people into two groups and had one complete an eight-week meditation course. After 8 weeks, the researchers injected both groups with the flu vaccine and checked their immune response by measuring flu-fighting antibodies their bodies produced. The meditators showed significantly more antibodies than those who did not meditate, suggesting meditation produces demonstrable effects on brain and immune function.
An insurance study of 2000 people showed that meditators had fewer hospital visits, fewer heart attacks, and spent substantially less on medical bills than meditators. 

8. There’s also some evidence that suggests that regular meditation can help prevent or repair genetic damage.
One study in distressed cancer survivors who completed a meditation program showed that the meditator's telomeres — special protein complexes that help protect our DNA — had grown longer. Whereas, the non-meditators grew shorter. It is currently believed that the length of telomeres relate to aging.  

These all seem like worth wile benefits for anyone, anywhere, anytime! We'd love to hear from any of our readers who used to think they were too busy to meditate...until they began!

From an article called “Thoughts program your cells”, Jordan Lejuwaan, reminds us of some basic biology: “There are thousands upon thousands of receptors on each cell in our body. Each receptor is specific to one peptide, or protein. When we have feelings of anger, sadness, guilt, excitement, happiness or nervousness, each separate emotion releases its own flurry of neuropeptides. Those peptides surge through the body and connect with those receptors which change the structure of each cell as a whole. Where this gets interesting is when the cells actually divide. If a cell has been exposed to a certain peptide more than others, the new cell that is produced through its division will have more of the receptor that matches with that specific peptide. Likewise, the cell will also have less receptors for peptides that its mother/sister cell was not exposed to as often.”

In other words, if you are experiencing emotions based in fear, you are literally pre-programming yourself to experience more fear based emotions and less love based emotions!  

Every thought you think is changing your cells, but what else can thoughts do?

• One study asked questions of subjects. They told one group they would be given the answers subconsciously.  This group out-performed other groups, even though no answers were provided to them.  
• Another study of hotel attendants informed a group of attendants that their work gave them the recommended level of exercise for a healthy lifestyle.  In 4 weeks, just having this knowledge, this group lost weight, reduced their blood pressure, lost inches and even reduced their fat ratio. Another group of attendants, who were not given this information but cleaned the same number of rooms, did not lose weight or see the results of the “informed” group.
• Doctors increased subjects’ growth hormone levels by injecting medication.  Later, telling them they were being given the same medication, their growth hormone levels also rose.  But they were only given saline in the second injection.

Such expectancies and learned associations have been shown to change the chemistry and circuitry of the brain. These changes may result in such physiological and cognitive outcomes as already mentioned.  
Doesn’t this make you wonder about the untapped resources in your own mind and body? 
​
The Art of Ascension is a tool that puts you in direct contact with the Source, the Grand Architect of the body. The tool is based on the Attitudes of Praise, Gratitude, Love, and Compassion, we can pre-program these positive Attitudes into the body.  Using these tools also open us to more possibilities.

People are now sleeping less than they did in the past, and sleep quality has decreased as well.
“We found that shorter and lower quality sleep tended to lead to more stressors on the following day,” said Soomi Lee, lead author and Penn State postdoctoral scholar from two separate studies published in 2017.

Aside from the above study, here are 10 reasons why good quality sleep is important. (Below is a condensed version of a Healthline article.)

1. Poor Sleep Can Make You Fat
Poor sleep is strongly linked to weight gain. If you are trying to lose weight, getting quality sleep is absolutely crucial.

2. Good Sleepers Tend to Eat Fewer Calories
Studies show that sleep deprived individuals have a bigger appetite and tend to eat more calories.

3. Good Sleep Can Improve Concentration and Productivity
Sleep is important for various aspects of brain function which includes cognition, concentration, productivity and performance.
A study on medical interns provides a good example. Interns on a "traditional schedule" made 36% more serious medical errors than interns on a schedule that allowed more sleep.

4. Good Sleep Can Maximize Athletic Performance
Sleep has been shown to enhance athletic performance. A study of over 2,800 women found that poor sleep was linked to slower walking, lower grip strength, and greater difficulty performing independent activities.

5. Poor Sleepers Have a Greater Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke
A review of 15 studies found that short sleepers are at far greater risk of heart disease or stroke than those who sleep 7 to 8 hours per night.

6. Sleep Affects Glucose Metabolism and Type 2 Diabetes Risk
In a study of healthy young men, restricting sleep to 4 hours per night for 6 nights in a row caused symptoms of pre-diabetes. This was then resolved after 1 week of increased sleep duration.
Poor sleep habits are also strongly linked to adverse effects on blood sugar in the general population. Those sleeping less than 6 hours per night have repeatedly been shown to be at increased risk for type 2 diabetes.

7. Poor Sleep Is Linked to Depression
It has been estimated that 90% of patients with depression complain about sleep quality. Poor sleep is even associated with increased risk of death by suicide.

8. Sleep Improves Your Immune Function
One large 2-week study monitored the development of the common cold after giving people nasal drops with the virus that causes colds. They found that those who slept less than 7 hours were almost three times more likely to develop a cold than those who slept 8 hours. 

9. Poor Sleep Is Linked to Increased Inflammation
Poor sleep has been strongly linked to long-term inflammation of the digestive tract, in disorders known as inflammatory bowel diseases.

10. Sleep Affects Emotions and Social Interactions
One study found that people who had not slept had a reduced ability to recognize expressions of anger and happiness.
 
What does all this talk of sleep have to do with the Art of Ascension? When a person uses The Art of Ascension in a 20 minute close-eyed practice, similar to meditation, you receive twice as much rest as you do in 8 hours of sleep.  This is measured by your heart rate, respiration rate, and other factors such as fatigue toxins being released. And if you fall asleep using the techniques, you will enter a much deeper rest immediately.  

Would you like to share your story of how The Art of Ascension has given you rest?