Good Christians Really Do Inspire Me

One of the best Christians who I ever met, truly inspired me and everyone around him to become a better person. His son is now working at a church and his daughter is a teacher and they're not the only people who he inspired.

He inspired me to write this article, good Christians really do inspire me and others and he definitely was living his life, like Jesus did. He's the only person that I ever met, who didn't have anything bad to say about anyone, with the exception of one time. I actually heard him say that he hates that person, the person probably deserved it, but I still couldn't believe that the word came out of his mouth.

We all make mistakes, even he did, every once in a while. Whenever someone asked him about Christianity, he would try to avoid sharing his beliefs with them, unless they were persistent and then he would share all that he knew.

He never tried to convert anyone and never forced his opinions on anyone else. I asked him once," Did he actually read all of those books that he had in his library." He said that he actually did and I was shocked. He had three large library shelves that were each 4 foot wide and went almost all the way up to the ceiling, filled with books on Christianity and some on other religions.

He's the only man I ever met, that I would actually consider to be a good Christian. I don't know what it was about him, his honesty, compassion or simple kindness, but I valued his friendships and kept my ears open and my mouth shut... most of the time.

If you know someone like this in your life, I would advise you to take full advantage of their wisdom and let them inspire you to become a better Christian and if you don't believe in Christianity, these people can inspire you to become better person. A great life can be acquired, learning the wisdom from people who lead great lives.

Unbelievable Christian Bible Study Book

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Do you really know why you're a Christian, click on this way to get more information about Becoming Really Good Christians

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author and a inspiration to millions of people. He has been involved in religious research for almost 30 years, and his influence in the Christian community is growing. The Holy Bible, is the core to Christian beliefs and most Christians don't even question it. Was the Bible actually written by men?

His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Thanks for reading my articles

Financial Burdens From Church Leaders

I really can't believe how many people that don't have enough money and could be living below poverty levels, often he as much as they can to their religious organizations. It saddens me to see those who don't have enough to eat, giving money to their church, even though they needed more than God does.

I realize that the Bible tells its followers to give at least 10% of their earnings to their church or temple. The problem is, that the Bible doesn't provide any information for people that constantly give money to the church, even though they can't afford to. They need this money for food and to educate their children.

I guess it's okay, to form a dependency on your church, even though you could provide for yourself, if you didn't give away all of your money. There are plenty of churches that will provide their patrons with close, food and some of them will even provide shelter for the poor or homeless.

The financial burdens that are produced by some church leaders, make me sick. They make those who can't afford to give, feel guilty and this guilt eats away at them like a cancerous disease, working its way through your vital and important body parts.

I'm going to suggest something to the church leaders. Quit making people feel guilty, simply because you need more money to accomplish the things that you are planning to do. It doesn't really matter, if the stuff that you are doing is great for wonderful, if you're doing it at the expense of others.

I would also like to give some advice to those people who can't afford to give away their money. Quit giving it away. Save your money, feed your family, by your own clothes, and save up for your children's education.

Some of, the money that you are giving to your religious organization, might be squandered away on your church leaders programs. These programs might have nothing to do with God's desire for a better world.

Click Here For A Fascinating Journey Into Christianity - Great Book About The Bible

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

If your interested in a different point of view READ THESE ARTICLES - Great Articles For Christians

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author and a inspiration to millions of people. His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Thanks

Jesus' Missing Years in the Bible

It looks like there is a big problem in the Gospels. There are more years in Jesus' life that are missing than years of his life that were ever recorded. Why weren't these years listed in the Bible?

All the Gospels talked about the death of Jesus, the birth of Jesus and a few years in between, but all of the Gospels are missing some very important years from his life. When raising a child, some of the most important years of their lives, will be those when they were teenagers and often those of their young adulthood.

The Gospels talk about Jesus at the temple at around the age of 12 or 13. After that, there is very little known until he reaches the final years of his life. Was there someone or a group of people or even a community who influenced his life? Could Jesus have learned something from a spiritual master Guru that changed the world forever?

There is more speculation on Jesus' missing years than you could ever imagine. Some say that Jesus went to Egypt to study with their masters or priests. Egypt obviously wasn't that far from where Jesus was raised, but like most of the stuff in the Bible, there is very little evidence to support any of these speculative stories.

Could Jesus have went to India and studied with the Buddhist masters or even a Hindu scholars? Did Jesus study with advanced Jewish scholars? This is only a little bit of the historical speculation, but if the truth was ever to be known, it could help Christianity solve a lot of problems.

Most Christians rarely even question these missing years. There are quite a few Christians that don't even know that there are any missing years in Jesus' life. I wrote this article to get people thinking and hopefully to start educating themselves about early Christianity. Good luck and God bless.

Great Christian Books And Articles

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:
Religious Education And Fear

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author and a inspiration to millions of people. He has been involved in religious research for almost 30 years, and his influence in the Christian community is growing. The Holy Bible, is the core to Christian beliefs and most Christians don't even question it. Was the Bible actually written by men?

His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Does Anyone Have a Direct Line to God?

I have heard Catholics tell me that the pope has a direct line to God. I don't really know if that's true, but if he does, or anyone else does, I would like to ask them to do me a favor.

I would like them to ask God a few questions, these questions aren't going to be difficult, and we could even make them in yes or no formats, but these answers need to be asked and only God can provide us with the answers.

The first question that I would like to ask God, would be about starvation, why are there so many starving people all over the world? Are we or are we not supposed to be fruitful and multiply? Is overpopulation creating more problems in the world today, than it might have 2000 years ago?

These questions above, could be a little difficult to answer, but they shouldn't be too difficult for someone like God. I believe that God can handle a few tough questions and if the Pope or anyone else has direct communication with God, I would like to suggest something to them, quit wasting your time on frivolous things and start asking God the serious questions, that every one is really interested in.

It doesn't make a lot of sense, to pray and worship to somebody who realistically won't answer or deliver the things that we are requiring. I realize that most religious people are told, that God only answers some prayers or that God isn't ready to answer your prayers yet.

Anyway, if gods not going to answer all of our prayers, couldn't he at least answer some of our questions.

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:
Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development. Check out one of his recommended authors, Don Miguel Ruiz

His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Thanks For Reading Our Articles

Optimist Or Pessimist - Self Help Tips

For myself, I am an optimist. It does not seem to be much use being anything else. -Sir Winston Churchill-

Even though most of us know the above quote is true, it is still easy to become a pessimist in the world in which we live today. We know that it generally makes things worse to always look on the negative side of things, but many times it seems much easier than the discipline it will take to think positive.

All good change has come to the world by different people who had a vision and carried it out. Most inventors are called eternal optimists because they are passionate about what they do and truly believe they can make the world a better place.

The problem with pessimism is that you confine yourself to only what you can see with your physical eyes, and much of it is negative. You then make all decisions based on that information instead of focusing on how things could be made better.

Our natural inclination is to look at what we see around us and take it at face value. We rarely think that God could use one person, namely us, as an instrument for positive change.

The Holy Spirit can give you a vision as to what you need to do for the future, and give you the faith to bring it to pass.

God has an awesome plan for the life of every Christian, because we are all part of the Body of Christ. He has given us certain gifts in order to carry out His work here. Our job is to discover those gifts and let Him use us in the areas where He sees fit. No earthly person can see the BIG PICTURE, so it is hard to imagine how everything will fit together when the work has been completed.

Some jobs will be tough and others easy, and you might never see exactly how things will fit together in the end; but you can have the assurance that God is in control and whatever He does is always perfect and good.

Perfect satisfaction, peace, and joy can only come from being in the center of Gods Will and submitting your whole life to Him. Only people who have a vision can change the world. Ask God to show you His Vision for your life; then ask Him to give you the faith to attain it.

Choose to think positive and see the great things God can do through your life.

Cathy Deaton is the author of Handbook for Victorious Christian Living, practical ways for the Christian who is seeking God to learn to live in victory in every area of their life.

Check out her site at http://handbook-victorious-christian-living.com

Also check out her blog at http://who-god-is.com

God has done remarkable things in her life and she has found that He is truly a God of wonder and amazement, and wants to bless His children in more ways than they could ever imagine.

Her site Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living takes passages from the Bible and gives the meaning of key words in the Greek or Hebrew. The articles are short and can be printed out easily for study, or be read online in about 5 minutes.

Surviving a Break Up and Self-Help Tips

The break is supposed to happen to the best of us. More self-esteem issues are directly linked to the break that in. If you are looking for someone or a couple, we have the strain to which loves us and makes us feel like the luckiest person in the world, which unfortunately is often not always occur.

Often surviving a breakup is a big lesson and decision making time for you and her especially if there was cheating involved in the first place.

One thing that many of us try to do is determine whether the reason for their problems in their existence, first, is due to the problems between you and her, or is it due to problems that originated from the beginning.It can be exhausting trying to survive the disruption and its separate way.

It is best to try and focus your mind on something else just to clear your mind. You can see a therapist for help with the depression of a breakup.Or if you think you can work out and have a future with this person now is the time you and your spouse if you both know it's the other and help each other to survive and overcome the challenges of its disintegration.

You might be curious about self-help books and use different tricks and tips to help you feel better. If your connection is secure, there will be a special trust between the two. First, however, it is necessary to work in the construction of the relationship. Find a good marriage couple to get advice to helping your problem.

There are some things you can do to help its dissolution. Which are separated by belief, and try to talk instead of saying that it is a mistake, or where their weaknesses are trying to find common ground. Take time to discuss what each others roles in the breakup. Also discuss what you expect of others. Let your partner know what hurts, but you know what you want or need to do and try to offer the same to them.

If you are involved in a dating or marriage there are many things you can try to help position the separation. Once the two of you have worked in surviving the breakup and stop all talks of divorce, separation, rupture, or simply that the two can work together to make each other better and happier people. Its dissolution will help you help the image and help you overcome all those things you have to go back.

With this recession on the verge what are you planning to do about your financial stability?
Well, If you think you have a chance in the online game then check out my blog:
http://top10jobsonline.blogspot.com
In hopes that you will make enough money to quit your day job......

Reality Creation Secrets

Reality bites, now that's a phrase that you must be familiar with. How often have things started to go wrong for no reason whatsoever? From your boss promoting your lazy sub-ordinate to committing traffic violations at no fault of your own, there are those 'days' when nothing happens the way that it is supposed to. Sure, if you believe in fate, you can console yourself by saying that it probably is happening due to karma or something akin to that. But let's face it; sometime things happen even when you know that you are in the good. Take for example, the current president of United Sates, George Bush - he managed to beat his opponent against all odds, good for him but not so for his opponent. There is a reason why the reality can be quite different from what you expect it to be, it can be changed for the better depending on the energy level that you resonate in. Wait a minute, did I say energy and use it in the same sentence as the word 'resonate'? Yes! I did so and I am sure that statement sounds like garbage to some of you. But here is the catch, whether you believe in energy levels or not, the fact is that each and every one of us are attuned to it in our own respective manner. Did you realize that you are actually made from stardust; that you are made from the same matter as the stars in the sky? So is it that hard a stretch to believe that you can resonate energy just as the universe does? Just take a look at some of the e-books on reality currently online and you will see that it is possible to make things happen just the way you want them to. Books on the Reality Creation Secrets as well as a few alternative kind of books will by provide you with all the info that you need to know in order to tap into the massive energy flux inside you.

Sure, manifestation has been a subject of ridicule as well as a crutch for the many cuckoos walking out there amongst you. But the manifestation covered here in these books is not about creating things out of mid-air and is more to do with making things happen by resonating positive energy levels. Such books do enable you to modify the energy levels that you resonate in so that you would be able to achieve your goals. It naturally follows, that with positive energy flowing out of you, you should be able to focus better and as a result, be in a much better position to achieve your goals.

Books on the Reality Creation Secrets as well as any other alternative ideas may not be everyone's cup of tea but then again, manifestation of this kind is a new subject altogether so there are bound to be a few disbelievers out there. Either way, you should know that these products are not related to any magic gimmick and at the very least, it should enable you to tackle issues, which you would have avoided earlier on. In a sense, these books are alleged to do wonders to your self-confidence.

These products do make it possible for you to see reality in a different way altogether. From providing you with information on how to achieve Total Self Actualization to making it possible for your dreams to come true, these books are more of a half and half - as it deals with both spirituality and manifestation of material things. Either way, if you are on the lookout for a different take on reality or currently seeking innovative methods to achieve your goals, you may want to take a closer look at such products.

Reuben Wallis has reviewed the Reality Creation Secrets. As usual, his review is to the point and can be read here at the Reality Creation Secrets reviews.

How to Overcome Fear and Procrastination

If we listen to world news today, they give us every reason to be fearful. If we give in it seems that something dark lurks around every corner of our mind. The challenge with fear, either real or imagined is that it can hold you back from doing well in life.

When one lives with constant fear you may also be prone to procrastination because they are two sides of the same coin. In fear you cannot move forward which makes you hesitate or procrastinate on a lot of issues, especially if one believes nothing he does is good enough. Instant fear is designed to quickly move people out of dangerous situations, but prolonged or constant fear is not the natural state of the body.

Take Susan as an example. She is someone who really wanted to be a nutritionist but because she was always heavy she thought she couldn't do it. Many people told her she should take classes at the community college but she was too afraid to even call them for fear of rejection. Susan had already negatively assumed the outcome of her efforts in her mind.

When you are in the midst of feeling afraid of anything take a step back and really look at the situation. Are you in danger of some kind? Is it moving you out of your comfort zone? Are you afraid of succeeding? Are you afraid that if you make that move your life will change way too much?

If so, close your eyes and ask yourself, "What would I do if I weren't afraid?" As you calmly wait for your answer(s) without judgment you will find that fear is a complex illusion. It is an elaborate scheme by your ego to stop you from moving ahead. The dominant ego keeps you from experiencing your life in a way that will make you happy. Fear is based on events from the past that make us wary of making certain moves, old rhythms or patterns often set long ago by life experiences.

How can you release the fear and help heal procrastination? First of all by acknowledging it and then taking an action step forward. The problem lies in basing your present on the past or the future. One simply should not accept that what happened in the past will be some variation of what happens now. This vicious cycle can keep one trapped in negativity. The more closely related to the now you can be, by breaking your fearful goal into tiny manageable steps or a smaller to do list, the easier it will be to release the fear.

Going back to our example, if Susan had just called the community college it would have been a step towards her goal. She could have talked to a counselor and then perhaps have signed up for one class at a time, opening the door to new possibilities. Susan can always leave herself open to changing her mind as she moves along, helping to get past her fears.

Life can be wondrous when you release fear and side step procrastination. Now is the time to move out of your fear and take the first step. You never know what will happen to make your life become bigger than you ever imagined. I always like to keep in mind the old adage "Fear is just, False Expectations Appearing Real."

Become part of something that is sweeping the world with inspiration. You will find a wealth of spectacular material including free affirmations, beneficial worksheets and other useful tools to download at http://motivatingmessages.ning.com.

Priscilla Parham coaches on awareness and goal setting for your health, your business and your relationships, motivating others to rebuild from the inside-out.

You can post this article on your web site or blog as long as no changes are made, the author's name is retained and the links to our site URLs remains active.

The Secret to Successful Use of Affirmations

Affirmations to attract prosperity, "Good Things" and to alter self-limiting thoughts are suggested by many teachers, books and resources that have to do with self-help, positive thinking, success, abundance and the like. They do have a place in attraction and for creating an atmosphere of positive thinking. However, they can be overused or used improperly. Not that this is going to hurt anything. . .but if you are going to use them, you may as well find out how to use them the most effectively. So here's the secret:

Work with only 2-3 affirmations at a time.

Too many daily affirmations that range from self-esteem, to financial goals/statements, success, prosperity, positive thinking, allowance and deservedness are not focused tightly enough to generate the kind of results you're probably looking for. You could recite this kind of list for years before it really starts to take hold in the subconscious and for you to really believe it on a conscious, sub-conscious and emotional level.

When you work with only 2-3 affirmations at a time, your focus and intent on the

desired results is more finely tuned and less scattered. Reciting a list of 20 affirmations is like putting 20 more things on your mind for it to try to problem solve. You may as well add, "I affirm to balance the checkbook," and "I allow myself to take out the trash."

This creates a psychological pressure to perform, as it is another "To Do" list in your conscious mind...and the sub-conscious mind will resist it. Both the conscious and sub-conscious mind would rather play and you're giving them more work with a long list of affirmations to process.

Working with just a few affirmations at a time, (and preferably, grouped within the same category), the conscious mind can easily process the thoughts and pass them through to the subconscious. The conscious mind is not overwhelmed and the subconscious mind is not over-stimulated.

This approach creates a more fertile and acceptable landscape for the affirmation to take hold in the sub-conscious mind, not unlike planting real seeds: sure, you can throw out a big handful of them and some will take hold. Most seeds, however, will be scorched by the sun, washed away by the rain or blown away by the wind. The ones that do manage to take hold have to struggle to grow because they were not planted properly in the first place.

A "big handful" of affirmations will struggle to grow. Two or three affirmations planted at a time, carefully and intent-fully, will flourish through attention and focus.

Maggie Ross works undercover as a suburban soccer mom who drives a late model foreign car and attends PTA meetings. Her "cover" is so well manufactured that no one suspects she spent several years under the tutelage of Vedic shamans, Wayne Dyer's personal guru and a little sweet Mambo who taught her the secrets of The Secret (long before it became popular) as well as other really cool esoteric knowledge about manifestation. She shares this knowledge in her enlightening articles and on http://prosperityhereandnow.com hidden from friends and family who do not suspect her secret life. They all just think she's really lucky ;)

5 Ways of Dealing With Depression Without Drugs

Feng Shui can be used to help alleviate depression and feelings of being "stuck," which are so common in today's society. Often, an individual just needs a gentle nudge to return to his correct path, where he can be his true self.

I should know; I've battled feelings of depression and low energy. A combination of Feng Shui, proper nutrition, exercise, meditation and re-connecting with nature alleviated my depression and placed me on a path toward fulfillment. My career has soared. I have a stronger drive for achievement and activity and I am truly grateful and happy. As a result, I've been fortunate to help many others welcome energy, drive and the feelings of joy and gratitude back into their lives. That is my true path.

1. Feng Shui Your Space: A Feng Shui consultation may be the first step in getting "unstuck." A Feng Shui consultant can recommend ways to shift the energy of a person and space, creating amazing transformations.

When I perform a Feng Shui consultation for a client who is feeling stuck or depressed, I pay close attention to the entrance of the space. The entrance should not be blocked, which prevents energy or chi from entering the area.

I'll also take a look at the work environment, specifically under a person's desk. That part of the office should be clean, clear and permit plenty of leg room.

I often introduce life energy into a space. You can do this in your home or office by adding living plants, fresh flowers, raw fruit or moving water.

There are also specific Feng Shui cures and remedies you can employ. For instance, you can use Feng Shui Wind Chimes To Help With Depression.

2. Reconnect With Nature: It's easy to lose your connection with nature and, for many people, this leads to depression.

Don't you feel rejuvenated after spending a day at the beach or a few hours hiking in the mountains? Try to make nature a small part of your life every day. Spend more time outdoors walking, hiking, cycling or simply sitting in the park appreciating the environment.

3. Diet & Nutrition: Chronic fatigue is an indication that the body's "batteries" have run down. Resistance drops and illness or disease may strike.

Often, fatigue is caused by a critical deficiency of active enzymes in the diet and an overabundance of "dead" foods: processed, preserved and over-cooked foods, eaten in incompatible combinations.

Many fad diets literally starve cells of nutrition and energy and permit toxic wastes to accumulate in the tissues. This prevents the body from generating and directing energy for work or play, since all available energy must be used to keep the body alive.

According to The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity, denatured, processed, preserved, canned and cooked foods should compose less than 50 percent of the daily diet. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains to give your body the energy it needs and combat chronic fatigue.
Sun Ssu-mo, the Tang Dynasty Taoist physician who correctly diagnosed and cured the nutritional-deficiency disease beriberi 1,300 years ago, a full millennium before European doctors did in 1642, wrote in Precious Recipes: "A truly good physician first finds out the cause of illness, and having found that, he first tries to cure it by food. Only when food fails does he prescribe medication."

4. Proper Exercise:

"The Tao of nurturing life requires that one keep oneself as fluid and flexible as possible. One should not stay still for too long, nor should one exhaust oneself by trying to perform impossible tasks. One should learn how to exercise from nature by observing the fact that flower water never stagnates and a busy door with active hinges never rusts or rots. Why? Because they exercise themselves perpetually and are almost always moving."

(Sun Ssu-mo - Precious Recipes)

In this passage, Sun Ssu-mo succinctly distills the essence of Taoist exercise principles. If we observe nature, we see that rhythmic movement is the foundation for cultivating essence and energy.

Balance and moderation are also key factors. How many times have you started a difficult or time-consuming exercise regime only to abandon it after a few weeks-or a few days? Start slowly so your early success will spark your drive to continue. In addition to structured exercise, look for ways to introduce more physical activity into your everyday life.

The Spring and Autumn Annals tells us: Essence and energy, body and breath, are indivisible: when the body does not move, essence cannot flow; when essence cannot flow, energy becomes stagnant.

Keep your essence moving like a mountain stream by practicing controlled deep breathing balanced with rhythmic physical movement. Body and breath will harmonize and vital energy will circulate to every organ and tissue in the body.

5. Meditation: Meditation purifies the mind and restores the spirit's primal powers by withdrawing all distracting thoughts and disturbing emotions from the mind. Meditation is to spirit what diet and nutrition are to essence - an indispensable tool for cultivating and conserving that treasure.

Emotions are regarded as major causes of disease in Chinese medicine. When unbridled by firm intent, they can cloud our minds and vandalize our precious reserves of essence and energy. To restore conscious awareness, one must empty the mind of all thoughts and pacify all emotions in the solitary silence and peaceful serenity of meditation.

In an article entitled "Mental Muscle" (Omni magazine, June 1992), Kathy Keeton writes:

"When the psychologists Charles Alexander of the Maharishi International University in Fairland, Iowa, and Ellen Langer of Harvard University, taught transcendental meditation (TM) to a group of octogenarians in eight Boston-area nursing homes, 100 percent of those who practiced meditation 20 minutes a day were still alive three years later, while 38 percent of their peers who did not meditate had passed on. This is reminiscent of legends of Himalayan yogis using similar techniques to live more than a hundred years...

Alexander is one of a growing body of scientists who believe that we can muster the power of our brains to stay healthy, to heal ourselves when we're sick, and, quite possibly, to extend our life expectancy."

Combining Feng Shui with proper nutrition, exercise, meditation and time to reconnect with nature will put you on the path to health, happiness, longevity, peace of mind, greater drive and ultimate success.

Ken Lauher, a gifted Black Sect Feng Shui consultant and speaker, empowers individuals and their environments to transform their quality of life naturally.

His inspiring and transformational work with well known actors, actresses, TV Hosts, singers, songwriters, CEO's, businesses, and corporations has made him a sought-after speaker on feng shui and life enhancement.

http://www.KenLauher.com

Chosing Misery Over Happiness

I am not one to feel sorry for most people. They seem to have a unique ability to cause themselves the most damage during certain parts of their lives. I have met some pretty self destructive people in my life. Being raised by a mother that lived in misery and love.

My mother had a difficult childhood. It seemed as if every corner she turned there was a obstacle either right in front of here or waiting just around the corner. Her father died when she was 12 year old. He was a farm laborer and didn't make much money. In other words they were poor...... She got sent to live with a few foster families and according to her she was molested by one of the fathers she lived with.

Soon her older sister invited her to live with her. My aunt was married to the owner of a pottery business and had 2 children about 10 years younger than my mother. My aunt soon realized she had a live in baby sitter that allowed her to stay out drinking most of the day.

My Uncle was what you would call a drunk back then, now we call these people alcoholics. Well any way I think you are starting to get a picture of my mothers life up to this point. It is probably safe to assume that this isn't the ideal life for a young woman.

The next event to happen in my moms life was for my uncle to fall in the shower one night after tying one on that night. He died soon after but my aunt seemed to make a another good choice and ended up marring the owner of the bar that they spent most of their time in.
The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. Allan K. Chalmers

By this time my mom was in High School and met my future father. It wasn't exactly a marriage made in heaven. My dad was always an easy going man. He seemed to let most stuff go in one ear and out the other.

As you guessed it they had a few children. Nice one Dad and Mom. According to the books I have read on Angelic beings. People that believe in the after life and angels. They tell me I had a choice and was able to choose my parents....... What was I thinking...... I should have choose someone with some money and a couple of parents that were deeply in love .

How did I end up here in this situation.

I ended up loving my parents like most of us. They seemed to be doing the best that they could possibly do raising me, my bother and my sister. My mom and dad ended up getting a divorce and I went to live with my father.

My Father is remarried to a wonderful woman that seems to bring him a lot of happiness.
I haven't seen my mother for a while now. She lives with a life of excuses and misery. Her childhood was not the greatest but that doesn't give her the right to bring misery into other peoples lives. She has made a conscious choice to live what seems to be a painful life. Maybe her choices in life have made me choose happiness over misery.

I have always wondered what it is that motivates someone to live a life of true unhappiness when it takes the same amount of energy to live a life of joy. Life is meant to be full of joy and happiness so start today by making the right choices to live a fulfilling life of happiness.

If you are reading this and can't make up your mind what kind of life you truly want to live visit me at http://live.spiritualideas.com/ . Change your thinking and change your life.

Greg Vanden Berge will help you create a new approach to life and discover talents you never knew you had. We can help you get the most out of yourself all the time. Start developing your innate strengths and abilities to start enriching your life TODAY !

The Quandary With Goals

Ok, two weeks into the new year. Have you met your goals for this year, yet? Ha! of course I'm just teasing. . .

Was it just me, or did you wade through a new year goal frenzy too?

First, I found myself repelled by the "be all you can be" type new year goal promotions. Last week, I even told myself that I was NOT going NEAR the gym until next month or later! Sure, I'm laughing now, but I was struck by the depth of my reaction to these type of goals.

Then a slew of messages, expressing the idea that "I'm already fabulous," grabbed my attention. THAT perspective felt great! In contrast to the other message, I got excited about my life, and was ready to dive into my amazing relationships, and work.

Whew! I know which approach I'm using! Here's why a feel good approach to goals is effective.

We're evolving creatures-always have been, and always will be. You evolve whether you're sitting on the couch day dreaming or running your 10th marathon! There's just no escaping your personal evolution. From this perspective, our attraction to personal improvement, goals, and New Year resolutions make sense, because they tap into our innate desire to expand.

Consider that your goals reflect what your soul already knows is true about you. On some level, you know that you're ALREADY that savvy business woman , or the mom, lovingly in the middle of her family, or that 145 lb strong and sexy woman. Yes, that is exactly who you are!

And yet, your mind needs to catch up to what our soul understands for your true self to emerge. Until then, you might believe that you need to have, do, or think the right thing to be who you want to be.

Can you see that the quandary that setting goals creates? How do you become who you already are? No wonder new year resolutions are so easy to break, they're unnecessary!

Think about it. How much energy do you expend trying to be the person who you already are?

Yes, of course there is an easier and much more enjoyable way to make room for your true nature to emerge.

Here are two suggestions.

Michael Neill suggests that you take at least a week off from working on yourself in any way. Don't try to change, improve, or fix yourself - just enjoy hanging out with your work, your hobbies and your loved ones.

Try this exercise. Let me know what you noticed? What brought you joy?

Here's a second approach.

Look at your goals, or things you want to accomplish this year, and ask yourself:

"How would I live my life if this goal was already met?"

I imagine that there are some beliefs, and actions within your description that you can incorporate in your life right away, yes? Let yourself step into being the person your goals represent. You're ready, and your goals reflect this.

You'll create a momentum that the universe will gladly match. Now THAT'S a sweet spot!

Judy is a Law of Attraction Coach for accomplished lesbian, bi and queer women who are ready to fully enjoy their fabulous life! Find her at http://www.dreamandflourish.com

How to Goal Set and Track Your Progress

Goal setting is the most important thing. If you don't have any goals in life you must be pretty bored. Some people sit around everyday and say they are content with going back and forth to work to the same job every single day, year after year. You see nothing happen and you can always guess where they will be because they never do anything out of their routine. You might be one of these people.

Setting goals helps you grow. It makes you feel good to set goals and work toward making them happen. Goal setting is healthy for your body and healthy for your mind. One of the things to consider when it comes to setting goals is that you do not want to sit around and talk about the goals you have. This will do you nothing but be discouraging.

When you set goals they have to be realistic and reachable or you will be discouraged. Always set goals that you really can reach and you see a way to meet them. It is important to write down the steps it will take to accomplish the goal. Decide how long it will take you to accomplish each task. This might be in days or weeks. Once you do this you will need to set a date that you will begin working toward the goal. Then you can set the project up on a calendar and write down where you should be with each task.

As you begin a project or a completion of a goal you must track the progress. As you meet certain milestones you need to treat yourself to something special because you are one step closer to doing something you feel is important. If you are running behind you might need to pick it up a step or extend out the deadline. Be sure that you are only running behind because you underestimated and you are really working according to task.

Goal setting is very important. When you set goals and lay them out with time frames and milestones you will be more motivated to complete them. As you reach certain milestones you will be motivated more than ever to reach the end of the project. This is a very positive way to work on projects especially if you have a hard time completing them.

Scott Wells invites you to read http://www.drugabusefocus.com/117/ where you can read about or share stories on drug or alcohol addiction. Help others or learn what it is like to be addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Is Busy A Good Thing - Self Help Tips

"Dan, you've been in the office since early this morning, do you want to go for a walk?"
"Id love to but I'm too busy."

"I've got supper ready. Can you stop for a few minutes to eat with me?"
"Thanks Carol but, I'd better not. I'm too busy."

"Dan, it's 11:30. Are you going to quit for the day and get some rest?"
"I'm busy right now. I'll finish this first."

Busy. Do you use that word?

It seems that many people choose to wear the "busy" word as a badge of honour, as if it indicates productiveness, worthiness, and success.

My perception is that the "busy" word is the curse of the new millennium.

"Busy" is a thought-choice. When we verbalize the thought by saying, "I am busy," it reaffirms the thought, magnifies it in our mind, and proves to us that we are busy. "Busy" creates physiological reactions in our body. Our muscles become tense; we lose focus, become irritable, and may experience anger. "Busy" causes great stress and the result is the common cold, headaches, heartaches, and dis-ease.

Common Cold

Im not talking about the sniffles and coughing. The common cold I refer to is our habitual lack of attention to and compassion toward others we are cold to them. Because we are so "busy," we don't take the time to listen to others. We assume we know what they are thinking, and make judgements based upon our assumptions. The common cold eventually destroys relationships.

Headaches

When we convince ourselves that we are "busy." our head begins to swim with confusion and yes, it may even hurt. We think we have so much to do and not nearly enough time. We attempt to multi-task, which is physically impossible. We can do only one thing at a time. When we choose to be "busy," we bounce back and forth between duties and projects and none of them are completed. Or they are not done well.

Heartaches

"Busy"-ness often leads to neglect, resentment, and apathy toward others, and especially to those closest to us our life-partners, children, family, and friends. We tend to not treat them in a loving, caring way because we are too "busy." They may think you are a pain in the butt. That may be true and hearts ache and are being broken.

Dis-ease

Ease is a state of effortlessness and simplicity. In the state of ease, we experience love, joy, and happiness. "Busy"-ness creates dis-ease (lack of ease), and a state of hard work, struggle, and difficulty. In this state, we experience hurt, anger, fear, and sorrow.

With these things in mind, do you still want to be busy?

As usual, I have a challenge for you, if you choose to accept it. Don't get your shorts in a knot; there are only two things.

1. Give yourself a "busy-ectomy." Eliminate the word "busy" from your vocabulary (mentally and orally). Every time the "busy" thought enters your mind, or you start to say it, stop yourself. Instead say things like, "I've got some great projects on the go" or "I'm really enjoying the challenges in front of me" or "I have ample time to do the things I need to do."

2. Consciously notice the changes in how you feel, think, and act.

If you think you're too "busy" to accept my challenge, change your mind. Just as you chose to be "busy," you can choose another experience. At least notice how often the word "busy" is used by people around you, and be aware of how it affects them. Does it do the same for you?

In the past, I was so "busy" making a living that I didn't take time for a life. Since I eliminated "busy." I am more focussed, at ease, and productive. I find that I have oodles more fun making a living and having a life. I experience great pleasure, joy, and happiness in everything I do. Yup, everything. It is a choice I make.

Trash the "busy" badge, turn up the edges of your mouth, jiggle, chortle, snigger, bellow out a big "yahoo" and have fun!

Copyright 2007

Dan Ohler is Thinkin' Outside The Barn!

Dan writes and speaks internationally on relationships, happiness, and change. Through Dan's insights & humour you learn to apply the basics of human psychology the natural laws that create life-long flourishing relationships, and abounding success

Visit Thinkin' Outside The Barn
for FREE how-you-can-do-it-too articles. You can see Dan in action, or order your copy of "Thinkin' Outside The Barn And Steppin' Into Fresh B.S" while youre there!

Assume Positive Intent

"I can't believe anyone would do something so stupid!" How quick and automatic is the leap from believing in someone one minute to flying off the handle in anger the next when someone does something so contrary to our expectations!

When we immediately start to rant in frustration over someone else's action or decision without the benefit of understanding the why behind their motivation, then our reaction says a lot more about us than it does about them.

According to a new study in the International Journal of Psychology, the effects of anger can last 7 days. If being disappointed by others actions immediately makes you see red, then imagine the cumulative affect on your attitude and therefore, on your organization, if you are always at some point on the continuum of getting angry to staying angry to getting over being angry - about something that might not be based on reality!

The next time something happens that you didn't expect or wouldn't have done, stop and ask yourself these five questions before rushing to judge someone's negative intentions:

1. How do I know that the person's intention was bad?

Chances are you're making assumptions and so, are overlooking the possibility that the other person could have had more or different information or another interpretation and based his or her decision to act accordingly.

2. Is my concern self-focused?

Like the father of the family in the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" who lamented, "Why is this happening to me?" every time something didn't go as planned, you are likely more worried about how you will be personally affected by what the other person did more than any real negative consequences to the organization.

3. Were my expectations clear?

No one should be expected to presume to know what you want or when you want it to be done.

4. Could it have been a mistake?

There's an old saying, "If the learner hasn't learned, then the teacher hasn't taught." Someone who is learning or doing something for the first time isn't trying to mess up on purpose!

5. Why am I so angry?

That's really the "$64,000 question." You might need help exploring the reasons behind your outrage and learning how to better control your emotions.

It's a leader's job to gain followers by inspiring confidence. People are so complex, and so different - moved by different motives, controlled by different circumstances, and influenced by different experiences. Before you think the worst, find out the facts, and assume positive intent in the meantime. Most people are doing what they think is best for the right reasons. Assuming that will take you a long way.

Marilyn Lustgarten, executive coach and president of The Star Makers Group, works with leaders interested in achieving good to great performance. She also speaks and writes on strategic leadership issues and organizational transformation. Contact her at http://www.starmakersgroup.com

Why Companies Need Motivation During Tough Economic Times

Companies need motivation, especially during these tougher economic times. Senior management must find ways to motivate employees in order to have their people perform at high levels. This is also true for associations and their members.

Motivation is required for any company employee at any level but is even more crucial for those in roles that have more direct consequences on revenues. An obvious example would be the company sales force. Another is customer service staff since they have direct interaction with customers. Dealing with complaining customers day in and day out can be a very demotivating. Production teams can also fall into this category because overall quality is impacted by the efforts of assembly people.

During booming economic periods, many companies made sure that there were incentive programs to help motivate employees. They were very aware that if some employees were not happy, they could easily jump ship to other companies. This was particularly true for valuable positions of high demand in the market. I've seen this type of jumping many times with top pharmaceutical sales representatives during my career and quite often, these high performers would end up with a direct competitor. Competitors love to snap up high performers much like professional sports teams do.

Some senior management might think that because we are in tougher times, the risk of losing valuable employees to competitors would be much lower. There might be a perception that most people would be happy just to have a job during times of recession and layoffs. There might be a lower emphasis to motivate employees since there probably won't be much jumping around to other companies.

However, this may not be true. The security of a job is not the only motivating factor among many employees, particularly younger ones. Even though it's true that people may stay with a company without much motivation from senior management, it doesn't mean that they will be motivated to perform their jobs at high levels. Quality will suffer as a result. This is why companies still need motivation during both good and bad times.

Of course, it is great to have inspiring company leaders and managers to motivate their staff. But messages from the same internal people over and over again can grow stale. This is why external motivational speakers can be such a plus during company meetings. External speakers can motivate company audiences in different ways and angles that employees have not been exposed to. It becomes a fresh source of motivation for the company. External motivational speakers can use examples that are not directly connected to a company's business but still make them relevant for the audience.

Having been on both sides as a motivational speaker and as an audience member, I can say that the best way for a company to motivate its staff is to bring in an external motivational speaker to address its people and then have senior management regularly reinforce those key messages made by the speaker. This will help employees keep motivated since in order to be successful, companies need to make sure that their people are motivated on a regular basis over time. Motivation is like vitamins, as we all need regular doses in order to keep performing at high levels.

Clint Cora is a motivational speaker, author and martial arts karate world champion. His book, "The Life Champion In You", is about how to overcome challenges and achieve life success. It is one man's journey from personal tragedy to becoming a karate world champion. More information about his speaking programs, books, videos, articles on motivation and success can be found at http://www.clintcora.com

The Bio-Neurobiology Of The Self

Like always My eyes see, my ears listen, my nose smells, my fingers touch and I cannot help cognizing and ask questions of my everyday experiences and experiences of others that reach me through one of my senses, some of them or all. So like then now it is my eye that caught some written material and threw my selfish self in to examining them in an effort to may be understand more than anything my selfish self. As I read through the material I thought if I could only understand my selfish self and be able to see it from outside of it and from a neutral vantage point what else would there be that I won't master at all. Nonetheless wherever I went and whatever I did and am able to do got me always wrapped up in my selfish self and it more and more proved to me that it is all there is in whatever ways and how it was said and done.

""The most obvious thing about you is yourself." "You look down at your body and know it is yours"." Todd Heatherton. I thought of the statement and wanted to be certain of my knowledge of myself and wished if the self within me was only the physical self and wanted so bad to fully comprehend it and master it if I may and be certain of my knowledge, but hard reality hit me so hard that it was not meant to be. It turned out that the self was much more than the macroscopic physical. It also has what is called the spiritual psychological and more aspects to it. The certainty of the self by the self simply dissipates in to the thin air as I try to examine it even further and the self assurance about the knowledge of the self appealed to me as somewhat far fetched. The day to day discoveries and the new lights that are being shed about the inner and outer workings of our self tells a story of even more unknowns and what we know of our self is barely a scratch on the surface of a very large stack yet to be known and ever.

"When you wake up in the morning, you don't have to interrogate yourself for a long time about who you are." Todd Heatherton. The statement makes it as though we have never had a question or a doubt about who we are and why we are , but the fact remains that the overwhelming part of out every day activities are related and are about finding our self, making our self, changing our self sustaining our self and maintaining our self, all in all whether we say it in a single sentence or thousand paragraphs, whether we ask it directly or not the selfish self often and always takes precedence and primacy. In our daily all encompassing and comprehensive activities, actions, reactions, Cognitions and recognitions we do define and redefine ourselves and I am afraid if we are so sure of why we do so with certainty. If there is anything certain that we have asked enough times who we are and why we are, where we came from and where we want to go and are going, these are questions that are in every ones head without being framed may be in an elitist word framing. And what everyone does revolves around the same issues with varying probability of knowing the answers, but with certain truth of never certainty. Even the questions we ask of others come around often as question about our self and we can't escape the fact that it is all about the selfish self. It often is about acquisition of knowledge, material, position, notoriety or something of value here or in the hereafter. The complete knowledge of the self is the ultimate and as such remains always less than certain.

As we go through life every day we wake up, I feel like, what we do is interrogate our selves of who we are, how our poison has changed and how to best react to it contrary to the statement quoted, in all and many things we do, think and imagine. Indeed we have the greatest interest in ourselves and interest is dependent on the degree of exposure to the subject of interest, and the self more than anything else is exposed to the self itself. May be the root of selfishness lies in the exposure of the self to the self more than the not self and there is no way of exposing the not self to the self more the self itself to the self, thus instilling the selfishness permanently in the self and may be a falls sense of complete self awareness as well. "" Heatherton himself shied away from direct study of it for years, even though-"My interests were around the self but not around the philosophical issues of what is the self."

Things have changed today, Today Heatherton, along with a growing number of scientists, is tackling the question head on, seeking to figure out how the self emerges from the brain. In the past few years, they have begun to identify certain brain activities that may be essential for producing different aspects of self awareness. They are now trying to determine how these activities give rise to the unified feeling we each have of being a single entity. This research is yielding clues to how the self evolved in our hominid ancestors. It may even help scientists treat Alzheimer's disease and other disorders that erode the knowledge of the self and in some cases destroy it altogether." It is rather the philosophical self that interested me the most than the mechanical descript self, not that I understood it but I am intrigued by it. It raises questions more than I could speculate and ask of the readers of this article and knowledgeable people if I may and pose them directly. Is the self a collection of memories? Cognitive and reactive process?, Will the self cease to exist when the mind (brain )ceases?, When the subjective self (mind or brain, or consciousness and memory) ceases will the objective self turn in to an automaton and mechanical being?, Are other animals, plants and inanimate that go through motion purposeful, intentional, disciplined, ordered and unique motion self aware?, If not why not?, When the self that is self aware ceases will the self that is not self aware remain? Is the objective self a reality of the subjective self or is it the subjective self the reality of the objective self? Or does the objective self exist independently of the subjective self and the vice versa? Is the subjective self the extension of the objective self or is it the objective self the extension of the subjective self?

As a matter of everyday practice it seems the subjective self to act as its sole purpose and intent to protect, preserve, sustain and propagate the objective self. If subjective reasoning alone were enough to answer it all, I would have had mine, but reason fails short and reality often times defy reason and it is often reality that has to be reasoned than reason define reality, therefore a dose of objective reality may be is in order and in time for a comprehensive understanding of the issues raised and points reiterated. " Further clues have emerged from injuries that affect some of the brain rejoins involved in the self .Gage, a 19th century railroad construction foreman who was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time when a dynamite blast sent a tamping iron through the air. It passed through Gage's head, and yet, astonishingly, Gage survived. Gages friends though noticed something had changed. Before the accident he had been considered an efficient worker and shrewd businessman. Afterward he became profane, showed little respect for others and had a hard time settling plans for the future. His friends he was "no longer Gage." Cases like Gage's showed that the self is not the same as consciousness. People can have an impaired sense of themselves without being unconscious." As is indicated by the awareness of the amnesiac of all things about him it rather seems as though the self is a physiological and psychological construct of information that precedes it. As such as long as the physical construct of this precedent information is intact the self will retain its self awareness which is ingrained in its genes. This self awareness which is to serve in the fulfillment of the selfish needs of the self necessitates the awareness of the environment in which the self finds itself in. it is therefore this secondary awareness that is to be called consciousness. It is an awareness the helps the self act and react in ways and times that its interest are best served by. As every existence is a relativistic phenomenon, it would rather make the complication easier to understand if we have to conclusively argue whether the self is absolute relative to the not sell or the self is yet a relative reality to the not self. If we claim the self is an absolute reality then the self exists independently of consciousness and if we claim the other way around then the self ceases upon cessation of consciousness. As indicated in the article , the retention of the information about the self while all memory is wiped out by amnesia seems to attest to the fact that the self does not exist because X or Y existed, but because of the information upon which it was constructed that determined its intent, shape, color, purpose and destiny and consciousness helped best accomplish these predeterminations in an environmental constraints.

"At the university college of London, researchers have been using brain scans to decipher how we become aware of our own bodies." This is the very basic law-level first point of the self "UCLA's Sara Jayne Blakemore says. When our brains issue a command to move a part of our bodies, two signals are sent. One goes to the brain region that control the particular parts of the body that need to move, and the other goes to the region that monitor the movement. Our brains then use this copy to predict what kind of sensation the action will produce. If the actual sensation we receive does not closely match our prediction, our brains become aware of the difference. But if the sensation does not match our prediction at all, our brains interpret them as being caused by something other than ourselves. Blakemore and her colleagues documented this shift by scanning the brains of subjects they had hypnotized. When the researchers told the subjects their arms were being lifted by a rope and pulley, the subjects lifted their arms. But their brains responded as if someone else were lifting their arms, not themselves." As untenable as it seems it rather is a fact that the objective self is existent independently of the subjective self (the mind) but too mechanically. The subjective self does not only interpret coordinate and give meaning to the environment the objective self is in but also gives the essence of the self itself in relation to everything and anything within its environmental constraints and how it reacts to and interacts with the elements of its environment. The brain that generates the subjective self seems rather an information in, information processing and information out center that where when and how it gets its imputes determine how it will react and what it puts out when it puts out what it does as its purpose and duty.

"Heatherton and his colleagues at Dartmouth have been using the technology to probe the mystery of why people remember information about themselves better than details about other people. They imaged the brains of volunteers who viewed a series of adjectives. In some cases, the researchers asked the subjects whether a word applied to the subjects themselves. In others, they asked if a word applied to George W.Bush. In still other cases, they asked simply whether the word was shown in uppercase letters. They found that questions about the self activated some regions of the brain that questions about someone else did not their results bolstered the "self is special" hypothesis over "the self is familiar" view." The special self and the familiar self are separate and in essence and are intertwined in purpose.

While the special self is the information upon which the physical self and the psychological self is constructed on, the familiar self to me is the conscious self that determines the position of the special self in relation to its environment and helps act in the best interest of the special self. There is no time or space separation between the self and the information about the self. The information about anything else is separated from the self by distance and time. The self is constantly accumulating and accessing information about itself. The self and about the self are intertwined and inseparable unlike the self and about the not self. Information may be filled separately and in categories, yet the fire about the self may be the most important and may be the most significant of them all. "When we are in new circumstances, our sense of our self depends on thinking explicitly about our experiences. Soccer players know whether they are athletic, strong or swift without having to consult their memories." It is rather indicative of the fact that the special self is very much dependent on its consciousness of the environment it find itself in to react in ways and manners its interests are best met. When the self knows and knows well and is familiar with the environment it finds itself in, thinking becomes un necessary, logical construction becomes redundant and the facts become self evident. "The primate ancestors of humans probably had the basic bodily self awareness that is studied by Blakemore and her associates." I wondered if at all there is any living thing that is not self aware. How is this awareness expressed other than being active in the self preservation and primacy of the self? All living things are self reproductive, self preservative and self protective and knows its relative position in its environment and acts and reacts in ways and manners it is able to survive and thrive; what possibly be the so called self awareness if not all these and more? "The self requires time to develop fully. Psychologists have long recognized that it takes a while for children to acquire a stable sense of who they are. "They have conflicts in their self-concepts that don't bother them at all."Lieberman comments. "little kids don't try to tell themselves, 'I' am still the same person.' They just don't seem to connect up the little pieces of the self-concept."" If I am spared of the possible label of someone playing in semantics and engaged in hair splitting I would like to not that there is nothing at all that had happened happens and will happen in no time and in no stages. Even instantaneity is a relative short period. I cannot agree any less that self awareness takes time while the self is a physical construct of the information that preceded it, it does not only predate self awareness, but is there from the initial date of its complete construction when ever that may be. It seems the self goes through stages of cognition of its environment, compilation of the facts of its environment, understanding of its environment, determining the self's position in the environment and acting in the best interest of the self within the environmental constraints.

While the last two of the process described are attributable to self awareness the former four stages are only precursors to self awareness. May be children's conflict of self concept that don't bother them are indicative of the developmental stage to self awareness than it is physiological (biological) (self) developmental stage. The self awareness of the self goes way passed the developmental stages of the brain to the very origin of life itself as a product of self awareness .As it is attested to and proved over and again programs of self propulsion, development, reproduction and ability to choose are ingrained in the fundamental elements of life precedent cellular construction. It poses a dynamism where change in quantity and quality in time and space are among the prevalent character threats. As stated by Robert Shapiro's " A simpler Origin for Life" Scientific American June , 2007 " Muller's Remarks would be in accord with what has been called the NASA definition : Life is a self sustained chemical system capable of undergoing Darwinian evolution" I as a lay person wouldn't have agreed less except for the two things I need to elaborate or needed be elaborated by some who are more able than I. It is the convergence of among the chemical, mechanical, electrical and even gravitational self sustenance as we prove in to the very fundamentals existence and succumb to simply in to being a product of change in space in time following or governed by a precedent information. As it is guided and goes through self sustaining change in time in space gathers information that helps it undergo Darwinian evolution in effect Darwinian evolution is cumulative information gathered to help self sustenance in time and space.

The Plain Truth about Easter

Like dumb sheep to the slaughter, most of mankind continues to blindly follow pagan traditions, rather than obey God's clear commands (Mark 7:7). Has it ever occurred to those stuffing their faces with Easter ham that Jesus would puke at the thought? Neither Jesus or Peter, James or John ever ate forbidden foods. They wouldn't feel too comfortable at plenty of people's dinner tables.

Even the early Gentile converts to Jewish Christianity respected the biblical dietary laws (Acts 15:20), understanding that not all foods are sanctioned by the Creator in the Holy Scriptures (I Timothy 4:5).

When John the Baptist recognized Jesus as our Passover sacrifice, he declared: "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:29). He didn't say, "Here comes the Easter Bunny!" Again, like the Easter ham, the Easter rabbit is also rejected in the Bible as an abomination (Leviticus 11:6-7).

The very name of Easter exposes itself as a heathen festival, although it's cloaked as "Christian." Easter/Ishtar/Astarte is the Babylonian spring goddess our British-Israelite forefathers foolishly worshipped. Hence the fertility symbols of rabbits and eggs.

God isn't fooled by such baptized paganism, such whitewashed heathen customs (Deuteronomy 12:30). He commands us to commemorate Jesus' death every Passover and recognize His atoning work of redemption as our resurrected High Priest in Heaven, unleavening our lives of sin (I Corinthians 5:7-8).

The early Church followed Jesus' Jewish example for several hundred years until Gentile opposition (from false converts) threatened them with a death sentence if they didn't bow before Easter observances (the Quarto-Deciman controversy)!

A growing number now know, understand and believe the biblical account that we're to observe Passover and that Jesus was resurrected before sunrise Sunday, "when it was yet dark" (John 10:1). Others prefer to reject this light of understanding to remain in their traditional darkness and die in their sins (John 3:19)-- it's that serious! Because if our nations don't repent of such idolatry and immorality we'll soon suffer national destruction, defeat and deportation! That's why this article of faith is part of our plea to diehard Catholics and Protestants to repent.

Thankfully, every generation has those chosen few who are willing to reject holidays for holy days and "earnestly contend for the faith once delivered" (Jude 3). Hopefully, this plain truth about Easter will cause you to question your beliefs and provide some "kosher" food for thought!

David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall.

Five Ways to Stay Motivated and Achieve Your Goals

Are you having one of those days when nothing seems to go right? Is every task you try to do harder than you thought it would be, and do you seem to encounter problem after problem along the way? We all have stressful times during our lives when everything seems to be going wrong, but it's crucial to stay positive as giving in will usually make the situation worse. Here are five ways to stay motivated and achieve your dreams:

1. Think less and act more

Stop putting off that difficult job because you're worried it will be too much for you, or you won't be able to do it. The more you worry about something you have to do, the less you will want to do it, so just making yourself get started is one of the best ways to stay motivated. You may have all sorts of excuses for mot doing something, but once you make a start you'll feel so much more motivated to continue.

2. Plan your time and stick to the plan

Having a large task ahead of you, or a big project to complete, can be very daunting, and without a clear view of how much you have to do and when you are going to do it, it can be easy to get sidetracked and put things off until the last minute.

If you have a large project at work, set aside two hours at the same time each day to work on that particular job. Be clear about which tasks you want to complete during that two hours. If you are trying to get fit or lose weight, decide on two evenings a week when you are going to do an exercise class, or go to the gym, and stick to that.

3. Set yourself targets and treat yourself when you reach them

One of the easiest ways to stay motivated is to set yourself achievable targets. If you are setting up your own business, saying that you want to be earning $40k in five years time is a far away target. Break that five years down into periods of six months and decide how much you aim to be earning in each six month period, building up to the five years.

When you reach your targets, you will feel a great sense of achievement, and if you don't quite make it you can evaluate where you could improve to make sure you are on track for the next six months.

4. Mix things up a little

Boredom with the same routine can easily cause us to become unmotivated, so if you are feeling that you need a change then make one. If you are tired of going to the gym, start running in the park instead. If you always work in your home office, try relocating to the deck for a few hours. Even small changes in your routine can be great ways to stay motivated.

5. Make time to relax and avoid burnout

Many people go head on into a project or business venture, and give it all their time and energy, only to collapse with exhaustion after six months and give it all up. One of the most important ways to stay motivated is to take time out to rest and enjoy yourself. Step back and appreciate what you have achieved, make time for a hobby, and spend a few hours with friends and family.

Perhaps some days you have planned to work, but you wake up feeling totally unmotivated. Don't take a whole day off as this will set a precedent, but it's ok to reduce the amount of work you do. Maybe decide just to work until lunchtime and take the afternoon off, but make sure you accomplish something tangible in the morning that you can be proud of to keep you motivated.

Wondering how do you change yourself? Join us now! Improve your self confidence and learn ways to love yourself. Sign up for your free course now at Rediscovery Women.

Sacred Love Building Relationships That Work - Some Essentials of the Heart

There are five simple ingredients to a great relationship. I think all of them need to be in place for the relationship to stand the test of time. Any one of them will trigger the desire to enter the relationship, but, unless all are there, the relationship just dwindles to maintenance.

The first ingredient of a great relationship

Falling in love, over and over again. Did you know that we "fall into love" with someone when we get out of our head? That means, we fall in love when we are not thinking. The irony is that we fall in love with someone because we expect nothing from them. Then, we spend the rest of our relationship with that person trying to get them to match our expectations. The fastest path around this is to acknowledge that you are going to have those expectations and they are important, but to fall in love, again and again and again, you need to have periods together where you just have time out. Fun stuff, where you just BE together without wanting anything. I call this STILLNESS but it's not still.

The second ingredient of a great relationship

The truth of human nature, (as opposed to the ego nature) is that it has two sides. Balance. So, we have a public and a private nature. They are always diametrically opposite. The total ass in public has a sweet side that they display somewhere else in life. So, in relationship, it is really common to find yourself focusing on the "darker side" of your partner, especially if you are into self-help, personal growth, yoga or meditation. You see, everyone has a good and a bad side. When we are in relationship we can easily focus on the bad side, because we become self-obsessed focusing on hiding our own bad side. It's like buying a yellow VW car. Before you buy one, none exist. After you buy one, it seems like every second person has one. When you become obsessed with changing yourself, or disowning your darker side, you can't see past the darker side of your partner. Their foibles. So, the solution here is to start to embrace your true nature, and as a result, be able to embrace the whole being that is your partner too.

The third ingredient of a great relationship

Evolve ya bastard. We tried to find a quote for the women folk, Evolve ya bitch just doesn't have the same ring too it and coming from a bloke like me, can be misinterpreted. So, simply put, "GET OVER IT." You are not a victim, shit happens in your life because you bred it. Take the fall, own your power, you cause your troubles. If you do this, you can fix this. See, if you don't cause your world, then how can you fix or change it? Evolve means to accept and UNJUDGE. That's deep stuff because it involves changing your beliefs. It also involves massive MIRRORING. Meaning seeing your own reflection in the actions and words of others. If you don't evolve in a relationship, you sabotage it and bring in the drama.

The Fourth ingredient of a great relationship

Dreams. 99% of self and relationship sabotage comes from lost vision. Now, I'm not here talking about maintenance. Like "bringing up the kids." When a couple get totally turned on by each other long term it's really because they see a great future together. It's exciting and filled with new adventures. When the libido drops or the emotion goes out, it's because that future has turned to boredom. Boredom in any area of life kills the human spirit. Now, you might say, "bringing up the kids is not boring," but really, its the same thing, day in day out. It's maintenance. I'm talking about things that you dream about. Holidays are a poor man's substitute for a great life. So, many people who lack the real vision of the future to inspire themselves, go on holidays. It's like putting a band-aid on a skin cancer. Do dreams, do vision quest together. Nothing is more important for long term sexy relationship than this.

The fifth ingredient of a great relationship

It's you. You have to turn up happy. You can't prey on your partner for happiness. Happiness is what you bring to your relationship. If you turn up bored or burned out from your job, you're going to suck the life force out of your partner. They have to put up self-protective barriers to that sort of ignorance. Get a life. Get a sport. Get a Hobie. And if you don't, you'll find yourself dreaming of sex with strangers, aka, TV Desperate Housewives. Stupid life. If your yoga class, your meditation class, your spiritual guru, your self help, your job does not send you home laughing, smiling, jumping for joy at the life you've got, then F...k it.

With Spirit and love

Chris "walk your talk" Walker

I really want to help people live to a different rhythm of life. I have done many practices to achieve inner peace, they were good, but fragile. Now, I have found stillness because life has become my meditation. I would love to share how. You see, once I thought my expectations were the best barometer of goodness. Anything that wasn't good, needed to change, or be fixed. Now, I know nature, natural law, creation. And I realise that with self-honesty, I can hold my inner peace, my stillness, wherever I go, not just on my cushion in the morning and night.
http://www.chriswalker.com.au and http://www.innerwealth.com - This is what I share.

How to Goal Set and Track Your Progress

Goal setting is the most important thing. If you don't have any goals in life you must be pretty bored. Some people sit around everyday and say they are content with going back and forth to work to the same job every single day, year after year. You see nothing happen and you can always guess where they will be because they never do anything out of their routine. You might be one of these people.

Setting goals helps you grow. It makes you feel good to set goals and work toward making them happen. Goal setting is healthy for your body and healthy for your mind. One of the things to consider when it comes to setting goals is that you do not want to sit around and talk about the goals you have. This will do you nothing but be discouraging.

When you set goals they have to be realistic and reachable or you will be discouraged. Always set goals that you really can reach and you see a way to meet them. It is important to write down the steps it will take to accomplish the goal. Decide how long it will take you to accomplish each task. This might be in days or weeks. Once you do this you will need to set a date that you will begin working toward the goal. Then you can set the project up on a calendar and write down where you should be with each task.

As you begin a project or a completion of a goal you must track the progress. As you meet certain milestones you need to treat yourself to something special because you are one step closer to doing something you feel is important. If you are running behind you might need to pick it up a step or extend out the deadline. Be sure that you are only running behind because you underestimated and you are really working according to task.

Goal setting is very important. When you set goals and lay them out with time frames and milestones you will be more motivated to complete them. As you reach certain milestones you will be motivated more than ever to reach the end of the project. This is a very positive way to work on projects especially if you have a hard time completing them.

Scott Wells invites you to read http://www.drugabusefocus.com/117/ where you can read about or share stories on drug or alcohol addiction. Help others or learn what it is like to be addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Council of Nicaea Conclusion - The Origins of Christian Belief

In the year 325A.D the emperor of Rome, Constantine gathered a group of church bishops and other leaders who believes in Christianity. The purpose of the meeting was to define the true God for all Christians and eliminate any confusion within Christ's church.

By the end of this council, Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit were considered one and the same. Before the council, there was confusion about, whether they should believe in one God, two gods or three entities.

Here's a statement from got questions, a popular Christian website, "The Council of Nicea affirmed the deity of Jesus Christ and established an official definition of the Trinity-the deity of The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit under one Godhead, in three co-equal and co-eternal Persons."

This was a pretty interesting article, if you've got time to read it, I would also suggest checking out Wikipedia for more information about the Council of Nicaea.

Here's Some of the Problems I Have with This Small Group of Proclaimed Christians.

If I'm reading this statement correctly, a group of people or religious leaders, 1700 years ago decided that Jesus, God the creator of everything in the universe and the Holy Spirit are the same. What does this mean to you? To me it establishes as a fact that a group of men, at a meeting, under the control of the Roman empire and the Emperor Constantine, made an agreement within the Council of man, not gods, that the Trinity was now a fact.

If this one thing was created by a group of men, doesn't it get you thinking about other things in your religion that might be false or even misleading. These are some of the facts that most Christians tend to either ignore or don't even have a clue that they exist.

I believe more Christians and other organized religions should inspire their followers to learn more about how their religions were formed and where they came from. I cannot verify that the Council of Nicaea ever took place, I'm basing this information on historical writings from man, that I either gather on the Internet or through books. I don't know if any of this is true or false, always use religion responsibly.

I don't need to believe the information, I don't need to believes the information in the Bible, I need to research and gather more information and with this information I can make an educated guess, and be happy with that, I suggest you do the same.

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing, marketing, and personal development

Greg is currently working on a self help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion

Persuasion Techniques

Don't you just envy how some people seem to get their way more often than not? These people always seem to have all the right words and all the right moves. However, if you take the time to actually study these people, you may be surprised to discover that they have more than just a few persuasion techniques in common.

These persuasion techniques allow them to easily get people to their side and persuade others to their way of thinking. And if you read the rest of this article, you too will be able to tap into this extraordinary power.

Know your audience

As wonderful as it would be to just magically convince another person to share your views, life doesn't quite work that way. You have to know where your audience is coming from in order for you to know which angle you can best appeal to.

If you're dealing with somebody who is more emotional, you can actually use feelings to plead your case. The chances of your success will definitely increase.

Turn weaknesses into strengths

During a job interview orientation, one of the moderators gave me a very helpful advice. She said that when asked for your weaknesses, try to position your statement into something more positive. Instead of, "I'm very shy and soft spoken," you can say, "I'm currently working on my communication skills."

By using persuasion techniques like this, you don't run the risk of scaring your customers away. In fact, they will be delighted to hear somebody with such a positive outlook on life.

Cite the positive facts

Naturally, you would want to tell your audience what the benefits are. People are generally happy to learn what they can gain from something.

You're not going to lie or make up stories. Those do not fall under persuasion techniques. When you persuade, you have to be certain that all your facts are true. Otherwise, your lies will come back to haunt you.

Even when you don't have magic on your side, these persuasion techniques will certainly help you win your audience over. Just follow these basic steps and you'll soon be able to talk your way through anything!

Discover how you can use the psychology of persuasion to change behaviors and influence anyone to your way of thinking! Get a FREE course that reveals groundbreaking persuasion secrets at http://www.20daypersuasion.com/secrets.htm

Practical Ideas For Business Goal Setting

With any type of business goal setting you need to be careful. Setting too high goals will lead to disappointment and frustration and if you set your goals too low then you will not be motivated. There are a few tactics that are important to set goals. By using the following tactics you will create a ladder of goals that can be reached successfully.

You need to be passionate as the goals that you are passionate about will be the most powerful and generally include what you want, what you do and who you are. You need to discover your passion and then set a goal based on that passion. It is important to be realistic. If you want to make 1 million dollars in a year but only make 500, 000 don't think of that as failure. You just made 500,000 dollars, which is great!

You should be value driven and your goals should not conflict with your values or beliefs. If you think there may be some overlaps then you should list out your goals and your values. If the goal does not include at least of your values then you shouldn't waste time pursuing it. You need to be as detailed as possible as just having the goal is not enough. You also should have an achievement date and a way to measure the goal.

You should always have a plan to reach your business goals by starting with your final result and working your way backwards. You also need to be held accountable and hold yourself accountable to that goal. The best way is to have a due date for each part of your plan and report to yourself or another person. It is also important to have fun and reward yourself even when things get tough.

You also need to believe that you will reach the goal. You will never be successful if you don't believe that you can reach that goal. Almost all individuals also need support so don't be afraid to look for some support. Finally the most important step is not to give up. You may need to alter your goal a bit but you can succeed and have fun at the same time.

For more help on how to set goals just click here

Making Rejection Work for You in Your Creative Life

No matter what your art form or field of expression: visual arts, performing arts, or writing--one thing is for certain: you will encounter rejection. When you do, what is the most healthy and useful way to respond? Eden Maxwell, author of "An Artist Empowered" offers these suggestions:

1. Know why you are an artist.

2. Know your purpose and the value of your process.

3. View rejection as a mirror that reveals truth about your dedication.

4. Confront yourself and this moment of awareness.

5. Use rejection as a moment of awareness, not a pool in which to drown.

6. Stay focused on results, but unattached to the results of your efforts.

7. A daily spiritual practice helps you keep life, art, and rejection in perspective.

Eden expands here on these seven suggestions.

Janet: Eden, talk about your approach to rejection in the arts. How does this relate to your spiritual practice?

Eden: As a writer and a painter, I have been on the receiving end of both acceptance and rejection and each has its own set of issues. It all comes back full circle to the core question: Why am I an artist?

If you know your purpose and the value of your process, then nothing will deter you from your mission, your dharma.

Janet: What is the true purpose of rejection, in your view?

Eden: Rejection, as it turns out, isn't the bane most artists believe it is; rejection is a mirror that reveals truth about your dedication; you are compelled to confront your own self and that is a moment of awareness.

Janet: How can the creative person learn from rejection?

Eden: If you are to learn from rejection, use the experience as a moment of reflection, not a pool in which to drown.

Should my art be rejected, I understand that if they could see it, could appreciate it, then they would. Also, a rejection from an anonymous party is no cause for faltering. I have seen great art ignored, and mediocre embraced.

Janet: How can the artist balance the need to have goals and yet to hold these goals lightly?

Eden: Having goals is good; wanting to share your unique gift is good; making art is good. Keeping these desires in mind, I also realize that getting attached to any outcome is a self-made prison. Releasing your attachment to an outcome frees you to see other opportunities.

I strive to have no attachment in how a particular outcome manifests. I work; I create; I have faith in fulfilling my dharma; and my evolving strength tells me the Universe is handling the details.

So, no matter what is happening, I focus on the true goal, and the goal is this: understanding.

Visit Janet Grace Riehl's blog "Riehl Life: Village Wisdom for the 21st Century" at http://www.riehlife.com for more thoughts and information about making connections through the arts, across cultures, generations, and within the family. You can also read sample poems and other background information from "Sightlines: A Poet's Diary" on Janet's website.

Walk With Norse God Odin - Become a Rune Wizard

Rune - Wizard - Odin

As an aspiring Rune Wizard, it is important that you connect with the energies of Odin, the All-Father. He is the master Norse Sorcerer, Wizard, Shaman, and Magician.

When I say connect, I mean you must build resonant frequencies within your own Aura to Odin. What energies we carry in our Aura attracts people, places and events into our lives.

We don't want to use out dated Asatru and Viking Rituals that bring us back into the time of Odin and the Vikings. We want to bring Odin into the 21st Century so he can walk with us and guide us into the NOW.

Speaking of the 21st Century, we are now in the galactic space called the Age of Aquarius. Our whole Solar System has rotated around the Galactic Sun. We need a new paradigm for contacting and attracting the wisdom and energies of the Runes and Norse Gods/Goddesses.

The Age of Aquarius has given us the Laws of Quantum Physics. The Laws of Quantum Physics have given us the language we can use to build our new paradigm.

Simply stated: the Laws of Quantum Physics tell us that there exists an infinite ocean of thinking, intelligent energy called the Quantum Ocean. It is for all intents and purposes the Mind of God.

Everything that ever was, is or will be exists in the Quantum Ocean. There is no time, no past, present nor future. There is only the NOW. There is no space only the HERE. That is a good definition for the Creator God, an infinite point called the HERE-NOW.

The runes and Gods/Goddesses of the North all exist in the Quantum Ocean in the Here-Now. As a Rune Wizard, you will want to contact and connect with the energies of the Runes and Odin in the HERE-NOW OF TODAY. You don't want to go backwards. You want to bring the energies of Odin and the Runes to you, in the now.

How do you get the energies within your Aura so that you can use and communicate with Odin and the Runes?

The Laws of Quantum Physics tell us that what you think upon you will attract. Thoughts and symbols are all tools that you can use to connect with Odin and the Runes.

Therefore, on a daily basis, have thoughts of Odin, meditate on his image, inhale his Runes into your Aura.

You can simply start by holding the print of Odin in your hands and looking at it. Do this in your favorite chair every morning, before leaving the house to go to work.

Now, mentally inhale and intone, "I am now making contact with Odin and I am bringing him and his wisdom out of the Quantum Ocean and into my Aura where I can talk with him and use his energies.

Do this three times. Talk to Odin in your mind. Visualize him sitting in the room with you. When you leave your home bring him with you in your car and take him to work with you.

Befriend him. Talk to him. Feel him. Soon you will know him and you will feel him in your every day life. Ask him Rune Wizard questions. Keep a notebook with you at all times and record your impressions, thoughts and intuitions.

You want Odin and his wisdom in your life? Build resonant linkages. I did and I met him on a snowy evening in the mountains of Pennsylvania. I wrote about it in my book "Conversations with Odin."

Ellis Peterson AKA Ragnar Storyteller is a retired math professor and electronics engineer. He has been studying astrology, runes, radionics, metaphysics and alternate healing treatments for over 30 years. He is 70+, in very good health and lives in the boonies of the Pocono mountains with his wife Lory. His writings are unique and refreshing. To see more of his writings visit his websites.

http://www.olevikingshop.com/

and

http://www.runes-for-health-wealth-love-now.com/

Or go to goggle and type in his pen name RAGNAR STORYTELLER for his listings. He is also a ghost writer and will write and article for you. Email Ragnar for his FREE 10 PART MINI-COURSE, "How-To use Quantum Physics in Your Every Day Life to Attract More Wealth, Health and Love, Now." You can contact him by email.

epete@ptd.net