Saturday, June 28, 2008

Blessed in the Middle of Life's Mess

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a bad situation where most of what was happening was not your fault?

You and I know that most of what happens to us is of our own design. We cannot make a car payment because we spent too much on vacation. We have a disobedient child because we refuse to follow any proper parenting guidelines. We have trouble with our boss at work because we refuse to walk in grace and submission. We have a fight with our spouse (or children) and make a conscious decision to stand on some crazy principle that just makes things worse. I am not talking about those kinds of situations.

I am thinking more about the situation where you are promised a specific thing 5B4from someone for 7-years of service and then when your time is up they trick you into taking something else. Yet, you still want that other item because it is beautiful and you love it. So the owner of that item agrees to give it to you if you work another 7-years.

It would be like being a business partner who is promised a huge bonus and a share in the company after 7-years. When the seven years are over you are tricked and offered a manager's position with an option to work another 7-years for what was already promised after the first 7-years.

We would sue them. We would be furious. We would leave the company. There is no way we could be blessed in this type of situation.

Sheer trickery!

It is the story of Jacob. It is the Jacob who loved Rachel but was tricked, after 7-years, into marrying her sister Leah. It is the Jacob who then agreed to work another 7-years for his father-in-law Laban so that he could marry Rachel (read Genesis 29-30).

And it never says that Jacob was angry. Jacob did not leave the country to go back home and he was abundantly blessed in a bad situation not of his making.

In the middle of these circumstances, however, Jacob was extremely blessed. Jacob was the father of 12-sons and a daughter. He was greatly successful in his business endeavors. In fact, so successful that he became wealthier than Laban for whom he worked.

In the middle of a bad situation God 5B4continues to bless us. It is simply who He is. The painful situation that Jacob was in developed in him strength of character that he did not have before.

Do you remember that Jacob tricked his father Isaac into giving him the family blessing instead of his older brother Esau? Back at home Jacob had a brother who hated him. Esau vowed to revenge Jacob's deceitful act but during Jacob's time in the desert God softened the heart of Esau so that when they were reunited there was peace instead of war.

God does not need the palace to prosper us. God does not need us to be in a good situation to bless us. God is not dependent upon the perfect set of circumstances to work His will in our lives.

Joseph was blessed and rose to the top of the empire while still an Egyptian captive never to be free again. Daniel was in the same situationa foreigner who depended upon God and found great favor in the eyes of his captors which led to incredible access to kings and personal success.

Jesus, the Savior of our souls, was born into a people ruled by Romans and into an area occupied by an enemy army. Even in the midst of uncontrollable circumstances God can use us, bless us, and give us a life of peace.

You can bet on it.

Abraham Lincoln

Fantastic Life

Our good buddy, lazy Yogi Ponchie, had just read a great blog on meditation, where the author had revealed the secrets of how to live a happy, meaningful and good life. This blog highly inspired Yogi Ponchie and he immediately went about implementing the recommendations, in his own special way of course.

The article, he read, explained that the secret to a happy and fulfilling life was to live life one day at a time. Not only that, the author had provided his thoughts on what 5 activities one should include in one's life on a daily basis in order to accomplish this. Here was how Ponchie spent his day, which he felt met the requirements laid out in the post.

5:00 am: Ponchie checked the time and smiled 5:00am Woo Hoo! The recommendation was to wake up early, but since waking up early was impossible for our lazy yoga friend, he had decided instead to stay up all night. Thus, he would be awake during the early morning hours and be able to take advantage of this most spiritual time of day.

6:00 am: Ponchie headed to the Gym to get his daily recommended sweat. He spent the next hour in the sauna.

7:00 am: Ponchie listened to a meditation tape in his car on the way back home from the gym, thus meeting the most important criteria for doing his daily meditation practice.

8:00 am: Ponchie watched Sunrise Earth on Discovery by sitting very close to the television... spending time with nature... done.

9:00 am: Ponchie called his dad and asked him to pay his credit card bills and help fix the leaky faucet in the kitchen. He told his dad that this had to be done today itself, since he was eager to meet the requirement of "completing your daily affairs" as had been suggested, that was easy.

Let's summarize this article that has so profoundly inspired Mr. Ponchie.

Essentially, the secret to a Happy, Meaningful and Good Life, the article said, was to live one day a time. This did not mean not to plan, it meant not to obsess with the outcome. Put money away in the retirement fund, enroll in an MBA program, start a daily fitness routine, launch a new blog, sure do all these things, but don't focus on the results. Instead, just go about the business of life by living each day as well as you can. In addition, the article continued, try to incorporate the following 5 activities into each day, as they would go a long way in expanding your spiritual and personal growth and ensuring that you really maximize your human potential. Here are the 5 daily suggestions that were made.

1. Wake up Early: This gets the day off to a great start. The early morning hours are full of spiritual energy and prana (life force) and are an ideal time for your daily sadhana (meditation, yoga or other spiritual practice).

2. Sweat Everyday: If possible try to break a sweat everyday, and a sauna does not count. This means to get some form of exercise and keep the body in tip top shape. The body is not you, but is the vehicle through which you live and worship, so treat it like a temple and take care of it.

3. Daily Meditation: This is the most important criteria. If you have come to the Mastery of Meditation website, something is stirring within. This invitation by the Divine should not be taken lightly. Not all receive the invite, or at least not all are aware of the beckoning, so if you are being roused from the dream by the gentle hand of your Divine Nature do everything you can Wake Up!

4. Spend Time is Nature: The spiritual path can be described in 1 word -- CONNECT. That one word describes all the Vedas, Gita, Upanishads, Bible, Koran, Tantras, etc. One of the best ways to connect is to be with Nature intimately. Hopefully the author will write an article on this topic of Connection as well as is it a very interesting and powerful concept :-).

5. Complete Your Daily Affairs: Don't procrastinate, don't delay, don't put off what needs to done. The old proverbs are very wise. "A stitch in time saves nine" and "Don't put off till tomorrow what can be done today". Life, the moment, provides challenges to you and when you meet them, life opens up. If they linger, they are like blockages, they prevent your life from moving forward. Your inner voice will constantly remind you what needs to be completed. Heed this suggestion and you will be surprised at the rewards.

Anmol Mehta is a Yoga Teacher & Zen Expert. His extensive site, Free Guided Chakra Meditation & Kundalini Yoga Poses, offers Free Kundalini Yoga Pranayamas & Sets. Also find lively spiritual discussions on the Free Guided Chakra Meditation Practice, Kundalini Yoga Pranayamas & Zen Meditation Blog.

This article is available for reprint on your website and/or newsletter, provided it is not changed and you include the author's signature.

Secretequation

Friday, June 27, 2008

Role of Games on Character Building

Nobody can deny the importance of games in physical culture and character building. Games have immense influence on human personality. The main aim of education is harmonious and threefold development of human personality-physical, mental and moral development. Games and sports have numerous physical, mental and moral advantages. But they must be placed in right spirit and at right time. This is particularly true about students. The approach to game or playing of games may be different for different persons.

Games must be compulsory for students for all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. They are essential for both physical and mental cultures. As the maxim goes, a sound body has a sound mind, and the two function in concomitant variation. But the golden rule for the students is, play while you should play and work while you should work. The existing tendency among our rising players and sportsmen is not conductive to character building. They generally neglect their studies and use all the fair and foul means to procure a certificate or a degree for their life career. Many of them are simply spared for the teams and not for the battle of life. It is a marked contrast for one who had been a sportsman.

After dwelling on the necessity of games and sports for the youths, particularly the students, let us mark the other approaches to them as amateur and professionals. The rules of the games are the same for the both but the former take them more lightly and the latter, more seriously. The first play should be for amusement and fitness, and the other for money. Anyhow, sportsman spirit and good habits are developed and cultivated in the earlier stage. The real purpose is not fame but gains the three fold benefits. Of the educative value of games is ignored, they become a gamble, excersie without excellence-feeding the body at the cost of the soul.

Playing of games has a serious purpose. It must help in the all round development of human personality. From physical point of view games are excellent form of exercise. By playing games not only human limbs are developed and strengthened but co-ordination and rhythm are also produced in their movements. It helps in the development of muscles and strengthening of the heart. Outdoor games tone up the fresh air starved lungs for deep breathing is good for health.

Frank Desantis is a philanthropist from the U.S.A. He is a writer by hobby and writes on various topics, especially Literature and Life in general.

Healing Crystals

Recipe For Success and Happiness

"Grabbing the brass ring" is a cliche. We know that. But do you know where it comes from? At amusement parks and carnivals, there was a post outside of the carousel that held a brass ring. It was beyond most peoples' reach while they were riding the carousel, but if you tried really hard and reached way out, you'd get it. Then you would turn in the brass ring to the carnival barker and they would give you something special, a prize.

What does this have to do with success? Everything. Because we're human. And we operate best in a system of positive reinforcement, or rewards. The brass ring was a goal. The prize was your reward for reaching that goal.

Back to the carnival. If you got the brass ring and just put it in your pocket to show all of your friends, they would say what did you get for it? Who wants a boring old brass ring when you could have had a reward? This shows two things: One, the brass ring was a Goal, not a reward. Two, there's nothing wrong with receiving a reward when you achieve a goal. You've earned it.

Back to real life. Let's say you've been working very hard on a project and you finish ahead of schedule. Finishing the project is the goal. What is the reward? A bonus from your boss? A raise? A pat on the back? What if you get nothing? What if you don't even get a thank you? Cue the dramatic music, please. You would be upset and resentful towards your boss for not even recognizing your extra effort. Maybe the satisfaction of a job well done is enough for some people. Personally I need a reward system to keep my motivation up. That's how my husband ended up quitting smoking: through a goal-oriented, positive reward system.

Now what if you're the boss, or perhaps a parent. In either case, setting up a healthy and appropriate goal/reward system will certainly encourage motivation and therefore effort. It's a win/win situation.

You can set goals for anything. In fact, you probably already do without even thinking about it. Now you have to figure out how to reward yourself, because you can't count on others for your own motivational foundation. In other words, you are responsible for yourself.

Here's the Plan:

1. Set a Goal for yourself. It can be anything from a simple chore to a life-changing goal such as quitting smoking.

2. Write it down, on paper. Add pictures if it will help. This is a very important step. It helps make your goal concrete and real.

3. Put the paper in a prominent place. Copy it and put it in several places where you'll see it easily, like on the fridge, or the bathroom mirror. This helps your conscious and subconscious mind stay focused on the goal.

4. Determine a suitable reward. It has to be proportionate to the task. For example, if you clean the kitchen, you can have an ice cream sandwich, you can't have a new car. But, if your goal is to quit smoking, then the ultimate reward should also be sizeable, and you should write it down as well. Incremental goals will help you maintain focus along the way. For example, my husband had 1-day, 1-week, 1-month rewards (appropriately proportioned) and so on, until he reached his eventual goal of being smoke free. In case you're wondering, after 1 year of being smoke free he rewarded himself with a motorcycle, and has been smoke free for 5 years. (He was able to afford the bike with the money he saved from not smoking.)

This simple formula will work as long as you are determined to put in the effort. It's not magic, you have to do your part, but it's quite satisfying. Here's to your success!

Neece, like everyone else, enjoys the finer things in life. She researches and discovers the best things available so you can find the luxuries you deserve as well as gifts for those you love all in one convenient place.

http://www.authenticindulgences.com/

Characteristics Of A Buddha

Reach The Success You Truly Desire

Ever have those days where no matter what you try life seems to be a series of one step forward and two steps back?

Well today is the very best day to take charge of your life and develop strategies to achieve personal success. You will need to work hard and make a commitment to your personal success plan, but once you break the inertia you will find that small achievements will help you gain momentum, and each step forward will attract more success.

1. Take a look at the one and only person responsible for your success- YOU. To be successful you must take complete responsibility for your actions. You can't pin your success or your shortcomings on anyone else.

2. Develop and nurture a successful self- Start by smiling more, look to the positive side in everything. Don't list all the reasons why something is hard and you can't do it, find the reasons even if it is only one to start with of why you can do something. You must develop a successful persona to become a successful person.

3. Make the decision today- Decide today that you will be successful. Praise yourself for past accomplishments, take stock of your strong qualities and work to nurture and improve those that are underdeveloped. You have a purpose and a mission you must sweep aside the negative clutter and defi5B4ne this purpose and begin today to fulfill yourself.

4. Always begin with the positive- every morning you wake up, every time you speak with other people. Always stick with the positive. Associate with positive people. People who have also made the commitment to success. Avoid negative people at all costs. They will not only drag you down. Their negative actions and thoughts, their pessimism, whining, and complaining is a toxin and you need to steer clear of it.

5. Visualize and write down how you desire to live successfully- think of the things that are meaningful to you. Things that give you pleasure, comfort, and fulfillment. Then being as specific as possible write down how you want to live. Don't listen to any of the negative, just concentrate. Write down every detail, where you live, what your house is like down to the decor. What you and your friends are passionate about, what kinds of community projects do you donate your time and money to. After writing everything down copy the most vivid and important things into a new journal. One you have chosen just for this. Make the journal come to life with drawings, photographs, magazine clippings, articles, and poetry. Images and words that will help your vision of a successful life crystallize in your mind. Look through this journal several times a week. Every day visualizing living that life. Make all of your actions in accordance with that successful life.

6. Defin4Fe what success means to you- Concentrate on what you are best at and what bring588s you satisfaction and fulfillment. Using your vision of how you want to live, write down and then read out loud what success means to you. Otherwise you won t know when you have achieved it.

7. Study and make the commitment- Read books and magazines about people who are successful in your eyes, and ways to become more successful. Develop a daily methodical systematic approach to reaching your goals and take one step towards your success.

Keep your mind in the moment don't let it wonder to negative discourse. Focus your attention on your vision of success. With a resolute attitude you are well on your way.

About The Author

BZ Riger-Hull. www.in-spiros.com For valuable free articles, assessments, & practical success tools mailto:A1@smartautoresponder.com Certified as a Success Coach, Four Agreements Facilitator, & Tele-Course leader We help you communicate powerfully, reduce stress, Strategically Attract success, & increase your financial well-being.

bz@in-spiros.com

Eastern Buddhism

12 Thoughts for a Happy New Year

Live each day so that you will neither be afraid of tomorrow nor ashamed of yesterday. - Author Unknown

H-ope
A-spiration
P-rosper
P-recious
Y-earn

N-etwork
E-ager
W-isdom

Y-esterday
E-loquent
A-dvertise
R-eward

1. To face the coming years problems use HOPE, faith, and your trust in God and His wisdom to guide you to the future thats right for you. You can create your own future by focusing your thoughts on what you wish to accomplish. Know that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life both good and bad.

2. Make it your ASPIRATION to achieve something worthwhile. Learn a new skill, or seek greater knowledge in areas you dont now have. Seek and master new ways to do something thats already been done -and- do it better! U10E9se the power of purpose by giving whatever it is you desire the highest amount of your attention. This determines how successful you will become.

3. Make a concentrated effort to improve, grow, and PROSPER. Increase your financial security. Dare to be happy. Exercise and stay in good health. Keep a positive attitude. Do whatever it takes to improve your personal and business image. And know that your relationship with giving is the spiritual source of your true prosperity.

4. Treat your life, family, friends, and others you meet as a PRECIOUS gift to be enjoyed, and of great value. Regard them with a love that is special and - it will all come back to you. Send forth good and it multiples. Honor every one you come in contact with today, tomorrow, and make it an ongoing behavior. This too, is paid back to you by the Universe.

5. To YEARN is to express compassion. In this coming new year, experience it and show compassion for those less fortunate then you are. Offer ways to help others whenever and wherever you can. Give only good. The more you give of yourself, the more comes back to you. It may help make this a better world.

6. Learn to NETWORK and link to other like-minded individuals; whether its in an educational, business, or social setting the benefits can add to your growth and success. Celebrate and share your abilities so that you can attract more of the same.

7. Be EAGER to learn new things. Opportunities are all around you. Having an intense passion or desire to find new opportunities is the sign of an enthusiastic person. This desire comes from God. In order for you to find new opportunities, always move toward your goal with a spiritual awareness.

8. WISDOM - the ability to make well thought out decisions comes from maturity and understanding. In any given situation, it is wise not to judge until all facts are understood. Be open to understanding anothers point of view. Do you look at the world with a positive or a negative vision?

9. YESTERDAY is a day that has just passed. Now you are free to live in the present. Use each new day wisely and full of gratitude for every hour, every minute, and every second. Set goals for each day and take specific actions that will help you accomplish them.

10. ELOQUENT. Are you confident, persuasive and effective in the way you communicate? When speaking with others how would you rate yourself? Are you always voicing negative opinions? Or, are you positive in expressing your thoughts?

11. ADVERTISE. For those in business, always make the positive features and benefits of your product or service known. Appeal to the emotions of your prospective client. Give quality service and products so that your self-esteem is strengthened and your reputation is valued.

12. - In the coming new year, heres hoping that you will REWARD yourself for any successful personal and business achievements. Improve your skills where and when needed. Change any negative habits, and always follow His guidance in all things you attempt to do.

May this New Year bring you many blessings of good health, dreams to come true, prayers to be answered, and gratitude for all. Remember: Life is a series of new beginnings and in every ordinary moment there are a thousand miracles to behold. -Flavia Weedn

www.distinctivebusinesswomen.com

Copyright 2006

About the Author

Gerri D Smith publishes and hosts an inspirational newsletter for women business owners, individuals eager to improve, and entrepreneurs willing to learn more . And its Free! Subscribers to her newsletter receive many of her well-written articles, special reports, books, offers, and resources that are filled with motivational support, business and personal image improvement, and supportive ideas to help you reach your goals. To sign up, go now to: http://www.distinctivebusinesswomen.com

Thomas Jefferson

Success Secrets of the Greatness Grower

"The power inside of you would stagger you if you really knew what it could accomplish. It is a power that conquers, empowers, and Grows Greatness. But most of us have been conquered by Greatness thieves that have robbed us blind. "

Clueless.

That is how most people are about their Power to Succeed that lies dormant within them. They have no idea of the Success Greatness that lies deep within just waiting for a chance to explode into the world and make a so so life into a life made only of dreams.

You have a great Power within that can help create any life you want, have anything you want, and do anything that you desire. This Power is one that has been waiting, watching, and willing to take on the Success Journey in a way that would leave you breathless and in awe.

YOU are that powerful on the inside.

Yes, that Success Power and Force is within you, and waiting to come out and change your whole world! Success is basically the releasing of that Inner Will and Power in your 5B4life, and then operating your life in such a capacity that Success can ONLY be the result!

DARE to step beyond the limits today and live "Life Beyond the Barriers.(tm)"

But people will tell you that this Success Power is for others and not for you, as you came from the wrong family or side of town. They will tell you that Success has never been a part of who you are. Don't buy into the lie.

Success is already inside of you.

YOU must release it, and never look back, as that is where you came from, not where you are going. It is where you used to be, not where you are now. It is WHO you used to be, but not who you are now.

Today, something has shifted inside of you.

You are a POWERFUL being that God has made for massive Success and Achievement, and today you make that decision to release it and never look back at what USED TO BE.

Success is about what is GOING TO BE! And you are going to be a HUGE Success today and not be clueless like so many others.

Let others walks among the clueless crowd and be blind to what the Truth is about their Success.

But not you.

There are so many people in the world that simply are deceived into believeing that what they have and are doing is all their is to life.

They are clueless to the Greatness that lies within them.

I should know....

Mine laid dormant for years. It laid there like a rock that I carried around with me. It heard5B3 all the excuses and the pathetic reasons I was not a Success. It put up with my lack of great effort, as I replaced it with weak effort that was "just enough" to get by.

Am I proud of that fact?

Nope...hardly. I shake my head at it, and that is the reason for this lesson- Release the Greatness and Giftings that you have been blessed with!

I had the Shift- and so have you today! The Inner Shift of Greatness that shifts your life into Success overdrive!

Let me ask you the questions that I had to ask myself:

Are you proud of the fact that you probably have truly never tapped into the Greatness and Gifting of Success within you?

Are you proud of the fact that you could be doing do much better in life? We ALL could!

Here is a Million Dollar Question...

Are you more proud of your Mediocrity than your talent and Power God gave you to Massively Succeed?

YOU are a WINNER and Blessing to people!

YOU are a Gifted Talent that attracts Success to you like a magnet on Steroids!

YOU are the Enlarger and YOU will enlarge you and others today by encouraging them and taking them to a higher realm of thinking, belief, dreaming, actions, and life and total faith in what they can do with it by simply releasing it, and GROWING IT.

Truly, YOU are a Greatness Grower, and Success Shifter today...

And today...YOU start with YOU!

(c) 2006/ all rights reserved

Doug Firebaugh is one of the top Success Trainers in the world. Over a million people a month read his training ezine. He spent the last 7 years traveling the world speaking and training on Success. He lives in Birmingham Michigan, and you can receive a FREE subscription to his training ezine- The MLM Success HEAT- at: http://www.passionfire.com/pf_heat_9.html
http://www.passionfire.com

Home Improvement Guide and Information

Bob Doyle Used The Secret To Manifest All He Ever Wanted

The first thing you should probably know about Bob Doyle is that he found the secret after he realized in January of 2002 that he could no longer continue to work his corporate job any long and just up and quit with out having any back up plan or a secondary job lined up! Let me stress that he had no safety net what so ever and he had 3 children at home who relied on him for their safety and well-being! Since personal development was always of great interest to him, he set out On the road to share with others what he had learned in his own life About creating your own reality while meditating on a regular basis for the prosperity he was so desperately seeking in his own life during his time off. It was during that period that he came across a critical truth about The Law of Attraction. He had become so focused on his idea of how to attract the wealth he was himself seeking he failed to realize that he had gotten in his own way.

He began to grasp the fact that while he was working so hard to figure everything out on his own he was actually failing himself by not letting go and letting the universe find the answer for him instead. He finally understood how he was actually blocking the way to his own success, and that he needed to let some things work themselves out without his own coercion delegating the How and the When. Once he realized this subtle yet vital truth, he decided 5B4to ask the universe to guide and direct him by learning to fallow his own intuition without question. Then, through what at first appeared to be a series of events each unrelated to the next the answers began to emerge and he found himself not just On the road again but On the right road instead!

Thats when things really began to take off. It was at that time that he began to truly understand The Law of Attraction and Wealth Consciousness. As he began to live the principles of these two concepts 24/7 he once again found his sense of purpose and passion. Further still he committed himself to remaining on course and his first year of doing so he earned a whopping six-figure income! He is still so fixed on helping others help themselves that he has developed an on line program entitled Wealth Beyond Reason and he openly shares his insights with those seeking greater fulfillment in their lives. I strongly suggest it to those open to this new way of looking at what life itself has to offer when we believe we can achieve!

Bobs no nonsense approach to things is a refreshing change from the typical hoopla and hype often seen on the Internet. If down to earth, simple, practical and basic is your preferred speed, then he is probably your guy. You might also enjoy looking on line for related material about Bob on google. I found lots of sites full of information on Mr. Doyle and the way his website at Wealth 7D1Beyond Reason. com is set up all the information you may be seeking is easy to navigate as well. However if the Internet is not your thing you can head on over to Amazon and pick up his booked also entitled Wealth Beyond Reason!

Karen Giardunio is a single mother who resides in the mountains just north or Boulder Colorado. Through the power of the sweeping concept of "The Law Of Attraction!" she was able to personally connect herself with two of the leading experts in the field of Internet Marketing and Personal Development. It is through these great mentors that she has begun to change her life and obtain an unlimited wealth of knowledge and understanding of the need to share and serve others in order to obtain her own hearts desires. So, she now offers frustrated Network Marketers that are looking for more ways to make money while learning how to win at the recruiting game to accomplish those goals. You can just go to http://www.moneymakerdaker.com to find your way to the simple step-by-step applications that anyone can master that will show you how you can take control of your own life by creating a potential 6 figure income helping others succeed. The two mentors mentioned above will be working for you! They will share their money making system and guide you every step of the way.

Jesus Christ

Building Vocabulary Through Activities

Studies show that people learn words best by engaging as many of the five senses as possible. Associating a new word with a smell, touch, taste, or sound helps us recall the word for later use. So in addition to reading on a daily basis and listening to speakers who use a different vocabulary than you do, you can add words to your working vocabulary list by exploring new activities.

The following suggested activities will boost your vocabulary by engaging more of your senses and putting you into word-rich environments.

1. Take a class, any class. Learn a new skill. The skill could be knitting or sport fishing, cooking or carpentry, dancing or playing an instrument. Choose something you are interested in and which requires you to use your hands. Each craft or skill will have its own vocabulary. There will be words to describe the equipment, the processes, and the materials. Since you will be doing something with your hands (and maybe more parts of your body as in dancing), you will trigger more activity in your brain than if you just read the words on a page. The increased activity will create more connections in your brain. Not only will you see the word, you will have an experience to tie to it. You will have paired the word with a motor memory (a physical process you have learned to do like knitting) and sensory memories about the material and tools you work with (like the feel of the knitting needles and yarn in your hands). The greater number of connections your brain is able to make with the word, the more likely it is that the word will become part of your working vocabulary.

2. Visit a museum. Childrens museums are a great choice because they often feature interactive displays. Another good option is a living museum where you can talk with a docent who can answer your questions about the exhibits. Many living museums (Colonial Williamsburg would be one example) have programs where you get to participate. Youll learn the words associated with the focus of the museum. Your brain will link the experience of the museum, the items you touched, the activities you participated in, and everything else your senses will record about the trip.

3. Go to the zoo. Youll find interesting animals with exotic names which originate from many different languages depending on where the animal normally lives. English is a living language which adopts foreign words to name things. The word yak, for instance, is from the Tibetan word gyak. You will also learn about each animals food and habitat requirements. Many zoos now present shows where a trainer works with an animal and explains about that animals particular needs and capabilities. Who can resist a cuddly koala supping on eucalyptus leaves? Once again, your mind will be absorbing the new words along with plenty of additional sensory information to link to the word memory.

4. Garden. The lexicon of gardening is rich with Latin-based words describing plants their names, the parts of the plant, and their life cycles. Latin provides the roots to many English words in the areas of law, science, and religion. The word vegetable for example originated in the Latin word vegetare meaning to enliven, bring to life, or quicken. The word flower came from the Latin word flos or floris meaning surprise! a flower. Understanding the Latin portions (prefixes, suffixes, and roots) of words can help you deduce the meaning of other words that are new to you. In addition to adding lovely flowers to your hall table or fresh vegetables to your kitchen table, gardening will add valuable words to your vocabulary.

Learning new words can be easier, more enjoyable, and result in better retention if you can use multiple senses in the word-learning process. So add a new activity to your life and youll soon master a whole new group of words!

Celia Webb is an author, illustrator, and company executive. She and her husband, Mack H. Webb, Jr., founded Pilinut Press, Inc., publishing advanced readers for children and ESL students. Their website http://www.pilinutpress.com offers more free articles on developing reading-related skills, word games and puzzles, and activity sheets for their entertaining and educational books.

Abraham Lincoln

Four Secrets To Overcome Resistance To Change

In life one thing is constant... change is going to happen! Everyone desire change and change is inevitable, so why is it difficult for so many people? The process of change in our lives can lead us toward growth and fulfillment if we learn how to cooperate with this unyielding force. When we partner with this force of evolution we can take a quantum leap in our lives. In this article you'll discover why you resist change and the four secrets to move beyond your resistance to create positive change in your life.

When we reach for change, a part of us naturally recoils and resists. If the recoiling is stronger than our reach, we experience stagnation. If we resist change too much we'll experience struggle, frustration and procrastination. During major crossroads in our lives, such as mid life crisis it is wise to surrender to change rather than resist it. If we accept that change is inevitable we can build an alliance and experience greater freedom and success.

The 1st Secret: Seek growth rather than change. Growth is the process of reaching fo1A34r something new while releasing the old. Growth always leads to positive change in our lives. Whether that is a new relationship, a new belief or a new experience, growth leads to genuine change as it shifts from the old to embrace the new. Growth is the foundation for evolution and challenges you to become more in some area of your life. Growth always produces change; but change does not always produce growth. Growth is about evolving and becoming more of who you are meant to be.

Tip: Are the changes you desire about becoming more? Look at the changes you want to make, to determine if they are a growth choice (becoming more) or a fear choice (becoming less).

The 2nd Secret: Genuine Change involves your emotions. Some people only seek physical changes. They want to change the physical forms in their life without changing the feelings. Erroneously they think this new form will make them feel a particular way. When change is only about changing the physical (new haircut, wardrobe, mate, house, etc.) personal growth is limited and change becomes temporary. However, when you change on the emotional level then growth is produced and the physical forms will begin to change automatically and without struggle.

The foundation for permanent change begins within our emotional nature. Our emotions provide motivation, they need to change before genuine change can occur. Our ego is concerned with changing on the outside and our soul wants to change and heal the feelings on the inside. When you begin inside out, change becomes more effortless.

Here is an example; A client of mine was "stuck" in a relationship. The feeling of being powerless was a pattern that haunted him for years. He attempted to fix this problem by changing the person he was dating every six months. He never changed the feelings that attracted those relationships in the first place. Once he understood that the feelings needed to change, he quickly attracted a new relationship with someone who reflected his feelings of being powerful.

The 3rd Secret of change: All Change Produces Chaos! This is the most powerful of all the secrets combined. Chaos and change always function together. It isn't change that you resist, it's your egos attempt to avoid chaos that creates resistance. When change happens its always accompanied by chaos. Chaos can be either light or dark and is a vital energy to the process of every change.

Everyone yearns for change and recoils from its chaos simultaneously. We have been taught to believe that chaos is bad and to be avoided, yet even the most incredible changes we desire: i.e., Getting a job promotion or starting a new romance will also produce chaos! The tug-of-war between our ego and our soul creates our resistance to change. Life is not to be controlled, especially by our ego, it is to be mastered by our soul. We can influence the direction of change when we let go of control, embrace chaos and learn to dance with the unpredictability of change.

The chaos of change is energy moving from one form to another. How you relate to chaos influences the outcome of change, positive or negatively. For instance, when you mix fear with chaos, change becomes negative, producing anxiety and frustration. On the other hand, when you mix hope and trust into chaos then the energy can lift to excitement and joy. Anxiety, frustration, excitement and joy are all chaotic emotions and influence the change you want to make.

Chaos is neutral and is a part of every change. This truth can help you relax and stop worrying that you might be doing something wrong. It's natural to feel chaotic when you experience change in your life. If you don't feel chaos then you aren't really changing. Big changes produce lots of chaos, small changes produces a little. So let chaos be a part of your process of change. Trust yourself know that it won't last forever and is living proof you are in the midst of changing.

The 4th Secret: Focus on the positive outcome by visualizing your future self. How often do you think about what you don't want to happen versus what you do want? This only attracts more of what you don't want. To make changes while in the throws of chaos focus on the future of how you'd like the changes to occur in your life.

The best way to accomplish this is to learn to focus your mind with guided meditation. In a state of meditation you can visualize your future self. Find a relaxed position, close your eyes and take in several deep breaths to help relax your body and focus your mind. Begin to imagine yourself in the future with the changes you desire in your life. Think about how you would feel once you've created the positive changes in your life. Your subconscious mind can begin to help you create the changes you desire. To try guided meditation, visit my website at: www.RelaxationMeditations.com

Don't wait to see what the future holds rather create what you want the future to be in your mind. The more emotions you add to your vision of change, the quicker those changes will manifest. Repeat this on a regular basis at least once a week. You will begin changing the course of your future by using the power of your imagination. As you implement these four secrets, you will end your resistance and harness the power of change to become the master of your life.

Michaiel Patrick Bovenes is an author, professional speaker and self empowerment teacher. He is the author of a popular series of guided visualization meditations called, "Soul-utions". To explore his meditations or receive free ebook on Developing Personal Peace visit his website at: Michaiel.com Michaiel currently resides in San Francisco, CA and teaches throughout the USA and Canada.

Secretequation

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Before You Begin Marriage Counseling, Ask This Question

Theres an important question that you need to ask the marriage counselor you and your spouse are considering using. The question itself may surprise you, as well as the answer your potential counselor gives.

Its an often-overlooked question that hardly anyone ever talks about. Therapists dont include it in articles they write about how to select a good counselor, so youre unlikely to read about it. Ive never heard of the topic being discussed on the popular daytime television shows that delve into so many varied subjects.

But the answer to this important question could save you time, money, and energy spent with the wrong therapist. Its a good question to use as a deciding factor if you narrow your search for a marriage counselor down to two or three possibilities, and all look fairly equal in education,B68 training, and experience.

What is the question I consider so important that it could be the deciding vote in selecting a therapist for marriage counseling? Here it is. Ask the potential marriage counselor(s): Have you ever participated in extensive personal therapy yourself?

Then watch the therapists reaction and listen carefully to what he or she says. Also pay attention to the emotional tone in the response. Consider the following responses to the suggested question. My remarks are in italics in the parenthesis:

1. No, Ive never had to go to counseling.

(Never had to go? Do you mean that youre above having to go to counseling? That only people who arent as emotionally stable as you are have to go? How will you even know what its like to go to an unfamiliar office and tell a stranger the most intimate details about your life?)

2. Yes, I went once for several times when my father died.

(Thats slightly better, but what about all that self-growth work counselors are always advocating other people do? Dont you take your own advice?)

3. No.

(Thats odd. Why the one-word answer? Its a logical question to ask. Why would I entrust you with my vulnerability and something as important as my marriage if youve never been to counseling yourself? Why havent you been? Dont you believe in what youre offering?)

4. I took part in some counseling when I took my courses for my degree.

(You mean you role played with other students in some of your counseling classesthat doesnt count. You werent in a real counseling situation and were probably focused on what your classmates and professor thought of your role-playing. Thats totally different from participating in therapy to look closely at your own real issues.)

5. Yes, I have. Ive had several years of intensive personal counseling, and I still see a counselor when things come up that I need to process. I know how much courage and commitment it takes to confront personal issues, avoid blaming others, and take responsibility for the quality of ones life.

(Yes, this is the one! He (or she) has gone through the counseling process himself. He wont be just talking about something he has never experienced, and he doesnt sound ashamed that hes had counseling. Instead, he sounds proud of himself for making that choice. I like that he practices what he preaches about counseling. He must believe that it helps in some way or he wouldnt have spent so much time and money getting counseling himself.)

Are you surprised to learn that many counselors have never participated in counseling as clients and have never faced their own individual or relationship issues? That they could get their advanced degree and beco5B4me licensed without having participated in personal growth counseling? It is shocking to think that could happen, but it doesquite often.

Just think about itwould you want to go to a therapist who recommends counseling to others but has never taken her (or his) own advice? Who hasnt dealt with her own personal past and present issues that could impact the recommendations she makes to you? Who doesnt really know how vulnerable you feel as a client and how much courage it takes to make an appointment, sit in the waiting room, and then talk openly to someone youve never seen before?

I can unequivocally say that you should steer clear of counselors who havent done their own work in counselingeither in individual counseling, relationship or marriage counseling, or both. Theres a saying that you cant take other people any further than youve been yourself.

Thats certainly true when it comes to counseling. The counselor needs to be very familiar with the terrainnot from only textbook knowledge but from personal experience, also. He (or she) also needs to be able to help you without getting your issues all tangled up in his own unresolved issuessomething personal counseling helps a counselor to do more effectively.

So before you sign on with a marriage counselor, ask the important question--Have you ever participated in extensive personal therapy yourself?and be sure that th51Ce counselor you select knows the advantages of personal counseling first-hand.

Nancy J. Wasson, Ph.D., is co-author of Keep Your Marriage: What to Do When Your Spouse Says "I don't love you anymore!" This is available at http://www.KeepYourMarriage.com, where you can sign up for a free weekly marriage advice newsletter. Dr. Wasson offers telephone and email coaching to spouses who want to overcome marriage problems and create a rewarding, loving marriage.

Abraham Lincoln

The Man, The Woman, and The Pig

A man is driving his sports car along his favorite winding road on a beautiful autumn day. Hes enjoying the colorful scenery and the exhilaration of the wind on his face. The car is a fine piece of machinery as it handles the bends and curves like slot car on a track. His Z3red is his pride, and it is his joy.

The day is, well, perfect. All of a sudden around the bend coming at him is a Volvo. The driver is clearly upset with a frustrated look on her face and is even more surprised by the man in his car she now needs to avoid. As she passes by the man she maintains her lane and shouts out to the man, Pig!

In his anger and disbelief the man does a hazardous U-turn and catches up to the woman. He pulls up along side her and yells at the top of his lungs, Cow!

Extremely satisfied with himself he turns the car around and resumes his leisurely drive and as he rounds the bend sure enough he hits the pig. Another version of this story has him rounding the bend and sure enough there is a policeman and he gets pulled over for speeding, but we found that version a bit disrespectful.

Of course the moral of this story has to deal with how help can and is often perceived as threatening. The woman was doing everything she could under the circumstances and the man took it as an attack on him.

Once while golfing I remember a golfer behind us yelling and waiving a club. I hate being pushed I said, Were maintaining a good pace. So I shout back, Relax, we are playing as fast as we canjust chill out! When we made the turn he approached us and I was preparing for a verbal confrontation. Imagine my embarrassment when he gave me back my 7 iron I left back on the sixth fairway.

Why do we sometimes think the worst in folks when they may be trying to lend assistance? In both of these scenarios there is a direct correlation to the uncertainty of a situation and how our misunderstandings impact trust or the lack thereof. The driver was uncertain as to why the woman would say such a thing and I was uncertain as to why these guys were shouting at us on a golf course. Distrust is a direct result of uncertainty.

Let us take this subject to a plain higher. Direct feedback is also one of those perceived threatening things and conflict is a form of direct feedback. Unfortunately everyone thinks conflict is a nasty word. Its not; at least it doesnt have to be.

The fact that we disagree with one another, even for a split second, makes us think differently about our position, even if we still strongly disagree. Open disagreement in team meetings is how we are able to get many points of view on a subject. Unfiltered and passionate dialogue provides constructive sessions in which teams air different points of view. Healthy means passionate, yet respectful. These dialogues must remain professional and not get personal.

So what happens when I push back a bit, passionately state my point of view and still my ideas are not being used? What a waste of time, right? Wrong! Just because we are heard doesnt guarantee our ideas and thoughts will be used. In fact they often are not. We sometimes find that we strongly disagree with the decision being made and you know whatthats alright too.

We dont have to agree but we do need to be on board. Once we leave that conference room all of our actions, decisions and behaviors need to be in alignment with those decisions. We dont have to agree, but we do have to commit. It is this lack of commitment that impacts the way we hold teams and team members accountable.

In closing we need to come back full circle. So, why dont teams have passionate debate in meetings? Its a lack of trust. Trust that we can be unguarded in our thoughts, opinions and positions. We are creating a culture of bobble heads and we are taking part in bobble head meetings. And this is why most of us hate going to meetings. Theres no excitement and very little interest unfortunately.

We can sit through a three hour movie, but we cant stand the thought of another 30-60 minute meeting. Why? What is it that every movie has in common? Its an element of conflict.

About the Author:

Nicholas D. Conner is Vice President of Program Development and COO of TeamBuilders. For nearly twenty years he has enjoyed sharing his experience and expertise with organizations that include small business to Fortune 20 Companies. His unique facilitation style combining humor with knowledge creates workshops that are both entertaining and insightful. Nick is one reason why TeamBuilders client list reads like a Whos Who of global business.

EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE

Nearly twenty years of designing and facilitating sophisticated workshops in Team Synergy High Performance Teams, Mergers and Acquisitions and Change, Leadership Synergy, Leading & Coaching for High Performance Teams and Self-Managed/Self-Directed Work Teams.

  • Myers Briggs Type Indicator Level Eight Facilitator-MBTI, MBTI Step II, MBTI Executive Coaching
  • Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership-Kouzes and Posner
  • The FiveStar Team Performance Indicator
  • Key Note Speaker

http://www.teambuilders.com

Secretequation

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Survival Preparedness - Survival Skills and Emergency Kits

Most of us would agree that at any moment we could find ourselves in a disaster or other emergency situation. Even if this fact is only lurking in the back of the mind just below consciousness, the statement is no less true. Anyone can suddenly be thrust into an emergency situation or have a disaster land squarely upon them quite unexpectedly. How well one survives or IF one survives may be a matter of luck. Far better to invest some time and effort in survival preparedness.

Survival preparedness for the purpose of this article is not a call to be constantly fearful of impending doom and disaster skulking around every corner, or to hoard great caches of dried beans, MREs, bullets, and gold then hunker down with your stash in some remote area.

More realistically, survival preparedness is the act of obtaining knowledge of and practicing basic survival skills, gathering survival gear, food and water together into emergency survival kits. These kits can then be placed at easily accessible points in the home, car, office, etc., or on your person.

Think ahead to anticipate what sort of situation might arise and what survival skills, gear, and supplies would be useful to successfully see you through to the end of it. Some excellent items on the list of basic survival skills to learn (and practice!) would be:

  • how to build a fire with or without matches
  • how to build a simple emergency shelter
  • how to obtain food and water
  • how to use a map and compass
  • how to signal for help
  • how to use the survival gear you have chosen

The size of the emergency kits and the items they contain will be determined by the scenario for which they are intended to be used; lost in the wilderness, stranded in your vehicle on a lonely back road, recovering from the aftermath of a tornado or other disaster.

Always include fire starting items, items to build an emergency shelter, survival tools, a medical kit, signaling device, emergency lighting, containers of water, and rations. There are many helpful web sites that describe complete lists of items to include in emergency survival kits of all sizes.

In any emergency situation strive to remain calm. Use your mind. It's one of your best survival tools.

Initiative belongs to the individual. Make the time and effort for prudent preparations toward your own survival and that of others. Do not risk suffering the consequences of taking no action at all.

Survival after all is being alive at the end of an ordeal.

Chuck McIntyre is active in helping others learn basic survival skills. He offers reviews and recommendations of survival gear and emergency kits at MySurvivalPro.com

Wayne Dyer Audio Collection

G.A.S. Up Your Customer Service

A recent customer service survey suggested that bad attitudes are the reason 68% of your customer does not come back. And existing customer service research indicates that dissatisfied customers tell a lot more people about their poor experiences than satisfied customers.

With more and more competitors entering the market place all vying for a piece of that customer loyalty pie, what can you do to improve customer service and create loyal customers. Possibly, by integrating the following three critical elements into your customer service training may just be the answer.

  • Goals
  • Attitudes
  • Self leadership skills

GOALS Do all of your employees truly know what the goals for your company are? Do they know how to consistently set and achieve goals? Stop presuming that your employees are great goal setters. Take the time to develop them in how to use a proven goal setting process that is reinforced with a proven goal setting tool.

ATTITUDES Who wants to be around crabby people? Develop your people to truly provide extraordinary service by having incredible attitudes. Do not make the mistake on trying to change behaviors. It will not work unless you first change the attitudes that are being demonstrated through the behaviors.

SELF LEADERSHIP SKILLS Do your employees go out of the way to help customers? Do they take the initiative to deliver exceptional customer service? How are their:

  • Listening skills?
  • Problem solving skills?
  • Decision making skills?
  • Overall people skills?

Until individuals lead themselves they truly cannot lead anyone else. Traditionally, businesses spend their resources of time, energy and money in training for job specific skills. However, the reason for poor performance is usually about the inability to consistently demonstrate self leadership skills.

When companies use the right G.A.S. with their customers both internal and external, they will realize far greater profitability and business success. Of course, companies could continue to do what they have always done. The real question that needs to be answered is: How is that working for you?

Simply speaking, leaders are readers. If you enjoyed this article, you may find the Leadership Audit of interest at http://www.processspecialist.com/od.htm

Call me, Leanne Hoagland-Smith, The Business Coach, at 219.759.5601 or visit at http://www.processspecialist.com to explore everything from how my solutions double results to articles and resources including the Simply Speaking series.

Eastern Buddhism

Health and Fitness Goals - The Most Common

It doesnt have to be a New Year's resolution for one to set goals pertaining to their health and fitness. While participating in regular exercise, losing weight, and eating right are much easier said than done, it is suggested that setting goals in this department should become a gradual process. Since many diets and exercise plans tend to fail, it is highly recommended to start out slow in order to provide the best chances for achievement and success. Below you will find some of the most common goals for health and fitness:

1) Shed Pounds

Every New Years' Eve, millions of people struggle with the goals they have set to lose weight. Whether it is 5, 10, or 50 pounds, losing weight has always been a popular goal high up on the list of many objectives in life. Unfortunately, so many people fail despite all of the diet fads, fat-free snacks, and weight-loss programs. In the end, self-improvement and motivation are some of the key factors that drive people towards weight loss success.

2) Push Yourself

When it comes to health and fitness goals, it is important to keep pushing forward and try new things that aim to boost your overall health. You never want to miss out on the experiences that helps shape a life, tests character, or pushes an individual to learn more about themselves. You never know how high you'll climb a mountain unless you take the time to try. Achievement is a great way to improve the way you view your life and create future goals.

A few examples on pushing yourself to succeed in your weight loss, health, and fitness goals is to attempt a demanding workout plan (such as advanced Taebo), increase the number of miles you walk or run, take up an advanced swimming class, join local sporting competitions, ride your bike to work or the store, and eliminate junk food for a month.

3) Build Muscles

You dont have to become a bodybuilder to appreciate the self-improvement and achievement of building healthier muscle mass. Not only does lifting light weights or tossing up a few dumbbells help tone the body, but muscles burn more calories than fat. For many, confidence levels and self-esteem skyrockets when results appear. Just remember in order to stay on track following your program is a must, which requires a certain level of self-discipline and motivation.

4) Tone the Body

A firm backside or solid thigh and calf muscles are just some of the things that toning the body may accomplish. When working on the curves and appearance of your exterior shell, the things you dread (such as cellulite and extra weight) start to disappear and a more chiseled physique begins to emerge.

5) Drink More Water

The recommended daily intake of water is eight glasses, which should increase when adding heavy exercise to your regular workout routine or during the spring and summer months. For many, it is rather hard to consume desired amounts of water, but there are a few ways to stay on track. Whenever you eat a meal or snack, make sure to consume 1 to 2 glasses of water. When counting your ounces becomes a drag invest in a water bottle (with known capacity), which helps keep track of your intake.

Learn personal goal setting and business goal setting strategies will help you achieve more this year than you have in the last 5 years combined. Visit http://www.personalstrategicplan.com

God In Buddhism

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Grow Your Marriage

You either grow your marriage or weaken it: all the time you and your spouse either grow apart, weakening your marriage, or grow together, making it strong. For you and your spouse to grow your marriage, both must share with each other preferences, opinions and ideas. Getting to know someone truly, inside and out, takes effort. If you put no effort into your marriage, you're not maintaining it, you're letting it deteriorate and you are growing apart. A marriage that grows together is one where both individuals make an effort to find out what is going on inside their spouse's head. They appreciate, understand, and respect that information.

When both partners don't communicate or share life changes, they can wake up one day and find themselves sleeping next to a stranger. You didn't marry your partner to get a carbon copy of yourself. Chances are that the differences between you and your partner sparked your interest and made each one of you fascinating to the other. If he's artistic and you're analytic, or you're impulsive and he's rational, you are likely to be complementary personality types who bring out the best in each other. The question is whether those differences are enough to break your marriage apart or just right to add the spice to grow your marriage.

You don't remain the same person that your spouse met. But spouses can be resistant to changes in their partner, because they see it as a sign that their partner is dissatisfied with things as they are. When one partner suggests a change, the other partner often feels indirectly criticized, thinking that the other person means that status quo is not good enough. Reassuring your partner is essential during this tough time. Changes are frightening, but when there is communication, honesty, and willingness to compromise at every step of the way, change can be an enormously positive thing, allowing you to grow your marriage. Any change that can be undertaken mutually is better than a change that can only be undertaken individually.

It doesn't mean that neither of you ever changes. It doesn't mean you're thinking alike, or avoiding conflicts, or not having disagreements. Growth, by definition, is change. A healthy, lasting marriage is one in which both people mature and change their ideas, perspectives and plans. You will grow your marriage when you share those changes openly and honestly with your spouse as they occur.

In more fundamental areas, like your values, goals, and vision boardfor your marriage perhaps you have major incompatibilities that make it difficult to grow your marriage. If you and your partner differ significantly in your upbringing, the importance you place on family, and your need for and ability to express physical affection, you may have a more difficult time accepting and negotiating your differences. This is why cross-cultural relationships can be so challenging. If your partner is from a significantly different culture from your own, you will need to be extremely open, understanding, and flexible in how you approach resolving marital issues.

If you are at the point in your marriage where you think that you and your partner are unable to resolves differences between you and you find it impossible to grow your marriage, it is worthwhile to invest in a marriage counselor. Counseling is much cheaper than a divorce and provides a neutral environment where both partners feel comfortable opening up and examining their true feelings.

You are thinking, perhaps, that marriage counselors are far too expensive for you. That's not so! You can get low-cost, easily affordable and excellent advice as well as personal training, through the Internet, from first-class, professional marriage counselors who have many years of experience and law of success,. You will find a group of men and women that can solve even the toughest kind of differences and allow you to grow your marriage.

You can find excellent low-cost professional advice, including a free six-part course on solving marriage problems at: grow your marriage.

William Grigsby, a retired multinational corp. executive, is now a consultant and writer.

John F

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Examining Happiness

"What is happiness?" a young child asked. For a moment I was a bit taken aback. Then I thought, 'Happiness' is a really complicated sensory thing - a bit like an onion. As you peel away the outer layers, according to your experience, you expose the deeper, more intimate layers, one by one, until you get to the core - inner peace and contentment, which is the essence of happiness.

Happiness has been described as beatitude, blessedness, bliss, cheerfulness, child-like innocent contentment, delight, ecstasy, felicity, being light-hearted, feeling carefree, good-humoured, fun-loving, being joyful, rapturous, merriment, tranquillity, or enjoying inner peace. I know that inner peace is a necessary prerequisite of happiness.

To be happy you must accept yourself, as you are now, not yesterday, or perhaps, tomorrow. You must eliminate that carping inner voice, which is always criticising you, putting down and minimising your achievements. Do this by accepting who and where you are, right now.

I believe happiness is about appreciating small things and simple experiences: the kind of things that leave lasting, enjoyable memories. Happiness is not about over-the-top, expensive, "Gee whizz!" extravaganzas. They may look great, but the happy buzz you experience; doesn't last beyond the moment. The novelty factor evaporates, like steam escaping from a kettle's spout, leaving nothing behind.

For happiness, you need something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to. Do note that: it's someone to love - not someone to love you. It's something you do for others that brings you lasting happiness.

Giving love to others and knowing it's reciprocated, brings a new dimension of happiness into your life. Love is the food on which our happiness is based; yet so many people block this essential emotion, feeling that it brings unnecessary complications to their lives and makes them vulnerable. Pure love does not imply sexuality but deep, spiritual warmth that touches your soul, radiating feelings of great joy, when you share it with others.

Saying the words "I Love You" is so important in all your relationships; yet how frequently do we forget to say them to those closest to us. Telling your family and friends, "I Love You," costs you nothing and brings so much joy and warmth into your life. Try it today!

A wonderful friend recently sent me a card, saying, "Don't postpone joy." How wise he is. Life is not a rehearsal. There are no re-runs! You only get one opportunity to live. As my friend, says: "Don't postpone the joy."

Our lives are full of joyful experiences, yet many folk don't value them as they should. So, often people put off the things that will make them happy, until they have achieved a set goal; but then - having reached that goal - there is always another reason why they cannot enjoy a state of bliss. Procrastination is a bad habit. Whatever you want to do in life, do it now - don't procrastinate and put off starting. Between your dream and the fulfilment of it, life lies waiting.

The important thing about happiness is your attitude towards life. The secret is to look outwards - not inwards. It's a positive mental attitude that is a pre-requisite for happiness. It is not what happens to you, but your reaction to it that is important. You can accept what has happened and deal with it, so you can move ahead; or stay negatively stuck in the moment, in denial. Acceptance of life's challenges is vital to your happiness. There are important lessons to be learned there; buried treasure waiting to be mined.

A doctor, speaking to a group of burned-out geriatric carers, told them of a person who was unable to speak, feed herself, was fully incontinent, and although usually of sunny disposition, often at night, she would scream for long periods of time. She was unable to sit up unsupported, and couldn't walk. He asked the group, "Who would be willing to care for this person?"

There was a totally unenthusiastic response.

He then said, "My wife and I are delighted to have this person in our household. She's our three-month-old baby daughter."

This provoked a huge wave of laughter among the carers. His point was clearly made - that of attitude. The baby was regarded as a delight to care for - but the prospect of caring for a geriatric with the same needs - a burden. A positive attitude is essential to your happiness.

Do you know what makes you happy? This knowledge could be the most important discovery in your life. Get a sheet of paper and list, ten things happy things from today. Start a Happy Book and write these things, every day, and look back on Blue days, when you need to find happiness.

Helen F McKay is author of "Links to your Happiness". Helen's other published books are "About Storytelling" - "Riotous Riddles" and "Gadi Mirabooka". Details of Helen McKay's latest book are at http://www.happinesslinks.com

Increase Your Energy

Who Is To Blame For My Lack Of Success?

Who is responsible for the law of success or failure of your dreams? You are. That is right, in the end, you have ultimate responsibility. Are you upset that you have only gotten to a certain level in your career? I once knew a woman, let's call her Martha; she was always thinking a person getting promoted quickly was unfair. She was a hard worker and had spent twenty-plus years getting to where she was-a journeyman level IT specialist. She had the hardest time with people moving up the ladder faster than she did. Although she never reflected on "why are people moving up faster than me?" The reason was that she lacked motivation to pursue the tools required for advancement: education, professional development and aggressive career management. She happily bought into "I am a victim of the system" and would rather criticize people succeeding than making a change herself.

She never went to college or earned a degree. She entered into the Information Technology field when there was a super-high demand-she knew more about computers than her peers at the time. Time though, moves on. Martha failed to move with it. She entered into a professional occupation without the ambition to becoming a better professional. Great professionals get education, training and experience no matter the cost. If their organization does not pay for it, they pay for it, because in the end it helps them get to where they want to be. Today there are people with graduate degrees in Information Technology working for half what she earns-yet she expects more. Candidates these days, in her field, have degrees. She places little value on a degree and thinks that people that have them think they are better than those that don't. (Not true in most cases.) What she fails to realize is that a degree opens the door, what people do once they get in the door is the key.

Martha is automatically at a disadvantage when someone with experience and a degree applies for a job she wants. She thinks "they only got the job because they have a degree" not realizing that they got the job because they had the experience and the degree. Advancement takes work, beyond the work put in at your job!

Another common complaint was that the organization does not pay for enough training. Again, you have to pay for it-it benefits you the most. The organization will benefit from you training of course, but you will be providing the benefit-your leaders will notice that you take the initiative to get the job done. It will pay off in the end; Martha never realized the cost is relative.

The last area where Martha fails to take control is in the aggressive management of her career. Many highly qualified professionals move around and take jobs to broaden their skill base. Martha stayed in the same job for years-and-years. She has a family. No excuse; she could have aggressively asked her local employer to allow her to work in other areas of the organization. She did not have to uproot her family. Martha probably thought "they would never let me." Aggressive career management means you give them reason to allow it and stand by your desire. Martha could have said she needed to gain more experience. She could have said something like this: "to better provide information technology services to the different and unique areas of the organization, I should rotate through their operations. That way I know first-hand what they require from me." It is hard to argue with an employee that rationalizes their request with organizational improvement.

John C. Maxwell, in his book, 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, quotes Haddon Robinson as saying "If you want to get rich, invest in victimization. It is America's fastest growing industry." Martha was a victim, of herself. She did not believe that it was her fault for not getting a degree, not pursuing additional training or seeking broader working experiences. She is happy thinking that she is a victim of the system. There are a lot of victims out there; Haddon Robinson may be right, a person could get rich giving people tips on who to blame other than themselves.

Geno A Bulzomi
http://www.bulzomi.com
Articles on International Affairs, Leadership and Business.

Jehovah

Monday, June 9, 2008

Prepare to Receive

Carry the expectation of happiness and abundance with you every single day of your life. We receive what we have prepared for so create a setting of prosperity in your life and you shall never go without.

Think abundance.

Speak abundance.

Act abundance.

Be abundant and prosperous at all times. Imagine yourself to be healthy, wealthy and wise. Visualize the experience of prosperity for others and yourself. Bless your friend or neighbor when they receive a windfall or achieve a level of law of success you desire for yourself. Wish them more abundance and many blessings because the result of this positive thought process will be twofold. They receive more and so do you!

When we condemn our neighbor and express envy or resentment for their good, we actually hurt ourselves. Thoughts, words and deeds act as a boomerang and circle back to the person throwing it, in this case, you! It may not be immediate but the boomerang always comes home to rest and so does your positive thoughts of abundance, happiness, peace and goodwill. Many times we expect our treasures or abundance to be immediate and sometimes they are however other times we may have to wait and continue to increase our thoughts of good things before we actually experience them.

Trust me, it's worth the wait to be positive, be kind to your neighbor, speak of good for yourself and for all. when your prosperity in business and in life arrives you will be thankful for it's arrival and will actually forget how long it took to get there because the joy in it's arrival is so blissful and sweet. It's kind of like waiting for the arrival of a newborn baby..once the baby is here and your holding that precious bundle in your arms the wait and even the pain of birthing that baby suddenly doesn't seem so important.

Jump up and down, clap your hands and dance, express your pleasure and gratitude in the prosperity you know is on it's way! Take the action steps required to learn, to experience and to grow. Growth requires effort, trust and discipline and so does receiving your abundance.

There are no short cuts and the sooner you accept that fact the better you will feel and the easier the journey becomes. Don't look for the hidden path or shortcut because it isn't there. Everything you desire is already out there waiting for you to claim it, appreciate it, and to accept it.

Believe in your good and prepare to receive all that is yours by divine right!

Lisa Kitter is known throughout the Network Marketing & Direct Sales Industry as the "Queen of Thinking Big!" She provides sales training and law of success coaching through her website found at http://www.EYNP.com

Marianne Williamson

Marriage Relationships - When Your Spouse Will Not Change

"In every marriage more than a week old, there are grounds for divorce. The trick is to find, and continue to find, grounds for marriage." -Robert Anderson, Solitaire & Double Solitaire Do you know how frustrating your spouse can be? You have tried and tried to get him/her to change, but nothing ever changes. Read on to discover a parable about how to find more peace in your marriage relationship even when you mate is not willing to change.

The Parable of the Rock Garden

Once upon a time, there was a gardener who found the perfect piece of land for his formal garden. He could envision boardthe neatly trimmed hedges, fountains, and lined walkways.

The only problem was a big ugly rock in the middle of the property, but he thought he could easily remove it. At first, he ignored the rock and planted around it. Eventually, the time came to deal with the rock. He tried and tried to move that rock, but it would not budge. The gardener did not know what else to do, it seemed that the garden was ruined. It would be easier to sell the land and start over. However, his losses would be too great.

He finally accepted that the rock was there to stay and his plans would have to change. He would just have to work around the rock. Slowly, he came up with a new design that was less formal. The walkways were changed to meandering paths and the fountains became ponds full of fish. The landscape looked even worse during the excavation, but over time the shrubs grew around the rock and moss grew over it. The rock became a natural part of the landscape and was not as noticeable. However, it took a lot of work, commitment, and time for this to happen.

The Interpretation

Sometimes marriage is like this garden. Before getting married, we think we have found our perfect soul mate. Because we truly love each other everything will work out. Perhaps everything is smooth sailing for a while. Then we may reach a hard place in our marriage when issues start to come up. It is difficult to see anything other than the problem.

In the parable, the gardener initially focused only on moving the rock. We also tend to spend our time and energy trying to get the other person to change. If he or she is unwilling to change, then the problem seems insurmountable. It is easy to become disillusioned and think the marriage is ruined.

Changing Your Plan

Sometimes you have to be the one to change. You may need to change your expectations or the way you approach the problem. This does not mean that you quit trying to resolve issues. It also does not mean that you just ignore serious problems such as adultery, abuse, or alcohol/drug abuse. However, there are things about your spouse that are just not going to change. For the sake of your marriage and your peace, you may need to let go and accept who you mate is. Sometimes when you start making changes, then you spouse maybe more willing to change.

Keeping those loving feelings is not always easy to do. If you are ready to know how to stay in love with your spouse, then I invite you to get our special report, "Keeping That Loving Feeling: 7 Secrets Every Couple Should Know" at http://www.BuildingYourDreamMarriage.com/LovingFeeling.html.

For more great tips and tools for building your dream marriage, visit our website at http://www.BuildingYourDreamMarriage.com. At our website, you can sign up for our free e-course, "5 Common Barriers to Building Your Dream Marriage".

Good luck with building your dream marriage- Laurel Barnet

Decline Of Buddhism In India

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

What Can a Marriage Counselor Do For You?

Although most of us do not like to admit it, there will come a time in many marriages when the services of a marriage counselor can be highly beneficial. Not only can they help you solve some of the simpler disputes in life, a well-trained marriage counselor can provide you and your spouse with the tools that you both need to create a loving and positive marital relationship. Often it is hard for some people to seek the advice of these highly qualified professionals. However, if you are like many of the thousands who have utilized these services, you will find that a marriage counselor can do well by helping you repair a marriage that you once thought was irretrievably broken and will allow you two to once again work together to create a meaningful union.

One of the greatest jobs of the marriage counselor is to not only help you and your partner recognize your conflicts and differences, but to also help you create a way to resolve these issues. Typically when couples fight, one feels it is about one issue while the other is focusing on an entirely different problem. A marriage counselor can help you sort through these differences, determine which ones are causing the biggest rift in your relationship, and devise a plan for resolving and overcoming these problems.

A tool that a marriage counselor will help both you and your spouse cultivate in order to resolve these marital troubles is to help you both learn how to communicate more effectively with one another. As a marriage breaks down, we often resort to fighting back with hurtful words, words that have no meaning. A marriage counselor can help you really convey to your partner what it is that you are feeling in a manner which is conducive to resolution, not more arguments.

The marriage counselor is further well-equipped to help you and your spouse become better at compromise and negotiation. Through his or her intervention, you will learn that every fight does not have to be won. It is okay to disagree as long as you are able to do this in a way which is positive and does not lead to a breakdown of the relationship. The counselor will give you the resources that you need to create a healthier, stronger, and more loving relationship.

Yes, work with a marriage counselor takes time, but as you have a marriage on the mend, the time that you will invest in the process will be well worth it in the end. Many marriages today end in divorce due to lack of communication and large misunderstandings. It is the job of a marriage counselor to help you improve your relationship so that these deficiencies do not happen to you and your partner. A marriage counselor can be a friend, a mentor, and a guide to lead you and your spouse to the next level of your relationship, one that is more forgiving and a greater presence in the lives of others. If you are experiencing trouble within your own marriage, allow the services of a professional marriage counselor begin to heal and comfort you.

Marriage Counselors and family therapists can all be found around the country in The Family & Marriage Counseling Directory.

Martin Luther King

Y-Series - Why Love Fades Away - Reasons and Solutions - Part II

Here are the important views and attitudes:

An essential view is never discourage your love life partner in his/her opinions". No matter you agree or disagree.

Look! Absolutely accept that she is yours and you are hers only. Actually, deep in your mind if this fact is paved that there is no yours and mine but ours and foundations is strongly based on this principle, in the long run you will visualize that the relation is still as young as it was in the beginning.

Listen empathically what your partner wants from you but doesn't speak in words because of hesitation

Take time to understand the methods of loving your partner

Ego stuff and shyness, if you really love each others, please gouge it out of your personality.

Important and unavoidable is to visit each others families regularly

Always join try to join if working condition allows otherwise eating meal together

Always try to shopping together, if some work or family matter restricts you then change the time but try to be together!

Try to be cool, polite, and peaceful, in empathetic tone answering if the matter is current bone of contention between Muslim world and The West. For example: freedom of speech, or sex before marriage, or emancipation of women, the concept of four wives in Islam etc

Do not string the burning problem like the talk of Pop Benedict The XVI, or the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him), radicalism in Islam etc in your matters

Try finding out in 18 hours, at least 2 3 hours in good relation time with takings, and family matter settlements.

Intercultural lovers sometimes have difficulty in explaining matters. Here I will forcibly say, Please dont discourage each other criticizing about languages corrections. Do love and romance need any words? Does it really matters? One can quickly point out saying what if the person has lost the ability of speaking, dumb who can not utter a single word should be mean that there is no loving sense in him, take the example of Helen Keller What is important to seek is to backup and support each others.

Share each and everything with your partner. No matter if it is your professional stuff! This involvement would bring a concept in your partners mind he/she is giving me importance by including/introducing me into his/her life when I am not with him/her. It would increase in loving and trust in each other.

Call each others with sweet names, like in Germany, schtz, libeling etc darlings or honey in English etc just with honored-smiling face and loving eyesreally watch the results then

Kitchen-help is a really a good technique in understanding and learning each others if did in a loving way! German saying Backen macht freude mean you can gain enjoyment and refreshment and be triumphant in winning the hearts of your partner

Help each other in solving personal problems e.g. finding out the car keys, or ironing the clothes

If you are good in math or physics make a business deal if she is good in linguistic abilities: to teach each others. Well, its just to create a friendly environment. Again please let the ego and shyness cross out in both of you!

Try to solve any query as soon as possible, no matter who is at fault. Islamic principles are indeed better which regards the forgiver is more respectful in the Eyes of God Allah. For such action you need to throw away Ego as mentioned earlier.

Compare notes by sharing and inviting some good friends or visiting them time to time

On Weekends and free days, visit nature and visualize the creation of God in close observance. Thank Him for all the beauties and pleasure which He bestowed you without any cost.

Make plans together such a way that you can at least once in a year leave your country physically and stay least a week to know God creation nearby or neighboring part of the country. The hidden point is to judge, analyze and observe Allahs creations and His blessings upon the people around. On the other hand, you can also get a lot new information about life, stories. Places.

Always make a good try to sit together while in journey, in airplane, in your car! Just feel your partners as a part and parcel of yours

Give a good partner look while visiting your friends, family, parties, or in public places for example shopping Malls, or things like that.

Well, todays modern technology could play disintegrating role leading to worse effects in your life somehow. Clear your partner who phoned you. Clarity and transparency in dealing the outer-home matters is also an important key to open a door to loving more.

Share your talent with your partner. When you have any transferable IP (intellectual property) share it within. For example, if you are a good designer, indoor designer, or artist, communicate sometimes with your partner too and sit together around a table to sum up and collect the ideas together establishing a new feature happily.

Make sure that your passwords and banking accounts are shared well enough with each other. You can gain trust if and only if you give complete yourself to your partner thinking that the back doors are closed anymore. Well, the main Idea here is only to gain love by building the trust which comes by sharing the complete personal information to your partner.

Fulfill the demands and desires of your partner fully and perfectly, In fact that is the only way out if you regard love and marriage as a holy Godly relation. Actually it doubles or triples your emotions and passions because you are mentally and psychologically free thinking to fulfill Allahs holiest blessing. Personally commenting for a true God-fearing Muslim Physicist the Islamic marriage opens a new door to your life where you seek not only the partners physical and mental exquisiteness but also explore the gifts of our Creator.

Well there are some other certain romantic procedures which should be shared regularly, sharing of loving remarks, flowers, Thanksgiving to God while admiring your partner no matter how old you get! Celebrate each others important days at the home or some suitable place which you both have decided.

Keep a good smiling face with your lover.

Gift each other as Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) told us that would bring love in between you.

Make humorous like by cutting jokes, buy a nice book for that! It will bring happiness

If your partner is a good car driver, share each other driving to long-drives. This involvement can bring a good atmosphere

Never point disparity between you and your partner. Naturally designed duties and responsibilities are there somehow which one has to keep with. But if you point out then there become a certain ordering-force which could lead a slave-driving relation. Such an existence of a relation is seldom law of successful in the countries with full emancipation. It is also valid same in any part of the world.

Watch humorous movies, play which bring smile on to your face. The definition of humor and fun should be clear to you both according to some standards. Indecency, vulgarity and uneducated matters fail the family values and destroy the personal image of a good background and past life too.

When you start a life, and have decided to be with some one for ever, till death then forget and erase your past so that it can just give you a remarkable notice of your experience not to repeat and repent in your heart by praying to God. Never say your life partner that was a good time, or bad time or anything. When you started a life with your partner then, of course, the current time is the best and that is the reason you are living with. Thus, personally speaking the introduction of the past would bring nothing but clashing view in your partners mind that he/she is still bound to his/her past which he/she thinks better then current time/relation. Understand the point.

Try to avoid those matters which may be ill-logically explained. Never boast off your physics or scientific up level to your partner. Or if she is blond, it doesnt means she has no mind in her upper story. Or things like that.

Well, consequently there is plenty to recommend for escalating your real love. As said there is much room above the top, be in love with your partner also has no boundary limits. In the east a common saying which can be somehow translated into English as if you show your stomach to someone what else is left then. One can metaphorically understand that love relation is a sacred and you have seen each other which should be a bond to loving more, with a very simple thought what is left anymore to share leave your ego out. The need is only to find a guided pattern in your life, practice it in your heart, seek sometimes while showing it to your partner and at the end the pattern that are governed by Allahs natural favorite way would bring a lot happiness and enjoyments in your lives.

To know different cultures, learn other languages, discuss closely related religions, life styles and English, Arabic calligraphy are some of the extra curricular activities which are a significant part of his life. The writer wants to deeply excuse if he offended anyones personal opinion. He would like to write more on the law of success in married life and focus on Inter-cultural patching up before taking the sever step of separation which not only becomes a stigma somehow in their lives but also the lives of the coming generations. The authors pen is restricted to highlight some basic explanations about physical married relation. He will try to explain why in near future may be in some articles

maliksnet(at)hotmail(dot)de

George Washington