Awfulizing Your Way through Life

Are you one of those people who can never do anything right, maybe you should watch this video, it could change your life by changing your thinking.

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

Would you still be reading this article, if you had no desire, for better life. Find out more by visiting a place for more life-changing skills .

Did The Indians Have It Right

The Seven Keys to Motivation

Motivation. Its a complicated subject that is studied by
many and understood by few. Virtually every aspect of
human life -- from the mundane to the life-changing -- is
guided, swayed and altered by motivating factors.

For instance, what to have for dinner may be motivated by a
desire to lose or gain weight. Whether or not to attend a
business seminar may be motivated by the speakers,
location and cost. When and where to buy new clothing may
be motivated by a long list of personal preferences as well
as the changing seasons and weather conditions.

Even reading this article is a motivated behavior. Do you
like the style of writing? Are you curious about the subject
matter? Do you have a desire to learn new information? Do
you have enough time to finish reading? If the answers are
no, you probably wont continue reading!

But since you have continued, you are obviously motivated.
You want to learn more about how to get and stay
motivated, and how this motivation can help you become a
better business owner.

THE BUSINESS OF MOTIVATION
Motivation is one of the most powerful driving forces in the
workplace. It can mean the difference between tremendous
success and failure.

Motivation stems from two sources. The first part of
motivation is external or extrinsic (outside the person)
sources. Other motivating factors come from internal
forces, which are mainly your thoughts, patterns and
collective experiences.

However, humans are unique, so what motivates Jack will
not necessarily motivate Jill. You -- and only you -- will be
able to determine what works.

Take the time to examine what internal and external factors
are motivating you as a business owner. What can you do
to enhance and refine your motivation to make yourself
more productive and more fulfilled?

Here are seven keys to motivation that may prove helpful.

1. INSPIRATION
Inspiration is critical to getting and staying motivated. If you
are not interested in your business, your motivation level will
never be high and you wont be able to sustain interest for
very long.

On the flip side, if you are energized and excited about the
work you are doing, you will have more persistence, energy
and intensity.

Take an honest look at your inspiration level. Are you
excited about going to work or is it an obligation? You would
be surprised at the number of people who choose a
business that looks good on paper, but in reality does not
interest them in the least. These individuals will grow
weary
and uninterested pretty quickly because they have no
inspiration or passion to sustain them during the difficult
times they will encounter as a small business owner.

If you dont really enjoy your work, then think how you can
re-focus your small business to better match your needs.
Or consider making a change entirely. Thats pretty drastic
advice, but inspiration is that important.

2. SETTING GOALS
Short and long-term goal setting is vital for any business
owner. If you didnt set goals, you would be adrift with
nothing to strive for and no charted course to follow.

How could you possibly be motivated if you were unsure
about the direction of your company?

Take the time to put your goals in writing. A business plan
may sound daunting, but it is really nothing more than
goals, strategies, implementation and a budget. Write your
own business plan and update it at least annually. Include
mini-goals that can be accomplished in a matter of hours,
days or weeks as well as the more ambitious grand-goals
that may take years to complete. Refer to this plan
throughout the year.

But can a business plan really help motivate you? Yes!
Written goals will make you feel more professional and
certainly more connected to your business. It will also free
you from having to reinvent your business goals every single
day.

3. NETWORKING
Another key factor in getting and staying motivated is
networking with other small business owners. One person
can't move huge mountains. However, when a number of
people begin working together the mountains are suddenly
only small hills -- simply challenges waiting to be
surmounted.

In fact, the isolation of working alone is of one the most
difficult parts of being an entrepreneur. Mutual support is
motivating. So, make it easier on yourself by connecting
with others either in your community or online. Even when
businesses are not related, you will often find common
ground and ways to work together.

Many successful entrepreneurs report that finding the right
networking group was a turning point in the growth of the
business. Working together, a networking group can help
its members generate more qualified sales leads and solve
problems faster and more efficiently. Sharing ideas,
expertise and experience is also an invaluable aspect of
networking groups. And, dont forget about sharing costs,
possibly by buying in bulk or with joint marketing projects.

Your own personal team of business owners will help
re-energize you when the burdens of running your own
business seem too much. With your networking team to
rely on, you can accomplish more in less time and probably
have more fun in the process. Certainly, you will feel less
alone.

4. REWARD YOURSELF
Small business owners will always have to work hard, but
all work and no play is a huge mistake. Your motivation will
soon begin to fall if you never take any time away from the
demands of running the business.

So, plan frequent rewards for yourself. No, it doesnt need
to be a trip to Hawaii (although this is a great idea). Your
reward can be as simple as a lunch out with an old friend, a
matinee with your significant other, an afternoon of
shopping or a relaxing massage.

If your budget and time will allow, take a few days off for a
short trip or simply schedule a vacation from work for a few
days. Make it a real vacation -- even if you dont leave town --
so no checking email, voice mail or the fax machine. You
need to get away, unwind and renew yourself. This down
time to regenerate will help improve your attitude and
perspective. It sounds corny, but you will come back to your
business with a new sense of motivation.

5. EXERCISE
While it isnt always immediately apparent, there is a
powerful connection between the mind and the body. It is
vital for every small business owner to take breaks and
exercise -- everyday. If your body isnt healthy, your
motivation will certainly suffer.

These exercise breaks dont have to be huge blocks of time,
and you neednt spend money joining a gym or hiring a
personal trainer. Start by walking briskly for 30 minutes
before, during or after work. After you have incorporated a
walk each day, then try doubling the time or doing two walks
each day.

Whatever works for you is best, but the important thing is to
start. You will begin to feel better.

After the walking is part of your routine, add some basic light
weights. Buy a tape or go online to find out how to properly
use the weights so you wont injure yourself.

You can keep the weights under your desk, and use them
for just a few minutes at a time. Buy a timer the next time
you are at the grocery store. Set the timer for for three
minutes to start and then add a minute or two until youre up
to 10 or 15 minutes each day.

Some small business owners have a television at work and
they schedule a CNN break along with their weights. This
way, they are catching up with world and local news while
simultaneously getting some moderate exercise.

8. ORGANIZE
Organization is critical to motivation. How can you feel good
about your work, when you cant find important papers or
you are constantly late returning messages? Your
business will falter and your motivation will suffer.

Some people just cant get organized. If you are one of
them, then consider bringing in someone -- a business
friend, family member or professional -- to help you get the
clutter and mess cleaned up. You will be amazed at how
this one important step will help you get back on the
organizational track. Dont stop there. Now really get
organized by creating business systems that will help you
streamline your operations.

The real challenge will be keeping yourself on track by
maintaining these systems. For many, it is a daily
challenge, but if you use your organizational systems youll
be free to think about other important issues.

7. MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKERS AND AUTHORS
As small business owners, it seems we are bombarded
with motivational ideas and materials-- tapes, books, CDs,
seminars, workbooks, videos and more. Why are there so
many different motivational products, authors and
speakers? Because people are buying these materials.
Used effectively, they are effective and therefore they sell!

However, there are so many different motivational gurus that
it is often difficult to see through the clutter to find someone
that makes sense for you -- someone who can get you fired
up about working and improving your business.

Try talking to your mentor or networking group members to
see who they might recommend. Start being aware of the
motivational industry and how it might help you become
more enthused and positive about your business. Do some
light research of your own to find some authors and
speakers that interest you.

Before you invest in motivational materials, you can probably
find some inexpensive ways to obtain the materials. Check
out your local library, tune into your local PBS station, buy
materials with a networking friend, visit used bookstores or
buy used materials online. Dont make a huge investment,
because you will probably want to sample many different
viewpoints.

But do these materials really work? Yes, but only if you
make the effort. Just like exercise, you have to work the
muscles -- in this case your mind muscles.

It is up to you to take that information and apply it to your own
life and business. Really use the motivational ideas over a
period of time and you will begin to see results.

KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING
Motivation is what moves us forward in our daily and
business lives. Take the time to examine your motivating
factors and use some of these keys to improve your focus
and renew your enthusiasm. If you keep on track, the
motivation momentum cant help but carry you forward.

Nancy Wurtzel is the founder and of All About Baby, an ecommerce company that offers personalized and memorable gifts for children. In addition to a wide product selection, All About Baby also featured helpful and interesting site content. In addition to running her own business, Nancy consults with other small business owners providing advice about growing their ecommerce sites.

Question Your Religion

Dealing with Grief with Jack Canfield

Creating super habits are easier than you could ever imagine. Most people have something they would like to change in their lives. If you ask anyone, they are usually able to answer this question, "If you could change anything about yourself, what would you change." All the self help and personal development programs and Books available today are full of useful information that nobody seems to take advantage of. You've seen the TV commercials and listen to other people tell their stories, about how they lost weight.

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

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

Jesus Wasnt A Christian

Spiritual Callings - How To Recognize Them

I once went to see Lee Carroll channel "Kryon of Magnetic Service". Kryon is the one who introduced the concept of Indigo Children to earth. Kryon is probably the best known channeled being on earth at this time, with over a dozen books to his credit. What Lee had to say about how he moved from thinking all this New Age stuff was pure garbage, and deeply not wanting to be weird, to channeling "Kryon of Magnetic Service" was so familiar to me that it made my skin prickle.

In my experience, if we have a spiritual calling, not to answer it creates unbearable inner tension. It's happened to me three times now. The first was in 1988, a few months after my Reiki Master initiation, when I was an internationally exhibiting artist, a Junior Leaguer with two young children, married to a lawyer. I had an inner urging that would not be denied. I walked away from that life, and taking the kids with me, moved to another town two hundred miles away. I enrolled in massage school.

The second time was about 14 years later when instructed by guidance to open a metaphysical bookstore/shop, initially in the living room of my small house in a mixed-use commercial zone. I did that, too. It was called Hot Pink Lotus. Both times I was subsequently glad I had answered the call, but at the time I was pushed/pulled kicking, screaming, and in terror. Yet I knew to ignore a calling is to ask for the bleep to hit the fan. A spiritual calling feels like a persistent urge to do something, coupled with a withdrawal of usual funds, or some other difficulty in our lives. Maybe we have been having the sense we are to do something, stick the neck out, and we hesitate. If we hesitate too long, the floor falls out from underneath us.

The most recent time I was "called" was this past March of 2007. I was contacted by five extra-dimensional Lightbeings, whom I had seen in my treatment room years earlier. They came back after what seemed to be about a five-year absence, as they had earlier said they would. They had stepped aside as I learned another system. They had told me their group name, The Ankenash, and gave me a different name to call the energy medicine: EDINA. EDINA is an acronym which stands for Energy Dynamics for the Integration of Natural Attributes. Ascension is a natural attribute, as are joy, peace, synchronicity, psychic/intuitive ability, being easily in contact with angels and guides, pristine emotional and physical health, and so on. They explained that EDINA could be used as an overlay to other healing methods. These Lightbeings work in dimensional densities four through twelve, while we work in the three dimensions with our usual healing method. Later I was told they were ready for us to begin using EDINA as a stand-alone therapy; it now comes through the hands like Reiki. We can also work on ourselves using EDINA as a self-healing technique.

For about a month in March-April, 2007, I heard messages and took dictation. They sent me to new classes for information, and "dropped" books and websites into my lap. They explained that I was to bring together the pieces of something that we had done in Atlantis Healing Temples, which has been scattered in pieces all over the planet. Information they gave me in meditation had an immediate confirmation in three-dimensional reality. I began initiating in mid-August, 2007 and within ten months I had over one hundred initiates. Within a year and a half I had six instructors signed on.

Similar "side-effects" are happening to initiates and clients no matter where they are. And the initiates are now from Quito to Winston-Salem to Cincinnati, to Portland, the Middle East, the Phillipines and Japan, although most are spread around all over Texas (Dallas, Austin, Bryan, Galveston, Houston, Beaumont, College Station, Bay City, Sweeney, Ft. Worth, Rockwall, etc.). These side-effects include lucid dreams, Lightbeings appearing in the treatment room while initiates are working on clients, the ability to see inside the clients bodies, out-of-body experiences, or Lightbeings working on the initiates themselves while they're meditating or falling asleep, much greater synchronicity in their lives, increased intuition, less tolerance for internal incongruous, and so on.

Recent reports from those who are using EDINA in their healing work,are quite simply "blowing us away"! Nothing short of miraculous healings are occurring in some cases, and significant ones in many other cases.

I am being told by The Ankenash that I cannot imagine where all this is going, and that looking back, I will be both shocked and amazed. When I nervously say, "Why me?" they answer, "Why not you?"

Lois Wetzel, MFA, LMT, ParBP, ND is a published author, an accomplished artist, a teacher and healer. She has been doing readings from the Akashic Records since 1990, began meditating in 1975, and has been involved in spiritual healing work for over twenty-five years. A Reiki Master since 1988, her initiations are very powerful and her lineage short. In addition to past life readings from the Akashic Records, Lois offers Soul Retrievals, a shamanic technique which she learned personally from Sandra Ingerman of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. Lois has been practicing the BodyTalk System for seven years, and also practices EDINA energy medicine, Psych-K, and offers private phone consultations. Additionally, Lois offers an individualized Spiritual Self-Mastery Apprenticeship Program. Best of all, this work can all be done at a distance!

Lois has also completed extensive post-graduate studies in clinical psychology.

Click below to see Lois' Hot Pink Lotus website, where you can sign up for the free newsletter, read the newsletter archives, and email your request for a FREE AUDIO RECORDING of a meditation to assist you in contacting your spirit guides.

http://www.hotpinklotus.com

Luminous Blessings!

What The Bleep Do You Know

My Spiritual Journey

The journey to simplicity, began with me.

I had been at a regular time I have with some local pastors. During our conversation, the senior statesman of the group told us a story from his life. Warren is 85 years old and still touching lives with the hands of Jesus. In the late 70's he was attending a conference with several key church leaders from around the United States. Warren had achieved success as a pastor, leading one of the largest churches in his denomination. During the conference, Warren felt the Lord pressing in on him with this question: Am I the Lord over every kingdom of your heart? Warren, immediately responded by acknowledging the Lordship of Christ over every kingdom of his heart. Warren, said his answer was not sufficient and the Holy Spirit continued to press in on him with the question. Warren said from that day forward, he never looked at scripture the same again, he was no longer bound by his training and experience, but walked each day a new with the Lord.

As I left our meeting, the Lord turned the question on me. As much as I wanted to tell the Lord that He was the Lord of every kingdom of my heart, I also knew He wouldn't be asking if that were true. As I drove along, I asked the Lord to truly become the Lord of every kingdom of my heart.

For the first 3 months, the Holy Spirit would point to situations in my daily life and ask? Can I have that?? He also showed me that I was keeping a protective barrier around my heart. As I allowed Him to remove the barrier and surrendered kingdoms, I found myself entering into a new level of intimacy with the Lord. This new level of intimacy was most noticeable in profound visions and revelations of truth in things I was seeing. I also began hearing the Lord's voice at a much deeper level than I ever had.

Around March of this year, I was praying when the Lord first gave me an overview of Simplicity. I was preparing to make a return trip to India at the time. The Lord began to point out some things to me in my observations of the Indian church. It was through these observations that I realized that the power of Christ was so visible in these churches, because of the simplicity of the structure. There are no youth trips, choir specials, etc? The Indian church service is made up of prayer, proclamation of the word and worship that is led from the heart not from a songbook. This thought was profound and was reinforced during my return trip to India this spring.

It was also during this time that the Lord began to move me to the next level of His refining process. The Lord impressed upon me that I had surrendered all to Him, that I would surrender of my own volition. Unfortunately, there were still kingdoms in my heart that I did not even know existed and others, that I would not willingly surrender. So the Lord posed this question to me: ?Will you let me lay down the unconquered kingdoms of your heart in my strength and power.?

During this time, others spoke word of a calling on my life at a new level. This prophetic word was spoken over me on 7 different occasions by 7 different individuals on 2 continents. As the Lord conquered kingdoms in my heart, He also began to ask me if I would surrender to this new calling. One morning as I was praying at our church, the Lord came to me with this question: This is the last time I am going to ask you, will you accept my call or are you going to forfeit it? I was horrified by the question, but afraid of a call I didn't completely understand and couldn't verify in my experiences. I didn't want to forfeit, so I said yes, Lord. Immediately the Lord led me into an extended period of spiritual warfare under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Within a few days, my partner pastor from India sent me a report of testimonies from his church that more than validated God's call on my life.

Upon my return from India, the Lord moved me out of a teaching mode into a role similar to an Old Testament prophet. For nearly 6 weeks, the Lord was having me call the people of our church to brokenness and repentance. I watched week after week as only about half of those before me would respond, other would watch and others simply walked out the back door. At the same time, the Lord took me another level deeper in my journey with Him. The Lord showed me that there were no other Kingdoms in my heart requiring His Lordship, but there were things in my life that needed to crucified and destroyed. The Lord asked me this question: Do I have permission to put to death those things in your life which are not of the Spirit? I said yes. The last part of May was miserable, I ached and didn't know why. I told the Lord that I regretted taking this journey, because it hurt so bad. Fortunately for me, God was there every step of the way. Through a co-worker He made this statement to me on May 27th (my actual birthday): You gave me permission to perform a heart transplant on you. When I was cutting your fingernails you didn't mind, but now I have your chest spread apart and I am removing your heart of flesh and replacing it with the fullness of my Spirit. As I heard these words, I knew I could make it. Two days later the Lord gave me a message letting me know that the heart transplant was complete. He affirmed this message by allowing me to be His vessel in 12 different instances of divine healing over 6 week period. The result of these healing miracles was a doorway to discuss the power and presence of Christ with friends and family who had been unwilling to acknowledge to Him in their lives.

The power of simplicity was now a daily reality for me. It wouldn't be long, before God shook up my context.

...to be continued

Carl Willis
Simplicity Church Network

Caring For Loving People

Inspirational Video from Steven Jobs

this is one of the most moving videos I've seen on you to, Steve Jobs contribution to this world is beyond that of most of us. His ability to persevere can be a wonderful example to others who wish to achieve what he has. Thanks for the wonderful speech Steve and the person who put the video on the Internet.

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

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

Prayer Beads

President Obama's Call For Responsible Action

Unfortunately in our society we are taught where to find the solutions to our problems outside of ourselves. In so many ways that is an efficient way to meet challenges, but there are situations where external authorities don't have the answers. I think that is the case globally with the problems we face. There is no quick simple answer. The sacrifice we all are being asked to make requires us to let go of the conditioned past that didn't work and participate from our deepest inner wisdom.

The only way I survive an incurable disease is to focus beyond thinking and tap the Wisdom of my Body. That requires going beyond my selfish interests and developing life skills like a positive self image, self trust and confidence. The beyond thought reality is similar to what athletes call the Zone. We all have that ability when we go beyond our normal ways of thinking, but the way we think defines who I am. At least, that is what most of us think.

If society was able to follow President Obama from a Zone consciousness, selfishness wouldn't sabotage our efforts. Then we could follow someone who could possibly lead us from the mess we are in. The sacrifice of our own thinking reality is really what is asked for. For if we focused beyond our thoughts there still would be a reality: It just wouldn't be created or limited by our mind.

That is where the life skills of confidence and trust become essential. Confidence in Latin, con fide, means with faith. We need confidence to go beyond the security of thinking and connect to our powerful inner resources. Unfortunately our thoughts and possessions define who we are and we hold onto them, but if we are to participate in President Obama's dream, we need to let go of the past and participate from our deepest inner wisdom.

Now this depth is really not so out of the ordinary, we just don't know it because we focus on thinking so much. Just as our breath goes in and out, we can develop habits that take us from thinking to that depth and then back to our thinking mind. We have learned a shallow breath which ignores that depth. Shallow breathing keeps us on a superficial level and we ignore our deepest wisdom.

Are you willing to participate from that depth to help our President? If you are, you will take part connected to powerful inner resources in a selfless way.

Marc Lerner and Life Skills 2009

The most we can do for our country begins within us on a very deep level. When we sacrifice thinking, we let go of our mind and an inner wisdom emerges. Learn how to tap the life skills that take you deep within at a Tele-seminar you can register for at http://lifeskillsinc.com

Read my E-book A Healthy Way to be Sick on that website also. The purpose of that e-book is to show how to face challenges with the Wisdom of our Body.We all have a part to play in this solution.

Back Pain and Chakras Part 1

Restorative Yoga focuses on bringing the body back into a balanced state. With back pain typically a physical ailment is associated with the dysfunction or loss of integration of the Chakras.

If you would like to know more about the Chakras please follow these articles. As with any physical fitness/health practice one should see consult their physician before beginning a new program of treatment helping you with your back pain.

Surya Namaskara or Salutation to the Sun comprises of twelve postures practiced along with rhythmic breathing and prayerful contemplation of the divine power. The Sun, deity of health and long life being the most effulgent and life-giving force for this planet, forms the visible representation of the invisible Almighty.

The practice of Sun Salutation Yoga Pose (Surya Namaskar / Suryanamaskara) is considered to be deepened when the accompanying mantras and chakra awareness meditation are performed in each position keeping you back pain free.

The Chakra Energy Centers are very well known and taught in the World of Metaphysics and New Age. Chakras are originally apart of ancient yoga practice. Then Chakra Yoga is an option for you. You gain experience and a energized practice in revitalizing the body's seven energy centers, dissolving emotional blockages, opening the mind and body connection combining asanas, breathing work, learning affirmations, and Yoga mantras. All are related in some way to back, neck and shoulder pain.

What are the Chakras? To help you understand, Chakras are a natural, spiritual energy system in your body. Chakras have been known and used by yoga masters for thousands of years. Some Psychics can see and feel them. Your chakras allow you to automatically, open up to unconditional love, empowerment, joy, increased income, better health and Stress management for daily living.

In Chakra Yoga, You are energizing the Mind and Body to heal and become more balanced in Energy. An Off Balanced Lifestyle can cause damage to your health, family and love relationships, work life, finances, college life, and other daily concerns.

Focus is on building core strength, flexibility and grace while maintaining the meditative quality of the practice. A wonderful compliment to a traditional Yoga practice and excellent for those working through back pain or other injuries.

Gurudeep Kaur's Sex Chakra Yoga Asana Series directly energizes your reproductive energy centers and has for 50,000 years of vedic alchemy. Don't you always feel better after a run? Don't you always feel more restlessly creative when you are randy, horney, or frisky?

Glen Wood - The Yoga Teacher, dedicated to unlocking the Real Secrets of Back, Shoulder and Neck Pain.

To help you further with your back, neck and shoulder pain you need to sign up for your FREE "Yoga and You" report at http://www.YogaTeachingwithGlen.com

Enhance Your Self Esteem With Positive Affirmations

First it is important to understand the exact meaning of 'Self-Esteem'. The Oxford English Dictionary definition is:

"One's good opinion of one-self."

Many people, and the psychology profession wouldn't be able to survive without them, use the process of improving SELF-ESTEEM as an important step to the development of feeling good about one-self again.

This pathway back to a 'good sense of worth' may not be achieved with improving your self esteem alone, but we can assure you that you will have been elevated sufficiently to see what's required next.

Positive affirmations are words that offer power to the subconscious mind ... please read on.

We all have moments each year, each month, each week, each day and each hour where we may have sensed a period of sadness ensuing. It could have been a verbal attack on our character, it could have been a series of bad events. Whatever happens to you may never happen to anyone else; these routes to the doldrums are very personal.

Negativity is a sore point for any individual, so we need to develop a process of rising through these periods of confusion, and these are best defeated with us in a stronger frame of mind.
Building self esteem is not just about thinking good of yourself, it's about not thinking bad for no reason!
Notice the small differences as they happen. Persevere and don't expect everything at once. Beating low self esteem is a wonderful thing, and it's much easier than you'd imagine.

"The way you overcome shyness is to become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid." (Lady Bird Johnson).

Assume in this illustration that your 'soul' or your 'personality' is the book.

(Positive affirmations are words that offer power to the subconscious mind ... please read on.)

THE BLUE BOOK

This particular book was blue with a gold embossed title. Within the first few pages I noticed its reprint date in 1905. Without telling you the name of the book, would you know from the description so far what book it was? No, I don't suppose you would.

In 1905 it was a new book, printed and bound to the highest quality. Although translated into a hundred languages the new owner found delight in having bought it.

The book was full of information and although the owner was only aged 10 he began to read from page 1. It wasn't long before he put his own stamp on the book by writing his name on the inside front cover. He was proud to own it and was happy for everyone to know that too.

It wasn't a book he read straight through, for it took him 5 years to finish it; but he recalls the journey was well worth the wait. It became a proud possession and moved from shelf to shelf in his bedroom.

His parents were having a clear out and decided to collect some old items and send them to a local jumble sale. It was evident that the blue book was popular, it was soiled, damaged by various accidents, its pages were folded, creased and several were scribbled on while the owner was still young. The parents asked if they could include this in their collection for the jumble sale as it didn't look too healthy.

It may not have been impressive to look at, but the content was excellent. The value to the owner had not decreased from day one. So, NO the parents could not take it.

The owner grew older and found himself a wife and now engrossed in his new life mislaid the book at his parent's home. It wasn't long before his parents had another house clear out and this time the book went to the jumble sale.

During that day at the jumble sale many people picked up the book with almost everyone considered it worthy to buy. It was an old woman who bought the book for a few pence. She referred to the book as revisiting an old friend. Over the next 15 years she read it through about five times. Although the book may not have been in pristine condition the content was still valuable.

The old woman passed away and her belongings taken to a second-hand shop. The blue book was purchased once again for a few pence by a mother who bought it specifically for her own children. Both children read it on several occasions and one kept it in his book collection for 40 years.

This current owner found his house on fire and although many expensive items were destroyed his book collection had been saved; although now the cover of the blue book was dirtier than ever. As it happens with time, the blue book changed hands several more times; one of which had spent time to meticulously clean the book. As I write this recollection the book is 100 years old, a little tatty around the edges but still of value because of the content.

Doesn't this seem similar to our life and how we sometimes have to drag ourselves off the floor and dust ourselves down?

Many times in our lives, we get dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless.

But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or creased, you are still priceless to this life.

By the way the blue book is entitled 'The Bible'.

Positive affirmations are words that offer power to the subconscious mind ... to read more please visit this site: http://www.GlobalTop5.com/affirmations.html

Mr. P. Booker
Senior Affirmation Advisor
For more information on 'affirmations' please visit this site: http://www.GlobalTop5.com/affirmations.html

Do I Go To College

Overcoming Social Anxiety - 6 Important Tips

Social anxiety is a horrific and life consuming state to be in. It can often feel that there is no way to change the thoughts of distress, humiliation, and fear. Fortunately there is a way, quite a few of them in fact.

There are many different techniques, and they appear to work for different people. Your goal is to find which method helps you. Here we focus on six tips that may help point you in the right direction.

Tip #1: Stop Focusing On What You Don't Want

The mere thought of what a social situation might lead to use to send me scurrying back home. What if this happened? What if that happened?

The more you think about something, the more you will attract it. It is time to stop focusing on all the things you don't want, as this will not help you overcome it. From now on, start focusing on what you DO want.

Write down how you imagine your life without social anxiety. Get it down on paper to turn it into a goal, rather than a mere fantasy floating around in your head.

Tip #2: Do Something Crazy

Whenever you feel yourself slipping back into that horrible feeling of being anxious, do something completely unexpected. Your subconscious is expecting you to start quivering in fear, so it won't know which way to turn when you start singing, thinking random thoughts, imagining everyone as cartoons, or start pulling your socks over your head.

This sudden change in behaviour gives yourself a bit of a jolt and can quickly change how you feel for that moment.

Tip #3: Be Consistent

Everyday, make a difference. Do something that will work towards you overcoming social anxiety, even if it is small. These will all add up and can completely change your life around. Keep a journal of your achievements. Always be on a quest to constantly improve yourself.

When you do something difficult, such as making a telephone call or going to a meeting, immediately reward yourself. Setting up a reward system can really motivate you and keep you on track.

Tip #4: Make It a Win-Win Situation

When someone with social anxiety thinks something went wrong, they will often dwell on it for hours, weeks, years on end. They relive the situation over and over and cringe with regret every time the thought appears.

Change your view on situations. You have probably heard the story of Thomas Edison. Apparently he failed again and again in inventing a properly working light bulb. Was it failure in his eyes? No! He just discovered 2000 ways not to make a light bulb.

So if something goes wrong, use it as a great learning opportunity! Many successful people will tell you that failure is how you learn. So then, it isn't really failure is it?

Ask yourself, "What can I learn from this situation?" Find opportunity in what doesn't go to plan. You can't lose!

Tip #5: Remember That You Are Responsible

No one else can make you overcome social phobia. We can help you along the way and point you in the right direction, but in the end, only you can overcome it.

Social anxiety doesn't get easier with age. It is only when you decide to make that commitment that you will be able to beat it. Remember that you are responsible. You have a choice.

Tip #6: Repeat an Affirmation

When things are going wrong, start repeating an affirmation in your head. Tell yourself that it is all going exactly how you want it to. Find an affirmation that suits you and say it over and over again.

This is something that will grow stronger with practice. The more you do this, the more effective it will be. Your subconscious doesn't know the difference between fantasy and reality, therefore any information you feed to it, it will believe (especially if you feed it this information constantly).

Jane Renshaw recovered from social anxiety disorder after nearly 20 years of suffering. She is the author of "How to Overcome Social Anxiety in 5 Easy Steps". This ebook puts emphasis on how even the worst sufferers can overcome their social anxiety permanently. You can get more information at (http://www.social-anxiety-revealed.com)

Choices We Make In Life

New Funding Solutions For Condo Projects That Have Funding Obstacles

The great thing about the American construction developer is that the never give up. In the past 24 months the condo developers have had an impossible time getting financed. Several reasons were overdeveloping, bad price points and just the economy in general.

In my line of work, I saw lenders advertising their programs and at the bottom of their flyers, in large red letters they would post: "No Condos, Residential Developments, or Raw Land".

At last, a solution as arrived on the scene of this economic disaster for the condo developer. It's not exactly a condo solution, but it is a solution that a) makes sense, b) serves the market, and c) gets the developers back on their feet and back to work....which ultimately boosts our ailing economy.

The solution is simple: there is a new funding program in the private sector that is very flexible and very favorable towards mulitfamily projects and apartments. Developers don't have to lie or misrepresent themselves, they simply need to change their unfunded project into a multifamily or apartment project. Same tract of land, the structure can even be very, very similar. It simply cannot be called a "condo" project. The key to success is having a direct conversation with the funder, and sharing exactly what is in place now. The funder will then tell the developer exactly how the project needs to be tweaked in order to fit into the funder's funding footprint.

The other good news is the rates are fantastic. These are not "hard money" terms, which were the only solutions for these projects in the past.

Brian W. Walker
Walker Commercial Funding
Please visit our website for more information on our programs and services:
http://www.walkercf.com
brian@walkercf.com
(281) 852-8298
Skype: brian.walker7

Christianity Saved My Life

Putting Off Happiness

There's always something to do right? Everyday something new comes along to take up your energies. You have a huge list of tasks to do and you say to yourself that once these are done, then you will do the things that bring you pleasure. How often has it happened that you never quite get around to the fun activity you'd planned for yourself, once the boring stuff was done? You ended up running out of time, or were too tired, or you decided that you didn't deserve it after all.

It's very easy to put off happiness. It can be done on a daily basis as described above. It can also happen when you live for Friday nights, the weekend, your vacation or perhaps even retirement. I'll work hard now, I'll be happy later on. Happiness is not some fixed entity that comes with a certain time of life. It is something we can inject into our daily lives, provided we make the effort. Research has shown that even lotto winners' happiness settles back down after the initial jubilation. Putting off happiness can impact on your health, stress levels and even your relationships.

It is important to recognise that the belief that the thing you are striving for will make you happy and that's the end of the story, is not true. People get used to their achievements. For example, the person constantly striving for a promotion will tell themselves that the next promotion will make them happy. They are unable to enjoy the here and now and be grateful for what they have already achieved. This idea is known as the hedonic treadmill, where we continue to strive for more as we adapt to what we have accomplished. This is essentially preventing us from being happy, right now. You will be happy initially but it is not lasting happiness.

So what should you do? Well you could change your life completely. Perhaps move out of the city or change your job, but you don't have to. It is possible to make small changes to keep your life in check. After all it is about getting happy moments on a regular basis and you only need a few minutes a day. Fill your life with small, positive experiences. One way is to attend fully to the task at hand, whether it is your evening meal or reading an email.

Find time each day to have time for yourself, even if it is just ten minutes. Perhaps consider how you use your lunch hour. Use this as a chance to unwind, rather than working on through. Also make the time to do things with your family, friends and partner. Remember to make it sooner rather than later and do things you all enjoy.

Remember, being happy right now does not mean you cannot go for promotions or plan vacations. However, when working on a goal make sure you appreciate the journey. Enjoy your planning and anticipating, but also take pleasure in what is happening right now for you.

Copyright Julia Barnard 2008

Julia Barnard is a professional counsellor living in Adelaide, Australia. She provides an online counselling service through her website http://www.makethechange.com.au which offers counselling at a time and place that suits you. Julia also writes articles and tips for the website aimed at enhancing wellbeing and promoting good mental health.

Book Of Life

Happiness - Become Empowered by Accepting and Defining Yourself

In order to feel fulfilled, everyone needs to feel connected, whether as part of a team at work, in our family, or in the community. It gives us great satisfaction to know how we fit. While being part of a team or family can be source of much joy and fulfillment, it also can be a source of stress. One way to reduce this stress is to honor your unique strengths in serving the larger group. This gives you the experience of fully being yourself while still being connected. Here are three tips for defining yourself.

Reflect on Who You Are

The process of defining yourself is called differentiation. It is your capacity to define your own life goals and values apart from other's influence. It gives you the ability to stand up for what you believe when others are pressuring you to go along with theirs. Murray Bowen, developer of family systems theory, believed that differentiation was essential to your personal health and the success of every group. When you are differentiated, you can remain relatively calm in the midst of upsetting situations by taking responsibility for your own emotional well being. It allows you to be an "I" while remaining connected to the "We."

Identify Your Character Strengths

One way to differentiate yourself is to identify your unique character strengths. Positive Psychology has completed a major classification of the character strengths and virtues endorsed by almost all major religions and cultural traditions. They have identified 24 character strengths reflecting six basic virtues: Wisdom and knowledge, courage, love and kindness, justice, temperance, spirituality, and transcendence. Using these character strengths can be a major source of gratification in your life.

You can identify your unique character strengths by taking the VIA Signature Strengths Survey at http://www.authentichappiness.org

Clarify How You Like to Use Them

You will discover that you have three to five of these character strengths that you use more than others. Using these strengths brings out your enthusiasm, uplifting yourself and others. Reflecting on how you use them helps you to differentiate yourself. Then define your values, preferences, and purpose in your groups. Do this for your family or origin, as well as for your current relationships at home and at work.

This allows you to be unique while still connected to the larger whole. Then you can share them with others. When you are clear on who you are, others will know how to interact with you. It will increase your effectiveness while reducing stress. Now isn't that attractive?

Visit http://www.life-attractionsblog.com for cutting edge information and teleseminars on key factors that bring happiness and success to your life.

I Choose to Be Happy and Grateful Daily

I am happy and grateful today because...

Can you fill in the blanks?

Being happy and thankful are keys to finding true success in any endeavor and life in particular.

We can be "happy and grateful" when we understand three things:

1. God loves Me
2. God has a great plan and purpose for Me
3. Everything that happens works toward God's wonderful plan for My life

The Eternal Creator made You with loving care and has Your very best interests at heart in his plan for You. No matter the circumstances You may currently be in ... He is not finished with You yet and You will one day, perhaps look back and see what He was perfecting in You.

Happiness is not a by-product of your circumstances or of what you possess. Happiness is a by-product of our thought processes and believe it or not, you and only you have control over your thought processes. You get to choose everyday what you are going to "think about."

Now, we live in a media and communication age where we are bombarded minute by minute with input that can certainly affect our thinking. Therefore we must make more of a conscious effort to train our minds to think properly. Nothing is so important as "being thankful."

I challenge You to find 5 things that You are thankful for on a daily basis. Perhaps You could start a "Grateful Journal" and write five things in it each day that You are thankful for.

It would change your life!

"In everything ... Give Thanks!"

Have a blessed day.
Gary

Married with two children age 22 and 13 and two beautiful pets, I have been a pastor for over 34 years. In 2007 I was forced to resign as an active pastor due to an unknown progressive disability that at this time has rendered me unable to stand or walk on my own.

Though my body is confined to a wheel chair, my mind and spirit are still free as ever if not more so. I have continued my ministry online through a website called Net Global Ministries.
http://netglobalministries.com
I also try to keep myself afloat financially through a little website called
http://nicedogshop.com

How To Choose a Career and Life Coach

A quick search for life coaches in your city can reveal many choices. How do you choose the life coach that's best for you?

There are life coaching professionals that are suited to specific demographics such as teen life coaches, family coaches, career coaches, wellness cA94oaches or coaches that cover another area specifically. There are also generalists who are well versed in a number of different areas.

What's most important is that your life coach mentors you and motivates you. Different coaching styles and methodologies exist. It may take you a few phone calls or a meeting to determine which coaching style is right for you. A life coach that offers a tailored coaching service is preferable because life coaching isn't a one size fits all solution.

You want a coach who will motivate you and who you can relate to. While you want someone high energy you want a realist. A life coach with extensive business skills as well as life skills is important. Having someone work in your corner with you and for you who understands life's challenges is important as well.

When you decide to choose a life coach or professional mentor, be sure you understand what services they provide as part of their package. You want to know how quickly you can expect a call back if you need them. You want to understand their billing policies and procedures. You want to know what tools and resources are available if you need help.

Do you know what you want in life? Whether it's financial security, motivation to get up and go everyday, a great family life or a feeling of peace and serenity you can get there sooner if you have a good coach in your corner.

When you find the right fit, you can find a world of possibilities opens up because your mentor will draw out the best of YOU. You are the one with the key to unleash your own potential but the right coach or mentor can help you find that power within yourself.

For more information about mentoring and using life coaching to help you in achieving your goals, visit http://www.brunologreco.com

Life After Death Where Do We Go - Movie Video

Are you one of those who believed in your religion wholeheartedly and never has doubted it. Watch this video to gather some more information about questioning your religion.

Personal Developement and Create a Wonderful Life For Yourself And Your Family. Greg Vanden Berge is one of the best inspirations on the planet. You will be hearing a lot about this guy in the future. You can count on it.

What Is The Secret Of Life
What Is The Secret Of Life

Personal Goal Setting - Achieving More and Succeeding Faster!

Are you ready to start using personal goal setting to achieve more of what you want to accomplish? Personal goal setting is much different than business goal setting and you need to know what you are doing or you might be stuck not achieving your goals. Here are some tips to lead you in the right direction.

The first thing you have to do is create a goals journal. This is probably the most important step in personal goal setting. You want to get yourself a decent sized notebook or journal that will last you at least a year. This means you need at least 250 pages.

Once you have your journal the first thing you are going to do with it is do a full brainstorm of what you want in your life. Sit down and just start writing. Do not filter anything that comes out and try to get at least 100 things on paper that you want to accomplish in your life. This can include places you want to travel to, things you want to do, advancement in career or relationships, and pretty much anything under the sun.

The second step is to categorize these goals into short term, middle term, and long term. Short term goals are anything you think you can do within the next year. Middle term goals are anything that you think you can accomplish within 2 to 5 years. Long term goals are anything that will take you more than 5 years to accomplish.

The last step is to start writing in your journal at least once a week. This is something that will help you see the progress you are making towards your goals. Start by working on the things you think you can get done within the next year. Break them into smaller pieces and write about your progress each week. This will really move you towards your goals if you stick with it.

Go Here Now to Discover how to set your goals and get to where you want to go with The Magic Hundred

Goal Setting Information - How to Make You a Success

We all have different kind of goals in life, such as weight loss, stop smoking, get a raise, get into college, make more money, or more common goals. You may set goals before and now let's look back. Have you achieved them? Setting a goal isn't the hard part, to make out an action plan and stick to it is more important. Everyone can set a goal, but there are some key points you need to know to make sure your success.

1. Is the goal just you want or you must accomplish it? They are not the same. If you just want the goal, you may not have enough power to put it into action. You just think it for a while and then forget it soon. Things will not change this way. Instead, if you think that you must accomplish the goal, you will set up your goals, write it down and make out an action plan. You put the action plan into your everyday 's work schedule and take actions instead of merely thinking of it. The result is totally different too. You will achieve your goals if you do it this way.

So no matter what your goal is, you need to ask yourself first: Why the goal is important to me? Why must I do it? List the reasons and the benefits. When you do so, you will have enough power and motivation to pursue the goals. In the goal setting worksheet we provided, you can write your goals down and list why the goal is important to you. It is a useful tool to set your goals.

2. Persistence is another key point for your success. Sometimes we are lazy and do not have enough power to keep on. Why we are lazy and can not continue sometimes? After giving it some thought and doing some research, I find out that: Laziness is the lack of desire to perform work or expend effort. What behavior is considered laziness varies according to personal and societal standards. When you have this feeling, you may look at the goal setting worksheet and see the benefits again that you have listed. You will then get motivated.

3. Keep track of your progress every day. Write down the tasks you have achieved every day. This is an important step too. You will be happy to see your progress and get a lot of fun from it. When we enjoy it, we will do it more and more of it that gives us a lot of happiness and directs us toward our success.

The whole process looks like climbing the mountain: We aim at the top and take our first step by goal setting. Then move up to the top step by step. On the way we will face difficulties and obstacles. These will not stop us because we have our goal in mind and we must accomplish it. There is also beautiful scenery all the way too. We all enjoy the process. Finally we come to the top and achieve our goals. How happy and joy we are. This is a fantastic journey!

You can learn a lot of useful goal setting knowledge including how to set goals, self motivation and get on the path to success at http://www.goal-setting-for-success.com There are free tools for you to download too.

Seven Steps to Your Successful Year!

Would you like this year to be your best year yet? Have you struggled in the past to meet the goals you've created? When you create your goals this year, follow these 7 steps and you'll be on your way to a year of success!

Write Them Down!
What happens when you write something down? It becomes real. You remember it. And, when you write it down, you can track your progress. There's an added bonus as well - you get the satisfaction of checking it off when you've completed it! So write them down and keep them in front of you.

Take the First Step First
Sometimes people set themselves up by setting goals they're just not ready for. An example would be a person who hasn't exercised in years setting a goal to work out 7 times a week. How successful is that person likely to be in meeting that goal?

Think about what needs to happen to get you ready to accomplish your goals. In the example above, a first step might be researching what kinds of exercise are available. Or perhaps some internal work is in order - what beliefs does that person have about their ability to be physically fit?

If a goal is feeling unrealistic to you it's a good sign that you need to "back up the train" a bit, and look at what steps you need to take to be ready for that goal.

Break Big Goals into Small, Consistent Steps
If a goal sounds too difficult, you may want to break it down into smaller steps. Years ago I coached corporate managers, and we only met once a month. Because of the four weeks between coaching sessions, their action plans could be pretty overwhelming, and sometimes they didn't complete them. That's why I love coaching clients on a weekly basis. Approaching goals one week at a time just seems more do-able to people. If you're taking an annual goal and breaking it down into 52 weeks, the individual steps are so much easier to complete!

Let's say your goal is to be in an exciting new job by the end of the year. In scenario A you create the goal in January and know you have 52 weeks of taking action to accomplish that goal. In scenario B, you set your goal at the beginning of the year, but don't start working on it until November. In which scenario might you have more success in getting that new job? And in which scenario are you likely to end up completely stressed out?

Taking small and consistent steps can serve you well. I see people get much better results because they're taking smaller steps toward the bigger goal.

What would it look like to break your goals into smaller steps?

Make Your Goals Measurable
If one of your goals is to "be the best mom ever," it might be difficult to look back at the end of the year and determine whether you have achieved it. Your goal needs to be more specific and measurable. For example, a goal might be "When my kids want me to listen to a video with them or take an interest in what they're doing, I will," when in the past you might have used the dishes, laundry, or work as a reason not to.

If your goal is a better relationship with your significant other, how might you make that more measurable? An example of a measurable goal might be going on a date with your partner at least once each month.

The key here is to be able to answer this question for each of your goals: "How will I know if I achieved it?"

Calendar Time to Work on Them
Do you calendar time to work on your goals? I've found that people calendar all their meetings and commitments to other people, but when it comes to their commitments to themselves, they're not even putting them on the calendar! Instead they just fit them in "where there's time." And guess how often there's time left for them? I've also seen people write their work and kids' activities in ink on their calendar and put their personal goals in pencil. This of course indicates that their stuff isn't as important as everyone else's. What's wrong with this picture?

It's critical that you calendar time to work on your goals in a way that says they're at least as important as everyone else's plans for you.

Find an Accountability Partner
It's amazing how much more accountable we become when we share our goals with someone else. This is why so many people hire coaches to help them reach their goals. Your accountability partner could be your coach, a friend, a mentor, or your mastermind group. Don't rule out your kids here! They would be happy to help you stay accountable to your goals. And what a great way to model accountability for them!

Who would make the best accountability partner for you? Find someone who will ask you how you're doing with your goals. And make a commitment to share your progress with them from time to time. This is so important to your success!

Review Them
Make sure you look at your goals on a regular basis, whether that's weekly, monthly, or quarterly. I've found that reviewing my goals with my coach at the beginning of each month works well for me. Others find it helpful to post their goals on the wall at their desk or in a place where they see them every day.

Which of these 7 steps will help you create a year you'll look back on and celebrate?

Debbie Delgado is a Certified Empowerment Coach and owner of IdealLife Coach in Bloomington Illinois.

http://www.ideallifecoach.com

Are you ready to create your ideal life? Please visit my website at the above link to learn how!

Believing In Religion Video

I was reading a book on advertising when the author mentioned, "All Advertising Is about Hope."

Check out one of his recommended books, Read This Book

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

Treat Others As You Would Like T
Awfulizing Creates Negativity

The Beginning of Religions

It seems like everywhere we look in the world, we are always focused on something in the middle. Often we are spending most of our time thinking about the end and never thinking about how it all began. In the holy Bible, it states in the beginning but doesn't talk about the beginning of the beginning. Where did God come from, that is the actual beginning.

I don't know how many stories I've read in the Bible about other people's triumphs and defeats, but keep in mind that some of these stories cannot be proven, factually. Some people believe in Krishna, others Jesus, Buddha, God, and the vast and numerous creators of the world and the entire universe. I don't know which one or if all of them are the true God's and by that I would refer to God as the creator of the universe.

It seems to be extremely difficult to prove scientifically and without any doubt, that the earth was created by a creator, according to popular religious text and would be very difficult to prove with in the leading religions of the world.

Let's get back to the question of where did God come from? There obviously had to be someone before the creation of the universe, if you choose to believe in a creator. Is God a man, woman or some sort of spiritual entity, like a ghost or maybe some smoke that can form into anything at any time and if so, did his secrets come from another creator or superior being. Was God involved in self-help and learned all these secrets on his own, through trial and error.

I often wonder, how long the creator of the universe was alive before our creation and what other worlds has this all mighty and powerful being built before or after ours. Do we have sister universes and if so, will we ever be able to see them or visit them, during our lifetimes.

Most people dismiss the creation of the creator, but wouldn't this be one of the most important parts of any religion? There's obviously something to think about here and I wish that most people practicing religions, which involve a deity or superior being, could take a little more interest in finding out where their God actually came from.

Oh yeah, one more thing. If you do find the answers, I would love to hear from you and by the way, you would be solving one of the universes most perplexing and complicated secrets. You could be a gazillionaire and make the cover of Time magazine, something to think about.

Religious Education

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

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

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

Conversations With God

Christianity As the World Changes

Most people seem to go through life doing what others do and never seem to question much about whether the people around them are actually right or wrong. How many of us do exactly what our parents, grandparents and great grandparents do? I was raised a Christian by Christians and they were raised Christians by other Christians and so on. I don't know when or who in my family tree actually decided to become part of the Christian faith. I don't think it really matters today.

Someone had to of made the decision and I will probably never know. I do know this, I have followed Christianity as far as I possibly could and the next step in my life is going to be based somehow on a more spiritually universal world. I can't seem to follow something, that doesn't make sense to me, anymore. Christianity is more or less a religion that people throughout history have made adjustments to, whenever they felt necessary.

This is often like changing a tire on a car as it starts to wear or goes flat. In order for the car to operate and run smoothly we will need to pay a little attention to it, this will require maintenance over time as the car begins to have problems. We have to solve these problems or our car will become useless and will need to be sent to the junkyard.

Religions throughout history have done the same, as the people become more intelligent and less dependent, they need to create new things and make adjustments. If they don't make these adjustments over time, the religion will no longer be necessary and be sent to the junk heap of time. This is what happened to the Greek and Roman gods, what makes you think, that your God or gods will stand the test of time.

Do you think there's going to be any more adjustments to Christianity in the future? It seems like the last adjustments were Scientology and the Mormons or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. These religions don't exactly follow what Paul started in the Roman Catholic Church. What will the next adjustment be and why will it be necessary?

If you choose to follow Christianity, how do you know which church is right, I mean their core beliefs are right, aren't they. To love your neighbor and be compassionate. To show kindness towards others and help the needy. Do you think that we're going to have to adjust this one day and start treating certain religious followers, whose skin color is deference or speaks a different language with cruelty. I wonder what the next adjustment in Christianity is going to be.

Men Problems Christianity

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

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

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

Spreading the Good Word of God Gently

The other day I was walking through the park when I saw a man, an extremely large man reading the Bible. I was minding my own business like I normally do in full observation mode, just simply enjoying life. When what I thought was a tree reading the Bible, moved and scared the crap out of me. This man was about 6'9" and look like he played professional football but when he spoke it was nonthreatening and very gentle.

Have you read the Bible he said. I thought to myself, you have got to be kidding me. Couldn't this person have been smaller and what's he going to do when I tell him that I have but no longer follow Christianity. I liked my face and the rest of my body, should I lie to this man to save my own life or would he be understanding about my beliefs.

I threw the dice out on the table and told him that I have read the Bible and do not believe it is the word of God, the Creator of the universe. I explained to him that, there is a lot of useful information and some wonderful stories in the Bible but that it could not completely be proven as factual information. I continued to explain to him that there was a lot of information in the Bible that contradicted itself and some that simply wasn't true.

He sat back down on the park bench and asked me to join him. I couldn't resist as I always have enjoyed talking about religion and ready to learn something about this man and why he is a Christian. He started to tell me about some recent events that have happened in his life, some bad, some worse and of course some that he didn't want to talk about. However, he did mention a trip to church a few Sundays ago that changed his life.

I was happy for him that he had found peace but explained to him that he is extremely vulnerable to anything right now that can make a little sense out of his life. Be careful I told him, because you could get caught up in something that feels and sounds good, only to find out later in life, that you have questions about Christianity that can't be answered.

I had a very pleasant conversation with this person and I believe he appreciated a few of the points I made. When people are down and out and their lives seem to be really messed up, they're extremely vulnerable to others religious beliefs, whether they're right or wrong.

Don't force your religious beliefs onto others, be kind and courteous to those who are on the edge and having difficulties in life. Explaining to them about your religion and how it has benefited you is wonderful but it might not be as beneficial to someone else. The next time you plan on converting someone who is down in the dumps, make sure that you understand your own religion before you pass false beliefs onto others.

It's like a cancer spreading through the body, most of the cancer cells don't know what they are doing or how much damage is going to be done until it's too late.

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

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development. Check out one of his recommended books, You Can Have It All

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

5 Ways of Dealing With Depression Without Drugs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. Proper Exercise:

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

(Sun Ssu-mo - Precious Recipes)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

http://www.KenLauher.com

Effective Goal Setting - The 3 Keys to Achieving All Your Goals

Effective goal setting is a crucial step to creating the life of your dreams. While there are many different elements that go into creating that success, there are really only 3 that you must master to create true lasting change. If you do none of the others elements, if you just master these three, you'll be well on your way to creating success and prosperity in your life.

Step 1. Make Them Must Goals: Jim Rohn says, "With enough REASONS, you can accomplish anything!" This first step is about finding the reasons for why you MUST achieve these goals. Unless you have compelling reasons behind your goals, you won't have the motivation to achieve them. Having goals that are "SHOULDS" will not get you out of bed each day and keep you up late!

You've got to turn your "I SHOULD DO THIS..." into "I MUST DO THIS!"

This is why it's so important that your goals be in alignment with your core values and life purpose. If they are, your path to success will be so much easier and JOYFUL than you could have ever imagined. Your goals will keep you motivated and excited about the journey.

If they're not, you'll have a much harder time keeping the momentum going and actually seeing them through to completion.

Step 2. Create your vision: You should create a vision of what the future will look like when you achieve your goals. It should encompass all the different things that will happen when you achieve your goal. For instance, Jim Rohn, the personal mentor of Tony Robbins, says that you should set a goal to be a millionaire for what it makes of you to achieve it. It's not about the money, it's about the knowledge you've gained, the obstacles you've overcome, the skills you had to learn, the people you got to help along the way. He said, "What we acquire of course is valuable. But the greatest value is not what we acquire. The greatest value is what we become." Keep this in mind as you create your vision.

Step 3. Take action. The most detailed and effective plan is worthless if you never put it into action. Remember, your results are dependent upon the intensity and frequency of your actions. If you want big results, take big actions. If you don't mind smaller results while you're building up your confidence, then start with smaller actions. But you MUST act. Mike Litman, one of my mentors, has a great philosophy to help get you get moving.

1% a day.

Commit to 1% a day to move you closer to your goal. Imagine where you'll be in a year, 2 years from now by just adopting this simple and DOABLE strategy!

Little steps lead to GREAT achievements!

Ready to master effective goal setting?

Visit http://www.DesignYourDreamLifeNow.com where you'll discover, for FREE, how to master goals and create the life of your dreams.

Time Management and Stress Management For a Better Quality Life

Time management and stress management are very much connected. Poor time management skills is one of the main factors of stress. If you are able to find a way to improve your use of time then you will be well on your way to managing your stress levels.

It may take the average person one minute to get stressed out over something. To you one brief moment of hair pulling and ranting may seem harmless. But what if it happened everyday? Overtime if not managed properly stress levels can escalate and lead to more serious health complications.

Do you ever find yourself getting stressed over small details? Do you dwell on a stressful moment longer than necessary? Maybe your suffer from ulcers, high blood pressure or depression. All these could be signs that you need to seriously consider stress management.

Everyday there are various demands, environmental and otherwise, made on our bodies. Stress is your body's response no matter how uncertain it may be to the demands made on it. Dealing with your kids busy schedules, responding to questions from your employees while important deadlines approach or organizing an important event. These are common triggers to stress.

You might be thinking to yourself, yes stress is bad, but isn't a little bit of stress healthy? The answer is yes. We can all attest to the excitement and anticipation that things like deadlines or competitions bring.

Positive stress, or Eustress, helps to add vigor and tenacity to our lives. A certain amount of stress can be beneficial to us, but we must use stress management to keep stress levels under control.

So when we talk about stress management we are referring to A. The techniques that help to prevent the onset of excessive stress and B. Ways in which you can suppress or deal with a stressful situation so it doesn't escalate to an unhealthy level.

This is where time management comes in, as it is a great way to help reduce stress. We often get stressed out when we are pressed for time. When you don't organize your time properly projects pile up and you find yourself tackling more than one thing at a time. The goal is to have control over your use of time and set a reasonable time frame for the completion of tasks and spend your time wisely. Here are a few simple techniques to manage time and keep stress levels down.

An interesting tip is to learn the difference between, "where can I be of assistance? "and" where is my help needed?" The last question is more important than the first. Figure out what specifically you can help with right away. You waste less time this way.

Prioritize your tasks and make sure you are not putting all your time and energy to a small percentage of your tasks. When you prioritize you will ensure that you are giving attention to items that are of real value and importance to you. Learn to delegate matters that you may not be able to put off.

Many people sadly admit that they are.

READ MORE CLICK HERE

http://www.settinggoals101.com/tips-on-time-management.html

Women in Hinduism

Women in Hinduism have a rich past. In ancient India, women were treated equal to men and in fact they were considered superior to men in many aspects. It is indeed remarkable to note that the word for strength, virility and power in Hindu culture is represented by the feminine "Shakti". Shakti is the all prevailing universal manifestation of the feminine and she is worshiped as the goddess of strength, valour and power in Hinduism. All male power is said to be derived from this universal power and strength of the feminine principle. As per Hindu Mythology and literature kings and towns were completely destroyed because a single woman was wronged by the state or the people in power. Examples are Ravana in the epic called Ramayana and the Kauravas in Mahabharatha.

Women in Hinduism: Role of women in ancient Hinduism

The ancient history and the origins of Hinduism can be traced from the Vedic times. This was a golden period when women and men had equal rights in all aspects of life including education and religion. There were great women scholars who mastered the Vedas and in fact the creation of the Vedas itself was a joint effort of women and men rishis. The Vedas and Upanishads the first and foremost sacred texts of Hinduism mention in detail various rituals involving women as well as the contributions of women scholars and philosophers of those times.

Women in Hinduism: The creation of caste sysetm and degradation of the status of women

Later history and the creation of the caste system in fact became the bane of Hinduism. Later texts like the Manusmriti which were created to enforce the brahmanical order systematically degraded the role of women in Hindu society. Texts like Manusmriti cannot match the sacred texts like the Vedas and Upanishads but still they had a deep impact on the society. It's not that this and the similar kind of later texts which are together called the "smritis" are completely junk but we have to accept that it contained lot of rubbish as per the standards of today's society. There is no second opinion on the fact that women faced most of the burnt from the thinking and practice based on these later texts. Women became subordinate to men, they were always to be in control of men either in the form of a father, husband, brother or son. They were barred from education and overt religious practices and their socio-cultural role was also diminished considerably in various ways. This was in fact very ironical because on one hand still the feminine and the women power was worshiped in the form of goddess but the actual social situation of women was far inferior and pathetic. Though many aspects of later Hinduism were not congenial to women, still as a ancient and old religion the strength of Hinduism was its ability to adopt and change according to the times and this ensured that despite quite a bit of negativity and discrimination women in Hinduism evolved and positively contributed to society for their own benefit as well as the overall benefit of the society and the community.

Further to understand the role of Women in Hinduism there are many topics and issues which need to be analyzed and studied in detail.

These include

1. Women in Hinduism: Hindu view on the Woman
2. An initial orientation to women and Hinduism: This includes topics like, The Position of Women in Hinduism, Women as equals of men in early Vedic Religion, A growing net of restrictions, The liberation of women in the Puranas, Heroic women of the Epic Tradition, Women Poet-Saints, The 'Mothers' and from sati to dowry murders
3. Religious and Social variance in Women's status in Hinduism
4. Famous Women of Ancient and Modern India: These include Gargi, Mira bai, Sarojini Naidu, Sita, Durgavati, Sarada Devi, Savitri, Queen of Jhansi Lakshm Bai, Bhagini Nivedita, Draupadi, Shakuntala Devi and Mother Mirra
5. Dowry Didn't Evolve from India
6. Developing an Ecofeminist Ethic Within the Hindu Tradition: This includes topics like, Principles of Ecofeminism, Ecology and Hinduism, Hindu Sacred Texts and Ecofeminism and Shaktism, Tantra and Ecofeminism etc.
7. The Status of Dalit Women in India's Caste Based System
8. The Divine Mother: God as Goddess
9. Mother Earth, Mother Nature
10. Feminine Spirituality, Feminine Rituals
11. Women as Hindu Spiritual Leaders: The Women of God
12. Women Scholars and Poetesses
13. The many achievements and talents of Hindu Women: Able Rulers, Warriors, Poetesses, Scholars, Mathematicians, Freedom fighters, Musicians, Artists and so on.
14. Musicians and Dancers
15. Ideal Queens
16. Warriors, Warrior Queens and Freedom Fighters
17. Social Status of Hindu Women: This includes topics such as Woman as Mother, Woman as Daughter, Woman as an unwanted Fetus, Woman as Sister, Woman as the Bride, Woman as Wife and Woman as Widow
18. The Woman as a Woman: Of Panegyrics and Caricatures
19. Women as the Strength and Inspiration of Great Men
20. Transforming Hindu Women into Shakti

As I said before, despite the latter developments in Hinduism which were never encouraging, exceptional contributions from "women in Hinduism" took place throughout its history. Whether it was the contributions from ordinary women or from the queens, warriors, artists and philosophers, "history, mythology and literature" are testimony to the fact that women played an important role in the evolution of Hinduism as a religion. These contributions from women are now increasing many folds in every aspect of life and that's why even today Hinduism is one of the most fluid, ever adapting religions of the world.

For free information and advice on topics and issues related to women, visit http://www.rise-of-womanhood.org

http://www.rise-of-womanhood.org

This site envisions the rise of womanhood in true sense that is the rise of the "essence" of womanhood in the physical, mental, intellectual and the spiritual planes. It calls for the beginning of a campaign for the true rise of women in all spheres of life for the restoration of the balance in nature.

Somewhere we have to make a beginning and it's always better if we make the initiation at our own self. We can strengthen this mass movement for the "rise of womanhood" by bringing about the necessary changes in our own life as felt by our inner self. Further we can transmit the new thinking to others who care to listen. A small step today will definitely lead to a giant leap tomorrow.