Worry No More!

by: Helene Rothschild

Do you find yourself worrying about the past, present, or future? Do your concerns keep you up at night and even affect your health? Would you like to learn ways to prevent and "cure" this common stressful feeling?

Like most people, I also used to worry about many things. Fortunately, I learned how to use my own HART (Holistic And Rapid Transformation) processes, to help me sleep better, maintain my health, and experience more happiness and joy.

Worry is a form of fear that causes us a great deal of stress, and can cause ulcers and many other physical problems. When we are in fear, our body constricts and the organs and glands are not able to receive the much needed oxygen and nutrients. On the contrary, when we are relaxed our body can function normally and maintain health and well-being.

It is normal and human to get struck in the web of worrying. However, there are ways to free yourself and feel good again. To begin with, it is important to realize that your thoughts and images are like powerful magnets. Therefore, it is vital to let go of the negative "pictures" and/or thoughts consuming you.

Unfortunately, you can easily attract whatever you are worried about. Of course the opposite is also true. Positive images and thoughts draw to you and others a more favorable outcome.

For example, when my daughters went out to socialize with their friends, I found myself worrying about their safety. I knew that I had taught them how to take care of themselves, listen to their intuition, always have a designated driver, and call me if they needed help. However, as a normal mother, I was still worrying about them. It is amazing how our imagination can get the best of us.

Concerned that the negative image and thought could attract the very things I was anxious about, I quickly imagined that I had a laser beam and was burning away the negative scene of them being physically hurt or having a car accident. I took two deep breaths to help me let go of that fear. I said an affirmation, a positive thought, "The girls are safe." Then I imagined us all having breakfast the next morning, and my daughters were sharing what a fun time they had. I was then relaxed enough to fall asleep. Worrying was no longer keeping me awake.

You can use this HART technique for any situation. For example, if you are concerned about not getting a job, then burn that worry away and imagine that you are working in the perfect environment. When you are worried about being able to pay your bills, or the house not selling, do the same process.

Basically, you are releasing the negative images and thoughts and changing them to positive ones. This is amazingly powerful because your positive thoughts and images can help you create a happy, healthy, and successful life. However, you need to release the negative first. The analogy is that you have to clean out your drawer to make room for the new.

Why do we frequently go directly to the negative side of things? Often, we learned that pattern of behavior from our parents who learned it from their parents and so on. Worrying does not serve you or anyone else, and it can be an unconscious habit.

It is helpful to realize that you can release that way of functioning and focus on a more positive approach. I suggest that you set your intent to pay attention to what you are saying, thinking, and imagining. As soon as you are aware of your negativity, use the HART process to switch to being positive. You will probably find yourself healthier and happier. You may even be able to say, "I don't worry any more. I have trust that I have the power to attract good in my life."

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Who Do You Love To Hate?

by: Vicky White

In BC we love to hate Telus, in Australia they love to hate Telstra, in New Zealand it's Telecom, in the States it's any number of phone companies.

A few days ago I emailed Telecom NZ to find out what my options were for internet access while there.

I'm sure I have some memories of Telecom in the dark recesses of my mind but I didn't think twice about emailing them. My New Zealand friends were probably rolling their eyes and wishing me luck!

Within 24 hours, Grant from Telecom emailed me a list of alternatives he thought might work in my situation.

I was definitely impressed. Have things changed in Telecom? My kiwi friends assure me they haven't.

So, was this just a fluke?

No, it's all about resisting. Or not resisting.

Wayne Dyer says when we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.

This is how I see it: time and distance had removed me from the whole conversation about Telecom NZ. And my resistance to it.

The Law of Attraction states: we attract to our lives whatever we put our attention, energy and focus on, whether wanted or not. If you're curious about the attention, energy and focus you've been putting into any aspect of your life, look at what you're attracting - it's a perfect match.

We are usually attracting things by default, ie. unconsciously. What if we were more intentional?

This is the whole premise of the Order Book Process my clients use - you decide how something is going to happen for you. You write it as if it's already happened just as you wanted, including the emotions you feel now that you have the outcome you want. You write as if you had no resistance to it being that way. It works like magic. But really, the magic is in you deciding what kind of attention, energy and focus you're going to put on something.

It's the same in business. Who do we love to hate? How about Canada Revenue or the IRS?

Two years ago I was audited by Canada Revenue. The fear and stress I felt when I received that letter from Mr Chan told me a lot about my resistance.

My accounts were pretty organized (in a Vicky sort of way) but I had definitely been resisting learning exactly what was needed. I knew I wasn't making stuff up, so as long as I was straight about my expenses and income, there shouldn't be anything to worry about, right?

The more I looked at what I had attracted, the more it all made sense. After all, I'd been putting out to the Universe the desire to build my business - so of course the Universe is going to provide me with opportunities to address anything that stood in my way.

Knowing there had to be a gift in this situation, it didn't take me too long to realize Canada Revenue were there to help me with my business. I chose to refer to 'My Friend Mr Chan' whenever I thought or spoke about the writer of THE letter even though all around me I was hearing about how Canada Revenue are a law unto themselves and they were out to get us - the little people! And there is plenty of evidence of that to be found for sure.

But knowing about the Law of Attraction I knew I didn't have to be another piece of that evidence.

The seven months this whole process took was not fun by any means. It was time consuming, frustrating and took me away from other things. I learned many things: that credit card statements were not enough proof of expenses; that having an accounting system that made sense to Canada Revenue actually made it possible for me to have a better idea about where my business was at and made it easier for me to keep track.

I learned there were things I shouldn't have claimed and I learned there were things I hadn't claimed but should have.

And I was very fortunate to have amazing support from a friend who was an accountant to help me through the maze.

The result? I received $5000 back - which was very different from the prediction my friend Mr Chan had made in his original letter. In the end there were some things they really should have allowed as business expenses but didn't - but I'm more than happy with how it turned out.

Now, I'm pretty sure if I had gone into battle with them my resistance would have come through loud and clear in all my communication with them, it would have put a very different energy out into the universe and created a very different result. And I would have had way more stress than I had for that seven months.

I know if I'm ever audited again it will be really easy to get everything together to present to them and I won't experience the stress I experienced this time. And equally important, I now know exactly where my business is at month to month.

So, who do you love to hate? Is there a business, corporation or person you'd like to experience something different with?

Are you willing to experiment with dropping your resistance?

Are you willing to open yourself to a different outcome? Despite all the proof you've been collecting that justifies your position?

Try it and let me know how you get on.

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The Persuasive Power Of Supporting Evidence

by: Kenrick Cleveland

I got a call from an acquaintance a while back. He said, 'Do you remember the conversation we had about Africa? Well, I checked my e-mail and found, unbelievably, that I won an international lottery which originated in Africa. I'm just convinced that everything happens for a reason, aren't you?'

Before I responded, I thought about this a moment. 'You know, maybe you're right. Everything does happen for a reason. It's a very fortuitous thing that you called me today to tell me about this, for example.' I went on to explain that these international lotteries are a scam, none of them are real, and that it's a good thing he called to tell me about it so that I could explain the scam to him.

This conversation made me stop and really think about how people are looking for supporting evidence for what they want in their environment. In this case, my acquaintance saw our conversation about Africa as supporting evidence, or a coincidence, when he received the e-mail about winning the lottery from Africa. He added two and two together, but came up with a wrong answer.

I didn't like bursting his bubble, but it kept him from losing money. But it was also a valuable lesson for both of us. For me, I realized the use of this language pattern or phrase, can be used in persuasion with amazing results, enabling us to influence in a deep and profound way.

Why is it that people look for supporting evidence? Well, I think it's because we live in an unstable world. Whenever there's a lack of stability, people become upended and turn to religion, turn to God, turn to spirituality, and they become more and more superstitious.

As I explain this pattern to you, please understand, my goal is to break things down in a way that gives us tremendous power with our language, our words and persuasion, and in so doing, help you to have more success in your life. That's my purpose in this discussion. If you don't believe in God, or you're not a spiritual person, my point is not to influence you towards or away from anything except towards a language pattern or away from not being as successful as you like, that you'll be able to use these patterns for your benefit and for the benefit of your clients.

When I said to my acquaintance that 'everything happens for a reason' I was alluding to something more than what he understood was happening. I went on to say, 'It's a good thing we're talking because. . . ' This applies that there is something more to it than what he was thinking about. It set the stage for me to have an entry point into his mind and explain the difficulty he might have faced had he moved forward with this lottery.

As persuaders, we can give people the supporting evidence they are looking for. These language patterns are powerful and very popular in our current cultural lexicon.

Here's one way you can use this: Say you're an adviser and you're talking with a potential client and they say something really positive like, 'It's a good idea I'm talking with you today because. . . ' This is an excellent place to use this pattern. Respond simply by saying, 'Absolutely. You know, after all, there are no accidents, right?'

Is this a stretch? I don't think so. No matter what our belief system this seems to work. If you think of it this way, everything does happen for a reason--it's just a matter of whether or not you like the reason.

No language pattern is an island and our goal as persuaders is to layer pattern upon pattern and these patterns piece together a deeper sense of reality when you do this right, what you're going to be doing is using all sorts of these patterns at high speed.

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Law of Attraction Article: Let The Universe Handle Your Holidays This Year While You Get To Enjoy Them

by: Janeen Clark

I love the holidays! I didn’t always feel that way, however. In theory I wanted to love them, but in reality the craziness that always took over the entire month of December made it almost impossible.

The decorating with the tangled lights, the shopping with the long lines, the must have items you just couldn’t find anywhere, the invitations that clashed, the numerous holiday functions at the school which there was no time for, and those darn Christmas cards. I used to look at any person who actually got their cards out within the first two weeks of December as if they were Gods. My friends and family considered themselves lucky if they received mine by January 15th…Correction... They considered themselves lucky if they received them at all.

And each year it just seemed to get worse. More crazy -- more frantic. I actually started to dread the upcoming holiday season knowing that there would be no rest until December 26th.

That is, until I decided to put the Universe and the Law of Attraction to work.

I have been studying the Law of Attraction for over 15 years, and it amazes even me that I never thought to really test its abilities during the holiday season. It wasn’t until about two years ago that I decided to really “hand the holidays” over to the Universe to deal with while I went back to enjoying them.

So I decided to write a list. A play-by-play if you will of how I wanted my holiday season to progress.

First I started with a letter stating my intentions.

“Dear Universe:

This year I choose to enjoy every possible moment of this holiday that I can. I expect you will handle everything I want accomplished smoothly and easily. I will watch for signs from you that will help things along and I am grateful in advance for all of your help.

Thank you,
Love Me.”

Then I specifically stated my intentions:

1. Decorating goes smoothly and easily. Everything works perfectly. If there is some decoration that I will need to buy, I know you will urge me to buy it at the right time and place beforehand.

2. Christmas cards go out effortlessly. I will get the perfect picture of my son and find the easiest and most cost effective place to have the cards printed .

3. Presents. I will find every gift on my list with ease. I will pay attention to any nudges you give me and head to places you direct me to.

4. Sales. I choose to purchase all the items on my list at wonderful prices. I trust you to lead me to the best places to buy them at the right time.

5. Gatherings with friends. I trust that the timing of all social engagements will coincide perfectly. Me and every one else involved will be satisfied and happy.

There were a few more things I put on the list, but you get the idea.

Then I started my holiday season with the confidence that the Universe was working behind the scenes and watched as it unfolded.

1. Decorating did go much smoother than ever. I was in a discount store that was having a sale on Christmas lights. I felt the urge to pick up a few strands (about three I think) at a great price and a few other knick knacks I felt pulled to buy that were very reasonably priced. Sure enough when it was time to decorate, the things I purchased fit in perfectly to create the finished product with very little effort.

2. Christmas Cards. My girlfriend emailed me a picture she had taken of my son in October in front of a bunch of large pumpkins that I had forgotten about and it had turned out awesome! Then she recommended that I use an online Christmas card service that was much faster and cheaper than the place I had normally went to every year. My cards and envelopes arrived in the mail with 4 days and I didn’t even have to leave the house! What a huge difference from previous years of long lines at the photo place getting my tired and cranky son to smile. The cards were perfect!

3. Presents. I had written out most of my list of what gifts I had wanted to get certain people. Then I kept my eyes open. At times I felt led to check out a certain news flier, at others, I felt an urge to go to a particular website or store. Sure enough, not only did I find everything I needed, but quite often at a huge discount due to a sale. Quite a few of the items online even had free shipping. It was awesome!

4. Sales and discounts (see above).

5. Gatherings with Friends. Sure enough everything fell into place here as well. Where normally I had 2 or 3 invitations that would clash - this time the timing worked out perfectly. One would be a holiday brunch - another for later in the evening. (Actually one invitation did clash - but I didn’t really want to go to that one anyway, so I was glad I could say I had something else planned - Yeah Universe!)

Then last year came the best “miracle” of all. My son wanted the Wii system (actually I kind of did too). As you probably know last year it was the most impossible gift to find. The ones online were going for at least $500 and up each, and on principle I was not willing to pay that kind of money for a gaming system. So I decided to hand it to Universe.

This one I chose to write down on its own sheet of paper. I wrote down that I wanted to find the Wii system at its regular price by Christmas time and thanked the Universe in advance for supplying it. Then I did my part by telling everyone I knew to keep an eye out for the system when they were out shopping. (I can’t tell you how many laughs and “good luck with thats!” I received) but I didn’t let it deter me. I also envisioned my excitement when I received it and I envisioned my son’s excitement when he opened it on Christmas day.

Sure enough about a week before Christmas my brother calls me from his cell phone in disbelief. He was in Target just as a store clerk came out of the storage room with about 4 or 5 systems on his hand truck. My brother snatched one up before it even made it to the shelf! The funny part about this is my brother normally does not shop for Christmas. He is totally a gift certificate man. But he happened to need something for himself in the electronics section when he saw the clerk come out! I still get chills when I think about this. (No matter how many times the Universe comes through for me, I always get these chills. There is no better feeling!)

So it is time for you to get started making your own Holiday list for Universe. Think of it as your own private Santa Claus. And all you want for Christmas is to actually enjoy the holiday a little.

If this is your first time doing this, do not feel discouraged if things don’t fall in place immediately. Stay with it. Take notice of the little “miracles” that keep happening and let it boost your belief system. If you feel yourself getting stressed remember to go back mentally to your list and know that all is well.

Happy Creating and Happy Holidays!

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Time & Money - Amazing Human Tools

by: Louis Rosas-Guyon III

We are a tool building animal. You can argue anything you like about evolution, but you cannot deny that humans are a tool building animal. It is our tools that have made us who we are today. Tools give us the world around us. But I’m not just referring to hammers, wrenches, bulldozers, cranes and construction tools. I am also referring to time and money. Don’t think they qualify as tools?

Time is an amazing tool. What I am specifically talking about is the measure of time. We have constantly searched for methods to make our measure of time more efficient. The first clocks ran using the sun. Then water, then gears, now we use miniature digital computers connected to a U.S. government agency that measures the oscillation between the nucleus of an atom and the surrounding electrons as the means of keeping the right time on everyone’s computer and cell phone.

Are you aware that the internet would not be able to run properly if the computers that run it are not on the same time? We are talking about possibly hundreds of thousands of computers all synchronized on the same time or else you can’t get email, news, stock information, sports scores, book reviews, shopping and all the other cool details the web brings to our fingertips.

But it’s just a tool. It doesn’t really measure time. You don’t need to get into the concepts discussed by Einstein and space-time physics to understand that you can’t really measure something as enormous as time. However, we still designed a tool to help us measure it. To keep us together. To work for us all. To keep us in synch.

We are a tool building animal. We invented money. And we did it pretty recently too. We’ve used shiny rocks. Don’t believe me? You are aware that gold is a rock, aren’t you? Shiny rocks. Some people argued that we used gold because of its relative scarcity thereby making it a valuable commodity on an international market. Sure, whatever. I think it’s because there is something in the human animal that still likes shiny rocks. We even wear it as decoration!

But not too long ago we changed over from shiny rocks and now we use fabric. It even sounds weird but it’s true. We use fabric. Paper money is made from paper made of rags. Cotton or linen fabric is beaten to create cotton or linen fibers. You have probably heard of "rag paper" or "fine linen writing paper." Our money is made of fabric.

But we call it Paper and our paper is valuable because we all agree that it is valuable! I will give it to you another way: what happens tomorrow if we find out that there has suddenly been a massive wave of counterfeit currency into the economy thereby completely destabilizing the entire global economy and the world governments all agree that the international currency for the sale and exchange of goods would be diamonds? How rich are you then? Do you agree or disagree with this new system of exchange?

So, paper money is valuable because we all agree it is valuable. No more shiny rocks, just paper.

We’re even moving away from that. Yes, now we are moving towards electron storage of our valuable paper. And we have plastic to use it. We don’t even really need the paper (unless we want to do something untraceable!), now we can use our little plastic cards to get stuff.

So work hard in somewhere surrounded by idiots so you can get as many of those stored electrons on your little plastic card. Some of them can even have your face printed on it! You have been given the ultimate tool to help separate you from your stored electrons. I have one too. I almost wish we went back to shiny rocks. They were prettier. And it took longer to spend them.

We are a tool building animal. Some of them are great tools. They keep us together. They keep us in synch. They give us a way to be purposely rude by being late for appointments. Are you aware that time is so important to the United States government that we have the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, and its military counterpart, the U. S. Naval Observatory working together to make sure we keep accurate time? It keeps us beating to a similar heartbeat. We built an amazing tool.

But they have also found a way to give us too much convenience with what we earn. Think about that the next time you wave your plastic card through some gizmo. Remember, just because you have a tool doesn’t mean you need to use it.

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I'm a Salesperson?

by: Kevin Eikenberry

I have found that the words sales, selling and salesperson always have feelings attached to them. Some of you are reading, pondering the title of this article and thinking a stream of positive thoughts about selling, things like:

Nothing happens until a sale is made or someone sells something.

Sales is the engine of a capitalist economy.

Others are reading thinking a stream of extremely different thoughts:

I’m not in sales, I’m a .

If I wanted to be in sales, I’d be selling used cars, insurance, or spending my whole day on the telephone.

The last thing I want is someone selling me something.

So I write on, knowing that people have very different perspectives on this profession and activity.

For those of you in the first camp, hang with me for a second. For those of you with some amount of distain for sales, or even the slightest resistance to the idea that you might be a salesperson, let me ask you a couple of questions:

Does any part of your daily work/life involve communicating your ideas to others?

Do you ever find yourself trying to influence or persuade others?

Do you ever wish, hope or try to encourage change within an organization or with others?

I believe the chances are very high that you answered positively to at least one of those questions.

And if you did, you are in sales.

I know you may not be selling a product or service, but you are selling yourself, your ideas and solutions, and perhaps a vision of a better future for yourself and others.

Truly professional salespeople will see their jobs as doing those same things, even if they are also helping people buy a particular product or service.

Since you are still reading, hopefully you can see some positive connection between what you do and the skills and practices of an effective salesperson. What follows are five particular reasons why we are all in sales, and how you can learn from the best salespeople, regardless of your role.

Communicating effectively. Good salespeople are more than glib or good at telling a joke. They hone the craft of connecting and communicating with others through their words, actions, and thoughts.

Asking questions. One reason the best salespeople are such good communicators is that they are masters of asking questions. They know that the right question can be the way to learn more, to understand the other person’s perspective more completely, and to set the stage for the next two skills.

Being persuasive. Salespeople hope to persuade us to buy something. If you don’t sell products, you may be trying to persuade people to do a task, go to a certain restaurant, play a certain game or any of a hundred other things each day. The best salespeople persuade knowing that their product or service will serve, delight and/or improve the lives of those they are persuading. You are hopefully doing the same thing – expecting others will learn something from the task, enjoy the restaurant or the game. There is a difference between persuasion (where everyone benefits) and manipulation (where only the “seller” wins).

Being influential. Influence seems to follow persuasion, often like the next logical step. Once you have been persuasive and the other person found value from that situation, they likely will come back to you since trust has been built. Now you are more influential, potentially on a broader range of topics, than you were before.

Championing change. Persuasion and influence both are about change – changing minds, habits, behaviors, etc. Great salespeople understand that change is sometimes hard so they help others with that process. As you understand change and resistance more, you are better able to help others see the world differently, make new choices and do new things.

Looking at these five skills and behaviors it is easy to see how this helps anyone who is a manager or leader, works with others in any capacity, is a parent or is in any type of relationship at all. In other words all of us are salespeople – and all of us can become more successful if we learn and practice the skills of great salespeople.

Think about these five skills and find a great salesperson to watch and learn from. The skills that you will learn will benefit you today and for the rest of your life.

Potential Pointer: When we succeed as communicators we have the ability to influence, persuade and hopefully help others. This means, almost by definition, that all of us are salespeople and so all of us can learn from the best sales people. Observe, practice and succeed!

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Back To Back: Two Good Reads On Entry Level Leadership And Culture

by: Stuart Nachbar

This month, I read two books back to back: Soldier's Heart by Elizabeth Samet and Punching In by Alex Frankel. Both of these works are an excellent introduction into entry-level corporate culture and leadership development.

Soldier's Heart is a civilian English professor's take on the leadership culture of West Point, based on her 10 years experience as a faculty member. Professor Samet is in a rare, but well qualified position to pen Soldier's Heart. Only a fifth of the academy's faculty is civilian instructors; the rest are military officers on rotation or "regular Army." Samet's academic interest also makes her special; she has studied the dynamic of command and obedience in American literature.

Soldier's Heart is not the first work about West Point by a soldier or civilian, but it comes from the most interesting perspective: an outside working inside.

Soldier's Heart has a balanced look at the military culture. Samet writes that no cadet wants to be, in one cadet's words, a "non-thinking slasher," someone who would kill for the glory of war, or the sake of killing.

West Point is, and has always been, a literate culture. Classical literature through Armed Forces Editions educates and entertains soldiers in battle, and reinforces American values. She writes of books as weapons to spread ideas, and counter actions meant to curtail freedom. But she also states that tales of war talk of motherhood or a woman’s love for soldiers —but not a woman's love for soldiering. There is nothing about motherhood in the military culture, but there is the need to fight for mother.

The professor adds that today's military culture has conflated military missions with spiritual missions; soldiers become instructed to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith. However, that might be necessary instruction to lead at a time when officers, enlisted and veterans are questioning our nation’s involvement in Iraq, a war that they believe to be unnecessary.

This faith extends to open displays of the Seven Army Values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. Soldiers tape the Values to their dog tags. Soldiers also display the Soldier's Creed, officially posted in 2003:

I will always place the mission first
I will never accept defeat
I will never quit
I will never leave behind a fallen comrade.

The Values and the Creed are possible not only because of the culture, but also because our soldiers are professionals who have chosen to serve. Samet sites one Army study that mentions that professional soldiers still fight for each other, as they did, for example in World War II, but they also accept the responsibility that Army has entrusted to them.

The Army, as an institution, has had mottos and mission statements longer than most American businesses, and has a culture where everyone must live by them. Some of the most successful corporations have copied the military's strengths— and some of its imperfections. According to two online employment sites, GIJobs and CollegeGrad, 24 of the Top 50 Military Friendly Employers in 2007 also hired 100 or more college graduates for their entry-level positions. It is safe to say that these companies use the same values to develop and retain their entry-level and military transitional hires.

Which brings me to the next question: can those without the military orientation become as successful in these firms as those who have served with honor? The answer, according to Alex Frankel's Punching In, is sometimes, if you can get along to go along.

Values, missions, attention to detail and duty are part of the dialogue in Punching In, another work where an outsider looks inside, and serves on the front lines of indoctrination into corporate culture.

Frankel worked in entry-level customer service positions at United Parcel Service (UPS), Enterprise Rent-A-Car, The Gap, Starbucks and The Apple Store, took online aptitude tests with two retailers: Best Buy and Home Depot and went through the lengthy interview processes at The Container Store and Whole Foods.

Like the Army, these corporations try to engage and turn their workers into fanatical and loyal employees. Interestingly enough, he refers to front-line workers as the Brand Army of these firms and called UPS the Other Army, because of the company's esprit de coir and the spit and polish appearance of the front-line workers. Both the Army and UPS do not accept alteration, recreational display or desecration of their uniform.

Frankel respected UPS more than the other organizations, because their workers, especially the drivers, were the most trusted. He adds that this is necessary because UPS workers are all in the field. They can track their locations, but any problems must be solved on route. Each driver and their helper is like a platoon of soldiers; they must follow orders, but they have some lee way in how to execute them.

Frankel did not say the same about the other organizations. For example, he praised Enterprise's efforts to motivate workers to believe that they can advance from desk clerks to regional managers — though he adds that further advancement is less possible. The company hires approximately 8,000 entry-level employees, although the rest of the work force is no larger.

Frankel shows how Starbucks has become a "third place," a neighborhood-meeting place away from home and work, but believes this will be a difficult strategy to maintain because of the standardized appearance of the thousands of stores and employees. He considers Apple Stores to be an excellent setting for those who are already fans of the technology; they need little indoctrination and training as well. And he shows The Gap to be little different from other retailers who are loathed by retail workers, a company bent on standards and policies that put store design first, product second, credit card sales third and the employees last.

Like the Army, these organizations have a uniform, policies and shared values, but unlike the Army, they can hire and fire at will. It was interesting that Frankel conveyed the most respect for the organization that was the most like the Army.

Given UPS' success — the company maintains 80 percent market share against several large competitors, including the U.S. Postal Services — that's quite a complement for our troops and the men and women who lead them.

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How Your Listening Skills Can Help You Get The Job You Want

by: Carole Martin

It's In The Ears

If you thought interviewing was only about answering questions, you've been missing the point. You've also been missing an opportunity to gather valuable information. Listening is one of the skills most underutilized by candidates. Most people go into the interview thinking and worrying about how they will answer the questions, and they forget that they are there to find out about the job and the company. They forget to listen, observe and read between the lines.

Ready to Answer Questions

The first candidate, Reena sat answering questions and waiting for her turn. When asked, "Do you have any questions?" she was ready and took out her list of questions.

Sounds like she did everything perfectly. Right? Not quite. She forgot one thing, and that was to listen. If she had been listening, she would have heard the emphasis placed on retention. There were at least three questions asked about her plans for the future; how long she planned to stay with the company; why she had only stayed with her last company two years. If she had been listening, she might have been struck by the focus of these questions.

"I've heard some concerns about retention in the questions you've asked me. Could you tell me the turnover rate for this department/company?"

If she had asked that question she might have found out the turnover rate was quite high. In fact, that was a big problem for the company. If she had been listening, her next question should have been, "Is there a specific reason employees leave?" She may, or may not, have a gotten a forthright answer, but she would have been able to make her own judgment, and observe the interviewer for signs of discomfort with the question. Observing is another way of "listening" or taking in information.

Turn up your Intuitive

Another candidate, Jerry, listened when he interviewed, and picked up the thread of questions pertaining to stress and long hours.

He asked, "On a scale of one to ten, with ten being high, how would you rate the stress and pressure levels in this department?" And then, "Is this the norm, or a seasonal level workload?"

He had already worked in a "sweat shop" where he was expected to work 60 plus hours a week. He isn't about to walk into that situation again. He noticed the two interviewers look at each other when he asked this question, and they agreed it was a six. Jerry figured that must mean an eight or ten, and continued to ask more questions about the subject. He listened carefully – reading between the lines. He gathered information he wouldn't have gotten had he not been on their wave-length – tuned in and listening. He now had enough information to make a decision as to whether he wanted to work for this company, in this department.

Rewards of Listening

When all you can think of is the answers that you will be giving, you miss a premium opportunity to garner information about the situation you are about to enter, if you take the job. The bonus of listening is that you impress the interviewer by the fact that you have heard what was said, and sometimes what was not said. The best questions you can ask come as a result of listening. Turn up your listening and intuitive skills. Read between the lines! You'll be surprised at what you hear.

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Dealing with Depression During the Holidays

by: Nancy O'Connor PhD

Many people get depressed during the Holidays due to the loss of a loved one, bad health,or being alone. Television ads and cheery Christmas music can add to the problem.

Holiday cheerfulness, happy Christmas wishes, New Years saludos are pumped up by merchants who want to increase their bottom line. To fool you into thinking that you can buy love and happiness. Giving a gift to a special loved one does make you feel better, but that good feeling is fleeting and soon gone. Giving of yourself lets you rise above your depression and lasts longer than unwrapping a gift.

If you are depressed or disappointed by all that Holiday cheer here are ten things you can do to feel better. Give of yourself—Give from your heart.

1. Invite someone to Christmas dinner who you know will be alone. You may want to ask them to bring something to share so they will feel that they have contributed.

2. Go to a religious service. Believer or non-believer it is uplifting to share good words, songs with a group of other people. Singing can change your mood, breathing and spirit.

3. Stay focused on the real meaning of Christmas. Giving to others 'like the Three Kings did. Find ways to give of yourself and to yourself—not just material things.

4. Help serve a meal at center giving free meals to the homeless.

5. Collect unused jackets, scarves, gloves, boots, blankets, pillows and other necessities for the homeless. Take them to a donation and distribution center.

6. Adopt a family. Call the Salvation Army and get the name of a poor family including the names, sex and ages of the adults and children. Rally friends and family to collect money for food and gifts. Have a get together, wrap the gifts, buy the food and a few days before Christmas or on Christmas Eve take everything over to the family.

7. Go to a nursing home. Take gifts--even a candy cane will be appreciated. Organize or join a group and sing carols-- ask the residents to sing along.

8. If you have lost a loved one and miss him or her go to the cemetery and spend some time talking to them. Take a special gift. Your loved one may not be with you now but they still live on your heart. Losing a beloved pet can be a significant loss too.

9. Go away. If being at home is too painful with memories of missing a loved one go away, go on a cruise, a short or long trip. Change your location-- be with new people. Create new rituals—next year will be easier.

10. Visit relative you enjoy being with. Share in their Holiday plans.

You will feel better if you give of yourself. Give your love without conditions or judgments. What goes around comes around.

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EMS A-Z Series .... "A" - How your attitude can affect you, your patients and your care.

by: Jim Hoffman

I know you would expect the first in this series to be "A"irway or "A"uscultation. Now while some parts of this series will focus on medical and technical issues, others will focus on raw basics.

Attitude. Your attitude on the job can make a world of difference. Having a bad one will reflect on you, your partner, the patients and families you deal with and ultimately your patient care.

Many may think they are great prehospital care givers depsite what their attitude is. The fact is though that negativity does "rub off".

It also has a way of escalating bad situations you may run across at work: Violent patients, moody nurses and demanding families. With a proper outlook, these situations can be dealt with on a calmer note and be resolved or pretty much ignored, leaving you to do what you are trained for - emergency care.

If you have a bad outlook and run across these situations, they will escalate and have you more frustrated than you wanted to be when you came to work and even cause you to forget important clinical care steps.

Look - everyone has bad days. The key is not to make your bad day everybody elses. Think about why someone called 911. Maybe it's not the life and death emergency you expected, but to the person who called, it is an emergency that they could not handle.

By simply responding to a call, you can and will affect that persons life. How do you want them to remember EMS? As a moody and uncaring person who bounced them to the hospital? Wouldn't you rather be remembered as the patient and knowledgable professional, who lent an ear or shoulder to lean on. Even it was for just 20 minutes.

The fact is that most people will remember the negative for much longer than the positive. I would prefer a good 2-6 hours of someone recalling how nice or professional I was, rather than them remembering me as a uninterested and uncaring "ambulance driver".

I am sure you have heard patients complain about past ambulance visits to their home or hospital personnel etc. Why be the next one to have them complain about?

Be the one with the great attitude and you will be remembered. While we might not always get that "thank you" we hope for everyday, perhaps we can get the patient or family to think that "they should have thanked that nice ambulance driver" long after we are gone.

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How To Set & Achieve Goals While Enjoying The Journey & Learning Something That Can Serve You - Long-Term

by: Neil Fellowes

As you can see from the title, I've set myself a big writing challenge today!

Have you ever set a goal and felt disappointed because you didn't achieve it? Or set a goal and felt out of alignment with it immediately - or felt bad even if you did achieve it? Or have you ever set a goal and felt like a fraud or laughed at yourself when you said it and said, no way?

My hand is up. I've done all of those at different times in my life - maybe more than once! Arrrgh!

In the past goal setting set me up for failure in one way or another, either because I didn't achieve the goal or didn't like myself while working towards the goal.

Wikipedia define traditional goal setting. They says "Goal setting involves setting specific, measurable and time targeted objectives. On a personal level, setting goals is a process that allows people to specify, then work towards their own objectives - most commonly with financial or career - based goals.

Wikipedia goes on to say, "To be most effective goals should be tangible, specific, realistic and have a time targeted for completion."

Excuse my yawn!

What Wikipedia says is however accurate with what I understand most goal setting to be. But I'm left asking, "Where's the heart in it?"

In the past, when I set goals, I was always told to set tangible outcomes - what specifically by when. But I'm sorry, I got fed up with it. It was too mechanical, didn't allow for flow, didn't ignite my passion and left me feeling set for failure.

The Magical Formula

A short time ago, two things fell into place. As a result I'm now setting my goals in a very different manner.

And what's happening is that my big dreams are moving closer to reality every day. This means that my small goals happen quicker. As these small goals happen quicker, something else happens that makes me more daring, which means I take bigger steps, which means my goal happens quicker.

Fantastic, isn't it?

So I shared what was happening with a handful of clients who had a few things they wanted to achieve. I got them to enjoy the magical formula with me and guess what?

They saw a profound change in what occurred to them. Great things began to happen - quickly.

So this got me thinking, how can I help more people, do what I'm doing and start to have the results I'm having.

Now I'll be honest, what I'm doing isn't stuff you'll see in the Secret. It's also not lighting candles and hoping or chanting a mantra until you look like a Smurf, (though there's nothing wrong with that, if you like mantras and Smurfs!).

What I'm doing is effective, practical and fun. So, do you want to know the formula so you can start achieving what you want?

All you have to do is click here

With love and good wishes

Neil

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Make This World A Better Place

by: Ronit Baras

There are two ways of spreading light - to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it - Edith Wharton

It is looking around the world, at what is happening with starving people and violence, which makes me feel small and helpless sometimes. I can remember thinking about it ever since I was 15 years old, like Atlas, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. I wrote poetry, listened to Joan Baez and wrote John Lennon's words of "Imagine" on my notebooks.

Have you ever been asked about the teachers that influenced your life? Well, it has happened to me quite a few times, and I have always given the same answer. Reuben.

It was in grade 11. I was on the school council and headed the newsletter committee. One day, five of us were sitting in the principal's office, accompanied by the teacher who had supported us for the entire year. This teacher, Reuben, had a family of his own, yet he spent hours with us, during breaks and after school, something no other teacher ever did. He sat on "our" side, facing the principal, and moved our chairs into a circle, breaking the authoritative seating arrangement.

Later on that evening, I asked, "Reuben, why are you doing this? Why are you spending all this time with us?" and he said something that changed my life forever. "If I make a difference in the life of the five of you and each of you will make a difference in the life of some other five, it will spread, and together we will make this world a better place".

I think that, inside of me, I came up with the belief that his words were the answer to easing the load of the world. Each of us will make Heaven on Earth with the people around us, and together we will make this world a better place.

You see, he never said anything about the pace, about how long we will have to live until this starts affecting others. He did not even say anything about how to do it.

It was only 5 years later, when I studied Special Education, that I learned the 7% rule, which made another change in my life (except for the other million changes that happened every second in my life up until then). I figured out how to do it. I came to study Special Education with his words inside of me and was a bit surprised to find out that words make up only 7% of our communication.

You probably understand how devastating it can be for a writer, who treats words as colors in the hand of an artist, to find out that words do not have that affect because they represent only 7% of communication. I wondered about his words numerous times and realized that what he gave us was his passion, his time, his love, his smile and his faith. He gave us encouragement and the belief in our ability to make a difference. You see, his words were just a summary of a whole year of communicating his belief. He was the candle and we were the mirrors to reflect it.

It changed my life because I realized that what matters is the things I believe in and the things I pass on. I realized that in order to change the world, I needed to change myself. I know that, no matter what I do, I am a candle, and if I want my mirrors to reflect beautiful light, I have to shine that light. During that time, I dived deeper into the journey of self-discovery, brightening my candle, or the way we now say it at home, "bettering myself".

Coaching, or personal development, existed since the beginning of humanity. The desire to "better ourselves" is probably carved inside of us and learning is the greatest tool to achieve this.

Brian Tracy, in his books and talks, presents this concept of success as a measurement of the drive to get better and better at things that are important to us. Technically, if every day we get just a tiny bit better, the effect is compounded. This results in faster and faster growth, which is then reflected by all the people around us. Together, we can spread the light.

It is funny that people typically start the journey of self-discovery at a late stage in their life, when they are fed up with the compromises they have made and they want to make changes. Funny, because they when they were born, they believed they could do and have anything they wanted, but life gradually strangled that belief.

The most important five people that I chose to spread my light with are Gal and the kids. In our house, we have introduced the "bettering myself" concept to our teenage daughter, our 9-year-old son and our 4-year-old daughter. It helped us change life from an unconscious existence of doing things "because Mum told me to", or "because everyone does it", into a sequence of purposeful actions.

We ask questions like "What can I do today to better myself?" or "Is what I am doing now going to help me better myself?" When a kid is bettering himself, because he is so young, can you imagine what he can achieve in a lifetime? Purposeful children never get to be fed up, because they ask themselves these question every day and learn to be responsible for their life.

"The bad news: time flies. The good news: you are the pilot". When you are an adult, you might see the bad news, but children are born to embrace the good news. It is amazingly powerful to be in full control, to be the pilot.

I think Reuben was a "kid" who realized not only that he is the pilot of his own life, but also that he is somehow a pilot of the life of all the people he is in contact with. I think he changed our life and made this world a better place by believing and spreading this belief, by making sure that the other 93% of communication will come out shiny and enlightening.

I know now that my writing to you represents only 7% of my belief and that you all know the other 93%. So if you do feel sometimes that there are bad things in the world, that we have too many wars, fear or hunger, think of the light that is fading and brighten your light by looking at the mirror.

Until next time, have a safe journey of "bettering yourself".

May the force be with you!

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A Fear Of Embarrassment

by: Gary M. Miller

There are people who suffer from a fear of embarrassment. This fear can develop into an intense and unwarranted terror or agoraphobia. Agoraphobia was named after a Greek market and it literally translates to mean a fear of being exposed to a situation or situation publicly where embarrassment can occur. With some agoraphobics this can extend to include anxiety attacks. However, not all agoraphobics hide away in their homes and avoid any risk of embarrassment. Some are able to fend quite well in places where they are able to control the situation.

It has been shown scientifically that the majority of agoraphobics are women, though some men can suffer it too. It has been estimated by researchers that 2.7 to 5.7% of the population suffers from some level of agoraphobia. In fact, agoraphobia can begin as young as 15 or as late as 35.

A fear of embarrassment in its extreme does appear in families, but the reasons for this have not yet been discovered by scientists. However, they all share at least one or more of the following commonalities in their fears:

• loneliness
• loss of control in varied public areas
• being in a location where escape may be tricky
• Staying at home for lengthy periods
• estrangement or detachment feelings from other people
• helplessness
• the need to be dependant on other people
• a feeling that their body is not real
• a feeling that their surroundings and environment are not real
• panic or anxiety attacks or just general anxiety
• irritability, sweaty palms, and general change in behavior

Other more physical reactions can also occur in people suffering more severe forms of the fear of embarrassment, including:

• lightheadedness or fainting
• sudden dizziness (not to be confused with the signs of a heart attack or stroke)
• extreme perspiration or sweating
• flushing of the skin
• difficulties in breathing or the sensation of breathing problems (not to be confused with an obstruction in the throat, an asthma attack or severe allergic reaction)
• pains in the chest, jaw, stomach, arms or neck (not to be confused with the signs of a possible heart attack)
• pounding heart, irregular heartbeat or heart palpitations (not to be confused with the signs of a heart attack)
• vomiting or simple nausea
• tingling, pins and needles and numbness in any body part (not to be confused with the signs of a stroke or impending heart attack)
• butterflies in the stomach, gassy abdomen or cramping
• mental confusion, disorganized or odd thoughts (not to be confused with the signs of a stroke)
• a deep terror of going completely mad
• a deep terror of dying

In the majority of cases, an agoraphobic person or someone who has an intense fear of embarrassment can relieve their symptoms by leaving the situation where the embarrassment occurred or by just simply going home.

Unfortunately, an intense fear of embarrassment can lead to anxiety or panic attacks in certain situations where the person begins to feel as if they are losing control, insecure, distant from a place of comfort, or trapped. The majority of agoraphobics are able to develop ways to combat this by simply avoiding any situation that may lead to such an attack. To understand this better, a person can suffer an anxiety or panic attack in a severe form that can continue anywhere from 10 minutes to as much as a week. So, it is no surprise that the person would want to avoid suffering this because such attacks are very disruptive to normal living.

Each person is different in the situations that can trigger their fear of embarrassment. Some people find that socializing, driving a vehicle, going to church services or other meeting places, and shopping by themselves can trigger the fear. Ultimately, the fear of embarrassment soon develops into a fear of having an anxiety or panic attack, which leads to the person’s withdrawal from normal life. This can greatly detriment their ability to socialize, have relationships with others and their ability to perform in a work situation.

A fear of embarrassment is not a mental illness, but when it develops into agoraphobia it needs to be treated by a medical professional. There have been many famous people who have suffered from this, and in some ways, every person has a situation that they prefer to avoid because of the fear of embarrassment. However, for most people, the choice is not to avoid, but to face our fears.

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The Personal Development Way To Eliminating Procrastination

by: Michael McGrath

Are you a procrastinator? Do you hold yourself back from achieving the things you want to achieve in life because you never get round to starting/ Or, are you the type of person who starts many projects but finishes none?

Would you be interested in learning a simple, effective and easy to to try method for eliminating your tendency to procrastinate? If so, then prepare to become one of those elite individuals who always finishes what they start and someone who always gets the job done!

The first step to eliminating procrastination is to identify the things that need to be done. This should be approached on a daily basis. Start by making a simple list that outlines all the key actions you should take for the coming day in order to get the results you want.

Now go down your list and number them in order of importance. Beside the most important activities place the number 1 and beside the lesser important activities place the number 2, and depending on how large your list is you may want to include a number 3 category. That is, number 1 being the most important and number 2 being the second most important. Have at least two activities that fall into your number 1 category and at least two that fall into number 2 and number 3 categories.

Try to be realistic. When I first started using this method I would place up to 20 items on my to-do list. This was far too much. I had been a procrastinator all my life and to expect myself to complete a list of 20 to-do items was asking the impossible. I soon realised that if I started with a list of 4 or 6 things to do, I would complete all of them. Eventually I upgraded to an A4 size blank diary and almost everyday the pages are filled and tasks completed.

As best you can try varying the tasks and ensuring they are concerned with different areas of your life. This way you will stop yourself from becoming bored with monotonous tasks and you will also keep your motivation high as you see yourself moving forward in different areas.

On your list rearrange the items so that your number 1 priority activities are at the start, the next is your number 2 and so on. Leave a space next to the item and underneath it leave a few lines.

Once you have your list in numbered sequence write beside each one the best time of day for starting the activity. This will give you a way of staying focused on what you need to do and ensure you carry it out in an orderly way ' we don't want you to procrastinate and leave all the items until the end of the day!

Now ensure that you take each of your priority 1 items in turn and tick them off after you do it at the time you specified. In the space beneath, write down a quick description of your feelings. How does it feel now that you have completed the tasks you assigned for yourself. Then reward yourself with a small treat. Anything that you feel is a small treat will do, whether it's just a cup of coffee, bit of chocolate or a piece of cake.

After you have finished your tasks that have a number 2 rating use the same procedure as mentioned above. Tick off each item in turn and jot down how you feel and any additional notes or comments. Ensure you give yourself a special treat after you complete this category. Something that you would not normally give yourself or you would only give yourself on a special occasion. You have really broken through your procrastination and have made real strides in your development of your personal motivation. Keep in mind that it is usually the anticipation of the activity that causes you discomfort and not the activity itself. I find that once I start an activity it becomes relatively easy to finish it.

Also ensure you give yourself a break. Give yourself a break. The length of time you take should depend on the taks you have just completed. Even if the tasks are not at all demanding it is always advisable to set, at least, a few minutes aside to rest and look over what you have achieved. A good time to do this is when you are rewarding yourself.

The plan/do/reward approach to eliminating procrastination works! Use it and you will soon be filling out and completing lists that right now would seem impossible for you to stick to and more importantly you will see the results of your action sin your life. Your personal development will be assured!

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Success Tips For True Wealth

by: Michael Oksa

Feeling poor can make achieving success difficult, if not impossible. Geography, occupation, spiritual belief, or even catastrophe can be major contributors to poverty. However, there are some forms of poverty that we create ourselves. Taking note of your current state of 'wealth' or 'poverty' in these areas is a vital step to success.

People who have not achieved success are usuall time poor, people poor, or money poor. Here is a brief look at each of these forms of self-poverty.

Time Poor

The same amount of time is given to all of us every day. The only difference is what is done with that time. Those who are time poor often feel there is not enough time to get anything done. Where many tend to go wrong in this area is in over-estimating how much time is left to complete something, and under-estimating how long it will take. It's a common mistake. How would you rate yourself?

One way to overcome this time deficit is to develop the habit of being on time, or even early when possible. Of course, being early can mean waiting longer for someone else. You can combat this down-time by having something to work on; catching up on reading, writing down ideas, or making a few phone calls. If you are lacking in this area, start developing the habit of promptness.

People Poor

Family and friends are supposed to be a priority, sadly for some people this is not so. The pursuit of the almighty dollar stays at the forefront, while personal relationships suffer. It's okay to strive for more income to provide the things you and your family want. Yes, that may require long hours and hard work, but it's important to maintain balance. Are there relationships in your life that need some improving? Or, are things going great?

Here are a few thoughts on improving a people poor situation. Schedule time to spend in your most important relationships. When you are spending time with family and friends, enjoy it. This doesn't mean you have to participate in planned activities or vacations, instead try laughing together, talking together, or just being in the presence of one another.

Money Poor

This can be a tough one. The credit card companies make it tempting and easy to go into debt. Advertising whets our appetite for keeping up with our neighbors. We can feel deprived when we don't get the things we think we deserve. It seems to be a vicious cycle. Taking an honest look at your situation is the only way to know where you are.

People who are money poor are often quick to begrudge those who are wealthy. Nevermind that most people who are wealthy have earned it fair and square. This poor attitude contributes greatly to money poorness. Changing attitudes about money can be hard, even if you are a normal person, with a normal job, and a normal paycheck. However, to help change your attitude try this exercise: whenever you hear someone making a comment about the financially well-off being greedy, dishonest, or lucky - do your best to politely express the contrary view. Why would you let someone speak badly of something you hold dear?

As you become more aware of where your deficits are, you will be able to increase your richness in that area. The truly successful are those who feel no lack in those three areas.

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And the Rant Goes On!

by: Linda Fitzgerald

Since I started on a rant about another sign in a church yard, I might as well continue in the same vein.

The only reason such unfactual information could have been put on a sign that sits in the yard of a building come to be called "church" is because we have been sold a "bill of goods" ever since Martin Luther nailed his 99 treaties to the door of the church in Wittenburg, Germany in the 1500's! Luther was absolutely right in his criticisms of the only "Christian" worldview the world had known since Constantine's fake conversion in the late 300's. But as so often happens once the true prophetic voice dies away, those who come behind get it "wrong"!

Even after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the early 1900's, those who were 'slain in the spirit' remained 'slain in the brain' and decided that what the Scripture was really saying about "not of this world" meant "not of the material or physical world". (BTW, He, the Holy Spirit, has been outpouring since the Day of Pentecost, but at various times in the history of humanity, He finds it necessary to rain down on us in order to get our attention!).

Again, a literal translation, based on a lack of understanding of what God really cares about with His people (all people, even those who choose not to be one of His folk) took us off on a tangent in the wrong direction and led us into the desert, leaving a world of hurt behind! No matter though, we were all 'safe' - right?

No we weren't! I recall a frank discussion with a fellow, self-described as pentecostal, who lambasted me for having an undergraduate degree in Psychology, Sociology and Religious Studes (oh, horror of horrors with a specialty in comparative religions). He referred to psychology as the "work of the devil" and then took on Sigmund about whom he (the fellow with whom I was conversing) knew nothing. Amazingly I remained calm while listening to the utter ignorance of the fellow (ignorant educationally) and decided I would give him something to REALLY have a "cow" about.

I stated that Sigmund (Freud) was a gift from God to His children so we would begin to explore what DAD was really trying to tell us! I thought the man would have a heart attack in the middle of the street. Once he recovered from the shock of my words, he took off muttering to himself.

Later, I related the conversation to a dear believing Christian I've known for years. He's wise enough to ask questions as he tried to comprehend what I meant. As I explained that God's main concern is with what goes on INSIDE of us rather than what's on the surface, my friend began to comprehend. All the Lord's teaching, related in the Gospels, all the interpretation of His teachings as related by Paul (most saliently Romans 12: 1-3) obviously tell us that God is first and foremost concerned with our MOTIVATION. If it is not our 'hearts' that are changed, then "what is hidden" will eventually be "seen in the light of day" (my paraphrase).

If God couldn't get our attention with outpourings of the Holy Spirit to enlighten, inform and otherwise "transform our minds", then perhaps He took drastic measures and allowed Sigmund to uncover psychology or the study of "human behavior". That which comes out of our mouths is more reflective of what's inside us than what we put inside us from the outside of us! And I think the MAN said so!

But alas, those in charge of dispensing Godly wisdom (and I use the term very loosely) just couldn't get it straight, so they told us to grow long hair, tie it in a bun, cover our arms even in 100 degree heat, and don't dare even walk past a cosmetic counter. In fact, perhaps it would be better to stay indoors and let others go "out into the world" to buy the groceries, etc. And God forbid, that we would venture into the market place or buy stock or any other such thing of the "world"!

Is it any wonder that we have never taken hold of ("dominion") over the critical areas of society and the culture? Is it any wonder that others often hold us in contempt? Is it any wonder that when big name televangelistic types get into trouble, we all suffer. While telling all of the "common folk" that we should avoid wealth, health and otherwise 'worldly' endeavors, some of the "folk" been storin' up treasures for themselves in a form of greed that the world rarely sees from even the most evil of folks.

Sadly, we all, myself very much included, have sat idly by and let it happen. We can hardly criticize the early church for witholding the Scriptures from the "lay". We have not taken up the Word to allow our Heavenly Papa to speak to us directly by impressing His full, rich meaning upon our brains; but have instead, but our full faith and trust in men (and in some recent cases, women) who aren't any more (w)holy or above reproach than we are.

We have bought their 'garbage' about what the Word says and assumed it to be truth and fact; when in reality, it is as much a perversion of the Word in the Christian world as some have perverted the Koran in the Muslim world. While we may not take physical human life in the name of the 'perversion', we have allowed the 'perversion' to distract and destroy the hearts and minds of unknowing men and women who never reached the fullness of the destiny and purpose for which they were designed because folks of the 'cloth' said "achieving our full human potential' was "of satan"! Yet, unwittingly behind our backs, many of these very perveyors of the Word were secretly "storing up treasure" in the form of considerable wealth and using it for their own pleasure. Don't think that's what it's about! And besides, God Himself, created us "human", in His Image, Fullness and Likeness He created us - male and female! To Glorify Him in the fullness of the humanity in which He made us!

If that isn't bad enough, the heart of the Good News, meant to redeem man (generic sense of the word) by announcing the outlandish love of a Loving God who never wanted us to be departed from Him, got quashed in the process. And men and women died in their hearts and their minds were blinded to the truth and they died in their sleep! But no mind, they're safely in Heaven (or so we assume), but they may not have achieved the purpose for which they were sent because somewhere along the way, someone with his or her own purpose to achieve, passed by and slayed them without ever lifting a weapon - except the 'weapon' of words spoken in ignorance, without understanding. Words that killed and maimed and destroyed the "greatest story ever told".

My God, and that's a cry from the wilderness! When will it stop and who will stop it!

Would that each of us would say, as with Samuel - "Here I am Lord, send me!"

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Four Great Books On The Theme Of Creative Living

by: Mary McNeil

Are you looking for inspiration and practical advice when it comes to the topic of how to the creative life? Well just take a look at these four top notch books...

1. Creating A Life Worth Living by Carol Lloyd.

Billed as 'A practical course in career design for artists, innovators, and others aspiring to a creative life', there's a clear message right from the start that creativity can take a vast number of different forms. Simply assigning someone the label of 'creative' is a serious generalisation. Your version of creativity might be making art, teaching, generating ideas, inventing objects, interpreting music... and Carol Lloyd is most helpful in encouraging you to understand your own unique brand of creativity.

The book begins with a section somewhat similar to Julia Cameron's Artist's Way programme - a process of search and research through your childhood desires, your timeless inclinations and present needs. From there it goes considerably further into the dreaming, planning and design stages for a new way of living. And on into the development of a down-to-earth action plan for your day-to-day life.

There's a chapter on the various kinds of day jobs which can support or undermine your long-term creative goals. Another on how to deal with indecision and competing interests. And one that asks you to analyze your current lifestyle and build a new model for your everyday creative process.

This book is an excellent tool if you want to undertake some self coaching. I have learned much from it to enhance the life/creativity coaching that I do. So if you want to redesign your life in a way that will support and inspire your creativity, this is the one for you.

2. Your Life As Art by Robert Fritz

What a great concept! To take the nuts and bolts of the creative process and apply them to creating your life. Your Life As Art takes that idea and explores just how you can make it real.

The interesting thing about this book is that it concentrates on the structural processes that make up the creation of works of art, be they paintings, musical compositions, films, novels, poetry. It's not about ways to find inspiration - in fact it advises strongly against relying on inspiration. The theme is more about conscious creation through the application of appropriate structure, and how to achieve it in your life.

The first half of the book looks at the concept of structural tension as it applies to both creating works of art and achieving life goals. This involves having a clear and realistic sense of where you are now, combined with a vision of what you want to achieve. The structural tension is the gap between the two and it's what pulls you towards your vision.

The second half of the book looks at the structural patterns in our lives. Some people have structural life patterns which lead them through one successful project and onwards to the next, and the next. Others have repeating life patterns which take them round in less successful circles. Robert Fritz explains how the self concepts you hold can get in the way of your success and lead you into the frustration of a repeating pattern. He also explains (hurrah!) how to stop going round in circles and to change the structural patterns in your life.

If you want your thoughts provoked on the nature of creativity as a structural form, both in relation to art and to life itself, this will really get you thinking. It may sound complex, but it's well written, easy to follow and well worth the read.

3. Coaching The Artist Within by Eric Maisel

Eric Maisel is described as 'America's foremost creativity coach' and in this book he offers well-structured advice, illustrated with anecdotes and personal reflections on his many years of creativity coaching experience.

The book is divided into twelve sections - each one covering a skill that will help you along the path to becoming your own creativity coach. To give some examples, three of the skills he covers are: 'Passionately making meaning', 'Becoming an anxiety expert' and 'Creating in the middle of things'.

As is the rule with all self development books, there is no quick fix here, but the advice offered is shot through with the occasional artistic twist and steeped in common sense. All the books I've read on the topic of the creative process are unanimous in stating that, ultimately, it's a case of simply getting down to and getting on with the work. This book is no exception, but it includes an interesting extension to the theme by advocating positive forms of obsession. Maisel explores the fine line that divides emotional stability from instability when you're in the midst of a creative obsession. In those moments when you produce your most inspired work, how sane are you?

I found this book to be both practical and inspiring. So if you want to try a spot of creative self-coaching why not take a look?

4. The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp

The full title of this book is 'The Creative Habit. Learn it and use it for life. A practical guide'. And that's genuinely what it is... a practical guide, setting out and exploring the habits and attitudes that sustain a fully creative life.

Twyla Tharp, the world famous choreographer, now in her sixties, details with clarity, style and authority how to keep yourself productive and motivated even when you think you've run completely out of enthusiasm.

She writes about the structure and organizational aspects of creative projects - 'Before you can think out of the box, you have to start with a box'; scratching for inspiration in potentailly productive areas, like scratching a lottery ticket to see if you strike lucky; mastering the underlying skills of your creative domain and building your creativity on the solid foundations of those skills; getting out of ruts (stuckness) and creating grooves (productive flow).

The habits she describes are woven together with stories from her long career and anecdotes from her wide-ranging creative friendships. Unlike other books I've read on the topic of active creativity, she includes a chapter on what a creative life means in 'the long run'. How the great masters continue to grow and develop their skill over many decades.

The Creative Habit is a personal account of what works by someone who's lived a vibrantly successful creative life. Tharp's style is crisply clever and captures a strong sense of authority and vitality.

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Thankful to Be Grateful for Gratitude

by: Lauren C. Gorgo

While I admittedly have many conflicting feelings about the history and celebration of Thanksgiving from the Native Indian perspective, I do honor the singular aspect of gratitude that is seldom remembered during this American holiday of selective-slaughtered feasting.

I apologize if my tone turns to disgust, but this Thanksgiving I dug deep to try to mask over the pain of truth thinking of a world of alter-egos fighting for domination, power and greed under the guise of gratitude.

And while I desperately tried to ignore the disdain in my heart for the overindulgence of an imbalanced sector of human society steeped in ignorance, I will go on to say that gratitude is undoubtedly a foundational element for the realization of our full human potential.

In addition, it is important to realize that all is exactly how it should be on earth so as many people as possible can awaken to change. Change is definitely the name of this new game.

Was this holiday a challenge to give thanks? Was this year even more difficult to turn a deaf ear or a blind eye?

If so, know that this is a very natural process of returning to full consciousness.

Having such a keen sense of the universal effects of energy can either hinder or help your experiences in life, greatly depending on how much discord you have released. And it is a difficult balance to uphold either way...no doubt.

You may also find at your particular stage of spiritual development that you are either completely capable of accepting others and situations for the way they are with detachment, or completely incapable of even being around any outworn remnants of the old paradigm. Maybe both....and what a better time to test your mettle than during the holidays.

Did you notice any played-out familial patterns or repeat cycles that may have glaringly emerged, tantalizing you to engage them? Did you bring any unresolved emotions to your turkey dinner? Did any one else? Did you find yourself swallowing swords of cutting truth for those who you knew could not handle it?

Notice any triggers ? Perhaps that one family member who's patterns of self-destruction became so obvious that you looked around the room wondering if anyone else was noticing the blatant transparency that you wish you could ignore? Did your past suddenly become very clear to you and the reason for all your own relentless results of unconscious karma?

Ahhh...the holiday mismatch of clashing frequencies.

On a less bitter note, the holidays are a great time to realize how far you've evolved when you notice how stuck others suddenly seem to be. Those people in our lives who choose to stay behind as pawns on our path mirroring our past behaviors suddenly seem revolting. Quite frankly, victimization is so 1990's and anyone who is still lacking the personal power to take hold of their own lives can leave the taste of sour yogurt in our mouths.

We are finally inhabiting a space of self-sovereignty and those energy rapists who lag behind and try to drain our life force can make us feel angry instead of compassionate. Frustrated instead of loving. Annoyed instead of forgiving. Why?

Because we are no where near this low vibration and density anymore and it is a natural process of selection that keeps us where we belong. It is the result of our new wiring and activated sensors of receptivity to what is aligned with our truth that keeps us in place. Anything that is out of alignment will feel downright awful as it should. Akin to an animal's instincts for survival, we need not mettle in any reality that is too dense for our well being.

There are so many misconceptions about "being spiritual" in spiritual communities....and one of my favorites to poke a stick at (aside from poverty consciousness) is the general consensus that a highly spiritual being will offer themselves piously to those who have not the strength to stand alone.

I touch on this in great detail in the 12 Steps to Discovering Your Divine Blueprint because the whole idea of selflessness has been misconstrued and designed to feed the religious, governmental and economic beast that inflated the outworn and patriarchal paradigm.

No more. The best thing you can do to help another in this new cycle penetrating our awareness is to become the truth, the power and to reflect what is possible for all in a detached way. When you do, those who see you...I mean really see you....will come rushing to understand your power. Those who don't see you will want to take it because they don't yet understand that it is their's to have.

Did you ever notice how you would give the shirt off your back to those who are living gratefully? Ever wonder why those who project themselves as needy turn you off?

It's pure science. In truth, gratitude is state of being, not an action. It is a rate of vibration that you inhabit when you have released mucho density. It is not a requirement to give thanks, it is the energetic result of achieving clarity and lightness of being.

Don't beat yourself up over your inability to reach out to those who smother you in victimization, it is not your job to save them. And each time you feel the urge to drop into density, ask yourself this...

Who helped you to find yourself?

If your being honest you will agree that only one person at a time can fit down the rabbit hole...but there are many who went before you and many who will follow.

This journey is singular one, but we do not travel it alone.

The facts are that the frequency of gratitude is the vibration of universal alignment. When you are living in this vibration the world and its inhabitants line up to greet you. When you are out of synch with this energy, you will be pressed to attract the resources required to achieve and maintain abundance.

The holidays give us an opportunity to see not only our level of gratitude, but also to see our growth clearly against the juxtaposition of all those limiting beliefs, people and situations we left behind in search of greater pursuits. Hopefully the holidays also remind us of our ability to love with detachment and in confidence that we are all on the same journey just traveling at different rates.

And contrarily, as we stretch over the canyon of those who still reside in the unruly rapids below, we are also more apt to open our hearts and minds to those people and situations who remind us of our new level of love...the love that most of us work to embrace daily with thanks.

Instead of celebrating Thanksgiving each year, I think we should celebrate Thanksbeing... Aquarian style.

This year I am thankful to BE grateful for gratitude.

You?
___________________________

Are you living your full potential? Have you activated your unique planetary contribution? Are you aligned with your soul's intentions?

Find out with the 12 Essential Questions for the Soul!

A FREE 12 day Ecourse designed to connect you directly with your heartfelt passions and soulular intentions....
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The Thief of Time

by: Craig Harper

I wake up with a jolt.
My eyes are still shut but I have an awareness of light in the room.
An abundance of it.
Brilliant, almost blinding light.
For a moment I'm not sure where I am, what time it is, or even what day it is.
I can't really remember what I did last night.
I'm guessing alcohol was involved.
Of course.
Still working on that.

I half open one eye and reluctantly peek out of my nocturnal fortress.
Sunlight is streaming through the window.
How rude.
I think God has turned up the volume.
Or should that be brightness?
I wish I had a gigantic dimmer switch so I could turn down the intensity a bit.
I shut my eye.

Am I dreaming?
I pull the hairs on my arm.
Nope, definitely awake.
I feel weird.
Disconnected somehow.

I sneak a peek at my surroundings.
Yep, it's my room alright... but it seems different.
Something's not right, but I don't know what.
I'm slightly uneasy.

I pull my arm hairs again.
Yep, still awake.
Not a dream.
I look at the clock and it says midnight.
Exactly.
I open both eyes wide.
Yep, 12.00am.

It can't be, there's sun streaming through the window.
Did someone relocate me to Antarctica while I slept?
I shut my eyes and lie there for a few minutes knowing that things will be different when I open them again.
Cautiously, I open my eyes.
So much for my theory.

I'm weirded out.
I sneak another peak at the clock.
Still says midnight.
My heart rate increases a little.
I check that the clock is plugged in.
It is.


I glance at the floor and see a newspaper.
I often read the day's news as I drift off into la-la land.
The sight of the paper makes me feel a little more relaxed.
Some normality.
Nice.

But wait, the front page doesn't look familiar.
I don't remember that headline.
Hey, I've never seen this paper before.
I feel slightly anxious.
This is stupid.
Is someone playing a prank on me?
This time I pull my leg hairs.
Pain is the result.

I swing my legs over the side of the bed and heave my tired self into an almost upright position.
It seems much harder than normal.
I feel so heavy and old.
I pick up the paper in an attempt to find something familiar in all this weirdness.
I try and read the front page but it makes no sense; just a lot of meaningless words.
It's in English, but it's mumbo-jumbo to me.
I look at the date, it says November.
Well at least I got that right; I know it's Christmas next month.

I continue to read.
It says November... 2012!!!
What?
My slight anxiety has now escalated to full-blown panic.
"This is not funny", I yell to nobody in particular.
"Cut this shit out, I know it's 2007 - I'm not that stupid" I share with... the furniture in my room.
There is no reply.
Of course.

I am alone in my panic.
I feel fear like never before.
An overwhelming a sense of helplessness.
I don't like the feeling at all.
A person can't just lose five years.
Can they?
It can't be 2007 one day and then 2012 the next.

I try and convince myself that I'm hallucinating.
I pride myself on my logic, my problem solving skills.
"I'm imagining this", I tell myself with very little certainty.
It doesn't work; I can feel the very real heat of the sun coming through the window.

The midnight sun!

All of a sudden I have an awareness of my body.
I feel different.
I look down at my stomach and I get a shock. It's huge.
Yesterday I was simply chubby, now I'm massive.
I stand up and I can feel the weight.
My back hurts.
So do my knees.
I can hear myself wheezing. I've never heard that before.

I walk tentatively to the mirror.
I am too scared to look.
My heart is racing and I'm getting short of breath.
I cover my face with my hand and peek at an unfamiliar reflection through my fingers.
My fat fingers.
I start with the ankles and work my way up slowly.
I don't recognise what I see; it's like my body but much fatter.
As I move from the fat stomach, to the chest and shoulder region, I slow down.
I have man-boobs.
I am ugly.
I am scared to look at my face.
I pause and I feel a single tear roll down my cheek.
Normally I wouldn't let myself cry but right now, I don't care.
I shut both eyes, take a big breath and remove my hand from my face.
I count silently to three and open my eyes.

What I see is shocking.
This can't be. I'm not in a movie.
I'm staring at a fat, old version of me.
My face looks like it's been inflated with a bicycle pump, my neck is huge and I have wrinkles around my eyes.
So many wrinkles.
I look at my teeth, they are a shade of yellow.
"Still smoking then", I say out loud.
I am repulsed by my own image.

My heart sinks, I feel sadness like never before and the tears flow freely.
I stand there in silence, staring at my enormous self and wonder what I've done.
Or perhaps, not done.
If the newspaper is right, I'm only five years older but it looks more like twenty.

I stand there for what seems like an eternity, wondering where my life, my body, my potential and my future have gone.
My friend always tells me that procrastination is the thief of time.
I hate how practical and honest she is.
And how right she is.

Sure, I put things off a bit and make a few excuses, but could this have really happened?
Could my inability to make a decision and get off my ass really cost me a big slab of my life?
In desperation, I slap myself in the face. Hard.
I'm definitely awake. Awake and now, in pain.
Definitely no dream.
More tears.
I am overwhelmed with a range of emotions but one dominates; shame.
I feel ashamed of what I've become.
I don't know how I got here, but I'm here.
What a waste.
I amble back to my bed.
I sit there and stare out the window.
The sun seems less intense. Maybe my eyes have adjusted.

I am floating aimlessly in my own self-pity when I am jolted back into reality by a noise.
A real noise; the phone is ringing.
The phone!!!
Any hope of this being some kind of out of body-mind experience disappears completely.
I'm excited.. yet scared to pick it up.
What if it confirms what I don't want to know?
I put my hand on the receiver and hesitate.
I have no idea who might be on the other end or why they might be calling.

Maybe this will provide some answers.
I pick up the receiver and pause before I put it to my ear.
"Er, hello?"
"Where are you?"
The unhappy voice sounds familiar but I'm confused.
"Who is this?"
"Stop being a dickhead and get down here, we've got two trucks to unload and you're late".

I think it's my boss from five years ago on the other end but he sounds different.
Older maybe.

"I know this sounds stupid, but can you please tell me what year this is", I ask politely.
"Moron."
Click.
He's gone.

I look at the clock... 12.00am
Of course.
Wait a minute, if that was my old boss and this really is 2012, then that means....
My heart sinks.
Surely I'm not still working in that horrible warehouse, that was only supposed to be for three months.
I was meant to go back to college and get that degree.
I've filled out the forms and everything.
I was meant to open my own business.
I was meant to do so much.

I walk to the window to see if my car is in the driveway.
It is.
It's old too.
It's faded, rusted and has flat tyres.
Looks like it hasn't run in years.
It's a mechanical version of me.

As I stand there in my fat body, looking at my broken car, with the words of my angry boss ringing in my ear, I wonder what became of the young enthusiastic man with the dreams, the plans and the talent.
I wonder where the years have gone.
I walk back to the mirror.
I stare some more.
Humiliated. Devastated. Broken.
This wasn't my plan.

If only I could have those years back.


*The saddest thing about this story is that for many people, it (or a story just like it) will become their reality over the next five years. Not a fable, but a biography. Every day that we don't use what we've been given is another day wasted.
And by the way, don't ask me about the time on the clock... figure it out for yourself.

Enjoy your next five years,

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How Your Daily Life Can Change The World

by: Mashubi Rochell

Today's world is reaching a crisis point, and while many of our social structures are still intact for this moment, there will come a time when major changes will need to occur in the way we are living our lives on a day to day basis. This bold statement is shared not to create alarm and fear, but rather to awaken a sense of responsibility within all of us. This awakening has already begun, and most people are now aware that our current way of life is causing harm to the precious Earth we live on. The question now for many of us is ... what can I do?

Our lives are already chock full of challenges. Just managing the day to day realities of life is for many of us a full time job. The growing complexities of life that have developed from the accelerated pace of change can at times feel overwhelming. We hear news reports of natural disasters, wars, poverty, disease, environmental pollution, and a seemingly endless number of new challenges ... the amount of overwhelm can cause us to numb ourselves, and shut ourselves off from the realities that are happening around us.

How then do we help our struggling world? What can we do? The answer to this question lies within our hearts, and is much bigger and more important than we may realize. There are certain obvious things that we can do on a daily basis to conserve energy, recycle, and be more environmentally conscious. Thankfully, more and more people are stepping up and creating change in their daily habits in this way. This helps a great deal towards beginning to reverse the cycle of abuse to the Earth and lack of respect for her resources. There is a larger change that needs to happen however, that is at the root of the world's problems. It is one that we all participate in unless we choose not to, and this has to do with our consciousness.

Consciousness? How can that affect the world situation? You may be wondering just how changing our awareness can affect things. Isn't that in the realm of the metaphysical, for people who wear robes and chant and do strange spiritual practices? Dearest ones, taking responsibility for our consciousness is not just for those with a spiritual awareness. Our consciousness affects the world we live in, whether we are aware of it or not. The thoughts and energy we put into the world have an impact, and our consciousness creates the actions and choices we make on a daily basis.

Just how did the world get into the state that it is in now? It all started with where our collective consciousness has been. Humanity has been involved in developing our individuality, and in experiencing the world of physical reality without much attention to the larger whole of which we are a part. This was a necessary step in our evolution, but now times have changed. We've gone as far as we can in developing our individuality and unique identities.

Unfortunately, as we've explored our individuality, we have made choices that do not take into account the affects that our actions have on the larger whole. We've chosen to use energy resources that are finite, and that cause pollution of the Earth. We've chosen farming practices that remove the essential ingredients from our food, in favor of mass production. The lack of nutrients from our food has increased our health problems, but our healing practices have attempted to fix the symptoms without addressing the root causes. We've chosen to pursue individual wealth that brings prosperity to us and our families, but leaves the majority of humankind suffering in poverty and starvation.

All of these challenges we now face started with a consciousness that had forgotten our essential connections to the larger whole of life. We are divine beings that entered into physical reality in order to learn, and now at this crucial time in the evolution of humanity, we are beginning to learn how to reconnect with ourselves, with each other, and with the Earth. We are beginning to learn that our thoughts create our reality, and that what we think and feel matters as much as what we do.

One of the great spiritual truths shared with us by all spiritual teachers and religions is that we are all connected. We are a part of God, who lives within us. In the same way, all others in our world are equally a part of God, and are an essential part of the essential whole of life. Therefore, if we harm another, we ultimately harm ourselves. If we prevent others from receiving what they need, we limit ourselves because we are constricting the free flow of God's light and life force.

These concepts are not new, but they have been mostly in the background of human consciousness, which up until this point was focused on pursuing more individualized goals. Times have changed, and now the only solution that can be found to the problems of today's world is to work together, and to reconnect ourselves with our divine eternal nature as souls.

When we are no longer separated from the divine source of all light and love, our relationship with ourselves and with others changes. We are no longer alone, seeking to get our needs met, and competing with others who all are trying to get their needs met. Instead, we go within to connect with our hearts, to understand who we are, and what our purpose is for being on the Earth at this time. Each soul is present on the Earth for a reason, and when we discover and fulfill that purpose, our life makes a positive contribution to the world and in the process our own needs are met and fulfilled.

When we realize that our consciousness matters and has an impact on others, we take responsibility for our thoughts as well as our actions. Are you holding a grudge towards someone in your life? With an awakened consciousness, you realize that holding on to this grudge is creating a blockage in the free flow of light and love in your life, and you take steps to heal this pain you are carrying. You may not be able to let go of the pain right away, but your intention to let go, rather than to hold on, opens up the energy of healing. In the larger network of human consciousness, you've just created a small pocket of light and love, which enters the atmosphere of the Earth and strengthens the love and light present in the world. This small pocket is like a candle, which lights other candles that it comas into contact with.

On the other hand, if you choose to hold on to your anger, blame, judgment and so on, the emotions you are holding onto contribute to the cloud of negative energy that is present around the Earth during this time. You feel entitled to be angry, and refuse to budge. You may even act out your feelings and create disharmony or even harm to others. In this way your choice contributes to this very same energy pattern which is prevalent in so many of today's world conflicts and wars. Anger, blame, judgment, entitlement, and the unwillingness to compromise are all fed by the daily thoughts and feelings of others.

Do you see the choice you have each day, and at each moment? Your consciousness either adds to or detracts from the presence of love and light on the Earth. The love creates a feeling of harmony, and of possibilities and hope. The love opens up new possibilities and ideas, and can help us find creative solutions to the world problems.

You are a part of this love, and your daily choices can support and strengthen the many positive actions of change now happening in the world. In this way your daily life can change the world, and can help others to awaken, heal and contribute positively as well. You are blessed to be present at this monumental time in the Earth's history, with an unprecedented opportunity to grow, learn, heal, transform, and to participate in creating a New Earth.

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