Good Communication Makes All the Difference

Have you ever heard the phrase "we just can't communicate?" We just don't get along anymore and we never did anyway or what about, she just doesn't understand me. Most people identify communication with the ability to read or write well. This might not be the case as you will soon find out.

How many times have you been to the doctor's office and listen to an educated professional explain something to you that just doesn't make any sense. These people keep asking you, "Do you understand," Am I making myself clear and sometimes out of embarrassment because you don't want to look like an idiot you tell them yes I do understand. This isn't a good way to communicate either.

How do we communicate in a positive way to get our point across? I'm going to share a secret that works time and time again and some very successful communicators use this often. Ask the person you are communicating with if they understand what you just said, if someone is talking to you then use the statement, "Just to Make Sure That I Understand What You Just Said" and then repeat back your understanding of their conversation.

Sometimes just asking a view simple questions and clarifying your understanding can bring great benefits to any communication.

In some countries like Japan for instance you might find them reading your body language more than the words you are communicating with. Sometimes just by the way someone stands or reacts to something you said can give you a valuable insight to what can be understood in the conversation.

Don't forget however this could lead to a misunderstanding also. Again if you think someone understands how you are communicating with their body language, try not to assume that you know for a fact how they are reacting. Always ask them if they understand what you're talking about.

A person is responsible for what he says and to make sure that the other person understands completely the point he is trying to get across. I don't know how many times I have mentioned something to someone only later to find out there was a problem with my communication.

One of the greatest problems in business, marriage and most relationships are poor communication skills. Why not start using some of the simple skills used in this article to help with communication. You will start to see the benefits within a short period.

How do we do it? Why do we do it? And when are we going to change? How do we change our lives to become fulfilling sources of extreme happiness and joy. What is it going to take to open your eyes and finally seek the information you need.

If you're looking for a secret to happiness or a missing piece to the puzzle you quite possibly could find what you're looking for but no guarantees at spiritual books.

Check out Greg Vanden Berge.

Reaching Your Goals

Have you ever wanted anything? Have you managed to reach your goals sometimes and other times you failed? Well, if you would like a step by step guide to help get you reach your goals and enjoy greater success than this article will come as a pleasant surprise.

These 7 powerfully effective steps towards making progress and greater success fall into two categories.

A. Awareness

B. Action

Taking action without awareness can lead to much wasted time and frustration. People hate when they find they have been walking in circles.

Having awareness without taking the necessary action can lead to over analyzing and
usually points to some blind spot about yourself. That blind spot could be denial or distraction from the REAL issues. That lack of self awareness renders all of your external awareness almost useless.

Or perhaps there is something known or unknown ( in your subconscious mind? ) that is holding you back.

So by being more aware of who you are, what you want and how you may be changing along the way you can take the necessary steps to reach your goals. Also, by tracking your progress you can
feel secure that you are getting closer to your goals or that your goals are changing.

Knowing your strengths as well as realizing your weaknesses can help you to assess the best plan of action. It can also help to motivate you to take that first step.

Some people want to know all the steps required before they will take the first step, while others simply want the first step and after completing it they want the next step spoon fed to them.

Most people fall somewhere between these categories and so can benefit from the steps and tips in this article and know that they can always contact me for more personal professional guidance. Choices equal power and knowing you can chose makes most people feel very, very good.

1. Know who you are. Are you a person who is willing to do anything to reach your goals? Does that include doing things that could harm others? Where do you draw the line?
Know your core principles and values because these will most likely stay the same, even as you yourself change.

2. Know what you want. Have a clear goal and work backwards as if you already reached it. What steps did you take to get there? Or if you prefer you can start with "what is the first step I can take right this minute that will help get me closer to my goal."

There are benefits to both of these variations and for more details you can contact me. However, for this article this information is more than enough to get you started towards greater success and more reliable results.

3. Be prepared for possible obstacles in your path. Find yourself seeing obstacles as challenges so that you either deal with them as needed or even find
yourself looking forward to overcoming these obstacles and making use of them.

4. Learn from those obstacles and experiences so you are even better prepared. Imagine that your future is spread out in front of you like a magic carpet ride and your past is lit up with the lessons you have learned. So that even in the darkest coldest night there is some warmth and comfort and light to help guide you from where you have been, as you move towards better and better things to come.

5. Develop your perseverance and reward yourself for following through on your objectives. The first steps can help you to do this along with meditation, hypnosis, chi gung, yoga and other types of mind/body exercises that help you use and harness this extra intelligence and energy.

6. Remain flexible so that your steps can change as needed and so that as YOU change you are aware of these changes. Is this really my goal or the goal of someone else? Am I still the same person I was when I first took up this journey? Have I changed so much from my experiences along the way that my goals have also changed? This is one reason why I stress the use of journals.

The military would call this a sit/rep and a business may call it a progress report. Whatever you wish to call it you can make use it of it to help keep you on track.

7. Magnetize your goals and yourself so that you can barely tell whether you are being drawn closer to your goals or if your goals are being drawn towards you as you become more successful. Either way, you seem to effortlessly improve. This is the step that seems to require more coaching or personalized attention for most people. However, this is more of an extra step that makes everything flow more easily.

Michael Twomey is a Success Coach and Professional Hypnotist in NYC. He has helped many people to change their habits, beliefs and improve their lives. He lives with his beautiful, loving and talented wife, Maggie in NYC.

http://www.nycprimehypnosis.com
http://www.AdventuresinTrance.com

Why Smart Goals Don't Work

Each year, I receive at least half a dozen identical articles touting the benefits of SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. SMART goals are increasingly seen as the secret to personal and business success. Unfortunately, it's a pretty safe bet that most of these goals will go the way of the proverbial New Year's resolution. Why? Because none of these articles actually tell you how to make SMART goals work. In fact, most people who try the SMART approach for any but small and relatively easy goals frequently find themselves frustrated and disillusioned.

Well-constructed goals are extremely powerful tools for getting things done, increasing concentration and motivation. Successfully completing a well-constructed goal builds self-confidence. Unfortunately, creating a well-constructed SMART goal is not quite so simple as the average article makes it out to be.

To begin with, a specific goal is only useful if it's something you can control. Although this may seem obvious, the fact is that far too many people set goals that appear to be under their control, but really are not. For example, consider the athlete who sets the goal of winning an upcoming tournament: it's specific, it's measurable, it has a time of completion associated with it. Is it achievable and realistic? Depending on the athlete's level of skill, very possibly. However, the athlete has no control over the difficulty of the competition. He may simply be outplayed by a more skilled opponent.

Furthermore, although the goal is measurable, in that the athlete will know whether or not he accomplishes it, the measurement is not particularly useful. At no time will he know how close he is to accomplishing the goal, where he needs to focus his energies, or what else needs to be accomplished. The athlete is far better served by setting the goal of exercising certain key skills in the competition, skills that have a high probability of leading to a victory. Not only will he gain the self-confidence boost of accomplishing his goal, he may just win the tournament.

Another problem is that a goal is simply too big. If a goal takes years to accomplish, it can be extremely difficult to maintain motivation. Big, ambitious goals are wonderful, but they need to be carefully structured. It is vital to break them down into subgoals that can be accomplished in a much shorter period of time. The perception of progress is critical to maintaining motivation, whether for an individual or a team.

Having too many goals is another common problem. Well constructed goals are great, but if you have too many of them at once, they become a distraction. Many people can focus on three to five unrelated goals without a problem, but not ten or twenty. Keeping in mind that each goal might generate numerous subgoals along the way, it's easy to see how having more than a few key goals can easily balloon out of control.

Is the goal something you really care about? Many people have goals that they don't really care about. Perhaps they've been told it's something they ought to do or they believe they should do, but they don't really care about the outcome. If you don't care whether or not you accomplish a goal, it's hard to find the motivation to do it.

Used properly, SMART goals can be a very powerful and effective tool. Well-constructed goals can increase motivation, improve focus, and build self-confidence. Used improperly, they can decrease motivation, and destroy self-confidence. If you're using SMART goals, here are some questions to ask yourself:

Do I control the outcome?

Can I measure progress in a meaningful way?

Is my goal too big? Can I break it up?

Do I have too many goals? Is there enough time in the day/week/month to work on each one?

Do I really care about my goal? Is this something I genuinely want to accomplish?

Good luck!

Stephen Balzac is the president of 7 Steps Ahead (http://www.7stepsahead.com), a consulting firm based in Stow, MA. He can be contacted at 978-298-5189 or steve@7stepsahead.com

Controlling Your Fear of Public Speaking

To persuade, a speaker must talk fluently with courage and confidence. When fear or timidity becomes evident, an audience loses confidence in a speaker's ability to persuade. Obviously, if he cannot control himself how can he hope to persuade others?

The fear of public speaking is common to most people around the world. It is very often one of the top three fears of people in surveys. However, stage fright must be learned because people have only two natural fears at birth: the fear of falling and fear of loud noise. As stage fright has been learned it is impossible to control and overcome the anxiety.

The common fears associated with public speaking are:

- Fear of the unknown - new situations can be frightening. Remember the first time you were asked on a date or asked for one, or when you first began to drive.

- Fear of rejection - the feeling that the speech may be either criticised behind your back or openly.

- Fear of failure or making a mistake - you may forget part of your speech or mispronounce a word etc

Now we know what the fears are and that they were learned, how do you control them? Here are 8 techniques to use overcoming the anxiety;

1. Emerson's quote "Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain" is true. George Bernard Shaw suffered from stage fright and overcame his fear by speaking at every opportunity. Make many short speeches as this is far more helpful in overcoming fear than delivering only a few long ones.

2. Have an attitude that, "I'm giving them my best. I hope that's good enough. At this point I couldn't do better. And if someone is unhappy with my speech, so what? Without worrying a second about any speech I've already delivered I'm going to put all my energy into the next speech."

3. Mentally play down the importance of his speech. Who is going to remember it a hundred years later anyway?

4. Learn to grin at an audience and go right on speaking when you make a mistake, people will forget the mistake and remember the grin. A mistake always looks much bigger in the mind of the person who made it than in anyone else's thinking because he is so near it. Other people are so busy thinking about themselves (and their own mistakes) they won't remember someone else's error long.

5. Talk about something you really know. Something you know from your heart not through memorisation

6. Practice this speech drill either on your own or with someone - Choose a favourite hobby (your most active one.) Tell and show an imaginary audience how to take part in it. Do this with much pep. Put zip, spirit, and sparkle into your tones. Let your feelings show in your face, eyes and body. Overdo it! Feel that people must share your hobby, not tomorrow or next week, but as you talk about it. Do this again and again.

7. Properly prepare and practice your speech - know your subject intimately and practice as often as you can in front of the mirror, in front of friends. If possible run through the speech at the location where you are to give the speech.

8. Visualization. Visualize delivering your speech successfully as often as possible with intensity and passion.

Public speaking anxiety is something that can be overcome by all. It is a skill that is in the reach of anyone. Through a good attitude, practice and preparation it is possible for all to become proficient speakers

Edward Hope is editor and publisher of the recently released ebook "The Art of Great Conversation." To claim your free preview visit http://selfconfidentspeaking.com

Motivation Can Combat Bankruptcy

Personal financial management skills have never been so important in the history of mankind as they are now. The liberal terms and superfluous marketing techniques employed by credit card providers has made bankruptcy a term so popular that even grandmothers can tell you its meaning and even quote some sections of the ACT regulating bankruptcy.

Found in this article are the hidden potentials of motivation to help shield you from bankruptcy. Motivation is the working force of every strong desire. Without motivation, you will agree that all your desires to get out of debt and possibly avoid filling in for bankruptcy will all be in vain. Below are some tips that when backed up with motivation will help you get out of that debt that may lead to bankruptcy fast.

Self-control/Self denial and Discipline: Any human being on earth who does not have self-control, self-denial and discipline will find it very difficult if not impossible to make it in life. Credit/debit cards are like loaded gun given to a drunk. A person who lack self control and is not able to discipline him/her self is likened to a drunk handling a gun that is well loaded in the gathering of people. Self control and its associates will help you forgo certain things that are not essential (i.e luxuries). This self-control cannot be found outside motivation. A depressed, stressed and frustrated individual can never be disciplined or have self control.

To get yourself motivated, simply remind yourself that you love yourself so much that you cannot afford to risk losing all the benefits that is associated with clean financial records. Keep an eye on maintaining a clean financial record ( i.e making it your goal) i bet you will always be motivated to have self-control.

Financial Literacy: If you really want to manage your credit and avoid bankruptcy, or even get out of a near bankrupt situation, financial education is one thing that you must seriously consider. I am not saying that you take up a course in finance or accounting. No, what i mean is to always use other peoples' expertise (OPE). You can find quality financial planner online or offline. Discuss whatever venture/purchase you want to make with him/her. Ask for their opinion. In fact, ask them to tell you the financial implications of what you are about doing. Though there is nothing wrong with you being a little friendly with "figures" but you can still get away with it.

Developing a thick skin to compelling adverts: Advertisers and marketers are always researching ways to make people spend even when they don't want to spend. This is their job and they are obliged to it. And it is your sole duty to learn to say no to certain fantastic offers.

Record keeping: This will help you in the area of being disciplined. By keeping records of all your financial transactions, you can effectively and efficiently manage the possible temptation posed by advertisers

Applying common sense and being focused: Make a rational judgment as to what and what you need to buy and what not to buy.

Okwuduche Chinweike is an accountant who found joy in helping people come out of the shackles of financial illiteracy. This he does at http://motivationmotive.com/personalfinance

You can also meet him at http://www.accountantnextdoor.com for some healthy financial tips.

Wishing For Riches - Self Help Tips

Anybody can wish for riches, and most people do, but only a few know that a definite plan, plus a burning desire for wealth, are the only dependable means of accumulating wealth.

This statement is at the beginning of Chapter 13 from the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill.

There are so many different methods, from so many different people, but most people don't know where to start, or plan their way to success.

I have heard some people mention the hardest part is actually starting, while others say you have to start somewhere, anywhere but start. Starting is usually the hardest part for most people, they get defeated by their own beliefs and of course never even start.

Fear of failure and fear of success, seem to be at the top of the list when thinking about starting a business. It's always been hard to imagine people being afraid to succeed, when this is what they seem to desire the most.

Wishing for riches can motivate you to start, thinking about the many different ways to succeed can motivate you to plan. A burning dire to succeed well often motivate you to start and create a plan eventually.

The key to creating wealth is developing habits and good daily habits performed over a lifetime, most of the time, will lead you to wealth beyond your wildest dream's. Sometimes this wealth is going to have nothing to do with money.

Get some books, talk to some people, watch some biographies about successful people throughout history, find out what they did and start paving your own trail. But you're going to have to start somewhere.

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

Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world.

Happy Children - Create a Happy Child with a Tantrum of Thankfulness

In my research on potty training for our potty training course, I have learned that children respond to the emotions of their parents and care takers. In further research, I have learned that in all relationships, the most important step you can take in creating a successful relationship is to be happy yourself.

All people are attracted to happiness. This trait is most easily observed in children who have not yet learned to suppress their emotions.

The most important gift that you can give your child is your own happiness. When you are happy yourself, you will naturally be more patient, kind and loving toward your child. You dont have to work at it, the love just flows naturally when you are happy.

Too many parents think that once they have children, pursuing their own happiness is selfish and something to feel guilty about. Neglecting your children while pursing your happiness may be something to feel guilty about; however, there are many ways to create your own happiness and provide care for your children at the same time.

Children need love and happiness as part of their nutritional requirements. They cannot grow and develop to their full potential unless they receive adequate love and attention.

Parents who are filled with happiness and who think happy thoughts the majority of the time are in a much better position to provide the nurturing environment that children need to grow and develop. Finding your own happiness is the first step in creating a happy child.

Dr Wayne Dyer suggests in his books that you can choose your emotions. You simply choose to feel angry or choose to feel happy. While I love his writings, I have had trouble practicing that suggestion. What works better for me is to choose thoughts that allow the happy emotions to flow naturally.

For example, when my dog was injured, there was no way I could feel happy about his injury. However, after a great deal of prayer and meditation, I was able to slowly begin to find things about the episode that I could feel better about. By slowly changing my thoughts from sadness and anger to thankfulness and expectation, I was eventually able to feel happy again about my dog.

And just like a child, my dog has responded to my thoughts and emotions. While I was sad, he moped around and looked awful. As my mood improved, he began to get more active and is now again the feisty puppy that I enjoy spending time with.

Because children respond so visibly to your emotions, it is your duty as a parent to be as happy as you can be. Seeking your own happiness is not selfish, but the act of a loving and responsible parent.

Over the years, I have observed many child behavior issues that we very obviously linked to the unhappiness of the parents. Well, it was obvious to everyone except the parents of these children. They kept looking for someone else to blame for their childrens problems. They continued to create more unhappiness for their children and everyone involved.

So, if you notice undesirable behavior in your own children, take a moment to look inside yourself before you start looking for someone else to blame. Are you happy? If not, take steps to address your own emotions before you start to work with your childrens behavior problems.

As an engineer, I was very good at the identify a problem, find a cause, remove the cause, theres your solution kind of problem solving method. But in my work with children, I have found that this method is ineffective.

A better method is to simply identify and express the desired behavior and then encourage it. I call this the creative intention method of problem solving.

We can leave the cause finding to the research scientists. As parents, we just want happy well behaved children.

And the first step in creating happy children is to find happiness ourselves. Creative intention works especially well in finding ways to create more happy thoughts in your life and in the life of your children.

In every situation, there is always something good to be thankful for. Those of us who are accustomed to finding problems that need a solution will need to practice a bit before we can easily and quickly see the good in every situation. You may want to find someone who is naturally optimistic to mentor you.

But with practice we all can learn to think thoughts that will create happy feelings.

One quick exercise that can help is throwing a Tantrum of Thankfulness. We all know that two year olds can express a lot of emotion is a short period of time so let us use that example to create more of what we want and less of what we dont want.

Set a timer for three minutes. During that time think of as many things as you can to be thankful for. Write them down, speak them aloud or just think about them. I like to do opposites: I am thankful for sunshine, I am thankful for rain. Get as animated as possible while doing this exercise. Jump around, sing, yell, do whatever you can to experience the emotion of passionate thankfulness.

Get your children involved in the game. Really listen to what they are thankful for. If they dont understand the concept of thankful just ask what makes them happy. Dont make any judgments, just go with what they say.

I prefer to do this exercise with my dog as my children are older and think I am crazy. My dog just enjoys the company.

Whenever you find unhappy thoughts creeping in, just throw a tantrum of thankfulness. If it is not appropriate to throw a tantrum right there like waiting in line at the post office - just remember the last tantrum you threw. Experience the happiness in your mind and smile.

The greatest gift you can ever give to anyone is that of your own happiness. Guard it with all your might and seek new ways to create happiness everyday.

Teach your children how to be happy. Create a happy world for all of us one happy child at a time.

Mike Strawbridge is the owner of Straw Solutions Performance Improvement Consulting and is dedicated to creating happy business owners and happy employees.

http://www.mikestrawbridge.com

Mike is also a contributing writer for the Potty Training Site http://www.pottytrainingsite.com

Choosing Subliminal CDs Or Mp3s - The Real Deal For Self Help

It is a sad, but true, fact that there are people in business in society who are less than 100% honest and ethical in many sectors of our struggling economy. They don't need to look very far to find trusting individuals who will spend hard-earned money in exchange for promises of prosperity, health or improvement; happiness, success and even miracles! In our experience within the self-help world, we have encountered both- some genuine, and others who turn out to be selfish, aggressive organizations that are good at promising great things to good people who just need a little motivation or tools to meet their own particular challenges. Some products may be inferior; and in the case of subliminal audio, it can be hard to distinguish between effective and ineffective producers. But, as in any other market, ours requires a commitment to quality, dedication to our trade and exceptional customer service in order to prove to our customers that we are for real.

Just because subliminal audio cannot be consciously heard and evaluated easily does not mean that potential clients are helpless in the choosing process. Contrary, we invite you to shop and compare. There are company that will help walk you through the process, since not many are familiar with the technologies involved in digital, subliminal audio files and discs.

If you are considering the use of such a product, for whatever reason, there are some details you should know first. For example, who designed and created the content that you are trusting to 'whisper in your ear?' Are they qualified to compose and mix the audio that you will be using to influence your subconscious mind? This is important! Which type of subliminal messages are you buying? There are several. Is the seller open and willing to share and interact with you on an individual level? Are they discrete with regard to your choice of product and your personal data? Are they overcharging you? Do you have access to reviews from others who have tried the same products, and are these testimonials genuine? Do you have a variety of choices to make for each product? These factors and others are critical to your experience and success.

If you choose music as your preferred background, can you hear a sample first? Does your prospective provider offer nature sounds, ocean waves or Silent Subliminal technology? If so, do you know how to decide which is best for you? Again, if you make the right choices before using these excellent tools, you have a better chance at beating that fear or phobia, sleeping better or changing unwanted habits. Whatever your desire in real results might be, selecting the right tool in this quest is like any other task- it can really make the difference in your future success. It's up to you to choose wisely in such an important endeavor!

Some producers of subliminal self-help audio claim to stack hundreds of audio tracks for a simultaneous experience- that the subconscious can supposedly hear each instance, using the Law of Repetition to effectively brainwash the subject by volume. We don't subscribe to this method at all. In fact your unconscious mind is much smarter than that and if it detects such a trick, forget it- all bets are off, your suggestibility factor will shut down every time. Another outdated method used by some self-help companies is hiding their subliminal verbal content with volume; the loudness of the background music or sound, or noise, is higher than the words that may or may not be consciously heard at times. Subliminal audio uses the inaudible frequency 16.5 KHz which cannot be heard by the human ear, but the subconscious definitely hears it. That is also why silent subliminal tracks are now possible, with no music or audible sounds of any kind.

Music is important, though; in most cases, it is the best background to keep your conscious mind interested in following through with listening to each entire track (repeatedly). After performing an extensive survey of people interested in self help audio, we decided to go with New Age music as our background of choice. It is beautiful, inspirational, and it evokes deep emotions for the greatest percentage of the population. This serves to create a positive experience for the listener, making it most attractive for the subconscious to accept the subliminal message on each hidden 'silent' track. Those who reject New Age are welcome to select ocean wave sounds or silent subliminal, with which you can play other music on another device to enhance your experience if you like. Just turn the volume up on the silent subliminal CD or digital track in this instance. You will not consciously hear it, but your inner self will!

If you have ever considered attending a motivational seminar, hypnosis or pro therapy, for any reason -performance enhancement, habit improvement, or success and wealth- you might want to try our subliminal audio first- because, It's All self-Help Anyway (IASHA)! And again, feel free to research for yourself; creative visualization really works to make each of us happier, healthier and more successful.

Yes, that's what each of our futures depends upon- creative visualization. Nobody ever created a fulfilling, satisfactory life without first dreaming about it. Once you define the details, deeply, and believe in them, your subconscious will get you there by inner determination. Sprudio Subliminal Audio may well be the most effective, economical tool to get you motivated and keep you that way- never, ever give up!

For more resource and subliminal cds and mp3s visit Sprudio website. For more then 4 years we helped people understand their inner behavior.

It's All self-Help Anyway http://www.sprudio.net

Find Out Why You Believe in Your Religion

Whenever I ask someone involved in a religious organization, the question, do you really believe in your religion? Most of these people will often answer would be yes and start their religious conversion. Some of these people can become very intrusive if I don't stop them soon, very few of these people listen with an open mind.

I have talked to quite a few men and women about their beliefs over the years and still find it hard to believe that most of them live a life of faith with very little understanding or education about their religion. Now some strong believers might take offense to that statement, while others will listen to what I said and start doing a little more research on their religion.

Most of these religions throughout the world make perfectly good sense to their followers and I understand the reasoning behind some of them, it's all they know, everyone around them believes in the same religion and they get some sort of happiness and joy from it.

It's not hard to imagine a young child, walking around with strong religious beliefs if their parents are strong believers in it also. These children grow up and eventually train their children to follow the same path of their parents. Our children should be able to choose, what they will believe in, by the time they are adults.

This is a natural process of life, your parents learned from their parents and whenever someone asked them a question that they really couldn't answer or were uncomfortable answering, they can always reply with, I'm living a life based on faith or you just have to believe. You have to believe that someone is looking out for you and taking care of you. Most of these people think that something else is responsible for the events that take place in their life.

Is it possible for people that live a life of faith to educate themselves about their religion, to find the origin and maybe the destination of their religions. Could these people actually assume responsibility for their choices, whether they're good or bad. It's often hard to listen to somebody tell me that some evil entity made them do something bad. These people are easily convinced by others who agree with them and support them with their statements and beliefs. This seems to be where the biggest problem lies.

Once the people around us support our beliefs, they soon become realities in our lives. These realities will be transferred to others around us and give them support eventually about their beliefs. It's like a vicious circle that never ends. One believe supports another belief, until it's a fact.

Education is the path to freedom and will soon deliver the students from religious bondage. Someone a long time ago said," Seek and You Shall Find, Knock on My Door and I Will Open It.

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

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

When Nobody Believes in You - Self Help Tips

Maybe one of the most distressing experiences people can encounter is that of being rejected by the people who should be supporting them. Although human beings are intrinsically social and gregarious, there are moments when the community we live in does not fulfill its role of reinforcement it is supposed to have. It is then when people have to deal with feelings of exclusion and loneliness.

When these feelings of rejection are not appropriately dealt with, they have a paralyzing effect on the personal growth of the affected person. Lack of self-esteem and boldness will inevitably lead to a life of failure and underachievement.

If you are struggling in this area, here are some powerful thoughts that will help you confront those feelings of loneliness and rejection successfully:

Don't Rely on Homo sapiens

• Most people who think that nobody believes in them judge by the actions of the people around them. Just because people seem to ignore you doesn't mean they don't believe in you. If you are constantly expecting other people to meet your needs of reassurance, you're destined to a life of disappointment.
• Don't have too high expectations for people investing time in you. Remember that we live in a fast paced world. Most people, even our loved ones, don't always take time to meet all the needs around them, unless they scream in their face.
• Human beings are selfish by nature. Most people are so busy with their own troubles that they don't notice when somebody around them could need a bit of encouragement.
• You'd be surprised to find how many people around you are probably hurting just as much as you are. Take the first step and sow love and care into another life without expecting anything in return. If you sow love, you will definitely reap love.

Rely on God Instead

• Jesus knows exactly how you feel. He too was rejected and even killed by his contemporaries, yet He walked in a life that always pleased His Father, regardless of what people thought. And His life caused a global impact on the history of mankind.
• God also has a perfect plan for you. He has designed you with a unique combination of gifts and talents to accomplish the task you have been given. He loves you and believes in you. And He promised to never forsake you if you chose to walk with Him.

If you are struggling with feelings of loneliness, rejection or lack of self-esteem, I want to invite you to find a new meaning for your life. Go to http://www.Self-DirectedLearningForSuccess.com and get immediate access to my free e-course "7 Steps to Consistently Change Your Life" and my free e-book that will help you develop your God-given talents to find and fulfill your purpose in life.

From Bettina Langerfeldt, who teaches people how to pursue their God-given gifts and talents by designing their own education with self-directed learning.

2008 Freedompioneer

Strategies to Become a Motivation Speaker

If you are an interesting speaker and have many memorable experiences in life to motivate others, then you can become a motivation speaker. Motivation speaking is nothing but public speaking to convey a special message that could help the audience in lifting their morale. A successful motivation speaker must have something special to deliver and must be able to carve a niche out for himself. In many ways, motivational speaking is a commodity that must be sold.

Why Should People Pay To Listen To A Motivation Speaker?

Problems are a part of parcel of our life. At times, it takes a toll on our confidence and the zeal in our life vanishes. In bad times we all look forward for some motivation and this is where a motivation speaker is needed. The speaker should be articulate in narrating his own experiences in life to inspire others.

Strategies For Motivational Speaking

Charity begins at home and the saying goes well for everyone who is trying to make a career out of motivation speaking. The best thing is to start around you own neighborhood or locale for free to make your name. Slowly others will start contacting you after hearing about the interesting experiences you have to share. Also start informing others about your availability. You should also start contacting non-profit organizations and other professional bodies. You can also register with any speaker's bureau, but they will charge you for acting as your agent. It is the desire which will carry forward the speaker and no special education or training is needed for one to succeed.

Developing The Special Message

The speaker has to put in a lot of hard work to write the special message. First and foremost he should start with what he (or she) has to say and how will it help others. The message should be special and the audience should connect to it. It should have some real life experience with dollops of humor to keep it lively.

Warnings For A Motivation Speaker

The speaker should be spontaneous with his speech and he should avoid using fillers like aa, uh and eh. If you get nervous and forget your speech then you should take a deep breath and start speaking from your mind.

The speaker should also avoid taking an awkward pause because it breaks the flow of the speech. Even if he forgets the speech, he should be able to cover for it by speaking from the heart. Before facing the audience, the speaker should rehearse well to get the confidence.
The best way to overcome nervousness is by focusing on the audience and not what they are going to think about your speech. Try to speak cleverly and repeat the message at least thrice.

The need of motivation speakers is increasing every day. Throughout history, they have inspired generations and have helped others to achieve their goals. Some of the top motivational speakers are legendary cyclist Lance Armstrong, Olympic swimming champion Amanda Beard and Dr. Deepak Chopra.

In schools throughout North America, motivation speakers are in great demand to inspire students to say no to drugs and crime and lead a healthy life. Besides, motivation speakers also help people to heal their relationships, lead a healthy life and prosper in business to have fun in life.

Top Motivational Speaker Gives You His $47 Champion Ebook FREE! Get your copy today at: http://www.EverydayIsSaturday.com

A Simple Cure For Anxiety And Depression

Our innate desire is to be happy, and when we move away from it, we experience fear.

This fear is actually millions of years old, for it arises from the biological programming of our species.

While we may not have to contend with a sabre-toothed tiger on any given day, we still use those very reactions to deal with events looming ahead.

We think, Will I be fired for making that mistake at work? or Will I be able to meet the mortgage after I fix the car? or Will my health continue to decline? or Will my relationship fall apart after that argument we just fell into?

Running questions with this type of urgency and helplessness trains our brains to prepare now for future danger by loading our bodies up with the stress hormone cortisol.

Anxiety is our anticipation of a dangerous future. We imagine having even less of the little that we have today.

This anxiety does not help us in any way to meet the future any better. In fact, it weakens and exhausts us. We usually worry most about things that we can't even control. Worrying about your dental visit, for example, will not make the visit better.

Anxiety, in fact, is a silent killer. It is enervating, and it drains you of purpose and hope, faith and initiative. It fogs up your thinking. And it makes the body susceptible to illness.

When anxiety--a fear of an event in the future--is high enough then you feel a deep sense of helplessness. This, in turn, translates into depression. You even begin to view the past as disappointing.

Caught between a miserable past and a frightening future you create a pattern of emotions that can lead to a variety of mood disorders, including manic-depression.

How do we escape from this vicious cycle?

Here is what I did 20 years ago and I have never since suffered from any serious mood disorder.

I started to cultivate my awareness of my mood swings--from elation to black despair.

I did this by basically watching myself when I was manic, and watching myself when I was depressed, and watching what I did to turn on these states. For example to get depressed, I used my love of literature to focus on dark, morbid, and unhappy stories about life. And to get elated, I would talk a lot, move very quickly, and do things in a dramatic way.

An interesting thing happened when I made my unconscious behavior conscious. I could not take my mood shifts seriously.

This is what I learned from that experience: when you are able to observe yourself over the course of a few weeks, you develop a curious detachment.

A paradoxical situation developed for me: I found it difficult to stay anxious and depressed when I was observing myself feeling anxious and depressed.

Ultimately, anxiety and depression are culturally-induced patterns of thinking that can be overcome through a deliberate cultivation of awareness. When you become your own observer, you weed out the unconscious habits that afflict you.

Despite the billions of dollars spent to heal anxiety and depression, and all the mood disorders and behavioral anomalies that arise from them, the cure is simple, quick, and free.

Resource Box

Saleem Rana got his masters in psychotherapy from California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, Ca., 15 years ago and now resides in Denver, Colorado. His articles on the internet have inspired over ten thousand people from around the world. Discover how to create a remarkable life

Copyright 2005 Saleem Rana. Please feel free to pass this article on to your friends, or use it in your ezine or newsletter. It's a shareware article.

Affirmations - Far More Than Just Positive Thinking

When someone mentions affirmations, the first thing that comes into your mind is positive thinking. The classic positive thinking affirmation was created by Dr. Emil Coue. "Everyday in every way, I get better and better. The idea behind this type of affirmation is to create new positive habits and thoughts. This works very well but, it is only half of the story. There is another type of affirmation and it is just as important as positive affirmations.

The problem is that the subconscious mind accepts any belief without question. For example, the old belief that you wish to replace is that wealthy people are greedy. You have heard this throughout your lifetime and it becomes set in stone in your subconscious. When you realize that you have this false belief, normally, you would create an affirmation that will give you a new belief. For example, you might start using an affirmation like: I am grateful that my wealth grows each and everyday for with great wealth I can do great good.

This is an excellent new belief for your subconscious but, it also creates a problem. Although the subconscious has accepted this new belief, it has also created a conflict in your mind. Although you have created a new positive belief, it has not eliminated the old negative belief that rich people are greedy. Both beliefs are existing side by side in your mind and the old belief still has it's self-limiting effects.

What I use to overcome the old negative thought pattern is what I call a reprogramming affirmation. The point of this is to convince the subconscious that the old self-limiting belief needs to be eliminated from the data bank. Reprogramming affirmations tend to be somewhat more complex than positive affirmations.

For example, my reprogramming affirmation might read something like: Many people say that the rich are greedy but this is a false belief. Rich people have an abundance mindset and readily give away large portions of their income because they know that their is a limitless supply of wealth. For example, Bill Gates out of the kindness of his heart has created numerous philanthropic organizations and given away millions of dollars of his personal worth to help the poverty stricken of the world. He is super rich but obviously not greedy.

The subconscious is not capable of judgment. It runs automatically in the background and helps us make it through the day. It is our conscious responsibility to control and correct any data that is held within it's data banks. Properly programmed, the subconscious will rapidly propel us toward limitless wealth and self-fulfillment. But, only when there are no conflicts within the data of this most powerful of digital computers.

Stan Pontiere has been an avowed self-help geek since high school-more than 40 years ago. For more information on self-fulfillment please visit: http://www.wealthbyaffirmation.com or my blog at: http://wealthbyaffirmation.blogspot.com/

Are Your Goals Worth the Effort?

When you set a goal, it is critical to assess whether the outcome will be worth your time and effort to achieve it. If the benefit is not at least equal to what you put in, then you can say bye-bye to keeping up your motivation levels. If your motivation is low, then it is unlikely that you will achieve your goal.

Here is a rather extreme example. If you wanted a bar of chocolate, but the nearest shop was 10 miles away, it is doubtful that you would walk that distance to get it. Although the cravings may be very strong, and you really wanted the chocolate, the amount of time and energy required clearly outweighs the benefits.

How do you assess whether a particular goal is worth your time and effort? The simplest and most effective way is to list the inputs (time and energy) compared to the outputs (achieving the goal).

It is always so much more effective when you write everything down. Draw the map first, and then follow it!

Let's take an example of a popular goal. Say you want to stop smoking.

Firstly, write down your goal. "I will stop smoking cigarettes on the 15^th of next month".

On a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle. At the top of the first column, write down "INPUT". This is where you list what you need to do to achieve that goal.

At the top of the second, write down "OUTPUT". This is where you will list the benefits of achieving that goal.

In the INPUT column, write down the actions that you will need to stop smoking. This may include "Do not buy cigarettes" and "Chew a piece of gum when I would normally have a cigarette". Stick to the facts - write down the actual actions that you need to carry out.

In the OUPUT column, write down all of the benefits associated with you being a non-smoker. "I will have more money", "I will be fitter" and "I will have more energy". Brainstorm here - there are loads of benefits!

Next, review the entries that you wrote in the INPUT column. Assess the amount of time and effort that each action will involve.

For instance, the first statement was "Do not buy cigarettes". It is logical to assume that buying cigarettes would take time and effort (getting to the shop, carrying out the purchase, and returning home). It follows therefore that if you didn't buy cigarettes, then no time or effort would be needed.
"Chew a piece of gum when I would normally have a cigarette" would take no more time or effort than having a cigarette. Indeed, it would arguably involve less physical effort.

Once you have written down a number of Inputs, consider the amount of actual time and effort that would be needed for each. In the example above, there really is no physical effort or time involved. When you compare these with the tremendous benefits that you will derive from stopping smoking, it would be extremely difficult to argue that the amount of time and effort exceeded the benefits!

This exercise can be carried out with any goal you choose. Here are the steps again.

Write your goal down on paper.

List the Inputs and Outputs.

Assess the amount of time and effort needed against the benefits.

You will then be in a much better position to keep yourself motivated and to achieve your goals.

To continuing your success!

Jan specializes in encouraging people to "Make Positive Changes Now" in several aspects of their lives including career change, personal development, and combating addictions.

She is currently developing a number of CDs and DVDs to motivate and encourage people to make positive and worthwhile changes in their lives.

Visit Jan's web site at http://www.powerpositivenow.com

Reading Feng Shui Books - Get Great Advice

Quite simply, a different style of living. If you're the kind of person who eats the same food week after week, shops and the same stores and only socializes with a few people, feng shui is probably not something you're going to be interested in. However, if you're someone, who wants to try something different, the Chinese philosophy of feng shui could be something that you, just might be interested in.

Where can you find feng shui books? Of course we all know you can find them at your local bookstores like Barnes & Noble, Amazon and other online sources. Here's something that might be a little new age or something that most people often forget about, how about going down to your local public library. Public libraries are a great source for books and if you don't like them, you never had to pay for them.

Feng shui books have become popular in the last 20 to 40 years and seems to create an environment out of your home. The Chinese have been practicing this for over a thousand years and it almost has a mystical power to it. If you're tired of the same old house and would like a little change in your life, I would suggest using some of the simple methods, suggested in these books.

One $20 book on home building or feng shui, can save you lots of money, if you're willing to do a little research and the labor to complete almost any home building project.

By the way, if you're interested in learning how to repair a roof, build your own house, interior decorating, structural engineering, building a deck, gathering some more information about home painting or even remodeling your bathroom. Our online home building bookstore can save you money if you're willing to do the work.

You can learn a lot by reading feng shui books and I would suggest, that if you're interested in interior design or even spirituality, these books will provide you with the information, you need to create a little change in your life.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more building stairs books and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

A Customer's Review of Jonathan Manske's Book, the Law of Attraction Made Simple

I have been studying the law of attraction for quite some time now and find the concept absolutely extraordinary. There is no denying the forces of this law when you look at instances in your life or things you have acquired. I have many examples in my own life of the law of attraction in action and every time I reflect upon those things I realize the power of the infinite as well as the power of myself.

While I have manifested many wants and desires in my life there are still things that have fallen short. Therefore, I am always seeking out new resources to better my skill of attraction and to help others who want to master the creation process of their own life as well.

Not to long ago I came across a video interview of Jonathan Manske in which he spoke of his book The Law of Attraction Made Simple. I was intrigued and for the nominal price of $27 I felt it could be a good resource for me.

After spending only a day and half reading it from cover to cover I concluded that it was one of the best books I had read when it came to utilizing applicable strategies to create your desires. The law of attraction is powerful, but unfortunately most of us just go through life blindly attracting things, wanted and unwanted.

Jonathan gives you a step by step process to truly master your creation and clear out any blockages you may have. I found this part to be exceptionally useful and I use the techniques taught in the book on a daily basis. Jonathan gives you, what I call, a blueprint to the law of attraction with real strategic exercises to perform through out your day.

Thank you, Jonathan, for writing such an educational tool for the betterment of society.

You can order your copy of Jonathan Manske's book at http://www.jonathanmanske.com

I am no way associated with the income of this book. I simply am a happy customer

Stacy McIntosh is a leader in the network marketing industry and shows others in her organization how to powerfully utilize the law of attraction in their own life and business. Stacy can be contacted through her websites http://www.theDNAdevelopment.com or http://www.successinyourslippers.com

Why Companies Need Motivation During Tough Economic Times

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Three Easy Tips to Supercharge Your Affirmations For Dramatic Success

Affirmations can be the quickest and easiest to apply method to powerfully transform not only what you think is possible about your capabilities, but about the world that you live in. All of us have unconscious thoughts and messages that we pick up from teachers, coaches, adults in authority, or even from ourselves that play over and over again. Whether you know it or not, you use affirmations on a daily basis. Unfortunately, messages give to us by adults to keep us safe, can also keep us from achieving the goals we desire later in life. Messages of guidance can easily transform into messages of limitation.

There is a way to change these messages to give yourself incredible confidence, self esteem, and personal power. When you finish reading this article, you'll easily be able to create simple affirmations that you can use to propel yourself to automatic success. There are three simple rules to learn, so that your affirmations will have a maximum effect.

Rule Number One: State Them in the Positive.

You want to focus on what you want, rather than you don't want. Instead of focusing on losing five pounds, focus on being your ideal weight. Instead of focusing on quitting smoking, focus on breathing fresh, healthy air with every breath. Instead of focusing on quitting eating ice cream for breakfast, focus on eating healthy foods that support a healthy body.

Rule Number Two: State Things in the Present Tense.

Instead of saying "I want to weight 150," pounds, say "I weight 150 pounds." Instead of saying "I want to cut back on the number of sweets," say "I only eat healthy food." Instead of saying "I will quit smoking next week," say "I only breath fresh clean air with every breath."

Rule Number Three: Avoid "Be" verbs and use Powerful Action Verbs

Instead of saying "I am confident," say "I behave confidently in every situation." Instead of saying "I weigh 150 pounds," say "My behavior easily supports a healthy weight of 150 pounds." Instead of saying "I am a non smoker," say "I treat my lungs and body with respect and always inhale clean, fresh air."

If you can, try this now. Choose something that you want to create in life, and apply these three rules. Say it out loud. How does that feel? The more empowered you feel, right now, as you say your affirmation is an indication of how you will take it as your truth. When you say something that causes you to feel a strong emotion, your brain will be much more likely to accept it.

The best time to say these is as you fall asleep at night. This can be a golden opportunity to powerfully program your subconscious for automatic success generation. Ideally, you want to live your life so that you can naturally and easily get what you want without a lot of effort. For more articles to easily help you achieve greater success like this, you can join many others like you, and read more on my blog.

George Hutton is a widely read author and blogger who writes inspirational and life changing articles. You can join many others who read daily at http://www.georgehutton.net/wordpress

Cookie Thief

You Can Do Anything!

Recently I attended an amazing event! And it truly was amazing! A room filled with about 200 amazing business women gathered together to "exchange ideas, and discover answers to the questions that impact our life, work, health, family and community".

The event, Amazing Woman's Day 2008, offered us the opportunities to collect "fresh insight, inspire creativity and ignite fresh possibilities".

Speakers at this event included, Marsh Engle, Women in Broadcast Media and The Marsh Engle Show; Michele Bohbot, Designer and CEO of Bisou Bisou; Jeannie Fitzsimmons, Awakened Heart-Heart Wisdom Seminars; and Marie Diamond, transformational leader and feng shui master in the best seller and hit movie The Secret, just to name a few!

The energy in the room was amazing and the buzz word that day, was of course "amazing". We were re-energized, re-motivated, and re-inspired by all the women who attended.

For me, this amazing event was a re-affirmation. Ten years ago I moved to California from New York with my daughters. I had been a "clock puncher" all my working career, but then life circumstances steered me towards going into business for myself. Like many of the Amazing Woman's Day 2008 speakers that day, I needed to make huge changes in my traditional thinking, attitude and my way of life.

Going from a "clock puncher" to a business woman was a tremendous stretch for me. Had I stayed in New York, nothing in my life would have changed. But now I was faced with some serious decisions.

Each decision I made lead me to where I am now. Looking back, I am convinced that I made the correct decisions along the way. Even the bad decisions moved me towards my destiny. As I listened to these women speak at the Amazing Woman's Day 2008 Event I felt that my decsions, goals, and dreams had been validated. I was also reminded that I can do ANYTHING I set my mind to do AND I can do it well.

We, men and women alike, should never let anyone sit on our dreams. Never let anyone tell you, "it won't work", "that's impossible", "no one's ever done that". The naysayers are out there ready to pounce on your dreams....These are people who don't have passion inside of them... they don't have the same motivation, inspiration and dedication to any passion to understand what it's like to be "AMAZING"!

Be Amazing Every Day!

Eydie Stumpf,
Virtual Assistant,
President and Owner,
Eydie's Office

Eydie is a small business owner in Southern California. She is an active member of the Corona Chamber of Commerce and recent recipient of their Rookie of the Quarter Award. Eydie's clients range from non-profit organizations to business coaches, and authors.

Anthony Robbins

Five Things You Should Know About Religion

Most of us are raised from children into adulthood, to believe in someone else's religion. Most of us never even got the chance to choose a religion or spiritual beliefs to follow on our own. I came up with a simple list of five things that you should know about your religion, or you shouldn't be allowed to practice it.

1. Where did your religion or spiritual beliefs originate from? You should find out who started your religion and why they started it. Some of the worlds major religions were started by intelligent people. Do you think it's possible that your religion was created by an intelligent person, instead of a supreme being or multiple gods. Someone's just trying to trick you into believing.

2. How did you get involved in your religion or spiritual beliefs? Was it part of your upbringing, did your parents suggest this religion to you, how long has your family been involved in your current religious beliefs. Was your great, great, great, great, great grandfather or grandmother part of this religion or spiritual belief. How far back does it go in your family?

3. Do you believe in your religious doctrine or scripture? Is there any parts of your religious scriptures, writings or communication from other fellow believers that doesn't sit right with you? Does every part of your religion makes sense and can it be explained sensibly to someone outside of your religion?

4. Do you practice what you believe on a daily basis? If you're supposed to read your scriptures or pray daily, do you? If your religion teaches love and compassion, how do you treat people less fortunate than yourselves? Are you one of those people who can justify your wrong doings, to yourself and others, to give them the illusion, that you are a religious or spiritual person.

5. Do you know where you are going after you die? Are you going to someplace wonderful and extraordinary, like heaven? If you had to earn enough credits or points, do you think you have acquired enough, to enter the next level of existence? If you're bad, are you going to a bad place, with all the other bad people?

Try to always keep one thing in mind do you use, religion and responsibly.

These are just some of the answers, that I sincerely believe most people should know about their religion or beliefs. You should be able to answer at least one of these questions if asked by a nonbeliever.

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

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

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Spirituality and The Bottom Line

Whadda ya know?

Seriously. With absolute certainty, what do you know?
Put aside all opinions, beliefs and theories for a moment and address this one straight question: What do you know for sure? Or, as Thoreau put it:

"Let us settle ourselves, and work and wedge our feet downward through the mud and slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion, and appearance, that alluvion which covers the globe... through church and state, through poetry and philosophy and religion, till we come to a hard bottom and rocks in place, which we can call reality, and say, This is, and no mistake; and then begin..."

In other words, let's cut the crap and figure out what's real. The cogito does exactly that, and it's very simple. The question is: What do you know?

The answer is: I Am.

All other so-called facts are really non-facts and belong in the category of consensual reality and relative truth, i.e., unreal reality and untrue truth.

::: Cogito Ergo Sum

Cogito ergo sum is the equation that proves the fact. But first, before we go on, let's ask what else we know. What else can be said for certain?

Nothing. We don't know anything else. And that's the real point of the cogito. The importance of I Am isn't that it's a fact, but that it's the only fact.

I Am is the only thing anyone has ever known or will ever know. Everything else, all religion and philosophy, is nothing more than dream interpretation. There is no other fact than I Am. The cogito is the seed of the thought that destroys the universe. Beyond the cogito, nothing is known. Beyond the cogito, nothing can be known. Except I Am, no one knows anything. No man or god can claim to know more. No God or array of gods can exist or be imagined that know more than this one thing: I Am.

We can't avoid letting this topic drift briefly into the Christian realm. When Moses asked God His name, God answered, "I am that I am." The name God gives for Himself is I Am.

Note that I Am is unconjugatable. It allows of no variation. God doesn't say, "My name is I Am, but you can call me You Are, or He Is." The cogito, the I Am equation, does not extend beyond one's own subjective knowing. I can say I Am and know it as truth, but I can't say you are, he is, she is, we are, they are, it is, etc. I know I exist and nothing else. Understood thusly, I Am, aka God, truly is the Alpha and the Omega; the entirety of being, of knowledge, of you.

::: The Line Is Drawn

The cogito is the line between fantasy and reality. On one side of the cogito is a universe of beliefs and ideas and theories. To cross the line is to leave all that behind. No theory, concept, belief, opinion or debate can have any possible basis in reality once the ramifications of the cogito have fully saturated the mind. No dialogue can take place across that line because nothing that makes sense on either side makes sense on the other.

We all think we know what the cogito means; this is an invitation to challenge that assumption. If professors of philosophy truly understood it, they wouldn't be professors of philosophy. Alfred North Whitehead said that all philosophy is a footnote to Plato, but all philosophy, Plato included, is rendered obsolete and irrelevant by Descartes. Nothing but the subjective I Am is true, so what's the point of prattling on?

The cogito isn't a mere thought or an idea, it is an ego-eating virus that, properly incubated and nurtured, will eventually devour all illusion. Once we know the cogito, we can begin systematically unknowing everything we thought we knew, and unraveling the self we aren't.

::: Life is but a Dream

There is no such thing as objective reality. Two cannot be proven. Nothing can be shown to exist. Time and space, love and hate, good and evil, cause and effect, are all just ideas. Anyone who says they know anything is really saying they don't know the only thing. The greatest religious and philosophical thoughts and ideas in the history of man contain no more truth than the bleating of sheep. The greatest books are no more authoritative than the greatest luncheon meats.

No one knows anything.

::: Disprove it for Yourself

Anyone wishing to deny these statements about the meaning of the cogito need merely prove that something, anything, is true. By all means, give it a try, dash your head upon it, but it can't be done. Cogito ergo sum, however, isn't the endpoint of inquiry, it's the starting point; it's a tool that helps us see, without intermediaries, exactly what is true and what isn't.

How great is that?

::: About the Author

"Jed McKenna is an American original." -Lama Surya Das

Jed McKenna is the author of "Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing" and "Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment", published by Wisefool Press. Coming in 2005: "Spirituality X" and "Jed McKenna's Notebook". Visit http://www.WisefoolPress.com to learn more.

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The Real Meaning of Easter and Springtime

In nature and inside ourselves are energy patterns and dynamics that activate. Humanity evolved over a million years or more responding to the seasons of the year. Thus we have built into our genes, our psyches, a natural energy rhythm that we would do well to acknowledge and not avoid.

- finding Easter Eggs in an Easter egg hunt

- going to Easter Sunday church service when you don't go other times of the year

- getting in a car accident you never intended to happen, or did you?

- starting a love affair, whether married or not

- buying new clothes for yourself to go into summer with

- marrying the wrong person, and so later you have to get a divorce

- wanting to take a week's vacation instead of work at your job

- reading the latest mystery novels just out this year at this time

- going into nature with your friends and doing at least a walk there

- feeling depressed because you have nobody to love

THE ARCHETYPE OF EASTER-SPRINGTIME

What does the above list have in common?

- Why must you watch out for its effects?

- Why do certain celebrations occur traditionally at this transition from winter into springtime that is the 21st of March and the month of April?

In Jungian terms the archetype of Death-Rebirth becomes most active at springtime.

Death-Rebirth? What is that?

In nature and inside ourselves are energy patterns and dynamics that activate. Humanity evolved over a million years or more responding to the seasons of the year. Thus we have built into our genes, our psyches, a natural energy rhythm that we would do well to acknowledge and not avoid.

For what is not faced consciously in our awareness gets acted out anyway unconsciously.

Why do Norwegians every springtime take a week or more vacation at their summer cottages by the sea or in the mountains?

It's a wonderful thing to do. After the long Northern winter of more darkness than light, of more cold than warmth, the Norwegians are used to the seasonal shifts.

The spring equinox is the transition point when the hours of night equal the hours of day. We can imagine the long winter nights of the Northern countries, such as Norway. When spring finally arrives a sense of happiness comes with it, or so we think.

What about the dark side, the people who commit suicide when the spring comes, the people who have accidents?

One strange custom that has developed in Norway is that Norwegians when they go in the spring to their cottages also take along this year's published thrillers and mysteries. This type of genre is all about being killed and finding the killer. Why should a strong people who have just survived the winter then want to read fiction about death?

Well, don't think everything is just fine in the springtime. Norway has other forms of death for you, like quicksand in the forest because the ground is no longer frozen. Or how about you are hiking up the big mountain in Norway and suddenly the ground under you on the path just collapses into running water and mud and you are swept off the mountain to your death?

Yes, things like this happen every year in Norway. Several deaths occur to hikers in the Norway mountains when the springtime is arriving. Death is not over. Springtime is also the time they find the thawed-out bodies of those Norwegians who have chosen to commit suicide in the past winter by going into the forest and sitting under a favorite tree and freezing to death.

Deaths like this are no stranger to the Norway clime.

What is going on?

Since Death-Rebirth is the archetype of springtime this means that one must experience death first and then rebirth, then new life. The religion knows this with its Black Friday and then its Easter Sunrise service.

You don't have to go to an actual church service to feel the effects of Death-Rebirth. But the archetype is there.

Part of the monastic service is to have a midnight service and the lighting of the new pascal candle which has nails in it representing the crucifixion.

Thus built into our psychology is the recognition that we have to acknowledge our suffering and hurt and go through a letting go process to release ourselves into new birth.

The beauty of doing a sunrise experience is that you experience in nature Death-Rebirth, and this experience becomes a conscious part of you for as long as you live.

I went with some friends years ago and drove to the top of the local mountain, Mt. Diablo, in Northern California. There in the darkness we waiting all night looking out over the near and distant cities that kept their street lights on, the energy of humanity. We talked. We meditated. We knew the significance for us in our own lives of the Death-Rebirth experiences we were going through. Finally from the stone-walled walkway we saw the dawn breaking in the far distance. We had stayed up all night in our vigil and sharing together.

Here was our reward: the new dawn to a special day of rebirth. It is never to be forgotten.

Of course, the important level is to also take such things inside.

As a dreamwork psychologist, I wanted to figure our why when I lived and taught in Norway that the Norwegians read the new mystery novels at springtime. They did not know consciously themselves. It was a fad that most of them did.

Could it be that the Norwegians had waited out the long winter cold and at last when they did not have to be so strong any longer they could indulge in reading about surviving death?

What is the essence of these death-defying thrillers if not to catch the murderer before he or she catches you.

We all know we are under sentence of death but with indefinite reprieve, as Victor Hugo, the French writer, put it, but we don't know when our death will come. Will it be this year or the next, or after that? But it will come.

It's great in reading a thriller to realize that though there are deaths in the story, none of those victims are you. You are alive one more year, or so you hope.

Thus for me in the Norway sun and rains, and the new leaves on the branches of the trees, I felt a certain sadness. I was so glad to be alive still another year, and always planned to make good use of my "luck." But I also knew that one of these years the spring would come and I would not be there to marvel in its new life. The very wooden Norway house I lived in could have been built by those no longer alive. I lived in a dead man's house. And if not the house being there after me, at least the other houses of our community in the country of Norway, beloved land of all the seasons, would surely outlive me.

Whether by the sea in spring in California, or high atop the mountain elsewhere, it is a time to go adventuring and meditate on all your life is now.

What must you lose and give up? What must you sacrifice so you don't have to sacrifice life itself, even gruesomely as recounted here?

Better to realize the death part of your life now, the letting go of what can never more be. This is the base, the preparation to look forward to, and to experience through choice the new life you will dedicate yourself to with passion and awareness, as you live further your existence purposefully on this earth.

View Drs Kaplan-Williams' extraordinary blog at: http://strephonsays.com/blog/2008/11/hello-potential-members

The Ovum Factor

The Ovum Factor by Marvin L. Zimmerman is one of the best intrigue novels I have read in some time. There were several aspects that stood out for me with this book. Marvin is able to bring several environmental, moral and ethical issues to the reader. He is also able to show us a little of an insider's view into the corporate world. His passion for the planet is so well interwoven into the story's plot that readers will find themselves tense and wanting to read more. Another interesting aspect of the book is that Marvin also shows us the importance of Indigenous knowledge and the dangers of eradicating life-systems.

The lead character is David Rose who becomes involved with a Nobel Prize winning professor, Charles MacMillan. Charles is driven by a traumatic event from his youth and this passion has helped discover one possible thread of hope for man and the destruction of Earth. Early on in this tale readers are introduced to controversial subjects from genetic manipulation to social ethics. David, however, has no idea of the role that religious leaders going back in time have played in keeping this knowledge from reaching the public. In his ignorance Cardinal Cardoso sends a reformed assassin, Dario Santini, to stop Professor MacMillan's project. A romance develops between David and Professor MacMillan's assistant, Emily Chang - a woman with a troubled past and who has a hidden agenda of her own. David soon finds himself trekking through the Amazon forest in search of a plant that may no longer exist due to vast abuse to the land. His guide, Galileo is also far from what he seems at first and David becomes more than a little reliant on this man.

The Ovum Factor is a sad, gripping, emotionally charged book that is both realistic and intelligently written. Action, legends, adventure, romance and travel are all here. I truly enjoyed the author's style and the simple way he blends fact and fiction. Readers are shown comparisons between modern society and the indigenous peoples and the effect our society has on theirs.

I also enjoyed the concept of fate and the interconnected web of life. We see characters finding purpose in life, and pursuing it. The plight of the planet and the loss of life described in this book may help some readers feel inspired to become proactive in life. I believe that the main message of The Ovum Factor is that there is a potential hero in each one of us.

Marvin Zimmerman has been the publisher and editor of INMR Quarterly Review, focusing on electrical energy, for more than 15 years. His work as a consultant for business and marketing strategy and as an instructor of international business at two of Canada's largest universities must have played a role in the accurate corporate world we see in The Ovum Factor. Mr. Zimmerman is a life-long environmentalist and, interestingly, wrote most of the book on location.

Rating 5 out of 5 stars.

~ Lillian Brummet: co-author of the books Trash Talk and Purple Snowflake Marketing, author of Towards Understanding; host of the Conscious Discussions radio show (http://www.brummet.ca)

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The Greek Deity Known as Hestia

When one thinks to Greek Deities, Hestia, probably does not come to mind. Less dramatic than others, she still played an important role in Greek culture.

The Greek Deity Known as Hestia

In ancient Greece, fourteen Olympians made up the pantheon of gods that were worshiped by the Greeks. While some of these deities are extremely well-known today, such as Zeus, Aphrodite and Athena, others are less familiar. These gods, while not in the forefront of Greek mythology, still played a major part in the lives of the ancient Greeks. One of these is Hestia, the first and last born daughter of the Titan Chronos.

In pre-Olympic mythology, the story is told of how the Titans Chronos and Rhea had twelve children, destined to be the first twelve gods of Mount Olympus. Chronos was upset by the birth of his offspring, so he swallowed all of them except for the youngest, Zeus. Hestia was the first born of Chronos, therefore she was the first swallowed. After Zeus led a war against the Titans and won, Chronos was forced to disgorge his offspring, and Hestia, being swallowed first, came out last. In this way, she was both the first and last born daughter of Chronos.

Hestia is seen as the deity of the hearth, and of order and family. She was depicted as being virginal, and her name actually means home and hearth. The town hall (prytaneum) of every town had a public hearth, at which sacrifices and dedications were made to Hestia. It also was her official sanctuary. When a new village or colony was established, a flame from one of the existing hearths of Hestia was carried to that new place, and she was later seen as the governing power over the connection between colonies and mother cities.

While not the most active or strongest of the Greek pantheon, Hestia was worshiped in every house. Her altar was seen as being located in every home and public hearth, and she was also regarded as a model of virginity and chastity.

Richard Monk is with Facts Monk - a site with country facts about Greece.

Observer and the Observed

So quantum physics tells us that the observer causes the observed, or at the very least that the observer interferes with that which is being observed by the very process of observing it. Ive heard some people crying "heresy!" They do not like the idea that once the observer is not observing the observed, then the observed is not.

In my mind that misses a large, obvious point which makes the concept ludicrous. We are all one, god if you will, or at the very least energy, unseparated my anything other than atomic configuration which on a larger scale appears to create separation of bodies of mass. Since we know better, then theres a couple other points we cannot overlook.

Firstly, because we are all one energy field, for lack of a better term, there is no disappearance of anything when it is not being observed. Our human notion of not existing encapsulates anything not within the small frequency band our six physical senses can pick up. Perhaps the observer causes the observed to become a manifest, physical experience (to the observer), but the lack of observer in no way takes away the existence of that experience/being/energy.

Secondly, because all energy is the same, and we as apparently individual human beings are conscious, then its very difficult to imagine that any spec of the energy field of all-that-is could not be conscious. The type of consciousness may vary greatly, in an infinite number of ways, but is still basic consciousness nonetheless. For us to be conscious implies that everything is, that energy itself is consciousness. That ours is focused into a small amount of matter at the moment (exclusively, as far as what we deem our conscious mind is concerned) does not mean that every other piece of this energy shares that form of focalised consciousness.

If our rule of free will stands up, as it must, in that the law of attraction clearly states that we create our reality by what we think about, thereby allowing that to become part of our reality, then all forms of consciousness must inherit this same trait, although perhaps experentially very different. Therefore the observer cannot observe the observed unless the observed is also an observer that is observing the original observer.

With this understood, all observers are in fact by nature observed, as that which they are observing is also by nature observer. The process of observation therefore does not contain observed and observer, but both of those in both participants, or what I will now call observed(er).

I dont mean to shake rocky ground, but this places all new challenges on the understanding of the role of observer in the observed.

And having raised an issue without providing satisfactory resolution, I leave you now.

jonpeeoh (http://www.jonpeeoh.com) is a new web community devoted to raising consciousness, magick, and teaching others to take control of their powers as creators of their own reality.

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Guides and Spirit Helpers

As group consciousness grows and the electromagnetic field of energy gains strength, people are becoming aware of their spirit guides and helpers

In the New Energy and oneness of consciousness, it is getting easier to sense the presence of spirit helpers coming around us.

These can be sensed in many ways. I have noticed them as a slight disturbance in the field of energy, in the aura of the body: a slight tingling on the surface, or the sensation of cobwebs around the skin.

On one occasion I could see the outline of the presence and noticed a breaking up of the normal space/time as the entity passed by. This was like a crack in one reality as another reality came through.

Spirit guides and helpers are usually invisible but some sensitive people can see them with clairvoyance or connect with one of the other "clairs", like clairsentience.

In our quiet moments or times of danger, we can communicate with these Spirit helpers. Sometimes one of them puts themselves forward to act as our Doorkeeper: a single channel through which communication passes to our Higher Self and the Spirit and Angelic Realms.

Spirit helpers will work with us if asked; so it is important to clearly feel what we would like to show up in our life.

We can communicate with them with our imagination, day dreaming or night dreaming. It is easiest to connect through images, symbols or pictures, using our powers of visualisation on a feeling level.

When working with the Spirit world it is good to think of the perfect outcome or creation, as the imagination is unbounded and has a field of all possibilities as its basis. There is no need to be concerned with where the resources are going to come from as the Spirit world has infinite energy at its disposal.

Evolutionary desires are loved by the Spirit world as the nature of life is to grow and expand. New ideas which have never been put forward before are appreciated by the Spirit world as they open up new channels for energy to flow in.

Things which help to bring wealth and joy into other people's lives by giving from your heart using your creative aspects in an artistic or cultural field gain a lot of support and help.

Using Spirit communication through telepathy and subtle imagination of specific connections to loved ones and family, bring the awareness of this power to the surface of one's consciousness.

Relax and know there is nothing to fear except fear itself, as on this level of awareness you see your subtle connection to everything: it all becomes you.

As you become skilled in using the more subtle levels of the conscious mind and feelings to interact with Spirit, you are also helping to bring these gifts to more of the population: as your awareness grows, so does the general awareness in group consciousness.

You will be helping the planet to evolve and grow in the New Energy and increasing the power and awareness of the Spirit kingdom and all the various levels of spirit guides and helpers in the Angelic kingdom.

There are also healing helpers psychic surgeons (surgeons in Spirit) to help improve the health of your own body and those around you.

So why not spend a few minutes each day using your spirit guides and helpers to connect with the subtle feelings, to communicate with your Higher Self, inviting them to co-create with you different aspects of your life.

Message channelled by George Lockett (C) Copyright 2006, All Rights Reserved.

* New book * "A Journey into the Self -- the multi-dimensional nature of being human": HealerGeorge Web Site and New Book

Description: What is this book going to do for YOU? For those who are seeking a complete energetic makeover, as you read it you will feel a stirring and awakening in the depths of your heart. For those who have questions about Shifts in Consciousness, Energy Balancing and Healing within the body, you will find clear answers.

Read HealerGeorges Blog: Curezone Blog or ask at question at: Ask HealerGeorge