Living the Ultimate Lie - Religious Fundamentalism

I've been doing research on Christianity and other religions throughout the world for quite some time and find it hard to believe that most of these religious followers, won't even listen to facts that I and others have found regarding their religion.

I find most of these people to be living the ultimate lie and when it comes to Christian fundamentalism or someone who I would consider to be a super Christian, these people adamantly hold both hands over their ears, while stomping their feet, trying to scare me into submission.

No matter how you slice it, no matter how you want it delivered to you, the truth is always going to be the truth. If you won't listen to the truth, you will live trapped living in a world of lies. It doesn't matter whether you're a Christian who believes in Jesus or an Islamic follower of believes in Allah, the truth, for most people, can only be found outside of your religion.

Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. How many religions talk about how the world was created, most of their followers, choose to believe their religious leaders and their religious text, without ever questioning, but often doubting what they were taught.

Science teaches us one way, religion teaches us another, however, neither one of them have any scientific evidence to back up their theories.

The minute that you state either one of these beliefs as a truth, you're living in a world of lies. If a scientist or religious leader, can convince you that their way is right, they have simply took a belief, without any evidence and made it into a fact. This illusion, is simply a belief that you have personally made into a truth and as long as you continue to believe this, without doing any of your own research, you will continue to spread lies and rumors throughout the world.

Problems With Noah's Ark Story

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

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

Greg is currently working on a religous 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.

Thanks

Check This Out - 1 Corinthians 14:34

If you're a woman, you might not want to read this article. If you're a man who supports male chauvinistic ways, I guarantee that this is going to be an article that you won't want to miss.

I have watched women who believe in other religions, all over the world, consider men to be superior to them. I have watched men treat women as subservient and sometimes has subhuman beings, even though these women are someone's wives, sisters or daughters.

But the Holy Bible, come on I can't believe that this is the word of God. Read this and if you have to read it again, but is this really in the Bible, did God actually write this or is this something that was written by man, to make women live lives of servitude.

Here it is, read it for yourself, 1 Corinthians (TWB) 14:34 let your wives keep silent in the assemblies, for it has not been permitted for them to speak; but let them be in subjection, as the law also says. Is this what Christianity is all about or is this just part of what Christianity represents.

Are women really supposed to be quiet in the assemblies of God, in church or places of worship? Am I reading this right? Your wife's keep silent in assemblies, it doesn't say anything about men remaining silent in assemblies.

Oh yeah, for it has not been permitted for them to speak, what the heck are they talking about. Are you telling me that Christian women are not allowed to speak inside of their place of worship? Is that where these assemblies meet or are they talking about something else.

I would like to make a suggestion, too any Christians that are reading this article, this would be a great topic for discussion, at your next prayer meeting or Bible study group.

With religious text like this, you can understand why some women don't have equal rights to men. Its beliefs like these, that will eventually end up forcing large religious organizations to change or become part of our history.

Watch this Video on Women and Bible Problems

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site: If your interested in a different point of view READ THESE ARTICLES - Great Articles For Christians

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

His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible.

Is Overpopulation a Religious Problem?

Overpopulation really isn't that hard to understand. People love each other, want to reproduce and have offspring. Their parents took care of them, and they will take care of their children. People love to have families and these families love to have more families. It doesn't get any simpler than that.

Now is overpopulation a religious problem? If you listen to religious text and understand a few simple sentences, you will see that there are plenty of religions all over the world that encourage the multiplication of mankind.

In the Bible, God tells man to be fruitful and multiply. If you read this a little differently, you might take it that God wants men to eat as much fruit as he wants to and plant more trees so that he can have more fruit and be fruitful.

That's not exactly how most Christians read this Bible verse. Christians need to have more children, and their children need to have more children. This is how they interpret the words, to be fruitful and multiply.

I do believe that religions all over the world play an important part in our worlds population problem today. It's not the people who are educated, that are constantly reproducing, in today's world.

Most religions support population expansion, but what are they going to do, once the world becomes so overpopulated, that we can't even take care of ourselves. This should give you another point of view to look at, especially if you one part of the problem and not the solution.

What About The End of The World

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development.
His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with superior biblical knowledge , answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Thanks For Reading Our Articles

Manipulating Bible Verses - Thou Shall Not Murder

If you're a Christian, you've probably heard of this Bible verse. Thou shall not murder. If you've heard of it, you probably know that it's one of the 10 Commandments or one of the original laws from Moses. However, most people don't know about its application to Christianity.

If I was to tell my children, not to lie and always tell the truth but I was a liar, would this be considered a good example for my children? If my children seen me lying and then I told them not to lie, would they consider that a lie? Does this example make sense to you?

As the parent, I'm the example. As the children, they are my disciples or followers. By lying to my children, I am showing them that it is okay to lie or stretch the truth or even manipulate the English language for my personal benefit.

How much different is this example from the example of the way some Christians use the Holy Bible? "Thou shall not murder," to me translates into," you should not kill." That's pretty simple and easy to understand, wouldn't you agree.

I could easily manipulate this Bible verse into, thou shall not murder, only applying it, to killing someone without a reason or you can kill someone in the name of God. You can change the meaning of anything if you really want to.

The point I would like to make here, is that the truth always comes out in the end, once the lying and the manipulation becomes visible. Do you have the ability to tell who's lying and twisting the Bible scriptures for their benefit or personal gain?

Bible verses that are clearly written, shouldn't have any hidden messages. "Thou shall not murder," is easy to interpret, once you understand what all four of these words mean and this task can easily be accomplished with a dictionary.

Thou - refers to you, the person being addressed or written to.

Shall - it will happen in the future or is intended to happen.

Not - is often used to express refusal, denial or the negation of the statement, just made.

Murder - the crime of killing another person deliberately and not in self-defense.

With the definition of these four words sitting right in front of us, you could still interpret this Bible verse in the few different ways. I'm going to take a stab at it and interpret it as I see it.

"You should not kill another person deliberately or outside of self-defense."

This means that I am not allowed to kill anyone, in the name of God, during war, or for any other reason except for defending myself.

When it says," Thou shall not murder," how does this apply to animals or anyone who is involved in a death sentence. Judges, lawyers, prison guards and other individuals who are directly involved in the murder of someone else.

How many other Bible verses have been manipulated for the benefit of Christianity?

God Said What

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

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

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

Click here if you're interested in Basic Christianity.

Peaks and Valleys by Spencer Johnson

Spencer Johnson has done very well for himself by taking simple lessons and sharing them in short stories. It is not surprising that USA Today called him "The King of Parables." "Peaks and Valleys: Making Good And Bad Times Work For You - At Work And In Life" is Johnson's newest parable, and like those before it, this book contains more than meets the eye.

The book is short, only 99 pages, and some of those contain only one quote. And like his other books, it is a smaller formatted hardcover. However, despite its length, there are some practical pearls of wisdom that if applied will make one's life more positive. It would be easy to dismiss this book as too simple, or too easy. After all, in the text Johnson refers to the story as common sense. But how many people actually apply the simple lessons of life? Treat others as you want to be treated is a universal lesson found throughout history, but do people actually apply it? Some do of course, but so many don't.

Often, we spend countless hours, sometimes even lifetimes, searching for some profound truth or magic moment that will enlighten us and make all of our troubles disappear and success and riches materialize in abundances we only dream about. While searching for the complicated, we sometimes fail to listen to the simple. We forget what we know. We don't apply the lessons we do learn because we are too busy looking for something greater.

What I like about "Peaks and Valleys" and the other books by Spencer Johnson is that they remind us of the simple, and encourage us to apply these simple lessons to our own lives. One of the lessons in "Peaks and Valleys" is to imagine yourself enjoying a better future in such specific, believable detail, that you soon enjoy doing what takes you there. This is not new. Earl Nightengale taught the same lesson in his "Strangest Secret." Nightengale taught "We become what we think about most of the time." Others have taught variations of this, and it is so simple that it is often overlooked.

Just because I have heard variations of this lesson before does not mean I didn't enjoy it here. Like the young man in this book, I too forget these lessons at times, especially when the hustle and bustle and stresses of today's world seem to overwhelm at times. The short time it took me to read "Peaks and Valleys" was a relaxing reminder of some important concepts that when followed make life better.

I would encourage anyone to take a little time for yourself, find a relaxing place, and enjoy this short parable by Spencer Johnson. Then take a little longer to assess how you can apply the lessons from this story to your own life. If you do, you just might find yourself enjoying more Peaks and realize your Valleys are not as bad as you thought.

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a mediator/attorney with Bennett Law Office P.C. and an author/speaker through his own company Burrese Enterprises Inc. He teaches people to live with the warrior's edge through his writing and speaking on a variety of topics focusing on the business areas of negotiation and success principles as well as self-defense and safety topics. He is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks, several instructional dvds, and numerous articles. You can find out more about Alain Burrese at his websites http://www.burrese.com and http://bennettlawofficepc.com

Feng Shui and Symbols - What You Have in Your House Says a Lot About You

What does a broken statue of a rooster have to do with Feng Shui? Feng Shui teaches us that everything in our house is a reflection of what is in our mind. Symbolically speaking, your house and the things in it reflects your thoughts, feelings, and spirit.

So let's get back to that rooster. One of my clients had recently separated from her husband. I noticed that a statue of a large bird was directly facing her bed, so it was probably the first thing she saw when getting up in the morning. Upon closer examination, I noticed two things; first, one of the legs had previously been broken and was wrapped in what appeared to be a cast. Second, I realized that it was not a chicken; it was a rooster. Unfortunately, the coxcomb on the top of the head had broken off, probably in the same fall that broke the leg of the statue.

I examined this unfortunate art piece for a moment and then said to my client, "Do you realize that the first thing you see in the morning is a broken cock?"

After I picked her up from the floor (she was laughing so much she just collapsed), she gasped out, "You have no idea of how perfect that observation is." Not wanting to really know much more, I suggested we send out the broken rooster for repair. We then talked about what she really wanted to see first thing in the morning; it was her flute and music and a picture of her daughter.

Another client was having a hard time keeping relationships with men going. Visiting her apartment was like seeing a shrine to her daughter. Everywhere was a mother/daughter photograph. It felt like she was already in a relationship and there was no room for any other one to grow.

Everything that you choose to surround yourself with has symbolic meaning and reflects something about your life. Whether intentional or not, all those objects, pictures, photographs, and pieces of furniture resonate with information about you. Take a look around at your house. What is the first thing you see when you enter your home? When you get up in the morning? When you sit down to eat? Do those objects support you in living your best life? Observe what you have around you and then experiment. See how you feel swapping out the images that surround you for other ones that are a better reflection of who you are and where you want to go. I've seen this simple action do amazing things to improve people's lives.

Interested in learning more about Feng Shui and ways to improve the energy in your home or office? Get great tips and motivating messages by subscribing to the Empty Your Nest newsletter at http://www.emptyyournest.com

Book Review - "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens"

I just finished reading "7 habits of highly effective teens," by Sean Covey. This book is written by the son of the famous author of "7 habits of highly effective people," Stephen Covey. The author attempts to shed light on some issues that teens face and how they can best overcome them. As the CEO of a teen jobs website, I read dozens of teen related books each week. In my opinion, this is one of the most engaging and entertaining teen related book I have ever read.

This book will provide meaningful content for teens, such as advice for improving their self image, how to build friendships and how to resist peer pressure. What I like most about the book is the way the ideas are presented and the format. The author uses a lot of graphics, cartons lists, quotes and other elements to really hook the reader and compel them to keep reading. Another great part about the book is the real life examples that the author writes about. There are real stories of teens that have been faced with huge obstacle and the incredible stories about how they overcame adversity. This part of the book was very inspiring to me.

The one criticism that I have is the fact a lot of the tips and suggestions are quite obvious and really basic common sense. I would have liked to see more of an emphasis on the real teen stories, as I think a book can be written on that topic alone.

In closing, I highly recommend this book to teens and parents of teens.

Dan Keller is the CEO of the popular Teen Jobs site and runs a Teen Forums site as well.

The Power of Group Energy Work

Most people that seek a therapist think about doing individual counseling sessions. They are safe, individualized and allow you to focus on your specific concerns. Group therapy is an alternative way to work with a therapist. Group therapy, like individual therapy, is a dynamic therapeutic environment for personal growth.

Group therapy is a powerful venue for change. People benefit from being part of a supportive group that is facing similar issues. Groups provide the opportunity to gain alternative points of view, ideas and feedback on the issues you present. Group dynamics allow you to explore and better understand yourself and how others perceive you.

In a group, you have the benefit of being in a dynamic, supportive environment. Using the Emotional Freedom Technique will increase the effectiveness of the group. Even if you choose not to disclose your issue, you will have relief from them through the process of Borrowing Benefits. During the group, EFT will be used to address all issues. We will tap as a group on the issues that are presented. At times you might be tapping for someone else; however, you are aware of what you need to address. This is a very effective process for each person in the group to experience relief and healing at the same time. The group tapping will help to resolve your issues, although the focus might be on another individual.

After being in the group, you might find that you have more in common than you realized. So often, people feel that their concerns are unique. There is comfort knowing that others have similar concerns. Being able to receive feedback in a supportive way and having your perspective validated is an important part of the group dynamic. Often other group members will address issues that might be similar to your experience. While tapping as a group on that issue, you will most likely find relief for your issue as well.

I have found group therapy to be more effective and to produce quicker results than individual counseling. The group has the ability to become a mastermind where you benefit from each persons perspective and to work through issues with other people that have similar concerns. The group dynamic provides more wisdom and insight than in an individual counseling session due to each group member bringing their unique perspective to the group.

Come join the group for a time of healing. Bring one or two issues to the group that you want to focus on. We will tap together for each person to increase the effectiveness of the tapping. Being able to Borrow Benefits will allow you to benefit from all issues that are presented during the group session. You will experience progress on your own issues from tapping on another person's issue, even if you don't have that issue in common. If you do share the same issue, you will get even more benefits.

You will be amazed at the progress you make in a single session. You can come as often as you want. Come and experience the benefits of tapping in a group. You will leave feeling energized and empowered from the experience of group tapping.

Read more articles written by Loren Fogelman at http://www.kolpiacounseling.com

The Religion of Bio-Psychiatry

If we examine the term 'psychotherapy' we will see that it literally means the 'healing of the soul'. Much of emotional distress is actually a spiritual problem, where an individual has lost meaning and hope. In today's society, we have lost sight of spiritual values and many have in turn decided to turn to the religion of bio-psychiatry.

Bio-psychiatry has a creed, the creed is that all problems of life are the result of so-called chemical imbalances. Any professional or individual challenging such conception is branded a heretic and subject to sanction.

The psychiatrist is the priest, and in some cases is also looked upon as a messianic figure. As the priest, the psychiatrist defines the Social Law and the infractions thereof.

The religion of bio-psychiatry has its 'sacraments.' The sacrament of initiation occurs at intake, and confirmation occurs when the individual is indoctrinated into the credo of bio-psychiatry and led to believe that their problems lie in 'wiring' problems in their brains.

The religion of psychiatry has absolution. Through their ritual, adults and institutions are able to be completely absolved from taking any responsibility for meeting the real emotional needs of a person or examining how their own actions and choices could have impacted the challenges faced by the individual.

Ordination occurs at the conferring of the Medical Degree and the completion of a residency in psychiatry.

The religion of bio-psychiatry has the 'sacrament' of Matrimony. Bio-Psychiatry is wedded to the pharmaceutical industry, and what a generous dowry the pharmaceutical industry has provided!

The American Psychiatric Association serves as the "Ecumenical Council" to promulgate the creed of bio-psychiatry and to institute the definitions of the Social Law and the infractions thereof.

The Bible of bio-psychiatry is the DSM-IV.

The Deity is the enormous ego of the bio-psychiatrists themselves.

by Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.

Practical Ideas For Business Goal Setting

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

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

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

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

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

For more help on how to set goals just click here

Law of Attraction - A First Stage of Awakening

Using the Law of Attraction is a process of raising our consciousness. Most people tend to stay stuck at the victim stage--blaming others, parents, the government or something for the way their life sucks. Since we have been programmed since forever with this attitude, our beliefs are such that this is the way life is, and there's nothing to be done about it. Actually there is, but it takes work and many are not willing to do the work necessary to get out of the victim stage. They would rather stay with the misery that is familiar than to seek unknown success.

The work involved in raising our consciousness above the level of victim is all about accepting responsibility for our own thoughts. It takes great effort and determination to stand guard over our thoughts and change the negative ones or just decide to think only positive thoughts.

Now I know you think that positive thinking doesn't always work. You're right! Positive thinking alone does not make the law of attraction work properly, but it is the foundation upon which it is built.

We can choose to think any thought we want. When we realize that our thoughts are energy and have power to create more of what we're thinking about, we begin to see the value of eliminating the criticism of others, the complaining that life isn't the way we want, and the negative thoughts we have about what is going on in our lives. This only happens when we decide to accept responsibility for everything that happens to us.

It takes awhile to accept total responsibility, but as we remember that what we said or did or thought is what caused such and such to happen, we will begin to believe it. A victim will argue with this thought, that there is no way one could cause the experience taking place. THAT is the thought that must be transformed. Just realize that this is the way the Universe was set up, it's a universal law that our thoughts create our reality. The only way out, is to believe that and accept total responsibility for your thoughts.

Just open your mind to that possibility--that your thoughts create your reality. In the beginning you won't remember it very often, but determination and believing that it is true will bring it to your conscious mind more often and you will slowly begin raising your consciousness. Sure, you'll forget often, we all do, but when things aren't going well, and you aren't feeling great, realize that you've forgotten that your thoughts are creating what is going on in your life.

Raising the level of the energy of your thoughts takes forgiveness for having thought that way, and forgiving yourself for forgetting and loving yourself despite your mistake. Love, appreciation and gratitude have very high frequency energy levels, and science has proven that an energy of low frequency bombarded by one of higher frequency will raise the lower one.

If you are interested in the process of the Law of Attraction, then you are raising yourself out of this first stage of awakening. You no longer want to be a victim of circumstances. You don't want to be tossed by the winds of fate. You want to be more in control of your life, and that is very possible. This is knowing the principles of the Law of Attraction. To learn more, you can download a free ebook, 10 Critical Mistakes Using the Law of Attraction and How to Correct Them.

Mareen Robinson, published author, columnist and teacher of the Law of Attraction, offers tips, techniques on learning how to use the Law of Attraction. Visit Mareen at her website: http://yourmagicwanda.com

Whose God is The Best

If you're part of a religious organization, and were asked this question, "Whose God Is Better" meaning of course, is your God better and stronger or smarter and better looking than the religious competition. Is this something that you believe or were taught while you were young? Obviously you wouldn't think that the Hindu god Brahma is better than Yahweh or Jesus, if you're a Christian. It just wouldn't make any sense to belong to a religion that was weaker than the competition.

It seems like most religions around the world have gods or even one almighty God that is the biggest and baddest god in the neighborhood, maybe even the entire universe.

If we look at the numbers, the Christian God Jesus of Nazareth is the strongest by far. A survey that was done in 2005, showed Christians 2.1 billion strong and growing. With numbers like this, their God must be doing something right. Do you think these numbers are large because of their financial influences in poor countries? Something to think about, how did Christianity become such a large religious institution. They've got plenty of money and pay relatively little taxes. Remember the golden rule, the person with the most gold makes all the rules.

Second on our religious scale are the Muslims, the Islamic religion has over 1.1 billion followers and that puts it at almost half the size of Christianity, but more than doubled the size of the third largest religion by the numbers.

The third largest religion in the world is Hinduism and most of India which is second only to China as the most populated countries in the world are Hindus. Hinduism ranks around 800 million followers.

I'll stop right there. I wanted to give you an idea of religion by the numbers, realistically the Christians and the Muslims believe in the same God but the Muslims recognize Jesus as a prophet and the Christians don't recognize Mohammad at all and Mohammad is the number one prophet for the Islamic religion. But if we put the two of them together, it would be the largest religion by far with almost no competition economically or with military strength.

So to answer our question," Whose God Is Actually Better", I would have to say the Christian God is the most popular and powerful God and the universe. The only problem is, there's no actual proof that Jesus, Mohammed, Yahweh, Krishna or any other supreme being is real. People follow these religions and base almost everything on faith with very little facts that can actually be proven.

I'm not talking about small facts, I'm talking about big ones like, how the world was created, you can choose to believe, anything that you want but until we have some facts or at least something that sounds pretty good, you should probably stop thinking, that your religion is the only way and your God the best. Show some compassion for other religions around the world, their beliefs are no better or weaker than yours.

Hope in Religion

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

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

10 Keys to Designing A Personal Lifelong Learning Process

A Lifelong Learning Plan is a conscious, continuous engagement in acquiring, assimilating and applying knowledge and skills in the context of authentic, self-directed growth and challenge. It is rare for individuals to take this initiative. Most people operate on a "what they need now" plan and typically attend educational institutions for their training.

Lifelong Learning is a philosophy of approaching learning as an integral, inseparable part of our lifes activities. Here are ten guidelines to help you formulate your own personalized Lifelong Learning Process.

1. Commit to approach learning as a lifelong journey. Choose to keep it alive throughout your lifetime. You don't need to attend formal educational institutions for this process. In fact, you can learn more in small, consistent spurts than you can in a classroom, if you set up your plan correctly.

2. Maximize your resources. With lifelong learning, there isn't a structure like you had in school, so its easy to ignore and procrastinate. If you allow this, eventually the "you snooze, you lose" theory will catch up with you. A prime example is how changes in the national economy have hit the IT industry these last few years. The companies that priorize learning are still in the game, whereas their competitors who focused on "what we need now" are out of business. Create a system and plan that works and can last a lifetime. Keep learning journals for each topic.

3. Maximize your environments. Identify and create settings that support and inspire you both inside and outside your home. How does the library spark your learning? How about the mall, the park, or even McDonalds! Explore different environments and label each one (e.g., "inspiring," "relaxing," "great for concentration.") What supplies help you keeping your energy up? Do you need quiet for some learning and busy environments for others?

4. Know how you learn. To learn effectively, know how you learn. How do you take in information, process, and retain it? There isn't one best way. Tie everything into a learning purpose and vision. When and how often does you mind need a break? Do you have reading spurts? How do you retain the information -- by reading aloud, notes, summarizing in memory, or sharing with others?

5. Tap into the power of your mind. Your minds power is evident in everything you do. Analytical, critical and creative thinking enables the mind to process, store, and create all the facts and ideas it encounters. By practicing different types and ways of thinking, you keep your mind strong and flexible. Consider it "going to the gym" for your mind! (Talking about how the mind works is the subject of a huge tome, not a Top 10!)

6. Harness the power of words and ideas. Words, when joined, form ideas, and are tools with enormous energy. Whether writing a memo, letter, e-mail, article, or journal entry, make each an opportunity to fulfill a learning goal. Each is a chance to work toward improving and using words to construct understandable ideas. Learn to express ideas in writing. This will evolve into clearer thinking. Keep an idea journal by theme or topic.

7. Absorb, retain, and demonstrate knowledge. What do you do with the facts, opinions, and stories that you accumulate daily? Listening helps absorption and memory skills, which enables retention. Listen to a teleclass or book on tape, then write your own version and master what you learned by moving it into long-term memory. Listening can be compared to using a camera. First, you view the image and focus (listening). Next, you snap the picture (remembering). Finally, you print the image (demonstrate knowledge). Mastering knowledge means being able to apply it in other situations.

8. Value diversity. The greater part of our day involves interacting with others. Experiencing other peoples communication styles, learning methods, and the roles played in groups and teams helps us to grow, prosper, open our minds and develop new perceptions. Dealing with conflict, criticism, and any points of vulnerability strengthens our ability to use any situation as an opportunity to learn.

9. Take exceptionally good care of yourself. Physical and mental health affects learning. Examine these aspects and set up contingencies within your plan to identify and work through all health challenges as soon as they appear.

10. Map your course. Maximize time, energy and focus by defining a yearly learning theme. Subdivide into monthly topics with time commitments. (Example: Ten years ago, I defined a learning goal of three new computer steps in no more than 15-minutes per day. It has compounded and saved time and money ever since.) Minimize distractions by learning to "table the other topics." Create a "next year" folder to contain those great ideas and set up a review month of tabled topics to decide how to use them in the following year.

Catherine Franz, a Certified Professional Marketing & Writing Coach, specializes in product development, Internet writing and marketing, nonfiction, training. Newsletters and articles available at: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

Stammering and Stuttering Treatments That Work

In the world of stuttering treatments there is unfortunately rather a lot of trash out there. You may believe that this is a rather hard hitting statement however if you are a person who has a stutter then I am confident that you will understand what I am saying. There are, however, treatments for stammering and stuttering that do work, I will be writing about these in this article.

So which stammering and stuttering therapies do work? Well the first piece of advice that I will give is that the treatments that are offered by people who have previously had and overcome this form of speech impediment are likely to prove to be the most beneficial.

There are stuttering therapy courses on the market which are run by people who formerly had a stammer or stutter. The second piece of advice is that the courses which are on a one-to-one basis are likely to be of more benefit than those that are on a group basis. Yes there is likely to be a longer waiting time before a person can attend a one-to-one course, this is essentially because they are more popular, for obvious reasons.

Over the last few years there has been an ever increasing demand and popularity for self-help stuttering therapy products. There are now some excellent alternatives within the market place including a DVD, an e-book and an audio book.

The third and final piece of advice, well at least for this article, that I will provide, is in relation to these self-help stammering/stuttering therapy products. Before you decide to purchase you should ensure that there is a support service which you can contact if you have any questions from watching, listening and reading the material. If there is not a support service in place then it could be well worth seeking an alternative form of stammering treatment.

Steve Hill is a speech coach from the UK; he runs The How To Stop Stammering Centre and has a number of websites including:
stuttering information
speech impediment cure

Beyond Motivation - Passion

It seems that just as we shifted paradigms in the eighties, we worked synergistically in the nineties; now we are passionate in the naughties. Even my local petrol station has passion brochures at the pump! So what are we passionate for ?

Last October I got some unasked for, but expert, advice from an extreme extrovert to be more passionate. After I had calmed down, I took a long hard look at what I was doing and seriously questioned my passion level. This was after all, expert advice.

My research took me through a motley assortment of superficial pop psychology and self help books, all with Passion in the title and each more inane than the last. Finally I stumbled across a book by Sydney author Peter Wallman, The Wisdom of Passion. He appeared to get to the real core of what Passion is, and after meeting with him I was convinced that he had identified a simple but powerful process for identifying and capturing our core passions. I loved the simplicity of the process and the clarity it brought to me and my business. Now I assist others to identify what it is that gets their juices flowing.

Along the way through research, self analysis and questioning of my clients and others who have Passion Mapped I have identified some keys to passion.

Passion is very personal and unique to the individual.

Most of our strongest passions are kept internalised and rarely expressed outwardly.

The most powerful passions are not material (or sport).

Connecting strongly with our passions creates a magnetic effect We attract people and opportunities.

Eliciting deep passions requires skill, we have learned well from the school of hard knocks to keep this side of ourselves hidden.

When we express our passion, our voices change, our eyes sparkle, and our physical demeanor shifts.

Passion is contagious be very careful.

Passion comes before motivation and way before action.

Passion makes a difference.

I share my story of being told to be more passionate with colleagues and clients and generally get snorts of bemusement. As an introvert, I am not given to bounding into a room, leaping in the air, giving great shouts, or jumping up and down on a sofa Oprahs or anyone elses. So how do I express Passion? Tell me after you talk to me!!!

Passion is not something you have more (or less) of. Passion is inherent and intrinsic.

Last week I had the opportunity to coach 10 leaders and staff members of a niche organisation during three intense days.
Each of these individuals has a determination and a spark in their eyes, a tone of voice and a body posture which unmistakably conveys the depth of their passion about the work they do. Unsurprisingly, the organisations Director is passionately leading from the front - a true visionary leader. I felt honoured and very humbled to be coaching this particular team. Their common focus and harnessed energy, steered by their Director, is making a huge difference to their client base. Truly a high impact and passion based organisation.

One of our tasks as leaders is to uncover and unleash the hidden power of Passion in our employees, to harness and direct this passion towards a common shared goal. Just imagine, if you will, for a moment what your team could achieve this year if they were as passionately involved and focused as the organisation I mentioned earlier.

Kofi Annan said To live is to choose. But to choose, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go, and why you want to get there.
In business our Mission and Values statements spell out who we are and what we stand for, Our Vision statement gives where we want to go, and our Strategy gives us the how. But the why is missing.

Passion is the why!!

Liz Cassidy, founder of Third Sigma International is an author, Speaker, Trainer and Executive Coach and is passionate about facilitating results in the businesses, professional and personal lives of her clients. For more information http://www.thirdsigma.com.au

Walk With Norse God Odin - Become a Rune Wizard

Rune - Wizard - Odin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

http://www.olevikingshop.com/

and

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

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

epete@ptd.net

Fighting Depression - Your Best Defense is a Body, Mind, Spirit Approach

With the number of people who claim to be depressed at near epidemic proportions, it's time to take a step back and ask ourselves: Why are so many people are depressed and why are women significantly more depressed than men? Better yet, if you're depressed, or know someone who is, what is the best course of treatment to beat the blues so you can begin to lead a happier, more productive life?

There are different factors that contribute to depression. Too many challenges in life (and not enough coping skills) are certainly factors. Un-related health problems, such as hypothyroidism or a vitamin D deficiency, can also make you feel depressed. And a chemical imbalance within the body can lead to depression.

Although many cases of depression are treated with medication, drugs alone rarely get to the root of the problem. Anti-depressants attack the symptoms of depression from a chemical perspective. But if you don't address the other factors that contribute to depression, you may end up being medicated for a very long time. That's why the best defense against depression is a wellness plan that takes a body, mind, spirit approach.

Body

If you're taking medication for depression, you've begun working on the Body part of the whole person approach toward wellness. But there are other aspects of your body that you should address. Diet is a huge defense mechanism when fighting depression. Proper nutrition - including plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and adequate amounts of lean protein - are critical to the optimal functioning of your body. Filling your stomach with fast food and refined sugar will only increase the chemical chaos in your body, making it more difficult to reset the balance. Consider taking a high quality vitamin supplement each day to support adequate vitamin and mineral intake.

Exercise is another important aspect of the Body equation. Studies have shown that 30 minutes of light aerobic activity like walking can help your body product natural antidepressants, called endorphins. Getting some sort of exercise every day is very important if you're depressed.

Mind

Next up in the fight against depression is the Mind. Negative, self-defeating thoughts are learned over time. And with hard work, they can not only be un-learned, but they can be replaced with positive, nurturing attitudes.

Although immersing yourself in self-help books can help, re-training your mind often requires outside assistance. A therapist or personal coach will have many skills, tips, and tricks to help you overcome the internal mind games that we all play. It's important to find someone you can trust so that you can be honest about your thoughts and feelings without feeling judged. Because of this, you probably shouldn't fill this support role with a friend or loved one. The people you are close to often can't be objective in this role and may not tell you what you need to hear.

Spirit

Finally, it's vital to feed your Spirit when fighting depression. Although taking a more active role in religious activities can help some people, feeding your Spirit goes well beyond this structured environment.

There are countless ways to bring more spirit into your life. Here are just some examples:

• Take a class
• Read an uplifting book
• Take up meditation or yoga
• Do volunteer work
• Practice random acts of kindness
• Get a massage
• Take a long, hot bubble bath
• Hug your children or spouse more often
• Call in sick and take a "mental health" day

Feeding your Spirit simply involves taking action or doing activities that makes your soul feel good inside.

Not an Easy Road

Taking a proactive, mind-body-spirit approach to fighting depression is not an easy road to follow, especially when you can't even bring yourself to get out of bed in the morning. But if you truly want to heal yourself from the inside out, you really need to address all aspects of who you are: body, mind, and spirit.

Begin by taking baby steps and incorporating a little bit of each aspect into each day. And be sure and reach out to your health care provider and other trained professionals to ensure that you get the loving support you need as you begin the road to recovery.

Patty Harder is a Reiki Master, ordained S.H.E.S. minister, and the founder of 5 Minute Self-Help, an online community and personal coaching program for women who want to feel better, look better, and live better fast. To learn how you can improve your life in just 5 minutes a day, visit http://www.5MinuteSelfHelp.com

Multicultural Connections - 3 Tips To Connect People To People With Any Cultural Group

As a personal brand strategy coach, I work with clients helping them unearth their authentic strengths, their unique promise of value and help them connect the dots for their prospects and clients of "the why" in "why do business with me." That authenticity is key to any relationship they are forming, business included. In fact, if you believe that all business is based on relationships. Then understand that the key to all relationships is the relationship you have with yourself.

"Know thyself" stated Shakespeare. And, he is so correct, because it is yourself you bring into every connection. This becomes even more evident in making connections with minority based businesses where even our communication is scrutinized for inclusion, awareness and biases.

"Creating community, awareness and inclusion is our focus" shared Odel Crawford, president of the Texas Association of African American Chambers of Commerce. "Our theme for this month's conference is GROWING BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES IN TEXAS. We realize that there are many issues associated with the development, enhancement and sustainability of minority owned businesses. Of course our focus is on African-American entrepreneurs, however we realize the importance of supporting all minority owned businesses as they are important part of a community's economy."

Mr. Crawford brings out three important points to connecting to any minority business or community and that is to "create community, awareness and inclusion". As a coach, I'm driven to make this into useful, do-able, action oriented activities, so let's go:

• First is AWARENESS. Are you aware of the many communities within your community? Sometimes, diversity trainers will say that we focus too much on the differences. While that might be true, I believe that the differences are their already and to ignore them is not authentic. And don't we know that in connecting with people, that insincerity can be "read" quite quickly? How many cultures are in your community? Make a list and next to each culture identify if there is a group, organization, or association that represents that culture.
• Second is INCLUSION. Time for some self discovery. Do you do anything that "excludes" or "includes" everyone in your connections? Self discovery can be challenging however, we are that common denominator in every business relationship we have so we're a critical factor. Diverse connections come in many packages and sometimes it is easy for us to assume that the outside or external differences are the only ones we should concern ourselves with. Remove questions like "what are you?" or "what's your nationality?" and rather use all the great networking questions that the many fine experts of this publication will teach you. Asking great questions, or yourself and others and then listening will provide all the "skills" you need to make great connections.

Spending time in self discovery will also help reveal any assumptions that you might have or make. Assumptions, as we all know, can be quite damaging to reputations and relationships. Rachel Stone, president, of the Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and active member of the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce, shares the surprised reaction she gets and comments made when she meets them such as "Your last name is Stone? Are you married to an Anglo man? Or, wow, how did you get a last name like that?"

Abraham Maslow, the creator of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, found that in addition to the basics of food, water, shelter, air, people have a need to "belong and to be valued." Do you fulfill that need for people when you converse with them? Do you do and say things that make them feel that they "belong" or that they are "valued"?

Here's a quick revealing test to see if you do. Have you ever had someone who has to tell you the story in order to relay the facts to you? Have you ever tried to "cut them off" and give you "just the answer" or "the bottom line information"? If you have, you are guilty of making the person who values "detail and information" feel not valued. Truthfully, have you ever done that to anyone?

As in any networking situation, the goal is to learn more about the other person. The more you know the better the connection you can make. The deeper connection you make the more memorable and visible you become (for all the right reasons). The better the connection the more chance they have to sample your character and competence. The more chance they have to sample your character and competence then the faster trust is developed. Trust is foundational to all great relationships - including business relationships.

Dale Carnegie in his book "How To Win Friends and Influence People" speaks of the rules of engagement. One of the rules is, take a genuine interest in what they're interested in. One, cannot take a genuine interest in someone if they do not know what they're true interest is. It's amazing how often I hear people say, "I think this is what he wants. Or, I know that she wants this." Yet, they've 'not asked the person. They are speaking for this person. How do you feel when someone speaks "for you" and does not check in to see if that's really how you feel? Often the feeling is that of assumptions, being judgmental and even to the point of stereotyping.

So, let's get better at asking some good questions. When you ask great questions you get great answers! When do you ask these questions? When you're at a networking event or when you are meeting someone. Steer clear of asking these in "rapid fire" style or like a 20 point oil check. Do weave them into your coffee conversations. They will put more "meat" into your grip, grin and graze. Here are some to put in your connection bag:

1. What organizations do you belong to? Or, enjoy spending time with?
2. What drew you to those organizations? What drew you to this organization?
3. What have you found to be your most successful times with this organization?
4. What are some of the barriers that you've encountered as an organization?
5. What do you enjoy about what you do?
6. What are some of your favorite activities or events with the organizations you're involved in?
7. How do you keep yourself connected with others between networking or social events?

The key to great questions is to be silent and listen to the answers.

Lastly:

• Create COMMUNITY. Bring people together and give them opportunity to feel valued. One of the keys to creating community is to value the people that you are bringing together and that they value you. It is in this "valuing" that you create trust. Trust is a key component to any community and to any team.

Have you ever heard the comment opposites attract? We hear that often especially in the context of couples. And, while in personality style they may be opposites, a closer study reveals that they do share something in common - the same values. Look closely at people in long term relationships and you'll see that they share the same values.

Now, while that is true for marriages and long term relationships there are also some relationships where people do not share the same values but they do share something else in common. They have a shared activity that they enjoy or do together.

As you create community, it can be by discovering and sharing the same VALUES or by having a SHARED ACTIVITY (such as the African American Chambers of Commerce, or the Hispanic Chambers of Commerce) that brings you together.

As this great melting pot world becomes more like the great salad bowl world, you'll see that connecting with minority based networks is more about people relationships that in is about cultural relationships. And, whether their connection is values, generations, experiences or interests, the deepest connections are made people to people.

The true spirit of relationship performance management is to take high performing entrepreneurs and executives from frantic networking to profitable engagement that comes from shedding the limitations of old sales pitches and creating compelling connections. I invite you to discover your personal brand strengths and connect-ability readiness by taking this on-line quiz found at http://www.buzz2bucks.com

If you'd like to learn more about succeeding at your personal brand, visit http://www.buzz2bucks.com You'll learn everything you need to know from what is your personal brand, how to use what makes you best, and engage others in a way that compels others to speak positively on your behalf and influence their contact sphere to your benefit.

Maria Elena Duron, C.P.B.S., C.N.P. PCC, is Chief Buzz Agent, speaker and coach specializing in connecting high performing entrepreneurs and executives and using what makes them best so they can move from their frantic pursuit to success and balance now.

Exercising Your Self-Efficacy

Self- efficacy is the conscious awareness of ones ability to be effective in producing a desired outcome of ones task and/or the ability to deal with life challenges. A person that is self-efficient possesses a level of self-awareness that gives them an innate ability to realize that they already possess everything he or she needs to know to not only solve their problems, but to bring their goals, needs and wants into fruition.

As in each of our lives, there are 6 life areas that complete a self-efficient individual: emotional, physical, spiritual, financial, social and intellectual. Furthermore, when we have all these areas balanced we feel happy and fulfilled. The trick becomes how do we balance these areas and meet our basic needs of belonging, power / recognition, freedom and fun. The answer is to meet these needs internally rather than externally.

Think about it for a minute. If we all possess the innate ability to solve our own problems and bring them into fruition, then why are so many of us basing our own fulfillment on the needs, wants and perceptions of others and things (external). We should not be and the reality is; we will never become self-efficient if we do.

So what will it take to become a person with self-efficacy? It takes a decision, a commitment, a strategy and action.

Your Decision- you decide what you feel is your purpose and meaning. You then make up your mind that that you will start living a life that is based on your values and belief system and not from others. For those of you who are spiritual, your foundation of beliefs can be based in the principals and doctrines of your higher power.

Your Commitment- you pledge to yourself that you will utilize all of your strength, skills, talents and resources to accomplish your decision. Take your time and make sure you are being honest with yourself about your strengths, skills, talents and resources.

Your Strategy- you figure out healthy and empowering strategies that will help you bring your decision to fruition. If you realize that, you lack important resources and skills to bring your decision to reality. Strategize how you can use the strengths, skills, talents and resources you do possess, to acquire the critical ones you are lacking.

Your Action- you take positive steps toward your decision. You are simply making movement in the intended direction. Progress is progress. It is not based on how big the growth, it is based in simply growing. If you are growing your progressing, and if you are progressing you are changing, and if you are changing, action is taking place.

If you exercise your self-efficacy, you are one step closer to authenticating your spirit.

Interested in receiving more advice on healing, wellness and personal growth? Or are you interested in booking this writer for trainings, workshops, keynote presentations or seminars? Please visit us at http://www.wcwallc.com to sign up for our newsletter or request Christian F. Johnson at a speaking engagement.

Personal Self-Esteem Equals Profits

Since birth we have been taught to obey our elders, watch our manners, work on our hygiene, and a myriad of other behavioral molding characteristics. Though in many instances we are taught and have worked fine for most of us, we nevertheless also forget the freedom to think independently. Therefore, what evolve overtime is the skills to solve problems and address issues of personal self confidence and the faith in ourselves. We get stuck with negativity's and thoughts that hinder creative thinking. Some in many instances begin to development feelings of fear, anxiety, stress, and issues of anger which then lead to frustration and a low level of personal self esteem.

The purpose of this article is bring to light the skills one can develop to deal with the everyday challenges of interactive relationships. Identifying the elements needed to cope with fostering collegial relations with colleagues, friends, and business associates. The importance of identifying a true purpose in this world and that you can be a contributing factor in promoting positive and progressive thinking. Finding the appropriate avenues of being a servant, to help others, and to establish a process for communicating service for the benefit of mankind.

The program of personal self development and leadership presented in my leadership formula addresses the issues that negatively impacts personal growth and progress. It works on personal management progression and output results based on performance and accomplishments. It is done through focus driven exercises designed to make you be a successful business person. The formula of personal self development will in essence make you a success in the business world allowing you the opportunity to help others.

This program of leadership development establishes the key core values for progressive thinking people interested in self improvement, business development, program design and management and the creation of personal self development and leadership models to be an inspiration to your community, friends, colleagues, business associates and future clients.

Dr. Richard C. Baiz is a Doctorate in Business Administration. He is a College and Corporate Personal/Leadership Development Instructor and Coach. Dr. Baiz is an expert in Personal/Organizational Development and Management. Dr Baiz gets his clients top notch successful results fast: Personal and Leadership Development