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Life Changing Tips For Boomers: Rewire Your Brain To Control Emotions, and Make Positive Life Choices

2007-02-10T16:42:00.000-08:00

Do You Seem to Get Caught Up in the Same Old Reactions?

Have you ever blown up at your spouse only to realize—after the smoke cleared—that you might have over-reacted just a tad? Maybe you learn that you haven’t been invited to your uncle’s friend’s sister’s birthday party and you behave as if it’s the slight of the century.

Sometimes even the most minor snafu can send us storming out of the room, slamming down a phone, or just shutting down entirely. It’s like we just can’t help it—the reaction is as automatic as a mallet to the knee.

Science Reveals It May Not Be Your Fault

New research indicates that these habitual, knee-jerk responses go way back to our childhood. As youngsters, we learned to adapt to our families’ idiosyncrasies as a way of survival. Psychologists used to refer to these coping mechanisms as our baggage—but what science has now shown us is that these responses are actually hard-wired into our brains. And because our responses are so ingrained, they have become our filtering system for future incidents. In other words, if something happens today that the brain reads as being similar to something that happened in the past, it will respond as if it were the first time, even though you may be in your 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and beyond.

Bringing This to Life

For example, let’s say a child comes from a home where the parents fight frequently. That child is going to associate yelling with bad feelings. In later years, if his spouse raises her voice, he’s likely to shut down like when he was a kid—metaphorically running to his room, closing the door, and essentially blocking out the noise.

Does this mean if you come from a family of yellers you’re doomed to hide under your bed every time someone raises a voice? Luckily, recent research indicates that the brain continues to grow throughout our lives—and old patterns can be released as new ones are formed in your boomer years..

Help Is On the Way

The way to managing your anger and knee jerk reactions is to establish new connections by refocusing your attention to a different outcome or possibility. But, before you can foster these new connections in your brain, you have to be aware of the old brain triggers.

When I try and distinguish whether someone’s reaction is a past association, I look to see if their reaction to the situation is automatic and intense. Additionally, when I try and offer an alternative to why they’re behaving that way, the person is resistant and reluctant to consider any other view or interpretation of the situation—other than their own.

In my practice, I work extensively with clients to help them rewire and rewrite their lives. Here is an easy exercise to get you started on rewiring your brain to control your anger and over-reactions that will bring about positive changes in your life-today!

1. Thinking of Alternatives:

a. When you’re projecting your past experience onto a present one, try and imagine alternative ways to handle the situation. For example, let’s say you have lunch plans with a friend—who cancels at the last minute. Immediately, you feel an overwhelming sense of hurt and rejection. Which is how you always feel in similar situations—indicating—voila—a past pattern! Be conscious of this and take a step back to recognize it.

b. Then, approach the situation from an entirely different perspective. Maybe you use humor to deflect the bad feelings, thinking to yourself, “Gee, I guess it’s my deodorant.” Or, you choose the direct approach and ask your friend if you’ve done something to upset her. Or, you take the practical route and figure your friend just overbooked, overextended, or over-promised—and give her a get-out-of-jail-free card. (Hint: If you have difficulty coming up with alternative ways to handle the situation, think about how someone else - your mother, a childhood friend, an admired acquaintance - might handle the same situation.)

2. Plugging in New Choices:

a. Now, replay the actual situation as vividly as possible—the phone ringing, the sound of your friend’s voice, the awkward goodbyes—and imagine yourself carrying out one of your new solutions. Maybe you decide that being understanding of your friend’s busy schedule is the best choice.

b. Replay the phone call and plug in your new behavior, the understanding you, rather than playing out your old behavior of feeling rejected and hurt.

Making it Last

Before long, you will begin to see a slight shift in how you feel. By doing this exercise again and again, you will refocus your attention on a new outcome. This will rewire your brain and make a new neural connection—a connection to positive change!

By Karen Sherman Ph. D

Finally, a psychologist who goes that extra mile & cares about people. Whether Karen Sherman, Ph.D. is giving a speech or offering a workshop-she’s helping people. Let Karen help you make positive life choices both personally & in your relationships by signing up for her free newsletter at http://www.drkarensherman.com/newsletter.htm
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

What Men Can Do When Their Fears Overwhelm Them

2007-01-18T05:35:00.000-08:00

What can a guy do when his worries and anxieties overwhelm him? Well, there are many ways for men to deal with this situation. Here is a brief list of techniques that a man can use to help manage their worries and anxieties.

Sometimes what we fear may happen can be overly exaggerated. A lot of times, our worrying can make the problem even worse. Remember that all the worrying in the world will not change anything. All you can do is to do your best each day, hope for the best, and when something does happen, take it in stride.

A good way to manage your worry is to challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking. When encountering thoughts that make your fearful or anxious, challenge those thoughts by asking yourself questions that will maintain objectivity and common sense.

I read that most of what we worry about never comes true. Instead of worrying about something that probably won’t happen, concentrate on what you are able to do. Everything else you can leave in the hands of God.

When overwhelmed with worry, a person may encounter a lot of scary thoughts coming at them all at once. Instead of getting upset, remember that these thoughts are exaggerated and are not based on reality. From my interviews with various professionals, I’ve learned that usually it is the fear behind the thoughts that gets us worked up. Ignore the fear behind these thoughts, and your worry should decrease.

When managing your fears and anxieties do not try to tackle everything at once. The best solution is to break your fears or problems into a series of smaller steps. Completing these smaller tasks one at a time will make the stress more manageable and increases your chances of success.

As a Layman, I realize it can be difficult to get rid of our fears and worries even when they overwhelm us. If nothing else works, take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get your mind off of the problem. Doing something you enjoy can give you a fresh perspective on things.

By Stan Popovich
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
Stan Popovich is the author of "A Layman's Guide to Managing Fear” an easy to read book that presents a overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: www.managingfear.com

Spiritual Compass In Your Life

2007-01-12T15:44:00.000-08:00

Why people need compass? People use it as an important equipment to steer them the way to their destination, whatever the conditions encountered.Similarly, when we embark on our spiritual journey, we need a spiritual compass to help us steer our way through the "minefield" of life's hurts, failures, and defeats that the Great Deceiver uses to lead us astray.

Man has always used his conscience as a guide in his spiritual journey, but in today's world of compromise, our conscience is not always a sure guide. It is like the magnetic compass needle that points to the magnetic North, but never the true North; there is always a magnetic variation, which needs to be corrected by constant reference to the mariner's chart.

Similarly, our conscience needs to be constantly corrected by reference to the Word of God. The Bible is therefore, the spiritual compass of our life. How we use spiritual compass? We use it to:

1. Enter into a personal relationship with God so that his mind and heart is revealed to you. This can be accomplished if you read the Bible, not only intellectually, but with deep longing in your heart for God to reveal himself to you.

2. Nourish your spirit and to avoid being infected by the values, principles and ideas of the world that are contrary to the will of God. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" ( Mt 4:4 ).

3. Learn God's will in your life. Although God speaks to us in various ways, the Scriptures are the one sure place where God reveals his will to us. And he does so in two ways:

(1) When we study God's Word, it will reveal to us our basic vocation and what we are going to do with our life, just as God revealed to aged Abram, in Haran, a new direction in his life ( Gen 12:1 ). As we read and reflect on the Scriptures, we will realize that God is never ever finished with us, for he constantly extends and expands the horizons of our life.

(2) When we study God's Word, it will help us to recognize his presence and to hear the promptings of his Holy Spirit, amidst all the hustle and bustle of every day life.

(3) Grow in your Christian faith. Somebody said that the word BIBLE is an acronym for "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth". How true! Our lives have been created by God and he is the best person to teach us what we are to do, not only when we have a break-down in our lives, but also what to do to attain the Kingdom of Heaven.

(4) Grow in your prayer life and have a regular dialogue with God. Prayer and the Word of God go together. They are like the two wires of a telephone connection which makes it possible for us to listen to God, and to speak to him. The more we listen to the voice of God and understand what he wants to reveal to us, the more our prayer becomes inspired and soaked with the Word of God, which is pleasing to him.

By Dr. Drew Henry
Dr. Drew Henry maintains a number of psychic wesites, including Accurate Psychic, Free Psychic Reading ,and Free Psychic Reading Secrets.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

Finding Those Techniques That Manage Your Fears With The Help Of God

2007-01-12T15:39:00.000-08:00

Are you having trouble finding effective ways to overcome your fears and anxieties? As an author of a managing fear book, I found it difficult to find all of the answers in managing my anxieties. Although I am a layman and not a professional, I realized that the best way to overcome my fears is to find those coping skills that effectively manage the fear and anxiety.

The first step is to ask God for help. Pray to God and ask him to help lead you in the right direction to find the answers in managing your fears and anxieties. Each and every day, a person should make it up a habit to talk to God and ask for his help. When using the help of God to manage your fears, a person needs to be aware of how God is working in their life. Most of the time God works in mysterious ways and the answers he provides might not be that obvious.

The next step is to take advantage of the help that is available around you. If possible, talk to a professional who can help you manage your fears and anxieties. They will be able to provide you with additional advice and insights on how to deal with your current problem. By talking to a professional, a person will be helping themselves in the long run because they will become better able to deal with their problems in the future.

It doesn’t stop there. The next step is to apply what you have learned. In my particular case, I made it a point that every time I would experience a fearful or anxiety-related situation, I would use the information I have learned. In every anxiety related situation I experienced, I began to learn what worked, what didn't work, and what I needed to improve on in managing my fears and anxieties.

Remember to focus on the strategies and techniques that actually reduce the fear and anxiety. All it takes is one effective technique to make a world of difference in managing your fears. The main point of this article is that no matter how difficult it is to manage your fear, the answers are out there if you look hard enough. It might take some hard work and persistence, but it is possible to find those techniques that work for you.

By Stanley Popovich
Stan Popovich is the author of "A Layman's Guide to Managing Fear” an easy to read book that presents a overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: http://www.managingfear.com
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

Secret of Success

2007-01-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

Many people never stop seeking the secret of success. What is the secret??

Before you think about the secret that will lead you down the road of prosperity, happiness and wealth, let me say this… You must first cover subject of attitude or face the fact that you will never have what you truly want.

Attitude is a choice. It’s your choice. It is not based upon feelings. It’s strictly a mental thing. Attitude is a mental position toward a particular fact, state or situation. Again that means that you have control over it. Sometimes you can’t change a situation, but you have control over how you react to it.

We create what we think. We think bad, and bad things would happen. We think good and good things would happen. This is really the secret! If we understand this and also practise this, we will be able to achieve what we want. The fact that you are happy, joyful and excited or sad, depressed and angry is a direct result of the thought that YOU have chosen to take at that time. It’s not like you have to be in that mood. You really have just chosen to be.

The bottom line is whether we believe we can or believe we can't, we're right. In order to receive we must first ask and then believe that it's possible. You must believe that you can have an abundance of money, have a great marriage, be the best parent or that you can actually create any lifestyle that you desire.

The secret is: "You are in control of your future the minute you choose to be and you can create absolutely anything you truly desire to and it all starts with attitude."

Drunk

2006-12-21T13:21:00.000-08:00

A completely inebriated man walked into a bar and, after
staring for some time at the only woman seated at the bar,
walked over to her, placed his hand up her skirt and began
fondling her.

She jumped up and slapped him silly.

He immediately apologized and explained, "I'm sorry. I thought
you were my wife. You look exactly like her."

"Why you drunken, worthless, insufferable son of a BITCH!" she
screamed.

"Funny," he muttered, "you even sound exactly like her."

Invest in People

2006-12-06T02:34:00.000-08:00

Fact of Life

It is a fact of life that when you are rich, everybody wants to be your friends; when you are poor, even Satan will run away from you! So, ...no hard feeling if your friends leave you once they realise that you are poor. Do not this make you down hearted. On the other hand, you can learn something from your situation....who is your true friend? Always look at the bright side.

Invest in people

This is the Golden Rule:

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

Always look for ways to help people. What you sow is what you reap. Always treat people with kindness, courtesy and compassion.

However, it is equally important to associate with goal-oriented and positive thinking people. As Zig Ziglar says,"If you want to fly with the eagles, you can't continue to scratch with the turkeys".

Some of my friends are complainers. They are not poor but they are not happy with their lives. They will always find something to complain about. They complain about the govenment, the economy, their spouses, families etc. Talking to them for just 30 minutes will make my head spinning!

On the other hand, talking to people with positive attitude will help me gain more confidence.

My point is that you need to choose your friends selectively. By this, I do not mean to say that you need to choose friends based on their financial position, but friends who can:

1 Encourage you

2 Build your confidence

3 Give you opportunity to advance

4 Show you the way to success

Accepting Our Present Reality

2006-11-28T05:49:00.000-08:00

Many times, the reality is not the same as what we thought. Put it simply, we can get what we want, also, we can get what we do not want. How's that?

People become frustrated after trying and trying but they still get the result they do not want. Accept the present reality. Our present situation is caused by our past action and not by other people's action. So, we dont blame people if we are fat or poor or lazy or heavily in debt etc.

Therefore, if we accept that our present situation is caused by our past wrong doing/wrong thought/negative mind, we then have the power to "correct" it. It is true that it is difficult to imagine that you have plenty of money in the bank while you are poor now. It is difficult to imagine you are a beautiful person while in fact you are not. However, by accepting reality, we would be able to 'reject' this negative thought. You can say to yourself "well..beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" or "I have no money now so that I can understand how poor people suffer and when I am rich, I will help the poor".

Do not be disappointed with your current situation. Accept it. And declare that you deserve something better and you are getting it. That way, hopefully your conscious mind will not be in conflict with your subconscious mind. Now, let us practise this. Visualize that you have this pile of money. Imagine how happy you are because you have a lot of money. Smile and say by faith, "I have a lot of money". Do this affirmations at least for 2 weeks. Within this 2 weeks period you will see that opportunity will come your way!

So...You Want to be Rich? 7 Wealth Attraction Tips for Entrepreneurs

2006-11-27T20:35:00.000-08:00

So, you want to be rich?

We all hear it. We all say it. Everyone wants to be rich but, short of picking the lucky numbers or winning the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, most people go don’t know how to amass the wealth they dream about.

Here are the top tactics of successful entrepreneurs:

1. “Dig the well before you’re thirsty” – Confucius

We discussed this last week. Marketing, whether your business or yourself, is the one task that wise people do daily – YES...DAILY. You should do at least one thing each day to keep your marketing funnel full.

2. “The moment you begin to think of time as precious and that it has a price, the richer you will become.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing

Do you spend your time wisely or do you squander it by spending hours in front of the TV? Successful entrepreneurs understand that how they spend their time determines their future. It’s critical to do the things that will move you/your business forward each day.

3. Have a wealth mindset

Successful entrepreneurs are focused, first and foremost, on being secure. Then on being comfortable and finally, on being rich. It is this focus on security that forces them to build systems and look at the big picture as opposed to doing what is best only for the short-term.

Successful entrepreneurs also understand that they need to invest in themselves and their business in order to reach their long-term goals. Doing things “quick and dirty” or for the fast buck doesn’t create the long-lasting success that you are looking for.

4. Have a sense of urgency

Successful entrepreneurs are not procrastinators – they get things done and done today! Their sense of urgency is borne not only of their appreciation for the value of time, but also as a way of insuring their clients are always satisfied. Why make them wait? Happy clients purchase from you and they do so repeatedly.

5. “Don’t feel overwhelmed...just do one thing at a time.” -- Rose Lindsey character in “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead” movie

The above quote may sound and is a trademark of all successful entrepreneurs. Have 100 things to do? Don’t know where to start?

Just pick one and do it. It doesn’t matter which one, just do something. Sitting and staring at the pile or fretting about how much you need to do won’t get you anywhere. But doing one thing, and then another, and then another will.

6. Be a “big picture optimist and detail pessimist”.

Direct marketing guru Dan Kennedy tells the story of how he travels a lot and never worries about the plane going to the wrong city or exploding in midair or experiencing some other trouble that would result in his never reaching to his destination (big picture optimist). At the same time, he plans for the plane to leave late and arrive late, for his luggage to be lost and for the food (when you get it) to be inedible (detail pessimist).

Using this approach in project (and travel) planning insures that you’ve anticipated the potential problems which Murphy’s Law usually provides and have solutions already in hand. The worst that can happen is that you never need your “Plan B”.

7. You can't (and shouldn't) do it all

Successful entrepreneurs know and understand that trying to do everything themselves is a prescription for overwhelm and burnout.

The truly successful create teams and delegate effectively. Having one (or several) good virtual assistants, a bookkeeper, a pre-paid legal plan, etc. takes the day-to-day minutiae off you so that you can focus on the big picture.

No matter where you are today, I encourage you to do one thing today that will move you forward in your goals. Remember Confucius (knew a lot, didn’t he?): “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Take that step today and feel the momentum carry you forward.

By Sandra P. Martini

Online Business Manager & Entrepreneur, Sandra Martini, publishes the 'Effective Entrepreneur' weekly e-zine. She also coaches small business owners to more efficiently manage their businesses while increasing profits and having fun. Sandra's coaching programs are available via teleconferencing, emails and telephone calls. For more information or to sign-up for ‘Effective Entrepreneur’, visit http://www.online-biz-coach.com/ today.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

QUIZ - CAN MONEY BUY HAPPINESS?

2006-11-27T20:31:00.000-08:00

Can riches buy happiness? Wealth can buy many luxuries, but not happiness. Money cannot buy contentment. Money can surely buy us time with a psychiatrist with who we can talk about our unhappiness, but no amount of money can buy us happiness. Sometimes more money, and status can rob us of happiness. Think of many very rich people. They cannot move around like ordinary citizens. They will be immediately stared at. They have lost a lot of freedom in quest of money and fame.

What gets us happiness? We get happiness by doing what we like. We do not get happiness by forcing us to do what we do not want to do. Our happiness comes from our satisfaction of doing our heart felt desires. Our contentment comes from that. Money can destroy friendships, and break family relations. The more money you have, the more people expect from you. If you refuse, your relationship goes downhill. Sometimes I wonder if we have more than our minimum requirement of money, will we be happy at all?

If you have a giving nature, money can buy you happiness of a different kind. When you visit an orphanage, and are able to donate as much as they want to feed the small kids, you will feel a sense of genuine happiness. Money can make you do good things in life that make others happy.

When you make others happy, you become happy.Money can help you do that. No expensive dinner can make you feel as happy as the smile on the face of parents to whom you have given money for their childrens medicine.

By C.D. Mohatta

CD Mohatta writes for ecards, screensavers and wallpapers. The topics of his writings include love, inspiration, holidays, birthdays etc. You can view free wallpapers, send free greetings and solve fun quizzes & tests.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

RELATIONSHIP TEST - ARE YOU CONTINUING WITHOUT PLEASURE?

2006-11-27T20:29:00.000-08:00

A relationship should be like a flowing river. Fresh, moving around and finding ways around obstacles. Enjoying a relationship should never be like a still pond of water that just exists. A relationship should have life and should never be a compromise.

But many relationships become like a pond. They began like river but are now stationary wondering where to go, and whether to exist at all. But they continue existing without any pleasure. The main reason is the inability of partners to face the uncertainty of breaking the relationship.

The relationship continues because the partners do not want to face the future alone. They are tired of it and worried that they will undergo more pain if they break the relationship. They neither try to refresh the relationship nor break it. There lies the heart of the matter.

What should they do? They should sit together, talk about the stagnation in the relationship, and talk about how to give it a new life. If they decide that it will not be possible, they should break up and look towards a better future. A relationship without pleasure will break up any way after some years. By that time, lot of time would have been lost and the discord would leave a very bad stamp of experience on both the partners. Better to control the disease in time. Start taking steps from today. Become more aware about your relationship. Analyze it more closely.

By C.D. Mohatta

The author, C.D.Mohatta writes fun quizzes & tests on topics like love, personality, dating, relationships, friendship, business, etc. The author writes forfree ecards on holidays, birthday, love, friendship, family and all events and occasions. One more site recommended by the author has free arcade games which surfers can play online

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

Happiness: The Secret Ingredient is YOU!

2006-11-25T12:48:00.000-08:00

Discovered: The Secret Ingredient to Happiness is Ourselves! As many of you know I am a positive psychologist and happiness coach—I encourage finding out what's good about ourselves (rather than what's bad), and seeing ourselves in a positive light. I teach how to understand your own needs and your talents, and how to do the work necessary to create a life full of happiness.

Here, I’d like to introduce you to a happiness creation process I developed from many years of observation, case studies, and happiness research.

In my happiness research I found that women are happy at least part of the time, but often dismiss their good feelings as just a blip on the ‘radar screen of life’. They also frequently lose their “good mood” as soon as someone criticizes or puts them down.

I began to realize that becoming, and staying happy requires a habit that can practiced and improved upon, and I developed a model called “The Enchanted Self” that shows how we can improve our happiness using something I call “Recipes for Enchantment.”

def. The Enchanted Self - the capacity to initiate positive states of being unique to our disposition and talents.

def. Recipes for Enchantment – the ways we’ve found to create happiness for ourselves that are unique to us.

The Enchanted Self is something you control, and you do it using “Recipes for Enchantment” that are unique to you.

Although there are many “Recipes for Enchantment” that most of us have in common, it’s important to remember that you are unique, and what makes you happy isn’t necessarily going to be the same as for the other people in your life. YOU are the “secret ingredient” in the recipe for creating your own happiness. As such, you must discover the unique things that enhance your happiness.

Here’s a “recipe” for discovering some of the unique things that make you happy…

Exercise: Recipe for Personal Pleasure

Give yourself a quiet space, a pad of paper and a pen, and permission to daydream. The world is your oyster. Plan out a day that is designed to make you happy.

- What would that day be like and what would you do?

- Where would you go?

- Who would be with you, if anyone?

- What would you see?

- How would you feel?

- What would you eat that day?

- What are some of the aromas that would please you that day?

- What would be the highlight of the day?

- How would you feel at the end of the day?

- Now you're looking back on that day.

- What would you be most pleased about?

- What are some of the ingredients you would need to make this day come true?

- What are three steps YOU need to take to get closer to experiencing a pleasing time right now? [Remember YOU are the main ingredient. ]

By Dr. Barbara B. Holstein

Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein, Positive Psychologist, originator of THE ENCHANTED SELF, is the author of: The Enchanted Self, A Positive Therapy, Recipes for Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is YOU! and DELIGHT. Visit http://www.enchantedself.com/
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

SEVEN KEYS TO HAPPINESS

2006-11-25T12:36:00.000-08:00

This article summarizes much of what I’ve learned thus far on my journey to self-discovery and positive growth. Along the way, through many of life’s ups and downs, with the help of many awesome teachers and mentors, I now most often live in a state of happiness and contentment. I still have lots to learn but I wanted to share with you what I’ve found most helpful thus far. I truly believe that all people have the capacity to choose their mental attitude. Therefore, if happiness is what you desire, then you must choose it. Here are some helpful ideas to help you do just that.

1. Self-Worth

Self-worth—without it, happiness will always be just beyond your grasp. Self-worth is, of course, something that can be measured along a continuum. It isn’t like you either have it or you don’t. You can possess varying degrees and those degrees can themselves vary depending on the circumstances of your life.

Generally, the person who is happiest has a healthy amount of self-worth without an inflated view of their own self-importance. This is the fine line that must be walked between confidence and arrogance.

Confidence implies a certain sense of surety while recognizing that each of us is just a different cog in a very big wheel. No one person is any more important than anyone else. Those with high self-worth know their life’s purpose. They are in tune with what their mission is and proceed to make it their life’s work. They also recognize the value of everyone else with whom they share space.

Those who are arrogant recognize their own self-worth but then proceed to look down upon those they deem as unworthy. Then at the other end of the continuum, there are those who recognize the importance of others but don’t believe they are worthy to breathe air.

A healthy balance of self-worth is the key.

2. Gratitude

The second key to happiness is gratitude. It is human nature to enumerate the things that are NOT the way we want them to be. We are programmed to notice when things are off, and not necessarily appreciate when all is as we want it. This makes maintaining an attitude of gratitude a challenge but nonetheless something we should strive for. I have mentioned before that Universal Law tells us that we attract those things we think about most often. When we are grateful for what we have, more is bestowed upon us.

I know someone who believes, “No good deed goes unpunished” and lives his life accordingly. Another person I know always says, “I have the worst luck. Nothing good ever happens to me.” And you know what? They are right! The Universe delivers to them exactly what they expect. There are others who have similar bad luck but who persevere or find the lesson in the situation. These people find more happiness and contentment in return.

Another point about gratitude is to be thankful for what you have. I love the line in the song that says, “It’s not having what you want; it’s about wanting what you got!” There’s nothing wrong with wanting to do better than you are as long as you are grateful along the way. Even when things are bad, there is always good to be found in it. Life is in perfect balance and order. Anything with a great deal of pain associated with it also has a tremendous positive side if we are of the mind to see it.

3. Positive Life Framing

The third key to happiness is positive life framing. There are three ways to view any piece of information—positively, negatively or neutrally. Viewing information as neutral is the best way to go through life. It allows us to accept everything as it comes and to stop resisting what actually is in any given moment. However, many of us have great difficulty with that one.

As an incremental step, it is helpful to find a way to reframe life’s negative events into positive ones. Even in life’s tragedies, there is a way to find something positive about the situation. Almost always, in hindsight, we can see the benefit. The real benefit comes when we are able to see the benefit as the tragedy unfolds, or at least stay open to the thought that there is a benefit even if you are unable to see it in that moment. Just as in physics where there can be no neutron without a proton, so it is with life where there can be no negative event without a corresponding positive one.

4. Internal Locus of Control

The fourth key to happiness is possessing an internal locus of control. People who have an internal locus of control believe that they are responsible for their own behavior and its results based on their own personal decisions and efforts. This is contrasted with those who have an external locus of control. These individuals believe that their behavior is determined by external circumstances such as other people, fate, luck or circumstances beyond their control.

Having an internal locus of control produces a “can do” attitude. An external locus of control generally results in a helpless attitude. Even though people with an internal locus of control still have situations that occur that are beyond their control, they will seek some action that can be taken by them to improve the situation. They do not spend time bemoaning the fact that something bad happened to them. They look for decisive action opportunities to turn things around.

In this way, a person is more in charge of their own destiny. They can reject the role of victim and take definitive action to create greater life satisfaction.

5. Lifelong Learning

The fifth key to happiness is to adopt an attitude of lifelong learning. Your goal each day should be to learn something new. As you encounter new people and situations, look for the wisdom that can be extracted from them. Particularly in areas where we believe we made a “mistake”, seek to uncover the lesson. There is always a lesson to be learned.

When we believe we know all there is to know, that is when we are in dangerous territory. When we think we know all, then we stop learning from the people and situations in our path. When we stop looking for the lessons, we begin to blame things external to ourselves for the pain we experience instead of seeking to learn whatever we need to know for our life’s journey.

6. Love

Love is the sixth key to happiness. I am not talking about having a significant other in your life who loves you. I’m talking about having love inside of you that is just bursting out of you to touch others. Unconditional love is a concept we all strive for—unfortunately, most of us are looking to receive it rather than give it. You are truly fortunate and blessed when you have the unconditional love of someone—whether it’s your life partner, your mother, father, aunt, uncle, grandmother, grandfather, foster parent, friend or puppy!

Truly unconditional love is rare and a gift to be cherished. However, ask yourself the question, how many times have you extended unconditional love? Do you have unconditional love for your fellow human beings? This is the kind of love that will lead to happiness. It doesn’t matter if that special someone doesn’t love you back, it’s what’s in YOUR heart that matters. Are you someone who only loves as much as you feel you are being loved in returned? That certainly isn’t unconditional! If you are seeking love in your life, then you must be loving in order to attract the love you seek. This will lead to the ultimate happiness—loving, expecting nothing in return. Try it.

7. Contribution

The last key to happiness is contribution. This is a combination of knowing and following one’s life purpose. When people understand their divine purpose in this life and then go about fulfilling that purpose, they are making an awesome contribution to the good of mankind. Having meaningful work and leaving a legacy is an important key to happiness. When we do the work we were meant to do, we touch lives. It doesn’t matter whether one’s purpose is to clean the public restrooms or to find the cure for AIDS, following your divine purpose will bring about a strong life fulfillment that cannot be experienced any other way. Contribution is critical to happiness.

Implementing these seven keys to happiness in one’s life is not an easy task. Personal coaching can be helpful as you are attempting to change some old, harmful habits into more productive, happiness-inducing ones. Jack Canfield says, “Of all the things successful people do to accelerate their trip down the path to success, participating in some kind of coaching program is at the top of the list. A coach will help you clarify your vision and goals, support you through your fears, keep you focused, confront your unconscious behaviors and old patterns, expect you to do your best, help you live by your values, show you how to earn more while working less, and keep you focused on your core genius.” Why not give it a try?

By Kim Oliver

Kim Olver has a degree in counseling, is a certified and licensed counselor. She is a certified reality therapy instructor. Kim is an expert in relationship, parenting and personal empowerment, working with individuals who want to gain more effective control of their lives and relationships. Visit http://www.therelationshipcenter.biz/
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

6 GUIDES FOR A PLANNED AND PURPOSEFUL LIFE

2006-11-25T12:30:00.000-08:00

Only 3 or 4 people, out of a hundred, set goals and live a purposeful life. If you want to turn your dreams into reality, there is no other way. Talking or wishing has never resolved any problems and never will. Action is what is important. Planning is what is essential. Having a purpose is the foundation.

Here are six guides, or six steps for a planned and purposeful life. These steps brings action, wisdom and enlightenment as you pursue your dreams.

First, do, positively, the creed that calls for action, performance, production and accomplishment.

The new creed of living is the creed of "do". It is the opposite of the creed of "do not," the negative creed of rejection, procrastination, fear and failure.

This positive creed says "do, rather than do not"; "do, rather than talk about it"; "do, rather than wish"; "do, rather than wait."

Second, deliberately condition your subconscious by what you do consciously. Wholeheartedly want the best outcomes from your actions. Let your subconscious have free reign in demonstrating its great power.

The subconscious mind has the power to work for you and bring you all the good that you desire. It has the ability, when properly understood and used, to help you attract people, opportunities and money that will guarantee and maximize your chances of success.

Unleash the power of the subconscious mind by visualizing, affirming, feeling and doing. You then activate the law of attraction that will give you all the good that you desire according to your dominant thoughts.

Third, establish in your life a pattern of personal "retreats" where you concentrate on your purpose in life, and look at your progress objectively.

Meditation is reflecting and receiving. Receiving inspiration, wisdom, health and spirituality.
Meditation is a continuous and profound contemplation on a subject or series of subjects of a deep nature.

Meditation brings a sense of fullness and wholeness. It is one of the only permanent source of tranquility available to human beings.

Prayer is meditation. The habit of meditation is the basis for all real knowledge.

Fourth, seek guidance, and use all of the readily available resources to equip you with practical, usable knowledge of positive living.

Coaches, mentors and good advice are everywhere. You can attract the best by the person you are, the person you want to be.

People will help you find a solution when you’re down. Mentors will believe in you when you doubt. A good friend will give you some advice that can transform the moment and recharge your batteries.

Fifth, keep your program full of positive, progressive action by having several goals in prospect, on a variety of subjects, at the same time.

Setting goals will set you apart from the average person. Setting and achieving goals are not reserved to an elite. Yet, it seems that only 3 or 4 people out of a hundred properly select goals that will change their lives.

Sixth, take advantage of the full capacity of your subconscious to serve you by deliberately giving your inner mind positive projects to work on, even while you sleep.

Your subconscious mind works 24/7. You can find in it an ally that will help you solve problems. Watch your thoughts, especially when you’re about to sleep. Give your subconscious a problem to solve or some positive thoughts to work on during your night.

These six guides for a planned and purposeful life involve your whole you: your body(action), your spirit(meditation), your mind(conscious and subconscious) and your heart(emotions) to activate the law of attraction.

By Emmanuel Segui

Turn your life around by unleashing the power of your subconscious mind. Sign up for our free 5 part mini-course: It is possible to design and live an extraordinary life by mastering the dynamic factor which master-controls your life.http://www.subconsciousmindexposed.com/
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

Why Your Imagination is More Powerful than Knowledge

2006-11-24T13:09:00.000-08:00

Albert Einstein, who once said, "Imagination is more powerful than knowledge," was well known for his esteem of the concept of "thinking like a child."

This attitude allowed him to understand the universe in profound ways. He used his imagination to conduct "thought experiments" that helped him see the world from new perspectives.

In some of his more famous "thought experiments," Einstein would imagine himself riding on top of a beam of light and then asking questions about what this experience would be like.

For example, if he had a flashlight and turned it on, would he see a frozen beam of light coming from the flashlight riding beside him? If he held a mirror in front of his face, would he see a reflection? Would he even see the mirror at all?

Einstein understood that his imagination would help him see what is possible, instead of what everyone else thought to be obvious or assumed to be true at the time.

In Einstein's case, he gave his imagination the power, and not the knowledge or theories of the day. In fact, his imagination challenged and revolutionized scientific theory and the way we think about the nature of our universe.

Robert Kennedy said, "Some men see things as they are and ask why. I dream things that never were and ask, why not?"

I believe that imagination is more powerful than knowledge because while knowledge helps you see and understand things as they are, imagination allows you to see things as they could be.

Here are some tips to develop the power of your imagination.

Challenge Your Assumptions

Have you ever observed a child? They are very curious and use their imaginations constantly. They also have the ability to see situations from a completely different perspective. Perhaps it is that they don't make the same assumptions that adults would make in the same situation.

There is a well-known story about a truck that got stuck underneath a low bridge. The adults had tried everything to get it out, from pushing it with another truck to pulling it with chains.

Then, a child came to the scene and said, "Why don't you take the air out of the tires?" It worked!

That child was able to sit back and view the situation from another perspective. He used his imagination to offer a solution. You can do this too by challenging your assumptions.

Pursue a Creative Hobby

Pursuing a creative hobby can also boost your imagination. You can learn how to draw, paint, knit, write, or play an instrument. These pursuits will stimulate your mind and improve your creative thinking.

Do Creativity Exercises

There are countless websites and books you can read to help you boost your creativity.
Creativity exercises help you see situations from many different perspectives, develop your imagination, and use different parts of your brain. You can apply many of the exercises to your work, home improvement projects, relationships, problem solving, or anywhere else you might need an imaginative solution.

I find the creativity section at wannalearn.com to be an excellent resource. It is a portal that offers links for books, dvd's, and websites on the subject of creativity. It is nice to have all that information in one place.

The links section is especially helpful because each of the sites listed have something different to offer. Everybody is different and we all require different activities and explanations to stimulate our creativity.

By Roger Constandse

Rodger Constandse is the editor of a success and personal development blog at http://www.ksuccess.com/blog/ , and the creator of the Goal Setting Challenge http://www.goalsettingchallenge.com/ which helps you set and achieve your goals. Visit http://www.timethoughts.com/ for a free time management mini-course and time saving tips PDF reports.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

Manifestation - Your Gateway To The Life You Want

2006-11-24T00:09:00.000-08:00

Are you stuck in a rut? Do you ever feel that you are being perpetually driven; that life is a never-ending round of rushing from here to there, or from one chore to another, with no time for relaxation? That money worries – how to pay those rising bills, or where the next payment is coming from for your children’s education, your family’s healthcare, your house mortgage – occupy your mind much of the time, or that relationships with your family or spouse suffer because you haven’t got time to spend with them – you’re working all the hours there are to pay the bills after all, aren’t you. Things never seem to go right, no matter how hard you try, and feeling frustration and discontent has become a part of what you are. You long for the day when you can get just a little time for yourself, and do some of those things you always wanted. Without knowing it, you may have programmed yourself for unhappiness and failure.

But what if there is a way to say goodbye to fear, anger, worry, and all those other negative emotions? What if you can transform your life so that you can obtain all the things you ever wanted? You can you know. The powerful and secret techniques taught by manifestation can do just that. Learning to become a Master Manifestor is your blueprint to success, prosperity and personal fulfilment . Using the inside knowledge of manifestation, you can discover how to implement your ideas and dreams in a simple and stress-free way to dramatically change your life for the better.

Manifesting is an ancient science (over 1500 years old), and although the manifestation techniques are largely unknown to the modern world, the tried and trusted methods have proven to work and are needed now, more than ever. By manifestation you can attract good fortune to yourself, financial and personal, and work magic in your life. Radically different from any other self-help programme – in fact you can realistically throw away 90% of every self-help book you’ve ever collected – this Manifesting Mindset will transform the way you think on all levels. A new departure in self-improvement, it will harness the physical laws of the universe to create anything you desire: attract love and romance, make your perfect job appear, eliminate stress and low esteem, lose weight, find abundance and financial freedom. Consciously draw life-affirming experiences to yourself.

Anyone can learn the art of manifestation. Regardless of what you’ve been conditioned to believe, it is available to ALL of us. Why not give it a try and see where it takes you.

Penelope Housden

Still unsure? Then be convinced by a FREE report, The Manifesting Mindset: Strategies for Deliberate Attraction, available from: http://www.lifementorsecrets.com/

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

The Manifesting Mindset - A Life Without Limits

2006-11-23T11:48:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered how some people seem to sail through life, effortlessly attracting the right people and good fortune to themselves, while others struggle every day just to get by, never mind achieving what they actually want.

It’s not a matter of luck, or not just of luck, nor is it simply a question of maintaining a positive attitude and a belief in oneself. Probably unconsciously, these successful people have learned how to manipulate their environment in order to create their desires.

Rather than being responsible for who and what we are, we are largely the product of our parents’ thinking, and the influences of our upbringing, our schooling, the people we mix with, and the community around us. While that was fine when we were young and growing up, it is too easy to let our environment continue to shape us, and to stop us thinking and acting independently – to ask questions of ourselves, and to find the answers – and, instead, settle for our ‘lot’ in life, and accept that there isn’t much we can do to change things. It is just the way it is.

But, the little-known ancient science of Manifestation can alter all that. You don’t need to put a limit on your personal growth. Instead of unconsciously being swept along by life’s vicissitudes and feeling helpless by the lack of control over what happens to you, Manifestation can not only change one’s perception of reality – but can change reality itself.

It’s not as crazy as it sounds. Everything in the universe is made up of energy, and whether you like to think it or not, the universal truth is that you create your own reality; everything that happens in your life you bring about. Now, while you may not like that idea much, it is actually a good thing to know, as you have in your power the ability to transform your way of thinking (the one thing it is possible physically to change, is attitude) – and so alter your circumstances for the better – and it is the art of Manifestation that shows you how to do this. Its ‘quantum’ principles harness the laws of the universe, and while you wouldn’t argue with some of its physical laws – for instance, the law of gravity – why then would you argue with its less well known, yet just as powerful, laws?

The intention of Manifestation is to use the conscious mind to direct your thinking to achieve what you want, whether that is to find a perfect partner, a fulfilling career, great wealth, or just be able to banish fear, anger, worry and other negative emotions. Using the principles of Manifestation you can deliberately attract people, conditions and events into your physical experience.

The methods of Manifestation have been tried, tested and proven over the last 1500 years. Using its powerful inside knowledge Manifestation re-routes the mind to draw in success, prosperity and self-fulfilment. Why continue along the same old path of self-doubt, dissatisfaction, unproductive efforts and failed relationships, when you can take action and utilise the secrets of Manifestation to create all that you want?

Manifestation is not magic (you do have to work on the strategies to attain the ‘mindset’), but it’s the nearest thing to wish-granting power there is. If you want a life without limits, then Manifestation is for you.

Penelope Housden

If you want to know more about Manifestation, visit this website for additional information, and to obtain your copy of the FREE eBook, The Manifesting Mindset: http://www.lifementorsecrets.com/
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

"Manifesting" - Just Another Buzzword or .... ?

2006-11-21T23:50:00.000-08:00

Being new to a lot of the contemporary self-improvement thing, I’m still trying to get used to this word, “manifesting”. It just wasn’t in everyday use for the biggest part of my life. In high school and college, though we may have been trying to “manifest” a party or a member of the opposite sex, we sure weren’t using that word. How many times did you have to manifest a ride to somewhere? That was my constant mission.

Or how about “blogging”-- another example of a new buzz word that many people don’t quite get-- or what about “cell” phone? How many of us really know how the word “cell” applies to our wireless mobile telephones?

Anyway, I digress.

So, if like me, you’re still finding the term “manifesting” kinda like a strange pair of shoes, just know that the meaning and practice, if you will, goes back thousands of years. Semantics is the only thing that makes it seem new. Various philosophies and religions throughout history have included faith and disciplines for maintaining faith as part of their teachings.

Now, I’m not going to go off writing an article about religion here. Let’s keep it simple, ok. Most of us can agree that we are exposed to too much bad news and negative drama from the newspapers, television, etc. It can be very depressing and maybe that’s why so many people take anti-depressants. If we simply had more constructive and positive input, people could relax more and gain a brighter view of things. All this negativity causes people to worry about their money, health and relationships. Actually, when you look at it, what all the drama and news stories are pretty much spewing out, has to do with money, health and relationships. So, we watch that and it starts happening to us.

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You can believe what you see. Likewise you also see what you believe. In order to counter-act all the negativity, all you can do is create an alternative scene. That’s what manifesting, visualization, law of attraction, faith, etc., are all about.

When you watch a kid in the sandbox playing with his toy trucks, he’s enjoying “pretending” he’s an adult, moving the earth and building real roads with real equipment. We don’t consider the child insane or delusional for this, do we? Anyone ever heard of SBDS - "SandBox Deficiency Syndrome"? So far they're only drugging kids for fidgeting in class-- it hasn't moved to the sandbox quite yet. When that happens, we may as well pack it up and find another planet to play on. The child is quite aware of reality and at the same time willing to participate in an alternate reality. As we get older, we tend not to pretend and as a result, get stuck in the framework of “the real world”. We accept only one reality because that’s the mature thing to do. It’s merely too silly to consider alternate realities—I mean… what do you want to do, turn into some kind of Steven Spielberg or something? And what would be wrong with that?

If you’re in a rut with life and have settled for less, it’s time to start manifesting a better reality for yourself. After all, you are the one who manifested where you’re at right now. So, get back in the sandbox and break out the Tonka trucks. It’s ok to pretend! When you do it enough, it becomes real. Everyday is a new chance to create new scenes for yourself and manifest something good. Don’t rely on the TV to do it for you. Did you ever see that bumpersticker, "KILL YOUR TV!"?

Good grounds for self-defense!!

By J.P. Holesworth

The author resides in the Pacific Northwest where even though it’s beautiful, we have to make our own sunshine much of the time.
Visit http://www.manifestprofits.com/ and order your FREE copy of The Manifesting Mindset.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

Related reading:

How to Manifest Reality by Jimmy Roos

So you want to know how to manifest reality, right? Actually you're already doing it. You're creating reality every second of every minute of every hour of every day. But I suspect you don't like what you are creating.

And you know why? It is because you're creating by default. What do I mean by that. What I mean is this. You're manifesting reality but are unaware of what, or how you're creating, so you think you don't know how to manifest reality.

Read more of Jimmy Roos' article: Visit http://www.how-to-manifest-your-desires.com now andreceive proven manifesting tips and powerful affirmationsfor attracting more abundance and the desires of your heart.Subscribe to the Science of Getting Rich 17 Day emailcourse, by sending an email to tsogr@i3i.info ./Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

How To Manifest Dreams

2006-11-21T23:37:00.000-08:00

Lets face it, we all have dreams. And we all want to know how to manifest dreams. We had dreams since we were young and since that time we wanted to know how to manifest dreams. We lived our dreams in our imagination. We were brimming with confidence and were sure that one day we would manifest our dreams. However sadly for most of us, it all ended when we grew up.

Why? Because the world and all its instruments, including our parents and teachers told us that our dreams are just not possible. So we gave up on our dreams and followed the paths that were laid out for us. Some became doctors, others became teachers and some others followed other professions.

However there were those who were determined to manifest their dreams.

They defied the establishments and followed their passion. They became sports stars, musicians and still others became artists and actors. When we look at these people they show us something which is a key ingredient in learning how to manifest dreams. They all have a passion for what they are doing. They have discovered what they love and they started doing it and found that they are actually good at it. And very soon other people noticed it too and started supporting them by wathing their games and movies and buying their music.

There's something else that these people have and that we too had when we were young. It is "imagination." They imagined their dreams, which is necessary if you want to know how to manifest dreams. Imagination is very important for manifesting dreams, because it allows you to experience something before you can actually have it.

If you want to know how to manifest dreams you must realize that all reality starts in the mind. The architect cannot construct a building if he hasn't designed it. And he cannot design something if he hasn't seen it in his mind.

Similarly you cannot manifest your dreams if you cannot see it first. But seeing is not enough. It needs to become tangible. You need to hear it, feel it and touch it.

Next you need to affirm it with emotion in the present or past tense. That indeed it is so.

Another thing that is necessary if you want to know how to manifest dreams is to listen to yourself and following your gut. That small voice inside you that may tell you to go left when everybody shouts, "go right!"

Following your dreams seems daunting, especially if you're surrounded by negative people. However, if you give upon your dreams you may end your life with regrets. Isn't it better to see how far you can go. Where you may end up? In case you're thinking who am I to want to be great and famous, let me remind you of the famous words of Maryanne Williamson. Who are you, not to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Now that you know how to manifest dreams, you have no excuse not to manifest yours.

Visit http://www.how-to-manifest-your-desires.com/ now and receive proven manifesting tips and powerful affirmations for attracting more abundance and the desires of your heart. Subscribe to the Science of Getting Rich 17 Day emailcourse, by sending an email to tsogr@i3i.info
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

Six Guides for a Planned and Purposeful Life

2006-11-21T04:38:00.000-08:00

Only 3 or 4 people, out of a hundred, set goals and live a purposeful life. If you want to turn your dreams into reality, there is no other way. Talking or wishing has never resolved any problems and never will. Action is what is important. Planning is what is essential. Having a purpose is the foundation.

Here are six guides, or six steps for a planned and purposeful life. These steps brings action, wisdom and enlightenment as you pursue your dreams.

First, do, positively, the creed that calls for action, performance, production and accomplishment.

The new creed of living is the creed of "do". It is the opposite of the creed of "do not," the negative creed of rejection, procrastination, fear and failure.

This positive creed says "do, rather than do not"; "do, rather than talk about it"; "do, rather than wish"; "do, rather than wait."

Second, deliberately condition your subconscious by what you do consciously. Wholeheartedly want the best outcomes from your actions. Let your subconscious have free reign in demonstrating its great power.

The subconscious mind has the power to work for you and bring you all the good that you desire. It has the ability, when properly understood and used, to help you attract people, opportunities and money that will guarantee and maximize your chances of success.

Unleash the power of the subconscious mind by visualizing, affirming, feeling and doing. You then activate the law of attraction that will give you all the good that you desire according to your dominant thoughts.

Third, establish in your life a pattern of personal "retreats" where you concentrate on your purpose in life, and look at your progress objectively.

Meditation is reflecting and receiving. Receiving inspiration, wisdom, health and spirituality.
Meditation is a continuous and profound contemplation on a subject or series of subjects of a deep nature.

Meditation brings a sense of fullness and wholeness. It is one of the only permanent source of tranquility available to human beings.

Prayer is meditation. The habit of meditation is the basis for all real knowledge.

Fourth, seek guidance, and use all of the readily available resources to equip you with practical, usable knowledge of positive living.

Coaches, mentors and good advice are everywhere. You can attract the best by the person you are, the person you want to be.

People will help you find a solution when you’re down. Mentors will believe in you when you doubt. A good friend will give you some advice that can transform the moment and recharge your batteries.

Fifth, keep your program full of positive, progressive action by having several goals in prospect, on a variety of subjects, at the same time.

Setting goals will set you apart from the average person. Setting and achieving goals are not reserved to an elite. Yet, it seems that only 3 or 4 people out of a hundred properly select goals that will change their lives.

Sixth, take advantage of the full capacity of your subconscious to serve you by deliberately giving your inner mind positive projects to work on, even while you sleep.

Your subconscious mind works 24/7. You can find in it an ally that will help you solve problems. Watch your thoughts, especially when you’re about to sleep. Give your subconscious a problem to solve or some positive thoughts to work on during your night.

These six guides for a planned and purposeful life involve your whole you: your body(action), your spirit(meditation), your mind(conscious and subconscious) and your heart(emotions) to activate the law of attraction.

Copyright by Emmanuel Segui

Turn your life around by unleashing the power of your subconscious mind. Sign up for our free 5 part mini-course: It is possible to design and live an extraordinary life by mastering the dynamic factor which master-controls your life.http://www.subconsciousmindexposed.com/
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

Communicating With Plants

2006-11-21T04:27:00.000-08:00

Plants’ experience of being in the world is very different from the experience of us animals. Because plants cannot move about, they exist in a state of profound acceptance and peace within themselves. Emotions such as fear, hate, jealousy, possessiveness, etc. are wholly unknown to plants and would serve no useful purpose. On the other hand, plants are capable of experiencing a wide range of higher emotions the like of which we animals could scarcely conceive.

At the same time, there are feelings which plants share with us animals, such as love, pain, joy, thirst, etc. It is the feelings we share with plants which provide the basis of our ability to communicate with them.

Feeling with plants is not so different from feeling with people. For example, when we are about to have sex with someone who really turns us on, we feel a palpable surge of sexual energy connecting us to that person. Similarly, when we walk into a room to face someone who is madder than hell at us, we feel connected to that person by a palpable wave of anger and fear. When a baby smiles at us, we feel a rush of joy that has us automatically smile back. However, most of our interactions with other people do not have this feeling of connectedness and emotional immediacy. Most of the time we don’t even look the people we are addressing in the eye, let alone feel with them. Because of our social training, we tend to regard sharing feelings with other people as threatening. We are taught to close up and defend ourselves, and to keep our interactions as sterile and devoid of feeling as possible.

In order to communicate with plants (or people), you have to be able to regard them as your equals. If you are afraid (ashamed) to talk with homeless people, beggars, crazy people, etc. then you’ll also find it difficult to talk with plants. However, it’s actually easier to communicate with plants than it is to communicate with people because plants don’t have defenses and self-importance agendas in place which engage our own defenses and self-importance agendas. To feel with plants (or people) doesn’t mean to gush all over them; all it means is to recognize them as beings whose feelings are as important to them as your feelings are to you.

When first learning to communicate with plants, it helps to be in contact with the same individual plants on a daily basis. Ideally you should go out, preferably alone, to the same tree or meadow for at least a few minutes every day. If you can’t do this, cultivating garden or house plants will work just as well, although it’s easiest to communicate with large trees. This is because from a feeling (light fiber) point of view, humans and trees are very much alike – the light fiber (auric glow) configurations of both humans and trees are quite similar, whereas that of insects, for example, is very different from either. It is easier for humans and trees to communicate with each other than it is for either to communicate with insects.

Now even the least psychic person, going up to a large tree, should be able to pick up something of the personality (mood) of that tree. How does the tree make you feel – happy, sad, loving, jolly, heavy? Can you pick up its sex: sense a male or female presence – or its age: young and vigorous or old and mellow?

This isn’t all that hard to do – you can call upon your senses to buttress your feelings, as in the exercise of seeing pictures in the clouds, except that you do it by feeling rather than thinking – by relaxing into the process rather than controlling it. It’s exactly what a rationalist would term “anthropomorphism.”

For example, spiky trees (like palmettos and Joshua trees) have a sassy, masculine energy. Cedar trees tend to be clowns or wise guys. Banana trees are joyous and loving. Weeping trees really do have a doleful air about them. Tall, erect trees have proud and regal personalities.
Trees that seem to be reaching longingly for the heavens are reaching longingly for the heavens.

A good time to learn to connect emotionally with trees is when they’re dying. The next time you see a tree being felled, pause and quiet down your thoughts and watch it attentively. You should easily be able to feel the tree’s agony just before it falls, since trees (and all beings) are filled with power at the moment of their deaths and profoundly affect the beings around them. Loggers triumphantly yell “Timber!” when a tree falls to cover their sense of shame and disconnectedness – to block communication with the tree at the moment of its death.

Another good time to pick up on plants’ feelings is when they are in motion. Plants are happiest when they are moving – blown by the wind and the rain. Wave back to them when they wave at you (it’s only polite). Watch how they dance in the breeze. See how the trees which overhang roads and walkways cast down blessings on all who pass beneath them. See how the young growing tips are more alert, vigorous, and naively impetuous than the older and mellower lower leaves. Be aware of the awareness of plants: when you walk through a wood or meadow, feel as though you were walking through a crowd of people, all of whom are watching you.

Some people pick up on the feelings of plants by seeing faces in the bark or foliage. They impose that thought form (of a face with a giggly, dour, saucy, etc. expression) over the feeling of the tree, since that’s how most people are conditioned to interpret feelings – by associating them with facial expressions.

What we’re tying to get at are feelings, which can be apprehended directly, without any need for sensory cues. However, the senses can provide a useful point of reference and serve as a bridge between imagination and pure feeling, which is how they function in dreams. When you see with your feelings rather than your mind, your visual attention isn’t focused on any one thing, but rather everything within your field of vision strikes your attention with equal impact (vividness), as it does in dreams. To see this way you have to have your mind quiet, and you have to be in a joyous and abandoned mood. If you’re bummed out or grumpy, you won’t be able to see what plants are feeling any more than you’d be able to see a baby smile at you.

Much of our social training entails learning to stifle our senses – to not see what is right before our eyes, to not listen to what our ears are hearing, to be offended by smells, discomfited by touch. Cutting off our senses leaves us feeling apathetic and disconnected from our world. Therefore, if we want to renew our feeling of connectedness which we had as infants, we have to start plugging our senses into our feelings again. And because they are so nonthreatening, feeling with plants is a good place to start.

Not only do different species of plants have different feelings associated with them, but also there is considerable individual variation in personalities between different plants of the same species, between different branches on the same plant, and even between different leaves on the same branch. By lightly holding a leaf for a moment between your thumb and forefinger, you can feel which leaves want to be picked for medicine or food purposes and which ones want to be left alone. The leaves that want to be picked have a high, vibrant feel to them, whereas leaves that don’t want to be picked feel dead in your hand.

Even if you can’t seem to tune in to the feelings of plants, you can still telepathically “talk” with them. Plants can talk to you in thoughts, and these (at first) seem indistinguishable from your own thoughts. That is, it will seem to you that you are the one who is thinking these thoughts, when in fact it is the plants which are sending you messages. That’s why it’s important to have your own mind as quiet as possible – to be in a relaxed mood – if you expect plants to talk to you; if your own mind is buzzing, there’s no way the plants can get a word in edgewise. Any thoughts or feelings you have while sitting under a tree or working with plants are probably messages from the plants.

So how do you know if you are actually communicating with a plant, and not just imagining it? The answer is: you don’t. You just go with your intuition rather than going with your concepts, what you’ve been taught. Instead of hypnotizing yourself into believing that the world of concepts is reality, you hypnotize yourself into believing that the world of feelings – of magic – is reality. The only difference between these two equally valid points of view is that from one of them plants talk to you, and from the other they don’t.

If you feel self-conscious talking to plants, just remember that what you have been programmed to call the “real” world is merely a figment of your imagination also. And if you start calling something else the real world, then that something else becomes the real world; it becomes as real as this one.

If you’re dubious, just ask the plant over and over, “Is this you, Mr. or Ms. Plant talking to me, or am I just imagining it?” And if you keep getting the same answer over and over, “It’s me, the plant! It’s me, the plant!” – then just assume that it is indeed the plant talking to you, and listen to what it has to say. You can ask questions and get answers, both questions and answers coming as though you were holding a conversation in your own mind.

It’s easy to learn to talk with house and garden plants, since these are particularly eager to discuss matters such as fertilization, watering, shade, grafting and transplanting techniques, etc. But in addition to such mundane affairs, plants (particularly large trees) can give you helpful advice on all sorts of matters. Take them your problems; ask them what they think you should do. Some of my best friends and most trusted advisors are trees.

Whether you are consciously aware of it or not, you are already communicating with plants all the time. The soothing, healing, tranquilizing feeling that comes when you are gardening or are out in nature is in fact your psychic attunement to the joyous vibrations of the plants around you. To follow this feeling one step further – to its source – is to put yourself into direct communication with the plants. It’s as easy as smiling at a baby.

(excerpted from Bob Makransky’s book Magical Living)

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Bob Makransky is a systems analyst, programmer, and professional astrologer. For the past 30 years he has lived on a farm in highland Guatemala where he is a Mayan priest and is head of the local blueberry growers association. Check out his books, articles, FREE MONTHLY ASTRO-MAGICAL E-ZINE, free downloadable Mayan Horoscope software, free instructions on how to channel and run past life regressions, short stories, cartoons, etc. etc. at: http://www.dearbrutus.com/
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

Leadership Talent: Winning The Succession Wars

2006-11-21T00:10:00.000-08:00

The demand for leadership talent greatly exceeds supply. If economic growth continues at a modest 2 percent for the next 15 years, there would be a need for one-third more senior leaders than there are today. Who will replace your retiring executives, and how will you keep your company's leadership pipeline full?

The demand for leadership talent greatly exceeds supply. If economic growth continues at a modest 2 percent for the next 15 years, there would be a need for one-third more senior leaders than there are today.

Baby boomers have already started to retire. Most large companies will have to scramble to meet gaps in senior leadership talent. Who will replace your retiring executives, and how will you keep your company's leadership pipeline full?

To make matters worse, the global and more dynamic economy of the 21st century requires executive talent with a more complex skill set:

* Greater technological literacy
* A sophisticated understanding of global marketplaces
* Multicultural fluency
* Relationship savvy, with extensive networks of alliances and stakeholders
* Leadership skills over a delayered, disaggregated and virtual organization

Succession Planning in the 21st Century

In response to these challenges, organizations have a renewed interest in succession planning systems. While these systems functioned merely as replacement charts in the past, and were HR executives' function, there are two critical differences today, emphasizing:

1. Leadership development at all levels (not just senior executives)

2. Responsibility and involvement for leadership development within the work group, with the person's manager and team members (and no longer an HR function)

Distinct Leadership Levels

Most development models fail to consider leadership requirements at all levels. As a person is promoted from line manager to business manager to functional manager, skills and requirements change.

Companies mistakenly focus on leadership traits, styles and technical competence. They commit a major error when promoting successful individuals without acknowledging required skill set differences at different levels of leadership responsibilities.

The Leadership Pipeline

Hiring gifted people makes sense as a tactic, but not a strategy. Companies need to build leaders, not buy them. Research and experience demonstrate that potential is not fixed. The more people achieve, the more they learn. Their willingness to tackle new challenges increases. To capitalize on potential, companies must define the true work requirements at each key leadership level. Succession planning systems must spell out what's needed to make a successful transition from one layer of leadership responsibility to the next.

Succession Planning to Fill the Pipeline

The following five-step plan will facilitate succession planning:

1. Tailor a leadership pipeline model to fit your organization's succession needs.
2. Clarify standards for performance and potential, in your own language.
3. Document and communicate these standards throughout the organization.
4. Evaluate succession candidates through a combined potential-performance matrix.
5. Review plans and progress of the entire pipeline frequently and seriously.

Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D. writes articles for business and executive coaches and consultants. She provides articles on leadership and executive development for sale, and formatted into customized newsletters. Get Patsi's Secrets of Successful Ezines 7-Step Mini-Course to learn what you need to know to publish a successful ezine. http://snipurl.com/Ezine_MiniCourse
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

Related reading:

Empowered Leadership by Kim Olver

It seems that every decade or so there is some new fad the runs through the business world in terms of supervision and in the world of diversity management, downsizing, outsourcing, generational work conflicts and the information age, things are even more complicated than ever before.

No longer does a one size fits all leadership model really work. We can’t treat everyone the same and expect that everything will just “work out” somehow. Managers and leaders must have a framework with which to manage their workers in a way that honors everyone’s unique and specific position on the job.

Kim Olver has over 20 years experience in staff development and supervision and is an expert in leadership skills, staff relationships and diversity. Certified in reality therapy/choice theory/lead management/quality school concepts, she works with counselors, schools and businesses to apply these ideas. Visit http://www.coachingforexcellence.biz/
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

5 Tips For Making a Great Impression!

2006-11-20T03:36:00.000-08:00

I have coached executives for more than 20 years. In working with successful leaders and professionals, I have found that making lasting impressions on the people you work with is pivotal to your advancement. Here are some tips to make sure you’re putting your best foot forward.

• Look the Part:

“One of the easiest things you can do is look the part. However talented you are, if you don’t look like a professional, manager or leader, others may, rightly or wrongly, not see you as one. Observe the styles and colors favored by senior executives, and use that as a guide. For women, black and blue are “safe” colors, but make you blend in. A small or shy woman can augment her impact with bold shades. A confident or larger woman might consider wearing a more muted shade.”

• Sound the Part:

“Short, simple sentences, spoken without hesitation, make a speaker seem in control of a situation – a quality we associate with a leader. Tone and volume are important too. Short, precise sentences and a low-pitched but clearly audible voice make a powerful combination.”

• Exits and Entrances Matter:

“How you move into and out of jobs has an enormous impact on perceptions of your success. Exiting a job well is about ensuring that your successor is in the loop, included in key meetings, and prepared enough to be able to step smoothly into your place. It is not about tying up every loose end. Although it’s important to move forward in an orderly way, it’s even more important to know when to leave behind your old role and expertise.”

• Your Work Space Reflects Who You Are:

“Whether you like it or not, others interpret your work area as a reflection of your personality and thinking. Décor is an area in which to tread carefully. While judicious use of personal pictures can show you to be a family person or motivated character, cute screensavers, cuddly toys and an excess of plants can detract from your professionalism. It isn’t that self-expression is bad, but in the small area of a work space, each item becomes more noticeable, taking on greater significance as a symbol of who you are.”

• Every Presentation is an Opportunity:

“If your moment in the spotlight goes badly, your reputation can be damaged. You minimize risk, and maximize potential glory, through careful preparation. Preparation isn’t just about knowing your subject, although that is important. You must prepare for your audience and their expectations, determining in advance what you want to leave them with so that you can tailor your presentation to that end. Think about how you want to come across, through the words you use, how you look, your facial expressions, and how you respond to questions.”
See more about Dr. Karen Otazo at:http://www.globalleadershipnetwork.com/

Dr. Karen Otazo is an author, consultant, global executive coach and thinking partner for multinational companies worldwide.http://www.globalleadershipnetwork.com/
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

Related reading:

How to be a Leader at Work - by Christos Varsamis

Whether you are a new manager or a master there is one rule you can't disregard. You can not motivate someone. There is nothing you can do to motivate your associates. Either they are motivated or not. It is a stereotype but it’s true.

Motivation comes from inside, not outside. People are motivated as you. We all need food, clothes, benefits, good health care and security. Although you can’t do many things about benefits, you can provide to your employees performance standards clearly and honestly.
You can also give them freedom on how to do their job well and succeed at their work goals. Do not forget but it’s not only money people want in their job. They also want to feel appreciated, learn and master new skills and feeling that they contribute to the organization.

Christos Varsamis is a Business Marketer. Sign for your 15 day E-course at http://www.settinglifegoals.com/ . Get your other Free E-courses “How to Create Minisites That Make Money in Just 24 Hours Secrets of Internet Millionaires” at http://www.cbmallgr.com/
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

"Huff and Puff" - Proof Yourself. Build Your Career on Relationship Bedrock

2006-11-19T18:26:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite children’s stories is the Three Little Pigs. In the story, the big bad wolf gets two easy meals by blowing down the pig’s houses made of straw and sticks. When he gets to the third pig’s house made of brick, though, he hyperventilates trying to blow down the house. So much for a third meal of the other white meat.

Throughout my career I’ve seen one too many professionals build their professional relationships as if they were erecting a house made of sticks or straw with a thin facade. Maybe they built a less-than-trustworthy reputation for themselves. Or maybe they were viewed as a rude jerk by some people in the office. Or then again maybe they saw networking as something that only co-dependent weaklings did. More often than not, the lack of focus on relationships hurt their career and caused them to have to rebuild their relationship house by healing old wounds and changing bad habits. Often not a pretty picture and completely avoidable.

Maybe you’ve had your relationship house blown down or you’re building a house of sticks or straw through poor relationship management. Maybe you think you just don’t have time for that stuff. Think again. There are three easy ways to build your relationship house of brick: building trust, minding your manners and networking regularly. These three will make a big difference in your professional life. Make the time for them every day.

1) Show you can be trusted.

Know what other people expect when you want them to trust you.

a. Get-it-done trust shows you can get things done on time and effectively. You ask for help when you even guess you might be late or need support.

b. Expertise trust comes to you when your suggestions and ideas are sound and your experience stays current. Be careful to always check and double-check your sources and keep up-to-date to keep up this trust.

c. Political-savvy trust can be tricky. If you ever talk about what you discuss with others you may not “get it” about being politically savvy. Loose lips do sink ships, or at least can get you in trouble. Get an okay to discuss anything – even a simple brainstorming exercise. You never know what will hit the organizational grapevine and get misunderstood.

2) Show your manners and respect to everyone

We heard from our parents how important it is to “mind your manners.” Those manners are not just for your betters. You need to be showing respect to everyone you meet and even those you may not meet who are behind the scenes. Everyone you meet needs to believe that they, and what they do, matter. Aretha Franklin was right: everyone wants R-E-S-P-E-C-T to defuse negativity and lubricate organizational wheels. I’m always surprised when people don’t have time for manners, especially with support staff. In fact, the lower someone’s job grade the more gracious and polite you should be. Your kindness will be appreciated and returned in unexpected ways. In contrast, individuals who see themselves as slighted can react by causing trouble in more subtle ways, acting as “antibodies” in your working life as they try to get back at you or the company. Resentful people may try to put obstacles in your way or refuse to do more than the bare minimum for you. So be polite to everyone no matter how you personally feel about them; it never pays to make enemy “antibodies” at work.

With small gestures you can become known as someone who considers others and values their contributions. This doesn’t mean memorizing a big book of etiquette. It does mean consistently polite and patient. When you use your manners consistently you show you’re capable of assuming a higher-level position and moving ahead in your career.

3) Networking needs to be a way of life.

In some cultures in the world networking is the only way to get anything done. Whom you know and who knows you are key to getting business done in Asia. It’s not so obvious in the US but just as important. You can do your networking in passing, by just talking with other people about your work or yourself during the everyday process of organizational life. Really good networkers network all the time. Unearthing someone’s background and interests allows you to identify commonalities and start building a history of shared conversation. It’s these shared conversations which help others to let you know about themselves and to learn about you.

You can do your networking actively by talking with others with a specific purpose in mind. Your networking may consist of polling others to get feedback or just to talk things over with them. Active networkers keep a mental, or a physical, file of people they’ve met, remembering who is interested in what, who would like to connect with whom, or who just likes having an interesting conversation. A business card reference system can help. It’s worth writing down information on the backs of your cards while the encounter is still fresh in your mind. Don’t forget to have cards of your own handy too. Just be careful not to write on those cards in Asia. That can be seen as an insult. It also can be an insult to be with networkers who are motivated by self interest. They may strike you as phony or self serving. Remember that networking is about enjoying the conversation and showing others the interest they deserve.

Build Trust. Mind your manners. Network regularly. Three simple relationship strategies that will help “huff and puff” proof your relationship house and keep that big bad wolf from making a meal of your career.

By Dr. Karen Otazo

www.global-leadership-network.com

Dr. Karen Otazo is an author, consultant, global executive coach and thinking partner for multinational companies worldwide.http://www.global-leadership-network.com
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

Related reading:

Leadership Talent: Winning The Succession Wars by Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D.

Baby boomers have already started to retire. Most large companies will have to scramble to meet gaps in senior leadership talent. Who will replace your retiring executives, and how will you keep your company's leadership pipeline full?

Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D. writes articles for business and executive coaches and consultants. She provides articles on leadership and executive development for sale, and formatted into customized newsletters. Get Patsi's Secrets of Successful Ezines 7-Step Mini-Course to learn what you need to know to publish a successful ezine. http://snipurl.com/Ezine_MiniCourse
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

Hidden Camera Prank Going Bad

2006-11-16T16:13:00.000-08:00

Hidden Camera Prank Going Bad - video powered by Metacafe

Think and Grow Rich eBook

2006-11-14T18:10:00.000-08:00

This is an all time classic.

Napoleon Hill explained 13 steps that we must take to change our lives for the better. It is possible to be insanely rich. If you have an old belief that always teaches to:

1. Work hard to earn good living..

2. No pain no gain...

3. It's too good to be true...

4. I am destined to be poor...

Then this book is for you! It will change your life.

You can have this eBook for FREE.

Email me :

kwiklinx@hotmail.com

Kisssssssss Me more....!

2006-11-11T05:24:00.000-08:00

Monkey Kissing - video powered by Metacafe

The Secret Of HOW TO MAKE HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY ONLINE

2006-11-10T03:16:00.001-08:00

I am a true believer that we can make a huge amount of money online. Not only extra money, but a huuuuge amount of money. I stopped my full-time job a year ago and started blogging for money. I am currently enjoying a decent amount of income working from home.

I see many people now are trying to make extra money by doing survey. It doesn't work for me because the survey companies give us peanuts! I feel sorry for other people trying to work their guts out many many hours and just earn a small amount of 'extra' money.

Do yourself a favour! If you want to change your life and earn good money, you have to first CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK. Think big. Think ahead.

Achieve What You Want In Life

2006-11-10T00:25:00.000-08:00

The Law of Attraction

You attract what you think. Your thought becomes reality. For other exciting articles, please visit:

SELF IMPROVEMENT

http://yoursi.blogspot.com