Organizational Change Management - Allowing For the Unexpected - 6 Tips For Handling the Unforeseen

Are you planning any business change initiatives? Most change managers that I know, the good ones anyway, usually plan, plan and re-plan and why not - it's what all the text books and management guru's tell you to do. But the very nature of change as I have discovered is that the unexpected will, can and does show up at the most unexpected of times. That is the nature of the unexpected - to be unexpected, thus you can't plan for it. The real issue here is how do we deal with the unexpected when it gate crashes our change initiative parties. I believe that effective change is about equipping ourselves with the skills of dealing with the unexpected rather than worrying about implementing the latest change strategy.

Here are six tips to help deal with the sometimes unwelcome and unforeseen guests of organisational change...

1. Keep calm: I have never solved anything while being in a state of panic. The key to successful change management, life, love - pretty much anything really is to keep calm. Staying calm and centred allows you to stay resourceful. Creative solutions will present themselves to us when we come from a peaceful state. You will have more chance of spotting the solutions when you are calm.

2. Look like you were expecting it: When managing change one has to be inspiring to the people we are leading. If we look like we were expecting what everyone else wasn't expecting, we'll end up looking like geniuses. This attitude inspires and motivates our people.

3. Welcome it: What you resist persists. Rather than put your energy into fighting something, focus yourself on its successful conclusion. The unexpected sometimes shows up as resistance in people, this is a natural part of the cycle and paradoxically is to be expected. In NLP terms all behaviour has a positive intention, we need to understand the intention behind the actions rather than focusing on behaviour change. How you now deal with resistance to change will determine you level of success as a change manager.

4. Utilise it: I am a strong believer that in every adversity there is opportunity. This may sound like some new age affirmation, but I am a pragmatist and this perspective helps me to tap into my creative potential. Whether you call this emergence a crisis or an opportunity is irrelevant though - it is how you respond to it that is important. Always ask yourself how can I use this challenge to its best effect?

5. Learn from it: Leading on from the last point ... shift happens ... you can only become stronger and more effective by learning from what life's many processes throw at you. Change is a process that provides us with many opportunities for learning and growth. Change management mastery is not about running perfect projects every time, it is about dealing effectively with what evolves from the process. So always ask yourself how can I learn this challenge?

6. Build in slack: On a practical note, when planning always build in slack into the time scales to allow for the unexpected. Prioritise your requirements, deliverables, goals or outcomes into MUSTs, SHOULDs, COULDs and WONTs. A maximum of 60% of your time is to be allocated to the MUSTs and 20% each to SHOULDs and COULDs. Guarantee to only deliver the MUSTs and this will build slack into your time scales.

Mark Buchan is one of Britain's most sought after coaches and change consultants. He coaches executives and business owners from a wide range of business sectors. His ability to facilitate change and assist his clients in overcoming their obstacles to growth is fast earning him the reputation of WORLDS BEST COACH.

We are offering for a limited time a free diagnosis of your organisations cultural. Click here now to find out more http://www.newthoughtleader.com/knowledgebase/organisational-development/free-organisational-culture-diagnosis.php

Visit http://www.NewThoughtLeader.com today to see how we can make your cultural, business or organisational change more effective.

Make Money Blogging

You have created a blog and your blog is dedicated to a niche industry. Have you ever thought that the blog could make money for you? We would look here in this article, ways and means, to make money blogging. Lets first have a look at what are the prerequisites for a blog needed to make money:

1. Blog needs to be dedicated to a niche market.

2. Updated regularly.

3. Enough back links (Don't worry for it. Directory submission would be enough to begin with)

4. Good blog host or application (blogger, Xanga or typepad recommended), and

5. High quality articles or news items supported with images.

Get the above criteria in place and Hurrah... You are ready to Make Money Blogging.

Top 5 Ways to Make Money Blogging

Lets now take a look at top 5 ways using which you could make money blogging:

1. Google Adsense

Google Adsense delivers text and image ads to the authorized websites/blogs depending on the content of the website. Small code is required to be pasted at proper locations on a webpage and Google automatically recognizes the page. Google shares the revenue it gets from the advertisers whenever a visitor clicks on these ads.

Google bills advertisers on price per click basis (PPC). Advertisers are required to pay only when any visitor clicks on their ads. They bid against each other for the keywords in order to receive better placement and thus prices for each keyword differ from one another. It is better to choose keywords for your blog which pays high $ per click.

2. Amazon

Amazon Associate program is another important way to make money blogging. The Amazon Associate program gives opportunity to website/blog publishers to promote any product from its inventory by adding a predefined code to their website/blog, which, when clicked by a visitor, takes them to the relevant product page. Once the visitor buys the product, the blog owner will be compensated with a commission.

3. Blogads

You can use Blogads as an effective tool to have a better control over the advertisers in your blogs. You can analyze and compare your profits with any one of your online agencies. Blogads can be simply specified as an advertising service used for the web logs or blogs. From the total money generated by Blogads, it retains 20% of it and the remaining money is paid to you through PayPal or checks.

Alternative Services:

Crispads is another useful network focused on the blogs. You can put your advertisements in their blogs using Crispads. You can move through their RSS/ATOM feeds that help in generating revenues.

Tagword It is similar to Blogads. It makes you select the ads and their price.

Users can place their text-based ads in the site within minutes and the ads will be displayed instantly on the website.

4. Affiliate Programs

Your affiliate programs can help you earn a lot of money for selected products and services. Lot of websites offers you to become affiliate members. These affiliate programs can provide a better reach and an in-depth exposure to the products. The commissions for the sales differ according to the quality of the product, sales and marketing strategy involved. You can gather information related to the commissions by looking into the catalogues of Link Share and Commission junctions.

5. Text Links

Text links has emerged out to be the best form of moneymaking source that you can use instead of cluttering or crowding the page with ads. You dont have to make these text links prominent within your website. This link can act as an extra value to your site and will also help to promote the rankings of other sites. In most of the cases you will find these text links placed in the bottom of the web pages. The best part of this strategy is that the publishers send and accept links as the market continues to grow.

Matt Bacak, The Powerful Promoter and Entrepreneur Magazine e-Biz radio show host, became a "#1 Best Selling Author" in just a few short hours. He has helped a number of clients target his specialty, opt-in email direct marketing systems. The Powerful Promoter is not only a sought-after internet marketer but has also marketed for some of the world's top experts whose reputations would shrivel if their followers ever found out someone else coached them on their online marketing strategies.

For more information, visit Bacak's site at http://www.powerfulpromoter.com or sign up for his Powerful Promoting Tips at http://www.promotingtips.com

Luck is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity

You must be ready when an opportunity comes before you, opportunity often comes in the form of work and that's why most people seem to miss it. Most people are too busy looking for the easy path through life. They seem to lay around waiting for the opportunity of a lifetime,... to simply fall at your feet.

Why would you want to spend so much time complaining about something, or someone? Other people can help you along the way, if you let them, but it's up to you, ultimately, to become the most you can possibly be. I have had plenty of opportunities in my life and have took advantage of some, while letting most of them pass by.

I'm no different than most people but now seem to be aware of my surrounding opportunities, all the time.

How many times do you wish for an opportunity to come along? It's probably one that you missed already, at some point during your life. Are you going to be prepared for the next opportunity when it comes along? These opportunities seem to repeat themselves throughout our lives and if we're not in the right state of mind, we often overlook them and let them pass by, time and time again.

You need to prepare yourself in advance for the next opportunity. If you are prepared and have your eyes open, you will be able to see the next opportunity that comes your way. Preparation will increase your chances for success and good fortune always.

Opportunities come in all shapes and sizes. Be on the lookout, when you're walking to the grocery store, taking a break at work, reading the newspaper, talking to your neighbor, walking down the street or even while you are sitting alone, letting your mind wander away. Your chances for success could come while your in your quiet places, or relaxing. Be prepared.

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

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

Finding Yoga Clothes You Will Love

In this day and age, most of us want to become healthier, happier, fitter, and more spiritual. After all, we are now in the 21st century. The practitioners of yoga are probably on the forefront of leading the new spiritual revolution. The problem is that many people do not want to be spiritual at the expense of being cute. People think that its all right to try to be Buddha, but they do not want to look like him. This is the reason why many people including myself want to learn yoga while wearing cute yoga clothes.

In my opinion, its impossible to be spiritual without being fashionable at the same time. This may sound like a contradiction, but I dont think that its a contradiction at all. After all, your interactions with other people will show the level of spiritual knowledge that you possess. You will not be able to share your spiritual experiences as readily if you do not wear clothing that flatters you and makes you seem accessible and appealing.

There are also no better places for cruising for young, attractive, and sensitive men or women than yoga classes. I always make sure that my inner state of bliss finds its counterpart in the experience of anyone who is looking at me when I wear my yoga outfit. To put it in simple words, I look hot in my yoga clothes.

You can usually find good yoga clothes in a specialty store but almost anything used for sports can be yoga clothes. It makes sense to stay as close to popular styles but there's still room to experiment. For example, you can use warm-up pants as yoga pants. The high tech, synthetic shirt that you use for camping can also work for yoga. You will have no trouble at all making interesting and innovative outfits as long as you have a keen eye for fashion and a practical sense of what is required for yoga.

Keep in mind that there is no need to sacrifice comfort for fashion, when you are selecting yoga clothes. Clothes that appear to be uncomfortable will also look unfashionable. Good yoga clothes can do it all because they can flatter your figure, give you plenty of room to move around, and comfort you with their softness and malleability.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning Yoga Clothes. Visit our site for more helpful information about Yoga Clothes and other similar topics.

Inerrancy Of The Bible

Growing Your Psychic Powers - Spiritual Video

Ahhhhh is the sound of God and can be used for meditation. Listen to this wonderful sound and try to find God in it.

Question Your Religion

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

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

Get Something Out Of Worship Or

Odd Video, You Try and Figure It out

if you don't matter to God, you don't matter to anyone else, that statement doesn't make a lot of sense. If I reversed the phrase, if you don't matter to anyone else you matter to God. Something to think about.

Seek the wisdom and the truth shall set you free.

Hope in Religion

Sai Baba Spiritual Leader
Advice To Jealous Partners

How to Make Fast Money

Those who say making money quick is too good to be true simply don't know how to make fast money. It's really not so much that there is a secret to wealth building and earning a high income. Making a lot of money at a high speed is simply a matter of mindset.

How to Make Fast Money

So how does someone go from $0 to a $1 Million in a 12 months or less? There is one singular element that you must posses in order to produce this kind of income. Scalability.

When you think about it, $1 Million a year is really not that much money. That is less than $3,000 a day, which is not an incredibly difficult thing to do when you are able to build a system that is scalable.

Take the online business opportunity as an example, which is quite possible the easiest and fastest way to make money. There are many ways to make money with a simple website, but you need traffic. In general, the more traffic you have, the more money you'll make. Therefore, you need to find a way to scale your efforts that drive more traffic.

How do you do that? When starting from scratch, build an online business that produces at least $5 a day. Take that $5 you earn every day and pay a college student $50 a week to help you grow your business. Very shortly you'll be producing $25 a day, at which point you can hire more people to do more work. In a matter of no time you'll have a full time income and be able to pay full-time employees to maintain your business.

This is just an extreme basic model of how you can quickly scale a small start-up business to make fast money with hardly any effort. It gets even easier than this and achieving financial freedom will become a reality. Find out if you qualify to find out how at http://www.thewealthgang.com

Dealing With Selfish Thoughts

How to Make Money Working Online Without Starting a Home Business

Understandably not everybody wants to start a home business as a way to make money working online. Here are a few ways you can make money on the Internet and not start a home business to do it.

1. Provide a service that people have a use for. Your product is your service and you only need a handful of customers to keep busy if you do it right.

For example writing articles for blog owners is a quick way to make money and there is a never ending supply of prospects available to you. In reality you only need a few blog owners to earn a full-time living online, and you do not have to promote your business anymore.

2. Telecommute and work for companies who are hiring home workers. One website that matches employers with employees is TJobs.com.

This is an excellent way to make money without leaving your home. You will have to provide a skill, and get hired just like you were applying for a job, but the number of employers entering this type of market is growing on an almost daily basis.

3. Take paid surveys by offering your opinion to companies who are shaping their products for future use. There are many companies available that will pay you to offer your opinion. You can be paid in various ways including cash, rewards, incentives, coupons, discounts and so on.

There are websites online today that match people such as you with companies who need someone to complete these types of surveys. The amount of money you make will be directly related to the number of surveys you complete.

4. Start a blog and write about what you love. You can monetize your blog with Google Adsense ads and get paid every time someone clicks on them. The nice thing about making money working online this way is you can do something you enjoy and look forward to every day.

If you develop a quality blog search engines will find you, and you will never have to market yourself ever. The amount of money you can make is a six-figure income just on people clicking on the Google Ads. If you have something you are passionate about, or have an interest in, this is an excellent way to make money working on the internet every day.

In summary there are ways to make money without starting a home business. If you want make money working online consider these four ways.

Paul Jesse started a online business in 2003, and has inspired many others to earn money working from home with affiliate programs. Visit his website to find out how you too can make money working online using these effective, yet easy to implement strategies.==> http://www.sheamarketing.com

Self Employment Ideas For Teens

Write Ebooks and Make Money From Home

Working from home can be perfect for anyone who has children or who just wants to top up their income. If you have a talent for writing you could write ebooks and make money from home in your spare time. Writing them can be quite straightforward once you get into it and there are plenty of online resources which can help you and give you hints and tips on how to write a good book. One of the best things about writing them is that you can choose to write them on any subject that you like - often the more obscure the better. Niche topics are really popular, you might even be able to write an ebook on a particular hobby or favorite pastime that you already have. In fact doing this can be incredibly easy and a great way to get you into writing in the future.

When you write ebooks and make money from home you are being your own boss so you can choose the hours that you work and when you work. You are under no obligation to finish writing your piece by a certain deadline and you can write as many as you like. In fact the more books that you can write the more profitable your venture will work out to be. Don't be put off by the fact that you have never written a book before, go online and take a look at some of the free material that is out there to get an idea of what an ebook should be like.

There are thousands of people all over the world who write digital products and make money from home and it can be incredibly profitable. So there is no reason why you should not join them and use your evenings, weekends or whenever you want to write your own ebooks and start to sell them online.

If you want to follow a step by step proven online money making system that you can setup today all you have to do is Click Here.

If You Behave Your Children Will

Giving A Speech

It is said that next to death our greatest fear is making a speech. For most of us being asked to speak before an audience causes us to panic. Our stomachs freeze up and our heart races.This can happen even if we have experiences of successful speeches. Fear freezes us up.Unlike most people I actually enjoy being in front of an audience. I suspect that like people who enjoy writing there is a 5-10 % of the population who enjoy speaking. It's interesting that people who write well are not necessarily good speakers. I owe my love of writing to my mother who made me write weekly letters to her mother.

Like most people I was scared of speaking in public since I was shy. One of my high school teachers thought the best thing was to deceive me into debating. He made me a researcher for the debate team. I worked closely with the three man team and was quite animated in private while arguing points. A few hours before the debate my teacher said that one member of the team could not made it. Therefore I had to go on and do his bit.It so happened that the 'missing' person was the leader and so I had to speak first.

Several decades later I an recall vividly how scared I was. My teacher assured me I would do well.His first advice was to view the audience like my friends and family."You are quite fluent among your friends. This is just a slightly larger group."
Then he gave me a tip that was a virtual lifeline. " Choose a friendly face in the audience and speak as if you are talking to that person."

I chose the sister of one of my school friends. Little does she know that her smiling,comforting face prevented me from collapsing on stage. That night I spoke in passionate tones to just one member of the audience. Following my teacher's advice I spoke slower than normal and imagined my voice hitting the wall at the end of the room and coming back to me. When we finished that night my friends crowded around me and congratulated me on leading the debate team to a big win. Among that group was the leader of the team who was 'ill'.My teacher then confessed his ruse to get me going as a speaker. I have not looked back since that first time. Though when I still remember how I feared the room would open up and swallow me.

Among the things I would emphasize is the need for preparation and structure . It is often amusingly said that all you have to do is tell the audience what you are going to say,tell them and then remind them at the end of what you told them.This is like a famous folk story about the success of a village fool as a teacher.

The Village Fool wandered to a town far away from his home.The town was expecting a famous scholar and mistook the Fool for him.They rushed him to the town hall and implored him to teach them.

Stunned, but living by his wits, the Fool thundered to his rapt audience:" Do you know what I'm going to teach you?"
" No,we don't,"they replied adoringly.

" You are too ignorant for me to teach" said the Fool storming out of the hall.

The audience rushed after him begging him to teach them again. He agreed to do so a week later. In the meantime he attended many events but spoke sparingly. All were convinced of his wisdom.

The next time he ascended to the platform and gravely asked the same question as he did the previous time.
" Do you know what I am going to teach you?"

This time the audience shouted gleefully: " Yes ,we do."

The Fool smiled and said as he left," Then my work is done. You already know all. "

The audience was amazed and thought that the Fool was truly wise so they asked him to speak to them one more time as they felt they knew the best response to his question.

So when the Fool got up and asked in his confident way,"Do you know what I am going to teach you?" half the the crowd said "Yes" and the other half said "No".

The Fool smiled. Then said " Well, those who know will teach those who don't know."

The Fool then left the town with all in awe of his wisdom.

Another useful tip is to establish rapport with your audience, say something that links you to them.Also it's never a good idea to try to speak about something you are not passionate about.You need the energy of you belief to move you and your listeners.It is absolutely critical that your speech has 'bridges' in it to help your listeners to cross from one idea group to another. You must give clear indications when you are moving on. So transitional phrases like "As an example of this" or "This brings us to the larger problem of," assist in understanding.

Do develop a sense of your listeners' engagement with you. Keep an ebb and flow as you go though the stages of your speech. In time you'll learn to create anticipation For example I have listened three times live to Harv Eker's Millionaire Mind Evening speech and I always marvel at how comfortably he paces the speech.Observing him close up I noticed that he seemed to 'play' the audience's energy level.Like actors, successful speakers have a great sense of timing. They speak 'to' people not 'at' people. They are aware that they have to fine tune their ability to receive responses from their audience and keep reacting to them.

When you are preparing you speech establish clearly what your central speech focus is.In one sentence, like a corporate mission statement, you must be able to say what your speech is about.Preparation is in two main parts --content and delivery.After you have got clear what you want to say practice and practice often.Observe yourself in a mirror. Try different shadings of voice. Observe your facial and body movements as you say certain parts. Record yourself on video and critique yourself. Don't be too harsh on yourself. Pay attention to what you are doing right and build on that.Above all remember that you must make eye contact with the people in front of you. Don't make the mistake of keeping eye contact with the paper on which your speech is written!

My advice is to have key points and an outline on index cards.It is possible to train yourself to speak from memory especially if you rehearse often. Work on having a memorable ending. Study good speeches and model your ending on theirs. Your audience should leave with a feeling that their time was spent in a worthwhile way.

Finally ,today, I recognize that the best way to work with people is to deal with their fears about speaking and doing well before others. I use a simple tapping and affirmation process called Emotional Freedom Technique. It has helped many with performance anxiety.

Milton Drepaul is co-author of CXC English and CXC English B . He is an Career Consultant,Educator,Writer,Business Consultant and Resume Expert. Clients can view his website at http://www.theresumexpert.com.

Changing Someones Bad Attitude

Affirmation Songs Have the Best Results

The power of affirmations is enormous when used properly. I have seen affirmations manifest things almost immediately. For affirmations to be the most powerful you really have to get into it without thinking something negative like "it's not working", or "it's taking too long."

There are many ways you can affirm something. For instance in a statement, "I am powerful.", or in a question like "How did I get so powerful?" You can also put them into song form which is really fun. When you say the words I AM before it you are affirming your pure state of being or your God-self. When you put it into question form you cause your mind to start searching for answers to the question. Both ways can be very powerful.

My favorite way to say my affirmations is to sing them. You can record an affirmation song yourself, or have somebody make it into a song for you. Something with a catchy feel to it you will enjoy listening to again and again. I like the songs because they stick with you and you can sing along with them and consciously forget what your singing about because you're just having fun. Next thing you know whatever you were singing about manifested. (poof!)

You can really do anything you choose with your affirmations. Post them on the wall somewhere you will notice them often. Pictures are powerful visualization tool as well. You can also create a mindmovie with an affirmation song in it, so you can really start to feel like it's already here now. The power of love and gratitude combined with the thoughts of what you wish to create manifests wonders.

This article was written by Jacob Louis.

For custom or ready-made affirmation songs visit: http://www.myaffirmationsong.com

Stop Feeling Guilty Part 2

The Potential And Purpose Of Music

The dictionary defines Music as "the science or art of combining tones into a composition having structure and continuity:Also as vocal or instrumental sounds having rhythm,melody,or harmony.
This is a wonderfully academic definition and be it far from me to question the authority of the dictionary,however this definition describes more the process of producing music than it defines what music actually is. Music is far more than a science it is in fact a creative force a spiritual dimension of life. Music has been apart of the human experience in every culture and society of mankind since time began. From the earliest cultures of man until now music has been used to express a wide range of human emotions from love, joy and celebration to sadness,anger and fear.Music has been used to inspire patriotism,incite wars and promote peace. Music is so much apart of us that we could not imagine a world or an existence that did not include this dimension of life. My point here is not to make a case for any particular genre of music but rather to help us understand that whether we know it or not the reason music is so much apart of us regardless of our age, race ,cultural background, or preferred musical genre and the reason it affects us the way it does is because in essence music is spiritual.

Understand that any thing that has the ability to alter our mood(positively or negatively), give language to feelings we cannot express, or transport us back in time or forward into the future is a spiritual force. Music does all these things on varying levels. When we speak of things being spiritual we are speaking of that which possess the following: potential,purpose and power

Potential

At this point I must inform you that music like many other things in life such as money and even religion has the potential for good as well as evil. If we believe that music is spiritual than it is crucial
to understand that there is a good and an evil side to spirituality and spiritual things. For example the same knife that can be used to prepare a wonderful meal can also be used to mortally wound some
one. The same wealth that can be used to feed the poor and promote positive change in the world could also be used to fund the trafficking of Illegal drugs or guns. In recent years the positive potential of music has been rediscovered as many mental health and therapy organizations are now including the use of music as a part of there therapy and recovery programs. Yet this is nothing new, in the bible there is a story of a great king named saul who was tormented in his soul and mind by an evil spirit. it was recommended to him that he employ the service of a skillful minstrel(musician). He was made aware of a young man named david who it was said was a cunning(expert,master) musician. David was brought before the king and he became the kings personal attendant. Whenever king Saul would start having one of his tormenting episodes David would play his instrument and the scriptures declare that as david played Saul would be refreshed and made well (read more in I SAMUEL 16). The positive potential of music to change our society and culture cannot be underestimated. Which brings us to the next thing we must understand about music.

The Highest Purpose

Someone has aptly stated: "that when the purpose of something is not known abuse is inevitable"
when those who have been uniquely gifted to release the dimension of music into the earth fail to
understand the reason for there gift it is possible to unknowingly(and in some cases knowingly) use the musical gift in a way that it becomes a conduit for the release of evil,perversion and negativity into the world. This is where we come to a very important point. music in and of it self is a neutral spiritual force. what do I mean? Its like a glove lying on a table it's just there until someone with the ability to give it form puts his or her hand into it and then it assumes the form of the hand that it contains. In the same way music with all of its potential and possibility simply hoovers in the spiritual atmosphere around us awaiting to be employed by some one who has the musical ability to take it and form it into a song or composition and bring the awareness of it into the earth for the world to hear. When this process takes place the music simply assumes the form of the one forming it. What ever philosophy of life or worldview the gifted musician holds good or bad will inevitably be transmitted into there music and songs. So what is the purpose of music? I do not believe that we can answer this question, until we answer the question of the origin of music. since we know that music is a neutral spiritual dimension, we must then conclude that it has a spiritual origin. in other words, that which is spiritual comes from that which is spiritual. The bible declares in the book of John 4:24 that "God is a spirit" one of the most profound aspects of God's spiritual nature is the creative aspect of his nature, in fact the first thing we learn about God in the bible is that he is the creator of all things,that means that every realm,domain,sphere,atmosphere and dimension was created by God(read Genesis 1 &2). in the book of revelations 4:11 it says "worthy are you our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for you have created all things, and because of your will they existed, and were created. All things include the dimension of music with all its potential and power which includes those who have been gifted musically to release the benefit of music into the earth. Herein lies the purpose of music.

Let me say right here that I am not talking about whether your chosen genre is classical, jazz, pop, r&b gospel or contemporary Christian, the issue is one of heart motivation. As a gifted musician,composer,singer what is the heart motivation behind your music. The bible says that that our highest motivation as musician's should be to perform,write and produce music that glorifies God and demonstrates the greatness of his creative spirit in the earth. Might I add that that this does not always mean that the songs or musical compositions have to be in the genre of what is known as gospel or Christian music. If the music was inspired buy Gods creative spirit
and the heart motivation of the musician or composer was to inspire and add value and meaning to
the life of the hearers in a positive, creative,powerful and beautiful way than this is a good work that glorifies God. This is what we learn when study the life of Great composers of the past such as Bach, Handel, Beethoven and Mozart. These men were master musicians and composers who were aware that there musical genius was a divine gift, but their music was more than just religious, it was inspired by Gods creative spirit within them. I only use the classical genre to make a point not to say that it is better or more meaningful than another genre,however there is reason why the works of these men are still used and referenced in the musical programs of our institutions of higher learning and even today are used as bench marks of Excellence and music mastery.

My point is that music has a purpose and the potential to change the spiritual climate of the earth.
And I believe that we are about to see a modern renaissance as the creative spirit of God inspires
musically gifted individuals both inside and outside of the church to begin to compose and bring fourth
music that will promote change in our societal and cultural landscape.

If you are a musician reading this and in your heart you sense that this is your destiny begin
by asking God to change your heart, recognize that your gift was given to you by the God of heaven and earth to be a conduit of his presence and voice to the world. dedicate your life to knowing God in a personal way and dedicate yourself to the craft of your music as a service for humanities good.

Charles M. Smith is a guitarist,psalmist, worship leader, songwriter, author and full time Minister and. He is the founder of CMS Ministries and Clearzone Music Inc. in addition he serves as the national director of worship for the Liberty International Network of churches.

For more information or to receive our free periodic newletter and E-courses Email us at: cmsministries@aweber.com, you can also visit http://www.cmsministries.org

Listen To Your Own Advice

Prison Chaplain - Role in Ministry

The Chaplain provides a vital part of the whole process within the law enforcement community. The primary goal of the prison Chaplain is to provide Pastoral care to the inmate. The Chaplain becomes pastor to the inmates as well as their teacher in spiritual matters.

This important aspect incorporates areas of spiritual, moral and emotional development for the incarcerated.

Achievement in these areas will help to insure the future success of offender as a productive member of the community at large. The Chaplain must integrate these tools for change into the programs inaugurated. He will provide comprehensive services to all inmates in the various facilities assigned to him within its parameters of security

In the capacity of pastor the Chaplain will provide and often conduct
Chapel Worship services for the inmates. Depending on the number of Chaplains at a facility this will mean providing services for all faiths.

The Chaplain is also responsible to provide religious Instruction, for the inmates. This may be done through regular Bible Studies, or doctrinal classes. This is sometimes accomplished through organized discipleship groups among the inmates themselves.

The role of pastor often is extended to families of inmates and prison staff. This may involve counseling, and instruction in moral and spiritual development that will establish an environment for rebuilding the family upon release of the prisoner.

There will be time when the Chaplain is called on to contact
friends or relatives. These incidents may involve hardship cases, illness, legal and financial needs, or the death of an inmate.

Counseling Prisoners will take on many facets. It is therefore important that the prison chaplain have an understanding of the inmates, themselves as well as their felt needs.

1. Attending Court hearings and trials

2. Conferring and consulting with prison officials

3. Assisting prisoners find jobs, housing, and community support upon release

The Chaplain may be asked to provide these same services to, prison staff, public officials, and others within the community. He may be asked to work with the local church to provide ministry support through prayer, volunteers and finances.

The Chaplain often becomes a Public Relations Representative to the community in behalf of the prison

To Coordinate Volunteer Services

The religious volunteer becomes an extension of the chaplain in ministering to the needs of the inmate. This mission, like that of the church includes regeneration, spiritual healing and development. Volunteers need to be integrated into the total objective of religious programming of the institution and not just a patchwork of superimposed programs to fill program needs or slots and keep inmates occupied. Training phases are usually sequential and required. Avoid conflicts with training phases and training objectives, scheduled. Recognize the philosophy of the chaplain training staff

In order to be more effective in ministering to the prison community we should expand our understanding of the correctional process.

Richard R. Blake, Christian Education Consultant, Book Store Owner, Training Director Prison Ministry

Advice To Jealous Partners

Interesting Facts About the Archangels

The first fact that amazed me about the archangels is that there are 15 of them. I have always considered myself a spiritual, and in my younger days, religious person. However, I had no idea that there were so many archangels. We all know about Michael, Gabriel and Rafael, but there are twelve more. This intrigued me so much that I did a little bit or research and I would like to tell you a little bit about each one of them.

Ariel - whose name means "Lion or lioness of God." She is associated with healing and protecting beings in nature and that includes the animals, fish and birds. Ariel is considered the Patron Angel of Wild Animals.

Azrael - His name means "Who God Helps." His role is primarily to cross people over into Heaven when their physical life has ended here on earth. The "Angel of Death," Azrael aides in the comfort of the dying and helps them to accept the welcome they receive on the other side. Azrael is the Patron Angel of the Clergy.

Chamuel - whose name means "He who sees or seeks God." He is a powerful healer and a leader in the Angelic hierarchy. He protects you from fearful and lower energies. He helps you find unconditional love and strengthens relationships. He is the Patron Angel of Peace and Calmness.

Gabriel - whose name means "God is my strength." Gabriel helps those whose life purpose involves communication. Gabriel is the Patron Angel of all who work in the communications field, and postal workers.

Haniel - Her name means "Glory of God." She helps up to enjoy and accept more grace into our lives. Haniel is involved with the Moon energy, clairvoyance and grace. She is the Angel of Feminine Support.

Jeremiel - His name means "Mercy of God." He helps those newly crossed over souls to review their lives as well as helping the living to make positive changes in their lives. He is the Angel of Emotional Healing.

Jophiel - whose name means "Beauty of God." She helps us to add and attract beauty into our lives. She helps us to perceive, with thoughts, the beauty in our lives. She is the Angel of Beauty and Patron Angel of Artists.

Metatron - He is a fiery and energetic angel who has a special place in his heart for children. He is also one of only two archangels who had lived as a human man. While on Earth he was known as Enoch, a prophet and a scribe. The new Indigo and Crystal children are under his guidance. Metatron is known as the Patron Angel of Children.

Michael - "He who is like God." Michael's main function is to rid the Earth of fear. He is the leader of the Archangels. He is the Angel of protection, justice and strength. He is known as the Angel of Protection and Courage and the Patron Angel of Policemen.

Raguel - His name means "Friend of God." His primary role is in Heaven making sure that the Angels and Archangels are working together in harmony and according to the Divine Order. Raguel is considered The Relationship Angel.

Rafael - whose name means "God heals." Rafael is the healer of physical bodies for both humans and animals. He is the angel of love, joy and laughter. He helps to heal your mind, body and soul. He is known as the Healing Angel and Patron Angel of those in the medical field.

Raziel - His name means "Secret of God." He knows the secrets of the universe and how it operates. He helps you to know and feel Divine guidance. Raziel is the Patron Angel of Lawyers and law makers.

Sandalphon - means "brother" in Greek. He is the twin brother of the Archangel Metatron. He was, like Metatron, originally a mortal man. Sandalphon carries human prayers to God. He is the Patron Angel of Music.

Uriel - "God is light." He helps with natural disasters. He is an angel of nature, visions and the custodian of prophecy and spiritual understanding. Uriel is the Angel of Wisdom and The Patron Angel of Literature and Music.

Zadkiel - His name means "Righteousness of God." Zadkiel helps us to have mercy and compassion toward ourselves and others. He is the Angel of freedom and mercy and Patron Angel of all who forgive.

Well, I hope that you enjoyed learning a little bit about the Archangels. I enjoyed researching and writing about them. In the future I hope to go a little more "in-depth" about them. I find the facts fascinating and educational.

This article may be reprinted, as long as it includes the following author box
"About the author: Kathy Zengolewicz, The Ardent Author http://www.ardentauthor.com is a freelance writer and author of business, spiritual growth and every day living articles.
You can contact Kathy at kathyze@gmail.com.

Power Of Intension

Hyper-Self-Reliance Can't Be All That Bad

Psychological Researchers seem to indicate that those parents who miss handle their infants can cause a wide variety of developmental issues, even problems with the way their brains form. At least Dr. Allen P. Schore seems to show in his research, which granted is pretty convincing.

Still, the psychological researchers go one step further and tell us that one of the problems can cause hyper-self-reliance. Something that I am sure every parent would want from their children, teens and as they grow older. These researchers have many categories defining various stuff.

Still, who is to say there are not 2.4 more categories on top of the 4-main categories, or 10 additional sub-categories of the categories or combinations of categories or that the whole thing is nonsense (yes, I know that is pushing it, since we have so many case studies that seem to be re-occurring so often and psychologists can get together and discuss scenarios and just change the names with the same results).

But, bare with me for second because these researchers assume that hyper-self-reliance is not so good. I respectfully (and non-respectfully) and completely disagree. Why?

Well, since humans are inherently good at deception and although mostly harmless, they really cannot be trusted too far. So, why would someone postulate that a well-rounded person puts an excessive amount of faith in others? Because, if they have to do that, then someone might have Madoff with their money!

In my observations self-reliance = good! And more self-reliance therefore is better.

Now then, where does white meet gray area with regards to hyper-self-reliance and more self-reliance? And if self-reliance is good, then the sooner that is imprinted in the little human the better, right? The individual who believes that they can do better thru; "getting by with a little help from their friends" may never achieve their dreams, ambitions and goals. So, there are indeed tradeoffs.

Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.

You Can Heal Your Life: Never before Seen Interviews

You Have To Watch This Video

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

If you want to read something funny and get your daily laugh in, you need to read this, it's funny Using Religion Responsibility. It's based on overindulgence.

Power Of Positive Thinking
Norman Vincent Peal

Self-Mailers - When and How to Use Them

By definition, a self-mailer is any mailing that is completely self-contained and doesn't requ5B0ire an envelope. It could be a simple postcard (please read my article "Postcards as a Marketing Tool--Yes, They Still Work"), a piece that is folded once and stapled (or glued or taped) to provide more space, or something more complex with more folds.

As with any type of marketing piece, the self-mailer has pluses, minuses, and specific strategies and purposes. Follow these tips on how to use the self-mailer most effectively:

A plus: a self-mailer is less expensive than a multi-part package. It's cheaper to produce, less costly to mail, and takes less time for the copywriter to create.

A minus: a self-mailer is less personal than a letter. It announces itself as junk mail at a glance and is at risk for being tossed. It also provides less space to make a sales pitch.

When to use a self-mailer: it generally works best with simple offers. Use it for lead generation (where you don't need a hard sell), to announce a sale, or to send coupons to previous customers.

Some ways to use your space most efficiently:

1. Put your contact information on the front--don't make your prospect search for it.

2. Make the business reply card easy to tear off and return. And don't put anything on the other side of the BRC that the prospect will need later.

3. Devote some space to a picture of the item being offered, so your prospect can tell at a glance if she's interested.56A

4. Don't make it difficult to open--and don't design it so that important information is lost when the prospect tears it open.

5. Test! Try a self-mailer, and try a complete package. If the package pulls better, it'll pay for itself in increased sales.

Whatever you do, don't completely delete the lowly self-mailer from your marketing repertoire. Used in the right circumstances--and done right--it can be an effective marketing tool.

Lisa J. Lehr is a freelance copywriter specializing in direct response and marketing collateral, with a special interest in the health, pets, specialty foods, and inspirational/motivational/self-help niches. She has a degree in biology, has worked in a variety of fields including pharmaceuticals and teaching, and has volunteered for many causes including special-needs kids and literacy. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, art, music, outdoor exercise, and all things Celtic and Renaissance.

Have you signed up for her free e-mail series on marketing strategies?

http://www.justrightcopy.com

Remembering Your True Self

Have you ever wondered who you really are? When you were a kid you suspected something. You knew then that you were destined to be a hero, royalty, brilliant. The world today has become wild with possibilities and that inkling you had as a child well that was the truth. Unfortunately, as we grew we began to believe everything that was coming at us instead of holding on to that which was coming from within us. We doubted and we forgot.

Experiment with me for just a moment. Let yourself be young and unencumbered. Repeat out loud to yourself, I am of great worth. I will make a difference. I am grateful to have a purpose. Did you feel a tingle, a shiver of delight as you said it? The part of you that resonates to this statement, that special part of you that rises up as if it were being called, that is your true self.

For some time I was being eaten alive by such thoughts as, Im not smart, Im not attractive, I am worthless. It made me miserable. And I believe the reason such thoughts make us so miserable is the fact that they are untruths. That voice in your head is not your true self. Deep down we know this, but we are afraid to challenge the voice and give ourselves permission to be great. If those things were really true they wouldnt be so troubling and they wouldnt feel so horrible. We wouldnt be fighting them off all the time or continue to need re-convincing.

An Indian story tells of two wolves fighting inside us, one positive and the other negative, truth and untruth. If you want to know which one will win, pay attention to which one youve been feeding.

Dare to Soar with Carolyn Frances,
Life Coach & Spiritual Guide,
http://www.ClaimingGreatness.cc

Regaining Your Personal Power - Strategies To Help You Feel Empowered

Have you ever felt powerless, a sense of having no control over the circumstances you find yourself in?

This feeling can be caused by any number of things, from having no plan or goals in place to map your own direction to other people and their behaviour towards you.

The second of these examples is what we will focus on here, as it is a common situation in many aspects of our lives - dealing with other people's behaviour and attitudes at work, in business transactions, in our family lives, etc. In these situations, we can come across a whole raft of personalities, attitudes and behaviours that either complement our own (we then often forge friendships, collegial support or positive intimate relationships) or create conflict in our lives.

I can hear you say Yes! That happens to me at work. So what is happening in this scenario and what can you do about it?

Here is an example I have experienced. I will talk through this scenario, then we will explore ways to deal with these behaviours, attitudes and personalities that are often so opposed to our own.

Scenario

In a past work life, I had the displeasure of working with a colleague whom I believed111C had little interest or respect for other people. They communicated this by speaking arrogantly to people who were not working in the same level of job position within the organisation, using put-downs, ignoring you if the mood took them, and most frustrating of all, who would address the senior person in a meeting in response to a question or comment I had made to them! Grrrr.

Thankfully I did not have to work with this person on a daily basis. But when I was in meetings with them, I would end up feeling extremely aggravated and insulted - and yes, experience a pervasive sense of powerlessness to be able to do anything about their behaviour and how it made me feel.

And I would describe myself as a reasonably assertive person.

Have you ever felt like this? Maybe you have found a way to cope with a) the person or b) the feeling of powerlessness you experience as a result or c) both?

Here is one technique I learned to use whenever I dealt with this particular person at work. And I have found it is a technique that is easily transferable to using with other people and areas in my life. It is not rocket science and you may have come across a similar idea before now - but do you use it?

There are actually three parts to this technique, so read on.......

1. Prepare Beforehand

If you know or have experienced the behaviour from that person before, then be assured they will seldom change how they behave and communicate; because this is (or has become) part of their personality.

The advantage you have is knowing this and putting in place for yourself some strategies that will help you.

For example, deciding that if they let the telephone interrupt a meeting you are having with them, you are prepared to ask them to divert the phone calls until the meeting is finished. You do not have to tell them or demand they do this; an assertive request is far more likely to be heard and listened to, therefore acted upon. Yes, you are the person having to be assertive, but we already know that the other person does not communicate assertively.

2. Respect Your Rights

You have the right to ask for the phone to be diverted or switched off. You have the right to be spoken to civilly. You have the right to be spoken to directly, not selectively ignored.

When you want the other person to change their behaviour towards you, you need to constantly remind yourself of your rights, all the way through the interaction with them.

As you do this, use I-statements. For example, instead of saying:

You should have turned off the phone before we started the meeting

Try saying something like:

I would appreciate it if you would turn the phone off until we have finished out meeting

3. Dealing With Your Feelings Later

For all of your assertive communication, you can sometimes still come out of a meeting feeling angry or insulted. But I tell you, if you approach the situation - and therefore the person - assertively, you hold on to your own power. Yes, you may still have some negative feelings, but being able to say to yourself - I handled that well; I held on to my values and I communicated assertively - is far healthier than the self message - I always feel so powerless; I wish I had said....

And to finish off, go and talk to someone you trust about it to release all that pent up frustration - that is healthy!

There are numerous assertive communication techniques available to you to practice with and use in situations where you would like to regain control and your personal power. These are just a couple of ideas that may just help you.

Footnote

If you have experienced a feeling of powerlessness in a similar or other situation and you have discovered a way of dealing with it, I would love to hear from you. I am putting together a booklet of ideas and feedback I receive from people (citing them as the author of their idea/s of course). I see this as a great tool to share with each other and with people who find themselves in these situations and don't know what to do.

So, if you have an idea or strategy you would like to share, let me know about them!

2008 Lesley Petersen

Lesley has worked10FA and taught in the personal development field for over 20 years. Her website Positively You offers you plenty more information, ideas and advice on strategies for making decisions, identifying your priorities, how to create a positive, fulfilling life for yourself and much more. Positively You is a website about people and for people who want to improve their life and find solutions for their personal and professional lives.

Visit http://www.positivelyou.com today and sign up for her Free Mini-course as well as explore the other opportunities available to you.

Questioning Your Religion - Movie Video

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

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

Andrew Carnegie

7 Tips to Handle Stress Management in the Workplace

It is good to have some pressure at work because it provides motivation to excel and work with a bit of a sense of urgency and purpose. But, when work stress becomes too high it impacts your health, personal and family life.

In this article, we will discuss 7 strategies to manage pressure at work place.

Here are some suggestions for successful stress management in the workplace:

1. You should identify the event which increases your stress level at work. If you find long drive to go to your office is very stressful and you should try to find alternative for that.

2. You need to teach yourself to say "No" to certain request for work. This is a good way to reduce work pressure.

3. Time management is the key to avoid work pressure at job. Try to isolate event which takes your maximum time. Try to avoid unwanted and unplanned meeting, avoid internet surfing and gossip at office.

4. You should regularly practice breathing exercise to reduce anxiety and pressure at work. Weight training is very helpful for effective stress management.

5. You should spend quality time with your family member and self development. This will help you to reduce office tension.

6. Humor is one of the best ways to reduce stress because it distracts you from having a stressed mindset

7. Finally, if you do not like your job, you should plan to change your job.

It's our life and health and you should actively work to manage tension and anxiety at your work place.

Are you looking for stress management tips? I collected some of the best articles on effective stress management at my website topstressrelieftips.com

Content Writing Can Make Or Mar the Image of a Writer

All those who love to write and express their feelings by making use of powerful words must go for the profession of content writing. If you have the art of writing powerful content then you can surely polish this art and give it a shape of creative writing. These days creative writers are using their caliber of content writing in the most efficient way to rule the different genres of writing.

Writing is not an easy job because every single word written by a writer conveys a message to others that must be understood by others in the same way with which the author has intended to write. These days the field of content writing is spread among different dimensions and among all the forms of writing, web writing is the most accepted form. With the innovation of new online technologies people want to post their views and comments online through a simple mouse click.

Several content writing services like article writing, submissions, blog writing, press releases and many more are utilized by different online marketing companies to promote goods/services through web. The aim of an efficient writer is to convey the message in a very subtle way while attracting the readers without compromising on the quality of the content. Content writing deals with beautification of the write up by using flowery words that do not tend to mislead a reader.

The job of a writer is to convey the right message in a right way by making use of the right words. Usage of absurd words can mislead a reader and thereby mar the image of a writer. If a writer has the perfect art of content writing then the writer can surely make his/her image in the field of writing. Content writer is the biggest artist because he/she makes sure to deliver a lucid content without loosing the essence of the content.

No, doubt that it takes years to expertise in content writing. All those who want to use the tool of writing to earn a living must start focusing on the fundamentals of efficient content writing.

About the Author-Naman Jain is an Online Marketing professional, presently working with Rupiz Media, one of the leading SEM company offering expert SEO services, PPC Advertising, Article marketing services,drupal development, UK web development solutions and website designing over the globe.

Substitute For Popular Bonsai Species In Cold Climate

Bonsai culture offers the greatest and most beautiful tree species on this planet. Since bonsai originate from asia, most likely from China and Japan, the most popular trees are originating from this region.

Doing bonsai elsewhere in the world can be tricky. If your climate doesnt match the climate in Japan, you may not be able to grow successfully some of the most popular species. Your temperature range could be too cold in winter or too hot in summer. The best examples are the tropical species that cannot be grown year long in the northern climate unless you have the proper setup indoor or the winter could be too cold for hardy species.

Rest assure, nothing is lost. Many tree species originating from certain region or growing locally can be great substitute for a bonsai candidate. The most praised maple is without a doubt the trident maple. (Acer buergerianum) This specie is cold hardy to USDA zone 5 which is around minus 27 celsius. In Canada, the winters are getting harsher temperature. A great substitute would be the Amur maple (Acer Ginnala) which is cold hardy to USDA zone 2, minus 45 celsius. This species is a great replacement since it is very cold hardy, possesses small trilobed leaves and is a fast grower.

Other species liked from bonsai enthusiast are the Japanese pines. But, once again, cold can be a disadvantage. To the rescue comes the mugho pine. This pine will tolerate some very cold temperature plus it is a very tough plant tolerating many bonsai mistake. The mugho pine needles can be reduced much like the Japanese counterpart plus it displays a textured bark.

Another popular specie is the Chinese elm (ulmus parvifolia) but once again, cold is hard on this specie. For a replacement, the less known Siberian elm (ulmus pumila) can be as beautiful as the chinese one. Much like the Chinese elm, the Siberian elm as twiggy branching, grows fast and leaves are reducing well with proper technique.

Some others tree species are the American or tamarack larch (Larix Laricina) for an evergreen, the sargeant crabapple (malus sargentii) for a flowering and fruit producing tree or the European birch (betula pendula) for a broadleaf tree. These all displays beautiful characteristics. For instance, the American larch is the only evergreen to loose its needles when fall show itself, the needles will turn from green to yellow for a few weeks before shedding. The sargeant crabapple will give you some nice white to pink flowers in spring and produce red fruit in autumn. The European birch as a nice white paperish bark that peel itself easily. Plus all these are moderate to fast growing tree that would yield a nice bonsai in a few years.

Avid full time hobby bonsai grower. As been practicing bonsai and gardening for more then 8 years. Owner of http://www.mishobonsai.com, a website with ressource for bonsai seeds and tree seeds.

Gardening to Inspire

I live on a street that historically has been known to be the place to hide from the police, buy drugs, and create all sorts of havoc. I live at the top of a hill with a stop sign about eight feet or so from my front door. The sign might as well not even be there. There is a sidewalk across the street that is used to heavy foot traffic. My street is a busy, little street. The house I live in is a four family house and I live in the basement apartment. The back of the house is a wall of rocks that lead into the woods. On both sides of the house, there are two small yards, both with a massive Pine tree square in the middle. Needless to say, it was not necessarily the best place to cultivate and grow a prize winning pumpkin.

As one travels down my street, do not be surprised to find dilapidated old Mill homes that have been unattended to for years. If you need to collect recyclables while in your morning jaunt, wait until a Sunday morning comes by and take that walk. You could put a down payment on a new car once done combing. Sure, you will find cans, and who knows what, perhaps even a yard with beautiful plastic flowers carelessly staked to the ground, but gardens are sorely lacking.

I am a Libra aesthetics are my thing. I love art, color, balance. Luckily, for me I am the type that can go with the wind. My point? Thanks for asking. I decided I was going to add, art, color and balance to my neighborhood. I wanted to lift moods as the pedestrian tramped down the hill past my house. There was going to be gardens, fruit, flower, herbs. You name it; I was going to grow it! Moreover, in turn I would stop the casting of beer cans into my small yards, traded instead for oohhs's and aahh's at the beauty that I had bestowed upon my neighborhood. Well, with a little help from photosynthesis, and a bee here and there.

My plan in hand, well o.k., admittedly, it was more a list that said, "Get garden stuff, and gas" I went to my local garden store and to the Dollar Store (hey soil is cheaper). I purchased a spade, and a hoe. In hindsight, I would of picked up a shovel, rake etc. but that's why it's hindsight. I was prepared. I bought seeds, oh, boy did I! I will not bore you with the list; it was well over sixty packets of whatever you could imagine. The odds were in my favor as far as growing zones. I live in Connecticut, and just about, everything grows here as far as summer crops, and fall crops. From pumpkins to eggplant, I had it all.

The question was what was I going to do with all of my newly acquired master gardening equipment? Where, where was I going to do all of this planting? Where is the sun again? Yes, I asked that question. What side is best to plant, there are so many trees here, and the sun filters through them. I was incredibly limited by my lack of sunlight, and the fact that I had just purchased those sixty packets of sun loving seeds was not helping. However, I had a goal. I was going to beautify my neighborhood if it killed me. My secret hope was that the beautiful, well-designed gardens that I intended to have would spread the popular, "Pass it forward" mentality. It was inspiration and the folks on my street needed it. Maybe criminals would not want to hide here anymore. The power of Lavender would save us all, and if not we would at least smell better!

I had no plan, no well-designed plan for my master gardens. I read the directions on the back of the seed packets, ignored most of the information, and dug holes. I knew what an inch was, so I asked myself, how hard could it be to get the seed to the right depth? No problem! It is no big deal that half of what I planted never came up. It was fate; my pumpkins unbeknownst to me would take its allotted space as well as others. Therefore, it worked out in the end, well sort of. I will get to the pumpkins demise in a bit.

I found a spot that got direct sun most of the day and planted snow peas. With no thought to it's future height. I then planted seventeen tomato plants in containers, with five to six plants in each. Remember, I did not have a handy gardening manual. I planted squash next to the eggplant and the pumpkins. I would not recommend doing this. Before I knew it both sides of the house had small gardens of vegetables that had no business neighboring up to the nearest plant. At the time, I figured fait accompli! Voila, I would be eating fresh salads forever. No tainted tomatoes for my friends and neighbors.

My next mission was to plant as many flowers as humanly possible to lighten us all up. I purchased so many containers, ceramic pots, goofy canisters for herbs, and yes, more soil. I picked out flower seeds, I bought flats of petunias, pansies, alyssum, you name it I bought it. My favorite purchase of course was my Munstead Lavender plants. I had visions of lavender fields with me dancing through the beautiful purple flowers. I had a plan, albeit a bit misguided of course! I also remember that I had some bulbs, and honestly, I have no idea what they were. It just seemed to me everyone else in Connecticut (except my street, remember the plastic flowers?) had bulbs. I knew those trusty bulbs would come back each year. I believe this was my first encounter with acknowledging that I did not know the difference between perennial and annual. Do not feel bad for me I learned my lesson.

The funny thing is during my planting mania, friends started giving me starter plants. I received Cherry Peppers, Cayenne, more varieties of eggplant as well as tomatoes. Let us just say I was beginning to get overwhelmed. I know that most of what I had planted was not going to get the sun that they needed. However, I decided to be hopeful. That is what this neighborhood needed a big dose of hope.

Miraculously, hope arrived with blossoms. Sunflowers were becoming as promised, giant! Geraniums were red and thriving, Morning Glories started spreading through everything. That most certainly was unintentional. I am not sure to this day exactly how I feel about Morning Glories they have control issues.

As each blossom was pollinated, so was the delight of my neighbors. My cynical, unhappy neighbors were smiling. I would sit out on my front steps and hear words of praise. The admiration for the gardens was being demonstrated by children coming across the street to figure out, "what's that smell?" It was an art exhibit for all the senses. Touch, smell, taste (edible pansies), sound, and sight. The sounds were incredible, bees buzzing, butterflies flapping, the wind whipping through the Sunflowers. My creation, albeit wildly disorganized had created a sense of community. I have spent many conversations with the folks on my street about how they can turn their little yards into dreamy, productive places.

Now, I am not saying it was all Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farms here; I had my crosses to bear. The insects, the aphids especially gave me a run for my money. I just went to my friendly, local garden store, closed my eyes, and pointed to the organic bug killer that would solve all my pests' problems. It worked, with patience and persistence and timing, I got rid of those pests. I would like to say this story ends with a happy ending for the pumpkins but alas, it was not to be. I was unaware that I was starting to have a white mold problem. I was out one day transplanting some small squash plants from one garden to another for room issues. I did not realize that what I had just done was ruin my yellow squash garden. The white mold transplanted itself as well. The result was that simply I killed two gardens. No Halloween pumpkins at this house. Unless I can bring myself to go to the store and buy one. I am not sure what the rules are on the length of mourning over the loss of your beloved pumpkin patch.

I suppose the morale to my story is regardless of the struggle and pain mastering gardening can be, one smile from one neighbor makes it all worth it. My neighborhood is slowly "Passing it forward". There are container gardens as I walk my street. The courageous that are growing squash. The plastic flowers are still there, but I have come to terms with this.

Roxanne Tracy is a freelance writer covering many different topics. She is a Social Worker who runs a donation program for a foster care agency.

The Advantages Of Bamboo Cutting Boards

Bamboo cutting boards are becoming quite popular. But how to they stack up compared to traditional hardwood boards, or plastic ones?

Well, lets start with the plant itself.

-Bamboo is highly sustainable. Some varieties can grow up to two feet per day, and ready diameters of 120 foot around. Bamboo is a grass, which means that it propagates itself by sending out new shoots underground. This means that it does not need to be replanted.

-The varieties of bamboo used to make cutting boards are generally not from the habitats of the giant panda. Chalk up one more for environmental strengths.

-Bamboo is 16% harder than hard maple, a wood commonly used to make cutting boards.

-Due to it's hardness, bamboo is less porous than hardwoods. It soaks up less water, and thus it soaks up less bacteria.

-Bamboo cutting boards are made up of small pieces of bamboo glued together. This means that quality construction is important, as is choosing a board made from formaldehyde free glue. Formaldehyde is -nasty- stuff. Luckily, anything that has the 'non-toxic' label will not have formaldehydes.

Not too bad.

Sounds pretty good so far. But how do bamboo cutting boards perform?

In my experience, pretty darn well.

As with any wooden cutting board, you have to be careful not to soak it in water for too long, otherwise it will swell (though it doesn't swell as easily as most hardwoods). The hardness of bamboo means that it will wear well (and is hard to scar with a knife) while at the same time being soft enough not to damage or blunt your knife, unlike glass and some polymer boards.

While bamboo doesn't clean up as easily as a plastic board (which can be thrown in the dishwasher) they do look a lot better. Furthermore, bamboo still beats out plastics in terms of how well it wears. Because plastic is so soft, it is easy to scar it with a knife. These scars can hold food, and germs.

Bamboo's porosity (is that even I word? it is now!) means that they hold very little moisture. Living in a humid environment, I've had problems with hardwood boards growing bacteria and mold (ew!). However I've not yet had any trouble with bamboo.

Care is easy. Mineral oil can be used on bamboo to help retain waterproofing, luster, and looks. While on the cleaning side of things, bamboo is as easy to take care of as hardwood.

Bede Fahey is a College student from Central PA, who is involved in the promotion of 'green' activities and behaviors through various blogs and websites. He is passionate about cooking.

Bamboo Cutting Boards

Charles Fillmore

How is Your Luck Cycle in the Earth Ox Year?

The Earth Ox year starts officially on 4th February,0050 hours. What does this year have in store for you? Discover it all in this article...

Rat: Born 1924,1936,1948,1960,1972,1984,1996,2008

This year will definitely be a better year for the Rat as compared to last year. Last year was a time for preparation and this year is the time to launch your grand plans. You will meet important allies who will help you achieve your goals. As compared to last year, this year, your success will come with very little effort on your part.

Speaking of wealth luck, although times may be bad, you will still be able to retain and make more money. Money may come from unexpected sources.

Health wise, do not overeat. Look out for illnesses relating to the kidney. Women should go for health checkups. Look out for illnesses relating to the ovaries.

Romance luck is extremely favorable. You may find a lot of potential suitors. But do not play around or you may get yourself into trouble. You should make use of this year to network and expand your social circle.

Ox: Born 1925,1937,1949,1961,1973,1985,1997,2009

After a great year last year, things start to slow down this year. You may find yourself getting frustrated over little things easily. You seem to get moody easily. Many people may not agree with your way of handling things, but being stubborn, you insist doing things your way. This may cause you even more frustration.

It is recommended that you take things easy and listen to the advice of your family and friends. Stop being stubborn this year as it will not serve you. You may find yourself working very hard, but not attaining your desired results.

You will have problems in your relationships this year as you get touchy easily and get into quarrels easily with people. Look out for your temper. Resist the urge to say something hurtful and regret afterwards. Romance wise, no one seems to be right for you. If you are attached, your relationship may be tested this year.

Health wise, look out for injuries related to knives and sharp objects. Avoid all dangerous activities. Go for medical checkups regularly. Try not to travel long distances and avoid visiting the sick or attending funerals.

Last but not least, take things easy. Don't be stubborn and upset if things don't go your way. When you are in a good mood, you will have better health.

Tiger: Born 1926,1938,1950,1962,1974,1986,1998

After a challenging year, the Tiger will be smiling from ear to ear in 2009.

Career wise, things will start working in your favor. You will have the opportunity to bring your career to the next level. However, be down to earth and do not take short cuts. You may lose everything you built. This year is also the time to reap the fruits of your labor.

Health wise, although the sickness star is in your sign this year, overall, things will still be fine. You may be plagued with small illnesses like cough and flu, but your overall health luck will still be fine. Look out for emotional ups and downs.

Romance luck is the main highlight of this year. With the Marriage Star in your sign this year, it is time to get married. Singles may find true love this year. In fact, you may find that you have too many choices to choose from.

Rabbit: Born 1927,1939,1951,1963,1975,1987,1999

This year, the Rabbit's luck cycle slides back to average. You may find a lot of stress and problems on your mind. There may be a lot of challenges ahead for you.

In terms of career, you will gain experience from tough situations. Do not be afraid of the hardship, but look at what you have gained from the tough experience. Understand that you will still prevail in the end. Do not slack, focus all your energy on getting over the challenges.

Wealth luck isn't too favorable. You may find yourself losing money over unexpected situations.

In terms of relationships, you will be challenged to being more tolerant towards others. Do not lose your temper or you might regret. Try to ally with as many people as you can. Do not make enemies unnecessarily.

Romance wise, this is a quiet year. You may find your expectations too high. Focus on your career instead of romance this year.

For health issues, beware of accidents and illnesses arising from stress. Try to relax and not be too hard on yourself.

Dragon: Born 1928,1940,1952,1964,1976,1988,2000

Though last year was a better year, this year, the Dragon's luck cycle is still above average. Besides the area of relationships, the other areas are favorable.

In terms of career, you will meet important allies who will bring your career to the next level. You will find that things progress very smoothly and everything seems to be going your way.

As I mentioned above, you must look out in the area of relationships. Be wary of people who will backstab you. Your success will invoke jealousy. Backstabbing, gossip and quarrels will be quite common. Stay close to your important allies and don't allow those backstabbers to bring you down.

Romance wise, high expectations will lead to great disappointments. Singles should lower their expectations. Couples should be more tolerant towards each others.

Coming to health, refrain from quarrels and losing your temper. Avoid traveling long distances this year. If you have to travel, do a medical checkup before you go.

Snake: Born 1929,1941,1953,1965,1977,1989,2001

The Snake's good luck from last year continues into this year.

Career wise, you will find yourself in a powerful position. Your superiors and peers are impressed by your performance. Resist the urge of being over-confident. Your enemies might be plotting your downfall.

Which brings me to the next point, your relationships. This year, try to make as many friends as you can, as you will be needing allies later this year.

Romance wise, there will be a lot of ups and downs. It is quite a turbulent time to be looking for romance. Ladies will fare better than the men.

Health wise, be wary of nervous breakdowns. Try to relax and be calm in everything you do. Once you start rushing, problems arise. Another piece of advice I have for you is not to think too much over trivial matters. No matter what, just stay happy.

Horse: Born 1930,1942,1954,1966,1978,1990,2002

The Horse can heave a sigh of relief after a tough year. This year, you can look forward to a much much better year, as everything will improve. You will be ready to take on the world again this year and recoup the losses you made last year.

Your career, reputation and position will be on the rise this year. However, do not rush into things without planning. Focus on your goals, do not allow false images to distract you.

Relationship wise, be more tolerant towards others. Learn to be more forgiving and do not hold grudges. You may get hurt, but let things go and take it easy. For if you hold grudges, you are harming yourself in the end.

In terms of romance, be wary of being cheated. Don't trust strangers too easily. Learn about the other party before committing to a relationship.

Health wise, take good care of your health. Go for regular check ups. Do not take things lightly as there may be hidden illnesses. Be wary of accidents and natural disasters.

Sheep: Born 1919,1931,1943,1955,1967,1979,1991,2003

The Sheep is in for a challenging year. Things are not what they seem to be. You may find a lot of surprises waiting for you. Always check things out before you proceed. Don't assume. This is not the time to take a chance.

Be prepared for last minute changes and nasty surprises. Do not be a guarantor or lend money to people. You may get yourself into a tight spot.

Your stress level might be up to your head and you will not be in a clear state of mind. Always remain cool. Don't allow yourself to get messed up. Take things easy to prevent yourself from making mistakes. If you can, get friends to advise you and help you out. Don't fight the battle yourself.

There will be a lot of changes in your life this year. You may also learn some painful lessons. But in the end, you will still survive and emerge as a wiser person.

Romance wise, be wary of being played out. Keep your expectations to the minimum. Things may not always be what they seem.

Health wise, be wary of mood swings, stress and nervousness. Avoid all dangerous activities. Don't take any chance with your health this year. Go for regular check ups.

Monkey: Born 1920,1932,1944,1956,1968,1980,1992,2004

If last year has been good, this year is going to be better. The Monkey will be in a generally good mood this year. Many things will be going your way this year. There will be smooth progress in all areas of your life.

Let's look at the area of career first. In terms of career, do seek the advice of others. You may find yourself benefiting more from others' advice. Make use of this opportunity to make more friends and create more allies at your workplace.

This year, your enemies will not be able to do much to you, due to the strong influence of the lucky stars. However, do not take revenge on anyone. Just live and let live. Be a friend to everyone if you can.

It is very important for you to remain humble, despite your success this year. Remember, pride comes before a fall.

When it comes to money, your overall wealth luck is favorable. You might lose a little money here and there. But you will still make back everything.

Romance luck is still considered very good, though not as happening as last year. It will be a peaceful year for you in romance. This will be a good year to get married or to have kids. It is more of a stable romance rather than flirts and flings.

Singles may find their ideal partner this year. It may be someone who you already know, but never expected romance to blossom with this person.

Health wise, just be wary of stressing yourself over work. Get enough rest and everything will be fine.

Rooster: Born 1921,1933,1945,1957,1969,1981,2005

The Rooster's good luck from last year continues this year. This will also be a year of smiles for you.

In terms of your career, you will find yourself venturing into a different field. Although it is something you have never done before, you seem to be able to find success in this new field.

This year, all your past relationship problems seem to disappear. This is the time for you to form new strategic alliances. Romance wise, it will be a fun time for romance. You will find yourself devoting a lot of time to your relationship.

Singles will find their ideal partners while those attached will bring the relationship to the next level. It is also a good year to get married.

In terms of wealth, spend within your means. Do not borrow money unnecessarily.

Health wise, do not worry over trivial things. Just let go and let things take care of themselves. The best cure for you this year is to choose to be happy and carefree.

Dog: Born 1922,1934,1946,1958,1970,1982,1994,2006

The Dog is the most blessed among all animals. After 2 years of good luck cycle, this is going to be another good year for you. It's 3 years of consecutive good luck.

Speaking of career, this is the time to launch all your grand plans. Just let your imagination run wild and go for it. You have many strategic allies waiting to help you out. Make use of this year to accomplish as much as you possibly can.

If you have thought of running your own business, this is the time to do so.

Romance wise, this will be a peaceful year. Everything will progress smoothly. Generally, there will be no hiccups or quarrels. Just beware of third parties trying to mess up your relationship. But overall, things will still work out well.

Health wise, be wary of operations and accidents. Health check ups are very important. Go for blood tests and exercise regularly.

Pig: Born 1923,1935,1947,1959,1971,1983,2007

This will be a challenging year for the Pig. One of the most important advice for you is not to be stubborn. Try to seek support and help from the others and avoid doing everything by yourself. Don't be a lone ranger.

Remember, ask and you shall receive.

You should keep a low profile this year and not expect too much. High expectations will result in great disappointments. Career wise, you may find progress very slow and frustrating. Make use of this time to relax and take things easy.

The best area of your life this year is your wealth luck. You may come across unexpected sources of wealth. You might strike lottery this year.

In terms of relationships, you will be tested this year. Avoid losing your temper at all costs. Especially when it comes to proving your point. You may win the argument in the end, but it may spell the end of your relationship. So be very careful.

Health wise, just don't get angry easily. You will definitely face frustrations from many sources, but don't let it affect your well-being. Take good care of yourself, take things easy, and the next year will be better.

I have come to the end of my article. I wish you all the best in the Earth Ox year. If you can't remember anything in the article, just remember this: No matter how bad things seem to be, just remember to be grateful for what you have and count your blessings. In that way, you can attract more good luck.

Good luck to you.

Marco Chong is the author of "The 58 Secret Keys To Home Feng Shui That You Must Know". He practices Flying Star Feng Shui and specializes in home feng shui. Marco has been practicing feng shui and Chinese astrology since 1992.

For more information, visit http://www.58fengshuisecretkeys.com

Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Feng Shui Tips For Renovating Your Home - Part 2

Light plays a very important role in creating good feng shui. Dark corners in homes attract a lot of negative energy that can be harmful for the family. A brighter home is always more auspicious than a dark and gloomy one. If you were planning to renovate your house, the addition and widening of windows to let in more natural light would be a great idea. Sunlight rejuvenates the energy of a room. As much as possible, all rooms in the house should have window, especially the bedrooms. Although bedrooms are predominantly Yin areas of the home, it is inauspicious for the bedroom to be too Yin (passive and dark), as it would resemble a tomb. Having a window allows the bedroom's energy to a renewed everyday by letting in fresh air and sunlight.

On the other hand, it is also a bad idea to have too much light in the house. Floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors tend to let in too much light. A room with too much Yang energy is also a bad idea, as it may cause restlessness and petty irritations.

A fresh coat of paint would also do wonders to the room. The walls and furniture is should be painted or cleansed regularly to get rid of accumulated negative Chi. This is the quickest and easiest way to renew the Chi of the home.

As much as possible, important areas of the home such as your bedroom should not be located next to toilets and the kitchen. If this is inevitable, at the very least, make sure your bed or work desk does not share a wall with the toilet or the stove (with the toilet and the stove on the other side of the wall).

For more practical feng shui tips visit - http://www.fengshuitipstoday.com/

Daniel Quinn

Feng Shui Bedroom Basics for Teens

Feng shui is a wonderful way to create improvements in your life simply by aligning the items in your bedroom. These can include your bed, your desk or computer, even your stereo.

Feng shui is a wonderful way to create improvements in your life simply by aligning the items in your bedroom. You might even find a new love as a result! Use these tips to get your room in harmony with your life.

Important Basic Feng Shui Bedroom Do's and Don'ts

DO use a compass

Stand in the middle of the room and hold the compass level and waist-high. Then make a diagram of your room, creating nine squares. Put the correct direction on each square. Now you are ready to move the items according to compass or your personal auspicious directions. (A compass only costs about $2-$5 at Wal-Mart or Target.)

Give yourself a mini-space clearing

--If you decide to use feng shui in your room, then clear out all unnecessary items and junk from your drawers, closet, and under the bed.

--Clean thoroughly by vacuuming, dusting and washing windows, ceiling fans, etc.

--Now you're ready to feng shui your room, but follow the DON'Ts below:

DON'Ts

Don't have open book shelves opposite your bed or behind you as you study. These act like knives and will encourage people "talking behind your back."

Don't have water or pictures of water (this aggravates asthma, allergies, and can encourage respiratory or sinus problems). So take out the Zen fountain or fish tank.

Don't have plants in the bedroom. Plants use up body energy in your bedroom.

BED DOs and DON'Ts

DO make sure it has the widest view of the room and entryway so you can see the door easily

DO try to sleep with the top of your head pointing in one of your personal feng shui directions (see below)

DO have a solid wall behind it (or at least curtains) vs. a window

DO make sure you cannot see a bathroom, toilet, or stairs from the bed

DON'T have the bed against a shared wall of a bathroom or toilet

DON'T have a mirror or television that reflects the bed

DON'T have your feet point out the door from your bed

Using personal feng shui: Having your head pointed in one of your auspicious directions (AD) is one of the best ways to tap good luck. Click here to calculate your personal feng shui directions. This link will tell you what directions are the best for you. Even if your room is in the Southwest portion of the house and this is not a good direction for you, you can still orient your bed so that your head points in one of your good directions.

DESK DOs and DON'Ts

DO try to place your desk in NE corner of your room

DO always sit where you can see the door and anyone entering the room easily

DO try to face one of your AD

DO keep a bright light turned on here to enhance your education luck

DO hang a lead crystal from the ceiling here, or place rock crystals in this corner of the room and in the NE corner of the desk for better study concentration

DO add a globe to this location to improve test scores and success in school

DRESSER

Place in East corner if wood

Place in West corner if metallic-colored, or if painted white, silver, or gold

Place in North if black or blue

Place in SE if green

Place in South or SW if red, orange, purple

COMPUTER, PHONE, & STEREO

Place phone in the NW corner of room to bring more helpful people into your life.

Keep stereo playing on low volume while you are away to keep energy active in your room and attract helpful people to you.

DECORATIONS, ETC.

Mirrors: Not recommended in the bedroom. If used, make sure you cannot see yourself from the bed.

Lamps: Place one in the south (fame and recognition; a lava lamp is great here!), the NE (educational luck), and the SW (to help you with your sweetie or bring one if you don't have one already -- lava lamps are also great here,too!). The lamps will energize these areas.

Pictures: Make sure are these positive images that make you happy. Violence, dark, or brooding-types of pictures are not suitable for a place of rest and relaxation.

Troubles with mom and dad? Place a happy picture of your family in the East corner of your room to help these relationships become easier and more harmonious.

Looking for a new love? Place a picture of your heart's desire in the SW to help this relationship -- or to encourage a new one relationship, place a picture of your "ideal" person here.

Bulletin boards: Hang these on the south wall of your room. Pin pictures of famous people, letters of recognition, awards, ribbons, or certificates here for more added recognition any kind of accomplishment is perfect for this location.

A light that illuminates this area is especially helpful! Place trophies on a shelf in this location for continued success and recognition. Paint this board red for an extra boost in recognition energy!

Ceiling fans: not recommended because they displace body energy while sleeping; if used, place small red dot on each blade.

Clutter: If you don't feel well or you're having troubles in your life, clear your space. Get a box and do a thorough cleaning out. This doesn't mean you have to throw things away.

Store them in the garage or attic. If after a while you don't use any of these things, then donate them to charity. Do make note of how you feel once your room is clear.

With a harmonious environment, you are sure to be more comfortable, enjoy yourself more, and do better in life. If, you have used any of these tips and found them helpful, I'd like to know about it! I'm always interested in hearing from teens who have benefited from feng shui! Drop me a note here.

Kathryn Weber is the publisher of the Red Lotus Letter feng shui e-zine and is dedicated to helping her readers develop successful, prosperous, and supportive environments with feng shui. To subscribe, logon to http://www.redlotusletter.com and receive this Special Report FREE "16 Feng Shui Secrets for Greater Prosperity."

Eckhart Tolle