konane's Blog

"The Game of Life....

By: Florence Shinn
Published: March 2009
Source Aquarius-Atlanta.com

"Most people consider life a battle, but it is not a battle, it is a game.

It is a game, however, which cannot be played successfully without the knowledge of spiritual law, and the Old and the New Testaments give the rules of the game with wonderful clearness. Jesus Christ taught that it was a great game of Giving and Receiving.

"Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap." This means that whatever man sends out in word or deed, will return to him; what he gives, he will receive. If he gives hate, he will receive hate; if he gives love, he will receive love; if he gives criticism, he will receive criticism; if he lies he will be lied to; if he cheats, he will be cheated. 

We are taught also, that the imaging faculty plays a leading part in the game of life. "Keep thy heart (or imagination) with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." (Prov. 4:23.) This means that what man images, sooner or later externalizes in his affairs. I know of a man who feared a certain disease. It was a very rare disease and difficult to get, but he pictured it continually and read about it until it manifested in his body, and he died, the victim of distorted imagination.

So we see, to play successfully the game of life, we must train the imaging faculty. A person with an imaging faculty trained to image only good, brings into his life "every righteous desire of his heart" - health, wealth, love, friends, perfect self-expression, his highest ideals.

The imagination has been called, "The Scissors of The Mind," and it is ever cutting, cutting day by day, the pictures man sees there, and sooner or later he meets his own creations in his outer world. To train the imagination successfully, man must understand the workings of his mind. The Greeks said: "Know Thyself."

There are three departments of the mind; the subconscious, conscious and superconscious. The subconscious, is simply power, without direction. It is like steam or electricity, and it does what it is directed to do; it has no power of induction. Whatever man feels deeply about or images clearly, is impressed upon the subconscious mind, and carried out in minutest detail. For example: a woman I know, when a child, always "made believe" she was a widow. She "dressed up" in black clothes and wore a long black veil, and people thought she was very clever and amusing. She grew up and married a man with whom she was deeply in love. In a short time he died and she wore black and a sweeping veil for many years. The picture of herself as a widow was impressed upon the subconscious mind, and in due time worked itself out, regardless of the havoc created.

The conscious mind has been called mortal or carnal mind. It is the human mind and sees life as it appears to be. It sees death, disaster, sickness, poverty and limitation of every kind, and it impresses the subconscious.

The superconscious mind is the God Mind within each man, and is the realm of perfect ideas. In it, is the "perfect pattern" spoken of by Plato, The Divine Design; for there is a Divine Design for each person."There is a place that you are to fill and no one else can fill, something you are to do, which no one else can do." There is a perfect picture of this in the superconscious mind. It usually flashes across the conscious as an unattainable ideal - "something too good to be true." In reality, it is man's true destiny (or destination) flashed to him from the Infinite Intelligence which is within himself. Many people, however, are in ignorance of their true destinies and are striving for things and situations which do not belong to them, and would only bring failure and dissatisfaction if attained.

Getting into the spiritual swing of things is no easy matter for the average person. The adverse thoughts of doubt and fear surge from the subconscious. They are the "army of the aliens" which must be put to flight. This explains why it is so often, "darkest before the dawn."

The Law of Prosperity One of the greatest messages given to the race through the scriptures is that God is man's supply and that man can release, through his spoken word, all that belongs to him by divine right. He must, however, have perfect faith in his spoken word.

A woman came to me in great distress and said she was to be sued on the fifteenth of the month for three thousand dollars. She knew no way of getting the money and was in despair. I told her God was her supply, and that there is a supply for every demand. So I spoke the word! I gave thanks that the woman would receive three thousand dollars at the right time in the right way. I told her she must have perfect faith, and act her perfect faith. 

The fifteenth came but no money had materialized. She called me on the phone and asked what she was to do. I replied to her and she asked me to lunch with her to keep up her courage. When I joined her at a restaurant, I said, "This is no time to economize. Order an expensive luncheon, act as if you have already received the three thousand dollars."

"All things whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." "You must act as if you had already received." The next morning she called me on the phone and asked me to stay with her during the day. I said, "No, you are divinely protected and God is never too late."

In the evening she phoned again, greatly excited and said, "My dear, a miracle has happened! I was sitting in my room this morning, when the doorbell rang, it was my cousin calling, we talked for about an hour, and just as he was leaving he said, 'Oh, by the way, how are finances?' I told him I needed the money, and he said, 'Why, my dear, I will give you three thousand dollars the first of the month.' I didn't like to tell him I was going to be sued. What shall I do? I won't receive it till the first of the month, and I must have it tomorrow.

I said, "Spirit is never too late. I gave thanks that she has received the money on the invisible plane and that it manifests on time." The next morning her cousin called her up and said, "Come to my office this morning and I will give you the money." That afternoon, she had three thousand dollars to her credit in the bank, and wrote checks as rapidly as her excitement would permit.

If one asks for success and prepares for failure, he will get the situation he has prepared for. Man must prepare for the thing he has asked for, when there isn't the slightest sign of it in sight.

For example: A woman found it necessary to look for an apartment during the year when there was a great shortage of apartments in New York. It was considered an impossibility, and her friends were sorry for her and said, "Isn't it too bad, you'll have to store your furniture and live in a hotel." She replied, "You needn't feel sorry for me, I'm a superman, and I'll get an apartment."

She spoke the words: "Infinite Spirit, open the way for the right apartment." She knew there was a supply for every demand, and that she was "unconditionally," working on the spiritual plane, and that "one with God is a majority."

She had contemplated buying new blankets, when the "tempter," the adverse thought or reasoning mind, suggested, "Don't buy the blankets, perhaps, after all, you won't get an apartment and you will have no use for them." She promptly replied (to herself): "I'll dig my ditches by buying the blankets!" So she prepared for the apartment - acted as though she already had it. She found one in a miraculous way, and it was given to her although there were over two hundred other applicants. The blankets showed active faith.

A big demonstration is usually preceded by tormenting thoughts. Having made a statement of high spiritual truth one challenges the old beliefs in the subconscious, and "error is exposed" to be changed.

This is the time when one must make affirmations of truth repeatedly, rejoice and give thanks that he/she has 
  already received. "Before ye call I shall answer." This means that "every good and perfect gift" is already man's awaiting his recognition.

Man can only receive what he sees himself receiving."

Florence Scovel Shinn First published in 1925, this inspirational little book has helped countless thousands achieve a sense of purpose and belonging through understanding that life is not a battle but a game of giving and receiving — that whatever we send out into the world will eventually be returned to us.

http://www.aquarius-atlanta.com/currentissueview.php?issueid=273

Guess seasonal temps aren't down, snow, ice and freezing rain aren't falling in Algoreland.

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Its "kind of silly" to keep debating the science, Mr. Gore said (AP)

"A Heated Exchange: Al Gore Confronts His Critic(s)

Posted by Keith Johnson
Source blogs.wsj.com
March 5, 2009, 6:32 pm

"The Goreacle has spoken-again.

"Former Vice President Al Gore repeated his message that climate change is a planetary emergency at the WSJ's Eco:nomics conference in California. The Nobel-prize winner declined to take any questions from reporters, but he did receive a couple of challenges from attendees, including Bjorn Lomborg. But don't expect Mr. Gore to debate the merits of how best to tackle climate change anytime soon.

Mr. Gore stuck to his prepared script about the urgency of taking action to curb global greenhouse-gas emissions, down to well-worn phrases he trots out at conferences across the country: America is at "a political tipping point" on climate change, and even if Washington has failed to address the energy challenge in the last 35 years, "political will is a renewable resource."

But he was challenged by Mr. Lomborg, the Danish skeptical environmentalist who thinks the world would be better off spending more money on health and education issues than curbing carbon emissions.

"I don't mean to corner you, or maybe I do mean to corner you, but would you be willing to have a debate with me on that point?" asked the polo-shirt wearing Dane.

"I want to be polite to you," Mr. Gore responded. But, no. "The scientific community has gone through this chapter and verse. We have long since passed the time when we should pretend this is a 'on the one hand, on the other hand' issue," he said. "It's not a matter of theory or conjecture, for goodness sake," he added.

As an example, he pointed to a new addition to the budget for the island nation of the Maldives: "Funds to buy a new nation."

http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2009/03/05/a-heated-exchange-al-gore-confronts-his-critics/

"Do You Know Your Life Path Number?

By Imran Rahman April 17th, 2008
Source Dream Manifesto

"If you are like most people, you learned quite a few things in school that you will probably never use in your life. Things like how to dissect a frog, the amount of rainfall during summer in the Amazon jungle, and plenty of weird equations required to solve algebraic problems.

Unfortunately I do not foresee what we are taught in schools changing anytime soon.

However, I do know that there is a tremendous amount of very useful information available in all of the millions of books that have been written over the course of a very long time.

So if you happen to have children or influence over motivated young individuals, one of the best habits which you can instill in them is to read books regularly.

There are as many books on different subjects as there are people, so no matter what interests a person may have, they are certain to find books they will enjoy reading.

There are many areas of life which are fascinating, however most people know little about them because these subjects of life are not taught in school. The best example is that of financial literacy.

No wonder we are not taught how to think, act, and be like the rich in school since most schools are funded by private corporations who want them to pump out employees, not motivated and independent business people.

There are plenty of other subjects which help us better understand life. Some of these subjects are simply ridiculed by institutionalized academia because they have roots in esoteric teachings and their theories cannot be duplicated under controlled circumstances. Just because a subject does not fit the criteria of one group does not mean that an individual should turn their back towards it.

A great subject that many people know very little about, yet one that can help them understand themselves and others in a whole new light is Numerology.

Numerology is the science or study of numbers.

You see, numbers are very unique in a sense that they have been around much longer than languages. As a matter of fact, one can even say that numbers have been around for as long as life has been around.

Simply put, everything in life is energy. You can take anything and at its innermost core, it is only energy.

Numerology states that each number has a particular vibration, or energy. A very popular Internet encyclopedia, Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org), defines the basic vibrations of numbers zero through nine as follows:

* Zero - Everything or absoluteness, All
* One - Individual, Aggressor, Yang
* Two - Balance, Union, Receptive, Yin
* Three - Communication/interaction, Neutrality
* Four - Creation
* Five - Action, Restlessness
* Six - Reaction/flux, Responsibility
* Seven - Thought/consciousness
* Eight - Power/sacrifice
* Nine - Completion
* Ten - Rebirth

In Numerology, all numbers after 0-9 are always reduced to a single digit.

For example, 4638 would be reduced to a single digit by adding all of the digits in the number, i.e., 4 + 6 + 3 + 8 = 21, which would further reduce to 2 + 1 = 3. So, simply put, the number 4638 essentially has the same vibration or energy as the number 3.

Like all of the other sciences, Numerology is a very broad subject. It is a lot more complex and methodical than the basic introduction which I have shared with you.

In this article, we will be looking at the relationship between Numerology and our date of birth. When we reduce our date of birth down to a single digit, we call this number our Life Path number in Numerology.

Our date of birth is one of the most significant days in our life because it was they day we started our journey of life on earth. It marks the time period, or the model which we are. Also, it is very important to realize that every single day is totally unique in a sense that tomorrow is never the same exact day. All over the world, life is changing. Events happen that forever change the course of life. Thus, the day we were born will never come again.

With that being said, our date of birth is the only day when everything was in a certain arrangement in the Universe. The position of the Earth relevant to the Moon, the Sun, and the rest of the cosmos was a certain way that is forever stamped into us. Since that particular energy will always affect us, why not learn more about it?

So, let's do an example:

Oprah Winfrey was born on January 29th, 1954 or 01-29-1954.

01-29-1954 breaks down to a single digit as follows:
0 + 1 + 2 + 9 + 1 + 9 + 5 + 4 = 31, which further reduces to 3 + 1 = 4.

Oprah Winfrey is a 4 Life Path in Numerology.

Below is a summary of each of the 9 Life Paths according to a very well know and greatly respected Numerologist, Glynis McCants. She goes into great detail about the subject of Numerology and all of the numbers which affect us in our life in her best selling book < snip > and her website < snip>.

ONE'S are independent, self motivated and hard workers. They have a strong desire to be #1. They are critical of themselves and as a result, can be critical of others. When the 1 Life Path has won a personal victory, their face radiates with pure joy. Multitasking is something they tend to be very good at, and keeping busy is important to them. The 1s will not tolerate laziness from the people they spend their time with.

TWO'S want peace. They make good mediators. They are very loyal, and when they say that they love you, count on it! They welcome companionship and the chance to share their lives with someone special. The flip side is that if they feel threatened or pushed to the wall, they become the terrible 2s. But ultimately, they do not want conflict.

THREE'S communicate in all areas: written word and verbal. Writers, radio broadcasters, actors, singers, performers, counselors. They are the natural comedian. They can be manic depressive if they do not use their creative energy and tend to exaggerate the truth. Known for their trademark smile, eyes and voice.

FOUR'S seek security. Home is their haven. They are usually very cerebral and need to find ways to relax their minds. Like NIKE, "Just Do It." Otherwise, great ideas live and die in their heads. The 4s like to be organized and to put things back in their "proper place". If their home environment appears sloppy and unkempt , that is a sign that the 4 Life Path person is not doing well.

FIVE'S seek freedom, fun, and adventure. If they do not live the adventure, their lives become way too dramatic. They are the natural detectives and celebrators of life (holidays are usually their specialty). 5s have a hard time settling down and have a fear of being trapped or smothered in a relationship.

SIX'S are nurturers. If men, they rescue damsels in distress. If women, they mother the "little boy" in their men. They should manage or run the company. If every thing is going smoothly, they must be careful not to ruin it. They tend to put people on pedestals which then topple. Magnetic. People are drawn to them. Their moods affect the room.

SEVEN'S are another cerebral number. They have a loner quality. They need to learn to have faith. They have a love of natural beauty: ocean, green grass, plants, flowers, etc. If they do not have faith they tend to become very cynical and escape through drugs, alcohol, work, and geography. They have an air of mystery and do not want you to know who they are.

EIGHT'S do not feel safe unless they have found a way to establish financial security. It is difficult for the 8s to take advice. When they make a choice, they must feel it is their decision, NOT SOMEONE ELSES. As a result, they do tend to learn the hard way. 8s are very honest and by being so blunt, they unintentionally hurt feelings. Although they can sometimes appear insensitive, what is going on inside them is the exact opposite. They do feel deeply about everything that goes on in their lives.

NINE'S are the natural leader. People assume they are in charge even if they are not. If in a department store, people think they work there. They take care of everyone else but need to learn to speak up when they need help, love, and hugs. 9s often feel unloved or abandoned by their mother or father, or they feel completely responsible for them. It's hard for them to let go of the past.

It is very important to realize that our Life Path number is simply one of the many numbers in our personal Numerology chart. If the Life Path number description does not sound like you, please note that there are five primary numbers in your chart, plus an Attitude Number that make up your personal numerological blueprint.

By learning more about all of the numbers is your personal Numerology chart, you will further understand many aspects of yourself which may have puzzled you in the past, or that you have never put much thought into.

The science of Numerology is thousands of years old. If what you read in this article interests you, be sure to follow up by reading < snip >.

May your journey to better understand yourself and life be fruitful and humbling."

http://www.dreammanifesto.com/life-path-number.html
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Abraham-Hicks Daily Quote

" You have more harmony points with every person on the planet than you have disharmony points, because there is much more of you that is in harmony with your Core than you realize or that most of you allow. The closer you come to being in harmony with your Source Energy, the more in harmony you are with each other. When you think about other people and what they think of you, do you understand that what they think of you has very little to do with what you are? It has mostly to do with the habits of thought that they have developed. It has more to do with them as thinkers than it does with you as the subject of their thought. If nothing is more important to you than that you feel good, you can form a fantasy about someone who is in your life and they will begin to modify to meet your fantasy, because Law of Attraction is a very powerful thing."
___

" The basis of your life is absolute freedom, the goal is joy, and the result of that perfect combination is motion forward, or growth. Your goal is to find objects of attention that let your cork raise."

Ron Paul speech ..... makes lots of sense.  Rick G, bet you'll love this one!!!!

"What If?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFcQutO5Lgs

"AT&T, Radio Shack Sued For $5,000 Netbook Bill

The lawsuit could potentially derail the cellular carrier's attempt to subsidize netbooks to get customers to sign up for mobile data plans.

By Marin Perez, InformationWeek
March 2, 2009

"An Oklahoma woman has filed a lawsuit against AT&T and RadioShack after purchasing a netbook with a 3G data plan and receiving a $5,000 bill for exceeding her monthly data cap.

Last December, RadioShack offered a $99 Acer Aspire One netbook for customers willing to sign a two-year contract for AT&T's mobile broadband service. The 3G service offers access to the Internet on the go for about $60 a month, but there are additional charges for exceeding the 5 GB monthly limit.

Billie Parks, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of herself and others, said AT&T and Radio Shack are violating the state's consumer protection acts due to false, misleading, and inaccurate advertising of the data plan.

"Although the customer service summary informed plaintiff and other consumers that their first bill might be higher than expected because of a $36 activation fee, one month's service billed in advance, and prorated charges and fees for the month when the customers signed up, neither the plaintiff nor other consumers were informed, nor could they have reasonably discerned from the paperwork, that wireless Internet usage exceeding 5 GB per month would result in astronomical charges running into the thousands of dollars," the lawsuit said.

Radio Shack and the mobile operator did not respond to press inquiries regarding the lawsuit, but AT&T's terms of service addresses the data cap, as well as the overage fees. Rival carriers Sprint and Verizon Wireless have similar limits and overage fees for their EV-DO mobile broadband services.

"If you are on a data plan that does not include a monthly megabyte allowance and additional data usage rates, the parties agree that AT&T has the right to impose additional charges if you use more than 5 gigabytes in a month," AT&T's terms of service said.

If the lawsuit reaches class-action status, it could potentially derail an emerging business model, as wireless operators are eyeing consumer interest in subsidized netbooks and laptops with a mobile data plan. But these data caps are bound to become a larger issue as consumers increase their data and content usage on the go. "

http://www.informationweek.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=QWRXASP2FMJOUQSNDLOSKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=215600328

"Rich Americans Sue UBS to Keep Names Secret 

TOPICS:North America | Western Europe | Laws and Legislation | Switzerland | Banking | Economy (U.S.)

SECTORS:Banks

COMPANIES:UBS AG

By: Lynnley Browning, The New York Times | 25 Feb 2009 | 

UBS was sued on Tuesday in a Swiss federal court by wealthy American clients seeking to prevent the disclosure of their identities as part of a tax-evasion investigation by the United States Justice Department.

The lawsuit accuses UBS and Switzerland’s financial regulator, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or Finma, of violating Swiss bank secrecy laws and of conducting what Swiss law considers illegal activities with foreign authorities. It also named Peter Kurer, the chairman of UBS, and Eugen Haltiner, the chairman of Finma, as defendants.

The suit, filed by a lawyer in Zurich, Andreas Rued, on behalf of nearly a dozen American clients, underscores the growing clash between Swiss banking secrecy laws and those of the United States. Tax evasion is not considered a crime in Switzerland. Disclosing client names under Swiss law is a criminal offense and can expose bank executives and officers to fines, prison terms and other penalties.

RELATED LINKS

UBS is the world’s largest private bank and Switzerland is the world’s largest offshore tax haven, with trillions of dollars in assets.

Update: Suspicions Grow About Rich Americans and Swiss Accounts

The lawsuit, which UBS described in an internal memo late Tuesday, stems from UBS’s agreement last week to turn over to federal authorities in Washington the names of 250 wealthy Americans suspected of using secret UBS offshore accounts and entities to evade taxes."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/29385606

"Will Your Life Work the Way You Want It to in 2009?

By Jack Canfield    February 24th, 2009 
Source Dream Manifesto

"As I mentioned earlier, 2009 may bring greater uncertainty and more unsettling economic news than recent years, but these circumstances should compel us to take a deep breath, and pause to think about our lives.

When things happen in the world that seem so far beyond our individual control, it can feel unsettling.

Don't give up on your goals and dreams just because "the time isn't good"... you can still make 2009 the year you uncover a whole new you for the better!

Even in tough times, you get to decide how to respond to certain conditions, opportunities, and outcomes - both good and bad.

Life will always be a series of choices and YOU get to decide on what will move you closer to your goals, or farther away from them. External forces will always be part of the equation, even during the good times when the world is thriving.

When people ask me about the single most important ingredient to success, I always share the same response: realizing what's making you achieve success, and then realizing what is stifling your success.

Sometimes recognizing the things that are NOT working in your life can be painful, yet VERY powerful to shaping the life you want.

Don't try to rationalize them, make excuses for them, or hide them. This is when it's even more critical to take personal inventory and evict those excuses, rationalizations, and hidden habits that don't serve you. These things will keep you from the life you want to be living. Let me give you some examples. Ask yourself if you relate to any of these questions:

• Do you want to be active, fit, and strong? Then you have to stop making excuses about your weight, diet choices, and lack of exercise.
• Do you want to be in a loving relationship based on friendship and respect? Then you have to stop rationalizing why you and your partner are not communicating well.
• Do you want to embrace Monday mornings and feel excited about going to work every day? Then you have to stop hiding your true passions and go after whatever it is you really want to be doing day in and day out.
• Do you want to lose the debt forever? Then you have to stop ignoring your spending habits and get real about a creating budget that will pull you out of debt and allow you to reach financial freedom.
• Do you want to feel more connected to the people in your life, such as your children, friends, and colleagues? Then you have to stop complaining about your poor relationships and figure out why you don't feel as connected as you'd like to be.

These things can be painful to look at because the truth is that you have to do something about them in order to make it work in your life.

You'll have to say no to the second helping of dinner and the dessert to follow and go through the awkward stage of getting into shape... You'll have to confront your partner about the areas that need work... You'll have to get past fears about changing your job or professional path... You'll have to cut back on your spending and be frugal... You'll have to take a good hard look at your personal relationships and perhaps consider your own shortfalls and weaknesses in communicating your needs and concerns.

Plain and simple, you will have to do something uncomfortable.

Successful people don't waste time in denial (or complain or make excuses for that matter). They face situations like a warrior. They look for the warning signs, they find out why things aren't working, and they go about fixing them- even when fixing requires problem solving, hard work, risk, and a level of uncertainty.

It's okay to identify a problem even though you haven't a clue about how to go about solving it right away.

The first step is just recognizing the issue, and then having faith that you'll figure it out with careful attention to it. That's how successful people live - in constant focus on goals, on results, on problem solving, and on the actions that get them to where they want to be.

Following are three things to do constantly in pursuit of your goals and dreams, however big or small:

Awareness:
Keep your awareness on the feedback you are getting from life and decide to address the situations immediately. Don't bottle up feedback, cast it aside, and avoid it like you would a pile of dirty laundry or a stack of unopened bills.

Life tells you things every day. Do this. Don't do that. Think about this. Try me. Forget that. We live in a world that seemingly encourages us to live on autopilot. Successful people fly manually every day and so should you. When those feedback signals come in, listen to them and use them in planning your next step.

Commitment:
Commit to finding out why things aren't working and learn what will fix them. Once you start the process it will be much easier to continue. Nothing fruitful stems from inaction.

Trust:
Trust that making changes to the situation will ultimately bring about the best results. Sure you might go through a bit of discomfort during the change, and some unlikely or unwanted outcomes, but in the end you will triumph!

So are you ready to admit the things that just are not working out?

Make a list of the things in your life that are working against your success and ask how the situation can be improved. Commit to tackling just one of those issues and be brave!

If you need help organizing those "things" in your life, try using the following list of categories. I recommend reflecting on each of the 7 areas and ask yourself, what's not working here in each one and then brainstorm 3 potential solutions.

1. Financial Goals
2. Career/Business Goals
3. Free Time/Family Time
4. Health/Appearance Goals
5. Relationship Goals
6. Personal Growth
7. Making a Difference

Remember, by facing what is not working, you can only improve your life!"

http://www.dreammanifesto.com/life-work-2009.html

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Abraham-Hicks Daily Quote

"  The ability to imagine what you are wanting, rather than only observing what-is, is what takes you beyond. You are a physical being, but you are much more."
___

"  Those that are succeeding and are thrilled and joyful in the unfolding will often tell you, "I've dreamed this since I was little. I imagined it, I pretended it, I used to practice with the hairbrush pretending it was a microphone." Purity is the alignment of energy. Doesn't matter what anybody else thinks about anything. It only matters what you think about it."
____

"  Worthiness, in very simple terms, means I have found a way to let the Energy reach me, the Energy that is natural, reach me. Worthiness, or unworthiness, is something that is pronounced upon you by you. You are the only one that can deem yourself worthy or unworthy. You are the only one who can love yourself into a state of allowing, or hate yourself in a state of disallowing. There is not something wrong with you, nor is there something wrong with one who is not loving you. You are all just, in the moment, practicing the art of not allowing, or the art of resisting."

My cousin sent this in email.

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Bagpiper

As a bagpiper, I was asked by a funeral director to play at a grave-side service for a homeless man, with no family or friends. The funeral was to be held at a cemetery way back in the country, and this man would be the first to be laid to rest there.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost; and being a typical man did not stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the crew, who were eating lunch, but the hearse was nowhere in sight.

I apologized to the workers for my tardiness, and stepped to the side of the
open grave, where I saw the vault lid already in place.

I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long, but this was the proper thing to do. The workers gathered around, still eating their lunch. I played out my heart and soul.

As I played the workers began to weep. I played, and I played, like I'd never played before..... from Going Home & The Lord is my Shepherd to Flowers of the Forest . I closed the lengthy session with Amazing Grace and walked to my car.

As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the workers saying to another, "Sweet Jeezuz, Mary 'n Joseph, I never seen nothin' like that before - and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."

Perhaps they'd have better luck if they were seeking truth about earth cycles instead of emulating Chicken Little based on unproven computer models funded by agenda driven government funding.

Plant trees, buy seedlings and use water-gel to get them established. Mulch around them.  Trees use CO2 for food and give off Oxygen as a by product ... perfect win/win exchange that's been in place millions of years.

__________

 

"Satellite to Study Global-Warming Gases Lost in Space (Update2)

By Alex Morales

Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- A satellite launched today from California failed to reach orbit, dooming a $273 million project to study global-warming gases.

"The mission is lost," National Aeronautics and Space Administration spokesman Steve Cole said in a telephone interview from the launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. "At this point no one is exactly sure what the cause is."

The NASA satellite was to orbit 438 miles (705 kilometers) above the Earth and observe how carbon dioxide enters and leaves the atmosphere, helping scientists predict future increases in the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.

Today's malfunction follows a Feb. 11 collision of U.S. and Russian satellites almost 500 miles above the planet, the first crash of its type, which created a space debris field of more than 300 pieces that could damage other satellites.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite didn't reach orbit after its 1:51 a.m. local time launch because the "payload fairing" didn't separate, NASA said in a statement. The fairing covers the top of the satellite during launch and needs to come off so the satellite can detach from the rocket and enter orbit.

"If it's lost, it's disappointing because it was giving us novel information to help us move our understanding forward on global warming," Alan O'Neill, science director of the Reading, U.K.-based Centre for Earth Observation, said today in an interview.

Orbital Sciences   Both the satellite and launch rocket were built by Dulles, Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. A spokesman at the company wasn't immediately available for comment. NASA's investment was $273 million for the design, development and launch operations. Insurance details on the mission may be given at a briefing later today, a NASA spokesman said.

The craft contained a monitoring device designed to collect 8 million measurements every 16 days. Scientists hoped to use data gathered by the device to find out how much CO2 is absorbed by the forests, grasslands and oceans, which are collectively known as "sinks." Man-made CO2, which traps heat in the atmosphere, is largely produced by power plants, vehicle engines and factories.

The data gleaned from the satellite was intended to help guide government global-warming policy, NASA said.

"An improved understanding of carbon sinks is essential to predicting future carbon-dioxide increases and making accurate predictions of carbon dioxide's impact on Earth's climate," NASA said on the mission Web site. "If these natural carbon-dioxide sinks become less efficient as the climate changes, the rate of buildup of carbon dioxide would increase."

Three-Year Life
The satellite was expected to have a minimum three-year life. Similar spacecraft have lasted five to 10 years, David Steitz, a NASA spokesman, said yesterday.

The collision of Russian and U.S. satellites destroyed an Iridium Satellite LLC communications craft and a defunct Russian Cosmos 2251, NASA said earlier this month.

At least 18,000 satellites, debris and other space objects orbiting the Earth are tracked by the U.S. Joint Space Operations center. The Soviet Union put the first satellite, Sputnik 1, into space in 1957.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 24, 2009 08:08 EST"

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=av6QSiI5BuOI&refer=us

"Seek And Be Hungry For New Knowledge

By Bob Proctor   February 22nd, 2009 
Source Dream Manifesto

"Do you remember that first spark of hope you felt when you watched The Secret? I clearly remember the desire that filled my heart, knowing that - Yes, I can make my dreams come true - Finally!

But how many of you soon saw that hope dwindle into frustration? How many of you (and be honest now) started muttering things like:

    * "It seems to work for other people, but I just can't get it right."
    * "I'm frustrated that sometimes I can get it to work, but sometimes I can't. What's the trick?"
    * "Why am I having so much trouble?"
    * "I think the universe is against me."
    * "I'm trying very, VERY hard but still nothing is happening!"

Don't worry, you're not alone. About 97% of people also couldn't make the Law of Attraction work for them the first time round. Think about it, just like anything else, you have to practice many times before you see success. A child doesn't learn to walk without falling over a couple of times, right?

But in practice, everything is easier said and done. When you're frustrated, it's hard to stay positive. And it's especially harder to stay positive when the evidence all around you is screams negativity like the unstable economy or senseless acts of violence such as those recently seen in Mumbai.

And do you know what happens when you fail to stay positive? That's right - you start attracting negative things in to your life.

So how can you make the Law of Attraction work for you - without getting frustrated? How do those who successfully implement the Law of Attraction do it with such confidence and finesse?

Well, here's three quick tips so you will never feel frustrated or tired of begging from the universe, because you know how to start manifesting like a pro.

1. Allow Yourself To Receive
Just like a lost child who approaches a police officer and asks, "Excuse me Sir, can you tell me how to go to the post office? Can you? Can you? Can you? Can you? Can you?" Well, if the child goes on and on asking, the police officer can't even give an answer, right?

Well, it's the same thing with your mind. If the only thing your mind is doing is transmit, transmit, transmit, the universe - which is trying to respond - can't give you a single thing because you're not allowing yourself to receive!

So, have the confidence in yourself and stop exhausting yourself by running around person to person begging for riches, and then wondering why nobody is dropping a penny in your cup (Hint: It's because you're running away too fast for them before they can even reach for their wallets).

Just think of your desires and leave it out there, go away, and trust that your cup will be filled with gold coins (or whatever it is you asked for) when the time is right.

2. Be Patient With Yourself
Receiving takes time. Sadly, many people give up just a couple of steps before the finish line because they've decided that if it's not working by now, it's never going to work at all. Worse still are those who throw in more and more energy because they think that with more resources, the results will come faster.

This is like expecting 9 mothers to conceive and deliver a baby in 1 month. You also can't bake cookies in half the time by doubling the temperature. You'll incinerate those cookies to ashes!

In simple terms: Everything in this world has a natural development time, and this fact will not change no matter what resources you throw at it.

So relax and be patient. Remember that you too, as part of the universe, are also governed by the laws of the universe, and you cannot change the natural development time.

If you remember this, you will less likely work yourself up into frustration, or worse, push yourself into a downward spiral of negativity.

3. Support and Educate Yourself
Like the child who is learning how to walk, you need support. You also need to guidance on how to do it, and also the role models to look up to.

Many people give up because they think that "The Secret" is the "be all and end all" solution. Well, it's NOT. "The Secret" is just a small portion. It was never intended, and has never been, the whole answer.

Coming to the conclusion that the Law of Attraction doesn't work when all you ever did to educate yourself was watch "The Secret" 19 times (without looking at changing the habits of other areas of your life) is like coming to the conclusion that exercising is not an effective way to lose weight because all you did is run on the treadmill for 2 hours a day (but you're still stuffing yourself with fried foods and cheesecakes).

So seek and be hungry for new knowledge. Also, make an effort to be amongst people or communities where you can support each other, learn from each other and also share new knowledge that you have found.

While the Law of Attraction is not an overnight delivery service, it will indeed deliver, if you do your part too! "

http://www.dreammanifesto.com/seek-hungry-knowledge.html
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Abraham-Hicks Daily Quote

"  When you finally get it that the Universe is only answering your vibration, then you understand that if you are victim to anything, it's only your haphazard offering of vibration. The real desire that is being born within you is, "I want to vibrate on purpose. I want to set my Tone. I want to conclude and decide and offer it consistently and then watch the results of it." You cannot get it done, ever, and you cannot get it wrong. So you might as well relax and start having fun with this."
____

"  What I think and feel and what I get are always a match. And so, if I want something different than what I've been getting, I have to, somehow, generate different feelings."
___

"  Worthiness, in very simple terms, means I have found a way to let the Energy reach me, the Energy that is natural, reach me. Worthiness, or unworthiness, is something that is pronounced upon you by you. You are the only one that can deem yourself worthy or unworthy. You are the only one who can love yourself into a state of allowing, or hate yourself in a state of disallowing. There is not something wrong with you, nor is there something wrong with one who is not loving you. You are all just, in the moment, practicing the art of not allowing, or the art of resisting."

Great FREE interview with Terry Cole Whittaker about real self empowerment in our current economic situation.

Very worth time to listen online or download to your media player.  Hope you enjoy!!!   

________________

 

On Demand Episodes     3761  Terry Cole Whittaker    Original Air Date: 2/19/2009 6:00 PM

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/profile.aspx?userid=3761   

Law of Attraction Talk Radio  This is where Science merges with spirituality and metaphysics as we explore the Universal Law of Attraction. Join as we talk to the experts on how to create the life we have always wanted! Another great show brought to you by the Law of Attraction Radio Network.

On Demand Episodes           3761           Original Air Date: 2/19/2009 6:00 PM

Thurs. Special! I am in the New Era

"Jewels (host) airs the I am in the New Era Show with host Dr. Harry as in interviews Terry Cole Whittaker. GREAT Show on Law of Attraction Radio Network. http://www.lawofattracttalkradio.com

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/profile.aspx?userid=3761

One article I posted said some data stations in cold areas are located either on the roof of the weather station (heat from the inside drifts up from the heating flu), other data stations located in towns where steam heat was in open pipes close to sidewalks (Siberian city if memory is correct). 

Now faulty sensor.  Follow money trail per usual.

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"Arctic Sea Ice Underestimated for Weeks Due to Faulty Sensor

By Alex Morales

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- A glitch in satellite sensors caused scientists to underestimate the extent of Arctic sea ice by 500,000 square kilometers (193,000 square miles), a California- size area, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center said.

The error, due to a problem called "sensor drift," began in early January and caused a slowly growing underestimation of sea ice extent until mid-February. That's when "puzzled readers" alerted the NSIDC about data showing ice-covered areas as stretches of open ocean, the Boulder, Colorado-based group said on its Web site.

"Sensor drift, although infrequent, does occasionally occur and it is one of the things that we account for during quality- control measures prior to archiving the data," the center said. "Although we believe that data prior to early January are reliable, we will conduct a full quality check.''

The extent of Arctic sea ice is seen as a key measure of how rising temperatures are affecting the Earth. The cap retreated in 2007 to its lowest extent ever and last year posted its second- lowest annual minimum at the end of the yearly melt season. The recent error doesn't change findings that Arctic ice is retreating, the NSIDC said.

The center said real-time data on sea ice is always less reliable than archived numbers because full checks haven't yet been carried out. Historical data is checked across other sources, it said.

The NSIDC uses Department of Defense satellites to obtain its Arctic sea ice data rather than more accurate National Aeronautics and Space Administration equipment. That's because the defense satellites have a longer period of historical data, enabling scientists to draw conclusions about long-term ice melt, the center said.

"There is a balance between being as accurate as possible at any given moment and being as consistent as possible through long time-periods," NSIDC said. "Our main scientific focus is on the long-term changes in Arctic sea ice."

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 20, 2009 08:15 EST

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aIe9swvOqwIY

From a free newsletter I subscribe to.  Hope you enjoy!

_________

 

The Reality Shifting Legally Binding Contract
Tish Ann Mac
http://www.myspace.com/tishannmac

About a year ago, I decided to enter a singing contest that was to be aired on national television. I visited the contest's website and printed out the application and the legal contract that I was to sign in order to participate. Upon reading the contract, I was shocked to learn that if I planned on singing any of the original songs that I had written myself on the show that I would have to surrender my ownership/legal copyrights of the songs to the TV show. I re-read the contract several times to make sure that that is what the contract truly stated, and sure enough, it did. For some reason, however, I kept a printed copy of the contract anyway even though I had no intentions whatsoever of signing it nor of competing in the contest. I was angry at the thought of a national television network and a TV show with deep pockets trying to steal musicians' work, work that the musicians poured their own heart and soul, talent, time, and money into. I reasoned that it was just another case of the big sharks eating the little fish in the sea. After fuming for awhile, I prayed to the Lord, my spirit guides, and my spiritual teachers. I explained the situation to them and asked them to investigate it.

Even though I did not have any intentions of signing the contract the way it was written, I was hoping all along that the terms of the contract would change so that I could eventually participate in the contest.

Shortly thereafter, I re-visited the TV show's website again and re-read the contract, and to my surprise, the contract was re-worded differently. The contract no longer stated that musicians who sing their own original songs on the show would have to surrender their ownership/legal copyrights of the songs to the TV show. The re-worded contract stated that the legal ownership of the songs would remain with the musicians who wrote the songs. In fact, the website even went on to explain that the TV show would like musicians to attach a copy of their legal copyrights of their songs to their application as a safety measure against any lawsuits filed by TV viewers at home who watch the show and claim that they themselves wrote the songs. I also re-read the printed copy of the legal contract that I had kept and had no intentions of signing due to the stipulation about giving the show the ownership of my songs, and to my surprise, the legal contract that I had previously printed out was also re-worded the same way that the website was.

Right before the reality shift occurred, I had an intuitive feeling that I should return to the website and re-read the contract. Surprised and happy that it had actually changed, I then felt that I should re-read the copy that I had previously printed out, and I noticed that the terms of the printed contract had also changed.

Needless to say, I never did win the contest. I did not even get to the call back stage in the audition process, but the lessons I learned from this experience far outweighed the rewards of appearing on and winning a singing contest on national television. I learned that our reality truly isn't fixed. Even a legally binding contract that was printed out on the printer isn't fixed and can change, and I also learned about the power of prayer.

Note from Cynthia: Thank you so very much for sending me this reality shift story! I love the way you describe how physical evidence vanished once you noticed the change in the printed legal contract details. This is so very typical of reality shifts; once a shift has occurred, all we seem to have in the way of proof are our own memories. Due to the importance of memories, it's highly recommended that we document such reality shifts when they occur, since our notes usually stick around, even if no other substantiation exists.  "

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Pillow Changes Color
Joyce
Dubuque, Iowa, USA

I'm a retired Elementary-Junior High Teacher, now turning to some of my favorite things to do---art, reading, singing and dancing, music, and meditation. I'd like to share a reality shift I had the other day.

As I reached for the third of three red violet pillows I place on top of my bed, I noticed it was missing. After the final piece of searching, under the bed, I glanced at the top to see a third pillow, But it was mauve. Bemused and definitely curious, I checked the living room for my two mauve pillows. And yes, they were there. Back to the bedroom, and now, three pillows still on the bed and they're all red violet. Wow. I went to my living room to reflect. I was truly amazed when the mauve pillow showed up in the empty space between the two red purple pillows on the bed, and then changed colors after I'd been to the living room and back. I think I got the "pillow shift" because it's just too big to miss!

Note from Cynthia: While some people might not notice colors, it's clear that you're the kind of person who does (as evidenced by your use of the word "mauve," which some people aren't so familiar with). This is an excellent example of noticing a change in something you're paying attention to (color)... which often gets me wondering how many reality shifts are happening around us that we don't happen to observe, simply because they have to do with things we're not so closely observing. Thanks so much for noticing and sharing this shift! "
____

"Keys Reappear in Pocket
Pat
New York City, New York, USA

I live in an apartment in New York City and work out of my home. I had gone out for my weekly treat (eating lunch out one day a week) and had stopped on the way out to get my mail so I knew I had my keys with me since my mailbox has a key.

I went out for lunch, came back and since it was a nice fall day, I was sitting on the steps of my building enjoying the day until after 15 minutes or so decided I better get to work. I went to get my keys in my purse and couldn't find them. I patted the pockets of a light, unlined windbreaker I was wearing and no keys. I did the whole purse search again. Then I did the purse search with some things taken out. More patting of pockets. Stood up and patted and reached into both my windbreaker pockets and my pants pockets. No keys. I had a small bag with papers in it and searched that; shook it to see what came to the bottom. Nothing. I even opened my zip top wallet, thinking maybe the keys had somehow fallen in there.

These keys are more of a key ring -- 6 or 7 keys, plus a few of those store shopping discount tags, and a metal charm of a shark... finally the only explanation I could come up with is I must have left them in the restaurant. I tried to call the restaurant to save myself a trip, but got voice mail.

So I walked back to the restaurant, thinking they'd be laughing "Ah, we knew you'd return." Instead I got blank stares of No, we didn't find your keys. I had sat in a booth and I was (yuk!) reaching between the back and the seat looking for my keys. I was stumped.

I stood up and the bartender said, "Did you check your pockets?" and I was slightly peeved and said, "Of course I did" and then patted them again almost unconsciously. Well, there were my keys in my windbreaker jacket. I can't tell you how stunned I was. I started saying, "I swear these keys were not there" and the bartender was laughing, but said something like "I know, I believe you. These things happen."

So I was thinking that typically reality shift happens for the good... and here was a case where I felt "reality" was playing a trick on me. I swear I would have bet my life those keys weren't in my pocket. Finally, as I stood there sputtering, the bartender said, "Well, they're found now" and that's true.

I really do search for meaning for otherwise meaningless events... rather than just say "oh, I guess I missed the keys the 27 times I stuck my hands in my pocket." And I am a magazine writer, and I have a column due and I can basically write about whatever I want (within reason) but it sort of has to have some 'personal growth' element to it, and over lunch I had been thinking that I could write about "fear" since these are scary times.

So perhaps the universe was telling me: your home is safe (you have the keys after all!). When I got back to my apartment building, there's about six steps up leading to the front door and on the top step was a dime which had not been there when I left 10 minutes earlier when I went back to the restaurant. For me, I've often gotten the "sign" of "money on my doorstep" -- in fact, once I had change right outside the front door to my apartment -- money at my doorstep -- (Hmmm... how's that for a waking dream metaphor? and so my take-away from this was... I have a home and I have money at my doorstep (literally) -- and yes, I put the dime in my wallet!

Note from Cynthia: What a wonderful feeling to find your keys, and how astonishing to find them in a place you know for sure you'd checked earlier... when they were not there. This is the type of reality shift story that tends to seem less impressive to others as it is to ourselves, as others usually don't know how thoroughly we checked our pockets. What I really love about your story is the way you are able to recognize some marvelous messages to you from the universe here... such as that in finding first your keys and then a coin on your top step, everything is just fine. There's a sense I get in your story that you are being cared for, and even when it seems you might be losing things, all is well. This is truly lovely thing to remember! "
____

"Burned House Vanishes
Teresa
Morristown, Tennessee, USA

One evening back around 2002, I drove to a friend's house and saw a house in the process of being burned to the ground on her street, Tom Treece Road. Only the foundation was left and flames were licking it. I found it odd since no fire trucks were there and no residents from nearby houses were out watching. I saw a house close by with its outside lights one, yet on one was out looking at this or seeming worried about it's close proximity, which is what made me halt in the road. I drove on to my friend's house, intending to tell her how I was so shocked and startled to see the burning foundation. Yet, I'd completely forgotten about it by the time I got to Jessica's house which was not far down the same road. We couldn't have seen the burning site from her front yard, since there was a bend in the road. I must have sat there for an hour talking to my friend once I'd arrived but not remembered the burning building and not said a word about it, when suddenly, I completely remembered driving past it on my way there. I couldn't believe I'd forgotten something so vivid. Jessica was pretty shocked, too. She suggested we immediately go check it out and we jumped up and got in the car to investigate. Jessica didn't believe me and said that she would know if a house were burning on her street. So we jumped in my car and drove off, so I could show it to her. We drove by the spot where the burning house was a short time earlier and everything was dark, there was no light, no fire. I slowed down, pointed and said, "It was about right here." No sooner had I said the words, then we saw a burning house with only the foundation left in flames. There was a flash or flame like someone had just struck a huge sputtering match and suddenly, there the whole scene was, just like I'd seen it perhaps an hour earlier. There had been absolutely no change in how much foundation had been burned. Jessica saw it go from nothing to burning building too. She wanted to get out of the car and examine the house, but I was scared. I yelled at her when she tried to open the car door to check the situation out, screaming like a maniac and stomping the gas. I was afraid that we'd get caught in the burning building place/time, and I felt a very real wrongness that made me panic. I remember being so scared, I was willing to leave her there if she got out, because I was so concerned about my safety. We went back in daylight and there was no sign of a burned house. There was no story reported in the newspapers, to my knowledge, and according to Jessica, no one in the neighborhood ever mentioned it happening, which is odd, because it stood out vividly in the darkness when I drove past alone. The whole thing had an 'out of time' feeling to it. I'd have believed I was hallucinating, except my friend, Jessica, saw it too. Thank God.

Note from Cynthia: This is a really interesting story, since you had a witness, and later checked both newspapers and the surrounding area to see whether there were any later signs of fire. What most intrigues me about this story is the way the fire was seen by both you and your friend, yet it also seemed to have started up out of the black darkness of night both the first time you saw it alone, and the second time you saw it with your friend. This is such a mystifying experience, and I'd love to know more about it. Some people notice buildings vanishing or appearing... and others have seen tremendously destructive realities that later turned out not to be true, and I'd love to know if your story might be one of these. "

"  We're going to give you a very powerful statement: Everything that you will some day live, in terms of life experience -- and by some day, we mean as soon as right now, tomorrow, the next day, or some day -- anything that you will some day live, you have first imagined. Because nothing will manifest in your experience without the imagination process happening first."     Abraham-Hicks Daily Quote
 

___

"How to Accomplish More by Doing Less

By Marc Lesser  February 16th, 2009
Source Dream Manifesto

"It is easy to fall into the trap of busyness - constantly going from one thing to another - from demands at home to demands at work to emails to exercise to relationships - with no time for stopping, reflecting, or recharging.  We can become like a carpenter who doesn't have the time to stop and sharpen his or her tools.  As a result, the tools become dull; more and more effort is required; less and less is accomplished. We think we must move faster, work harder.  It's a vicious circle.

A doctor friend I have known for many years was recently severely injured in a head-on collision with a driver who had a seizure on the Golden Gate Bridge. She broke nearly every bone in her body and was in a coma for several months. It is a miracle that she has not only survived but appears to be in the process of a nearly complete recovery.

In her online journal, she writes with a sense of deep knowing and powerful urgency: "We must remember to get on with our lives. Do what is important. If you haven't been married, GET MARRIED. If you need to get divorced, get divorced. Just do what is essential and important. That is what matters."

The truth is, you are both carpenter and tools, for you are responsible for keeping the blade, which is yourself, honed. However, busyness not only dulls the blade, resulting in unnecessary and ineffectual effort, it can convince us that we don't even have the time to pull out the grinding stone and keep ourselves sharp.

Sometimes the day's furious deadlines make us believe we are so busy that we don't even have a minute - much less ten or twenty - to stop, pause, and reflect. We convince ourselves that we can't do the very things that we most want, or the things that would make all our efforts easier and more effective. In short, we become accustomed to using a dull tool, and we may stop even noticing how much extra effort we are exerting for such diminishing returns.

Unlike a carpenter, we don't need to do anything extra to return to our original state of sharpness and unbridled full-functioning. We only need to do less of what gets in the way. As Shunryu Suzuki, the author of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, says, "You are perfect just as you are." And, as he adds somewhat cryptically, "You can use a little improvement."

When I first read that quote thirty years ago, I found it hard to comprehend. Yes, it was a paradox, but it seemed rather puzzling and not very helpful. Now that I have had many years to ponder it, I believe it is one of the kindest and most freeing pieces of wisdom to live by.

What is interesting is that we usually become overbusy for laudable reasons - we are pursuing our dreams, being responsible citizens, assisting our family members or colleagues, and seeking happiness and real freedom. Having a lot to do is not innately a bad thing. Most of us love being active. I do. But this becomes over-the-top busyness when it makes us feel depleted rather than complete, when we run down the path toward freedom and real accomplishment but find them getting farther away.

The Power of Sabbath
When my two children were in elementary school, a weekly day of doing less was an important part of our family ritual. We borrowed some ideas from the Jewish Sabbath as well as Buddhist Day of Mindfulness practices. At the heart of our day we had three simple rules that we applied from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday evening:

Rule #1: There was no spending money.
Rule #2: There was no watching television.
Rule #3: We did something together as a family.

These three guidelines produced significant results in the quality of those twenty-four hours. What a relief to not buy anything, not have the television on, and spend time simply enjoying each other's presence. My wife and I talked more with our two children; we read books, told stories, played games, went for walks, and shared meals. The biggest benefit of this structured break was that, for a day, the pace of our lives slowed down and our family connections increased.

One of my favorite parts of this ritual was the formal ending. We observed the Jewish tradition of looking for the first three stars to become visible on Saturday evening, signaling that Sabbath was over. It was fun and exciting for the four of us to stand on our deck together, seeing who could find the three stars as the sun faded and nighttime slowly emerged. Of course, since we live in Marin County, dense fog sometimes forced us to use our imaginations.

Instituting rest and simplicity is not a magic wand for perfection. There were occasional disagreements, grumpiness, and boredom. But our imperfections often emerge as the most endearing parts of ourselves, and those "Sabbath" days stand out as important building blocks, and are great memories, for our still-growing family. You don't need to have children to create a regular Sabbath or retreat in your life.  In fact, you can do this if you live by yourself, with others, or a family of any size.

You Are Perfect the Way You Are
See if you can fully own the notion that "You are perfect, just as you are." Really let it seep into your mind and body, into your bones. We are born with all the wisdom, playfulness, and imagination we need; we just sometimes need help and reminders to return to our senses and get out of our own way.

It is the firm knowledge that nothing extra is required. You have everything you need; just let go of whatever distractions, fears, and busyness might be hampering you. It's that simple. Allow yourself to think and feel and live that way. Embodying and acting from this place results in greater composure, and when we act with composure, we are more effective.

Try these practices:

• Once a week, or once a month, create a "Sabbath" for yourself or family.  Create some simple rules such as - no spending money, no TV, doing something as a family, or some activity that provides nourishment.
• Once a day for the next week, experiment with this thought - You are perfect just as you are.  Try writing it and/or speaking it.  Notice that it is true.
• Once a day for the next week, experiment with asking yourself : What is one project you want to accomplish. Be specific.  What are the next steps?

Busyness, and the difficulties and demands of our lives demand a good deal of attention, and respect.  At the same time, by bringing our habits into greater awareness and experimenting with challenging our assumptions, we can produce surprising results."

http://www.dreammanifesto.com/accomplish-more.html

"Large Area of USA below Avg. Temps last 12 months...  Source Drudgereport.com

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/2009/jan/02_01_2009_DvTempRank_pg.gif

____

"Former astronaut speaks out on global warming
By Associated Press
Sunday, February 15, 2009 - Added 16h ago

Source BostonHerald.com

"SANTA FE, N.M. - Former astronaut Harrison Schmitt, who walked on the moon and once served New Mexico in the U.S. Senate, doesn't believe that humans are causing global warming.

"I don't think the human effect is significant compared to the natural effect," said Schmitt, who is among 70 skeptics scheduled to speak next month at the International Conference on Climate Change in New York.

Schmitt contends that scientists "are being intimidated" if they disagree with the idea that burning fossil fuels has increased carbon dioxide levels, temperatures and sea levels.

"They've seen too many of their colleagues lose grant funding when they haven't gone along with the so-called political consensus that we're in a human-caused global warming," Schmitt said.

Dan Williams, publisher with the Chicago-based Heartland Institute, which is hosting the climate change conference, said he invited Schmitt after reading about his resignation from The Planetary Society, a nonprofit dedicated to space exploration.

Schmitt resigned after the group blamed global warming on human activity. In his resignation letter, the 74-year-old geologist argued that the "global warming scare is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision making."

Williams said Heartland is skeptical about the crisis that people are proclaiming in global warming.

"Not that the planet hasn't warmed. We know it has or we'd all still be in the Ice Age," he said. "But it has not reached a crisis proportion and, even among us skeptics, there's disagreement about how much man has been responsible for that warming."

Schmitt said historical documents indicate average temperatures have risen by 1 degree per century since around 1400 A.D., and the rise in carbon dioxide is because of the temperature rise.

Schmitt also said geological evidence indicates changes in sea level have been going on for thousands of years. He said smaller changes are related to changes in the elevation of land masses - for example, the Great Lakes are rising because the earth's crust is rebounding from being depressed by glaciers.

Schmitt, who grew up in Silver City and now lives in Albuquerque, has a science degree from the California Institute of Technology. He also studied geology at the University of Oslo in Norway and took a doctorate in geology from Harvard University in 1964.

In 1972, he was one of the last men to walk on the moon as part of the Apollo 17 mission.

Schmitt said he's heartened that the upcoming conference is made up of scientists who haven't been manipulated by politics.

Of the global warming debate, he said: "It's one of the few times you've seen a sizable portion of scientists who ought to be objective take a political position and it's coloring their objectivity."
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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.sfnewmexican.com

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/general/view/2009_02_15_Former_astronaut_speaks_out_on_global_warming/srvc=home&position=recent

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"Hamburgers are the Hummers of food in global warming
Source Breitbart.com

"When it comes to global warming, hamburgers are the Hummers of food, scientists say.
Simply switching from steak to salad could cut as much carbon as leaving the car at home a couple days a week.

That's because beef is such an incredibly inefficient food to produce and cows release so much harmful methane into the atmosphere, said Nathan Pelletier of Dalhousie University in Canada.

Pelletier is one of a growing number of scientists studying the environmental costs of food from field to plate.

By looking at everything from how much grain a cow eats before it is ready for slaughter to the emissions released by manure, they are getting a clearer idea of the true costs of food.

The livestock sector is estimated to account for 18 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and beef is the biggest culprit.

Even though beef only accounts for 30 percent of meat consumption in the developed world it's responsible for 78 percent of the emissions, Pelletier said Sunday at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

That's because a single kilogram of beef produces 16 kilograms carbon dioxide equivalent emissions: four times higher than pork and more than ten times as much as a kilogram of poultry, Pelletier said.

If people were to simply switch from beef to chicken, emissions would be cut by 70 percent, Pelletier said.

Another part of the problem is people are eating far more meat than they need to.

"Meat once was a luxury in our diet," Pelletier said. "We used to eat it once a week. Now we eat it every day."

If meat consumption in the developed world was cut from the current level of about 90 kilograms a year to the recommended level of 53 kilograms a year, livestock related emissions would fall by 44 percent.

"Given the projected doubling of (global) meat production by 2050, we're going to have to cut our emissions by half just to maintain current levels," Pelletier said.

"Technical improvements are not going to get us there."

That's why changing the kinds of food people eat is so important, said Chris Weber, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania.

Food is the third largest contributor to the average US household's carbon footprint after driving and utilities, and in Europe - where people drive less and have smaller homes - it has an even greater impact.

"Food is of particular importance to a consumer's impact because it's a daily choice that is, at least in theory, easy to change," Weber said.

"You make your choice every day about what to eat, but once you have a house and a car you're locked into that for a while."

The average US household contributes about five tons of carbon dioxide a year by driving and about 3.5 tons of equivalent emissions with what they eat, he said.

"Switching to no red meat and no dairy products is the equivalent of (cutting out) 8,100 miles driven in a car ... that gets 25 miles to the gallon," Weber said in an interview following the symposium.

Buying local meat and produce will not have nearly the same effect, he cautioned.

That's because only five percent of the emissions related to food come from transporting food to market.

"You can have a much bigger impact by shifting just one day a week from meat and dairy to anything else than going local every day of the year," Weber said.

For more information on how to eat a low carbon diet, visit www.eatlowcarbon.org."

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.e36a67d49c1127a8c17cc38ed4a4c27e.211&show_article=1