The Ideal Shower Tray - Home Tips

Choose the ideal shower tray

Keep your bathroom floor splash free with a shower tray

Start with these frequently asked questions

Which material should I choose?

Acrylic is warm and cheap. Go for a reinforced model that's 5-8mm thick to avoid flexing, which can lead to leaks where the tray meets the wall.
Enamelled steel is tough, but can be cold underfoot and more pricey than acrylic.
Fire clay or ceramic is rigid, long lasting and easy to clean, but can be heavy and the floor may need to be reinforced to support the weight.
Stone resin or composite is stable, durable and comes in lots of shapes and colours.

What size should I go for?

Shower trays range from 80cm x 80cm to 170cm x 90cm.
Flush-to-the-floor models create a wet-room feel. Brands to look for are Kaldewei, Bette and Roman. If you don't want a screen, you'll need to 'tank' the room by applying a waterproof membrane under the floor.
Low-level trays (under 4cm high) mimic a wet-room look without the need for tanking.

Which is the best colour?

White is popular as it's clean, fresh and goes with other fittings, but you'll also find black, anthracite and acid brights. The widest colour choice is in composite trays. Corian comes in over 70 shades, and ceramic ore fire clay is great for high-gloss colour.

Where can I put it?

This depends on the position of any waste pipes and water supplies. A solid floor makes it harder to move pipes (although one solution is to build a false floor on top). Corners and alcoves are useful because the walls form a natural enclosure. If you have room, consider fitting a large tray against a long wall to make a striking focal point.

Can I fit one myself?

If you're replacing like for like, it's fine to fit a tray yourself. Choose a tray with adjustable feet to make levelling simple. If you need to relocate drains and pipework, it might be wise to call a plumber.

Tray shapes to look for:

Square
A great choice for an alcove as it can slot neatly into the space.
Quadrant
A quarter circle shape that's good for corner installations.
Pentagonal
A corner model with five sides is just the thing for smaller spaces because it won't protrude into the room as much as a standard square tray.
Rectangular
Ideal for twin showering, with more space for showering than a square tray would offer.
Walk-in
Has a drying area by the entrance, which keeps bathroom floors drip and slip free.

Good to know

Shower trays need to be totally level to ensure a watertight seal and perfect drainage - check with a good-quality spirit level.

You can find more information on interior design and interior design ideas at idealhome

Why Do People Go To Church

What to Avoid When Remodeling Your Home

When remodeling or improving your home, you should stop and look at the future before you make any decisions. Some day, your investment will have to be sold. And you will want to get as much out of it as you have put in it.

There are things that just hurt a home when you are trying to sell it. These are items that really seem important to you, but the majority of buyers don't want.

The number one example is a swimming pool. I would love to have an in-ground swimming pool at my house. But I know that it would not be a good investment.

It is expensive to clean, maintain and buyers aren't looking for swimming pools. Buyers don't want the troubles or the energy bills that come with swimming pools. Lenders don't include pools in the mortgage appraisal, so it really has no value to your home.

Another thing that can hurt you is overexpanding your home. Yes, buyers are looking for space, but you can have too much space. If you add on a family room, you are likely to see a 83% return on your investment. It costs you when you don't get back 100%. Adding a master suite to a home will grant you a recovery of only 80% of the cost of the addition.

It gets even worse if your additions make your home much larger than those in your area. This hurts your appraisal value, as there are no other homes of your size to compare to.

You shouldn't go too crazy with your changes either. Yes, there are a lot of people that would find a basement that looks like an old-time western saloon quite charming. But would they want to buy it? What if the basement was extra storage and a family room instead?

You would think that a home office would be a good addition. So many people work from home. Yet, it probably isn't wise to totally outfit a room to be an office by installing a workstation and office storage. You will recoup an average of 73% of your investment, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Another thing to avoid is doing too much by yourself. Shoddy or handmade workmanship will not benefit you. I know a couple that painted their brand new home themselves. The job was not great, as you can see paint on the ceiling throughout the home. Plus, the colors are quite unusual. To sell their home, they may find that it would have been better to have a professional paint in a neutral color scheme.

Try to keep your decor in your personal belongings, not the home itself. Faux finishes are lovely, but if they are too unusual, they may be a sticking point. You may love unusual colors, but remember, hot pink walls are not for everyone.

When you know you will be selling your home, it helps to spend your time only on renovations that will pay you back. Do the most important projects first.

The projects that show the greatest return at resale are improvements to siding, windows, kitchens and bathrooms.

A midrange bathroom renovation can give you a 102% return on the investment. An upscale bathroom renovation can recoup 93% of the cost. A midrange kitchen improvement will recoup approximately 91% of the cost. Minor jobs return 99%.

Keep in mind that the most important improvements aren't those that add to your home, they are those that maintain the home. Make sure the paint is in good condition, the gutters are clean and the lawn is kept up. Keep track of annual checkups, such as the heating and air servicing, and make sure you include the info when you are trying to sell your home. A well-maintained home is always a good seller.

Martin Lukac represents RateTake Refinance Rate marketplace. RateTake matches consumers with multiple lenders offering low rates. Got too much credit debt? Get Debt Help and you'd be surprised what we can do together.

Followers Or Leaders

Awakening - White Sun

If we are not in the state of awakening and enlightenment, then we are still in the state of slumber and drowsiness. This awakening is not that we wake up from our sleep and aware from our dormant state. It is very difficult for the soul to wake up from its deep slumber without the guidance of Truth. Buddha in Sanskrit means the awakened one and it describes a person who has come to the understanding of the Truth and reality of life. It is to wake up from the delusions of the transient world of illusions.

We can look at the meaning of being awakened from two points of view. Firstly, being awakened means to be conscious or aware of what is going on around us. If we are wide awake, then no thieves would dare to steal the treasures from within us. Being awakened also means realization that is to understand the real and true purpose of life. When we come to this realization, we can put together and manifest fully the precious divine qualities in us. Unfortunately this is not easy to achieve because most of the time we are still lost and trapped by the colorful world around us. Our basic senses, like what we see, hear, smell, taste, touch and think, often deprive us of our peace of mind. This is akin to our precious treasures being stolen without us realizing it.

Secondly, to be awakened is to come to the realization of ones True Self. He makes sure that whatever he says, acts, and thinks are faultless. He maintains tranquility in his sensual organs. He gives convenience to others. He makes no distinction between himself and others. He conveys the Truth to others so that all, including himself; can become Buddhas. He vows to save the world out of his mercifulness.

If we are not awakened then we will find it very hard to let go of attachments and do not know how to untie entanglements. Many people would do anything to acquire what they desire to the extent of jeopardizing their own integrity and morality. They may act unscrupulously and ruthlessly to fulfill their innermost desires induced by the six senses. Such unrighteous behavior of mankind is a consequence of the attachment to the myriad worldly objects. The attachment to the temporal world will give rise to all obstacles and entanglements.

What do we mean by obstacles? The path of Truth is originally bright and smooth. It is because we choose to act in opposition to our conscience that our heart is then fill with guilt and remorse. The path thus becomes rough, narrow and full of pains and sorrows. We were originally a liberated soul that was free from troubles and worries. It was due to the attachment to the physical world that we became blinded and confused. We then cannot be the master of our destiny unless we are awakened to the Truth of life and its purpose. Fate will then determine our lives but if we are awakened then we can change our fate by knowing how to let go of attachment and untie the entanglement that can suffocate us to death.

The saddest thing of all is that we have been entangled in the worldly realm for too long that we are used to living in such manner and considered it as normal for human to live, grow old, fall sick and then die. We are confused and lost and our sense of spiritual awareness may not be deep enough to help us out of this misery. Sufferings become normal and thus we live in this world helplessly and lack the courage and wisdom to find a way to free ourselves from all these entanglements. Fortunately there are people who are awakened to this misery and search for the Truth to end this suffering.

We all wish to live a meaningful and fulfilling life that will end up with the attainment of eternal life like the previous Saints and Sages who managed to transcend the cycle of birth and death. To achieve this, we must firstly recognize that the worldly realm is not our real home and the physical body is not our true self, it is the false self. We know very well that one day we will all die. There will be a time when this body is no longer usable. When our time is up, we need to leave our body and everything we possess behind. Therefore, this body and this world are actually not ours and thus cannot be depended on but however, we need this body to save the true self, meaning using the false self to save the true self.

In the teachings of Tao of Heaven, we say that an awakened lives in the adulterated society, yet he is not tainted by emotions and desires. He devotes himself to the spreading of Tao to the world, transforming Hell into Heaven. He points out Tao of Heaven to those who are lost so that they can also realize their True Selves. He acts according to Tao. He will correct all his bad habits, perform good deeds, speak only of the Truth, practise only Tao, take only what he justly deserves, think of only righteous thoughts, be honest, and have an everlasting reputation by establishing his virtues. He takes ferrying those who are predestined to encounter Tao of Heaven as his mission. He vows to save the world out of his mercifulness and spread benevolence, justice, virtues and the truth.

This is the advice from my Heavenly Teacher JiGong, Everybody can become Sheng-Xian (saints and worthies); everybody can become Xian-Fo (angels, immortals and buddhas). It only depends on whether the person has aspiration or not. So long as one has aspiration, one can cultivate no matter if one lives as a commoner or leaves home and lives as a priest, a monk or a nun. For those who have aspiration, although they live at home, they would regard their wives or husbands as friends and their children as companions. The worldly affairs cannot pollute them and conjugal love cannot bind them. They take the Spirit and Life as the vital, and take Truth and Virtue as the honorable. They borrow the worldly and common way to cultivate the transcendent and uncommon way. For those who lack aspiration, they cannot see through the reality behind the worldly affairs; they focus on the unreal but slight the real, and they do not realize that Spirit and Life and Birth and Death are a great matter indeed.

Author: T.A Chew

T.A Chew was told that in order to save the True Self (soul), we need the False Self (body) and only human can be awakened. Upon initiation of Tao, he realized that it is very important to restore his True Self and overcome emotions and desires. Website: http://www.white-sun.com

Can One Person Make Big Changes

Wood Beam Repairs - Home Repair Tips

If you live in a moist climate in the winter and a dry climate in the summer and you have exterior wood beams exposed to these elements. You could develop wood beam problems over time. If wood beams are properly maintained and painted often they could last for a long time. Wood beams can last many years if properly taken care of.

Exterior wood beams that are used to hold up roofs, patios and decking can suffer from wood rot if not taken care of. Let's take for example a wooden beam located in a patio holding up a section of a large roof. The span of the roof being is only 10 feet long. As we look at the exterior wood beam. We noticed the upper corner of the beam is soft and rotted.

The beam damage is roughly the size of a baseball. The wood beam itself is a 6 x 10. Do we need to replace this beam even though the damage is not real big. The answer to this question is yes, any amount of damage to a wood beam takes away from its structural strength.

If you have a wood beam holding up the roof and the beam fails you could end up replacing a large section of your roof as well as the damaged beam. Replacing the damaged beam is usually a difficult task. The beam is usually sandwiched between two walls and will have siding or stucco around it.

If you're lucky enough to have the wood beam sitting in a saddle or on top of a wood post this will make your job easier and will require less skill. If however the beam is located between two walls this will require shoring up the roof and removing the beam.

Beam replacement should be left to professionals. This is not often as easy as it looks and could create a safety hazard if not done properly. I have seen beams replaced by homeowners or handyman and the damage that was done after the repairs, was worse than just leaving the beam alone in the first place.

The biggest problem with exterior wood beams is that they are usually holding up large amounts of weight. If the beam is removed without the proper bracing and shoring of the roof or floor area you could have a larger problem than you started with.

Exterior beams over time seemed to develop large cracks or splits in dry weather. These large cracks and splits weaken the structural strength of the beam adding more stress to the beam itself leading to structural failure eventually.

Extreme climates where temperatures very over 40 in one day seem to suffer the most damage to exterior wood beams that are not properly maintained. Beam maintenance will require painting and keeping moisture away from them.

Be aware of structural beams in or around your house. A little painting now and then can save you thousands of dollars over the life time of your house.

Greg Vanden Berge has been in the home building and remodeling business for over 30 years. With this knowledge he has created a few websites that provide useful information for home owners as well as contractors. His main goal is to educate professionals in the home related businesses, dealing with problems that can easily be avoided with just a little bit of information.

His website http://gregvan.com provides all kinds of answers to remodeling and new house building issues that could create major damage as well as possible damage to your pocket book.

Visit us now for Vista Home Improvement.

Sai Baba Spiritual Leader

My Appreciation of the Classic Tao De Jing, by Stephen Mitchell

The Tao De Jing was known as Lao Tzu's "The Way". According to tradition it was written around the 6th century BC by the sage Lao Tzu, or Old Master who was purported to be a record keeper in the Zhou Dynasty court.

On my bathroom floor in front of the toilet lays a pocket edition translation of Stephen Mitchell's Tao Te Jing. I picked it up so often the pages fell from the binding, and then I bought a new one. It is one of the most inspirational books in my possession and a constant reminder to relax and enjoy life.

There are 81 stanzas in the book followed by a brief analysis of each by Mitchell. I have no idea how many times I have reviewed this small book, but it must be hundreds of times. It is a true classic and never gets old. Each time I review a stanza more insight comes into view.

It is a short book, the original only 5000 words long. Rather that prose it speaks in stanzas that reveal the masters actions in situations that occur in life. It puts me in a place where I believe I can be a master, at least the master of my destiny. This verse is an example:

"I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and thoughts,
you return to your source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world."

For me, reflecting in the Tao is an experience that I would recommend to anyone interested in following ancient Chinese wisdom. Stephen's translation is beautiful, lucid, easily understood, and fits our times as well as those thousands of years ago.

My name is Bill Tallmon. I am an alternative health care doctor and offer homeopathic and naturopathic consultations, for people with both acute and chronic disease. My Doctorate degrees are Naturopathic Doctor and Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Health. I am a long time reader of ancient civilizations and ancient and modern philosophies of European, Greek, Chinese, Indian, Muslim, and other cultures. I am a collector of ancient and modern quotes. My PhD dissertation Natural Health and the Biotech Revolution investigates the modern wave of biotechnology and the potential impact on health. I invite any comments concerning this article

http://www.embracingnature.net
email drtallmon@charter.net

Light Workers video

This video tells of the estoic wisdom between the three types of light workers and how they are going to bring the earth into a new earth full of love and light.

Life of Jesus

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

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

Greg is currently working on a spiritual 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.

Gary Renard
Gary Zukav

World's Worst Mass-Murderers - Religious Extremism Or Enlightened Secularism?

History - Written in Blood

The history of the world has been written in blood, until recently by dominating religions, intolerant of other faiths or beliefs: from dark-age pogroms, to early Islam's rampages, to the Crusades, to conquest of the New World, to the Inquisition, and to Stalin and Hitler and genocidal Holocaust. Throughout this gory litany, peace-seeking philosophers, war-weary, have dreamed periodically of a world without conflict. Other than the cultures and countries which worshipped the glory of mortal combat, e.g. the rulers and elite citizenry of ancient Rome, Sparta and more recently Prussia, most philosophers, and certainly at-risk commoners throughout history have dreamed of quiet lives without conflict or violence, safe from both external and internal attacks upon their freedoms and persons, hoping only to be permitted to enjoy their families and accomplishments in peace - and to die in bed at a respectable age.

Early on, wars were fought and peoples murdered to spread religion, coercive conversions forcing acceptance of the God of a dominant power. Dismayed at the carnage, rational humankind philosophized that no true divinity could tolerate, much less demand, such unwarranted cruelty - hence they must all be false - hence an anti-religion philosophy of rule-by-rationality should-be superior. Mankind began searching out a workable approach to peaceful governance - coexistence among peoples of differing faiths and philosophies - without bloodshed. By an "either-or" argument, if God and Religion seemed to be more cause than solution, perhaps durable peace could be achieved between nations - if "faith" would be discarded and replaced with "reason".

Such daring thinking was envisioned, then espoused - the concept of "enlightened" rule was developed - a peaceful society, governed by fairness in rules of conduct and justice; it was embarked upon and grew, with democratized liberation of countries from prior religious domination. Such optimistic and exciting "Enlightenment" theories took root, conceptually non-tyrannical authority being envisaged - neither rule by royal-lineage nor by divinity figures, instead leaders to be selected from the populace by majority choice, government by rational, impartial laws and justice, replacing religious dogmatism. The theory was implemented with confidence, preamble efforts beginning in (1776 in the US - excluded hereinafter, and) 1794 with the French Revolution. The ringing phrase "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite" became the slogan of hope in France .

This expectation of a better approach was, however, short-lived, lasting but two years - ending with a parade of citizens, deemed unworthy of life, escorted to the guillotine - and a flood of blood. Subsequently, perhaps inevitably, the pendulum of non-religions or "enlightened" governance went into "overswing" - the world experiencing (perhaps) the ultimate in authoritarian rule based upon the moral compass of mere men - dictatorships - Communism and Nazi-ism!

Extremism of religious ideology and bigotry in living memory as well as recorded history, cannot be denied. Millions of lives have been taken by hatred as frenzied zealots of one religion held power over others - oft-times given a no-win choice, forced conversion or the sword. Even greater extremism is evident today, the virulence being obvious in the venue selection - where civilians, especially children gather - bloodied body-parts of innocents are shown in lurid photos and described in every newspaper - blown-up in buses, restaurants, marketplaces, houses of worship. Human intolerance of faiths other than their own, especially during outbreaks of mob psychology - particularly when exhorting a divine "commandment" to kill "the infidel" - are spurred on by inflammatory and instantaneous distribution of world news. Such bloodshed is even more commonplace today than in the past. So what is the carnage scorecard?

Undoubtedly hundreds of thousands of helpless human beings have been killed by the excesses of religion in recorded history, inflamed zealots, dark-age pogroms, genocides leading to the Holocaust, and present-day Islamo-terrorists. However, in contrast, when the supreme decision authority for life and death has been placed in human ethical standards of morality and justification, the pursuit of ever-greater powers and conquests are apparently irresistible. Rationalizations and cold assessments of benefits and advantages seem to easily overwhelm restraint - leading to carnage and ferocity - greatly exceeding even inflamed religious bigotry. Instead of the envisaged tolerance and fraternity, the end result of political experiments in "enlightened" human authority has been both unanticipated and uninhibited, the untethering of the worst instincts of human beings.

Over 100 Million Killed

Totaling the score can only be done in round numbers, but despotic rulers have caused over 100 million people being killed - by Communism and Nazi-ism within this past century: China, Soviet Union, North Korea, Cambodia, Africa, Afghanistan, and Nazi Europe. These human beings were killed, not in battle or by faith-based hatreds ("if your god is not my god, then you must die"), but from an ideology that denied "faith" itself ("There is no god, only man is the judge of right and wrong!"). With "political correctness" holding sway, it is religion itself that is targeted.

The history of humankind is a history of killing, not for food as in the animal kingdom, but to increase power, dominance of peoples and for land-mass acquisition. Today, of the world religions, all but one seem to have grown beyond desires to kill or compel conversions of other faiths, only the Muslim religion seems to still justify the sacrifice of not only their own lives but also those of their own children, in order to deny others a desired worship of their own gods.

Clearly, man's warlike nature is not curbed by devotion to a divinity. But the record shows that governance and morality considerations - which if not restrained by considerations superior to human authority - seems to lead to rationalizations for abuses with much more extreme end-results. Human nature, absent the moral and ethical compass of religion and with authority without limitation, seems to the inevitable justification of the ultimate in extremism, rationalizing away impediments to increasing authority and acquisition - mass murder without conscience.

Aaron Kolom qualifies as a "rocket scientist" with over 50 years aerospace engineering: Stress Analyst to Chief of Structural Sciences on numerous military aircraft, to Corp. Director Structures and Materials, Asst. Chief Engineer Space Shuttle Program through first three flights (awarded NASA Public Service Medal), Rockwell International Corp.; Program Manager Concorde SST, VP Engineering TRE Corp.; Aerospace Consultant.

Aaron L. Kolom - from Brainwashed* and Miracles**
* The Perceived Mind-Set of the Secular Elite re Darwin Evolutionism!
** To Believe in Them - Have Faith - In Science and Logic!

Visit website at http://www.brainwashedandmiracles.com to learn a bit about Science vs the Bible, from conflict to confirmation.

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

A Culmination Of Pagan Practices

Christmas Is The Most Celebrated Holiday In Christianity. Some Consider It The Most Holy Day Of The Year.

The exaltation of Christmas is in itself a travesty. Most historians, and Christian scholars know that Jesus was not born on December 25th. They realize that his birth date was probably in the fall. This is backed up by circumstances surrounding Jesus birth.

People knowingly follow a false date set aside to exalt Jesus. Not only is the date a fraud, but also so are the practices. Many manmade traditions have been mixed in with the worship of God. This is like mixing dung with balsam.

The majority of the activities associated with Christmas have no relationship to Jesus. Sure there is an adopted religious (paganish) Nativity scene about Christ. But there are many more adopted pagan customs that are totally unrelated.

Christmas originated in Rome in the 4th century. The tradition came after the Council of Nicaea met in 325 C.E. For kingdom unification, the Council adopted the idea that Jesus was God. Christmas was a Christian substitute for the pagan celebration of winter solstice.

The winter solstice usually occurred around December 25th on the ancient Julian calendar. This celebration was a part of another Roman celebration called Saturnalia. Saturnalia began each year on December 17th. At that time the Romans honored Saturn, the ancient god of agriculture. Also celebrated was the lengthening of daylight following the winter solstice. Romans did this by glorifying Mithra, the ancient Persian god of light. These and other winter festivities lasted until January 1.

The Roman Catholic Church chose December 25 as the day for the Feast of the Nativity. This was in order to give Christian meaning to existing pagan rituals. The Church replaced festivities honoring the birth of the Mithra by commemorating the birth of Jesus. They called Jesus the light of the world. The Church hoped to draw pagans into its religion by overlapping their revelry.

Traditionally, the sacred Christmas season starts with Advent. Advent continues to Christmas Day. During Advent, Christians make preparations for commemorating Jesus birth on December 25th. They also look forward to the Second Coming of Christ.

About 600A.D., Pope Gregory I decreed that Advent start the fourth Sunday before Christmas. He decreed that the season end on Epiphany, January 6th.

Over the next 1200 years, Christmas observances followed the expansion of Christianity. It expanded throughout Europe, into Egypt, and eventually into America. Along the way, Christian beliefs combined with other pagan feasts and winter rituals. This created many distorted long-standing Christian traditions of Christmas celebrations.

Some examples are:

1)The ancient Europeans believed that the mistletoe plant held magic powers to bestow life and fertility, to bring about peace, and to protect against disease. They associated the plant with the Norse goddess of love, Freya, and developed the custom of kissing underneath mistletoe branches.

2)The Roman Catholic Church first introduced the midnight Mass in the 5th century. The dramatization of the biblical story of Jesus birth was a practice begun by Saint Francis of Assisi in the 13th century.

3)Many cultures continue the pre-Christian custom of burning Yule logs during the midwinter season; the Yule log symbolizes the victory of light over the darkness of winter. According to ancient tradition, the ashes provide protection against bad luck during the year.

4)The German custom of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmastime has become one of the most popular images of Christmas around the world. At one time, Germany supplied the world with almost all of the decorative glass ornaments for Christmas trees. On the evening of December 5th, children wait for a visit from Saint Nicholas, who brings them gifts. Most children also receive gifts on Christmas Eve. In some parts of Germany, Santa Claus distributes gifts, but in other regions Knecht Ruprecht, a mythical figure dressed in animal skins, delivers childrens treats. On Christmas Eve, families traditionally gather around Christmas trees decorated with lights, ornaments, and Lebkuchen, which are spiced cookies cut into decorative shapes. Worshippers holding candles illuminate Church services on Christmas Eve. The Advent wreath, which consists of four candles anchored in a circle of evergreen branches, originated with German Lutherans; many churches and families have adopted the tradition. At the beginning of each of the four weeks preceding Christmas, Christians light an Advent candle as they say a prayer.

5)In Italian folklore Santa Claus is not a prominent figure. Instead, Italian children wait for La Befana, a good witch who rides her broom to their homes on Epiphany to distribute gifts. According to folk belief, La Befanawhose name refers to the word Epifania (Epiphany)was too busy to accompany the Three Wise Men on their journey to visit the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. Now, to atone for her failing, she visits all good children, leaving treats. She also visits bad children and leaves them lumps of coal or bags of ash.

6)In England religious customs of Christmas celebrations center on recounting the story of Christs birth. Most people who celebrate Christmas also participate in such secular customs as watching Christmas plays, feasting, singing, and helping the poor. Before Christmas Day, children write wish lists to Father Christmas, who is the British version of Santa Claus. They then throw these letters into the fire. Children believe that if a draft draws the letter up through the chimney, their wishes will be fulfilled. Children open their gifts on Christmas afternoon. Many people in England also make charitable contributions to churches and to the needy on the day after Christmas, known as Boxing Day. They also give small gifts known as Christmas boxes to those who have performed personal services throughout the year.

7)America has become a melting pot for many world Christmas traditions, with many new customs, many of which started in the 19th century. Before then Christmas had been an ordinary workday in many communities, particularly in New England, where early Puritan objections to Christmas celebrations remained highly influential. Families almost never exchanged Christmas gifts among themselves.

These early Christmas traditions in America quickly changed. Among some groups, Christmas became an especially boisterous event, characterized by huge feasts, drunkenness, and raucous public revelry. In an English tradition that survived in some parts of North America, Christmas revelers would dress in costume and progress from door to door to receive gifts of food and drink. Most holiday gifts were limited to small amounts of money and modest presents passed from the wealthy to the poor and from masters to their servants. The rapidly expanding industrial economy of the 19th century flooded the market with new goods for sale, and also helped establish a new middle class. Christmas gained increased prominence largely because many people believed it could draw families together and honor children. Giving gifts to children and loved ones eventually replaced the raucous public celebrations of the past, and Christmas became primarily a domestic holiday.

With the new custom of Christmas gift giving, the marketplace exerted an unprecedented influence on holiday celebrations. Commercial innovations such as department stores and mass advertising further expanded the custom of exchanging Christmas gifts. Seasonal retail sales helped fuel the economy, causing merchants and advertisers to become some of the seasons most dedicated promoters. Many holiday celebrants regretted these changes and began voicing the now common grieve that Christmas has become too commercial. With the influx of immigrants, who introduced a wide variety of religious and cultural practices to North American life, celebrating Christmas became a way for people from different parts of the world to create a sense of community in the cities. The holiday forged a sense of nondenominational Christian spirit in the communities, as it promoted a sense of collective good will.

Christmas, the most Holy Day of Christianity, has many built-in errors and influences. Although it has become a Day to reflect on goodwill toward mankind, the core of Christianitys foundation (Jesus birth) has pagan roots. Just imagine how many more pagan customs are embedded into other Christian holidays and beliefs. All of the Christian traditions need to be investigated thoroughly, if one is to take them literally.

With Christmas, like other holidays, Christians give reverence to images and symbols. With Christmas there is the symbol of the Christ child. In Rome this image is called Santo Bambino Jesu.

There are also other pagan images, adopted for various reasons. Some of these images include: mistletoe, prayer cloths and beads, people, spirits, Crucifixes, etc. To include the worship of any image or object is an abomination. God wants our total dedication to Him only, in spirit only.

Biblical Scriptures read:

Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: Deut. 5:8.

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Deut. 6:5.

Jesus said:

Have ye ever seen dung mixed with balsam?

Now I tell you that there be in the world greater madmen, because with the service of God they mingle the service of the world. So much so that many of blameless life have been deceived of Satan, and while praying have mingled with their prayer worldly business, whereupon they have become at that time abominable in the sight of God. Tell me, when ye wash yourselves for prayer, do ye take care that no unclean thing touch you? Yea, assuredly. But what do ye when ye are making prayer? Ye wash your soul from sins through the mercy of God. Would ye be willing then, while ye are making prayer, to speak of worldly things? Take care not to do so, for every worldly word becometh dung of the devil upon the soul of him that speaketh. GB: 84.

More is revealed on this subject of: False holidays and customs, as well as on the subjects of: Gods Knowledge and Worship, and the Judgments of God, in the Guide Book: ONE GOD ONE WORD: The TRUTH About The KNOWLEDGE and WORSHIP of GOD.

Visit website: http://OneGodOneWord.com/ for additional information.

What Do Your Goals Say - Self Help Tips

Do you have goals? How to you set things in motion to accomplish your goals? What is your game plan of success? You can either focus on the results or you can focus on the activities you are doing. If you have the right steps in place, you will achieve your goal.

You should be attempting to link your daily steps to your weekly achievements and then to your monthly goals. So that your efforts are always working in your favor.

Set achievable steps - let them have a purpose to your overall goals. You don't want to fall into activity traps. Yes, you are expediting energy, but it is not helping you to reach your goals, You are busy, but to no end.

Use project management software or a system of your own design of checks and balances. You know where you are on your path to goal achievement. Be realistic and know that there will be days when you may not accomplish what you intended, but "get back on the horse" the next day.

Write your goals down and review them. That way you will know if you are making strides to achieve them. Change them where you need, if something isn't working or a new approach becomes known to you. Improve your tactics and make the necessary changes. Success is yours to carve out. Complete at least one goal step each day. Keep adding to your goals. There is always more to achieve. Keep asking yourself, "Is what I am working on leading to the my achieving my goals?" If it isn't, do not waste your time doing it! You are the Captain of Your ship of life.

Gloria-Jean Brown

http://www.CoachingbyGJ.com

The Devil and the Mystery

Most Christians know more about the devil than they know about "The Mystery." Even so, they do not know any more about the devil than they should know. They should know more about him, so that they can truthfully say, with Paul, "We are not ignorant of his devices" (II Cor. 2:11). Certainly every Christian should know more about "The Mystery." God wants every Christian to know "The Mystery," and to make it known to others (Eph. 3:9). You say, "Then it would no longer be "The Mystery." Certainly not. Why after over 2,000 years should this divine truth still be a mystery so far as ninety-nine per cent of God's people are concerned? Can you answer this question? It is true that the devil doesn't want any one to understand or even study this divine truth. But is not God's will to be desired by Christians more than Satan's? Doesn't God's power exceed the devil's power? Satan is mighty. God is almighty. Genuine spiritual Christians know that God's power exceeds Satan's power.

But let's take an inventory. As we take in the world-wide political situation, the distress of nations, with even the so-called Christian nations on the verge of bankruptcy and destruction, we may wonder that Satan has such power after 2,000 years of Christianity. But we believe that Satan knew what he was talking about in Luke 4:6 when he told the Lord Jesus that the kingdoms of the world were under his control. The Lord was right when He called Satan "the prince of this world."

When we consider the millions and millions of people of the world religiously, and see what the devil has done to them, surely we give a hearty "Amen" to the statement of I John 5:19, "the whole world lieth in [the evil one]." In his tricks to keep sinners away from the saving gospel of Christ, Satan is called "the god of this [age]" (II Cor. 4:3,4). To accomplish his purpose with people who want some kind of a so-called Christian religion, the devil transforms himself into an angel of light and instructs his servants to pretend that they are missionaries of Christ (II Cor. 11:13-15).

Then let us consider what the devil has done with Church members who are actually members of Christ's Body, God's one and only Church today. Note God's instructions in Ephesians 4:3-6:

"Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one Body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling: one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

Meditate"the unity of the Spirit." Where is it found? One faith, one hope of your calling, one baptism. One Body. How many sects and denominations? Several hundred. How many bodies? One Body. Note Ephesians 1:20-23:

"Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in [the heavenlies]. Far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the Church, which is His Body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all."

Christ is in the heavenlies. Christ is the one Head of His one and only Church, which is His Body, "the fulness of Him that filleth all in all."

No matter how loyal, zealous sectarians may defend and contend for their denominational churches, the student of the Word of God knows that "denominationalism" is absolutely unscriptural. There is one, and only one, true Bible Church and that Bible Church is denominated, The Body of Christ, "the fulness of Him that filleth all in all." In Ephesians 3:6 that one Church is called the "Joint-Body" (see the Greek).

Members of Christ's Body are seated with Christ in the heavenlies and are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:6 and 1:3). One reason why God wants all men to see "The Mystery" is expressed in Ephesians 3:10,11:

"To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in [the heavenlies] might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

The Mystery then, is divine truth concerning "the heavenlies" and "according to the eternal purpose which God purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." By searching the Scriptures we find that this divine message was not in fulfillment of prophecy, but was a spiritual program predestinated by God before the foundation of the world.

We have seen how Satan works politically as "the prince of this world"; how, as "the god of this age" he blinds the unbeliever to keep him from believing the gospel of salvation. In Ephesians 6:11-20 we learn of Satan's spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies, his opposition to the message and the messenger of "The Mystery," divine truth concerning the heavenlies. Note Ephesians 6:11,12:

"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places [in the heavenlies]."

And note Ephesians 6:19,20:

"And [pray] for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."

Why was Paul a prisoner of Rome? Hear his own words: for "the mystery of the gospel." Read this again in Colossians 4:3,4 and hear his testimony in Ephesians 3:1-3:

"For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles. If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given me to you-ward: how that by revelation He made known unto me the Mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words)."

Note God's Word in Ephesians 3:9:

"And to make all men see what is the [dispensation] of the Mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God."

Here we see "the dispensation of the grace of God" and the dispensation of the Mystery are linked together. This glorious truth was made known by revelation to the Apostle Paul, who became the prisoner of Jesus Christ for the Gentiles. Do we appreciate what he suffered for us? Let's get into the Book and try to understand the message for which he suffered.

While Paul knew that religious men were opposed to "The Mystery" and were determined that he should not preach that divine truth, he knew that he was not wrestling against flesh and blood; that his real opponent was the devil as the ruler of world darkness in the heavenlies.

Paul wrote in II Corinthians 4:3 and 4 that Satan blinded minds. But note his request for a very specific prayer in Ephesians 1:17,18:

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints."

Paul did not want minds blinded to "The Mystery." He knew that it required a special spirit of wisdom and revelation to comprehend that particular glorious truth.

Yes, the devil succeeded in getting Paul in jail for "The Mystery," bound as an evil doer unto chains. But from his prison cell he wrote: "The Word of God is not bound."

God wants you to know and to make known this glorious truth...which should have ceased to be a mystery more than twenty centuries ago.

This article originally appeared in the Berean Searchlight, the free monthly magazine of the Berean Bible Society. For over 60 years, the Berean Bible Society has been proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery.

Self Esteem and Body Image

Our self esteem has a lot to do with our body image. How much do we accept our own bodies? Are we good enough to be ...?

Are we good enough to have ...?

Are we good enough to do ...?

The answers depend entirely on our own self esteem. Although our bodies have something to do with how others treat us, the most important factor is how we view ourselves.

If we hold an image of our bodies as being messed up then we have a negative impact on our bodies as well as our self esteem.

If we think we are our bodies, then we are building esteem for the wrong self.

We build esteem for our bodies by seeing their true perfection. The first step in doing that is accepting them the way they are. They are okay the way they are.

What effect does self acceptance have on our health?

Many people believe that we have energetic blueprints for our bodies. This energetic blueprint affects the condition of our bodies. The blueprint comes first. The actual body condition comes some time later.

If you were fortunate enough to see the movie What the Bleep, you saw microscopic pictures of water after it was exposed to prayer, positive thoughts, and various negative emotions.

The results were astonishing!

The microscopic pictures of the water exposed to negative emotions and thoughts looked like a real mess. However, the pictures of the positive emotion exposed water looked like nature's works of art. They were harmonious and beautiful.

Imagine what effect emotions have on our body!

In a later scene, the main character looked into a mirror and dramatically exclaimed "I hate you". This normally beautiful woman looked quite unattractive.

Fortunately, the leading character had a realization. She started loving herself and painted loving art work all over her body. Her whole appearance changed. She looked beautiful again. She was happy. She accepted and loved herself.

Have you ever tried to fight off negativity?

You probably noticed that it was a never ending battle. We might temporarily succeed by placing ourselves inside a protective egg shell where all the bad stuff is outside. Our world can get smaller and smaller as we do that. Pretty soon there's nothing left but us in our shrinking eggshell watching Mary Poppins video.

Have you ever tried to get rid of something by resisting it?

What happened? Did it keep coming back? Could there be a better way?

Yes, fortunately there is a better way. We can observe something and accept it the way it is. This doesn't mean we mentally push it away by telling ourselves that we accept it.

Can we really accept something? Can we allow it to continue forever? If we really can, then magic happens. That something can lift off. I can't promise that you can change physical reality. But I'm not saying that you can't.

I can tell you from experience that you can change your emotional and mental experience.

By accepting your body the way it is, you change the energetic blueprint of your body. And ...

It feels good.

Copyright 2006 by Jim Kitzmiller

Jim Kitzmiller is the author of Rocket Fuel for the Soul -- Blissercise Self-Help Manual. The book's bliss exercises (blissercises) surpass usual positive thinking approaches by bypassing the logical mind. The blissercises cover 46 different areas of life.

Jim leads self-help workshops and does spiritual coaching.

Stormie Omartian

Thriving During Tough Times

2009 is predicted to be a tough year for everyone! Thus, in response to the challenges of 2008 and the predictions for 2009, I have a theme of "Thriving during Tough Times" and I recommend that you do to.

While I sense that many other people are "Tumbling during Tough Times," now is not the time to quit pursuing thriving success! As Seth Godin discusses in his book, The Dip, quitting is an extremely poor tactic just because the dip is hard!

So, how do you get started on thriving during tough times? Start with The Power of 3.

The number three has special meaning in this world.

Three has special meaning in many religions and cultures including Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and the American and Chinese cultures.

Three is often described as solid, real, substantial, and complete. It is the trinity number representing fullness or something that has come full circle. It is considered divine perfection.

Most importantly, the sum of human capacity can be summed up in three components...thought, word, and deed!

These three components of human capacity, when properly applied, help you attract, get, and keep lasting success. When improperly applied, they help you create much less desirable conditions, situations, and results.

Champions use their human capacities (thought, word, and deed) to focus on the following three key components of lasting champion success:
Activate the attraction factor
Take inspired and leveraged action
Reinforce success, goals and vision

The number three also has power in process and prioritization! The process of focusing on the three most leveraged and impactful ways to achieve any goal/objective or enhance any relationship generates special results!

This is where I started creating my thriving momentum in 2008! I have also used the power of three to help individuals focus their energy, make decisions, and generate synergy among their decisions/choices countless times. This process has led to breakthrough results significantly more often than any other process and prioritization method I have seen or used!

In fact, the consistent breakthrough results that I have achieved (and help others achieve) through this process led me to want to research the meaning of the number three in religions and cultures.

If you want to find the keys to anything around you, I suggest you look for three keys that generate 80% or more of the impact. I spent the last 90 days researching the three keys to other successes during tough times. I have assembled all these key strategies, tactics, and tools that helped others "Thrive during Tough Time" and I will be sharing them in 2009.

Until we cross paths during some of this 2009 work, I suggest you focus on finding your specific three elements and components that are appropriate for your situation and will quickly accelerate your results. Everything else is just noise and distraction!

Even one of the most popular and influential books of the late 20th century, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven R. Covey, divides the habits into three categories; private victory, public victory, and renewal. Maybe those are the right three for you to focus on in 2009!

Cheers!!! Here's to "Thriving during Tough Times" in 2009!

About the Author:
Jon L. Iveson, Ph.D., The Champion's Coach, is a Gazelles Certified Coach who helps individuals and companies produce champion results and build champion relationships. Assess how ready you are (http://www.learningtobeachampion.com/assessments/thechampions.htm) or your company is (http://www.learningtobeachampion.com/assessments/winningcompanies.htm) to "Thrive during Tough Times."

Change Your Attitude - Zig Ziglar Video

Zig Ziglar explains how to change your attitude and how it affects certain things in your life.

Greg is currently working on a self 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.

Stop Feeling Guilty Part 2
Books

How to Get What You Really Want - Wayne Dyer Video

I love Wayne Dyer and here's one of his great videos

What are you going to change today about your life? Make a list of things that you're not happy with about your life and start making the new habits that you need to create the life you deserve and desire.

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 personal development article 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.

Lifes Suffering Cycles
Change Can Lead To Suffering

Changing the Focus of Halloween for Christians

Some Christians avoid mention of Halloween. Some celebrate it anyway. Now, one company may change the way Christians view Halloween forever.

They have come up with a way to use Halloween as an opportunity. They have a Memory Cross card to hand out to trick-or-treaters with your Halloween candy.

What is a Memory Cross card? It is a four panel interactive card that is designed in an origami style. It unfolds to display selected bible verses. They target kids ages 4-13 and use colorful graphics to hold the both children and adults attention.

The original intention of a Memory Cross cards was for creator, Pastor Andy Lambert, to use in his sermons to tell bible stories. However, now there is yet another use. Because people love to play with these cards and flip them around, they easily learn Gods Word. These are great evangelism tools. Even the shy kids will want to pass them out to their family and friends.

Now for Halloween, they have a product that is designed to fold like the originals, but presents the gospel message. It starts out and says FREE CANDYWhat could be better than that? and then goes on to share the gospel. It is colorful. It has a photo of candy corn on the front and makes kids want to take a look inside.

Soinstead of just handing out candy this year, Christians can bring the hope of the gospel into the homes of every child who knocks on their door!

Sheryl Frey is a Christian dedicated to helping others find great Christian products like Memory Cross to share their faith. She also organizes the Memory Cross Kids challenge. For more information please see http://www.memorycrosskidschallenge.com

Spiritual Benefits

Following Old Religious Text - Religion

Most people tend to bury their head in the sand when it comes to problems with their family, community, job, government and of course religious beliefs. They don't want to hear the truth and often they can't see the truth. I have read many religious text, books and other literature, missing some very important parts and only when I reread the information, did I find what I have missed. Sometimes I have needed to read or listen to the same information over 30 times, before it becomes somewhat clear to me.

Most religions are living in the dark ages. From what I gather, Hinduism is over 4000 years old, Judaism is around 2500 years old, Christianity is 2000 years old and Islam is about 1400 years old. People are following information today that isn't necessarily applicable to modern times but often religious leaders can twist it around, add some verbiage, make a semi-educated judgment and now we have something we can follow. It just doesn't make sense.

Why do we put so much faith in religious books like the Bible, Torah, Bhagavad-Gita and Quran, when these books cannot be proven and often have many mistakes and errors. I know people that open these books very carefully and treat them like they are made from solid gold. They are books like any others but often people live their lives from the information inside, strictly and religiously. Often never straying from their beliefs, even though they're outdated and hard to follow.

Let me get to the bottom line here, have you researched your religion and if you have, do you have any questions that can't be answered? Do you read any of the religious text and often wonder or think to yourself, this doesn't seem to make sense, because you just read something else that was contradicting the last statement.

You can handle the truth about your religion. By reading this article, it tells me that you're on the Internet, can you go to a search engine and type in Bible contradictions, Torah contradictions, or whatever your beliefs are. I was searching for errors in the Bible and came upon a couple of pretty good web sites.

Use words like contradiction, problems, errors and see what websites you come up with.

Seek the wisdom and the truth shall set you free.

Hope in Religion

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

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

Greg is currently working on a self 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.

How Do I Know What The Universe

Observer and the Observed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Understanding Faithful Followers

Hinduism, Buddhism and the Devil

No sect of Hinduism personifies the powers of evil in one figure corresponding to Satan, or the Ahriman of Persia. In proportion as a nation thinks pantheistically it is disinclined to regard the world as being mainly a contest between good and evil. It is true there are innumerable demons and innumerable good spirits who withstand them. But just as there is no finality in the exploits of Rma and Krishna, so Rvana and other monsters do not attain to the dignity of the Devil. In a sense the destructive forces are evil, but when they destroy the world at the end of a Kalpa the result is not the triumph of evil. It is simply winter after autumn, leading to spring and another summer.

Buddhism having a stronger ethical bias than Hinduism was more conscious of the existence of a Tempter, or a power that makes men sin. This power is personified, but somewhat indistinctly, as Mra, originally and etymologically a god of death. He is commonly called Mra the Evil One, which corresponds to the Mrityuh ppm of the Vedas, but as a personality he seems to have developed entirely within the Buddhist circle and to be unknown to general Indian mythology.

In the thought of the Pitakas the connection between death and desire is clear. The great evils and great characteristics of the world are that everything in it decays and dies and that existence depends on desire. Therefore the ruler of the world may be represented as the god of desire and death. Buddha and his saints struggle with evil and overcome it by overcoming desire and this triumphant struggle is regarded as a duel with Mra, who is driven off and defeated.

Even in his most mythological aspects, Mra is not a deity of Hell. He presides over desire and temptation, not over judgment and punishment. This is the function of Yama, the god of the dead, and one of the Brahmanic deities who have migrated to the Far East. He has been adopted by Buddhism, though no explanation is given of his status. But he is introduced as a vague but effective figure-and yet hardly more than a metaphor-whenever it is desired to personify the inflexible powers that summon the living to the other world and there make them undergo, with awful accuracy, the retribution due for their deeds.

In a remarkable passage called Death's Messengers, it is related that when a sinner dies he is led before King Yama who asks him if he never saw the three messengers of the gods sent as warnings to mortals, namely an old man, a sick man and a corpse. The sinner under judgment admits that he saw but did not reflect and Yama sentences him to punishment, until suffering commensurate to his sins has been inflicted.

To learn more about Buddhist teachings and beliefs, you might be interested in my FREE E-EBOOK "Buddhism for the Non-Buddhist Layman"

You will also find many free articles about Buddhist teachings, beliefs and practices in my site:

• Buddhism Through Buddhist Eyes

Power Of Faith

Laws of Attraction Break the United States Documentary Record!

Laws of Attraction may still be new to some, but the phrase is definitely not new to those who have been practicing the laws or the secret laws.

In the US, the Secret film that popularizes the "Laws of Attraction" was apparently the "third highest grossing documentary of all time". Does it surprise you at all? Can you remember the buzz that the film has created? It is expected that the movie will help changing even more lives!

The Secret movie though does not tell you anything new. It just reveals an ancient concept of the laws. Laws of Attraction say that thoughts become things and your thoughts will come to you when you visualize them. The laws obviously exist and they work both positive and negative ways. When you visualize negative, you receive negative; when you visualize positive, you receive positive.

In order to make sure that attraction principle work for you, you must remember that positive thinking precedes the laws. It is true that positive thinking does work, but when you mix that "positive thinking" with "emotion", your "visualization" becomes even more real than ever. That is why it is important to be able to attract positivity!

Take desire for wealth as an example. You may want to visualize the exact amount of money you want in a specific amount of time and what do you want to do specifically with that amount of money. When you focus on your desire, you are half way through your journey. Remember to actually apply the principle of attraction in your life. You cannot have a result without action. That is a fact. Period.

When you want to attract beautiful things into your life, you must feel how wonderful it feels to live the life you want and live it within your mind throughout the day. If you haven't practiced the attraction principle yet, I suggest you go do them soon.

I also have news for people who do not believe in the power of attraction - is silly for one not to accept the laws since there is no harm in believing and applying them.

Look, before the whole laws of attraction craze came along in the last three or four years, most people had no idea what they are. People just heard of "positive thinking". As we have established that "positive thinking" works, but it is even more effective when we apply the attraction principle. Remember that positive affirmations are simply statements that represent a goal or intention you would like to realize while the Laws of Attraction represent your whole being as you live and breath the Laws!

John Lee is an entrepreneur, who has found successes using the Laws of Attraction Not only he built his business from 5-figure debts to 5-figure passive income, he helps others to do the same. He is also a student of Bob Proctor and learn The Secret directly from Bob. Visit http://www.mylawofattraction.com/11-forgotten-laws/laws-of-attraction/ to claim his FREE 52 email series revealing the secrets of his making 5-figure profit-pulling business on auto-pilot every month for the last one and a half year.

Meditation and Painful Problems

What Is A Exorcism
Magical Numbers

David Lynch on Transcendental Meditation Part Two

Living Your Religion One Day A W
Developing Wealth Building Habit