Do You Deserve Happiness

No matter how dull, or how mean, or how wise a man is, he feels that happiness is his indisputable right.

--Helen Keller

How to Reduce Stress and Ease Worries in Just 3 Minutes

By Ananga Sivyer

Stress is everywhere, we know it’s unhealthy, and we know the conditions it can lead to. Many of us feel we really should do something about it, but the trouble with stress is when we’re in it’s grip it’s difficult to do much about anything.

Meditation, relaxation and visualisation are the standard recommendations, and they are all beneficial and useful to us in many ways, however, they are not so easy to put into use when stress strikes with it’s disruptive companions frustration, overwhelm, confusion, anxiety etc in full attendance.

Here’s something simple you can try to diffuse stress quickly and easily, anytime and anywhere.


1. rub your forehead with both hands in vertical lines from your eyebrows to your hairline for a few moments

2. about an inch above each eyebrow you will find a bump – rest your fingertips there lightly and hold

3. take a deep breathe in and lighten the pressure of your fingertips until they are touching those points very softly

4. breathe deeply again and allow yourself to sink into how you are really feeling right now – focus clearly and specifically on the one thing that is mainly causing you stress, or anxiety

5. allow yourself to think the truth of the matter, hold the points and breathe and remain that way for a couple of minutes

6. concentrate on the area you are holding and feel for pulsations under your fingertips as the blood flow, previously diverted by stress, is restored to your forebrain. Now you can begin to think clearly again as you feel stress drain away and find yourself in control and able to choose how you wish to respond to what’s at hand.


What many of us don’t realise about stress is that although it is often triggered by our mental states and emotional responses it is in fact a physiological occurrence. The body responds directly to every impression we feed it be it real or imagined; it makes no difference to the body. If you tell it you are stressed it will respond immediately by sending the majority of the blood from your forebrain to your chest for faster breathing and the more efficient pumping of blood through your heart and to the muscles of your legs for whatever action they may need to take.

When you consider this automatic physical response it’s easy to see why we don’t always think well under stress. This simple technique tells your body to stand down and encourages the blood flow to return to the brain for clear thinking and decision-making.

Try this for:


- diffusing stress on the spot and stopping it from accumulating

- easing worries

- regaining control of your resources and having access to your full capacity for dealing with any given situation.

- preventing the digestive disorders associated with stress developing. (Use this before eating to make sure that your digestive system is ready and willing to receive the goodness from your food in a calm and efficient manner.)

- relaxing and clearing your mind before sleep

- inducing a feeling of calm from which you can then step deeper into a meditative or relaxed state

Ananga Sivyer is a Personal Development Coach, author and health consultant for LifeScape magazine, her resource website contains articles, information and book reviews on the very best and latest in self-help psychology.

For more tips like this - visit her website at: http://www.self-help-energy-balance.com

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Soul of Genius

Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius.

Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.

--Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

A Question of Time and Memory

By The Helper

I have been struck recently by a number of questions which have found their way into my mind. One of these is the question of memory. Imagine for a moment travelling back to a world that everyone believes is flat. In this place we all go about our business accepting that this is an absolute and therefore it is. But amongst us are people who question and say. “But is it, and what if it’s not? They are of course laughed at and told they are stupid. Until we discover that the world is in fact round, well, slightly pointy at both ends to be precise. It then becomes the norm to talk about the world and imagine the world as round. Think now, imagine the world, what do you see? Probably it looks something like the pictures taken from space. You have seen these, you know they are fact, the world is round, all those people who were laughed at for believing what was in fact true have been vindicated. Imagine their leap of faith, believing the world to be round before such pictures ever existed!

Now imagine for a moment that time is a bit like that. That we are in fact the same as those who believed the world was flat and time is a more fluid and changing thing well beyond our imagining. Each moment you remember in your life, each memory exists as a separate time and separate from you. In your mind you can think of things and recall them, hear sounds, remember smells: how, why? You can travel through time back to moments painful, wonderful, important to you. What if all these moments are existing independent of us floating around somewhere in something like a giant internet and we access servers where the memories are stored. Of course you need the right address to access this information. Now this is your own private server. But imagine for a second that with the right address you can access other peoples memories, other peoples moments, and other peoples slices of time floating around out there. This opens up a myriad of possibilities and opportunities. Can it explain how we can dream of a situation and feeling that we have never experienced in our waking life? That suddenly in moments of inspiration the idea comes to us seemingly out of the blue? I am not talking of anything mystical here but of a simple concept that we are as yet unable to grasp, prove or photograph. Who knows in time maybe it will be as simple as understanding that the world is round but until then we will just have to keep wondering, asking questions and hoping as we journey that we are brave enough to risk the abyss, to take that leap of faith.

The Helper
helper@lettertogod.net
http://www.lettertogod.net

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Serenity

Mirth is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment; cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity.

--Joseph Addison

How to Boost Your Creativity

By Royane Real

Would you like to enhance your creativity? Do you think that increased creativity is something that would improve your life?

Before you answer yes or no to that question, take some time to explore what the word “creativity” means to you.

If you think that creativity is something that you only need if you’re an artist, while you happen to be a middle-manager in a corporation, you may decide that increased creativity is not really important to you.

But creativity is actually something far broader than artistic expression, and it’s required in many areas of life.

Your idea of a creative person might be someone who lives in a loft, painting gigantic canvases all day long. Or perhaps a writer at her computer, working on a long novel. Or a musician, actor, or singer performing on stage to an audience.

All these people are expressing themselves artistically, and they can all rightly be said to be creative people, even if no one else enjoys their art.

But what about an entrepreneur who has an idea for a new product, who forms a new company to produce and distribute it, eventually employing hundreds of people? Doesn’t this also require creativity?

What about a research scientist toiling in a lab, developing new compounds in an effort to cure disease? Isn’t this creative? What about a single mother who manages to come up with healthy delicious meals on a tiny budget? Isn’t that creativity?

When we define creativity only in terms of artistic expression, we miss a lot of other potential applications for creative thinking and problem solving.

An artist painting a picture, or a writer working on a novel, both have something in common with the researcher in the lab, and the entrepreneur, and a person who might be gluing seashells to picture frames to make them prettier.

They are all working on problems and devising solutions that didn’t exist before. These people are using their minds to imagine fresh ways of doing something, putting together existing forms and ideas in new ways.

They may be creating a new idea, a new look, a new product, or new technique. Sometimes the ability to be more creative can lead to personal fame and fortune; sometimes it just provides a deep sense of personal satisfaction.

Can we improve our ability to be creative? Yes, in fact, learning to be more creative can be quite enjoyable and easy to do.

Some of the techniques that are used to improve creativity include brainstorming, mind-mapping, various forms of hypnosis and meditation, and guided imagery.

The techniques that have been developed to try to enhance creativity all have one thing in common. They are all trying to bypass the inner “judge” or “critic” we have in our minds.

Most of us have an inner voice that is running a constant commentary on everything we think and do. We might barely notice this inner voice much of the time, yet it has a great impact on what we can accomplish in our life.

In many of us this inner voice is usually very negative. No matter what we want think about, or want to do, this inner voice is running like a tape in the background of our minds, criticizing our ideas, our performance, and our ability to be successful.

When we come up with a new idea, our inner voice may be saying, “This idea is stupid.” Or it might tell us, “I should never be mediocre or average, I must be brilliant and perfect all the time. All my ideas should be totally brilliant and innovative. If my ideas aren’t perfect right from the start, I am a failure and it’s better not to even try”.

Our negative inner critic does not always appear as a voice. Sometimes we see visual images of ourselves failing. Or we may have physical sensations of fear and embarrassment that stop us from pursuing new ideas or new actions.

Your inner critic isn’t being evil when it criticizes you, or when it tells you your ideas are not very good. Your critic is actually trying to protect you from being ashamed or embarrassed by the potentially negative comments and reactions of other people to your ideas.

Our inner critic is trying to make us perfect and safe, but it can have an unforeseen damaging effect.

If our inner judgmental dialogue is mostly negative, our creative abilities will suffer.

Instead of helping us to come up with better ideas, this endless barrage of negative inner commentary will hurt our ability to come up with new ideas.

You can’t be creative, and be critical at the same time. These two processes require different ways of thinking. The critical, judgmental, analytical function of the brain is not the part that knows how to generate creative ideas.

Even the types of brainwaves that you generate when you are being rational and analytical are quite different than the brainwaves that go with maximum creativity.

When it’s time for you to be creative, you have to send your “inner critic” out for a walk.

This article is an excerpt from the new downloadable book by Royane Real titled “How You Can Be Smarter - Use Your Brain to Learn Faster, Remember Better and Be More Creative" Download it today at http://www.royanereal.com

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Understanding

What happens to you does not matter.

What you become through your experiences is all that is significant.

This is the true meaning of life.

The Internet - Life without it

By John Sheridan

For seven days this month, my Internet connection ceased to be; apparently (according to the engineer) because the cable-modem box thingy gave up the ghost. Seven whole days with no link to the outside world, except for the telephone of course, which isn’t quite the same is it? Now normally a very short period without Internet access would not cause too much of a problem; fortunately I can complete most of my work off-line so I saw this as only a minor inconvenience.

However, the big shock to my system came with the realisation that for a period of time during those days I was extremely bored. It was fine while I was working, but afterwards without the Internet to distract me, I had nothing to do for the remainder of any working day. The evenings were fine because I have a very active social life, so no problem, but it did get me thinking about how the absence of the Internet might affect the majority of us in one way or another.

Since the ‘arrival’ of the phenomenon that is known as the Internet, we have become obsessed to some extent with the speed in which it lets us live our lives. We rarely expect to get letters from friends, family or businesses – email is there, ready, waiting and fast. We can visit just about any virtual shop in the world, buy more than we could physically carry and arrange to have it delivered, and all this can be done in just an hour of surfing without even getting out of a chair.

I began to wonder about the vast number of companies whose day-to-day business is conducted online, and what would happen if for some reason the whole Internet suddenly ceased to work. The effects would be extremely far-reaching, for example; a substantial amount of daily business communication is conducted via email, the loss of which would severely disrupt and significantly slow down the companies who rely totally on this media to send and receive information where speed is of the essence. Other parties to be considered are the private individuals whose emails possibly compare or even exceed in numbers that of corporate traffic, and business websites; without these virtual showrooms to look at, a customer would have to revert back to the old way of doing things and visit a real one - very hard on the feet!

We are all aware that the rapid advances made in Internet technology over recent years have been nothing short of astonishing. From mobile phones and their ability to send messages and photo images, as well as being able to access the Internet, to email and its almost instant delivery capability. Both have transformed information exchange and communication beyond our wildest dreams, whilst simultaneously creating a mindset that has us expecting immediate answers to any questions we may ask. It's up to each individual to decide for themselves whether or not the Internet is for the better. I am sure there are a vast number of people in the world that prefer life the way it used to be, and their opinions must be respected.

However, to be off-line felt like some sort of isolation even though it was only temporary. It's not something I would want to happen on a regular basis, and whilst I am sure that although we would undoubtedly cope without the Internet if we had to, the question is - would we want to?

Sure, the simplicity and speed of email would be sorely missed; the comparative ease of online shopping; the click of a mouse to pay the bills; the creature comforts that the Internet provides and what we have quickly grown to accept and expect, would eventually be forgotten or committed to a nostalgic memory, but I sincerely doubt it would be an easy transition.

We are all increasingly reliant on the Internet to make life run a bit smoother – and for me, seven days without it was more than enough to prove that.

This article is the property of the author and may only be reproduced in its original form.

John Sheridan is a professional proofreader of hard copy items and website copy. He also writes web copy and occasionally accepts small copy-editing assignments. He can be contacted at: Mailto: john@textcorrect.co.uk website: http://www.textcorrect.co.uk

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Loyalty

Become loyal to your innermost truth.

Follow the way when all others abandon it.

Walk the path of your own heart.

Do You Say What You Mean?

By John Sheridan

It's generally accepted that the majority of people learn to speak from a very early age, and on average a basic vocabulary is formed between the ages of four and six years old. As we get older our method of using language changes and we end up speaking in such a way that if everything we said was to be taken literally the effects could be amusing or tragic. With language, we know what we want to say; we often think we have said it; unfortunately, more often than not - we haven't.

Some years ago, I worked in a taxi office taking bookings over the phone. You would assume that it would be simple enough to say, “Could I book a taxi please?"

Rule one - never assume!

Requests for taxis came as, "What's your soonest taxi?" "When is your fastest taxi?" "How long is your next taxi?" "What's your next taxi?"

Now obviously I knew they all meant they wanted to order a taxi - but that is not what they said. After a little while, I got to thinking what would happen if I answered their questions literally - so I did. The first of many similar conversations was as follows.

Customer. "How long is your next taxi?"
Me. “About 4 yards.”
Customer. "What?"
Me. "About 4 yards."
Customer. “What the **** are you talking about?"
Me. "You asked me how long my next taxi would be and I told you about 4 yards"
Customer. "You knew what I meant"
Me. "Yes but I answered your actual question."
Customer. " **********!! " Puts the phone down.

(I didn't have a taxi available anyway!)

I find it fascinating that in all walks of life people use language the same way. They rarely say exactly what they mean clearly and concisely. This is everyone's fault including my own because I'm occasionally as guilty as the next person for not saying what I mean, but we let it happen firstly because we know and understand what people are saying when they speak to us; secondly because we've got lazy.

Language has always been constantly changing and developing because that's what language does; so who knows what extra fun you will be able to have with it in say five or ten years. In the meantime, try and bear one thing in mind - the next time you order a taxi, ask about the availability of one - and not its external measurements.

This article is the property of the author and may only be reproduced in its original form.

John Sheridan is a professional proofreader of hard copy items and website copy. He also writes web copy and occasionally accepts small copy-editing assignments. He can be contacted at: Mailto: john@textcorrect.co.uk website: http://www.textcorrect.co.uk

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Bodies With Lots to Say

By John Sheridan

I once read somewhere that at least 90% of language is non-verbal. How do we communicate then if only 10% of a language is actually spoken? The simple answer is body language. In general day-to-day life we are constantly reading other people's body language. From just walking along a street and looking at passers by, we ascertain whether someone is friendly, hostile, approachable, standoffish or just indifferent. All this information is gathered and assessed subconsciously and without uttering a word.

Have you ever been in a room a shop or a park for example and spotted someone you took an instant dislike to? You don't know the person, you've never seen them before, yet as soon as you looked at them they irritated and annoyed you. You didn't like what you saw but you are totally unaware of the reason for this feeling.

The object of your irritation could be extremely attractive to lots of other people in terms of personality, looks and general demeanour, but to you - well you've already decided that you just don't like them but you don't know why.

The answer is simply that their body language is incompatible with your own. This is no-one's fault; it's just one of those quirky things that happen from time to time. The point is that all this information has subconsciously been gathered, analysed, assessed and a decision made without a word being exchanged.

Everybody at some time or other has heard comments about body language such as when someone is talking to you and they fold their arms they are subconsciously putting up a barrier. Salespeople in the belief that it will give them an edge in business and negotiations sometimes take up the study of body language or ‘kinesics’ as it is often referred to. For instance, by being able to read the body language of their prospective client, they feel they are equipped to pre-empt any negative responses that may be forthcoming.

It is a matter of personal opinion as to whether you think that would work or not. One final thought to leave you with though - when someone is talking to you and they fold their arms; remember - sometimes they might just feel more comfortable that way.

This article is the property of the author and may only be reproduced in its original form.

John Sheridan is a professional proofreader of hard copy items and website copy. He also writes web copy and occasionally accepts small copy-editing assignments. He can be contacted at: Mailto: john@textcorrect.co.uk website: http://www.textcorrect.co.uk

Article Source: >http://www.free-articles-zone.com

Become a Spectator of Your Life

To become the spectator of one's own life is to escape the suffering of life.

--Oscar Wilde

Focus on the Positive

He is happy that knoweth not himself to be otherwise.

--Thomas Fuller

Something about that quote I have always liked.

One of life's lessons is that if you dwell on misery and depressing thoughts, your existence will mirror those thoughts.

Look for the "Silver Lining" and your thoughts and your life will resonate a more positive and uplifting perspective. That positive perspective can be contagious, affecting those around you.

Does anyone remember the movie, "Pay It Forward?"

If so, I recommend watching it again.

If you have not seen it, add it to your list of must see movies.

Learn From The Past

Happiness lies in the philosophy where the foolishness of yesterday becomes the wisdom of tomorrow.

The Mind

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make heaven of hell, or hell of heaven.

--John Milton

Carry Beauty With You

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Community

Understand that you will be like those with whom you surround yourself.

Your environment is stronger than you are.

Love

Everybody wants to be loved and accepted.

That is something you can give to them.

Love completely, unselfishly, and unconditionally.

I Wish I Were...

Take a deep breath, pause, and ponder the following:

I wish I were what I was when I wished I were what I am.

Word play, I know, but who has not had a similar thought at some point in their life?

A key thing to remember to living a life without regret is to not take actions that you may end up regretting. A circular definition, but it is still valid.

My best means of defense is to live always conscious of the Golden Rule:
"Treat others the way you would want to be treated."

I wish I were what I was when I wished I were what I am.

At times I may wish that, but more so than not, I am grateful for the life experiences, both good and bad that have made me who I am today.

Everything is Significant

In life you will discover that happiness can be found in those things that seem trivial.

You know, the everyday stuff of life, a falling leaf, rain, an insect.

Take nothing for granted, for everything plays a part.

Channel Your Energy

Look at the things that make you unhappy from a different perspective.

Imagine if you could channel all the energy on those negative feelings in to making yourself feel better about yourself.

It seems simplistic, but I have noticed that bad or unhappy feelings usually have a limited life time, especially if you consciously act to prevail over them.

Choices

We live one life, but we all have inside us the potential for many possible lives. Some of those happy and some of those not so happy.

Our choices in life determine not only the outcome of our own life, but in many cases have a profound affect on the lives of those around us.

Remember actions have consequences, and you may not be the only one who has to pay the bill.

Live your life as though even a stranger is a member of your family, because we all have more in common than we sometimes realize.

Sense of Humor

Just because you allow yourself to laugh doesn't mean that you take life any less seriously.

Happiness relies on humor and a sense of perspective.

Look beyond your literal interpretation of your surroundings or situation and see the humor that underlies it.

Happiness

Happiness comes from within.

If you choose to be happy, no one and no thing can ever take that happiness from you.

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Hello world!

My name is Anthony White; online I often use the nickname Blanco (Spanish for White). I am a member of several traffic exchanges and online money making opportunities. Over the past 18 months I have done pretty well, making back more than the money I have invested in online ventures.

After 18 months I realize I have so much to learn and I could probably be making a lot more money online, but I prefer to not stress about it too much and have fun working and earning online.

I have another blog that I began publishing in late May: BlancoBlog. I have endeavored to make it an inspirational publication. Right now I intend to maintain that blog and begin maintaining one on blogger.com. I encourage you to check out my other writings and please let me know if you would be interested in me merging the content of that blog with some money making opportunities here on blogger.com.

Listed below are a few domains I have set up to support some affiliate programs I have done well with. Please take a glance:

( You may have seen this site countless times by now, but I list it because I have made money with it, and it provides a valuable online resource: inexpensive hosting)
http://www.residualincome4you.ws/

(This domain leads to a program that has been around for several years and is committed to helping people earn money online)
http://www.creatingmonthlyincome.com/

(This program is the offspring of the one listed above and is excellent at generating traffic to your online interests)
http://www.nofoolsgold.com/

(This is the first domain I established. I like it because the program that led me to it helped me establish my online presence with excellent step-by-step instructions.)
http://www.moolamonster.com/

Well as you can imagine, after a year and a half I have many online interests, which would be too excessive to list here. So, please take a look at the ones listed above and stay tuned for more online opportunities and ideally some inspirational thoughts.

To everyone's happiness and online success,
Anthony White (blanco)