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Thousands of emails poured into Oprah Winfrey’s website after the February 8th show featuring “The Secret” and the law of attraction. Many wondered whether it was right for a person to use the law of attraction to direct their lives. Many Christians asked if it was a sin to use this law.

The law of attraction and the bible

The bible is accepted by many to be an inspired collection of historical facts connecting man and God. Throughout the bible, in both the old and new testaments, the law of attraction can be clearly seen in action.

Before we look closer into biblical examples, lets refresh our minds as to what the law of attraction is. This universal law states that like attracts like. On a deeper level it proves that everything in the universe is energy. Since thought is a form of energy, anything you focus on with strong emotional intent, feelings and concentration, you eventually bring into your existence. Like attracts like.

Therefore if you focus or energize your thoughts with pictures of poverty and lack, that is what you attract. If you concentrate your thoughts on health and wellbeing, by the law of attraction you must bring into existence health and wellbeing.

Genesis

The book of Genesis tells a great story that proves the law of attraction. Joseph was a young farm boy when he got a dream of being a great King. Of all of Jacobs kids, Joseph was the least likely to become King.

He was the youngest of the family. He had no leadership skills. Even his father and brothers couldn’t see Joseph being a King.

But none of that made a shred of difference because Joseph held the thought of becoming a great leader in his mind so persistently it eventually came to be. Although he suffered numerous setbacks, he held firm to his belief, he held onto that dream until he became the great leader he saw in his mind.

That is the law of attraction in action.

The law of attraction doesn’t only work on bring us good. Anything we give our energized thoughts to, and by energized we are specifically meaning emotionalized thoughts, thoughts mixed with strong emotions like excitement, love, fear, anxiety, these will super-charge thought energy and set the law of attraction in motion.

A clear example of this can be seen in Job 3:25 when he said, “Because a dreadful thing I have dreaded, it has come upon me. And what I have been scared of comes to me.”

A Christian view

Christianity is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. In one of his famous sermons Jesus directed his followers to ask for what they want with the faith and belief that they already had it. In fact he said anything that you ask for in a spirit of faith and belief you would get.

Again, this is the law of attraction in action.

A double edge sword

Like the law of electricity, the law of attraction is a double edge sword. It can be used for success or failure. Electricity can light up a city and provide much needed energy, or it can snuff out life. Everything is dependent on how we conform to it’s principles of use.

Did God design electricity? Did he put it in place for our use? Can it be used for a good outcome or a bad one? Yes, Yes and Yes! Gravity is a natural law. Yet if you don’t use it as it was intended you could fall off a building or a cliff to a disastrous end. However God’s intent was for it to serve us. So it is with the law of attraction.

It’s interesting to see nature at work. When a seed is placed in the soil it doesn’t contain everything it needs to grow and flourish. But by the law of attraction it draws to itself water, minerals and all else it needs to blossom. This is the wonder and beauty of this amazing law.

We as humans have a great ability no other life on earth has. The ability to think. A mind with free will. Yet another gift of God.

You have the power to design your life and the free will to design it as you wish. Just as God intended. What we must all realize is that the law of attraction will not cease to exist simply because we do not believe in it, or we refuse to utilize it. It has always been there and will always be.

Our only intelligent option is to begin applying it for our growth and betterment. Why not use the law of attraction to be a better Christian? Why not tap into this powerful law of nature to praise it’s creator? This truly is the only intelligent option.

Mike Martinez has been featured in national home business magazines and countless e-forums and ezines. He is a professional Network Marketer residing in Southern New Jersey. Mr. Martinez is part of a millionaire mastermind group focused on creating success in network marketing.

You can preview this opportunity, as well as meet some of the millionaire mentors by visiting http://www.automated-funds.com

To join Mike’s millionaire mastermind group email him at mikemartinezsr@comcast.net

Using quotes in your speaking and writing is a great way to express yourself in an interesting and clever manner, as long as it’s not overdone. Sometimes you can find a quote that says exactly what you want it to express better than you could have said it yourself. Sometimes a quote is just a way of providing a bit of contrast to an otherwise dry presentation. When you have a great source of quotations such as that offered on the internet, you can expand your horizons far more than you would be able to find in just a printed document.

There are a number of reasons why the internet is a better source of quotations than what you would be able to obtain in a book or compilation. First, you have the timeliness of the material. You can look on the internet and find words on almost any subject in the current events field. If it’s in the national or world news, somebody has said something about it that is worthy of note, usually. Sometimes these short quotes are used in news stories whether published or on television. They may even become a catch phrase for a campaign or subject.

Another reason for using the internet as the source of your quotations is that you have so many more to choose from. These sayings are available from people in all different historical and cultural eras so you have a rich source of viewpoints much beyond a local or even national source. Using a textbooks means you only see the sources that are selected by the editors as being worthy of attention. While they may be a good cross section of viewpoints, invariably there will be some bias that enters into the picture.

When you use the internet for your quotes, you will find it easier to locate the exact sentiment that you want to express, thanks to the ability to zero in on a word or a phrase. Search engines allow you to find links to many different subjects and by working with the site search capabilities, you may even be able to refine your word search even further. Using keyword searches may help to better define what you are trying to say. Sometimes we remember a famous or common saying slightly different than they original was presented. This can be a good thing in some instances, but can also be a disaster if it skews the meaning of what you were trying to present.

Quotations used for the purpose of talks and presentations are more often than not humorous. It’s important to make sure that the humor fits the occasion and that it is not offensive to anyone in the group that may be listening. These sayings or one liners will often be popular with comedy routines for amateurs and professionals alike. When appropriately used, the humorous sayings can enliven a sermon, brighten up a sales talk or hype a sales campaign. So, next time you are looking for a great way to wind up a speech, check the internet for just the right touch.

Quotesdaddy is the best place where you can download and get Philosophy Quotes and all type of quotes. So enjoy Humorous Quotes at Qotesdaddy.

The quadrennial Olympics are a snapshot of the world at its best, a portrait of a future in which nations compete as equals in the global arena and individuals metaphorically medal in any number of events. And while the realm of governance is vastly more complex than that of a sports stadium, a number of observations about the global community as seen at the Olympics may be of relevance to Americans preparing to chart the course of their country for the next four years by electing a new president.

*First, the Olympics show that youth is good and that elders have nothing to fear about youthful preeminence. The energetic endurance of youth creates the opportunities for elders to be of relevance. There is no Olympic medalist without a coach and there are few without supportive parents.

*The Olympics also show the world as a delightful mix of racially, ethnically, nationally and regionally interconnected people. Value judgments are overruled by a visceral reaction to the exquisite capabilities of the human mind and body.

*Experience is not necessarily an indicator of fitness for performance in Olympic competition. The most seasoned athletes make decisive mistakes. Novices benefit from those errors. Graciousness in accepting and admitting the result is the measure of the respect to be accorded for performance. Pre-competitive gloating or mudslinging brings the greatest disgrace, especially to a loser.

*The Olympics are globally important enough that the near-200 country members of the United Nations overwhelmingly adopted an Olympic Truce in 2007. That agreement to stop hostilities for the two-week period of the Olympic Games did not deter the Georgians and the Russians from armed engagement. Suicide bombers in Pakistan were also not bound by the globally accepted compact. The world needs organizations with the teeth to nonviolently sanction those who don’t abide by its standards.

*The Olympics are a showcase for the prowess of attractive, healthy and fit humans of every shape, size, color and gender. Performance is a prerequisite for Olympic competition, which proves that attractiveness need not be a sign of vanity, vapidity or shallowness. The attractiveness of a top performer in any arena is a by-product of the mental, emotional and physical integrity that top-level performance requires.

*The American image that comes across in the Olympic global mix is one of exuberance, health, vitality, competence and good will. It is an image that any nation would be privileged to nurture and foster with the confidence of being assured its grounds for excellence were founded in its appreciation and good use of blessed resources toward good ends.

*The Olympics are a presentation of the world in all its vastness, diversity and glory. Viewership of the events shows Americans are interested in that world beyond their own borders. The NBC network covering the Games reports a 16.3 rating and an average audience of 26.6 million during primetime on a typical weekday night, which is up from a 15.7 rating with 25 million viewers four years ago in Athens.

*NBC’s television coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games has also revealed that America itself has numerous cities and small towns where Olympic-level athletes are trained. In Des Moines, Iowa, for example, American immigrant and Beijing-born Liang Chow coached gymnast Shawn Johnson to a 2008 Olympic gold for nearly ten years. Media anticipation of forthcoming national honors on the global stage can be a tool for America to know itself better.

*Finally, the Olympics show that nationalism is a universal trait, just as is family loyalty, favoritism and support. But the Games also demonstrate that the huge asset of lending power to the individual through the team effort of kinship shines only in the global forum. They prove that cooperative competition stirs the blood from individual events to the outcome of the Games overall.

Helen Fogarassy is the author of a suspense novel, The Midas Maze, about murderous hijinks in UN/US relations. She is also the author of The Light of a Destiny Dark, a novel about the Euro-American cultural gap through Hungarian eyes, and a nonfiction tribute to the UN’s work, Mission Improbable: The World Community on a UN Compound in Somalia.

In a departure from what you might expect from an article forum, we would like to offer the opportunity for you to take a more interactive approach to learning the basics of The Skills. Anyone can try these exercises either in their personal or professional encounters, or both, and better yet, no one need know that they are participants in your learning!

Rather than simply tell you what you should be looking for in these exercises, we think it would be more fun for all involved if we held back a little and let you experience for yourself the most important building block of The Skills.

Modern presentation theory espouses a conversational approach to presenting, because that’s the way to maximize both comfort and trust between you and the audience. The conversational approach, a modern refinement of the humanist style first made popular in western cultures by president John F. Kennedy, is quite a bit different from the oratory style that most people associate with earlier great speakers such as Winston Churchill.

The foundation of the conversational approach is proper eye-contact, and the nature of that eye-contact is quite unlike the way 99% of presenters practice. In fact, once you know what to look for, you will discover that what first differentiates those who have The Skills from those who don’t is the way they engage their audiences with their eyes. Make no mistake, proper eye-contact is only one component of The Skills, but when you understand exactly how you must look at your audience to be a great speaker, the other components tend to fall into place.

When you nail down these (surprisingly straightforward) eye contact techniques, you can deliver to a group of 500 without ever feeling more anxiety than you would when discussing your job to friends around a lunch table. Most people find that hard to believe until they’ve actually received training in The Skills, but when you get it, it’s rather powerful stuff!

These exercises sound simple enough, but they do require a bit of vigilance on your part to have the desired effect. You must practice them at every opportunity for a week or so. At the end of that time you will know what you need to know to move on to the next level of acquiring The Skills, but only if you make a conscious effort to do what the exercises ask you to do every day.

Exercises:

1. Observe others’ eye contact. In every situation in which you interact with others, watch their eyes. Observe how long they maintain eye contact while they are speaking to you. Watch how they maintain eye contact while speaking to others. As often as you can, count the number of seconds they maintain continuous eye contact before switching to a new target and note this, preferably in a log of some sort.

2. In situations where someone is speaking to a group, again count the number of seconds the speaker maintains eye contact with each individual. Determine what the average amount of time is.

3. Be conscious of your own eye contact. When speaking with someone, do you stay focused on them? Do you look up, away, or down while speaking? Or do you maintain eye contact the entire time you are speaking with someone? How often do you move away from eye contact and then return? Do you look at other people for the same amount of time when talking to one as when you are talking to many?

If you’ve vigilant in your observations, you’ll probably be very surprised at the amount of time people hold continuous eye-contact when speaking. And yet it is this amount of time that sets the tone for what makes average speakers average and great ones great.

J. Douglas Jefferys brings twenty-five years of corporate training experience to his role as a principal of PublicSpeakingSkills.com [http://www.publicspeakingskills.com]. His firm changes presenters lives forever with their unique apporach to training presentation design and delivery skills. Discover how to design and deliver presentations that audiences actually listen to by visiting their website now. For a quick and entertaining video of Mr. Jefferys’ unique style and approach, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whTwjG4ZIJg

Your wedding invitations are the first glimpse your guests will have of your wedding, but if you’re not careful, they can they can quickly cut into your budget. Luckily there are many options available that convey your sense of style and set the tone for your wedding - and are also very affordable.

INVITATIONS

Your invitations reflect the tone of your wedding, whether it’s black tie or casual chic. More formal weddings may require more formal invitations, which are traditionally white or ecru and engraved with black or charcoal ink. A square of tissue paper is also inserted to protect the type. While classic and understated, the cost of these invitations can quickly add up to the purchase price of a small car, but with slightly better gas mileage. What’s a budget-minded bride to do?

More and more couples are veering from standard invitations and choosing papers in unusual sizes and colors, incorporating interesting textures and using graphics, motifs and monograms. Many couples are also doing away with the traditional unsealed inner envelope, which not only reduces costs, but also reduces waste. And besides, how many of your guests are going to remember how many components were included in their invitation? (Hint: if you DO have guests who will notice, seat them all together so they can drive each other crazy)

Another option is to purchase materials to create your own invitations. Thanks to the popularity of scrapbooking and paper stores, it’s never been easier to create unique and memorable wedding invitations. Do you and your guy have a favorite color, song, vacation destination or hobby? Don’t be afraid to incorporate it into your invitations. Your guests would rather see a heartfelt invitation than have to discard the tissue paper that protects a random printer’s work. (Not that there’s anything wrong with using a printer. But hey…the cost of those little sheets really adds up!)

At this point, you might be saying, “But traditional IS my style! How can I afford it?” Put those fears to rest, girl! Make some “test” invitations on plain paper, playing with font size and type, then purchase blank cards and matching envelopes (which are available at scrapbooking and hobby stores and mass retailers nationwide) to print the real deal.

No matter what kind of invitation you choose, be sure to mail them 8-10 weeks prior to your wedding so your guests have time to plan…and to shop for a really awesome gift!

WAIT…THERE’S MORE

Remember when you were a little girl and you dreamed about your perfect wedding, right down to the invitations? Why didn’t anyone tell us about the reply cards? Or the reception cards? Why are there so many cards?

Response Cards Response cards are usually sent with your invitations and include a self-addressed stamped envelope. These are used to help determine how many people will be attending and usually include menu options for your guests to choose from. But I’m going to tell you a secret: you can create your own reply cards. Just purchase small cards with matching envelopes, print them yourself and then insert them into the invitations when you are addressing them. Best of all, you can do this whether you’re making your own invitations or having them professionally printed.

Reception Cards Reception cards are included inside wedding invitations to let guests know when and where the post-wedding festivities will begin. Traditionally, this is a small card that asks guests to join the newlyweds and their families for a celebratory reception, and gives the date, place, and time. But remember the “Response Cards” secret I revealed above? It works here, too! Print them yourself or even (gasp) print the reception information inside the invitation itself. It will give your guests one less thing to keep track of and save you lots of money.

AND EVEN MORE…

Believe it or not, there are still other paper-related items to think about.

Wedding Programs Sure, wedding programs provide useful information and make charming mementos, but there’s no need to break the bank. While some couples choose to do a booklet type program, budget-minded couples are using simple card stock with a vellum overlay, tied together with a ribbon that matches your color scheme. Others are simply printing them at home (or a friend’s home) on unique paper that plays up the wedding colors or motif. After all, how many people (besides your closest friends and family) are going to keep it as a memento? They’d rather you use the money you saved on programs to help with your honeymoon expenses, make a car payment or buy a lottery ticket.

Menu Cards The idea behind menu cards is that no one likes to sit down to a meal when they have no idea what they’re about to be served (think school cafeterias). However, this can easily be combined with the Reply Card (see above). And of course if the meal is buffet-style, menu cards are not really necessary, since there is usually something to please everyone.

If you do feel that menu cards are necessary, it’s simple to print them yourself…just pick up some good old card stock. If there’s a good story behind why you chose a certain dish (you’re serving New York Style cheesecake because you met in New York or hot dogs because you met at a ball game), including this story adds a unique element to your menu cards.

One thing that may be very helpful to all involved (you, the caterer, the bartender and your guests) is to create a drink card or two. If you’re limiting the open bar to a certain amount or type of drink, a drink card is the perfect place to spell that out. Just get an easel or frame so the card can be posted at the bar.

Place Cards Are you having a buffet-type meal at your reception? If so, skip this section, since place cards are not necessary. For the rest of you, place cards are tent-shaped cards that are placed at each place setting to show people where they should sit. You can easily print them from your home computer, but why not make the place cards for your reception a little unique? Make your wedding favors do double-duty by attaching a name tag to each one and using them as place cards. If you’re making your own favors, it only adds one simple step, but saves you money in the long run. You can also use stones with hand-painted names or tie name tags around wrapped silverware. Use your imagination! Place cards don’t necessarily have to be one more job for the printer.

Thank You Cards Ok, brides. You all know what these are, and there’s really no need to have them printed. Simple thank you cards are readily available almost anywhere, and as a bonus, most of them even say “thank you.” Your handwritten message inside is what’s important, so invest most of your time there. As a reminder, these should be sent out no later than one month after your honeymoon. If you receive gifts prior to the wedding, those thank you cards should be sent out immediately.

Save the Date Cards What? No really…I didn’t know what these were. Here’s the scoop: save the date cards are sent to guests pretty much the second after the groom pops the question, so that guests can plan ahead. If you send out your announcements 8-10 weeks prior to your wedding, there is probably no need for save the date cards. However, if you have friends or relatives who will be traveling great distances (especially from other countries), a little heads-up would be nice. However, this can be done by greeting card, letter or phone call. That should be sufficient to “save the date.” If you do feel that you need to send save the date cards, you can easily make them yourself.

IN A NUTSHELL

Creating your own invitations and other stationery items can save you lots of money, freeing up your wedding budget for other things. Just keep a couple of things in mind:

• If you are printing pieces yourself, try to use a consistent or complementary font on all of the pieces you create.
• Before addressing invitations, be sure to have complete addresses available. This will help reduce the number of mistakes made during the addressing process. (The less mistakes you make, the fewer invitations you have to use. This saves money!)
• You don’t have to do it all yourself. Your family and friends will be more than willing to help create, print and assemble your invitations and other items. After all, isn’t that what you keep them around for?

With a little imagination and a lot of determination, your budget-friendly wedding invitations will be just as beautiful as big-budget invitations, but at a fraction of the cost.

Heather L. Clark is a Web researcher and writer. In her spare time, she enjoys pilates, music and Seinfeld reruns. Check out her favorite resources for planning a fairy tale wedding, free wedding planning tools and wedding planning checklists.

We hear statistics all the time about how people on the street are asked simple geography questions and aren’t able to answer them correctly. We certainly don’t want our home school children to be part of those statistics. With the right tools, any child can learn a great deal about the world around them and how it functions. Here are the tools you need to teach home school Geography:

1. When you hear of countries or places that you haven’t heard of before when listening to the news, reading stories or just hearing others talk, get out a good map and find that place with your children. There is no reason to be ignorant of other places in the world when we have some of the best maps available in our country.

2. When going on a trip allow your child to plan the route and find interesting places along the way. Have them keep track of how many miles you travel. You can even do this for shorter trips in your area. This helps your child be more aware of the world around them.

3. Talk about geography terms. When you or your child encounter new words like plateau, delta, or reservoir, find out what they mean. You might even be able to find a picture of this geography term to better understand the definition. Geography is not only about locating places. You can also explore statistics for a certain area, photographs, and type of land in your study of geography.

4. Use the Internet, computer software games, and even board games to teach geography. Games teach a tremendous amount of knowledge, sometimes without the child even knowing it. When competition is involved, many children will do or learn anything to win. Games make learning fun. Use them once a week or so to spark a love for geography.

5. Get maps and geography tools like atlases and almanacs. Children always want to know where they are on a map. You can start there and point out where other family members live in relation to them. When you are reading a story about a far away country, look it up on the map so your children can see where it is in relation to where they live. If you go on a long trip, when you get back show them how far you traveled on the globe. This will give them a good understanding of how big our country is.

Take advantage of the many great resources and ideas and enjoy your exploration of geography. When you are interested in the world around you, your children will catch that interest.

For more tips on homeschooling, grab your free report “How to Homeschool using the Best Resources” at http://www.homeschool-how-to.com Heidi Johnson specializes in helping families find resources to simplify and improve their lives.

A recent article in Scientific American outlined results from a study showing that girls completing a linguistic abilities task showed greater activity in brain areas implicated specifically in language encoding. Boys, on the other hand, showed a lot of activity in regions tied to visual and auditory functions.

The implications are numerous. It appears that boys need to be taught language both visually (with a textbook) and orally (through a lecture) to get a full grasp of the subject, whereas a girl may be able to pick up the concepts by either method.

From our experience, we’ve observed over the years that there are consistently more girls (OK, women) than boys in our classes. On average, women make up about 60%-70% of the client base, and it’s not surprising to see all-female classes at times. There may be a number of reasons why this is the case. Perhaps language learning is simply more appealing to women. Others would say that girls like the romance associated with learning a second language. It seems like now we have some more compelling biological reasons behind this phenomenon.

However, it has also been interesting to observe the guys who come along for language classes. Maybe it’s not politically correct to say so, but it also appears that the guys who tend to want to learn a second language (in spite of being supposedly biologically inferior in this respect) are more sophisticated, confident, urbane and adventurous. If guys are indeed behind the proverbial eight-ball, perhaps those who choose to learn a language need these qualities in order to succeed. Either that or simply because they wish to be in the presence of beautiful, intelligent women. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that!

Kenneth Leong is Director of Euroasia Language Academy in Auckland, New Zealand. They offer European and Asian language courses to native English speakers. Visit their site at: http://www.euroasia.co.nz/

A recent article spurred my reoccurring thoughts about the growth of what I think of as environmental diseases. As a Green Consultant trainer, I have often spoken of the rise of immune related illnesses that parallel our country’s increased use and fondness for chemical laced and petroleum derivative products. This report only added to my belief that we are cleaner and more sanitized, but we are also weakened by the products we use in our homes and offices. An AP medical report says,

“In 2007, approximately 3 million children under the age of 18 were reported to have had a food or digestive allergy in the previous 12 months, compared to slightly more than 2.3 million children (3.3 percent) in 1997, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

This same report says food allergies are up by 18%, but similar trends are being seen in asthma. Asthma cases have more than doubled since 1980, and that is more than a population issue. Some report that we are “too clean” and “too sanitized” to allow fetal and early childhood immunities to develop. Realize that the non-affected people are eating the same food, breathing the same air, and living in similar situations. So, why them and not me? Most of us are IMMUNE to these irritants and can tolerate repeated exposure without much more than minor discomfort. Others are not, and it seems that this is not just a sanitation or medical issue. I feel that we are continually wearing away our immune system, and it is not merely a dietary replacement or vitamin issue.

Every American, and even third-world citizens, live in a ” Toxic Soup ” when it comes down to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). This invisible contamination may be like a fish tank that has gone too long between changes. The water is still wet, but it is filled with build ups of toxic substances that will eventually sicken and kill the fish. Every person knows that a healthy aquarium is a careful balance of ingredients and removal of toxins. Our atmosphere is air, and it too can be filled with some pretty incredible stuff. Did you know that formaldehyde is common in many construction material and furniture, and that it outgasses for months into the air we breath? The smell of bleach, fresh paint, new carpet, and new furniture are nasty fumes called volatile organic compounds (VOC) that have proven acute and chronic health affects?

Into this same Toxic Soup, you must add the air fresheners, cleaning products, window cleaners, toilet sprays, detergents, sanitizers, and polishes that are frankly filled with multi-syllabic named chemicals that are potential health hazards. You will also find cigarette ash, arsenic, lead, dust mite feces and scales, pollen, pet dander, and dust particles of all types. We also anoint ourselves with cologne, perfumes, deodorant, cosmetics, hair spray, and body lotions that leave a trail of pleasant scents. We use bleach and ammonia products that are frankly dangerous products, and we sprinkle carpet deodorizer throughout house.

Bioaccumlation refers to the compounding affect of all these ingredients that are like layers of paint on an old house. It doesn’t make the house better, it just covers up the obvious flaws. Biomagnification means that some ingredients actually heighten the impact of other ingredients already floating around. In the end, we are like the fish trapped in a toxic tank of bad water. Breathing is one of the first indicators that something is wrong, headaches will follow, and then comes a failing of health with illness and lethargy. These are symptoms that there is something wrong. Years ago when bowling alleys allowed smoking, I would get a splitting headache after thirty minutes in these places. After I left, so did the headache. Could it have been the air? Have you ever driven behind a diesel bus blowing black smoke at you as your travel behind it? Many people get that same kind of acute headache that passes when they get back into fresh air.

Therefore, I have a theory that is supported by a good body of science which I cannot quote but clearly says that food allergies, asthma, chemical sensitivity, ADD, ADHD, and other diseases like cancer and auto immune disease are hitting us more often because we have weakened immune systems. Our immune system is not weak from fighting the normal stuff out there, but the artificial stuff that hits it 24/7 and all year long. Though a theory, I feel strongly convinced that we are using chemical and petroleum-based products to such an extreme that it is killing us … or at least setting us up for the kill.

This may sound very “retro,” but there is a need to return to our grandmother’s way of cleaning. It may not have been as sanitary or beautifully-scented as your store-bought products, but it produced a healthier and more robust generation than now. Don’t be enticed by the commercial that brag about being “New and Improved.” These products have been improved by adding yet another chemical that will likely further harm your family. Take some lesson from Naturally Green Clean author, and discover that anyone can clean their home using just a few commonly available ingredients. Better yet, you will save a ton of money while your family enjoys a respite from the toxic soup for a while.

Giving your family the gift of health is not a call to a higher level of cleaning, but a lower level of toxins that we all purchase at exorbitant prices. Does it amaze you that people pay huge prices to buy cigarettes that are sure to kill them? In yet another fool’s errand, isn’t it strange that we that we are such addicts to cleaning products that smell pleasant but are poisoning us too. If what you are using promises to blind, scar, sicken, or kill you if your ingest it; why on earth are you bringing it home to be spread throughout your home? Cleaning is not a technically difficult task. It does not require scrubbing bubbles, foaming action, or a 99.9% germ killing action. Natural and organic products are just as effective at cleaning, killing germs, and dissolving grease. Pick up a books and learn how to give your family the fundamental gift of life by making the air they breathe safe. Your reward will be in the hardship and suffer that you will never see in life of the people you love.

Michael Richmond is the director of the Green Clean Institute, and highly recommends the book Naturally Green Clean that explains how to clean your home naturally.

We are all guilty to some extent of eating for reasons other than because we are hungry. We eat because we are stressed, angry, annoyed, stressed again, partying, and just to fit in.

Probably the worst culprit is stress. Most of us suffer from relatively high levels of chronic stress from work, kids, partner, or the universe in general. Through evolution our bodies have been conditioned to respond to stress: they trigger the familiar fight or flight response. This response releases chemicals which lead to fat storage.

With stress, the body produces more cortisol. Your appetite increases, and most likely your craving for high calorie sweets and fats. More calorie intake leads to more fat storage, which in turn could lead to insulin resistance. The body can in the short term relieve stress from high fat/sugary foods. Unfortunately, for chronic stress, these high fat/sugary foods will lead to weight gain. Obesity leads to higher insulin resistance, and Type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance increases the likelihood of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

Keeping your stress levels down should help to keep your weight down as well. Here are a few tips to reduce your stress levels.

• Adequate sleep.

  During sleep your body produces the feel good hormones - serotonin and dopamine. These feel good factors help to reduce your stress. See what happens when a baby is stressed - it cries itself to sleep. Another thing is if your body is not getting enough serotonin, it craves for sugary foods which also provide a quick, but short lived burst of serotonin.

• Exercise.

  High activity aerobic exercise which leaves you breathless also produces levels of serotonin. This is not to say that active people have no stress - just that its normally kept at more manageable levels. Remember that all exercise is good in that you increase your calorie usage. So if you can’t do aerobic exercise just walk around - even just standing is better than sitting. Recently, I watched a programme on the TV channel Five which suggested that you could even lose weight chewing gum.

• Outdoors.

  Daylight causes the body to produce some feel good factors as well. Ever noticed that if you spend days scooped up in rooms with artificial light you begin to feel the blues? As much as you can enjoy the outdoor scenery, while passively reducing your stress levels. Stay out of too much sun though - cancer is definitely something to avoid. Incidentally, there are artificial lights which are said to provide the full spectrum (or nearly) of the natural daylight. If so, they should be able to boost your feel good hormones as well. If you are always scooped up inside, you might to find out more about them. Personally, I have yet to try them.

• Touch and be touched.

  We all know that babies love being touched and cuddled. Seek out positive interactions with other people. Evidence suggests that this produces the social bonding hormone oxytocin, decreases blood pressure and lowers the effects of stress. This leads you being able to control your appetite better.Research also suggests that women benefit from a simple hug (they produce more oxytocin) - it helps to lower their stress levels. So if you are a woman, get loads of hugs from people you care about. If you are a man, don’t begrudge the lady a hug.

• Sex.

  Sex has a number of benefits, one of which is you get a physical workout. Research has also shown that sex, more so with a long term-partner, produces endorphins, oxytocin, and other feel-good hormones.

• Music. Music does wonders at relieving stress. There is no music type that equally effective for everyone. Just sit down and listen to the music of your choice, the music you are comfortable with.

The author is the webmaster of katsande.com. You can find more tips and interesting stuff in the blogs section.

What is Love, actually?

Is it the slight pain in the chest when you see someone you love after a long separation? Is it the feeling of a sudden weakness in the knee when you see your sister’s best friend? Or is it the feeling in your toes when you had that first Kiss?

Whatever it is, it is a very good feeling. When you are in love, everything around you looks good. Every passerby looks beautiful, and the neighbor’s dog doesn’t irritate you anymore. And everyone seem to be smiling at you, but that one is simple. You are already smiling like an idiot, they are only smiling back at you. But then, love can make you act like a fool, and the good thing is it feels good too.

When you are in love you go all the way out to help a stranger and feel even better. Have you never paid the toll fee for the car behind you? I often do, and more so when I am in love. Love can also make you do a lot of good things and you thank God for giving all the happiness. Perhaps that is why they say that Love is God.

I have often been in love and each time was a great feeling. Oh I do get on with my life, and carry sweet memories, but I have learned to move on. You always find love again, and I found it the easy and sweet way. After my first break off, I learned that her sexy friend had a crush on me and I fell out of love into love and we had a great time together.

Love is a very sweet thing and we must never do anything to make it sour. It is the best thing that could ever happen to us and we must always cherish if even if a relationship didn’t work out. Always have an amicable break up so that when you look back remember the first time you walked hand in hand in the rains, you should smile, and it won’t be nice if that memory is interrupted by a nasty break-up fight. You must remember love for all the good things.

One thing that comes in the way of love is also taking one for granted, and when you start encroaching onto the space of your lover. Love doesn’t mean you own him or her in the literal sense, even though in love you two are one. True love can be spoiled by over possessiveness and because true love is when you trust your lover to not have to feel over possessive.

Bob loves to write and talk about love, being an incurable romantic himself. Bob also maintains a website on love quotes and an interesting collection of Cute Love Quotes.