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I have never been fond of white-water rafting, probably because I don’t like cold water. The sport consists of a raft, fast moving cold water, raft riders, and a raft leader/guide. I once saw a picture of a group of girls out for some white-water rafting fun. The girls in the picture were all smiling and waving to the camera while the leader’s eyes were straining to see down stream. No doubt he was looking for the next big rock, up coming turns in the river, or other challenges that they would have to navigate.

To move from a good leader to a great leader you need to be a leader that keeps “going” because of your vision, a leader that is continually “growing”, and a leader that is “showing” your team how to achieve a preferred future.

What gives you the energy to keep going is a balance between your personal vision and identified passion. True vision is inseparable from the leader, and reflects the leader’s most basic values and beliefs. If it does not, the leader cannot “sell” the vision to his or her team with integrity. If a leader does not instill confidence, then the vision will not inspire a following.

If you are like many who are asking, “How do I find my personal vision or a vision for my organization?” The following questions will help you on your quest:

• Look within you: What do you feel?

• Look behind you: What have you learned?

• Look around you: What is happening to others?

• Look ahead of you: What is the big picture?

• Look above you: What does God expect of you?

• Look beside you: What resources are available to you?

In order to keep growing you must manage your daily agenda. Your daily agenda is managed with good time management techniques. The real question is… “Are you the master of your time, or is it the master of you?” The following concepts will help you maximize the twenty-four hours that God has given you today:

• Establish measurable goals and plans

• Know how to invest your time

• Identify and eliminate time wasters

• Know yourself and your priorities

• Take time to set and evaluate goals

• Learn to say, “No”

• Delegate, delegate, and delegate

• Group similar and like activities together

• Organize for quick and easy retrieval

• Use a calendar and a to-do list.

To have an A-Team in your organization you need acquire the best talent possible. Talent is many times hidden, but once found it is like a polished gem. The leadership skills and abilities in your team will only be increased as you increase yours. Simply stated, “The better leader you become the better leaders your team members become.” As a leader, you must always remember that your team is watching and waiting for you to lead them with committed excellence and exuberant passion. As your team begins the journey to A-Team status your job will be to show them how to think with creative minds, and to empower them to accomplish the organizations vision and mission.

Footprints and Monuments is a free monthly leadership and motivational e-newsletter. No names receiving this e-newsletter is sold or distributed to any other source. You are encouraged to forward this monthly article to anyone in your address book. To un-subscribe please reply back with “Un-subscribe” in the subject field.

About The Author

Check out www.jeffearlywine.com for information about consulting and contact information.

jeff@teamnrn.com

Remember when you were really young? It was an era of inconsequential innocence. Even at this age, your imagination was larger than large. Seemingly effortlessly, you concocted boldacious thoughts and dreams. You could pretty much imagine and then do anything you set out to do.

Remember?

You had big dreams; and even bigger expectations. Even as a youth, your psyche was naturally tuned to being, having and doing more every single day.

However, sometime - between the ages of nine and now - your ambitions
became ambivalent, blurry and unfocused. It wasn’t long before you lost sight of your most deepest desires.

What happened?

Well, you allowed people, thoughts and things to distract you just enough to obscure your inner vision. Today, neglected and rejected, are the desires of your heart.

The uncompromising love for those closest to you.

That sleek, new car you promised yourself you own someday.

What about that ideal career? Remember? It was supposed to help you realize that quality of life you talked about so much.

Just because your dreams are out of your view, doesn’t mean that they are not within you. Wouldn’t you like to see them again?

You have the ability to create and connect with all of your desires. What are you waiting for? Dump all of your disempowering thoughts and beliefs. It’s time to clear things up on the inside. Only then will you manifest what you truly desire … on the outside.

Fran Briggs is an author and motivational speaker. She is also the President of The Fran Briggs Companies, an organization dedicated to the personal and professional development of individuals and groups around the globe. The company’s personal development website offers a free, exciting twice-monthly newsletter that helps you live a happier, healthier and wealthier life.

Please visit http://www.franbriggs.com and http://www.dwjd.info for more information.

When the earth just shakes a little, thousands suffer and die. The first sound is a cry. The last breath makes many cry. Along the way, many tears and fears. Human life in this world is like suddenly waking up, all life is born; suddenly slipping off, all silent creep in. With: one change, one is born; with another change, one dies. Living creatures moan, and mankind weeps. The sufferings of mankind are so innumerable as to be unimaginable, changing from place to place and from time to time. They cannot be all listed, but let us just roughly mention the major ones that are readily apparent:

a]Seven sufferings from living: 1]rebirth 2]premature death 3]physical debilities 4]being a barbarian 5]living in frontier areas (on the fringe of civilization) 6]being a slave and 7]being a woman (woman has more sufferings than man and lesser in spiritual cultivation than man by 500 years according to Heaven).

b]Eight sufferings from natural calamities: 1]famines resulting from floods or droughts 2]plagues of locusts 3]fire 4]flood 5]volcanic eruptions (including earthquakes and landslides) 6]collapse of buildings 7]shipwrecks (including collisions of cars) and 8]epidermics.

c]Five sufferings from conditions of life: 1]being a widow or widower 2]being an orphan or childless 3]being ill without medical care 4]being poor and 5]being humble in social station.

d]Eight sufferings from human feelings: 1]stupidity 2]hatred 3]sexual love 4]burden imposed by others 5]toil 6]desires 7]oppression and 8]distinction.

e]Four sufferings from being objects of honor and esteem: 1]a rich man 2]a man of high station 3]a man of longevity and 4]a king or emperor.

In the unseen plane, the degree and form of punishment one receives in Hell and the subsequent channelling into one of the six forms of reincarnation is determined by one’s own deeds in the last life. These sufferings are not visible to the eyes. The average age of human life no matter rich or poor is only about eighty years. The miserable lives of the other four forms are also short, with butterfly at the bottom of the list whose age is about a day or two. The cycle of change in the wheel of six paths of reincarnation shall go on indefinitely, with the spirits being transfer from one realm to another depending on the order of merits done, unless the cycle is ceased or one knows how to transcend this cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

Therefore, life and death is not a pleasant thing and the world is not a good place to live in. King Xuan said, “I do not wish to be born but suddenly I was born; I do not wish to die but suddenly I was died.” The world is like a “live hades” and in the “real hades,” it is a “dead world.” So, life is like a “come again” to live in a world of suffering.

All living beings in the world only aim at seeking happiness and avoiding suffering. They follow no other course if they are not spiritual. Some take a roundabout, some zig-zag, some expedient way and some going through painful experiences without getting tired. Although men differ in their nature, we can safely say that the way of mankind is never to seek sufferings and avoid happiness. Gautama Buddha (Prince Siddharta) was deeply disturbed and filled with compassion when he saw the first four suffering sights outside the palace; birth, old age, sickness and death. He decided then to go out into the world to look for the Truth to end the suffering and this is what he said;

“Having been born in an age of disorder, and seeing with my own eyes the path of suffering in the world, I wish to find a way to save it. I have thought deeply and believe the only way is to practise the way of Great Unity and Great Peace. Looking over all means in the world, I believe that aside from the Way of Great Unity there is no other method to save living men from their sufferings or to seek their great happiness. The way of Great Unity is perfect equality, perfect impartiality and perfect humanity.”

Author: T.A Chew

T.A Chew while practising Buddhism in 1993, had read more than 50 Buddhist books written by many wise monks and renouncers. The very basic is life is suffering and the first precept of the teachings of Buddhism. With this understanding and able to accept and live with it, itself makes life better. Website: http://www.white-sun.com

Matches are all about power; a new world opens up when you strike a match and see it burst into flames.

Most all children go through a period of fascination with matches. I did, my children did, as did most of the kids in the neighbourhood. The taboo of playing with matches has been spoken of and written about countless times in our history.

I moved from matches to batteries, electricity, and gun powder. My friends and I even managed to secure some blasting caps and played with them. We didn’t find dynamite, so we tried to create it with limited success. We experimented with gasoline and fire. As youngsters, adolescents and teens we were fascinated with the power and energy of these things and are ability to control them.

One of the blessings of being ignorant is that you don’t have to deal with the consequences of your actions until it blows up in your face.

This is why we try to protect our children from themselves and the consequences of their actions. Children love power and are not afraid of it until they understand the consequences, and even then it sometimes drives them further to test their limits.

Every generation of humanity is another physical year in his maturity, yet man has moved very slowly in his evolution. Mankind has been on this earth for thousands of years and until about 100 years ago he was still riding on horse and buggy and using primitive tools.

When witnessing the diversity in evolution of the people that now exist on our planet, we can observe that we have not been able to positively deal with the awesome physical powers and energies that are available to us. Those that have moved from horse and buggy to space, show the same signs of immaturity when dealing with power and energy. Although humbled by energy, they seek to control it.

I grew up with the story of humans that have evolved from apes to the time of the discovery of fire. Having experimented with fire the ape got burned and turned away from it in fear, never to evolve any further.

Why do some of the earths inhabitants evolve faster than others? I live in an affluent part of Canada in North America that has a very generous immigration policy. The country is diversified with all cultures. I can witness many of these peoples struggling with the new technologies; they seem to be out of place and time. Many of them feel compelled to embrace the technology but are either fearful of the power of it or do not feel or understand the need for it. Our older generations have been left behind and many have given up or struggle to keep pace with it.

Humanity works backwards in trying to harness energy or control it. He works from the outside in. He tries to contain massive amounts of energy and use it to demonstrate his power. It is observable that there is a need for the powerless to control power or energy. This is a sign of immaturity and should carry a warning not to play with matches.

Humanity moved away from his/her real power centuries ago. At one time he was able to manifest on demand all that he desired for his immediate needs.

The normal progression of the evolutionary cycle is to move away from your source of energy in bursts and then return to it over time. From the protection of the womb to death and rebirth humanity spends little time understanding and developing the power that he already possesses.

Mankind already has within him/herself the ability to control energy with his thoughts. In the minds of men, power is not power unless it is demonstrated in a massive display. The real power however is in the knowing that you have the ability to use it and control it without the need to display it. This is the kind of power that man fears the most. Man fears most his own inner powers of psychic abilities, because he has reserved that power for his Gods.

Power is in the control of the energy. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed; it is controlled and transferred. That ability comes from thought, from a source of intelligence (mind). Within humanity each individual has at his/her command all the energy in the universe. Man does not have to strike a match to keep warm; all he has to do is think warm. Man does not have to kill or gather food to survive; his hunger can be satisfied with only a thought. This is the true power of humanity and is where he needs to spend energy developing. The source to real power is in all of us. We as individuals are the switch that moves energy and transforms. We gave up this knowledge millennia ago for a measure of security. We deemed ourselves unworthy to use it, and gave it away to those that would promise to use it wisely. History has demonstrated that it has not worked for us. We gave away our power from free choice and we still have the ability to take it back simply from a will to do so.

People that play with power in immaturity destroy themselves. Power coupled with awareness of self as the source cannot destroy itself.

Begin now to move your thoughts inward and know yourself intimately as the source of power. Use this knowledge in maturity to create all that you desire and nothing more. Create your life and the circumstance of it as you desire. Know that you are in this world to experience your power physically. Never be afraid of it, but use it within your own ability to control it for your good purposes.

The ONLY THING, the ONLY THING that will get in your way is your own thought that it is not possible. I can now hear you thinking, “Wow if only this was true.” If you are having thoughts like this, then you have an awareness, a knowingness of how little energy you get to control. It is your thoughts that open the doors to this absolute energy. If you think little you get little. If you think or expect a lot and are willing to settle for less, that is exactly what you get. You and you alone are controlling what you get. You are demonstrating lack of power because you believe you do not have it. You are in control of little power.

And every time you fail, your beliefs will be reinforced until you can clear you mind of such thoughts.

Playing with matches may be fun, but the real power to light up universes comes from within.

Roy E. Klienwachter is an ordained minister, light worker, writer and author of Spiritual New Age Wisdom books, written in simple language with the eloguence of Zen wisdom.
http://www.klienwachter.com

Several years ago our six-year-old granddaughter, our four-year-old twin grandsons and a young friend of theirs and I gathered together for a poetry fun-shop. But before we got into the fun part I asked them to spend a few minutes talking about who their heroes are, a really heavy subject for such young folks. But as I get older and wiser, I’m discovering that we are short-changing our little ones terribly. Out of the mouths of babes come discriminating and perceptive thoughts. And they don’t hesitate to tell you, too!

I asked them if they knew any people they considered special enough to imitate. Well, a huge silence ensued so I decided to share my wisdom of the ages, rather, my old-age wisdom. Seeing who gets all the publicity in the papers, I’ve always thought the “little person” lands on the very low end of the scale. So we talked about the “little person” and what he or she does, and what makes him or her a hero.

1. The true hero is willing to take responsibility for his or her actions.

2. The true hero drops the “victim” cloak and goes on with duties, whether it’s raining or not. S/he doesn’t expect the government to hand out raincoats or, better yet, stop the rain. After all, let’s get real here!

3. The true hero doesn’t cry if the prize isn’t in the box, and s/he for sure doesn’t sue the company!

4. The true hero gets out of bed every morning no matter how s/he feels and gets on with life and kids and work. It may not pay today but it will surely pay high dividends in ten or twenty years from now.

5. The true hero knows that bad things happen to good people. As Mort Crim so aptly stated: “Once we accept the fact that bad things do happen to good people, then we can get on with the business of living life to the fullest: giving, loving, creating, sharing, building, walking through every door of opportunity offered by this fragile, unpredictable, exciting experience called life.”

6. The true hero can make a decision and stand by it. This takes more courage than we realize.

7. The true hero gives 110% if that is what is needed.

8. The true hero keeps promises. Only a child knows how important this is.

9. The true hero never complains. This is where we separate the heroes from us ordinary folks!

10. The true hero loves in spite of instead of spite!

These wonderful children decided that their true heroes were their moms and dads!

The Runes are having a revival and just like the Tarot.

They are a way of understanding our lives better and look set to grow again in popularity, as we seek to understand our lives in more depth.

The Runes History

Runes are ancient characters used in Teutonic, Anglo-Saxon, and Scandinavian civilizations, and found on many ancient inscriptions.

They were probably first used by the East Goths (c.300), who are thought to have derived them from Helleno-Italic writing, and were used extensively throughout N Europe, Iceland, England, Ireland, and Scotland until the final establishment of Christianity.

After that the use of runes was reviled as a pagan practice, so their use was discouraged, discontinued or used in secret. However, in Scandinavia their use persisted even after the Middle Ages; there they were used for manuscripts as well as inscriptions.

The word rune is derived from an early Anglo-Saxon word meaning secret or mystery.

Therefore in our ancient past, writing was perhaps a much more serious thing than it is today; not just to communicate, but it was full of magical power.

Runes were often used in casting spells, to get someone to love you, or to make an enemy impotent, or even die.

Interestingly, in the casting of spells, the writing of the runes was accompanied by a mumbled (whispered) or chanted prayer or curse, also called a rune. This was to make the magic effective.

Today, the revival of the rune, which had faded away like a whisper, has reappeared from the mists of the past.

Runes have now been rediscovered as a significant symbolic system and have gained a wide following as a means of divination.

Like the Tarot, they give a glimpse into the past as well as the future, as they provide an approach to understand the lives and beliefs of our ancestors.

The Runes, have much to teach us about a way of life that was more intimately related to the worlds of nature world, and spirit, than our own today.

The darkest period in the history of runic studies was paradoxically their revival by German scholars connected with the Nazi movement in the that 20’s and 30’s.

The legitimate historical research of our past was unfortunately tainted by Nazi propaganda and racism and it rendered the results negligible.

However, by whatever means, the Runes had re-appeared in our cultural sphere, and with it, came its mysteries and perhaps, power.

Today, the Runes are basically used as a method of Divination.
However, since there are no reliable historical descriptions of runic divination (at least not known to the general or scholastic communities), virtually any method one chooses can be considered valid.

There are certain characteristics of the runes that make them better suited to some methods than others.

For example, most runes are carved onto small bits of wood, clay or stone. These are designed to be easily picked up and scattered, rather than being laid out in a specific pattern (like the Tarot

How to use the Runes.

You must either buy a set of them (sold in bookstores or New Age stores or sites). You can also make your own. You will need a bag to place them in. There are several good books to buy that will explain all these steps in details.

However as an example, after you have your Runes, you can quickly ask some question mentally, and then place your hand in a bag, and pull out three Runes as in the system below.

The Norns System (The Three-Rune Easy Cast).

This method is helpful in getting an overview on a given situation, and to give some idea about a future outcome.

The result will depend on how much time and effort you put into the analysis and your understanding of the meaning of each Rune.

To begin, you pull one rune out of the bag and lay it down face up. This rune represents the first Norn - or those events in the past which affect the current situation.

Pull another rune and lay it next to the first. This is the second Norn - or the present situation, which frequently to a choice that needs to be made.

Pull a third and lay it down. This is the third Norn, and often proves the most difficult rune to interpret. It can represent the person’s inevitable fate, or might simply be the end result if the current situation remains unchanged, or even just one of several results.

You must rely on your own psychic abilities to decide which the answer is. As in all things, practice makes perfect. This is something that the more you practice, and concentrate, the better the result.

For more alternative toughts

On the Runes and on spirituality, religon and alternative thought please visit our newsite

http://www.net-planet.org

I’m currently listening to The Secrets of the Power of Intention audio program by Dr. Wayne Dyer. I highly recommend the program. In the program, he speaks a lot about the importance of kindness. When you consistently have thoughts of kindness, you have a clear connection to the way things work well in the world. Good things start to happen to you automatically. Even the chemistry of your body changes to create emotions that make you feel good (endorphins). You begin to attract allies who will go out of their way to help you without being asked.

Here’s a question: what if more and more people were “guilty” of random acts of kindness? Just simply being courteous and kind for no good reason–not to get anything out of the situation (or person). Just being kind for kindness’ sake? How would the world change?

Here is an affirmation that will help condition your mind to stay in a state of kindness: “I am now courteous and kind to everyone I meet.”

What if just seeing another person, any person automatically triggered this thought? How would your actions change toward them? How much broader would you smile? How would it guide your conversation? Would it focus on you or on them? How would this change your driving habits? This is a GREAT affirmation and if you use it often enough, you will create thought habits of courtesy and kindness.

As that happens, over time, many wonderful things will happen to you and those around you. And if enough people start to think this way, the whole world will change. Did I happen to say that I am an optimist? Here is an interesting point. I read some place about a study that was done about what men and women look for most in a prospective marriage partner. The number one quality that men looked for was looks. The number one quality women looked for was security. No real news there (maybe that’s why we have so many divorces and unhappy marriages).

But the number two quality desired by BOTH men and women was KINDNESS. I would say that deep down, this is probably the number one quality we all want. Looks always fade with age. “Security” based on material things is often elusive (regardless of income). KINDNESS IS ETERNAL. It is a state of mind–a positive state of mind. So, if you want to meet other people’s deepest need (as well as your own), condition your mind to think only thoughts of courtesy and kindness to yourself and to other people.

Copyright (c) 2005 Bill Marshall - All rights reserved. Feel free to republish this article provided you include the copyright information and the weblinks where possible.

For practical self-improvement tips, visit http://www.poweraffirmations.com. Get my new free e-book, “Power Affirmations: Power Positive Conditioning for Your Subconscious Mind”

1. Stop and scan your body
So often we don’t realise that stress and tension are building up in our bodies. We might arrive at work not realising we have already got a frown on our forehead or a clenched jaw. Stop, briefly, to scan through your body. Pay attention to the top of your head right down to your feet and let tensions dissolve away. Do this regularly through your day or week.

2. Focus on a pleasing object
Meditation is a technique of training the mind to stay focused on a single object. When you do that you give your mind a rest from issues, anxieties and problems. Focus on a simple object such as a single colour, a simple flower or your breathing. Give your mind a rest regularly.

3. Breathe when you get held up
When you’re in a supermarket or bank queue, at red traffic lights or waiting for a lift (elevator), ditch your agitation. Instead of complaining at the traffic light and getting more stressed, simply focus on your breath going in and out. Let your body and mind relax (but keep your eyes open!)

4. Have a relaxing screen saver to focus on
Choose a screen saver that makes a good meditation object, a lotus flower, rainbow or waterfall, for example. Use it to remind you to meditate.

5. Meditate in your lunch break
Instead of sitting around in the staff room or reading the newspaper, take 15 minutes to wind down your mind. br>

6. Meditate each day
Don’t let stress accumulate from one day to the next. At the end of each day or the start of the next one, put some time aside to meditate and clear away the debris that you’ve got left over from the negativity or stress you’ve been coping with. You’d probably shower or wash your body each day - clean your mind each day too.

7. Join a meditation group
Meditating with a group of people can be much easier than meditating on your own. Find a group (and there are free ones around) to meditate with instead. You are far less likely to give up in a group and the phone won’t ring to distract you!

8. Develop more awareness
One of the benefits of meditation can be to increase your awareness of what you say to yourself inside your head. Once you become aware of the negative things you say, the way you worry or the self doubts you invent, you can learn through meditation not to believe them or follow them all the time. You develop more choice.

9. Develop it over a long time
Learning to meditate takes time. Don’t give up when it gets boring or difficult. I hear people, after only trying it once, say that they can’t do it. You can’t play a Beethoven sonata on the piano after only 1 lesson either. Stick with it.

10. Put a place aside for yourself
Make a special place in your home to which you retreat to meditate. Make this your power spot and train your family not to disturb you when you’re there!

Further information

To learn how to meditate in the comfort of your own home, you’ll find four absorbing and easy-to-do meditations on this lovely CD set “Happy not hassled: Using meditation to manage your emotions and find contentment”. Click here order your copy: http://www.rachelgreen.com/products_hassled.html

Click on this link to read the steps involved in a meditation technique called “Loving Kindness Meditation”: http://www.rachelgreen.com/tips/21

Rachel Green,
PO Box 344, Kelmscott, Western Australia 6991. Phone: +61 8 9390 1188. Fax +61 8 9390 1199 Web site: http://www.rachelgreen.com

Copyright 2006 RachelGreen.Com Pty Ltd