Investment basics don t forget about bonds

You should consider investing in bonds for both income and stability. In any given year equity markets could appreciate in value by 30 to 40 percent or decline in value by the same amount. Bonds fluctuate far less. Bonds also pay interest on a regular basis and thus investors will receive a cheque each month or quarter.

As with any investment, it is easy to get lost in the minutiae and with bonds the details come from some of the arithmetical calculations that determine the yields, returns, and risk of a bond. Here are the basics. Bonds offer a fixed amount of interest (the coupon rate), until a fixed period of time (the maturity date) at which point the denomination, also called the face value, is repaid and the interest payments stop. Bonds are issued by the federal, provincial, and municipal governments, and by a wide variety of corporations.

In general, corporations have to offer higher coupon rates to sell their bonds. Maturity dates range from 1 year to more than 30 years, with higher coupon rates being associated with longer periods to maturity, to compensate for increased risk. Long-term bonds tend to rise and fall in price more dramatically than do short term bonds; these bonds are more susceptible to movements in interest rates. In addition, bonds that provide higher coupon payments will fluctuate less than bonds that pay lower coupon payments. Staggering the maturity dates of bonds, which mixes bonds with short, medium, and longer periods to maturity, as well as mixing the institutions issuing those bonds (to include governments and some corporate bonds) will allow you to build a diversified bond portfolio).

Bond trading is done between dealers, which means that you won't be able to view a complete auction market and its available quotes via the internet or even the newspaper. These same dealers will be able to supply accurate calculations of bond yields and the current price. Investors who invest in bonds directly as opposed to investing in bonds through a mutual fund will save on fee; saving 1/2 of one percent can make a big difference to your net worth. Investors who want diversification and active management could consider a bond mutual fund.

Hot secrets revealed things no website designer or web hosting provider would tell you

Web-hosting and designing the apt website for your business can be quite a daunting task for the uninitiated. Notwithstanding the jargon and the fact that most of the technical nitty-gritty would sound like a death knell to you, it is important and is something that your online or offline venture cannot do without. When it comes to website designing and hosting, there are a few secrets that the industry tends to keep them under wraps. Not that it would eat up your bottom-lines but it might help you in making the most prudent decisions with regards to your small business web design and hosting requirements.

We have listed out a few things to keep in mind for the non-technical YOU. The more you pay heed, the better your decision is going to be.

• Read the terms and conditions of your web hosting provider and ensure that you know what you are getting for your money.

• Choose a plan that is appropriate for you. Some web hosting providers lure you into believing that they provide you with "Unlimited bandwidth". No one can provide with Unlimited "disk space" and "bandwidth" just because it is a saturated market out there amongst the web hosting providers and there is no one in the world to be able to provide you with the same. It is a marketing gimmick and it helps if you are aware of this fact. What is required here is your acuity and decision making skills - You ought to know approximately how much traffic your website must be getting to determine the bandwidth and the disk space. The hosting providers can manage to con you into believing that you have access to "Unlimited" Bandwidth and disk space because they know that most small business owners and webmasters do not need a lot of these parameters and hence they get to improvise.

• Please do ensure that you know your web-hosting provider's policy with regards to increasing your bandwidth requirements if you envision your web site's traffic. Higher number of hits on your website would mean more bandwidth requirements. Just keep track of the surges in traffic and ensure that your provider gives you the flexibility of increasing the band-width as and when required. Also, pay special attention if you intend to include videos, blogs and mp3 content on your site. You need to make a lot more space available for all that content and you have to think about all this when you talk to your web-hosting provider.

• Does your hosting provider have a range of hosting services - ranging from shared common hosting to Dedicated servers or virtual servers? Does your service provider also provide you with other relevant products like email, traffic boosters, blogs, photo sharing utilities and a whole lot of things depending on your unique requirements?

Building a website isn't as easy as it was earlier. Its difficulty level has now evolved along with the innate complexity of the Internet itself and your success is now attributed to prudent and acute decisions that you ought to make while considering your Internet Strategy for your offline or online business.

International baccalaureate primary years program comes to washington d. c. schools

Shephard Elementary School Immersion Program

Washington D. C. Schools are eager to begin a new language immersion program at the primary school level. Beginning in August of 2006, pre – Kindergarten students of various foreign language backgrounds will join the new language immersion program. In particular, French and Spanish speaking children are needed to start this two way immersion experience. Students participating in the program will receive either French – English or Spanish – English content classes taught by teachers fluent in the target language. Children born in late 2001 and early 2002 and speak a foreign language are encouraged to enroll.

The Shepard Elementary School program is part of the Washington D. C. Public School System’s ongoing efforts to integrate the International Baccalaureate Program into the elementary school level. Beginning in August 2006, all grade levels at Shepard Elementary school will begin participating in this internationally recognized program.

The Primary Years Program

The Primary Years Program is designed to teach the whole child through a range of interdisciplinary activities. Designed for students aged three through twelve, it involves an overall development of the mind, body, and heart and focuses on the needs of the child in all forms of development, including social, physical, emotional, cultural, and academic. The curriculum is published in English, French, and Spanish. The Primary Years Program is designed to prepare students for the International Baccalaureate Program, a college preparatory program offered at high schools throughout the world, including many locations in the United States. The introduction of the Primary Years Program in Washington, D. C. is in response to the large international community that lives and works in the area.

How Shepard Became an IB World School

In order to teach the Primary Years Program, Shepard had to go through several stages to ensure that the curriculum would reflect an international standard. Washington D. C. schools first entered the Consideration Phase, as they conducted research into the ability for schools like Shepard to meet the rigorous requirements for admission to the program. The district conducted an in – depth analysis of the philosophy and curriculum as well as identifying the resources that would be needed to implement the Primary Years Program.

During the Candidate Phase, the school goes through all the necessary procedures for implementing the new program. This involves training teachers to use the new curriculum as well as gathering the resources necessary to deliver the program. Shepard Elementary School then must implement the program for a full school year in order to complete this phase. The Washington D. C. school district will assist Shepard in beginning the program in August of 2006. This trial phase will determine how well Washington D. C. schools are able to handle the rigorous demands of this international school system.

At the end of the trial phase, scheduled for August of 2007 for Shepard Elementary School, a delegation from the International Baccalaureate Organization visits the school. During this visit, the delegation members decide if the school has shown success in implementing the curriculum. If the school does well, the school becomes authorized to offer the program and attains the internationally recognized status of International Baccalaureate World School. The IBO will continue to visit and monitor the school’s progress every five years.

Teacher Training

The teachers at Shepard Elementary received special training in order to meet the demands of the internationally recognized curriculum. Before becoming authorized to teach the program, the principal, administrative staff, and the teachers all undergo training of some sort. Some teachers attend IBO workshops. Many of the teachers in the Washington D. C. school district attended school based training organized by the IBO. Teachers are also encouraged to keep up – to – date using IBO’s online curriculum center in addition to attending conferences and workshops.

Shepard Elementary has taken the first steps to bring Washington D. C. public education to an international level by entering these first phases of the International Baccalaureate Primary Ye

Paid surveys your questions answered

There are literally millions of people searching for ways to make money online every day. One of the most popular ways is taking paid surveys, there are paid survey sites cropping up all over the Internet everyday. Some are good and can send out frequent paid surveys on a daily basis, some are not so good and you may only receive the odd one or two in an average month. I’ve written this article to try and answer some of the most popular questions that are currently being asked about paid surveys.

Can I really be paid for taking survey online?

Yes, there are thousands of legitimate market research companies in the world who will offer incentives for you giving your opinion online. Companies worldwide go to these market research companies and pay them to send out online surveys, the survey sites then pass on part of this payment to you.

How am I paid for taking these surveys?

You can be paid in a variety of ways. Obviously the best way is in either cash or cheque, cash would usually be sent via an online account such as Paypal. A lot of survey sites are also opting to pay you in High Street Vouchers or online gift vouchers with Amazon being one of the most popular. The rest will enter you into draws to win prizes, some with hundreds of draws every month and others with one large cash prize every month. There are also some sites that will send you a product to test, once the test is over you will get to keep the product and get paid for the testing.

What topics are the surveys on?

Online surveys can be on literally anything you can possibly think of. Some Survey sites are topic related such Politics, Movies or Medical sites that help companies develop new drugs. The list is endless.

How do Paid Survey Sites actually work?

Firstly you need to find a decent site that will show you a list of the free to join survey sites, there are hundreds of these sites online which can be found with very little effort. Next register on the site, registration usually comprises of your name, address, date of birth and e-mail address, usually basic information. Once you have registered and confirmed your details you will have to fill in some profile questions, all survey sites require you to fill in these profile questions so they can match you to the correct surveys. By filling in this information you will find that you will receive a lot more surveys. When a survey is available that matches your profile you will be sent a link via e-mail, clicking on the link will take you directly to the survey.

Should I pay to get access to a database of survey site?

NO! I would never recommend paying to access a database of paid survey sites. Every one of these sites are available to view online free of charge and there are hundreds of sites that will provide you with all the information at no cost to yourself. Also Market Research companies are prohibited from charging people to take part in surveys.

How much can I make?

This is all dependent on how many survey sites you actually register with. As a UK resident I would say there is currently around 50 quality paid survey sites in the UK, some are extremely well known and have millions of members right down to the newer sites that are appearing on an almost daily basis. Worldwide there are hundreds if not thousands of these paid survey sites. If you were to register with all of the ‘quality’ sites you could be looking at earning between Ј1000 to Ј2000 a year or equivalent in vouchers or other forms of payment. Probably not enough to start a new career taking surveys but certainly enough for some extra cash maybe for students, housewife’s or anyone with an e-mail address and a little extra time looking for some extra income online.

So is it all worth it?

Personally I would say yes as its always nice to get the latest free products through the post, get a cheque for an extra Ј50 here and there, receive an online gift voucher so you can purchase the latest CD or DVD or if your lucky win a larger cash prize for completing just one survey. You not going to make a fortune taking online surveys but I’m sure that extra cash will always come In handy. Also you will be helping Companies Worldwide in developing better products in the future.

8 steps to writing a great children s book manuscript

Let's face it: some kids just don't like to read. Increasingly, parents, teachers, librarians, and editors are looking for books that will appeal to reluctant readers. When I was writing The Best Books for Kids Who (Think They) Hate to Read (Random House), I read hundreds of children's books, old and new, that I thought would fit the bill. I discovered that there are eight qualities possessed by great books for reluctant readers, and to my surprise some of my childhood favorites didn't pass the test. If you can work at least three of the elements listed below into your book, it will have a good chance of being loved by all kids, even those to whom reading is a chore.

* Humor. Making kids laugh is essential to building a pleasant association with reading. But you need to understand what tickles kids' funny bones at different ages. The humor in picture books is broad and very visual. Easy readers (and some picture books for ages 6 and up) begin to introduce verbal humor: wordplay, puns, double meanings. As kids move into the chapter book arena they can handle jokes that need a setup and a payoff that's played out over several scenes. Dialogue, how characters react to each other, or the situation in which a character finds himself may be innately humorous.

* Well-Defined Characters. Many kids want to identify strongly with the characters in their books; for reluctant readers, this is essential. It doesn't matter what the character looks like on the outside (be it space alien, a clown or a talking frog), on the inside this character needs to embody the perspective of the reader. This means the character is dealing with issues the reader might face, or seeing the world in a childlike way. Book characters must have multidimensional personalities with strengths and weaknesses in order for the reader to care about them and want to stick with them for the entire story. In nonfiction such as biographies, authors who find an element of their subject's life that is relevant to the target audience have a better chance of reaching reluctant readers.

* Fast-Paced Plot. Kids who love to read don't mind a story that takes a few chapters to unfold, but reluctant readers don't have that much patience. The action needs to start in the first paragraph, and by the end of the first chapter the reader should know quite a bit about the main character and have a good idea about the conflict or problem that character will face. Subplots are fine for chapter books and up, but too many will get in the way of the forward movement of story. Keep the pages turning.

* Concise chapters. Ideally, each chapter should contain one clear event (or one specific point in nonfiction), and have an arc of its own (a beginning, middle and end). This makes reading even one chapter a satisfying experience. Chapters that end on a high note in the action will make the reader want to see what happens next. Episodic novels (where each chapter stands alone as a short story) are also good bets for reluctant readers. Richard Peck's A Long Way from Chicago and Louis Sachar's Sideways Stories from Wayside School are two middle grade examples.

* Kid Relevance. This applies to the themes and ideas that form the basis for plots or how an author approaches a nonfiction topic. These ideas should be relevant, meaningful, and applicable to the reader's life. Instead of conveying a lesson your adult perspective tells you the reader needs to know, try using the reader's frame of reference as a starting point. Write to your audience, not at them. And remember, books can be just for fun.

* Suitable Text. Depending on the age and ability of the reader, the text needs to be challenging but not overwhelming. Strive to write your story as clearly as you can, using active sentences and concrete nouns and verbs. When writing for a broad age range of reluctant readers (8-12, for example), make the vocabulary accessible to the younger end, but the interest level appealing to kids on the older end of the spectrum.

* Unique Presentation. Reluctant readers often choose nonfiction over fiction because it speaks to their personal interests. Finding a new or unusual slant to your topic helps keep that interest alive. Humor doesn't hurt either. It's Disgusting and We Ate It! True Food Facts from Around the World by James Solheim appeals to middle graders' love of the gross while sneaking in some history on the side.

* Visual Appeal. Authors generally don't have much say in a book's design, but author/ illustrators might. Larger typeface, the generous use of white space, and illustrations that elaborate upon the text all help break up the string of words and make the book less intimidating to read.

Unique bridal shower favors

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If you're planning to tie the knot, one of the very first things you need to plan is how to make your bridal shower memorable. There are lots of unique bridal shower favors that are available for any would be bride to choose from. Here are some great ones to consider:

Handbag Holder – Available in 3 beautiful color floral design accented with rhinestone, this purse caddy is set on the table to hold your purse or hand bag near you so that you won't forget about it or have to set it down on a dirty floor.

Corco Coin Purse – Croco Coin Purses are stylish, practical and colorful – available in shades of Black, Pink, Red and Brown, these functional little bags keep you organized…with a fashionable edge.

Personalized Bridal Shower Gel – Your bridesmaids and guests will enjoy being pampered with this lightly scented gel... kissed with the fragrance of sweet pea and violets, this is a flirtatious blend everyone will be sure to enjoy!

Izzy Straw Gift Bag – Your favorite girls will love to have these unique summer straw bags as their goody bag and keepsake of your bridal shower party – they come in different designs and you can add other goodies too such as lip gloss, soaps and other treats.

Manicure Bag – Unique color vinyl mini purse that includes a mini manicure set to go, they come in adorable colors, pink, blue, lavender and pearl white.

Mini Floral Jewelry Box – Mini antique finish floral design footed jewelry box – best for jewelry such as stud earrings, rings and silver chain necklaces and pendants but not suitable for larger jewelry items.

Make up Pouch – Available in assorted colors and patterns, this mini make-up pouch made with Asian design fabrics is unique because no fabric is cut exactly alike.

Bridesmaid Dress Sachets – These adorable scented sachets in the shape of bridesmaids’ dresses are fragranced with lavender and will delicately scent your bridesmaids’ pajama drawers or lingerie drawers – available in a variety of colors with a silver metal hanger for easy display.

Black Lace Corset Potpourri – Scented Potpourri in the shape of this beautiful black lace corset makes a great gift to the bride's guest as her bridal shower favor – perfect as a decoration for the bedroom or as a linen sachet for the drawers.

These are just some examples of favors that you can consider for your very own bridal shower party. Hopefully this summary of unique and interesting products could make your selection much easier!

The state bar - how legal incompetence generates oppression

The California State Bar’s Office of the Chief Trial Counsel was awestruck and panic-stricken when it lost its motion for entry of default, in a direct test of its legal position against me, the pro se respondent in Case No. 05-R-04605, et. al.

I start the account in the middle, with the outrageous misconduct of the Office of the Chief Trial Counsel, through Deputy Trial Counsel Melanie K. Lawrence, Esq. The forum is the State Bar Court's Hearing Department, presided over by the Hon. Richard A. Honn. Today’s story is merely the beginning of the extensive coverage and analytic commentary I seek to provide regarding "In the Matter of Stephen R. Diamond, No. 183617, A Member of the State Bar, an action in which I am obviously an interested party.

What follows today is a small but revealing part of the story. If you thought the State Bar Court is simply a court like many others, think again.

1. I filed a motion to reconsider after the court denied my motion to dismiss the notice of Disciplinary Charges. That day, a Tuesday, I had brought my intent to move for reconsideration to the court's attention at an in-person status conference, where the court confirmed that this motion was a proper and timely responsive pleading.

2. I served a copy to the Deputy Trial Counsel. Then I delivered two copies to the filing clerk, to whose window other clerks had directed me. She took my motion to reconsider, inspected it carefully, and stamped my conformed copy “Received.”

3. Although I filed it Tuesday, the motion was not due until the following Monday. On that Monday, the Deputy Trial Attorney e-mailed me. In her words, "At this point you have failed to properly file any responsive document. So, I intend to ask the Court to enter your default."

4. The Deputy Trial Counsel lacked any awareness of the egregiousness of her misconduct. She admitted being served with the actual signed document Tuesday, waited till Monday to point out the oversight, and attempted to exploit it to take a default in a quasi-criminal proceeding, while refusing even to supply documentation.

5. In my opposition, I argued beyond a due process matter concerning notice, the obvious issue, but one fraught with procedural uncertainties. More fundamentally and effectively, I challenged the court's jurisdiction to reject a document for filing after the clerk had accepted it for filing. "The Clerk accepted respondent's motion for filing on September 4, and the court lacked jurisdiction to reject the same document on September 10." I stated of the motion to enter default, "The State Bar’s motion to dismiss is frivolous, malicious, and outrageous."

6. The Hearing Department of the State Bar Court denied the Deputy Trial Counsel’s motion to dismiss, as shocking as this outcome was to the Office of the Chief Trial Counsel. The State Bar Court’s stance during the hearing, however, showed enough bias to discredit it. The court ignored the misconduct of the Deputy Trial Counsel and focused its attention on my failure to recover some mail in my transit. The court declared that I now am "on a short leash." Courts have used the phrase "on a short leash” to mean maintaining tight management of a case. No neutral court would put such a general onus on a party to an action. The court did not acknowledge that the document’s acceptance by the clerk was dispositive of its status as filed and distinguished between “Received” and “Filed.” The court claimed that the whole court system made this distinction, a purported observation that the court thought sufficient justification. On its own initiative, the court effectively took judicial notice of this “fact,” without briefing on either its accuracy or relevance.

More than my case, I am concerned with general issues. The State Bar's method is to make outrageous charges without evidence and then seek evidence through undisciplined discovery. I intend to challenge its methods of work. I am convinced State Bar misconduct is standard. In future installments, I will tell more of this story, its background, and its unfolding. I can afford to be principled, because I don't fear the State Bar, partly because my livelihood derives from contracting with lawyers to prepare legal briefs and devise legal theories.

This ongoing account contains the legal theory guiding my case before the State Bar.

Conducta de casinos

Una de las principales reglas de los casinos es que el cliente siempre tiene la razуn. Sin embargo, el casino tiene sus propias reglas de comportamiento y etiqueta que hay que tener en cuenta a la hora de jugar. Para ser mas profesional en los casinos y no llevarte malos momentos es importante que tengas estas reglas en cuenta.

Primero y principal, debes ser mayor de 21 aсos para entrar en el casino y jugar. Todos los casinos son estrictos con esa norma, asн que si todavнa eres menor de edad, debes esperar tu turno.

Segundo, los objetos electrуnicos como telйfonos celulares, estбn bloqueados en el casino, asн que recuerda dejarlos en casa a la hora del juego. Esto es debido a que pueden transferir informaciуn de un lado a otro, muy peligroso para los casinos. Tampoco la cбmara digital o filmadora estб autorizada, aunque esas son mбs flexibles.

A los fumadores: Asegurarse de que el casino al que vayan este permitido fumar. Aunque en la mayorнa de los casinos permiten fumar, hay salas de no - fumadores o casinos de-no fumadores, una ley que empezу a popularizarse mas ahora. EN las salas de maquinas tragamonedas tampoco esta permitido fumar. Recuerda usar cenicero si fumas.

Es una costumbre darle propina al crupier luego de haber ganado una mano. Especialmente en los casinos de Estados Unidos. El monto es 1$ en general pero depende de lo que hayas ganado. En paнses como Inglaterra o Australia darles propina esta prohibido.

Recuerda aprender las reglas de los juegos antes de comenzar a jugar. No vaya a ser que los demбs jugadores o el crupier te tengan que explicar en el momento del juego. Muestra sensaciуn de respeto y seguridad en el casino, hay muchas guнas y libros que te pueden ayudar a aumentar tu conocimiento. Observar juegos ajenos tambiйn ayuda.

Es importante no dar consejos o sugerencias a otros jugadores en el momento del juego. Aunque tengas buenas intenciones, no es aceptable para los demбs jugadores que ayudes a uno y a otros no. Esto puede hacer a quejas y enojos en los jugadores, y eso es lo ъltimo que el casino quiere. Todos tienen la libertad de elegir sus jugadas y equivocarse o ganar correspondientemente. Esa es la gracia del casino.

Todas estas reglas son parte de los requisitos del casino, y esenciales para sentirte conectado a los juegos y al resto de las actividades del casino. Asн, es muy probable que no te sientas perdido vagando por la sala sin saber a donde ir. Recuerda que nadie naciу sabiendo y que la experiencia se gana con el tiempo.

Egypt resorts and attractions

If you make a decision to spend your vacation in Egypt, usually you have a choice of two sea resorts – Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh. They both are very popular, but Hurghada is situated in African continent while Sharm El Sheikh lies on Sinai peninsula.

About 30 years ago Hurghada was just a simple fishing village. But now, with it's a resort with crystal clear water, untouched reefs. It has become one of the best Egyptian tourist destinations. A significant part of its fame Hurghada gained as one of the best diving centres of the world. Like all oriental cities Hurghada make living out of trade, so if when you walk along the city, be ready to beat off the pressing offers of the sellers, deserving to make you buy their souvenirs. There are some more entertainments except shopping and diving in Hurghada. You can make a jeep trip to a desert, visit Bedouin’s village there; you can see corals and some natural preserves. Hurghada is also has aqua-park. Fishing is one of the popular tourist’s activities in Hurghada too. Today, Hurghada is known as a party town, particularly among Europeans. Locals and others will tell you that life begins at night in Hurghada, with the many, many clubs.

The best time to visit Hurghada is October-November. In winter there are strong winds and it becomes dark very early.

When you are in Hurghada don’t miss the chance to see one of the most outstanding monuments of Egypt history – Luxor and the Valley of the King. Pharaoh’s tombs and ancient temples are worth visiting.

Sharm el-Sheikh is one of the most accessible and developed tourist resort communities on the Sinai peninsula. All around are Bedouins, colorful tents, mountains and sea. Na'ama Beach is one of the center of the tourist activities. Located just north of Sharm, this area is developing into a resort town of its own. For those who like shopping, the Sharm El-Sheikh mall provides shops with both foreign and local products, including jewelry, leather goods, clothing, pottery and books. Nobody leaves Sharm el-Sheikh without several useless but very pleasant souvenirs. Like Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh is famous for diving too, but it has more diversity in corals.

Those, who choose Sharm el-Sheikh also has opportunity to watch the attraction of Sinai peninsula - The Monastery of St Catherine, Mount Sinai (or Mountain of Moses), Pharaoh's Island and Salah El Din Citadel, Nabq National Park, Ras Abu Galum National Park and so-called 'Coloured Canyon'.

The last but not the least of the Egypt must-sees is Cairo with its pyramids. From either Hurghada or Sharm El-Sheikh it will be a long trip, but you will never regret it!

When you going to Egypt, be aware that 3-star hotels in Egypt have nothing to do with 3-star hotels in Europe. So, it’s better to choose 4 or 5 star hotel. Probably it saves you from many inconveniences. Often, the large hotels have zoos, playgrounds, discos, bars, a number of pools and even small theaters. So, may be you will to want to leave your hotel.

Anyway, a trip to Egypt promises to be exotic and interesting expierence.

What are you doing to acheive your dreams

What are you looking for in your life? More peace, prosperity, someone to share your life with? What are you hungry for?

I don’t know about you, but one of the things I’ve learned on this journey of becoming more of who I am – is that every person deep down inside – really just wants to be happy, to be with their families, have their friends around them – have successful meaningful relationships – be healthy and live the life they are meant to live.

I don’t care what country you go to on this great big beautiful blue marble in space that we live upon – most people are good. You can make the argument by saying “look – look at the terrorists or the criminals in the world” – but did you know that those people actually only represent a small percentage of the rest of the world’s population? Think about it. There are 6.5 billion people on this planet.

And of those 6.5 billion people, how many of them are really, really, really bad people?

The point is this – there is far more goodness going on in the world right this minute than badness!

All is well. All is really well. There is a flow of well being that comes to each and every one of us – we just need to learn to tap into it – plug in so-to-speak.

Did you know that you have immediate access to that well-being regardless of what is occurring in your external world at any given moment?

That well-being is called Source, God, Universe, Allah, Shiva, or whatever name you choose to give it but Source is available to each and every one of us at any moment regardless of the constraints any religious dogma tries to put on it.

This is the true secret of living: understanding who you are and where you came from.

Religious dogmatists would try to tell you that you must turn around three times and tap your heels together or say 100 Hail Mary’s or get baptized in water or deny yourself those things you want to attain true spirituality!

Hogwash!

You are a divine child of the Universe with the Source of Creation inside of you! Inside – not outside!

Christ once said to his followers (loosely translated) “there will come a time when people will not worship in temples made by hands.”

You are the temple not made by hands that He speaks of. In you is the Holy of Holies – a special place where you can connect and meet the Source of all Creation.

Don’t believe me? Haven’t you felt those ecstatic moments of joy that seemingly have no reason for existing? You’re tapping into Source. What about the peace that passes all understanding that has come to you in the dead of night or in that moment you most desperately needed it?

When you make a conscious decision to develop a relationship with Source – the most intimate on the face of this planet you will ever experience – your life can become one of meaning and purpose.

Once you make that connection – everything is at your fingertips in a moment.

Our true journey here is enjoying this temple not made by hands. To live our lives to the fullest potential of who we really are – divine children of the universe – and express that divinity in our own individual ways.

Just like there are no two leaves, no two grains of sand, and no two snowflakes alike, there is nothing on this planet that is like anything else in its uniqueness.

You are the gift Source has given you. So what are you doing with this gift of life right now?

Are you complaining?

Or are you thankful for the simple fact that you are breathing?

The gift of life on this planet is that we can interact with this most beautiful and delicious world and everything in it through our thoughts, our feelings and emotions, our bodies and through all of our senses.

You are here to live your life and enjoy it – not constrain it – not bind it all up in a set of rules and regulations that keep you from experiencing life!

Take your faith out of the temples made with hands and realize that it isn’t outside of you – it’s inside – right in the core of your being.

That faith is what powers you – keeps you breathing – keep it where it belongs – in the inner temple squarely in your heart where its true home is.

And realize that faith is the substance of things hoped for the EVIDENCE of things not yet seen.

You are a child of the Most High – a divine child of the Universe.

Claim your birthright today!

What do you dream about?

©2007 All rights reserved. You may use this article if you keep all links attached.

How to find cheap auto insurance

When we purchase a car we need some sort of car or auto insurance. Most of us want to buy it as cheap as possible. The quality of the insurance product means a lot though; it is important that the policy has a good coverage and it is also important with a good service from the insurance company, especially if and when an accident occurs. Auto insurance is one of those items where the price can vary a lot based on which insurer you go through. Sometimes your rates can vary as much as 20-30% just because of different rating factors the company may use. By utilizing the power of the Internet you can be a savvy insurance shopper and find cheap auto insurance that fits your needs while providing the customer service and support you need.

When people are shopping for a new or used car they often don't think about insurance until the last moment. Several consumers fall into the trap of obtaining an instant car loan through the dealership and inadvertently signing up for the auto insurance through the finance company. This can be one of the worst mistakes you can make. Often finance companies that roll insurance into the finance agreement will charge premium prices that have interest charges added in on top of the already high rates. When obtaining financing make sure you state up front that you will be getting insurance through a company of your choosing and not the finance company.

The best bet to finding the best deal on vehicle coverage is to do your research before you buy the car. By knowing up-front what type of car you are looking for most insurance companies can provide you with a basic quote that is in the ballpark of the rates you can expect to pay. Remember, never drive off the lot with any car until you have the insurance purchased and finalized. Accidents can happen anywhere at any time. The last thing you want to happen is to be in an accident without insurance.

Ethnic weddings

Members of the Navajo nation have used corn throughout history to symbolize the marriage union. According to Navajo tradition, a pudding of white and yellow corn is offered at the wedding reception. The bride enters the reception with the basket of corn pudding and sits next to the groom. The corn ceremony comprises the cleansing of the bride and groom's hands by each other, and the sharing of the corn pudding. Then the bride and groom feeds the corn pudding to each other.

Because Mexico is a Roman Catholic country, weddings usually occur within a nuptial Mass. Godparents play an important role in the wedding ceremony. The madrina de lazo carries a rope or a rosary symbolizing fertility. The rope is positioned on the bride and groom’s head in a figure eight as they take their vows. The madrina de arras holds 13 coins (for Jesus and his 12 apostles) that are blessed by the priest and represent the sharing of finances between the couple. Often, godparents hold wine glasses for the wedding toast. During the nuptial Mass, the couple may kiss a cross to show faithfulness to each other and the Lord.

Mariachi music is a vital part of Mexican wedding celebrations. Prior to the first dance, the reception guests enclose the couple in a heart-shaped ring. The Mexican wedding tradition that should excite any kid attending is the ceremony piсata. Piсatas are a focal point of Mexican wedding celebrations.

Broom Jumping is one of the most common African American traditions at wedding. According to Harriette Cole in her book, "Jumping the Broom." Our ancestors created the ritual itself during slavery. Because slaves were unable to perform legal marriages, they created their own wedding rituals to honor their unions. The jumping of the broom symbolizes the sweeping away of the old and welcoming the new. Clearly, “Jumping the Broom” is a symbol of a new beginning.

Nowadays, the ceremony is usually performed at the wedding after the minister pronounces the couple husband and wife or at the reception just after the bridal party enters the reception area. It is important to explain your wedding tradition in your wedding program. Your ethnic traditions are better understood and enjoyed with appropriate explanation.

Restaurant work medical chef security housekeeping and career uniforms supplier

Best Buy Uniforms is one of the best names in manufacturing various types of uniforms all over the world. Wherever you go people that are interested in quality and service will recommend the name Best Buy Uniforms. The main motto of this company is to provide satisfaction and deliver the uniforms in good time to the customers. Needless to say that Best Buy Uniforms are made from fine quality fabric that will provide comfort and satisfaction for the price the customers spend on the uniforms.

In all the industries, factories, restaurants, schools, defense establishments, government organizations, private organizations and corporate offices the uniforms. play an important role in carrying out the large business. Here is an opportunity for all these organizations to think on the uniform code and acquire the best quality uniforms that will provide a confident image in their workers and that uniform suppliers none other than Best Buy Uniforms. Best Buy Uniforms are available through Internet services or one can order these uniforms from our agents also.

Uniform is a medium by which the image of the company is known. Best Buy Uniforms are committed and devoted to cater for all requirements of training along with good mental and physical health.

Best Buy Uniforms company deals with all the verities of uniforms ranging from hospitals to restaurants and all these uniforms are available at reasonable prices that every body can afford to buy. Best Buy Uniforms know exactly what the people require as they come from religious backgrounds and they are very well versed with the political situations in the world thus they can understand the people in a better way. This company knows how to bond the relation and this is reflected through our services because we value our customers and they are the bread earners for us.

Best Buy Uniforms are valuable members of the Better Business Bureau and committed to quality, satisfaction and the service to mankind. To more and more about the best buy services and various types of uniforms one can log on to the following e-mail address webmaster@bestbuyuniforms. com. Best Buy Uniforms promises you that you will get all the replies for your queries.

Best Buy Uniforms is a division of commercial textile corporation and provides quality uniforms through out the United States of America. Our service is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week online. Thus you can e-mail us any time and we are ready to serve you with pride. Along with web site services we have on line facilities and ware houses located in east and at west coast for your service and convenience. We are wholesale distributors in all types of uniforms and we are distributing uniforms for major national and government organizations. If the uniform is in stock and readily available we take good care to send the required quantity at the same time. Our packing is also of high standard and you don't have to worry about the delivery of the uniforms.

Best Buy Uniforms is a main dealer in the following categories of uniforms. There is a vast range of sizes, various colors and quality fabric we use in stitching the various uniforms. The main uniforms we manufacture are formal wear, casual wear, work shirts, hospital and medical scrubs, polo shirts, t shirts, under garments and various types of aprons.

Our uniforms are great quality and low wholesale prices. As per the order we provide variable discounts on our following types of uniforms that are restaurant uniforms, casino uniforms, sports uniforms, nurse apparel, custom attire, embroidered uniforms maid and housekeeping uniforms and various uniforms. We are specialist in hospital uniforms and the restaurant uniforms even though all the uniforms are related to each other but there is a vast difference in those uniforms and one will know the actual difference only when the individual practically aware of the uniforms. We provide all the uniforms catalog on individuals demand only thing one has to do is to log on to our web site or you can call us on our help lines provided at the end of the article. Best Buy Uniforms also deals with special attire like silk, linen and embroidered uniforms and for that we also provide heavy discounts and the quick delivery of the required items as per the demand. Along with website and calling facility we too have an ordering facility that takes only a few seconds to fill up the required format with your address and requisite information. We are also the prime distributor of the other varieties like sanitary products such as towels, table cloths and the various skirting requirements. Just call us by the Best Buy Uniforms name and we assure you with the doorstep delivery off all the items of your need. In case of International orders one has to call on the following telephone numbers 1 (412) 461-4600.Our main business is in United States of America and in Canada. In this case the individual has to pay for the shipping charges as per the rules and regulations of Best Buy Uniforms. We as a group of Best Buy Uniforms have traditional family back ground and follow the religious matters and we too are great admirer of political views but that is not mixed with our uniform product because we believe in our quality work. God helps those who help themselves and we are the one unique formation that believes and follows this principle. We do not work as individual but we carry our business as a team works because unity is strength we do believe in it. Give us a chance to serve you and we are sure that Best Buy Uniforms will not let you down in quality, price, service, discount and hospitability. For more detailed information read the next article about the uniforms and we assure you that you will find all the latest categories of uniforms that you are interested in.

Website startup guide - mix and match your advertising offerings

There are literally thousands of people out there right now who want to start their own online business. The problem is where to begin and how to get started.

Oh sure, they know they can buy a domain and a web hosting account, but that is not the problem. The hold up is that they don’t know what to sell on their websites that will allow them to make a nice income to supplement the income from their regular jobs.

Day and night, people browse this World Wide Web looking for a hint or an insight that will point them in the direction of the next big thing on the internet.

Let’s be honest. Most people who want to start an online business are only looking for enough extra income to pay an extra car payment or to buy some clothes for their kids. Not everyone is looking to get rich online.

Looking For Something To Sell

Most people online who are looking for an opportunity to make money look first to common themes of products they already buy.

If you go to Google and type in “flowers” for your search, you will find 339 million pages found. If you take the same search to Yahoo, you will still find 202 million results. With that kind of competition, why would anyone want to try to break into that industry as an online entrepreneur?

Suppose the next thought takes the aspiring entrepreneur to “jewelry”? A Google search will turn up 551 million to Yahoo’s 261 million pages. Again, why would someone try to tackle such an overcrowded marketplace?

On top of that, as part-time entrepreneurs looking for some extra money, they don’t have the time or resources to try to knock heads with these major corporations who run the competing websites in these markets.

Add to that the need to handle actual products and product fulfillment, and your part-time start-up entrepreneur really starts to lose interest. People tend to shy away from product fulfillment related industries. Their homes are already crowded enough without adding retail products to their space.

Something To Sell That Does Not Require A Warehouse or a Huge Investment

It is at about this time the opportunity search changes gears. There are many forks in the road, and the road you choose can be as hard or as easy as you make it for yourself.

Where to go from here:

1.Digital products – E-books and Software

2.Product Drop-Shipping

3.Affiliate programs

4.On-site Advertising

Let’s look at each one of these individually:

Digital Products – E-Books and Software

We all have some kind of knowledge to share. If you determine that you have some kind of knowledge that you can share, then there is likely someone out there in the world who would be willing to pay you to obtain that same knowledge.

E-books are an ideal way to disseminate this information. With the e-book format, there are no printing costs, since your book is stored as a digital file. Self-publishing a digital ebook is not nearly as hard as you might think it would be.

Software is a similar beast. Since it is a digital product, you don’t have to cover the costs of packaging and distribution. You can sell your software online, cutting out the middleman, keeping the extra profits for yourself.

Product Drop-Shipping

Some wholesale companies will allow you to buy products from them on a piecemeal basis. Of course, the cost is a bit higher than what it would be if you bought products a pallet at a time, but the convenience to you more than makes up for the additional cost.

The “drop-shippers” allow you to sell a product to your customers, and then you can take the money you collected from your customer to the drop-shipper. The drop-shipper will ship the product directly to your customer.

In some cases, the drop shipper will even put your own custom label on the outside of the container, making the fact that you used a drop-shipper completely unseen by your customer.

To find wholesale companies who offer drop-shipping services, check these folks out: vasrue. com/dt/t. php? id=167

Affiliate programs

With an Affiliate program, you can register with a seller, and the seller will give you a unique URL that you can use to promote their products or services. When someone uses “your affiliate URL” to visit the seller’s website, the seller will track that person until the visitor leaves the site. (Some Affiliate sellers will drop a cookie on the computer of the visitor, and if that person returns to the seller’s website within one year, then you will get credit for that visitor returning to the seller’s website.) If the visitor buys a product or service from the seller, then your account will be credited for bringing a buyer to the website. This will result in your earning a commission for bringing the buyer and seller together.

On-Site Advertising

Both Google and Yahoo’s Overture services offer an option to webmasters to carry their advertising on your website. When someone clicks a link on your website and visits the advertiser’s website, then you would get paid a small payment for having connected the potential buyer to the seller’s website.

This is a type of advertising that pays you when someone visits the seller’s website. Contrast that with the Affiliate program, which pays you when someone buys a product from the seller’s website, and then you can see the fine line difference between the two types of advertising.

How Much Can You Make Utilizing On-Site Advertising?

Truth be told, there are a lot of people on the internet who makes tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars per month --- yes, I said, “per month” --- using only Google’s on-site advertising program, called Adsense. The rest of us make hundreds or thousands per month.

The truth is that with Google’s contextual advertising program called Adsense, your income is based on what the advertisers are willing to pay for your traffic and how much traffic you can generate.

The Profit-and-Loss Factor for the Advertiser

It is a matter of profit-and-loss for the advertiser. If the advertiser pays one dollar for a visitor, and every 35th visitor buys what the advertiser is selling, then the advertiser is getting one buyer for every $35 spent. If the advertiser’s profit margin is enough to afford spending $35 to acquire one customer, then the advertiser will feel his advertising is worthwhile, and he will keep on coming back for more advertising.

If on the other hand, the advertiser is only earning a gross profit of $20 per transaction, then he or she will have a hard time justifying the $35 advertising expenditure.

This is why you will find that most Google and Yahoo advertisers are only willing to spend 25 or 50 cents to get one visitor to their website.

And then depending on a number of factors, you will only earn 30-50% of the gross revenue that Google or Yahoo earned for that visitor.

Taking the lowest case denominator approach, 30% of 25 cents is roughly eight cents that you will be paid for each visitor that you send to an advertiser.

Some of these guys who are knocking down ten thousand dollars a month are actually doing so at eight cents per click! What is their secret to success? They are getting thousands of people to visit their website everyday.

The Profit-and-Loss Factor for the Affiliate Seller

On the flip side, let us take a look at the same scenario for the Affiliate seller. Instead of paying for visitors, advertisers are paying for actual sales.

The Affiliate seller knows his or her margin well enough to know that they can afford to pay anywhere from 2-50% of the actual transaction amount to the person who referred the buyer to their website.

The Affiliate seller is not paying for advertising on a gamble, instead, they are paying for advertising on a sure thing.

It is not unheard of to earn $20, $50 or $200 on a single Affiliate sale transaction.

If you are able to convert one person in thirty-five to buyers of an affiliate product or service, you could conceivably make more money with less traffic, than the guys knocking down the big bucks with Adsense.

Mix-and-Match For The Greatest Success

This is really important to your bottom line. If you fail to heed my advice, your website may fail to survive.

Unless you are the owner of a product or service sales website, then you will be relying on the various advertising opportunities to survive.

You are best to mix-and-match your offers for the greatest success. Yes, do set up Google Adsense on your site, but also set up Affiliate programs on your site.

You may sell a few products each week, and the sale from those products might make a good income for you. But, for the people who arrived on your site who are not interested in your main offering, give them another advertisement to click on before they leave. This way, you can get the Pay-Per-Click advertising revenue from those people who chose not to buy the products and services that you are selling through the Affiliate programs.

Diversification Is Your Key To Success

Don’t let yourself be fooled by the idea that you can be profitable with only one product or service offering or advertising revenue generator. Many people have entered this medium with a Made For Adsense (MFA) site, and many of those people have gone out of business in just a few months.

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. Or else, when you fall, you will have nothing to show for all of your hard work.

Beware there are a lot of crooks on ebay

I hope you have not had a negative experience on ebay. I was very much enjoying the site until one day, some freak tried to steal nearly Ј200 from selling me an item which did not exist. This article explains what happened and also the advice the police gave to me.

As I have already mentioned I was having lots of fun buying and selling on Ebay for a number of months without any problems at all. I regularly sold second hand mobile phones and was doing very well for myself. If I ever bought anything that cost over Ј100, I would offer to meet the seller somewhere, normally just off the motorway. I pulled off what I believed was some good deals and also managed to offload some of my unwanted items which I either had no interest in anymore or that I had no longer a need for.

Unfortunately all good things have to come to an end and it certainly did with ebay.

One particular morning I was looking to purchase another second hand mobile phone, which I would then re-sell on. There was an advert for a buy it now phone with the asking price low but not extremely low.

There was a mobile number to phone if I had any questions. I decided to phone the number, his name was Tony and I asked him the general type questions. He sounded and seemed really nice, however stated that he was unable to meet me as he was unable to drive as he had not past his test. The alarm bells should have already started to ring, but me being a bit stupid they didn't.

His house was a long way from where I lived and reluctantly I agreed to pay via a bank transfer. He assured me he would post the phone, that very day via Royal Mail Special Delivery to arrive by 11am the next morning. He seemed very genuine, they always do your thinking and that was that.

Next morning have a guess what arrived, yes nothing at all, nor the next day, nor the next.

I tried e-mailing him, texting and ringing his mobile phone, guess what, there was no reply.

I realised what a fool I had been, however decided to go to the police. They were very helpful and half an hour later I had a crime number however was warned that it was very unlikely I would ever see a phone or recieve a refund of my money which was Ј170. The police advised me to be very careful as they regularly have complaints from people who have been defrauded on ebay, I was not alone!

Outside the police station I sent Tony a text with the police crime number. To my shock he phoned me straight away swearing at me but eventually agreed to refund me the money, if I stopped the police action against him.

I was very lucky, I am sure many other people as the police stated, never get their money back.

Real estate guide- how to deal with real estate business

Real Estate refers to an immovable property that is eternally affixed to the land. Due to expansion of private property ownership it has become a foremost area of business. Each real estate transaction requires specialization in this field. Professionals always deal with a great parcel of land. Real estate business generally includes appraisal, brokerages, development, property management, real estate marketing, and relocation services.

There are mainly three types of real estate such as residential, commercial or industrial real estate. Even each and every construction business belongs to one of these types. Nowadays people mostly choose Internet Real Estate because it is one of the best ways to deal with the finest real property. Usually several buyers and sellers use Internet services to find real estate as per their needs.

Normally first time investor gets confused about real estate business because he/she doesn’t have any experience about how to deal with real estate and real estate marketing plans. You should concentrate on all market conditions and every type of real estate to get good results. The investors can also take some suggestion from professionals. They provide all information about real estate and the right time to invest in real estate business.

Basic thing about real estate is that it’s a game of few words such as Who, What, When, Where, Why, How and How much. It means at the time of dealing with real estate you’ve to be aware of all such things. You’ve to be sure about the reputation of the seller or market from where you’re going to purchase real estate.

If you’re a seller of real estate you’ve to mention all important things, like purpose to sell the property or how to contact you for further transactions, in your advertisements or letters. Whenever you’re getting started with real estate business time is the major issue. It is one of the important things for your real estate marketing campaign so try to tell about the time period in which the buyers can purchase it.

Your real estate investing strategy basically depends on the such topics like are you going to sell it further or want to fix it up for your personal use or to give it to someone on lease. As you’re getting familiar to real estate business you can choose best suitable option as per your needs. Next important thing for real estate business is that how much you can spend for it? You should also mention about the communication method so that the buyers or sellers can contact you.

With proper concentration and complete understanding about real estate you can achieve your goals in real estate business.

The benefits of having a home team following your heart surgery or other major surgery

It’s essential to organize a Home Team before you go in for heart surgery, even if you have little time before your surgery to plan it. On the other hand, if you have just gotten home from the hospital, don’t worry it’s not too late. A Home Team is a group of friends and family who are willing to assist you in your recovery following your surgery. Make a list of up to fifteen people, family and friends (but not your primary caregiver) who would be glad – even honored – to be called to help out. Pick a leader among these friends and engage her or him to contact the others about the tasks ahead. Set up a revolving schedule of assignments for your first three to four weeks at home.

Your Primary Caregiver Has The Most Important Role

Who will your primary caregiver be; your spouse, your partner, a friend, or another family member? In my new book, The Open Heart Companion: Preparation and Guidance for Open-Heart Surgery Recovery the following scenario is explained to help you better understand their importance: Suddenly your caregiver, your close personal ally, has the extended responsibility for all previously shared arrangements – nursing aid, household tasks, transportation, medical and social plan coordination. It can become overwhelming and too much for one person. That is why it is essential that you line up a supportive Home Team to pitch in. Your primary caregiver needs assistance and taking care of too. Once you are home and recovering, he or she is now “on” 24/7. He or she also needs continuing acknowledgment, appreciation and love from you. Plan to regularly express your gratitude. Find out how your loved one is feeling – every day. Though sometimes you won’t feel like it, remember to smile, and show you care and appreciate all that is being done for you.

Five basic tasks to assign to your Home Team

1. Dinner nightly

Some friends will like to prepare a home cooked meal for both patient and caregiver, while others can pick up a heart healthy take-out meal. Since the reality of landing back home means the primary caregiver has antenna focused on you continuously, your caregiver loved one will appreciate the sit-down break at dinner time.

2. Buddy system

During the many hours and days of convalescence, neither patient nor primary caregiver wants to feel isolated at home. Anticipate a buddy system in advance. Is there a friend who has been though open-heart surgery who will agree to check in with the patient regularly? Is there someone that the heart patient can call spontaneously? Many basic questions can be answered this way, by a friend or family member. Naturally, any substantial recovery question requires picking up the phone and calling your designated medical professional. Maybe you know, or know of, a former heart patient who also is a medical professional? Arrange chat times (perhaps twice weekly) with him or her. Primary caregiver and patient should also plan regular phone time with a best friend independently, to be free to let their hair down to tell it like it is.

3. Running errands

Who – friend or neighbor – would be willing to be counted on to run to the pharmacy or to deposit or pick up laundry or dry cleaning? How about someone who will shop for staples at the supermarket or buy a box of thank-you notes? Recruit a list of volunteers beforehand. It’s critical to have this in place to enable you to focus on getting well.

4. Housekeeping

In the hospital take-home instructions, there are very specific physical directives that must be honored while the sternum (breastbone) is healing. You are not to lift more than five to ten pounds for four to six weeks. As well, you are to avoid pushing/pulling activities with your arms, and also avoid heavy one-armed lifting for three months. This eliminates carrying groceries, carrying a toddler, vacuuming, shoveling snow, mowing the lawn, raking leaves – even wiping up a kitchen counter with a sponge can be challenging in the first couple of weeks. It is best to schedule others for regular housekeeping duties for at least four to six weeks and/or consider hiring a house cleaner for the short term.

5. Chauffeuring

An open-heart patient may not resume driving for six to eight weeks – until the sternum is fully healed. Because you don’t want to risk re-injuring the sternum should a passenger airbag need to be deployed, you might be advised to ride in the back seat using the shoulder seat belt. That said, you can ride in a car as soon as you’re home – to a medical appointment, to the store, to eat out. However, all these outings become a lot of driving for the primary caregiver, so line up chauffeur volunteers.

Recovering from heart surgery can be challenging, but with these tips and more tips on planning ahead found in The Open Heart Companion you can ensure that your recovery will go smoothly.

The secrets of healing from within

Modern medicine is based upon the notion of battle. We battle germs and fight for life. As soon as we feel pain or discomfort, we immediately try to stop it from happening and look for some way to soothe what we are going through. We feel we must change our illness or problems, overpower them with our expertise.

This orientation leads to a never ending battle with all that impinges upon us. After one illness or problem is conquered, another arises. We live in a state of constant insecurity where there is little room for ease of mind.

Healing from within brings inner peace with it. It arises from a different orientation towards all the experiences of life. We are taught to stop, pay attention and respect all that comes to us. It is as if we were re-focusing a camera, receiving our experience through a different lens.

Usually there is a deep sense that pain is bad, and must be removed at any cost. Pain is not bad. Pain arises from lack of balance and contains much information. It brings many messages along with it. When we see our pain as a messenger and learn how to respect and listen to it, healing begins in all kinds of ways.

The first step in healing from within is to learn how to see pain as an ally, to learn how to "dialogue" with it. For most of us this seems almost unthinkable.

At first this requires a complete turn around. Instead of tensing up and gearing for battle, we learn how to pause and understand there is a lesson that we have to learn. When we do this we find the pain or problem often comes holding a gift in its hands.

Illness often comes when we feel defeated. We may not wish to struggle anymore. Some people become ill when they are overly exhausted. The illness is the only way they can give themselves permission to stop, rest, and make much needed changes in their lives. Each illness has it's own story. The same is true with psychological or personal problems that grow strong, demanding our attention.

When someone is in physical pain and suddenly understands what is troubling them, the physical pain often subsides. For full healing to take place it may be essential to make changes in one's total life. Cancer can be suppressed for many years, and then it returns. When it reappears we must ask, "Why not? What is going on in my total life?"

"We become sick becomes we act in sickening ways,"

Louis Jourard

We are all experts at brushing things under the carpet. Then the carpet begins to roll up at the corners, and we feel we are coming unglued. During illness the body is rebelling. It is demanding that we pay attention to all that has been unattended. We may have been pushing ourselves for too long. Now our body is fed up. Stop and listen to me, it pleads. When we learn how to listen and how to reply, an entirely new life begins. Then pain and illness become an opportunity for vital change.

Learning To Listen

We usually listen only to part of ourselves. The rest is rejected. But no matter what we are rejecting, soon or later we must come up against it and face it straight on.

Rejecting something over and over never makes it go away. In fact, it will come back time and again, just for you to accept it. Everything needs to be loved and accepted, including our illness and pain. The best way is to make friends with the pain. Fighting intensifies it. If we can relax into it for a little while and explore it, many possibilities arise. Natural healing is always available in all situations, but it can be cut off by fighting and fear. When we let go, and allow ourselves to speak to the pain, and to listen to what it has to say, incredible changes can happen.

To do this, we simply close our eyes, stop fighting, and ask our pain what it is saying to us, what does it need from us right now? Then we become very quiet and listen deeply. An answer may not come right away. Patience is needed. As we do this process over and over, fear diminishes and we begin to hear.

Answers come in different ways. Some hear answers within. Others see images, some have dreams. We learn to be open to all that comes and in this openness, we learn.

Exercise

Look at your illness or problem now. Picture it within and give it some kind of shape. What does it look like to you? Describe or draw it. Now, look more deeply at what the image really means. What is this image saying to you about yourself and the life you are leading? Listen carefully.

Next, ask the image any questions you may have and let it answer you. (Ask what it wants from you and what it would need to go away). See if you can give it what it needs.

This attitude is called making friends with the pain. When we do this illness does not become something foreign and frightening. We become better able to understanding what the true causes are.

For example, if we are sad for too long and have not done enough crying, our bodies may begin to cry for us through the illness we are going through. If we feel that life is meaningless, our bodies can start to express this by shriveling up and dying. If we have held onto difficult attitudes, our bodies will bear the burden of them. Persistent negative attitudes become wounds upon our entire selves.

Our attitudes are messages we give our body. Though we may not be aware of it, if we feel life is a dirty battle, we are telling our body to tense up with shame all day long. Once we begin the crucial work of taking responsibility for and changing our attitudes, our entire body can begin to experience on-going ease instead of dis-ease. We must look at the basic attitudes we live with and ask ourselves if they are conducive to our health, or do they contain the very seeds of pain?

In order to heal from within, it is essential to handle these long standing patterns, to see them and change them to attitudes and patterns that are productive of well-being. Health comes with learning to say "yes" to all of our experience, in being willing to experience it just as it is. Wellness emerges out of the balance and harmony of all parts of ourselves.

When we are well, we feel whole, accepting and in harmony with ourselves and the entire world we live in. Like a fresh water stream flowing, this state of being brings continual refreshment and healing day by day.

Cc/Dr. Brenda Shoshanna/2005

Globalstar satellite phone offers reliable service

Although we are most familiar with cellular phones, there is a whole different breed of portable phones some people are not aware even exist. While cell phones rely on towers to transmit voice signals, satellite phones transmit through a variety of satellites in the sky.

Because they rely on satellites, these phones can work even in places where cell phones can’t. This gives them the advantage for people who travel, like to hike or hunt in places not covered by cell phone service, or people who have businesses that take them or their colleagues to remote locations often. These phones give you the peace of mind you can always be reached or reach someone if needed.

GlobalStar began offering its services in late 1999. This main premise behind their company is that nearly 50 percent of the world is without phone service. This accounts both for landline phones and cellular phones. The satellite phone is marketed toward anyone who often visits remote areas either for work or leisure purposes. These phones offer a means to communicate with the rest of the world even if you are miles from nowhere.

Satellite phones are similar to cellular phones and can even be used as cell phones when service is available. Generally, satellite phones are a little larger than the traditional cell phone because they require a larger antenna. This satellite antenna must be within sight of the main satellite in order for the phone to work. This means you can not use the phones indoors when in the satellite mode.

If you are thinking about investing in one of these phones, remember, good things don't come cheap. One of these satellite phones can set you back as much as $2500 for a fixed phone. A fixed phone is one you plan to install somewhere such as a cruise ship, personal boat or temporary office.

If you don't have quite that much to spend on a phone, you can pick up a handheld, portable model for about $700. If you only need a phone for a short period of time, local dealers often have phones available for rent. Check with a dealer in your area for rental charges.

Remember, the price of the phone includes only the phone - airtime packages are extra. These packages include multiple choices for voice services as well as fax and data options.

If you are willing to sign a contract stating you will use their services through June of 2010, you can get a discounted loyalty rate from GlobalStar. If not, you can expect to spend anywhere from $350 and up each year for programming for your phone. Reliability does come at a cost!

If you need a phone more reliable than even a cell phone, you might check out the option of a satellite phone. While these phones do give you the ability to communicate from where ever you may be, they also come with a fairly hefty price tag when compared to other phone services.

You can improve your car s power

I can hear it now from the Prius loving, gas sipping, and bike riding crowds: a more powerful car is environmentally irresponsible. Balderdash! Not that anyone should care what others think of them, but this thought pattern is totally incorrect. Thanks to advances in automotive technology, virtually every performance part on the market will yield greater fuel mileage for your car as well as give you more power. A true win-win result; let’s take a look at four powerful performance enhancing parts for your vehicle.

1. Power chips and programmers. Whether your replace your car’s computer chip or enhance it with a power programmer, in either case you will achieve noticeable gains in horsepower and thrust. By overriding the factory limitations imposed on your vehicle you can get more power for a small amount of money.

2. Reusable air filters. Now this is a part that the tree huggers love: air filters which can be used over and over again. That’s right, no need to clog up our landfills with paper filters once a year. Instead, air filters built for race cars can be put in your car and reused. Your engine breaths better and better breathing engine sucks up less fuel. Guess what? Your fuel economy improves!

3. Cold air intakes. That growl coming from underneath your hood is your engine telling you that it loves its new air intake. Designed to suck up colder, denser air a cold air intake delivers the “fuel” that you engine wants. Again, your engine runs smoother and fuel economy increases. The best part? A cold air intake is an awesome looking addition to your engine bay!

4. Performance exhausts. Yes, your stock exhaust system just doesn’t cut it. For starters, it works against your engine and not with it. Specifically, power flow is inhibited and your engine works harder and sucks up more gas in the process. With the wider pipes found in a performance exhaust system you can get more horsepower, achieve greater torque, and watch your fuel economy rise as your engine and exhaust work in harmony.

What many motorists do not understand is that some stock parts are not the best parts for your car. Manufacturers, in an ongoing bid to save money, will often opt for those parts that cost less to hold car prices down. Unfortunately, your car is the biggest loser as power is restricted and fuel economy drops. With the right parts installed by you the trend can be reversed without significant increases in exhaust pollution; your car will still pass its emissions test and it will runner faster and more efficiently.

Of course, the big question is this: aren’t performance parts expensive? They can be if you do not shop around. Visit the web site of a trusted online wholesaler and compare prices. Do the work yourself and your saving will more than cover the cost of having someone install stock parts for you.

Gourmet foods

Many people claim that they do not like gourmet foods; but this may be the case only because they have not tasted enough varieties. The types of gourmet foods are endless. Not only are there meats, drinks, cheeses, fruits, and deserts, but there are hundreds of kinds of all of these. Gourmet foods are a delicacy and they taste absolutely heavenly.

Whenever anyone thinks of gourmet foods, the first thing that often comes to mind is cheese. If you are in the market for cheese, remember that gourmet cheese is not like American or Cheddar cheese. For example, Agour Ossau-Iraty is a cheese made in Poland from sheep's milk. 34 Degrees Australian marinated feta is produced in Israel and is made from the milk of sheep and goats, with spices added. It is difficult to pick out one cheese with this many types available to try. If it is possible for you to do so, smell the cheese before you buy it. Especially if you are in France, buy what smells good to you.

One of the best tasting and most popular categories of gourmet foods is deserts and sweets. Favorites include cakes, candies, cookies, and chocolate. Varieties of cakes are sponge cakes, cheesecakes, and chocolate, lemon, and raspberry cakes. Gourmet cookies can be plain or decorated, and come in a variety of flavors. Toppings, such as syrup, honey, creams, jellies, jams, and spreads, are another gourmet favorite. While any of these can be made at home or bought at the grocery store, the delightful texture and taste of the gourmet desert versions are to die for.

Another well known gourmet food is exotic tasting coffee and tea. Whether you want loose tea or tea bags, ground coffee or whole beans, hot chocolate or a chilly frappuccino, there is a gourmet drink out there for you. These drinks can give you the extra energy you need to stay awake, warm you up on a winter's day, or be just the right complement to an excellent meal. What better for going with coffee than biscotti? These are good by themselves, or dipped in coffee, tea, cappuccino, milk, or wine. Biscotti come in all sorts of flavors, like hazelnut, chocolate, gingerbread, and many others.

If you like gourmet food and are one of those people who can't live without your meat, there are still lots of options out there. That's right -- there is such a thing as gourmet meat. You can get Angus beef strip steaks, caviar, escargot, hot salami, free-range turkey, pheasant, Danish brown sugar slab bacon, and many more.

Gourmet food is great no matter what the occasion. The holiday season is an excellent time to try new gourmet foods, or even give them as a gift. They can be purchased in a gourmet food store, through a catalogue, or even online. Once you have tried gourmet food, the taste will have you hooked.

Aggressive inline skating xtreme fun

Aggressive inline skating, or commonly referred to as Rollerblading, is an extreme sport that has emerged into the mainstream over the last ten to fifteen years. These skaters usually perform many different kinds of tricks on a variety of courses. The skates used by aggressive inline skaters are usually smaller and softer than other inline skates. This allows the skaters to accelerate or decelerate faster, and also have more control over the skates when performing tricks. However these skates have a slower top speed, and are also usually less durable than normal inline skates, so these skaters have to replace their wheels more often than other skaters.

The courses used by aggressive inline skaters are commonly referred to as Vert, Street, and Park. Vert is when the skaters “drop-in” to a half pipe so that they can gain speed and do tricks when they shoot up and out of the half pipe. Vert skaters usually perform the most amazing and dangerous tricks because they routinely fly more than ten feet or more above the half pipe. Street skating is when skaters use the natural terrain on the streets to perform their tricks. Some of the obstacles used to perform tricks on are handrails, curbs, ditches, and ledges. Street skating is illegal in some areas, but many skaters do not always conform to the laws and skate there anyway. Park skating is basically a combination of Vert and Street. A Park course is usually constructed to have some of the attributes of what skaters can find on the street, but also have small half pipes and boxes that allow skaters to perform some of the higher flying tricks that are harder to perform on the street.

With the increased success of the X games and extreme sports in general, aggressive inline skating has really thrust itself into the mainstream. More and more kids are starting to play extreme sports which means that this sport will just continue to grow. The professionals of the sport continue to strive to out-do one another so the sky is the limit to where tricks will go in the near future.

My bout with archery

I have this crazy job where I get to haul off and try new things every so often and then write a review about it for people to read. It's a job that I didn't know existed and therefore that I never planned to pursue. It sort of just fell into my lap one day and it has been the perfect job for me ever since. I love it. My days are filled with new things, sometimes safe and sometimes risky. Quite often I pick up great new hobbies that I'll have for a lifetime and other times I try something once that I'll never touch again. I recently had an interesting bout with archery.

I'll admit that I didn't know much about archery until I was assigned to a day at an archery field receiving lessons. I wasn't all that excited about my task simply because there was nothing that sounded appealing about shooting arrows at a target a distance away from me. I couldn't figure out why people would invest time, talent and money into such an activity, or a sport as many called it.

I arrived at the archery field full of skepticism and a desire to have the day finished. I was convinced that this would be one of the days that my job was my enemy and when I couldn't wait to get back home. I was wrong. From the moment I met the directors of the archery field to the moment I returned to my car four hours later, I enjoyed myself. I learned a lot about archery and I realized that it truly was a sport that I could enjoy and that was worth some time and energy.

Archery takes a lot more concentration and hard work than I first imagined it would. I ignorantly thought that I'd be able to walk onto the archery field and shoot my arrows directly into the center of the target. I wondered why anyone couldn't accomplish this task. I was rudely awakened to how hard archery really is. I quickly gained appreciation for all people who have taken the time to perfect their archery skills.

Since this first experience with archery I'll admit that I have been back to the course multiple times. I have gathered there with many groups of friends and enjoyed afternoons full of laughter and stubborn trying to get it right. If you are looking for a great new hobby and a way to work on your concentration and even strength, then archery is for you.

Kia amanti worth every cent

A carryover from 2004, the most recent Kia Amanti is a family sedan made available in one trim level which is the Base. It can take up a maximum capacity of five passengers along with an easier entry and exit with its four doors. It can up 17 mpg during city driving and a 25 mpg while on the highway.

Although the Kia Amanti bears quite a resemblance to a Mercedes, it is quite different overall. This vehicle invokes luxury from its overall appearance. The interior has seat adjustment buttons mounted on its doors so as to help facilitate a Mercedes illusion. This vehicle is the most expensive among Kia’s model line up, however this vehicle is worth every cent for it provides an enormous interior, excellent performance with its quiet yet strong V6 engine, and its comfortable and quiet ride due to the Kia Amanti’s good sound isolation techniques. Something that the Kia Amanti is proud of is its seemingly endless allocation for space.

When Kia has designed the Kia Amanti, the automobile manufacturer has certainly made sure that the safety of the driver and the vehicle’s passengers would not looked over and missed out on. And for sure, even the previous generations of this vehicle holds safety intact. The Kia Amanti offers more standard airbags than any other car in its class. It also holds airbags that provides the utmost protection during inevitable accidents along with the vehicle’s front active headrests. Each and every Kia Amanti has front and rear crumple zones, side-impact door beams and also has reinforced pillars. Even if it has children for passengers, the little ones are carefully protected by the vehicle’s rear child safety door locks, the internal emergency trunk release, and the specially designed anchorage system that excels in providing an extra secure hold on the child safety seats.

The Kia Amanti owns up to an excellent performance which is all due to its 3.5 liter DOHC V6 engine. This family sedan has a wheelbase of 110.2 inches, a length of 196 inches, a total width of 72.8 inches, and an overall height of 58.5 inches. The Kia Amanti has features and additional options like a multi-port fuel injection, electronic power steering, a double wishbone front suspension, gas shock absorbers, alloy wheels, clear-lens halogen headlights, side markup lamp, in-glass antenna, dual body color power heated mirrors, a windshield de-icer, a solar glass windshield, one-touch auto up/down power windows, power door locks, a remote keyless entry system along with an alarm with panic button, an AM/FM/cassette/CD audio system, four door mounted tweeter speakers and dual front airbags.

Auto Parts Online provides Kia Amanti and Kia vehicles owners a complete line of the highest quality Kia car parts, performance parts, like Kia Amanti parts. These Kia auto parts are highly dependable and proven to satisfy manufacturer’s standards.

How to train your dog

Dog is man’s best friend. I truly believe that. I love my dog. A well - trained dog can be a great companion for anyone from small children to adults. Specially trained dogs can do some amazing things. Dogs are even trained to do almost human tasks like calling 911 when there is an emergency.

In this article I am going to tell you a few things about training your dog that will make him or her even more valuable to everyone in your family. I would like to share some things that I have learned with you about training your dog.

There are some important basics you need to learn to successfully train your dog before we start. Obedience commands are important for laying a foundation in communicating between you and your dog, it creates a common language that you and your dog understand.

To Many new dog owners never really establish this kind of communication, and end up struggling with a disobedient dog as a result. There are many styles of training for your dog, but I want to stick to the basics and not get things to complicated for you.

The training I want to tell you about is the leash and collar technique, it's widely used and is very effective if done correctly. The leash and collar can be used in varying degrees of force from mild to harsh, but not cruel, and should never be used to nag your dog with ineffective correction.

Generally the leash is used as the main form of control to help you teach your dog each new behavior. Once it displays that it knows a command the leash will be used to correct the dogs behavior.

I always use basic commands when I have train my dogs and it has worked well for me. If you don't know any basic commands here are just a few easy ones that most dog owners know;

Heel - (to walk on a loose leash)

Sit

Stay

Down

Fetch

Release – (To release an object from its mouth)

One thing you need to know is, the leash and collar is just one of the many tools to help you train your dog. Leash training can never replace leader/follower relationship between the owner and the dog. Leash training will increase the bond between you and your dog, but can never replace trust that can only come from you and how you treat your dog.

Positive reinforcement training can also help you train your dog to learn these basic commands. Encouraging them with petting and positive, cheerful words much like you do with a baby who catches a ball. You can even applaud. Giving your dog treats is also effective when training your dog to performs certain tasks.

There are, as I said before, many ways to train your dog. I hope this article will encourage you to do a little more research on the topic so you can train your dog to be the best he or she can be.

Repairing flat tires on a scooter

The tires and the spokes of the scooter will require daily inspection to ensure you have no problems, and that your ride will be a safe one. If you are faced with broken spokes, you should repair them right away to prevent additional breakage. If you have a flat tire, you will also need to have someone change it, plug it or repair it so you can continue riding the scooter. Riding the scooter with a flat tire is going to bend and chip the rims, the wheels, and will not provide you with the smooth ride you are accustomed.

For flat tires, there is a canister type of solution you can purchase which is known as fix a flat, which will fix flat tires, plugging holes in the rubber tire. The Fix a flat is a canister that will plug right into the tire, inflating the tire as it plugs the hole at the same time. The Fix a flat is going to work on the tires that are rubber, the same as your car. This type of repair is not going to work on the tire with a tube or the tire that has a major cut in it. Repairs to the tire that has a large gash will require replacement of the tire. Most all medical supply houses, and scooter retail outlets do make replacement tires easy to purchase.

Regular reviewing and maintenance of your tires will be required. If you are not using your scooter for long periods, you should at least have someone move the tires around, so they are not sitting on one portion of the tire for weeks on end. Dry rot is a problem for tires not used often. A scooter not used for three months at a time can easily have dry rot on the tire. Dry rot can be spotted by the cracks in the tires, which can easily then lead to air leaks.

To prevent the need to fix flat tires, to fix broken spokes, and to prevent dry rot on any scooter tire, you should consider the purchase of tires, which are solid. Solid tires are available with or without tread. Solid tires never require air. If you have tires that do require air, you can pump up the tires with a bike pump or with an air compressor.

It was a very good day - spirituality information

The day before yesterday was a good day, a really good day. Everything worked well. The weather was fair, the computers worked fine and orders for the "PowerPause" (my latest creation) came in at a much higher rate than usual. My world seemed peaceful and I was filled with exhilaration. It was a good day.

Yes, the day before yesterday was the type of day I always like to see. There are many such days. Sunny, warm days, whether because of the weather or because of the warmth in our hearts are always pleasant.

But yesterday was totally different. It was not a good day. It started with my computer giving me all kinds of error messages. I switched to the backup computer only to have it crash the moment I touched the keyboard. I turned on the laptop and the screen remained blank. I couldn't get through to anybody on the phone. By late afternoon, I leaned back in my chair and sighed. Yes, yesterday was not a very good day.

Today is better than yesterday, but not quite as good as the day before. At least, not yet, anyway. You see, it's still morning. I've got a while to go before this day is done.

Why am I telling you about good days and bad days? Because in life, there will be good days and there will be not-so-good days. No need to rant and rave at the not-so-good days. They will pass. So will the good days also. They both will pass. Nothing stays the same.

All things change. The seasons of the year as well as the seasons of our lives keep changing. It is the law of the universe. So enjoy good days while they last. And the not-so - good days? Tolerate them. They will not last, either.

An old Chinese proverb says, "You cannot prevent the birds from flying over your head but you certainly can prevent them from making nests in your hair." Don't let a bad day keep you from looking forward to good ones.

Live life one day at a time. The Universe will sustain you. You do your part and the Universal Forces will always do theirs. You are as valid and as valuable as anyone else in the world. Keep on keeping on. To modify the words of U. S. president, John F. Kennedy, "Ask not what this day will bring to you. Rather, ask what you will bring to this day."

May your day be filled with all good things.

Keep back pain at bay

Introduction

Back pain is the most common complaint among adults under 45. Back pain brings their activities to a complete halt and intervenes in the progress of their career. Researchers say that it is really a challenge to a physician to find out the true cause of back pain.

Here is a quick take on the anatomy of the human back. Our body depends on the spinal column for structural stability and mobility. We twist, bend and flex with the help of spinal column. The spinal column is made up of 24 vertebrae, 7 in the neck (the cervical vertebrae), 12 in the thorax (the thoracic vertebrae), and 5 in the lower back (the lumbar vertebrae). The sacrum, located just below the lumbar vertebrae, consists of 5 fused vertebrae. The tailbone, or coccyx, with its 3 to 5 fused vertebrae, lies just beneath the sacrum. These vertebrae are placed one on another from skull to pelvis. Spongy discs are present in between vertebrae. The spinal column is tightly wrapped by muscles and ligaments.

The spinal cord is enclosed within vertebral canal which is formed by alignment of vertebrae.

Acharya sushruta describes anatomy of spinal column as follows.

Prushte trimshat - The number of back bones are 30 (Cervical-7 , Thoracic – 12, Lumbar - 5, vertebrae fused in sacrum -5 , coccyx -1 ). While describing the joints in spinal column it has been said as “ Chaturvimshatihi prishta vamshe “. This means there are 24 joints in spinal column.

Maamsaanyatra nibaddhani siraabhihi snaayubhistatha. |

Asthinyaalambanam kritwaa ||

The ligaments and tendons hold the bones and muscles together.

Causes for back ache

Bones and thighs are mainly occupied by Vata . Vata controls and directs the body movements. Back pain occurs when vata in this region gets aggravated due to unwise physical activities (mithya yoga of karma), exaggerated physical activities (Ati yoga of karma ) or less physical activities (hina yoga of karma).

1. Back ache usually arises from spasm of muscles that support our spine. The muscles supporting spine go into spasm when we lift things unwisely, bending over too sharply, sitting in a unsuitable chair, etc.

These type of movements are called as “Mithyaa yoga of karma or action ” in ayurveda.

2. Back pain can be triggered when we sneeze, climb into a car, or bend down to pick up the newspaper.

3. Osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, viral infection, bladder or kidney infection, gynecological problems in women, tumors and trauma may also cause back pain.

4. Lack of motion or hina yoga of karma and bad posture may affect us when we sit or stand for long periods of time. On the other hand repetitive motion or Ati yoga of karma like too much of bending, lifting or twisting also affects our back.

5. Other potential causes for back ache are:

• Overweight

• Wearing high heeled shoes

• Carrying heavy weight

The vitiated vata causes stiffness of joints, pain and limits the movements of back.

Solutions for back pain

1. Stay calm.

2. A complete bed rest for 24 - 48 hrs relieves back pain in most of the instances. Walk a little every few hours to keep the blood flowing and the muscles toned.

3. Applying vata balancing oil like ksheerabala oil on affected region and Naadi sweda (mild steam bath on affected area ) of affected region relives the pain quickly.

See your doctor immediately if you have any of the following symptoms:

1. If you are above 50 and sudden onset of severe pain or pain localized to spine .

2. Pain due to recent fall or trauma.

3. Pain in hip and leg.

4. Back pain unrelated to posture.

5. Bowel or bladder control problems.

6. Numbness in the groin or rectal area.

7. Extreme weakness in legs.

8. Unsteadiness while walking

9. Fever or weight loss accompanying the pain.

10. Pain that does not lessen over time even after rest

Prevention of back pain

1. Keep the muscles well conditioned by improving sitting, standing, stretching postures. Well-conditioned muscles are less susceptible to injury.

2. Never bend at the waist or stoop to pick up an object. Instead, lower the body to the level of the object by bending the knees. Grasp the item, hold it close to the body, and raise yourself with your legs while keeping your back straight.

3. Do not lift very heavy objects.

4. Whenever possible, prop yourself up.

5. Lean against a wall or pillar while waiting for a bus or standing in line at the bank.

6. Keep footstools around the house. Alternatively prop up one leg on stool while doing standing chores.

7. Sleep on a firm mattress and find a comfortable position.

8. Wear low-heeled shoes.

9. Standing straight will do wonders for your back.

10. Sit on a comfortable chair that supports the curve of lower back.

11. While sitting for long hours rest feet on a low stool so that knees are above hips.

12. Do not sit or stand in one position for a very long time. Get up periodically and walk for a while.

13. Avoid activities which hurt back.

14. Do not sit in same position for long hours. It may prove hazardous to back. Take break in between and move around.

15. Avoid becoming overweight. Overweight increases the risk of back pain.

Tips for software professionals to avoid back pain:

1. Select a correct chair, with a relatively straight back and good lower back support. If the chair doesn't offer lower back support, keep a rolled up towel or cushion to support the back.

2. Correctly position the chair, keyboard, and monitor. Feet should be on the floor, with knees at hip level; forearms should form a right angle with upper arms; and the computer terminal should be at eye level.

3. Adopt a relaxed, upright working posture and allow the chair to support.

4. Avoid slouching forward or leaning back too far.

5. When you are at work stand up, walk around, stretch forward, backward, and side to side once in 30 minutes.

6. Increased stress and strain enhances the chances of back pain. Hence remember to relax! Yoga and meditation are best techniques to relax

7. Eat healthy food which is rich in fiber. Avoid sweets, oil, soft drinks and overeating to reduce the chances of weight gain.

8. Sex should be avoided during acute stage of back pain as it exaggerates the condition.

Ayurvedic Home remedy for backache

Remedy

Ingredients

• Nirgundi leaves (hindi - samhaalu) (Bot - Vitex negundo) (Eng - Five leaved chaste)

• Karanja leaves ( hindi - Ditauri) (Bot - Pongamia pinnata) (Eng - Indian beech)

Collect fresh leaves of Nirgundi and Karanja. Tie them in a thin cotton cloth to form a big ball . Boil this leaves' ball in water and when it is tolerably hot apply this on affected part. When the leaves become cold reheat them by putting the leaves' ball in boiling water. After half an hour take out the leaves from ball , grind them to a paste and bind it on affected area.

This article is copy righted. The author Dr. SavithaSuri is an Ayurvedic Physician and web master of ayurhelp. com