Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Video on Mary Magdalene

This video has more information on Mary Magdalene, great video on advanced spiritual thinking.

If you're really seeking the kingdom of heaven, the glory of God and the true vision that Jesus had, check out some great Christian articles . These articles are designed to teach and educate Christians.

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Thriving During Tough Times

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

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

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

The number three has special meaning in this world.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Helpful Habit Planning Tips

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Why do Muslims and Islam Honor Jesus and Mary

Many do not know that Muslims honor Jesus and Mary as part of their religious beliefs. The following highlights some of the facts regarding Muslims beliefs about Jesus and Mary.

* Muslims believe in Jesus as a prophet. They believe that God (Allah) sent many prophets to mankind and Jesus was one of them

* As the Muslim religions foundation is to believe in one God and not to associate anyone with God and His powers and attributes, Jesus was only a human being that was raised by God and will return him to this earth in this life. Jesus will then die as a regular human being.

* Muslims believe that Bible was revealed on Prophet Jesus. However, with time, as that book was changed, God (Allah) revealed His last book, the Quran on the last prophet, Prophet Muhammad.

* Quran was revealed over a period of 23 years

* Muslims believe in Mary as the Virgin mother of Prophet Jesus

* There is an entire chapter in the Quran that explains in detail the birth of Jesus, his family, etc. The chapter is called Chapter of Mary

* Muslims believe that Jesus although was put on the cross was never crucified. Instead, he was raised to the heavens by God (Allah) and another person instead was crucified in his place. These teachings and the fully story are narrated in the Quran.

* Muslims also believe that Jesus will come back to earth, unit the Christians and the Muslims and will kill the anti-Christ.

* The Quran teaches Muslims that Jesus though was a normal human being but had special powers from God (Allah) including raising the dead and curing diseases.

Waseem works for HilalPlaza.com, an Islamic and Middle Eastern Portal Website.

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Time Management in the Workplace - Slow Down and Still Get More Done

Do you know what an overworked machine looks like? It functions at its optimum level right before it finally breaks down.

Does this seem like you?

Has your life turned into one big race to beat the clock? Does it feel like no matter what you do, you can never seem to catch up? Has this pressure to catch up caused you to go into overdrive - working faster and harder - fearing that one day you too might just break down?

Being on overdrive leads us to belief that we are being more productive. However, the reality is, it can be the quite opposite. When you are on overdrive, you are in a "do, do, do!" mode, without being able to slow down and step back.

As a Result, Time Management in the Workplace Suffers.

Instead, step back and slow down. Doing this can be very beneficial to your overall productivity in the workplace. Slowing down allows you to plan so you can do more with less effort and time. It also allows you to think more clearly and strategize better as you are less stressed and have more energy.

So, if you seem to be caught running on all cylinders, yet can't seem to get anything accomplished, it's time to step on the brakes and slow down.

Listed below are useful strategies for time management in the workplace, which you can use to ease yourself out of overdrive, yet still be as productive as you want to be.

Time Management Strategy #1 - Learn to delegate tasks. Whenever possible, delegate less important errands, especially repetitive tasks that can be done by a lower level staff member or assistant. Assigning minor tasks to others gives you extra time to take care of the more important projects and assignments, especially those that are critical for decision making and those that impact the bottom line.

Delegation not only saves you time, but money as well. The less time you waste on petty errands, the more time and money you can save by focusing on the bigger goals. Of course, there will always be tasks that require your attention and personal touch, so focus on those tasks yourself.

Time Management Strategy #2 - Brainstorm. Hold meetings with your staff to brainstorm better time management in the workplace techniques. They may have fantastic ideas that they have not voiced because they were never given the opportunity. Their specific skills and experience puts them in a good position to make thoughtful recommendations on use of time, ease of work, and improving job efficiency. This will encourage your staff to work together as a group to become a more effective, time efficient unit.

Remember, heed smart ideas and give credit where it is due. Otherwise employees will be unwilling to share their ideas in the future.

Time Management Strategy #3 - Go for a Walk. Slowing down means clearing your mind from the cluttering effects of your office. The best way to do this is go outside, walk around, and get some fresh air. This may sound like a waste of time, but it is very effective in de-stressing which plays a big part in easing you out of overdrive.

Also, talking a nice relaxing walk helps you remove all the ancillary worries from your mind that can get in the way of important obligations you have to focus on. By eliminating these distractions, your mind can be freed to better focus on these obligations, be more creative, and hence, be more productive.

In the workplace, it is easy to find ourselves falling into a fast track routine. However, the fast track might not be the right track. Meaning, it might not be the best pace for you to do the things you need to get done. Instead of the fast track, focus on the smart track.

The smart track is to slow down, relax, and plan ahead on ways you can save time. Doing so will allow you to do more without burning out like our overworked machine we mentioned in the first paragraph.

To learn more time management in the workplace strategies and how to achieve a work life balance, visit http://www.selfmadeeasy.com, a self help and personal development company.

30 Days To Creating Super Habits

Monday, July 13, 2009

The Bible's Power - Christian Beliefs

I mentioned Sean in another one of my articles, the story of a young foster boy that we were taking care of. Sean's father was my ex-wife's uncle, and they were going through some tough times for a while and their three children ended up as wards of the state. We eventually ended up taking the oldest child because he was the hardest one to place and another home. His brother and sister ended up with a family that wanted to adopt them and eventually Sean went to live with them and I believe all three of them were adopted by this family. I don't know this for a fact though.

Sean was a emotionally damaged child. His parents would punish him with some strange and bizarre punishments. They weren't really physical punishments but seemed to leave the emotional scars on him and I often think about where he is and what he is doing.

We watched him for about a year and I learned quite a bit from this young man. He was in the third grade but was still at the first grade level for reading and math. I would spend a couple of hours each night during the week helping him with his schoolwork, I seem to have created some sort of allusion that I would be able to bring him up to the third grade level within a short period of time. Wrong. He must've had learning disabilities and of course I don't think I was that good teacher.

Sean was easy going, polite and extremely obedient. He would do anything to avoid getting in trouble and often blamed others for his mistakes. His punishments must have been more than he could bear before he arrived at our home. I think you're getting the picture about what kind of a child Sean was.

One day I found myself in a dilemma with Sean, I couldn't get him to tell me the truth, even though I knew he was lying. I forget what the problem was but I remember a hollow look in his face. It was almost like he wasn't really there. It was almost like he was just doing time, sitting on the bed, listening to me asking the same question over and over again, "Sean are you lying", but he wasn't even paying attention.

I normally would not punish my children for accidents, and never tolerated lying. I was trying to explain to him that he wasn't going to get in trouble, I just wanted to know the truth. He wasn't budging at all and stuck to his story. I remembered that his mother and father were Catholics and feared the church, almost as much as they loved it.

That's what I came up with my evil plan. I don't know where I come up with these ideas, but every once in a while one pops up in my head and I run with it.

I told Sean that I was going to bring the Holy Bible in, and if he could swear on the Bible that he was telling the truth, I would accept that and this would be the end of our conversation. I couldn't believe my eyes, as he started crying and screaming, frantically and excitedly as a yelled out, I did it, I did it, don't bring the Bible in, I won't do it again.

I couldn't believe that was all it took to get information from him. I have always been a pretty good interrogator and found myself gathering information from those people easily, but this was amazing. His fear of the Holy Bible got me thinking about how powerful this book actually is to some people. I remember when I looked upon this book, pretty much the same as Sean did.

It's just a book, like any other book. It's not made at a holy factory or a secret monastery in the Swiss Alps somewhere, it's made from paper and ink and can be damaged and destroyed like other books. I would be surprised if I threw the Bible into the fire, that it wouldn't burn. I would be even more surprised, if I seen three men standing in the fire, wait a minute that's another story in the Bible.

Is it possible for this book to actually control the lives of people. It seemed to control Sean, I wonder if I, could have actually been driving a nail home that his parents started. Could I have added to his belief, that the Bible is a book from God the creator of everything.

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

Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion. Simple Words Create Powerful Beliefs

Finding Something You Don

What Does God Say? What Are Dreams?

Sleep accomplishes much more than resting the physical body. The spirit within us never sleeps - we are sparks off the Divine Flame, does God ever sleep? No, and neither do the Angels. Our spirit inhabits our bodies like electrical wiring in a house. And while we sleep, no lights may be turned on, but that does not mean the current isn't active. Dreams are often remembrances of the rich and wonderful spiritual life that we accomplish while our physical body sleeps. There are seven main categories that dreams fall into, and most of them achieve fantastic work.

(1). Night School: Called a school because there are many participants with you in a classroom setting, this is a time of being taught a lesson and then trying it out for yourself. These are often choices not between right and wrong, but about good and greater good. After the teacher shows the variables of the lesson, the student is then placed into a scenario in which they can apply what they have learned and see for themselves what works. Similar to a test pilot using new skills in a simulator. Although very few people remember the classroom part of their dreams, many people do remember the scenarios.

(2). Guidance for others: This is where we get to actively use what we have learned at night school in real life situations. This is where most of our remembered dreams come from. When our body sleeps, our spirit is not in it, but is tethered by what is often termed an umbilical or silver cord. It is there until we die, and is the same one seen by near-death experiencers. During this time, we get to act as guides for others who are awake. Not all guides are still attached to physical bodies, some have died and are assigned specific people to help, similar to a guardian Angel. Compassion is a very big incentive in bringing out our best effort; so often God will choose for us to see our loved ones in these situations instead of the people that are really there.

For example: I had a dream where my teenage daughter had become pregnant and had run away from home. She was seen living under a bridge with other homeless people, so I got in our station wagon with our family dog and her grandpa and a friend, and went to bring her home. When I opened the car door, the dog ran up and found my daughter. She was afraid, but I carefully pulled her hair out of her eyes and she looked up and smiled, and said yes to coming home. I then awoke with a start, not knowing if this was a prophetic dream of things to come or not, so I asked in prayer, and was given the answer. I was actually helping find a black girl who was a pregnant runaway, a family abuse situation. The station wagon was a police car; the dog was a police dog. Yes the girl was afraid, and I was helping a social worker to calm her down, wiping the hair from her eyes, saying comforting words, and giving the worker inside information as to what was going on in the girl's life and additional compassion to help her choose the best way to help. The girl gained confidence that she would not be sent back to her abusive family and went with the social worker. Often in these dreams we feel like we are really there because we are.

Remember that while in spirit you will experience everything as a spirit does. You can fly, go through things, objects and light looks different, you can't see distance the same, you can't stare at your feet, time is not important, you can see other spirits, ghosts, Angels, unHoly Angels, etc. These dreams may find us in different countries, or even in different times, as God decides where to utilize us and time does not move just in a linear fashion; by ripple effect this changes the future or present time. In these dreams we may also help with storms or wildfires, or any number of things with the planet or its animals. And even though we feel is it happening to us, we are there helping others. If you remember to look in a mirror while in these dreams, you will see it is not you. Also, not all outcomes will be good, people will still die, or end up in poor situations. This is because you are not there in place of the free will of the person you are helping, but only to assist them with a subconscious awareness of opportunities and choices.

The combined experiences of real life and night school qualify us to be there to help, and you were sent by Divine direction to do this. This also means that you have your guardian Angel with you, and are directly wired to greater help which will be there instantly if the thought crosses your mind that you need it. This means Holy Angels are called to help you and the situation.

(3). Items from the stream of consciousness: Living on earth encases us in a vibratory soup of subatomic particles - we are intrinsically linked together, every part of us resonating with everything else. But the connection goes even further than that; we emotionally feel subtle and tremendous inflections in our very soul. It is that same place that mystics have been saying throughout time, that "we are all One." It is that same connection that we have with one another at all times, it makes no difference whether we are asleep or awake. When we are just about to sleep, or just coming out of it, there are opportunities to be very conscious of this stream, and to literally see it in front of our eyes; sometimes like sheets of rain in a storm, or big and little dots layered together. It is like a newsreel that runs day and night, with all information from all over the world on thousands of TV sets. All with their volume up and playing out the most dramatic and emotional scenes - which means the biggest bad things, and the best good things.

Why do we have this in us? The same reason we are called to help in guiding dreams - to make a difference in the world. The stream of consciousness is a place of awareness for us, and connection to God and one another. It is not technically a dream, but we may think it is when we are half-way in between awake and asleep; we see many situations and very quickly move between them. Remember that when we see things that are not the way they should be our desire to make it better helps it to do just that. There are children born who work in this picture-within-a-picture all the time, and depending on how big the picture of the stream is, decides how much they can function in the "real" world versus the one they are actively participating each moment. What we consider day-dreams can come from here too

(4). Visits from the other side: You would probably feel scared if your dead great-great grandmother appeared in front of you right now; and because of the fear, the bigger picture for the visit may not get through. This is the reason why Angels and spirits (different than ghosts who have not yet gone to God) do not appear very often, since they do not want to make us afraid. When we are asleep is the best time to say "Hi!" and tell us what we need to know, or even to have full conversations. This is also why most visitations occur shortly after a loved one's death, because they want to let you know they are OK, so you can be comforted that they are not really gone. Visits can also occur from the other side in negative ways, with visits of beings that want to scare us, make us feel helpless or hopeless or make us think that if we don't do certain things that bad will befall us. These will sometimes even appear like a loved one or a Holy Angel or even God. But these are fallen Angels, also called unHoly Angels or demons. When God made Angels he made them with free will, and some unplugged from his Love. How can you tell the difference? There are things that you can do.

Before you go to sleep at night, include in your prayers that no unHoly Angels may come near you, talk to you or cause any harm. Also, if you forget, simply remind yourself in your dream to ask one question of them, and no matter what they appear to be, the truth will be known. No matter what religion you are, ask "Do you love Jesus Christ now?" It is important to add "now" because at one time they all did, as part of one big Angelic brotherhood. The one who came to be known on earth as Jesus Christ had a pre-human existence, and was the firstborn son of God. All the Angels know who he is, what responsibilities he was given, how they were fulfilled, and the expanded power and authority he has now. If they are truly who they appear to be, they will answer "yes," if not, they will give all kinds of excuses, or curse, or try to scare you, and all you have to do is call in the Holy Angels who will protect you.

(5). Prophetic Dreams or Messages from God: These can be prophetic dreams telling of something coming up that we need to be aware of or make certain choices in (there is no such thing as fate). Or they can be outright messages to us from an Angel, from Jesus or an appearance of God himself. These are usually very BIG feeling dreams, and are rarely seen as anything else than what they are by the dreamer. A person may have none or several in a lifetime, but they are always considered life-changing and very real. They are easy to remember even years after they occur. They also happen to people who may not consider themselves very spiritual or religious, or to people who think they never dream. But when they happen they know it, and recognize that it is different than anything else they have ever experienced.

(6). Memories from previous lives: These can happen in two different ways. We are born with a veil in place that does many different things; one thing is a cover over our previous lives so that we can concentrate on the one at hand and not fret about what we should have done in a past one. When God lifts the veil, it is to reveal times of encouragement for us of our successes even in the midst of great difficulty. But if we have gone to someone for "past life regression," we have opened a big can of worms and can have all sorts of things come up that are distressing and distracting. Openings in the veil are most clear during sleep, and the memories are seen as dreams. These can occur as day-dreams as well.

(7). Scattered downloads and sorting from the day and memories from this life: This category is where you will find written all the self-help books about deciphering dreams. And though this is where most of people's energies seem to go, it is actually the least important category of all. The purpose of these dreams is simply to help sort, shuffle and organize the mind's input and connection. It may be a mixture of all kinds of things - TV, worries, stories, etc. Although these dreams are a linking between mind and spirit, there is little here worth remembering or applying to our conscious lives, and are really just remnants we may or may not remember viewing; mostly jumbled scenes which make very little sense.

So there are basically seven kinds of dreams that we have, and most are remembrances of the rich and wonderful spiritual life that we accomplish while our physical body sleeps. And we can also experience whatever is Divinely in place for us for the night, or we may also ask for a specific kind of dream. For example, we may request to have a "fluffy" dream that is light, joyful to help us shift more easily from the often stressful "guidance" dreams, so that would be the last thing on our minds before awakening. Never feel that you are not doing enough in your life, the bigger plan is already in place; God can utilize us even while we rest. Dreaming is hard work but wonderful, so never feel guilty that you need your sleep!

About the Author: Tiffany Snow carries the 5 marks of the Holy stigmata, and is a documented miracle healer, award-winning author, NDEr and public speaker. Her latest book: "God's Workbook - Shifting into the Light" is available on Amazon.com. Distant healing, deliverances, classes, live teleconferences and more articles are offered through the websites. This article may be reprinted and shared in any form without permission: please list websites - http://www.TiffanySnow.com, 800-535-5474 God's L.A.W. Love Always Wins!

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