Day 39: A message to copy and forward

PEOPLE COME INTO YOUR LIFE FOR A REASON

I am sending this to you to see how many actually read their e-mail. Your response will be interesting. Pay attention to what you read. After you have finished reading it, you will know the reason it was sent to you. Here goes:
People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent has been answered and now it's time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime. Send this to every friend that you have on-line, including the person who sent it to you.

0 Replies - you may need to work on your "people skills"
2 Replies - you are nice but probably need to bemore outgoing
4 Replies - you have picked your friends well
6 Replies - you are downright popular
8 Replies or More - you are totally awesome (and that's probably why you're on MY list)

I wonder what mine will be. ? ? ? ?

?

Day 38: Tractor Outlines and Big Inboxes

More tractor outlines today. I am trying to condense them to about half the size. As usual, I'm juggling a bunch of different things and must go back to my place now as tomorrow my friends return. It has been super peaceful here so writing and working on the computer has been smooth and easy. Not that it is not quiet where I live, it is just totally, library-quiet here. The sort of you-can-hear-a-pin-drop quiet that writers dream of. And the work continues always, pins dropping or not.

It is wonderful to have made new friends and contacts recently through this blog and I'm really grateful for the feedback that comes in. I have had several mentions on others' blogs and it is good to discover there is a community of bloggers, just as with writers and hypnotherapists. However, my reading plan has been put on the backburner for a while and yet I'm determined to meet my goal of a chapter a day, even if I have to read nine in one sitting later (which I will have to do! Or even ten).

I have another teleconference on Tuesday and choir on Monday so I need to do some preparing for those, too. Still, I've never been further away from bored in my life, that's the silver lining! And I haven't even checked my Orkut site messages. If anyone would like to have a website presence with a link to many millions of people, let me know and I can send you an invitation to Orkut. Although 80% or so of Brazilians have it, few in my country do; yet it's a fantastic way to make and stay in touch with friends with many thousands of professional and personal community groups within it. Needless to add, it's a valuable networking tool.

Day 37: More articles, more networking

Today, I have been so busy I almost forgot to blog! I have written and reviewed more articles and networked a lot, so that's progress; there just never seem to be enough hours in the day. I need a secretary! Actually, a team of secretaries would be better. The internet is great but it opens up so many possibilities and all of them take time; still, I make sure I enjoy all that I do and thus it may be a case of burning the candle at both ends, but it's all good too.

I have the lifelong habit of wanting to achieve many things and at the moment am simultaneously trying to deal with two books and a screenplay, although the screenplay has languished on the backburner somewhat lately. I used to think this a problem; that as a writer I should just stick to writing one book, but now I think it's great - that I'll suddenly have a bunch of books published at the same time - or I'll die of exhaustion trying!

Today, I wrote several pieces about hypnosis, as I am a master hypnotist. Self-hypnosis is an underused skill yet one that all can benefit from mastering. One of the easiest ways to hypnotise yourself is to simply pay attention to something you hear, something you see and then something you feel and to keep doing that with different things, linking in your awareness to relaxation. You could say to yourself (internally) "As I listen to the sound of the computer and see the light of the screen, I feel the contact of my hand on the keyboard and all this makes me feel deeply relaxed and calm. Any sounds further away and the things I see in the background all contribute to me breathing a deep breath and just letting go of all concerns in order to relax!"

When you are deeply relaxed you can find answers to concerns, refresh yourself and renew you energy. These were some of the techniques I used to anesthetise myself with when I had 24 teeth worked on extensively at the dentist recently. I had to continually reassure the dentist - who had never had a patient refuse anesthesia before - that I was perfectly okay! Let me know how you get on and know that trance is simply an inward focus of attention and thus something we can all attain. If you can daydream, you can do this too! Happy hypnotising!

Day 36: A Poem for My Mum

My telecourse went very well. Today, I think a poem break is called for. I wrote this last year when I went on holiday with my mum - her friend was unable to go with her due to a health scare, but the holiday was booked, so I stepped in at the last minute. It was a great time and I feel blessed to have shared the weeks with my mother, whom I dearly love.

Look at the stars tonight

Welcomed by warm smiles
we arrive in the heat of Crete
and swim in the warmth
of the clear blue sea
rippled by a gentle breeze.

Goats with bells on their necks
graze on the hillside
and we enjoy pointing them out
over breakfast on our balcony
surrounded by green hills.

Eagles soar in the sky too
and we are nourished by the view
even before we get to the sea.

When there, we dip and read
dip and read, as lazily as waves.

We eat at a different restaurant nightly
- I try local goat; mum tries white bream.
Always they bring us something 'on the house'.
A slowness in bringing you the bill
is counterbalanced by real kindness.

Before we sleep, the plate of night
offers us a sumptuous display of light
- a low moon on the hill; stars in multitudes.

Day 35: Teleconference + More Writing

Tonight I have a telephone conference which I am looking forward to. I worked hard throughout the night writing articles and reviewing stuff. I also added a translation toolbar as I get a lot of hits from contacts and friends living in Brasil. I came across the first chapter of a memoir by an American black woman, which I went on to review, that was compelling, very funny and well-written and I really look forward to the day it's published. It was interesting to start reviewing (so far, poems, memoirs and short stories) as I have never done so before.

As usual, getting widgets and organizing technical things on the net is slow and often frustrating, however, I am blessed by only having a laptop and not a large home computer, as there is less temptation to hurl something so light out the window. Even getting the translation button on was not that easy: they say just paste the code onto your page. Er, hello! There are about two dozen different sections dealing with the format of the page; which £$%^&* section did you mean? Typical computer nerds; just tell me exactly where! Ok, ok, enough computer rage, calma, calma, as they say in Brazil (Does anyone know a hypnotherapist?)

I am living a very computer-dominated life these days, working for almost all the hours in the day tapping away at the laptop. It is hard to believe some people don't have a computer, so useful has it become these days. I need to pick up my photos next week from the photo shoot and get them uploaded and send them off with a proposal. Lots of work to do. I had another excellent email so the second book is taking shape very pleasingly.

Day 34: More Tractor Outlines + A Breakthrough

Today I have been writing more tractor outlines, which are summaries of the chapters of my book. I have also had an inspiring inbox and a breakthrough email that sets my second book well on the road to success! I still must whittle down the tractor outlines as they are too long at the moment and there is still a way to go with completing my second book but I am happy with the steady advancement I am making.

Last night it was great to see Ania (I've remembered the pseudonym I created for her!) from choir and we watched a dvd and went for a drink. Soon the pubs will be healthy rather than stinking with cigarette smoke so that's something to look forward to. (Smoking becomes illegal in public places in the UK from July.) She is very much in love with her new boyfriend and it is great that she is so happy. After being a coach potato computer addict the whole day, it was good to get some fresh air when I walked her home. Later, I wrote another article for the internet.

Day 33: Started writing articles

Last night I stayed up all night getting carried away with linking in my blog to the wider web community and found a great site that just now I spent forever trying to find you the address for! The internet is great but diversionary in the extreme! Anyway, it was something along the lines of blogging for dummies and had some very useful stuff for bloggers. I wrote an article for an online site and reviewed a bunch of stuff. Again, good to have done it, but it was time-consuming as I found myself reading messageboards and a lot of stuff that was captivating but not essential to read! My plan now is to see if I can get a regular contributor position on a magazine whilst continuing with the online reviewing and article-writing. As a result of all my work researching and writing on the net, my reading plan is delayed, so I hope to read solidly for four or five chapters today or tomorrow (from David Copperfield, Dickens's favourite child, you may remember) . My friend from choir is coming over soon so perhaps we'll watch a dvd or something. We had a day off last night so it will be good to catch up with her and gossip. I think I need a blog manager to do all the boring widget things for me and to fire this blog to the outer reaches of the known and unknown universe. However, just as writers don't usually relish having to do interviews and create a business-like media platform, when all they want to do is write, needs must! The sun has come out in London just now, after endless rain. Fabulous!

Day 32: The Swish

This is something I used today to help someone stop smoking. It is useful for anything but it is best to not use it for trauma. It is called The Swish and is a common NLP technique.
Start by having a picture or experience with you associated/looking out of your own eyes, that represents something you want to change - a habit or a feeling. For example, a smoker might see their hands in front of them and others smoking opposite them. Next, shrink that image down and have a full screen picture in your mind of yourself dissociated; ie you seeing yourself in a photo/picture with your desired outcome, ie relaxed and happy being with others who smoke and not wanting a cigarette. Make the image powerful by changing the details, ie light and dark, close and far, until it is the most positive it can be. Then, shrink this image down to the right corner and bring back the problem image. Then, repeating this seven times, SWISH the positive picture from the bottom right corner to take over the screen or what you see. The swish must be done very fast and take only a second or two each time you swish. When you've finished, be positive and trust. Many smokers can stop purely from doing this! Others may need more in-depth processes such as Time Line Therapy - one of the most powerful techniques to change quickly and easily.

Day 31: Housesitting and web designing + telekinesis!

Yesterday, I began a week of housesitting for friends who have a wonderful, quiet house. The great thing about housesitting is sampling little things in the fridge and cupboards - stuff you never buy yet enjoy. I always imagine I will get so much more done with my work, yet in reality it is quite distracting when I am here as I am torn between wanting to take a holiday and watch TV all day, snacking on chocolate, or get on with all I must do. In the end I did both and stayed up all night further designing my website. Today, I'm determined to actually cook a meal and stop grazing!

Today, I came across an article by a man who, after a serious accident, found he had the skill of telekinesis and could move objects by the power of his mind. Psychic Uri Geller uses the power of telekinesis to bend his spoons and stop watches. (I once followed a challenge Geller set in a national newspaper, where he thought of an image and asked people to draw what he was thinking. I correctly drew a six-pointed star!)

Martin Smith, 41, from Carlisle, says: "I can make objects move, roll, and sometimes heat up by using the energy produced through telekinesis. My hands become charged, like they're full of static electricity and my body warms up. I've been able to move cups, glasses and small pieces of tin foil using telekinesis. [...] If I'm feeling refreshed and in good health, I find the telekinesis works better than when I'm tired." The article continues with the following:

"Martin's tips for developing telekinesis

* Believe you can do it. Telekinesis is an ability everyone has the potential to harness - but if you don't accept that, your mind will work against you.

* Sense the aura around objects so that you can interact with them.
Tap into your own aura's power by putting your hands close together, palms facing each other, until you can feel the energy between them. It'll feel like static electricity or a soft blanket between your hands.
Now try to move your palms further apart until you can no longer feel the energy. With practise, you'll find that you can sense the energy from further away and as you move your hands closer the energy becomes more powerful.

* Once you've developed this sensitivity, try it with a small object such as a small piece of kitchen foil and place your hands near the foil until you can sense the edge of its energy.
Once you can feel this, try to imagine the energy flowing from your hands into the foil and imagine it moving with the energy. Be patient, as it takes time to build and to release the energy in the right way for the object to respond. Practise for a few minutes daily.

* If you keep practising, the object will move or twitch - you did that with telekinesis. Keep practising until you can shift different types of objects in more controlled movements."

You can reach Martin at:
www.telekinesis.co.uk
where you can watch video footage of his telekinetic ability.

Let me know when you can move things, should you be moved to try! (Terrible joke, I know!) You could be the next Uri Geller...

Day 30: Think and Grow Rich

Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich says: "Our brains become magnetized with the dominating thoughts which we hold in our minds, and, by means with which no man is familiar, these "magnets" attract to us the forces, the people, the circumstances of life which harmonize with the nature of our dominating thoughts."

In other words, you literally become a magnet for the things you want. If you truly want money, money literally can't say no.

Sometimes, applying this principle helps with money or other issues:

"The best solution to a problem is almost always the simplest solution."

This principle is known as Occam's razor, after William of Occam - a fourteenth-century English scientist and is very much in line with the material in What The Bleep and The Secret.

Day 29: Spiritual Belief Systems

Another extract from the Kryon book, Book 8:
"Belief systems all over the planet will tear apart with change. Oh, they will remain, but there can be no more fence-sitting in regard to the old ways that no longer work. Those who talk about the love of God but do not practice it are sitting on a fence, are they not? Those who are trying desperately to follow the laws of GOd, but instead are following the laws of men and women, are on a fence, are they not? In addition, the world is beginning to hold them accountable for what they teach. As the entire population of Earth is able to observe [due to communications revelations such as the Internet], some systems will be shown to be unbalanced, and those who were never spiritual will become the first critics of doctrines that profess one thing and do another. The result will be that there will be fewer and fewer young people in their ranks, and many of the organizations will wither from lack of respect.

What has to happen next is a search for the divinity within core doctrinal belief - a return to the principles of love. You will see it first in the belief systems of the planet, and if you are astute in world events, you are seeing it now. The greatest spiritual leaders you have who search for the divine on your planet are coming to a reckoning even as you sit here. This is an end to the fence-sitting. This is a return to a quest for integrity - the morality of the search for the love of God and the core issue of family.

In this new energy, you are going to have a tough time professing one thing and doing another. If you do, you are on the fence...[and] are going to be very uncomfortable. You will see this "spiritual rage" more and more - those who are so angry - perhaps they are angry with God, perhaps they are angry with themselves - they don't know. They just know that they're being pulled off that very comfortable place where they used to be. No more fence sitting.

The spiritual belief systems of your planet are about to have a house-cleaning. Most will survive, and in the process will become closer to the intent of those who created them - to celebrate the love of God in a way that honours humanity, and does not tear it down."

I thought that was interesting, especially for those who know John of God and The Casa de Dom Inacio in Brazil. But also very relevant to events in all religions and to all who follow a spiritual path.

Last night I was writing tractor outlines for many hours! The things a writer must do, above and beyond the writing itself! Half way with it, though. Now I am off for a family re-union. Have a great day/evening!

Day 27: Visualize Your Competitors Winning Too!

Business - even the business of blogging, it seems, from having had a cursory look around - often suffers from the belief in scarcity; that there's not enough for everyone. However, Nature is abundant and there truly is enough money and enough success for all of us, even our competitors. Thus visualizing our competitors succeeding and winning abundantly can become proof to ourselves that we trust and a great way to further and deepen our own connection of trust to the infinite source of wealth and goodness that is on offer to us all. Bless your competitors just like Jesus who said Love Thy Enemy, because really, there are no competitors and there are no enemies!

I was linked into another site recently due to my discussion of the Dead Sea Scrolls and thus will allow future mentions to go through too. I also registered with Google, who now list the blog. Unfortunately blogger does not give even the most basic of advice on how to get wider exposure for blogs so it is a slow task linking it in to mass audiences. However, there have been at least a hundred hits or so so far, which at this stage is great encouragement.

Technorati Profile

Smart Goals and Prosperity Beliefs

Write down what you want. This is a powerful way to help you achieve your goals – after all, without a target, it is very difficult to hit it! Try making them SMART GOALS:

S specific
simple

M measurable
meaningful

A all areas of life
as if now

R realistic
responsible

T timed
toward what you want

For example, it’s best not to say, ‘I want more money’; rather, it’s more effective to say ’It is now the 30th of June and I have a thousand pounds in my bank account…or more’ – setting an exact time and amount, even if it is a million pounds!

It is very important, when goal-setting, to be specific. Also, if giving up smoking, saying ‘I am now a non-smoker’ is ok although ‘I am healthy’ is perhaps more powerful. Ex-smokers soon think of themselves not as non-smokers but just as normal or healthy.

Now, for Prosperity Beliefs:
1. The Universe is Abundant
2. The universe wants me to prosper
3. All prosperity begins with an idea and the universe responds.
4. Money is an abstraction (of work)
5. Money has no intelligence of its own (so money responds to my instructions to it)
6. Money demands attention on money.

“All prosperity is first produced by the human mind. All business endeavours are built on ideas. Before the business opened its doors, before there was ANY money flowing into the business there was an idea. Any endeavour begins in the mind. So, all prosperity begins in the mind. If that is the case, then working harder will not produce more money, nor will working more hours produce more money. Increasing prosperity requires changing your thought processes so that they focus on prosperous thoughts. Money, and its flow into a person’s life, are a direct result of the nature of the thoughts in a person’s mind.” Tad James, M.S. Ph.D., extracted from The Secret Of Creating Your Future published by Advanced Neuro Dynamics

Day 26: Just a Word

Too little time to blog! Just to let you know the road leads on and the journey may begin slowly but the destination is assured by steady application. Go well!

Day 25: Double Edition Today: Performance Feedback

Our choir performance went very well - here is feedback I just found that the local member of parliament posted on her blog:

Lynne's Parliament and Haringey diary Lynne Featherstone is Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green welcome Comments about Lynne:
I have great admiration for what Lynne Featherstone and the LibDems are doing in Haringey. GS, Muswell Hill
Add to your siteSunday, May 13 Hearing the Highgate Choral Society
On Saturday evening it was off to a concert by the Highgate Choral Society at St Joseph's Church (Highgate Hill). Apart from some Christmas choral concerts at St John's in Smith Square, choral music hasn't been my musical place - despite having such wonderful local groups as this one and the Crouch End Festival Chorus.
But - I was invited to become a patron of the Highgate Choral Society, so it was off to attend the concert to see and support them. And it was absolutely wonderful. The first piece was Haydn's Nelson Mass - which was soaring and uplifting. The second piece (which everyone warned me was 'challenging' and not at all 'traditional') I really liked. It was 'modern' by choral standards - and the composer, Paul Patterson (who is a Highgate resident) was actually there. In eight parts, it veered from discordant to melodic and dramatic.
The choir itself must have numbered eighty or so people – plus there was the New London Orchestra, four soloists and Ronald Corp conducting. All in all, a great local evening and the church was absolutely packed out with hundreds of people.

Day 25: Paulo Coelho's message

I decided last night to open a book called The Manual of the Warrior of Light by Paulo Coelho, with my eyes closed whilst thinking of people reading this blog, in order to find a relevant passage. This is the result:

Warriors of light never accept what is unacceptable.

‘“Hitler may have lost the war on the battlefield, but he ended up winning something too,” says Marek Halter, “because man in the twentieth century created the concentration camp and revived torture and taught his fellow men that it is possible to close their eyes to the misfortunes of others.”

Perhaps he is right: there are abandoned children, massacred civilians, innocent people imprisoned, lonely old people, drunks in the gutter, madmen in power.

But perhaps he isn’t right at all, for there are also warriors of light.

And warriors of light never accept what is unacceptable.’

Day 24: A Bit of Culture

I was unsure what I wanted to present to you in my blog today until I came across this, to provide a cultural interlude:

from The Song of Solomon

Chapter 2

I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.
His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.
I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

Chapter 3

By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth; I sought him, but I found him not.
The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.
They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.
He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.
Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

Chapter 5

I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.
I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.
I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.
I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.
What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?
My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.
His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set.
His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.
His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.
His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

Day 22 & 23: Friends and Family then a Photo Shoot

Yesterday, I went to Sussex and went to another choir briefly with my mum, which was far more exposing as it is very small; however, it was also enjoyable and they were friendly and their music beautiful. Afterwards, we went to the end of a storytelling evening at the college where my mum works, given by a class she taught. It is highly entertaining, with one woman speaking parts of both a Rose and a Snail with courage and great humour - the Snail didn't care for the world and was very self-contained whereas the Rose was pretty and bright and unsettled by the Snail's talk. I heard about three stories and enjoyed them a lot, the room packed with lively (grown-up) students. Later, I worked on my book - so much minor work like perfecting font size and page numbering size, that was slow and really not designed to be done by humans! Where are the next generation of human computer programmers who will make page numbering a doddle? Anyway, I made some progress and also read a chapter of Dickens. I saw an old friend and had a valuable time with them but later could not sleep as it gave rise to many work-related issues that we discussed.
Today, I learned that my brother's wife is due two twin girls by caesarian on the 28th of June. I will be a double uncle overnight! My mum always wanted a girl to balance out the three boys she received and now she has two - as her granddaughters: much the easier task to be a granny than than a mother! I spoke to my older brother, too, who is coming down from Scotland on Friday for a family reunion so I am very happy about this. Then, after arriving back in London, I went to my photo shoot. The session was free but I pay £25 for one photo from it (normally a lot more) and can buy 3 for about £45 or £30 each if I want more. It was a bit of a rush to get back and iron the shirts for the session (they told me to bring several outfits) and I am not genetically designed to iron shirts but I did it and got there on time.
I will return to view the photos next week and select those I want to purchase. You might see one of them here soon! I am very optimistic about the future and today; there is just always so much to do! Hopefully, I will have the time to blog tomorrow.

Day 21: Lost in Translation & Hope from the Hopis

Gregg Braden shows in The Isaiah Effect, how the most powerful way to get what you want in life was originally in the Dead Sea Scrolls but was translated and thus the meaning distorted. Compare the following texts:

"Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." Modern, condensed twelth century version.

The original, retranslated Aramaic version:
"All things that you ask straightly, directly...from inside my name, you will be given. So far you have not done this. Ask without hidden motive and be surrounded by your answer. Be enveloped by what you desire, that your gladness be full..."

Thus prayer, rather than asking that our creations come to pass, becomes giving thanks for what we create from having the feelings of our creation already fulfilled.

To further quote from the excellent The Isaiah Effect:
"As the hearts and minds of mankind become so separate that they forget one another, the earth acts to bring the memory of our greatest attributes back into focus. 'When earthquakes, floods, hailstorms, drought and famine will be the life of every day, the time will have then come for the return to the true path.' So said the peace-loving Hopis. In addition to offering the signs of such a time, the Hopi traditions go even further, recommending a course of action to bring the hearts and minds of man into alignment with the earth once again.

Deceptively simple, the prophecy reminds us that 'when prayer and meditation are used rather than relying on new inventions to create more imbalance, then they [humanity] will also find the true path.' The words of the Hopi serve as simple reminders of the quantum principle which states that to change the outcome of events already in motion, we are invited to shift our beliefs regarding the outcome itself. In doing so, we attract the possibility that matches our new belief, and we release the present conditions, even those already under way."

Gregg Braden details many impressive research projects from around the world that have established a direct link between prayer and reduced war and crime activity, with only a small percentage of a city's population needed to pray and effect the change.

So, experience what you want: see, feel, hear it completely. Then, you have it!

Day 20: The Road Continues-or is that The Read

Today, I am feeling the strain of using my eyes so much and working on the computer. However, it is good to get on with things and there is a lot to do - always! I began David Copperfield last night and it's good to return to Dickens, very much in the same way we return to the house of an old friend - everything is more or less the same and comfortingly welcoming. It was his 'favourite child' he said, although he loved all his 'children'. The BBC Big Read that I am still attempting to get through contains a lot of children's books but there is a lot to be gained from reading classics and it was a joy to re-read Swallows and Amazons - made me want to take up sailing! Interestingly, a man in my choir also said he got into boats (he has two) after reading all the Arthur Ransome books as a child.
The power of books is a strong and positive force for good and will always be so, no matter what new inventions come about. A childhood spent reading a lot is a rich one and thank God that writers like JK Rowling and Phillip Pullman continue to enthrall readers - young and old alike - just as CS Lewis did with the Narnia books when I was a boy. I hope to take a break from London for a day or two tomorrow so may be off duty. Happy days to you!