In order to find a quality yoga instructor, you need to know what to look for. Since there is no universal certification program for yoga teachers, not all of them are created equal as you can see by the following example.

I had been practicing yoga in my home for a while when I decided to take some classes at a local center. I had been using a variety of yoga videos and DVDs that were taught by senior instructors with impeccable form, so I expected the same quality of yoga instruction when I arrived at this class. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case.

The teacher who taught the class was sloppy in her style as she moved through the poses and it seemed more as if she were doing her own practice, rather than leading the class. She never came around and adjusted the alignment of any of the students, which really annoyed me because that was the main reason I decided to attend the class. Additionally, she was facing one way and the students were facing the opposite way, so it was very difficult to see what she was doing. Needless to say, I wasn’t impressed.

I am optimistic by nature so the next morning, I took another class at the same center, but this time there was a different teacher leading the practice. Her style was more of what I was looking for. Her execution of the positions was excellent. She showed the students how to do the pose and then she got up and checked the alignment of the students and made necessary adjustments. She brought attention to those students who did a pose particularly well, and she encouraged others to go a little deeper. I was very happy with the teacher, and even though the class did not fit my schedule particularly well, I attended it on a regular basis.

Although my initial endeavor into the world of taking yoga classes was somewhat hit or miss, by asking certain questions and checking some details, you have a better chance of finding the right yoga instructor for you.

Here are some things to consider.

Decide what your goals are for your yoga practice.
Do you want to practice yoga to relieve stress, heal from an injury, or gain strength and flexibility? If a center offers yoga that is very fast paced and very physically challenging, it probably won’t be the right match for you if you want to learn how to relax.

What style of yoga interests you? Make sure that the center offers that particular style.
Are you interested in a certain level of yoga instruction? If you are a beginner, you probably don’t want to take a class that lumps all levels together. You also don’t want a class that is too advanced where you have a greater chance of feeling discouraged because you can’t keep up with the other students, or worse, you could get injured. You want a class where the instructor takes ample time to explain the postures and also helps students achieve the correct alignment.

Ask about the teacher’s level experience
Find out how many years the teacher has been practicing yoga and how long he has been teaching. With my experience with the two yoga teachers, I found out that the one that didn’t impress me had just become a teacher, while the one I liked had been teaching for quite some time.

Ask about how many hours of training he has received. Although there is no universal yoga teacher certification, many quality studios require that their instructors complete a minimum number of training hours before they are allowed to teach. If the instructor has 200 or more hours of training, there is a good chance that he has solid skills to work with.

Does the instructor know the benefits and contraindications of each pose? Can he offer modifications for students who have physical limitations? You want a teacher who can provide information about how each pose relates to your unique physical condition.

Also, find out if the teacher has specific training in basic anatomy. I cannot emphasize this point strongly enough. When I was in my early twenties, I took a gymnastics class which was taught by an instructor who had no training in anatomy. Each week he stretched my body in a position that caused me a great deal of pain. If he knew about body mechanics and physiology he never would never used that stretch, because it is almost guaranteed to cause injury. The end result for me was years of pain and permanent injury. If the teacher is not trained in anatomy run, don’t walk, out of the class.

What is the teacher’s personal style?
In order for you to get the most out of yoga, you have to feel comfortable with the teacher. Is the teacher friendly, encouraging, and supportive? Does she treat students and others with respect?

Yoga is intensely personal so it is critical that you like and trust the teacher. She will be touching your body to adjust your alignment, so you need to feel totally safe with her. A good instructor will make the class a secure and peaceful experience for students.

How clean is the studio?
As you look around, do you notice dust or dirt? Is there a musty or sweaty odor? A yoga class encourages you to practice barefoot and breathe deeply. It is very difficult to get the most from your yoga instruction if you are worried about contracting a disease from an unclean studio.

How does the teacher handle your personal beliefs?
A good yoga teacher does not impose her personal beliefs on students. Yoga is not a religion. You should be able to practice any religion, or none at all, and still feel comfortable in the class. You also should not be required to eat or act a certain way to be considered acceptable to the teacher.

Yoga promotes freedom, so you should not be held bondage to someone else’s beliefs. You should be free to live whichever way is right for you.

Quality yoga instruction can be very important for you in your yoga journey. By keeping these ideas in mind when you search for a yoga teacher, you are very likely to find the one that is just right for you.

Della Menechella is a yoga and fitness enthusiast who has been involved in fitness for over thirty years. Here website http://www.beauty-fitness-yoga-source.com/ is filled with practical information about how you can make yoga and fitness a positive part of your life.

In Google’s recent battle towards becoming an international news center, I’ve come to notice that the results delivered from Google News seems like nothing more than the articles we publish everyday. So I ask, doesn’t it seem like Google News resembles an article directory of some sorts?

* Google News World: http://news.google.com
* Google News Canada: http://news.google.ca
* Google News UK: http://news.google.co.uk

I only mention this because when submitting my internet marketing articles, I often wonder if they show up within Google News? 9 times out of 10, they do! In fact, they usually show up within 48 hours of being indexed from other top related websites.

How does Google News select it’s content?

Right now, it seems that “news centers” & “press release companies” related to your field online are profiting from these search results. When you think about it, wouldn’t a press release be a form of news anyways? Possibly…

If you take a good look at the websites who deliver the content within Google news, you will notice that only a select few are providing all of the results. Again, it’s possible that Google’s news algorithm is still in its infant stages and probably has a lot of uphill battles to conquer.

It may be in Google’s best interest to assemble a team of experts in different fields to accept articles/news submissions in order to keep the news source within the Google kingdom.

There is Only A Fraction of Results Showing:

While searching through the GN section, you will also notice a relatively small portion of actual search results coming up. Only a fraction of a percentage of results get listed within the GN search results compared to the same results within the regular search results found on Google’s main page.

Only the sections on the left deliver actual real-time news. These are: Top Stories | World | Business | Sci/Tech | Sports | Entertainment | Health. These links provide real-time results delivered from credible news sources online.

Google News Alerts - Ezine anyone?

When you think about it, you are giving Google your email address to get related articles to the search term delivered to your inbox, how does this differ from any other regular newsletter? Are we going to start seeing Google Adwords within the news alerts? Will they consider giving large corporations the opportunity to advertise within their email alerts as a one time mailing! I hope not.

More and more we are seeing less of the Google we once knew and have come to love (A search bar with some great results). Since Google’s IPO, the development team at GG are starting to launch applications online that are starting to resemble what we now know as the great Yahoo Portal.

Will there be any difference? Probably not.

One Great Point About Google News:

They have given you the ability to customize your page to show whatever news topics you want. Simply look at the right side for a button that says “Customize this page New!”. Once you click on this link a drop down box shows you all the main topics you have listed within your page. Simply click on the topic you wish to customize or remove. The best part of it all is that you can click on “Add a custom section” and simply search for the topic you wish to have listed on your page.

All in all you can create an entire custom news page (author articles) that relate to your industry.

Martin Lemieux is the president of the Smartads Advertising Network. Smartads helps their clients to maintain a strong presence online through up-to-date marketing tactics.

Sign up for Martin’s weekly newsletter here: www.smartads.info/newsletter
For a free SEO evaluation, go here: www.smartads.info/website-evaluation.html
Web Designers Directory: www.3dimentionaldesign.com

One big mistake of PC owners is the constant seeking for “best antivirus”. New players on the growing market of computer security software have to try new marketing methods to attract customers - and free versions are just an example of such tactics. Free is not bad. Actually, in the field of PC security free software can have evident advantages. Quality depends and so does the price.

However, this last feature often comes as an obstacle for the parents. They think that keylogging their children’ online activity equals to spying and that such harsh supervision in not required for their beloved ones. Well, even if your child is very smart and kind, he or she is still a child so there is still a threat that they can make a wrong choice. And the consequences may be horrible. There are online predators that try to gather information about children in various chat rooms to take hostile actions against them in the real life. Even though children who realize they should keep their private information really private, can reveal some bits of information to a predator, who will then stick the facts together and find out what he needs. Data loggers, key loggers are just a few programs which harvest info from your computer. Winclear is the only program created specially to auto remove such spywares. If your account was compromised while AccSent was enabled there is a high probability that you either have a security hole in your computer which allowed hackers to take control of your computer or you have a Trojan virus spyware or keylogger software installed on your computer because someone not only had access to your e-gold passphrase they also had access to your email address password. That is why every computer owner needs winclear.

Protect With Winclear :Delete Search History On Computer
Until you remove the malicious software from your computer, your account is still vulnerable. Your email account has also been compromised so it is important that you change the password for your account after your computer is cleaned. If the malicious software is still on your computer, someone is able to read your emails, delete your emails or send emails from your account. Winclear is the only software which is capable of removing keylogger programs. Additionally browsers use cookies to store login information that you may not want to enter repeatedly. Winclear has been the industry leader in fighting keyloggers for the last 8 years.

Winclear:
Just because a banking site labels itself as secure does not mean that a user is protected from a keylogger. That is the reason why you need Winclear installed onto your computer. Your web browser will look like a neon sign for toolbars and other ‘browser helpers’ that only help to send hackers info you don’t want them to have in the first place. Protect your computer security by using Winclear! More about Winclear here: Winclear Review.

Router is a computer device that receives or forwards data packets to and from the Internet towards a destination in the process called routing. Router is the essential component of the computer networking that enables any sent data to arrive at the right destination.

As an illustration, imagine that the Internet is the world and one computer is one household. Other computers connected through the Internet are households around the world. Say one household will send a letter to another household in any part of the world. The letter has an address right? And that address would determine the destination of the letter. But without one reading the address, the letter would not arrive to the right receiver. The letter also would not be able to reach the intended receiver if there is not medium. This medium would be the courier. And the courier of the computer data is the router.

A router (broadband router) is also a device that enables two or more computer to receive data packets from the Internet under one IP address at the same time.

Remember that to be able to connect to the Internet, a computer must have an IP address unique from the rest of the computers. Therefore, every computer connected to the Internet has it own IP address. It is like having a fingerprint or ID as an access pass to be able to enter the web. With the presence of the router, this “fingerprint” or “ID” could be shared by two or more computer at the same time.

In simplest form, a router makes two or more computer use the Internet at the same with one access pass.

One more thing: a computer with cable modem could also be considered as a router. In this, the computer would do the process of routing like normal routers do. Other computers are then connected to the computer with Internet connection that would give it with the Internet connection. The computer with cable modem has the direct contact with the Internet and the ones connected to it are sharing the connection.

Why would anyone need a router?

For households with two or more computers who would want to have Internet connection to every computers they have, taking subscription for each would be too much. The solution is to buy a router that would enable every computer in the house to have an Internet connection. In the definition above, the broadband router would act as a hub to the existing Internet connection.

If the router is comparable to a hub, would it affect the Internet speed?

It should be taken into consideration that once a single Internet connection is divided, the connection speed is affected. But there are some broadband routers that would bring minimal slowdown to the Internet speed and the effect might not even be big.

Internet speed would also depend on the type of application used in a router. While some would inflict little effect on the speed like online games, others would terribly slowdown your connection and even hinder you to use the Internet at all.

Usually, offices use a more sophisticated router to redirect Internet connections to the large number of computers. These routers would give better data packeting compared to a typical router used at home that results to faster Internet speed.

Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides router resources on www.about-routers.info.

Ever wonder what someones handwriting or signature might reveal about them? Just like a scale reports weight, a persons handwriting tells a story about the health and traits of the writer. You’ve probably seen handwriting that is full of loops and circles and thought it seems soft and maybe feminine. And you’ve seen knotted sharp handwriting that is not only hard to read but it looks like an angry statement.

Over the years the analysis of handwriting has advanced. There’s much that can be learned from the slant, the style and the pressure of the written note or the signature on the page. You probably can tell when someone seems happy, or upset or getting angry. Those same expressions of emotion and character are revealed by handwriting. Wouldn’t it be fun to know what handwriting tells us? Some people do, and they use that information to make better decisions about people and actions.

RESOURCE GUIDE: http://meaning-of-handwriting.5×1.net

Your handwriting tells people about you. And it tells much more about you than merely the words you have written might convey. I was always curious about this myself but never found anything that could help me learn and better understand what a persons signature or handwriting was really telling me. It’s a bit like not being able to understand the full message. With a little time and fun, I’ve found that understanding handwriting is a bit like having x-ray vision. You get to see into other people more fully. Sometimes that’s good news and other times it gives pause. Words alone don’t tell the whole story. Understanding the message of the handwriting adds another level of meaning. Is it worth it? If you like to know the truth, if you like to understand who you’re dealing with, it sure is.

(c) 2006

The author writes on a variety of health and personality topics. See http://meaning-of-handwriting.5×1.net for more information.

There are names in many languages and cultures or even within each culture, separate cults with different names for ‘forces of nature’. Allies, guides, elementals, fairies, elves, gnomes, leprechauns and so the list would grow into the thousands. How many different dimensions or M-branes we might interact with at some level of our ‘cosmic soup’ is part of the question? There are different ways to access and varied levels or degrees of access. Not all are reliably replicable by the same techniques. Some element of consciousness exists in these ethereal forces which chooses not to communicate according to factors beyond the control of the soul or human who wishes such contact. Certain times are more propitious for such contact according to most beliefs that seek to relate with these forces. The differing brain wavelengths of people make separate variations of ritualistic methods necessary. A medium, sensitive, or psychic will have their own biorhythm to control and ‘center’ or ‘fix’ if they want to commune with any of these endless variations of force. At one level or dimension a force might appear a certain way but it too may be impacted by forces from another dimension. The shamanic ‘Tree of Yggdrasil’ has similar ethnic relatives such as the Hebraic ‘Tree of Life’ and though this universal ‘tree’ is more than the simple primary forces that constitute ‘allies’ it is necessary perhaps to know a lot more in order to see the nature of forces in general. We have the words of a ‘practical guide’ that uses few ritualistic or cultish prerogatives to guide us a little in this trek beyond the world we see that seems so important.

“According to some shamanic traditions of the northern peoples, the Upper, Middle and Lower ‘worlds’ comprised nine realms of existence and these could be indicated on the Tree of Yggdrasil.

At the top of the vertical column was a ‘heavenly’ realm, sometimes called Asgard, where celestial beings existed. Below it was the ‘Place of Enlightenment’ - the realm of the Mind, the Abode of Thought, and the fertile birthplace of Ideas. In the middle was the realm of material manifestation which was conditioned by Time, the Home of the personality self and of ego-consciousness {With conditioning galore and little ease of escape to find the essence of other more inclusive ‘realities’.}. Below was a subterranean realm, related to subconscious activity, where shapes were formed from thought patterns…

{N.B.-creativity and hallucination are closely connected. Right Thought or integrating the purpose of the creator with the created is part of the dynamic.} In the matter of using the primary forces with their North, South, East and West locations and Wind, Fire, Water, Earth expressions we must remember our perceptual starting point may limit these forces ability to allow their conscious reality to meld with our INTENT! Nothing is more important than intent to a practitioner of what has been known as ‘black arts’ to those who priests sought to keep ignorant of their own use thereof.}.

At the base of the column was a realm of inertia - the Place of Potential. It was sometimes referred to as ‘Hel’ - a Germanic word meaning ‘covering’, because it covered the deepest areas of the unconscious. It had none of the associations attributed to the fiery ‘Hell’ of the myths of later religions. {Plagiarizers and ridiculing epithet hurlers.}

On the horizontal plane were other aspects of being and of experience, which similarly formed part of the ‘hidden’ knowledge of the shamans.

The Runic shamans of the ancient northern peoples acquired ‘hidden’ {Trans. ‘occult’} knowledge by the use of angular symbols (Runes) which could easily be carved on wood or chiselled into stone. Contrary to modern belief (based on the conjecture of some anthropologists), Runes were not simply a secret code whose characters were used as substitutes for letters of the common alphabet. It is likely that the majority of Runic shamans could not read or write their own language, or Latin, which became the language of the scholar after the Roman influence. Runes actually represented patterns of manifestation and the laws responsible for shaping forms {N.B.AGAIN!} into which energies could find expression. They were - and are - symbols of a Cosmic language, and are valid on all levels of existence.

In the Runic ‘alphabet’, known as the Elder Futhark because it is considered the oldest of known Runic systems {Divinatory systems have been around since man first thought. The sticks of the I Ching and the black and white painted sides of coconut shells used by ‘Orisha’ worshippers such as voudou and Santeria, are probably far older than any European hominid, and certainly any white man.} and because the word ‘f- u-th-a-r-k’ is made up of its first six characters, there are twenty-four Runes. There are also just twenty-four possible paths between the nine realms indicated on the Tree of Yggdrasil. So the Runes can serve also as ‘travel permits’, enabling the Runic shaman to explore Inner Space, and as ‘passports’ to these other realms of existence within the Cosmic Web.

Shamans of Britain and Northern Europe were thus aware that the Cosmos functions at different levels of existence, and that these broadly correspond to various aspects of the mind. Such a concept was fairly widespread among indigenous peoples, and can be seen represented on certain tribal artefacts, such as the totem poles of the red-skinned Indians of western North America {Actually not red-skinned but’-the use of ochre as a spiritual protection among the Beothuk of Labrador led Europeans to ridicule all Indians in this manner. The same can be said for how the Kelts were portrayed as tattooed ’savages’ by Caesar.} and the brown-skinned Maoris of New Zealand, {Who with British help in the 19th century wiped out the last Kelts on the Chatham Islands.} or the specially carved crystal wands used by some American Indian shamans. {The sceptres of European royalty and popery.} These artefacts often depicted three principal ’spirits’ on top of one another, supported by an animal-like figure at the bottom. On a totem pole the top figure usually had wings to suggest an ability to travel far and wide. These figures could be used to symbolize aspects of the human being, of principal levels of awareness, and of conscious, subconscious, superconscious and even unconscious aspects of the mind.

Although these various states of the mind were not recognized by modern psychology until the end of the nineteenth century, shamans had personified them as ’spirits’ {Or aspects.} for hundreds of years. Kahuna shamans of Hawaii (once part of a mighty prehistoric continent called Mu, which disappeared under the Pacific Ocean during an ecological disaster when the Earth was pulled into a new and slightly longer orbit of the Sun) likened the subconscious to a ‘hidden’ spirit within the human entity which although it was not able to talk, experienced emotion and secretly and silently served the consciousness of the individual to whom it was attached.” (4)

There are many flaws in the argument or assertions about the lost continent or continental polar shift and ecologic or cataclysmic events. We shall deal with them later but at this juncture it is worth noting that the Mungo Man and other evidences of great antiquity to support Churchward’s theories of Mu have been proven archaeologically. He does an excellent job of deciphering the totem poles of the Haida nation in his book ‘The Lost Continent of Mu and I have found a stele at Chichen Itza that supports his Greek to Cara-Maya story of the destruction of Mu. There are many statues and artistic works in the area to support it as well as other esoteric symbols on the stele. My efforts almost landed me in a Mexican prison with no ‘rights’ as a Canadian or American resident. The author of this particular piece is right to focus on Hawaii and he might be amazed to know that the highest ‘northern’ (Hyperborean according to ancient Greek scholars) shamans, or the Druids have their most adept members in Hawaii. This was from a credible source, I trust. So just because he tried to make sense of the facts and made many mistakes does not diminish my respect for the passion and courage of Col. James Churchward. He tried to give mankind a truer picture of his roots and cultural footing. We must try to establish what relevance our past immoral behavior has for people of the future.

“The inspirational and creative level of the mind which operated at a higher state of consciousness was recognized as the province of a ‘higher spirit’ - a ‘High’ Self - which was immortal and which motivated the individual towards spiritual aspirations and noble deeds. It was considered to guide and inspire the ‘human’ self, for it had divine-like qualities…

Among shamans of northern traditions, however, was an oral teaching {The Bardic Tradition of the Bairds by which my genes do instruct.} that recognized a fourth intelligence - an instinctive and automative one which controlled and maintained the physical body, and which was responsible for its protection and survival. This intelligence operated at deep levels of unconscious activity {Partially, perhaps, the ‘history book’ of our genes according to Dr. Collins the head of the Human Genome Project.} and was likened to an animal spirit because its action seemed largely instinctive. Since it normally disappeared when the human being suffered death it was not regarded in the same way as the other ’spirits’…

Each technique has been effective within its own culture, but has derived from an earlier universal system of prehistory. By recognizing the parallels and integrating the principles into a single harmonic system in the spirit of the travelling shamans. I hope not only to get closer to the original system, but also to provide modern people with a clear path to the Cosmos of the shaman, thus securing a firm foundation from which Inner Space may be explored and the benefits shared.

Travelling shamans who went beyond the limitations of their own tribal customs recognized that no single group possessed all Truth {Thus the Kelts were into ‘Brotherhood’ rather than racial purity or ethnic ascendancy.}, and so journeyed from tribe to tribe and place to place seeking knowledge, gaining new insights, weaving what they learned into what they already knew, and imparting wisdom.” (5)

It is good to see that there are many people in every age who see that Inner Space and travel offer much insight. Despite the prevailing attitudes of the last 5,000 years that have sought to homogenize, enslave or create class hierarchies, and manage us for their benefit, the shaman’s road has borne wondrous fruit. In recent times the quantum (once derided as ‘atom-mysticists’) physicists and people like Lovelock, Campbell, Chopra etc., are our adept cells. The past had the De Danaan or their ‘brothers’ of the race of hominids we have just found near Lake Mungo.

“The Pre Ragnarok Viking Gods.

This section was inspired by Erik Linklater and the legends of the Orkney Islands, guided by Thor, and tested in meditation. It contains no material of German origin. Written 1989.

The Sagas were written by shamans and other leaders to define the social, spiritual and psychic objectives of the race. Where an image produced inspires Man and is acceptable to spirit guides, then those spirit guides will use the image as an interface and bring it to life, thus creating an archetypal God. The fossilised Gods of monotheism on the other hand are just political, mental or psychic control mechanisms stuck in time until dismantled. Spirit guides do not have a brain and need you to do their thinking and meditation for them. If one serves the Gods, then they will serve you. There are no free lunches. (Note written February 2000.)

When man can generate enough energy and responsibility for his actions, he will no longer need God or Gods. Until such time he needs a first rate energy source. The Viking Gods provide a first class source of energy, suitable for propelling man through enlightenment (as in Zen). They will help conquer the Zodiac and the Akashic Elements (Fire, Air, Water and Earth), and other Frost Giants of emotion.” (6)

These wise people were often called ‘messengers’ among the natives of North America and ‘gods’ among lesser ethnic groups who sought to create Olympians or other gods they could interpret for. When the last Mungo Man went to whatever planet or end they sought, we do not know. Was it when the genetic viruses took all the large animals like Mammoths and saber cats? No, because there were still mammoths on Wrangle Island 4,000 years ago. I don’t think the more advanced humans of the Mungo strain would have allowed US to do what we’ve done to our native ‘brothers’ and our own mothers and sisters. Perhaps I’m a dreamer or an idealist, maybe I’m like Heraclitus of Ephesus who shunned his position and power for the pursuit of some ludicrous and intangible ‘knowledge’. Maybe I’m an extreme individual and ‘neurotic’ or just a naive cultist of some kind. I’ve been called many different names or labeled a witch, agnostic, atheist, alchemist, and other things I probably am, as well. It would be difficult to put me alongside many others in a pursuit because I value and respect so many different people and approaches. Krishnamurti (sans Theosophists), Yogananda before he reached out to normative religion and even as the ecumenicist, Jung and the philosophers of ‘cell diffusion’ like Campbell. I hope you put me alongside these people or simply with those who wore my name so proudly in pre-Christian times - BAIRDS! These are my ancestral ‘allies’ or ‘guides’.

About the Author

Author of Diverse Druids
Columnist for The ES Press Magazine
World-Mysteries.com guest writer

An Au Pair is typically a young woman between the late teens to mid-thirties whom is in the occupation of child care. They trade room and board abroad for their services in child care. An Au Pair will get into the business with the hopes of furthering their education outside of their country of origin, or having the luxury of traveling where they may not typically have been able to afford to do so, giving them the experience of being with a host family in a foreign country.

Au Pair’s usually have some previous childcare education and experience. However, sometimes this is not the case. There are many downfalls as well as benefits to hiring an Au Pair. One benefit to hiring an Au Pair is receiving low cost child care and, if you go through a trust-worthy agency that does background checks on their Au Pairs you may end up with a good catch. The downside to this is, on a work Visa to a foreign country, an Au Pair that becomes attached to a family unit only has a limited amount of time to be in the home before returning to their country of origin.

There are agencies internationally dedicated to matching families in need with qualified trustworthy Au Pairs. They do everything from background checks and reference checks to providing some Au Pairs with the services of obtaining their respective work Visas and even providing some with formal training in child care. It is safer to go through one of these agencies than it is to just hire one from a classified ad.

When searching for an Au Pair you will want to hire someone you feel comfortable leaving the well being of your child with. Someone with a past history of aggression or short temperedness is not recommended. You need to hire someone you feel could be an asset to your family and fit in with the setting and environment which you have created. Make sure the candidates you review have experience with children in the age range of your own children, this ensure if any problems or concerns should arise with your child, the Au Pair will be able to handle the situation and act accordingly.

There are also agencies internationally that can investigate child abuse suspicions. If you have hired an Au Pair and you suspect they may be abusing your child, these agencies will provide surveillance to assure that your children are in safe hands. Typically agencies such as these work in conjunction with agencies that hire, train and place Au Pairs with host families. When choosing an agency to hire an Au Pair you should always ask which, if any other agencies they are associated with and what services those companies may offer to make your experience with an Au Pair the best.

If you are a busy working parent and require child care, with the assistance of a trust-worthy agency and following up on references given, an Au Pair might be a cost effective answer to your child care needs. Not only will you be welcoming into your home someone who truly loves their profession but with an Au Pair you will be helping out a person who may not have been able to experience other cultures otherwise.

Au Pairs and Nannies: Looking after the welfare of your child.

If you want to make big money, you have to play not to work.

“What do you mean by that?” You ask.

I attended a workshop last weekend and the speaker said if you are serious in making big money, you’ve got to play, not work.

He further explained that if you work, you can only make small money. That’s what most people end up with. Making small money by working.

This point is best illustrated by studying the Chinese character for play. The character has two parts: one consists of the character “King” and the other is “Money”.

By combining these two parts, it becomes “King of Money.” And in turn, “King of Money” forms the word “Play.”

Hence, play is the “King of Money.”

That’s the interesting part about Chinese characters. The wisdom in the character “Play” is if you want to make big money, you must be able to enjoy the process of wealth creation.

If you don’t enjoy the process and you treat the process as another piece of work, you can’t make a lot of money.

You must truly enjoy playing the game of wealth creation. By playing, you feel more energetic, full of passion, and young at heart.

Remember, life is meant to be enjoyed and there is no room for unhappy moments. Enjoy the process and achieve your goals of financial success, just like another round of game.

I really thank the speaker for pointing out such a wonderful Chinese character. That actually reminds me the story in the book “The Fish” if you happen to read the book.

Abel Cheng offers small and medium enterprises exclusive global profits insider tips in his free publication, Abel Cheng’s Business Diary. To officiate a bi-weekly subscription, please go to http://www.abelcheng.com/diary.html

Mystery, action/adventure, crime, and detective stories require
components which build, add, and/or continue the suspense needed
to keep the reader’s attention.

The first place to build suspense needed in any writing is the
first few sentences. According to Bill Reynolds, The
Writer, August 2005, page 7, “A proper opening picks the
reader up by his collar and throws him into the story.”

The art of suspense means giving the reader something to worry
about. In Latin suspendere means to hang, thus suspense, which
avoids boredom and losing readers. The reader is compelled to
turn pages, the cure for boredom.

Suspense (uncertainly, doubt, anxiety) is a must for all
fiction. It should start from the very beginning of a story or
novel, should be built into the premise and structure of any
fiction writings.

According to The Writer, composition text books, and my
own notes and lesson plans, the essential elements for suspense
are as follows:

1. State the story’s plot as a question (not in the story
itself), one that can be answered yes or no in the pre-writing
stage. Make a list of all the possible reasons why the answer
could be “no.” Those “no” answers become the focus of problems
and obstacles - suspense.

2. Create a likable and competent - but flawed - protagonist.
(Protagonist = hero, good guy/gal) If the reader doesn’t care
about the protagonist, then suspense is meaningless. The flaw or
flaws will help create needed suspense because the outcome of
the struggle/conflict will be in doubt.

3. Give the protagonist a powerful motivation. He/she must have
strong desires, needs, wants. The basic and powerful human needs
and drives are essential: Love, ambition, greed, survival are
examples. Something vitally important must be at stake, or
readers can’t believe the protagonist would never abandon the
quest.

4. Give your protagonist highly motivated antagonists
(opponents, villains). “All stories need strong villains.
Suspense rests on the possibility - even the likelihood - that
the villain will defeat the hero,” William G. Tapply writes in
The Writer, August 2005.

5. Keep raising the stakes and creating disasters. The formula
for building suspense is a bad start that gets worse. Suspense
is about problems and obstacles, disasters and failures, small
triumphs and big reversals. As Tapply says, “Never make things
easy for your protagonist.”

6. Choose your story’s point of view to maximize suspense. The
objective POV allows the attention of the reader to shift from
character to character. We, as readers, are allowed to interpret
and imagine, to wonder and worry. We are drawn into the story by
the changing of point of views from one character to another.
The single POV limits only to one character’s experiences and
thoughts. Anything else is speculation, imagination, and worry.

7. Finally, wind up the ticking clock. Tapply’s words express
this point best. Suspense depends on urgency. Build a zero
hour into your story’s arc: Antagonists of all kinds -
kidnappers, terrorists and assassins, of course but also
teachers and parents and editors, not to mention tides and
storms and seasons - create time pressures and constraints. Your
story’s momentum might build gradually at first, but soon it
becomes a race against the clock, and it accelerates as it
rushes towards its fateful climax.

The result of the use of suspense in any story becomes a
riveting story that the reader cannot put down until finished.

What are they?

Self-limiting beliefs are those things you believe about yourself that place limitations on your abilities.
They may be conscious or unconscious. They may be founded or unfounded eg:

I am fat so no one will marry me, or

I am not lucky; I won’t get the job.

That you are fat may well be true. That no one will marry you as a result definitely isn’t.
Some people prefer fat partners, and it’s the person inside that really matters.
And luck isn’t the criterion for getting a job. You get jobs based on merit.

Limitations are actually a thing of the mind. In reality we have none.
You can do anything if you make up your mind to do it. Determination always finds a way around obstacles.
Henry Ford once said, “If you think you can…. or if you think you can’t…you’re right!”
It all depends on what you believe about yourself.

How do they work?

Our thoughts and beliefs colour our vision and perception of the world.
They determine our actions or inactions.
Thoughts affect feelings. Feelings affect behaviour. Behaviour produces results (or the lack of them).
It all begins with our thoughts, since we have to accept a thought for it to become a belief.

It’s been said that whatever you believe becomes your reality.
You do not believe what you see; rather you see what you already believe.
For this reason, two people facing the same situation may interpret it differently, act according to their different beliefs and experience different outcomes.

Self-limiting beliefs act like brakes on our progress.
They leave us acting forward, but believing backward.
They have been described as a malicious thermostat; you can take all the action you want, and in the right direction too.
But anytime you make progress, the thermostat pulls you back to conform to your inner negative programming.

Attempting to move forward when you have backward programming is like expecting a photocopy to be different from the original.
You’ve got to work on the original copy first, change the blue print, modify the DNA.

Your thoughts and beliefs are your programming. You cannot move beyond them.
To get out of the vicious cycle of acting forward but believing backward you’ve got to identify these malicious thermostats, and eliminate them, consciously and continuously.
Sometimes it’s a lifelong battle, but one that you can win each time.

What can I do about them?

Fortunately, you can get rid of self-limiting beliefs.
But first you have to identify them.
They could be lurking in the recesses of our minds without our awareness.
Talking with a friend or consulting with a coach could give you more objective feedback as to their existence.

Once you have identified them, these limiting beliefs must be challenged every time they rear their heads. You must consciously reject any thought or suggestion that you are limited in any way. There is nothing you cannot do. You simply need to find the way and follow it to conclusion.

When self-limiting thoughts are starved of attention, they wither and die.
Whatever you give attention to magnifies: whatever you do not attend to shrivels up and dies.
Jim Rohn says it aptly: “You cannot take the mild approach to the weeds in your mental garden. You have got to hate weeds enough to kill them. Weeds are not something you handle; weeds are something you devastate.”

No one is better than you are.
If others do better, it is simply because they have had more practise, more experience, and/or they know something that you don’t. And all this can be remedied.
God made us equal. It’s what we build upon His initial investment that makes the difference.

Read what the experts have said about our beliefs:

• Belief always precedes action. -James Allen
(We won’t even attempt something unless we first believe we can accomplish it. No belief, no action, i.e. procrastination.)

• Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you can change your beliefs. -Maxwell Maltz

• Once your thoughts reflect what you genuinely want to be, the appropriate emotions and the consequent behaviour will flow automatically. Believe it and you will see it. -Wayne Dyer

In a nut shell, you must control the thoughts that play around in your mind. Admit and nurture only those that enhance your positive programming and move you to your goals.

Possible sources

Limiting beliefs could come from the things people said to us and about us while we grew up.
Now is the time to devastate these weeds.
They could also come from listening to negative people, watching/listening to negative TV and radio programs, reading negative books and magazines, and repeatedly hearing negative song lyrics.
Always be on the look-out for possible sources, not fearfully, but with the view to detect and devastate them.

A proactive approach

A better way to deal with self-limiting thoughts is to prevent them in the first place.
Examining the list of sources above will give you an idea of where their opposites (self-empowering beliefs) can be found - in the opposite directions!
If you spend time with wholesome people and material, this will build healthy, wholesome thought patterns.
A mind that is girded with strong, empowering thoughts is in fit enough condition to resist invasion by these malicious, illegal aliens.

Invest in inspirational books, seminars, CDs etc. Engage in positive self-talk or affirmations.
And just in case self-limiting thoughts slip through unnoticed, perform periodic “mind-sanitation exercises” where you do some self-evaluation. Sometimes a seminar attendance or listening to an audio program is what will alert you of this incursion.

I wish you all the best as you build a strong and healthy mind.
Go forward and do all the things you thought you could not do, because now you know that you can.
Can I hear an “Amen” somebody?!

Copyright © 2005 Oma Edoja

Oma Edoja is a published writer, motivational speaker and infopreneur. She speaks to, and works with people wanting to move to the next level. Is progress for you slow? Are results undesirable? Do you have self-limiting beliefs?
Contact Oma via her blog, for a free assessment. Blog: http://omaslounge.blogspot.com (contact info available here).