Christmas Joke

How many presents can Santa fit into an empty sack?



Only one... after that it’s not empty anymore.

New Friend Quote

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive,and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born” ~ Anais Nin

How Fights Start

My wife sat down on the settee next to me as I was flipping channels.

She asked, 'What's on TV?'

I said,'Dust.'

And then the fight started...

******************************************

My wife and I were watching "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" while we were in bed.

I turned to her and said, "Do you want to have sex?"

"No," she answered.

I then said, "Is that your final answer?"

She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying, "Yes."

So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend."

And then the fight started....

******************************************

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary.

She said,

'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.'

I bought her some bathroom scales.

And then the fight started...

******************************************

When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her some place expensive...

....so, I took her to a petrol station.

And then the fight started...

******************************************
After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social Security.

The woman behind the counter asked me for my Driver's License to verify my age. I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home.

I told the woman that I was very sorry but I would have to go home and come back later.

The woman said, 'Unbutton your shirt'. So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair.

She said, 'That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me' and she processed my Social Security application.

When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social Security office.

She said,

'You should have dropped your trousers. You might have gotten disability, too.'

And then the fight started...

******************************************

My wife and I were sitting at a table at my school reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table.

My wife asked, 'Do you know her?'

'Yes,' I sighed, 'She's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since.'

'My God!' says my wife,'who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?'

And then the fight started...

******************************************

I took my wife to a restaurant.

The waiter, for some reason took my order first.

"I'll have the steak, medium rare, please."

He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad cow?""

Nah, she can order for herself."

And then the fight started...

******************************************

A woman was standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror.

She was not happy with what she saw and said to her husband,

"I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment...'

The husband replied,

'Your eyesight's damn near perfect.'

And then the fight started

There Are No Coincidences

Sometimes, it's the ones you love the most who are the best at pushing your buttons.

Coincidence?

I believe there are no coincidences. Read "The Celestine Prophecy".



A few months ago I received exactly the same email from two different sources on the same day, one in English, one in Dutch. Neither person knew each other nor knew that the message was exactly what I needed to hear that day. Neither person knew what I was going through so how appropriate it would be.

I recently read a book which is very popular but it did not speak to me at all. A friend started telling me how much it was helping him but I dismissed it. One evening it fell off my bedside table and opened at a specific page. The contents of that chapter just fell off the page and gave me the message I needed to hear.

Today someone I barely know posted something on my Facebook profile with a link to a video which almost shouted at me with what I needed to hear at that moment. Everything happens for a reason.

God/The Universe always answers but not in ways we expect.

Visit Antonia Harrison’s blog for information, jokes, opinions, videos - anything that might be of interest.

Thank You For The Virtual Tissues My Friends

"When was the last time you experienced a crisis? Did it seem like it was the end of the world? The length of time it takes for you to recognize your outer crisis as a blessing correlates with your degree of wisdom. Crisis is ultimately blessings. Whenever a door shuts, a window opens. Wisdom is instantaneously seeing both sides." - Dr John Demartini

Friends are so valuable. I have a tendency to feel lonely, living alone with my sons in the middle of the woods where it is far too quiet for me. But over the last weeks since my relationship break-up I have learned so much from my friends, on the telephone but particularly the virtual friends on Facebook, Skype and MSN Messenger. We have shared a depth of communication about what is really important. I have been blessed by conversations with people I had hardly spoken to before. There truly are angels in this world. Everyone sees the world slightly differently according to their own beliefs, attitudes, values and experiences. This is what we NLP-ers call the deletion, distortion and generalization of the Reticular Activating System. (See NLP Belgium)

When I was hurting and lost in the grief, I could only see what I had lost, what would now never be. By holding on to what I was missing, I allowed only pain to be present in my heart. My friends, of course, did not feel my pain but in their love for me, they shared their wisdom. Not the flippant but well-meant, “Pick yourself up. Plenty more fish in the see.” Yes, fish but also sharks. When your heart is full of pain you cannot imagine there could ever be anyone else who would suit so perfectly as the lost love.

“Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” - Shakespeare

My wise friends allowed me to talk about the pain and loss because they knew it is the best way to work through the grief. But more, they shared quotes, recommended books and gave me self-discovery exercises to do to gain perspective on the relationship. I thought he was my soulmate and maybe he still is but we are not meant to be together at this time. What I thought was perfect I now see differently.

I see that I gave him my power. I acted as I thought he wanted. Instead of being the outgoing, sociable person that I am, the High Yellow, I settled down to domesticity, cooking every night and watching TV on the sofa. I said that I did not need anyone else and that I was happy with just his company. No more need to date, no more nights out in bars or clubs. I thought that was so superficial.

But now I see that I thrive with people. Social networking is important to me. He rejects all of that, does not even want to be one of the 350 million on Facebook.

On Friday, my birthday, I went out to dinner in an international group of 18 of which I only knew 3 people. I had some really interesting conversations, learned about cultural differences. At midnight, instead of going home to sleep with my boyfriend, I went to a new bar with four new friends: 1 South African, 1 Belgian and 2 Finns. I had never previously met someone from Finland. I thought I would feel lonely on my birthday without my ex but instead I had a fantastic evening and left at 3am. On Thursday I shall go to a Gala Cocktail party with 120 people of 37 nationalities. The possibilities are now endless.

I realize too that he was crushing my dream, causing me to doubt my ability to fulfil my vision and mission in life. He can only see life from his model of the world like most people but by limiting his contacts with the world and understanding other people’s way of being and doing, he also could not appreciate that our differences bring necessary balance. Yin and Yang in everything. Where he saw differences, I see rich variety.

The door to my ex is firmly shut because he wants to break all contact. That is sad and unnecessary but that is where he is at, cutting himself off from all social contact. His door is shut but I now have so many windows open.

A big thank you to my wise friends who sent me virtual tissues when I needed them. They kept telling me what a strong and amazing woman I am but I couldn’t see it. I no longer ‘need’ the love of my ex to make me complete because friends have poured out their love to me helping me to love myself in a way that will protect me. I no longer feel lonely in my house because I am surrounded by books full of experiences, inspirational videos on YouTube containing lessons I still have to learn. How much more interesting than sitting in front of the TV every night! I am saying yes to invitations and connecting with others but also enjoying staying in with my own company.

Our point of power is always in this moment. Instead of anticipating our heart’s desire in the future, we create it in the NOW because the NOW is all we have. The past and future are just illusion, our perception. By sharing my NOW with others, I hope, and in fact know, that others will also find strength and hope. I remain an optimist.

My previous posts:

Sadness Does Not Last Forever – Time to Move On

Bring the Light of Consciousness Into Your Pain

You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore

The Pain When Your Soulmate Leaves You

©Antonia Harrison 2009 from Personal Development in the 21st Century and Antonia Harrison's Blog. Antonia Harrison is the English Hypnotherapist in Belgium and Personal Development speaker giving workshops to groups and companies.

Music Gives Strength Quote

"Every day, music gives the strength
to move that one stone in the river
one millimetre forward."

Birthday Greetings From the Universe

Happy Birrrrthday to Youuuu,
Happy Birrrrthday to Youuuu,
Happy Birrrrthday Dear Antonia,
Happy Birrrrthday to Youuuu!

A few years back, not so long ago, heaven and earth erupted into a major celebration with the news of your impending adventure into this very time and space. You see, someone like Antonia Harrison doesn't come along all that often. In fact, there's never been a single one like you, nor is there ever ANY possibility that another will come again. You're an Angel among us. Someone, whose eyes see what no others will EVER see, whose ears hear what no others will EVER hear, and whose perspective and feelings will NEVER, ever be duplicated. Without YOU, the Universe, and ALL THAT IS, would be sadly less than it is.

Quite simply:

You're the kind of person, Antonia,
Who's hard to forget,
A one-in-a-million
To the people you've met.
Your friends are as varied
As the places you go,
And they all want to tell you
In case you don't know:
That you make a big difference
In the lives that you touch,
By taking so little
And giving so much!

Antonia, you are so AWESOME! For your birthday, friends and angels from every corner of the Universe, including buddies you didn't know you had, will be with you to wish you the HAPPIEST of days and an exciting new year in time and space. You won't be alone!

Sadness Does Not Last Forever - Time To Move On

I just read Paulo Coehlo's "The Fifth Mountain" which was about Elijah, the Old Testament prophet. In the last chapter, I found these thoughts:

"Sadness does not last forever when we walk in the direction of what which we always desired.

It is always necessary to know when a stage of one's life has ended. If you stubbornly cling to it after the need has passed, you lose the joy and meaning of the rest. And you risk being shaken to your senses by God." - Paulo Coehlo

A few days ago, thinking about my lost love, I wrote these words:

"Does he support your dreams? If you have a dream, don't let anyone stifle your energy to make it real."

"Pain and sorrow are an inevitable part of life if we give of ourselves and play our life full-out."

"Only the emotionally repressed never feel pain but then they also don't feel love or joy."

"We cannot force someone to love us but we can fall in love with ourselves."

"People come into our lives at a specific moment to teach us a lesson we need to hear at that time. Hopefully, we are listening to the teacher."

"The regret of lost love may remain for years but we can overcome the pain by accepting that the lessons learned prepare us for a more fulfilling and content future."

"Although lonely, I feel tremendous love and support from friends and acquaintances all over the world. Their energy and encouragement has sustained me when I could not find my own."

"Energy is circulating all the time but only when we look outwards and upwards can we receive a tingle of this life force."

Today is my birthday. I'm taking a deep breath and moving on. I know I might be wobbly at times but there is hope, I remain an optimist.

Happy to be a High Yellow

Life is a puzzle. The key to putting all of the pieces together and making a picture of Success and Happiness is found in Understanding Yourself and Others

As a High Yellow You are

•Enthusiastic
•Outgoing
•Talkative
•Emotional
•Friendly

Tips on how to get to know me better

• Be flexible
• Be quick paced
• Be positive
• Be open
• Be generous with your praise
• Be supportive of my ideas
• Have fun!

Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

It's my birthday today and a friend sent me this lovely poem:

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
The palm of my hand,
The need of my care,

‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Quotes for Today

"The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same." - Carlos Castaneda

"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." - M Scott Peck

"Every moment of your life you're in a character-building process. You cannot stop the process of character-building but you can control what you allow to build your character. The very nature of who you are." - Johnny Wimbrey

Jim Rohn Tribute

Jim Rohn passed away on 5 December 2009. A truly great source of wisdom on life and business, he inspired so many and will be sorely missed.

He said, “I wish you a life of wealth, health and happiness, a life in which you give to yourself the gift of patience, the virtue of reason, the value of knowledge and the influence of faith in your own ability to dream about and achieve worthy rewards.”

Read the tribute to Jim Rohn

Jim Rohn quotes on Character:

"For things to change we have to change for things to get better we have to get better. Don't wish for less problems wish for more skills."

“It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.”

“The few who do are the envy of those who only watch.”

"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you."

"Your philosophy determines whether you will go for the disciplines or continue the errors."

"We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment."

"The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become."

Jim Rohn Quotes on Problems and Challenges:

"Don't wish it were easier; wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems; wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenges; wish for more wisdom."

"You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of."

"To solve any problem, here are three questions to ask yourself: First, what could I do? Second, what could I read? And third, who could I ask?"

"Character isn't something you were born with and can't change, like your fingerprints. It's something you weren't born with and must take responsibility for forming."

"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment."

"The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance. Proceed, and light will dawn, and shine with increasing clearness on your path."

"Take time to gather up the past so that you will be able to draw from your experience and invest them in the future."

Jim Rohn Quotes on Goals and Planning:

"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much."

"The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get."

"You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight."

Jim Rohn Quotes on Work and Success:

"We get paid for bringing value to the market place."

"You don't get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour."

"Work harder on yourself than you do on your job."

"Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day."

"Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. You don't fail overnight. Instead, failure is a few errors in judgement, repeated every day."

"You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of."

"Whoever renders service to many puts himself in line for greatness - great wealth, great return, great satisfaction, great reputation, and great joy."

Jim Rohn Quotes on Relationships:

"The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy."

"One of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone is the gift of attention."

"It's okay to send flowers, but don't let the flowers do all the talking. Flowers have a limited vocabulary. About all the best flowers can say is that you remembered."

Jim Rohn quotes on reading and self-education:

"Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune."

"Miss a meal if you have to, but don't miss a book."

"The book you don't read won't help."

"Words do two major things: they provide food for the mind and create light for understanding and awareness."

"Don't just read the easy stuff. You may be entertained by it, but you will never grow from it."

"If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around."

"Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins."

"Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people."

Jim Rohn on Keeping Journals:

"There are three things to leave behind: your photographs, your library and your personal journals. These things are certainly going to be more valuable to future generations than your furniture!"

"Be a collector of good ideas, but don't trust your memory. The best collecting place for all of the ideas and information that comes your way is your journal."

"Don't use your mind for a filing cabinet. Use your mind to work out problems and find answers; file away good ideas in your journal."

There are many more quotes you will find but these are some of my favourites.

Click this link for the complete text of Jim Rohn’s most famous speech about Success, Life & Business: “Success in Network Marketing” which applies to any business and so much of life in general.

My message to Jim:
"I saw you speak many times, I met you in person, I read your books, listened to your words. No one person has had more impact on my life. You leave behind a wonderful legacy that touches people all over the world. May your words live on in us, your students. - Antonia Harrison

Click here for the tribute and links to a free ezine with valuable training from Jim Rohn plus a store offering all of his books, DVDs and CDs.


Visit Antonia Harrison’s blog for information, jokes, opinions, videos - anything that might be of interest.

Bring the Light of Consciousness Into Your Pain

Last night I read chapter 2 of Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now" entitled "Consciousness: The Way Out of Pain". The last time I looked at this book, it did not speak to me at all but last night the words jumped off the page.

I want to share some key sentences.

It talks of pain being "some form of nonacceptance, some form of unconscious resistance to what is." The mind denies the NOW which is in fact the only reality that we have. The past and future are just our perception and an illusion. The memory is distorted by our own internal representations of how we absorb information from events, what was said, how we felt, what we told ourselves.

"As long as you are unable to access the power of the Now, every emotional pain that you experience leaves behind a residue of pain that lives on in you. This accumulated pain is a negative energy field that occupies your body and mind.

Once this pain-body has taken you over, you want more pain. You become a victim. Look closely and you will find that your thinking and behaviour are designed to keep the pain going.

The pain-body, which is the dark shadow cast by the ego, is actually afraid of the light of your consciousness. If you don't face it, if you don't bring the light of your consciousness into your pain, you will be forced to relive it again and again.

The pain-body is trapped life energy. It may create physical aches and pains in different parts of the body but they won't last.

An unconscious fear of losing your identity will create strong resistance to any disidentification. In other words, you would rather be in pain - be the pain-body - than take a leap into the unknown and risk losing the familiar unhappy self.

Observe the resistance within yourself. Observe the attachment to your pain. Observe the peculiar pleasure you derive from being unhappy. Observe the compulsion to talk or think about it. The resistance will cease if you make it conscious.

Another aspect of the emotional pain that is an intrinsic part of the egoic mind is a deep-seated sense of lack or incompleteness, of not being whole.

People will often enter into a compulsive pursuit of ego-gratification and things to identify with in order to fill this hole they feel within. But the hole is always there. As long as the egoic mind is running your life, you cannot truly be at ease.

By saying yes to life, we see how life suddenly starts working for us instead of against us."

These words really spoke to me in relation to the pain I have been feeling over my relationship break-up three weeks ago. It is time to release that pain, push it away for it does not serve me. I have grieved the loss enough and it is time now to spend time alone, learning to be complete in myself, not looking to a partner to complete me.

I wrote down these thoughts:

"Sometimes it is necessary to feel very alone before recognising that the only person that we need is ourselves. Others may join our party but only if they bring value to our day."

"It is in the moments of deep loneliness that we need to search inside for our best friend - ourself - and enjoy our own company."

"Think of wholeness like an orange. A protective skin outside with a bright, cheerful colour. But the skin can be pierced and reveal segments representing different areas of our life. Segments when squeezed produce a juice of tears but also a juice of vitality. The skin is the image the world sees, not necessarily what is living inside."

Eckhart Tolle - The Power of Now (amazon.co.uk)

Eckhart Tolle - The Power of Now (amazon.com)


©Antonia Harrison 2009 from Personal Development in the 21st Century . Antonia Harrison is the English Hypnotherapist & NLP Coach in Belgium and Personal Development speaker giving workshops to groups and companies.

Om Vibration Video

I am not a Buddhist but I find this short video (3 minutes) with an Om vibration to be both calming and uplifting. Watch it in full screen mode for the best effect.

You Don't Bring Me Flowers Anymore

He gave me a red rose from his garden on our second date, wrapped in foil and plastic to keep it fresh. A week later, another one for his “Milady”. He treated me as a lady, looked after me, cared for me lovingly.

This sad song by Neil Diamond mourns the loss of a time when the relationship was good, when the relationship has turned sour, empty and the love is lost. Normally relationships go through phases and you can reflect where it started to go wrong.

“You don't bring me flowers
You don't sing me love songs
You hardly talk to me anymore
When you come through the door
At the end of the day

I remember when
You couldn't wait to love me
Used to hate to leave me.”

But when you are so happy and the other person suddenly goes, how do you make sense of that?

“It used to be so natural
To talk about forever
But "used to be's" don't count anymore
They just lay on the floor
'til we sweep them away .

And baby, I remember
All the things you taught me
I learned how to laugh
And I learned how to cry
Well I learned how to love…”

I can understand that some relationships run their course and one or both partners decide it is time to move on. But what I don’t understand is how both partners can be so happy, so close, still talking about forever and suddenly one day one partner decides to go, walk away and not look back. Not even want to stay in contact. How could he do that? How could he tell me one night that he loves my children then walk away from them the next day? How could he ask me at 2pm where we should live when we retire then walk away at 6pm, knowing he was not coming back?

I thought we went too fast and he got scared of the plans before us and how to make them come true. Worried about the financial responsibility of bringing two families together. I thought he had doubts that I would want to settle down with him. Maybe an insecurity that I would go back to my ex. But no, he told me that he formed an image in his mind and put me in that image, fell in love with that image then one day realized I was not that image and his heart went cold. Instead of seeing the real me, the wonderful me, with all the qualities I offered him, he just walked. He told me I could not have been any better a girlfriend, could not have done anything more. His heart just changed. He agrees with all the rational reasons for being together but does not find any love any more. He does not want to even start again slowly, just go out and do fun things together. Just close it down, concentrate fully on his work, pretend I don't exist. Yet my love for him runs so deep and after three weeks, the pain of a broken heart is still so very present.

On Thursday I gave him a red rose with the word “cherish”, cherish the wonderful time we had together. But I think he has already forgotten and I just don’t understand how he could do that so quickly.

“You Don’t Bring me Flowers” with the lyrics over beautiful images of flowers:

"A relationship is like a rose. How long it lasts, no one knows. Love can erase an awful past, love can be yours, you'll see at last. To feel that love, it makes you sigh. To have it leave, you'd rather die. You hope you've found that special rose, cause you love and care for the one you choose." - Rob Cella

©Antonia Harrison 2009 from Personal Development in the 21st Century and The Secret and Law of Attraction . Antonia Harrison is the English Hypnotherapist in Belgium and Personal Development speaker giving workshops to groups and companies.

Visit Antonia Harrison’s blog for information, jokes, opinions, videos - anything that might be of interest.

The Chinese Woman's Cracked Pot

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream, "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house. Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding."

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them. Follow the Pareto principle and spend 80% of the time looking for the 20% good in a person rather than picking faults, keeing them at arm's length, finding reasons to build walls between you instead of bridges.

Here is a cute video to illustrate this story:


SO, to all of my cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path. None of us are perfect, nor can we expect to be. Flowers are priceless gifts from nature, each one sent to bring us a little joy into our lives. Many flowers have flaws but together, with their friends, they bring beauty and variety.

Video Buddhist Chanting

This is so calming and beautiful.

Amazon.co.uk 12 Days of Christmas Sale

Amazon.co.uk is currently holding its 12 Days of Christmas Sale where you'll find great gift ideas across all Amazon.co.uk categories including DVD, Electronics, Music, Jewellery, Home & Garden, Health & Beauty and more.

Gratitude quote

"On Thanksgiving Day, we must be thankful for what we have, rather than focus on what we have lost. We have so much. An attitude of gratitude is received by the universe and rewarded with more of what is good. Resentment, hurt, bitterness and sadness just close our hearts and fill us with negative energy leaving no room for anything of value." - Antonia Harrison

Video: How to Do the Moonwalk

Great. We've been trying for years. Now we know how, in slow motion.

Visit Antonia Harrison’s blog for information, jokes, opinions - anything that might be of interest.

Soulmates

I want to research about finding a soulmate. Here is what Wikipedia has to say:

A soulmate is somebody with whom one has a feeling of deep and natural affinity, love, intimacy, sexuality, spirituality, and/or compatibility. A related concept is that of the twin flame or twin soul – which is thought to be the ultimate soulmate, the one and only other half of one's soul, for which all souls are driven to find and join. However, not everyone who uses these terms intends them to carry such mystical connotations.

One theory of soulmates, presented by Aristophanes in Plato's Symposium, is that humans originally consisted of four arms, four legs, and a single head made of two faces, but Zeus feared their power and split them all in half, condemning them to spend their lives searching for the other half to complete them:

"[Primeval man] could walk upright as men now do, backwards or forwards as he pleased, and he could also roll over and over at a great pace, turning on his four hands and four feet, eight in all, like tumblers going over and over with their legs in the air; this was when he wanted to run fast …Terrible was their might and strength, and the thoughts of their hearts were great, and they made an attack upon the gods ... Doubt reigned in the celestial councils. Should they kill them and annihilate the race with thunderbolts, as they had done the giants, then there would be an end of the sacrifices and worship which men offered to them; but, on the other hand, the gods could not suffer their insolence to be unrestrained. At last, after a good deal of reflection, Zeus discovered a way. He said: 'Methinks I have a plan which will humble their pride and improve their manners; men shall continue to exist, but I will cut them in two and then they will be diminished in strength and increased in numbers; this will have the advantage of making them more profitable to us. They shall walk upright on two legs, and if they continue insolent and will not be quiet, I will split them again and they shall hop about on a single leg." —Aristophanes, Plato’s Symposium, [1]

Some people believe that souls are literally made and/or fated to be the mates of each other, or to play certain other important roles in each other's lives.

According to theories popularized by Theosophy and in a modified form by Edgar Cayce, God created androgynous souls, equally male and female. Later theories postulate that the souls split into separate genders, perhaps because they incurred karma while playing around on the Earth, or "separation from God". Over countless reincarnations, each half seeks the other. When all karmic debt is purged, the two will fuse back together and return to the ultimate.

Mother Teresa Quote on Love

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love." - Mother Teresa

21 Wise Tips in Life

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, 'I love you ,' mean it.

FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.

Don't Say You Love Me Video - The Corrs

I love this song by The Corrs:

Quotes for Today

“Be yourself, because everyone else is already taken.”

- Oscar Wilde

“You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.”

~Jim Rohn

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."

- Paulo Coehlo

"You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself.

" - Jim Rohn

"We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same."

- Bob Proctor

Love Quotes

A few love quotes to reflect how I feel today:

‘I was born when you kissed me. I died when you left me. I lived a few weeks while you loved me.' - Humphrey Bogart

"When the heart grieves over what is has lost, the spirit rejoices over what it has left." - Sufi Epigram

"Immature love says: 'I love you because I need you.
Mature love says: 'I need you because I love you." - Erich Fromm

“Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” - Shakespeare

“It really changed my life. When we split up, something changed, permanently, in me. My heart sort of broke that day, and it will never be the same." - Gwyneth Paltrow

So, as I go back to the universe and focus on the Law of Attraction,

"The basic question for every human being is... is the universe friendly?."

- Albert Einstein

Life of Brian Ending

"Always look on the bright side of life..."



A friend sent this video to me this morning. Corny but good advice.

The Pain When Your Soulmate Leaves You

Three months ago, I asked the angels to bring me a man who:
1. Would love me.
2. Would be emotionally available to me.
3. Would accept my kids.

My cousin commented that all three was maybe too much to hope for but I might find someone with one quality.

Two weeks later, Luc came into my life. He gave me all three and more. He offered me love, safety, security. We work in a similar field and discussed opportunities for working together with clients. I didn’t think I wanted a steady relationship and certainly not with someone who had kids but after four dates in one week and our children meeting one another, we knew we wanted to be together. He spoke of a “coming home” feeling. He wanted me to stay in his life for a very long time. He brought me a red rose from his garden. He told me loved me and we agreed to grow old together. "No more dating, I asked the Greek gods for a Lady and they brought me my Helen of Troy: Now we can grow old together". Dating was behind us. We had found each other. His parents were delighted that he had found such a good woman and looked forward to meeting me in the next couple of weeks. He told me he had always wanted to be married by 50 (nine months to go.)

Within two weeks we were talking of living together. Within three weeks he found us a house to buy. It suited us all. The children chose their bedrooms. His youngest son wanted to live with us full-time and the mother agreed that he could go to the same school as my sons.

After five weeks we went to London for five days and he met all my family who thought he was super and they were so happy for us. Everyone warned us not to go fast but we felt we had known each other for so long. There was every certainty that we really had found the person, Mr & Mrs Right.

Every day I was grateful that this loving, supportive, amusing, intelligent rock was in my life and would never leave me. We cherished our time together. We called each other, “Darling”, “My love”, “Sweetheart”. We cuddled, we held hands, we kept close to one another, even when working on our laptops.

But after 7½ weeks he walked out of my house for the last time unbeknown to me. Two days later I received an email, “end…sorry”. A wave of shock went through me. No particular reason. Just a feeling over the last week that this was not right and he did not want to carry on. His early feelings of love had dwindled.

Yet during that week he seemed so happy to me. He was living at my house going to work, cooking together, watching TV – normal family life. We were settled and had no need for anyone outside of our unit. On the Saturday he told me he loved my children. We talked about possibly staying in my house and he looked forward to putting in a vegetable garden as a hobby to supply fresh food.

I’ve sent him countless emails and only received one back saying that he is sticking to his decision. He asked me not to call, to give him space and distance to come to peace.

Every day pain, questions. Why did he do this? Did I do or say anything wrong? If so, I want to know to avoid doing it in the future. If I was the “top woman” he kept calling me, why did he stop loving me? Did he get overwhelmed by the reality and the responsibility of the future we were planning together? Did he worry that we could not afford the finances to provide for our monthly outgoings? Why did he see differences as a problem rather than just individuality that makes a relationship more interesting?

He once asked if a London lady could settle down with a “baker’s son from the village”. Did he not realize that I see him as he is now, not where he came from? I have enormous respect for what he has achieved in the last five years in a new field of business after he lose his first business. Some people would hide the “skeletons in the closet” but I was so glad that he told me everything. He expressed concern that he might be at the top of his earning power and might be lacking in work over the years. I see him as very competent and believe that his opportunities will grow. I would help him to grow and provide him all the support for continuing success.

Was he scared that I might go back to my ex-boyfriend who has been pining for me? Does he not believe in my deep, lasting love for him?

He said he still thinks about his ex. So what, I still think about mine. Anyone we have loved remains a part of us for always but we move on, our love for them changes, whether or not they stay in our life. I was glad with his honesty but I reminded him that she did not and does not love him. There is no way back to her. They are friends and she is pleased that he found someone who could give him what she could not. My ex said the same to me. He was happy that he no longer stood in my way because he believed Luc was the right man for me and my children.

So many questions. So many rational reasons why he could have talked himself out of this relationship but if there were doubts, we could have discussed them. I never heard any. I just heard assurances.

Our sons talked openly about becoming step-brothers if we got married. We joked with them about who would be the first to provide grandchildren.

We have booked a week in London at New Year and the boys were excited. Now we won’t be going and the costs cannot be refunded.

We are all going to lose so much because he changed his mind yet I don’t even know why.

My eldest son wrote to him,

“Mummy was very sad about your message and wishes that you could at least see each other or call each other. She was so happy with you and we were happy that she was happy. You looked very happy with Mummy. I had never seen Mummy so happy before. It was a big shock when Mummy told us.

We both think you were all great friends. Please change your mind. Please come back together.”

He wrote that we went too fast and I had warned him that we should not do that. Did he get carried away with the dream instead of taking time to know the person? Yet he kept telling me how much he truly loved me.

A friend wrote,

“What a very sad letter we received this morning. I am amazed and terribly sorry that this happened - things seemed so perfect that it is quite a shock to us as well. You must be going through the agony of the damned and my heartfelt sympathy is with you.”

I replied,

“I am stunned and in so much pain. I don't want to sound dramatic but I honestly thought a heart attack was starting this morning. I just wish Luc would talk to me and explain why he changed apparently from one hour to the next.”

I was loving, kind, a good listener, supportive, I cooked for everyone, I did everything, the sex was great and yet he dumped me by email without even an explanation. Just wishing me happiness. Happiness! I found joy with him, a peace, a togetherness that I have never known.

I truly believe that he is the soulmate I never dared to hope I would find. I know with every ounce of my being that he is the right man for me and I thought I was the right woman for him. He is the father that my boys need and I showed that I could be a great second mum to his boys. He seemed so interested in my boys and just the day before he left, told me that he loved them.

How could he change so suddenly? How could he do this, to all of us, to his sons who also wanted us to be together? How could he shatter everyone’s dream?

Just a week before he was talking to a girlfriend of mine about a business opportunity with her company, telling her how happy we were and that we would visit together to discuss the business.

Four weeks ago, he left me a note thanking me for being such a wonderful mother and woman, such a good girlfriend, signed love you truly, yours forever.

A male friend asked me what I had done to “attract this into my life?” How did I attract this??? I was so happy, I never doubted him or us. I believed him and trusted him totally. I had asked the angels for such a man and here he was and I remembered the line from The Thornbirds, “You have the love of a man who will never leave you.” I was secure. I could give myself totally to this man and trust him with my heart, with my children’s hearts. He went on, “Change your mindset. You've been there before - so you should be getting better at recovery. What are the lessons?”

Change my mindset? Just ignore my pain, my grief, move on. Actually one more rejection makes it more difficult to recover, less reasons to believe there is someone who will love me, truly, for who I am.

Another male friend,
“A man who breaks up a relationship in a way like that is not worth to be with you. He isn’t even worth crying over … You deserve someone much better than that.” Sure, rationally, in cold light but I love this man so much.

Luc is a Leo, the lion. I wrote to him, “You were my strong man, my protector, my helper, my friend. I was safe with you and we could achieve everything together.”

There is a time to learn, a time to pick myself up and move on. But not yet. Men and women are different. Even the strongest women sometimes need to be a little girl again, reach for the tissues and allow the pain to come out. If it doesn't, it will never truly go away. My girlfriends are encouraging me to talk, to write as many emails as I need, to Skype and to say the same things over and over. It's not "poor me". It's the way that (most) women operate. I need to grieve, I need to understand. I can't just say "sod him" and look for someone else.

I don't want to be miserable and a burden but this has come as such a shock for me. I keep going over and over in my mind what could have caused this. Fortunately, I have friends who encourage me to keep talking to them, keep writing over and over, to let the pain out.

I need answers to find closure. I still don't know why Nicholas split up with me back in 1987 and that has kept him as the love of my life all this time. I need to know. It is the only way I can find any peace. One girlfriend said leave him be, connect with God/spirit/angels/the universe and you will found out why but I need to hear it from him. There could be some huge misunderstanding. I keep telling myself it is just panic on his side, realizing that he really had found what he wanted and this was it for the rest of our days. Yet he wrote, “The early love is melting like snow in the sun.” How can that be?

We should have been together this weekend, all six of us. Our sons should have been swimming together yesterday, receiving a visit from Sint Nicholas afterwards. He should have been sitting at the head of the dining table as head of our joined families. We should have been playing Monopoly today, the new World version that he bought for us in London three weeks ago. Instead, I have spent the day sharing my pain with the tremendous people who have been showing love and support to me.

I love him and miss him to the core of my being. Yes, it was short but I thought it was forever so that does not make it easier to get over. Of course, it is better to know now rather than when we would have bought a house together, leaving me with huge financial responsibility. If he had doubts, why didn’t we talk about them? It would be easier to bear if I had known he had doubts. But we were so together, so happy to just settle down together.

A male friend thinks that if I want him back - of course I do - the only way is to leave him completely alone which in itself might make him think because a man can only reflect when he is alone, his sons are not with him, he is watching TV alone, weekends that he could have been with me etc. In “Women are from Venus, Men Are From Mars”, John Gray says that women need to talk but men retreat to their cave. He has gone home to his house, his things so I shall leave him to concentrate on his work. If I want to write to him, I will draft an email but not send it. No texts, no phone calls. Just be brave and wait and hope.

If you want to pray for me, please do. I am calling on the angels - the universe - spirit to bring him back.

Maybe one day, he will contact me to explain. Maybe one day he will be ready to meet, to talk and I hope to the bottom of my heart that we could start again but in a different way. Slow down, just date, have fun rather than pore over financial details and discuss problems.

It might take weeks, months or maybe never and I have to accept that. Right now I cannot even start to believe there could be someone better for me and the boys. My son and I just had a long talk because he is as baffled as anyone. Over the next six weeks I have to get through my birthday, Christmas and New Year.

It might be wishful thinking but I believe he is my soulmate and “there can be only one” as he used to say. I’m a good woman. Why wouldn’t he want me?

I'm not giving up on my dream, our dream, the boys' hopes. I'm not prepared to get angry, call him a bastard and look for someone else. My ex always says he admired my determination to obtain my goal.

Why am I writing all this? To help me to grieve but also because I’d like to think my bearing my soul, sharing my experiences will speak to someone else, warn others not to go so fast, to fall in love truly with each other, not fall in love with love. Maybe that’s what he did. Found someone to tick his boxes then discovered I wasn’t that person. No, but I am worth being with. I have many qualities and so much love to give.

I hope you respect my honesty, my authenticity in sharing my most heartfelt and raw emotions.

I’m re-reading Richard Bach’s book “The Bridge Across Forever” in which he describes his search for his soulmate and the subsequent relationship with his future wife, Leslie Parrish. Very different people, different ideas, some different values but they found common ground, discussed differences and allowed love to develop. I think we were too busy looking at house details instead of just dating. By so doing, we lost sight of "us" and now we've lost what money cannot buy.

© Antonia Harrison 2009

BraveHeart Women

When I first read this quote by The Dali Lama I was quite intrigued. He said, "The world will be saved by the woman."

I sincerely believe that The Dali Lama is spot on regarding the powerful influence women have in our world today. We all know women who are inspiration in action which is exactly why I knew I had to share this with you...

Ellie Drake, rocked the business world in 2007 by creating the BraveHeart Women's Online Community, an innovative resource she designed to help women entrepreneurs
join together like never before in a mutual commitment to success.

Ellie told about the powerful women (Dr. Maya Angelou, Leeza Gibbons, Mariel Hemmingway, Susan Anton,and Lisa Nichols of 'The Secret' fame, just to name a few) who are part of the BraveHeart Community.

This (FREE) social networking site empowers women of all ages to discover their own voices, expand their potential, and be the change they want for themselves, their family, their community, and the world. Ellie and The Women of The BraveHeart Community have extended a special invitation to Unemployed Millionaires which I
encourage you to take advantage of right away:

BraveHeart Women Global Community

Here are a few things you will learn from The BraveHeart Community:

How ONE SIMPLE SHIFT IN YOUR AWARENESS produces astronomically more results in less time, with less effort (you'll be astonished at how productive you are with this devastatingly easy change);

How the thoughts of successful WOMEN LEADERS ARE DIFFERENT from the thoughts of average women (and how those differences play out in all personal and professional
achievements);

How to banish useless energy like GUILT, SHAME and REGRET from your brain so you can stop beating yourself up (women in particular play out negative emotions over and over in their heads, which can make them feel horrible);

How to buck the PROCRASTINATION PATTERN any of us can slip into (you can't step up to being your strongest self if you can't get stuff done);

How to INSTANTLY shift your attitude to transform your personal ability to lead and inspire (moods and emotions don't have to control your destiny);

How to easily break down and dissect the steps of TRUE PERSONAL, PROFESSIONAL and GLOBAL FULFILLMENT (it's shockingly simple when it's laid out for you);

How to 'DETOX' areas of your life today so you can realize your dreams and get out of your own way (break the cycle of repeating habits that don't serve you anymore);

How to quickly discover your 'LIFE PURPOSE' and put it into action (the Braveheart Community is tailored for meaningful connections and insights);

How to easily uncover and OVERCOME BLIND SPOTS that hold you back from being your most magnificent self (all too often it is US holding ourselves back);

Please feel free to share this with any woman who is inspiration in action:

BraveHeart Women Global Community

P.S. Did I mention the cost for registering for the *BraveHeart Women Global Community* is 100% FREE of charge?

Four Tips to De-Stress Your Spirt

Loss of zest, life purpose or identity stresses the human spirit.

How you define who you are, and the meaning and purpose of life is core to the health of your spirit. You experience spiritual stress when these definitions are challenged or unclear. The human spirit asks, “Who am I”, “What is life about” and “What is my purpose”?

These questions peak at times of significant life change or loss as in the identity challenges of adolescence and mid-life or loss of a child, spouse, job or body part.

Attaching identity and purpose to variables outside your control makes you vulnerable to spiritual stress.

Here are four tips to de-stress your spirit.

Tip # 1 ~ Connect with Self
Look deep into your eyes in a mirror. Contemplate. Who is looking? Realize the same awareness inside of you today has been there from the beginning of your life. Your body, emotions and thoughts change yet abiding through the changes is an unchanging, You. This invulnerable core is a foundation for inner strength and support.

Why it works ~
When you are not dependent on outer conditions to define yourself, you feel free. While the outer world is constantly changing and undependable. Your inner being is solid, grounded in reality and invulnerable to attack by others. Viktor Frankl describes this beautifully in “Man’s Search for Meaning”.

Tip # 2 ~ Connect with the moment
Feel the water on your hands as you wash them. Notice the specific way you wash them, the slipperiness of the soap, the temperature of the water. Feel your feet on the ground, notice the sights, sounds and smells around you.

Feeling your experience in the moment is a practice in being present that helps you connect with life in a deep and meaningful way. Set an intention at the beginning of your day to stop and be present more often. You will find this practice reduces stress by increasing awareness and meaning.

Why it works ~
Your mind can only attend to one thing at a time. When your mind is focused on the details of the moment, it cannot ruminate about the past or worry about the future, which are stressful.

Connecting to the present moment centers, relaxes and enlivens your life experience. The insight, knowledge and experience of this moment is available to you. You have a sense of control within your self, which reduces stress.

Tip # 3 ~ Connect with your purpose
How do you know what is important to you? You feel it in your body.

Notice the small voice or sense of knowing inside when something is attracting you.Your body alerts you to what is dangerous or attractive long before your mind can explain why. Pay attention to those cues. This is your intuition.

Your deepest values and purpose are not in your head, but in your heart. What does your heart respond to; what touches you?

Purpose is the force that energizes. It inspires you to get up in the morning. What excites your passion for life?

Why it works ~
When your inner promptings guide you, you cannot make a mistake. These are signs that lead to your truest desires and lasting happiness. Joseph Campbell, the great mythologist says, “Follow your bliss”. When you follow your true path or calling, you are invigorated rather than stressed.

Tip # 4 ~ Connect with nature
You are part of a larger cosmos. You are not isolated as the boundaries of your body suggest. Whether you look at life from a religious, spiritual or scientific perspective, what you think and feel affects the environment and the environment affects you.

Spending time in nature reconnects you to your natural rhythms. It is easy to lose your center when your attention is constantly captured by other people, television, computer, shopping, and so on. Taking time every day to be quiet in a
natural setting, reflecting, journaling, or just being present re-connects you to your truth.

Take a moment to smell a flower, watch the river flow by, or appreciate a tree when you take a break or before going home at the end of the workday.

Why it works~
Earth vibrates at a certain frequency. Spending time in nature synchronizes our vibrations to the natural vibrations that support us.

Closed up in hermetically sealed buildings with florescent lighting and re-circulating air all day can cause a loss of balance and connection with your self and your natural rhythms.

Pulling it together
Spiritual stress results from the loss of connection to your true self, values, purpose and nature. Taking time every day to re-connect with these aspects of your life reduces stress and supports happiness, security and connection.

© 2009 Aila Accad

—————————————————-

Aila Accad, RN, MSN, Your Stress-Busters Coach is an award-winning speaker, best-selling author and spiritual coach who inspires and supports people to free their lives from stress and reclaim inner power. Quick tips to de-stress fast with no extra time or money” is available now with $1200 in free self-growth downloadable gifts at www.stressbustersbook.com

Sign up for De-Stress Tips & News at www.ailaspeaks.com and receive the “Ten Instant Stress Busters” e-book.

Everyone Wants to Be Loved

"Understand that everyone (including you) just wants to be loved and appreciated for who they are, not what you or others expect them to be. Their own set of values determines their identity and who they are. Everyone makes their decisions according to their own values. Every decision will be made according to what they feel will give them the greatest advantages over disadvantages, greatest rewards over risks."
- Dr John Demartini

Richard Bach Quote

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly." - Richard Bach

When to Prospect for New Clients

It's been said that there are only three times when you should be prospecting for new clients:

1) When you don't have enough clients

2) When you have too many clients

3) When you have just the right number of clients

Life is a Gift

Today
before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't speak.

Before
you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone who has nothing to eat.

Before
you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.

Today
before you complain about life - Think of someone who died too early on this earth.

Before
you complain about your children - Think of someone who desires children but they're barren.

Before
you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or sweep - Think of the people who are living in the streets.

Before
whining about the distance you drive Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.

And when
you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.

But
before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another - Remember that not one of us is without sin.

And when
depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on your face and think: you're alive and still around.

True Love Means

Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot...
..who calls you back when you hang up on him...
..who will stay awake just to watch you sleep...
..wait for the guy who kisses your forehead...
..who wants to show you off to the world when you are in your sweats...
..who holds your hand in front of his friends...
..wait for the one who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares about you and how lucky he is to have you...
..wait for the one who turns to his friends and says, "...that's her

Just think about it

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see the world, I will marry you.'

One day,someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.

He asked her,'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?' The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life
led her to refuse to marry him.

Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.'

This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only a very few remember what life was like before and who was always by their side in the most painful situations.

Graphic Designer vs Client video

If you are easily offended, do NOT watch this movie. I think it is absolutely hilarious and shows what graphic designers have to go through with their customers. Actually it applies for everyone who has to deal with clients, not ? ;-)

Best Motivational Video

Visit my blog: Personal Development in the 21st Century

Friendship

This should probably be taped to your bathroom mirror where you could read it every day. You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.

1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.

2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.

3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.

4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.

5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.

6. You mean the world to someone.

7. You are special and unique.

8. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.

9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.

10. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take another look.

11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.

And always remember......When life hands you lemons, Ask for Tequila and Salt and call me over!!

Good friends are like stars.....You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.

"Whenever God Closes One Door He Always Opens Another, Even Though Sometimes It's Hell in the Hallway."

I would rather have one rose and a kind word from a friend while I'm here than a whole truck load when I'm gone.

Happiness keeps You Sweet, Trials keep You Strong, Sorrows keep You Human, Failures keep You Humble,Success keeps You Glowing.

Why Is Breast Cancer Usually Found Near the Armpit?

I just received this email from a friend:

Some time ago, I attended a Breast Cancer Awareness seminar and I asked why the most common area for Breast Cancer was near the armpit. I challenge you all to rethink your every day use of a product that could ultimately lead to a terminal illness. As of today, I will change my use.

I showed it to another friend going through chemotherapy & she said she learned this fact in a support group recently.

The leading cause of breast cancer is the use of anti-perspirant.

*What ???*
*Yes,* *ANTI-PERSPIRANT*.

Most of the products out there are an anti-perspirant /deodorant combination, so go home and check Deodorant is fine, anti-perspirant is not!

Here's why :- The human body has a few areas that it uses to purge toxins ; behind the knees, behind the ears, groin area, and armpits. The toxins are purged in the form of perspiration. Anti-perspirant, as the name clearly indicates, prevents you from perspiring, thereby inhibiting the body from purging toxins from below the armpits. These toxins do not just magically disappear. Instead, the body deposits them in the lymph nodes below the arms since it cannot sweat them out. Nearly all breast cancer tumors occur in the upper outside quadrant of the breast area. This is precisely where the lymph nodes are located.

Additionally, men are less likely (but not completely exempt) to develop breast cancer prompted by anti- perspirant usage because most of the anti-perspirant product is caught in their hair and is not directly applied to the skin.

Women who apply anti-perspirant right after shaving increase the risk further because shaving causes almost imperceptible nicks in the skin which give the chemicals entrance into the body from the armpit area.

PLEASE pass this along to anyone you care about.
Breast cancer is becoming frighteningly common.
This awareness may save lives.

Female Heart Attack - Please Read and Pass On

This has been passed on from an ER nurse and is the best description of this event that she had ever heard. Please read, pay attention and send it on.

FEMALE HEART ATTACKS

I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read.

Women and heart attacks (Myocardial Infarction). Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing heart attack ... you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in the movies. Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack.

I had a heart attack at about 10 :30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might have brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.

A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation - the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything
since about 5:00 p.m.

After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR).

This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. 'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening - we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, 'Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack!'

I lowered the footrest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else ... but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in moment.

I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics .. I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately,asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came
in.

I unlocked the door and then lay down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the Cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull
my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions
(probably something like 'Have you taken any medications?'' but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stents to hold open my right coronary artery.

I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stents.

Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you to know what I learned first hand.

1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body not the usual men's symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel
better in the morning when they wake up ... which doesn't happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a 'false alarm' visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said ''Call the Paramedics.'' And if you can, take an aspirin. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER you are a hazard to others on the road. Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road. Do NOT call your doctor -- he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night
you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.

3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MI's are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive.

A cardiologist says, if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

**Please be a friend and send this article to your friends (male & female) **

Visit Antonia Harrison’s blog for information, jokes, opinions - anything that might be of interest.

Good Advice on Reducing Cancer Risks

Johns Hopkins Update - Good article

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY ('TRY', BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY .

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins:

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3 When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors..

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply..

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water.. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the bodies own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

1. No plastic containers in micro.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Cast le Hospital, was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life.

Antonia Harrison is the English Hypnotherapist in Belgium, passionate about personal development, helping people to make positive change and generally living the best life possible. This includes keeping healthy and minimising the risk of harmful dis-ease.

Congratulations to All You Survivors

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, full-cream milk, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.

Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitch hiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds, KFC, Subway or Nandos.

Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open on the weekends, somehow we didn't starve to death!

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Toffees, Gobstoppers, Bubble Gum and some bangers with which to blow up frogs.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because....... WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of old prams and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo Wii , X-boxes, no video games at all, no 999 channels on SKY, no video/dvd films, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms ....... WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no Lawsuits from these accidents.

Only girls had pierced ears!

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns at Easter time...

We were given air guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Mum didn't have to go to work to help dad make ends meet!

RUGBY and CRICKET had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! Getting into the team was based on MERIT.

Our teachers used to hit us with canes and gym shoes and bullies always ruled the playground at school.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

Our parents didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kiora' and 'Blade' and 'Ridge' and 'Vanilla'

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

Don't bother sending this to the young generation. They'll think it's a script for Monty Python!