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Question Your Religion

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

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

Ray Kroc

Awakening - White Sun

If we are not in the state of awakening and enlightenment, then we are still in the state of slumber and drowsiness. This awakening is not that we wake up from our sleep and aware from our dormant state. It is very difficult for the soul to wake up from its deep slumber without the guidance of Truth. Buddha in Sanskrit means the awakened one and it describes a person who has come to the understanding of the Truth and reality of life. It is to wake up from the delusions of the transient world of illusions.

We can look at the meaning of being awakened from two points of view. Firstly, being awakened means to be conscious or aware of what is going on around us. If we are wide awake, then no thieves would dare to steal the treasures from within us. Being awakened also means realization that is to understand the real and true purpose of life. When we come to this realization, we can put together and manifest fully the precious divine qualities in us. Unfortunately this is not easy to achieve because most of the time we are still lost and trapped by the colorful world around us. Our basic senses, like what we see, hear, smell, taste, touch and think, often deprive us of our peace of mind. This is akin to our precious treasures being stolen without us realizing it.

Secondly, to be awakened is to come to the realization of ones True Self. He makes sure that whatever he says, acts, and thinks are faultless. He maintains tranquility in his sensual organs. He gives convenience to others. He makes no distinction between himself and others. He conveys the Truth to others so that all, including himself; can become Buddhas. He vows to save the world out of his mercifulness.

If we are not awakened then we will find it very hard to let go of attachments and do not know how to untie entanglements. Many people would do anything to acquire what they desire to the extent of jeopardizing their own integrity and morality. They may act unscrupulously and ruthlessly to fulfill their innermost desires induced by the six senses. Such unrighteous behavior of mankind is a consequence of the attachment to the myriad worldly objects. The attachment to the temporal world will give rise to all obstacles and entanglements.

What do we mean by obstacles? The path of Truth is originally bright and smooth. It is because we choose to act in opposition to our conscience that our heart is then fill with guilt and remorse. The path thus becomes rough, narrow and full of pains and sorrows. We were originally a liberated soul that was free from troubles and worries. It was due to the attachment to the physical world that we became blinded and confused. We then cannot be the master of our destiny unless we are awakened to the Truth of life and its purpose. Fate will then determine our lives but if we are awakened then we can change our fate by knowing how to let go of attachment and untie the entanglement that can suffocate us to death.

The saddest thing of all is that we have been entangled in the worldly realm for too long that we are used to living in such manner and considered it as normal for human to live, grow old, fall sick and then die. We are confused and lost and our sense of spiritual awareness may not be deep enough to help us out of this misery. Sufferings become normal and thus we live in this world helplessly and lack the courage and wisdom to find a way to free ourselves from all these entanglements. Fortunately there are people who are awakened to this misery and search for the Truth to end this suffering.

We all wish to live a meaningful and fulfilling life that will end up with the attainment of eternal life like the previous Saints and Sages who managed to transcend the cycle of birth and death. To achieve this, we must firstly recognize that the worldly realm is not our real home and the physical body is not our true self, it is the false self. We know very well that one day we will all die. There will be a time when this body is no longer usable. When our time is up, we need to leave our body and everything we possess behind. Therefore, this body and this world are actually not ours and thus cannot be depended on but however, we need this body to save the true self, meaning using the false self to save the true self.

In the teachings of Tao of Heaven, we say that an awakened lives in the adulterated society, yet he is not tainted by emotions and desires. He devotes himself to the spreading of Tao to the world, transforming Hell into Heaven. He points out Tao of Heaven to those who are lost so that they can also realize their True Selves. He acts according to Tao. He will correct all his bad habits, perform good deeds, speak only of the Truth, practise only Tao, take only what he justly deserves, think of only righteous thoughts, be honest, and have an everlasting reputation by establishing his virtues. He takes ferrying those who are predestined to encounter Tao of Heaven as his mission. He vows to save the world out of his mercifulness and spread benevolence, justice, virtues and the truth.

This is the advice from my Heavenly Teacher JiGong, Everybody can become Sheng-Xian (saints and worthies); everybody can become Xian-Fo (angels, immortals and buddhas). It only depends on whether the person has aspiration or not. So long as one has aspiration, one can cultivate no matter if one lives as a commoner or leaves home and lives as a priest, a monk or a nun. For those who have aspiration, although they live at home, they would regard their wives or husbands as friends and their children as companions. The worldly affairs cannot pollute them and conjugal love cannot bind them. They take the Spirit and Life as the vital, and take Truth and Virtue as the honorable. They borrow the worldly and common way to cultivate the transcendent and uncommon way. For those who lack aspiration, they cannot see through the reality behind the worldly affairs; they focus on the unreal but slight the real, and they do not realize that Spirit and Life and Birth and Death are a great matter indeed.

Author: T.A Chew

T.A Chew was told that in order to save the True Self (soul), we need the False Self (body) and only human can be awakened. Upon initiation of Tao, he realized that it is very important to restore his True Self and overcome emotions and desires. Website: http://www.white-sun.com

Growing the Concord Grape

The Concord grape, which gets its name from Concord, Massachusetts, is a marble sized fruit that fills you entire mouth with a burst of robust sweetness!

Developed in 1849 by Ephraim Wales Bull, today more than 400,000 tons of Concord Grapes are produced each year. Although most are grown commercially, Concord Grapes are one of many grape cultivars grown in the flower and fruit gardening guides home garden.

There are many choices in Grape cultivars

The amount of Grape varieties is enourmous there are many, it is important to check out what outcome you're after.

If you only want their decorative appearance go for an easy sweet cultivar. If home made wine is your intention the Concord is a good choice, but do check local conditions to see where the optimum lies.

The choices are many. Grapes are green, red, purple, or black. Some have no seed; some do not. Some do separate easily from the fruit (slip-skin) and some do not. Some are best for table use, some are best preserved in jellies or jams, some are grown especially for wine making, and some (like the Concord Grape) are multi-purpose.

One thing all grapes have in common is the way they grow. Plant in early spring after the frost leaves the ground in thoroughly tilled, weeded, and composted soil. Pre-conditioning of the soil makes it rich in organic matter, yet provides good drainage.

In addition to growing in your garden, grape vines are a beautiful ornamental and valuable as shade or screen plants around your flower and fruit gardening guides home when trained on a trellis or arbor. Grapes love full sun. Cultivars will produce best if planted on the south slope of your garden. It typically takes three years to establish a grape planting, but once established, one grape arbor will produce up to 40 years, a single vine producing up to 20 pounds of grapes per year!

How do I Prune Concord Grapes

Whole books can be written on the subject of pruning grapes. Fact is that they need rather hefty pruning. One rule of the thumb is that the wood formed the year before is going to be fruit bearing. So pruning too little will mean an abundance of little sour fruit. Too much an abundance of foliage and not many fruits.

Depending on your location you should prune when the frost left the ground, but before the sap in the plant starts to rise. Never prune during the growing season.

You want the plant to have the maximum space to grow. So keep the space where you keep your Grape Vines clean of weeds and other plants.

Prune shoots back to the third or fourth leaf after the fruits. Remove any new growth. Also remove all leaves from around growing clusters to get maximum sun.

Grapes change color long before they are ripe. To avoid picking clusters before they reach their peak, taste the them first. If they aren't ripe, wait for them to develop. Some fruits improve after they have been harvested, grapes don't. The Concord Grape is a mighty cultivar.

Barbara is an experienced semi professional gardener and writes for http://www.gardening-guides.com she has a special taste for landscaping rock and fruit gardens

Extreme Temperature Building

I Resolve to Defuse New Year Resolution Landmines!

New Year resolutions don't magically transform from nebulous ideas to fast and firm results overnight. They don't become 'real' without careful forethought, clarity of purpose, a common sense system for planning and doing, and lots of elbow grease. If you are noodling some changes that you would love to make, or perhaps a dream that you passionately want to pursue, consider this affirmation as a starting point: I Resolve To . . . Achieve My New Year Resolutions, One Resolution, One Day At A Time For One Year.

Instead of making a long 'tired' list of negative things that you feel obligated to change in your life - why not change the paradigm, think outside the box, and be willing to color outside the lines. Make just one positive resolution, or pursue one positive theme, which will enable you to learn new things, offer challenge and excitement, and bring happiness, joy and reward to your life. Make a promise to yourself to pursue one resolution 'just for you' in the New Year. If you are not sure what you want to 'resolve', do some brainstorming and create a Lifetime Resolution List consisting of at least 100 things that you would love to do, be, see, feel, experience, create, achieve, learn, try, change, or have in your life. As you brainstorm, ask yourself, if you had all the time, skills, knowledge, money, opportunity, and support in the world, what would you do? No holds barred. List everything large and small, significant and insignificant, realistic, or seemingly unrealistic. This is an exercise in dreaming large, daring to dream the impossible dream, and opening one's mind to all the wonderful possibilities.

Next choose just one large dream ,or theme from your list that truly excites and inspires you - and pursue it with patience, passion and persistence in the coming year. If you need help visualizing a process to launch your effort, wrap your arms around this easy to understand formula: Cherished Dream + Specific One Sentence Resolution + Daily Goals = Success, Achievement & Reward. My personal favorite Lifetime Resolution is to exercise regularly for good health and happiness: I Resolve To . . . Exercise for at least 30-minutes daily by walking, biking, swimming, stretching, doing Yoga, weight training, or playing tennis, so that I can maintain my ideal weight (i.e. 125 pounds), be fit and toned (i.e. look good in my clothes, and feel good about myself), be healthy (i.e. lower my cholesterol and blood pressure), and maintain a good mood and positive outlook.

If you're ready to roll your sleeves up and build a plan - the I Resolve To . . . System For Success is useful for mapping virtually any resolution. The 'Do's' consist of five simple steps for planning and implementing resolutions: Dare To Dream, Decide, Define, Develop A Plan, And Do It Daily. The 'Don'ts' include five common sense strategies that can help you to avoid obstacles and landmines: Procrastinate, Give In To Fear of Success Or Failure, Get Discouraged, Grow Bored & Weary, Or Give Up. Armed with a Lifetime Resolution List, the I Resolve To . . . Formula and I Resolve To . . . System For Success, you are ready to get moving. Before you begin brainstorming, planning and plotting for the New Year, pay close attention to the following 'Resolution Killers' . . . that way you can render them harmless before they stall your progress.

25 New Year Resolution Landmines:

1. Resolution is too vague. Solution: Create a specific one-sentence resolution that includes the 'how, what & why' of achieving your resolution.
2. Too many resolutions leading to overwhelm and lack of focus. Solution: Make one major, life-altering resolution at a time.
3. Wrong resolution chosen with no thought or analysis. Solution: Do your homework and choose one resolution that evokes passion and interest.
4. Unrealistic expectations - the bar for achievement is set way to high. Solution: Don't bite off more than you can chew, take small steps.
5. Unrealistic tasks. Solution: Take one small step - one daily goal - one day at a time; forget multi-tasking and overniight results.
6. No true desire, commitment, or passion for your resolution. Solution: Desire is key.
7. No research into what is required to achieve the resolution. Solution: Educate yourself about the 'who, what, when, where & why' of achievement.
8. No long and short-range plan. Solution: Build weekly and monthly plans; review and revise goals daily.
9. No Timeline and no deadlines for completing daily tasks. Solution: Build realistic timelines and set deadlines.
10. No Daily Resolution Diary, journal, or written record. Solution: Record your daily journey.
11. No motivation and follow through. Solution: Keep your eye on the prize and reward yourself, often, for accomplishments.
12. No method of measuring progress, determining success, giving reward. Solution: Set specific daily tasks, record progress, and review weekly.
13. No accountability. Solution: A journal, timeline, buddy, family support, and a mentor can help keep you on track.
14. No organization. Solution: Build a written plan, and timeline with deadlines that will create 'structure' for daily tasks.
15. No discipline. Solution: Show up every day whether you want to, or not.
16. No commitment to daily action. Solution: Showing up every day helps make your resolution a permanent (not fleeting) 'daily habit'.
17. No buddies to work with and share ideas. Solution: Make time to cultivate buddies who share your vision and enthusiasm.
18. No mentor, clubs, or classes to provide inspiration and useful information and support. Solution: Join a club, take a class and Identify a mentor.
19. No family support. Solution: Find support from friends, colleagues and mentors; share your journey with like-minded souls.
20. Feelings of being overwhelmed due to no planning. Solution: Build a plan first, then take one small step at a time, one day at a time.
21. Procrastination. Solution: Get moving - 'just do it' - start with the easy tasks first and build momentum toward the tougher tasks.
22. Fear of success. Solution: "Yes", life will change as you make progress toward achieving your dream - embrace change and fear that comes with it.
23. Fear of failure. Solution: Embrace failure, learn from your mistakes, and move forward (failing isn't the end of the world).
24. Inability to let go of past failures and mistakes, learn lessons and move forward. Solution: Learn your lessons, let the failures go, and move on.
25. Failure to celebrate and build on each success. Solution: Celebrate your accomplishments & reap the rewards - success breeds success.

Remember: I Resolve To . . . Achieve My New Year Resolutions, One Resolution, One Day At A Time For One Year. It's your choice. Do it today. Turn your resolution into reality in five simple, common sense steps: Dare To Dream, Decide, Define, Develop A Plan, and Do It Daily. Make your resolution a permanent Lifetime Resolution, something that's with you for good! Above all, Be A Resolutionista, someone who makes resolutions, keeps resolutions, and enjoys the journey! Let's Go For It!

Kim Simpson, a former journalist, provides communications, fundraising services and strategic planning, for Members of Congress, non-profit organizations, corporations, and associations in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. A self-employed entrepreneur, with more than 30 years of experience, she launched IResolveTo.Com in 2005 in an effort to help others to achieve their New Year Resolutions, Dreams and Goals. Her motto is: I Resolve To . . . Achieve My New Year Resolutions, One Resolution, One Day At A Time For One Year. Let's 'Go For It'.

Get your daily dose of inspiration at: http://www.iresolveto.com - As added incentive, why not make and keep your New Year Resolution by wearing it? Drop by: http://www.cafepress.com/iresolveto

This article is Copyright Kim M. Simpson, I Resolve To, Inc. * All Rights Reserved.

Inspiration Ideas and Motivation Video

Finding something you don't like about yourself is usually very easy for most people. Most of the time you don't even have to ask your family or friends because you have heard them complain about the same thing for years. How many times have you heard someone mention, I need to lose weight?

There are plenty of things that people would like to stop doing or start doing. If you're a smoker and you seem to shop excessively near the casinos, I would advise you to start with something small and work your way up to the big stuff.

What are you going to change today about your life? Make a list of things that you're not happy with about your life and start making the changes today that you need to create the life you deserve and desire.

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

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

Lou Holtz

Maintaining Motivation

Since it's two weeks into 2009, I figured it was the perfect time to discuss motivation. I imagine many of you began your resolutions at the turn of the new year, and since it's already been 10 days, you may have started to feel less enthusiastic about the promises you made to yourself (and others) a week and a half ago. Since your motivation might be waning, and it's been proven to take about 30 days to successfully form a new habit, it's key that you stick to your resolutions for the next few weeks if you want them to be smoothly incorporated into your lifestyle.

Before you began your resolutions you probably thought about them intently and got yourself all geared up and ready to start. What many of us fail to do is actively work on our enthusiasm for our resolutions much beyond January 1st. We psych ourselves up for them and then neglect to continue to foster that energy and commitment that we felt early on (or even before beginning). Below are some tips and techniques for maintaining your motivation so that when you look back over this year, you can feel that you truly did your best to reach your goals!

1. Start Slowly. Even though you may have been gunning to start, it's important to make manageable changes. If you set your goal to work out 30 minutes, 5 days a week and are finding that difficult to stick to, rewind and take baby steps. Start with just 5 minutes, 5 days a week. You'll get used to setting aside the time, and you can gradually build to your goal, instead of giving up 2 weeks in.

2. Put it on Paper. If you haven't already done so, write your resolutions down. Sometimes the simple act of transferring your thoughts onto paper makes you feel more driven. List the reasons why you chose to make each resolution. When you're feeling like giving up, reread what you wrote and remind yourself of why you wanted to make these changes in the first place.

3. Recruit Support. If you feel accountable to someone else, you're more likely to stick to your goals. Share your resolutions with a loved one and even ask them to "check up" on you each day, week, month, etc. It's one thing to let yourself down, but it's another when you feel like you'll disappoint somebody else with your (lack of) actions.

4. Keep Track. Record your progress. Journaling about the headway you're making with regard to your resolutions will reaffirm why you made them in the first place. Also, when you're feeling frustrated, you can look back and see how far you've come!

Best of luck with your resolutions! Let me know how you're doing so far.

For more information visit http://www.CailenAscher.bravehost.com or read more articles at http://www.CailenAscher.blogspot.com.