Archive for the ‘Society’ Category
How Religious Oranizations Can Utilize Empty Space In Tough Times
Many people agree that we are going through some of the most difficult times our country has faced in decades. Through these rough times we are faced with many different issues that arise. In most cases, one event or reality affects another. We are forced to make decisions and do the best with what we have been given.
The current financial situation provides a good opportunity for Pasadena Churches, religious organizations, private institutions, or faith based organizations. Because most of these groups are often times in a struggle with finances, these times provide great opportunity for them to establish better placement and network with local businesses.
After driving down Colorado Blvd, which is one of the main streets in Pasadena California, I began noticing all the vacant store fronts that had been abandoned. Over the past weeks I’ve noticed more and more of these empty buildings. The reality is that many businesses are having a difficult time making ends meet in today’s economy. It can be a struggle just to keep the doors open.
Our religious organization decided to act upon this. We had been meeting in the backyard of someone’s house. Because we only gather once a week, we decided to make the move to a better location near a main street in Pasadena. We went from business to business, trying to find an owner that would partner with us and allow us to rent out the space on the weekend.
As it turns out, we found someone that was delighted to have us rent their space on the weekend. In fact, her business had been down and our group wanted to meet at a time when her business was closed. We are both helping out each other and working together for the better of each group.
Commercial Real Estate
The idea of partnering is one option. But an even better option exists if the non profit has enough money to support it. It is a long term idea and it can be considered more of an investment. Since the supply of lease availability is high and the demand is low, religious organizations or non profits can get into long term leases at a highly discounted rate. It is often times in the best interest of the owner to get them leased out even if the price is lower than it was a year ago. It is a great time for Pasadena Churches to look for Pasadena Real Estate.
Cross-cultural Communication - Necessary Secrets
Cross-Cultural Communication: Your Guide
Multiculturalism is a reality in North America and for those of us who do business globally. There are vast cultural differences among “native” North Americans living in the US and Canada for several generations, as you know if you’ve done business with a New Yorker (better be quick!) or with a Texan (better stand at a 90degree angle to your male companion).
Culture is not ethnic or racial. It is learned and of course each culture is different. Treat everyone like a unique individual, as you would like to be treated, don’t get hung up on stereotypes. Develop your emotional intelligence so you can be more intuitive about how to communicate with, negotiate with, and provide services and products for people from cultural backgrounds other than your own.
1. I repeat, do not expect everyone in a culture to be the same!
2. In South Texas, if you’re talking to a male, they will often stand at a 90 degree angle to you.
If you move to reorient, a “dance” will begin. This is a markedly non-intimate position, and often the eyes are cast down to the floor or out across the floor. South Texans generally say “Pleased to know you,” while Mid Westerners say, “Pleased to meet you” or “Pleased to make your acquaintance.” In social settings in South Texas, it is not customary to shake hands with women.
3. Be aware that most of the world does not greet by shaking hands.
4. People from Asian cultures bow in greeting, but the bows are different.
People from Cambodia and Laos bow with both hands together in front of the chest, as if praying. In Japan, the depth of the bow signifies the level of respect for the other party. Many Koreans prefer bowing and if they shake hands, the right hand is supported at the wrist by the left hand to show respect. Thais bow with palms together about chest-high with their fingers outstretched.
5. Some cultures naturally greet by hugging.
Native Hawaiians hug each other, exchanging breaths. The custom is called “ha.” Ancient Hawaiians, incidentally, actually bumped heads together. Mexicans use the abrazo. Greeks and Italians often hug with or without shaking hands first.
6. Some cultures kiss!
If your Cuban male client kisses you on the cheek, you know you’ve made the short list. Immigrant men from the Middle East often shake hands with a slight nod or bow and then exchange kisses on both cheeks. Men from the Middle East usually don’t shake hands with women, nor do they introduce the woman with them. Do not attempt to shake hands with a Middle Eastern woman unless - and here’s where the EQ comes in - she extends her hand to you. Men in Eastern Europe, Portugal, Spain and Italy will often kiss male friends on the cheek.
7. Pakistanis (largely Muslims) greet with salaam, which is the equivalent of our “hello.”
The salaam is done by bowing with the palm of the right hand on the forehead. Salaam means “peace” or “Peace be with you.”
8. Postures also have meaning.
Ready to settle in with your Middle Eastern client? You may be most comfortable sitting back in your chair and crossing your legs. Well, don’t! In the Middle East, one of the most insulting things you can do is sit with your legs crossed so the bottoms of the feet are pointed in the other person’s direction. The foot is the dirtiest part of the body and the sole of the shoe is the dirtiest of the low. To show someone the bottom of your foot or shoe means you’re looking for a fight!
9. Even handshaking cultures do it differently.
Many Britian’s prefer a brief but firm handshake. The French prefer a light grip while sharing a single gentle shake that’s quickly withdrawn. Germans will give a very firm handshake - just one “pump” then quick withdrawal. More than one shake with Germans or French is considered aggressive. Italians will shake hands and then hug friends or kiss them on both cheeks.
10. Bear in mind the other person may be trying to accommodate your culture, so don’t assume they will use their traditional greeting.
For example, if you start first, for instance bowing, and then see a hand extended for a shake, and switch to that, the other person will then have switched to a bow and this becomes awkward. For many cultures such “awkwardness” will kill the relationship early on, which means the deal is off.
11. Greetings are critical first moves in relationships.
Begin with a polite word or two, such as “Mr. and Mrs. Takida, it’s so nice to meet you at last,” and then hesitate for a moment to see what they want to do and are comfortable with. Then mirror their gesture, be it bow, hand shake, abrazo (hug) or nothing.
I look forward to the day when we abandon our collective need for safety through homogeneity and reclaim our natural curiosity about what is not like us - there is no need to study that. We then will no longer need to “manage” diversity, and will have no need other than to engage it and open ourselves to receive its gifts.
Are there any multi-cultural issues involved in online dating for teen? Well, some info is really useful to know.
History And War
Three years after fighting at Cocherel, Du Guesclin was again taken prisoner at Najera (1367) after fighting gallantly as the ally of the Castilians against the army of the Black Prince. Here again English and French fought on foot, and the novel feature of the battle was the encounter of the Spanish genetours or light horsemen with the English men-at arms and archers. The arrows of the latter soon drove the genetours of’ the field, for their horses were unarmored, and they could not get near enough to throw their javelins.
Du Guesclin was made constable in 1370. He made it a rule to avoid pitched battles with the English, but in a few years of harassing warfare he expelled them from nearly all the French territory which they had gained. The lesson was soon forgotten, and at Agincourt (1415) another constable gave Henry V. the opportunity to outdo Poitiers. Henry was marching north to Calais with an army reduced to less than 10,000 men. The constable, D’Albret, had declined opportunities of attacking him, but took up a position barring his road with an army six times as numerous. Between the woods of Agincourt and Tramecourt there was half a mile of ploughed land through which the road ran, and the French army was posted a little to the north, closing the mouth of this defile.
St. Remy says : ” They had sufficient archers and crossbowmen, but they were unable to use their bows from the narrowness of the place, which did not afford room for more than the men-at-arms.” There were three corps, one behind another, in very deep formation ; and, as usual, each of the French knights claimed to be in front. All were on foot with the exception of the rearguard, and of two bodies of about 600 horsemen in front of each wing, who were to ride down the English archers.
Henry took care not to play his opponent’s game by trying to force a passage. He drew up his army about a mile to the south, in front of Maisoncelle. He had only about a thousand men-at-arms, and narrow as the field was, he was obliged to place his van and rearguard in line with his main body, leaving himself no reserve, and having nowhere more than four ranks. In the intervals between the corps he placed masses of archers; but just before the battle began, their marshal, by the king’s order, led the archers forward, and posted them in advance of the line in two wings {au froncq devant en deux ellcs)} Some days before the king had told them to provide themselves with stout stakes, six feet long, and these they planted at a slope in front of them as chevaux de frise?
For some hours of St. Crispin’s day (October 15) the two armies faced one another without moving, each waiting for the other to attack. At length, finding it was necessary to sting the French into action, Henry made his men advance slowly ” in fine order,” giving a great shout as they halted from time to time, until the archers came within extreme bow-shot of the enemy. As soon as the mounted men who were in front of the wings of the French army began to feel the English arrows, they charged; but the ground was sodden, and under the rain of arrows few of them were able to reach the stakes, which the archers had refixed. Most of them found their horses unmanageable, and rode back upon their own vanguard, which was toiling after them, and in which they caused much confusion. It pressed on, but not with an even front: “either from fear of the arrows, … or that they might more speedily penetrate our ranks to the banners, they divided themselves into three troops, charging our lines in the three places where the banners were.” ‘
Insightful Knowledge Abpout Chakras
How the clearing of chakras helps the Cosmic Ordering
Have you ever had a dream? Have you ever been down in yourself and not been able to pick yourself up? Have you felt like you were losing a grip on life? Now all of that can change when you use the Chakra Clearing CD by me, Stephen Richards.
Have you ever wondered what a chakra is? Let me tell you! Chakras are energy vortices in our emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. The physical body is a series of separate, yet related systems of energy. This system is referred to in the ancient texts as ?the chakras?.
Chakra clearing is the essential key to successful Cosmic Ordering and vital in your life?s journey of accomplishments. Now, by using the audio-CD, you can unblock, restart, rebalance and recharge your energy centres.
Along with the cards and booklet in the clearing kit, the CD will power up these dynamos and you will see how successful this makes your Cosmic Ordering. When you experience the power within the audio-CD, it will effortlessly energize and restart the energy flow within you.
Remember, this system has been specifically designed for you, a follower and believer of Cosmic Ordering.
Let me tell you a little about these chakras and how they work within us. A chakra, sometimes pronounced sha-kra, is like a spiral of energy, each one relating to the others. Chakra is the Sanskrit word for ?wheel?.
Chakras have no physical structure. They are part of the body?s subtle energy system and do not have a physical representation or a fixed location - they can shift around within the body. A chakra may relocate by several inches or more as a result of surgery, trauma, or mental or emotional abuse. Even a difference in their ?energy anatomy? that places the chakras in slightly different locations in different people.
Chakras are the openings for life energy to flow into and out of our aura. Their function is to vitalize the physical body and to bring about the development of our self-consciousness. That is why they are associated with our physical, mental and emotional interactions.
Chakras have been depicted as a funnel of sorts with smaller funnels within the funnel. They are also often referred to as looking like lotus flowers. I have intuitively viewed the intake of individual chakras as appearing similar to the blades of a fan or windmill in circular motion.
The human form is linked into multiple aspects of itself, each section expressing a range of frequencies or vibrations, within a network of zones of energy, spheres within spheres.
The primary chakras in your body control your emotions; these are mental attitudes that can cause or reflect an imbalance within that particular centre. The first step in chakra clearing is to determine which chakra is out of balance.
Once you determine the chakra(s) most likely to have been adversely affected, you can then take measures to correct them. The Cosmic Ordering Chakra Clearing CD is simple and effective in this process and does that for you.
A chakra is the interface point between the physical and non-physical form. The primary chakras lie along a linear pathway, along the spine, from the Crown Chakra, located at the top of the cranium, to the Root Chakra, located at the base of the spine.
Each chakra is working as a transformer within the body. The purpose is to bring into the system a higher frequency of vibration, from the subtle portions of the Matrix Grid, into the thicker frequencies for purification and healing of negative energies.
There are seven endocrine glands, each with a vibration and colour, and one is assigned to each primary chakra. There are, however, claims by various schools of thought to be more than seven primary chakras.
This is not all information about chakras, more to be published shortly. Meanwhile this does not mean you should start advancing on the road of spiritual growth. You can start from everything, even helping third world countries, but make sure this is not a fake, but a genuine feeling that helps you grow.
Cosmic Ordering Knowledge and 2021 - by Stephen Richards
2012 WHAT IT MEANS
Many of you, over the time, have asked me what lies ahead in the year 2012. (This will have relevancy for those that have read my cosmic ordering Guide book.)
What will happen at this time is a very close conjunction of the Winter Solstice Sun with the crossing point of the Galactic Equator (Equator of the Milky Way) and the Ecliptic (path of the Sun), what that ancient Maya recognized as the Sacred Tree. The end-date (known as 13.0.0.0.0.) 21st December 2012 (11.11am GMT). The Galactic Alignment “zone” is 1998 +/- 18 years = 1980 to 2016.
Some say the Mayan calendar does not end in 2012 at all, that it is like the odometer on your car, as each section of the odometer reaches 9 and then clicks over to 0, the next number to it starts a new cycle, so that when all the numbers again reach 0 all the way across the odometer - the last number will change from 1 to 2 and the new cycle starts all over again.
According to Maya the end of the Great Cycle is the culmination of a series of long-term sunspot cycles which will flip the sun’s magnetic field, causing earthquakes and flooding on earth. Moreover, the magnetic field will change and alter the endocrine production of the pineal gland. The detailed graphs of the cycles do not actually show significant termination points at the end of the Great Cycle.
Sunspot activity does seem to be heading for a climax in the near future. Real science is predicting the next/current sun cycle to be the worst in 50 years. The first two sunspot’s of 2006 are moving in reverse direction. On July 31st 2006, a tiny sunspot was born. It popped up from the sun’s interior, floated around a bit, and vanished again in a few hours. On the sun this sort of thing happens all the time and, ordinarily, it wouldn’t be worth mentioning. But this sunspot was special: It was backward. And what is so significant about this is a backward sunspot is a sign that the next solar cycle is beginning!
This tiny spot of backwardness matters because of what it might foretell: A really big solar cycle. For a while, perhaps one or two years, Cycle 23 and Cycle 24 will actually share the sun, making it a hodgepodge of backward and forward spots. Eventually, Cycle 24 will take over completely; then the fireworks will really begin.
THE SERPENTS ON MY QUARTZ CRYSTAL WAND
I have a quartz crystal wand, a very special wand indeed. The serpents on it represents how the Milky Way Galaxy is the inspiration for the symbol of the Ouroboros (Ouroboros the tail-devourer) is the symbolization of concepts such as completion, perfection and totality, the endless round of existence, etc. You have seen it many times represented as a worm or serpent with its tail in its mouth). Myth refers to a serpent of light residing in the heavens. The Milky Way is this serpent, and viewed at galactic central point near Sagittarius, this serpent eats its own tail.
The Milky Way galaxy keeps a great time cycle that ends in catastrophic change. The sign of the SUNTELIA AION (the end of an age) is the sun rising out of the mouth of the Ouroboros, which will occur on the solstice December 2012.
Until now the mystery of why the Milky Way has always been sideways in the night sky has never been answered. The Milky Way grows by eating its smaller neighbours. After slow, continuous gnawing by the Milky Way, Sagittarius has reached a critical phase in what had been a slow dance of death.
AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
Stars from Sagittarius are now raining down onto our present position in the Milky Way. Stars from an alien galaxy are relatively near us. We need to stand on a new grounds in our assumptions about the Milky Way galaxy to account for this contamination.
The area of the sky where all of these symbols and celestial objects converge is the centre of our Milky Way Galaxy. The par of the Milky Way that the December solstice sun will conjunct is also where the centre of our Galaxy (the Galactic Centre) is located. It is the cosmic womb from which new stars are born, and from which everything in our Galaxy, including humans, came.
In 2012 the centre of the Galaxy is at 0 degree of the Western zodiacal sign Capricorn. 0 degree Capricorn is the point of the zodiac where the Sun is during the December solstice. According to the Mayas the centre of the Galaxy is the cosmic womb: the place of dead, transformation, regeneration and rebirth. This moment shows the end of their calendar.
And it can bring new experience to everything - our minds and bodies including. The ability to love yourself is very important in attaining wisdom. It’s really the time to make your steps to spiritual growth. You begin to feel a profound sense of your own value and a love for yourself exactly as you are. You evolve this self-love into a deep love for humanity and a love and caring for the planet Earth. Space-time may vibrate in two different directions, either ‘up-down’ or ‘left-right’, in response to the field energy of a passing gravitational wave.
Gravitational wave detectors are being built now all around the world; some are even planned for space. Those new and highly-sensitive devices may be used to detect gravity waves from distant astronomical sources, which could potentially cause severe geological disturbances in the future, if any of them were to pass through our Solar System at light speed. If the whole planet Earth vibrates suddenly - then we can see earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes. Due to the relatively large size of most gravity waves, nearby stars could be affected as well.
The accuracy of the Mayan calendar was recently validated by American glaciologist Lonnie Thompson, who found many different lines of evidence for a sudden, worldwide climate change on Earth. What will happen, will the world end? I believe we will survive but will have a global cataclysm.
Copyright stephen richards.
Altering Habits To Improve Your Personal Life
Habits, oh those nasty habits. Habits are developed from training, influences, observation, and practice. We develop many habits throughout our life. Some are good and others are bad. Good habits we can keep, but if you want to improve your life the bad habits have to take a hike. Eradicating bad habits however is not easy, especially if an addiction is involved. For this reason, we can take a few steps to learning how you can change your habits.
Making excuses:
People wander through life making excuses. Anytime a person sees something complicated, they will often make excuses why they cannot deal with the problem. “This is just the way I am.” This is a common problem in the world, which we’ve all heard billions of times. If you are out to improve your life however, you need to say, “This is something that hinders me from achievement and I have the power to change it”.
The first key to success is stop making excuses. Learn how to tell the truth. The truth is the only answer that leads you to improve your personal life. Once you learn to tell the truth, you will need to commit yourself to learning new behaviors and habits.
You can commit by picking a new habit. Today I plan be organized around the home. Stop saying I’m naturally untidy. Take action today
declutter home tips declutter my house tips home organization tips
Today I am going to stop judging others and myself. This is a common mistake people make in the world. They spend time judging others and themselves. This gets them nowhere but in a world of chaos. You make your bed, you must learn to sleep in it, which is why you should change your ways. Judging is only for our Master in the sky.
Do you think negative? I can’t change this. My life is full of nonsense, I can’t swing it anymore. Why me? Who put a tag on my head, saying persecute me. If you spend your life thinking negative and saying negative connotations, try changing your ways today. For instance, say, I can change something and I am going to. Instead of saying life is full of nonsense, accept it as truth yet move ahead to make your life better. Why me is a common question, which no one knows why, yet we have to accept it, make better decisions and move ahead. If you feel persecuted, ask you what you are doing that makes you feel this way. Do you have friends or family members weighing you down? If so, then kick their butt down the road and make new friends. No one in life is worth you suffering ongoing. You have the power to make changes, yet you do not have the power to change other people.
When you begin to make changes to improve your life, start small. Instead of jumping the gun, take baby steps to success. Too many times people try to change overnight. This only leads to frustration.
Genuine Witchcraft Spells
by Liam Cyfrin
Witchcraft and spells - they go together like toast and honey, don’t they? Witchcraft spells form the backbone of a witch’s arsenal, but magic witchcraft spells alone are actually completely worthless.
These days, if you were to toddle into your local bookshop, close your eyes and fling a dart, there’s a reasonably good chance you’d hit a spell book. There’s an even better chance that you’d be forcibly ejected from the shop shortly thereafter, so I’m not advocating this practice. It does, though, make the point that this literary genre has never been more popular.
Witchcraft spells burst forth from this cornucopia of printed waffle on beginner witchcraft - witchcraft spells to find “true love”, witchcraft spells to hog-tie that wayward ex and drag them back, witchcraft spells to make us sexier, smarter, stronger, healthier and, of course, witchcraft spells to make us wealthy beyond our wildest dreams.
The biggest Witchy complaint against spell books is that the spells within in them don’t (or possibly can’t) work. The spell book, it’s argued, looks comparable to a recipe book, but whereas Delia Smith can reliably lead most of us through the creation of an omelette, the compiler of spells is less likely to guide the average punter to health, wealth and insuperable sexual charisma.
There’s some validity to this, but the better authors in the field make it clear that the spell book isn’t really the equivalent of “150 Astonishing Meatloaves”. It’s more like sheet music: valuable to those who have put the effort into learning how to read music and perhaps play an instrument, but bookshelf clutter to those who haven’t.
Witchcraft spells are less a recipe and more a starting-point for inspiration. Witchcraft spells are more like a palette than a finished painting. Only in the hands of an accomplished artist will witchcraft spells become anything which stirs the soul, or changes the world in any way.
If you want to cast witchcraft spells, and cast them effectively, you must become that artist, and master the skills which will enable you to weave the raw materials of witchcraft spells into an irresistible force.
Without this training and discipline, witchcraft spells aren’t worth the paper they are written on. A problem with texts on beginner witchcraft is that they tend to gloss over this somewhat significant fact.
There is a swathe of information debunking the myths and misapprehensions about witchcraft at the Genuine Witchcraft site, covering witchcraft symbols, beginner witchcraft, real witchcraft spells, and witchcraft supplies. Newbies to witchcraft and those who have been around the park a time or two are well advised to look in and get educated.