Your Secret Weapon

Did you know that you had a secret weapon to help you solve
complex and perplexing problems? It is available to each
and every one of us whether we know it or not, whether we
use it or not.

Do you want to know what it is? I knew you would: it's your
subconscious.

Stay with me here... and don't roll your eyes! This is not
some hocus-pocus new age revolution or a pie-in-the-sky
theory. This is a fact and if you're not taking advantage
of it you are missing out big-time.

The best way to explain it is with an example of how I used
it just last night.

It has been very hot up here in the mountains (at least to
me!) and I don't do well in the heat. We have central air
conditioning for the first level but my office is on the
lower level and is way too hot for me to concentrate. So, I
set up a makeshift office upstairs and wired it so I could
operate my desktop computer (downstairs) from upstairs using
my notebook computer. There is special software to do this
and I couldn't get it to work properly: I could operate the
laptop from the desktop, but not the other way around, which
is the way I needed it to work.

I tried everything: technical support at the manufacturer's
website, other user groups on the Internet, comparing the
settings on the different computers (after all, it worked
one way, why won't it work the other way??), reading
documentation, help files, etc. To complicate the
situation, I was using an older version of the software
which was no longer supported. Needless to say, I was very
frustrated and out of options; I couldn't think of anything
else to try.

That's when I decided to use my secret weapon. I realized
that I was spinning my wheels, that there must be a solution
that I just couldn't see, and that I would be able to figure
it out more quickly if I put it away and let my subconscious
work on it for me.

Sure enough, within a few hours I had four new ideas to try.
At 2:00 a.m. I woke up with another one, which turned out
to be the solution to the problem.

It's kind of ironic isn't it? Sometimes the best way to
solve a problem is to stop working on it!

The secret is to take your mind off of it. Go on to
something else. It doesn't have to be an activity that is
related to the problem; in fact I believe that the larger
the difference in activities, the better your result will
be.

My wife is good at this. We often have animal-related
problems to solve such as how to take care of them when we
need to go somewhere, or how to keep the dogs away from the
flower pots, or how to allow the cats on the deck but not
out into the forest. She thinks about it a while and then
goes on to the next thing. Before you know it, she has the
perfect solution; it just pops into her mind while she is
doing something that has nothing whatsoever to do with the
problem.

Try it. It really works!

Avoid This Tendency And You'll Press Beyond Your Limits!

Inside of every one of us is the desire to press beyond our own limitations. Just forty years ago, the goal to land on the moon was a huge step for mankind. Now, we've gone beyond the moon and the end is nowhere in sight. But, consider this: Every challenge we face, can be stopped dead in its tracks with one little undesirable tendency. Hmm

As Dead As Dead Can Be!

Many people allow themselves to be de-railed by their opportunities. They look at their short comings and limitations and say, I'm too young, I'm too old, I'm too uneducated, I don't have enough money, I'm too much of this, and I'm too little of that. Blah, Blah.

Let me give you a perfect example of what I'm talking about. You remember the story of Abraham in the Bible? He was told he would become the father of many nations. But, when he was told that, he was already seventy five years old.

Now, looking at this in the natural way of thinking, you tell me how a seventy five year old man could be the father of anything, especially a nation. And naturally thinking; how was that grandma, he was married to, going to give birth to a nation?

He Never Was The Sharpest Tool In The Shed!

And, the Bible says she was barren. Well, here is this old man and he thinks he's the father of many nations. He even went around telling everyone he met, I'm the father of many nations. You can imagine how people must have looked at him.

They probably thought all of that old man's wealth has made him crazy. Well, Abraham's got a problem or opportunity if you will. He knows what his limitations are. He knows his body is beyond the time of fathering a child, and he knows his wife is barren.

But, Abraham didn't think of the condition of his body or his wife's barren condition. In other words, he avoided the tendency to make excuses for his limitations. Now get this: Abraham did have a child and, by his barren wife.

That Takes The Cake!

But, he was one hundred years old before the child was born. And, this is the part I'm amazed with; He waited twenty five years and kept believing that he was the father of many nations. I sometimes think I've gone the limit when I've waited twenty five minutes. But, the point is; he didn't make excuses for his limitations.

He couldn't afford to. Abraham was no different than we are. If he had considered his wife and his own body, there is no way that old man could have kept saying I'm the father of many nations for twenty five years! He would have been just like some of us and quit after three days.

Abraham could have said, I'm too old, my wife is too old, . You see, his wife was ninety years old when the child was born! Don't you know she was surprised? When she went into labor she probably thought she had appendicitis. Nah, I'm kidding.

Now I know that this is an extreme example, but, still the same, excuses are part of our natural tendencies no matter how extreme they are.

The Conventional Wisdom!

The more challenging the situation, the more the excuses seem to have an insatiable desire to rear their ugly head. Check up on yourself sometime. What is the first knee-jerk reaction that you find coming out of you when you first face some challenge that has to be handled. Now, you may have trained yourself to avoid excuses, and I commend you for that.

But, if not, It seems that excuses are the first thing we start looking for to see if we can get out of it, or find a real easy way to solve it. If we don't think of a real easy way to solve it, we focus on excuses to get out of it.

You Need Excuses Like A Kangaroo Needs A Purse!

If you believe you have some limitation that is holding you back, then you are making excuses. The only real limitations we have are in our own mind. If we think about the limitations more than we think about how to solve it, then we have excuseitus.

Excuseitus can have a far reaching effect into areas of our lives that we know we can handle. But, it becomes so easy to make excuses that we will start making them all the time, because now, it seems so natural to do so.

You can look at limitations as a sort of a test; A test of your tenacity. Fail the test, and you get to take it over again. :>(. And over and over. Every time you get a zero you get put back in the first grade.

Your Tower Of Strength!

And, guess what? Even if the outcome is not what you wanted, you will feel so good that you pressed beyond the limit, that when the next test comes, you're more confident, composed, determined, and relentless.

At that point, the final outcome is not the real focus and goal. Then what is? Your faith and determination that you can press beyond any limits you have in your mind! When you get there, you'll start reaching for the stars, instead of the ceiling.

Go ahead; shoot for the stars, what if you miss it half way? It's better than shooting for the ceiling and missing it half way. Somebody said; what if I fail? So what! Join the club. The thing can't eat you! Besides, you never really have a failure; you have only discovered another way that it wouldn't work.

Will Wonders Never Cease!

And, besides, I have experienced situations where no matter what I did worked. But, then something else came along and I discovered I was happier with the last thing than I would have been with the first one. Go figure.

Limitations will shout you can't! But, how do you really know if all you do is sit down and have a discourse with your limitations. They will win every time. Don't ever eason with your excuses. If you do, you'll come up with more excuses; ones that you thought you would never think of.

Your Mission In Life!

If you don't focus on your limitations and make excuses, you can take what little resources you do have and, just by beginning, you'll find many times that your efforts are making giant strides. And, you'll find yourself pressing beyond those self-imposed limitations.

Richard Vegas ©

Richard Vegas is a popular recording artist and internet marketing professional. He invites you to subscribe to his FREE weekly ezine Wing-Tips Teaching The Success System That Never Fails, at: http://www.1-work-at-home-based-business-opportunities.com. You may also hear some of Richard's free music at: http://www.richardvegas.com.

webmaster@1-work-at-home-based-business-opportunities.com

Are You Really Ready to Telecommute?

Telecommuting is a big thing these days: no more commuting
nightmares, more time with the kids, more time for yourself,
flexible hours, increased productivity ... the list goes on
and on.

But what about the DISadvantages? And yes, there are
plenty! Working from home can be a wonderful experience
for some people. For others, it just isn't suitable. Some
of the difficult things about working from home include:

* Constant distractions: a dirty house, the TV, the eager
dog that wants to be walked ... you name it. Do you have
the willpower to ignore distractions and concentrate on
your work?

* 'Out of sight, out of mind': telecommuters may not be
kept 'in the loop' with regards to company announcements,
team issues, whatever. Plus even if you consistently
turn out excellent work, your co-workers and boss may
not see you and therefore they don't really associate
YOU with the high-quality work.

* Obsessive work: your home becomes your office, in a
way, even when you use a separate room as your office.
You may be unable to resist the temptation to do just
one more thing ... and before you know it, you spend
much more time working than if you were in the office.

* Pressure to 'prove yourself': telecommuters sometimes
feel the need to prove that they really are much more
productive at home than their coworkers in the office.
This can lead to long hours and significant stress.

* Lack of social contact: some people genuinely enjoy
talking to their co-workers. When they being to work
from home, they don't have that type of social
interaction anymore. It's very easy to feel isolated
and alone.

* Misconceptions about home workers: unfortunate but true,
there are people who believe that anyone who works from
home is really just lazing around and having a vacation
day at the company's expense. Can you handle remarks of
this nature from coworkers, or even friends and family?

Everyone focuses on the BENEFITS of telecommuting - no
surprise, since who wouldn't enjoy the comfort and
flexibility of working from home? However, it's important
to also look at the problems surrounding telecommuting.
Make no mistake, telecommuting is a change in LIFESTYLE!
Only you can decide if it's the right one for you.

About the Author

Angela used to telecommute for a large corporation, but now
spends her days running an online business. She is the editor
of Online Business Basics, a newsletter for eBusiness beginners.
Visit her website at http://www.onlinebusinessbasics.com/
or email her at mailto:angela@onlinebusinessbasics.com

Are You Suffering From Chronic Constipation?

Embarrassing as it may be, we have all suffered from constipation at one time in our life or another. According to the National Health Interview Survey as many as 3 million Americans suffer from frequent if not chronic constipation. While constipation is not recognized as a degenerative disease or serious disorder, people who are constipated often feel bloated, uncomfortable and even sluggish. Constipation by itself is miserable enough, but sufferers often experience painful bowel movements that can become compounded by hemorrhoids that form due to straining.

To understand constipation, it is important to understand how our digestive system works. When we eat, food is ground up in our stomachs so it can be digested. This liquid food passes into the small intestine where nutrients are extracted. It then moves on to the colon, where water is removed, allowing a stool to form. If too much water is extracted from the stool as it passes through the colon, it can become hard and difficult to pass leaving you constipated.

There are a number of reasons why people get constipated. These include not eating enough dietary fiber, not drinking enough liquids (water), lack of exercise, ignoring the urge to have a bowel movement and plain old stress. Other causes can include having a lazy colon that does not contract properly, causing waste materials to pass through the colon slowly, food allergies that can cause the colon to contract, or mechanical obstructions that inhibit the movement of waste materials. Many prescription drugs and certain neurological disorders can also slow down the movement of waste materials through the colon. Constipation can also be brought on by an abuse of laxatives that over time can damage the nerve cells in the colon and interfere with its ability to contract properly.

Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to relieve chronic constipation naturally.

Recommendations For Wellness

Consume a high fiber diet made up of lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. If that is not possible, incorporate a dietary fiber supplement such as psyllium hulls, Natures Sunshine's Nature's Three or their Irritable Bowel Fiber into your daily health routine. Dietary fiber holds water and help to keep the stool soft, while added bulk help to move the stool through the colon.

If other fiber supplements fail in your attempt to become regular, try taking Chitosan (a form of dietary fiber) along with vitamin C. The chitosan binds to fats from the foods we eat making the stool soft and smooth. The vitamin C helps to activate the chitosan in the stomach.

Drink plenty of water, especially if you are taking supplemental fiber.

Try eating a few dried prunes or drinking some prune juice. In addition to adding fiber, prunes have a mild laxative effect.

Avoid sugar and other processed foods.

Begin a regular exercise program to help promote normal bowel movements.

If you think allergies are the cause of your constipation, try an elimination diet to help you to identify what may be triggering your body and causing your colon to contract.

Meditate, do yoga, go for a walk. Do things that will allow you to reduce your stress levels and help your body to relax. This can help relax your colon.

Get a colonic to flush out any old fecal matter that may be trapped within the colon or try a colon cleanse.

Take a good probiotic such as acidopholis or bifidophilus to help promote a healthy environment within the colon.

Peppermint (3910-9) has a long history of helping relax the smooth muscles of the gastrointestinal tract.

Supplementation with magnesium and large doses of vitamin C, have a mild laxative effect on the body.

If all else fails, herbs such as casgara segrada, turkey rhubarb or herbal combinations such as Natures Sunshine's LBS II and LB-X can be used to evacuate the colon. While these should be used with caution, they are less aggressive than many commercial laxatives that are available at the supermarket.

About the Author

Copyright Body, Mind & SoulHealer 2005. All rights reserved.
Dr. Rita Louise, PhD, author of the books Avoiding the Cosmic 2x4 and The Power Within, Dr. Rita Louise, Ph.D. a can help you identify what is really going on and provide you with straightforward guidance and advice. She can be reached by calling 972-475-3393 or visiting her website at http://www.soulhealer.com.

Are Your Intentions Clear in Your Job Search?

1. Do you REALLY know what you want?

2. Do you know yourself well? What your interests, talents, and transferable skills are?

3. Are you articulate? Can you explain what you want and do it clearly?

4. Do you have supportive people interested in you and your welfare? If not, find some, NOW!

5. Do you have a network of contacts? Start with your friends.

6. Do you rely too much on the want ads. Don't.

7. Do you have an agenda of who to see, who to talk to, who to network with, every day of your job search?

8. Do you have good job skills?

9. Do you practice gratitude? It works, especially with thank-you notes.

10. Are your intentions good ones? Make them known to all.

Marilyn J. Tellez, M.A.

Certified Job & Career Transition Coach

Email: doitnow@nwinfo.net

Web: www.doitnowcareers.info

Are You Fed Up?

Neale Donald Walsch - Are You Fed Up?

There is no better place to be than Fed Up. That's the place of new beginnings. That's the place of letting go. That's the place of giving up. You are giving up what's been going on so far, and getting ready to create a new reality.

I know with all the talk of war and terror levels and how shall we respond, what is the answer, it's not so difficult to feel like giving up. If you feel like giving up, I'd like you to consider giving up one more thing; I'd like you to give up your idea that you can't find an answer.

I'm here to tell you that you can.

God will never let you down, and if you have not received any response from God before it is not because He hasn't answered, it is because, like me, you have been unable to hear the response. But trust me. God is responding. Right now. And every day and moment of your life.

I have often heard from people interpreting CwG Book 1 to say that God couldn't care less about your daily experience and that God just wants you to go out and play. That would be a mischaracterization and I don't want you to hang in there with that. God does care about your experience. God simply doesn't care how you go about creating it. Imagine loving parents watching their children at play in the yard. They don't care whether their children play Tag or Hide-'n-Seek. It matters not to them what games are invented. But they do care about whether the children are safe, and having a good time. So they make sure the yard is safe, and, if the children get hurt and call out for help, the parents are right there, running out to the yard to see what's up, and to make everything better.

It is not so very different with God. She gives us the toys with which to fashion the most wonderful games (read that, life) and a safe place in which to play. Then, He leaves us alone to have our experience, and has absolutely no preference whether we play Tag, or Hide-'n-Seek. But if we call for help, God is there - right there - to make everything better.

That is not someone who doesn't care about our daily experience - that is someone who loves us enough to give us our freedom to do as we wish, and promises to be there for us whenever we need Him. Sounds like a pretty neat God to me.

So now, call on God to answer you. Ask God to show you a sign, give you some help, and provide you with some special insight that might help you now. But be on the lookout. Her response may come in a form other than the one you are expecting. It could by the lyrics of the next song you hear, the story line of the next movie you see, the text of the next book that falls into your hands. It could be the chance utterance of a friend on the street, or a thought that comes to you in the middle of the night.

So watch! Look! Listen! For you do not know the Hour, nor the Form, in which God will come with your word of encouragement. For all you know, it could be something you read in a book somewhere...

By Neale Donald Walsch

About the Author

Neale Donald Walsch

Best selling author of the Conversation With God Series.
Modern day spiritual messenger.

Click here to find out more about Neale Donald Walsch