The Dart Maker Blog

The best New Year’s resolution I ever made - and the only one I ever kept - was to never make another New Year’s resolution.

I am dismayed by the number of people who doggedly, stubbornly make their resolutions every year - often the same ones they made the year before. Within weeks, or even days, these resolutions fall by the wayside, trampled into the dust by existing habits and ways of thinking and acting.

Predictably, this perceived failure to execute becomes a blunt instrument for self-flagellation, evidence of a lack of commitment, general bad-personhood, and overall unworthiness.

Talk about setting yourself up for failure!

Establishing new habits is hard. Evidence suggests that it takes at least three weeks - that’s a full 21 days! - of consistent action to create a new habit; eliminating an old habit is even more difficult. And most of us make resolutions based on what we believe we should do (or should not do), rather than what we really want to do (or not do). Furthermore, we state our resolutions in fuzzy terms: Eat less. Exercise more. Be more organized. While these are certainly virtuous and valuable objectives, there is no way to measure your achievement. What’s “less”? What’s “more”?

The start of a new year is an obvious choice for self-evaluation, setting goals, and making plans. By applying a little creativity and thought, we can set ourselves up for accomplishment and achievement instead of disappointment and discouragement.

First, take a few moments to frame your thoughts as desires and goals. You don’t really want to eat less and exercise more; you want to look and feel better and live a healthy, active life. You don’t really want to be more organized; you want to navigate easily through your daily tasks. When you use positive, active terms to describe your desired outcome, you advance along the path to success. Contrast this to how you feel when you tell yourself you’re an over-indulgent couch potato living amidst clutter!

Once you have your aspirations stated in words that excite you instead of depressing you, you’re ready to describe how your achievements will look and feel, and what specific steps you will take to get there. For instance, you may choose to take a vegetarian cooking class to learn ways of including vegetarian meals into your weekly menu; you might finally break down and get the puppy your kids have been clamoring for so you can take daily walks with the puppy and the kids; you might consult with a professional organizer to create systems that work for you instead of making you feel straitjacketed with rules and regulations.

The challenge I offer you, then, is to throw out all your old New Year’s resolutions and craft exciting, positive lifestyle goals with clearly defined, creative, and fun steps to a measurable result.

“Now there are more overweight people in American than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average. Which means you’ve met your New Year’s resolution.” Jay Leno, American writer, actor, and humorist.

(c)Grace L. Judson

About the Author
Grace Judson is the founder and driving force behind Svaha Concepts, and specializes in helping smart people find easy ways to do hard things.

For more articles like this, sign up for the free Svaha Concepts newsletter.

Los Angeles airport parking provides a variety of options to suit everyone’s needs. There are plenty of metered spaces available in the car park, with the spaces nearest to the airport being reserved for the disabled. The central terminal car park is always extremely busy and its short-term option is probably best for just picking up and dropping off passengers. There is also an overspill car park close to the main one. If you’re intending to stay longer you’ll be better off using the long-term car parking spaces which are free for the first couple of hours and then charged on a metered basis. You’ll be pleased to know that courtesy shuttle buses provide transport to and from the main airport building. Disabled customers can make use of the specially designated bays situated closer to the main building, and include shuttle bus and wheelchair services.

If you’re also on the look out for cheap airline tickets you’d be well advised to go online and see which offers are currently available. With prices changing all the time it can be very hard to keep up with who’s offering the lowest fares and who’s providing the best all round service. The easiest way to find tickets into Los Angeles and all the information you need is by clicking on a price comparison site. You just have to type in your dates and times of intended travel and the database will give you a list of flights and fares to choose from. You’ll be able to read through the list and hopefully find something that suits your needs. If you can’t see anything you like on that particular website then try having a look at one or two others. You’ll find that they can’t carry information on all the airlines in one place, so by looking at a few different sites you’ll discover a wider range of offers.

It was hot. Not normal sort of hot, but drenched-in-sweat/hurts-to-breathe/why-on-earth-do-I-live-in-this-part-of-the-country-sort of hot. A late night on the town had provided me with less than adequate sleep, only to have my rest broken by a radio alarm clock announcing the hottest temperatures of the year. As if that wasn’t bad enough, throw in a two hour drive to a family reunion where I’d know only a handful of people. Was I excited? Ready and raring to go? I’ll let you be the judge.

After walking into the reunion, a cousin offered me a chair next to my great uncle, Rubin, an 81 year old retired farmer who I saw once every few years. I sat down on an uncomfortable metal folding chair and, for the next five hours, proceeded to have one of the most enjoyable times in recent memory. A pleasant surprise? Again, I’ll let you be the judge.

For hours, Rubin shared tales of growing up during the Depression with his siblings, all of whom were present except those who are deceased and, somehow, I think they were probably there, too. Rubin gave me a crash course in how his father made homemade wine, recounted stories of his travels around the country and had me in hysterics with a multitude of one-liners.

“You know, Marcus, I was deer hunting last year with these two girls,” he said, not bothering to explain that “girl” means any female who is not yet drawing Social Security. “After we shot at a couple of deer, one of the girls walked down the valley to see what we’d hit. She came back a few minutes later and said, ‘Well, Rubin, my deer was a clean shot, but yours was hit through the stomach!’

I told her, “I never, never shoot a deer in the gut! You’ve got the two mixed up!’

Now, Marcus, I knew darned good and well which one I’d hit, but I wasn’t going to admit I’d missed my target! Heck, I’m 81! What does she expect? An ace marksman?”

With a flash of a smile and a twinkle in his eye, he launched into his next story. I barely had time to catch my breath between laughs!

As the day wore on, more stories surfaced. Rubin enthralled me with tales of my great grandfather and his brother who died as a teenager. Cheerful memories spilled out as he reflected on growing up in the bottomlands of the Missouri River.

Rubin’s voice softened as he thought back on the day when he learned a neighbor’s son had been killed in Vietnam. “He just had one more week in his tour of duty, then we would have had him home. Just 20 years old and he died halfway around the world, away from everything he knew.” Rubin’s chin fell to the bibs of his overalls and I could almost see his look of loss. This heartbreaking tale showed the depths of Rubin’s true compassion.

As the afternoon drew to a close, I found myself regretting my absence from this man’s presence. However, the past is in the past. I’m just glad I had the chance to become friends with this man, a relative who I’ve never really known. I left the reunion promising myself to never again let those friends on the fringes of life fall completely out of touch.

Yet, how often do we make this sort of a promise? How many times do we part from another’s company swearing we’ll stay in touch? If you’re anything like me, you’ve done this before; and many times you’ve failed to keep that vow.

We get caught up in our own lives, our own concerns and our own daily activities, always thinking that we’ll make the call, send the E mail, write the letter some day…but does that “someday” ever come? Unfortunately, it often does not.

Think of someone you care about and with whom you’ve lost contact. My challenge for you is to bridge that relationship. I was privileged to hear a speaker who delivered a simple, memorable message: “Hey, at the end of my life, if there are some people I love and some people who love me, I’ll die a rich man.”

The only way to assure we can all die “rich” is to make the time, take the first step and re-establish that contact. Will you do it? Here…I’ll make it easy for you!

Open up your E mail address book. Locate a name and ask yourself one question: Can I list one significant thing that has happened in this person’s life in the past six months? If you cannot, drop ‘em a note! How big is the smile on your face when an old friend’s name pops up in your in box? More importantly, how big will your friend’s smile be when they see your name? Make good on those promises to stay in touch…don’t wait for the next reunion!

-Special Thanks!-

A special thanks goes out to all who have sent compliments and accolades on The Marcus Engel Newsletter over the past several months. You have my undying gratitude for helping me to see that what I’m doing is making a difference, as well as for sharing the message by forwarding it along to others. The overwhelming response has been humbling and has, in turn, motivated me. Thank you!

Marcus Engel is a professional speaker/author who inspires audiences to achieve success by making intelligent choices. Blinded by a drunk driver at age 18, Marcus battled through two years of recovery and 300 hours of reconstructive facial surgery to reach his goal of returning to college. After graduating from Missouri State University in 2000, Marcus began sharing his story professionally to audiences nationwide. In 2002, Marcus founded his own publishing company with the release of his autobiography, “After This…An Inspirational Journey For All the Wrong Reasons.” His messages of empowerment and motivation have been witnessed by hundreds of thousands through his keynotes, his autobiography and his monthly newsletters. Marcus Engel is a speaker, a message, a story you will never forget! Visit http://www.MarcusEngel.com for more information!

“Have nothing to do with silly and ill-informed controversies which lead inevitably, as you know, to strife” (2 Timothy 2:23 Phillips); “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments, because these are unprofitable and useless” (Titus 3:9).

Defend me, therefore, common sense, I say,
From reveries so airy, from the toil
Of dropping buckets into empty wells,
And growing old in drawing nothing up.
Cowper

Religion especially is not to satisfy our curiosity or to answer speculative questions. It is to restore our relationship with God; to sanctify our hearts and minds and prepare us for eternity. What good comes from stirring up strife over whatever does not help us with this goal?

Chaucer shared this humorous bit of wisdom: “One shouldn’t be too inquisitive in life/Either about God’s secrets or one’s wife.” Our question is not, “Is my name written there, on the page white and fair?” but, “Is my God written here, on my heart full of fear?” “What must [we] do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30) and “What must we do to do the works God requires?” (John 6:28) are the compelling questions.

“…What may be known about God is plain…” (Romans 1:19). It is “wise” men who have obscured the plain things. We have made a fine art of wrangling and wrestling from the very Word of God. “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” 1 Corinthians 1:20. Yes, there are thoughts past our understanding, but God would not leave us without precepts and promises that we can comprehend and believe beyond spiritual fatal doubts. What kind of God would leave us hanging in the winds of worry and misgiving if He professes to be Love?

“Huxley came to Baltimore to attend a general conference in 1820. A discussion arose on a question of order, whether presiding elders should be elected by preachers or not, and the dispute had waxed warm, not to say hot. Brother Huxley had said not a word through it all, but at the close of the session the Bishop called upon him to make the concluding prayer. He knelt and said, “Now, O Lord, Thou knowest what a time we’ve had here discussing and arguing about this elder question, and Thou knowest what our feelings are. We do not care what becomes of the ark; it’s only who drives the oxen.” (Christian Age.)

I wonder if the ark is faring any better in our day!

Creating reality, can you really do it? Of course you can, I know this because you’re already doing it. How you ask? Well, you’re living what you’ve been paying attention to. I know it may be a difficult thing to grasp. Think about it; if you have more struggle than ease in your life, you’ve been putting more attention to thoughts, feelings and looking for the evidence to support the thoughts and feelings that have to do with struggle. Now here, on the flip side, if you have some struggle but you pay more attention to ease, everything that has anything to do with the expression of ease is what your attention will draw to. The return on the investment of your
attention to ease will be greater ease. Over the past 11 years it’s been interesting that many have often asked, “I’m not thinking about being sick or being in lack, what do you mean I created this?” Well, if you’re fearful about being sick or of going forward in some area of your life or you’re paying attention to the absence of what you want, you are placing valuable energy being in the vibration of that very fear.
That fear will increase by virtue of your attention activating more of it until you stop feeding it. It only takes little shifts in attention to guide you toward what you really want to begin feeding, what will serve and support a greater reality for
you.

Reality (the state of being actual or real) is subjective [taking place within the mind and modified by individual bias]. It is a reality that there are many people who
live in poverty and it is a reality that despite economic factors, many people thrive financially. Which is true? Both are true, and everything in between, they are all reality. Creating reality is about attending to preferences that are in alignment with what you desire. You may have heard the definition of insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Isn’t that what you’re doing when you consistently worry and then wonder why you’re living what you’re worrying about? You create your reality either by unconscious default or by conscious [intentional] choice to where you place your attention. Since your mind cannot hold
two thoughts simultaneously, you may as well start choosing the thoughts and feelings that support your wanted reality.

All creation begins at the level of thought and idea. By now you’ve been observing, to some extent, that what you’ve living, how you’ve been thinking and feeling is the magnet that draws to you the physical manifestation of those thoughts and feelings. That energy of the thoughts you think and the emotions you feel have been are your roadmap. With just a few reminders that that by directing your attention,consciously and deliberately, you will know you are in control of your life. Your
life is your universe, your world. What you choose to have as part of your world is completely your part, and how it shows up or comes into your physical manifestation is the universe’s job. It’s a co-creative process.

What you pay attention to grows. Your attention on the absence of what you want, or, the presence of what you have, grows in intensity, it grows in momentum and it grows in density so you draw more of it into your physical experience. To help with expansion, I’ve created a lexicon, a framework of definitions, to help you with your alchemy (power or process of transmuting) of creating reality. In this series, titled
Alchemy of Creating Reality - A to Z, we will be working with a new alphabet, each letter will be associated with states of being that resonate, or match, the vibration of your desires.

Working with new associations for each letter of the alphabet provides a greater framework with which to create more deliberately. In kindergarten, A stood for Apple. In fact, all the letters were taught using association with objects, perfect
for our age at that time. Now, with this new alphabet, you begin associating each letter with the state of being that you wish to activate. Notice the difference between an object (Apple) and a state of being (Awareness). As a discerning, intelligent and very creative adult, wouldn’t it be to your advantage to redefine
those very basic associations to ones that will help you re-create a life more befitting the life you imagine for yourself? Staying sick will not make someone else well and staying poor will not make someone else richer.

The first in this series is: Alchemy of Creating Realty: A is for Awareness as awareness is a very powerful beginning; then we’ll go all the way through Z is for Zenith (the highest point of your possibilities). In the 26 subsequent articles, I’ll
provide various focus points as a framework to give you ideas, either beyond what you’ve already thought of, or, a deeper level of what you’ve started thinking about. You’ve already begun thinking more deeply about where you’re placing your attention,
the ball just started rolling, there’s so much more ahead.

In the meantime, begin to direct your attention to what you want (rather than what you don’t want) and start playing with what you think and feel relative to “Awareness.” Begin thinking in holographic terms: think and feel each individual
element (each letter association) in terms of its relationship with the whole (what you’re creating). And as you begin working with your own alphabet, let the line between work and play blur and enjoy; with your senses, the associations you feel are a match to your desired, greater reality. Keep your mind and heart open, Awareness is on its way! Dynamically yours, Gabriele Reign

Gabriele Reign is a Mentor of Alchemy and the creator of dynamics that guide you through step-by-step practices to create and manifest the life you’ve always imagined for yourself. If you desire guidance, private or group mentoring, feel free to visit: http://www.DynamicLifeNow.com and for more inspiration to fuel your desires, visit: http://www.AllEmpowerment.com

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this in its entirety making sure not to modify any content
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©2005 AllEmpowerment.com
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Little Falls, NJ 07424

What am I supposed to do with my life? Shouldn’t I be doing something…well…more?

These questions haunt everyone from time to time. Personally, I can’t count the number of times my acquaintances and I have batted this philosophical shuttlecock around a conversational circle. More often then not, the discussion gets bogged down in the seemingly immiscible oil-and-water struggle between the “idealists”, who are sure anything is possible if you just believe, and the “realists” who claim that between taxes, child-rearing and battles over tenure and seniority there simply isn’t time for belief in the promise that “your check is in the mail,” let alone anything more esoteric like living the life of your dreams.

I can’t help but feel that most of us are going about this issue the wrong way - simply trying too hard to get it right the first time and ending up doing nothing out of fear that we will get it wrong, and not find out until we’re too far down the road to find our way back to the starting point. Unfortunately, by the time we realize that we haven’t actually chosen anything we often discover that the choice was made for us long ago by our inattention.

Instead of trying to figure out the eternal (and unanswerable) question of, “What should I do with my life,” consider just living life, and living it well. There’s nothing wrong with simply picking up a comfortable mix of jobs, hobbies, causes, volunteering and fun stuff that you really want to do and enjoy doing, and then doing them to the best of your ability with no intent to be anything other than yourself at your best. If you do this, one of two things will most certainly happen:

1. You will eventually stumble across something you want to do while you’re out enjoying your life.

2. You won’t stumble across whatever it is you want to do, but will enjoy living your life anyway, creating a warm, cheerful and loving environment for those around you in the process.

Either way, you will have a happy, enjoyable life that you can be proud of reliving in the hereafter, and you may end up coming across something wondrous. One thing I do know is that while all of us are capable of doing great things, not too many of us realize that not everybody has to climb to the top of the mountain and be a hero to do this.

Even if you just spend your life being kind, happy and pleasant, puttering around at your hobbies, helping others when you can and generally just making the world around your little sphere of influence a little cheerier by virtue of your smiling, whistling presence, that’s a great work in and of itself. Too many people, feeling that pull to “make something of themselves,” fail to realize that who they already are is enough.

So why not just relax, enjoy your life and let it unfold as it will. Many who believe in reincarnation believe that some lifetimes are just for enjoying the view, a vacation of sorts, and many others believe that it is as much a sin to forgo permissible pleasures as it is to avoid the forbidden ones. Surely our Creator would not create such a beautiful world as this and then be offended if we were so taken with it that we spent our lives enjoying it and each other. Enjoy your life and enjoy the lives of those around you. And if you just so happen to find “great work” while you’re at it, well that’s just the icing on the cake.

(c) Soni Pitts

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Soni Pitts is the Chief Visionary Butt-Kicker of SoniPitts.Com. She specializes in helping others reclaim “soul proprietorship” in their lives and to begin living the life their Creator always intended for them.

She is the author of the free e-book “50 Ways To Reach Your Goals” and over 100 self-help and inspirational articles, as well as other products and resources designed to facilitate this process of personal growth and spiritual development.

Superbagneres is amongst the better ski towns for vacation entertainment and repose. Superbagneres is an awesome place and offers the family hiking, white water rafting, horseback riding, shows and many other things for everyone to savor.

However when the first snowfall commences to lie on the tree tops and mountain tops, and the rivers ice over, Superbagneres switches its make up from autumn colours to white. Superbagneres pullulates with winter activities ” winter luge, ice climbing and skiing.

Superbagneres has been called the number one snowboarding resort in the Alps year after year by ski publications and avid skiers. It raises a majestic 2600 meters into the sky, it has 94 runs, the lengthiest is 10 km. kilometers, and there is 520 kilometres of piste. There’s pistes for beginners and intermediates, and 47 runs for advanced skiers and boarders. Superbagneres’s chair lifts manages 20000 skiers each hour therefore theres no wasting of time standing to get snowboarding. You can choose the bubble for a supreme overall view of the domain and the surrounding area. And for the thirsty tourist, there are many mountain restaurants that provide gluwein and broths, paninis or complete meals. If you’d like to find Chamonix chalets for rent, or other accommodation in the French alps then why not check out Chalet Direct?

For the same and similar reasons why you might want to hide your condition from your co-workers, you might also want to hide it from your family. If you do not live at home, then that is not a problem, however if you do, then you may have complications. Either way, it is important that someone close to you know that you are a) in therapy and b) taking medications. This should be someone who is likely to be called by your family if something happens to you so the information can make it to the doctors treating you.

If you live at home and want to keep your parents from knowing what is going on, the first step is to have your health care professionals call your cell phone. Standard intake forms will ask you what your home phone number is, and then ask if it is okay to call there and is it okay to leave a message there. Even then, they will try to be discreet, but messages can be understood for what they are.

Since you will have therapy every week at the same time, you should come up with a plausible story for why you are returning at that time. You can say that you are at work, but if they call you, you will not be at your desk to answer. If there is a receptionist, they might tell your family that you left already. You might want to say that you are going to the gym, or you could say that you go to a bar with friends. However, you should be careful that they don’t think that you are becoming an alcoholic. One of these cover stories, or one of your own design, that explains why you aren’t answering your cell phone, is important. You can keep things quiet if you want, and you should not have any problems with it.

Learn to alleviate your depression at http://www.curemydepression.com

Buying a bed online can be alot easier than buying a bed from a local store, this is because it’s quick and usually cheaper and you get more choice in styles. Although you should always remember to take measurements of your bedroom, this is because there are no strict size measurements for bed designers to adhere too, generally though they try to keep as close as possible to regular sizes. So I will repeat this again, it is vitally important to check the size of your new bed with the measurements of your room

If you are going for the contemporary look in your bedroom then the bed you buy will be the most important thing in the bedroom. A contemporary bed is usually quite plain and commonly just one or two colours and of very simple design. Most contemporary beds have some sort of curves instead of straight lines. Also if you truly want the modern day look a bed with a low to the ground design is essential, this will help create more space in your bedroom. Julian bowen make some tremendous faux leather beds, these can be half the price of a real leather bed and just as good

Finally, just maake sure you get a bed you are happy with as it is you who is going to be spending there time in it. Just remember that you are the person who has to sleep in this bed, so get something you like and that you will be comfortable with

The following article is offered for free use in your ezine, print publication or on your web site, so long as the author resource box at the end is included, with hyperlinks. Notification of publication would be appreciated.

Title: Discerning The Loving Heart Author: Margaret Paul, Ph.D. E-mail: mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com Copyright: © 2003 by Margaret Paul Web Address: http://www.innerbonding.com Word Count: 663 Category: Relationships

DISCERNING THE LOVING HEART By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

How often have you had the experience of connecting with someone - a friend or a potential partner - who turns out to be an uncaring person? At first you think this is a really good person, and then down the line you discover that the person is self-centered, narcissistic, angry and uncaring. You wonder how you could be so wrong, and what can you do differently next time?

I have discovered in my 35 years of counseling that people seem to decide very early in their lives whether or not they want to care about and have compassion for others’ feelings. As a result, people have different levels of the willingness to feel others’ feelings. Some of us deeply feel others’ pain and joy, while other people don’t. Some people can recall caring about others’ pain and joy from a very young age, while other people remember being concerned mostly with their own feelings and needs.

The people who have chosen the deeper level of compassion are often the ones that become the caretakers, while the less compassionate people become the takers. Caretakers are people who have learned to take responsibility for others’ feelings and well-being, while takers are people who expect others to take responsibility for their feelings and well-being and often blame others when they don’t take on this responsibility.

If you are a compassionate person who easily feels others’ feelings, you might find yourself drawn to people who are in pain. Your compassionate heart naturally wants to help those people who are in pain, not only out of caring, but also because their pain is painful to you. The problem is that this person might not care about your feelings as much as you care about his or hers.

So, how do you become discerning of who has a loving, caring and compassionate heart? The first step is to focus on developing as much compassion for your own feelings as you have for others. Often, very caring people leave themselves out, caring about others far more than they care about themselves. This leaves them vulnerable to becoming the caretaker for someone who just wants someone else to take care of them, and then gets angry when you don’t do it “right.” If you develop compassion for yourself, you will start to feel much more quickly when someone is not really caring about you. If you are just focused on another’s feelings, you won’t notice what you feel, and it is your own feelings that allow you to discern caring from a lack of caring.

The next step is to understand and accept that, no matter how caring you are to others, you have no control over how caring others are with you. You can’t make someone be caring, and the more you take care of another’s feelings and well-being while ignoring your own, the less caring the other will be. The other person becomes a mirror for your lack of caring about yourself.

The more you learn to take full, 100% responsibility for your own feelings, the more another’s lack of caring will be intolerable to you. The more you are able to stay tuned into yourself and trust your own perceptions, the quicker you will discern a lack of caring in others. The more you accept your lack of control over getting others to be caring, the quicker you will let go of people who are intent on getting caring but not much concerned with giving it.

It really doesn’t take long to discern the loving heart once you have compassion for yourself, trust your perceptions, and accept your lack of control over others. People betray their intention to either give love or to get it, or to give to get, with everything they say and do. With practice, you can learn to discern the loving heart very early in a relationship. If you want to stop recreating the same relationships over and over, then develop your power of discernment.