Do You Feel Left Out...

I want to share with you a personal story. My son is seven years old. It was one year back i was on vacation in this nice resort. They had a wonderful swimming pool and they had reserved a small part of the pool for kids to play. Now i loved swimming but my son would not allow me to swim. He wanted me to remain in the kids section of the pool and play with him. And so i agreed to play with him for i had no choice.

It was fun splashing water and we had a great time. After an hour, he told me “Appa(Dad) now you can swim for ten minutes in the big pool if you wish to. “Big Deal !” I said to myself. Like every parent I loved my son. Infact he is the only person I listen to:). And so i removed him out of the kids pool and told him to sit at a place and watch me swim…

I jumped into the pool and i had barely swam five feet ahead and i looked back and i could not find my son sitting outside.I was scared to death. It was afternoon time and there was no one in the pool … One more glance behind and i saw at a distance a tiny hand struggling to keep his hand above the water. It was my son. He had jumped into the water. He wanted to swim with me. I do not know how i reached to him in 2 seconds whether I jumped mid air or what i don’t know i cannot recall.. but i turned and leaped into mid air caught him and pulled him outside the pool and was able to save his life. I have never forgotten that incident for a single day in my life.

I thank God for giving him a second chance. And I thank you for reading till this point.

As i reflect on that incident one of the first thingsthat comes to my mind is “I should have taught him to swim”If not for divine intervention i would have had to paya huge price that day for my casual approach towards this whole thing.

There are three interesting things which comes out of this whole incident.

Knowledge, Value, and Need.

Here is the equation. You can determine the Real Value of Knowledge only when you feel its real need….

If something would have gone wrong with my son that day i would have felt that the only skill needed in this earth life is swimming and i would have gladly paid any amount to the person who could rescue him from the pool. The need determines the value of knowledge not the skill or productby itself. You got to understand this especially whenwe are dealing with life….

I got a mail yesterday from someone who said thati should be offering this whole program for less than $49 and there was this another mail i got from a female who is now one month into our program that we should be charging atleast $2000 for this program because the knowledge shared was way too life changing. Now both are right in their own ways because the need determines the value.

I want to make it clear. Myself and John we are not doing this for money. Let this be made crystal clear. Yes there is an exchange of currency for the knowledge being imparted but see and stare with your own eyes at what you take back. If you think your life could change with a $9 ebook then your life got to be worth only that much

See what you take back infact do not even see that. Look at the integrity of the emails, see if it touches you ask questions to yourself, to me, but take action from your heart not your mind. The reason i am saying this is because any intelligent marketer would sell this whole course for $1897 easily and you might feel left out Even when someone charges $249 still you might feel left out

Even if we charge $9 someone would say i got to give it for free.

And even if we give it for free and charge for shipping someonewould say “They are making lots of money they can giveit for free”

There is no end to all this…

The need determines the value of knowledge. You got to be wise enough to appreciate knowledge which comes from a totally different direction, which wants to take care of all your needs, your dreams solve your problems and provide you with all the tools for helping you live a magnificient life. You got to have the good wisdom to take it with both hands. Great things will fall into your lot only when you develop the subtle skill of placing the lower ones down.

This life is a great opportunity. Yes money can be made relationships can be formed, and many other dreams can be achieved but they alone live who live for others who feel for others rest are more dead than alive.

Do what you like make all the money,enter into every other relationship which you find exciting but do not forget that you are hereto accomplish something which is way too wonderful than all those things you dream of.

Don’t be left out. And do not at the time of drowning think about the skills you should have accumulated. The time is now. Take a deep breath look far into the sky beyond the clouds, beyond all your current problems your worries, the things which have held you back and say to yourself “This has got to change right now, this moment and then you take another deep breath close your eyes firm your thought and look back into the clear blue sky and you might find that you had paid a lot of attention to your problems your worries and valued it so much that it has become predominant in your life and you had very little time to value your own skills your dreams your love …..All you got to do is to value your life, your love, your dream a little bit more than you value your problems and you will find life heading in a completely different direction…

The 45 slots for the program we announced yesterday was already taken over in the first hour. But the mail i wrote was so long that for some strange reason many were able to read only the first few paragraphs and the later ones got cut off. We received way too many emails and so the Lord of the Program John Harricharan directed me to take in another 15 people as many got missed out on this golden opportunity.

So you can decide if you would like to waittill you get completely drowned with the problems of life or you would like someone who can leap mid air and snatch you away from all the devils and bring hope joy and a smile in your face. It is your choice.And you have to quick very quick. This offer expires in 18 hours from now. Here is where you need to go

Thank you for being with me till the end God bless and have a wonderful day Vish

http://www.spiritual-simplicity.com/index777.cfm

P.S. This is a mail i got from a female who is a self help coach herself and charges four figures for an hourly consultation. Here is what she had to say after one of the calls….Again i have cut pasted it as it is.

Two things from our call were really helpful as I recognized myself in both.

The process is foolproof.Don’t question the process, question the tools.

I realize I do this often. Instead of questioning the tools in this or any process, I made the process wrong saying it didn’t work for me. What I now realize is the tools needed to be individualized by me to have the process work for me. Big aha moment. Change the tools, not the process.

With this daily process, we are trying to narrow the gap between thought and action so that thought leads to effortless action. I felt great excitement at the possibility of this for me. When I have a thought I automatically begin to judge it as right or wrong, good or bad, should I do it or shouldn’t I, am I worthy of doing it, do I have the courage to do it etc, etc. I get so caught up in trying to analyze the thought that I do nothing…….leaving a wide gap between that thought and any action. The thought that I don’t need to validate the thought was huge.

It’s interesting that when we have habits that are so ingrained, we don’t know there is any other way.I knew when I first heard you on a teleconference call that you had some information that would be helpful to me. I love that you come from a place of ….how can we make this process manageable for you. You are magnificent…Two Big hugs for you… With Great Appreciation, xxxxxxxx

The Blame Game-devotional

"Wasn't me!"

My fourteen-year-old son has spoken those words more often than I care to remember. It's always someone else's fault - most often, his sister's. To my son, blaming comes almost as naturally as the gray roots he's causing to sprout from my head. Hey, at least he’s doing his part to keep Clairol in business!

Okay, so my son isn’t the only one ever to speak those words, “Wasn’t me!” After all, Adam started the whole blaming thing that day in the garden: “It was the woman You gave me. She brought me the fruit and I ate it.” But Eve wasn’t about to take the fall: “It was the serpent. He tricked me.” (Genesis 3)

Can’t you just picture God rolling His eyes at that one?

With sin, came blame. And because none of us is yet perfected (contrary to my teenaged son’s not-so-humble perception of himself) blaming and making excuses is still very much alive and well today. So how can I get my son to stop playing the blame game where everyone loses?

I suppose I can start by setting an example. I might not say the words, "Wasn't me!" but when it takes longer to check out at the grocery store than it does to do my shopping, I excuse my impatience: It's the cashier's fault! If my kids leave their toys in the middle of the floor, I excuse my outburst of anger: If the toys weren't there, I wouldn't have yelled! It’s traffic’s fault that I was late. Or my mom’s fault that I don’t handle money properly. If she would have taught me better…

Yada, yada, yada.

God wants us to be accountable for the way we act. The truth is, we are all responsible for how we respond to our circumstances. The moment we’re old enough to realize how something should be handled, we’re able to make a good choice. I can choose to exercise patience while I wait in that grocery store line. I can decide not to yell at my kids when they leave their stuff lying around. I’m not saying it’s easy, only that it’s possible! If I do choose to yell or become frustrated, guess whose fault it is? (Quit pointing!)

But isn’t it great that when we are quick to say, "I did something stupid," or, "I was wrong," God is even quicker to forgive. Making excuses and blaming others for our actions only causes dissension and separation – between us and others and, even more, between us and God. Yet, each time we confess, we become a little more sensitive to just how much we need Jesus and His forgiveness, which is what it's really all about.

In the same way, I am much more likely to show mercy to my son when he takes responsibility for his actions and stops blaming his sister. Convincing him of that, however, may take some time.

Just like convincing me that my son isn’t the cause of my gray hair isn’t going to happen any time soon.

I just don’t buy it.

"He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." Proverbs 28:13 (NIV)

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L.a.'s Best Auto Mechanic

I can remember the first "fast car" I ever had. It was a Ford Torino with a 390 cubic inch engine. It had headers, was an 8 cylinder, and gas was around seventy eight cents per gallon.

On Sundays, I would head outside my hometown of Hattiesburg, Ms and race that Torino down the quarter-mile track at Hub City Raceway. I'll never forget their radio ads with the announcer yelling "Sunday, Sunday, Sundayyyyyyyyyyyy!". The announcer made it so exciting, even non-car-fanatics came out to see what it was all about.It was just plain loud with way too much beer.

Never did a race go by that the conversation did not turn to "Who was the best mechanic in town". Since that time, I sold or wrecked and/or rebuilt about seven other race cars, probably my fastest being white Pontiac Tras-Am with a 454 cubic inch engine in it. It was the second year they came out and Pontiac only made them in that color. I collected trophies and bet I had hundreds hidden in my closet. I could not showcase them as it was my secret from my parents.

The days of my teens seems like a thousand years ago. But as much as things change, some remain the same. One is finding an honest and capable mechanic, not easy in L.A. or any city for that matter. I found him last week. It was like a miracle when my clutch broke.

I had just bought a nice used four cylinder sedan, drove it across the country, and right when I entered L.A. county I smelled smoke, and, noticed the clutch slipping. I knew from my younger days, "this might be a good thing.

AAA was there within ten minutes and towed it to a man of whom I'd never heard, named Vladimir Morsach, a Russian Immigrant who had learned American cars while here. He was recommended by a mutual friend. He knew exactly what the problem was and quoted me $200 cheaper than the mechanic on the other side of town, in a far away part of the San Fernando Valley, Woodland Hills.

To my surprise, a call came from Vladimir the very next day and he said, "You may pick up your car. It's fine."

I went to pick it up. I still had my out of state checks as I'd just moved from Arkansas, and since there had been some unauthorized charges on my Mastercard, I had canceled it and could not use it. He had to take my word that the check was good. He did.

I have been to numerous mechanics both here and other places,and my vote for mechanic, at least my choice, in America, is not even a native-born named Vlad. But don't let that fool you. He fixed it as professionally and courteously as anyone with which you could hope to deal.

In addition, he said, if there was anything else wrong with the car, he would let me know before fixing it. I thought "Uh oh...what is coming next", based on my experience with so many mechanics with which I'd worked in the past. He called me again to let me know it was only the clutch. Now that is honesty, and certainly worth driving a few miles (or in my case having it towed, to get it fixed better, cheaper, and from a very nice person, Vladimir Morsach). Welcome to America, Vlad! We are very glad you are here!

Note: Vlad's shop is at 18440 Vanowen Ave, Reseda, Ca in the Valley. His phone is 818-719-8610. He's great to talk to also. Sounds like I'm gushing, I know, but have never had such a positive experience with an auto mechanic.

I discovered something interesting about Vlad while writing this article, from a mutual friend who uses him for all her vehicles and has for years. he is a mechanical engineer, went to the one of the best University's in Russia and had many years of experience working with cars (European or American..). For me, Vlad's English is very easy to understand and he understood me perfectly; and, I do not speak Russian. But he believes he can't learn English and states that he'd better do what he knows best and it is repairing cars, remodeling, and more... For him, it is NOT just about cars, it is about his passion, but mostly: his honesty and integrity. He guarantees his work for one year and if your car is NOT working properly and has same problem he will repair it for free.

The Internet's top cartoonist and Intenet entrepreneur and former race car driver Rick London highly recommends Vladimir Morsach for any auto repair in Los Angeles. Click here to see the huge variety of Rick London's cartoons

Have You Heard Of Remote Viewing And Influencing?

If you're like me, you spend hours surfing the internet looking for weird stuff that you've never seen or read about before. During my extensive research one evening, as I scoured cyberspace to find some new and unusual crap to entertain myself with, I finally found what I was looking for.

At about 2:00 A.M. on a Thursday night, I couldn't relax, couldn't sleep, so I traveled downstairs to the computer and went online to find some information about meditation or relaxation techniques to help me clear my head so I could fall asleep.

On one of the websites I visited, there was a collection of links to various websites that teach meditation and relaxation techniques, such as yoga, Zen, and something called "open-eye meditation." None of these things interested me, until I found a link to a website for something called "Remote Viewing & Remote Influencing." This was intriguing, so I clicked through to the website.

At the very top of the first page was the title, "Welcome to the Remote Viewing and Remote Influencing Information Page - Your Real Life Time Machine." I sat forward in my chair, excited as can be. "This is it," I said to myself. "This is the kind of weird crap I've been looking for."

The information contained there was fascinating. Remote viewing was allegedly developed by the CIA during the Cold War era, circa 1970, as a way to make use of our natural psychic potential to spy on the Russians without having to travel to the Soviet Union to do it. Using remote viewing, by focusing one's mental powers on a certain point in space and time, it is possible to view what is going on anywhere at anytime; past, present, or future.

On the website, it also claimed that there were operatives who were trained in remote viewing and became so clairvoyant that they had to be locked underground in cages at different locales around the world. One was locked in a cage in Brazil, another in an intelligence base near Washington, and the third in an underground facility in Paramus, NJ. Yes, that's right, Paramus, NJ!

After I finished reading about remote viewing, I arrived at the remote influencing part of the website, which was even more bizarre, but cool. According to the information posted there, "remote influencing allows you to create your own fate and future, attracting the people and situations you want, and not be subject anymore to or addicted to the system of group consciousness." Apparently, remote influencing is some sort of mind control technique which enables you to create any reality you desire, alter your appearance, and change the world as you see fit; to play god, sort of speak.

The website never explained as to how one can actually learn to do this, though it did say that for $89.95 I could order their training tapes, which are backed by a 30-day money back guarantee. Right above the order form on the website was written "Order now for only $89.95, and learn how to change the world and play God - or your money back!"

I thought to myself, "For only $89.95 I get to become the Lord! What a great deal!" But, by that time it was 3 A.M., and since I was too tired to go back upstairs and get my credit card, I went back to bed. The next day, I did some further research, and I found a message board where people were discussing remote viewing and remote influencing products they had ordered online, and they revealed that what was sent to them was nothing more than some relaxation tapes narrated by a man with an eerie voice, accompanied by some ethereal background music.

So, are remote viewing and remote influencing proponents a bunch of quacks? Not necessarily. The principles they teach are probably true for the most part. They're basically saying that we have the power within our own minds to control our destiny and to harness the power of the subconscious mind to do things that would seem supernatural to our conscious mind. Personally, I do believe in the power of the mind and that we can break free from the shackles of consciousness to achieve a higher state of mental well-being.

This is one of the basic tenets of Scientology, that people have the power within themselves to do amazing things. So, despite having stumbled upon something that at first glance seemed like a scam or a bunch of empty nonsense, there was at least some wisdom imparted to me after having read through the information presented. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to my remote viewing class that starts in a half hour; we're going to use remote viewing to try to find Bin Laden.

Jim Pretin is the owner of http://www.forms4free.com, a service that helps programmers make an HTML form

Immigration means run for the border

Chewing a couple of naproxin causes my gums to bleed, and watching Lou Dobb's on television occasions my anus to clench. He seems to have a one track mind that focuses on nothing but immigration. If it wasn't for illegal immigration, Mr. Dobb's would not have his own show on CNN, and would probably end up as a Wal-Mart greeter. My apologies to all of the hard working greeters.

Why are Mexicans the only immigrants that seem to concern this country? Are Caucasians really afraid to be outnumbered in the United States? Why is immigration such a big deal? It could be to distract us from the real issues such as how George Bush has run this country into the ground. It should be more important to find out what that stuff is inside a burrito.

The Mexicans aren't coming to this country illegally, actually they are returning home. Shouldn't we be welcoming them back? Remember Manifest Destiny which was the policy to expand the U.S. Territories in the 1800's. The United States annexed ( a politically correct term for stealing ) Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, and parts of Colorado. These were Anglo Christians supposedly bringing civilization to the world, along with smallpox, syphilis, and other pleasantries. This same approach of bringing our civilization forcefully to others is working so well for George Bush in the Middle East.

At least the Mexicans aren't coming here to kill us or place us on reservations. All they want to do is harvest our vegetables for less than minimum wage. The border patrols should be more concerned about the drugs coming across the border rather than the folks just looking for work, but then again drug trafficking is a significant part of the U.S. economy. The Mexicans who come to labor and maintain our food supplies are also an indispensable part of this nations economy. If not for them our fruits and vegetables would be rotting in the fields, and a bag of spinach would cost eight dollars. That's without taxes for e-coli.

As Lou Dobb's continues to rant about the Mexicans, I would like to remind him that everybody is in this country illegally unless you are a Native American..

My novel Lyam's Journal was published 2/01/08.

Alan is the author of Lyam's Journal ISBN 0-7414-4505-0. He resides in Arizona with his wife Mary, and they enjoy hiking in the desert and searching for gold.