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Dear Friends,

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Love, Your Friend,

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The growing trend for cheese wedding cakes

Fruit cakes at weddings are being replaced with cheese variations, according to expert food blogger Jo Romero

The many-tiered, lavishly decorated fruit cake has been a feature of wedding celebrations for years. But suppliers are now reporting a trend for a different kind of wedding cake, made entirely out of cheese...

Want something classic? Opt for the Simply Traditional cheese cake [Yorkshire Dales Cheese Company]It’s an image that graces many a wedding album: the happy couple, poised and smiling, cutting into the first slice of a richly-iced, towering wedding cake.

But more couples are opting for cheese wedding cakes - whole cheeses piled on top of one another - for their ‘cake’.

Cheese wedding cakes are fairly new: the first ones sold in 2004. But the British Cheese Board says there’s been a steady growth in demand for the cheesy centerpiece, as many couples now choose it over the traditional sweet cake.

Cheese wedding cakes: what’s the attraction?

Cheese experts aren’t surprised. They say that there are many bonuses to having a cheese wedding cake.

Nigel White, secretary of the British Cheese Board told us, ‘Cheese wedding cakes offer a delicious, novel and cost effective alternative to the traditional fruit or sponge based cake which is not everyone’s cup of tea.’

And although a cheese centerpiece will set you back about the same amount as a traditional cake, they’re still frugal: ‘If the cutting of the cake comes straight after the wedding breakfast’, Nigel explains, ‘you can then serve it up as the cheese course – that’s two ticks on your wedding planner for the price of one’.

That's obviously important at a time when many wedding budgets are squeezed.

He also mentions that any leftover cheese can be taken home and frozen, presenting a ‘zero waste option’ for the big day.

Cheeses can also be chosen to represent important regions to the couple - for example where they met or were born, giving a personal touch.

Not just a lump of cheese

Why not try a Hearts Desire cheese wedding cake? [Yorkshire Dales Cheese Company]But if you’re imagining an unattractive pile of cheeses then you’d be wrong. Cheeses can be decorated with figs, grapes, ribbons, flowers, leaves and even feathers. And there are a huge number of colour combinations to choose from as well.

Josette Hill, founder of HRH Big Cheese Cake Company told Yahoo! that part of its success comes from couples wanting something ‘unique’ for their big day.

‘With a cheese wedding cake,’ she says, ‘you can create this by decorating the cake to their personal colour scheme - adding to the décor of the room while being a scrumptious delight.’ And cheeses are naturally colourful.

Take a nutty and vibrantly-coloured Red Leicester, or a bloomy green and white nettle-wrapped Cornish Yarg.

A speckled Blacksticks Blue would also add colour - and you could top the cake with a small white goat’s cheese or - perfect for the day - a heart-shaped, red-waxed Godminster Cheddar.
[Related: Top tips to save money on your weekly shop]

Could it ever fully replace the traditional sweet wedding cake?

Purely Wensleydale cheese wedding cake [Yorkshire Dales Cheese Company]But is all this excitement over cheese cakes here to stay? It would seem that it is.

In an age where newlyweds cut gothic, Halloween-inspired cakes, bite into a pile of doughnuts or even take a slicer into a pizza to mark their big day, tradition isn’t so widely observed as it once was.

Thanks to the human inclination for a sweet tooth, there will always be a place at weddings for the traditional fruit or sponge cake, but if people want to celebrate the start of their marriage with some fine, thoughtfully-chosen cheeses, then why not?

And why stop at weddings? Birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, housewarmings... you heard it here first.

Would you, or did you, choose a cheese wedding cake for your big day? Or do you prefer to stick with tradition and go for the sweet option? Let us know over on Twitter now.

13 natural remedies for the ant invasion

Ants are making their way into homes this time of year. Thankfully there are natural pest control methods to help you cope with and eliminate the problem. Plus, many of the solutions use what you already have in your cupboard!

Photo: Lindspetrol/Flickr
Little tiny ants have been spotted in our new home, and many people are suffering the same fate across the country. As much as I love spring, I don't like bugs — especially bugs that can infest a house. Last week I asked for some advice in how to deal with ants naturally as I hadn't time to research it myself since I moved this last weekend. I got such good advice, I had to share it with the readers here at MNN as well.

Some of these measures are deterrents. That is, they deter the ants from coming in your house. This seems to work well for those with a mild problem. Others found that they needed to use a method that kills the whole colony of ants. I've compiled the comments and suggestions by category, allowing you to compare the different methods a little more easily.

1. Lemon juice
Teresa: We just spray around the openings with pure lemon juice … and it always works for us … something about the acid messes up their sense of tracking…

2. Cinnamon
Shayla:We use ground cinnamon around where there are coming it. It works really well.
Peggy: We spray cinnamon essential oil all around the doors, windowsills, floors, etc. keeps them from coming in. I put the sugar water and borax OUTSIDE!

Letia: Another vote for ground cinnamon. Easy to clean up afterwards and worked great for us!!!
Jean: Cinnamon and cloves. Makes your house smell nice and the ants just hate it sprinkled right in their path.
Patricia: We also use cinnamon oil. We draw borders around everything with a Q-tip dipped in it. They won’t cross it.

3. Peppermint
Heather: My mother-in-law has success with peppermint essential oil around windows and doors (any entries). Plus her house then smells awesome.

Julie: Dr. Bonner’s liquid soap in the mint aroma. Mix 1 to 1 with water in a spray bottle. Spray on the ant invasion and watch them suffer.

4. Borax, water and sugar
Kristi: We use borax, sugar, water and a touch of peanut butter. It takes a couple of weeks but really works. We used it last year in our old house and are implementing it again this spring in our new house. Pesky ants! Here is the site where I found the recipe:http://naturalantkiller.blogspot.com/

Christy: I second Diana’s comment about borax and sugar. I’ve made a thin paste before with water, sugar and borax, then spread it on little pieces of thin cardboard or stiff cardstock and placed them near where it seems they are coming into the house. They’ll eat it and take it back to their colony (just like the Terro liquid you can buy). The paste will dry up in a couple days, so you’ll have to make more. But I think I only had to do it twice before they were gone.

Chookie: What worked for us was a mixture of borax and sugar in water. Several years ago, we lived in a house where there was an ants nest in the walls. Removing it would have meant virtually demolishing the entire front wall of the house (not practical!), so instead, after a year or two of having flying ants swarm into our bedroom every year we decided to go on an ant killing spree. Conventional ant killers didn’t work. Borax and powdered sugar didn’t work. But adding water to the borax and sugar mix to make a thick sugary borax-y syrup DID work…. the worker ants took it back into the nest and it positioned the queen – result = no more flying ants. OK, so borax does need to be kept away from pets and small children, but it is relatively safe beyond that as it is only toxic if you eat it. my solution was to put it somewhere where the kids and the cats would not reach it but the ants could.

BeverlyC: We live in China and had a HORRIBLE ant problem in our house. Tried cinnamon, black pepper, vinegar, etc. etc. We were concerned about the borax because we have guests in and out regularly and the little children are often, well, naughty and undisciplined. When someone suggested Terro liquid ant bait and we found it was just Borax and sugar, we asked someone to bring us some. We could pick the traps up and put them away when company came and put them back out after they left. They worked wonders!!

5. Boiling water and dish soap
Jennie: We make sure all of our food is sealed up. The honey jar is usually the biggest ant magnet, so it gets a thorough washing and then is placed on a small water-filled saucer in the cupboard. We use a spray bottle filled with water and a squirt of liquid dish soap (I use Seventh Generation) to kill any visible ants. I also look around outside to try to find their hill; pouring a kettle of boiling water on it solves the problem.

Christy: I’ve done what Jennie mentioned too – boiling water will destroy an ant colony, or weeds popping up between sidewalk cracks or in mulch. It’s an easy, purely natural way to kill things that we don’t often think about.

6. Diatomaceous earth
Karen: Yes … diatomaceous earth (DE) works well … use food-grade not swimming pool DE. It should be sprinkled around the perimeter of your new home and you can also safely sprinkle it inside where you see them.

Do not wet the DE or it will not work. DE isn’t an instant kill but should resolve the problem within a week or so.

Jami: I have a pretty serious any invasion at my house too. When I moved in last April they had already made themselves at home. I did the cinnamon thing last year and worked ok, but they just kept finding new ways in. My ants weren’t attracted to sugary things, but protein, especially the dog food. This year I made some borax cookies and put them in the old fireplace where I noticed the ants returning a week ago. I also sprinkled DE around the perimeter of my kitchen and that seems to have worked better than anything so far for immediate results.

7. Chalk
Natalie: Oh! And they will not cross a line drawn in chalk. I drew a line around my window where they were coming in and it kept them at bay.

Anali: My grandparents has really good results with the line of chalk, they used powder that you can get at home improvement stores. It comes in a squeezey bottle so it’s easy to lay down a line with.

8. Baking soda and powdered sugar
Jennifer: Ants carry an acidic substance with them always for protection. I do a mix of baking soda and powdered sugar in a plastic lid set in strategic places. I think a little volcanic science experiment happens inside their bodies. Over the course of several days it has made a huge difference.

9. Coffee grounds
Lea: I have had success with used coffee grounds, I did know where their entry was, after putting it in the cracks they never returned. I also do know it doesn’t kill them, it just makes them move homes, (we have put them on beds outside and we just see them pop up a small distance away.

10. Cornmeal
Jill: One more thing to add to this. I saw somewhere to use corn meal. Well, it worked out since some moths got into my cornmeal, and I felt bad wasting it. That’s when I saw the idea and tried it. I sprinkled a little bit just off the back porch. Every day I would check and every day the same trail of ants was still there. Then I forgot about it. My daughter found another ant nest further out in the yard, and it made me remember to check the last trail. It was gone, completely gone. So, I sprinkled it on the new nest, and less than a week later, it is gone. If you google it there are a ton of places where it mentions it. Here’s just one link, and if you scroll to the Tip there is still another idea using molasses. Although if cornmeal will work I think it’s cheaper, and safer around kids and pets. http://www.ehow.com/how_6395566_kill-ants-corn-meal.html

11. Cream of Wheat
Rebecca: Cream of wheat! They eat it & it expands & they explode! Ha! I used it in my garden for ant problems. Kind of makes you wonder what it does to our insides when we eat it too

12. Vinegar
Kristie: Vinegar! Since we switched to using a vinegar/water solution for mopping the floors and cleaning the counters, our ant problem has vanished.

Mysty: Vinegar is the one sure solution, but you need to pour it where the ants have their nest, not just to where they walk around. If you find their nest just pour about 0.5-1 L of white (cheap) vinegar. I never had ant problems but my grandparents sometimes has as they has a big farm and there is always an ant problem is some corner of the farm

Cath: We used a mixture of vinegar, washing up liquid (ecover) and peppermint oil last year. Tracked them back to their nest and syringed it into the cracks. They never came back.

13. Equal
Tea Leaf: We killed our ants by mixing Equal packets with apple juice. It is a neurotoxin to the ants. Scary that people put these in their coffee.

http://www.mnn.com/your-home/at-home/blogs/13-natural-remedies-for-the-ant-invasion

Most common fraud scams to watch out for
By Sophie Christie | Telegraph – 21 hours ago

Almost three quarters of Britons have experienced some type of fraud attempt, according to First Direct. Here are the top five most common scams to watch out for.

The survey conducted by First Direct also found that 55pc of those who had experienced fraud had been targeted online, yet this hadn't appeared to affect consumers as 80pc said they would still purchase online, with 70pc still banking online.

Over 55s were contacted by fraudsters most, while four in 10 of those aged 16 to 24 said they had never experienced a scam attempt.

Most common types of fraud
1. Fake emails: 53pc of frauds were conducted via fake emails claiming to be from a bank requesting personal information, like Pin numbers and account login details.
2. Advance-fee frauds: Advance-fee frauds make up 29pc of the most regular scams committed. Scammers send emails and letters to victims asking for a certain amount of money in order to secure a larger sum.
The Nigerian 419 scam is a common example of this the "419" refers to the Nigerian Criminal Code that deals with fraud.
3. Impostor phone calls: Impostor phone calls ( 23pc of the most common types of fraud) claiming to be from well-known organisations, such as broadband providers or software firms. An incident of this was reported recently when an elderly gentleman was conned out of £121 after being targeted by scammers posing as Microsoft.
4. Debit card fraud: Debit card fraud duplicating one or more of your bank cards, makes up 14pc of the most regularly seen types of fraud.
5. Fake lotteries: Fake lotteries also account for 14pc of the most common types of fraud. Victims receive emails notifying them of a large sum of money won in a lottery. Recipients of the scam are often told to contact a 'claims agent' to whom they will pay 'processing fees' or 'transfer charges' in order for the winnings to be paid.

What to do if you have become a victim of fraud

• Change the passwords to your computer, email and any financial accounts, especially bank and credit cards.

• Scan your computer to see if rogue software has been installed.

• Contact your bank and credit card companies if you think your details may be at risk. Ask them to freeze the account and issue a new card.

• If you have lost money to card fraud contact Action Fraud and get a crime reference number. This will help pursue a claim with your bank for lost funds. See actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.

DIY Thursday: 10 Creative Upcycled Planters for Earth Day
PAMELA NGUYEN APRIL 4, 2013 1

We’d like to think we have a healthy obsession for planters. Whether you have space for an outdoor garden or have to settle to liven up your indoors, planters provide the necessary versatility. And you can use anything, really, as planters. That’s the best part! Upcycled planters not only bring an eclectic (and colorful) appeal to your garden but also cleverly reuse random household objects you’d otherwise throw away!

We scoured the web for creative and unique ways people have made their own planters. Check out our 10 favorite DIY planters below:

Hanging Rainboot Planters (via Rosy Posy)

You can still use your kids’ rainboots to make these adorable hanging planters once they’ve outgrown them!

Outdoor Cinderblock Planters (via Apartment Therapy)

This simple project hardly needs any instructions, and the supplies are easy to find! These modern planters are great for a small patio and use 12″ cinder blocks.

Colanders as Pots (via Bonnie Plants)

In many ways, colanders were built to be planters – they already have their draining holes built in!

Low Budget Container Gardens (via HGTV)

If your desk is damaged and you’re thinking about throwing it out, consider re-purposing it to make your own garden instead.

DIY Floppy Disk Planters (via Brit + Co)

These floppy disk planters are ideal for any tech geek, us included!

Succulent Book Planter (via HGTV Gardens)

Add new life to your old book by planting a succulent in between pages.

Modern Upcycled Planters (via Somewhere Splendid)

We already found several cool ways people have upcycled their soda cans, but this planter idea seem to have eluded us!

Switch Plate Covers as Desktop Planters (via Apartment Therapy)

It isn’t often that we have to replace our switch plate covers, but this hack could come to good use if you ever think about changing out your current ones.

Tire Planters (via Lemon, Bean and Things)

These stacking tire planters were all assembled and potted for under $80.

Altoids Tin Pocket Garden (via Elizabeth Abernathy)

For a little zen in your life, you can make your own pocket-sized zen garden with an empty Altoids tin.
For more fun DIY crafts and projects, visit our DIY Thursday archive!

Which upcycled planters are you ready to make?

Week in Pictures: From gauchos being knocked off their saddles to dancers leaping for victory

Here's our pick of the pictures around the world this week...

A gaucho is unseated by an unbroken horse during the annual celebration of Criolla Week in Montevideo, March 25, 2013. Throughout Easter Week "gauchos", the Latin American equivalent of the North American "cowboy", from all over Uruguay and neighboring Argentina and Brazil visit Montevideo to participate in Criolla Week to win the award of best rider. The competition is held March 24 - March 30. (Reuters)

Actor Mario Valencia, portraying Jesus Christ, performs during a baptism ceremony as part of Catholic Holy Week celebrations at the Rimac river in Lima (Reuters)

A man celebrates the Holi festival (the festival of colors) in Mathura city of northern Indian state Uttar Pradesh, March 27, 2013. Holi is one of the major festivals for Hindus and the most vibrant of all. People paint each other with water color on the auspicious day of Holi which is celebrated mainly by north Indians and east Indians. (Caters)

These lambs are real-life WOOLY JUMPERS after farmers decided to give warm sweaters to protect them from Britain's arctic blast. Owners at Beckett's Farm, in Birmingham, have taken the unusual step to protect the newborn lambs aptly dubbed Flake, Frosty and Snowy. The fourth has been given the moniker Michael Fish in honour of the celebrated BBC weather man. The lambs are less than a week old and although we've taken an extreme precaution to keep them warm, this extreme weather is no laughing matter. (Caters)

Sand Martins reflected on the waters surface whilst feeding on Chard Reservoir in Somerset - usually an indicator that Spring really is finally on its way. (SWNS)

Supporters of gay marriage rally in front of the Supreme Court in Washington (Reuters)

A model prepares backstage before the MGPIN collection show by Maogeping Image Design Art School at China Fashion Week in Beijing, March 27, 2013. Fashion week runs till March 30 (Reuters)

One of a set of adorable images of sleeping newborn babies snuggled up in cosy hats - enough to warm anyone up even on the coldest of days. The super sweet tots - captured by photographer Amy Marques - wear a variety of headgear from rabbit ears while sat in a magician's hat to a pointy wizards hat all made from soft wool. Then after they nod off Amy, 49, gets to work by carefully photographing the toddlers in a number of positions from relaxing in a hammock to sitting in a plant pot. Each of the little'uns - who are no older than 10 days - spend up to three hours with Amy but only a small amount of time is spent shooting because she has to wait until they are in deep slumber. (Caters)

An incredible macro shot of an insect moments after a downpour. Ondrej Pakan, from Myjava, Slovakia, captured a stunning series of bug-eye views around the world. This bug can be seen staring down the lens of Ondrej's camera - covered in dots of water. (Caters)

Competitors warm up in the hallway at the World Irish Dancing Championships in Boston, Massachusetts March 24, 2013. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi (Reuters)

15 Surprising Uses for Safety Pins
• Katie Waldeck - March 17, 2013

Sick of losing socks? Afraid you’re going to mess up that birthday cake? Want to keep pickpockets at bay? The humble safety pin is the answer to your troubles! Click through for some fantastic ways to use safety pins that go beyond the basics. Have a great use of your own? Share it in the comments.

Great Ways to Use Safety Pins.

1. Keep Your Bag Safe From Thieves. Safety pin your zippers onto the fabric on bags and backpacks — it’s just one more hassle for pickpockets to go through to get to your belongings. Trust me, every extra second is important!

2. Keep Your File Cabinet Nice and Tidy. Is there one huge, bulging hanging file in your file cabinet? Save space with a safety pin. See the photo here for a clearer explanation.

3. Keep Pairs of Socks and Gloves Together. Genius, isn’t it? Never lose another sock again!

Home.

4. Keep Those Curtains Shut. Sick of that tiny space between your curtains? Keep them shut with your trusty pal, the safety pin, and keep living like a vampire!

5. Clean Your Garlic Press. I have a wonderful garlic press that’s sadly lost its comb. Luckily, all is not lost — a safety pin works just as well (if not better!) for getting out all the gunk.

6. Clean Your Salt Shaker. Stop all that salt buildup in the shaker by cleaning it with a safety pin.

7. Keep Those Covers on the Couch. If your armchair covers just don’t like to stay in their place, fasten them down with a safety pin.

8. Decorate a Cake. Don’t just eyeball those words and other designs on a cake! Use a safety pin to plan out your design — the icing will cover the safety pin lines completely.

Clothing.

9. Fix a Drawstring. One of the most frustrating problems ever, solved! Click here for detailed instructions on how to re-string a drawstring.

10. Use in Place of a Clothes Pin. Run out of clothespins? Safety pins will work in a pinch.

11. Make a Key Chain. For a quirky key chain, place your keys on a large safety pin.

12. Stop Static Cling. Sick of your skirt sticking to your tights? Fasten a small safety pin to the skirt lining or your slip. The metal in the safety pin will conduct electricity and divert the static!

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/15-surprising-uses-for-safety-pins.html#ixzz2O28EaEkZ

This is just pretty darned innovative! I'm in for a set!

No more Fix-a-flat, no more air compressors, no more spare tires, no more auto jacks, no more tools rattling in the trunk. Will it reduce the price of cars? Will it reduce the cost of roadside service? Will some business' s go out of business?

Coming soon!

They have been testing these for several years now.
Resilient Tech was developing them for the military.

Amazing new tires........................

Michelin Tires... Absolutely SCARY looking...

Look for 'em in August.

These tires are made in South Carolina , USA .

SEE-THROUGH TIRES

Radical new tire design by Michelin.
The next generation of tires.
They had a pair at the Philadelphia car show.

Yes, those are 'spoke' like connections to the inner part
Of the tire from the outside tread 'wrap!' The next picture
Shows how odd it looks in motion...

Makes you wonder how the ride feels doesn't it?

These tires are airless and are scheduled to be out on the market very soon.

The bad news for law enforcement is that spike strips will not work on these.

Just think of the impact on existing technology:

A. No more air valves..
B. No more air compressors at gas stations...
C. No more repair kits..
D. No more flats...

These are actual pictures taken at the South Carolina plant of Michelin.

Lost Britain from above: Thousands of historic aerial photographs - which were almost lost forever - go online for the first time

• Rare pictures of St Paul's Cathedral and Blackpool Tower are included in treasured collection made freely available on new Britain from Above website

• Others show the 1935 FA Cup final, the Queen Mary's maiden voyage in 1936 and the 1947 Thames Flood

• More than 15,000 photographs taken between 1919 and 1953 have been uploaded on to the site

• Many were so old and fragile that they were close to being beyond repair

• Experts appeal to the public for information on pictures they can't identify

• Conservationists plan to put 95,000 images on the website by the end of 2014

By Rob Preece

PUBLISHED:00:13, 25 June 2012| UPDATED:11:53, 25 June 2012

Striking and evocative, they chart a dramatic period of British history - from the end of the World War One to the year of the Queen's Coronation.

But these treasured photographs of famous landmarks such as St Paul's Cathedral and Blackpool Tower could have been lost forever, were it not for a major conservation project which has made them freely available on the internet for the first time.

More than 15,000 pictures - many so old and fragile that they were close to becoming beyond repair - have been uploaded on to the Britain from Abovewebsite, which is launched today.

St Paul's Cathedra
Aerial view: More than 15,000 photographs, including this picture of St Paul's Cathedral in London from March 1921, have been made freely available on the internet for the first time

St Paul's Cathedral new
Back to the future: A much cleaner and white modern St Paul's Cathedral and colourful

Blackpool Tower
Landmarks: The instantly recognisable Blackpool Tower and the Winter Gardens, as they were in July 1920

Blackpool Tower in pictures taken last year
but seemingly less vibrant - Blackpool Tower in pictures taken last year
It is the first batch of some 95,000 images, taken between 1919 and 1953, that are due to be put online in the next two years, showing the changing face of modern Britain.

The pictures come from one of the earliest and most significant collections of aerial photography.

Many shots were said to have been taken during the early days of aviation by former war pilots flying at very low altitudes.

The collection includes rare photographs of some of Britain's most historic landmarks, such as a picture of St Paul's from 1921, a 1927 image of Brighton's West Pier, and a view of the Forth Rail Bridge from 1937

Wembley Stadium hosts the 1935
Full house: Wembley Stadium hosts the 1935 FA Cup final, which Sheffield Wednesday won by beating West Bromwich Albion 4-2. The Cierva autogyro in the foreground was flown by Scotland Yard, experimenting with air observation to monitor crowds

Revamped: The new Wembley
Revamped: The new Wembley Stadium (left), which opened on the site of the old one in 2007, and Centre Court beside the newer, spherical Court No 2 at Wimbledon

Centre Court Wimbledon old
Pastime: Fans watch the tennis at Centre Court Wimbledon in June 1921 amid much smaller grounds than exist today

Centre Court Wimbledon New

Brighton's West Pier old
Amusements and attractions: The collection includes an aerial view of Brighton's West Pier, taken in April 1927

Brighton Pier now has a theme park built on the end

Updated: Brighton Pier now has a theme park built on the end

Mersey water front in Liverpool
Mersey water front in Liverpool has undergone significant regeneration

George's Stage and the Three Graces in Liverpool
Heritage: A July 1920 photograph of George's Stage and the Three Graces in Liverpool is in the collection

But experts have asked the public to help them identify other photographs whose subjects remain a mystery.

The website has interactive features which visitors can use to add information, share personal memories, download images and customise their own themed photo galleries.

Today's launch is the latest stage of a major exercise in conservation and cataloguing.

The photographs come from the Aerofilms Collection, which was acquired for the nation in 2007 when the company faced financial difficulties.

They have been digitised with the help of the English Heritage and the Royal Commissions on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and Wales.

Tyne Bridge
Fog on the Tyne: The Tyne Bridge under construction in Newcastle in 1928 as coal ships and other vessels dock at the riverside

Tyne Bridge this week with Olympic rings
Changing faces: Newcastle's Tyne Bridge this week with Olympic rings added (but missing the industry)

Meadowfield Quay in Glasgow
an overhead view of Meadowfield Quay in Glasgow where ships are still being built - but far fewer than in its heyday

Meadowside Quay and Upper Clyde Shipbuilding
Age of industry: The extensive Meadowside Quay and Upper Clyde Shipbuilding Yard in Glasgow in 1931. The docks are surrounded by quadrangle tenements for the army of workers

Forth Rail Bridge
Bird's-eye view: This August 1937 photograph of the Forth Rail Bridge and Inch Garvie in Scotland is freely available online for the first time

The Forth Bridge,
Updated transport: The Forth Bridge, which is used by trains, was joined to its west by the Forth Road Bridge in 1964, while today Largs ferries are no longer paddle boats

Largs Harbour Pier on the west Scottish coast
Glorious holidays: Tourists wait at the Largs Harbour Pier on the west Scottish coast to catch a paddle boat steamer to one of the islands

Highlights include the first boxing match at Wembley Stadium in 1924, crowds on the banks of the River Clyde watching the first voyage of the newly-built RMS Queen Mary in 1936, and the Thames Flood of 1947.

Other photographs taken in Scotland include bird's-eye views of the Tay bridge, the Wallace Monument, Edinburgh's Princes Street, the Caledonian Canal, Glasgow Green and Hampden Park.

housing Kensal Rise

Home: A steam train chugs through densely-packed housing Kensal Rise, west London in March 1921

A cliff-top campsite in Crimdon Park
Away: A cliff-top campsite in Crimdon Park, County Durham, in 1946 shows how Britons with limited means after the Second World War enjoyed themselves in another age of austerity

Thames Flood of March 1947
Water, water everywhere: A dramatic picture of the Thames Flood of March 1947 can be viewed on the website

Durham Miners Gala
Crowds: This July 1948 photograph of Durham Miners Gala is among more than 15,000 images which have been put on the website

civic centre in Swansea
When was this taken? Visitors have been urged to share their thoughts on the pictures, such as this undated photograph of the civic centre in Swansea, south Wales

Civic Centre - now known as the Guildhall
Moving forward: Swansea's former Civic Centre - now known as the Guildhall - reveals many more cars than before the war

Hampden Park in Glasgow
Field of dreams: Hampden Park in Glasgow, where the Scotland football team plays its home matches, as it was in 1927

Hampden Park has been revamped

Windsor Castle, taken in August 1928

Majestic: The collection includes this aerial image of Windsor Castle, taken in August 1928
Also shown are the luxury hotel and golf resort at Gleneagles, which will host the 2014 Ryder Cup, as well as the seaside town of Oban, in Argyll, Balmoral Castle and the A8 road which runs through the central belt connecting Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Anna Eavis, head of archive at English Heritage, said that the Aerofilms Collection embodies all that is exciting about aerial photography.

Rebecca Bailey, head of education and outreach at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland said: 'We hope that people today will be able to immerse themselves in the past through the new website, adding their own thoughts and memories to this remarkable collection.'

The photographs can be viewed at www.britainfromabove.org.uk

River Clyde in Clydebank
All aboard: Crowds line the banks of the River Clyde in Clydebank to watch the first voyage of the newly-built Queen Mary in March 1936

the University of Oxford in May 1920
Dreaming spires: The towers, domes and quadrangles of the colleges at the University of Oxford in May 1920

King's College
University days: The magnificent surroundings of King's College, Cambridge, pictured in January 1920

Caledonian Canal
Black and white beauty: The stunning landscape surrounding the Caledonian Canal at Kilmallie in Scotland, pictured in 1950

Stiirling's Wallace Monument
Standing proud: Stiirling's Wallace Monument - commemorates the 13th century Scottish hero William Wallace - taken in 1928

Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder
Splendour: The grounds of the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, pictured in 1932

The Kinnaird Head lighthouse and Denmark Street
Shining light: The Kinnaird Head lighthouse and Denmark Street leading into the town centre of Fraserburgh, Scotland in 1939 at the outrbreak of WWII

Northampton cricket ground
Howzat! Northampton cricket ground surrounded by terraced houses and shoe-making factories in 1926

A DeHavilland DH9B G-EAVK,
Early days of flight: A DeHavilland DH9B G-EAVK, which captured many of the aerial photograps, at Hendon airfield, north-west London in 1921

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2164074/Britain-Above-Thousands-historic-aerial-photographs-online-time-today.html#ixzz2EQRfPYTO
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The education of attention would be an education par excellence. --William James

How to Trick Your Brain for Happiness

--by Rick Hanson, Greater Good, Sep 15, 2012

There’s this great line by Ani Tenzin Palmo, an English woman who spent 12 years in a cave in Tibet: “We do not know what a thought is, yet we’re thinking them all the time.”

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It’s true. The amount of knowledge we have about the brain has doubled in the last 20 years. Yet there’s still a lot we don’t know.

In recent years, though, we have started to better understand the neural bases of states like happiness, gratitude, resilience, love, compassion, and so forth. And better understanding them means we can skillfully stimulate the neural substrates of those states—which, in turn, means we can strengthen them. Because as the famous saying by the Canadian scientist Donald Hebb goes, “Neurons that fire together, wire together.”

Ultimately, what this can mean is that with proper practice, we can increasingly trick our neural machinery to cultivate positive states of mind.

But in order to understand how, you need to understand three important facts about the brain.

Fact one: As the brain changes, the mind changes, for better or worse.

Resources

Take this quiz to learn how mindful you are.

Register for our upcoming full-day seminar with Dr. Hanson on "Taking in the Good."

Watch clips from Dr. Hanson's Greater Good last talk.

Learn more about Dr. Hanson's work, including his books Buddha's Brain and Just One Thing, on his website.

For example, more activation in the left prefrontal cortex is associated with more positive emotions.

So as there is greater activation in the left, front portion of your brain relative to the right, there is also greater well-being. That’s probably in large part because the left prefrontal cortex is a major part of the brain for controlling negative emotion. So if you put the breaks on the negative, you get more of the positive.

On the other hand, people who routinely experience chronic stress—particularly acute, even traumatic stress—release the hormone cortisol, which literally eats away, almost like an acid bath, at the hippocampus, which is a part of the brain that’s very engaged in visual-spatial memory as well as memory for context and setting.

For example, adults who have had that history of stress and have lost up to 25 percent of the volume of this critically important part of the brain are less able to form new memories.

So we can see that as the brain changes, the mind changes. And that takes us to the second fact, which is where things really start getting interesting.

http://youtu.be/CRvMCIpGdE8

Fact two: As the mind changes, the brain changes.

These changes happen in temporary and in lasting ways. In terms of temporary changes, the flow of different neurochemicals in the brain will vary at different times. For instance, when people consciously practice gratitude, they are likely getting higher flows of reward-related neurotransmitters, like dopamine. Research suggests that when people practice gratitude, they experience a general alerting and brightening of the mind, and that’s probably correlated with more of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine.

Here’s another example of how changes in mental activity can produce changes in neural activity: When college students deeply in love are shown a picture of their sweetheart, their brains become more active in the caudate nucleus, a reward center of the brain. As the mind changes—that rush of love, that deep feeling of happiness and reward—correlates with activation of a particular part of the brain. When they stop looking at that picture of their sweetheart, the reward center goes back to sleep.

Now the mind also can change the brain in lasting ways. In other words, what flows through the mind sculpts the brain. I define the mind as the flow of immaterial information through the nervous system—all the signals being sent, most of which are happening forever outside of consciousness.

As the mind flows through the brain, as neurons fire together in particularly patterned ways based on the information they are representing, those patterns of neural activity change neural structure.

So busy regions of the brain start stitching new connections with each other. Existing synapses—the connections between neurons that are very busy—get stronger, they get more sensitive, they start building out more receptors. New synapses form as well.

One of my favorite studies of this involved taxi cab drivers in London. To get a taxi license there, you’ve got to memorize the spaghetti-like streets of London. Well, at the end of the drivers’ training, the hippocampus of their brain—a part very involved in visual-spatial memory—is measurably thicker.

In other words, neurons that fire together wire together, even to the point of being observably thicker.

http://youtu.be/gDl6_9TmgCY

This has also been found among meditators: People who maintain some kind of regular meditative practice actually have measurably thicker brains in certain key regions. One of those regions is the insula, which is involved in what’s called “interoception”—tuning into the state of your body, as well as your deep feelings. This should be no surprise: A lot of what they’re doing is practicing mindfulness of breathing, staying really present with what’s going on inside themselves; no wonder they’re using, and therefore building, the insula.

Another region is the frontal regions of the prefrontal cortex—areas involved in controlling attention. Again, this should be no surprise: They’re focusing their attention in their meditation, so they’re getting more control over it, and they’re strengthening its neural basis.

What’s more, research has also shown that it’s possible to slow the loss of our brain cells. Normally, we lose about 10,000 brain cells a day. That may sound horrible, but we were born with 1.1 trillion. We also have several thousand born each day, mainly in the hippocampus, in what’s called neurogenesis.

So losing 10,000 a day isn’t that big a deal, but the net bottom line is that a typical 80 year old will have lost about 4 percent of his or her brain mass—it’s called “cortical thinning with aging.” It’s a normal process.

But in one study, researchers compared meditators and non-meditators. In the graph to the left, the meditators are the blue circles and the non-meditators are the red squares, comparing people of the same age. The non-meditators experienced normal cortical thinning in those two brain regions I mentioned above, along with a third, the somatosensory cortex.

However, the people who routinely meditated and “worked” their brain did not experience cortical thinning in those regions.

That has a big implication for an aging population: Use it or lose it, which applies to the brain as well as to other aspects of life.

That highlights an important point that I think is a major takeaway in this territory: Experience really matters. It doesn’t matter only in our moment-to-moment well-being—how it feels to be me—but it really matters in the lasting residues that it leaves behind, woven into our very being.

Which takes us to the third fact, which is the one with the most practical import.

Fact three: You can use the mind to change the brain to change the mind for the better.

This is known as “self-directed neuroplasticity.” Neuroplasticity refers to the malleable nature of the brain, and it’s constant, ongoing. Self-directed neuroplasticity means doing it with clarity and skillfulness and intention.

The key to it is a controlled use of attention. Attention is like a spotlight, to be sure, shining on things within our awareness. But it’s also like vacuum cleaner, sucking whatever it rests upon into the brain, for better or worse.

For example, if we rest our attention routinely on what we resent or regret—our hassles, our lousy roommate, what Jean-Paul Sartre called “hell” (other people)—then we’re going to build out the neural substrates of those thoughts and feelings.

On the other hand, if we rest our attention on the things for which we’re grateful, the blessings in our life—the wholesome qualities in ourselves and the world around us; the things we get done, most of which are fairly small yet they’re accomplishments nonetheless—then we build up very different neural substrates.

I think that’s why, more than 100 years ago, before there were things like MRIs, William James. the father of psychology in America, said. “The education of attention would be an education par excellence.”

The problem, of course, is that most people don’t have very good control over their attention. Part of this is due to human nature, shaped by evolution: Our forbearers who just focused on the reflection of sunlight in the water—they got chomped by predators. But those who were constantly vigilant—they lived.

And today we are constantly bombarded with stimuli that the brain has not evolved to handle. So gaining more control over attention one way or another is really crucial, whether it’s through the practice of mindfulness, for instance, or through gratitude practices, where we count our blessings.

Those are great ways to gain control over your attention because there you are, for 30 seconds or 30 minutes, coming back to focus on an object of awareness.

http://youtu.be/uPXOASa1shY

Taking in the good

This brings me to one of my favorite methods for deliberately using the mind to change the brain over time for the better: taking in the good.

Just having positive experiences is not enough to promote last well-being. If a person feels grateful for a few seconds, that’s nice. That’s better than feeling resentful or bitter for a few seconds. But in order to really suck that experience into the brain, we need to stay with those experiences for a longer duration of time—we need to take steps, consciously, to keep that spotlight of attention on the positive.

So, how do we actually do this? These are the three steps I recommend for taking in the good. I should note that I did not invent these steps. They are embedded in many good therapies and life practices.

But I’ve tried to tease them apart and embed them in an evolutionary understanding of how the brain works.

1. Let a good fact become a good experience. Often we go through life and some good thing happens—a little thing, like we checked off an item on our To Do list, we survived another day at work, the flowers are blooming, and so forth. Hey, this is an opportunity to feel good. Don’t leave money lying on the table: Recognize that this is an opportunity to let yourself truly feel good.

2. Really savor this positive experience. Practice what any school teacher knows: If you want to help people learn something, make it as intense as possible—in this case, as felt in the body as possible—for as long as possible.

3. Finally, as you sink into this experience, sense your intent that this experience is sinking into you.

Sometimes people do this through visualization, like by perceiving a golden light coming into themselves or a soothing balm inside themselves. You might imagine a jewel going into the treasure chest in your heart—or just know that this experience is sinking into you, becoming a resource you can take with you wherever you go.

http://www.dailygood.org/

http://youtu.be/8H65FIlWl0Q

http://youtu.be/PEMDps8G6Co

http://youtu.be/fAnaFxaioFI

http://youtu.be/1qecULT01iE

Mars One finds more than 1,000 volunteers for one-way trip to planet in 2023

The Mars One organisation has revealed details of its plans to land four astronauts on the Red Planet in 2023, with four additional 'crew' arriving every two years.

The Mars One organisation has revealed details of its plans to land four astronauts on the Red Planet in 2023, with four additional 'crew' arriving every two years.

The organisation said that it had had more than 1,000 volunteers for the mission, who emailed in via the foundation's website.

Selection of the astronauts will begin next year, the Dutch organisation says.

The trip to the planned 'colony' would be one-way - and the astronaut volunteers will live and die on Mars.

Mars One aims to finance a mission to Mars via donations from corporations, people - and by creating a reality show-style 'media event' around the training and selection of its astronauts.

The Dutch company is backed by Nobel prize winning physicist, Gerard 't Hooft - and by Paul Romer, co-creator of Big Brother.

Mars One also announced that it had become a not-for-profit foundation.

"With more than 850,000 unique visitors to the website, Mars One has received thousands of emails," the Dutch company said in an email today.

"Among those emails were more than one thousand requests from individuals who desire to go to Mars--well before the launch of the Astronaut Selection Program. Furthermore, Mars One is supported by a large groups of advisers and ambassadors, among them an astronaut, a Nobel prize winning physicist and several NASA scientists."

Bas Lansdorp, co-founder and President of Mars-One offers, “A foundation more accurately represents how the Mars One team feels about this mission, and how the world has embraced our plan, even in this early stage.

"We receive so many kind and supportive emails, people offer donations or offer to helpin whatever way they can. The conversion to a foundation represents that going to Mars is something we do as a united world.”

In the first half of 2013 Mars One will launch the Astronaut Selection Program, a search to find the best candidates for the 'next giant leap of mankind'. The search will be global, open to every person from every nation. As a Foundation, Mars One will be the owner of the human outpost on Mars, the simulation bases on Earth, and the employer of the astronauts, both in training here on Earth, and those on Mars.

Arno Wielders, co-founder and technical director of Mars One: “Sending humans to Mars has been my dream for twenty years. Evidently, I am not alone--we have received emails from over fifty countries."

"People in thirty seven countries have purchased our merchandise, demonstrating their support for Mars One. Regardless of their background, people are positive about this optimistic event that we believe will bring people of Earth a little bit closer together.”

Happy New Year in different languages

Afgani: Saale Nao Mubbarak
Afrikaans: Gelukkige nuwe jaar
Albanian: Gezuar Vitin e Ri
Armenian: Snorhavor Nor Tari
Arabic: Kul 'am wa antum bikhair
Assyrian: Sheta Brikhta
Azeri: Yeni Iliniz Mubarek!
Balochi: Noki saal mubarrak bibi
Bengali: Shuvo Nabo Barsho
Breton: Bloavezh Mat
Bulgarian: ×åñòèòà Íîâà Ãîäèíà(pronounced "Chestita Nova Godina")
Cambodian: Soursdey Chhnam Tmei
Catalan: FELIÇ ANY NOU
Chakma: Nuo bazzor bekkunore
Chinese: Xin Nian Kuai Le
Corsican: Pace e Salute
Croatian: Sretna Nova godina!
Cymraeg: Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Czech: Stastný Novy rok (or Stastny Novy rok)
Denish: Godt Nytar
Dhivehi: Ufaaveri Aa Aharakah Edhen
Dutch: GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR!
Eskimo: Kiortame pivdluaritlo
Esperanto: Felican Novan Jaron
Estonians: Head uut aastat!
English: Wishing you all happy new year!
Ethiopian: MELKAM ADDIS AMET YIHUNELIWO!
Ethiopian/Eritrean Tigrigna: RUHUS HADUSH AMET
Finnish: Onnellista Uutta Vuotta
French: Bonne Annee
Gaelic: Bliadhna mhath ur
Galician: Bo Nadal e Feliz Aninovo
German: Prosit Neujahr
Georgian: GILOTSAVT AKHAL TSELS!
Greek: Kenourios Chronos
Gujarati: Nutan Varshbhinandan
Hawaiian: Hauoli Makahiki Hou
Hebrew: L'Shannah Tovah
Hindi: Naye Varsha Ki Shubhkamanyen
Hong kong: (Cantonese) Sun Leen Fai Lok
Hungarian: Boldog Uj Evet Kivanok
Indonesian: Selamat Tahun Baru
Iranian: Sal -e- no mobarak
Iraqi: Sanah Jadidah
Irish: Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit
Italian: Felice anno nuovo
Japan: Akimashite Omedetto Gozaimasu
Kabyle: Asegwas Amegaz
Kannada: Hosa Varushadha Shubhashayagalu
Kisii: SOMWAKA OMOYIA OMUYA
Khasi: Snem Thymmai Basuk Iaphi
Khmer: Sua Sdei tfnam tmei
Korea: Saehae Bock Mani ba deu sei yo!
Kurdish: NEWROZ PIROZBE
Latvian: Laimigo Jauno Gadu!
Lithuanian: Laimingu Naujuju Metu
Laotian: Sabai dee pee mai
Macedonian: Srekjna Nova Godina
Madagascar: Tratry ny taona
Malay: Selamat Tahun Baru
Marathi: Nveen Varshachy Shubhechcha
Malayalam: Puthuvatsara Aashamsakal
Mizo: Kum Thar Chibai
Maltese: Is-Sena t-Tajba
Nepal: Nawa Barsha ko Shuvakamana
Norwegian: Godt Nyttar
Oriya: Nua Barshara Subhechha
Papua New Guinea: Nupela yia i go long yu
Pampango (Philippines): Masaganang Bayung Banua
Pashto: Nawai Kall Mo Mubarak Shah
Persian: Sal -e- no mobarak
Philippines: Manigong Bagong Taon!
Polish: Szczesliwego Nowego Roku
Portuguese: Feliz Ano Novo
Punjabi: Nave sal di mubarak
Romanian: AN NOU FERICIT
Russian: S Novim Godom
Samoa: Manuia le Tausaga Fou
Serbo-Croatian: Sretna nova godina
Sindhi: Nayou Saal Mubbarak Hoje
Singhalese: Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Siraiki: Nawan Saal Shala Mubarak Theevay
Slovak: Stastny Novy rok
Slovenian: sreèno novo leto
Somali: Iyo Sanad Cusub Oo Fiican!
Spanish: Feliz Ano ~Nuevo
Swahili: Heri Za Mwaka Mpyaº
Swedish: GOTT NYTT AR! /Gott nytt ar!
Sudanese: Warsa Enggal
Tamil: Eniya Puthandu Nalvazhthukkal
Tibetian: Losar Tashi Delek
Telegu: Noothana samvatsara shubhakankshalu
Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish: Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian: Shchastlyvoho Novoho Roku
Urdu: Naya Saal Mubbarak Ho
Uzbek: Yangi Yil Bilan
Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Tan Nien
Welsh: Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Wish all your near and dear ones in their country's language and spread the happiness. Hope you enjoyed reading the Happy New Year in different languages and wishing you all prosperous New Year.

Love and Blessings. Melodie

Happy Holidays for All

Afrikaans - een plesierige kerfees
Arabic - I'D MIILAD SAID OUA SANA SAIDA
Argentine - Felices Pasquas Y felices ano Nuevo
Armenian - Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand
Azeri - Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun
Basque - Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!
Bohemian - Vesele Vanoce
Brazilian - Boas Festas e Feliz Ano Novo
Breton - Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat
Bulgarian - Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo
Chinese - (Mandarin)Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan

Chinese - (Catonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
Cornish - Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth
Cree - Mitho Makosi Kesikansi
Croatian - Sretan Bozic
Czech - Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
Danish - Glædelig Jul
Dutch - Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!
English - Merry Christmas
Esperanto - Gajan Kristnaskon
Estonian - Ruumsaid juulup|hi
Farsi - Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad
Finnish - Hyvaa joulua
French - Joyeux Noel
Frisian - Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!
German - Froehliche Weihnachten
Greek - Kala Christouyenna!
Hawaiian - Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew - Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
Hindi - Shub Naya Baras
Hungarian - Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket
Icelandic - Gledileg Jol
Indonesian - Selamat Hari Natal
Iraqi - Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Irish - Nollaig Shona Dhuit
Italian - Buone Feste Natalizie
Japanese - Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Korean - Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Latvian - Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu!
Lithuanian - Linksmu Kaledu
Manx - Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa
Maori - Meri Kirihimete
Marathi - Shub Naya Varsh
Navajo - Merry Keshmish
Norwegian - God Jul
Pennsylvania German - En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!
Polish - Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia
Portuguese - Boas Festas
Rapa- Nui - Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua
Rumanian - Sarbatori vesele
Russian - Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
Serbian - Hristos se rodi
Slovakian - Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce
Sami - Buorrit Juovllat
Samoan - La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Scots Gaelic - Nollaig chridheil huibh
Serb-Croatian - Sretam Bozic. Vesela Nova Godina
Singhalese - Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Slovak - Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok
Slovene - Vesele Bozicne. Screcno Novo Leto
Spanish - Feliz Navidad
Swedish - God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År
Tagalog - Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon
Tamil - Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal
Thai - Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish - Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian - Srozhdestvom Kristovym
Urdu - Naya Saal Mubarak Ho
Vietnamese - Chung Mung Giang Sinh
Welsh - Nadolig Llawen
Yugoslavian - Cestitamo Bozic
Papua New Guinea -Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu

Wishing you a Wonderful and Happy Holidays

Sending you much Love and Blessings dear Friends, Best Wishes, Melodie

Heavenletters #3878 Smile at God, July 8, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3878 Smile at God, July 8, 2011

God said:

You give Me great happiness. You make Me Who Knows Only Happiness happy. I am already smiling, and you make Me smile. Although I know true happiness that is beyond happiness occasioned by this or that, I will nevertheless credit you with My happiness. My happiness cannot be added unto, and, yet, you add to My happiness.

My smile cannot be wider, and yet you make Me smile from ear to ear. If I were a flower, it could be said that you make Me blossom from year to year. You make Me blossom infinitely. I smile a smile that has no beginning and no end. I am One Big Smile. You make Me smile. You make Me laugh. Smile back at Me, and the Universe is happy. You, Who are made in My image, smile back at Me. Let Me see you smile now.

The way I see it, there is no occasion not to love. Not loving is not exactly putting your best foot forward, you understand. What can the merit in unhappiness be? Whom does it profit? No one I know.

No longer make excuses for holding unhappiness to you. Blast unhappiness away from the face of the Earth. Imagined unhappiness exists nowhere else. It is a surface thing that runs amok on the surface of life, and that unhappiness belies the Truth of you. Unhappiness is a lie.

And so I say that you are My happiness. And so I say that you add to My happiness. You round Me out. You make Me fulsome. Even as you cannot add a single filament of happiness to Me, I say you do. That is to say that I am grateful to you for the richness you add to the world. The world would be bereft without you. What would occupy the world if you were not here, even if you may be here grumbling? Grumble away for the last time and be done with grumbling and come over here and smile at Me and smile at the world and be a Happiness-Maker. Now is the time. I see you smiling now.

Happiness is yours. Why not? Someone is happy, why not you? Why not be happy this moment of non-existent time? Just as you would choose to dance a tango, choose happiness. You are on the dance floor of life. Enter into the dance of your choice.

Why would anyone choose unhappiness? It makes no sense. Well, perhaps you thought you were obliged to serve unhappiness, as if you owed it to the world, as if you owed it to yourself, as though unhappiness were a life sentence and you would not be paroled.

Parole yourself. You have gotten good at dancing the dance of unhappiness. Now choose another rhythm. Come, come dance with Me. I know One Dance, and I invite you to the Ballroom of Happiness. I have added you to My dance card. Accept now.

Why wait?

Of course, My offer is good for all-time. Of course, My offer has no conditions. My offer never runs out. It is beyond My understanding why or how you could ever say, “No, thank You,” to Me, or, “Thanks, no thanks,” or even, unbelievable as it may be, to not even hear Me invite you to dance with Me. My arms are stretched out to you. There is no one I would rather dance with than you. Easily, I am One Dance Partner for all. I accommodate everyone.

This is not a Masquerade Ball that I invite you to. It is the furthest thing from a masquerade. It is overdue that you take off your masks. If you have not been happy, you have been wearing a mask of unhappiness. True, you believed in it. You were sincere. And you were also mistaken.

Permanent Link: http://www.heavenletters.org/smile-at-god.html

Thank you for including this link when publishing this Heavenletter elsewhere.

**********

Heavenletters #3881 Enough of Requirements for Love , July 11, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3881 Enough of Requirements for Love , July 11, 2011

God said:

What is love worth? How big can love grow? True love, love that is not dependent upon the external, love that arises from your heart and alights everywhere, love that depends upon itself and itself alone. It isn’t dependent upon anyone or anything but itself. The love I speak of never runs out of itself. That is because love is the fuel to its own fire.

True love is its own kindling. Love sees with the eyes of love. There are no splinters in the eyes of love. I love you young, and I love you old.

As you grow in love, not your capacity for love, for your capacity of love is utter right now, but as you grow in giving love without requiring certain attributes, then you love as I do love. Then you love because you love. Then you are love radiant that lights up any room and all the beating hearts in the room.

This is not a scholarly treatise I give. I am giving you the straight goods. The love you can give is equal to the love I give. I give without doubt. I am not mushy, yet I give love the same way you breathe. Love is Mine to give, and I give it. I give it fulsomely.

Once you countermand ego, then you too can give love without requirement. Whatever someone thinks of Me or does not think of Me does not alter My love. My love is a given. There is no way to stop the flow of My love. The little considerations that influence your love are not considerations to Me. I love because I love. Whether you are true to Me or not leaves no mark on My love. Nothing touches My love. The love I give is a given. My heartbeat cannot be stopped. It cannot be paused. My love is and it pours in sunshine or in rain. It pours in Heaven, and it pours on Earth. Love, which is never routine, never fluctuates in this heart of Mine.

My heart is full of love, and I have no ego. I do not have a speculated need to make Myself important. I do not have to have applause or even approbation or any standing at all. And you don’t either. Your heart doesn’t require the prods to love that the world holds sacred. We are not speaking of personal love here. We are not speaking of the mad dash of love that is rampant on Earth. We are not speaking of love that is dependent upon anything at all.

We are talking about your natural vision. When your eyes are clear, when judgment and ego leave, you too are left with love that soars and displaces all the riff-raff that got deposited in your heart. Enough of requirements for love.

Just love. You do not need someone to be a certain height before you can love him. He does not have to be of a certain profession. He doesn’t have to be somebody. He can be anybody. There are no illusions to your love once you get the hang of it. You simply love. You simply love, and your love covers everyone.

This is not an effort, you understand. If you have to cringe in order to exhale love, that may be noble, but it is not love. Love is not noble, you understand. Love exacts no price. There is no bargaining with love. Love is a state of consciousness, and once you see from a larger vantage, once you remove hidden and unhidden judgment, you will simply love. There will be love, and you will be it.

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Heavenletters #3886 Let Us Not Forget Your Heart , July 16, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3886 Let Us Not Forget Your Heart , July 16, 2011

God said:

I cannot say enough how important you are. Important to Me and important to the world. And, yet, I do not want you to think about your importance very much, for that will make you feel self-conscious. Better to be unself-conscious.

When you are feeling self-conscious, you are either ahead of yourself or following behind. Then you are more like an actor on the stage, which, of course, you, as a human being, are anyway. Better to be natural and unconcerned with how you appear, however. It is more rewarding just to be. Just to be simple. Just to be alive. Just to be you.

How unself-conscious are young children and animals. They are just natural. They are just living. They have no image to follow. And how delightful they are as they don’t notice themselves so much on the stage. They don’t know to put on airs. And why would they? What would the advantage be? To impress someone? They are just enjoying what is at hand. They do not pose for photos in order to appear splendid.

They simply are.

Self-importance isn’t exactly the way to go. Just know how wonderful you are, and then forget about it. Accept your heritage, and don’t make a fuss about it. Your heritage is a given. I am speaking of everyone’s being created in My image. Guaranteed. No exceptions. Life time guarantee. Actually eternal guarantee. There are no seconds. You are all first-class scions of the God above and the God within.

The world, of course, would sort you. The world likes to sort. There is no end to the piles that the world would sort you into. Young, old. Tall, short. Gender. Brains. Wealth. Let Us not forget wealth. That will get you a good place in line. The world forgets itself and what it is made of.

But, you, remember, and then go on from there. Remember it once, and then jump into life freely. When you remember, you can let go of externals which are, after all, only externals. They are not integral to what is truly Real and what matters more than the world’s unimportant stratifications.

It is, of course, easy to get strung up on the externals. Certainly, the externals have an appeal. Who wouldn’t want wealth? And, yet, who doesn’t know that wealth is not what it is cracked up to be. Those who have wealth have an ease that you may not, yet they may not sleep as well or enjoy their lives any more than you enjoy yours. Sometimes less. Being a human being is the common denominator, not money in the bank.

What does bring you happiness? I am talking about solid happiness and not just spurts of happiness at the occurrence of an event. Crossing the finish line before everyone else has its excitement. It lasts a minute or two, or maybe to the next morning. Fame’s claim to happiness is short-lived. Better to have happiness that sees you through. How much are all the short-lived jolts of happiness worth? The secret is to enjoy life from stem to stern.

Of course, be glad to have these jolts of happiness. Also know that they depart just as fast as they came to you. Queen for a day is only Queen for a Day. Even queen for life is not such a bowl of cherries.

In the field of life that I speak of, prince or pauper is the same. When you come down to it, your title is not so much as you thought. Your pocketbook is not much. Your heart is much.

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Heavenletters #3888 Why Must the Universe Suit You Right Now?, July 18, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3888 Why Must the Universe Suit You Right Now?, July 18, 2011

God said:

The thing about being impatient is that you frustrate yourself. You also frustrate the very situation that makes you impatient. You fight. You resist, as if you prefer frustration to patience. Surely, you are choosing impatience. Choose patience instead. Choose to be more easy-going.

Whatever you allow to make you impatient is not going to last forever. It will go away by itself, or you will find a solution. Disband impatience now. Tell yourself mildly that it’s all right to have this situation for a while. If there is nothing you can immediately do about it this minute, you might as well resign yourself to waiting.

Find that which in the situation you can be glad about. If your computer is frustrating you, at least you have a computer. You still have your fingers to type with. You still have your capacity. What happened to enjoying this moment that is at your service? Must you convince yourself that this moment must be made of something else, or you will not tolerate it?

Who are you to pout at the Universe because it is not obeying your command? Who are you to pout or stamp your foot? Why must the Universe suit your convenience just now? Odds are that you brought this situation that has gotten your goat all on your own? Odds are that nobody created this situation but you. And, if you did not, nevertheless, you still need to ride with it.

Your car won’t start, or you locked yourself out of your car. You are going to be late to work. So, then, be late to work without engendering aggravation to accompany being late. There are greater frustrations than being late. Be glad for that which you can be glad for.

Impediments are part of life. Do not be so impeded by them. Do impediments have to rule you? Roll with the punches, beloveds. Use this time for some other means than screaming at your fate.

It may be your fate to be late to work, but it is not your fate to insist upon intolerant frustration and temper. Wouldn’t you rather be good to yourself? Why not be good to yourself? Why not choose patience as your means?

Go get a cup of coffee, or use the delay to talk to Me in a friendly way? Why not be a good sport rather than a tempestuous one?

If you are caught in a hailstorm, let’s say, why storm at the storm? Accept it instead. If you cannot rule the weather, then make friends with it.

If you cannot sleep at night, you don’t have to cry about it. The world has said that you have to sleep this night. Maybe this night was made for not sleeping. It is enough that you find you cannot sleep. Don’t compound it.

Even if you are the most impatient person in the world, you don’t have to continue to be. You pay a high price for your impatience, for what is impatience but tension?

Untense yourself. Choose calmness. You can do it. There has to be a remedy for toppling out of your Beingness, for isn’t that what you are doing when you choose frustration over taking something in your stride?

Is this situation worth your getting tense over? Is it really?

Do not impound yourself because something is against your will. Life delivered you the wrong thing. Well, then, make it right, or wait it out. You want a situation to change. Maybe it is you who has to change. Maybe you need to increase your tolerance I.Q. Will you do it for Me?

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Heavenletters #3892 Embrace the World, God, and Yourself, July 22, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3892 Embrace the World, God, and Yourself, July 22, 2011

God said:

If you have had enough of what has been, get into more of what is. What is and what was are not equal. What is, is and what was, is not. What was, was an appraisal. It was a conclusion you drew. You attributed a certain value and then the case is closed. It was good, or half-bad, or not good at all. Instead of leaving your appraisal by the wayside, you kept it with you. You would not budge your appraisal. You had made a decision about it, and you kept it, as if your appraisal were true and only true. You would not waver.

Once you looked into a wavy mirror, and that’s how you saw yourself, waving in the breeze.

No matter what I say, you resist. How can you be a beautiful being, you ask yourself, when all of your life attested to your not being a beautiful being.

Oh, how the world will change when you change your appraisal of yourself. We are not speaking of ego here. We are not plumping you up like a sagging cushion. We are talking about the true measure of you. I am talking about the true measure of you. You may be talking about a photograph that was all illusion.

You are not what you were in the past. You are not what you thought you were in the past. You never were what you thought you were in the past. Do not buy yesterday’s goods. Buy fresh thought today.

Do not rely on others in the world to encourage you. Encourage yourself. Encourage others. You are meant to stand tall. You are meant to rise above your old patterns of thought. They have been held onto enough. They have been held on to too long.

It is not that you have to be salvaged. You have to look anew. Open your mind and heart even a crack, and you will begin to see the light coming through. The light is there. It is burning brightly within you. You are a tower of light, yet a tower of light that does not see itself.

You made a bargain long ago that you would not be yourself. You made a bargain long ago that you would be less than yourself. You accepted the bargain. Therefore, I say you made it. You were waylaid, and you said, “Okay. That’s how it is.” And you accepted unworthiness as fact. You looked around, and you saw unworthiness. You looked in a wavy mirror, and you saw waviness. Wave goodbye to unworthiness. You are worth a King’s ransom. And, I, the King, ransom you from false beliefs.

As easily as you were persuaded to false belief, now be persuaded to the true light of personhood. The truth is that you are light surrounded by a body. Your light is not dampened. Your light shines brightly, only you have believed in the shade around your light more than you have believed in the light. As you believed, you saw. Now I ask you to see yourself as you are. See with My eyes, and all you will see is bright light shining.

Wherever you look, you will see bright light shining. You will see the sparkling of love radiating everywhere. You will be weighed on a true scale, and the world’s thumb will not be falsifying the scale.

To thine own self be true takes on a new meaning.

You hear My message to you. You are My message. I give you a message that you are to shine to the world and, so, you embrace the world, My message, and yourself.

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Heavenletters #3895 A Knowing Heart , July 25, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3895 A Knowing Heart , July 25, 2011

God said:

I inveigle you to come to Me with heart in your hand, like a hat, or like an offering, as a guest brings a box of chocolates or a cake. You bring your heart to Me, and you hold it out, and you say: “Here, God, this is for you. Here, God, this is yours. You gave it to me to keep for You, and I have kept it. You did not want me to keep it aseptic or wrapped in plastic where nothing could enter it. You wanted me to keep giving it away on Your behalf, and, so that when I place it before you, you would be happy that it had been used and given away freely.”

You say, “God, it is a little worn. I hope you don’t mind.”

Of course, I don’t mind at all. That’s how I like it. The unused pieces of your heart are sterile. They are rusty not from wear but from disuse. I am an economical kind of God. I like hearts to be well-used and well-used over and over again.

Hearts are not meant to be prim and proper. Hearts are not meant to wear a starched collar. Hearts are meant to be very pliable, to be worn even inside out. Hearts are not to stand on ceremony. They are not meant to be decorous. They are meant to be easy-going and plump. What a heart I gave you, not to be saved, but to be used.

Of course, a heart cannot be used up. It flourishes with use. A heart is meant to be popular, a hail fellow well met. A heart is meant to be welcoming, humble, and generous. A heart is meant to be glad, very glad, for the opportunity of serving fellow hearts on My behalf.

On Earth, you with a wonderful heart that beats inside you in tune to My love is meant to be rampant, galumphing all over, making friends on hill and dale, a knowing heart that knows how to give its love and is not shy to, a rollicking heart that rolls in laughter, engages in play, frolics like a lamb on grass and gathers grass and doesn’t worry about neatness or any kinds of confines, an eager heart to offer itself everywhere, not minding if it is taken or not, a heart that knows its place is everywhere, has confidence to know that all other hearts, no matter what they may seem like, are its kin, perhaps long-lost but now are found.

How My heart beats at the love you have given and the joy you have found. I take joy in all hearts, crazy mixed-up hearts, stumbling hearts, shy hearts, hearts that bump into yours, hearts that lose all bounds, hearts that dance to beat the band, hearts that fall all over themselves, hearts that can’t stop laughing, hearts that never miss a beat, hearts that fall all over themselves in their joy at meeting other hearts, hearts that swing and sway, hearts that go out of their way to offer themselves, hearts that don’t know anything else but to be hearts raring to make music, good-natured hearts that want to play and yet play no games, hearts that sit aside so that other hearts can sit up front, hearts that offer themselves without restriction, hearts that know what life is about, and hearts that know enough to seize the moment and overthrow it with joyfulness.

I am looking for hearts. Are there any hearts here? May I see a count of hearts? Raise your hearts so that I may see them and take them into My heart and have a jamboree such as all hearts have been waiting for.

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Heavenletters #3899 How Do You Make Your Garden Grow?, July 29, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3899 How Do You Make Your Garden Grow?, July 29, 2011

God said:

Yes, the weeds that you point out in another’s garden are your own. Pay attention to your own garden. In this case, weeds refer to faults.

If you did not have the very weeds you point out, you would not notice them in other gardens as much as you do. You certainly would not notice them with a superior air.

Finding fault is the antipathy of humility. Serenity is more like humility. Appreciation is more like humility. The more appreciative you are, the more you come from a high place, and this very high place bears the name of humbleness. There is no humiliation in humility. There is humiliation in finding fault. Don’t do it anymore.

The more obvious a fault is in another, the more you possess it. Why harp on faults? I suggest that you get out from under them. The splinter is in your own eye.

The beauty is here within you as well. Look for the beauty, and renounce faults. Be done with them. Help Me to lift the world. You do not help the world by putting it down.
Grow in the direction you want the world to grow in.

The only thing you can do is to be an example to the world. Be the example you would like to have before you. Wouldn’t it be nice and easy then if where you looked, you saw what you yourself would like to be? Be it then now. Be the inspirer.

This is God speaking to you in the way that life speaks to you. Life teaches you. Without ego, you would listen.

Emulate the highest. Complaining is not of the highest. No longer complain. No longer complain even once about anything.

Respond to what another says and not to your opinion of it. Will you take this as your motto? From now on foreswear criticism. Foreswear complaint. Foreswear displeasure.

Embrace upliftment. Embrace.

True, complaint is contagious. There is a vaccine. I would call the vaccine upliftment. Uplift the world rather than carry it. Release yourself from your bonds.

Whatever you thought yesterday, think a new way today. Whatever you found fault with yesterday, let go of it today. Whatever you could have done better yesterday, do it today. Be a replenisher of the Universe. Be a replenisher of appreciation.

Appreciate everyone for their bravery. They are brave to come before you. They run the risk of being snapped at, isn’t that so? Be grateful for everyone who dares to come before you and risk your criticism, for you tend to think you know better, and so you comment on the weeds in another’s garden.

Weed your own garden first, and then go help your neighbor. How about saying nothing once in a while? Who told you that you have to speak out every thought in your head? Speak up when you have something uplifting to say. Inspire or be quiet. Inspire, or bite your tongue. Express your Higher Self. Everything else has been said and said more than once. Think of something new to say.

Think of hearts. How thirsty they are. Give them a drink.

Water the flowers in another’s garden. Share upliftment. Share inspiration. Be careful where you walk in another’s garden.

Weed your own garden, and then invite others to it. Be the beautiful garden you would like others to be. Your business isn’t to improve others. Your business is to inspire yourself. Then you will have many coming to your garden and asking you how you do it? “How do you make your garden grow?” they will ask.

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STRESS RELIEF. Is salt bad for hypertensive?

What is bad for hypertension is iodized salt, which is a fake salt. It
is made up of only 3 synthetic chemicals, sodium, chloride, iodine. It
does not melt in water (glistens like diamonds), does NOT melt in the
body, does not melt in the kidneys, gives kidney stones, and raises
blood pressure. However, it is the salt favored by the syntheticshe
drug-based doctors who say it is very clean and sanitary, pointing to
how white it is and how it glistens like diamonds. The fake salt is
man-made in a factory. The true salt, which comes from the sea and
dried under the sun and commonly called rock salt , has 72 natural
minerals including natural sodium, chloride, iodine. It melts in
water, melts in your body, melts in the kidneys, do not give kidney
stones, and best of all brings down blood pressure and stops/prevents
muscle cramps, numbness, tingling.

If you get muscle cramps in the lower legs at night, just take ½
teaspoon of rock salt and a glass of water, and the cramps with its
horrific pain will be gone in 5 minutes. The highest BP that came my
way was in a woman who had a BP of 240/140 and came to my house at
10:30 pm on what she said was a matter of "life and death" because the
high BP was already giving her a crushing headache, especially the
back of her head. She could not walk up the 6 shallow steps to my
porch. Two men had to help her, one on each side, in addition to the
cane that she needed to prop herself up.

I muscle tested her and found that underlying her BP of 240/140 and
the crushing pain in the head, her body's water content was only 6%
(normal is 75%), salt content was zero, potassium was 96% deficient,
and cardiac output (blood flow from the heart) was only 40% (normal is
100%). So the blood supply to the head was 60% deficient.

I gave her one 6" long green chili (hot pepper), 1 raw ripe saba
banana, 1/2 teaspoon of rock salt and 3 8-oz glasses of tap water.
The chili was to normalize cardiac output and shoot blood to the head, the
saba banana was for the potassium deficiency and to have food in the
stomach because pepper will give a stomach ache if the stomach is
empty, and the rock salt and the water were the first aid for her
severe dehydration which was causing her arteries to be dry and stiff
and her blood to be thick and sticky, because they were dehydrated.

After 5 minutes, she said, "The pain in my head is gone." We took her
BP, it was 115/75, and cardiac output was up to 100%.

She walked out of the house to her car without the men helping her and
without the cane.

She has been taking 2.5 teaspoons of rock salt, 15 glasses of water, 6
Saba bananas and 3 of the long pepper daily since then (beginning
September 2009), and her BP and cardiac output have been normal since
then.

Two months later, in November, at a PCAM round table forum on
hypertension in Club Filipino, she gave her testimony, followed by her
brother who said that she grew 2", because the salt and the water had
refilled her compressed disc spaces in her vertebral column. The disc
spaces had become compressed because they had become dehydrated since
the fluid filling up these discs are 95% water.

Why salt? Because without salt the body cannot retain water no matter
how much water is drunk. You will still be dehydrated because you will
just keep urinating and sweating the water out.

This is not an isolated case. When BP is rising high but there is
little or no headache but there is stiffness of shoulder and neck
muscles, all you need to normalize the BP and remove the stiffness and
the pain in 5 minutes is 1/2 teaspoon of rock salt and 3 glasses of
water. If there is crushing pain in the head, it means blood supply to
the head is lacking, and you will need the chili to normalize it and
shoot blood to the head and remove the extreme pain.

PLEASE SHARE, IT MAY HELP SOMEONE

The three things we crave for in life...

There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that three things that we crave for most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else.

Heavy rains remind us of challenges in life.
Never ask for a lighter rain.
Just look for a better umbrella. That is attitude.

Life is not about finding the right person, but creating the right relationship,
it's not how we care in the beginning, but how much we care till ending.

Some people always throw stones in your path. It depends on you what you make with them, Wall or Bridge? Remember you are the architect of your life.

When flood comes, fish eat ants and when flood recedes, ants eat fish. Only time matters. Just hold on, the time gives opportunity to everyone!

Every problem has (n+1) solutions, where 'n' is the number of solutions that you have tried and '1' is that you have not tried. That’s life.

It’s not important to hold all the good cards in life. But it’s important how well you play with the cards which you hold.

Often when we lose all hope and think this is the end, the opportunity smiles and says, relax dear its just a bend, not the end.
Believe in yourself and have a successful life.

One of the basic differences between the enlightened and other people is,
One gives, gives and forgives.
But the other gets, gets, gets and forgets.
Be thankful in life!

Only two types of persons are happy in this world.
1st is Mad and 2nd is Child.
Be Mad to achieve what you desire and be a Child to enjoy what you have achieved!

Never play with the feelings of others because you may win the game but the risk is that you will surely loose the person for life time.

The world suffers a lot. Not because of the violence of bad people;
but because of the silence of good people!

I am thankful to all those who said “NO” to me; its because of them I did it myself.

If friendship is your weakest point then you are the strongest person in the world.

Laughing faces do not mean that there is absence of sorrow ! But it means that they have the ability to deal with it.

Opportunities are like sunrises, if you wait too long you can miss them.

When you are in the light, everything follows you, but when you enter into the dark, even your own shadow doesn’t follow you.

Coin always makes sound but the currency notes are always silent.
So when your value increases keep yourself calm silent.

It is very easy to defeat someone;
but it is very hard to win over someone.

Love All. Serve All.

Anger Management for Teens

Now that you're a teen, you probably hear a lot about teen hormones, teen mood swings, and teen problems (as if you weren't living through them)! It's enough to make anyone mad, but here's the thing - teenage anger is a normal part of growing. Besides, anger is a normal emotion for everybody - little kids, teens, and adults. While anger often gets a bad rap, it isn't bad to get angry.

Anger is just another emotion like love, hate, joy, and sorrow. The trick to anger management, like any other emotion, is how you express it. If something makes you happy, depending on what it is and who did it, you might express your happiness with a smile, a hug, or a kiss. Expressing anger is the same. Anger works for you when you choose how to express it. Choosing how to express your anger is anger management.

Anger is a signal that something's not right. It actually can help you get through a dangerous situation or give you courage to stand up for your rights when you've been wronged. The problem with anger is that it's fueled with adrenaline and it's easy to let that rush take control, making you feel overwhelmed, powerless, and out of control.

Many things in life can stir up your anger. You can get angry over a lost game, a cancelled concert, or people (classmates, teachers, parents - even your best friend) may do things that don't "sit right" with you. At times, you've probably even been angry with yourself for wearing the wrong thing, saying the wrong thing, or doing the wrong thing. Even just growing can make you angry. ("I hate being so short, so fat so thin, so tall...!")

Temper Tools

Although anger is a normal, healthy emotion it's also a powerful emotion that can get in the way of what you want. Learning to channel your anger helps you to get from point "A" to point "B" without destroying everything in your path. It takes both time and practice to develop good anger management skills. By the time you're a teen, you have the tools you need to manage your anger. The challenge is learning how to use them to get the best results.

The most valuable tool you have for managing anger is self-control. Fortunately, it's a tool that you've been sharpening for years. Self-control keeps you from telling your Mom that her roast beef is crummy or your best friend that her new bedroom wallpaper looks stupid. It keeps you from cutting class just because you forgot about the test.

Luckily, when you begin to get angry, your body gives you physical signals. You begin to feel warm and flushed, your heart starts to pound, and your skin feels "tight" or tingly. It's time to step back, take a deep breath, and put the self-control in gear.

Using self-control when you're angry can keep you from saying or doing something that makes you look foolish. It can make the difference between stumbling over a chair, kicking it and really hurting your foot or just moving the chair out of your way. It can make the difference between saying or doing something now that you'll need to apologize for later or even worse, something that an apology won't fix.

One way to imprint the benefits of anger management is to look at the ways you react to anger. How do you feel after you've vented your anger? We rarely are rewarded for reacting to anger; instead, we usually end up paying the consequences.

Look at past situations and examine what you could have done differently to arrive at a better outcome. Would a better response to anger have earned you more respect from others or more self-respect? Did your actions result in positive change, negative change, or no change at all?
Managing Anger

1.Tune in to your feelings. Note what makes you angry and why. Don't settle for pat explanations like "It's not fair." Ask yourself why you feel it's not fair, what needs to be done to make it fair, and what the best way is to bring about that change.

2.Step back and think when you begin to feel angry. Turn on the self-control. Take a minute to define what's making you angry and what you can do to solve the problem.

3.Practice damage control. Choose the solution that gives you the most benefit with the least damage.

4.Although anger often makes mountains out of molehills, sometimes the mountains are really mountains. Some problems are just too big for anyone to handle alone. When that's the case, seek help from a parent, counselor, or other trusted adult to help you find the resolution to your anger.

http://www.angermanagementtips.com/teens.htm

A Simple Mantra for Healing Your Dark Night of the Soul

When you can't see the sun shining, learn these steps to find the light within.
BY: Rajiv Parti, MD (aka Dr. Raj)

Healing form my ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ was not easy but the three main steps I had to go through were:

1. Forgive 2. Love and 2. Heal.

This mantra “Forgive, Love, Heal” will help one heal from a dramatic ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ as mine or even what I call a ‘Mini Dark Night’ – which can happen all the time to us in busy modern life: they could be simple things like being shown thefinger in an unloving exchange, or being cut off on the road in traffic!

In my own ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ I had to deal with prostrate cancer, surgical complications, life threatening sepsis, depression, chronic pain and dependency on pain medications. I had to sell my house, quit my job, all the while feeling how my marriage tethered and my health suffered.

I was very angry at myself, at God, the people, at the world – at the universe.

My healing happened in three steps.

The First Step is to Forgive

I had to forgive my self for any thing I had done, or contributed to the dark night. Forgive the circumstances. ‘Forgive’ God and accept God’s will. I had to surrender to the possibility that the Spirit alone has the infinite wisdom. There were the lessons I had to learn in this life time, so that I could evolve.

The forgiveness is defined as:

“the process of concluding resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offense,difference or mistake, or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution.“

To help in forgiveness process I re-discovered the serenity prayer:

“God grant me the serenityto accept the things I cannot change;courage to change the things I can;and wisdom to know the difference.”

It transformed me. I started to live in present in the ‘Now’ and not be stuck in what my circumstance once were in past or what I wanted them to be in future.

The Second Step is to Love

The second step was to start to love myself, my life, my circumstances.

The beauty is that when I started to love ‘myself’, my health improved in leaps. I started eating healthy, going to the gym regularly, meditating and praying regularly.

This self love should not mean a narcissistic way of prioritizing the self at the cost of others, for I truly believe one can only love others when one becomes ‘love’ itself. I started to have gratitude and love re-kindled for the Spirit, the people, the world, the environment; I even changed my car form Hummer to a Camry Hybrid.

Love is defined as:

“A virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection and the unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another and oneself" As famous Mother Teresa quote comes to mind:

“We all can not do great things but we all can do things with great love”

We all can each become a sun of of love – radiating love all around.

So my friends start the ‘ripple effect’ from the heart, from inside your heart, from your Source.

The Third Step is to Heal

After the first two steps of change within our mind, and within our heart comes the step that addresses change at the level of the soul, our spirit.

I have observed in others, and personally experienced that to really heal, there has to be a ‘shift’ that has to happen at a deep level of our consciousness. Effectively, the consciousness has to not just heal but evolve too.

Healing is defined as:

“to make healthy, whole, restore to health; to rejuvenate ,to free from evil; cleanse; purify"
Looking back I am thankful to the Spirit for the circumstances I had to go through. It has brought love, compassion, ‘Seva’ (service with gratitude), sharing, and creativity as my guiding principles – where as before I lived for cancerous materialism, expensive toys, the satisfaction of myself above all others: it really was all about me: my status.

My ‘Dark Night’ transformed me to find my true Divine purpose and my Dharma to be a Healer at the Soul level. I wouldn’t be writing this but for going through the the heat of that Dark Night.It made me whole.

I learnt to embrace my Dark Shadow.

A Gandhi Quote comes to mind… “Be the change you want to see in the world”

Yesterday only I received a short email from a friend who had seen me last a few years back. It said: “Hi Raj – It was so nice to have you with us last weekend! you have changed a lot since I saw you last in India.”

Another friend said how after five years of knowing that one can see how even how I drive has changed. That is so true.I was always in rush in the fast lane.

But now I have what I will call ‘Buddha Driving’ !

I am driving in the middle lane. Somebody cuts me off? So be it – they must be in rush.

So my friends – my experience is that this approach works. Through the practice of my own prescription for Wellness in the Soul of Wellness, and through the adoption of this mantra – “Forgive, Love and Heal” – I have managed to reduce my doctor’s orders to take 36 pills every morning to manage my health crisis down to only 5 different pills a day.

The truth is that I have gotten myself out of intense pain, managed to free myself from depression, free myself of addiction, and reverse being overweight through this mantra. The quality of my relationships with my beloved wife, my beautiful children, mydear friends and working associates – is, I can tell you – genuinely infused with joy, understanding, love and laughter.

My advice is to not just say the mantra, but to practice it – to live it: to BE the change it beckons from us.

Rajiv Parti, MD (aka Dr. Raj) is a world leading specialist in pain management with over 30 years practicing clinical experience. He was the Chief of Anesthesiology at Bakersfield Heart Hospital where he specialized in cardiac anesthesia for 15 years. Dr. Raj founded the Pain Management Institute of California, and under his direction it has served thousands ofpatients for acute and chronic pain relief.

He now specializes in promotingspiritual wellness and personal growth with various non-traditional healingmodalities. His new book The Soul of Wellness is being released by Select Books in October 2012. www.drraj.com

Read more: http://www.beliefnet.com/Wellness/Articles/A-Simple-Mantra-for-Healing-Your-Dark-Night-of-the-Soul.aspx#ixzz20deWiQQO

The Doc who has charged $5/visit for over 55 years

by Bob Dotson, Original Story, May 11, 2012

Charging the price of a fancy cup of coffee, Dr. Russell Dohner has cared for Rushville, an Illinois town of 4,300 people, for more than half a century, delivering 3,500 babies, and never taking a vacation — or even an entire day off.

Rushville, Ill., is the kind of place where backyards have gardens instead of grass, and sunflowers wave in the wind. A tiny town, just 4,300 people, named for a doctor and settled by the men who marched back from the War of 1812. Rushville was built on government land, halfway between St. Louis and Chicago, as a gift to veterans. Those who did not come back got a statue on the courthouse square and were called heroes. “In a mercenary world,” a waiting patient told me, “this place is an oasis.”

But there is another sort of hero in Rushville today — one the town treasures, and can also touch. Dr. Russell Dohner has been looking after his neighbors for 55 years, charging them about what we pay for a fancy cup of coffee: five bucks a visit.

Making a difference

Doc Dohner doesn’t believe in tossing things away, and that keeps costs down. The only thing modern in his office is medicine.

Most of his nurses have been with him nearly as long as his furniture. They’re paid well because Doc works around the clock. He will go anywhere, at any time, to help those in need, often arriving before emergency crews. He once saved a small boy from smothering to death in a corncrib, once climbed down into a coal mine to help rescue four men.

Dohner broke his own back a few years ago and has had a heart attack — the only times he’s ever closed his clinic. He took time off until patients started coming to his house seeking medical care.
He does have help. Doc brought half the Rushville hospital staff into the world, including the woman who runs the place, Lynn Stambaugh. She used to wash dishes at the hospital. Dohner inspired her to go to nursing school.

I asked her why Doc never burned out.

"Well, I think because every day he makes a difference to at least one person, and if you can do that, you can go on.”

The morning we first met, back in 1983, Dohner had been to surgery twice, prepped a broken arm, handled two emergency cases, checked on 50 patients and delivered three babies. It was not yet 10:30.

No days off

He has only one hobby: trees. He’s donated 10,000 of them to this prairie town. Now and then he does slip away to go fishing on a Thursday afternoon, but he’s usually in his tie, and always near a phone.

He has not, in 55 years, had a vacation, not even a full day off. What would he do, if he did take a day off?

“I would like to go to Missouri,” Doc says.

Missouri is only 58 miles west of Rushville.

“Yes, but I have to take care of my patients first.”

The last time Doc left Illinois was during World War II. He was a military policeman in the Army, guarding President Harry Truman. “I was close enough to touch him,” Doc smiles, “but he wouldn’t have liked that.”

Dr. Dohner was born 85 years ago on a nearby farm, one of seven children. He worked to pay his own way through Northwestern University medical school.

He had his heart set on being a big-city cardiologist, but decided, “Rushville needed a doctor, so I stayed. It’s the way it’s got to be, if I take care of what comes.”

Russell Dohner has won dozens of awards for the quality of his practice and was runner-up for Country Doctor of the Year. Every morning before the sun peeks over the water tower, dozens of people are crammed into his waiting room.

He takes no appointments. Those who are seriously ill use the back door to get immediate attention; others sit for an hour or more to visit a doctor who knows more about them than some of their families do.

The first baby he delivered now drives her granddaughter 30 miles for an office visit. “When your little girl gets carried to surgery by the doctor instead of one of the nurses, she will learn to trust him, too,” she said.

Doc has no children of his own — unless you count the 3,500 babies he’s delivered. That’s more than the population of Rushville.

If you would like to contact the subjects of this American Story with Bob Dotson, contact:

Dr. Russell Rowland Dohner
103 West Washington Street
Rushville, Illinois 62681
(217) 322-4363

Doctor Dohner does not have e-mail. The best way to contact him is through:
Luan Phillips
Director of Community Relations
Culbertson Memorial Hospital
238 South Congress Street
Rushville, IL 62681
217-322-4321, ext. 269
lphillips@sdcmh.org
cmhospital.com