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How Jacinto Ek Moo Developed His Work Ethic

  • Posted on January 6, 2010 at 10:25 pm

From Campeche to Chetumal is maybe three hundred miles as the crow flies. By car it’s maybe seven or eight hours depending on how one goes since there is no direct route. That’s by car. Walking through the jungle is another story.


At 16 Moo had heard from a cousin that Hurricane Janet was so strong it had driven a caoba wood plank nearly halfway through a Zapote tree. On that pretext, he left from Campeche and planned to walk all the way through to Chetumal. This was the early 1950′s.


Back then Quintana Roo wasn’t even a state in Mexico and was considered pretty wide open. In the jungle the Maya ruled and no one entered their lands without permission. As Moo got to what is the present day town of Limones, he saw a Maya Indian on the trail ahead of him with a gun. As he turned to look behind him, he saw another Maya with a gun was following him.


Soon both surrounded him and motioned for him to keep going to their village deep in the jungle. There they took him to their small village church where they had him remove his hat and shoes and pointed their guns for him to sit down. They told him their leader or cacique would be coming soon to talk with him and he dare not move.


Moo had two options: if the cacique allowed him to go, he could leave by the small door on the left. If he moved or the cacique did not let him go, he would go out the door on the right, which was reserved for those going to the cemetery. Moo didn’t move.


An hour or so later he saw the cacique enter the church and sit down in the front row. After several minutes he turned to Moo and asked him in Maya what he was doing there. Moo answered that he had heard about the hurricane and wanted to see for himself and maybe find some land he could work.


The cacique asked him what he could do. He replied tend to animals or work the fields…Maya style fields. Most of the Yucatan peninsula is rocky and the Maya plant between the rocks. The cacique told him to follow and he would speak to several men in the village.


Fortunately one of the men needed some fences mended and Moo found work. Moo’s father had taught him that there is work everywhere and one just has to find it. Moo was a hard worker.


Moo said he never remembered a time when he didn’t work. When he was not in school he would visit with relatives and each would teach him a different job and that way he could do a good many things. Many Mexican men leave home at a young age and set out on their own looking for work. The advantage of having many skills served these working wanderers well as they could go into almost any town and find work.


A number of these men ended up with businesses or ranches like Moo. Somehow the lessons they had learned at an early age served them very well.


A half century and 17 children later Moo sat by his roadside stand selling his coconuts. His farm is about four square kilometers along the national highway. He has a ranch house, a house by the side of the road and a house in Limones. He had a house in Chetumal but gave it to his oldest daughter so all his many grandchildren could stay there when they went to school.


Moo said because he was taught the value of work he never drank as getting drunk was not only a waste of time but a waste of the fruits of his labor. Instead of drinking his money away, he said, he would save it and when a neighbor wanted to sell their land he would buy it, if the price was right and the land a good piece. Over the years he built quite a ranch for himself.


Not bad for a 16 year old out seeking his fortune.


Moo is one of those that will never retire, just work less as they approach their final years. Unlike many first worlders that live stressed, fragmented lives and hate their work, Moo said he just felt better working until he went to bed. His work has been his life.


We bought some of his coconut plants to take back to our ranch as the hurricane knocked down a couple of ours. They will grow and we will remember the chat about work and life we had with Moo one hot day along the national highway near Bacalar.

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Understanding The Bipolar Disorder

  • Posted on January 6, 2010 at 10:20 pm

Understanding Bipolar To Get Help

Most individuals that suffer from bipolar disorder have one goal. That goal is to live a life that is as normal as can be. To get through today without having any emotional problems, to make it through the big meeting at work without having people wonder what is wrong with you and to simply be able to enjoy your daughter’s graduation are all additional goals that you may have.

There is no 100 percent sure way of stopping these things from happening to you. But, there are countless things you can learn to do to help you to improve your outlook.

To get to that point, can start by finding all of the information you need about your condition so that you can better understand what is happening to you.

Bipolar Disorder: The Medical Side

Bipolar is a condition in which there are extremes in moods and life experiences. There is no doubt that bipolar is a health condition that is serious and disabling to those that it.

You may have heard bipolar called Manic Depression or that a person suffering from it has a manic depressive condition. But, what scientists have come to learn is that manic style behaviour is only one extreme of this condition.

The other part of it is that of depression. Both of these conditions are vitally serious to your well being and even to your life span and must be treated. While doctors do not have a cause for bipolar, they are working on finding one. Along with that, you can be sure that there are many scientists looking for a way to cure the condition.

For most people bipolar starts when they are just in their teens. Some believe that it is triggered by puberty. Others will not develop this condition until they are in their early adult years.

If you don’t get help for bipolar, your condition is likely to continue to worsen. There is no doubt that depression itself is a killer. Therefore, not getting help is simply not an option. But, the good news is that there are medications, treatments and therapies that can help to reduce the symptoms and help you to cope with your condition.

Do You Have Bipolar?

The first question that you need to ask is if you have this condition. Learning the signs and symptoms will help you to weigh the need to seek out medical attention.

If any of your symptoms are severe or you are considering harming yourself, you just seek immediate medical attention as soon as possible.

The highs are called episodes of mania. The lows are episodes of depression. The intensity of these highs and lows will vary from person to person and from one episode to the next. During the manic phase, there are a number of symptoms that can be observed.

You may feel extremely happy and optimistic. You may feel euphoria. You may also have an inflated self esteem or ego, too.

You may have very poor judgment, and you may know this by being told by others that you’ve made the wrong decision.

Your speech can be very fast. Your mind is going crazy with thoughts. You may be agitated and feel the need to move your body and your mind. Physical activity may be increased, too.

Some have problems with pain, too. If you have pain that there is no real cause for, this can be a sign of depressive behaviour.

The most serious of all symptoms and signs of depressive behaviour is that of thoughts of suicide. If you have these thoughts, your condition needs immediate attention.

If you think that you have any of these symptoms, then you need to work with your doctor to be diagnosed.

What’s The Cause?

The one thing that all bipolar patients want to know is why.

Why did this happen to me? Why do I go through this? Why can’t my life be normal?

Most believe that it is a combination of factors that lead to this condition including environmental, genetics, and biological factors. Doctors believe that these conditions not only cause the onset of bipolar in people but also control when the episodes that you experience happen and how frequently they do.

In those that have bipolar, those messengers are somehow different and simply communicate in a different way to the brain triggering the symptoms that you face.

It is believed that those that suffer from bipolar have a genetic code that puts them in that position.

Is there any help? “Understanding The Bipolar Disorder”

It is believed that those that suffer from bipolar have a genetic code that puts them in that position.

This can include such things as drug abuse and very stressful events. Sometimes, a very traumatic event especially those that are psychological can trigger bipolar.

I found a grate book on the subject, you could be reading this book in the next 10 minutes, it can found on

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Baby Eczema – Everything You Need to Know

  • Posted on January 6, 2010 at 10:20 pm

Eczema can be one tough cookie to beat. It’s a skin disease that affects thousands of children across America. In fact, nine out of ten children are diagnosed with the skin disease before they hit the age of 5, and two-thirds of children get eczema before they even reach 6 weeks of age! Those results obviously show that eczema is more widespread than most think.

Many parents may not even realize that their child has eczema, as the symptoms may first appear to be atypical to regular, dry skin. The problem is, the symptoms eventually worsen, producing dry, red patches across different parts of their bodies. With the eczema comes the uncontrollable itching that is associated with the disease. It is also often painful, as the skin may crack open and bleed occasionally.

If you think you’re child has eczema, you may want to seek the advice of a medical professional to get it properly diagnosed. If you’re child already has eczema, you most likely know about the prescription creams and medicines that are used to treat the symptoms of eczema. The problem with these creams is that they only provide temporary relief of the symptoms of eczema, but do not actually cure it completely.

Since the eczema does not become fully cured with skin treatments, it will go away temporarily, only to eventually continue to flare up throughout their childhood. Also, prescription creams can even worsen the symptoms of eczema in some people. This is why I was dedicated to find an alternative way to treat and cure eczema.

See, my daughter suffered from eczema badly. And while we wasted money on all sorts of medicines, creams and treatments, I finally found a cure for her eczema. The best part? It was all natural. You can learn more about how to cure baby eczema at Cure Eczema.

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How to Safely End Menstrual Period, Pms, With Birth Control Pill, Lybrel

  • Posted on January 6, 2010 at 10:20 pm

This is a true story about a woman who endured 20 years of terrible menstrual periods. She had painful cramps, PMS symptoms like mood swings, anxiety, and the resulting disruption they caused in her life.

This story is also about the various treatments she tried and how she discovered a new birth control pill called Lybrel that suspends menstrual periods indefinitely.

(Women readers: Cheryl’s story might seem familiar if you have ever suffered from severe PMS or cramps and wished there was a way to get rid of them. Men: pass this article on to the women in your life – girlfriend, wife, daughters – they all need to know.)

Cheryl’s Story

From the day of her first menstrual period at age 13, Cheryl experienced debilitating cramps with every monthly cycle. The first 3 or 4 days of her period would see her doubled over in bed, unable to sleep, eat or even move. She stopped swimming, quit the gymnastics team and started getting poorer grades because she missed so many classes.

Her family doctor prescribed Midol. When that didn’t work, the strongest medication he could offer was ibuprofen / Advil. But the sheer amount of the drug Cheryl had to take just to control her pain eventually began irritating her gastro-intestinal system. Her mother feared she would get an ulcer, but there didn’t seem to be any other choice.

By 17, Cheryl was dating and had met a wonderful guy that her family and friends all loved. Imagine the luck… her first serious boyfriend and it looked like he was a keeper! Cheryl had never been so happy.

She went on the birth control pill and was hoping some of the positive side effects she’d been told about, like less painful cramps, would result. But the cramps arrived on schedule with her periods. And her emotions went on a wild roller coaster ride that she didn’t understand.

Naming The Culprit: PMS

Cheryl’s moods were unpredictable: one day up, the next down. One moment happy, the next in tears. Her boyfriend was patient but after a few years, the relationship broke down because of her unexplained mood swings. Cheryl was destroyed.

When she was in her 20s, Cheryl learned about PMS (premenstrual syndrome) and PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a more severe form of PMS). She learned that hormonal changes before a woman’s period can lead to mood instability, which explained her crazy emotional swings. At least now she knew that PMS was the culprit that had wreaked havoc with her life ever since puberty.

Then her friend’s older sister told her about Depo Provera.

“It’s incredible, Cher… one injection every 3 months and you get not only birth control just as good as the pill but most girls’ periods stop completely. I haven’t had one in 18 months,” she raved. “And without a period, you don’t get PMS!”

So Cheryl went back to the doctor and got her first Depo shot. As her periods stopped, so did the cramps and her emotional ups and downs. She was elated. Until she started gaining weight. And started feeling depressed for no reason.

After two years on Depo Provera, she was diagnosed with depression, possibly triggered or aggravated by the Depo (a fairly common side effect). She stopped the injections and returned to her painful, unhappy periods.

And that’s when the nurse at the Women’s Clinic dropped a bombshell on her.

“Cheryl”, the nurse said, “your cramps and PMS are so severe, they seem to be controlling your life. Did you know that women like you don’t have to go through this every month? That there’s a way to limit the number of periods you have… or you can stop them completely, without Depo Provera injections?”

Cheryl was floored. “No! Tell me more!”

The nurse told her about Lybrel, a new type of birth control pill. Lybrel actually stops women’s menstrual periods completely. It’s especially helpful for women like Cheryl whose PMS is severe and whose menstrual periods are painful, irregular or difficult. Plus the nurse said Lybrel works just as well as traditional birth control pills to prevent pregnancy.

How Lybrel Works

Lybrel contains the hormones ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel, common ingredients in other birth control pills. Only instead of taking 21 pills and stopping for 7 days to have a period, as you would with regular birth control pills, you take Lybrel every day without a break, meaning most women don’t get a period at all or just experience minor spotting or breakthrough bleeding.

“But if it’s just a glorified birth control pill, how come nobody told me about it before?” Cheryl asked. “I’ve been suffering for 20 years and now I find out it’s as simple as tweaking my hormone levels???”

In fact, women in the know have been controlling or ending their menstrual periods with birth control pills for many years. Doctors who are familiar with the method have been advising them on how to do it.

But there is still a misconception in some circles that having a period each month is necessary, and that skipping your period is somehow wrong or unhealthy.

The nurse gave Cheryl three different contraceptive options as treatment for her PMS, cramps, and unpleasant menstrual periods:

Yasmin: (aka Yaz) Yasmin is a 21-day on, 7-day off birth control pill. It’s the first birth control pill approved to treat the physical and emotional symptoms of PMDD. Yasmin, in most women, results in shorter, lighter periods (3 days or less), reduced cramps and a more regular cycle — great advantages for women like Cheryl who suffer from heavy, painful menstrual periods.

Lybrel: The newest birth control pill on the market (approved by the FDA in May 2007), Lybrel is also the first birth control pill meant for continuous use, although other birth control pills have been prescribed off-label to be used this way. In one test, nearly 60% of the women taking Lybrel had no bleeding or spotting at all by the 12th month of taking it.

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Eat Fat Till you are Glutted in Bible and Quran

  • Posted on January 6, 2010 at 10:07 pm

The Bible mentions Eat 617 times and the Quran 70 times.

Eat Rite in the Bible:

The beginning was not encouraging:

Genesis 3:17

To Adam he said, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will Eat of it all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:18

It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will Eat the plants of the field.

Genesis 3:19

By the sweat of your brow you will Eat your food

Because of Jacob hip, the tendon attached to the socket of the hip is banned

Genesis 32:32

Therefore to this day the Israelites do not Eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

Benjamin is a ravenous wolf devours the prey and divides the plunder.

Genesis 49:27

“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

The Bible declares Racism even for food.

Exodus 12:43

No foreigner is to Eat of it.

Kill anyone who is Eats any meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the LORD.

Leviticus 7:20

But if anyone who is unclean Eats any meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the LORD, that person must be cut off from his people.

Leviticus 7:21

If anyone touches something unclean—whether human uncleanness or an unclean animal or any unclean, detestable thing—and then Eats any of the meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the LORD, that person must be cut off from his people.’ “

Eat locust, katydid, cricket and/or grasshopper.

Leviticus 11:22

Of these you may Eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper.

Why they are detestable?

Leviticus 11:42

You are not to Eat any creature that moves about on the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is detestable.

Kill anyone who Eats blood.

The life of every creature is its blood

Do not Eat the blood of any creature

This verse contradicts very much with the sciences. The life of every creature is not in blood. Some creatures that we Eat are bloodless e.g. the fungus(Mushroom).

Leviticus 17:14

Because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not Eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who Eats it must be cut off.”

Deuteronomy 12:23

But be sure you do not Eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not Eat the life with the meat.

Ezekiel 33:25

Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Since you Eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land?

Eat the flesh of your sons and your daughters

Eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters

Fathers will Eat their children, and children will Eat their fathers.

Leviticus 26:29

You will Eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.

Numbers 23:24

The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till he devours his prey and drinks the blood of his victims.”

Deuteronomy 28:53

… You will Eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters…

Numbers 24:8

They devour hostile nations and break their bones in pieces;

Deuteronomy 32:42

I will make my arrows drunk with blood, while my sword devours flesh: the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.”

Psalm 27:2

When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.

Psalm 53:4

Will the evildoers never learn— those who devour my people as men Eat bread and who do not call on God?

Proverbs 30:14

those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth, the needy from among mankind.

Isaiah 9:20

On the right they will devour, but still be hungry; on the left they will Eat, but not be satisfied. Each will feed on the flesh of his own offspring :

Lamentations 2:20

“Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have you ever treated like this? Should women Eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?

Ezekiel 5:10

Therefore in your midst fathers will Eat their children, and children will Eat their fathers. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds.

Ezekiel 39:18

You will Eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls—all of them fattened animals from Bashan.

Habakkuk 3:14

With his own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding.

Galatians 5:15

If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Revelation 19:18

so that you may Eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great.”

Eat their own filth and drink their own urine

2 Kings 18:27

… who, like you, will have to Eat their own filth and drink their own urine?”

Isaiah 36:12

… who, like you, will have to Eat their own filth and drink their own urine?”

Is the stomach of the wicked (only) goes hungry?

Proverbs 13:25

The righteous Eat to their hearts’ content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry.

Do not Eat the food of a stingy man

Proverbs 23:6

Do not Eat the food of a stingy man, do not crave his delicacies;

The lion will Eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food

Here is another verse that contradicts with the sciences.

The lion does not Eat straw and the serpent’s food is not the dust.

Isaiah 65:25

The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will Eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food.

The carcasses of people are food for the birds and the beasts

Jeremiah 7:33

Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away.

Jeremiah 15:3

“I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” declares the LORD, “the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.

Jeremiah 16:4

“They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like refuse lying on the ground. They will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.”

Jeremiah 34:20

I will hand over to their enemies who seek their lives. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.

Ezekiel 39:4

I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals.

They Eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair

Ezekiel 12:19

… They will Eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair,

Eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk.

Ezekiel 39:19

At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will Eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk.

Eat the flesh of Jesus and drink his blood.

This very important theological concept is mentioned only in John.

Matthews, Mark and Luke never said that.

John 6:53

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you Eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

John 6:54

Whoever Eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:57

Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.

John 6:58

This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.”

The faith of the vegetarian is weak

Romans 14:2

One man’s faith allows him to Eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, Eats only vegetables.

If the dead are not raised, “Let us Eat and drink”

1 Corinthians 15:32

If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

The beast and the ten horns will hate the (naked) prostitute, Eat her flesh and burn her with fire

Revelation 17:16

The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will Eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

Eat Rite in the Quran:

The Quran teaches us to Eat in a healthy way and not to be extravagant in Eating.

Eat of what is on earth, lawful and good

Eat of the good things that We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah

Eat of the things which Allah hath provided for you, lawful and good

What the Believers will Eat in the Paradise?

What the Unbelievers will Eat in the Hell?

The Policy of Eating

The Quran teaches us to Eat in a healthy way and not to be extravagant in Eating.

Excess Eating is a very bad habit that causes many medical problems.

This meaning is not found in the Bible.

7:31

O Children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: and Eat and drink and be not extravagant; surely he does not love the extravagant

The Food we are allowed to Eat:

6:121

Eat not of (meats) on which Allah’s name hath not been pronounced: that would be impiety. But the evil ones ever inspire their friends to contend with you if ye were to obey them, ye would indeed be Pagans.

16:5

And cattle He has created for you (men): from them ye derive warmth, and numerous benefits, and of their (meat) ye Eat.

16:14

It is He Who has made the sea subject, that ye may Eat thereof flesh that is fresh and tender, and that ye may extract therefrom ornaments to wear, and thou seest the ships therein that plough the waves, that ye may seek (thus) of the bounty of Allah and that ye may be grateful.

16:114

So Eat of the sustenance which Allah has provided for you, lawful and good; and be grateful for the favours of Allah, if it is He Whom ye serve.

23:21

And in cattle (too) ye have an instructive example: from within their bodies We produce (milk) for you to drink; there are, in them, (besides), numerous (other) benefits for you; and of their (meat) ye Eat;

36:33

A Sign for them is the earth that is dead; We do give it life, and produce grain therefrom, of which ye do Eat.

2:168

O ye people! Eat of what is on earth, lawful and good; and do not follow the footsteps of the Evil One, for he is to you an avowed enemy.

2:172

O ye who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah, if it is Him ye worship.

5:88

Eat of the things which Allah hath provided for you, lawful and good; but fear Allah, in Whom ye believe.

22:28

“That they may witness the benefits (provided) for them, and celebrate the name of Allah, through the Days Appointed, over the cattle which He has provided for them (for sacrifice): then Eat ye thereof and feed the distressed ones in want.

What the Believers will Eat in the Paradise?

This meaning is not found in the Bible

43:69-73

[69] (Being) those who have believed in Our Signs and bowed (their wills to Ours) in Islam.

[70] Enter ye the Garden, ye and your wives, in (beauty and) rejoicing.

[71] To them will be passed round, dishes and goblets of gold: there will be there all that the souls could desire, all that the eyes could delight in: and ye shall abide therein (for aye).

[72] Such will be the Garden of which ye are made heirs for your (good) deeds (in life).

[73] Ye shall have therein abundance of fruit, from which ye shall have satisfaction.

52:17-19

[17] As to the Righteous, they will be in Gardens, and in Happiness,

[18] Enjoying the (Bliss) which their Lord hath bestowed on them, and their Lord shall deliver them from the Penalty of the Fire.

[19] (To them will be said:) “Eat and drink ye, with profit and health, because of your (good) deeds.”

69:22-24

[22] In a Garden on high,

[23] The Fruits whereof (will hang in bunches) low and near.

[24] “Eat ye and drink ye, with full satisfaction; because of the (good) that ye sent before you, in the days that are gone!”

What the Unbelievers will Eat in the Hell?

This meaning is not found in the Bible.

15:3

Leave them alone, to enjoy (the good things of this life) and to please themselves: let (false) Hope amuse them: soon will knowledge (undeceive them).

2:174

Those who conceal Allah’s revelations in the Book, and purchase for them a miserable profit, they swallow into themselves Naught but Fire; Allah will not address them on the Day of Resurrection, nor purify them: grievous will be their Penalty.

56:50-56

[50] “All will certainly be gathered together for the meeting appointed for a Day well-known.

[51] “Then will ye truly, O ye that go wrong, and treat (Truth) as falsehood!

[52] “Ye will surely taste of the Tree of Zaqqum.”

[53] “Then will ye fill your insides therewith,

[54] “And drink Boiling Water on top of it:

[55] “Indeed ye shall drink like diseased camels raging with thirst!”

[56] Such will be their entertainment on the Day of Requital!

It follows that man is one of two:

47:12

Verily Allah will admit those who believe and do righteous deeds, to Gardens beneath which rivers flow; while those who reject Allah will enjoy (this world) and Eat as cattle Eat; and the Fire will be their abode.

Back to the main issue of my series of articles; this is my question to you smart readers: “Is the Quran quoted from the Bible”?

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Life is not Fair- But be Happy Anyway

  • Posted on January 6, 2010 at 10:07 pm

Life Is Not Fair- But Be Happy Anyway

Yesterday, as I left my daughter’s 5th grade holiday concert, I noted the oddness of my life.  I was the only one of the smiling herds of cheerful faces who was listening at that moment to the father of my children threatening to “take me on, if I was going to f— with him.” Everyone else was thinking of trees and hot chocolate waiting at the house and I was faced once again with the dilemma “What do I do about my drunk ex-husband?”

I had earned these wonderful words from the father of my children because I had the gall to offer to drive him home. I pondered how far to pursue this. Do I call the police over to the school? Do I just let it be? How many times, in this “friends don’t let friends drive drunk climate”, does one have to give up one’s own peace, serenity, and happiness for a brawl in the streets with some loved one who refuses to take the responsibility for his own life?

Put another way, when does the addict step up to the plate, and when do we get to live our own lives, away from his insanity?

In the final analysis, I informed principal of the school of the situation, and walked away. I gave the kids my mother’s lecture “yes, dad does drive drunk, so don’t ever get in the car with him,”  and we went on our way. Right, wrong or indifferent, that’s what I did this time. At home we had a holiday treat, and watched Christmas Story. Apart from 5 or 10 somber minutes at the concert, that was the extent of our upset.

Of course this is not typical in the alcoholic or addicted family. Generally a drunk father at a concert is good for a ruined event, and an entire evening of upset. But I have a lot of years of Alanon under my belt. I have a lot of addiction therapy, and they have Alateen.

But as I came home from the event I couldn’t help remembering my 12 year old son’s sober face as he walked toward the car. I could almost feel the tears that he was too old to let himself shed. And I remembered his earlier words “Mom, why do you always seem so mad when you get around dad?”  And I remembered, even more tellingly, how he answered his own question. He did this with an adult knowing. “Never mind” he said ” I know it’s because gotta watch and you don’t know what to do, and you’re sad, so you get mad.” And with those words he had me pegged, dead to rights- wise beyond his years.

And as I reflect today, I am astounded by the unfairness of it all. That a 12 year old has to know that much about the world. That even divorced we deal with the insanity of addiction. And on another front, that no matter how I have tried, I still do not make a living wage. That my children have to deal with with their father, and also with the constant worry about how they will survive.

My mind persists, unfathoming. “With all of this going on, why am I not able to at least be comfortable financially?” And isn’t there some God who finally thinks “It’s time to cut them a break,” and tells some blessing-giving angel to throw a bone down to us?

And even as I want to run on that thought, feeling sorry for myself, I remember those old, time-worn words, the words I have told my children so many times “Nobody ever said that life would be fair.” We were never promised a fair life. We were never promised a great life.

In fact, we were never promised anything at all.

Life isn’t fair, Life just is.

And as I am told by Alanon, and Eckart Tolle, and The Landmark Forum, and countless other profound teachings of the day, when ‘life just is’ how ‘it is’ you have two choices. You can accept it or fight it.

Or said another way, you can be happy or you can be miserable. Because in order to be happy-you must accept, for the moment, exactly the way life is and exactly the way life isn’t. You must give up the fight, and stop wishing it were some other way. You must especially accept your own self- your upsets, worries, and emotions- exactly how you are and exactly how you aren’t

And in the space of acceptance, inside of surrender to what is, you can then look another way. You can notice a beautiful tree. You can put on some lovely music. You can pick up your paint brush and draw. You can enjoy a Christmas movie.

But you can only look another way when you give up the fight, and give up obsessing how to make it some other way. Or conversely when you give up working to pretend it is some other way.

Suddenly, in that miracle-moment of nothing to obsess on or try for, you can look another way and be grateful. You can be grateful for trees and skies and radios. You can be grateful that your children’s father is still alive. You can be thankful that they get some small piece of him while he is still here on the earth. And you can then remember your daughter’s glowing face when he entered the concert hall, and not just your son’s when he left.

And when you see life through this different lens, when you paint that tree you see or remember that look on your daughter’s face, you are happy. No matter what may happen tomorrow, or the next day, or three weeks, or three minutes from now. You are happy now.

And with this thought I wish all of you, each and every one- no matter what your circumstances- a happy holiday and year.

Written by Second Hand Addiction Specialist and Spokesperson, Lorelei F, www.secondhandaddiction.blogspot.com

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There’s No Mountain Too High

  • Posted on January 6, 2010 at 10:07 pm

I drank for twenty years alcoholically. During the last seven years of that time, I “sped my bottom” by adding prescription drugs, mostly diet pills and Valium, but some street drugs too. I had a Mount Everest of problems. The last year of my drinking, my husband left me, I landed in jail twice on drunk and disorderly charges, and I attempted suicide several times.

My final straw came on the Memorial Day Weekend of 1979. As I lay in my bedroom after I had once again tried to kill myself, my twelve year old daughter, Kimmy, held up my wrists and said to me, “Momma, I’m just a kid. I can’t handle this any more. Please help me!” She then fell into my arms sobbing. Her cry was of tears of innocence lost.

I said, “I’m going to quit drinking. I know I can. Please believe me, baby.”

She said, “I can’t, Momma. You’ve promised so many times before. I just can’t believe you. I think we’ll have to learn to live with your drinking.” My pajamas were wet with her tears.

Three miracles occurred in the next couple of days. After Kimmy went to get dressed I cried out to a God I didn’t believe in, that unknown, absent God of anger and vengeance, I thought, “Oh God, even though you aren’t, if I could ask I would plead for you to show me a way to quit drinking.”

Then I got out of bed to get my bottle of vodka and make a drink of mostly vodka and a cube or two of ice. I remembered buying a half gallon the night before. I began my search, no, not in the linen cabinet, not on the tea cart, not behind the towels under the bathroom sink, not in any kitchen cabinet, not behind the lawn mower in the garage, not in the fridge, not in any of the bushes, which I noticed needed trimming, not under my bed or the guest bed, not in the bookshelves, not in the basement behind the furnace, not in the basement shower or bedroom closet, not anywhere.

I stormed into my daughter’s room, “Where did you hide the bottle?”

She was puzzled and still in after-sobs, “Mom, you know I just got home from spending the night with Cheri, and I came straight to the bedroom. I never throw away the liquor. I know you need it too badly. I always bring you a drink not take one away.” The first miracle, the alcohol was gone from the house.

As I left my daughter’s room I began to think about my physical condition. I suddenly became aware that I didn’t have a hangover. I actually felt pretty good, not perfect, a little weak and shaky. But I wasn’t nauseated, and I didn’t have a headache. Second miracle.

I sat down and made a very indecisive decision, if that’s possible. Maybe I’d try to quit drinking. But how? Deep inside I knew I couldn’t do it by myself. A thought occurred to me. Several months before my mother had talked with a friend who was in AA. The friend had given her a card. Mother had given me the card. I had stuck it in my purse planning to get rid of it in the circular file at the first possible opportunity, offended by my mother’s thinking I had a drinking problem. I sat down and began to go through my purse, yes, gum wrappers housing chewed gum, enough change to support me for a year, a sock of Kimmy’s, a ten year old library card, and, behold and lo, the card of my mother’s friend. Then I took a Valium and sat for several more minutes. Finally, I dialed. She answered right away. I told her I wasn’t sure I had a problem with alcohol. She told me her story which had involved quitting and going to AA once and then going back on the booze by ordering cases of Scope from the drugstore. She told me about a meeting in my area. Maybe I would just check it out. Third miracle.

The next Thursday I went to that meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, and by the grace of God and the fellowship of AA I have not had a drink since. Now it has been over twenty-three years. Is this the fourth miracle? Or is life with God just an ongoing, continuous miracle even in the face of deep hardship and pain, maybe especially when great overcoming is needed.

Of all the robes God wears I think restoration of friendships and relationships is one of His favorites. Once I started in AA Charles came back. Still we came very close to divorce in my sobriety. I was going to leave if he did not make changes. At that point he told me I’d have to make changes too. I said, “I don’t need to make any changes. I’m not drinking or drugging. That’s my amend.”

Charles informed me he was sick and tired of my dragging up the past every time we had a fight and then blaming him for everything. I finally agreed to try to stop the personal history lesson every time we fought. I do believe God showed me through inventory that I did manipulate through my anger, that I tried to gain more power by always making Charles to blame for everything, that I portrayed myself as a saint who spent everyday tolerating this cruel and vicious human being.

Now Charles and I have been married for 37 years. God has truly blessed our marriage and transformed our hearts and given us His heart of love for each other. We have a lot of fun together, movies, dinners, traveling, biking, swimming and romance, a special blessing from God.

My daughter, who now lives in California, is my best friend, and we burn up the telephone wires talking each other’s ears off. I am glad to tell you God has not deserted California despite rumors, fears and recommendations to the contrary. My daughter is a very Godly woman. I have two wonderful grandkids, and we visit them as often as we can.

I have a successful business and am starting a new one with a friend. So life is full, and God is good. I have learned over the years that this does not mean I will not have pain. I always got the message backwards. I would say, “Once I’ve cleaned up my act, then I’ll look into the God thing.” It’s really the other way around. “First, you go to God, and then you heal.”

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3 Ways to relax and get a good night’s sleep

  • Posted on January 6, 2010 at 10:07 pm

Sleep is supposed to be rejuvenating but often its not. I believe that this is because we don’t get our minds and bodies ready for sleep. We just aren’t relaxed enough to get good night’s sleep.

Many of us equate relaxation with sleeping but they are actually two totally different things. You see, although they may be interconnected, sleeping is not actually relaxing. Sleeping is defined as “a state of semi-unconsciousness” This is a state that we go into on a daily basis so that our minds and bodies can rejuvenate themselves. Our minds use sleep to sort out much of the information that we take in during the day for later use. The cells of our bodies also go into a type of regeneration during sleep which allows our cell structures to be rebuilt and restored.

The problem for many of us is that we have a difficult time getting to sleep. More than that, even if we do fall asleep, we toss and turn and wake up frequently. I’ve found that in order to get a great night’s sleep on a consistent basis, you need to learn how to relax first and then fall asleep after that. So I want to give you three different ways that you can use to relax that will prepare your body and mind for the sleep that you have been missing.

The first thing I found that I was doing was stimulating my mind too much and too late in the evening. I would work until late at night and then try to fall asleep. Or I would watch TV or read a stimulating book and try to fall asleep. Then I would lie down and tell myself to go to sleep while my eyes refused to stay shut for a half hour or more. What I found was, although I was doing unintentionally, I was stimulating my mind in a way that prevented me from falling into a good night’s sleep.

What I’ve done to counteract this is that I have set a time limit that I can do any work at night. I also turn off the television. Most evenings I take a warm bath and then read for about 15 minutes. The books I read are interesting but not mood enhancing. Also I have found that a few minutes of quiet Chi Kung (Qigong) deep breathing and meditation exercises helps my mind and body relax. Using this routine my mind and body are positioned to where sleep will come naturally.

The second thing I did was eliminate the glass of wine I had been drinking at night. I used to think that I was helping my body get ready to sleep when I was drinking a little alcohol but I what I found was that the opposite is actually true. When we consume alcohol at bedtime, its sedating affect can decrease the time we need to fall asleep. This leads many people with insomnia to think that alcohol promotes sleep. What experts have found is that if we drink alcohol before bed or to promote sleep the second half of our sleep is disrupted and we toss and turn and/or wake up from dreams and then have a difficult time falling back to sleep. This sleep interruption in the second half of our sleep can lead to daytime fatigue and sleepiness. So if you want to get a truly good night’s sleep get rid of the evening alcohol.

Finally, the third thing I found was to make my environment conducive to relaxation. For example, I’ve had to train my 18 year old daughter to turn down the television in her room which is adjacent to mine so that when I do my Chi Kung (Qigong) breathing and meditation exercises I can actually relax. I have eliminated as much of the light in my room as possible. I might play a recording of soft sounds of nature to help my mind drift off to sleep. Doing these things has helped my sleep tremendously.

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“What Color Is Your Parachute?” a Good Choice for Finding Your True Calling

  • Posted on January 6, 2010 at 9:07 pm

Several winters back, I had hired a strong group of performers. I worked hard at bringing out the best these folks had to offer both as individuals and as a team. I received a very positive review from my boss. He recognized my accomplishment as going beyond the call of duty when I had been taking for granted that I have a knack for running software projects on time and under budget.

At the time, I was also speaking monthly for a groups tending to the needs of job seekers.  One presentation I gave really got me thinking. I called it “Finding the Ideal Career for You” making use of great content from Richard Nelson Bolles’ book  “What Color is Your Parachute?” (You can check out my book review for more details.) The book contains a set of exercises great for helping people identify their transferable skills. So I put myself through these exercises as part of my prep work.

The exercise is simple. Write down several paragraphs about a problem you solved recently. The problem doesn’t have to be work related. It just has to be a problem you enjoyed addressing. The task is then to map the skills used to resolve the problem to the book’s transferable skills matrix.

I picked a challenge I faced organizing a kick off meeting and run for a marathon training team I coached. (Yes, I’m one of those overachieving weekend marathon runners who trains others to follow my insanity.) The kick off posed some unique challenges.

My fellow coach was out of town that weekend driving her daughter to college. Few of the runners had ever run long distance races and many of them were out of shape. The runners didn’t all fall into one neat running pack. We had runners with paces anywhere from 9 minutes to 15 minute per mile. We had a wheelchair athlete that was cutting her teeth on a marathon for the very first time ever.

The first step was to find a substitute coach. I coaxed a buddy of mine who had coached with me on a previous season. He agreed to organize the slower paced runners. I made a bunch of phone calls looking to identify someone with experience coaching wheelchair athletes. My persistence led me to an expert that shared his smarts with me. I contacted each runner via phone or email to get them pumped about a 6am Saturday run (Ugh!) and reassure them I could coach them to the finish line. My work paid off. The kick off was a success for everyone.

The next step is picking out the transferable skills from your write up and matching them into three categories: things, information and people. I got a lot more for giving this presentation that I expected. When I started mapping, I made an interesting discovery. I saw that most of my transferable skills and the ones I most enjoy using are people skills. I had used my persuasion skills to recruit a substitute coach. I used people skills to find someone in my circle of contacts who could advise me on coaching a wheelchair athlete. At the kickoff I delivered a kick off speech to the runners inspiring them and convincing them to stick with the program.

I picked several other problems to write up and came to similar results. This is not what this computer science graduate degree holder expected after spending most of his career as a programmer, software architect, and technology leader. It caused me to spend some more time reviewing if I was on the right track in my career. I had not done so in a while mainly because I had been so busy “making a living” that I failed to stop, review and reflect. I’ll write another post soon to discuss where this all took me. Lot’s of fun.

I highly recommend this book for those of you struggling with the question, “What do I want to do with the rest of my life?” So many people have relied on this book for it’s job hunting advice which is excellent while failing to turn to the last section which is just as good or better for finding a career that fits you. It maps out a systematic approach with very clear steps defined for confirming your new chosen career. This process includes use of informational interviews as a way to confirm your findings and possibly even land that next position.

Consider leaving a comment at CareerJockey.org. I’d love to see if this worked out for you.

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Christmas Gifts For Women Over 30 – Having Difficulty Getting Pregnant

  • Posted on January 6, 2010 at 8:28 pm

If your wife, sister, daughter or girlfriend is over 30 and they are having difficulty getting pregnant, it is wise to give Christmas gifts for women with accurate, up-to-date information on how to improve their chances of conceiving. By every standard, this may not be the most glamorous gift during this holiday season, but it will be heart-warming to your friend to discover that within 2 months of getting this gift, she is able to get pregnant quickly and naturally.

There are so many great Christmas gifts for women over 30 featured every year and 2009 is no exception. Books and guides are important resource in any woman´s journey to getting pregnant. If your wife, sister, girlfriend or daughter is over 30 and is having difficulty getting pregnant, you can give them a guide or book with detailed methods to increase their chances of getting pregnant quickly and naturally without expensive medical intervention.

Christmas is getting closer and closer by the day and the woman in your life is not happy because she is having difficulty getting pregnant. She wants to hear the cry of a baby with every passing year. There are several Christmas gifts for women over 30 on the market that would be perfect for the woman in your life. Get the woman in your life some amazing Christmas gifts this year and be revered and adored throughout the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

We have chosen the best Christmas gifts for women over 30 having difficulty getting pregnant.

The first is an ancient Chinese system for getting pregnant naturally and safely. You can download the ebook and read success stories of several women that have become pregnant using the method outlined in the ebook.

The second is a natural remedy for shrinking fibroids. This guide will teach every woman how to shrink uterine fibroids without drugs, surgery or harmful side effects. Give this special gift today because it is the most unique gift you will find this Christmas. Your woman will be able to learn how to get pregnant even if she has large fibroids, and tips on fibroids and pregnancy.

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