i-Think Me Blog Just another creative weblog of Jules

Life is the raw material from which all writers work. Personal experiences and relationships with people often stir the urge to create and inspire the stories we put on the page. Whether you’re working on a memoir or a work of fiction based on your life experiences, the first place you will probably look for material is inside your mind, within your own memories.

But memories tend to blur and fade, making writing about your past difficult to do without research. Research can reveal details and eliminate inaccuracies that you may not remember correctly. Plus research helps you develop your material from a one-sided account into a multidimensional story so it resonates with people besides yourself and your family.

If you’re working on a memoir, or a story based on your life, consider looking in the following four places for information that will not only help shape your story, but also give it depth and dimension beyond what you can remember.

1. Personal Journals

As a kid, I was so worried that someone might find and read my journals that I often destroyed them. The thought of someone discovering my innermost feelings horrified me—after all, sixth grade can be pretty traumatizing. But now that I’m a writer struggling to know myself and my stories, there’s nothing I regret more than throwing my precious material into the garbage.

When assembling a memoir or other work based on your life, personal journals are often the most valuable resource you can have. So if you don’t already, start keeping a journal. Although you may not think you have anything significant to write about each day, just jotting down the date and a few notes about what you did will prove to be helpful for determining dates and timelines of events when you start writing your memoir.

If you have journals from your past, or even from your family members, you should haul them out of your attic and read them cover to cover. For writers, journals are like goldmines. They can help you recall events and your personal feelings and thoughts from that time in your life. A journal can even help you determine what your story is really about by revealing themes, potential story lines, and other important details about you and your life that you may not remember at first.

2. Photo Albums

Family photos are another invaluable resource for memoirists, so dig yours out and start looking. Photos help writers on several levels. First, they can help you remember people and events from your past. They can also be used to put faces with names, which can be used in descriptions. Photos can reveal personalities and clues about people and places that you may have forgotten or overlooked at the time.

For example, you might notice that your uncle isn’t smiling in any pictures. What does that tell you about his character? Is that consistent with your memories of him? You may also be able to mine valuable details about the locations where your life story unfolded, such as your childhood home, your backyard, or your college dorm. All these details will be captured in the backgrounds of your old photos.

Organizing photos can be a big job in itself and every person’s photo collections are likely in different states of order, so do your best to work with what you have and what’s applicable to your project. You may also have to contact family members and friends to put names with some of the faces and identify locations that appear in your collection of old photos.

3. Newspaper Archives

When researching family histories and personal stories, many writers look for obituaries and wedding announcements in their hometown newspapers. But newspaper archives can offer a writer much more than obits. If you’re looking for information about a specific event, newspaper archives are often the best place to look for a local perspective. And just leafing through the old pages—or microfilm reels—can stir old memories and ideas about your personal history.

You can use newspaper archives to help create accurate pictures of your life story’s setting by looking at what and who were making news at that time in your life. Clippings can jog memories of people and events that may have played a role in the story you want to write. Newspapers can even reveal interesting stories that deepen and expand your personal history.

Your hometown’s library should have a complete archive of the local newspaper, most likely preserved on microfilm or microfiche. The newspaper, if it’s still in operation, may also have a comprehensive archive. Many newspapers offer their archives online, but the available dates may be limited and the search functions may not be as extensive as you need. You may have to contact the newspaper for information about using their archives. If you no longer live in your hometown, consider visiting for research purposes because some newspaper archives aren’t available any other way.

4. Interview Family and Friends

Even though you may be writing your own life history, getting your friends’ and family members’ perspectives on the events you write about will help you create a story with more depth and breadth. It will help ensure the events you recreate on the page are accurate beyond your own memories, which tend to shift and blur over time. And your story will be less one-sided with insight from other people who witnessed the events of your life.

Start by talking to your family and friends about the events you’re writing about, and see what they remember. Parents and grandparents, as long as they’re still around and able, will be able to provide invaluable insight on events of the past. Even old friends and neighbors, if you can track them down, are great resources when you’re writing a personal or family history. They may even be able to refer other helpful people and resources, such as diaries or family photos that you may not have known about.

When you approach friends and family members for information, think like a reporter and create a list of questions to give your interviews some structure. Talk about what they remember, and cover everything from conversations that took place to weather that day. But let your interviewees go off on tangents that seem interesting or important. And make sure you take good notes or record your interviews so you can transcribe them later.

Telling Your Stories

Everyone is interesting, and everyone has a story to tell. But telling an interesting personal story means looking beyond your memory of what happened in your life and finding deeper meaning and different perspectives through research.

As you write your memoir or novel based on your life, search beyond what you remember and look for material that will round out your narrative beyond what parts stuck with you. Your research may reveal story lines, themes, and details that you may have overlooked. Research takes work, but the results will pay off with a story that resonates with larger audiences and reflects the events of your life with greater accuracy.

If you are looking for nursing clothes that are easy to wear, stylish and do not look like maternity clothes or nursing clothes, then Majamas is a great brand to try. Majamas was one of the premier nursing brands with their Original Softest Top for nursing which is still a bestseller today. They now have many variations on this great original nursing top and many other styles as well for all seasons.

Nixilu is new line Majamas recently introduced exclusively for maternity. Nixilu products include maternity tops, dresses, skirts and pants. Nixilu is designed with Majamas signature fun patterns and vibrant colors and styles. All Nixilu products are made with plenty of stretch to take you through all 9 months of your pregnancy in style.

Majamas has also expanded their nursing line to include many styles of nursing dresses, tops, skirts and pants. Many of their nursing items, including their pajamas and nightgowns can all be worn during maternity, particularly during your first 2 trimesters, due to their stretchy material. Their Sleepy Dress, for nursing and early maternity, can be worn inside or outside the bedroom due to the thicker durable material and marvelous style.

Loungewear is a favorite for both expecting moms and new moms who need something comfortable to wear around the house. Majamas Softest Yoga Pant is very popular casual maternity pant that also makes for a great transition wear pant after the baby. This pant comes in black and charcoal colors and can be worn casually with just about anything. The material is so soft and comfortable that many women also wear this pant as a pajamas pant as well!

If you want a slim pant to wear under a tunic but you don’t want to wear maternity leggings, Majamas Super Soft Slim Pant in Black or Brown is a great alternative. This is a straight fitting pant that fits like a dance pant but does not taper at the ankle like a legging. This pant also makes for a great transition wear pant and loungewear pant for after the baby and goes with just about anything.

If you need a fitted layering nursing wear piece for colder weather to wear under a regular top or sweater, the Majamas Cozier Cami is a good choice. This cami can be worn year round, and long after you baby is weaned! The nursing access is very discreet and most importantly your belly stays covered when nursing. This top has been such a hit for Majamas that they also designed the Reverse Cami with a cross-over style in front as well as the Cozier Nursing Dress which can also be worn during and after you have your baby.

Majamas is known for their great moisture wicking and quick drying material in their nursing tops. They have expanded this idea to include a new nursing product, the Easy Bra which serves as a great sleepwear or loungewear nursing bra due to its comfort and ease of use. This bra is light, stretchy and comfortable without any hooks, clips or underwires. You simply pull it over your head to wear. Many women wear this bra as a sleep nursing bra.

Finally if you are looking for a great pair of nursing pajamas, you can’t go wrong with the MJ and the Pajannaman. These pajamas can also be worn in early pregnancy and for nursing. Both of these styles of Pajamas have a cross over pull down nursing access. The MJ has an under the belly ankle length pant and the Pajannaman is an under the belly cropped pant. Both styles come in a variety of colors including black, pewter and a pretty new raspberry color as well as patterns.

So whether you are looking for a sexy nursing dress or a comfortable pair of pajamas, Majamas has many styles to choose from that will fit you with comfort and ease.

Managed hosting is a hosting solution whereby the hosting provider takes care of all the running and administrative tasks of your dedicated server. It is the perfect solution for customers who are looking for a full turnkey service of managing a web server, encompassing hardware, software, space, network and all related requirements. It is commonly subscribed by companies who are looking for a dedicated support to provide 100% service uptime while maintaining a level of control on their servers. The infrastructure, technical support and responsiveness of support provided by the hosting provider are definitely greater than other hosting services.

Managed hosting breaks the traditional method of having to spend capital expenditure up front in purchasing and setting up hardware and software for a server, into an operating expenditure-based model of paying monthly fee for a fully managed service. From a company’s point of view, it is very similar to outsourcing the IT and technical aspects of their online business.

This hosting service is ideal for large online businesses that prefer to focus their effort on their core business rather than having to spend extra resources and time of managing their dedicated servers. Managed hosting greatly alleviates the issues security and performance normally associated to an unmanaged or shared hosting environment. While looking expensive on the outset, managed hosting is actually the cost-effective solution due to the fact that technical expertise, uptime, responsiveness and reliable infrastructure will be guaranteed at a fixed cost.

The service included in a managed hosting extends to products such as private networks, database administration and security products. There are also hosting providers that include managed SQL server hosting services. In terms of server administration, customers can expect services such as load balancing, managed storage, database hosting, connectivity, reporting and monitoring of their servers. Physical maintenance such as equipment servicing would also be covered by the hosting providers. For an additional fee, hosting providers also normally offer software-related services. Definitely this is a solution for webmasters and companies who require fully managed services while maintaining control over the server.

In summary, managed hosting is an environment tailor-made for online businesses to focus on their core functions while at the same time have their web servers run and maintained at peak efficiency by the experts. Furthermore, all these can be enjoyed without having to spend up-front expenditure related to a web server. With an uptime of virtually 100%, businesses can be assured that the servers would function seamlessly with optimum performance.

One of life’s many paradoxes is our constant desire to gain maximum control over our ‘operating environment’, despite the knowledge that so many aspects of daily life remain beyond our influence. Result being, we spend considerable time, money and effort attempting to get everything just right before taking ‘the plunge’.

In the military, as I recall, this was referred to as the ‘Ready - Aim - Fire’ principle, whereas many human endeavors are, in fact, better suited to the more appropriate method of ‘Ready - Fire - Aim’! And it seems to me that preparing for a fulltime life on the road is a fine example of this latter approach. After all, there are so many unique skills and practical techniques involved, it’s reasonable to expect that much of what we need to know cannot be learned sitting at home. As they say, one learns to ride a bike by riding a bike.

Accordingly, while there is a raft of personal preparations to get squared away, there is much about serious ‘bumming around’ that simply evolves as each day rolls by. By way of illustration, out there on the road you’ll find that few if any long-term, committed nomads have identical travelling outfits, nor do each follow precisely the same routines as when they first set out on the road. (One question I love to ask the old hands is: ‘If you were starting out again, is there anything you’d do differently?’)

So, if you dream of taking up the wandering life, though you may be unsure as to what you need or how you might travel, I suspect the Buddha would simply say: ‘Follow your heart. Our time in this life is limited.’

Nevertheless, it still behoves all good RV nomads – and intending nomads – to place considerable emphasis on getting their outfit right, and then equipping themselves for a long and trouble-free life on wheels. (Nothing much wrong with hedging your bets by building up an abundance of good karma!)

Of greater importance than travel hardware, though, is your nomadic ’software’: YOU, ie, your personal mix of attitude, personal preparations, and strategies for living on the road rather than simply travelling on the road. Because most often, it’s the mental / psychological pressures rather than equipment failures that result in wannabe nomads scurrying back to suburbia.

In short, although you do need to look carefully at equipment and hardware, right up front during your preparation and planning phase you and your team must get absolutely clear on what lies ahead. To put it bluntly, you are heading toward a substantial culture shock!

That’s right: shock. After all, if you’ve spent the past thirty or fifty years wallowing in the comforts and relative boredom of modern western society, taking a giant step ‘backward’ into a lifestyle positioned somewhere between ‘upper third world’ and ‘new-age fringe-dweller’, you have a mixed bag of challenges ahead. Heading onto the road fulltime, with some dewy-eyed notion that you’re embarking on a romantic adventure, is asking for trouble. Not necessarily trouble of the ‘money can fix it’ variety (though there are sure to be a few of those), more of a ‘what the hell are we doing here’ personal confrontation.

The first attribute, then, which serious nomads should add to their psychological toolbox is mental tenacity, sufficient to accept, meet and live with all the interpersonal / societal negatives that we drifters bump up against along the way. Get ready, for example, to have humanity’s contempt directed toward you. Not every day, perhaps, but from time to time you will sense it, subtle though it may be. If not fully committed to the lifestyle, if you don’t feel the Zen – some ‘higher purpose’ in the whole thing – those jibes may slowly erode and ultimately destroy your self-esteem. Next stop: Suburbia.

The best defence against pressures of this sort is to find some deeper reason for becoming a fulltime RV traveller. Perhaps a hobby, a ‘calling’, some sort of mobile money-earner, or even a personal Holy Grail – anything that provides you with the ‘justification’ for such a ‘bohemian lifestyle’, while at the same time adding purpose and depth to your days and your travels.

Examples might include fossicking, fruit picking, writing, wineries, historic sites, bird watching, visiting bush pubs, searching for inner truth, or here in Oz, that good old standby, ’seeing Australia’.

Having said that, however, there are countless fellow nomads out there who are happy – even proud – to thumb their noses at designer bias and opinion, and just ‘do it’. You have to decide for yourself which approach fits best, so that any necessary lifestyle preparations, by way of training and equipment, are included as you ramp up to ‘Departure Day’.

Of course, identifying and building a ‘purpose’ is only one small part of your learning curve. To move from a fully supported, fixed, urban existence, to a high level of mobile independence, requires a certain amount of training, learning and research. Fortunately, independence is a skill and as such it can be learned. Moreover, this wandering nomad thing has been going on since mankind first walked upright, so you’ll find an endless variety of sources from which to learn.

You could, for instance, study pioneering lifestyles and how the early settlers tackled their daily challenges; or perhaps delve into the nitty-gritty of the ’survivalist’ and ‘homesteading’ movements. Other fertile fields of gypsy techniques can be found amongst the lives of explorers, and Earth’s ‘real’ nomads, such as the Australian Aborigines, American Indians, hoboes and swaggies. Within their lives and their stories you’ll find many similarities – and many of the answers to the day-to-day trials of self-reliance.

Another early stage of your nomadic apprenticeship ought to be setting out on the road for increasing periods of time to field test a few ideas for yourself. Certainly, short holidays will seem nothing more than ‘junk food’ to the true nomad, but to become independent and resourceful to any useful degree you do need to get out and practice the skills and techniques involved. It’s an endless process of reading, thinking, trial and error, and practice – all of which develop both experience and confidence.

During this process you will also be ‘easing’ yourself into the life of a nomad. You might start by hiring a caravan or motorhome to ‘try it on for size’. Meanwhile, your first taste of overnight independence might be in a national park or state forest. And essential skills like camping, bush cooking, first aid, map reading, vehicle maintenance, and 12-volt power should start to play an ever-expanding role. Because the truth is, no matter which way you dress it up, moving from a house to a ‘box on wheels’ is likely to involve a significant step down from your current living standards so it’s sure to be stressful. Baby steps are the best way to go.

Mind you, any knowledge, skill or piece of kit that eventually enables you to replace or supplement all those amenities and utilities enjoyed at home (or those of a tourist park) serve to increase independence. It pays, therefore, to start by asking yourself how you might satisfy – or better, reduce – your lifelong reliance on daily necessities such as power, lighting, water, refrigeration, toilet, shower, etc.

By the way, at the risk of jumping about here I should point out that, among all the skills that should or could be learned, those that offer potential to become sources of income on the road are doubly valuable. If you become adept at, say, mechanical repairs, baking bread, article writing, cutting hair, sewing, or basic carpentry, you can, potentially, use these skills to top-up finances along the way. In other words, concentrate your time and effort on skills that either make or save money.

At this point, you may be forming the impression that being a nomad requires a certain level of mental toughness. Well, you’re darned right it does! But it’s more an attitudinal toughness than physical. And it will come over you quietly, as a by-product of all this learning.

Another example of attitudinal toughness lies in the comparative level of ‘roughing it’ that each of us is prepared to accept. If decisions regarding comfort and convenience aren’t discussed and mutually agreed with partner or group, troubled waters lie ahead! Get together with your team members and talk about the standard of lifestyle that suits your goals, your commitment, and your budget. Once settled, subsequent preparations – in terms of skills development and finances – can be directed along this chosen path. Keep in mind, however, we all tend to choose our own personal (and slightly different) path, so remain true to your own aspirations, values and needs (not to mention your limitations!), rather than being swayed by friends or experienced nomads.

On that point regarding other team members: Sure, there may be only one other, but whatever the number, they each have a different view of what ‘nomadism’ entails, secretly influenced by their own levels of ‘mental toughness’. Ignore them at your peril! There is always room for compromise.

Not only do travel companions harbour various (possibly unspoken) fears and uncertainty about minor annoyances such as dust, heat, flies, remote and lonely campsites, creepy-crawlies, and bush toilets, each also has his or her own ‘dependencies’ and comfort zones to dismantle, such as friends, relatives, television, social activities, family memorabilia, and an array of home luxuries. All the cards must be turned face-up on the table before detailed preparations and financial commitment get too far advanced.

Besides, no matter what the quality or degree of your preparation and planning, difficulties WILL occur; problems come along regardless of where we are or how we live. Even so, chances are better than good that – accidents aside – most ‘road’ problems are easier to fix than those of suburbia – depending, of course, on all of the above.

Yes, the Zen here is mental toughness: Being prepared to take measured risk, then being ready to cope with and rectify problems as they arise. Trust your judgment and abilities, particularly your natural ability to learn, to gain experience and to get better, day-by-day, in all that you do.

Interestingly enough, none of this stuff is age-dependant. Nor is it dollar-dependent. Provided we stick to reality and practicality, while steering clear of fantasy and dreaming, any of us can learn to become a ’smart’ nomad within the parameters of our limitations, plans and goals.

On the other hand, there are a number of hidden traps that you won’t find mentioned in the ‘positive’ press about RV lifestyles. For example, if you (or any member of your party) has a strong craving for any of our modern-day ills – like alcohol, drugs, sex, television soapies, Internet, telephones, gambling, etc. – now’s the time to start the ‘weaning off’ process. Otherwise your nomadic life may be voluntarily but prematurely cut short. Here again, gradual change is best, so allow plenty of time.

There is no doubt, a change as significant as fulltime bumming around requires loads of focused preparation. Indeed, across a planning horizon of less than two years I would think it unlikely that you could resolve, or even consider, all that you should. On the other hand, this long period of preparation and planning is part of the fun: the anticipation leading to excitement, the trips that lead to skill and confidence, and the experience levels that lead to safety. Allow sufficient quality time to enjoy and absorb this evolutionary process.

Remember: over-planning is far better than no planning, but be sure to incorporate sufficient flexibility to accommodate the new ideas, diversions, and changes that inevitably arise.

Articles are in high demand these days. The simple reason is that they have power to burst your website bandwidth with high quality website traffic.

If you want to tap into this high traffic pulling power of articles make sure you apply 3 simple steps laid down below with every article you write from now on.

Here’s a 3 block formula that will pump up your website traffic right off the charts through article marketing…

Step 1 - Optimize Your Articles.

Step 2 - Attention Grabbing Titles.

Step 3 - High Quality Articles.

The purpose of this article is to make sure that you get high traffic from your article marketing campaign.

Here are high traffic pulling article marketing steps in detail…

Step 1 - Optimize Your Articles.

You must learn how to optimize your articles.

You must load your articles with keywords in your niche so that search engines know the niche your articles are targeting.

Study your niche and research keywords that they are using to find information relating to your products and services.

Then optimize your articles with those keywords so that they rank well in the search engines.

Step 2 - Attention Grabbing Titles.

Title is one of the most important part of your article.

If your title fails to grab attention of your target market, no one will read your article.

If they fail to read your article know one will reach your resource box and thus zero traffic to your website.

Therefore focus on writing catchy headlines. I would suggest you to get headline templates on the internet.

There are many copywriting ebooks that will give you fill in the blank headline templates that are really catchy.

Then make sure you include your article benefits and solution to problems of your target niche and use the templates to write catchy headlines.

Step 3 - High Quality Articles.

The only reason people are reading articles it that they are in need of quality information.

If your article sucks and provides crap information, you will spoil your reputation and get zero traffic to your website.

Therefore it is very important to give your target market what they want, that is quality informative content in your niche.

If you provide quality content this will boost up your name and reputation in your niche.

What Are Your Problems In Life?

There are more than 6 billion human beings on Earth now.

Some are rich. Some are not.

Almost all have something in common: they all have problems.

Human problems vary according to the gender, age, ethnicity, race, country, city and state.

Some problems are existential.

Others are created by human beings.

SCOGOSTOLOGY Lifology provides realistic solutions to human problems.

What are your problems?

Do you have a financial problem? Family problem? Love problem?

Problem at your job? Problem with your friends?

Problems at your business?

Do you have problem with your in-laws?

Do you have a racial problem?

Personality problems?

Anger problem?

Medical problem?

Are you depressed?

Do you suffer from anxiety disorder?

Are you lonely?

Do you hate your parents?

Do you hate your spouse?

What exactly is a problem?

A problem can be defined in many ways.

When we encounter a situation, which is opposed to our ambition and desire, we can say we have a problem.

When we are in a situation, which causes us to experience pain, or loss we can say we have a problem.

Sometimes what is a problem to one person is not a problem to another person.

A problem can be relative.

When we have a problem we feel sad and frustrated and attempt to do anything we can to solve it.

Understanding Problems

What many people have in common is that when they have a problem, they are too sad and frustrated and anxious to solve it that they are unable to think and understand it.

A problem understood is half solved.

If you do not understand how a problem originated, it may be impossible to solve it.

By understanding the origin of a problem and its nature, we can gain insight into it and that insight will bear the solution.

Some problems may originate from the mistakes we have made or the mistake others close to us have made.

Some problems may originate from our past actions, either in this life or the past ones, which we had forgotten about.

Whatever we do in life, we create energy because life is energy. Even solid matter is energy.

So whatever we do. We create energy and that energy is polarized either positively or negatively.

Once created it continues to exist and move until it comes back to us.

Energy cannot be destroyed.

But it can be transformed from one form to another.

So, in reality what we call “problems” is energy that does not favor us.

This energy might have been created by us or by others but because it is opposed to our goals, ambitions, desires and wishes, it becomes an obstacle, and therefore a problem.

When we transform this energy into a form to favor us, we say we have solved the problem.

But in reality, no problem can be solved.

Problems can only be transformed from a negative and unfavorable energy to a positive and favorable energy.

For this reason, it is important that when we have a “problem” that we pause to study it to know its origin, its nature and gain insight about it.

It is this insight, which will automatically help us to transform the “problem” into a “solution” (that is from one form of energy to another form)

Good and bad, problem and solution, God and the devil are polar opposites because they are opposite aspects of one Reality.

Each problem contains a seed for its solution.

And each solution contains a seed for a problem.

If you can understand this wisdom, you have understood Existence or Reality or SCOGOSTOLOGY-SCOGOSTOLOGISM-GALAHUMANISM and what the ancient Taoist Spiritually Enlightened masters called the Yin and Yang of life or the Ida and Pingala in Yoga system, or Male and Female, Man and Woman, Anima and Animus ( in Carl Jung’s school of analytical psychology) , or God and Devil of organized religions or electron and proton of Physics or positive and negative poles of magnetism or positive and negative charges of electricity. They all mean the same thing.

Origin of Human Problems

In reality, positive and negative energy are one form of energy that are polar opposites of each other and compliment each other.

So, in reality, there is no problem in Existence.

What we call problems are “energy constructs” which do not favor us.

Therefore problems can be solutions and solutions can become problems.

When anything is taken to its extreme, it is transformed to its polar opposite.

Therefore when you go to the extreme of a problem, it will automatically be transformed into a solution.

And if you go to the extreme of any solution, you will create a problem.

Every problem has its solution as a seed embedded inside it.

In addition, every solution has a problem in form of a seed embedded into it.

A problem is a continuum of a solution and vice versa and there is no end in this continuum.

That is why no problem can be solved.

This is the irony of Existence.

Extremities are the points at which energy transform from one form to another.

In life, we have been improperly conditioned regarding our attitude to life.

We are born with a mind and a body.

We grow up in a family and then we are sent to a school to obtain education and to be socialized.

Throughout our education and socialization, we are not educated about REALITY or EXISTENCE and our relationship to it.

We do not know where we come from, why we are here, and where we are going and what will happen after we leave Earth.

We have a mind and senses but nobody explains to us what is mind or senses and how to use them.

We are like somebody who buys a car and try to drive it without learning how to drive and without having a map of the city.

We have a body, which is our car and a mind, which is like our driver and the senses that are like a computer.

In addition, we are inside the car and we do not know the driver or the car and we just sit inside and let the mind and the senses take us wherever they want.

This is one of the reasons why we have problems in life.

We do not know where we came from, why we are here and where we are going.

We are not in charge of our lives.

We are being driven about in life and have no choices and control of what we get or what we do or what happens to us.

This is why we suffer and are sad and frustrated.

Self-Motivation:

I have read that:

“Motivation changes perspective and moves people to act. It is never logical and is always personal.

Motivation is why people climb mountains. It is the flame of revolution.

Motivation conquers most obstacles and is the only way to overcome your fears.

Motivation is the spark of innovation. It can be contagious.

It is why people achieve the impossible. It is the oxygen of success.

Motivation can be the carrot or the stick – they both work in the short run.

With enough motivation and enough time you can do anything.

A motivated person wins in the long run.”

From now on, human beings must embrace SCOGOSTOLOGY/GALAHUMANISM or be destroyed through nuclear annihilation. Time is running out.

SCOGOSTOLOGY is the modern Messiah and the True Savior for humanity.

During the past 25 yrs, I have studied, learned a lot and have been inspired by the best professionals in the human potential movement and motivational speakers and the best prosperity authors and writers in Achievement/Success, Adventures/Overcoming Adversity, Athletics/Sports/Olympians, Astronauts, Business, Career/Entrepreneur, Change, Communications, Creativity/Innovation, Customer Service, Economics/Finance, Entertainment, Future Trends/Technology, Health/Fitness/Wellness, High Performance People, Humor, Inspiration/Motivation, Leadership/Management, Marketing/Sales, Negotiation, Organizational Skills, Parenting/Family/Spouses, Psychology/Relationships/Self-Esteem, Social Issues/Diversity/Human Rights, Stress/Time Management, Team Building/Workforce, Women Speakers/Athletics/Sports.

Below are some of them whose books, ideas and teachings that I highly recommend to help you achieve all your ambitions, secret dreams and desires in life and be happy- Osho Rajneesh (all of his over 500 books are extremely and highly recommended) ,(Priority: buy and read today: “The Magic of Thinking Big” by David Schwartz), (How to win and influence people” By Dale Carnegie), Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Tony Robbins, Oprah Winfrey, Danielle Kennedy, Harvey Mackay, Dan Poynter, Tom Peters, Les Brown, Dr. Stephen Covey, Brian Tracy, Wayne W. Dyer, Ph.D., Dr. Joyce Brothers, Neil Armstrong, Tom Hopkins, Mike Ditka, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Bernie Siegel, Al Franken, Tom DeLuca, Arianna Huffington, Catherine Ponder, Ben Sweetland, Zig Zigler, Norman Vincent Pearles, Napoleon Hill,Ernest Holmes, Charles F. Haanel, Robert Collier, Vernon Howard,Shakti Gawain,Deepak Chopra,Gary Zukav, Mary Baker Eddy, US Anderseen, Joseph Murphy,Cherie Carter-Scott, Ph.D., Warren Farrell, Ph.D., Nancy Synderman, M.D., Jeffrey Kottler, Ph.D., Nathaniel Branden, Ph.D., Judith Briles, Ph.D., Steve Allen, Jr. MD, Chin-Ning Chu, Warren Farrell, Ph.D., Hattie Hill, Brian Holloway, Bruce Jenner

May the insights above help you to understand and use the wise teachings of all the Spiritually Enlightened masters who have lived on earth until now to solve all your problems in life in order to transform your life into one that is filled with abundant success, wealth, good health and happiness- Scogostology, Scogostologism, Galahumanism, Osho Rajneesh, Krishnamurti, Madam Blavatsky, Theosophy, Hinduism, Buddhism, Tantra, Taoism, Zen, Gnosis, Gnosticism, Christianity, The Egyptian Gods, Thoth, Enki, The Babylonian Gods, The Sumerian Gods, Jehovah, Elohim, Jesus Christ, Krishna, Rama, The Aryans, Ikey G-Khan Galacticca, TMT Power Secrets Free ebooks, self development free books, spirituality, the Anunnaki ancient astronaut Gods, Cosmology, Galahumanology, Scogostologist, Scogostologician, Galacticca Humana, Galahuman, Galactic Human, occultism, Kahuna, Huna, Microphysics, Macrophysics, OTO, Aleister Crowley, Magic, The Golden Dawn, Rosicrucianism, The Bible, The Vedas, The Bagavadgita, Buddha, Tilopa, Naropa, Kabir, The sufi, Milarepa, Sosan, Saraha, Nanak, Kabbala, Qabalah, Judaism, Torah, Talmud, Egyptian pyramid secrets, Nostradamus prophecies.

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Throughout the centuries, people have longed to know which generation will witness the return of Jesus Christ. Interestingly, the answer to that question appeared in the form of a fig tree more than 2,000 years ago.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

Both the Gospels of Matthew and Mark tell the following story of Jesus and His encounter with that fig tree:

“In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs on it, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, ‘May you never bear fruit again!’ And immediately the fig tree withered up. The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, ‘How did the fig tree wither so quickly?’ Then Jesus told them, ‘I assure you, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May God lift you up and throw you into the sea,’ and it will happen. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:18-22 (NLT)

Although not spoken to His disciples in the form of a parable, this story about the fig tree and its lack of fruit strikes at the heart of the Gospel message.

The Meaning of the Curse

The disappointment of Jesus with the fig tree is an extremely significant event. At first glance, one might think Jesus is merely upset with an actual tree that failed to feed Him when He was hungry. But the fig tree and its fruit play a much larger role. They are symbols of the nation of Israel and its faith.

In Jeremiah 24, the people of Israel are compared to figs, both good and rotten. When Jesus cursed the fig tree, He symbolically placed a curse on Israel. The reason for the curse is straightforward. The fig tree (Israel) failed to bear fruit (faith) even though its leaves indicate it was in season (the appointed time for the coming of the Messiah). Due to its lack of fruit, the fig tree withered. Likewise, Israel’s lack of faith when presented with her Messiah led to her eventual destruction at the hands of the Romans in A.D. 70.

What is Good Fruit?

Jesus cursed the fig tree because of its refusal to bear fruit, and in so doing, He makes it clear that He expects His followers to bear fruit as well. And not just any kind of fruit, but specifically good fruit.

If Jesus expects us to bear good fruit, it’s essential to know what constitutes good fruit in the first place. What is good fruit? And how do we bear it? Paul defines “good fruit” in his letters to the Galatians and the Philippians:

“But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)

This is the fruit we should produce: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Why? Because ultimately, the good fruit we bear comes from faith in Jesus Christ:

“May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation – those good things that are produced in your life by Jesus Christ – for this will bring much glory and praise to God.” Philippians 1:11 (NLT)

Good fruit should never be confused with the world’s definition of good works. Good fruit is born in the heart and blossoms outward into the world. Its only motive is Jesus Christ. But good works as defined by the world can have many motives, sometimes even evil motives. Yet, no matter how justified we feel in our own eyes, God will always measure our inner motives, never our outward deeds. Placing our trust and faith in Jesus Christ will inevitably produce the good fruits Paul mentioned in his letter to the Galatians. And when we exhibit these good fruits, the world will witness through our lives the glory that is Jesus Christ.

Good Fruit vs. Bad Fruit

To make sure we’re producing good fruit and not bad fruit, we need to know how to tell the difference. Before He placed the curse on the fig tree, Jesus warned His disciples to beware of false prophets and teachers. In fact, He used fruit as a metaphor for identifying the righteous from the evil, explaining that if a tree doesn’t bear fruit, it will be chopped down and thrown into the fire:

“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really wolves that will tear you apart. You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You don’t pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles. A healthy tree produces good fruit, and an unhealthy tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced.” Matthew 7:15-20 (NLT)

A good tree will bear good fruit, and a bad tree will produce rotten fruit. Therefore, you can always identify the righteous and the evil based on what they produce.

God’s great commandment is to believe in the one He has sent. Those who do will bear good fruit as a natural result. This is because Jesus is the branch on which all good fruit grows, and His righteous branch can’t help but bear good fruit. Long ago, the prophet Isaiah identified the Messiah as the branch of Jesse:

“Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot – yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.” Isaiah 11:1 (NLT)

If the generation that rejected Jesus had instead made Him the basis of their faith, the very root of their spiritual sustenance, then they would have born good fruit that is pleasing to the Lord.

So what do good fruit, bad fruit, and a barren fig tree have to do with the timing of the Second Coming of Christ? To find out, we must first understand why the fig tree had to wither.

The Withered Fig Tree

Why did the fig tree have to wither in the first place? Why did the generation which witnessed the birth of Christ lack faith in God’s promise of the coming Messiah? They committed to memory the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, and they knew the exact year in which the Messiah would appear in Jerusalem. Yet, because they lacked faith, they failed to recognize the time of His Coming. As a result, an entire generation failed to produce fruit for the Messiah. But why?

Although the Jews didn’t plan to reject the Messiah, God did have a plan. His plan was to spread the salvation of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. Israel’s lack of faith was integral to this process, providing the catalyst for God to offer this salvation to the Gentiles as well. As a result, the salvation God had previously reserved for the Jews alone was offered to the entire world:

“For since the Jews’ rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, how much more wonderful their acceptance will be. It will be life for those who were dead! And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their children will also be holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too. But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree, some of the Jews, have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, were grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in God’s rich nourishment of his special olive tree. But you must be careful not to brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. Remember, you are just a branch, not the root. ‘Well,’ you may say, ‘those branches were broken off to make room for me.’ Yes, but remember – those branches, the Jews, were broken off because they didn’t believe God, and you are there because you do believe. Don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the branches he put there in the first place, he won’t spare you either. Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe to those who disobeyed, but kind to you as you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. And if the Jews turn from their unbelief, God will graft them back into the tree again. He has the power to do it. For if God was willing to take you who were, by nature, branches from a wild olive tree and graft you into his own good tree – a very unusual thing to do – he will be far more eager to graft the Jews back into the tree where they belong.” Romans 11:15-24 (NLT)

When Israel rejected Jesus Christ, she opened the door to salvation for the Gentiles. But God never forgot His promise to Israel, and He promises the day will come when Israel will fully embrace the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

A Second Chance for Israel

Just as Paul stated in his letter to the Romans, the Lord hasn’t forgotten Israel. She will have one more chance to bear fruit for her Messiah, and this opportunity is the key to understanding the hour of Christ’s return. Jesus illustrates this when He tells a parable about a planted fig tree:

“Then Jesus used this illustration: ‘A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s taking up space we can use for something else.’ The gardener answered, ‘Give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine. If not, you can cut it down.’” Luke 13:6-9 (NLT)

For three years, Jesus spread His message throughout Israel, performing miracles, exhibiting unprecedented knowledge of the Scriptures, and offering ample evidence of His claim to be the long awaited Messiah. Yet despite three years of testimony, Israel refused to believe in the one who was sent.

According to this parable, Israel will get one more year with “special attention and plenty of fertilizer.” If she still fails to bear fruit, she will be cut down (destroyed).

As Jesus reveals, Israel will be given a final chance to exhibit faith in Him in the last days, just prior to His Glorious Appearing. To do so, Israel must first become a nation once again, a miraculous feat which took place in May 1948. The reestablishment of Israel as a nation is the foremost sign to our generation that Christ’s return is imminent. And that’s why the fig tree is the key to understanding which generation will witness the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Through the nation of Israel, God has given the world a sign that is impossible to ignore. Nevertheless, most of the world has chosen to ignore it.

The Sign of Our Generation

In the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24), Jesus revealed to His disciples that the primary sign of the end of the age and His soon return would be the restoration of Israel as a nation. However, He didn’t plainly say so. Instead, He once again used the fig tree as a metaphor for the nation of Israel:

“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its buds become tender and its leaves begin to sprout, you know without being told that summer is near. Just so, when you see the events I’ve described beginning to happen, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. I assure you, this generation will not pass from the scene before all these things take place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever.” Matthew 24:32-35 (NLT)

The fig tree is Israel. It’s been six decades since Israel was once again declared a nation against all worldly odds. In Matthew 24, Jesus promises that the generation which witnesses the reestablishment of Israel will not die off until the end of the age comes to pass. Given the Bible’s impeccable track record, we have every reason to expect His imminent return. Jesus will return soon, within our generation, and a wise person will prepare accordingly.

Just as the time of His first coming was clearly revealed to the previous generation, the season of His Return has been clearly revealed to ours. The previous generation was unprepared for His arrival. Ours should be watching with a patient and enduring faith, fully confident in the glory we are about to witness. Christ is coming. The fig tree is in bloom, and ours is the generation.

How long does it take for an orchid plant to rebloom? The answer is: it depends. I’m not trying to avoid your question, just being truthful. The truth of the matter of when an orchid will bloom again depends upon what kind of orchid it is. Most orchids will produce blooms once a year but there are some which are capable of producing blooms several time a year if the growing conditions are just right, if not quite right they should still bloom once a year. Since your orchid was in bloom last Christmas, my guess is that it should do so at that time again.

Since it is already October, if it were to bloom at Christmas time this year, it should be showing evidence of a new flower stem growing. But, depending upon what kind of orchid you have, it can take from one month to six months for a new flower stem to be in full bloom once it begins to grow.

On most orchids, once the flowers have all died and fallen off, you may remove the stem by cutting it off down near the base of the flower stem. Prior to cutting off the stem, take a look at the top or tip of the stem to see if it has begun to dry, if it does start to dry that means the stem is dying and may be removed. If there are any bulbs on the orchid, you should leave them alone as they are a store of moisture and nutrients for the orchid.

Most dendrobiums are not that hard to grow but getting them to bloom reliably is the hard part. Moving them to Florida will make it easier. Why? The climate and sunshine it will receive all year round rather than the cold darkness in Indiana. Dendrobiums prefer warm bright weather, they will sulk and even die under cold dark conditions.

From your description of them, I take it that they are of the evergreen family of dendrobiums. If they were from the deciduous family you would have mentioned that some of the growths had lost all their leaves. The primary difference between the two families is that evergreens do not like dry conditions while deciduous ones need a pronounced dry period.

Why your evergreen dendrobiums have not rebloomed for you is in what you said “Since it is so cold and dark here in Indiana”. Whether in Indiana or Florida, place them in a location with bright indirect sunlight, temperatures between 60 to 85%F, humidity above 50%, light air movement around them. A good way to tell if it is getting enough light is to look at the leaves, they will be a medium green color when it is just right.

A word of caution if you take them to Florida, move them into any new light conditions slowly over several weeks, as too sudden an exposure to brighter light may cause sunburn of the leaves. If possible, try exposing them to temperatures in the mid 50%F’s for a month in the fall, that may help trigger them into the bloom cycle.

If, by chance, the leaves fall off, leave the growths on the dendrobium as they are a storage mechanism for moisture and nutrients. Only remove the growths that appear to be dying. As for those new growths, they may appear to stop growing due to the cold dark weather but should perk back up once things warm up and they receive more light.

You do not have to wait for a bloom to identify the type of orchid that it is if it is one of the more commonly available orchids. The most common is “phalaenopsis” that has large roundish to oblong leaves at the base of the plant and the flower spike grows from the apex of the leaves. Other common types are “the dendrobium, the lady slippers, and the Cattleyas”. Each has a distinctive vegetative structure. If there was no tag with the plant, then I’m afraid there is no way to know the name of the hybrid since so many different hybrids have similar flower types and colors.

There are three principal types of containers for orchids. Phalaenopsis and lady slipper orchids are usually grown in a plastic pot, the heavier or more top heavy plants such as dendrobiums or cattleyas are better maintained in clay pots. Baskets are reserved for vandaceous orchids and require a very humid environment because the mix dries out very quickly. I would use a commercially prepared orchid mix that you can buy in bags at garden centers and mass marketers. I would soak this mix overnight before using it and drain it well before potting up your orchid plant in it.

Orchids that have maroon leaves generally get that way from having grown in bright sunlight. That suggests to you that either it was neglected or it likes bright light. It is not uncommon for orchids to outgrow their pots. Many feel this is the time divide and repot the plant, but that is personal preference. Many orchids do just fine hanging way out of the pot.

Since I don’t know what type of orchid you have, I can only hazard a guess that they are roots emerging from the pot drainage holes. Some orchids send out bloom spikes from the base of the plant but those are potted in baskets not clay pots.

For now, if the plant looks healthy,I would leave it as is until you get a further development such as flowering, plant die back, new growth starting,etc. Orchids put on new growth once a year and usually, but not always, in the spring. Just keep an eye on it and it should be fine. Then you will be able to know what type of orchid it is by the bloom. If not just go back to where you got the orchid and see if they know what type of orchid it is.

A lot of people throw parties today, but many of them run out of games to play and things to do. In addition, too many people today seem to think that a party involves alcohol and nothing else. There is certainly nothing wrong with responsible adults having a drink or two at a party, but there are many more things to do that can be a lot of fun. For parties that are held outdoors in nice weather, there is the cornhole game. Some people also call this game the beanbag toss or a similar name, but the game is basically the same, with only a few small variations. The cornhole game is very popular at parties in some areas of the country, but there are other places where it is almost unheard of.

For those who do not know what cornhole is or how to play it, the game is very simple and can be played by almost anyone of any age or skill level. In order to play, a cornhole set can be purchased, or one can be made. Most people, though, choose to buy one because making one can be time consuming and difficult if the right tools are not used. The board used for the cornhole game is usually made of wood, although they can be purchased in plastic as well. It has a hole in it, through which small bags are tossed from a specific distance. Originally, the bags were filled with corn, hence the name cornhole. Now, however, the bags are generally filled with small beans or even hard plastic pellets. As long as the bags are the proper size and weight, the filling material is not that important.

The bags are tossed, with the object being to get them through the hole in the board to earn points. Bags that do not go through the hole but that remain on the board without falling off also earn points, but not as many. So many people like this game because it is so easy to play. Young or old, most people can play the game and enjoy it. It does not take excessive skill, the rules are not difficult, and the game is not dangerous. The bags that are tossed in the cornhole game are very soft, and the boards do not usually have sharp edges. This helps make the game safe for even very young children to play. Because the cornhole game is so family-oriented, more people are using it as a party game.

The game should be played outside, so nice weather is needed. However, the cornhole game is perfect for barbecues, backyard parties, birthdays, tailgating, and any other get-together where there is a nice day and ample space to play the game. One of the biggest advantages of the cornhole game over other backyard games is that the cornhole board is small enough to be easily stored, and it will fit in the back of a truck or in the trunks of many larger cars. There is also a smaller version of the board which will fit in virtually any car trunk, making the game very versatile.