We all get stuck in patterns; many of us are reliving something over and over that has been with us since childhood. Some patterns can feel as if we are in some kind of nightmarish prison and unable to leave. We'll watch ourselves getting up at 3AM and eating leftover cake or cookies night after night (wait - that's not JUST me, right?), ending up in the same relationships over and over - hoping each time will be different, ending up in the same kinds of jobs or money situations over and over, and not having a clue on how to break the pattern and step into a new (and better) one.

I have repeatedly fallen back into old patterns throughout my life. This is why I feel perfectly qualified to bring this to your attention today, as I am a bonified expert in falling down and getting back up again. I was inspired to write about this now because I've just recently gotten up again, and I'm gaining a lot of awareness on this that I wanted to share with you.

Of course I can only speak from my experience here, but I've found there are 5 key elements to breaking old habits and patterns that are no longer serving you.

1. Commitment

First and foremost, you have to be committed. If you go into any change half-heartedly, the chances of success are slim. When you want to do something differently in your life, and you've beat your head up against the wall for the last time and DECIDE right then that you are ready to commit and end the struggle - this is the first and most essential ingredient. When you know that you'll do what it takes, you have the fuel you need to begin your journey.

2. Awareness

Once you're committed, you have to turn up that awareness a notch or two. Meaning, that when you are breaking a pattern, no matter how committed you are at some point you will feel pulled back into your old pattern. This is the most important time to "observe" what you're doing. Watch yourself - notice what's happening. If you're trying to say, exercise daily - you'll get super committed and then a few days in your brain will try to give you all kinds of reasons why you can't exercise today. Instead of buying into that - notice what sets you off. Notice when it feels difficult - but don't let it take you out of the game.


3. Contemplation

This is what you do with that awareness. Remember, you must contemplate what you want to create, not what you want to avoid. When you are contemplating, you can ask yourself questions like "how is this new habit serving me?" "How can I make this easy?" And "How do I feel when I've done this, and what impact is this having on my life?" It's really hard to lose your momentum completely when you're asking yourself questions like this.

4. Support

Let's face it - it can be much easier making changes with a strong support system. A support system consists of two main categories. A personal support system is first. This is your friends, the loved ones in your life. Keep in mind that just because someone is a friend or family member doesn't mean they're a part of your support system.

These are the people that support who you really are and what you're up to. Many of us feel lucky when we find one person who does this. If you take having a support system seriously, you may need to get out and make some new friends. When you are thinking about your support system, ask yourself these questions:

1. Can I fully share my visions and dreams with this person and have them be supportive, and tell me I can do it?

2. When I'm having a bad day can I trust this person to hold space for that and offer what I ask for? (asking is important - never assume someone knows what you need. If you do ask, can this person be there in this way?)

3. Is this person a person who is primarily positive or primarily negative?

In the spirit of "you attract that which you are", are these things true for you if someone were to ask them of you? This is your first step, to be a great support system for others.

When you're doing a lot of change, you're going to have your ups and downs. When you have someone that even says "hey, I believe in you" - that can help lift you up when you really need it.

The other kind of support is education, classes, coaches, workshops, and programs. It's things like this that keep your expanding, growing, and having some kind of professional guidance to help you stretch yourself. I'm always reading books, taking courses, hiring people to work with me and because of that I'm not only always receiving new information, but brilliant techniques to help me apply it into my life. In fact, most successful people are nearly always working with a coach of some kind.

Most of the time we're working with the same stuff from yesterday, and it's those tools, beliefs, and methods that are producing your current result. Remember the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

5. Structure

Make a plan, write it down and be SPECIFIC. This will help you so much, you don't have to waste time figuring out what to do and trying to remember. When we're trying to form new habits and let go of old ones, being very clear on what to do is imperative. The best way to be very clear is to write down what you want to do, and put it in a place you can see it!

You can do this. You have all the power inside of you at any moment. Today is a new day, you have a new chance. You know more today, you're wiser and have more experience. Most of all, you deserve nothing but the best!

About the Author

Anastasia Netri is a work and life balance & business coach for solo entrepreneurs, holistic practitioners, and coaches. She'll help you get your business rockin' in a record amount of time! She is also an inspirational speaker, writer, and all around fun gal. She is certified through Coaching Academy of North America, and has also received training from the Coaches Training Institute in San Rafael, CA. She has also studied with countless teachers and mentors, and devoured hundreds of books on business and personal development.

 

The Lucy behind the Beatles' Mega hit, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” died in London yesterday at the age of 46 from Lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to malfunction, and makes the body attack its own tissues.  Lucy Vodden was the inspiration behind the classic song when John Lennon’s then four year old son Julian came home from school one day with a drawing of a classmate he called “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.” The song was largely regarded as a thinly veiled reference to LSD, as it talked about a girl with “kaleidoscope eyes.” Given all the free flowing drugs back in the psychedelic sixties such a characterization wasn’t exactly a shocker. I heard the story about how the song got its name, but never knew it to be true. Maybe now Vodden is really in the sky with diamonds. Goodbye Lucy!

Find more blogs at http://clownsonleftjokersonright.com

Today more and more singles find their love mates at free online dating websites that have become very popular due to easy access and a great number of services available. We are well aware of hackers and do our best to protect ourselves from online fraudsters strongly assaulting the worldwide web. Free dating websites are also targeted by online scammers. The thing is that members of dating websites are usually unscreened. So, people can be easily scammed, since no checks are carried out on users' personal information. Scam artists download photos of good-looking boys or girls to make online mates get infatuated with them. Scam artists are inventive when they want to make others trust them implicitly. One can get involved in telephone, travel, prostitute or Nigerian scams. They are different from each other in peculiarities but have the same goal - to get financial benefit from gullible users of dating websites. You fall prey to phone scams, when the so-called online dating mates (scam artists) ask you to give them a telephone call. From that time on your telephone number is free to make use of for scammers. Unfortunately, you will understand it as soon as you receive your monthly telephone bills. Nigerian scams are a still more dangerous trap that you can get into. US companies are unable of protecting citizens from this type of scams. Here is how the scam usually works: a scam artist meets a love mate online pretending to be an American and creates a relationship. When on a business trip, the scammer faces financial difficulties and asks the online loved one to send some money. Anyway, there are DOs and DONTs following which you will be safe from online scammers. Don't fall in love with a lovely screen name or a sweet face in the photo. Keep in mind appearances can be deceptive. Don't telephone anybody directly. Do read one's profile thoroughly. Scammers have a lot to tuck away, thus their personal information is incomplete or imprecise. Do ask your on-line loved one to telephone you (which is preferable) at a prepaid telephone number with a limitation on services for 900 users. Do make use of a web camera instead of a phone to keep in touch free of charge. Do trust your inner voice. If you get a sinking feeling that your loved one's profile is queer, break up with him or her. Take into account the above mentioned and fluke in meeting your love mate!

About the Author

Free online dating sites are great places where a great number of singles can meet their love mates. However, they are targeted by on-line scam artists aiming to capitalize on users' credulity. Follow online dating advice on successful dating without scammers.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/profile/m-tomm-cornish22-15437.html

Last week the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill by a vote of 253-171 cutting major banks and the nation’s leading pimp, Sallie Mae out of the $92 billion student loan business. If the bill becomes law a new lending program will be shifted to the U.S. Education Department that could potentially protect students from burdensome debt, and end the subsidies paid to lenders. The bill has been strongly supported by President Obama, and is headed to the Senate for review and no doubt, changes. Original legislation (FFELP) Federal Family Education Loan Program was set up way back in the 1970s, and essentially made banks and other lenders the middlemen in this lucrative market. Since that time there’s been an absolute feeding frenzy at the expense of families and students across the country especially since education costs have spiraled out of control. Democrats have wanted to put an end to the subsidized lending, or say they claim, while Republicans have fought to keep the gravy train steaming full speed ahead with their typical government debt and freedom of choice arguments. Personally, I couldn’t care less about the debt that would be added to the federal deficit, or the fact the government again would be interfering in private issues. The reality is kids are getting hammered with massive education debt even before they graduate, and that’s obscene. It’s even more obscene so many of the power elites have gotten cozy with the status quo, and have chosen to ignore this mess. Is it their parents’ fault they didn’t prepare for their kids’ education? It’s a valid point. But why should banks, which have caused some of our major financial train wrecks, be allowed to fleece people for an education loan? We all know these guys aren’t in the business to charge the cheapest rates. 

The bill would provide about $8 billion to help states with early education programs, $4 billion to modernize public schools, $10 billion to help community colleges to renovate their campuses, and improves business and job-training programs, all things that are definitely needed. Naturally the banks are in full revolt, and Obama is not a happy camper. According to Reuters the president says, “Ending this unwarranted subsidy for the big banks is a no-brainer for folks everywhere. Everywhere except Washington, that is. In fact, we’re already seeing the special interest rallying to save this giveaway.”

 So again a rational attempt to put an end to the lavish greed, and apply some common sense on how to more efficiently use taxpayers’ money is under seize.  Most people still blindly believe their elected officials are in complete control, and government is functioning as intended when in fact it is the paid  lobbyists pulling all the strings. Oh, and in case you didn’t know, private student loans are guaranteed by the government, so banks can provide them without taking on any risk. Therefore to say they are entitled to a higher rate of return is nonsense.

 http://clownsonleftjokersonright.com

I know this story has sprouted wings in Media land, and it’s all over the place, but I had to put my two cents in. The body of Yale graduate student Annie Le, a missing 24 year old from Placerville, California was found this past Monday at the university’s medical school complex where she was seen entering, but never leaving. Her body was discovered stuffed behind a wall in the basement of the building meant to conceal pipes and wiring. Color me surprised. No not really. It was just a matter of time, because stories like these never have happy endings, and this one just didn’t have the feel of a runaway bride. This is the state of America, senseless violence. And it’s an especially sad story because Le was to marry the day her body was discovered. The piece of work arrested for her death is a laboratory technician named Raymond Clark, another 24 year old who apparently had contact with Le during the course of his duties, which included cleaning cages where experimental rodents were kept. There is little history about the suspect, Clark from both his friends and foes who are familiar with the alleged murderer. They describe him as competitive in baseball, respectful of authority, a member of an Asian Awareness Club, very quiet, but controlling of his fiancé. What’s up with these quiet people? I’m quiet too, but I don’t kill, or go postal on people. ABC report additional sources that claim Clark was also “very officious and very demanding.” There were e-mails he sent to Le regarding the cleanliness of the lab, and his complaints that she had left the animal cages dirty. Where did guy think he was working at, the PETA headquarters? I love animals as much as anybody, donate to causes to save animals, and hate their mistreatment. But this is a lab, and from what I’ve read had no reports of violations. In addition enzyme research was being conducted there that could have implications in the treatment of cancer, diabetes, and muscular dystrophy.

The story is strangely similar to another murder that happened years ago back in 1998. Suzanne Jovin, a Yale senior majoring in political science and international studies was brutally murdered off campus. She was stabbed 17 times, and had been spotted on campus just 20 minutes earlier. Within a week Jovin’s senior thesis advisor and the instructor of her political science seminar, James Van de Velde was named a suspect in her murder, but physical evidence linking him to the crime was never publicly presented, and Van de Velde was never charged. Jovin’s death to this day remains a mystery.

Why is it we read so many stories like these nowadays? Has life become so cheap we value it less then a pair of gym sneakers, or a bunch of mice cages? Or are we just a society of enraged animals? If I were to put my amateur profiler cap on my guess would be the Le case is not about the animals used by the researchers at all. Clark probably had an inferiority complex because Le was a PhD candidate, while he was a lowly lab janitor cleaning up after her. He regarded the lab as his territory, and she wouldn’t do what he told her to do so he killed her. He’s innocence until proven guilty, right? We’ll see. Since the building was under considerable video surveillance I say a good starting point would be pay attention to the videos showing him leaving the building and using his access card. According to police they were able to narrow it down to who had access to the building and who was in what room and where.

#1: Practice Emasculation - It is very simple to emasculate a guy. Simple things like giving him the evil eye, talking back, knowing better, always being right, holding grudges and blaming him for everything should get rid of him pretty easily. If ever you should be so cursed to have a guy enter your life the fastest way to get rid of him is to take over leadership and put on the pants in the relationship. Make sure you tell him that you're an independent woman and you certainly don't need a guy to make life easier for you. In fact, tell him that you can do everything a guy can do and then some. That ought to emasculate him fairly quickly and he should leave your life or cheat on you in no time. Then of course you are proven right again and you can say "I knew it was too good to be true." #2: Practice your Acting - Make sure you continue reading lots of books that tell you how defective you are and how you should act differently in order to catch a man. After all, the real you might actually not only frighten you, but it would certainly scare the crap out of any potential man wanting to be with you. And of course, you can't have that, so it's imperative that you continue being someone other than you. This can be easily achieved by getting fake boobs, getting a face lift or two, lipo suction, the butt lift and cheek implants. The way you look is after all unappealing to any man, as you know. #3: Continue the Drama - The best way to keep a man away and assure that you stay single is to hold on really tight to drama in your life. Any kind of drama: drama from your past, your girlfriends' drama, drama on TV or the Internet - any drama will do as long as you blow everything out of proportion and make a big deal out of everything. If ever a man has done something he shouldn't have, make sure you bring it up as often as possible, rub it in his nose and let him know over and over again that he's a screw up. #4: Indulge in Negative Self Talk - By no means listen to Oprah, watch "The Secret" and do not listen to Abraham Hicks or any other positive thinking guru - they're all about manifesting the good life, about letting go and taking personal responsibility. Oh my, that is not what you want at all, so make sure you continue telling yourself how ugly you are, what a failure you are and how there are no good guys left and how you'll end up alone. Remember, you know best and you're right always. #5: Be the Victim - Heaven forbid you would practice forgiveness after everything your parents and past lovers did to you! After all this hurt and pain forgiving them would mean that what they did wasn't all that bad when in reality they're the ones responsible for your miserable life. Pointing the finger and blame shifting is much easier than taking personal responsibility and doing some internal work. #6: Demand, Demand, Demand - It's imperative that you know that you are a goddess if ever you do find yourself in a temporary relationship. Your first job is to establish that you are a queen and you demand to be treated in such a way. Make your demands clear that it's his job to take care of you and be a provider in every way and that you should not have to do anything in the relationship other than spend his money. Heaven forbid he asks you to go to counseling or asks you to apologize for something you said or did. It's all his problem like it was everyone else's right? So make sure you never apologize (because you're never wrong); just focus on demanding his blood and sweat and by all means never show appreciation or gratitude for anything he does (he owes you, remember?). #7: Practice Lack of Self Care - The worst thing you could do for yourself is practice self care. By all means stay away from personal self growth exercises. Stay away from the gym. Going to a gym and exercising might actually give you self confidence and the strength to feel good about yourself. And by all means do not display your true feminine essence, which is the power from within. The power you want to practice is the one that competes with men in the workplace and at home of course. So make sure you chop off your hair, it's easier to take care of short hair anyway. Do not wear feminine smelling lotions or sparkles on your skin that show how much you might love your body. Since you're really hating yourself it's important that you show the world how unhappy you are, and the best way is to probably eat a lot of junk food and sweets. And by all means don't ever do anything alone. After all, going on a walk or a hike or going to the movies alone is for losers. And my last advice, never smile at any man, ever. He might think you're hitting on him! Visit http://blueprint-for-love.blogspot.com for more great advice.

About the Author

Chaszey Sandhriel is an author, speaker and workshop leader. She is the inventor of Blueprint for Love™, a transformational process that helps singles and couples manifest true love in their life. Visit www.blueprint-for-love.com and her blog at http://blueprint-for-love.blogspot.com for more information.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/

It's difficult not to eat stuffed peppers, pot pies, burgers and quesadillas without thinking you're going to have to compensate for it with an hour on the treadmill and 50 laps in the pool. But all those things can actually be good for you. Honest. Claire Criscuolo is the founder and proprietor of legendary health food emporium Claire's Corner Copia, in New Haven, Connecticut (www.clairescornercopia.com), and as she nears the restaurant's 35th Anniversary in September, she wants to deliver a message to the rest of the world: Healthy doesn't have to hurt. "For more than three decades, we've been working on creating healthy foods that don't taste like healthy foods," Criscuolo said. "When most people think of health foods, they think of bland, gritty or virtually tasteless substitutes for the fatty, unhealthy foods they'd prefer to eat. Instead, we don't try to imitate anything - all our recipes and dishes are created from scratch, with originality and creativity. We work hard to buy sustainable and organic ingredients because we think we should take as much care in preparing our menu items as people should be taking in their health and diets. For instance, we eliminated trans fats from our menus in 2001, replacing shortenings in our pie crusts with organic and trans fat free and our pie crusts remain tender yet flaky, the way most people like them." Criscuolo's gourmet vegetarian restaurant, a hub of the healthy eating population worldwide, opened in 1975, and probably owes its being a few years ahead of its time to being close to Yale University's progressive campus. The restaurant was handicapped accessible long before the law mandated it, eliminated trans fats from its menu before most people knew what they were, before accessibility laws were enacted, was declared kosher nearly a decade ago and has had a Braille version of its menu since the 1980s. "Popular foods that are loaded with delicious and healthy vegetables include comfort foods, like stuffed peppers, vegetable pot pies, and our Portobello stacks with braised organic baby spinach, sun-dried tomato pesto, and feta cheese," Criscuolo said. "Our Quesadilla Zio Javier has organic black beans, tomatoes, chili peppers, onions, and salsa verde with organic avocado, and we make our own veggie burgers. We make a Greek Veggie Burger with organic oats and brown rice, carrots, walnuts, onions, mushrooms, and we top it feta, cucumber, and yogurt. It's all healthy, but it all tastes like the richest gourmet fare." With entrees like that, there's room for a little indulgence with Claire's world famous Lithuanian Coffee Cake, a signature staple of Claire's menu. "Our Lithuanian Coffee Cake started out with the name, Sally Tessler's Mother's Coffee Cake, because the base recipe started out as our beloved employees Mom's family recipe," Criscuolo said. "I added coffee and vanilla to the batter and added coffee grounds and brown sugar and walnuts to the filling. After a short while, we realized the name was a bit lengthy and I wanted to name it after the place Sally's Mom's family came from; Sally told me that her Mom's family came from what was Lithuania, and at the time that was part of the Soviet bloc. Well, I suggested we help the ‘revolution' with the cake and declare it Lithuanian Coffee Cake. I wish democracy came that easily, but Sally loved the idea and years later when Lithuania became an independent country once again, she called to ask ‘So what do you think, did the Lithuanian Coffee Cake have anything to do with the freedom?'"

About the Author

Claire Criscuolo graduated from East Haven High School in Connecticut (where years later, she was given the Distinguished Graduate Award) and went to the University of Bridgeport School of Nursing where she graduated and earned her RN. Happily married since 1975 to her husband and co-founder of Claire's Corner Copia, Frank Criscuolo, she has written three cookbooks of healthy recipes.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/

Oh dear. It appears the divorce has started. The Washington Post/ABC News poll shows support for Obama is waning, and some of his dropping numbers are being attributed to the progressive love affair, which is starting to erode. Displeased with his abysmal efforts on healthcare reform, the bailout to Wall Street, the budget deficit and his dismal efforts to end the two wars in the Middle East it appears these issues are turning the once highly vaulted president into just another politician jock promoted and paid for by the ‘establishment.’ I can’t help but wonder what planet the democrats were living on last year, and how was it the party of so-called intellectuals became so starry-eyed and gullible to all the hype about hope and change. To be a realist is to accept the fact Obama couldn’t have fixed all damaged inflicted by the Republican mother ship of extremists that squandered our wealth and incrementally destroyed our reputation during their reign no matter what promises he spewed out. The Health reform has been a hot potato debate for decades without any substantive changes, and fixing the economy had to be a first priority regardless of who got bailed out by taxpayers. Honestly, can we leave the Middle East without a strategy that doesn’t throw both Iraq and Afghanistan into a tailspin? Didn’t Hillary say as much when questioned about her views on terrorism and foreign affairs? One of the strangest ironies is how the Obamabots pitched their man as a Divide Leader ready to take on the rancid self-perpetuating system of government, and now with not even a year into his presidency are pushing him as yet another treacherous loyalist of the American Corporate System. If they had actually bothered to look at his Illinois record, and paid more attention to how Obama voted the Democrats would have realized he was never a progressive to begin with. In fact, I don’t recall him vowing to immediately end the Iraq war, nor do I believe Obama’s health care plan was advertised as a true single payer. Now that progressives are no longer asleep at the wheel maybe they will be forced to acknowledge the same painful lessons learned by moderate Republicans and Reagan Democrats who voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004. Much of Bush’s “compassionate conservative” campaign rhetoric was empty, self-serving garbage. Our basis rights quickly came under assault, which seemed to be part of a grander plan. The programs the right is determined to abolish quickly followed, although most of their efforts were unsuccessful. The moral of the story is that when one puts party affiliation and brainless faux personality before everything else that person is making an extremely bad bet. My guess is the Democrats are on their way to a repeat of the 1994 elections.

 

http://blog.clownsonleftjokersonright.com

There are plenty of women on death row in American right now. Somewhere I remember reading around fifty.  I live in Texas, and I know about executions. One particular media frenzied case involved Karla Faye Tucker who inspired a movement with her widely publicized conversion to Christianity, but was forced to take this inglorious route from the living back in 1998. The death penalty has always been a bone of contention for me. On one hand I support it. Yet the inaccessibility of so many to decent legal representations is a huge problem that is truly disturbing, not to mention the instances where mental illness has been diagnosed in those convicted. With that said I believe this punishment should be the last and extremely rare solution. But on the other hand I feel we accomplish nothing by killing prisoners, and only feed into the venom created by the repetitive coverage of violent crimes. We’re supposed to be a civilized, Christian society after all, so handing out a death sentence as routinely as courts do nowadays appears to be an act of societal revenge. We want to indulge in the condemned’s last words, Read what they last ate, and hear what their final breath sounded like. Maybe that’s why Samar Saed Abdullah’s story caught my eye. Call it a morbid curiosity. Call it sympathy. Call it outrage with a society that has defeminized and dehumanized women for centuries. Abdullah is one of several Iraqi women in a Baghdad prison awaiting execution by hanging. CNN did a story on the 27-year-old plight, sentenced to death as an accessory in the slaying of three relatives in January 2005. Although she confesses to being an accomplice, Abdullah says her husband carried out the killings that took the lives of her uncle, aunt and cousin. He later fled, leaving her holding the bag. Unlike our long-winded judicial process she was tried and convicted in a single day just like it used to be done in the Wild West, but she claims to have confessed to the murders only after being tortured while in police custody. Amnesty International, which has appealed to Iraqi authorities on behalf of other women on Iraq’s death row are active in Abdullah’s case as well. They say one condemned woman confessed to her crime after “She had her fingernails pulled; she was hung from the ceiling; they took pictures of her naked while she was hanging; they cuffed her to a bed and raped her.” You might remember the U.S led Coalition Provisional Authority abolished capital punishment after the regime of Saddam Hussein was toppled, and the government was handed back over to the Iraqis in 2003. The death penalty however was promptly reinstated the following year, although under Iraqi law any claims of torture are required to be thoroughly investigated not only in cases where the death sentence has been issued, but also in any proceeding that fails to meet international fair trial standards. Given this backdrop repeated queries to Iraqi’s judiciary panels have nevertheless landed on deaf ears, which is not surprising considering the kangaroo court that persisted in Saddam Hussein’s trail, and the circus that surrounded his state sanctioned execution. Not that Saddam Hussein was anything less then a blood lusty thug, but if you saw and weren’t disgusted by the viral video of his gaping throat wound, then you like the “new” Iraq are walking on a slippery slope. “She didn’t confess,” says Samar’s mother, Hana’s Abdul Hakim. “It was from the beating they gave her. She was bleeding. She finally said write what you want, just stop.”

These days ‘Samar Saed Abdullah’s entire body trembles as she speaks about her impending execution,’ writes Araw Damon, a CNN reporter. “My life is meaningless,” says Samar. “I can’t think of anything else. The other women, we try to help each other, but we cannot escape the reality that we are on death row and they can take us at any second.” Maybe one day these types of stories will put me firmly in the camp of death penalty opponents, regardless if the prisoner is guilty or innocent.