CLICK HERE FOR a
Selection of Books and CDs (and even a children’s game) by Jack Canfield, noted author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” (Hardcover, softcover, large print, new, used)

• The Success Principles(TM): How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
• Maximum Confidence: Ten Secrets of Extreme Self-Esteem
• Jack Canfield’s The Secret Law of Attraction
• Chicken Soup for the Teenage: The Game Soul II (An Adventure of Sharing, Friendship and Laughter)

Have you ever been driving your car and realized that you’d left the emergency brake on?

Of course. We all have. But when we discover the brake is on — do we press harder on the gas pedal? Of course not!

We simply release the brake… and with no extra effort we go faster.

Going through life is a lot like driving a car. But unfortunately, most people drive through life with their psychological emergency brake on. They hold on to negative images of themselves… or suffer the effects of highly emotional events they haven’t yet released. To cope, they stay in a comfort zone entirely of their own making.

And when they try to achieve their goals, these negative images and preprogrammed comfort zones always cancel out their good intentions—no matter how hard they try.

Call them “blocks” or “limiting beliefs” or “being stuck” — but these images and past hurts are nothing more than driving through life with the emergency brake on.

Successful people, on the other hand, continually move beyond their comfort zone — not by using increased willpower, but by replacing their beliefs about themselves and changing their self image.

They release the brakes — and, just like a car, they instantly go faster.

GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

Think of your comfort zone as a prison you live in – a largely self-created prison. It consists of the collection of can’ts, musts, must nots, and other unfounded beliefs formed from all the negative thoughts and decisions you have accumulated and reinforced during your lifetime.

The good news is that you can change your comfort zone. How? In three different ways:

You can use affirmations and positive self-talk to affirm having what you want, doing what you want, and being the way you want.
You can create powerful and compelling new internal images of having, doing, and being what you want.
You can simply change your behaviors
All three of these approaches will begin to shift you out of your old comfort zone.

STOP RE-CREATING THE SAME EXPERIENCE OVER AND OVER!

An important concept that successful people understand is that you are never stuck. You just keep re-creating the same experiences over and over by thinking the same thoughts, maintaining the same beliefs, speaking the same words, and doing the same things.

Too often, we get stuck in an endless look of reinforcing behavior, which keep us stuck in a constant downward spiral.

It goes like this: Our limiting thoughts create images in our mind… and those images govern our behavior… which in turn reinforces that limiting thought.

This is known as the Self-Talk Endless Loop.

As long as you keep complaining about your present circumstances, your mind will focus on it. By continually talking about, thinking about, and writing about the way things are, you are continually reinforcing those very same neural pathways in your brain that got you to where you are today. You are continually sending out the same vibrations that will keep attracting the same people and circumstances that you have already created.

To change this cycle, you must focus instead on thinking, talking, and writing about the new reality you want to create. You must FLOOD your unconscious with thoughts, images and ACTION that match your desired reality.

Then suddenly, instead of your outcomes being predetermined by an endless cycle of reinforced self-doubt and self-talk, you’re free to pursue your goals with new determination and confidence.

If releasing the brakes is something you need to do, realize that it’s difficult to do by yourself.

We need outside influences to break through our habitual ways of thinking and behaving to assist us in restructuring our beliefs, releasing our repressed emotions and connecting with our true selves.

Two of the most powerful methods for doing this are large group awareness trainings and therapy. If I were to attribute my incredible level of success to any one thing, it would be the hundreds of personal development seminars I’ve attended over the past 40 years.

If you’ve discovered that you’ve been recreating the same outcomes, scenarios, experiences and endless loop of not getting what you want, I’d like to help you break free from this downward spiral.

In fact, one of the most important things I do for participants in my Breakthrough to Success training week is to help them identify these “blocks” that govern their behavior — then replace those blocks with new thoughts, attitudes, beliefs and patterns.

Of course, there are literally hundreds of individuals and organizations that conduct seminars all over the world. Some are better than others, and in my experience, about 20% of them are highly competent and effective.

Visit their websites, call and talk to them, attend their guest events, and then make a decision about which one feels right for you.

The impact in all areas of your life will be incredible.

CLICK HERE FOR
Selection of Books and CDs by and about Napoleon Hill, noted author of “Think and Grow Rich.”  (Hardcover, softcover, large print, new, used)

Have you ever been driving your car and realized that you’d left the emergency brake on?

Of course. We all have. But when we discover the brake is on — do we press harder on the gas pedal? Of course not!

We simply release the brake… and with no extra effort we go faster.

Going through life is a lot like driving a car. But unfortunately, most people drive through life with their psychological emergency brake on. They hold on to negative images of themselves… or suffer the effects of highly emotional events they haven’t yet released. To cope, they stay in a comfort zone entirely of their own making.

And when they try to achieve their goals, these negative images and preprogrammed comfort zones always cancel out their good intentions—no matter how hard they try.

Call them “blocks” or “limiting beliefs” or “being stuck” — but these images and past hurts are nothing more than driving through life with the emergency brake on.

Successful people, on the other hand, continually move beyond their comfort zone — not by using increased willpower, but by replacing their beliefs about themselves and changing their self image.

They release the brakes — and, just like a car, they instantly go faster.

GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

Think of your comfort zone as a prison you live in – a largely self-created prison. It consists of the collection of can’ts, musts, must nots, and other unfounded beliefs formed from all the negative thoughts and decisions you have accumulated and reinforced during your lifetime.

The good news is that you can change your comfort zone. How? In three different ways:

Use affirmations and positive self-talk to affirm having what you want, doing what you want, and being the way you want.

STOP RE-CREATING THE SAME EXPERIENCE OVER AND OVER!

An important concept that successful people understand is that you are never stuck. You just keep re-creating the same experiences over and over by thinking the same thoughts, maintaining the same beliefs, speaking the same words, and doing the same things.

Too often, we get stuck in an endless look of reinforcing behavior, which keep us stuck in a constant downward spiral.

It goes like this: Our limiting thoughts create images in our mind… and those images govern our behavior… which in turn reinforces that limiting thought.

This is known as the Self-Talk Endless Loop.

As long as you keep complaining about your present circumstances, your mind will focus on it. By continually talking about, thinking about, and writing about the way things are, you are continually reinforcing those very same neural pathways in your brain that got you to where you are today. You are continually sending out the same vibrations that will keep attracting the same people and circumstances that you have already created.

To change this cycle, you must focus instead on thinking, talking, and writing about the new reality you want to create. You must FLOOD your unconscious with thoughts, images and ACTION that match your desired reality.

FOLLOWING ARE NAPOLEON HILL’S THIRTEEN STEPS TO RICHES:

In his book “Think and Grow Rich”, Napoleon Hill talks of the Thirteen Steps to Riches. This information is still as relevant today as it was at the time of publication. This article looks at each of the steps briefly.

1. Desire

   You need to have a burning desire to achieve success. If you are tentative and timid, then it is not true desire. Have a definite and specific goal for what you want to achieve, and stick to it. Have a plan for how you are going to achieve that goal.

2. Faith

   Have faith that you really can achieve what you desire. If you have truly believe it, then it is more likely to manifest itself.

3. Autosuggestion

   Have a mental picture in your mind that you have already achieved what you desire. By replaying this consistently in your mind, you will gain the faith that you need to achieve it.

4. Specialized Knowledge

   Knowledge is not power, it is potential power. It becomes power if that knowledge is used, and put into definite plans of action. Take the time to learn what you need in order to become an expert in your field of expertise. Associate with others who are already experts and learn from them.

5. Imagination

   Albert Einstein said “Imagination is everything. It is the preview to life’s coming attractions”. This sums it up beautifully. If you can visualise what you want in life, and then focus on it, it should become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

6. Organized Planning

   Once you know what your goal is, you need to have a definite and practical plan for how you are going to achieve it. Put the pieces in place that will help you achieve your success.

7. Decision

   Come up with a firm decision and stick to it. Don’t let others make your decision for you, and don’t delay your decision or procrastinate.

8. Persistence

   Lack of persistence keeps many people from great accomplishment. Keep working towards your goal, no matter what obstacles get in your way. Many people give up the minute they reach the slightest obstacle. You have to keep rising above the challenges thrown at you, and keep focusing on your end goal.

9. Power of the Master Mind

   Often those that are close to us will send us off course with their opinions and ridicule. Surround yourself with like minded people, who are all working towards a common goal. By doing this you create synergy, which is an unstoppable force.

10. The Mystery of Sex Transmutation

    There are a number of different stimulants that increase the intensity of our thought way beyond the realms of ordinary thought. For example love, a burning desire for fame or financial gain, music, fear. The most powerful of these stimulants is that of sex.

11. The Subconscious Mind

    The thoughts you have determine what you get in your life. Focus on your plan, and imagine that you have already achieved it.

12. The Brain

    It has been said that we only use somewhere between 5 and 10 percent of our brain. The rest of our brain power forms the subconscious mind, which is what we need to tap into in order to achieve the successes we desire.

13. The Sixth Sense

    The ability to use the sixth sense is gained when you apply and master all the previous steps. It takes time to develop it, and it is not something that can be switched on and off at will.

A Selection of Books and Products
Relating to Oxygen Therapy

What is Oxygen Therapy?

Oxygen therapy is a form of treatment based upon the premise that all harmful bacteria, viruses and fungi (e.g. flu, colds, AIDs, candida albicans and cancerous cells) are anaerobic – they can only thrive in low oxygen environments. Conversely, to maintain good health, the human body requires a rich supply of oxygen.

Dr Otto Warburg, twice Nobel laureate was able to prove that cancer cannot grow in an high oxygen environment. He states: ‘Cancer, above all diseases, has countless secondary causes, but there is only one prime cause: the prime cause of cancer is the replacement of normal oxygen respiration of body cells by anaerobic respiration’. In other words, lack of oxygen. His research revealed that when a cell is denied 60% of its normal requirement of oxygen, it switches to a fermentation mechanism and grows out of control. Researchers have since shown that cancerous growths contract and even disappear when oxygen saturation is sufficiently raised in the fluids surrounding them.

Read more on Oxygen Therapy and the One Minute Cure.

“Never give in . . . never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force . . . never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

What do I remember of reading about chaos theory in the 1970s and ’80s? That everything is chaotic but there is order in the chaos. In 1972 a scientific paper entitled “Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly’s Wings in Brazil set off a Tornado in Texas?” Following that, James Gleick published “Chaos: Making a New Science,” which became a best-seller because of its premise and because of its readability by a layperson (that would be me).

Somewhere around that time, Marin County philosopher Alan Watts sat on top of Mt. Tamalpais, let out a breath to the West and imaged it flowing around the earth to come around and touch him on the back of his head.

Prior to reading Chaos, I never liked killing anything . . . not an art, bug or moth. I had to excuse myself from frog-cutting-up in science classes. When the neighborhood boys tormented any creature, I cried. After reading Chaos, I can’t kill anything because of the effect it might have on our universe. Also, since that time, it has become very clear to me that everything is everything . . . we are all irrevocably connected. “We” meaning everything, not just people.

20th Century science introduced three main theories to the general public: quantum mechanics, relativity, and chaos. Chaos theory is a blanketing theory that covers all aspects of science, hence, it shows up everywhere in the world today: mathematics, physics, biology, finance, and even music.

The term chaos theory is used widely to describe an emerging scientific discipline whose boundries are not clearly defined.

From various Web sites:

Chaos theory is a developing scientific discipline which is focused on the study of nonlinear systems. To understand chaos theory, you must first have a grasp its roots: systems and the nonlinear.

System can be defined as the understanding of the relationship between things which interact. To better understand this idea, we will examine the example of a pile of stones. The pile is a system which interacts based upon how they were piled. If their initial piling is not in balance, the interaction results in their movement until they find a condition under which they are in balance. A group of stones which do not touch each other is not a system because the interaction between is so minute, it can be considered non-existant.

Systems can be modeled, meaning systems can be created which will theoretically replicate the behavior of the original system. Following the pile of stones example, one could take a second group of stones which are identical to the first group, pile them in exactly the same way as the first group, and predict that they will fall down into the exact same configuration as the first group. Similiarly, a mathematical model, based upon Newton’s law of gravity, could be used to predict how piles of same and different types will interact. Generally speaking, mathematical modeling is the key to modeling systems, although it is not the only way.

Nonlinear has to do with the type of mathematical model used to describe a system. Until the interest in chaos theory, hence nonlinear systems, most models were analyzed as though they were linear systems. In other words, when the mathematical models were draw in a graph format, the results appeared as a straight line. Calculus was Netwon’s mathematical method for showing change in systems within the context of a straight line and statistics.

Linear systems are easy to generate and simple to work with. That is because they are very predictable. For example, you could think of a factory as a linear system. We could predict that if we add a certain number of people, or a certain amount of inventory to the factory, that we will increase the number of pieces produced by the factory by a comparable amount.

As most managers know, factories don’t operate this way. Change the number of people, inventory, or any other variable in the factory and you receive widely differing results on a day to day basis from what would be predicted from a linear model. This is true because a factory is actually a nonlinear system, as are most systems found in life. When systems in nature are modeled mathematically, we find that their graphical representations are not straight lines and that the system’s behavior is not so easy to predict.

Prior to the devolepment of chaos theory, the majority of scientific study involved attempting to understand the world using linear models. Beginning with the work of Sir Isaac Newton, physics has been the has provided the processes for modeling nature, and the mathematics associated with them have been in a linear nature.

My introduction to fractal geometry was through the works of M.C. Escher, the Dutch artist who cut exquisite images of overlying patterns into wood to create works of beauty.
Escher used hyperbolic geometry for his woodcuts and he did not know what fractals were; his work is referred to as a “tessellation.” The honeycomb of bees is a fine example of a tessellated natural structure.

Imagine an equilateral triangle. Now, imagine smaller equilateral triangles perched in the center of each side of the original triangle–you have a Star of David. Now, place still smaller equilateral triangles in the center of each of the star’s 12 sides.

Repeat this process infinitely and you have a Koch snowflake, a mind-bending geometric figure with an infinitely large perimeter, yet with a finite area. This is an example of the kind of mathematical puzzles that this book addresses.

Fractual Geometry
The Fractal Geometry of Nature is a mathematics text. But buried in the deltas and lambdas and integrals, even a layperson can pick out and appreciate Mandelbrot’s point: that somewhere in mathematics, there is an explanation for nature. It is not a coincidence that fractal math is so good at generating images of cliffs and shorelines and capillary beds.

A “simple” explanation of fractal geometry from ThinkQuest’s online library:

While the classical Euclidean geometry works with objects which exist in integer dimensions, fractal geometry deals with objects in non-integer dimensions. Euclidean geometry is a description lines, ellipses, circles, etc. Fractal geometry, however, is described in algorithims — a set of instructions on how to create a fractal.

The world as we know it is made up of objects which exist in integer dimensions, single dimensional points, one dimensional lines and curves, two dimension plane figures like circles and squares, and three dimensional solid objects such as spheres and cubes. However, many things in nature are described better with dimension being part of the way between two whole numbers. While a straight line has a dimension of exactly one, a fractal curve will have a dimension between one and two, depending on how much space it takes up as it curves and twists. The more a fractal fills up a plane, the closer it approaches two dimensions. In the same manner of thinking, a wavy fractal scene will cover a dimension somewhere between two and three. Hence, a fractal landscape which consists of a hill covered with tiny bumps would be closer to two dimensions, while a landscape composed of a rough surface with many average sized hills would be much closer to the third dimension.

The Wisdom of Insecurity

At this time in America’s uncertain climate, many of us are insecure. I know I am on many days . . . greatly due to the fact that I’ve been trying to save my home from foreclosure for more than one year. (Lenders DO NOT want to cooperate.)

I started writing this post without seeing any “wisdom in insecurity.”

Years ago, when Alan Watts first wrote that book, I saw value. And as I think about the title now, I can again glimpse the value of insecurity.

It is what is keeping me going, I pray every day, but it is my insecurity that causes me to plan and continue forward and not to “rest on my laurels.”

Many people are going through mortgage nightmares and the long road to be taken in trying to get the loans modified (including my family and quite a few close friends). It is a horrible, frightening, stressful time. The only thing worse than losing your home would be losing loved ones.

(The image of the lamb was taken in Wales near the slate mines. It was so peaceful that it truly seemed as though it were the Lamb of God.)

I just got off the phone with a gentlemen whose stress level is causing health problems. Nothing, absolutely nothing is worth making yourself sick over. So, I eMailed the following to him and I hope it will help others in the midst of any kind of trials and tribulations.

Whenever my mind won’t leave me alone — which is frequently, actually — I repeat something uplifting until my brain shuts up. My absolute favorite, even though I don’t follow any specific religious doctrine, is:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

I’m also currently reading books on changing my DNA so that my response to challenges is calm and allows me to plan: I am the Captain of My Fate; I am the Master of My Soul. Also, several new movies illustrate just how challenging life is for others and how beautifully they overcome: “Avatar,” “Mandela,” and “The Blind Side.”

Almost all stress is of the mind. Almost all disease is just that — “dis-ease” — as philosopher Alan Watts pointed out in 1960 (or so). His writings and early morning radio talk-show enlightened many of us: “The Way of Zen,” “Buddhism, the Religion of No-Religion,” “Become What You Are,” “The Wisdom of Insecurity” . . . Alan Watts is the philosopher who sat on the top of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County facing West. He breathed and followed his breath around the world until it came and brushed him on the back of his head. It was a stunning image then and it still is now. To quote Joseph Campbell: “No one has given such a concise . . . introduction to the whole history of Far Eastern development of Buddhist thought as Alan Watts.”

Remember, Be Here Now
Also, I am of the “Be Here Now” generation. Right now I’m sitting in my home, warm, comfortable, on my marvelous computer. We are in beautiful Marin County with everything we need. I’m not anywhere else. Yesterday is gone; tomorrow hasn’t arrived. At the moment, the reality is that I have no problems — I COULD worry about tomorrow, but why bother.

Okay.

Hugs.

We have just added a free workbook to the site so you can work on change-with-a-plan if you wish for 2010.

It’s a: Prosperity Journal Workbook, which we think is extremely important going into 2010 given the financial issues of 2009 for so many people.

The workbook is small, but it will serve as an outline to help you determine who you want to be and what you want in your life.

If you plan, odds are excellent that you will get where you want to go.

The methods used in this little guide have been used successfully by the founders of Wisdom to Change for many years . . . and by thousands of people around the world.

Change is going to happen even if you do not plan; you can help it change by intent to suit your wishes with the help of this workbook.

December 2009 ended with a rare blue moon, that was made even more rare by the fact that this blue moon coincided with a partial lunar eclipse and it was on the last day of the International Year of Astronomy.

The moon is not actually blue . . . Arvind Paranjpye, scientific officer of the public outreach programme, IUCAA, said “It is a very rare event and hence it derives its name from the phrase ‘once in a blue moon’. It is basically a calendar event and has no astronomical importance as such.

“It specifically appears once in 2.7 years,” said Mayuresh Prabhune, secretary of Khagol Vishwa, an amateur astronomer’s club.

But this blue moon is special because it is accompanied by an eclipse, an event that has not occurred in the last five to six decades. A lunar eclipse occurs whenever the moon passes through some portion of the earth’s shadow. This can occur only when the sun, earth and moon are aligned exactly or very closely aligned with earth in the middle. Lunar eclipse occurs only on a full moon day. “The full moon has to happen on the first or the second day of the month and the month must be of 31 days for such an event to occur. It has perfectly matched this month and hence the rarity,” Prabhune added.

Most calendar months see just one full moon. The 29.5 day cadence of the lunar cycle matches up almost perfectly with the 28 to 31 day length of calendar months. Sometimes, however, the one-to-one correspondence breaks resulting in two full moon days in one month. December was one such month. The first full moon of last month appeared on December 2.