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#Ascend 5 tips that put you back on your game

"Greatness-is a spiritual seed in a silent kingdom, resting latently within the soul. It rewards those who seek"- excerpted from paperback, Ascend to The Secret Place (c)copyright 2015 Hamdani.


By definition, the word perimeter connotes limitation. Sometimes we are warned about crossing lines. Sometimes, we put ourselves at emotional risk by doing so as the crossing can determine ones sense of  personal dignity. You've probably heard the term, "you've gone too far."

According to Dan Goleman, Ph.D, "The answer to that dilemma will be determined by a strip of neurons in your prefrontal cortex, just behind your forehead—your brain’s executive center. One of its jobs is settling such conflicts, and managing your priorities in general."

Consider that some of these fences are sometimes invisible. Should you cross? How do you know?

Focus on your Inner Reflections

I am going to show you in a few steps how to open the community of your soul to speak to you exactly where you are, right now.

When I competed in golf, I learned to focus on only three or four things to do throughout the entire tournament. Golfers know that there are many things going through the mind in this individual competition. It is much like life: lots to think about. A golfer thinks of his/her grip, feet position relevant to the target, terrain, wind, type of ground-is it wet and soft or hard and dry and then there is distance and so forth.

You work is immortal and can be done from a place of detachment if we care not about the commercial side of our work, but work with passion: passion equals blessings from places unknown. You will step back into your reality after absorbing this information and realize that you are in a different place...a place of transformation. 

I think it was Hericlitus who said something to the affect that one cannot step into the same body of water twice for the man has changed and so has the composition of the water.

 Here is a pathway:

There is value in the abstract. In the west, like age, the abstract often carries negative connotations like mental illness.  In some parts of the west, the very term counseling or therapy seems to imply fragility. These are abstract places of a brilliant mind. This place remains latent until we go where we belong. Go there.

 You are about to see that the environment of the abstract may appear abnormal and strange if not "crazy" to some, to others it is a goldmine. Donald Trump is able to gain support not because he is a political genius but, perhaps,  because he played to his strengths. He went to that special place where he was in contact with something abstract. There, we discover that because we are where we belong at the moment;  it seems, we cannot lose. Tiger Woods had it for a while, but lost focus. In this secret place we are met by what may be a challenge to others, but is not really a challenge to the individual who is in his/her moment and on top of the game. The media challenge was not a challenge to Trump because he was pursuing something directed from within, with detachment. Detachment involves removing ourselves from the end result and focus upon the moment.

Ambition challenges us to do the opposite, to focus upon the end result and can cause us to desire to live in a future moment, instead. By doing we want others to approve of our points of view.

According to Dr. Neel Burton, M.D., this effort to make everyone approve what we love or hate is in truth ambition, and so we see that each person by nature desires that other persons should live according to his way of thinking. These thoughts, though valuable, lead us away from the fundamentals of our own game.

By narrowing your plan to three or four a(no more than five) key points, stress will fall off you like water from a duck’s back. Confidence will engulf you because you are no longer competing with anyone but yourself. You are now focusing on the things you know you can do by using the clubs or tools you are familiar with. Yes, you will practice and try many things in practice before the game, but in heat of the game, focus on four or five points, only. Life, my friends is much like this.

No matter what your challenge may be, stop and think of these things. These are game makers/breakers.

(1)  Count your blessings. You are Healthy & and; Alive.

(2 ) Who do you love?

(3) What is life speaking, specifically, to you, right now? (See research, Irvin)

(4) Exercise 15 minutes today.

(5) Eat Well.

If you attempt to accomplish these steps on your own, without tuning in to what life is saying to you, then the exercise will become labored.

"In addition, by investing external energy to address a particular area, you are left with less energy to deal with other things in your life," said authors of Litemind.com.

According to the authors at Litemind.com, 'The reason why that happens is because patterns occur as a result of the internal, fundamental frameworks you live by. These frameworks refer to the inner beliefs and values you hold. To get rid of these repetitive behaviors, you need to look inward, examine what triggers them, uncover the underlying causes and resolve them at the root level. The good thing is that since patterns are a result of our beliefs, we can get out of them by changing our beliefs."

Doesn't that sound remarkably similar to the information provided in my paperback, Ascend to The Secret Place?

Learn the lesson or pass the test the first time. Just a few chose truths will allow you to transcend. By doing so, change or transcendence becomes effortless.

Here’s what’s happening with me, for example.

I once thought of the special lady in my life, often and deeply. This feeling called for deep reflection because I had not loved a woman for years. I found myself in love with this one and had fought it as much as I possibly could before settling. Suddenly, I realized that much had changed over the years. Change can be radically gradual. Change sometimes manifest by sneaking upon us and we see its foot prints behind us and beyond us. Like a thief in the night the old has passed away and I am yet transforming.

If it were up to my, my choices of love, I  would likely have employed a different approach and method and  the pace of initiating a  lovely relationship would have been much slower. My way is limited to me and the entire vortex of my education and experience (incorporating my emotions and sensitivities that were advanced, enhanced or modified in error).

There is a greater approach. It discounts space and time.

About the lady, I was thankful for her and for having been transformed to  experience romantic love again; however, this transformation only involves the deeper part of us. It continues, even if two people are apart. Think about that. You can see the connection, can't you?

This leads to another thought regarding space and time. My coming into this association with romance, again, was developing all along-while the old was dying, the knowledge of its experience yet festering in my latent consciousness, altering my heart to even more sensitivities that I may be even more powerful than before. This space of contemplation and reflection upon the values of others attracts me yet delineates that I am also complete, alone. In fact, we are alone.  I have, therefore, learned the lesson life was teaching me.

Now, I am sensitive to God and to the universe-two different entities?

Now, I can see and capture the whispers in the air: I hear from the people, everywhere. I hear from from my friend,  Dr. Schuman that I think I am open when I am not. I hear that I am checking myself now. I hear that I play games to test whether someone would  be loyal or walk away  and abandon me and I know where that comes from…having been so young when that emotion embraced me.

 I remember the loneliness. I remember feeling worthless, unworthy and like an accident that happened that brought me to this world, except there was the people I loved. I picked upon their grave emotions like spiritual radar, as a kid. That radar grew more proficient (but not necessarily healthier) as I grew older.

You too, have a gold mine of experiences and spiritual software that removes invisible fences and opens doors.

The spirit of man is shaped by our sensitivities to past experiences.  Mental  health professionals provide great service in helping people, however, I believe they best help when they get us to the point that we can discover the kind of power that this subject is leading to.: there is a place where each of us can go but there is only one chair there. There is not even standing room for another. It is in that space that we see who we are, how we were shaped and when that’s done we are taken into the listening room.

(5) Eat well. I know two people in particular who shared some dear secrets with me regarding the way to eat. One of those people is  ninety one years old Luz Maria Baptiste and the other is one hundred and ten years old man, Nakia Demetrius. Both are featured on my FB page. They do not know of each other, yet each of them recommended the same foods to eat. Even more interesting is the fact that a friend from Atlanta, Delano, had shared some of that information with me nearly a year before my having gained information from the above two seniors. 

Life does speak, doesn't it?

There is a place to hear everything you need to know, be and do in a given moment. Life, as my nephew, Derek Irvin says, is speaking to you. I believe it whispers.  This place is always accessible to us but matters of live often prevent us from going there.

 It is not prayer or religious practice that I am speaking of. I am speaking of a kind of meditation that takes you to the place where life speaks to you about you. Prayer brought the blessing of the experience to you. Your faith in God fuels the journey but you can only enter that secret place by choice and discipline.

To some people, thoughts of wisdom are a matter of quotes soon forgotten, but to those who seek, it is spiritual foreplay. We know that there is something deeper. We also know that sometimes things are simply as they appear. The place between the two realities is where I am.  The place I am speaking of is not stagnant; like the individual, it is transforming with us.

So, what have we learned?

 (1)  Count your blessings. You are Healthy & Alive.

        find something to be thankful for everyday. You won't have to look far.

(2 ) Who do you love?

       Think about them and give thanks for who they are.

(3) What is life speaking, specifically, to you, right now?..... Derek Irvin.

       What are you hearing?

(4) Exercise 15 minutes today.

      Come alive!

(5) Eat Well. Eat more of the following: honey, ground cinnamon, olive oil, asparagus and          

      garlic.

    Something wonderful happens to your attitude in this space.

  In this space, our errors should come to light. Even if we are embarrassed by these things, we should look more closely. Why did we allow such things to happen to create the embarrassment to begin with? Sensitivity to these occurrences are enlightening. These are landscape lights along the proper path of an individual. These lights shine both night and day. For example, I heard the words passion, invest, what we want is one side of a two sided coin…that’s what I hear now…the coin thing but before I heard the following words: Texas. Preparation Expectation. Detachment.

  Shortly afterwards positive circumstances in my life unfolded along the lines of those subjects (words) mentioned above. There was no effort from myself other than the exercises I am sharing with you.

  An idol spirit does not lead one to recognize the patterns of lights along the spiritual landscape. That’s the single reality that puts you on top of your game. A scattered representation of self or a lack of commitment can lead one along this path. 

  These five steps will discipline(un-scatter) you. You can only see the pattern of lights when you know what you want and understand the general direction in which your life is going. If you are going in the wrong direction (whatever wrong is for you). It is at this point that you will be automatically checked by events that embarrass you, demote your sense of integrity,, demolish your pride and prevent you from further destruction. This happens as we are transformed.

  I conclude that transcendence involves an abstract capacity to choose the proper tool, leave the no longer useless tools and move forward  on top of your game with what is needed to capture what is desired, without detachment, at a given  point in time.

Awareness of this space is permanent. The ability to go there at will is best described as our own built in magnetic force to create epiphany and peak experiences. The brain helps but the spirit dominates this arena.

Bibliography

Irvin, D. (2014, March 15). Period Case Closed. Retrieved May 2015, from www.periodcaseclosed.wordpress.com

  Are healthy people happier ( Kubzansky & Berkman, 1979).

Happiness by the Numbers: 8 Stats That Could Change Your Life(Cassity 2012)

#Ascend 5 tips that put you back on your game

"Greatness-is a spiritual seed in a silent kingdom, resting latently within the soul. It rewards those who seek"- excerpted from paperback, Ascend to The Secret Place (c)copyright 2015 Hamdani.

Reprinted from my previous upload in March. It's worth repeating.

By definition, the word perimeter connotes limitation. Sometimes we are warned about crossing lines. Sometimes, we put ourselves at emotional risk by doing so as the crossing can determine ones sense of  personal dignity. You've probably heard the term, "you've gone too far."

According to Dan Goleman, Ph.D, "The answer to that dilemma will be determined by a strip of neurons in your prefrontal cortex, just behind your forehead—your brain’s executive center. One of its jobs is settling such conflicts, and managing your priorities in general."

Consider that some of these fences are sometimes invisible. Should you cross? How do you know?

Focus on your Inner Reflections

I am going to show you in a few steps how to open the community of your soul to speak to you exactly where you are, right now.

Narrow your focus.

When I competed in golf, I learned to focus on only three or four things to do throughout the entire tournament. 

Golfers know that there are many things going through the mind in this individual competition. It is much like life: lots to think about. A golfer thinks of his/her grip, feet position relevant to the target, terrain, wind, type of ground-is it wet and soft or hard and dry and then there is distance and so forth.

You Work is immortal and can be done from a place of detachment if you care not about the commercial side of your work, but work with passion: passion equals blessings from places unknown. 

You will later step back into a more elevated reality after absorbing this information. You will realize that you are in a different place...a place of transformation...by choice.

I think it was Hericlitus who said something to the effect that one cannot step into the same body of water twice for the man has changed and so has the composition of the water.

 Here is a pathway:

There is value in the abstract. In the west,  the abstract often carries negative connotations like old age or mental illness.  In some parts of the west, the very term counseling or therapy seems to imply fragility. These are abstract places of a brilliant mind. This place remains latent until we go where we belong.

So...go there.

 You are about to see that the environment of the abstract may appear abnormal and strange if not "crazy" to some, to others it is a goldmine. (take Donald Trump , for example, whom I do not endorse) who is able to gain support not because he is a political genius but, perhaps,  because he played to his strengths.  He us in his place: in media. Place is essential. Where is the glory in a caged eagle that cannot soar the winds?A fish struggling in dry sand is pathetic but put it in water and see its glory.

There is no moral implication to these principles. It is strategic by nature. 

Trump went to that special place where he was in contact with something abstract but specific to his calling. There, he discoverd, as do we, that because we are where we belong at the moment;  it seems, we cannot lose. Tiger Woods had it. In this secret place we are met by what may be a challenge to others, but is not really a challenge to the individual who is in his/her moment and in PLACE performing the dictates of that specific calling and on top of the game. The media challenge was not a challenge to Trump because he was pursuing something directed specifically to him from within, with detachment. 

Detachment involves removing ourselves from the end result and focus with upon the moment. Notice, Trump benefited from his mistakes like a fish turning in the wrong direction in water, because it is in water (its element/its calling), there is no penalty for the error. There is no penalty ro the eagle who turns in any direction as it soars the wind.

Focus on the moment and on place.

Ambition challenges us to do the opposite, to focus upon the end result and can cause us to desire to live in a future moment (another place), instead of the all-empowering present. By living in the past or future, we begin to perform.  We want others to approve of our points of view as we perform.

According to Dr. Neel Burton, M.D., this effort to make everyone approve what we love or hate is in truth ambition, and so we see that each person by nature desires that other persons should live according to his way of thinking. These thoughts, though valuable, lead us away from the fundamentals of our own game.

Narrow the plan to your own target and therefore, master the game.

By narrowing your plan to three or four (no more than five) key points, stress will fall off you like water from a duck’s back. Confidence will engulf you because you are no longer competing with anyone but yourself. You are now focusing on the things you know you can do by using the clubs or tools you are familiar with while in the right place. Yes, you will practice and try many things in practice before the game, but in heat of the game, focus on four or five points, only. Life, my friends is much like this.

No matter what your challenge may be, stop and think of these things. These are game makers/breakers.

(1)  Count your blessings. You are healthy &  alive so, forgive others & pray.

(2 ) Who do you love?

(3) What is life speaking, specifically, to you, right now? ( a lesson learned from my beloved nephew,Derek Irvin).

(4) Exercise 15 minutes daily, to start.

(5) Eat Well.

If you attempt to accomplish much, without tuning in to what life is saying to you, specifically, then the exercise of positive transformation will become labored because you are playing to another calling-not your own. Stay in your own lane.

"In addition, by investing external energy to address an area non-specific to you, you are left with less energy to deal with specific revelations  in your life."

According to the authors at Litemind.com, 'The reason why that happens is because patterns occur as a result of the internal, fundamental frameworks you live by. These frameworks refer to the inner beliefs and values you hold. To get rid of these repetitive behaviors, you need to look inward, examine what triggers them, uncover the underlying causes and resolve them at the root level. The good thing is that since patterns are a result of our beliefs, we can get out of them by changing our beliefs."

Doesn't that sound remarkably similar to the information provided in my paperback, Ascend to The Secret Place?

When you practice the steps below, you will reaffirm your beliefs which has an immediate impact on what comes into your life. You create the patterns. You can modify them...at will.

Learn the lesson or pass the test the first time... just a few chosen truths will allow you to transcend. By doing so, change or transcendence becomes effortless.

Here’s what’s happening with me, for example.

I once thought of the special lady in my life, often and deeply. This feeling called for deep reflection because I had not loved a woman for years. I found myself in love with this one and had fought it as much as I possibly could before settling. Suddenly, I realized that much had changed over the years. Change can be radically gradual. Change sometimes manifest by sneaking upon us and we see its foot prints behind us and beyond us. Like a thief in the night,  the old has passed away and I am yet transforming.

If it were up to my choices of love, I  would likely have employed a different approach and method and  the pace of initiating a  lovely relationship would have been much slower. My way is limited to me and the entire vortex of my education and experience (incorporating my emotions and sensitivities that can be advanced, enhanced or modified in error).

There is a greater approach. It discounts space and time. It is much greater than self.

About the lady, I was thankful for her and for having been transformed to  experience romantic love again; however, this transformation involves the deeper part of us. It continues, even if two people are apart. 

Think about that. You can see the connection, can't you?

This leads to another thought regarding space and time. My coming into this association with romance, again, was developing all along-while the old was dying, the knowledge of its experience yet festering in my latent consciousness, altering my heart to even more sensitivities that I may be even more powerful than before. 

This space of contemplation and reflection upon the values of others attracts me yet delineates that I am also complete, alone. In fact, we are alone.  I have, therefore, learned the lesson life was teaching me.

Now, I am sensitive to God and to the universe as two different entities inseperable from me.

Now, I can see and capture the whispers in the air: I hear from people, everywhere. I hear from from my friend,  Dr. Schuman that I think I am open when I am not. I hear that I am checking myself now. I hear that I play games to test whether someone would  be loyal or walk away  and abandon me and I know where that comes from…having been so young when that emotion embraced me.

 I remember the loneliness. I remember feeling worthless, unworthy and like an accident that happened that brought me to this world, except there was the people I loved. I picked upon their grave emotions like spiritual radar, as a kid. 

That radar grew more proficient (but not necessarily healthier) as I grew older.

You too, have a gold mine of experiences and spiritual software that removes invisible fences and opens doors.

The spirit of man is shaped by our sensitivities to past experiences. 

 Mental  health professionals provide great service in helping people, however, I believe they best help when they get us to the point that we can discover the kind of power that this subject is leading to. 

There is a place where each of us can go but there is only one chair there. 

There is not even standing room for another. 

It is in that space that we see who we are, how we were shaped and when that’s done we are taken into the listening room. There we hear words & concepts specific to ones individual map.

Go there and listen. Yoy may hear something like this.

 Eat well. I know two people in particular who shared some dear secrets with me regarding the way to eat. One of those people is  ninety one years old Luz Maria Baptiste and the other is one hundred and ten years old man, Nakia Demetrius. Both are featured on my FB page. They do not know of each other, yet each of them recommended the same foods to eat. Even more interesting is the fact that a friend from Atlanta, Delano, had shared some of that information with me nearly a year before my having gained information from the above two seniors. 

Life does speak, doesn't it?

There is a place to hear everything you need to know, be and do in a given moment. Life, as my nephew, Derek Irvin says, is speaking to you. I believe it whispers.  

This place is always accessible to us but matters of life often prevent us from going there.

 It is not prayer or religious practice that I am speaking of. I am speaking of a kind of meditation that takes you to the place where life speaks to you about you. Prayer brought the blessing of the experience to you. Your faith in God fuels the journey but you can only enter that secret place by choice and discipline, individually.

To some people, thoughts of wisdom are a matter of quotes soon forgotten, but to those who seek, it is spiritual foreplay. 

Foreplay entices us.

We know that there is something deeper. We also know that sometimes things are simply as they appear. The place between the two realities is where I am.  The place I am speaking of is not stagnant; like the individual, it is transforming with us.

So, what have we learned?

 (1)  Count your blessings. You are Healthy & Alive so find something to be thankful for everyday. You won't have to look far.

(2 ) Who do you love?

       Think about them and give thanks for who they are.

(3) What is life speaking, specifically, to you, right now? a lesson from Derek Irvin.

       What are you hearing?

(4) Exercise 15 minutes today.

      Come alive!

(5) Eat Well. Eat more of the following: honey, ground cinnamon, olive oil, asparagus and garlic.

    Something wonderful happens to your attitude in this space.

  In this space, our errors should come to light. Even if we are embarrassed by these things, we should look more closely. Why did we allow such things to happen to create the embarrassment to begin with? 

Sensitivity to these occurrences are enlightening. These are landscape lights along the proper path of an individual. These lights shine both night and day. For example, I heard the words passion, invest, what we want is one side of a two sided coin…that’s what I heard…the coin thing but before I mived to Texas, i heard the following words: Texas. Preparation Expectation. Detachment. 

All of my blessings which later manifested were mystically related to those topics.

When we hear these sagacious whispers -that gleam of light that flashes from within-often we ignore it...because it is from us-we think it is not valuable but it is a map, calibrated specifically for you, individually.

  Shortly afterwards positive circumstances in my life unfolded along the lines of those subjects (words and unclear concepts) mentioned above. 

There was no effort from myself other than the exercises the content I am sharing with you.

  An idol spirit does not lead one to recognize the patterns of lights along the spiritual landscape.  It leads one to comparisons. Awareness of that moment of comparison is the single reality that puts you back on top of your game. It leads away from the reality of envy, jealously and strife-the by products of comparison.

A scattered representation of self or a lack of commitment can lead one into trials that lead to these realizations.

  These five steps will discipline(un-scatter) you. You can only see the pattern of lights when you know what you want and understand the general direction in which your life is going.  Pay attention to the signs and whispers and inner lights of inspiration. It is more powerful than the tangible world. You will be redirected If you are going in the wrong direction (whatever wrong is for you).

If you are engulfed by a state of comparison, you will stagnate and become misled by afflictive emotions.

It is at this point that you will practice these techniques and be automatically checked by events that embarrass you, events that could otherwise lead to further afflictive emotions that demote your sense of integrity, demolish your pride and prevent you from happening. 

This happens as we are transformed.

  I conclude that transcendence involves an abstract capacity to choose the proper tool, leave the no longer useless tools and move forward  on top of your game with what is needed to capture what is desired, without detachment, at a given  point in time, leaving one free of the desire to compare.

Awareness of this space is permanent. The ability to go there at will is best described as our own built in magnetic force to create epiphany and peak experiences. The brain helps but the spirit dominates this arena.

Hear more of these topics from Shareef Barry Hamdani on SoundCloud.

Bibliography

Irvin, D. (2014, March 15). Period Case Closed. Retrieved May 2015, from www.periodcaseclosed.wordpress.com

  Are healthy people happier ( Kubzansky & Berkman, 1979).

Happiness by the Numbers: 8 Stats That Could Change Your Life(Cassity 2012)

#Ascend 5 tips that put you back on your game

"Greatness-is a spiritual seed in a silent kingdom, resting latently within the soul. It rewards those who seek"- excerpted from paperback, Ascend to The Secret Place (c)copyright 2015 Hamdani.


By definition, the word perimeter connotes limitation. Sometimes we are warned about crossing lines. Sometimes, we put ourselves at emotional risk by doing so as the crossing can determine ones sense of  personal dignity. You've probably heard the term, "you've gone too far."

According to Dan Goleman, Ph.D, "The answer to that dilemma will be determined by a strip of neurons in your prefrontal cortex, just behind your forehead—your brain’s executive center. One of its jobs is settling such conflicts, and managing your priorities in general."

Consider that some of these fences are sometimes invisible. Should you cross? How do you know?

Focus on your Inner Reflections

I am going to show you in a few steps how to open the community of your sould to speak to you exactly where you are, right now.

When I competed in golf, I learned to focus on only three or four things to do throughout the entire tournament. Golfers know that there are many things going through the mind in this individual competition. It is much like life: lots to think about. A golfer thinks of his/her grip, feet position relevant to the target, terrain, wind, type of ground-is it wet and soft or hard and dry and then there is distance and so forth.

You Work is immortal and can be done from a place of detachment if we care not about the commercial side of our work, but work with passion: passion equals blessings from places unknown. You will step back into your reality after absorbing this information and realize that you are in a different place...a place of transformation. 

I think it was Hericlitus who said something to the affect that one cannot step into the same body of water twice for the man has changed and so has the composition of the water.

 Here is a pathway:

There is value in the abstract. In the west, like age, the abstract often carries negative connotations like mental illness.  In some parts of the west, the very term counseling or therapy seems to imply fragility. These are abstract places of a brilliant mind. This place remains latent until we go where we belong. Go there.

 You are about to see that the environment of the abstract may appear abnormal and strange if not "crazy" to some, to others it is a goldmine. Donald Trump is able to gain support not because he is a political genius but, perhaps,  because he played to his strengths. He went to that special place where he was in contact with something abstract. There, we discover that because we are where we belong at the moment;  it seems, we cannot lose. Tiger Woods had it for a while, but lost focus. In this secret place we are met by what may be a challenge to others, but is not really a challenge to the individual who is in his/her moment and on top of the game. The media challenge was not a challenge to Trump because he was pursuing something directed from within, with detachment. Detachment involves removing ourselves from the end result and focus with upon the moment.

Ambition challenges us to do the opposite, to focus upon the end result and can cause us to desire to live in a future moment, instead. By doing we want others to approve of our points of view.

According to Dr. Neel Burton, M.D., this effort to make everyone approve what we love or hate is in truth ambition, and so we see that each person by nature desires that other persons should live according to his way of thinking. These thoughts, though valuable, lead us away from the fundamentals of our own game.

By narrowing your plan to three or four a(no more than five) key points, stress will fall off you like water from a duck’s back. Confidence will engulf you because you are no longer competing with anyone but yourself. You are now focusing on the things you know you can do by using the clubs or tools you are familiar with. Yes, you will practice and try many things in practice before the game, but in heat of the game, focus on four or five points, only. Life, my friends is much like this.

No matter what your challenge may be, stop and think of these things. These are game makers/breakers.

(1)  Count your blessings. You are Healthy & and; Alive.

(2 ) Who do you love?

(3) What is life speaking, specifically, to you, right now?..... Derek Irvin.

(4) Exercise 15 minutes today.

(5) Eat Well.

If you attempt to accomplish these steps on your own, without tuning in to what life is saying to you, then the exercise will become labored.

"In addition, by investing external energy to address a particular area, you are left with less energy to deal with other things in your life," said authors of Litemind.com.

According to the authors at Litemind.com, 'The reason why that happens is because patterns occur as a result of the internal, fundamental frameworks you live by. These frameworks refer to the inner beliefs and values you hold. To get rid of these repetitive behaviors, you need to look inward, examine what triggers them, uncover the underlying causes and resolve them at the root level. The good thing is that since patterns are a result of our beliefs, we can get out of them by changing our beliefs."

Doesn't that sound remarkably similar to the information provided in my paperback, Ascend to The Secret Place?

Learn the lesson or pass the test the first time. Just a few chose truths will allow you to transcend. By doing so, change or transcendence becomes effortless.

Here’s what’s happening with me, for example.

I once thought of the special lady in my life, often and deeply. This feeling called for deep reflection because I had not loved a woman for years. I found myself in love with this one and had fought it as much as I possibly could before settling. Suddenly, I realized that much had changed over the years. Change can be radically gradual. Change sometimes manifest by sneaking upon us and we see its foot prints behind us and beyond us. Like a thief in the night the old has passed away and I am yet transforming.

If it were up to my, my choices of love, I  would likely have employed a different approach and method and  the pace of initiating a  lovely relationship would have been much slower. My way is limited to me and the entire vortex of my education and experience (incorporating my emotions and sensitivities that were advanced, enhanced or modified in error).

There is a greater approach. It discounts space and time.

About the lady, I was thankful for her and for having been transformed to  experience romantic love again; however, this transformation only involves the deeper part of us. It continues, even if two people are apart. Think about that. You can see the connection, can't you?

This leads to another thought regarding space and time. My coming into this association with romance, again, was developing all along-while the old was dying, the knowledge of its experience yet festering in my latent consciousness, altering my heart to even more sensitivities that I may be even more powerful than before. This space of contemplation and reflection upon the values of others attracts me yet delineates that I am also complete, alone. In fact, we are alone.  I have, therefore, learned the lesson life was teaching me.

Now, I am sensitive to God and to the universe-two different entities?

Now, I can see and capture the whispers in the air: I hear from the people, everywhere. I hear from from my friend,  Dr. Schuman that I think I am open when I am not. I hear that I am checking myself now. I hear that I play games to test whether someone would  be loyal or walk away  and abandon me and I know where that comes from…having been so young when that emotion embraced me.

 I remember the loneliness. I remember feeling worthless, unworthy and like an accident that happened that brought me to this world, except there was the people I loved. I picked upon their grave emotions like spiritual radar, as a kid. That radar grew more proficient (but not necessarily healthier) as I grew older.

You too, have a gold mine of experiences and spiritual software that removes invisible fences and opens doors.

The spirit of man is shaped by our sensitivities to past experiences.  Mental  health professionals provide great service in helping people, however, I believe they best help when they get us to the point that we can discover the kind of power that this subject is leading to.: there is a place where each of us can go but there is only one chair there. There is not even standing room for another. It is in that space that we see who we are, how we were shaped and when that’s done we are taken into the listening room.

(5) Eat well. I know two people in particular who shared some dear secrets with me regarding the way to eat. One of those people is  ninety one years old Luz Maria Baptiste and the other is one hundred and ten years old man, Nakia Demetrius. Both are featured on my FB page. They do not know of each other, yet each of them recommended the same foods to eat. Even more interesting is the fact that a friend from Atlanta, Delano, had shared some of that information with me nearly a year before my having gained information from the above two seniors. 

Life does speak, doesn't it?

There is a place to hear everything you need to know, be and do in a given moment. Life, as my nephew, Derek Irvin says, is speaking to you. I believe it whispers.  This place is always accessible to us but matters of live often prevent us from going there.

 It is not prayer or religious practice that I am speaking of. I am speaking of a kind of meditation that takes you to the place where life speaks to you about you. Prayer brought the blessing of the experience to you. Your faith in God fuels the journey but you can only enter that secret place by choice and discipline.

To some people, thoughts of wisdom are a matter of quotes soon forgotten, but to those who seek, it is spiritual foreplay. We know that there is something deeper. We also know that sometimes things are simply as they appear. The place between the two realities is where I am.  The place I am speaking of is not stagnant; like the individual, it is transforming with us.

So, what have we learned?

 (1)  Count your blessings. You are Healthy & Alive.

        find something to be thankful for everyday. You won't have to look far.

(2 ) Who do you love?

       Think about them and give thanks for who they are.

(3) What is life speaking, specifically, to you, right now?..... Derek Irvin.

       What are you hearing?

(4) Exercise 15 minutes today.

      Come alive!

(5) Eat Well. Eat more of the following: honey, ground cinnamon, olive oil, asparagus and          

      garlic.

    Something wonderful happens to your attitude in this space.

  In this space, our errors should come to light. Even if we are embarrassed by these things, we should look more closely. Why did we allow such things to happen to create the embarrassment to begin with? Sensitivity to these occurrences are enlightening. These are landscape lights along the proper path of an individual. These lights shine both night and day. For example, I heard the words passion, invest, what we want is one side of a two sided coin…that’s what I hear now…the coin thing but before I heard the following words: Texas. Preparation Expectation. Detachment.

  Shortly afterwards positive circumstances in my life unfolded along the lines of those subjects (words) mentioned above. There was no effort from myself other than the exercises I am sharing with you.

  An idol spirit does not lead one to recognize the patterns of lights along the spiritual landscape. That’s the single reality that puts you on top of your game. A scattered representation of self or a lack of commitment can lead one along this path. 

  These five steps will discipline(un-scatter) you. You can only see the pattern of lights when you know what you want and understand the general direction in which your life is going. If you are going in the wrong direction (whatever wrong is for you). It is at this point that you will be automatically checked by events that embarrass you, demote your sense of integrity,, demolish your pride and prevent you from further destruction. This happens as we are transformed.

  I conclude that transcendence involves an abstract capacity to choose the proper tool, leave the no longer useless tools and move forward  on top of your game with what is needed to capture what is desired, without detachment, at a given  point in time.

Awareness of this space is permanent. The ability to go there at will is best described as our own built in magnetic force to create epiphany and peak experiences. The brain helps but the spirit dominates this arena.

Bibliography

Irvin, D. (2014, March 15). Period Case Closed. Retrieved May 2015, from www.periodcaseclosed.wordpress.com

  Are healthy people happier ( Kubzansky & Berkman, 1979).

Happiness by the Numbers: 8 Stats That Could Change Your Life(Cassity 2012)

Barry Writes: #Grammar Tips #Writing Tips

Barry Writes: #Grammar Tips #Writing Tips: Compare to or Compare with. To c ompare to   is to point out resemblances between objects regarded as important but of a different order; ...

#Grammar Tips #Writing Tips

Compare to or Compare with.

To compare to  is to point out resemblances between objects regarded as important but of a different order; to compare with is to point out the differences between objects regarded as of the same order. We can compare actual life to a drama, or we can compare our form of government with that of another country.

#Writing Tips #Grammar Tips

Disinterested. This words means "impartial." It is often confused with uninterested which means one is not interested in...

Allude is often confused with elude. You allude to a speech or point of reference. You elude someone who is pursuing you. To allude is to mention, indirectly.

Allusion. It is often confused with illusion. Allusion means "an indirect reference." Illusion is an unreal impression or image.

#Writing Tips #Grammar Tips

Lay-a transitive verb with the exception of its use in slang (let her lay), do not use it in place of the intransitive verb lie. The chicken lays an egg, the man lies down. The girl went home to lay down.

Less-should not be used to mean "fewer." There were less people. There were fewer people. Less refers to quantity and fewer refers to number.

#Writing Tips

 Discover character development techniques through scenery.

In my next book, you will notice that I have truly enjoyed this novel as much as my short stories, but this is not about me, it's about improving upon your writing, assuming you believe there is always room for improvement. Unlike my non-fiction books(Ascend, How to Build a Putting Green, Overcoming) which allows one to persuade according to ideas and beliefs limited by fact, in fiction, we generously embellish upon character motivation to allow the character to persuade the reader through his/her actions.

In the below scenarios the writer has the freedom to use scenery to make abstract character implications involving three people with different dispositions. The key to this technique is to open the story in a scene that will repeat throughout the story. The reader soon learns to guess which character is doing the actions based on familiar scenery. This technique baits the reader deeper into the story.

Because people experience life differently, we have a broad canvas on which to paint the characters we know. Some are pathological, others mysterious or even romantic.  Below, we have an example of a man sitting on a patio. The writer desires to show you how to describe character through the development of this single story idea. It's simple but effective. Simultaneously, we discover an emotion that moves each of the characters. At this point, the reader begins to identify with the character.

Adapt this technique to your own style and see how quickly the reader gets involved. This technique works in all genres: Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Romance, Young Adult, etc.

Try it.

Here are examples of the openings of a particular scenery that might repeat throughout a story.

                                                                    
                                                                   (Thriller)
An early September rain fell upon Houston. Torrential waters angled and rushed into the patio from North- to- south and then directly into his face, simultaneously, as a cutting wind, attacked the porch where slept. A strong gust of wind shuffled a clay flower pot. It fell crashing to the floor. He leaped to his feet, grabbed the pistol beneath his chair and...

                                                                     #
                                                               (Mystery)

It was an early September rain that awakened her or had she heard something? They say that its when you fail to trust your instincts that you're in trouble. The bedside lamp was still on from last night. She yawned, stumbled to the face bowl in the bathroom and brought herself alive with cold water that made her face cringe. That's when she remembered. She stopped. She had not checked on the baby and had not heard it. She rushed into the next room, and there sat the eight month old, in bed smiling.
She laughed when she realized she was not holding a baby bottle but rather, a bar of wet soap.

                                                                   #

                                                             (Romance)
She smiled as she slept. Images of John danced at the peripheral of her consciousness and she smiled, again. And then it began to rain. She squeezed her pillow. If only John were here, she thought. She would snuggle up to him like this and the pillow disappeared beneath her blanket. Torrents of rain dribbled on her roof like hundreds of tiny basketballs and she smiled, again. John liked basketball.

                                                                   #

Determine which of the three above scenes is repeating. (this technique will help you to remain sharp and precise with character development).

(1) She heard the door bell because she turned swiftly, tapping her hair in place. She rushed to the bathroom, checking her appearance in a cheval mirror as she went.

(2) He practically slept with one eye open and the other on the weapon.

(3) Suspicious and cautious by nature,Wanda looked upon the stranger with circumspect.

Let "difference" define your ficitonal characters.

Amazing things happen when we let go and follow the direction of our calling. The same thing happens to our fictional characters. This notion leads me to believe that there are destinations to which principle leads us.

This leads to another question, does your character lack character? It's not a twist on words but a real question.  Before you start questioning your character's behavior and motivations, pose these questions and watch the character jump off the page as you practice these techniques.

Does s/he place more  value on position and titles rather than character?

You can probably see how the above question begins to develop personality.  If not keep reading. I will give you a scenario and you can allow your familiar character's to respond.

Your character is walking to the car. Your character see's a bank robbery taking place. S/he see's the license plate of the getaway car but may choose to respond or not get involved.  When questioned, your character may or may not answer honestly.

Now, let this scene play out with one or more of your characters by using the exact same scenery.

For example:

Walter Ennis did not expect this excitement. He did expect he would continue to live by his own motto: mind your own business and look out for Walter. No matter what happened, Walter Ennis stuck to his convictions.

 He was simply walking to the vegetable market when it happened. He could have frozen in his tracks when he saw it but common sense told him to keep walking and to look in the opposite direction.

The bank robber hurried to car. As he reached Walter, the robber hesitated.

Walter continued walking, happy that he had not stared at the license plate. Why should he get shot over someones money. Besides, banks are greedy. They wouldn't donate a penny to his funeral service if he was foolish enough to intervene and get himself killed.

Walter continued along, minding his own business.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Denise saw him. No sooner than the robber fled through the front door. Before the robber reached her, Denise crossed the busy intersection, dialing 9-1-1- as she fled. She turned to the left, made a mental note of the license plate of the robber's car and whispered into the phone. She was compelled to live by her own motto: Do your part.

"Good job," the 9-1-1 operator said.

Denise wondered how someone could not report such a crime. That's the problem, she thought, people are afraid to get involved.

When questioned by the responding police officers, she remembered more details.

"Good job," the officer said to her.

Those words rang in her ears for months: good job.

If others cared to do a good job as citizens the world would be a much better place, she thought...if only people would do their part.

#Writers, What does it mean?

Go Set a Watchman,# Harper Lee.

After the tremendous fame of  #To Kill a Mockingbird, many wonder why the publisher released the title, Go Set a Watchman.

A better question is, What does this revelation really mean? Are we afraid of what it may reveal about who we really are?

As we appreciate a renown title such as #To kill a Mockingbird, a title written in a dark moment of American history, can we appreciate the totality of the times which includes the likelihood of Jim Crowism incorporated in #Go Set a Watchman, or, are we limited to the thought that Gregory Peck's character represented the personification of who we really are?

If the former is true, we should have no qualms about the contents of book we have not yet read. If the later is true, then the earlier book would not have been necessary.

The writer who causes us to question our fears has done the greatest public service possible via the pen. The writer may have revealed the dimensional personality(ies) of the individual.

Ecclesiastes 9:14  (of the Holy Bible) says it best: there was a small  city, with a few men in it...

Study the passage and be enlightened.

(c)copyright 2015Hamdani

Copyright S. Barry Hamdani - 2015 - . All rights reserved.

#Am Writing from the Treasure of the Heart

The future of the writer and that of the thinker intersects at the corners of awareness and imagination, based upon the treasure within the heart of the writer/speaker.  History exposes many examples of unprecedented performances of human genius following a simple question. " What if? "  What if Black people and White people and Jews and Catholic and Protestants could someday hold hands in the streets of America and sing the lyrics of the old Negro spirituals, Free-at-Last, Free-at-Last; Thank God almighty...we're free at last." Those famous words are the result of a man's courage to ask, What if?

It all starts with the treasure of the heart.

Leonardo DaVinci believed that to master a problem, it is necessary to break down its form. It is often in the process of restructuring that we develop a new perspective. Our first view of circumstances leading to labeling what we see as a "problem" is biased by definition. Once the "problem" becomes restructured it becomes a new set of circumstances, and is no longer seen as a problem.

One of the greatest values in writing non-fiction rest in the writer's ability to unfold nuggets of wisdom in following the question, 'what if?" This process is also one of the greatest services thought leaders bring to the world.  What if you restructured the problem before you? What value will it yield and how will the question best serve?

Jesus Christ best demonstrates this phenomenon in a parable in Luke Chapter 7 of the Holy Bible. He delineates a measure of wisdom in a way that only he can. One of the Pharisees desired that Jesus would come and dine with him which Jesus did. A woman of questionable regard understood that Jesus would be there and she, also, went to the Pharisee's house, but she brought an alabaster box of ointment with her.

In the eyes of an onlooker this unholy union presents a problem. The Pharisee, not unlike some modern day Christians who lack understanding, judged that since light has no association with darkness, why then was Jesus Christ associating with this woman? Like some modern day small minds lacking the gift of understanding, it appears that the birds of a feather theory was applicable here.

 Now, what if we stop at the door of judgment and ask what if? What if there is a reason the woman entered the house with good intentions as she carried the alabaster box  of ointment? Because the spirit within us cannot exist in two places at the same time, we cannot harbor judgment and wisdom at the same time and in the same space. At this point, wise individuals question what they feel but the arrogant remain in a fool's paradise.  What if we suspend judgment and look further-what wisdom might we find and pass on as a great service?

This restructuring process allows us to access dimensions beyond the limits of self and far beyond the known. By postponing judgment we allow ourselves to explore the vast unknown with self-appointed receptors or with an open mind.The area of unbiased observation invites genius. Genius is often the result of a different perspective. The question, "what if?" often paves the road to new perspective. It is perspective that yields nuggets of wisdom. As writers and thinkers we have that power in our hands, that is the power to influence perspective.

Again, the first view is often biased and emanates from self, not from the observed. Such was the case with the Pharisee .( Luke 7:39) He reasoned in his mind, that if Jesus was who he said he was, he would have known what manner of woman it was who touched him.

In the following verse, Jesus answered this man with a parable, a most effective way of conveying wisdom without creating defensive behavior with the listener. Jesus said there was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed $500.00 (excusing the difference in currency at the time) and the other owed $50.  When the creditor discovered they had nothing to pay, he, the creditor forgave both of them. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most?

Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And Jesus said unto him, Thou has rightly judged.

Can you see how Simon's judgment was changed from flawed to enlightenment from the basis of a single parable? I suggest to you, that restructuring of the problem with a loving heart, yields wisdom, for the treasure of the heart the mouth does speak.

Jesus went on to express the fact that the woman had serviced him as he, Jesus, entered the Pharisees house but the Pharisee had not serviced Jesus at all. She had loved much.

"Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little."

What is it that you judge as a problem that can be restructured from the treasure of your heart? What have you asked forgiveness for that your love may, also shine?

Speak Specifically

Explore the Community of Self

#Writing and Living Within the Reality of Change

To state the obvious, change is inevitable. Everyone's knows that but why can't everyone make the adjustments imposed by change?

Because we do not clearly see the promise on the other side of change and because change is uncomfortable, that's why. 

Whether we are writing fiction or non-fiction the reality of this dynamic (change) confronts our story, haunts the characters within it and speaks to a secondary reality: uncertainty and fear of the unknown, but on the other side of change is often the fulfillment of one's calling. A writer's ability to unfold the events leading to this change establishes great characterization of fictional characters. The notion of change tends to influence good writing and successful living.  In life, one's ability to confront and accept change establishes success, as defined by one's ability to meet one's goals and live the dream envisioned. 


Pay Attention
How do we begin to successfully confront change? First, listen to the voice of the inner spirit. Yes, there is a conversation going on within the community of self. Meditate and pay close attention. Breathe deeply and hear your own thoughts as well as the thoughts of your own characters. There is always a song playing in your heart, your job is to appreciate the lyrics. Pay attention.

Act 
Act upon the area of your discomfort. This is the promise of living by the spirit; it is the ultimate act of faith. When we meditate and pray and come to the point where we feel our area of comfort is invaded by our own thoughts about who we really are, we have arrived; however, our first inclination is to resist...to run away. In fiction, show the resistance of your character. In real life, focus upon your own resistance.  I urge you to not resist, instead, lean into the winds of change and call uncertainty and the fear of the unknown by its genuine name: Undefined Opportunity. The truth is before us at this point. This point represents an epiphany, land-marking the point to which we are propelled to higher consciousness. Paul, in the Bible, called it the second heaven.  It is a place where the known self tends to let go and turn away from resistance.Carl Jung called it: the morning of awakening.

Lean Into the Wind
In establishing your fictional character in a story and in establishing your character in life, overcome fear by leaning into the wind. The force behind the wind is a sign of your readiness. You will not feel the wind in your face unless you are already equipped to make the change. At the end of the day, you will come to realize that the wind upon your face is the breath of God, reminding you to lean this way.

 Let's take a quote from my book, Ascend to The Secret Place "Infinite wisdom tends to knock at the door where capacity lives."

Pay attention, act and lean into the wind.

The Teaching Pen

Writing can be a corrective force in society. When writers connect, magic happens. Life is often much like poetry for that reason. When we allow ourselves freedom, we begin to observe our emotional connection to poetry, an observation without walls, an observation peculiar to oneself, a "permit" if you will, to experience the writer and the writer's external world of creativity. As we observe life, peculiar to our emotions, we tap into eternal truths about God, the universe and the self...all of which we so passionately flee.

Life viewed from the outskirts tend to stage events not for the living but for the onlookers to life. Life then becomes a series of events camouflaged by the theater of sensationalism. This activity numbs the mind and spirit to the greater reality, the point where the observer experiences life peculiar to oneself, untainted by sensation. We might call this experience, "freedom."

This writer is often reminded of Eccliasiates 9:"14 in the Holy Bible. I wrote,  extensively, about this subject in my recent book, Ascend to The Secret Place. The passage reads, "There was a small city with a few men in it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built bulwarks against it. (15) Now there was found in it, a poor wise man, and he, by his wisdom delivered the city, but no one remembered the poor wise man. (16) Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless, the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words not heard."

I truly enjoyed writing within the parameters of this subject and found the process  intensively eye-opening.

The poor wise man in the passage above, as well as the writer of the passage, were corrective forces. The wise man was labeled, poor, not because he was bereft of finances but because he was unpopular and sized up a popular king. The hand of the writer was certainly moved by the infallible hand of God as the word "poor" was effectively used to present this wise man in a spirit of humility, otherwise the rich, besieging king would have destryoed the man before the wise man was able to free the city.

"There are few things in battle as effective as the element of surprise."

If life is a battle for the mind and spirit, then notice the stratagems of the king.  Those bulwarks are walls and walls are thoughts and beliefs. After all, one cannot enter the house of a strong man and rob him unless he somehow bound the strong man. We are bounded by unbelief and a poor set of false beliefs about who we are. If you believe yourself royal, you should walk with a royal stride, speak with a royal tongue, and command with the confidence and charge of royalty. Re-consider your beliefs and observe to see if there are walls or freedom. I urge my fellow writers to use the pen to help set people free.

Present Ascend

Writing Creative Non-Fiction

I have heard many good speakers who serve the public well from a platform. I have been touched by these speakers. Some are social activist who dedicate themselves to leaving the world in a better condition  (safe, healthier, more peaceful) than they found it. Hooray to those individuals who understand their purpose in life.

 As much as I admire them, I have noticed, many of these speakers are terrible writers. Let's fix that, here and now.

If you have a platform where you are influencing people to live a better life, as I have defined, above, then perfect your writing skills so that the information you convey may be also effective in print. Here's how. Focus upon one valuable idea at a time, poco-a-poco.

Reflect upon the genuine value that you bring to the table. For example, you may be an activist who warns us of the dangers of consuming improper foods. You may focus upon one of the adverse results of eating such foods. For example, some foods actually contribute to the creation of tumors in the body that leads to cancer. Such an activist might open a short essay with a form of the following question.

 "What have you eaten lately to create cancer or prevent cancer in your body?"

Now, go ahead and present your material.

A body building activist might open a short missive with the following question, "Which exercise will you practice today to prolong your life?"

Now, present your material.


An inspirational speaker, like this writer, might ask, "Which afflictive words have you eliminated from your vocabulary, recently?" Or, "Which non-afflictive emotions are you using this week to advance your life?"

Now, I will present my material: Let us view human emotion beneath a spiritual microscope..........

All of the above listed open ended questions tend to set the stage for the information you are about to deliver. It creates curiosity. Remember, due to your passion for life, you have something to say. We want to hear it. Don't underestimate your value. Don' t make the mistake of assuming that people already know what you are designed to teach. You are a unique snowflake and the manner in which you present information is unique. Do not lose impact by failing to  properly set the stage.

When you open up with a life changing theme in the way of a questions, minds open to you, allowing the essence of "you" to connect.

You only need do one thing: reflect upon a single value that you are offering the world. Think of one thing a listener can do (based upon your teaching) to improve life, today. Now, that being said, build a question around that idea.

I hope that these simple hints will help. Be blessed, be fruitful and multiply your teachings as an aid to all mankind/woman kind...people.

Healing Pens #am writing

Okay, writers, climb aboard with me. Let's use our pens to influence healing. You know, I never thought I would see the day that they would sell a pill designed to overcome a low IQ and promise to make people successful and rich but it is so; introducing,  The Brain Pill and the American Dream Pill. These pills are marketed at $200.00 to $400.00 per pill with movies stars and corporate celebrities pushing it with plausible testimonials. It seems the snake oil salesman has refined his act, modernized his pitch and actually found a bit of respectable research to support his work...if you want to call it work.

I am not knocking the validity of the pill as the research seems to support no reason to question the veracity of the celebrity's statements. It seems the pill actually stimulates some portions of the brain to amplify clear and superior thinking while it suppresses those parts of the brain that leads to doubt, fear and procrastination, but at what cost?  People seem to have more peak experiences and more measured success as a result of the pills, but at what long term risk? The devil in the bottle will admit some of its known risk in small print sometimes, but there's nothing small about the advertising budget designed to provoke your emotions and overcome the logic of the small print. After all, corporations have researched us with countless focus panels to determine what stimuli gets us going emotionally and they know that we buy based on emotions; so much for the logic of small print.

While one may believe the adage that anything that can be measured can be improved, one may prefer a different approach to improvement. I write inspirational books that I hope will make a difference in the lives of individuals as do many writers in this genre. By doing so, we would like to think that we offer a non-chemical alternative toward brain stimulation. Some writers introduce methods through inspirations from newly developed psychological studies, others through philosophical or scientific studies. I, on the other hand, offer an organic spiritual solution through spiritual considerations. After all, God did not take a pill when he made the world. Women do not take a miracle pill to create pregnancy or to deliver a baby, a miracle in itself; therefore, it seems that common sense has, once again, escaped the public and helplessly surrendered to the corporate pitch from pharmaceutical companies.

God help us.

They tell us that church is out and pills are in. People are running to the pharmacy in great numbers, shelling out $200.00 - $400.00 per pill, blindly trusting in something they know nothing about but are well warned to not trust in religious institutions for they may take your money. Don't trust in mysterious spiritual gurus and their concepts because they can be misleading and be careful to not over exercise (as if exercise ever killed someone).

 Granted, some of the supplements are safer than others. Take galantamine, for instance ( see http://dreamstudies.org/galantamine-review-lucid-dreaming-pill/s),  or (Narcissus pseudonarcissus)  which is taken from the common daffodil, is said to have safe qualities which makes dreaming more lucid and stimulates awareness while you are asleep. But then corporate marketing becomes aggressive once they see an uninformed public is biting. A beehive of manipulative commercials began to stir on Madison avenue and ad agencies produced clever deceptions pitching intriguing phrases: Turbo Charging the Brain. Brain Boosters. Brain Pills. The Miracle Pill. CBS joined the fray, "Secret Society of the Successful", and so on.

Now here are the facts. Pharmaceutical companies enjoyed a 74% increase in the sales of Provigil. This drug was actually approved for Narcolepsy and sleep disorders but people use it, along with Adderall as a genius stimulant.  It's pitch, "Niagra for the Brain." The many adverse side effects are yet unknown.

Are these ploys effective? Well, college students are already taking prescription stimulants like Ritalin. Because these kids believe the pill helps them to concentrate on their studies, the pill has growing demand.

"As more brain pills are developed, middle-aged people who want youthful memory powers and multi-tasking workers who need to keep track of multiple demands, those pill sales will increase. They will continue to buy in great numbers," says author and brain scientist Martha Farah of the University of Pennsylvania. "Almost everybody is going to want to use it."

Many of those authors and scientist consult for pharmaceutical companies. Think about that. The use of these drugs as a study stimulant is a felony but college students yet use it anyway. The approved FDA use of these drugs is for hyperactivity disorders. There are organic alternatives to these drugs. Bear with me, we're getting there.

The corporate snake oil salesman's rebuttal to the thought of potentially devastating side effects down the road is, "..but the people want it," or as a garden department manager said to Lulu Korn, a notable socialist activist regarding the product, RoundUp, "We know it's poison but the people want it." Furthermore, according to Lulu Korn, twenty years ago our children were bombarded with chocolate milk at school cafeterias when the consensus was, "they won't drink anything else," but that too has changed. Ms. Korn went on to compare the school's (belated) practice of offering sodas in vending machines with the more healthy juices now offered in place of the non nutritious drinks.

Regarding Monsanto's view that people are demanding its product,  I've never seen lines of people outside chemical plants protesting the slow production of chemicals, nor have I seen people marching in the streets demanding that companies like Monsanto produce more poison,  have you?  ..didn't think so. We  have, however,  seen TV commercials, at $30 or $40,000 dollars a pop pushing those products.

What's the answer to some of these problems: be informed.

As far as the brain pill madness is concerned, we can stimulate our own minds by reading spiritual oriented material, worshiping and aligning ourselves with a fresh dose of common sense. "Engage your brain," says Mustafa Hussain, MD, director of the geriatric Psychiatry division at Duke University School of Medicine, "Walk, read inspirational materials.

"Walk thirty minutes, daily, and meditate upon new concepts. Try a Mediterranean diet, " says R. Scott Turner, MD, PhD, director of Memory Disorders Program at Georgetown University Medical Center." It helps to prevent many diseases, including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, strokes and more. It releases the protein called BDNF, which releases health nerve cells in the brain."

Well, readers, there it is. Take the organic approach to stimulating your brain, walk and exercise, read stimulating materials, worship and consider different perspectives as to how we approach problems and consider different concepts to solving problems.

"This is the best evidence for preserving memory and mental function and overcoming adverse aging issues," says R. Scott Turner.

Well there it is, people,  the only secret to success is embedded within the heart and spirit of the individual, for the kingdom of God is within you. You are already the genius and your stimulants are natural and the only people getting rich from the pills are the corporations and the pitch men who sell them.

Climb aboard, writers, use your skills to stamp out the madness.

 I hope that my new book, Ascend to The Secret Place will stimulant you to discover and employ your God given talents to access your spiritual powers and to amplify your natural genius. It's coming this Spring. Look for it.



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