Apr
8
To Learn How To Live
April 8, 2013 | General | Leave a Comment
I took life for granted. Most of us probably do. We go from day to day and never really stop to realize how precious life is. That changed for me on my wife’s birthday, August 5th, 2004, the day I died.
We had planned to spend the entire day together, shopping and then lunch, a movie, more shopping, dinner and more shopping or another movie. Nothing went the way I planned it, we never even left the house together.
Nobody knew that at 8:45 AM I would suffer a massive heart attack and my wife Judith and our daughter Brittany would watch me take my last breath, and turn blue. Never thought about dying. Never even considered it. The paramedics arrived and saved my life for the first time. They rushed me to the hospital where Judith was told that there was a 10% chance that I would live 2 more hours!
A 10% chance that I would live it 2 hours? That’s it? My lifeless body was in the emergency room and my wife was by my side, touching my face and hands and trying to tell me how much she loved me.
There was no way I was going to make it out of that hospital alive and everybody knew it. Well, almost everybody.
My wife and many of our friends began to pray. Make no mistake about it I received expert medical care, but every Doctor that took care of me knew that it was just a matter of time. After 8 days in intensive care I regained consciousness for the first time. Technically I had been conscious before that but I have no memory of those days at all.
When you are on your death bed you will not think about work or traffic or all of the stuff that we spend so much time worrying about. You will think about your eternal destination and you will think about your family and nothing else.
I wrote this to help one person realize that we take life for granted. Maybe you are that one person. As we get older (I’m 48 today) we go to more funerals and say goodbye to more of our friends. Most of us go through our lives and never contemplate the things in life that are really important. We take so many things for granted as if our friends and family members will be around forever.
Hopefully you will tell somebody that you love, just how much they mean to you today! Perhaps you will forgive someone because you realize that bitterness and anger are a waste of precious time. Maybe you will speak a little sweeter or hug a little more often.
This was not written to give you the impression that I am a perfect person, living a perfect life. Far from it, but things changed for me the day I died. Hopefully through my experience you will begin to realize what I now understand, life is precious, none of us are guaranteed another breath, and the stuff that we worry about so much of the time, really means nothing at all.
Ask somebody on their death bed what they want the most, and the answer is time! You’ve got time right now, we hope you make the most of it, because you never know when your time will run out.
Apr
6
Premium Quality English Horns
April 6, 2013 | General | Leave a Comment
The English horn is a woodwind instrument of the oboe family similar to the oboe and used throughout the Baroque period. Most of the musicians can use english horn to perform mournful airs since the classical era orchestras. This is light and easy to use that is one of the favorite instruments for performer. English horn is a fascinating work with technological advancements and producing a melancholy sound to enhance the feel of the awesome.
Apr
1
Animals inspire human development
April 1, 2013 | General | Leave a Comment
Humans are at the top of the evolutionary chain. At least that’s what most of us like to believe. To believe anything else would jeopardize our claim as planetary rulers and do tremendous damage to many fragile egos. We may have learn to walk on two legs, use our thumbs, and develop writing systems, but that doesn’t make us the pinnacle of existence. The truth is that no matter how advanced we think we are, we look to animals for inspiration when thinking up many new technologies.
Dolphins, like humans, need to be conscious or maintain a certain level of awareness to breathe. Both species also need to rest their brains by entering into an unconscious state. Humans simply go to sleep, but if dolphins switched off completely as we do, they would drown. In the interests of self-preservation, they have evolved the ability to shut down one half of their brain at a time. This ensures that they maintain enough awareness to tend to their physical needs, while getting much needed rest.
Being able to function on half a brain while letting the other half rest would be an invaluable ability in many professions. Military personnel could stay awake and alert in dangerous situations, and doctors would be able handle their demanding shift schedules. This raises the question of capability. Dolphins use the ability to maintain basic functioning. Doctors and members of the military need higher levels of functioning, as they are responsible for other lives. Would you trust a neurosurgeon with half of his or her brain asleep? Nevertheless, efforts are being made to manufacture stimulants that would allow people to mimic dolphins and maintain awareness for over sixty hours.
Pit Vipers can differentiate between the heat given off by possible prey and the heat emanating from its surrounding rocky environment. This ability comes from granules in their nostrils that are sensitive to changes in heat within a perimeter that extends beyond its striking distance. Scientists mimicked this ability and used it in the creation of thermal imaging technology. Thermal imaging is used in detecting volcanic activity, to track the effects and pace of global warming, and by police and the military in locating body heat.
An application with more functionality for general public use is the study of tree frogs to improve the stickiness and re-usability of stick tape. The Indian Institute of Technology studied tree frogs, and their toe pads in particular, to determine how they managed to adhere to various surfaces. They discovered that the footpads had tiny channels on them, which enhanced frogs’ sticking ability. This breakthrough led to the design of an adhesive layer of elastic tiers with channels for air or water. The upshot was reusable tape with 30 times the stickiness of current adhesive tape.
The influence of animals can be seen everywhere: the construction of birds’ wings helped refine wings on airplanes. The ability of hummingbirds to hover was instrumental in the design of helicopters. And the construction of buildings is now being adapted along the lines of termite mounds to conserve energy. We may consider ourselves the epitome of evolution, but our continued borrowing from lower life forms lends itself to the conclusion that our pride in our abilities is severely misguided.
Mar
25
How Parents Can Be The Best
March 25, 2013 | General | Leave a Comment
“Raising up kids is no kidding” they say. Parenting is one of the biggest challenges which one faces. Are you having trouble parenting? Searching for good parenting tips or parenting advice books or articles? Don’t feel embarrassed or prejudiced in learning about better parenting. Parenting is an art similar to the job of an earthen pot maker, where your child is like wet soil, it is you who give them shape and mould them into individuals they are today. The more skillfully you do your job, better is the outcome. To get more idea read on.
First and the foremost parenting tip that you would ever get is “always practice what you preach” .you are the first ideal for your children, they watch you since birth and simply follow your ways. They would stop following and respecting you the moment they realize your preaching is just verbose and you don’t apply it practically yourself. For being your kid’s best teacher, first fasten up your belts. You need to apply lots of commonsense and practical attitude in dealing with their affairs. Praise your child more often for the good work they do, howsoever small it may be. In Today’s competitive world your child’s upbringing plays a major deciding factor for his/her survival and excelling in these testing times.
Remember how beautifully your parents raised you up. parenting is something that comes instinctively that’s true, but with changing times and changing lifestyle it has become more challenging. Don’t you find yourself helpless at times with some problem related to your child? At times you have to be strict with them and give them tough punishments for their betterment, but things don’t turn out the way you expected. May be your ways and means to deal with them are not proper. Parent’s frustration makes an upward swing when children do not agree with you or understand your real motives; they start their own line of thinking and understanding things, all this resulting in clashes and affecting the atmosphere at home. In such hot moments it is more of parents’ responsibility to sit back and think coolly where things are going wrong. After all the person you are dealing is your own child. Wouldn’t you like to deal with him or her in the best possible manner?
Raising boys or Raising girls is not an easy task, both are equally responsible and complex jobs. The problem is you know what’s best for your child but you don’t know how to make your child understand the same. We can guide you through practical parenting workshops, give you parenting advice, tried and tested methods and parental tips to solve your problem. Simple solutions to what appear like a tough problem are what we provide.
We teach how to grow a healthy and conducive relation with your child. Regarding parenting coaching I can only say “you have full idea about what are the ingredients that make a perfect cookie; we simply help you bake it”.
Mar
23
Digital Audio Workstation
March 23, 2013 | General | Leave a Comment
As a musicians, you are searching for the most popular and exciting music production system with the best possible price, then they can easily get fl studio that is a digital audio workstation. This is a complete virtual studio to create your music FL Studio is a music editing studio for your PC, you can using the advanced technology tools for art mixing. Artist can use this powerful software solution that allows the creation of songs and loops without any hassle.
Mar
23
Appliance Repair Services
March 23, 2013 | General | Leave a Comment
Nowadays, most advanced technology appliances are available for our day-to-day use that makes our work easy and comfortable. If you have any problems in your dishwasher, then avail the highest quality kitchenaid dishwasher repair services at a very reasonable price from Active Appliances. They provide the appliance repair services for freezers, dishwashers, heaters, compactors, ice makers and much more, people can make use their service for your appliances repairing needs.
Mar
18
To Get a Good Look in Your Home
March 18, 2013 | General | Leave a Comment
A home with a contemporary look features bright, airy and sophisticated living spaces that revel in all things current and chic, yet still offers quiet escape and comfort.
Contemporary design derives much of its boldness from pairing neutral colors, black and white with a restrained, artistic use of brighter colors. With a muted background of furniture, drapes, rugs and walls, carefully chosen colors will pop with dramatic results. For instance, consider leaving walls neutral except for one painted in your favorite vibrant hue. Because the Contemporary style stresses a minimalist approach, you can also use color to define areas and add pizazz, such as painting a door or ceiling.
Keep floors basic with pale wood, vinyl, laminate or tile. Friends of the environment can use reclaimed wood for this type of flooring. Rugs should be a solid color or adorned with geometric patterns. If you want a more natural approach, hardy sisal and jute rugs are a popular trend.
There are two ways to approach lighting within the contemporary room. One way is to make the light, rather than the fixture, the focus. Accomplish this by placing spotlights out of sight, leaving their bright shafts of light to slant across walls for theatrics effect. This is particularly useful for highlighting a favorite painting or photograph. If you want to focus attention of plants or sculptures, consider placing lights underneath your target, for a fresh up-light effect that casts shadow and adds interesting depth to the room. Another way to explore your lighting possibilities is to let the fixtures function as art and accessories. Along with chandeliers and pendants, track and recessed lighting contributes an artsy, streamlined feel to ceilings and is a popular trend in contemporary design.
For the most part, use neutral-toned furniture to unify your look. Lines should be smooth and geometric and free of carvings and decorative frills. Cotton, jute, wool and linen are all ideal fabrics for upholstery and comfortable to recline against. As ecological awareness reaches new levels, the contemporary furniture market is crafting more and more pieces from recycled items or sustainable lumber. Woods like beech, birch and pine are used, with plywood and medium density fiber-boards gaining recognition as easy-to-clean, low maintenance alternatives to solid woods. Other contemporary materials commonly found in this furniture style include steel, glass, plastics and stone.
With contemporary interiors, resist the urge to fill open space with more accessories. The open space is an accessory that is crucial to creating an airy, structural environment in keeping with contemporary design’s minimalist look. Accents should be spare and include textured drapes and textiles that lack busy or fluid patterns. For this reason, sticking with two-tones is a safe bet. Apply this to any flower arrangements you plan to use, including placing a few bold and big blooms in glass vases and avoiding intricate bundles of buds. If you want to supply plush comfort to your deep seated chairs and sofas, throw on a few pillows in solid colors that retain a geometric shape.
Mar
11
Attachment Parenting Practices
March 11, 2013 | General | Leave a Comment
Attachment parenting is a style of caring for your infant that brings out the best in the baby and the best in the parents.
Attachment parenting almost begs off having a name by its very definition. Also known as “instinctive parenting,” “intuitive parenting” and “natural parenting,” Attachment Parenting is fundamentally a relationship rather than a strategy, an act rather than a style.
The mission of Attachment Parenting is to promote parenting practices that create strong, healthy emotional bonds between children and their parents. I believe these practices nurture and fulfill a child’s need for trust, empathy, and affection, providing a lifelong foundation for healthy, enduring relationships.
Through education, support, advocacy and research, attachment parenting seeks to strengthen families and increase awareness of the importance of secure attachment, ultimately helping to reduce or prevent child abuse, behavioral disorders, criminal acts and other serious social problems.
Sensitive, responsive physical and emotional bonds between parents and their babies lie at the heart of attachment parenting. Seven basic “B’s” for parent/child pairs just getting started:
• Birth bonding
• Breastfeeding
• Baby wearing
• Bedding close to baby
• Believing in the language value of your baby’s cry
• Beware of baby trainers
• Balance
Attachment parenting implies first opening your mind and heart to the individual needs of your baby, and eventually you will develop the wisdom on how to make on-the-spot decisions on what works best for both you and your baby. Do the best you can with the resources you have – that’s all your child will ever expect of you.
The benefit of attachment parenting is intuitive parenting styles. Information on the Family Bed (co-sleeping), gentle discipline (positive, non-punitive and guidance oriented), “wearing” your baby and more.
So after all attachment parenting, a phrase coined by pediatrician William Sears, is a parenting philosophy based on the principles of the attachment theory in developmental psychology. According to attachment theory, a strong emotional bond with parents during childhood, also known as a secure attachment, is a precursor of secure, empathic relationships in adulthood.
Mar
5
Get Cash for Your Books
March 5, 2013 | General | Leave a Comment
As a student you want to sell your old books and easy to get cash amounts, then avail the service of Beck’s Book Store. They offer the best buyback option to cash for their textbooks. I sell my books easily just three steps and receive cash without any hassle. People can view their shop near your location and sell their books with the best possible price. They provide the dedication service since 1955, students can make use their service to manage your college books need.
Mar
4
Meditate Your Way to Sleep
March 4, 2013 | General | Leave a Comment
You had a long and stressful day at work and now you are ready to relax and prepare yourself for bed. But somehow, your mind just wouldn’t switch off. You’re still thinking of the events that happened at work today, or are worried about the important meeting you’re going to have tomorrow. You can almost hear the mechanism in your brain still actively whirring – it just wouldn’t wind down. You really need that quality sleep so that you can be refreshed for work tomorrow. But sleep isn’t coming. You toss and turn in frustration, trying to force yourself to sleep – but somehow you know that’s not going to happen, and you’re likely to step into the office the next day feeling like a zombie as usual.
The above scenario may sound familiar to you. It happens to many people. Most of us experience some form of insomnia at some stage of our lives. Factors like work stress, a newborn child, or illness can add physical and emotional anxiety to our lives, robbing us of the quality sleep that we badly need in order to function properly. We need some form of help to clear our minds of all thoughts and worries so that we’re in a better state to sleep peacefully.
Instead of resorting to sleep medication, which does nothing more but harm our body in the long term, a very effective method to calm our minds is through meditation.
Meditation is a state in which the body is consciously relaxed and the mind is calm and focused. It is a form of alternative therapy to de-stress and put away all thoughts and concerns of everyday life.
There are many types of meditation, and different people do it for different reasons. Some use it to ease symptoms of certain medical conditions, like heart disease, depression, or even to quit smoking. Most people however, use it with the desire to relieve stress, restore inner peace and to promote a healthier state. Meditation is especially helpful if you want to fall asleep. As the mind calms and thoughts are pushed away, it is quite easy to doze off.
There are many ways to meditate. Some people do it alone, some in groups. Some, who are new, engage the help of a professional guide or therapist to lead the meditation session. Generally, to prepare yourself for meditation, you would want to sit in a quiet location free from distraction, dim the lights, put your feet firmly on the floor, wear loose clothing that would not restrict your breathing, and close your eyes. Soft background music would also be useful. A meditation session normally lasts about 10 to 20 minutes.
If you’re new to all of this, try using some form of guided meditation. Guided meditation is available with the help of a personal guide or by using a tape or CD.
The advantage of having a guide is that he/she can teach you the basics of meditation, help you stay focused and meditate more deeply. A personal guide may be able to pinpoint the source of your problems, and to find a solution to it. If you prefer, you can also go for group guided meditations, where a group of people come together to meditate under a guide or therapist. Group guided meditations normally have some specific area to achieve, for example, to quit smoking, stop binge eating, or to enhance spiritual growth. So if you’re interested in group meditation, you should look for one that has the same specific problem that you’re trying to solve – sleeping.
Do note, however, that meditation is just one of the many options you can choose from to alleviate your sleeping problems. It may work for some but not for others. It is not the be all and end all to your problems. Most sleep disorders stem from some form of anxiety or depression, and to solve the sleeping problem, the root cause has to be addressed first. Meditation, or even medication, is only a temporary relief and may not be a long term solution.
Well, temporary or not, meditation will still be useful if it can just give us those extra few hours of sleep and make the quality of our lives slightly better. Try it to see if it works for you.