Thursday, April 30, 2009

Essays

Essays are brief works written in prose, elaborating on a selected topic. The word essay is derived from the French term essai, meaning attempt. The French writer Michel de Montaigne (1533 1592), was the first person to describe his works as essays. He published the first edition of his book entitled Essais in two volumes in 1580. Francis Bacon is hailed as the first English writer who wrote essays. He pulished his essays in book form in the years 1597, 1612 and 1625. Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walter Bagehot, George Orwell, E.B. White and Aldous Huxley are among the prominent essayists in English.

Essays may be literary or non-literary. They are used as a tool of evaluation at the academic level. Academic essays usually follow specific citation styles like the MLA, APA and Chicago styles. A well written essay should have a proper introduction, appropriate division into paragraphs, a proper development of the ideas discussed and a suitable conclusion. Different types of essays include argumentative, narrative, critical, expository, personal and persuasive.

An essay should ideally contain a thesis statement that will familiarize the reader with the topic being written about. The thesis statement has to be strong and positive in order to sustain the attention of the reader. The introduction of the essay should lead to the thesis statement. The thesis statement has the advantage of keeping the essayist and reader focussed. The body of the essay has to be divided into paragraphs that are an elaboration of the points thought of in the outline of the essay. Just as the introduction, the conclusion of an essay is a vital part. The conclusion will sum up the points discussed and highlight ones view of the topic.

Essays provides detailed information on Essays, College Essays, Essay Writing, Critical Essays and more. Essays is affiliated with Download Free eBooks

More to Medical Writing Than Meets the Eye

Think you only need to understand science to become a medical writer? Think again. Despite the term medical in the phrase medical writing, when you work in this field you won't be writing exclusively for medical professionals.

Depending on your niche and expertise, in addition to doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals, you might be writing for a lay audience (that's the common person), hospital purchasers, manufacturers and users of medical devices, pharmaceutical sales representatives, people in the insurance industry, or individuals who create and enforce public policy. That's a very broad range, and each of those groups will bring with them a different set of terms. To do your job well, you'll need to have a basic understanding of the language that's unique to each segment. Why? Because the more you know, the more marketable you'll be. And in today's economy, that's important.

So not only will you need to understand medical terminology, you'll also need a working knowledge of terms related to:

  • Health care
  • Insurance
  • Business and marketing
  • Education

You see, medical writing is not really one distinct genre, but one with a very broad scope and multiple components. In my opinion, medical writing falls into 3 categories: regulatory, promotional, and educational.

Regulatory writing, a very scientific type of writing, involves translating complex information from clinical trials into technical reports, some of which will be submitted to the federal government. Included here are study protocols, Investigator's Brochures (which are distributed to the scientists who head up clinical trials), patient narratives, and, in some instances, manuscripts detailing the outcomes of clinical trials that will be submitted to medical journals.

Promotional medical writing includes any materials created to promote, or sell, a prescription drug, intervention, or medical device. These could be any of the multitudes of sales-training materials (in print and other media) that are used to teach sales representatives about how a new drug or device works and to train them to sell it to prescribers. Target audiences for promotional materials are broad, and include the folks who sell the product, those who prescribe it, those who have influence on people who might prescribe it, and those who ultimately will cover the cost, either all or just a portion (third-party payers).

Into the educational category I lump anything a writer creates for continuing medical education (CME) programs, including writing needs assessments, as well as the content for the actual CME programs. I also consider patient education materials to be educational writing, since one of their purposes is to educate the consumer and family. I recognize that the ultimate goal of these materials may well be promotional, that is, to educate consumers to the point where they will ask their doctors to prescribe the product for them; however, I consider them educational, since they differ in style and tone from promotional pieces.

So you can see the target audiences for whom you could be writing can be quite diverse. And that's why you need to be knowledgeable about more than just medical terms.

Before you panic, throw your hands up in despair, and decide that medical writing is not for you, take a deep breath and calm down. You can do this. How do I know? Because I did.

Even though I had a bit of a science background when I entered the field, I still surrounded myself with great resources, like the ones that follow. If you're serious about becoming a medical writer, add some of these resources to your medical writing toolbox. You'll find them indispensible.

  • American Medical Association's Manual of Style, 10th Edition. This guide for authors and editors belongs on every medical writer's bookshelf.
  • Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 31st edition. A must-have resource, this dictionary provides definitions for almost any medical term you'll come across.
  • Managed Care Digest Series; http://www.managedcaredigest.com/ Developed by the pharmaceutical giant, sanofi-aventis, this annual series of free hard-copy or electronic digests includes the Hospitals/Systems Digest, the Senior Care Digest, the eManaged Care Trends Digest, the Government Digest, and the HMO-PPO Digest. The individual digests contain information about all the major components of health care delivery and provide updated information and statistics incorporating data from Verispan.
  • mediLexicon; http://www.medilexicon.com/medicaldictionary.php. A searchable, online medical dictionary, mediLexicon provides definitions for terms, phrases, acronyms, and abbreviations. Powered by Stedman's Medical Dictionary and geared toward professionals, this site defines more than 100,000 medical terms.

Cyndy Kryder is an experienced freelance medical writer with more than 16 years of experience. As one-half of the Accidental Medical Writer writing team, Cyndy writes books for aspiring and experienced medical writers. You can find more medical writing tips at her website: http://www.theaccidentalmedicalwriter.com

Monday, April 27, 2009

Possessing Our Inheritance

It seems there was this man that for all of his life lived in need. No matter what he attempted, it seems he could never get ahead. One day he received notification that a distant relative had died and left to him their mansion. Obviously this man was elated. Finally something had gone right for him.

Upon receiving the deed and keys to the mansion, this individual proceeds to his new possession. As he arrives, he is struck with awe and amazement at its size and grandeur. With great excitement, he inserts the key and opens the massive polished oak doors stepping into the most elaborate and beautiful foyer he has ever seen.

The floors are a gleaming marble. The walls are decorated with priceless paintings. The curtains are what you would expect in the most opulent of homes. The chandeliers are of exquisite cut leaded glass reflecting the sunlight into a myriad of rainbow colors. The man is so overwhelmed with joy that tears begin to flow down his cheeks. He pauses for a moment thinking about this distant relative who he has never met, yet this relative has given him the best gift of his life.

Suddenly, the man turns and walks out with a smile on his face, locking the door and returns to his meager dwelling. All through the week, he lives his life of existence, thinking about his mansion. He has told his friends at work about it. Even given some directions to it. Yet every day he returns to his same old abode.

A week later, we find this man back at his new mansion. With similar excitement he places the key in the door and swings open that large door and steps into the foyer. Once again, he is overwhelmed with the beauty, and it is all his! He revels in the wonder that he could be so fortunate and mentally thanks his relative for this gift. After a few minutes he turns and once again, walks out the massive door and returns to his routine life of meager existence.

Unfortunately, because he did not venture further into the mansion, he missed the envelope his relative left in one of the other rooms. Inside this envelope were instructions to access the safe in the office that obtained the keys to various lock boxes where further valuables were stored.

This process of weekly visits to his mansion is repeated week after week, month after month, until the man has developed a pattern of accessing limited benefits of his new mansion.

Now we all understand this is a fictitious story. We really don't believe anybody would be that foolish, not taking full possession of his inheritance.

However, we find this happens week after week in churches throughout the body of Christ. With the traditional focus of the church on the salvation message, we constantly focus on entering the kingdom of God. Our message is continually presenting the door to this wonderful spiritual domain. Week after week we encourage believers to focus on entering into the experience God has for them and making sure that they have continual access.

There is more to the kingdom than the door. Jesus came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven -- the good news of the dominion of a spiritual realm. Inside the kingdom God has for us much more than we could ever imagine. There is provision, protection, peace, joy, power and demonstration. We need to venture deeper into our fathers house and seek what He has placed there for us.

How can we accomplish this?

  • Change our prayer to abiding prayer - stay until we hear from Him.
  • Seek to mature beyond being a child of God to becoming a son of God.
  • Walk in the empowering of the Spirit, demonstrating apostolic authority.

till next time - Martin Schmaltz - http://www.apostolicmissions.org - http://www.martinschmaltz.blogspot.com

Council Of Nicaea Conclusion

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Overcoming Writer's Block 6 Simple Strategies

Writers block is that mental obstacle that prevents you from turning ideas into words. Sometimes the ideas are there, but getting them into a coherent form is problematic. Other times, you know what you want to say but are having trouble getting it to make as much sense on paper as it does in your head.

This phenomenon affects every writer, whether youre a writer by trade, a student writing a paper, or a casual writer jotting down ideas. Writers block can be supremely frustrating, especially if you are working on deadline and need to finish. After about 10 years of writing, Ive come up with six strategies for overcoming this obstacle and getting you back to your writing.

1. Do something mindless. When I come up against writers block, I do something mindless like washing the dishes. Doing monotonous activity can give your mind a break and allow your mind to wander. Because writer's block can often be the result of trying to hard or worrying about getting it perfect the first time, giving yourself a mental break can be just the break you need.

2. Do something physical. I like to take a walk outside if the weather is nice, and if its not, I try climbing the stairs at a leisurely pace. Physical activity is not only good for the body but can help increase oxygen flow to the brain, which aids in clear thinking.

3. Engage in conversation. Talking to a friend about whatever Im working on helps me to verbalize what I want to write about and often leads to some great breakthroughs. Sharing your ideas with someone not only allows you to think out loud but also can provide you with new ideas. If Im really stumped, I try talking to a fellow writer; this strategy usually provides me with a different take on an idea, which helps get my creative juices flowing.

4. Brainstorm. When I'm stuck on an idea, I use mind mapping or diagramming to help me get my thoughts in order. To draw a mind map, simply get a pencil and a sheet of paper and draw a large circle in the middle of the page. Write your topic in that circle and then draw lines connecting smaller circles to the central circle. In those smaller circles, write related topics or ideas. Seeing how all the seemingly random ideas are related can help you find a theme and focus your ideas.

5. Take a nap. When you're truly stuck and words just aren't there, take a break and sleep. Sometimes a refreshing cat nap can help you focus, and often ideas will come on their own after a bit of shut-eye.

6. Just start writing. The best strategy Ive found to overcome writers block is to just start writing. It sounds difficult, especially when youre finding writing in itself to be difficult, but it really works. When Im stuck, I get out my laptop and just start tapping away at the keys. I type out the topic. Then I type a question that may or may not relate to the topic. Then I find myself breaking through the obstacle by the sheer act of writing.

The next time youre stumped, try some of these strategies. Writing isnt always easy, but overcoming writers block need not block your way to success.

Noelle is a professional editor, writer, and proofreader with six years of experience in the publishing industry. She has a BA in English and will receive her Master's degree in management in 2007. Noelle's specialties are medical editing, ESL editing, and business writing. She has a passion for language and is dedicated to providing top-notch editorial services with a professional, friendly attitude.

Noelle resides in suburban Maryland with her husband and daughter and can be reached at noelleboughanmi@yahoo.com.

How Do I Become a Freelance Writer

These days, it's important to find ways to earn additional income. And asking yourself "How do I become a freelance writer?" is your ticket to exactly that. Of course, I assume that you do have an interest in writing; otherwise, this might not be fitting for you.

If you have a flair for writing, then finding freelance writing jobs is going to be easy. All you have to do is follow these steps and you're well on your way to writing yourself a good paycheck.

1) Surf the net for online "wanted" signs.

So how do I become a freelance writer? Well, try the net. A lot of people are actually looking for online writers at the moment. All you have to do is type "freelance writers" or "bloggers wanted" and you're all set.

I know this might sound too easy and so must be impossible, but that's not entirely true. To be honest, that's exactly how I first started my writing gig.

2) Don't be afraid to contribute.

If you want to know how to become a freelance writer for a magazine, you have to submit your articles to them yourself.

Many magazines accept contributions that are useful and valuable, so make sure your work is in line with what that magazine stands for and send your article!

3) Prepare sample works.

Whether online or in real life, you have to prepare sample works for your potential employers. This is one way they can gauge if you're fit for the job or not.

Sometimes though, they'll ask you to create a new article out of a topic they chose. When this happens, make sure you do your research. Never plagiarize and stick to what you know.

Trying to deal with the question "How do I become a freelance writer?" is an exciting journey. You're going to have to put yourself out there, trust in your instincts and in your own writing skills. Never be afraid to use creativity and imagination, too!

Want to earn a 5-figure monthly income through freelance writing jobs? Go to http://www.20daypersuasion.com/5figurewriter.htm and discover how to earn massive amounts of money by becoming a freelance writer.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Useful Plagiarism Checkers For Writers

Plagiarism is a big problem these days. People copy work from others and claim to be theirs without the right attributions. The fact is that you cannot simply copy other people's work for your own use personally or commercially. You need to attribute the work to the owner according to the copyright.

The most popular copyright to be used on the internet is Common Creative. Go through Common Creative to find the correct copyright for your work. When you want to quote someone else's work, make sure you check the copyright before doing so and remember to credit the owner when you quote the work. This is very important.

As a writer you should know the tools to use when you check your work. The most important tool for a writer would be plagiarism tools such as CopyScape. CopyScape is well known as a reputable plagiarism checker that you use online for web pages or articles. All you need to do is buy a minimum of 100 checks for only $5 so you can check your articles through 'copy and paste' into the CopyScape website. Otherwise, you can enjoy free checks up to 5 times for the same web url.

Apart from CopyScape you can try other free and reliable checkers such as Plagiarism Detect. This is a brand new checker by Jeffrey and you get to check through Books and PDF as well. Article Checker, Dupecop and Doccop are other examples of plagiarism checkers you can use when you are writing articles for clients or your blog. Copy Alerts on the other hand helps you detect plagiarism of your blog or websites and notify you through emails when someone copies your work.

You must be aware that not all tools are reliable in the market so when you are choosing a plagiarism tool that suits your needs, make sure that they work at least 99% accurate. Some of the plagiarism tools are free to try and you need to buy if you want to use for long term. Depending on the types of plagiarism tools you need, most of the free tools are sufficient enough to check for plagiarism in articles.

Sarah Lam is a freelance writer who blogs at Writing Consultation. If you are looking for reliable and affordable writing services, she is the one to look for

Why to Avoid Free Copywriting

Finding someone reliable to put your website text together can be hard and when you're on a budget it can be even harder. So, free copywriting can sound very tempting in some situations. However, it is important that you not only strive to get quality over quantity and affordability. You also need to be sure that you spend the right amount of time fleshing out the content and the writer who will put it together.

What You Get From Free Copywriting

Free copywriting doesn't pay. It's often poorly executed, or even generated by a machine rather than put together by a seasoned, well trained writer. It might be plagiarized or spun from other content and Google will almost certainly not accept it as a viable addition to your SEO efforts.

So, why do people seek free copywriting? They want to save money of course. But, if you really want to save money in the long run, go the extra mile and pay for quality in your text. It will save you money in advertising and efforts later by boosting organic SEO in the here and now.

What You Get From Paid Copywriting

Paid copywriting is a much better option than free copywriting because it provides you with a few things. First, you can find the writer that you like and interview them to be sure they know what they're doing. Second, you can review their credentials and tell them exactly how to write your text. Finally, you can build your plan and work with them to continually revise it. When you pay someone, they are much more willing to work with you on the final product.

The baseline is this - free copywriting doesn't pay. You need to spend a little to get a little and that will always hold true - no matter how much you want to save.

Read more from Anthony Chatfield and why free copywriting will only cost you more money in the long run by visiting his website at SeattleFreelance.com

Six Tips to Improve Your Online Writing

Depending on who you ask, writing is either an arduous craft that takes years to develop, or something anyone with a keyboard can easily turn into a million-dollar enterprise. As it is with most controversies, so it is with writing: both sides are wrong.

Yes, you can start writing right now, and there are plenty of venues for doing so. Free web sites like Blogger.com will let you get started without even so much as an investment in a domain name. But unless you're an unusually gifted writer, you shouldn't worry too much about the risk that ladies will swoon over the stark beauty of your prose after a few minutes' work on your part.

The good news is that you don't have to be an off-the-cuff Chaucer or an out-of-the-box Hemingway. Writing is a skill that improves with time if you apply a few basic principles.

  1. Write Something Every DayThere is something about writing that makes writing easier. I can't tell you what it is, but I can tell you that when I'm writing a lot, I find it easier to write even more. Ideas take shape. Connections form.
  2. Writing is One Step, Editing Is AnotherIn general, your writing direction should be forward. Writing quickly helps you avoid the inner editor, who otherwise would want to wreak havoc on your brilliant ideas (that's just the kind of person your inner editor is). This is not to say you can't occasionally move back if you find a fatal phrase that simply cannot stand as it is, but make it a rule to try to save most of your edits until the end. Tell your inner editor you'll be happy to let him come out to work just as soon as you're finished playing.
  3. Keep ScoreA wonderful writing exercise is to try to count your time and your words. Simply make note of when you start and stop, or use a stopwatch or stopwatch computer program. Many word processors and blogging tools have a word counter you can use. If all else fails, copy and paste the finished product into one that does. There's something like watching your word count every day that helps you stick to your writing schedule, and there's something about seeing the article or story count go up over a few weeks that really helps keep you motivated. Set up a simple spreadsheet in Excel and track your progress. (Hint; don't watch the clock as you're writing, when you're writing, write!)
  4. Get a JournalEven though I spend my day at a keyboard, I find it helps to jot down the basic article ideas in an old fashioned paper journal. Also, sometimes I need to sketch something visually, and writing by hand seems to work better for doing this than a drawing program. You don't have to spend the day "journaling", just have a book where you can jot down a quick idea from time to time, because if you're writing often, you're going to have a lot of them.
  5. Set Goals I find that when I set a specific goal for myself for the week ahead, and remind myself of my goal in the morning, I get more writing done. I try to make my goal just a little bit challenging, but not one that's realistically out of reach given my current numbers (remember, we're keeping score).
  6. Be Gentle With Yourself No matter what profession you choose for yourself, life is going to happen to it. Physicians have to meet with Pharmaceutical salespeople, even if their big love is working with patients. Writers are no different. You'll still need to do your taxes, take the kids to school, and whatever else you need to do as part of the business of living. If you have a particularly grueling day of interruptions, don't try to stick to the same schedule as you would if you have a day clear for writing.

John Lockwood is a freelance Internet writer working in Sacramento. He realized one day he was a professional writer after the top-ranked web sites he'd written for his real estate business totalled more than 3,000 pages. He is the author of Inklit.com, an Internet Writer's Blog as well as many other web sites and blogs about real estate and Internet marketing.

This article is Copyright(c) 2008, John Lockwood Associates. Permission is given to copy this article, but users of this article must maintain the article and the author signature box in its original form. No other use is permitted.

Freelance Writing Careers

As a writer, you probably read the stories about writers who are working from home and making six-figure salaries with envy, and wonder, "Why can't that be me? I must not be good enough to make that kind of money." I'm here to tell you that it's possible for anyone to build a very successful freelance writing career and earn a six-figure salary, while never leaving home.

The key is diversification and flexibility. You have to be able to diversify your talents and be flexible enough to apply them to a variety of different sub-fields within the broader writing category. While your passion may be fiction writing, you still need to put food on the table while you write your novel. It's still important to pursue what you're most passionate about, but being flexible enough to apply your talents in more profitable areas will allow you the freedom to pursue your ultimate dream. Are you flexible enough and motivated enough to use your talents in other areas that have the potential to make you lots of money?

There are endless possibilities of profitable areas you could pursue in your writing career. Networking and marketing yourself properly could land you freelance writing opportunities in blogging, writing e-books, ghostwriting, copywriting, resume writing, and more. Corporations are always in need of talented writers to write copy for their websites, for external communications, such as press releases, and even internal communications. While many companies utilize in-house staff for these tasks, most often it's a secondary job for a staff member who has no experience in writing other than what they've done for that company. It's your job to educate them on how outsourcing those tasks to a professional writer could net them greater results from their communication efforts.

There are two challenges most often faced by writers, and I have solutions for both. The first is that most writers are, by nature, not skilled in the areas of accounting and business management. I chose to outsource my back-office functions to a company called MBO Partners, which handles contracts, invoicing and collections. They also act as an employer of record, which means I get a single W-2 at the end of the year, simplifying my tax-management process. I still have control over my business, still market my own services and choose which clients I work for, but still am able to take advantage of all the tax deductions that come with owning a business.

The second challenge most often faced by freelance writers is the ability to market our own services. Typically writers have more introverted personalities, and most of us aren't comfortable tooting our own horn. Thanks to the internet, it's not necessary to have face-to-face interaction with potential clients in order to get new business. There are many indirect ways to attract customers that are highly effective, although it is still beneficial to fine-tune our sales skills and have the courage to make cold calls now and then. It's also still necessary to take initiative and submit proposals for potential work. Go to your potential customers with ideas and solutions; don't simply send an email saying, "Hi, I'm a freelance writer, do you have any writing needs?" Make sure you do your research on your potential clients and think of how what you offer can improve their business. That's the information you need to convey when approaching a customer.

I have found that it's essential for any freelancer or independent consultant to have a web presence. Websites are much more affordable than they used to be, and if you have any tech savvy you might even be able to create your own. As a writer, you should also have a blog. This is a perfect opportunity to showcase your writing abilities, and gives you an easy place to point potential clients where they can get a feel for your style. It's also important to network using the internet. There are a ton of social networking sites that allow you to build a profile explaining your business and services. Get involved; participate in discussions and make contacts. Offering free advice is the best way to position yourself as an expert in a given field, and the best way to get clients coming to you without minimal effort on your part.

While all this may take some time, it's easy to see that anyone willing to diversify their skills and dedicate the time and effort to an effective marketing strategy can build a solid base of clients that could net them a significant income while working from home.

Angela Stringfellow is a marketing communications consultant and an MBO Partners associate. Visit their website, http://www.mbopartners.com

How to Get an Ex Boyfriend Back - The Spiritual Side of Breaking Up

Hope is often what drives many of us to go after things that seem out of our reach. Wondering how to get an ex boyfriend back requires looking inward and looking up through a season of both waiting and healing. The pain that comes with breaking up does not go away after one day and the will to move forward seems impossible early on. It is easy to forget the spiritual side of breaking up and neglecting to heal wholly with the hope of getting back together with an ex boyfriend.

The Importance of Looking Up

All good things come from above. Through faith God gives our life both meaning and purpose. God also showers us with so many blessings that we cannot begin to count them. The reason for the breakup might remain a mystery for awhile but God promises us that God can take any situation and bring about 'good' for those that love Him. While looking inward is important to understand the reason for a breakup we first must look up.

You will not hear this advice in many circles on the internet but yes you must look up and pray. Re-establish the most important relationship you are meant to have and that is with your Creator, a God who loves you. Through prayer God will give you the strength you need through your breakup and also the wisdom to grow and mature from the disappointment that breakup caused you. Only God can take things that are broken and shattered and make them whole again. Looking Up will soon cause you to move forward.

The Importance of Looking Outward

God's desire for our life is never to be an island and isolate ourselves from everyone. The greatest command God gives us is to love him but the second is to love others. After we are looking up we must follow that with looking outward. We must invest ourselves back into the lives of our family, our friends, and seek to improve the life that is TODAY and move forward. We can carry the hope of reuniting with our ex but the burden is a lot lighter sharing it with both God and those that love us no matter what.

The truth is couples reunite all the time and you can as well. Many factors contribute to winning back your boyfriend and experiencing the joy of making up. The time part is essential for growth but at the same time do not push him farther away. It is important to know all the steps to winning your ex boyfriend back as well as the important lessons to learn for yourself while you are healing from the hurt of the breakup.

You can learn all you need to know to recover from a breakup and win your ex boyfriend back here at Saving Relationships 101 Guide at once and begin taking the steps to win him back! Learn more about Get An Ex boyfriend Back.

Fighting In Gods Name

Ghosts Subjected To Research

The term ghost' generically refers to various types of subtle (invisible) bodies such as demons, devils, witches, etc. who have the intention of harming others. The Spiritual Science Research Foundation has undertaken extensive research on ghosts in order to demystify this widespread phenomenon and help people in recognising and treating the adverse effects caused by ghosts through proven methodology according to the Spiritual science.

Ghosts (demons, devils, spirits) though neither visible to the gross eye, nor perceived by the other sense organs, mind and intellect are factors that affect all mankind. The manifestations of distress due to ghosts can be from a person displaying uncharacteristic behaviour to erratic display of violence, addictions, various physical and psychological illnesses, family problems, business problems, etc.

1. Ghost characteristics

  • Ghosts (demons, devils, spirits) are subtle (invisible) bodies
  • Ghosts belong to the nether region or one of the seven regions of hell but are found on Earth region too
  • Ghosts (demons, devils, spirits) do not exist in the positive planes of the universe i.e. heaven
  • Ghosts (demons, devils, spirits) have unfulfilled desires such as cravings for sex, alcohol (things that they can only experience through a physical body), revenge, etc
  • Ghosts (demons, devils, spirits) derive pleasure out of exerting control over and tormenting humans
  • The general aim of ghosts is spreading unrighteousness and consequent turbulent havoc in society


2. Who can become a ghost?

People who have died with unfulfilled desires, personality defects, negative impressions in the mind, high ego, who have harmed others and/or have the basic nature of harming others. Most importantly people who have not done spiritual practice according to the basic principles of Spirituality while alive are likely to become ghosts in their afterlife.

3. What is the meaning of being affected by ghosts?

Being affected by ghosts (demons, devils, spirits, etc.) is when the physical, mental, intellectual or spiritual functioning of a person or any combination thereof is affected or altered by the ghosts entirely through the use of ghosts black energy without direct intervention by the ghosts. Consequently, there is no direct controlling of the mind and intellect of the affected person.

However the ghost affects that aspect of the person, which is most conducive to achieving its objective; either of troubling that person, fulfilling its own desire, or preventing spiritual practice, etc.

4. What is demonic possession?

Demonic possession is when ghosts (demons, devils, spirits, etc.) control the mind (emotions, thoughts) and intellect (decision making ability) of a person. As a result, they also control the persons actions.
In a possession, ghost (demon, devil, spirit) is actively involved in controlling the mind and intellect as a means to harm the person. In almost all cases, the person possessed does not know that he/she is possessed, until it manifests in a dramatic way as shown in the Hollywood movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

5. Spiritual strength wins
In the subtle realms of our existence, spiritual strength is the most important currency. Out of the person targeted for attack and the attacking ghost, whoever is spiritually stronger wins. If the ghost has more spiritual strength than the person to be attacked, then the ghost can affect or possess the person at will. If a person has a higher spiritual level, his defense against a ghost attack is stronger as a result of his own spiritual strength accrued with spiritual practice, and consequently the protection that he/she receives from God is also higher.

6. Solution

Initiate one's spiritual practice and maintain its regularity so as to build protection from ghost attacks.

http://spiritualresearchfoundation.org/spiritualresearch/difficulties/Ghosts_Demons/

Jesus Wasnt A Christian

Response - Ability Divine Source

The time has come for the mass population on Earth to respond with each of your Divine ability to connect to your Higher Self, God, Holy Spirit, or whatever name you may give to your Highest and purest Spiritual connection to All That Is in the universe.

This is the I AM Presence within you. This is your time to utilize your abilities to seek answers for yourself, and learn how to receive Divine Truth in your life on every level of your life.

There are many guides and teachers both in this world of physical form, as well as in the Higher realms that are all here to assist you to reach the state of personal awakening to the point where you experience this wisdom as a part of your everyday experience, rather than an occasional glimpse of knowing or higher understanding gained from connection to Divine Source so that you may experience this connection during every waking moment of your life.

Divine Truth will always be given to you, and yet it may be difficult to follow as you shed old patterns that no longer serve your highest good in order to embrace new ones that will take you far above what many of you have experienced in this lifetime in your own personal awakening.

Each of you has the same ability that others who have a clear and pure connection to Divine Source has, it is only a matter of practice.

Your sixth sense is your highest sense of all, and it is time in your evolutionary growth that you fully activated it.

Some of you are the way showers. Some of you have become awakened and illuminate the path for others who are first beginning to glimpse their grand spiritual awakening on the personal level.

Some of you may look at these words and wonder what all of this means. That is all right. Each of you knows your place, each of you knows that you are a far greater part of the tapestry of humanity than you may realize.

Remain humble, regardless of where you are on this path to personal awakening.

Have patience for others when they do not understand for this is what God has for you pure unconditional love and patience. So please activate your God-nature so that you can also have pure unconditional love and patience for yourself.

Your time is precious. Your deeds can be turned to the Light once you decide to act out of love, rather than any negative emotions.

The only motive that will ever serve you is love and when this is carried out in your actions, this will return to you multiplied many times more than you can count. Please release all judgment. Please see that each spiritual being is growing at his or her own rate, and please seek to communicate with me when you wish to receive clarity and understanding, guidance and direction. That is what I am here for God is in you working through you living as you, so I ask you only one thing to do unto others as you would have them do unto you and to please release all blame.

Each being is blameless. Your responsibility is a response to your abilities that some of you are just beginning to tap and that is your ability to connect to and receive the guidance of Divine Source at any moment you wish to. All you ever need to do is ask and my response will be to show you that you, just like many ascended masters, carry this same ability within the depths of your being.

Enjoy this journey of awakening. You are as rare as an individual star in the heavens, and your light is needed as much as light is needed upon the Earth.

Be Well.

Barbara Rose, most widely known as Born To Inspire is an internationally recognized expert in the field of personal transformation and spiritual/human potential. A pioneering force in incorporating Higher Self Communication the study and integration of humanitys God-Nature into modern personal growth and spiritual evolution. A #1 relationship best-selling author of Stop Being the String Along: A Relationship Guide to Being THE ONE, Barbaras other highly acclaimed books include, If God Was Like Man, and Individual Power: Reclaiming Your Core, Your Truth and Your Life. Her public speaking events, tele-seminars, webcasts, articles and private intensives have transformed the lives of thousands across the globe. Barbara is known for providing life-changing answers, practical coaching and deep spiritual wisdom to people worldwide. She is the founder of Institute of Higher Self Communication, inspire! Magazine, Rose Humanitarian Alliance, and The Rose Group. Barbara works with spiritual leaders to uplift the spiritual consciousness of humanity. http://www.borntoinspire.com

Dale Carnegie

Possessing Our Inheritance

It seems there was this man that for all of his life lived in need. No matter what he attempted, it seems he could never get ahead. One day he received notification that a distant relative had died and left to him their mansion. Obviously this man was elated. Finally something had gone right for him.

Upon receiving the deed and keys to the mansion, this individual proceeds to his new possession. As he arrives, he is struck with awe and amazement at its size and grandeur. With great excitement, he inserts the key and opens the massive polished oak doors stepping into the most elaborate and beautiful foyer he has ever seen.

The floors are a gleaming marble. The walls are decorated with priceless paintings. The curtains are what you would expect in the most opulent of homes. The chandeliers are of exquisite cut leaded glass reflecting the sunlight into a myriad of rainbow colors. The man is so overwhelmed with joy that tears begin to flow down his cheeks. He pauses for a moment thinking about this distant relative who he has never met, yet this relative has given him the best gift of his life.

Suddenly, the man turns and walks out with a smile on his face, locking the door and returns to his meager dwelling. All through the week, he lives his life of existence, thinking about his mansion. He has told his friends at work about it. Even given some directions to it. Yet every day he returns to his same old abode.

A week later, we find this man back at his new mansion. With similar excitement he places the key in the door and swings open that large door and steps into the foyer. Once again, he is overwhelmed with the beauty, and it is all his! He revels in the wonder that he could be so fortunate and mentally thanks his relative for this gift. After a few minutes he turns and once again, walks out the massive door and returns to his routine life of meager existence.

Unfortunately, because he did not venture further into the mansion, he missed the envelope his relative left in one of the other rooms. Inside this envelope were instructions to access the safe in the office that obtained the keys to various lock boxes where further valuables were stored.

This process of weekly visits to his mansion is repeated week after week, month after month, until the man has developed a pattern of accessing limited benefits of his new mansion.

Now we all understand this is a fictitious story. We really don't believe anybody would be that foolish, not taking full possession of his inheritance.

However, we find this happens week after week in churches throughout the body of Christ. With the traditional focus of the church on the salvation message, we constantly focus on entering the kingdom of God. Our message is continually presenting the door to this wonderful spiritual domain. Week after week we encourage believers to focus on entering into the experience God has for them and making sure that they have continual access.

There is more to the kingdom than the door. Jesus came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven -- the good news of the dominion of a spiritual realm. Inside the kingdom God has for us much more than we could ever imagine. There is provision, protection, peace, joy, power and demonstration. We need to venture deeper into our fathers house and seek what He has placed there for us.

How can we accomplish this?

  • Change our prayer to abiding prayer - stay until we hear from Him.
  • Seek to mature beyond being a child of God to becoming a son of God.
  • Walk in the empowering of the Spirit, demonstrating apostolic authority.

till next time - Martin Schmaltz - http://www.apostolicmissions.org - http://www.martinschmaltz.blogspot.com

Secret

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Three Article Writing Techniques for Increased Online Traffic

Can writing articles actually hurt your online business?

In the bright, shiny new world of Web 2.0 the key component is content. The type of content can range from blog, audio, video, games, articles, and the like. Actually anything that people can interact with, have fun with, spend time with, and eventually come away feeling satisfied.

That's the key to your online business.

Are people satisfied? Do they like spending time on your site? Are they learning anything there that they can't elsewhere? Are you communicating with your site visitors? Is there a way to build healthy relationships with your visitors, either among themselves or with you?

Article writing is about so much more than just free online traffic. However, that is a goal. So, in order to do that we must learn some ways to attract free visitors to our websites that will fit in within the whole Web 2.0 culture.

Be Conversational

People like to talk.

They also like to listen if they have something good to listen to. Don't think so? How many podcasts do you listen to in a week? A day? I download podcasts all the time and listen to them while I'm working, riding bike, exercising, or just have some time in between appointments.

And it's just people talking.

But, it's engaging and conversational. Meaning they have a point to make and they talk in such a way to make you feel like they're talking to you.

Your writing needs to take on the same type of 'flavor'. Write your articles just like you're talking to your best friend. Ultimately, that's what you want your reader to be... so to speak. Your visitors are your best friend online. They're the ones who will tell others about your content and send them to your site. They're the ones who will buy your products and act on your recommendations.

Write with them in mind and 'talk' to them in your article.

Don't Say The Same Thing

One of the things that I see a lot of article writers doing, in order to get as much content as they can, is putting older articles in their own words and passing them off as original. Unfortunately, that isn't going to work in the long run. Sooner or later you have to come up with your own content.

What happens is that people will realize that they have already read this information some where else and come to the conclusion that you have nothing new to say.

What people are looking for is new, fresh, creative, and relevant content that will help them today. Right now. Not something they read about last year and didn't work for them then.

Be your own voice. One of the things I love about online writing and creating content is that you are the expert. You make yourself the expert on whatever topic you love the most. Then you put your opinions and thoughts in an article. This way you're not a follower, you're the one leading.

Don't Suck

At the beginning of this article I asked a question. Can writing articles actually hurt your online business? The first two techniques already mentioned are to help you think about what your article should contain. The information and the way it is presented is a major factor in whether or not your article is going to send traffic your way, or do the opposite effect; send people screaming in the other direction. Meaning away from your articles, all of them, altogether.

So, in essence, this last technique is a combination of the first two. Just Don't Suck.

Yes, you should jump in and write articles for your website, but make sure you can do a good job at it. Does that mean that article writing is only for a special breed of people? Of course not. But, successful article writers don't suck either. They put into practice the first two things; they are conversational in their writing and they write original stuff.

Receiving free online traffic relies upon how well you can attract each visitor away from someone else.

Article writing can hurt your online business. But, it can also be the single most powerful tool you use for consistent traffic and sales.

Tim Bossie is the owner of http://www.guaranteed-ads.com and specializes in writing articles, in bulk, for affiliates, web content, and any other small business need. Check out his amazing rates and get set up for your new articles today at http://www.guaranteed-ads.com/articles.html

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Significance of Colors in Stress Management

Stress is one word that has jumped up the list of words used daily. It has almost become an epidemic. People are stressed from the pressures of life, work and family and wish there was a way around it. Maybe if we lived by ourselves somewhere, we could eliminate some of the stress, but unfortunately we live in a world where we find ourselves been part of different networks -the home and family, work network, social, neighborhood - and the list continues. These different networks are all made up of lots of different people and every one of them have their own personality traits.

Research has been done over the years to group the behavioral pattern of people. Different names have been used to identify groups some of which require one to search the dictionary to understand them. It turns out these different behavioral groups are associated with colors. I bet we all at a point in time have looked at the rainbow and admired the colors. What many have failed to realize is that these colors are embedded in our personalities and they hold the key to understanding each other. Knowing your color is very important in better understanding ourselves and all the people we meet and interact with, not just our business contacts but our family members, friends and also in the work place.

There is a simple color system tool that helps one learn a better way to understand the people in their lives and in so doing helps to reduce some of the `people' stress we all face every single day. The 'Colors To Success' tool uses four colors to differentiate the different personality styles. The four colors are yellow, green, blue and red. Everyone is a rainbow of these four colors and depending on a particular situation a specific color is emphasized to reflect that personality. Having said this, it is important to note that one color is always our dominant color; the basic traits we were born with. This is the color that represents our true personality and the traits and mannerisms that define us.

For a quick summary:

  • The 'Yellows' are open and indirect. They consistently demonstrate more concern for others than for themselves.
  • The 'Greens' are self-contained and indirect. They are analytical, always wanting more details about whatever they're interested in.
  • The 'Blues' are open and direct. They act as social animals, craving almost constant contact with people.
  • The 'Reds' are self-contained and direct. They consistently talk about themselves and their achievements.

When we learn the habits, traits and mannerisms of the different personalities represented by these four colors, we can appreciate the various people in our lives. Further, understanding the folks we come in contact with is a tremendous stress management tool. One can also use the knowledge about personalities to help build better professional relationships. Depending on the client you are dealing with you can tailor your business letters/emails to suit that personality.

Learning to use the `Color to Success' System has been a wonderful breakthrough for me! Using this simple system, I have found new understanding about myself and my family. Understanding myself has taken so much stress out of my life. I can now accept who I am, just the way I am. I can also better understand my weaknesses and find ways to overcome, or work around, those issues, which means a lot less stress for me to deal with every day.

http://www.HelpForYourDreams.wordpress.com/

The author of this article Augustus Kamassah believes if you have a dream to make it big in Network Marketing you can. It is his goal to give you the right knowledge, skills and abilities to be successful through a PROVEN duplicate system, of good leadership and supportive mentoring. You CAN be successful.

Achieving Work - Life Balance - A Dream Or a Possibility?

Is having a balance between "work" and "life" a fantasy? At a time when many people feel fortunate to still have a job, are we asking for too much when we want a balanced life?

When was the last time you:

  • took a vacation?
  • went away for a weekend?
  • got away from work early to do something fun?
  • worked out?
  • spent some time on a favorite hobby or sport?

Achieving balance in your life when your work or business is exhilarating, enjoyable, or demanding can be a challenge. When you have a family, they can be your reminders. When you don't, then you need other factors to remind you to re-align your life.

Sarah had been working from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for many years at her employer. After getting married and having children, various relatives helped with childcare when she returned to work. When their two kids started school, however, both sets of grandparents moved away to other states. Her husband started work at 6:30 a.m., so he left the house by 5:45. Sarah had to leave by 7:30 to get to work by 8:00, leaving the kids alone for an hour. Since the children were still so young, being home alone didn't work, and going to a neighbor's house wasn't an option.

Even though all of Sarah's co-workers worked from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sarah decided to ask if she could start at 9 a.m., take a half hour for lunch, and leave at 5:30. Her employer agreed to accommodate her request. That way, she could leave the house when the kids left to catch the school bus, and her husband got home in the afternoon just before the kids arrived. This worked out very well for their family, and soon her employer began to pursue other avenues to help make employees' lives easier.

Achieving a work/life balance is a possibility, and I think it's reasonable to request it.

Having a work/life balance is often about adjusting your work patterns.

If your place of employment has not yet adopted changes to their policies to help employees achieve a balanced life (and you notice that co-workers seem to be stressed out), it may be time to start discussions with human resources and other management about which types of changes would be do-able.

Why Help People Achieve Work/Life Balance?

More and more companies are realizing that by making it easier for employees to live a balanced life, the employees:

  • have less stress (they stay focused on work when they're at work)
  • stay healthy (they get sick less often, and call in sick less often)
  • stay with the company (there is a higher retention rate)

All of these things are great for employers. I know it's a clich, but it's true: it's win-win.

What Types of Practices Do Employers Put in Place?

There are a variety of things that companies do to help their employees balance their work/life. Some of these include:

Flex time: Employees choose their start times, lunch hour, and finish times, and can vary this from day to day. Typically, the times are within certain parameters (i.e. 6 a.m. = the earliest start time; 7 p.m. = latest finish of an 8-hour slot).

Comp time: When employees work overtime, they can take an equal amount of time off on another day, or spread the time to more than one day.

Job Sharing: Instead of one full time employee, a particular job is shared by two part time employees.

Telecommuting: The employee works at home, using a computer and phone to stay connected. Technology has enabled telecommuting to be easily accomplished for many jobs.

Compressed Working Hours: This concept allows employees to work their total number of weekly hours over fewer days. For example, one person may work a 4-day week, while another may work 9 days over a 2-week period.

Annualized Hours: An employee's total working hours are calculated over a year instead of a week. They work according to the peaks and valleys of activity over a year's time.

What Else Have Some Employers Done?

Some large employers have conveniences available for employees right in the building. Many have workout facilities. I've heard that SBC in Chicago has a hair salon/barber shop. Some have a dry cleaning pick up & delivery service. Others have a concierge service that helps with running errands, making doctor's appointments, or finding an electrician or plumber. I've also seen (and used!) a chair massage service that was brought into a company weekly.

How Do I Know if I Need More Balance in My Life?

Rob Parsons, author of "The Heart of Success", says that if any of the following "danger signs" appear in your life, then it's time to readjust your work/life balance:

  • You work longer hours than anyone else
  • You resent colleagues who work fewer hours than you do
  • You are often irritable, exhausted, and/or have a headache
  • You feel ill when you're on vacation
  • You go out for dinner wearing business clothes
  • You feel tense when the car in front of you doesn't move immediately when the light turns green

Have you recognized yourself or your business anywhere in this article?
What are you going to do to make a change?

Glory Borgeson is a business coach, author, and speaker, and the president of Borgeson Consulting, Inc. She specializes in helping small business owners to catapult their business to new levels of profit. Whether an entrepreneur is at the top of his game or a rookie just starting his business, Glory works with the entire spectrum of entrepreneur. Top athletes have a coach; why not you?

Check out Glory's book, "Catapult Your Business to New Heights: Sure-Fire Strategies to Increase Profit". Designed to get small businesses on a better profit-making path, "Catapult" is a practical approach that exercises both the business and the owner! The book is available in both Paperback and E-book versions. Click here to find out more: Programs & Products (Or purchase on Amazon.)

Click here to download a chapter of the book from our home page! Borgeson Consulting, Inc

Friday, April 17, 2009

Helpful Tips for Effective SEO Article Writing

Every day thousands and thousands of writers, freelancers or not, are earning dollars from search engine optimization article writing. Knowing the ins and outs of search engine optimization will give you an outstanding edge in the world of online business even without the help of pay-per-click ad campaigns. Read on and discover how you can make this thing possible for you.

Although effective writing is a skill, it does not mean you can't learn to do it yourself. Everything about the skill can be learned. And with the right determination, passion, and enthusiasm, plus the right amount of exercise, it should be no wonder you'd be a great writer in no time.

Most writers are big readers. They read a lot. They read everything. They read every single word or phrase they see, even the minutest of details-from the newspaper to the toilet paper wrapper, from street signs to milk cartons, everything.

Of course, it should go without saying that a writer writes. And put your passion into it. Some people who attempt to become a great writer may feel frustrated after months and sometimes years of writing without seeing any considerable improvement in their manner of writing. This shouldn't be the case. The skill is slowly honed for some, and faster for others. But with correct practice, one should get to his goal in no time.

Writing for web content and SEO does not mean you need to have a MENSA IQ or be a rocket scientist to understand the language of the game. One should just write in the same manner as he converses with friends or peers; hence, your write-ups should have a very conversational tone by not jeopardizing its being an informative piece.

Aside from your article being informative, it should be able to entertain your readers. Entertain means enough to keep them reading through the entire piece. Make sure though not to over-entertain them that you disappoint them when you don't get to meet their expectations. You can do this by having an attractive headline, a powerful introduction, an interesting body, and a very remarkable conclusion. Having these elements will ensure you that your readers will definitely remember your article and will most probably ask for more.

Always take the time to review your work. Remember, even the world's best writers hire editors to read through their novels, books, stories, and the likes just to be sure that every typographical mistake and even contextual errors are eliminated and polished. As somebody who is just starting his career in the writing world, it should be a requirement that you carefully go through every single article that you finish. You will be amazed at how many oversights you have made.

The SEO world is an interesting world. And if writing is really your passion, then it should be more interesting to you. Not to mention the dollars you can earn from every SEO article you come up with, you should be happy to stay in this job for a long time. Don't forget, "correct practice makes perfect" still holds true, even in today's world where everybody seems to be busy getting something done online.

Author is one of the most highly paid copywriter under penname webcont247365 on outsourcing website and owner of bluebird writing services.

Please visit http://www.bluebirdwritingservices.com to outsource SEO writing services.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Increase Your Traffic by Writing Articles

If you want to increase you website traffic quickly there is only a few ways to it. One of the ways is by Writing good quality articles that people would want to read.

It is not easy to increase your website traffic without cutting corners and this is something you should never do. There are a few things that can increase you traffic that are legal as long as you have the time and skill to be able to write interesting articles.

So you've built your wonderful new website and submitted it to the search engines and directories. In your eyes you are so proud of all your hard work that Google and all the search engines will just fall over themselves to add you to the top page.

So you wait...and you wait...and nothing happens. It takes a very long time for a newly developed website to get any form of listing in search engines and directories and even longer to get any meaningful listing. So, what's the solution to speeding up the process?

The best way you can increase traffic to your website for a short period of time is to write and submit newsletter articles. The beauty of this method is that anyone can do it all you need is a good idea, the ability to write accurately and some spare time. I'm not talking here about working for a magazine or website but the wonderful world of free articles. If you are short on cash and can't afford to promote your business then this technique is especially suited to you.

There are many websites that require constant content on a daily basis and most Newsletter editors are always looking for well written content. This is more so if their newsletter or blog is updated daily or weekly. As you can imagine it would be very difficult to maintain that level of content and prohibitively expensive and so they turn to free articles to ensure their website is relevant and interesting to their visitors.

As with most things on the internet if a gap appears it's very quickly filled and so we have the wonderful world of free articles. The deal is that in exchange for allowing the authors content to be published for free, the author of the article is allowed to place a link or advert at the bottom of the article without any charge.

Just imagine that for a minute, if your article is interesting enough and good enough it could be included in hundreds of websites in a matter of days and what does that mean, one way in-links. This of course is great for your pr ranking and will no doubt increase your traffic for as long as the article is placed high on the publishers website pages. The thing to remember is that you are not giving the article away just given away the rights to use the article on other peoples websites...you still own the article.

These links or adverts are usually placed just below the article and are called "resource boxes". The resource box is your chance to sell yourself or your website or both. It usually contains information about the author and a link to his website.

It's important that you take some time over the content of the resource box because if it is well written then more people will be tempted to click through to your main website and let's face that's the main reason you're given this information away in the first place. Don't add a affiliate link or straight link to another persons site as most publishers are wise to this and would not add your article.

Once you have written your article you now need to find the write publishers and newsletters that will take your work of art. This can be a long and boring job but it is a very important one. I would suggest you find at least 20-30 newsletters of a decent size and don't give up until you have done so.

The main reason why taking a little time over this part of the process is simple: It does not take much longer to submit your article to 500 sites that only main difference is the amount of traffic you will receive.

It's hard to say how much this type of approach will increase your traffic because it's very dependent on how well your article is written and how well you market it. In the best case scenario your article could be accepted at several larger ezines that have 150,000+ subscribers each and could result in 1000+ visitors to your website.

On the other hand you could end up with nobody publishing your article and not single hit. My personal opinion and experience is that a reasonably well thought out and written article usually produces around 500+ unique visitors per article.

There is another way you can get help with the tiresome job of finding publishers and newsletters and that is to pay one of the many companies out there to submit your article for you. I have used several of these companies and the quality and cost of their work can vary enormously. Some of these companies charge per submission ad some charge a flat monthly fee. The most important thing is that you are getting your article to enough quality publishers.

Brian is the editor of Bee Ltd a domain acquisition and development company that has many years experience in the domain name and internet market. You will find many useful articles and advice on all manner of subjects associated with domains names at our site: Bee.eu.

Books On Financial Freedom

Financial freedom is the most important thing a person can have, but it can also be very difficult to achieve. Most people will need assistance from an outside source. For those of you who cannot afford to hire a financial expert to manage your finances, there are many books available that will teach you how you can use your money wisely and eventually achieve financial freedom.

There are many financial experts, as well as people who have already achieved financial freedom, writing self-help books for people wanting to free themselves from the clutches of living in debt. The hardest part is choosing the right one. You will need to make sure that the advice you follow is the right one; you do not want to follow the wrong advice and go further in debt.

These books are not very expensive, and they are very helpful. They will be able to give you very valuable advice. There are also books available on the Internet that contain the same material.

If you are able to access the Internet, you should first look for online books on financial advice. This will save you money, considering these are usually free. If you have the need to have a paper copy of the book, there are many places from which you would be able to obtain one. Obviously, bookstores carry books of this nature. You will also be able to buy financial books on the Internet, since most major bookstores have a website where you can place orders. There are many websites available from which you can purchase your book. In fact, some of these websites will offer these books at a lesser price than if you buy them at a bookstore.

Debt is the number one cause of many problems in peoples lives. Getting out of debt is the first and most important step a person needs to take in the process of achieving financial freedom. If you think this task is too difficult to achieve without assistance, then it is best that you buy a book that will aid in your struggle to achieve financial freedom.

Financial Freedom provides detailed information on Financial Freedom, Steps To Financial Freedom, Financial Freedom Resources, Financial Freedom Services and more. Financial Freedom is affiliated with Commercial Equity Line Of Credit.

Home Design And Architects

Tips for Scholarship Essay Writing

Scholarships that require essays offer you the opportunity to stand out from the pack and make an impact on the reader. If an essay is ever optional, always, always include it! By choosing to ignore a request for an essay, it shows the application-committee or reviewer you really did not want to put the work in. You are writing this essay for money; it's worth the time and effort you put into it. (It is unwise to write one essay and copy/paste it for all the scholarships you are applying for.)The essay section of a scholarship is your only chance to distinguish yourself from the rest of the applicants. You may be just as qualified, or perhaps even less qualified, than others, so this is your time to shine and let them know why YOU deserve this scholarships.What will distinguish yours from all the others? Perhaps you deserve this scholarship, but other students probably do too. What makes you different from the masses? Put some time into thinking about what you're going to write and always have someone else read it. A second opinion, third, or even fourth will likely bring you plenty of valuable feedback. Ask your teachers, coaches, managers at work, your friends. The more feedback you can get, the better off you are.The purpose of the essay, for the reviewers, is to learn about you. Your words reveal something about your personality and plans for the future, and a chance to get an in-depth look at the topic at hand. Clear writing ability and creativity do not go unnoticed in your essays. Before you begin writing
Create an outline of your paper. Regardless of the order in which you write each section, you should know prior to writing what topic or main points you should cover in each part of your paper. Basic outlines have an introduction, body, and conclusion. Intro
Typically it is a good idea to use some sort of "attention getting" aspect; make the reader want to continue reading. Do not begin every sentence with "I" or "my". Although this essay may be about you, it sounds redundant. Add some variety and spice by changing your language and sentence structure. For example: I am a senior in high school and I am going to college XYW after I graduate. I have participated in many great activities during the last four years. I think I deserve this scholarship because ..." The repetition within those sentences is boring and will not engage the reader.Body
The body of the essay should support the main topic of the essay; make sure to give examples and explain why you are qualified. Avoid repeating yourself using the same language. Personal and specific examples create a story that may draw in the reader and create a memorable impression. Using generalities is not convincing; they may be applied to most people and do not create a unique impression of you.Conclusion
To conclude your essay, restate your main point, although do not use the same language word for word. Using a future-tense may be appropriate. If you choose to use a quote or a poem in your essay, choose wisely and be selective; it may be perceived as clich or unoriginal, or even inapplicable.

For free scholarship information, check out http://www.squarehatmoney.com/scholarships

Audio Book Downloads - The Gutenberg Killers

Audio books are here to stay, say the experts. Judging by their steady year-on-year growth, this is not a marketing statement, but a fact. Now these same experts are predicting a dramatic upsurge in the sale of audio book downloads over the next two years.

The prediction makes sense in view of the following:

* The market penetration of MP3 and iPod devices is significant. This penetration is set to increase as some publishers are giving away MP3 players free of charge with purchases in order to encourage future downloads.

* Such downloads are quite a bit cheaper than printed books.

* Current generation readers enjoy the convenience of books which they can download from the comfort of their homes - even at 2 o'clock in the morning!

Purchasing an audio book online doesn't mean that you will only be offered older books or that you will have to make do with a limited variety. On the contrary, all the latest and greatest print releases are freely available as downloads nowadays. The same applies to all-time favorite novels, such as Harry Potter and all-time favorite authors such as Stephen King.

Harry Potter audio books

In spite of the controversies surrounding the six Harry Potter books, it became an overnight success: All these books have been translated into 47 languages with millions of copies sold worldwide; the seventh book is due for release; the fifth Harry Potter movie is in production; and all these titles are available in download format.

The readability of the Harry Potter series precludes children under the age of ten from comfortably reading it in print. This makes purchasing these books in digital format a worthwhile consideration. The popularity of Harry Potter's books has resulted in the series becoming available in most digital formats.

Jim Dale, the narrator, has won a Grammy Award, two Grammy nominations, and two AudioFile Earphone Awards for his work on the Harry Potter series.

A further plus-factor for purchasing the Harry Potter books in digital form is the price. You could save as much as 25% per book! The seventh book in the series, The Deathly Hallows, can now be pre-ordered. It may be a good time to order this pending release when you purchase the other Harry Potter books in the series.

Stephen King audio books

Stephen King is a firm favorite. Since his first book "Carrie" was published in 1973, Stephen King has written more than 60 novels, short stories, plays etc; twenty of his stories were made into films; and all his best selling books are available in digital format.

Of significance to the Stephen King fans, is the fact that he is about to retire, so in view of this imminent retirement, it could be worth considering purchasing one of the 'Stephen King Live' audio downloads available on the internet.

It is a live recording made in 1998 of a reading he made at London's Festival Hall, with Stephen King himself as the narrator. The recording is available on CDs or as an online download, but interestingly enough, not in printed format at all.

The unavailability of Stephen King Live in the printed media is an interesting phenomenon. What if emerging authors had to decide not to publish in print? Offering book downloads instead, could mean a wider reach, better sales and improved margins.

Audio books to download

There are literally thousands and thousands of these, and the numbers are increasing exponentially every day. So Who knows? Only the future can tell whether book downloads will one day rule. In other words, is the tyranny of the printed word coming to an end in a future near you? Bye-bye Gutenberg?

Boualem Amrouche is a successful Internet publisher, owner of the site
http://www.spoken-books.com where you can find thousands of audio books to download, some being FREE.

Please note that this article can be freely reproduced as-is, as long as the contents of this box are also published unaltered.

The Death Diary - (A Short Story)

The Death Diary of
Troy Burroughs

Extract #2
Day Three and Four of Troy Burroughs

Day Three

Being dead is going to take some getting used to. According to earth time this would be day three of my so called, death. I keep looking down on North America, I guess it's still home to me for the moment anyway. A few hours ago, I caught a comet, the tail end of it and I noticed it was quite slow compared to my form of travel, that is, I think I was going as fast as 200,000-thousand miles an hour, and it somehow zigzagged, and jumped off or out of its orbit and fell back into it somehow-kind of speaking-by an asteroid belt is where I was, I'd estimate somewhere around twenty to fifty million miles from earth, who can say, surely not me for certain.

I thus far, have learned something in this new development of mine, that being, traveling in space in what I call shape-traveling, for that is all I am, simple a shape with some kind of energy source to me, one could even call it residue, soul or whatever they wish, a part of another dimension with substance: I used the thrust of the comet, the velocity-I used it somehow, not quite knowing how, allowing it to push me, that is, more likened to throwing me-hurdling me I would guess, out into the empty part of space, the black airless cold space...I actually felt something to my shape: I sensed something also, something like. the several world surrounding me produced other forms of life, ghosts maybe, demonic being trying to escape earth's hell, other aliens looking down through their portholes, through layers of time and space and echoes, and so forth. I felt like a new born baby learning everything all over, I do think I have some source of natural feeling to my movements, should I want to use them, up to now its been more on the order of the elements in space moving me you might say. I, at this point cannot name it but I'd like to kick it, to see if how much control I have here in this new environment.

Nevertheless, what I was going to say, had on my mind to say, before I got into what I just mentioned, was-here I am, back where I started from, the day I died, overlooking earth, but again, here I am, in this asteroid belt-if you get what I mean, think-travel and there you are, among really simple, big fat rocks everywhere in space, and earth is no exception, other than it is more colorful.

Well, to make a diary note shorter, once seen is enough, and so it was a good visit, but I must learn how to control it. It is like going to the Rocky Mountains or possibly I could qualify it to equal the Bad Lands in South Dakota, going back there back and forth like a yoyo. But again, once seen, that is enough, unless this kind of thing is your thing, and it is not my thing by far: I mean, I'm only on day three, and this is what you get. I think that area is best for campers, not me. I'd prefer hotels, but I suppose you don't need them out here. The more I think of it, something is missing. Oh well, I'll investigate. Now it's becoming evening time over Minnesota (St. Paul, is my home town (where my wife lives, Rosa), the sun is going down.

Day Four

Morning time in Minnesota, the sun is coming up, I got an inkling, I got to go back to see how my little wife is doing, Rosa. I know for a few hours after I died, she was upset, crying, hysterical. I didn't know what to do for her, she couldn't see me, and I did not know how to communicate with her other than trying to set a mood, by way of producing calmness about her immediate space: prayer helped.

She got me to the hospital, and I know I was getting better, a heart attach I heard them say. Then she stayed overnight, and I died in the middle of the night, she had fallen to sleep. I was happy about that, happy because she was so tired: everyone thought I was in a coma, but I was really between life and death, a new kind of order they didn't anticipate, one that is dreamy like, a stage before death, one you can see about you, hear sounds and sense people, but cannot talk, it is not a coma, although folks think it is, or could be, it is in-between where you touch the hand of Christ, but cannot feel it, only see it, and where your pours are filled with the light of God. Then I died, and got sent here, not sure for how long thought.

For the longest moment, I hovered over the bed, looking at her, but I had no power to say or do anything-that was of course after the in-between period, where I was in a dream like world. Now that I think of it, I was in shock-kind of shock, after the in-between took on pure death, then she woke up, and as I was saying I was hovering over her, looking down, I didn't feel the grief as she was feeling, but a separation from my body, in the sense of emptiness from a shell: So many experiences at once.

That little Inca wife of mine just cried and cried, and hugged me, I wanted to comfort her, but she'll have to go through it like me someday, if the Lord willing I'll be there to comfort her.

Anyways I am now in my old house, hovering about. She's got my urn next to my mother's, she had me cremated today. I missed the funeral; I guess they had a small one at the cremation area. No one showed up from my side of the family, as expected, no problem; it was all grieved out long ago, and better for it, I prefer quite times. I think Rosa is going to take my urn, and my mother's and put it into the Huancayo, Peru, and Cemetery, in one of those vaults, she was a good wife.

She's crying again. I wonder if I can somehow let her know I'm here, and all right. I should pray, matter of fact, I thought I would get to see the Lord by know, Jesus Christ, but first things first, I heard a voice say that, It think it was Serr'el, my guardian angel, he had a hell of a job with taking care of me, guarding me while on earth, I hope I don't get a job like his, too much grief and wondering. I get the chills just thinking of his name. I also get the feeling I have to polish myself up to meet the Lord, you know, kind of take care of business, Elvis used to say that. I know he is not far away, -and I thank Him for his patience.

Now back to my little Rosa, she is sitting in my big sofa chair in the living room, tears are still coming down. Let's see if I can do something to let her know I'm present (I told her once, we cry-during our grieving period, or time, for the great times we had, that is called sadness, not depression, sadness says, those times were all worth while, I hope she remembers that).

As I said, and I shall repeat, there she is, sitting in the sofa chair, I know what I'll do, I'll make noise like walking on the floor, footsteps, not too creepy, just light enough for her to know I am with her. But how do I do that, I don't weigh anything? Too many questions for simple things; but you know I felt the thrust of the comet; yaw, yaw, that's it, creates energy from energy. As I step one foot in front of the other, you can hear my footsteps, and see the rug impressions of my feet, it is taking all my energy to produce these footsteps, she's looking up, now she looking around: look down, down little wife, look down. She doesn't look down. She's getting a little scared, I better stop. Now she rests back into the chair, she's thinking though.

She got up to check the hallway, now the window. I can't do that again, I got to practice; I guess a spirit can even loose energy. She went back to the chair; it's dark outside, the TV is on, it is drowning out my footsteps. For her the day is young, for me, now sure, I guess down here it's as it would be, forever long, just a day but with light and darkness, I don't feel the heat or cold. I'm going to try something else. I'm going to stand in the archway to the living room and try to make my configuration, my spirit form light up, just a bit, just a slight emotion, if I darken it, it might scare her. I noticed I had one in outer-space.

[A long pause]

It's morning now, dark morning, so it must be pretty early, she is cleaning the house, getting ready to face the day, she notices my chair, the dinning room light is off so is the kitchen light, she turns it on and a little electric heater emitting heat she turns off in the bedroom, she is facing the mirror in the bathroom. This will be my best try think, if only she focuses hard on the mirror; I'll try to reflect my shape.

Here I go, MMMMMMMM-Materializing [light starts to fill the mirror a faded light, dull but pronounced nonetheless in a spiritual form. She's looking at me, rubbing her eyes, I'm loosing my energy source, and it is like holding your breath trying to get this light out. She's leaning forward, squinting her eyes.

[Middle of the Night]

Got a new idea, I'll enter her dreams, slowly, if this is possible, and I heard the nightmare demon can do it all the time, unless you pray for them not to. Therefore, why cannot a good spirit like me do it? That of course a question for me, one I'll answer by trying to do, what I'm not sure I can do.

I'm not sure how you do it, but I got a sense of how will come-I'll sit by her and just whisper in her ears, and try to create a sense of me, and she will picture me, and I will let her know all is well: "Rosa, Rosa, Rosa, Rosa, Rosa..., all is well, I love you, always have, it is me, I'm all dressed in fogy white, I'll be waiting for you and we'll travel around the world, no, better yet, around the worlds, and into new galaxies."

She sees me, visualizing me says, in her dream world (I hope she remembers and writes it down): "...yes, yes, I DO see you," she says.

"I'm fine Rosa, I'm doing ok, I miss you and I'll be around should you need me, just call on me. Like my mother used to do, remember how she kept us from the fire?"

She's crying in her sleep, says: "...no, no don't go.'"

"But I can't stay too long; it takes too much whatever it is, energy and like the bee, remember the bee in the bottle, he lost his energy to fly, then he could hardly walk trying to climb that glass bottle, then I set him free and he nourished himself in the grass, and he regained his power, and flight, and few away; perhaps for another day."

She went back to sleep, she's stop crying. She's breathing better now. I think she'll remember this dream as more realistic than non-fiction, or symbolic, I hope.

Originally written, 7-3-2006
10-22-2008 (Revised and reedited)

See Dennis' web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com

Writing Internal Newsletters: How to Build Your Network and Your Reputation

To help build your profile and reputation within a large company create or contribute to, an internal newsletter. Your company collegues are an excellent network for you - lift your internal reputation by writing an internal newsletter that people will read. This article is full of tips to help you get started.

Write for the company newsletter. Offer to provide articles or updates for the internal newsletter. This is a great way to work with the production team (who are often volunteers looking for content for the newsletter).

When writing for internal correspondence here is a couple of questions and tips:

What do you know your topic? List on one piece of paper all the different aspects to your topic. You may like to create a map of your brainstorm to identify major headings or important points. This map will also help you locate sub points for each major heading.

Who will use the information or tips? Make a list of the people within the organisation that would be interested in your topic, and make a note of how to write this in a way that will appeal to them.

Why will they use it? This question will help you to structure your thoughts and write them in a way that is appropriate for your colleagues. Is it just for information? Will it help them do their job better? Will it boost their productivity? Will their lives be easier as a result of knowing your information consider these questions when you write about your knowledge:

Why will people read it? This is similar to the question above, make it interesting and assist your team by explaining the main points of the article in the title or first sentence.

What tips can you give your co-workers about your knowledge? Try and turn your information into easily applied tips that people can apply straight away if appropriate.

Create an opening and closing paragraph in the first paragraph or sentence state the premise of your article. In the closing paragraph or sentence remind your readers of the main points.

Create a call to action from the article in the closing paragraph you might like to suggest action they can take to apply this knowledge or improve their understanding. You might suggest further websites they could review, books to read, other articles or texts on the subject give them suggestions for what to do with this information you have shared in your article.

Create a promotional box at the end of the article to allow your colleagues to get in touch with you if they want more information. This should have your name, contact information including phone, fax and email. If you have a website for your department that would also help your readers.

Sharing your knowledge with others is a great gift and personally rewarding so start writing today and structure articles that are easily read and understood for your teammates.

Neen is a Global Productivity Expert: by looking at how they spend their time and energy and where they focus their attention Neen helps people to rocket-charge their productivity and performance. A dynamic speaker, author and corporate trainer, Neen demonstrates how boosting your productivity can help you achieve amazing things. With her unique voice, sense of fun and uncommon common-sense, Neen delivers a powerful lesson in productivity. Find out more at http://neenjames.com/

Proofreading and Editing Software - 5 Ways it Helps You!

Proofreading and editing software can make all of your writing tasks easier. It automates your correcting, editing and proofreading, enabling you to get more done in less time. You also can send out better documents without errors! This software can do all of this for you:

1. Corrects Your Grammar and Punctuation

Proofreading and editing software will read through your documents and correct any errors of grammar or punctuation. Without this, you may not even realize some of the mistakes in your writing!

2. Corrects Spelling Mistakes Contextually

A contextual spell checker, unlike the ordinary one you probably use, can spot words that are spelled correctly but are used in the wrong place, such as "stare" instead of "stair" or "too" instead of "to." It' s easy to make these kind of errors, but this spell checker will find them!

3. Style Checker

The style checker will improve your writing by suggesting alternative words or phrases you can use.

4. Compatible With Your Word Processor

You can smoothly take documents created on your present programs and have the proofreading and editing software go through them, as it's compatible with most commonly used programs.

5. Send Out Polished, Professional Documents

The best thing about this software is that it allows you to quickly send out better and more professionally written documents. This will let you get more done and also improve the quality of your work!

Proofreading and editing software can check for grammar, punctuation and any other writing errors and gives an instant feedback. Well, in the end: Make you more productive.

Watch how advanced Proofreading and editing software instantly improve your writings and learn how innovative NLP technology can help you to be a successful proofreader.

Jane Sumerset is a professional proofreader working for many large companies in Britain. She's also a regular writer on topics like "how to write English resumes" on englishsoftware the renowned British English writing knowledge base.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Writing Monologues - Be So Emotional

WHAT IS A MONOLOGUE?

  • A monologue expresses the thoughts of one person.
  • A monologue should have a beginning, middle and end.
  • A monologue should always reveal something - be it a story, a secret, an answer to a question, or an emotional outpouring.

PART THREE of this series on Writing Monologues will focus on emotion.

It is essential that there is an emotional journey in your monologue. Just as there needs to be a journey in the story from beginning to end, there needs to be an emotional journey: a change, a development, a transfer from one emotional state to another. There's nothing worse than a monologue that picks a single emotional state and stays there for the whole piece! Variety is the key.

What does that mean?

Think of your monologue as a roller coaster. There are ups and downs, peaks and valleys. That's what makes the roller coaster exciting, the changes in the journey from beginning to end. The mistake that a lot of writers make is to think that intense equals interesting. That if there are a lot of exclamation marks, an audience will be engaged. Nothing could be farther than the truth. Audiences do not like to be yelled at. Certainly you can shock an audience, you can have intense moments. But the longer that intensity goes, the more your audience will retreat. The more they will think about their dry-cleaning or work. Yelling pushes an audience out of the world of the play, something you definitely do not want.

Also, we as human beings never feel one single emotion at a time. We are happy/sad. Embarrassed/mad. The more variety in the emotion of the monologue, the more three dimensional the character, the more connection with your audience. That's how you grab and audience and keep them: connect through emotion, don't direct through emotion.

Use this exercise to practice changing emotion within a monologue.

EXERCISE

Write a monologue in which a character watches a parade. Re-write to explore the following emotional journeys:

  • The character starts MAD and ends HAPPY.
  • The character starts SAD and ends PROUD.
  • The character starts FEARFUL and ends JOYFUL.
  • The character starts JEALOUS and ends with COMPASSION.

Every writer wants to write a monologue that bring down the house. That show stopping moment, that brings the audience to the edge of their seats. How is that accomplished? It's just as easy to go the other way, to write a monologue that completely slows the pace with selfish, indulgent, 'I remember when' writing.

The answer can often be found in the character's 'need to speak.' Why does the character need to speak? What is happening that propels the character speak - why now? Why not yesterday or tomorrow? How do they go for that need? What happens to the character emotionally if they succeed? What happens to the character emotionally if they fail?

The more you determine the need to speak, the more urgent the moment. And urgency will draw an audience in every time.

EXERCISE

  • Take your Parade monologue.
  • Determine on the best 'need to speak' scenario for your character.
  • Determine the emotional quality that best represents this 'need' for the beginning of the monologue.
  • Decide if the character succeeds or fails in achieving their 'need' at the end of the monologue.
  • Determine the emotional quality that best represents their success or failure.
  • Re-write the monologue to show all of the above.

Make every monologue you write an emotional, urgent, need to speak moment.

The next article in this series on Writing Monologues will explore Language Struture. All characters should speak in a specific language that illuminates their personality. This is especially important in monologues, where we focus on a character for more than a couple of lines.

Lindsay Price is the resident playwright for Theatrefolk, an independent publisher of playscripts for schools and student performers.

http://www.theatrefolk.com