The Bible's Power Over One Child

I mentioned Sean in another one of my articles, the story of a young foster boy that we were taking care of. Sean's father was my ex-wife's uncle, and they were going through some tough times for a while and their three children ended up as wards of the state. We eventually ended up taking the oldest child because he was the hardest one to place and another home. His brother and sister ended up with a family that wanted to adopt them and eventually Sean went to live with them and I believe all three of them were adopted by this family. I don't know this for a fact though.

Sean was a emotionally damaged child. His parents would punish him with some strange and bizarre punishments. They weren't really physical punishments but seemed to leave the emotional scars on him and I often think about where he is and what he is doing.

We watched him for about a year and I learned quite a bit from this young man. He was in the third grade but was still at the first grade level for reading and math. I would spend a couple of hours each night during the week helping him with his schoolwork, I seem to have created some sort of allusion that I would be able to bring him up to the third grade level within a short period of time. Wrong. He must've had learning disabilities and of course I don't think I was that good teacher.

Sean was easy going, polite and extremely obedient. He would do anything to avoid getting in trouble and often blamed others for his mistakes. His punishments must have been more than he could bear before he arrived at our home. I think you're getting the picture about what kind of a child Sean was.

One day I found myself in a dilemma with Sean, I couldn't get him to tell me the truth, even though I knew he was lying. I forget what the problem was but I remember a hollow look in his face. It was almost like he wasn't really there. It was almost like he was just doing time, sitting on the bed, listening to me asking the same question over and over again, "Sean are you lying", but he wasn't even paying attention.

I normally would not punish my children for accidents, and never tolerated lying. I was trying to explain to him that he wasn't going to get in trouble, I just wanted to know the truth. He wasn't budging at all and stuck to his story. I remembered that his mother and father were Catholics and feared the church, almost as much as they loved it.

That's what I came up with my evil plan. I don't know where I come up with these ideas, but every once in a while one pops up in my head and I run with it.

I told Sean that I was going to bring the Holy Bible in, and if he could swear on the Bible that he was telling the truth, I would accept that and this would be the end of our conversation. I couldn't believe my eyes, as he started crying and screaming, frantically and excitedly as a yelled out, I did it, I did it, don't bring the Bible in, I won't do it again.

I couldn't believe that was all it took to get information from him. I have always been a pretty good interrogator and found myself gathering information from those people easily, but this was amazing. His fear of the Holy Bible got me thinking about how powerful this book actually is to some people. I remember when I looked upon this book, pretty much the same as Sean did.

It's just a book, like any other book. It's not made at a holy factory or a secret monastery in the Swiss Alps somewhere, it's made from paper and ink and can be damaged and destroyed like other books. I would be surprised if I threw the Bible into the fire, that it wouldn't burn. I would be even more surprised, if I seen three men standing in the fire, wait a minute that's another story in the Bible.

Is it possible for this book to actually control the lives of people. It seemed to control Sean, I wonder if I, could have actually been driving a nail home that his parents started. Could I have added to his belief, that the Bible is a book from God the creator of everything.

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development.

Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion. Simple Words Create Powerful Beliefs.

Feeling Good In Church

The Ultimate Guide to Mental Toughness by Daniel Teitelbaum

The book "The Ultimate Guide To Mental Toughness" by Daniel Teitelbaum was not what I expected. Being a former military sniper, I think of mental toughness as the grit and determination to succeed at your mission, no matter what. I think of mental toughness more as discipline and focus to get things done. However, if you read the subtitle, you get a better indication of what this book is about. It states, "How to raise your motivation, focus, and confidence like pushing a button." This is a book on increasing your motivation to achieve goals by using triggers.

If you have read books by Tony Robbins such as "Awaken the Giant Within," or have listened to any of the multiple audio programs Tony Robbins has put out, you may know about triggers already. Tony uses them, and they are a common part of NLP which Tony studied and uses in his teachings. (I personally really like Tony Robbins and have learned much from him, including some on triggering.)

"The Ultimate Guide To Mental Toughness" goes much further into the area of triggers. Teitelbaum's book may be the most complete and user friendly book on triggering techniques out there. He explains why they work in a simple manner, and does not get too bogged down with the why. I felt he gave enough information on why they work, and then spent the rest of the book teaching the triggers and encouraging the reader to actually go through the exercises and develop personal triggers that the reader can use to motivate themselves and keep their energy level high while pursuing and achieving goals. The author uses different ways to emphasize points and motivate the reader to actually perform the exercises and develop personal triggers. It is through actually doing the visualizations and other exercises that you will find out how powerful these techniques can be. The more emotion you put into them, the more realistic and precise your visualizations, and the more intense focus you use, the more these triggers will change your state to positive emotions and "trick" your body into being more energetic and productive.

Many people will not actually use these triggers. In fact, some will say it is a bunch of nonsense. That's okay. Others will find that these triggers help them stay in a positive state, which enables them to do more and thus achieve more. Some of the triggers will work for some people better than others. One good thing about this book is there are many different triggers to chose from. After experimenting with them, a person can choose to use the ones that work the best for their situation and personality.

I still don't know if I'd call this book "mental toughness." That term still means something different to me. However, if you want to learn triggering and visualization techniques to keep your motivation and focus high in order to pursue dreams and goals more effectively, this book is a great resource to learn those skills.

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a mediator/attorney with Bennett Law Office P.C. and an author/speaker through his own company Burrese Enterprises Inc. He teaches people to live with the warrior's edge through his writing and speaking on a variety of topics focusing on the business areas of negotiation and success principles as well as self-defense and safety topics. He is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks, several instructional dvds, and numerous articles. You can find out more about Alain Burrese at his websites http://www.burrese.com and http://bennettlawofficepc.com

Creating Success For Teenagers

Happiness For a Better Life

Have you ever felt to be in bad mood when you get up in the morning? Do you need too much time to get running and functioning at high speed? Do you need many coffee breaks? Off course, sometimes everybody has a hang through phase, be it after a lot of work, long time school or study, boring work or what ever.

I have thought a bit about how to improve the small things of life to the positive and how to get up with a great smile every morning. Actually I just reflected what I am doing for years and which helped me through many difficult situations. Funny enough, to get up positively in the morning has its roots in the evening before and how you go to bed. That's what I do:

After our work day, Eliane and I sit down for a short while just talking to each other about the nice and frustrating things we encountered over the working day. Then, while she prepares a small meal, I help her with some jobs to be done in the household, going to the cellar for milk or what else is needed. After the meal, often together with our adult children, we do no more speak about business but about our dreams, holidays, the book we a re reading, etc. Now it comes: we go to bed with an absolutely positive feeling and mind.

The alarm clock rings! There it is very important to get up slowly and with a first and positive thought. This is easy since I already slept with a positive mind, so I just restart where I left. Be not hectic, enjoy the shower, look out of the window, see the birds, the sunshine, and enjoy your life. Go on to have joy the whole day!

My conclusion and recommendation:

- Chose to be happy, be grateful
- Avoid bad news and stress
- Manage your time well, do not waste it, it's just too precious
- Laugh heartily, this is medicine
- Express your feelings and passions
- Work hard but not to exhaustion
- Enjoy your achievements and accomplishments
- Learn something new everyday, broaden your horizon
- Exercise your mind, soul and body, feel alive, eliminate depression
- Find Inspiration and success, be enthusiastic
- Take some minutes for meditation and religion

Following these simple but powerful small steps every day will increase your health (mind and body) dramatically. If you learn to avoid negative exposures, enjoy what you feel and what is around you, you are set for a long and prosperous life. Start reading motivational books.

Martin Bigler is an experienced Copywriter and offers Resources, Tools and Educational Content to help interested People build their Internet Business successfully and with motivation. His Educational Martin Bigler Newsletter offers profound step by step guidance on various Marketing and Sales Tasks. A big selection of Free Reports, Downloads and useful Links are available at MartinBigler.com and the MartinBiglerBlog. Copyright by Martin Bigler.

Sai Baba Spiritual Leader

Powerful Beliefs in the Bible - How Powerful Exactly is the Bible

If you're a Christian, you probably believe in the Holy Bible and take it for granted, that this is the written Word of God. Here's a book that most people look upon as very sacred. I don't know if they do it anymore, but in a court of law, they would ask you to swear upon the Bible and to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God.

I would assume that this would generate fear in a prospective liar that was a Christian, but if you are a Muslim could you lie or should they switch the Bible to the Koran. Some things don't make sense do they. This made sense to me at one time and I even used this to gather some information from a nine year old boy at one time. I was amazed at how fast he told me the truth, when I pulled out a Bible and was going to have him swear to me that he wasn't lying. Try that one with your children.

I have seen Bible's in museums, on pedestals in churches and visible as you enter someone's home or bedroom. Are the Bibles that are located in people's homes to send you a strong sign of their faith. Do any of these Bibles ever get used or are they just there for looks?

Looking upon the Bible as a sacred symbol can create a sense of comfort and fear. At one time, I believed the Bible was some sort of sacred book and needed to be touched very delicately. I often wondered as a child if I accidentally tore out a page of the Bible, if I would have to spend an eternity burning in a lake of fire.

Are Bibles made at special factories and does each one of them need to be blessed or put in special shipping boxes before they are sent out to be sold or given away? I wonder if they use holy water during the printing procedure, if water is actually required. Do you think the paper come from special trees and are these trees grown on holy ground, maybe in a special forests guarded by angels. This is starting to sound like the makings for a good movie.

People can form powerful beliefs about other objects as well as the Bible. You should think about, some of the things you used to believe in and some of the things you still believe, then compare the two. Some of my old beliefs no longer serve me in a positive way. The Bible is just a book and should be treated like any other book. If the pages get ripped ripped fix them, if the bindings get loose repair them and if they become hard to read or have seen better days, replace them.

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg is currently working on a Christian and spiritual library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion

If you want to read something funny and get your daily laugh in, you need to read this, it's funny Using Religion Responsibility. It's based on overindulgence

Create Your Day

The Hidden Truth about Christians

Religion Poisons Everything

During the "Does God Exist?" debate between Frank Turek and Christopher Hitchens, Hitchens made much ado about how "religion poisons everything." That's the subtitle of one of his books, in fact. Turek countered in his closing statement by remarking, "religion doesn't poison everything...everything poisons religion."

At the time, I thought "woaaaa, good one!" It had a rhetorical punch to it.

On second thought, though, I can see that the statement's value is limited.

Of course Hitchens' statement goes too far, and Turek's notion of religion being poisoned from the outside brings some balance. However, some religions really are poisonous in and of themselves. Some religions really do teach hate and violence. I'm primarily thinking of Islam here. There is no doubt that some followers of Islam are peaceful people, but the Koran really does incite violence and backwardness. A study of the Koran or a cursory glance at a culture where Islam reigns will tell you that.

I know certain verses in the Koran prescribe peace, yet those verses tend to come from the time when Muhammad lacked military and political power. The surahs "revealed" when Muhammad had power tell a much different tale, however.

There are other examples. One doesn't need to stretch to see the poison of a religion that prescribes sacrificing children to Molech, for instance.

Some religions *are* poisoned from the outside. Take Christianity, for example. Jesus is sublime. His followers-not so much (not that I'm biased.. :) I do think that I've got good reasons to be biased, however!)

But others are poison themselves, and any followers who are peaceful and moral are such not because of their religion, but in spite of it.

Plus, similar to "curing" cancer with a medication that dulls the pain, all religions but one only cure the symptoms of the human problem, not the disease. Only Christianity, with Jesus the true doctor, cures our disease of sin. Therefore, all others are impostors and hence are not intrinsically good.

Rich Bordner authors "The Pugnacious Irishman," a blog on the intersection of spirituality, ethics, and politics in the public square of ideas. He holds a B.A in English and Philosophy from THE Ohio State University (go Bucks!), and is in the process of earning a M.A in Philosophy from Biola University. Check out the blog at http://pugnaciousirishman.wordpress.com

Getting Up Earlier

The Religious Background of Unicorn Tapestries

The unicorn has been a mythical symbol since ancient times. Some of the earliest depictions of the unicorn are from ancient China and featured a creature resembling a large horse with a single horn protruding from its forehead. The writings and drawings of many ancient cultures throughout Asia and Europe included unicorns and eventually they evolved into religious symbols.

By the middle ages, the unicorn was considered both a religious and secular symbol by most of Christian Europe. The unicorn represented chastity, holiness, and purity, and was even used as a symbol for Christ. Because of the unicorn's important symbolism, it was often featured in tapestries and other art of the period. There are even references to unicorns in the bible, although some historians question their inclusion in the Bible because of translations issues. References to unicorns can be seen in Deuteronomy 33:17, Psalm 22:21, 29:6 and 92:10; Numbers 23:22 and 24:8; and Isaiah 34:7. These passages do not infer that the references to unicorns are fictitious or that unicorns are not in fact real animals.

There are many examples of medieval art and tapestries that feature unicorns and once they were accepted as a religious symbol they became very popular subjects. Unicorns represented purity and the myth perpetuated by their holy meaning was that only a virgin could tame a unicorn. Tapestries were common among the aristocracy in the Middle ages and were used as decoration as well as insulation for windows and openings. The most common tapestry designs were biblical allegories including unicorns. One of the most famous sets of tapestries are the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, Created in France in the late 1400's.

The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries are perhaps the most famous examples of unicorns in art in the entire world. They were not discovered until late in the 1800's by Proper Merimee in a castle in Boussac France. They were damaged but were later restored and then put on display in the Cluny Museum in France in a room specially designed to house them. The novelist Georges Sands was responsible for making them so popular and included them in her writings.

It is not known who designed and wove the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, but historians do know who they were created for. The coat of arms on the tapestries belongs to the Le Viste family and the tapestries were probably created for this family in the late 1400's. Like other tapestries and art depicting unicorns, the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries are said to represent the human senses with the subject of the tapestries a virginal maiden and a unicorn. Five of the six tapestries represent the five senses, hearing, tough, taste, feeling, and sight. The sixth tapestry is one that carries some debate as some say it represent love, other think it stands for the "6th sense" while other think it represents understanding or empathy. Unicorns have long been a part of art and folk lore, and are still symbols of holiness and purity today.

http://www.touchoftapestry.com/servlet/StoreFront

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