eddish purple search of newly formed skin scarring.

Pregnancy is a principal cause of stomach skin scarring.The severe change during stomach size causes creation of stretch marks.Stretch marks are besides found on women, nevertheless, and are common by means of men.The stomachs of gents commonly experience high fluctuation as this is often where men store lots of their fat.Heavy alcohol and food consumption by themselves are enough to cause striae.

Body stress plays a substantial role in stretch make formation.A link was shown between cortisol
How To Get Rid Of Stretch Marks Fast , a specific type of steroid in the body and stress marks.With elevated level of cortisol within your body, you tend to put on pounds, thus producing stretch dirt.This happens because collectors body senses it is without a doubt under stress it secretes more cortisol.Life factors that could contribute to this might include normal work and partnership stresses.Other contributing factors specific to certain individuals are pregnancy and weightlifting.

There is no guarantee of having the ability to completely eliminate stretch marks regardless strategy you choose.Stretch marks are basically scars from problems on your skin’s middle membrane, and scars are possibly not easily remedied.Newly formed stretch marks, however, will fade with time and lessen in skin tone and color.Be patient as this could take months.

If you decide you need to try and get eliminated your stomach stretch marks, there are several well-known remedies.Creams and lotions would be the cheapest and most widespread since they trigger the natural treating process for skin auto repairs .itself.Vitamin E and additionally cocoa butter are couple of key ingredients.Creams that contain alpha hydroxy acids can easily be beneficial as they are trigger new cell development.A more serious alternative is laser surgery.The procedure is simple, effective and even short, with little to help no recovery time.The primary downside is the large cost.

.

300″ class=”alignleft size-medium wp-image-546″ />I’d locked the door

upon my world

that only I could see,

never really seeing

the pain I caused, in me.

It took me on this journey

away from where I’d been,

wandering and lonely

while seeming without end.

I set it up

within my mind

this prison I did make

while letting others

simply find

these feelings by mistake.

My heart

it had to learn a path,

an art of letting go.

For locked within my memory

was all I’d ever know.

As time marched on

and so did I,

these feelings I did shake

forgetting then

that I could fly

if willing to forsake.

My broken heart

would mend again

when letting all I knew

be just and simply this…

a place I’d once been to.

medium wp-image-534″ />LEARN TO LOVE

To be able feel love and to be loved by another person is such a wonderful feeling to all of us in the world. The word love is a universal word to our whole entire world.

Love one another our universal words are spoken, now all we have to do is to practice learning how to love one another and get all the hatred out of our lives. If you can learn to love one and all, this world we all live in I think would be a much better place.

I can’t stand to hear the word “Hate”. It is such a harsh word in my opinion and if we can get that word “Hate” out of our vocabulary all together then and only then we can start to learn to love one another.

The world revolves around so many different Cultures, Religions and just how people live their lives in general. There is no one the same, but the one thing we all share is the gift of love. The problem is that many don’t know how to say it or do it.

To be able to love one and all is something that we all have in common in this world we live. The problem is that many of us don’t know how to love or show love to anyone. It seems that many have such a hate in their heart. They walk around with deep anger about something that may be bothering them deep within and those people you will find being lost for love.

I can’t even imagine not being loved by anyone. It must be a very lonely and sad life not to be loved.

The first thing you must act on is to love yourself first, because how in the world could you love someone else without loving yourself first.

I was fortunate enough that I was brought up in a very loving family and what I see in our lives today, there are many people that long for love in their lives and would do anything to just be loved by someone else.

Just think of the feelings you have when you are told by your spouse, partner, friends, or anyone for that matter, the words “I Love You”. It is a feeling of being wanted, appreciated, adored and just plain out loved.

Compare those words with the saying ” I Hate You”. Yes to hear those words will bring the world down around you.

LISTEN TO OUR CREATOR

Don’t you think it would be a good idea to listen to our creator and learn to love one another?

I’m not one to hate anybody, but I always wondered why there is so much hatred in our world today. What ever happened to forgive and forget? What ever happened to turn the other cheek?

These words were spoken by our creator and if only we would listen to his words and apply them to our lives, life would be so much better. Can you imagine if there weren’t hatred, wars, murders, violence, crime?

I know this is never going to happen and I think unfortunately these things mentioned are getting worse as the years go by. There really isn’t anything we can do to correct these acts of violence, but we all have the opportunity to start to love more and put aside all hatred.

Start today to love more and hate less. Show someone you care and tell I love you. There are many people in the world that just have a hard time saying those words, why I couldn’t tell you, but for myself they are words I say everyday to my wife and family without fail.

Learn to love yourself, learn to forgive, learn to love the neighbor, learn to be happier and just learn to love one another.

Love to All !

81″ class=”alignleft size-medium wp-image-525″ />I wrote this article hoping that others can share my love of capturing the beauty of the underwater world. Although we all may have slightly different interests underwater, I am sure we all share a common bond of wanting to take great photographs underwater.
Modern technology has greatly changed our view of underwater photography. Cameras are much easier to use and housing manufacturers have given us a sometimes bewildering array of options. While this guide focuses solely on digital technology, the fundamentals remain. Finding the right subject. Capturing the right moment. Presenting it in the right fashion. The new technology makes it a little easier, and a little more accessible. Thank you to my great buddy Scotty Geiller, who has given a lot of knowledge about underwater photography.

Ready to try underwater photography?

Great, now you have an underwater camera and a housing, lets get in the water! But first, please make sure you are comfortable with your diving skills and buoyancy. Using a camera can be distracting, and it can be too easy for a new diver to crash into the reef, or worse, float to the surface without knowing it.
Before going underwater, it really helps to use your camera indoors, in a dimly lit room. Take some photos with the camera inside the housing, macro mode, flash on. Take photos of some small objects, and see how your photos come out. Test out the range of the camera with macro mode on and off.

Important Underwater photography facts

• Water absorbs colors such as red, orange, and yellow. This is why your underwater photos will look blue if you don’t use a flash or strobe. The deeper you are, the more color is absorbed.
• Compact cameras come with internal flashes that can be used to add colors to your photos.
• Underwater photographers often buy an external strobe/flash as a way to add color.
• Water reduces contrast, color and sharpness, which is why underwater photos should be taken within 1 meter of the camera, preferably much closer. You need to get very close to your subject.

Underwater photography definitions

• Strobe or Flash – a source of full-spectrum light vital to underwater photographers. This can be built into the camera, or supplied as an external light.
• Underwater Housing – also known as an underwater casing, this allows you to take a camera underwater and operate the camera. Housings can cost anywhere from $100 to $5,000.
• O-ring – a rubber ring that creates a waterproof seal. Underwater housings and strobes will have several o-rings making them waterproof.
• Macro lens – a lens attached to either the camera or underwater housing, that allows an underwater photographer to get very close to small subjects
• Wide-angle lens – a lens attached to either the camera or underwater housing, that allows a very close approach to large subjects. Without a wide-angle lens, underwater photographs of large subjects have poor color and contrast.
• Shooting macro – dedicating a dive moving slowly, looking for small subjects, often with a macro lens.
• Shooting wide-angle – dedicating a dive to photographing large subjects, often with a wide-angle lens.
• Ambient light – also known as natural light, this is light from the sun. Underwater photographs are often a mix of ambient light and strobe light.
• White balance – a setting on cameras telling the camera processor how to interpret pixel values it records when taking a photograph
• Manual White balance – also known as Custom white balance, a setting on most cameras that will give your photos more natural colors when not using a flash
• Backscatter – specks, spots or blotches that appear in your underwater photos due to strobe light reflecting off particles, sand or plankton in the water.
• TTL – technology that automatically sets the power of your strobe/flash to the correct value
• Fiber Optic cable – a simple cable that can transmit light that will synchronize the firing of your strobe or flash with your camera.
• Shooting manual – a phrase that implies you are either setting the camera aperture and shutter speed values yourself, or setting your strobe power yourself.

More Underwater Photography Facts

• Using a flash or strobe in underwater photography is very important. Put your camera in forced-flash mode when taking close-up photos. Buying an external strobe is the best way to improve your underwater photos.
• If using an internal flash, don’t be surprised if your photos have backscatter in them. At first you might think it’s dust or dirt on your lens. This is due to particles in the water.
• Try getting low and shooting at eye level with your subject, instead of photographing them from above.
• Get your buoyancy and diving skills down before taking a camera underwater.
• Use auto white-balance when using a flash/strobe, and custom white balance or underwater mode when not using a flash.
• Learn how to use manual mode or aperture priority mode if your camera offers it, so you control the balance between the natural light and the light from your flash.

Preventing camera fogging, dome port scratches, o-ring care

• Never let your underwater housing sit in the sun, to prevent camera fogging. When in the open, and especially in the hot sun, keep a wet towel over it. Letting the sun hit your underwater case can cause condensation later when you dive, and can dry it out and cause salt crystals to form.
• Always keep 1 or 2 desiccants in the waterproof housing to prevent fogging up.
• Always have your rig handed to you in the water, don’t jump in with it.
• When you exit the water, if you have a wide angle dome port on, train the crew to put your dome port cover on immediately to avoid scratches.
• Soak the underwater case in fresh water for a few minutes after every salt water dive, if possible. Soak it for longer if the salt water had a chance to dry. “Work” the buttons and controls for a few seconds while the camera is underwater, if possible. Afterwards, quickly towel-dry the housing.
• After your dive, don’t leave your camera unattended in the rinse tank*. I have heard many, many stories that start with “it flooded in the rinse tank”.
• Get your housing serviced every year with the appropriate authorities.
• Keep a neoprene cover over your dome port as much of the time as possible, to avoid getting the dome port scratched. I try to enter and exit the water with a cover on my dome port.

O-ring maintenance

• After every dive day, you should clean and relube the o-rings and grooves: Do this on the housing o-ring, the port o-ring, and the strobe battery compartment o-ring. Also perform this on your sync cord o-rings after every few dives.
• Do not over-lubricate the o-rings. Just a little bit is fine. Make sure you use the o-ring grease supplied by the manufacturer.
• I use a q-tip and a high-quality paper towel to clean the groove the o-ring was in. First remove the o-ring; wipe out any dirt from the groove using a q-tip, with a paper towel underneath it. Gently wipe off the o-ring, being very careful not to stretch it. I usually wipe the o-rings off with my fingers, gently feeling for any dirt or particles. Wash the o-ring off if it has sand on it that won’t come off, or if it is really dirty. Use an air-blower to blow off any hairs or dust from the groove, and relubricate the o-ring with a small amount of lube that your housing manufacturer suggests. Look at the o-ring one last time, and again being careful not to stretch the o-ring, place the o-ring back in.
• Some people are comfortable going a couple days without removing and relubing their o-rings, if they are not opening the port or housing up.

Underwater Housing preparation and your test shot

• Very important – underwater housing care must be done in a non-hurried fashion, in a calm, uncramped, well-lit area. Preferable well before you dive. Rushing this procedure, or doing it on a small boat, has been the cause of many floods! Inspect the housing carefully before and after closing it to make sure nothing got caught in the groove, like a hair or the o-ring. After inspecting the o-ring and surfaces, close your housing quickly.
• After preparing your camera, always do a test shot, with your strobes on. Make sure it took a photo, properly exposed, and both strobes fired properly. Verify your camera ISO and JPEG/RAW quality setting. Verify the camera will focus. If you forget to do all these things, I guarantee you will go under water with either the lens cap on, strobes disconnected, or the lens on manual focus. Or you will shoot the entire dive on ISO 1600, small JPEG. You have been warned. The lens cap on is the most likely scenario, by the way….
• Some of the most common blunders include the following – leaving the lens cap on, having no memory card in the camera, having the lens set on manual focus, not having the hot shoe not plugged in. The most common test for me is leaving the lens cap on, I never remove my memory card. Your test shot should catch any of these problems. Always bring a spare memory card and spare batteries on boat with you.
• Make sure your test shot is at a small aperture or higher shutter speed, so that you can clearly tell if your strobes fire. Make sure you are in manual mode. You don’t want to have your camera exposing for ambient light during your test shot.
• After receiving a new housing, or after repairs, always test your housing in a pool or ocean without the camera to make sure it is leakproof. Place a soft weight inside to help make the housing neutrally buoyant.

Common Causes of underwater camera / housing floods

• Number 1 top cause of flooding – closing the housing and having a desiccant pack caught in the o-ring, or a large hair. This has happened to many people – beware – always watch carefully when you close the housing. Nothing can be touching or laying on the o-ring as the housing shuts. Close it in a well-lit area so you can see. This applies to strobe and port o-rings also.
• Salt/dirt building up in the o-ring grooves over time. Make sure you clean the grooves, I use a qtip over a good-quality paper tool.
• Failing to fully screw in sync cords – always double check them.
• small floods have happened when people jump into the water from up high with their gear, and the gear slams into the water – bring it into the ocean gently please, or better yet, have it handed down to you.
• Latches on the underwater camera housing not being securely shut – always double check them. This will causing a housing flood for sure.
• Latches or tabs or clips locking the dome port coming undone or not being fully secure. This affects certain dSLR housings more than others, such as Ikelite housings. Always double-check your port lock if you need to before submerging your camera in water.
• O-ring popped out after momentarily opening the underwater housing. This sounds obvious, but always double check the o-rings before closing the housing to make sure remain fully in the groove. If you open a housing on a boat, you can’t be a rush when you close it back up – inspect carefully, and re-read the 1st item in this list.
• Water dripping into open sync cord connections – when removing sync cords, make sure salt water can’t drip onto the metal contacts.

Camera Fogging Prevention

Has your underwater camera fogged up underwater? Is your waterproof housing fogging? Many people have had this problem. Here’s some tips to avoid having a a fogged up lens. I have not had fogging problems in a long time, even with my compact cameras.
• Always keep one or two fresh, newly “charged” dessicants in your housing
• Try to setup your housing and close it in a cool, dry area to minimize the moisture inside the housing. Inside your cool, air-con room is a good choice. Outside on the boat on a hot, humid day can be a poor choice and can lead to fogging.
• Don’t let your camera & housing get hot – keep it cool, out of the sun. Having a wet towel over it at all times is a good idea.
• Be very careful when you close the housing, that the dessicant doesn’t get caught on the o-ring, and can’t fall onto the lens port.
• Compact cameras are more susceptible to fogging.
• Fogging is more likely to happen when it’s hot on the surface, and cold underwater.

Maintenance on the boat – changing lenses/batteries

This is a popular cooler for carry a camera on the boat, and it doubles as a rinse tank. I’m not afraid to change lenses or batteries on the dive boat if I need to. Here’s what you need to do:
• Quickly rinse the housing in fresh water first, if it’s available.
• Dry it off, first with a towel, and then with an absorbent lens cloth.
• Have a paper towel handy.
• Open it in a calm, sheltered area without people around.
• Don’t drip on the camera. Be sure not to lean directly over the camera or housing.
• Wipe off water on the o-ring with the paper towel immediately after opening the housing.
• Examine carefully before closing the housing; have a flashlight if necessary.

Opening a compact camera housing on a boat

Compact camera housings more easily fog up after being opened on a boat. If possible, have fresh dry dessicants to place into the housing to help this problem.
If your waterproof housing has a leak detector, glance at it while you are descending into the water.
If your underwater and your housing has a leak….
It can still be saved. Remain calm. Try to hold your housing in one position so any water will collect on the bottom. Safely surface, open the housing, and dry everything out. Sometimes a strobe misfiring is a sign of a problem. Abort the dive and check it out, before it turns into something worse.
Always double-check your photo quality, ISO, battery life, and memory card space, before starting a day of diving.

Protect your housing

Soft coolers, originally designed for beer, can be used to hold your small or large camera housing in between dives and prevent it from being banged up. You can see a red one in the photo above. They can also be filled with water and used as a portable mini-rinse tank.

Sync cord maintenance

Yes, sync cords deserve a special section. Be sure to unplug them carefully after every few dives, and carefully dry out the bulkheads, and wipe water off the sync cords. Use a toothbrush to clean off the metal threads on the ends of the cords. My setup has 3 sea&sea sync cords – 2 single cords between my TTL converter and strobes, and one going from the converter to my housing bulkhead. The washers of the sync cords can freeze up permanently if they are not unscrewed after every few dives, and the area under them cleaned with a toothbrush. And when you remove sync cords, it’s easy for water to drip into the open bulkheads, be careful and dry out any water that is in there. Carefully remove and wipe off the sync cord o-rings, and re-lube them every time the cords are removed. If you are ever on a dive, and your strobes fire on their own, you have a little moisture inside one of the bulkheads where your sync cords connect. Leave the water, carefully open, check, and dry all connections.

Dome Port Scratches

If you scratch your acrylic dome port on the outside, no worry, it can be “meshed out”, even if it has some nasty gashes. Light scratches on the outside usually won’t affect your photos because they will be “filled in” with water underwater, and you won’t see them in photos, but they might reflect the sun in sunny water shots. Get the “micro-mesh” kit by Finishing products, inc. The one you want is the NC-78-1 Acrylic restoration kit. This does not work with glass dome ports.

Removing the dome port scratches

This mesh kit works wonders, you use multiple layers of sandpaper to sand down your dome port. It’s hard to believe your dome port will ever be useable again, but believe it or not at the end of the process it will be just like new! At first it will look all roughed up, but by the time you get to the smoothest paper, the dome looks brand new.

Take a look at this: http://www.sisweb.com/catalog/08/G7

I even scratched the inside of my dome port one time. My focus ring came off my tokina 10-17mm lens. Make sure your focus rings are on tight! I needed to add extra tape to my lens to make the fit tight. These scratches do not fill up with water. I ended up carefully using the micro-mesh kit on the inside of my dome port. It wasn’t perfect, but it got the scratches out for the most part. The very outside edges of the inside of the dome port aren’t perfect, but those don’t appear in photos. It was more difficult than doing the outside of the port, but definitely doable.

Lens, Port & camera cleaning

Get yourself a good bubble-blower, and a lens kit that contains a blower-brush, lens paper and lens cleaner.
Cleaning your glass dome ports and lenses
• Every so often, your lenses and ports will need cleaned. Clean your lens glass carefully. Always blow off dirt and dust first with a blower, then a soft brush, before wiping it with lens paper. Otherwise you may scratch the glass. Always use lens paper or a lens cloth to wipe the glass. This also goes for ports and diopters. A put a few drops of lens cleaner on half of the lens tissue paper, and then I wipe the glass until it is clean. Then I wipe off the liquid with the dry half of the lens paper until the glass is dry.
• Always store lenses with the lens caps on when not in use.
• Try not to change lenses in dusty environments. Change your lens as quickly as possible to avoid getting dust on your sensor. When your camera does not have a lens on, your sensor should be facing down, to avoid dust falling on the sensor.

If you are going on an Underwater Photography dive trip and flying

Remove your main housing o-ring, and put it in a zip-lock baggie, before packing your housing away. When you reach your destination, make sure you remove every o-ring in your system, clean it, lube it, and put it back. The pressure from an airplane can dislodge o-rings. Trust me, you don’t want to learn this first hand.

Be relaxed underwater. If you are distracted by bottom time, air, unfavorable conditions, etc, you can’t focus on getting a good shot.

Always strive to learn more

• Read underwater photo books and magazines.
• Read general photography books and magazines. You can learn many things from topside nature, wildlife, and portrait shooters. Composition is universal. You can learn a lot about lighting from studio photographers. A lot about nature and wildlife photography can be applied underwater.
• Take a class or workshop on underwater photography. Or read a book, or this guide page by page. Great artists all have a strong desire to learn, improve. Technology is changing and there is always more to learn about your art.
• Read your camera body manual carefully. Get to know your camera inside and out.
• Practice and shoot, practice and shoot, practice and shoot!

Find inspiration from others

• Get feedback from someone more experienced than yourself, tell the person you want them to focus on areas you can improve, not on compliments. You can also get feedback on on-line forums. You should make it clear that you don’t want advice on cropping or Photoshop adjustments, you want to know how you could have taken a better shot underwater.
• Dive with photographers better than yourself. See how they photograph, where they go, what subjects they choose, what compositions they select. Compare your photos with theirs.
• Get inspiration from others. Look to see what other photographers have produced from where you are diving, especially pros. Don’t worry about copying what others have done, your conditions and subjects will be slightly different. They probably get their ideas and tips from other people. Who are your underwater photography heroes? If you don’t have any, check the resources page. If you have some, maybe it’s time to revisit them and their photos.
• Find a great coffee table book with underwater photographs, that gives you inspiration, and study the photos.

Other ideas for improving your photos

• Use a good guide.
• Focus on how to improve your shooting underwater, not on how to post-process your photos better.
• Join an Underwater Photographer’s society, you will learn from other members in the club, and it will be helpful to see what types of photos others are submitting in monthly photo contests.
• On your next dive trip, try to find some calm, shallow water. Look for interesting light and reflections. Practice taking shallow shots with little or no strobe power.
• Enter a few competitions. If you don’t win, try to see what techniques, subjects and compositions won. I like the competition sponsored by Underwater Australasia (http://www.underwater.com.au) because it’s free to enter, and they have good prizes.
• Prepare for your dive – research the destinations & dive sites, understand the marine life and behavior.

Go take some shots, and good luck!

any people are surprised to learn that part of manifesting their desires is giving without expectation of any return.

Now, giving without necessarily expecting to get anything in return is a deep part of personal spiritual growth, and when we grow spiritually we become more and more able to realize our own desires. But still you might have a question about this seeming paradox: if I give without necessarily expecting to be “gratified” or “rewarded” by another for my action, how can that be an action that furthers my own spiritual unfolding, and actually helps me attract all that I want into my life?

In our usual everyday world of buying and selling, getting and spending, we expect that when we do something right, it will lead to use getting something good for ourselves, and usually fairly soon if not immediately. If we give somebody our money, we get a product or service. If we give someone of our time, energy, and expertise, we get money. If we give of ourselves to do well within our company, we get a promotion. Even very simple things count: if we give a “thank you”, we expect to get a “you’re welcome” or at least a friendly smile.

There is truly nothing wrong with these exchanges. However, we are too much with them. We don’t see where those activities have their beginning and their end. We begin carrying those attitudes and expectations over into everything in our lives.

The attitude and practice of giving without expecting necessarily to get anything back is not, it needs to be pointed out, some kind of self-sacrifice. This is not a Kamikaze type practice; this is not becoming a monk who lives only for altruism and the suppression of all selfish desires. What it means is, there are some things that are so good to do, that they should be done just for their goodness, for their own sake, or even just for the fact that they give you intense feelings of having done “something right” in and of themselves.

One of the very best summations of this spiritual attitude can be found in the words of the late novelist Willa Cather: “Writing ought either to be the manufacture of stories for which there is a market demand…or it should be an art, which is always a search for something for which there is no market demand, something new and untried, where the values are intrinsic and have nothing to do with standardized values.”

When Cather speaks of writing in that second way, she is speaking of giving without necessarily getting something in return. She speaks of creating something for the sake of a state of mind “where the values are intrinsic and have nothing to do with standardized values.” Where there is no market demand. Something new and untried. But just think of what you do get in return: a higher state of awareness; the pride that you have given something of powerful, lasting, unaging value to the world; and, you have made the world in which you live a better place, which can only benefit you even if indirectly and not in any immediate sense.

Did you know that one of the money making secrets of the very rich is tithing? They give away at least 10% of their money every year to charity or philanthropy. They consider this part of what makes THEM wealthier. If you send out love, it returns to you in time – often in strange and mysterious ways. And that’s another reason why giving without expecting anything in return works to manifest you dreams: it allows you to receive benefits in ways or from places that you couldn’t imagine before. Your “expectations” got in the way!

ium wp-image-518″ />Girl, look in the mirror, it’s not about your clothes, your hair, or the diamonds in your ear.

Pretty little thing, it’s about the woman you think you are

Put away the shiny things and leave yourself with all your dreams

Girl, it’s not about how big or small you want to be in all the places no one else sees

Lovely lady, it’s about the way you feel deep inside, those are the things you shouldn’t hide

Put away the physical manifestations that the magazines are teaching you

Open your eyes, and see the truth

Girl, it’s not about what he or she would have you be

Beautiful woman, it’s about how you soar upon the air, like a bird, you belong there

Put away the broken hearts and reach your goals, it’s time to start

Girl, it’s not about the money and what they are asking you to be

Strong woman, it’s about what you ask from yourself, and what will make you happy

Put away the false desire, and pick up what you want and take yourself higher.

Girl, it’s not about the clothes, your hair, or the diamonds in your ear

Girl, it’s not about how big or small you think you should be

Girl, it’s not about what he or she would have you be

Girl, it’s not about the money and what they are asking you to be

Take charge of your life and make it your own

Be the woman you see when you’re alone

Change the world, because you can

Beautiful, Strong, Lovely and Pretty, be the change, be every woman!

I have missed many people in my life but I notice I feel it more intensely now. To say, “I miss you”, implies a deep sense of caring but is that the true intent of those words or is it said out of habit, like saying God Bless You after a sneeze? Do I miss their smile, their laugh, or the way they made me feel when I was once in their presence? It could be any one of these things or even all of them combined. Missing is about not being encircled in their arms, not feeling their warmth beside me when it is most desired. Missing is about not having an eager, listening ear that wants to hear my life story even though I am not quite comfortable telling it and it is about the comforting buzz of a text message alert that lets me know that they are still…there.

Missing is truly about me and not them because unless told…they have no idea the mark they have left. I owe them a clear statement of the meaning of the words “I miss you” and to voice my meaning honestly. Missing is about the needs, wants and emotions inside of me that are somehow left unattended in the absence of the person I no longer have access to on a physical basis. The saying that “absence makes the heart grow fonder” is a ridiculous thing because, on its own, the statement screams “delusional” but when it is combined with a need to justify romanticizing an otherwise unfulfilling relationship it walks straight into vomit inducing range. Absence is about being gone or away from the one you really want to be with and that is something I am not even remotely “fond” of. I don’t want them to go and when they do it hurts and not in a fuzzy, romance novel way but in the “insert knife, twist left and right then jerk upward” kind of way.

Being open to another person creates a way for “missing” to creep in, to inhabit your heart like a homeless squatter but I welcome it anyway because to run from “missing” is to run from life. I cannot do that so I miss, I care and I hope for the eventual return of or journey to the one I enjoyed laughing with, sharing with and truly being free with. That is life or at least the life I want and so I will gladly wait because I know it is finally my turn to make “missing” a friend that gives rather than takes.

p-image-511″ />My Dear Soul…

You and I have rubbed along nicely for many years now, so many years in fact that I will not say, as a true lady never divulges her age. Now, we have had our rows when my brain told me to be strong, or my heart waltzed on through life regardless of what ever happened. We have shared ups and downs, had our troubles, especially when the happy pills stopped working. You remember don’t you when I wanted to go one way and you another, we couldn’t agree? But, despite all of this you kept me grounded. You told brain to visualize my dreams, you nurtured my heart when it felt fit to burst, but most of all, you offered me insight and the confidence to grow.

Do you remember the many times that I questioned my beliefs, the many arguments I had with my faith? The times when I loved and lost, and all those times I allowed people into my life. You talked to me and told me to be steady. “Don’t make rash judgements that will come back and bite you on the ass”, you said. Did I listen, no I never did?

My heart has always over ruled my head, you told me so. And yes, you were correct. Brain taught me to dream and live with my own demons, huh, how many times have my little demons stopped by to play? You were there, always tightly in control of the reigns. Oh how I wanted to shout and cry and play the woman scorned, but did you allow me too? No indeed you didn’t. Just as my little claws came out to scratch at the surface of pain, you reined me in, whispering in my ear. Tapping on my shoulder before banging my head on a brick wall, you told me self pity is not an admirable trait. Jealousy is an ugly emotion, and fear is the sad state of affairs that I alone put myself into. Soul you are my wisdom.

Oh, I still dream of the impossible. I still fantasize about the handsome Knight on the white charger, but soul tells me “knowing you as I do, he will be riding a chestnut mare in season and get unceremoniously dumped in the manure, his suit of shining Armour turning to rust.” Brain wants to challenge his thinking and answers “a rusty suit of Armour is better than no suit of Armour,” and as for heart, she just blinks and flashes the arteries in the hope of a sexual conquest.

My dear soul, you have schooled me well, because today I still leave my heart open and my brain still tells me to tread carefully, but you my friend; your knowledge and wisdom keeps me alive.

My eyes show me what my brain tells me I cannot have. My heart beats like the rhythm of a drum, bump bump, bump bump, especially at the thought of tenderness and love, but you my soul are the ears to my world, my cradle of life and my giver of reason; the very reason why I love to love as I do.

Don’t ever allow me to dry up and become bitter, I might just miss something wonderful and powerful, or and my knight in shining Armour may only turn out to be a fool in the dust.

I love my soul, and I love the souls of all my dear friends whose love and support gives my soul strength to keep teaching me.

Do you love your soul? Here is to soul loving every day in every way, and for as long as we all remain on this planet Earth, which we call home.

edium wp-image-506″ />The very life and soul to create the world you want for yourself rest in the power of the thought and the word, It isn’t anything new. It has been around for thousand of years. Hermes spoke about it in The Kybalion and in the letters he left for his children.

Thoughts are electrical impulses that generate energy. A dark thought is heavy, slow and many times hard to control once its intent is focused on a given target or linked to a purpose. It attracts the same kind and reinforces the previous thoughts making it harder and harder to control.

The word or words spoken stimulated by thoughts have the power of manifesting what they were intended to. The stronger the intent, the sooner a manifestation materializes. Consistency and flow determine how soon.

On the other hand, a positive, bright thought is light, very fast and needs to be properly channeled in order to control it for a specific purpose or intent, but the materialization undergoes the very same process than with a dark thought.

Do you know what the difference is? The difference is the effect caused by the process set in motion. Obviously, both are hard to control and that is the reason why the control process must be slow, consistent and fluent.

It is easier for people to abandon themselves to a depressing feeling, but in doing so they generate more energetic weight thus making it harder to let go. That´s why fighting back is a titanic task once negativity sets in. Am I making myself clear?

Let me illustrate it for you: Suppose you have worked hard to achieve a goal, but for some reason, things slow down and you must wait.

Your first reaction is to complain, your mind begins to wander, out of complaining you utter swear words, then you get irritated; you comment the situation with a friend and most likely than not, your friend will reinforce your frustration. Am I right so far?

It becomes a vicious circle and the goal begins to slip away between your fingers. Does it ring a bell? Yes, I know, been there, done that! It took a lot of pain to get it through my head, but I finally did it. So, I am trying to spare you that pain.

“The individual who is capable of maintaining a fixed mental picture in his imagination without allowing it to be erased by other thoughts, will achieve marvels, as mind is matter and matter is mind ; that is, energy and matter are different manifestations of mind” John Baines- The Secret Science

Now, remember that your mind is a channel of theUniversal Mind; that is, God’s Mind. It means that the energy you are tapping into is the most powerful energy in the universe. Do you understand the far reaching effect of this?

Most people do not realize this fact, even worse, they do not believe in it. What you believe in is what becomes true for you. You have the magic wand, you are the magician, the wizard; however, if you do not believe in your power, which is God’s Power, no magick is possible.

When the word is uttered, it has already been energized by the thought and intent has been set into motion. For this reason, speaking without thinking is so dangerous. You generate energy that hasn´t been qualified and it will increase its power as it finds similar vibrations in the field.

I wish you understood how critical this is. It can work both ways, the choice is yours, but to be able to control your energy yourattentionmust be focused. There are many ways to train you to develop focused attention. Below you will find a video to help you work it out.

The quality of your power will depend upon your faith in such power. When a human being begins to glorify himself/herself, claiming to be the source of power, everything goes awry. That is the reason why true magicians, wizards, masters, are humble, silent and never ostentatious.

You must understand that you are a channel. The Power belongs to God, and because, a spark of God dwells within you, it is possible to channel such power. Here your attitude is paramount. Be humble, recognize inwardly that you are a channel and do not glorify yourself.

Here you find one of the most capital reasons for failure using the Law of Attraction: Spoken words do not match the intent. You must let the power flow by releasing it to The Source. It is then, and only then that true power flows freely, and you become burden free to focus on maintaining the right attitude.

Do not be deceived; only resistance causes suffering and failure. When you let go, the Divine Intelligence within you will bring forth manifestation in a selfless way, thus benefiting everyone involved.

If you try to control the outcome as your human mind sees it, someone will not receive benefit, and for logical consequence, you create a void that will be filled by your own rewards, as the “boomerang” law returns to strip you from them. Your selfish approach created instant karma and your dues are collected from your own benefits because you are the ill-creator.

You see? That is the consequence of ill-gotten benefits, assets or goods. You need to think in terms of sharing, in terms of community. Abundance is everybody’s God given right, you cannot monopolize it. If you do, the results are an inevitable loss of what you got in the first place.

Cogitate, meditate, and delve in it deeply. Do not take this advice lightly, take heed of the signs, you’ll be ever grateful you did.

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e-medium wp-image-500″ />Dream falls from places
in my sleep,
giving life to hope
that was never mine to keep,
dreams wake, fly away
never really here,
belonging to a sleep,
that begs to keep him near,
If I refuse to wake
he is, forever mine
forever in a dream
forever free of time.
Dreams wake from places
belonging to the deep
I wake to only me
and a love I can not keep
It was never really here
belonging to the night
Married to a dream
vanishing on the light
I can only keep him here
if I forever sleep.
knowing him and knowing love
In dreams, I can not keep.