Nothing Is Gonna Happen Without Learning

A very long time

2011-03-31T00:44:00.002+07:00

There are so many blogs. The last posting on this blog is in May, 2009. Wow.. it's been very long time in posting articles on this blog.

A little bit confused what to post for many blogs out there which are created. I try to open this blog again and delete some features in order that not to load slowly.

Hope I can post regularly on this blog anymore...

Free Your Spirit

2009-05-08T21:50:00.001+07:00

One of the important teachers in my life was my 89 year old friend Reuben. Spending time with him was like being in a school of the Spirit---really learning the true meaning of our journey here. One of the things that Reuben would always do is point out when he saw that someone had a “free spirit” ---what he saw in this person was aliveness, vitality, warmth, openness, a twinkle in their eye---their energy open and accessible---you felt drawn to connect with them.

Can you think of people you know that you feel that their Spirit is free? They are open, they exude warmth and vitality, and they generally are laughing or smiling and are very relaxed, peaceful. Generally these people are memorable because unfortunately in our culture today there are few people who are experiencing this kind of freedom of the Spirit. So many people are locked in fear and attempts to control themselves, others and the outcome of events. One cannot feel this freedom of Spirit and be in a state of trying to control something at the same time. So the first guideline in Freeing Your Spirit is:

***Let Go of Control
In this moment, are you attempting to control something---check in and see. If your body is feeling tense and your breathing is shallow you are probably trying to control something---you may not even be conscious of what you are trying to control but your body is giving you feedback that you indeed are trying to control. When we are in a state of Freedom of the Spirit our bodies feel light and relaxed. Are you worrying---than you are attempting to control by the worry---the belief is “If I worry enough about something I will be able to figure out a way to prevent something bad from happening.”

As you may guess, Reuben was so in tune and aware of people who had a free spirit because he himself had a free spirit. I can’t recall anytime that I saw him worry about anything---even though he had health issues---things that we would normally “worry” about. Anytime that I brought up a concern of mine about my own life he would say “Honey, let’s pray about it” and he would hold my hands and he would say a brief prayer and we would quickly get back to visiting and laughing together. It was a true turning over the concern to the hands of the Divine---fully trusting that Spirit would handle the situation. I have a quotation in my kitchen that I had gotten from Reuben who had this posted in his home “Good Morning this is God. I will be handling all of your problems today. I will not need your help. So, relax. Have a terrific day!” How do you feel when you read this? Does your body relax and you feel relief or are you like my electrician, Joe, who said when he read this “Yeah right, I’m just going to sit at home and not do anything and God will handle everything.” Joe’s comment reflects an all or nothing attitude towards Spirit---either I need to do it all on my own or if I open to Divine assistance I can let go and not do anything. Remember the phrase “Spirit helps those who help themselves”. In the case of Reuben, he took very good care of himself physically and did all that he could to address his health issues---and than from that point he let go to Spirit his health concerns---he did not allow himself to indulge in worry, fear and control over the situation (which by the way would have negatively affected his health). Whatever your concern, do what you can to address it and than let it go into the hands of Spirit. Trust that whatever the outcome it will be in your highest good.

The other benefit of letting go is you give room for Spirit to work in your life. If you are trying to do it all on your own and micromanage every detail there is no room for Spirit to enter. Notice if you tend to do this and consciously let go and back off from “overdoing” and see the magic of Spirit happen in your life. You won’t experience this if you never let go. Once you experience the support of Spirit it will be easier to let go the next time. Let go and let the magic begin!

***Move from thoughts of Fear to thoughts of Faith
Thoughts of faith and trust are true thoughts connected to your true nature---which is Spirit—you are a Spirit living in an earthly body. Fear thoughts are generated by the ego/false self and have no basis in reality— they are generally thoughts of projected fears of the future or fears from false/limiting beliefs handed down from the family system. People often buy into these thoughts—begin to react to them and then think they are true. So often we can terrify ourselves with these kinds of thoughts. Choosing to be in faith and trust is a choice—it does not happen automatically. Moment by moment ask yourself, is this thought one of faith or one of fear? An example of a fear thought vs. a thought of faith—“I can’t achieve my dream, I don’t have what it takes” (fear thought) vs. “I can do anything I can dream of---the world is full of infinite possibilities.” (faith thought).

Faith thoughts are light and expansive---and have that same effect on the body. Fear thoughts are heavy and constrictive---creating tension in the body. So you can observe which kind of thoughts you are entertaining throughout the day---ones of fear or faith. If you identify a fear thought just say to yourself “This is not true” and switch to a faith thought---like switching a channel. The good thing about practicing this thought switching is that each time you switch from fear to faith-- you are actually building neuropathways that support these positive thoughts---which make it easier to shift into these thoughts in the future. The more you are able to NOT go into the fears and negative thoughts you help to extinguish the neuropathways that reinforce these thought patterns. By not reinforcing them, their strength is lessened, making it easier to avert getting pulled into this fear and negativity in the future. (This idea was illustrated in the movie “What the Bleep!?”) Keeping your focus on thoughts of faith and trust will free your Spirit and make it easier and easier to stay in that space in the future.

***Move your Body, Free Your Spirit
Fear thoughts can be so entrenched, especially if those neuropathways are well established, that initially attempting to shift the thoughts to faith can be challenging. So than it’s time to move your body---walk-- or one of my favorites is dancing. Anything to move the stuck energy through your body. You see the negative thought patterns actually energetically clog your energy system and it is difficult to shift to the lighter, higher frequency thoughts with the lower, dense energy of the fear pulling your energy down. When you feel “stuck” it is literally because your energy is stuck, clogged in your body from your negative thought patterns. What can be helpful is to move this energy through so you can open up to the lighter, positive thoughts of faith. Any kind of movement—walking, running, dancing and other forms of exercise will help this congested energy release. Breathwork (deep diaphragmatic breathing), singing, chanting and laughing are also ways to move this energy through. I work as a holistic psychotherapist and often I will have my clients dance before we begin the session to help this stuck energy move through so they can be more open and receptive to the lighter, positive thoughts that bring healing and insight. One great way to move the stuck energy through is to dance to your favorite uplifting music---this helps move the stuck energy through and because you love the music it automatically shifts you into a positive state. I literally do this a few times a day to keep myself in a positive, high energy state. One other benefit of moving your body is it gets you out of your head and more into your body. Your Spirit is housed in your body and it is important to feel all of the sensations of your body---this allows you a deeper experience of your Spirit.

***Practice being in a “Free Spirit” state
We all have had experiences of feeling our true self, our Spirit fully expressing itself in the world—not holding anything back—the love in our hearts flowing out. This sense of freedom, joy, lightness, and openness is our natural state of being, so if you are not feeling this very often than it is safe to say that you had a lid on your true self, your Spirit —it is being confined and held back. It takes a lot of energy to suppress the enormous energy and vitality that is in your Spirit. So often people put the lid on so long ago they forgot what it feels like to have the lid off---to be in full connection with their Spirit. What can be helpful is to begin to practice being in this state again---it may feel foreign or uncomfortable but it will be the most important journey you will take—the journey back to your Spirit. Spending time with people who have a Free Spirit can be contagious and supportive of you becoming more free. I spent a lot of time with Reuben because he was so free and open---it was amazing to be with him---people were drawn to him---people were changed by spending time with him because of his Spirit being so fully expressed. He was my “Free Spirit” mentor. People with Free Spirits love to laugh and play together—so find others to explore this with. Go to environments where you can practice taking risks in being more open---a support group, Workshop or an Inner Bonding Intensive. These are environments where you can practice freeing and fully expressing your Spirit---surrounded and supported by other people on the same journey. These are very fun and inspirational experiences----and what I find is the more people practice and place themselves in these kinds of environments the easier it becomes until being a “Free Spirit” becomes your natural state---which it truly is!/articlesbase.com

Support for Rosa

2009-04-19T21:25:00.003+07:00

Great..!! I got message from Rosa where I was asked for helping to support her to win a contest of Bhabiejhoice-xoxo.net. Here I am supporting you there and I hope that the best is going to come to you.

Rosa is one of the participant of Bhabhiejhoice-xoxo.net 1srt ever contest. She's asking help by posting an article saying you'll support her to win this contest. I am here showing my support for her.

This request is written at my other blog, Product Reviews, and I think I have to write what She hopes. That's why I have been posting at this blog instead of posting at Product Reviews blog.

For those who want to help Rosa win the contest, you can help her by posting like what I am posting in this space. You can follow this LINK

Hope you can enjoy the contest and may you achieve the best and win the contest as well. Good Luck Rosa !

Membawa Mimpi Tuhan Jadi Realita

2009-04-02T21:46:00.000+07:00

Seorang ibu yang mengandung, sementara bayinya masih dalam kandungan, sang ibu sudah memiliki begitu banyak impian dan harapan tentang masa depan bayinya. Bahwa kelak anaknya menjadi orang yang sukses.

Demikian pula Tuhan. Dia memiliki mimpi untuk Anda dan saya. Lama sebelum kita mengenal Tuhan, Dia sudah punya destinasi, impian dan harapan tentang bagaimana hidup kita.

Detik kita bertobat, Tuhan mulai menanam impian-Nya di hati kita. Dia mengkomunikasikan mimpiNya melalui firman. Semakin setia kita mengikut Tuhan, semakin kuat impresi mimpi itu.

Salah satu impian Tuhan tertulis di Yeremia 29:11 yang berbunyi:
Sebab Aku ini mengetahui rancangan-rancangan apa yang ada pada-Ku mengenai kamu, demikianlah firman TUHAN, yaitu rancangan damai sejahtera dan bukan rancangan kecelakaan, untuk memberikan kepadamu hari depan yang penuh harapan.

Di sini Tuhan berkata bahwa Dia sudah mempersiapkan masa depan yang baik untuk kita semua. Seperti seorang ibu yang yang punya rancangan-rancangan yang baik bagi anaknya, demikian juga Tuhan. Namun ada perbedaan antara impian seorang ibu dan impian Tuhan.

Impian Tuhan akan hidup selamanya di roh kita. Impian Tuhan tidak akan mati asal kita tidak menyimpan kepahian, kecewa dan kuatir. Dari pihak kita, diperlukan kerjasama untuk membuat impian Tuhan termanifestasi. Ada dua hal yang perlu dilakukan agar mimpi Tuhan menjadi realita.

Pertama, kita harus rela bersabar menanti manifestasi mimpi tersebut. Yusuf menunggu selama 13 tahun – dari umur 17 sampai 30 tahun – untuk mimpi Tuhan digenapi.

Kedua, kita harus selalu menjaga hati agar mimpi itu tetap hidup. Setan selalu mencoba mencuri mimpi Tuhan sebab dia tidak suka jika kita menjadi seperti yang Tuhan mau.

Setan berusaha keras mematikan mimpi Tuhan di kita dengan menembakkan kepahitan, kekecewaan dan kuatir di hati kita. Dia juga akan melemparkan berbagai godaan supaya kita jatuh dalam dosa dan kehilangan mimpinya Tuhan. Yusuf mengalami godaan di rumah Potifar melalui istri Potifar. Tetapi Yusuf menjaga hati sepenuhnya untuk mimpi Tuhan. Hanya dibutuhkan beberapa tahun lagi sebelum mimpi Tuhan bagi Yusuf tercapai, yaitu menjadi perdana menteri Mesir.

Tahukah Anda mimpi Tuhan bagi Anda? Jika belum, mintalah kepada Tuhan supaya Dia mewahyukan mimpi-mimpi- Nya di hati Anda, agar Anda tahu ke mana Ia membawa Anda. Tidak jadi soal, apakah Anda baru bertobat atau sudah lama menjadi anak Tuhan; Dia berkata bahwa mimpi-Nya tersedia bagi semua orang percaya. Jika Anda percaya, maka mimpi Tuhan itu akan menjadi milik Anda./Mail

GBU :)

It's so awesome!

2009-03-27T06:22:00.002+07:00

It's March 27, 2009 today, I dunno what I feel. I just wanna say that it's so awesome, wonderful, amazing and beautiful. I can feel the best today. I am supposed to say that this is very different. I feel a different spirit, atmosphere, view, thinking and so on and I should say "Thank to Lord". This won't happen without Him. He is powerful in my life.

I try to post this message for I know this is a great moment in my life. I just feel that I am born again. I am born because I have found my real life without something pushes me to do what I am doing right now. What I mean is my life can be fully given to Him, to serve Him, to serve Jesus. I receive His unconditional love. The love without looking at something we have done for Him. This is a great love that everybody receives from Him.

I do thank to Him because I feel worthy not because of my good deed, nobody is right in Him but all of us are worthy because He makes us worthy. By receiving the love I have had, I become understand how to deliver that love to others. This is one of the purpose why I hafta live in this world.

Now, I can say that I am free. My soul has been fulfilled by His. I can enjoy my daily life with Him. I hope with humble that this atmosphere will be forever in my life. His face and righteousness are going to be sought everyday. I live in Him and enjoy the day I live. Amazing days will belong to me because of Him who has given me wonderful days. He is so amazing, thanks Lord for your love. You're praised all the time, forever and ever, Amen.

Top 6 Ways to Send your Positive Affirmations into Overdrive

2009-03-22T22:23:00.001+07:00

You may be playing around with the idea of using positive affirmations. Are you still wondering if they work? Well, rest assure whether its changing the stars of the universe or simply your mindset, THEY WORK! This is how you can get started right now with the top 6 ways to use positive affirmations:

To implement positive affirmations into your life you first need to come up with a few affirmations. They would begin with "I am", "I will", "I can", or "I do". For instance, "I can be a better person", "I am smart" and so on.

The trick is to do this on a regular basis. You should repeat your affirmations repeatedly everyday. This will help your subconscious start to believe these statements. This is how the positive affirmations are going to ultimately change your life.

So how can you put this into overdrive and really get this energy working for you? Here are the top 6 ways to charge your affirmations NOW.

1. Put Them In Writing

Write them on cards and read them to yourself several times a day. Take a few minutes out of your schedule, find a quiet place, relax and read the statements to yourself over and over and over. This helps the subconscious to begin to accept the statements as facts and start to apply them.

2. Look at Yourself

Look at yourself in a mirror while you say your affirmations. Looking into your own eyes only helps the subconscious pick up your affirmations as the truth a little faster.

3. Put Them Everywhere

Write the affirmations down on sticky notes and put them in places where you will notice them during your day. Doing this serves as a reminder of your commitment to yourself and reinforces the resolve to make the change desired.

4. Be Repetitive

Take a few minutes during the day to simply write them down over and over. This is sort of like when you were in school and had to write sentences for misbehaving. You learned NOT to do that again, didn't you? Of course, you don't have to write them 500 or 1000 times, but you get the idea. Maybe 25 or 50 times a day is sufficient.

5. Hear Them

When you say them out loud, say them with meaning and force. Use a firm voice that means business and your subconscious will listen up.

6. Change It Up

Change things up a little by singing them or chanting them. This adds a whole new dimension to the affirmation. Musical stimulation has been shown in scientific studies to have profound effects on people at the subconscious level, so take advantage of it. You don't have to sing well, just sing.

You have the power to change anything about yourself that you think needs changing. All you need to do is program the subconscious mind to believe it and take it as fact.

Your brain is like a computer. Computers need software to run. Sometimes you need to reprogram the software to achieve the desired effect.

The same ideology applies here. Change your thinking and change your life. All with the power of your own mind./articlesbase

Free Hugs Campaign, Kasih dan Sayang!

2009-03-21T22:43:00.004+07:00

Saat itu aq coba untuk mencari video-video yang menginspirasi agar semangat dari dalam diri "motor" dari dalam diri aq sendiri mulai dihidupkan lagi karena kadangkala setiap orang pasti pernah bahkan hampir sering mengalami kemunduran dalam apapun.

Aq terharu waktu menemukan video "Free Hugs" Campaign. Mungkin kita sering melihat dan merasakan pelukan dari seseorang baik itu pacar ataupun papa, mama, kk, adik dsb. Tapi tahukan Anda bahwa pelukan itu sebagai salah satu "Sentuhan" kasih sayang yang dalam. Kenapa sering sekali seorang anak mengalami kekosongan kasih sayang saat mereka besar dan dewasa karena sentuhan dari seorang papah/mamahnya kurang.

Jadi jangan heran klo seorang anak ketika sudah besar bisa hilang kontrol dan mendapatkan kasih sayang dari orang lain dalam artian seorang anak yang kekurangan kasih sayang bisa memberikan dirinya untuk disayangi terhadap hal-hal yang fatal seperti seorang anak yang jadinya menjadi "makanan" buat para pria yang tidak bertanggung jawab.

Apa yang saya lihat di video yang aq coba temukan adalah Kampanye Pelukan Gratis. Aq merasakan bahwa Semua adalah sama seperti yang dilatar belakangi lagu video tersebut oleh "Music by Sick Puppies" titled "All the same". Aq merasakan suatu hal bahwa kita membutuhkan kasih sayang sesama. Satu hal yang penting disini adalah nilai kasih sayang. Jangan dilihat dari sisi negatif bahwa pelukan dengan orang yang tidak dikenal tidak pantas, bukan seperti itu tapi lihatlah betapa dekatnya kasih sayang itu yang barangkali tidak kita dapatkan dari keluarga dekat kita.

Tetaplah saling mengasihi dan sayangilah orang lain selama kita masih hidup didunia ini agar kita semua menjadi berkat buat sesama kita dimana kita tinggal, Amin.

Automatical Exchange Link

2009-03-21T19:23:00.000+07:00

Kampanye Damai Pemilu Indonesia 2009

2009-03-21T07:06:00.005+07:00

Apa seh peran setiap kita untuk menjadikan Pemilu Damai 2009 menjadi salah satu pemilu yang bisa membawa kedamaian bukan hanya terhadap setiap pemilu tetapi khususnya terhadap Negeri kita tercinta, Negeri Indonesia.

Satu lagi kontes yang siap diikuti oleh ribuan para Blogger yaitu Kampanye Damai Pemilu 2009 yang diadakan sejak 1 Februari 2009 dan berakhir pada 1 Mei 2009 oleh penyelenggara Mr Pogung177.

Setiap orang berhak untuk mengikuti kontes ini karena disini tidak ada aturan sama sekali. Yang dibutuhkan disini adalah bagaimana setiap para blogger ato siapapun yang siap meluncurkan webnya dengan kata kunci yang unik agar pada saat seleksi nanti yang dilakukan oleh Mr. Pogung 177 (Yang mengadakan kontes ini) hanyalah men-Search kata kunci "Kampanye Damai Pemilu 2009" di halaman Index Google.co.id, itu sebabnya kontes ini disebut Pogung 177 SEO Contest.

Tentunya dibalik semua ini, ada hadiah yang sangat menarik yang diberikan kepada 10 Pemenang kontes SEO Pemilu Damai 2009. Hadiahnya berikut:

1st Prize: Rp 5.000.000 + 16Gb USB drive

2nd Prize: Rp 2.000.000 + 8 Gb USB drive

3rd Prize: Rp 1.000.000 + 8 Gb USB drive

4th Prize: 8 Gb USB drive

5th Prize: 8 Gb USB drive

6th Prize: 4 Gb USB drive

7th Prize: 4 Gb USB drive

8th Prize: 4 Gb USB drive

9th Prize: 4 Gb USB drive

10th Prize: 4 Gb USB drive

Kampane Damai Pemilu 2009 ini tentunya bukan sekedar memperebut hadiah semata tapi bagi para blogger yang ingin meningkatkan traffic blog/web nya, kontes ini menjadi sangat tepat untuk diikuti karena seperti kata Bang Rohman Anda akan melihat traffic Anda mendadak naik jika Anda menjadi pemenangnya.

Tunggu apalagi, segera Daftarkan diri Anda DISINI.

Semoga Kampanye Pemilu Damai 2009 Sukses dan berjalan dengan DAMAI.

Haruskah seperti ini?

2009-03-20T00:38:00.008+07:00

Terkadang apa yang tidak diharapkan untuk tidak terjadi dalam hidup kita, eh malah itu datang, tiba-tiba lagi, wow . . . painful? dunno . . .

Satu lagi datang dalam hidup saya yaitu "kehampaan". Kenapa seseorang harus merasa hampa? Hampa, kekosongan jiwa, kering, sepi dan macem2 deh, taukkk ahhh. . ..

Cinta, cinta dan cinta! Inilah yang menjadi alasan kenapa aq merasa hampa. Apakah aq akan merasa seperti ini terus? Sekali-kali tidak, kenapa? Jawab sendiri, haha... (Mau tertawa dulu ah . . ., soale jarang-jarang neh senyum akhir2 ini, rasanya tertekan banget, gak enak, ennnggggaaakkk enak.....)

Ternyata, sidia harus pergi dari hadapanku, harus jauh dari aku, emank seh, mencintai belum tentu memiliki dan emank dia bukan milik aq koq jadi biarkan ajalah dia pergi . . . (tapi jangan terlalu jauh ya, ehem . . . :P)

Duhh.... satu hal yang aq pelajari dari semua ini adalah "pembelajaran" bukan hanya ini tapi gimana cih ngerti hal yang paling penting dalam hidup aq karena aq ngerasa belum bisa ngerti gimana ngertiin seseorang.... sungguhkah demikian?

Sidia telah jauh dan aq harus berbesar hati karena aq masih bisa menulis coretan ini, siapapun yang membaca mungkin bingung apa yang sedang aq alami tp yang ada didalam diriq adalah kehampaan dan barangkali tulisan ini juga terasa hampa tuk dibaca (eeiitttsss udah ahhh.....)

Buat adeq "Puti" thanks so much, thanks for your luv, you're the best, the best pokoknya . . . hehehe...tetaplah berkreasi dalam hidupmu yah....

Inti dari coretanq ini bukanlah apa yang tertulis disini tp ini masih bersambung, ada waktu tak sambung lagi.... hooh . . . who cares? Does anybody care about me? hahha seeeettoooopppp . . .

Thanks wat sobat2q yang setia ngeblog, your words're so inspirative, Anda2 semua, kk, adeq, kang, abang, ente, tulang, oppung, mas, siapapun itu, thanks so much karena tulisan kalian semua menginspirasi . . . tetaplah berjuang yah . . .

Sampe sini dulu deh... aq mau blogwalkin` dulu, hehe . . . STAY in TOUCH anyone . . .
Ganbatte!!!

2009-03-19T22:09:00.002+07:00

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Increase Your Blog Traffic From Yahoo

2009-03-18T17:06:00.001+07:00

Here is a unverified traffic tip for getting your blog's feed indexed by Yahoo quicker.

Start a MyYahoo page.
Then click the "Add Content" link in the upper left. This will take you to a screen to search for content for your page.
Click on "Add RSS by URL" on the right side of that window.
Then type in your feed's URL, click Add and then on the next page click "Add to My Yahoo" in the upper right corner.

Thats it. Hopefully it helps.

Idea courtesy of JohnTP

The Top 5 Steps To Success

2009-03-09T06:47:00.001+07:00

Success is far too often thought of as impossible. The fact is that no matter how far we get in our path to success we always end up further than where we started. Don't wait to better your life. Take these next 5 tips and begin your journey towards your very own success.

1. Decide What You Want

You are not getting anywhere without goals. The important part of putting yourself together for success is figuring out where you are going as opposed to flailing around and letting your resources get away from you. Do some goal setting, both in terms of large goals that are made for a lifetime and small goals that will get you where you there.

2. Who Are You?

Along your journey to success keep in mind that there will be people along the way that don't believe what you are doing is the right thing. Remember that these are their beliefs and not yours. If you start to listen to these people no matter who they are they are always thinking about what's right in their experiences and those experiences may not be whats right for you.

3. Know That You Are In Control

Know that everything that's happened in your life is in your control. Your reaction to a situation is what made you fail and now what will make you succeed. Let the past go and take control of your future.

4. Be Compassionate

When you are in a place where you are dealing with others, it is important to be compassionate. Not only could many people out there use some compassion, you will find that it does you good as well. It makes you more welcoming and more understanding, and it will teach you to let go of anger and to make sure that you can start your life over when you need to. Compassion can be a difficult thing to learn but it is also very important that you try.

5. Be Yourself

Everyone is different in their own way. Realize that you are who you are for some reason. You need to learn to be proud of who you are and what you want. Don't let others bring you down./articlesbase.com

What Do People Think When They See You?

2009-03-05T01:56:00.000+07:00

Chances are, it may be something as horrible as nothing. Nothing may sound innocent but don't be fooled; there is a huge danger in nothing. It can travel along with you in everything that you do, speaking not-so-sweet nothings about you.

You may laugh- it sounds odd or even a bit strange when you hear it for the first time. But when you are making your first impressions on your path to success, you come across great opportunities with only a moment to make or break you. And when all you have speaking for you is nothing- it's not a good thing. People make their first and strongest impression of you the moment you come into view. Words are great if and when you are given the opportunity, but pictures speak louder than words and leave that lasting impression. A giant nothing hanging around you isn't very exciting or interesting, and it certainly doesn't inspire respect or confidence. It leaves a lot of doubt and unease.

Image is the critical role that breaks down the doors and makes your introductions for you. It's like having an assistant next to you at all times announcing what you are to the world- and if that assistant is yelling out that you are nothing, it is a very convincing disadvantage. Too often when someone walks into a room, their image is shouting, "Carry on people, nothing to see here- don't waste your time," to everyone around them. In fact, it is the most common statement people are making with their image each and every day.

Getting your assistant, your image, to start speaking in your advantage is not at all difficult to do- and the results will do wonders for you. Imagine having someone announce as you walk into a room, "Attention, this person here is great! You want to hear what he or she has to say- prepare to be amazed!"

This is the power of image. And the role of image is always in action, speaking out for you every single second of the day. It can play in your favor or work against you - you decide your fate. Negligence is the the leading cause of a weak and disadvantageous image and the damages only get worse from there. Image is not to be ignored, those who think they are ignoring it are being ignored themselves. It is time to come out of hiding and accomplish all of your dreams.

[ The #1 most common statement people are thinking- "Carry on people, nothing to see here- don't waste your time." ]

Image is what separates you from the crowds and from the competition. If there is nothing to catch interest, inspire respect, or define confidence then you are setting up an enormous roadblock that is nearly impossible to break down. The simple act of improving your image and maximizing its potential destroys any roadblock and pushes you forward to the very front of the line. Become aware of your image and let it start knocking the doors down for you. When your image announces your greatness to the world every moment of the day, nothing will be able to stop you. Image is the fastest way to get where you want to be. The only thing that can ever stop you in life is yourself- it is up to you to rise to the top. Strengthen your image and let it carry you there./articlesbase.com

Rajin Mandi & Rendam Kaki Bisa Sembuhkan Banyak Penyakit

2009-02-03T19:36:00.003+07:00

Menurut penelitian terbaru mandi ternyata tidak hanya baik untuk membersihkan tubuh dari kotoran dan menjauhkan stress. Lantas, apa saja sih manfaat mandi dan berapa lama idealnya Anda sebaiknya mandi? Mau tahu lebih banyak? Berikut informasinya:

1. Mengeluarkan racun
Mandi air hangat sekitar 32-35 derajat Celcius membuka pori-pori yang dapat membantu mengeluarkan toksin. Mandi air hangat juga dapat membantu menurunkan tingkat gula menjaga usus besar bekerja dengan baik. Waktu yang dianjurkan selama 20-20 menit.

2. Stress
Jika Anda benar-benar mengalami stress, mandi air dingin akan menjadi jawaban yang tepat. Temperatur yang dianjurkan sekitar 12-18 derajat Celcius. Mandi air dingin sangat baik meredakan ketegangan.

3. Infeksi
Infeksi yeast seperti sariawan dapat membantu dengan menambahkan tiga atau empat cuka dari sari buah apel kedalam bak mandi. Ini juga baik untuk mengeluarkan racun dari dalam tubuh karena cuka dapat menyeimbangkan kembali asam. Tambahkan pada air hangat dan berendam selama 15-20 menit.

4. Flu dan sakit kepala
Merendam kaki dalam air hangat dapat membantu menyembuhkan flu dan sakit kepala dan juga menyegarkan kembali kaki yang lelah. Masukkan air hangat secukupnya dalam bak sampai menutupi kaki dan pergelangan kaki tambahkan beberapa tetes minyak seperti lavender, peppermint atau lemon. Setelah selesai basuh dengan air dingin. Lakukan selama 10-20 menit.

5. Insomnia
Meredakan kaki dalam air dingin sangat baik bagi Anda yang memiliki masalah insomnia atau mereka yang memiliki masalah tidur. Masukkan kaki sampai kaki merasa dingin. Pengobatan ini juga berguna bagi kaki lelah, pendarahan hidung, flu dan sembelit./Warta

Senar yang putus

2009-01-30T07:45:00.004+07:00

Hidup kita terkadang bagai senar yang putus, dipenuhi oleh persoalan kekhawatiran, kekecewaan dan kegagalan.

Dan kita seringkali mencurahkan banyak waktu untuk memikirkan kembali senar yang putus tadi.

Apakah Anda masih memikirkan senar-senar Anda yang putus dalam hidup Anda? APakah senar terakhir nadanya tidak merdu lagi?

Janganlah melihat kebelakang, majulah terus, mainkan senar satu-satunya tadi. Mainkanlah senar terakhir itu semerdu mungkin./Mail

Blogger Siap untuk Berbagi, Berkreasi dan Beraksi!

2009-01-29T19:39:00.001+07:00

Rekan bloggers,

WOW! Hanya satu kata itu yang bisa terucap dari bibir kami ketika jumlah peserta yang mendaftarkan dirinya mencapai angka 400 (lebih) blogger. Padahal, masih ada separuh perjalanan waktu lagi di kompetisi ini. Baik itu untuk pendaftaran, ataupun untuk penulisan artikel yang sesuai dengan tema yang kami sediakan.

Blogger berbagi. Blogger berkreasi. Dan blogger beraksi!

Setidaknya, itulah pesan yang kami tangkap saat ini. Lewat tulisan, disadari atau tidak, para rekan-rekan blogger telah berbuat sesuatu. Meski beberapa orang dengan pesimis menilainya itu kecil, tapi kami menerima beberapa email yang menginformasikan bahwa sudah ada efek positif yang mereka dapatkan lewat keikutsertaannya di kompetisi ini. Bukan cuma sekedar traffic sesaat, tapi lebih dari itu. Padahal, kompetisi kan belum berakhir ya? Inilah bukti bahwa setitik aksi nyata itu lebih berarti dari sejuta mimpi yang terbenam dalam pikiran. Sedikit aksi ini sudah menunjukkan bahwa masih banyak yang peduli tentang negeri ini. Terlebih di tengah-tengah arus apatis dan banyaknya suara negatif yang hanya bisa berteriak saja./bugiakso.com

Tuliskan Tujuan Hidupmu

2009-01-28T14:40:00.002+07:00

Setelah kita melakukan eksplorasi dengan Tuhan dan diri sendiri, tiba waktunya kita menuliskan semua yang sudah kita dapatkan. Buatlah semacam kesimpulan akhir untuk mendapatkan pernyataan tujuan. Ini diperlukan karena Pernyataan tujuan akan mengekspresikan HAL UTAMA yang akan kita lakukan dalam hidup kita. Seorang pemimpin pernah berkata: "80% kegiatan sehari-hari orang yang sukses harus berada di dalam lingkup pernyataan tujuannya."
Ccontoh Pernyataan tujuan:

Charlie Wetzel (penulis dari buku-buku John C. Maxwell): "Dengan menulis, mengajar, dan menasehati, saya rindu mengekspresikan orang-orang dan menolong mereka menemukan tujuan, mengembangkan hubungan mereka dengan Allah dan menjangkau potensi mereka."
Yusak Budi Santoso: "Menjadi bapa bagi anak-anak muda yang terpinggirkan."

Dalam menuliskan pernyataan tujuan hidup, kita tidak perlu idealis dan menunggu sempurna melainkan beranikan diri saja untuk menuliskannya. Jangan malu karena sepertinya yang kita dapatkan kok sepele. Ingat, tidak ada yang sepele bagi Tuhan. Jangan takut menuliskan karena yang kita dapatkan sungguh sangat luar biasa. Pede aja lagi!/Budi Abdipatra

Halau Kanker Dengan Sesendok Madu

2009-01-28T14:28:00.002+07:00

Sesendok gula mungkin bakal menolong Anda menggelontorkan obat yang Anda makan namun tidak memberi apa-apa selain kalori. Sebaliknya, madu akan meningkatkan kadar antioksidan endogen dalam tubuh Anda.

Antioksidan endogen merupakan unsur yang diproduksi tubuh untuk menghalau radikal bebas penyebab munculnya penyakit jantung, kanker dan penyakit lainnya lagi.

Dalam sebuah penelitian kecil, setelah sebulan empat sendok makan madu setiap hari - yang cukup untuk memaniskan secangkir teh - 25 relawan mengalami peningkatan kadar antioksidan hingga 5% - 12% dalam darah mereka.

Jadi, pastikan agar Anda menggunakan madu sebagai pengganti gula. Jangan gunakan dua-duanya, karena Anda hanya akan melipatgandakan asupan kalori./Jawaban.com

Rendahkan hatimu dan Ia akan meninggikanmu

2009-01-28T10:31:00.002+07:00

Anak-Ku,

Lihatlah disekitarmu. Siapakah orang yang paling tidak bahagia? Apakah mereka orang-orang yang selalu mencoba mengalahkan orang lain? Orang-orang yang menjatuhkan orang lain untuk membuat dirinya kelihatan baik? Biarlah Aku memberitahumu sebuah rahasia. Kamu bisa menjadi yang terbaik tanpa menjatuhkan orang lain. Kamu dapat merangkul orang lain daripada mencoba menjatuhkan mereka. Pertandinganmu satu-satunya hanyalah antara dirimu senyatanya dengan dirimu sebagaimana yang kamu inginkan. Di dalam kompetisi itu kemajuanmu merupakan hadiahmu. Sebagaimana kamu belajar untuk selalu merangkul orang lain tanpa menonjolkan dirimu ke muka, kamu akan menyadari bahwa Aku yang akan mengangkatmu

Bapamu, Tuhan

Rendahkanlah dirimu di hadapan Tuhan dan Ia akan meninggikan kamu (Yakobus 4:10)

Perjalanan Langkah dan Inspirasi

2009-01-25T12:36:00.000+07:00

Alkisah, tersebutlah seorang pria yang putus asa dan ingin meninggalkan segalanya. Meninggalkan pekerjaan, hubungan, dan berhenti hidup. Ia lalu pergi ke hutan untuk bicara yang terakhir kalinya dengan Tuhan Sang Maha Pencipta.

“Tuhan,” katanya. “Apakah Tuhan bisa memberi saya satu alasan yang baik untuk jangan berhenti hidup dan menyerah ?”

Jawaban Tuhan sangat mengejutkan.

“Coba lihat ke sekitarmu. Apakah kamu melihat pakis dan bambu ?”.

“Ya,” jawab pria itu.

“Ketika menanam benih pakis dan benih bambu, Aku merawat keduanya secara sangat baik. Aku memberi keduanya cahaya. Memberikan air. Pakis tumbuh cepat di bumi. Daunnya yang hijau segar menutupi permukaan tanah hutan. Sementara itu, benih bambu tidak menghasilkan apapun. Tapi Aku tidak menyerah.

“Pada tahun kedua, pakis tumbuh makin subur dan banyak, tapi belum ada juga yang muncul dari benih bambu. Tapi Aku tidak menyerah.

“Di tahun ketiga, benih bambu belum juga memunculkan sesuatu. Tapi Aku tidak menyerah. Di tahun ke-4, masih juga belum ada apapun dari benih bambu. Aku tidak menyerah,” kataNya.

“Di tahun kelima, muncul sebuah tunas kecil. Dibanding dengan pohon pakis, tunas itu tampak kecil dan tidak bermakna. Tapi 6 bulan kemudian, bambu itu menjulang sampai 100 kaki. Untuk menumbuhkan akar itu perlu waktu 5 tahun. Akar ini membuat bambu kuat dan memberi apa yang diperlukan bambu untuk bertahan hidup. Aku tak akan memberi cobaan yang tak sangup diatasi ciptaan-Ku, “kata Tuhan kepada pria itu.

“Tahukah kamu, anakku, di saat menghadapi semua kesulitan dan perjuangan berat ini, kamu sebenarnya menumbuhkan akar-akar?”

“Aku tidak meninggalkan bambu itu. Aku juga tak akan meninggalkanmu.”

“Jangan membandingkan diri sendiri dengan orang lain,” kata Tuhan.”Bambu mempunyai tujuan yang beda dengan pakis. Tapi keduanya membuat hutan menjadi indah.”

“Waktumu akan datang. Kamu akan menanjak dan menjulang tinggi.”

“Saya akan menjulang setinggi apa ?” tanya pria itu.

“Setinggi apa pohon bambu bisa menjulang?” tanya Tuhan

“Setinggi yang bisa dicapainya,” jawab pria itu.

“Ya, benar! Agungkan dan muliakan nama-Ku dengan menjadi yang terbaik, meraih yang tertinggi sesuai kemampuanmu,” kata Tuhan.

Pria itu lalu meninggalkan hutan dan mengisahkan pengalaman hidup yang berharga ini./Mail

Positive Thinking Does Create Success

2009-01-10T15:18:00.000+07:00

The New Year is traditionally the time to set some goals that will see you in a better place, mentally, physically and/or financially.

The usual things that make up a person's to-do list include losing weight, embarking on a fitness regimen, earning more money, improving a personal relationship and finding one's happiness. Every year, however, most of us find ourselves wishing for the same things as if the year that had passed failed to produce positive results for us.

Does it mean that losing weight or getting rich is an impossible dream? Can the perfect life partner be so elusive that we have to keep wishing to find one every year?

All these questions and more seem to have simple answers, if we follow the ideas presented by Rhonda Byrne's The Secret. This book gained media attention after Oprah Winfrey mentioned it in her show. Many were intrigued by its title and others who read it could not stop raving about its contents.

There is a reason why the book is a best-seller.

It includes much about the mind's power. Its message is that by changing the way you think from a negative to a positive outline, outcomes will turn positive as well.

The basic premise of the secret is "The Law of Attraction." Unlike the scientific law of attraction which holds that opposite forces attract while like forces repel, The Secret's Law of Attraction holds that: "like attracts like".

In life, what one thinks, one attracts. Therefore, positive thoughts attract positive outcomes, and vice versa. You can achieve it if you think it.

If you were to apply the law of attraction to a weight loss goal, for example, then all that you need to do is to think of yourself having a slimmer body and with all of the excess weight gone.

Block off all thought that losing weight is going to be a painful and difficult process. Discard the old cliché of "no pain, no gain." Think instead: "to weigh less is painless."

Positive thinking also involves the visualization of your goal. Imagine yourself with a trim figure. Create mental images of having a stunning silhouette. And then hold that thought always as you encourage yourself to observe your weight loss plan.

If you truly believe and see that you can achieve all your dreams, all the things that make up your dreams will come flowing to you./articlesbase

Drama Analysis On Perfume

2009-01-02T09:48:00.000+07:00

DRAMA ANALYSIS ON PERFUME

P E R F U M E

A Story of a Murderer

PREFACE

What can be learnt from this life? What can be got? What can be felt? Everyone who lives can see their life better or not. They can feel when making something to be felt. When we do something to make good things, we can realize that it is good or bad, but sometimes when we do not care anything or do not want to be part of other people, when we just walk alone and think that our life is better than others, we really lose something in our daily life.

This is my mind in which it is used to think that others are useful and they are becoming a part of my life. I need them who accompany me, invite me, and care about me. I can feel what they are doing to me and I can see if they are caring about me. This is life which everyone can feel.

Why do I have to say and mention above in this writing? What we see in this life can make us better if we want to get a positive side and we want to learn many things positively. We never know something if someone does not tell us what we want to know. Sometimes, we do something where we do not know and realize that it may not be done. We don’t know that what we have done has made some disadvantages with others.

These inspirations are got by watching “PERFUME”. This film will tell us so many things about life. It will tell us about love, peace, power, and so on. This time, I will give you what I have to give. I will tell you what I have to tell. I will tell you some sides of the film that has been presented. My suggestion, watch the film if you want to know more about it and get many lessons what essences have been presented.

INTRODUCTION

Every movie must have the deep meaning that is presented to the people who watch it. It may be the meaning of life, story, history, and others. Sometimes, the meaning of the inside of the film can remind us from what we have done in the past or what we are doing right now. In this case, I will tell you some amazing things about “PERFUME”. PERFUME is one of the film which was set in 18^th century Paris. The film tells about a story of a murderer who is performed by Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) who is also an orphan with an extraordinary sense of smell.

In this film, I want to write more about “imagery”. It is about imagery in every action, event, situation and character. It will be better if I give you the definition of “imagery”. I will try to mention the definition of imagery at least from two sources. According to wikipedia.org, imagery is any literary reference to the five senses (sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste). Essentially, imagery is any series of words that create a picture in your head. Such images can be created by using figures of speech such as similes, metaphors, personification, and assonance. Imagery helps the reader picture what is going on. To the Oxford Dictionary, imagery is a language that produces pictures in the minds of people reading or listening.

To me, as I listened to my lecturer’s explanation or in my own knowledge that imagery is one of the situation that is described or the definition of something that is presented by someone that can not be seen by our own two eyes but can be understood by mind. The imagery can be seen in the following explanations and examples which can be seen in PERFUME.

I. The PERFUME Imagery

The perfume film can show many things included imagery. The imagery will be explained more. It can be seen through the actions, events, situations and characters as I have mentioned above. Let’s get started from the action. What imagery is that?

1. Actions

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille has a super-human ability to detect and distinguish scents. He is a special son if he is considered with his friends when he was a child. His special can be known from his scent. The first time in his performance in killing someone is when he smelt something which passed through his nose. What he smelt is a woman who brought some fruits in her basket but this is not the main what he looked for, what he smelt but the aroma of a woman. This shows us that a woman is more fragrant in using perfume than a man. This is fact in our daily life and every woman can feel this and they must do this in their daily life. When Jean came near by Jeanne who brought fruits in her basket, he smelt and closed to her but Jeanne was afraid with Jean and the last Jean suffocated her. Actually, if we want to see what Jean-Baptiste Grenouille really did to Jeanne, he does not mean to kill her. This is an imagery in which his heart is pure and he just wants to smell the aroma from Jeanne but the situation is not good and he wants to avoid the voice by closing her mouth until she was dead. This action shows us that there is a deed of someone which is not realized and not meant to do that. When Jean was no longer a child, he was sold to an old perfumer. He does not know anything why he is sold even does not know where he will be sent. Many people do this in their own life. They use other people to result advantages in their life without caring with other people condition. They don’t care anything. This is one of the lessons that we can get from PERFUME and this is one of the imagery in our mind, the meaning of the fact which is presented in the PERFUME. Further imagery can be seen when Jean-Baptiste Grenouille wants to make a good perfume even he will make a twelve-bottle perfume. He was sent to Italy by bringing a legal letter from his country, French. A letter shows that it can bring us to the other countries. It is like a passport which allows us staying and living in other countries. This is used by Jean-Baptiste Grenouille when he was sent to Italy to create and make the best perfume and also the beginning of his story as a murderer. He will go there through the forest. This makes him free, feel peaceful and fresh in the middle of the forest which he passed. His great scent guides him wherever he stays, whatever he does, even whoever he meets. It is his great modal when he will make some perfumes in Italy and also does his experiment there. He did experiment by killing women. Women show us that they have a beauty, love, full of love, peace where everyone comes to them, love them, save them, care them and everything will be done because of them, women. His last perfume making is through the woman who one of the most beautiful girl in Grasse, she is Laura. Love, beauty, loveliness can be felt from a woman and Laura who is one of the most beautiful girl wants to be made as a part of his twelve-bottle perfume. She is the last one to fulfill his purpose in making great perfume. After getting her, this is his last life and he can intoxicate many people around him by using dribble of the perfume. A great fragrance makes people to be intoxicated. This is a love fragrance which was made of “some beautiful girls”. Wow, what a horrible thing!

2. Events

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille can not just stay in his birth town, he has to move to the other place but this is not because of his willing. He can smell everything but he can not smell his own body. His scent always guides him whatever he does. He meets a perfumer, Baldini who created many perfumes in his country, French. He tries to convince him that he can make a better perfume than before. This imagery shows that there are many ways how to make a better one than the other which has been made but many often everyone always just looks their experiences when someone finds ways to make a better one. What Baldini says is Jean-Baptiste Grenouille does not know anything in making perfume. He has not known yet the scent of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille to detect anything around him. Why doesn’t Baldini trust Jean in making a better one? Because he always depends on his experiences of making perfumes because he has made many perfumes in his country. Jean tries to convince Baldini and the last, he can make other perfume and has Baldini to try it. Baldini smelt Jean’s creation and Baldini felt as though he stays in a beautiful garden, and a girl says “I love you”. What does this mean? This is a symbol of peace, love, beauty, safety, and loveliness. When Jean-Baptiste Grenouille made a better one, this shows that there must be the best from a better one. He asked for Baldini to teach Jean-Baptiste Grenouille how to make and how the process in making perfume. Because of his scent which always guides him, he smelt nothing when he tried to make perfume through the teaching of Baldini. He was very angry with Baldini. This shows us that a wonder of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is very high in making a true perfume. Laura who is the later experiment of Jean is very loved by his father, Antoine Richis who is the richest man in his country. His love allows Laura in making everything even when her birthday, Antoine allowed her playing game with her friends around the garden near by his house. This shows us that Laura is a beloved woman and she is free to run her life, his father love always protecst her from anywhere. Love of someone makes us happy, peaceful, glad, and dispassionate.

3. Situations

From Jean’s birthday until his dead, he never knows how to love and nobody loves him. He was born in the stinking fish market. This place is so dirty. This makes him to be what he will be. Where he was born will shows that his life is not far from “the dirty place”. A dirty place is a stinking fish market where his mother worked there and sold fishes. What did his mother do when he was born? She didn’t want his son to be born and she banished him. This thing is one of the situations where our life is not allowed to live. We are rejected and wherever we live, whatever we feel, we will feel naturally that we are rejected from everything and from the beginning because when we were born, we weren’t wanted to live in this world. I try to check the Perfume’s review that he was born in 17 July 1738 and his birth was fifth birth at the same place, it is in a stinking fish market, it is a dirty place and it is said that she always bore when she was working. I can say that his mother tends to make work is more important in order that she had no place to bear his son. Indeed, work is good but our child, our son is more important than everything that we get. The first voice that was heard by Jean is his mother tried to kill him, forsake him. That voice will guide his life that everything that he will face, he tends to do rudely because his mind has been set by the voice that he ever heard even when he was a one-day age. When he was found, he was nursed by Mandame Gaillard but she sold Jean-Baptiste Grenouille when he was 13 years old. From his birth, he was not wanted to be born and even he was sold. This will influence his life when someday he becomes an adult man. His great scent guides him to detect what are really around him. He can detect by smelling anything. It is said that Mandame did not have any place to keep Jean. This shows that someone does not want to be responsible of something that she runs.

4. Characters

Imagery can also be seen from the characters of the players in a film. The characters in this film show how they really are. How they present something to people, how they attract other people to stay and pay attention with them. How they can be interesting players in the film. In this film, I just write three main kinds of player characters. They are main character, society characters and supporting characters.

a. Main character

In Perfume, the main character is played by Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. He becomes a murderer when making great perfume which can intoxicate many people. He is a unique baby when he was born and he is so different with others. He always depends on his scent. Eventually, he develops the ability to speak but he is only able to associate words by his scent. His friends hated him not because they envy with him but they can see something strange with him. He does not realize that he is a murderer. He just wants to learn how to keep his scent and create something better and becomes a popular man. In his end, he can not love anybody and nobody can love him too. Why can this happen? Because of his birthday, he was not taught how to love others and feel better with other even he can not feel how the women felt when they were killed. The main point that can be got as an imagery from the character of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is about his beginning when he stepped his feet to the earth, when he was born.

b. The society

The society has a place as one of the most important place in keeping communication. In the first of his birthday place said that fish market is one of the places which are often invited by Parisians to keep communication with other people. This shows that a market is a crowded place and an effective place to speak to others and keep contacting with others and meet others. The Parisians remain keeping a good communication with other people even though that place is very dirty. It can be seen that many people are busy to run their daily business. The society in that film is the people who always work hard in their daily life. Let’s take a look in the last of the film. What imagery can be seen from the society? The society can not stand with their two feet but they can be intoxicated by the aroma of the perfume. They do not have the true meaning of their faith even they said that Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is an angel who is sent from the heaven. This shows that the people’s faith can be changed only by the aroma of the perfume, fragrance of love by saying “He is an angel, He has no fault”.

c. Supporting Characters

The imagery can be seen through the supporting characters which are presented in the film. The supporting characters can be seen through;

a. Grenouille’s Mother.

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille was her fifth baby who was born in the same place, Fish Market. When he was born, his mother did not want to nurse him even she banished him in the middle of the fishes. It can be seen from his mother’s behavior that she doesn’t love life. She doesn’t care about life. She just lives for herself without caring other people even her son, she doesn’t care about him and she is an egoistic woman. This is an imagery, a sign that his mother can not grow her own son because she does not think and she can not think that life is more important than work, life is more important than whatever she can do. She got what she had done. His mother was hanged for what was perceived as the attempted murder of her baby.

b. Jeanne Bussie

She was a young girl who was bringing the basket. She was killed when Jean-Baptiste Grenouille avoided her voice by closing her mouth until she died. She is a beautiful girl who becomes the first girl that is killed by Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. She does not know anything about Jean even she tries to give Jean two fruits when Jean came to smell her. Jeanne has a pure heart. She came to Jean by giving him two fruits because she knows that everything will be running well and there is no strange after knowing who Jean-Baptiste Grenouille really is.

c. Madame Gaillard

She had no sense of smell, so she didn’t know that Jean-Baptiste Grenouille had no scent. In charge of a boarding house, her goal in life was to save enough money to have a proper death and funeral. When Jean-Baptiste Grenouille was 13 years old, he was sold by Madame and she was given some money. This shows that what Madame did, she has no enough time if she just nurses him. I know that she cares about her life and tries looking for money but she did not want to grow Jean-Baptiste Grenouille because she just wants to fulfill her life to prepare her future funeral. Not only her future funeral can be seen but also she cared about baby and she had no any heart if she just let the baby stayed without a mother. She loved him when the other children tried to kill him when he was a baby, Madame was very angry with them who tried to kill him. But ironically, when she had money by selling Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, she lost all her money in old age, died a miserable death, and was not even buried, but rather, threw onto a heap with other bodies.

d. Giuseppe Baldini

He is an old perfumer. He merely knows the art of perfumery. He owns a perfume shop filled with a strong amalgam of scents. The shop is so intoxicating that it scares away potential customers; Baldini is too dense to realize this fact. The shop is located in the middle of a bridge, the Pont-au-Change. He takes on Jean-Baptiste Grenouille as an apprentice and becomes rich from the perfumes that Jean-Baptiste Grenouille creates for him. After giving a chance to Jean-Baptiste Grenouille to create a good perfume, he knows how to make a good perfume by using his great scent. What did Baldini say? He said that Jean-Baptiste Grenouille did not know anything about perfume. This case shows that Baldini underestimates what Jean wants to do, create to make a good perfume and also Baldini does not trust Jean-Baptiste Grenouille that he can create a good perfume. Baldini is also so proud because he depends on his experience of making or creating perfume. That’s why he said that Jean-Baptiste Grenouille did not know anything about perfume. When Jean-Baptiste Grenouille was successful to create a good perfume, Baldini sent him to Italy to create the best and after that Baldini gave him a legal letter to bring Jean-Baptiste Grenouille can be accepted in Italy. Baldini trusted him that he can do his best of making the best perfume.

e. Laura Richis

She is the most beautiful girl in Grasse. She is a peaceful woman and her father loved her so much. She also does not know about Jean but Laura was the last of Jean’s experiment of making perfume that will make people intoxicated. She asked her father when she was brought to the other place to save him from the murderer that happened in Grasse. Laura asked what really happened. Why did her father bring her out of Grasse? Her wonder shows that she wants to know the truth and the realization of life. She just feels that everything is well, but at last, Grenouille’s great scent can find where Laura is and her odor is the fragrance of Grenouille’s dreams and is central to his plans of creating the last perfume.

II. Comment on the effectiveness and attractiveness of the film

1. Effectiveness

The film of Perfume; A Story of a Murderer is presented effectively. The story which is played by protagonist as a murderer can be proved and the fact can be seen. His punishment as a murderer is given and seen by all people and the opening scene sees Jean-Baptiste Grenouille sentenced to a particularly brutal form of execution as a crowd cheers. Grenouille’s mother was hanged for what was perceived as the attempted murder of her baby and the ending of the Perfume film can be understandable although the major character hook that leads to it comes completely out of left field in the narrative just before the climax leading to a simple, pat attempt to sum up the main character’s plight.

2. Attractiveness

To me, the Perfume film is very attractive because from the first of Grenouille’s performance, as though he does not show that he is a murderer. When he was born or when he was a baby, I believe that everyone has a pity to him but when the story as a murderer has appeared, everyone who watches his performance must be angry, peevish. This is very attractive where the protagonist in the film shows that his murderer begins when he begins to create perfume and because his great scent that always guides him wherever he goes. Nobody knows if he is a murderer by creating perfume from his experiment by killing beautiful girls as the sign of love, fragrance of love.

III. Kind of Obsession of the PERFUME film

What kind of obsession can be seen or got from the Perfume film? To me, the meaning of Obsession is something that obsesses our mind when we see, know, feel something or someone. Obsession in Perfume can be seen from the scent of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. How can it be? That’s so strange, but on that film, that’s fact and his scent brings him wherever he wants to go and whatever he wants to do. This sometimes obsesses my mind when I try to remember the great scent of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. It can also be seen from his crazy behavior in killing some beautiful girls. I know that his main purpose not to kill them but he just wants to create the best perfume. By killing them, if I am as one of the girl who is killed, my mind is always obsessed and I can not be dispassionate. The last one is when the society can be intoxicated by the great aroma of his perfume. This also always obsesses my mind. How can they be intoxicated? But, that’s fact because it is the sign of love fragrance which can intoxicate everybody, love and love.

IV. The Essence of the PERFUME film The essence is how someone can be a famous person. How the power of love can be felt by everyone. The fragrance of beautiful girl by creating it on perfume can be felt by everyone peacefully, full of love. The story says that the protagonist is as a murderer but he actually does not have a purpose to kill but his main purpose and his goal is how he can create the best perfume which has the power of love and also which can intoxicate everybody because it has a power of love fragrance./Analized by Immer

Kasih Bagi Pembunuh Anakku

2009-01-01T13:45:00.000+07:00

Handoko Trenggono, seorang ayah yang amat mengasihi anak-anaknya tidak menyangka akan mendengar kabar menggemparkan yang terjadi pada diri putri bungsunya, Happy.
Pada saat itu memang saya ada di rumah, lagi nonton tv. Terus ada yang menelpon yang memberitahu bahwa Happy anak saya mengalami kecelakaan terus sekarang ada di rumah sakit Green Garden. Saat tiba di lokasi kejadian, Handoko menemukan putrinya Happy terbujur di mobil Teddy, teman pria Happy yang mengajaknya menonton malam itu. Malam itu juga Happy dilarikan ke rumah sakit. Saya langsung bawa ke rumah sakit Graha Medika. Dari situ saya turunkan, tapi ternyata Happy telah tiada.

Happy Trinita, putri bungsu bapak Handoko ini baru berusia 18 tahun ketika maut menjemputnya. Sosoknya yang lincah dan periang membuatnya disukai oleh keluarga dan teman-temannya. Namun sayang di usianya yang belia, Happy tewas secara mengenaskan oleh teman dekatnya sendiri yang telah dikenalnya sejak kecil. Dengan alasan hendak mengajak nonton, diam-diam Teddy telah merencanakan untuk memperkosa Happy begitu orang suruhannya berhasil membius Happy dengan berpura-pura menjadi perampok. Namun diluar dugaan zat cloroform yang dipakai untuk membius membuat korban tewas seketika itu juga.

Inge Trenggono, ibu Happy mengenang kejadian itu. Saya sedang berada di Medan saat itu, saya tidak berada di Jakarta. Saya sudah ada di Medan selama dua minggu. Pada tangggal 25 April saya mendapat telepon jam 11 malam dari adik saya. Dia menanyakan kapan saya pulang. Saya tanya kenapa?, tapi dia mengatakan tidak ada apa-apa, hanya Happy sakit dan diopname. Saya gelisah, saya merasa ada sesuatu terjadi dengan anak saya. Saya hanya bisa menangis, berlutut dan berdoa. Saya katakan : "Tuhan, saat ini saya ada dalam keadaan gelisah. Saya mohon petunjuk, apa yang terjadi di rumah?, apa yang terjadi dengan Happy?". Saya begitu kaget dan tertegun bahwa Tuhan menunjukkan satu peti jenazah putih dan ada foto anak saya di depannya.

Satu yang saya minta Tuhan, apabila penglihatan yang saya lihat tadi benar, beri kekuatan kepada saya. Tuhan berikan kekuatan kepada keluarga saya. Setibanya di Jakarta, Inge seperti sedang bermimpi di siang bolong. Saya melihat anak saya terbujur benar-benar di peti jenazah putih dengan foto di depannya. Semua mengira pasti saya datang menangis dan terguling-guling, tapi air mata saya telah habis pada saat di Medan dan di pesawat, mengalir terus air mata. Begitu saya melangkah ke Jakarta Tuhan menggenapi janjinya dan menguatkan saya. Kepergian Happy menjadi pukulan berat bagi keluarga Handoko. Teddy dan dua temannya berhasil diamankan dan diancam hukuman penjara. Keluarga Teddy mencoba dengan jalan damai. Beberapa kali keluarga Teddy mencoba mendatangi orang tua Happy untuk meminta maaf, namun selalu gagal.

Handoko tidak dapat menerima permohonan maaf ini.Mereka bilang inilah mungkin jalan terbaik. Tapi saya sendiri katakan : "Bagaimana mungkin hal ini bisa dibilang yang terbaik. Anak saya meninggal dibunuh kok bisa dibilang yang terbaik?". Jadi saya tidak bisa habis pikir. Demikian juga dengan ibu Inge. Teman-teman saya katakan : "Kamu harus berdoa dong untuk Teddy supaya kamu bisa mengampuninya". Saya bilang memang enak mengatakannya. Tapi untuk saya sungguh-sungguh bisa berlutut, memohon dan berdoa sulit sekali, apalagi untuk mengampuni Teddy. Hampir setiap malam saya sulit tidur, seperti melihat televisi kehidupan anak saya setiap hari.
Sepeninggal putrinya, hari-hari Handoko dan Inge tidak sama lagi. Mereka mengalami depresi yang luar biasa.

Inge kini hanya merasakan kepahitan. Di rumah setiap ada masalah sedikit, suami saya langsung marah besar. Rasanya seperti hidup di dalam neraka. Enam bulan berada dalam tekanan, atas saran putranya, Inge akhirnya membuat keputusan yaitu melepaskan pengampunan untuk pembunuh putrinya. Saya katakan pada suami : "Pak mungkin ini saatnya kita harus mengampuni. Mungkin saat ini kita jadi keluarga yang kacau tanpa damai sejahtera karena kita belum bisa mengampuni dia. Kenapa setiap malam kita doa tapi Tuhan tidak jawab, hati kita juga selalu tidak damai sejak anak kita pergi."
Keputusan Handoko dan Inge ternyata masih harus diuji.

Tuhan itu mau menguji saya apakah saya benar-benar waktu saya ngomong mengampuni itu dari mulut saja atau dari hati. Sekarang orang tua tersangka membawa anaknya ke depan mata saya. Dia datang dan saya suruh masuk. Begitu dia masuk kaki saya sampai gemetar, saya tidak bisa jalan. Tapi begitu pembunuh anak saya datang, ia saya peluk. Kuasa Tuhan turun sehingga saya betul-betul bisa mengampuni. Dia saya peluk, saya menangis. Inilah luar biasanya Tuhan. Nah setelah itulah saya merasa plong. Saya merasa tidak ada beban lagi. Demikian juga dengan Inge.

Tuhan menolong saya menempatkan Teddy sebagai anak saya pada saat itu. Kita mengampuni Teddy bukan saja kita memulihkan orang lain, tapi kita juga memulihkan diri kita sendiri. Karena saya mengampuni orang yang membunuh anak saya, batin saya juga Tuhan pulihkan Teddy dan kedua temannya akhirnya dibebaskan dari tuntutan. Sejak itu hari-hari berkabung keluarga Handoko beralih menjadi hari-hari yang penuh pengharapan. Inge Trenggono hanya bisa menyadari bahwa damai sejahtera akibat kuasa pengampunan ini hanya bisa didapat melalui tekadnya menjadi pelaku firman. Kami hanya belajar menjadi pelaku firman saja. Saya bawa hal ini dalam doa. Di doa Bapa kami di katakan : "Ampunilah kesalahan kami seperti kami mengampuni orang yang bersalah kepada kami". Itu yang menggelitik saya untuk mengambil sikap mengampuni. Setiap malam saya berdoa kalau Tuhan mengijinkan hal ini terjadi dalam keluarga kami, saya minta Tuhan memberikan damai sejahtera, kekuatan dan sukacita. Dan Tuhan menggenapi.

Dan jika kamu berdiri untuk berdoa, ampunilah dahulu sekiranya ada barang sesuatu dalam hatimu terhadap seseorang, supaya juga Bapamu yang di sorga mengampuni kesalahan-kesalahanmu." [Tetapi jika kamu tidak mengampuni, maka Bapamu yang di sorga juga tidak akan mengampuni kesalahan-kesalahanmu.] (Markus 11:25-26)

“Playing Chess” or “Playing Soccer”?

2008-12-29T19:59:00.000+07:00

Actually, there are many kinds of sports which can be played. I do not understand what kinds of sports that I like much. Sometimes, I play some kinds of sports such as tennis, volleyball, badminton and soccer but some of these kinds of sports are not so liked by me. Thus, I am like a person who is learning about computer but after he completely finish all his subjects about computer such as graphic design, programming and web design, no one of these subjects that he masters particularly but all is usual. I often play chess and I ever hear that playing chess is a kind of sport but that time, I am not so sure if playing chess is a kind of sport because I think that kinds of sports are only which produce sweat. I just know after Mr. Pram said that playing chess is a kind of sport. One of the kinds of sports in which I also like to play is soccer as I have mentioned above. Two kinds of sports from five kinds of sports including chess which I like to play are soccer and chess. I like playing soccer and chess. Which one do I have to choose, playing soccer or playing chess? In this case, I will choose playing chess.

Why do I choose playing chess? I have arguments about this. There are some kinds of sports which need strong body stamina such as tennis, badminton, volleyball but it is not needed for all kinds of sports like playing chess. What do I mean about body stamina here? What I mean is too simple. I do not have to need strong energies such as running but I just stay at my seat when I play chess. In this case, I do not say that it is not important but body stamina is not more important which is needed in playing chess. The main thing in playing chess is a brain and strategy.

Then, my reason why I choose in playing chess is decision making. Making decision is not an easy thing. When making decision, I have to know if I think first and then make a decision or make a decision then I think what I have done. If I make a decision without I think first carefully, it means that I have to be ready to receive the consequence when my decision is not right because everything which will happen is needed to think. It is the same in playing chess, when I move the pawn position without thinking first what will happen after that or the position of pawn that I move, it can vitiate the other position on the chess board. After I think and realize that the most effective how to learn to make decision is when I play chess. This is my reason why I choose in playing chess. I need to learn how to make a right decision because making decision is the most important in my daily life.

Playing chess can also hone and sharpen my own memory and concentration. I know that every kind of sport must need concentration but sharpening memory is not trained in all kinds of sports. If I can say, not only kinds of sports which need concentration but also all aspects in human life because without concentration will not result maximal things. When learning, making decision and listening to someone, all of these must need concentration. Choosing chess can make me to sharpen my own memory because playing chess is an activity which helps on memory improvement. A chess player always tries to remember the pattern and position of the chess when playing chess. Beside that, playing chess will help me to be more concentrated because concentration in playing chess is the way to discover something new and unusual at the chess board, the way to create surprise with fresh ideas. I try to concentrate because I think about the tactics and strategies in playing chess. Automatically, when I often play chess with a full concentrated, it can make me usual when I am doing something. This encourages me to choose in playing chess.

My last reason why I choose playing chess is about the character. What character can I learn from playing chess? Playing chess is not only the process which involves 32 chess pieces and 64 checks but it is a battle which involves emotions between two persons that is limited by a standard game because they must ever make a blunder, it may be a small blunder or big blunder in playing chess. Every chess player, beginner player or professional player will show their individualistic character when they are playing chess through their play style. Their play style is not only the assimilation of their knowledge about chess but also it is an expression of their character. If we know much about someone in our daily life, we can guess what the play style which he will choose in playing chess. Someone who is too careful and always worried in this life, it will not show a brave play style. Someone who has a character as a gambler will play his game with risk decisions that sometimes he does not think carefully the strategies of his opposite. An optimistic person tends to think smart when playing chess and believe that his chess position on chess board can win the position of his opposite but a pessimistic person will always see dangers and difficulties in every position. Chess style is really a reflection of personality and character

Now, how about playing soccer? I like playing soccer but I also have the reasons why I do not choose in playing soccer. I still remember about my condition in the past and this remains what I feel until right now. It is about 10 years ago, I still remember that my body has a little lesion in my chest. That time, I fell down from a tree and it made me could not stay long when I tried to run. Why do I talk about “run” here? I talk about it because in playing soccer has to be able to run with strong body stamina. Here, if I am as a quarterback in playing soccer, I can not stay at my place but I have to move there and here. It means that a quarterback has to have good body stamina when playing soccer. In this case, I do not have good body stamina in playing soccer.

How about of making decision in playing soccer? In playing soccer also needs how to make right decisions. I have to be good in making decision when I am bringing or passing the ball into my friend but the player in soccer is not just one player but more than one player. In playing chess, it just needs two players. For example, first player is my position and second player is my opposite position. It means, when I make wrong decisions in playing chess, I will lose my good chess position on chess board because nobody can help me. How about if I make wrong decisions in playing soccer? Sometimes, when I pass the ball into my friend, although the ball is not exactly passed, my friend who accepts my passing can pass the ball into his friend. It means that if someone makes wrong decisions in playing soccer, it can be improved by the other friends in that team. Sometimes I do not know if I have made right decision or wrong decisions because when I make wrong decision in playing soccer, I still have other friends in my team who also can pass the ball into his friend. In playing chess, I have to be careful in making decision and this encourages me to be more independent of making decision because if I make wrong decisions in playing chess, it can make me lost. It does not mean that I do not need friends to improve or help me in learning of making decision but it will be better for me to learn myself as long as I can do.

What I have mentioned in playing chess is also needed in playing soccer. It is about concentration. Concentration is needed in playing chess and also in playing soccer. So, I will try to talk about sharpening memory. In playing chess, I can learn how to sharpen my own memory. In playing soccer I can also sharpen my own memory. For example, when I am in quarterback position, I can not take a striker position but in this case, more effective to learn in sharpening memory is when I am playing chess as I have explained above. This is one of my reasons why I do not choose in playing soccer when I want to sharpen my own memory.

The last one, when I talk about character, it will be more effective for me when I learn about character in playing chess because when I keep silent at my seat, I have to control and think that I can do it. What I mean that I have to control is about my emotion. If I get emotion in playing soccer, I can cry and jump but in playing chess I can not do this. If I try to cry when I play chess because of my emotion, I will look like a crazy boy. Learning about character in playing chess is not too different from learning character in playing soccer. In playing soccer, I also have to be able to control my emotion when I am held up by my opposite in playing soccer. A soccer player also has to be patient when bringing the ball to pass into his other team mate.

Playing soccer and playing chess are kinds of sports that I like. The kind of sport which I choose from the two kinds of sports is playing chess. My arguments about my choice have been explained above and I know that both sports need the same reasons such as body stamina, decision making, memory improvement and learning about character but the functions of these reasons have not been had by the two sports. In playing chess, I can learn of making decision and also in playing soccer but making decision in playing soccer is not as big as making decision in playing chess as I have explained above. Finally, after giving many explanations, I can make sure that I choose to play chess./Wr. Immer

What is a Goal?

2008-12-24T13:41:00.001+07:00

What do we mean by a 'goal'? It seems that these things are important, yet, so few people have them and some have been woefully misled by the term.

Everyone at some point in their life has heard that it is important for us to have goals. Goals provide you a map to your future, whether in business, life, career or indeed sport. It seems obvious, but a football team playing without a goal to aim for is just kicking a ball around. But, other than the more obvious physical goals as the target of a particular game, what exactly is a goal? And how do you know when you have achieved it? Is it even very important to have goals? A sporting goal is a useful analogy though, here we are more interested in the non-sporting variety.

The OED definition of a goal is "an aim or a desired result".

That's useful, but I prefer the Wikipedia version which defines a goal as "a specific, intended result of strategy."

They amount, ultimately to the same thing: the intended achievement of a desired result. The dictionary definition, however, suggests that the goal exists with or without you.

Why is this important? I hear some question already. Let me share an example: On the horizon is a mountain, its peak visible on this glorious day. It is your goal. You are aiming to reach the peak of this mountain.

According to the dictionary the goal is the mountain peak. According to the encyclopaedia, the intended result is that you reach the mountain peak as a result of the journey (intended strategy) you are making.

What's important, the existence of the goal or the journey to its attainment? Let me refer briefly back to soccer... Is the existence of the goal at the end of the pitch the thing that makes the game, or is it the strategy (and tactics) employed by players to score (reach) the goal?

The reason for being pedantic at this stage is to stress that we refer (in English) to goal as both an entity and as the intended result of our actions. For the purposes of this article, I refer to goal as both - an entity that we are able to describe in one or more of the five senses we enjoy and as a specific, intended result. I believe that it is critical that a goal can be described in one or more of our senses - otherwise we will never know what it is.

"A man without a goal, you are like a ship without a rudder." Thomas Carlyle

You know people, perhaps yourself, who would be lost without a "To Do" list. Daily, weekly, monthly tasks that result in specific intended results. Many people will consider this as their goals. Indeed, you can call them 'goals' if you wish. But I want to distinguish this concept further. I call these daily, weekly, monthly tasks "Outcomes" - they are important steps on the way to achieving goals but they are a small part of the overall intended result.

I'll borrow from my own To Do list for today. It includes, strangely enough, writing this chapter. Now, is my goal to a chapter of mybook? Is it to write a book? I can answer yes to both yet it doesn't tell us the full story - my Goal is to develop my business and as a part of that, I want to reach a wider audience for the purpose of building my brand, building my reputation and establishing myself as a trusted expert that you will now consider to design and run a training programme or undertake coaching in your organisation. This chapter is just one part of that strategy, and this section, just one part of this chapter. The primary and secondary research I've undertaken to be in a position to write, I trust, knowledgeably about goal-setting has been another part... and so on.

It is the goal that helps us determine the appropriate outcomes necessary to reach the goal, the specific outcomes help determine the actions we undertake to achieve them. The whole series together, makes a strategy.

For ease and clarity, I consider a "Goal" to be longer-term and the intended result of a strategy. "Outcomes" are the result of the steps, milestones or activities that we achieve en-route to achieving the goal.

When I was a child, schoolteachers and relatives would often ask "And what do you want to be when you grow up?" I honestly didn't have a clue. My friends seemed to have got the hand of this and I discovered that the expected answers seemed to be focusing around jobs or careers "I want to be a Fireman/Doctor/Train Driver", or perhaps something bolder like "Rock Star/Famous Actor" - or around money... "I want to be a millionaire". Apparently it didn't matter what you wanted to be - it still required that you studied hard, preferably got all A Grades - oh and it was critically important that you "eat all your greens". Quite how Brussels Sprouts are a necessity for success has never been answered fully to my satisfaction. By the time I was a teenager, I was at the "I dunno" stage. And by the time I was choosing my A level subjects it seemed that my options were becoming limited. Artist was ruled out on the recommendation of my delightful art teacher who claimed that my lovingly crafted painting "hurt her eyes" and Author was ruled out because I had little taste for over-analysing Jane Austin's Northanger Abbey.

To my knowledge, none of my friends answered "I wish to be a wage slave pushing paper from one side of a building to another, politically manoeuvring myself into a position of power and authority, attending useless meetings each day and commute for 4 hours" so what went wrong?

Well, perhaps it is the goal-setting process. But, that's another lesson./articlesbase

Rahasia mengalami kemenangan dan kelimpahan

2008-12-22T22:14:00.000+07:00

“..tetapi kekayaan orang berdosa disimpan bagi orang benar” (Amsal 13:22)

Sistem financial dunia sedang mengalami goncangan besar-besaran, sebagaimana alkitab katakan bahwa kekayaan supranatural akan terjadi pada saat-saat situasi yang paling buruk sekalipun.

Tuhan hampir mendatangkan uang bangsa-bangsa dan menempatkannya dalam tangan anda

Mengapa?

Kekayaan bangsa-bangsa adalah milik orang benar!

Allah telah menyebabkan pergantian kekayaan yang luar biasa sebanyak enam kali melalui alkitab. Allah melakukannya bagi Abraham, Isak, Yakub, Yusuf, anak-anak Israel dan Salomo

Tebak siapa berikutnya?

Anda

Percaya? Anda mungkin berpikir bahwa kedatangan pergantian kekayaan yang amat luar biasa ini tidak akan terjadi bagi anda tapi anda harus menyadari bahwa Allah ingin mencurahkan kekayaan bangsa-bangsa terhadap anak-anakNya seperti yang Allah lakukan dengan enam pergantian dimasa lampau

Kuncinya adalah Perjanjian

Tetapi apa yang orang-orang tersebut lakukan untuk menerima kelimpahan yang mengagumkan ini?

Kuncinya cumin satu kata: Perjanjian!

Saat anda ada didalam perjanjian dengan Allah yang memiliki jagat raya ini, saat ada hidup karib bersama dengan Allah, anda memiliki kunci tersebut untuk mengalami kemenangan, kemakmuran dan kelimpahan

Ingat apa yang Tuhan katakan kepada anak-anak Israel sebelum Tuhan mencurahkan berkat besar-besaran dan melepaskan mereka dari perbudakan: “Sebab Aku akan mengadakan perbedaan antara umat-Ku dan bangsamu. Besok tanda mujizat ini akan terjadi” (Keluaran 8:23).

Esok harinya, ada penyakit sampar, tapi diantara umat Allah tak satupun wabah yang mau mendekati mereka. Ada sesuatu yang tidak kelihatan, sesuatu pembatas antara umat Allah dengan orang-orang yang tidak percaya.

Allah hampir melakukan hal ini kembali. Mungkin ada dalam hidupmu wabah, goncangan, kehancuran tapi perlindungan dan kelimpahan yang dari Allah akan mengalir terhadap umatNya bahkan ditengah-tengah pergumulan anak-anakNya.

Percepatan mengalami kemenangan dan kelimpahan

Mengapa Allah sangat memberkati anak-anak Israel? Lebih penting lagi, apa yang Allah minta dari mereka?

Hal sebelum berkat luar biasa dicurahkan, pertama Allah meminta mereka untuk berdoa. Allah berkata bahwa setiap keluarga harus membawa korban bakaran. Kemudian, setelah korban dan darahnya tercurahkan, Allah berkata untuk pergi meminta uang dari orang-orang mesir

Doa mempercepat tuaian terjadi!

Sekarang sebagaimana anda mempersiapkan untuk mengalami berkat Tuhan, anda harus mengerti bahwa berkat tersebut tidak hanya semata-mata untuk keuntungan anda sendiri. Hal itu untuk kemuliaan Tuhan Yesus, anak Allah yang Maha Kuasa.

Saya katakana bahwa Allah yang kita layani adalah Allah yang ajaib

Benih anda

Apa yang menjadi bagian anda untuk mengharapkan berkat yang luar biasa ini adalah dengan tetap memberi. Dengan ketaatan memberi, kita akan mengalami sesuatu yang luar biasa dengan punya pengertian bahwa Allah memberkati kita dengan maksud menjadi berkat buat orang lain. (Kejadian 12:2)

Ketaatan adalah kunci untuk mengalami kelimpahan yang akan Tuhan curahkan bagi umatNya. Mungkin kelihatannya mustahil bagi anda saat ini tapi Allah punya rencana lain. Hal itu adalah hal dimana kita tetap taat.

Firman Tuhan menyatakan, “Lemparkanlah rotimu ke air, maka engkau akan mendapatnya kembali lama setelah itu. Berikanlah bahagian kepada tujuh, bahkan kepada delapan orang, karena engkau tidak tahu malapetaka apa yang akan terjadi di atas bumi” (Pengkhotbah 11:1-2). Ketika anda menabur, dijamin bahwa berkat Allah akan turun dalam hidupmu, hari ini dan esok! Dan Allah menjamin akan melindungi keuangan kamu seperti kamu menabur buat pekerjaanNya

Terima kasih buat segala sesuatu yang anda lakukan buat kerajaan Tuhan seperti yang kita ketahui bahwa “ … Bukan dengan keperkasaan dan bukan dengan kekuatan, melainkan dengan roh-Ku, firman TUHAN semesta alam” (Zakharia 4:6)./Tr, Immer

Add Yahoo! emotions to your blog

2008-12-21T22:02:00.005+07:00

You may be Wondering To put these in your blog posts also. But putting emotions one by one is very difficult and boring by entering the image code.Now you can Put emotions to your blog posts easily by following some simple steps that follows below. But before continue check whether you are using Mozilla firefox browser or not . You cannot continue any steps without using Mozilla Firefox as your internet browser.

Step 1
Install Greas monkey in your Browser which is also a type of Firefox add on To get this click here! .After you install restart Mozilla Firefox to make the add on work .You can Restore session later.

Step 2
Click this Script and then Click Install.

Step 3
Goto your blog code Section and search the code ]]>

Step 4
Paste the following code Just above the above Code from step no 3.

img.emoticon {
padding: 0;
margin: 0;
border: 0;
}

Step 5
Save your template.

To find whether you are done or not. Goto Blogger Create post ,you will see the emotions in the Tools panel of the Compose tab as in the image below./bloganol.com

Enjoy!

The Brain Food Supplies

2008-12-21T19:54:00.000+07:00

We must consume food in our daily life. If we do not eat food in a day, we will be tired to do something. Even we tend to lie in our bed room because we are not strong or do not have an energy of doing something. In the sense of our body needs to be filled by food to make it strong.

Reading book for our brain is like the case that I have written above. What is really the relation between reading book and consuming food for our body? Here, book is like food and our body is as a brain. Reading book is like giving food to our body that I have mentioned. If we do not give food for our brain, our brain will be difficult to result ideas. It means, our brain will be very weak to think. It is the same case when we do not give food for our body, our body will not be strong to do something. Our body is to do something and our brain is to think but both need food.

We will take food that we like to eat. We will not eat fried chicken if we just want to eat burnt chicken. In reading book, we will feel the same case. We will not read an economic book if we just want to read a self-development book.

What we eat will effect our health. What we read will also effect our own way to think. If we just consume a kind of food, our health does not grow well. The same thing, if we read a kind of book, for example, we just read a computer book, our brain just knows the knowledge about computer and we will be difficult to know the knowledge about social, economic, self-development, philosophy, and so forth.

When we eat more than a kind of food, our health will grow well. This is like with our brain. When our brain consumes by reading many kinds of books, such as social, economic, self-development, philosophy, etc, our brain will grow well and ideas of creating something will be easier. It means, we need to make balance of reading books.

Thus, stay our healthy by consuming food regularly. Giving food to our body will make us strong to do what we will do. Giving food to our brain by reading books will make our brain grows well. Our brain will create bright thoughts and ideas when it is kept by reading books regularly./Wr. Immer

Are You Afraid of Losing Your Job?

2008-12-21T13:49:00.000+07:00

There are people today who are worried about losing their job. With the daily news of downsizing and company failures, many people are becoming afraid that they could become unemployed.

Recently, I have talked to a number of people who have lost their jobs. I have also been talking to people who are afraid of getting fired. There is something that I have shared with both groups.

Someone can take away your job or your current income. While that is certainly something that is very unpleasant, that is all that they can take away from you. They cannot take away who you are or what you can do.

Whenever you leave a job, either by your choice, or the company's choice, you take with you everything that you are and everything that you have. You take all of your experience with you. You take all of the skills and abilities that you have developed. Your discipline and work ethic come with you as well.

No one can ever take any of those things away from you.

For those who have been laid off, that is very important to remember. Being let go for no fault of your own can be hurtful. I know some who are bitter and angry. However, dwelling on the hurt and the emotions does not help one to seek out and find employment. Rather, the focus needs to be on what one has to offer.

That is something that those who are employed also need to remember too. If the day comes when you are let go, you still take with you all that you are and all that you can do.

Other points for anyone tempted to be afraid of losing their job include focusing on what you can control, knowing how to make the company money and expanding your skills at work.

First, remember that there are things that you can control and things you cannot control. Some decisions may be made in a corporate office hundreds of miles away. Some of these things you have no input in and no control over.

Focus on that which you can control. You can control your attitude. You can control the quality of your own individual work and make it the best that it can possibly be. You can, and you should, strive for excellence.

It's sad, but true that many workers have developed a slacker's work ethic. They do just enough to get by. They should have been developing a work ethic that is now needed and in demand.

Secondly, remember that the reason for being hired is to make money for the company. How few recognize that! If they really understood that, it would greatly influence their work ethic.

Thirdly, don't only strive for excellence in what you do; also look for ways to expand your skills. Learn things about other departments. Ask questions, get involved, and, volunteer to help someone else with their job.

Finally, being afraid will shackle you. Fear always keeps someone from freely moving forward. Working with fear will affect your productivity. You will not be able to work peacefully and accomplish all that you really could accomplish without fear.

I can remember specifically on two occasions when I was afraid of being fired. One situation was in the mid 70's and they were downsizing. The fear of getting fired was affecting my work, and I knew it.

The other time was in the early 90's. I was working for a small company and I just knew something was going on. Again, the fear of loosing my job was beginning to affect my performance. Thankfully in both cases, I was able to secure other employment. And, I took all my work ethic, skills and strengths with me.

As long as you are doing the very best that you can, it serves you no purpose to be afraid or worry that you might get fired. That only adds stress and affects your performance. If you think about it, with so much downsizing, in many workplaces, one person now does the work that two or three people did previously. You just cannot afford to have anything affect your performance.

So, refuse to live with fear. Refuse to go to work with fear. Tell fear to take a hike and then pour your heart and soul into what you are doing. Do your very best! Never comprise on a good work ethic. Remember, if you leave, you're taking your work ethic with you.

In the meantime, continue to grow and develop yourself, either in the field you are in, or in some other field. Make yourself more valuable this year than you were last year. Know that you are someone who has a lot to offer, wherever you are employed./articlesbase

Increase Your Happiness

2008-12-21T02:29:00.002+07:00

The eternal search for happiness - we want it, but we seem wired more for dissatisfaction. We get something we think will make us happy and soon we're looking for the next thing. Somehow human achievement and happiness don't seem to fit together. If I'm always working to be more, to grow, how can I just be happy?

I struggle with this all the time myself. And I have some ideas that might help.

1.) Stop trying to have it all, do it all, be it all. You can't. You're going to have to decide what you want the most and really go for it. I want freedom and the price is extraordinarily high. Sometimes I pay by being lonely. But to me, freedom is worth it. Know what's really important to you. Let go of the rest. You can't be the world's greatest mother, wife, and businesswoman. Choose one, give it your best. When you're feeling unhappy, you'll have to remind yourself what's really important to you.

2.) Stop comparing yourself to others. This is a losing battle. There will always be someone who has more of something than you do; who is younger, richer, smarter - whatever. People will be hitting the beach soon - will you be having fun or worrying about how much skinner the girl in the red bikini is? Who cares? Are you ever going to see those people again? And guess what? You'll never be younger than you are now - better enjoy it today!

3.) Celebrate what you have. Be glad you can go to the beach. Some people don't have the money, time or physical ability. Some people can't see the sun sparkling on the water, they are blind. Some are deaf and will never hear the waves. Celebrate all you have - being sad about what you don't have is a waste of time.

4.) Make lemonade! Life is going to give you lemons, I guarantee it. What you do with them is what impacts your happiness. Several months ago I was lucky enough to be in a relationship, but things didn't work out. I was sad, but there was nothing I could do about it. I could throw a pity party (two of my last standing single girlfriends got engaged around the same time) or I could make lemonade. I decided to use this as the catalyst to finally book my trip to Australia. Living well is the best route to happiness. Something bad happens, you plan something good.

5.) Don't put your eggs in someone else's basket. Waiting for your spouse, boss, child to do something to make you happy? This is a bad strategy. I usually do something nice for myself on Valentine's Day (see #4), but this year I had a boyfriend, so I figured he would do something. When he didn't, I was sad and disappointed. If I had been responsible for my own happiness, I would have had a great Valentine's Day. Most folks have enough trouble with their own eggs in their own baskets. Look after your own eggs and you'll have a better shot at happiness.

6.) Just do it! Often our unhappiness is caused by something we could fix - a job we could leave, a relationship we could end, a pile of clutter we could clean up, debt we could pay off, etc. But we'd rather agonize over it, worry about it, and let it steal our joy. Sometimes the best course of action is to suck it up and deal with it. Sit down one weekend and clean up the clutter or map out a plan to start paying off the debt and then do it. If you don't, choosing instead the short term pleasure of doing something else or buying something else, the situation usually gets worse and you're more unhappy. Sometimes you have to trade short term pleasure for long term happiness.

And finally, remember that happiness means different things to different people - for some it may be spending time with family, for some it may mean travel, for some work. Know what it means for you and strive to add more of it in your life./articlesbase

NY exhibit unveils women's lives in ancient Greece

2008-12-21T00:32:00.002+07:00

Women were part of both politics and religion, which in those days overlapped.

A large earthen vessel depicts a scene from Homer's "Iliad" in which a Trojan priestess receives Greek warriors who had come to recover Helen from Troy. "The priestess secures the peace," said the curator.

A key depicted on another vase was kept only by a woman who opened the door to the treasures in the temple of the priestesses.

A small bronze statuette of Athena shows her as armed and dangerous, leading Athens' warriors against Troy. And on a black vase, she's a thinker, etching words onto the waxen surface of a "laptop" notebook with a sharp

A tiny vase to be filled with wine for ritual tastings could be carried by a girl.

"Women in Athens, were they invisible?" asked Chryssoulaki. "No!"

Greek myths, with all their blood and guts, are not for the faint of heart -- and neither are parts of this exhibit.

Athena, the goddess of wisdom, came from the brain of her father, Zeus. And Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, was born when Uranus was castrated by his son, who pitched his severed genitals into the sea. From the turbulence -- "aphros" means sea foam in Greek -- arose the erotic Aphrodite. She became both the lover and surrogate mother of the god Adonis, whom she shared with the goddess Persephone.

And we thought modern life was complicated.

But the mythical births of Athena and Aphrodite have real meaning to the modern mind: as a battle of emotion vs. intellect. "Myths were a way to see human life," concluded Chryssoulaki.

In the exhibit, life is also reflected in sculptures and tiny objects like a ritual bowl that a woman who baked bread for a living donated to a temple -- representing about 10 percent of her meager income. Her name is noted on the bowl.

"You see, even poor, ordinary women left a mark, they played a role -- and they were part of the life of the gods," said Chryssoulaki.

--------

On the Net:

Onassis Foundation exhibit: http://www.onassisusa.org/occ.art.htm

Predict Your Future!

2008-12-19T16:45:00.000+07:00

You can predict your future. You really can predict your own success or your own failure. "Nonsense!" you say? It really is true.

Consider this. If you have absolutely no control over your future, then why worry about anything? Whatever is going to happen to you is going to happen anyway, right? That's called fate. And believe it or not, that in and of itself is a prediction.

It is true; we have absolutely no control over many things in life. I cannot control the stock market, can you? I cannot control the housing market, can you? So many things are simply out of our control.

But, one thing is very much in your control, your own mind. You can choose to think about anything that you want to, at any given time. Right now, for example, you could choose to picture a skiing elephant.

If you did indeed, just now, picture a skiing elephant it is because you decided to think that. I may have made a suggestion, but you made a decision to think it and picture it. The same is true if you chose not to think about a skiing elephant.

So what does this have to do with predicting our future? Because we are always talking to ourselves, it has a great effect on our future. The words we speak to ourselves will either cause new things to happen in our life or they will help to perpetuate the road we are on.

Years ago, I used to go bowling once in awhile. It was just for fun with friends and I would go once or twice a year. The scores on my first three frames were always horrible. Do you know why?

As soon as I would grab the ball when it was my turn, I had the thought, "Don't throw it in the gutter; don't throw it in the gutter!" That was my self-talk. And, I didn't know it at the time, but that was my prediction. Almost always in the first three frames, I would have at least two or three gutter balls.

But, once the game got going, I would shift my focus from the ball not going into the gutter to hitting the pins. I didn't know it, but again, that was a prediction. And even being a very inexperienced bowler, my scores increased. I even got a strike once in awhile.

Now I know there are people who say, "Oh I've heard all this positive stuff before and it just doesn't work for me." That is self-talk and that is a prediction. I have also heard people who say other things, like, "Nothing ever goes right for me; I never catch a break." Or, "I knew that was going to happen."

Self-talking becomes future predictions. These predictions always produce results.

Those who are successful in life don't dwell on what they don't want to happen, but instead they dwell on what they do want to happen. They don't dwell on their past failures and losses. Instead, they remember past successes. These memories, whether they are successes or failures, will evoke feelings and emotions. These feelings and emotions leave an imprint on your subconscious mind which is just as vivid as a reoccurrence of success. And, these thoughts are a prediction of what is going to happen.

Many of those who teach self-help and self-esteem courses say to see yourself as though you have already achieved what you desire in life. They encourage people to positively remind themselves over and over of where they want their life to go. So much of this is based on the dynamic truth, "as he thinks in his heart so is he."

You cannot control nor can you predict many things going on all around you. But you can control what you think about. And most importantly, you can control what you tell yourself about yourself; your self-talk.

You really can predict your own future. You can set your own course regardless of the situations and conditions of the world around you. The Creator gave you free will so that you can choose your thoughts and thus control your own self-talk.

So, what's in your future?/articlesbase

5 Steps to Mastering Your Distractions

2008-12-18T21:14:00.000+07:00

Have you ever had one of those perfect solo-preneur days...

Your To Do list is crystal clear, prioritized and focused on all the High Payoff activities that will get you the results you dream of.

The phone is nice and quiet and no emails are peppering your computer.

You have few appointments that need you away from your office.

Sounds like a dream, doesn't it?

Have you ever had one of those days and still not gotten the things you need to done?

I've been faced with one of those days, well actually weeks, right now! For seven straight days I've been cycling in and out of the flu, with 100% laryngitis, alert enough to send people emails saying "Sorry! Let's touch base next week!"

All my coaching clients agreed to reschedule our work together and three prospective clients were very sympathetic and moved our calls as well. I love the people I attract to my work!

Meanwhile, here I am rattling around my international corporate headquarters, also known as my home, awake enough between bouts of medicine to feel I "oughta" get stuff done! I've been moping and muttering to myself about everything I'm not getting done.

Like most entrepreneurs and small business owners, I can be my own harshest judge about what I am and am not getting accomplished. I feel like I'm breaking my commitments to my vision and to the deadlines I set with my mastermind buddies. I've even had a few moments of self-criticism about whether I'm modeling what I should be for my coaching clients.

This time, as I floated up and out of my drug-induced haze I laughed about it. I know enough not to slip into a pity party - I've been hospitalized several times in my life and this is nowhere near that kind of external diversion! So when I was done laughing, I hauled my attention back under control, got focused and got practical about how to still get stuff accomplished.

Whether your distraction is internal or external the following tips will help you grab the reins and take control again before too much time slips past.

Pick one task, just one. I have six things I said I'd get accomplished this past week. My current score? 10% on three of them, 20% on two of them and zero on the third. But I've been having a grand time beating myself up about not getting things done! So, I'm picking just one to get accomplished and taking my attention back from the rest of the list. And I'm picking the one that will get my the highest payoff for my effort.

Break it down into bite-sized pieces. I settled on getting my newsletter out this week. I've been very committed to publishing it timely on Thursdays, getting it up on the blog and to the articles distributors as well. Each of the steps is actually only 5 to 15 minutes of work and attention. While I love working through them all in a stream, I recognize that this time I'm doing one step, pausing to see if I have the attention for the next or not. If I need the break I take it. If not, on to the next step!

Do each step to completion. Is this how your mind works, too? As I do one task, ideas about three other ones leap into focus as the 'perfect' solutions that I just have to act on now! I don't let them pull my attention away. I just make a note of the idea on the To Do list and come straight back to the task at hand. As I count the steps associated with getting my newsletter done there are 20. I've done 3, and actually writing this article is number 4 so I'm making headway here and it feels great as each one is checked off.

Appreciate what you are getting accomplished. A year ago the newsletter was an idea I was passionate about. Eight months ago it launched. I've published an issue every week since then and received rave reviews from colleagues, clients and the public that have appreciated the stories, ideas and practical tips.

Set aside what will not get accomplished. For the past 32 weeks, I've recorded an audio version of the article and added it to the newsletter. I've only missed doing it twice due to travel. Laryngitis. I'd say it's going to win! If there's no audio link on this newsletter you'll know I did indeed allow myself the grace to regretfully not include it. And I moved on to the next step needing my attention.

So I invite you to join me in breaking through what has your attention distracted today. I'm going to go finish this great business building activity and then take the next item on my To Do list and repeat the process. Join in!/articlesbase

The Formalistic Approach Analysis of “The Case of The Crushed Petunias”

2008-12-18T18:24:00.001+07:00

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of formalistic analysis is to make the close reader to the work and to understand what the work says about through the message which is being delivered in the work. There are many devices we can use to make an analysis of formalistic approach. "According to the Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature " when all the words, phrases, metaphors, images, and symbols are examined in terms of each other and of the whole, any literary text worth our efforts will display its own internal logic" (Guerin 75)."

When practicing the formalistic approach, the reader must scrutinize the text for tools such as form, texture, style, symbolism, point of view, theme, and so on to portray the beauty of the work. This will be very clear how to analyze a work by using a formalistic approach itself.

In literary theory, formalism refers to critical approaches that analyze, interpret, or evaluate the inherent features of a text. These features include not only grammar and syntax but also literary devices such as meter and tropes. The formalist approach reduces the importance of a text’s historical, biographical, and cultural context. (Wikipedia)

The work entitled “The Case of The Crushed Petunias” is going to be analyzed by using some devices of formalistic approach. This work is very interesting to be analyzed because there can be found some symbols which represent the real meaning of the message delivered in the work.

THE FORMALISTIC APPROACH ANALYSIS OF “THE CASE OF THE CRUSHED PETUNIAS”

The work entitled “The Case of The Crushed Petunias” written by Tennessee William seems to shows us more about life, the case of life. Using formalistic approach becomes to make the reader close to the message which is delivered in the work. I am so interested in learning the value that I can catch from the work. The work uses many symbols which can represent us the meaning of the purpose such as petunias, eleven D and so on. Here I am going to analyze not only all the symbols in the work but I am also going to analyze from the characters that represent of the existence of a person in the work.

From the beginning of the play, the message has been delivered to the reader what the meaning is the word. The title of the work indirectly has shown the reader that the work is going to tell about. The word title like “Case” means that the work or the message in the work is going to show the reader something important happen. “The Case and The Crushed” is the phrase that represents the whole content of the work. Why I should explore the words in the work because one of the devices used to analyze a work in formalistic approach is by looking at the phrase.

It has been mentioned above that "According to the Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature " when all the words, phrases, metaphors, images, and symbols are examined in terms of each other and of the whole, any literary text worth our efforts will display its own internal logic" (Guerin 75)." The phrases in analyzing the work are also very important to know the meaning or the hidden meaning in the words.

I try to analyze first for the characters in the work. There are only four characters. They are Miss Dorothy Simple, also called as Dorothy, Officer, Young Man, Mrs. Dull. Here I am just going to analyze the main characters of the story, Miss Dorothy Simple and Young Man.

CHARACTERIZATION ANALYSIS

Miss Dorothy Simple.

The story tells that she is a New England maiden of twenty-six who is physically very attractive but has barricaded her house and heart behind a double row of petunias. The statement above seems to be wonderful for Dorothy but there is a statement which can be related to the value of our life, it is barricaded her house and heart…. This one statement will be more discussed in symbolism. The analysis from the text “Well, well, well is not going to catch the culprit!” (Page 12) shows that Dorothy is an impatient person. She has been in emotional situation and she can not control herself because she has indirectly been barricaded by petunias. She has a good name, Simple; however, it can not represent the beauty of her personality to be a good person as well as she has a good last name, Simple. All of us know that an officer is commanded to do his job as a servant of public but in this case, Dorothy also seems to be like a commandant of the officer. The word of “barricaded” shows her as a limited person for everything. She just thinks about her importance and she does not think widely how everything can happen in our life. What I mean is the petunias, the crushed petunias. She is so protective, not protective in positive ways but she as if wants to prioritize what she looks the best for herself and not for others.

Young Man

Young Man is a person who did it. What does actually this Young Man do? The Young Man crushed petunias. He crushed the petunias which make everybody’s eyes can not be opened. What is the relationship between petunias and everybody’s eyes? This statement shows us how we can be better than what we are thinking of ourselves. This Young Man is a person who knows the future. He is a person who can see the importance of others. He is an honest and helpful person. It not only he crushed petunias to break something but it is also how this Young Man understands the value of life that everyone, anyone must be helped by others to open their eyes. This is related to the message in the text “Barricaded? My house – my heart…” (Page 14). The word of “Petunias” is a symbol.

Those characters show us how they are and how they look like in the play. Below, I would like to explore or analyze the symbolism in the story that represents the meaning, hidden meaning in “The Case of The Crushed Petunias”.

SYMBOLISM IN THE CASE OF THE CRUSHED

Symbolism is going to represent what message can be got from the work and it needs a critical thought to understand the meaning in the work. I like analyzing a work when looking at the symbolism. In this case, I found some symbols to be interpreted according the content of the text itself. Here are the symbols which can be interpreted from “The Case of The Crushed Petunias”.

Petunias

What does Petunias symbolize? Petunias are a kind of flowers. Petunias have many colors like green, pink, lavender, red and so on. Petunias will beautify our house when those are put surrounding the house. However, can we say that petunias also beautify our heart? The description of petunias has been described above as a beautiful flower which can beautify our house. In this case, the symbol of petunias is not also defined as a flower but it will also give us the real meaning what petunias is really defined. According to the Online Book of Symbol, petunias are defined as an anger or resentment. We can believe that what we believe will belong to us and we will be like what we believe. The main character, Dorothy, does like petunias as a beautiful flower surrounding her house. This statement shows us the existence of Dorothy so that the Young Man told her “…because you’d barricaded your house – and also your heart” (Page 14). This statement clarifies the meaning of petunias as a barricade to Dorothy, as a barricade for our life. The action of the Young Man, I suppose, can make Dorothy aware about something in her worth life.

Eleven D

This symbol shows us the size of shoes. This also shows us who we really are. From the footprint of the Young Man who put the shoes sized Eleven D on can be known by Dorothy. From the Yahoo Answer, D is the width of the shoe. D width is average or medium width for men's shoes. So if your new shoes are size 11D, that means they are size 11, medium width in men. This statement also gives us the meaning of the symbol Eleven D which is described as men doer.

Those symbolisms have given us the meaning. In this story, I just give or analyze two symbolisms because I am a beginner in analyzing the text or the work by using formalistic approach.

CONCLUSION

The analysis of formalistic approach makes the reader very close to the work and the meaning through the message in it. The analysis of characterization and symbolism will clarify and give understanding of the message delivered in the work.

Every analysis, we can find the value of life like the analysis in “The Case of The Crushed Petunias”. The moral value in the work is how someone can be helpful for others in terms of helping and opening something to show the best for others even though it seems “not worth” but it actually gives us the important things to be better in our daily life./Wr. Immer

The Symbol and Interpretation Of Colors

2008-12-17T15:59:00.000+07:00

THE SYMBOL AND INTERPRETATION OF COLORS IN SCARLET LETTER

INTRODUCTION

The Scarlet Letter is the greatest novel in American literary history written by a short story writer and also a famous novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1904 – 1864), published in 1980. The Scarlet Letter is set in the seventeenth century, puritanical, New England colony of Massachusetts and the complete action is set in the town of Boston.

I found so many lessons and important things when reading and understanding some contents of The Scarlet Letter. In this paper, I would like to write and explain more about the symbols in Scarlet Letter. I will specify my topic “symbols” to be “The Symbols of Color in Scarlet Letter” and what I will actually explain more is the symbols of color red, black and white in Scarlet Letter. I am interested in analyzing and delivering the deep meaning of the color especially the deep color meaning of red, black and white in Scarlet Letter. Colors have so many deep meanings used in Scarlet Letter.

Before going far to the discussion of the topic, I would like to define the meaning of the word “symbol” itself. To the Wikipedia.org, symbols are objects, characters, or other concrete representations of ideas, concepts, or other abstractions. The symbols of color in Scarlet Letter will be related as deep meanings and other concrete representations of ideas which will give the real definitions of the symbols itself. To the library.thinkquest.org, a symbol is an object that represents something else. The same thing as defined by library.thinkquest.org will be found in the Scarlet Letter which has shown many symbols but in this paper, I will just show the symbols of color and the deep meaning of the color itself.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE SYMBOL

OF COLORS IN SCARLET LETTER

Every life has an important thing shown in many ways, ways of meaning, signs, and symbols and each of them sometimes is an analogy to represent the hidden meanings of something. Not everything can be shown as facts and the people’s ways of thinking make this to show easy things for others. Also, not everyone understands what they have read from something else, but it will be understood comprehensively by analyzing what they are reading and what they want to understand.

In The Scarlet Letter, symbols appear everywhere. Hawthorne uses several different concrete objects to represent something of deeper meaning. Among these symbols is the Scarlet Letter “A” itself. It is artistically made of red cloth and beautifully embroidered;

“On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A. It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore, and and which was of a splendour in accordance with the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony” (39-40)

It is a literal symbol of the sin of adultery. The letter “A” appears in several places and several forms. It is the letter that appears on Hester’s heart that she is condemned to wear for the remainder of her life

In this paper, as it has been mentioned above, at least, three colors will be delivered after doing analysis from the Scarlet Letter novel. The colors are red, black and white. Firstly, I would like to explain and deliver more about the deep meanings of red in Scarlet Letter and what actually the meaning of red in the novel is.

The most important of Scarlet Letter is the symbol of a red “A” for it shows what Hester Prynne has done which is not suitable to the teaching of the era of Puritanism and because of what she has done, she must do her punishment by standing on the scaffold;

“…who stood on the scaffold of the pillory, an infant on her arm, and the letter A, in scarlet, fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom!” (44)

In this case, I will not explore the meaning of the symbol of letter “A” but I will further show and explain the meaning of red color in the novel of Scarlet Letter. In the Scarlet Letter, the letter of A was made with the red. There are many definitions of red but the definitions of red here will be more referred to the Scarlet Letter itself. Scarlet Letter uses the symbol of red because the red is frequently used as a symbol of guilt or sin, often as connected with blood (en.wikipedia.org). Red most noticeably represents the sin committed by Hester Prynne, as shown by the scarlet “A” she is forced to wear on her bosom. The scarlet letter, like her sin, is something that she will never be able to forget and is something she can never escape from. The symbol of red in Scarlet Letter shows a guilt or sin who was done by her. Knowing the meaning of red which is defined as a symbol of guilt or sin, the letter of a red “A” which was also embroidered upon her bosom, the writer, Hawthorne says in her novel that Hester Prynne who had an infant born as illegitimate child has a sin and guilt;

“…something which should remind him, indeed, but only by contrast, of that sacred image of sinless motherhood, whose infant was to redeem the world. Here, there was the taint of deepest sin in the most sacred quality of human life, working such effect, that the world was only the darker for this woman’s beauty, and the more lost for the infant that she had borne” (42)

This symbol of red can be found in the novel that the letter of a red “A” as a symbol of guilt, sin and infamy becomes a part of her illegitimate child mentioned as the sin-born infant;

“…with the scarlet token of infamy on her breast; with the sin-born infant in her arms” (47)

The symbol of red becomes a symbol to the cloth of Hester Prynne’s daughter when she wore the red cloth. The color red is used to represent the result of the sin, as Pearl is usually dressed in red clothing. Pearl is called a wide variety of names pertaining to the color red in the book such as “Ruby”, “Coral”, “Red Rose”, and “a little bird of scarlet plumage;

“I am mother’s child,’ answered the scarlet vision, ‘and my name is Pearl!’ ‘Pearl?—Ruby, rather—or Coral!—or Red Rose, at the very least, judging from thy hue!” (82)

Red is used to represent the sin further with the red “A” formed from meteors and the “A” appearing on Dimmesdale’s chest;

“We impute it, therefore, solely to the disease in his own eye and heart that the minister, looking upward to the zenith, beheld there the appearance of an immense letter—the letter A—marked out in lines of dull red light. Not but the meteor may have shown itself at that point, burning duskily through a veil of cloud, but with no such shape as his guilty imagination gave it, or, at least, with so little definiteness, that another’s guilt might have seen another symbol in it” (116)

Besides of the meaning of red on the letter of A itself, there are many deep meanings of red from the whole of the novel content and I would like to mention one by one by giving statements from the novel itself. The symbol of red also refers to how human has passion and anguish in this life. Hester Prynne has an anguish in her life because of the punishment shown to the all people around her and she has to face many people’s view about her, showing the Scarlet Letter flaming on her breast. As written in the novel that Hester Prynne has a sinful passion and he sinful passion to be an attention for many people and moralist;

“Throughout them all, giving up her individuality, she would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point, and in which they might vivify and embody their images of woman’s frailty and sinful passion. Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast—at her, the child of honourable parents—at her, the mother of a babe that would hereafter be a woman—at her, who had once been innocent—as the figure, the body, the reality of sin. And over her grave, the infamy that she must carry thither would be her only monument” (59, 60)

This passion has been a part of Hester’s life in facing the reality of life;

“To Hester Prynne it might have been a mode of expressing, and therefore soothing, the passion of her life” (63)

And she acknowledges that there are many sins hidden in the deepest heart of people;

“She shuddered to believe, yet could not help believing, that it gave her a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts” (65)

The symbol of red is also associated with lust, passion, love, and beauty as well. The association with love and beauty is possibly related to the use of red roses as a love symbol (eb.wikipedia.org). The symbol of red is also talking about lust. Hester Prynne’s daughter, Pearl, was born as an illegitimate child, born by the lust of this world and the father’s guilt and actually by a love of Hester Prynne with the child’s father, Arthur Dimmesdale. However, nobody is perfect and the love of God is still upon this child so that she came into this world.

“This child of its father’s guilt and its mother’s shame has come from the hand of God, to work in many ways upon her heart, who pleads so earnestly and with such bitterness of spirit the right to keep her. It was meant for a blessing—for the one blessing of her life! It was meant, doubtless, the mother herself hath told us, for a retribution, too; a torture to be felt at many an unthought-of moment; a pang, a sting, an ever-recurring agony, in the midst of a troubled joy! Hath she not expressed this thought in the garb of the poor child, so forcibly reminding us of that red symbol which sears her bosom?” (85)

Furthermore, Red is also used as a symbol of courage and sacrifice, as in blood spilt in sacrifice or courage in the face of lethal danger. The courage of Hester Prynne makes her keep staying with her own being. This shows that encourage in the novel of Scarlet Letter is one of the important thing to Hester Prynne to be stronger from the gaze of other people;

“ Hester Prynne had been standing on her pedestal, still with a fixed gaze towards the stranger—so fixed a gaze that, at moments of intense absorption, all other objects in the visible world seemed to vanish, leaving only him and her. Such an interview, perhaps, would have been more terrible than even to meet him as she now did, with the hot mid-day sun burning down upon her face, and lighting up its shame; with the scarlet token of infamy on her breast; with the sin-born infant in her arms” (47)

She is not only as a gaze of many people but she is also estranged from others. What she has in her life can not be lost and it can bring her life to live in the middle of those who always think something bad coming from her life. The courage in her life brings her to be more enthusiastic in her daily life;

“with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely estranged, but outlawed from society, had habituated herself to such latitude of speculation as was altogether foreign to the clergyman. She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness, as vast, as intricate, and shadowy as the untamed forest, amid the gloom of which they were now holding a colloquy that was to decide their fate.” (150)

This color of red is also defined as a symbol of sacrifice. Hester Prynne has to work hard for her life continuity, doing some rude works instead of what she has done in her life;

“Much of the time, which she might readily have applied to the better efforts of her art, she employed in making coarse garments for the poor. It is probable that there was an idea of penance in this mode of occupation, and that she offered up a real sacrifice of enjoyment in devoting so many hours to such rude handiwork” (63)

This interpretation of Hester’s sacrifice can be seen when Pearl was born. It looks like that she doesn’t remember her sinful deed when her daughter came into this world because of her sacrifice to bear her. A little Pearl has come to this real world without knowing before why she came. A lovely mother kept her dear daughter for she was born from Hester Prynne’s loved one. Everything is as if changed when Hester Prynne heard her daughter’s voice. Everyone looks at the daughter as a product of sin;

“…with what strange rapidity, indeed did Pearl arrive at an age that was capable of social intercourse beyond the mother’s ever-ready smile and nonsense words! And then what a happiness would it have been could Hester Prynne have heard her clear, bird-like voice mingling with the uproar of other childish voices, and have distinguished and unravelled her own darling’s tones, amid all the entangled outcry of a group of sportive children. But this could never be. Pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world. An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants” (70)

The symbol of color in the novel of Scarlet Letter is to be so important to show the hidden meanings. I will keep continuing to show further the meaning of red. In terms of the meanings of red, this will be related to the text and the interpretation of the text. The last one for the symbol of red is talking about spirit, the strong spirit in facing the problem of life. Fire is something red that can burn something and if the fire burns our spirit, we will be enthusiastic to do anything that brings something better in our daily life.

Another frequently used color used by Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter is black. Black is mainly used to represent the darkness and evil that is living throughout this book. In the introduction of the novel, it says that the custom house is in black paint;

“The Custom-House marker imprinted it, with a stencil and black paint, on pepper-bags, and baskets of anatto, and cigar-boxes, and bales of all kinds of dutiable merchandise, in testimony that these commodities had paid the impost, and gone regularly through the office. Borne on such queer vehicle of fame, a knowledge of my existence, so far as a name conveys it, was carried where it had never been before, and, I hope, will never go again” (21)

Very early in the book, Hawthorne refers to the prison as the “black flower of civilized society,” meaning it as a place representing evil and darkness;

“Before this ugly edifice, and between it and the wheel-track of the street, was a grassplot, much overgrown with burdock, pig-weed, applepern, and such unsightly vegetation, which evidently

found something congenial in the soil that had so early borne the black flower of civilised society, a prison” (35)

The rose has something beautiful meaning and value in this life. Many times, the rose is defined as the symbol of love and beauty. The black rose is a rose that its color is dark and it is something unclear. In the novel, it is written that the rose has been kept because the symbol of love is also the symbol of life and beauty;

“This rose-bush, by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness, so long after the fall of the gigantic pines and oaks that originally overshadowed it, or whether, as there is far authority for believing, it had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson as she entered the prison-door, we shall not take upon us to determine” (36)

To the en.wikipedia.org, rose was sacred to a number of goddesses and is often used as a symbol of the Virgin Mary. It is also said that the red rose has different meanings from the other color of rose. In the Scarlet Letter, most of color uses red and the red rose means “love”. This sign of black also shows that the people around Hester Prynne as if they are clear from the sin. They do not know if they actually have sin in their life. They just see the guilt of other people meanwhile they can not see their own guilt. As mentioned in the novel that something hidden in people’s heart;

“…that it gave her a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts” (65)

In the novel, there is a black shadow emerging into sunshine. A black shadow shows that life of someone is actually not clear. A good way is put to the wrong way and it seems that it has been done well but the facts, it’s not. The black shadow also shows something dismal and it can not appear clearly;

“The door of the jail being flung open from within there appeared, in the first place, like a black shadow emerging into sunshine, the grim and gristly presence of the town-beadle, with a sword by his side, and his staff of office in his hand. This personage prefigured and represented in his aspect the whole dismal severity of the Puritanic code of law, which it was his business to administer in its final and closest application to the offender. Stretching forth the official staff in his left hand, he laid his right upon the shoulder of a young woman, whom he thus drew forward, until, on the threshold of the prison-door…”(39)

In the Puritanism, the people tend to look for the purity in their daily life and they obey the rule of religion. The symbol of black is something which can not be seen well and sometimes it is hidden. The people who are sinful is also the kind of blackness that can not be known by others and who knows if we or somebody is sinful? Nobody can predict if someone is sinful. They just look from outside of someone and nobody knows someone’s heart and only God who knows that our life has a guilt. A sin also refers to the black thing;

“…and in hearing of all the people, as touching the vileness and blackness of our sin” (49)

The little Pearl, Hester Prynne’s daughter also has the kind of blackness. She was born by her mother, Hester Prynne who had sin and guilt before bearing Pearl. The symbol of black means that the black guilt and hidden guilt that Hester Prynne does, it will transfer to her daughter that also brings the same thing from her mother. In the novel says that there is another face in the small black mirror of Pearl’s eye. The black mirror shows that Pearl has something strange which is seen by others that she has a smiling malice in her own life;

“Once this freakish, elvish cast came into the child’s eyes while Hester was looking at her own image in them, as mothers are fond of doing; and suddenly for women in solitude, and with troubled hearts, are pestered with unaccountable delusions she fancied that she beheld, not her own miniature portrait, but another face in the small black mirror of Pearl’s eye. It was a face, fiend-like, full of

smiling malice, yet bearing the semblance of features that she had known full well, though seldom with a smile, and never with malice in them. It was as if an evil spirit possessed the child, and had just then peeped forth in mockery. Many a time afterwards had Hester been tortured, though less vividly, by the same illusion.” (72-73)

People who lived in puritanical era try to keep their life to be pure. The father of Pearl – before Pearl was born – had hidden the black things for others in relation with Hester Prynne. The black deed brings him to difficult situations. He was a preacher and everyone believed in him. Nobody knows if he had done something bad where everyone knew that he might not do that;

“…thus suffering under bodily disease, and gnawed and tortured by some black trouble of the soul, and given over to the machinations of his deadliest enemy, the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale had achieved a brilliant popularity in his sacred office. He won it indeed, in great part, by his sorrows. His intellectual gifts, his moral perceptions, his power of experiencing and communicating emotion, were kept in a state of preternatural activity by the prick and anguish of his daily life.” (105)

The black soul will show something worse for many people because it will tend to make others can not feel and they are always brought to the same thing having a black soul. This means how people save something secret in their life. This is not a good secret but a black secret. The black soul has also a black life. What the novel has mentioned is that Mr. Dimmesdale had a black secret in his soul;

“More than once, Mr. Dimmesdale had gone into the pulpit, with a purpose never to come down its steps until he should have spoken words like the above. More than once he had cleared his throat, and drawn in the long, deep, and tremulous breath, which, when sent forth again, would come burdened with the black secret of his soul” (107)

The lust of Hester Prynne had pleaded her to live in the mocking of others. She had to face other bad response about her life. The novel writes that she lived in the same platform or scaffold and this kind of scaffold was black. This shows how Hester Prynne is so close with the will of devil. From the beginning of her guilt, it seems that she indeed tried to be strong and she had a great passion in facing that but what she had done is actually the deed black things which refers to devil’s will;

“…Hester Prynne had lived through her first hours of public ignominy. The same platform or scaffold, black and weather-stained with the storm or sunshine of seven long years, and foot-worn, too, with the tread of many culprits who had since ascended it, remained standing beneath the balcony of the meetinghouse” (110)

Darkness is occasionally turned to light, suggesting that darkness represents a place of hiding, where true emotions are not shown and characters hide from their problems. The black things represent the darkness and the hidden things;

“…the secrets that may be buried in the human heart. The heart, making itself guilty of such secrets, must perforce hold them, until the day when all hidden things shall be revealed. Nor have I so read or interpreted Holy Writ, as to understand that the disclosure of human thoughts and deeds, then to be made, is intended as a part of the retribution” (98)

Hester Prynne is also said by her husband, Roger Chillingworth that she has hidden sinfulness;

“There goes a woman,’ resumed Roger Chillingworth, after a pause, ‘who, be her demerits what they may, hath none of that mystery of hidden sinfulness which you deem so grievous to be borne. Is Hester Prynne the less miserable, think you, for that scarlet letter on her breast?” (100)

The Puritan’s refer to Satan and evil beings as the “Black Man” in the forest, as he represents darkness and all that is evil about society. Black is used as a tool to show the most evil part of a person or object, as it can only be countered by the color of white;

“Why dost thou smile so at me?’ inquired Hester, troubled at the expression of his eyes. ‘Art thou like the Black Man that haunts the forest round about us? Hast thou enticed me into a bond that will prove the ruin of my soul?’ ‘Not thy soul,’ he answered, with another smile. ‘No, not thine!” (58)

The last one is white which is also used by Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter to represent light and change. The light shows that someone is given a bright way to run his or her life because without the light, we sometimes do not know what to do. The novel also mentions that the light comes upon someone’s life and this is to be the lamp of life;

“If his notice was sought, an expression of courtesy and interest gleamed out upon his features, proving that there was light within him, and that it was only the outward medium of the intellectual lamp that obstructed the rays in their passage. The closer you penetrated to the substance of his mind, the sounder it appeared” (16)

The symbol of light shows us something powerful where it can bring us to a better way that guides our path to step. When doing a guilt, it always intimidate us to do more the sinful deed. When the light appears, it means that someone still has a chance to correct their deed from the bad deed that they have done;

“He kept vigils, likewise, night after night, sometimes in utter darkness, sometimes with a glimmering lamp, and sometimes, viewing his own face in a looking-glass, by the most powerful light which he could throw upon it. He thus typified the constant introspection wherewith he tortured, but could not purify himself. In these lengthened vigils, his brain often reeled, and visions seemed to flit before him; perhaps seen doubtfully, and by a faint light of their own” (108)

The novel also writes how Mr. Dimmesdale can see the wide light in the sky as the relation between earth and sky;

“But before Mr. Dimmesdale had done speaking, a light gleamed far and wide over all the muffled sky. It was doubtless caused by one of those meteors, which the night-watcher may so often observe burning out to waste, in the vacant regions of the atmosphere. So powerful was its radiance, that it thoroughly illuminated the dense medium of cloud betwixt the sky and earth. The great vault brightened, like the dome of an immense lamp. It showed the familiar scene of the street with the distinctness of mid-day, but also with the awfulness that is always imparted to familiar objects by an unaccustomed light The wooden houses…” (115)

White is also the color employed by Hawthorne to oppose black and darkness as a method of self-containment. Pearl, who has never committed a sin herself, is almost always portrayed with a light shining upon her, symbolizing the good, her existence, coming out of the bad, her conception through adultery;

“So magnificent was the small figure when thus arrayed, and such was the splendour of Pearl’s own proper beauty, shining through the gorgeous robes which might have extinguished a paler loveliness” (68)

The white also refers to changes. The changes of life will be always needed and spontaneously, it often happens into our daily life and it is actually looked for many people to make a better life. The Scarlet Letter also talks about the changes as it can be read from this quotation;

“…himself strongly to familiar faces, and with difficulty moved to change, even when change might have brought unquestionable improvement. Thus, on taking charge of my department, I found few but aged men. They were ancient sea- captains, for the most part, who, after being tossed on every sea, and standing up sturdily against life’s tempestuous blast, had finally drifted into this quiet nook, where, with little to disturb them” (10)

And this one is further found how the change of life is missed by everyone;

“…a low whisper in my ear, that within no long period, and whenever a new change of custom should be essential to my good, change would come” (20)

Hester, who is looked down upon by the entire town throughout the book, removed her letter and faced her sin and pride, causing the sunlight to shine upon her for the very first time;

“All at once, as with a sudden smile of heaven, forth burst the sunshine, pouring a very flood into the obscure forest, gladdening each green leaf, transmuting the yellow fallen ones to gold, and gleaming adown the gray trunks of the solemn trees. The objects that had made a shadow hitherto, embodied the brightness now. The course of the little brook might be traced by its merry gleam afar into the wood’s heart of mystery, which had become a mystery of joy” (152-153)

This shows the way that coming out of the darkness of hiding Hester Prynne’s emotions, let loose the powerful force of sunshine, as Hester was able to relieve her feelings of guilt and sorrow, which she had carried for such a long time. White was the symbol that offset all of the negative effects of the story, and showed the characters for what they truly were.

The color of white can show that everything is clear to see and there is no hidden and secret. White is also giving something visible;

“Moonlight, in a familiar room, falling so white upon the carpet, and showing all its figures so distinctly—making every object so minutely visible, yet so unlike a morning or noontide visibility—is a medium the most suitable for a romance-writer to get acquainted with his illusive guests. There is the little domestic scenery of the well-known apartment; the chairs, with each its separate individuality; the centre-table, sustaining a work-basket, a volume or two, and an extinguished lamp; the sofa; the book-case; the picture on the wall—all these details, so completely seen, are so spiritualised by the unusual light, that they seem to lose their actual substance, and become things of intellect” (26-27)

The white also shows something pure;

“…the white veil which was to cover the pure blushes of a bride” (62)

CONCLUSSION

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter uses many forms to display the emotions and feelings of the characters, especially through the colors of red, - the most colors used in Scarlet Letter - black, and white. Red was used to display the sin committed by Hester, representing the passion and sensuality of the characters, relating to the scarlet letter. The red is also used as a color to the letter of a red “A”. Black was used as a symbol of darkness and evil, as all of the negative events within the book were described using the color of black. The black is also used to show something hidden from the people’s secret.

White was used to counter the use of black, as it symbolized the opposition to darkness and the purity of many of the characters true feelings. This color of white also shows the light how the light can be shown for everything which has deep definition and also it shows that the light can lighten our path, guide us to keep staying in a right way. The white also refers the change of life and how we can have a new in this life. The change of life is leading us to the better life.

The analysis of Scarlet Letter whose topic is “The Symbol and Interpretation of Colors” has mostly shown, explained and stated the deep meaning of colors. The deep meaning of the colors sought from the definitions of the color itself that have been related to the content and statement or quotations from the novel of Scarlet Letter.

Finally, reading and understanding the content of the novel can lead and remind the reader what lessons can be got and it can teach how to see our own deed before looking for the guilt of others./Analyzed by Immer

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Mackays of Chatham plc, Great Britain 1992

Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. 02 Jan. 2008. The Wikimedia, Inc. 07 January 2008

Oracle ThinkQuest. 15 Aug. 2005. Oracle ThinkQuest: Education Foundation. 07 January 2008

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You can find out what ads will be served by Google Google AdSense if you install Google.

Google AdSense Preview Tool, a very simple tool available only for Internet Explorer 6.0. Click to advertiser sites without generating invalid clicks, and easily add their URLs to your URL filter list. Because Google AdSense uses geo-targeting, Google serves different ads for other countries. Instead of faking your IP or travelling abroad to test your ads, use this Google AdSense tool to see what ads see your visitors from France, Germany or other countries.

It's possible there are no Google Google AdSense adverts available for your webpage. Hide Public Service Ads, using alternate colors or images. Make sure you include the image in a simple html file as a link (use target="_top"). The image size should be the same as the dimension of Google AdSense units. In the alternate url box, enter the absolute url of the html file.

Read more about alternate ads.

Google AdSense Tip #10: What not to do
Don't click your own ads

Don't ask others to click on your Google ads

Don't manually change Google AdSense code

Don't place Google ads on sites that include prohibited content (e.g.: adult sites)

Don't employ cloaking, hidden text or farm links

Don't use Google AdSense ads on the same page with similar ads (e.g.: Yahoo Publisher Network)

Google AdSense Tip #11: Show images above or next to your ads
Placing images above Google AdSense ads is not necessarily prohibited by program policies. However, depending on the method of implementation this could be considered encouraging users to click on ads. So you should include a border line between the ads and the images. Don't show specific products in your images, in order not to mislead the visitors. Just use generic images that will increase the visibility of your ads.

Google AdSense Tip #12: Use section targeting
Use section targeting to emphasize some content in your page. On your site, place this code where you want to emphasize.

Content you want to emphasize.

If you want some content to be ignored, use

Google AdSense Tip #13: Alternate the colors of your ads
Google AdSense allows you to have up to 4 color variations for each variable for which you can specify color. You should do that if you put Google AdSense ads on pages that receive many impressions from the same visitors (for example forums) to reduce ad blindness. For example:

google_color_border = ["628098","628098","000000","000000"];

google_color_link = ["000000","BBB90C","BBB90C","628098"];

google_color_url = ["000000","628098","000000","000000"];

google_color_text = ["628098","628098","000000","000000"];

Great for overcoming ad blindness.

Google AdSense Tip #14: Your Google ads should be visible
Make sure your text ads are visible to the surfers in all screen formats. If you put the ads in a table give sufficient breathing room, i.e. proper cell padding and cell spacing to make the ads stand out from the rest of your content.

Google AdSense Tip #15: Use Google AdSense channels
You can categorize the content of your website into channels and then track your performance. This way you can experiment with different types of ads and see which is performing the best. Instead of buying an Google AdSense tracker, you can enter the most important pages in your site and see how they are doing. Create up to 200 channels for Google AdSense.

William Mok is one of the internet marketing company CEO and he is a successful internet marketer.To receive more internet marketing tips and free e-book , please visit./www.marketonair.com

10 Free Ways To Increase Blog Traffic

2008-12-16T19:01:00.001+07:00

1. Signup at Stumbleupon.com and make friends in your niche. You can then stumble your post and get your friends to also.

2. Go to Socialposter.com and fill in the exact url to your blog post then title,general summary text then your tags. Now submit to as many social sites as you can. If this is your first time to use these sites then you will need to signup.

3. Signup at technorati.com and add your blog then ping it when you update.

4. Get a free account at mybloglog.com and add your blog then join the communities and make friends. There is even a cool widget you can add to your blog like what you see on the right here.

5. Leave comments on blogs in your related niche. Here is a great free tool to monitor popular blogs in your niche so you can be notified and make one of the first good quality comments. Check it out at Commentsniper.com

6. Join Squidoo.com and make a lens then add a link to your blog.

7. Submit your blog to as many blog and rss directories as you can. Here is a good place to start http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/

8. Make sure and add your blog url to your forum signature on any forums you are a member. This can be a powerful way to attract visitors especially if you have quality forum posts.

9. Find one of the top bloggers in your niche then write a good review post of them. Let them know and they will probably link back to you.

10. Have an easy way for your readers to sign up for your RSS feed./eyeearnblog

Redefining Attitude Change

2008-12-13T22:22:00.000+07:00

We all encounter some or the other person in our life whom we refer to as “high headed” of having a lot of “Attitude” for example if we smile at a person in our work place and don’t get a reply or try to talk to a person and don’t get an expected response our first reaction is “What attitude this person carries”.

Have we ever asked a question that why only negative behaviour is attached with attitude and not any positive one? Does attitude has all negatives in it and nothing positive?

When we talk about attitude we think about all that is negatively related to it, but the actual definition says the “Attitude is defined as a more or less stable set of predisposition of opinion, interest or purpose involving expectancy of a certain kind of experience and readiness with an appropriate response.”

Thus we can also say that they act as “frames of reference” for an individual i.e. while analyzing any situation we refer to the attitudes that we have developed. So before talking about changing the attitude we need to first learn about the components which make our attitude and how the attitudes are formed in any individual in the first place.So let us first talk about how we learn these “frames of references”.

Learning consists of observing the consequences and repeating the behaviour if desirable outcome occurs. As far as observation is concerned we observer those things or people who are of some interest to us that is why you will find that generally our attitudes are very similar to our parents, friends, spouse etc.

This is because we observer their attitude and follow it some times blindly without having any direct experience of that particular person or object. Apart from this some times our attitude is formed when we have directly experienced any thing and whether the attitude formend is positive or negative depends upon the type of experience we have. Suppose we try a new dish in a restaurant which doesn’t taste good so every time we think about it a negative feeling will come.

That is why when we talk about attitude change it’s very important to know whether our attitude is formed by direct experience or by observation. If suppose it is formed by observation then the best thing to do is to first have a direct experience that to an unbiased one. But in case you find that the attitude that you are about to or have thought of changing is formed due to observation then there is serious work to be done for which I need to tell you the components of attitude.

Our attitudes are made up of three components cognitive, affective and behavioural component. The cognitive component includes the beliefs and thoughts an individual has about a certain person, object or situation; the affective component includes the feelings towards that particular person, object or situation where as behavioral component talks about the behaviour towards that object depending upon the cognitive and affective component.

Now the question arises that why every where there is hype of attitude change? Since we know that we all have attitudes so it’s a universal phenomena and no body present on the earth is devoid of attitude because attitudes are never neutral in charge that means it will either have a positive or a negative charge attached with it.

By attitude change here I mean that converting the negative attitudes into the positive ones as we all have heard the importance of positive thinking it is the same as having positive attitude, as previously I have talked about cognitive aspect of attitude. So if one can think positive he can act positive.

So attitude change is nothing but changing the way we think or I should say reconstructing the thought in a positive manner because how we behave depends upon how we feel which in turn depends upon how we think.

So let’s experience the power of positive attitude and let’s get started with redefining our attitudes./articlesbase

The Causes Of Family Internal Conflict

2008-12-13T16:01:00.000+07:00

THE CAUSES OF FAMILY INTERNAL CONFLICT

IN THE GREAT MOM SWAP

The Great Mom Swap

INTRODUCTION

The Great Mom Swap is the title of the novel written by Betsy Haynes. She, the daughter of a former newswoman, began scribbling poetry and short stories as soon as she learnt to write. The title, The Great Mom Swap, will mostly present the internal conflict and this paper will discuss more about the causes of the family internal conflict in the novel.

Something is going to happen because there is a cause why it happens. The family internal conflict in the novel of The Great Mom Swap shows the same thing in which the family internal conflict begins to appear in the family. In this case, I would like to explain the meaning of causes itself. The Online Dictionary states that cause is the producer of an effect, result and consequence.

This statement will be more explained in the content of this paper how the causes have an effect, result and consequence for the family. The other definition quoted from Online Dictionary shows that cause also means the one, such as a person, event, or condition that is responsible for an action or result. This statement will be related how the characters in the novel take part which has a relation or responsibility for the action and result shown in The Great Mom Swap.

The definition of conflict is also important in this paper because it will be related to the causes when explaining the causes happening in the novel. From Wikipedia.com, it states that conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of needs, values and interests. This statement will obviously be seen in the novel and will be explained more.

The last that I would like to define is the definition of internal conflict. Internal Conflict is the dilemma facing the character inside and its impact on that character (www.musik-therapie.at). Internal conflict adds meaning and complexity to the external conflict, but it is the external conflict that forces the character to make internal choices and changes. This statement clarifies how the internal conflict is also influenced by the external conflicts.

THE CAUSES OF FAMILY INTERNAL CONFLICT

Actually, I am interested in discussing this point, the causes of family internal conflict. However, this will give some advantages or knowledge for others especially those who want to keep a strong family.

Everyone can not help receiving conflicts because those are a part of our life. It is not only a part which makes us down but it is also values for us to be independent family. What I mean is the family which has good values to help other families to be stronger families.

The novel The Great Mom Swap shows the existence of the family that gets conflicts. The question is what causes the conflict so that it happens in the family and how the conflicts appear. In the novel, there are two daughters, Scotti and Lorna, who had kept a good friendship since they were Junior High School. Scotti is a daughter of Helene, her Mom and Craig Wheeler, her Dad. She is a smart girl but she looks so fat. Lorna is a friend of Scotti and a daughter of Ann Markham. Lorna is a tall Texan and she must be proud of that but her Mom, Ann Markham says that she wasn’t the giraffe of Colleyville Junior High.

“You’re a tall Texan. Square your shoulders and be proud of yourself. That was all right for Ann Markham to say. She wasn’t the giraffe of Colleyville Junior High” (2)

That is a little bit about the description of the two daughters, Scotti and Lorna. The two daughters have a foible and feature. This becomes one of the reasons why the conflict in the family begins to appear. Firstly, I would like to discuss the internal conflict before giving the causes of the conflict itself.

As a teenager, sometimes Scotti or Lorna does not really think the effect of what they are doing. In actuality, the first conflict appears because the two daughters have idea to do something, Mom swap.

“I have an ever better idea! And you know, Lorna, it just might work”
“What might work?”
“Swapping moms!”
“Swapping moms?” Lorna echoed.
“Sure. School will be out in a week.” (13)

However, this is the effect of the situation happening in the family. This means that before they swap their moms, something is happening in the family as a result they eventually swap their moms. The two mothers, Ann Markham and Helen want their daughter to better daughter without looking at the feature of their own daughter. The dream of the two mothers is actually good but their deed also will have an effect for their daughters so that the two daughters unable to listen to their mother’s complaint anymore. What I mean unable here is their mother always want the daughter to be like others. Scotti is a smart person but her mother can not look at her feature as a smart person even her mother tends to see the feature of others like Lorna as a healthy girl.

From the mother existence, we can interpret that she has a dream and hope for her daughter. It will be better if I also give the definition of dream itself. Dream is how someone hopes something new and different. Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one’s life. Someone who has a hope is someone who wishes for something with the expectation of the wish being fulfilled (Wikipedia). This situation has happened to the two mothers where they wish their daughters to be better without looking at their daughters’ potential.

As mentioned above that the dream of Scotti’s mother can be seen from the statement written in the novel. Having said above that Scotti is a smart person but her mother is never satisfied to see Scotti existence that so that she says that she has to be like Lorna who has a good health and Scotti has to do exercise and eat healthy food.

“Exercise and eat healthy food. ‘Fit. not fat.’ She always says, ‘Look at your best friend. Lorna’s so thin. She must have found the perfect balance between exercise and nutrition” (12)

This is what happens to Scotti where she is always compared to her friend, Lorna. The hope of Scotti’s mother is not wrong because it’s worthy for her mother to say that she has to do exercise to be healthy person because Scotti’s mother was an absolute health nut. The Scotti’s mother profession is serving the weirdest food in the world.

“Scotti’s mother was an absolutely health nut and served the weirdest food in the world, which was why Scotti kept little caches of food hidden in her closet, in her locker at school, and even in the bottom of her knapsack. She called them her survival kits” (4)

This is the reason of her mother, Helene, why she hopes her daughter has a healthy life. The same condition is also happening to Scotti’s friend, Lorna. This is a little different from Scotti existence. Scotti’s mother tends to see her daughter physically and Lorna’s mother sees from the side of intellectual. The same comparison comes to Lorna’s mother in which she also says that Lorna has to be like Scotti.

“Scotti maximizes her potential. She wants to be a writer, and she’s already had an article published.’ I must have heard about that one measly article about our neighbor Mr. Killington and the airplane…” (12)

The two mothers have the same hope in which their daughters want to be better than others. However, the two mothers do not know if their daughters who listen to what they are saying for their daughters have a great influence. That is why as written above that the idea of the daughter appears in their mind to swap their moms. It means that the two daughters might think that this idea or swapping moms will make them convenient. Everyone will feel inconvenient if they are compared to others existence.

The idea of the daughter becomes the internal conflict of the family. In this case, I want to clarify and explain the causes of the conflict in the family. The conflict is not which causes the daughter idea realized but the conflict why the two mothers try to see the foible of their daughters and the two mothers always look at the existence of others around them.

The meaning of causes has been defined above as a producer of an effect, result and consequence. There are two causes that will be explained in this paper. They are the lack of communication between parents and children and the lack of parents’ attention to the children. I think, this is a vital situation for all families in this world. Without a good communication in the family, it will decrease the values in the family itself. The clearest examples of historical change in the quality and nature of intimate relations are the norms governing the relationship between parents and children. (David and William Sociology and everyday life, 133). This is clearly stating that the communication will produce the quality and good intimacy in the family. The values and good norms in the family are also measured how far the communication increased.

Another way that must be remembered in terms of communication is the communication with teenager. Communication with teenager is extremely important, but many of the typical changes that occur during adolescence tend to interfere with the effectiveness and amount of interaction between parent and child. (familyeducation.com)

This statement becomes one of the important things in the novel why the two daughters did something to swap their mother. There must be no more enough communication between parents and child so that the big mistake appears in that family, the great mom swap.

The lack of communication in Scotti’s family can be seen from the profession of her parents. Scotti’s parents are busy all day. This condition will affect the existence of Scotti where there is no more intimacy so that she even has a great idea to swap her mom with Lorna’s mom. What I get from this statement is if Scotti or in the family of Scotti has a good intimacy, it is impossible for Scotti to swap her mom. On the other hand, if there is a good intimacy in the family of Scotti, she will think twice if she has an idea to swap her mom because she must love her mom.

The business of Scotti’s parents has been stated in the novel. Scotti’s mother was also a flight attendant and her father, Captain Craig Wheeler, was a pilot.

“Scotti’s mother, Helene, was a flight attendant and her father, Captain Craig Wheeler, was a pilot” (8)

Thus, the lack of communication in the family will possibly cause the conflict in the family itself. Because of these and other factors during adolescence, children do not confide in us as readily, and do not communicate their feelings as much as they did when they were younger (familyeducation.com). The more the family keeps communicating between parents and children, the more they will have a great intimacy and harmony so that there is no disinclination among them.

The last cause that is happening in the family is the lack of parents’ attention to the children. This looks like so simple but the values of paying attention to the children are very important even this makes the children’ growth grow better.

The lack of attention in the novel can obviously be seen from the two mothers where they always try to see the feature of others. I am not sure if they have enough attention to their daughter meanwhile they try to see the others are better than their own children. Indeed, this has been one of the characters of human being that we tend to see the other existences are more than what we have.

The Great Mom Swap novel has indirectly shown the causes in the family internal conflict. The novel states that each mother looks at the others’ feature and they want their daughter to be like them. That is all right for the two moms that they do not have appreciation for their daughters since they always try to compare their daughter to others. The two mothers no longer look at the great thing that their daughters can do.

However, this novel will give many values for the reader because it is teaching us how to be responsible for the children especially how we can increase or keep a good relation by keeping communication and attention to the children to have a good intimacy in the family.

CONLCUSION

The internal conflict in the family also gives values because it can give a growth in the middle of the family itself. The novel The Great Mom Swap also gives many examples how the conflict is proved or shown.

This paper has explained the cause of the conflict as it’s happened in the middle of the family which is sometimes happening in most family in the world. I would like to add the quotations as examples of the lack of parents’ attention and appreciation to children. Here are the quotations from life.familyeducation.com;

“My parents do not understand me. They are living in another time period”

“The only time my fathers talks to me is when I do something wrong or when he is trying to point out what I should do”

“It seems as though every time I tell my parents what my opinion is or how I feel, they tell me how wrong I am or why I should not feel that way”

All of us hope that the best situation will belong to the children. Of course, everyone tries to learn how they will give the best growth to their children. This novel is good enough for us to get the lesson to be more careful when paying attention to our children./Analyzed by Immer

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Karp, David A and Yoels, William C. Sociology and Everyday Life. F.E. Peacock, Itasca, Illinois 1986

Vander Zanden, James W. SOCIOLOGY The Core. McGraw-Hill. United States of AmericaIllinois 1986

Haynes, Betsy. The Great Mom Swap. Yearling, New York 1986

Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. 04 August 2008. The Wikimedia, Inc. 05 August 2008

The Free Online Dictionary. 04 August 2008. Farlex, Inc. 05 August 2008

Back to School with Family Education. 01 August 2008. Pearson Education, Inc. 05 August 2008

Acknowledging Your Fears

2008-12-11T07:52:00.000+07:00

We're mortal. And,contrary to what some may believe, each and everyone one of us have fears. If you can think of it, there's someone out there somewhere that's afraid of it--and possibly even deathly afraid. Fear is a normal part of everyday life, put in place by the Creator to keep us safe and out of harm's way. There are times, however, when our fears can truly hold us back in life, detour us from growth, and negatively impact our self esteem.

When our fears start to limit what we do in life we need to acknowledge and conquer those fears. This is especially true if a fear we may have is showing up as a limiting behavior for us and thereby preventing us from taking full advantage of new opportunities in our lives.

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood. ~Marie Curie

With awareness, fears can be faced, dealt with, and eliminated. Oftentimes, what we resist persists and the more we resist facing the fears we may have, the more those fears will continue to disrupt and control our lives.

There's nothing to fear but fear itself~ Danny Elfman

The first step is that of coming to terms with, or acknowledging the fear you feel you have. It has been said that 'fear dances with courage' and sometimes it takes more than a small amount of courage to admit that something makes you fearful. Writing your fears down is a powerful form of personal acknowledgment. Make a detailed list of those things that frighten you. No one needs to see the list other than you and there are no right or wrong answers. If you are afraid of it, put it on your list.

Next, think about why you have the fear from a detached stance. Try to remember a specific incident that might have caused the fear. Maybe your fear of flying stemmed from being on a turbulent flight. Perhaps your fear of the water came about from being caught in an undertow as a child and not being able to surface for air immediately. Write this down in as much detail as possible. This is not an exercise in re-living those fears, it is merely a matter of bringing the fears to light, on paper, in your words in a present and safe place. If you find you have blocked out memories because they're too painful to remember, please consult a professional who can help you reach those memories and decipher their meaning. There is no shame is seeking assistance in healing those areas which are painful to you, whether the pain stems from a physical or a mental place.

Be patient with yourself and be prepared to do some work because, just as the fear took time to manifest, it will take time to conquer. By facing your fears and finding ways to overcome them, you will gain confidence and likewise open up your life to many more amazing and often unexpected opportunities.

Anything I've ever done that ultimately was worthwhile... initially scared me to death. ~Betty Bender

Stepping forward in small ways will make large cumulative changes in your self-esteem over time. Start now, one step at a time. Take control of your life and take action and move forward. If not now, then when?/articlesbase

Does Your Life Lack Meaning?

2008-12-07T08:47:00.000+07:00

Vera sought out counseling with me because her doctor advised her to discover the emotional causes of her chronic fatigue. Vera, a successful stockbroker, was in a loving 18-year marriage. On the surface, everything in her life was fine. She had enough money, friends, and a good relationship. Yet Vera awoke each morning battling fatigue and depression.

David sought my help because of chronic feelings of inner emptiness. David is very successful in his manufacturing business, has a good marriage and two adult children. Like Vera, everything seemed fine. Yet the feelings of inner emptiness drove David to overeat, overspend, and indulge in porno on the Internet.

While both Vera and David were successful in their careers, neither loved their work. They worked to make money, but their work had little meaning for them. Yet when they looked inside, neither could discover what did have meaning for them. Both reported that they had never experienced a sense of meaning in their adult lives, and that the emptiness and depression had been with them since adolescence.

As I worked with Vera and David, it became evident that each had made a decision early in their lives to shut down their feelings to avoid the deep pain of unbearable loneliness. Vera shut down because she was unable to tolerate the loneliness of her mother's behavior toward her. Her mother would say she loved Vera, but Vera never felt her love. Instead, she felt her mother energetically pulling at her, trying to suck the life out of her. As a very sensitive child, Vera could not tolerate this confusing experience, so she put her feelings in a box and decided to live out of her head instead of her gut.

David, also a very sensitive child, shut down because he was unable to tolerate the loneliness of being with two emotionally unavailable empty parents, and the loneliness of rejection from peers.

As adults, both Vera and David were still shut down from their feelings. They were still afraid of feeling the pain of loneliness - a feeling that is actually an everyday fact of life. Loneliness is present when your heart is closed or another's heart is closed, or when there is no one with whom to share love. Loneliness is the primary feeling when we want to connect with another and the other is unavailable. If you were completely open to your feelings, you would feel moments of loneliness throughout the day. However, most people never feel this feeling and are completely unaware of it, because the moment there is a twinge of emotional pain, they move instantly to various addictions and addictive behaviors, such as substances, activities, thoughts, shame and blame. Yet when we shut out pain, we also shut out joy and a passionate sense of purpose.

Pain and joy are in the same box. Vera and David could not discover what has meaning for them and what brings them joy while keeping a lid on their feelings. And the very act of keeping a lid on their feelings was creating their depression and inner emptiness.

Imagine that your feelings are a child within. If you ignore this child - by ignoring your feelings - this child feels abandoned. Our refusal to feel and take responsibility for our own pain is an inner abandonment and results in anxiety, depression, and/or inner emptiness.

It is our child within - our feeling self - that has the blueprint for what has meaning for us, for our passion and purpose. Each of us comes to this planet with a deep purpose to express, and when we don't express this purpose, we end up feeling empty and depressed. Yet we cannot discover this purpose when we keep a lid on our feelings.

Learning to manage the pain of loneliness is essential to discovering your passion and purpose. There is no way of managing loneliness without a deep and personal connection to a spiritual source of love and wisdom. We cannot manage loneliness from our mind alone.

You will find deep meaning in your life when you decide to open to and learn from your feelings of loneliness rather than continue to shut them down. And you will open to these feelings only when you do not feel alone inside due to experiencing the love and wisdom of your spiritual Guidance. Opening to Divine Love and opening to your feelings will bring you the fullness, joy, passion and purpose that are the yearnings of your soul./articlebase

Don't Lose Yourself

2008-12-07T06:56:00.000+07:00

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in a difficult or depressing situation; it seems like you're never going to get back to those times when life seemed so easy and fun. The good news is, it can be done, and it is done regularly by people just like yourself every day!

If you can sleep well, your brain will take out the garbage quite efficiently: "Easier said than done," I know (a common theme here). This is why it is critical to identify causes and use appropriate means to deal with root problems rather than to throw on a quick bandaid fix in many cases. People who possess this particular skill (attitude renewal) are the ones who succeed in life- and you can learn to do it, too! Dump that trash! Take a break from the rat race, if only a short one, and get your old, happy self back.

Looking back, it is easy to think how great everything was before - but at the time, if you stretch and really remember, you had problems then, too. We tend to block out the pain and remember the good times, which really is good. Why stress over the past? In fact why stress over things you can never change anyway? Instead, try taking a new position, from a new angle in which you have more power and less grief?

Just for a while, let's focus on our strong points, our positive attributes and traits that others actually admire. We all have them. You might want to take a while and list them; think about where you fit in, in this great big spinning ball of apparent madness we're all riding around on. Decide to rise to the next level, even if you have to stretch to define it first.

Maybe you're in a place in which it will be a while before you can make your move- if so, at least make a plan and be ready! The mere fact that you are reading this self-help website indicates that you are open to ideas. Here's one: You are unique and capable in something, all it will take is being ready when your opportunity comes a-knocking. Only you can know what 'getting ready' might entail.

Each of us is living in a unique set of circumstances and possibilities. Perhaps you are tangled up in a set of them that doesn't offer much of a future for yourself. Or, there could definitely be some positive adjustments. So right now, decide to redefine your future and move toward it. This may end up being an intricate, difficult plan. But what is your alternative? Difficult does not mean impossible. You will feel a whole lot better when you have completed a few simple steps of your new, positive plan.

Let us help; be it in a motivational way or actual self-administered subliminal audio therapy, or just relaxation aids or better sleep without pills! Sprudio audio products come in a wide range of subjects and flavors- plus our quality and dedication are the highest in town. And Earth is one tough town, Jim.

Helping others is also an admirable road to take, if you know someone who could use a leg up - unselfish plans always serve to advance the helper as well! We believe that this is a basic law of the universe. If you need to feel better about yourself, for whatever reason, help somebody else! It will work every time./articledashboard

Kick Start Your Day, the Disciplined Way!

2008-12-06T10:38:00.000+07:00

Do you know who you are? Do you love what you are doing? Do you have what you want out of life? Do you know what you want out of life? Do you wake up and jump out of bed every morning eager to face the challenges of a new day? If not, then you need discipline in your life. Kick start your day, the disciplined way!

Having invested over 30 years researching why some people are more successful than others, I have concluded that discipline is lacking in most people's lives. Discipline is the key to success in every area of life. Not only does discipline get you what you want to be, do or have, it helps you take control of your life and live the life of your dreams.

Personally I uphold the right attitude to be disciplined in my own life. All my successes are attributed to my discipline. Keep in mind that I define discipline as "a commitment to the most important person in the world (yourself), to do what you have to do, even when you do not want to do it."

Mind you, although I am disciplined, I still maintain a great deal of flexibility and balance in my life.

Discipline is required to help you to help yourself. You need to understand what success, attitude, motivation and that most important person —YOU— are all about. You must commit first to yourself, discipline, and then, to your dreams.

Discipline will help you lead the life you really want, to reduce stress
, to increase productivity, to improve your work environment, to attain the lifestyle you most desire and to do all the things you love. Just imagine living the life of your dreams. It is all possible with a little discipline.

With appropriate disciplines and rewards you can kick start your day, everyday!

Let's pretend the most productive time of your day is in the morning. What if you dedicated the first most productive hour of your day to the most important person in the world. That is where daily discipline starts.

Many years ago I was used to getting up at 7am and enjoying my first cup of coffee as I woke up. When I realized I was a morning person, I then decided to wake up an hour earlier and kick start my day, the disciplined way!

I would get up at 6am instead of 7am and I would dedicate that power hour to me! I would use that hour to re-enforce my gratitude for another day, to review my goals, to visualize them, to see the outcomes of the day and week ahead. At the end of that hour, I would then reward myself with my first cup of coffee.

That coffee tastes so much better now, then it ever did before, because it was now a reward for doing what I said I would do - that is discipline.

Any discipline that gets recognized and rewarded gets repeated, whether it be appropriate or inappropriate. Therefore, why not take control of your life?

Discipline yourself to the appropriate behaviors you want in your life and reward yourself with some of the simple things that we as a society take for granted.

Have a G.R.E.A.T Day! Want to know what G.R.E.A.T. stands for?/articlesbase

Control Your Brain Waves, Control Your Life

2008-12-06T00:28:00.000+07:00

I am pretty sure that the first question that comes to your mind when you read the title is - what is this guy talking about? Well, that was my initial reaction the moment someone told me that controlling my brainwaves was the key to reaching the goals in my life. I looked at him, raised my eyebrows and sniffed hard for traces of whiskey. But all kidding aside, this statement is the new masthead for the personal development industry of today. Brain wave entrainment, or the technology or method of triggering specific electromagnetic waves from your cerebrum is a reality in today's society. Packaged in something as ordinary as a CD or a manual, this is the new holy grail of mental control and taking back control of your life like you have never imagined.

The rationale behind this is simple. Science has discovered that acute states of internal human abilities can be related to specific electromagnetic frequency states produced by neurons and chemical reactions within the cerebral cortex. For example, during the space of time just before or after you sleep, your brain produces low frequency waves that have been associated with states of relaxation and super learning, where information can be retained and the IQ is at its peak. There are also states where one can have better focus, alertness or even states that invoke great healing powers within the body.

The study has been well documented. Patients in a hospital given a placebo but exposed to nurturing and supporting staff, an atmosphere that retains a sense of buoyancy and happiness, seem to heal faster than most. Slanting the brain in a positive perception actually fires up the body's healing process. Brainwave entrainment has been researched into the study of healing mind related disease and even helping patients with amnesia regain their memory retaining capabilities.

Clever little men in white coats have discovered that engineered beats that have differing frequencies (beyond human hearing) can actually invoke a cortical response and fires up the neurons to let loose brainwaves for a specific purpose. Got a med exam the next day and the textbooks look like they have been written in ancient Chinese? Fire up the alpha state frequencies and absorb information like never before. Feel restless and can't seem to rest easy? Then invoke just the right amount of brain wave frequencies and slide into a state of deep meditation.

These beats are weaved into a music file of soothing music and introduced into the brain through your earphones. Other methods include biofeedback and autogenic or even the use of traditional yoga and music to soothe the mind and reprogramme the subconscious with positive thinking. Even magnetic field research is able to execute brain wave entrainment.

The possibilities are endless. If you ever feel constantly depressed and need to rekindle you drive to live and drive to succeedFind Article, then just give your brain waves a push in the right direction. Control is the bottom line to succeed and controlling your mind and focusing to reach your goals is something that is truly priceless./articlesfactory

Manage Spare Time to Achieve Ultimate Success

2008-12-05T22:36:00.000+07:00

Power of Audios

Productivity and time
Dan Kennedy
Using your call as a classroom

I'm reading
a book by Dan Kennedy right now called "No B.S. Time Management For Entrepreneurs The Ultimate No Holds Barred, Kick Butt, Take No Prisoners Guide To Time Productivity & Sanity"

The title is really long, but the book is quite good. It takes you into the world of Dan Kennedy, master marketer and teachers of Millionaires.

One of the things Dan Kennedy talks about was using 'non-productive' time, productively. He suggests you use time search as waiting in traffic, going on car rides, stuck in line etc. as learning time.

This of course means listening to Audio CD's or Mp3's with an Ipod or MP3 Player.

He goes on to say that the top masters and successful people he encountered all have been a student of Audio learning programs.

I myself highly recommend Audio learning programs. I remember back in the day when I was still commuting to work, I would have Anthony Robbins with me on those car rides.

I must of listened to Anthony Robbins audio programs, including, "Lessons in Mastery", "Live With Passion", "Get The Edge" and "Personal Power II" over and over again.

When I worked the night shift at a plastics factory, for 8 hour shifts, I had Anthony Robbins in my ear the whole time.

I could go through one of those audio series in one night.

If you commute to work, you'd be surprised how quickly you can get through these 6-7 CD sets. In one week, or two, you could finish an Audio Program.

Imagine reading 1 book a week, or in 2 weeks about a subject you want to learn more about. Without taking up any extra time or with barely any effort.

If you simply use your commute time for learning, you will be in great shape. What is a skill you want to learn?

You want to learn a new language? Want to fix your personal finance? Want to improve your business?

Repetition is the master of skill. You can listen to the same CD's over and over again until the lessons are ingrained in you.

Simply switching what you are listening to while you are commuting, in your car or in your spare time and you could change your life./articlesbase

Mastering Your Mind Power

2008-12-05T04:18:00.000+07:00

The tools needed for mastering your mind power, the power you need to live more of the life you desire, are already readily available in your own mind. The challenge for you is to use these tools to take possession of your mind power and direct it to the ends of your choice.

Your mind is always busy, bringing you what you want and bringing you what you do not want. It brings you poverty and misery or it brings you wealth and happiness. It is never idle. Whether it brings you poverty and misery or wealth and happiness depends on the consistent thoughts you present to it. Accurate thought is a major factor that determines whether your mind delivers more of what you desire or more of what you do not want.

As you are aware, your mind thinks at incredible speeds, moving thousands of thoughts, ideas, and images across the screen of your mind. At one moment you may be focusing on the road ahead of you as you drive to work. In an instant, you are thinking of a very important task at work that has to be completed. In another instant, you are thinking about applying for that job that a friend of yours told you about at her company.

Accurate thinking may not sound like a characteristic that is very important to cultivate on your journey toward mastering your mind power. For me, however, the opposite is true. It so important, in fact, that Napoleon Hill devoted an entire chapter to it in his book, Laws of Success. Accurate thought can be so very helpful to you for choosing meaningful thoughts, ideas, and images to become residents in your mind rather meaningless ones.

There are a few relatively simple steps you can take to aid you in developing the habit of accurate thought. First of all, it is imperative that you have what Napoleon Hill calls a definite major purpose; a goal, as most other self help authors call it; or an intention, as most Law of Attraction authors call it.

Whatever you call it, there must be something that you deeply desire to have, to be, or to do. Second, if you have not already done so, you must develop the ability to separate facts from mere information. Third, you must also develop the ability to separate significant facts from insignificant facts.

All facts which you can use in the attainment of your desires are important and significant facts. All facts that you cannot use are unimportant and therefore insignificant, and mere information is worthless. Information may be entertaining, diversionary, and fodder for gossip but is of no value for mastering your mind power and obtaining your desires.

By forming the habit of directing your attention to significant facts on which you build your road to your desires, you all but ensure your success. This I know for sure. You can claim or re-claim control of your own mind power. You are the most miraculous of all living beings on earth. You are the owner of a mind that is so stupendous, that as you truly begin mastering your mind power and consciously using it, there is no dream that you can dream that you cannot achieve./articlesbase

Blog Template 2-Colomn

2008-11-29T19:35:00.000+07:00

This free Blogger template webdesign is based on the Blogger page color theme. It can be either a 2- or 5-column template. If you want a 2-column template, simply don't fill in the lowerbar widgets and make its colors blend with the post column.

The left sidebar is 230 px wide, perfect for the large square Adsense box.

Features:

The "Read more..." function is available to shorten posts.
Almost all colors and fonts are easy to customize.
Blog Posts Edit buttons are fully functional.
Flexible number of sidebars.
Menubar below the header for easy navigation.
Header image can be easily changed.
Tested ok in all browsers using Browsershots.org.

Important: Change your template without loosing any sidebar widgets.

Header ImageTo put the header image in your blog, click on the image below to open up a larger size and save it into your computer. Then, upload the image using the Layout > Page Elements > Header Edit tab. If you want to use your own image for the header, the image width has to be 900 pixels (with any height).

Header image adapted from Wallpaperpimper (credit accordingly if use).

Source: OurBlogTemplates , Download This Free Template Below:

Blogtimize - Optimize the ads on your blog

2008-11-29T14:20:00.000+07:00

When working with a blog, you're facing some interesting ad implementation challenges: a predetermined page format, highly targeted content, and regular visitors, among other things. To make the most of your readership and content, here are a few suggestions:
Blend ads into your blog

To increase the likelihood that your readers will see and click on your ads, blend your ad units into the background of your blog. Choose a bold color for the ad title to help draw attention to your ads, then make sure that the background and borders of your ads are the same color as the background of the area where the ad is placed.

Experiment with multiple ad formats and locations

In general, wider ad formats tend to be more reader-friendly. Placing an ad unit after the first post will likely catch your readers' attention. Take a look at our sample implementations to get some ideas. Also, consider placing a Skyscraper (120x600) or vertical link unit on the right side of your blog. If you're using Blogger, you can find instructions on placing AdSense code in your blog's sidebar.

Offer readers more options with search and referrals

To make sure you're earning the most revenue possible with AdSense, go beyond just ads to use AdSense for search and referrals. You can increase your earnings, provide readers with valuable information, and take advantage of flexible formats.

Improve ad targeting

With section targeting, you can target an ad unit to a specific section of your blog, as well as block out irrelevant sections like navigational links. We recommend that only those familiar with HTML attempt to implement section targeting.

Tip for generating more traffic to your blog: If you're a Blogger user, activate this setting to notify Weblogs.com, a blog update notification service, whenever you have updated your blog. That means your blog will be included in various "recently updated" lists on the web as well as other blog-related services./Google

Blogger Template "Neuronic"

2008-11-27T22:17:00.000+07:00

This is a multiple-column template: 3 sidebar columns on the right, 3 columns below the post, and 3 additional leaderboard-size columns to place ad banners! The template image above is captured from a 1024 pixels wide screen.

Header Image
The header image doesn't come with the template file. To put the header image in your blog, left-click on the image below and save the actual size into your computer. Then, upload the image into the Header Page Element in the Layout section of your blog.

Ads
This template was customized so that you can put ads in a lot of places. In addition to the usual sidebar, header, and main columns, you can place long leaderboard-size ads above and below the blog and above the footer. Check out these ads locations in this test blog.

"Mountain" Template

2008-11-27T21:48:00.000+07:00

Template name: Mountain 273
Size: 38KB
Type: New Blogger Template (XML)
2 Column, Fixed Width, Editable
Best quality (IE & Firefox) all Size and Resolutions
Source : http://www.finalsense.com/

Copy Paste the code by clicking HERE

"Sunflower" Template

2008-11-27T21:04:00.000+07:00

Template name: Sunflower
Size: 47KB
Type: New Blogger Template (XML)
2 Column, Fixed Width, Editable
Best quality (IE & Firefox) all Size and Resolutions
Source : http://www.finalsense.com/

Copy Paste the code by clicking HERE

"Sponge Bob" Template

2008-11-27T21:03:00.000+07:00

Template name: Sponge Bob
Size: 69KB
Type: New Blogger Template (XML)
2 Column, Fixed Width, Editable
Best quality (IE & Firefox) all Size and Resolutions
Source : http://www.finalsense.com/

Copy Paste the code by clicking HERE

"A Coyote Chase" Template

2008-11-27T20:58:00.000+07:00

Template name: A Coyote Chase
Size: 49KB
Type: New Blogger Template (XML)
2 Column, Fixed Width, Editable
Best quality (IE & Firefox) all Size and Resolutions
Source : http://www.finalsense.com/

Copy Paste the code by clicking HERE

"Girl 3-Column" Template

2008-11-27T20:40:00.000+07:00

Template name: Girl 3-Column
Size: 40KB
Type: New Blogger Template (XML)
3 Column, Fixed Width, Editable
Best quality (IE & Firefox) all Size and Resolutions
Source : http://www.finalsense.com/

Copy Paste the code by clicking HERE

"New Cafe Blog" Template

2008-11-27T20:29:00.000+07:00

Template Name: New Cafe Blog
Size: 43KB
Type: New Blogger Template (XML)
3 Column, Fixed Width, Editable
Best quality (IE & Firefox) all Size and Resolutions
Source : http://www.finalsense.com/

Copy Paste the code by clicking HERE

"Trading" Template

2008-11-27T19:58:00.000+07:00

Template Name: Trading
Size: 38KB
Type: New Blogger Template (XML)
(with Google account )
Best quality (IE & Firefox) all Size and Resolutions
Source : http://www.finalsense.com/

Copy Paste the code by clicking HERE

"Sun Set" Template

2008-11-26T21:27:00.000+07:00

The "Read more..." function is available to shorten posts.
Almost all colors and fonts are easy to customize.
Blog Posts Edit buttons are fully functional.
Flexible number of sidebars.
Menubar below the header for easy navigation.
Header image can be easily changed.
Tested ok in all browsers using Browsershots.org.

Header Image
To put the header image in your blog, left-click on the image below and save the actual size into your computer. Then, upload the image using the Layout > Page Elements > Header Edit tab. If you want to use your own image for the header, the image width has to be 950 pixels (with any height). /OurBlogTemplates

"Joy" Template

2008-11-25T21:18:00.000+07:00

This free Blogger template can be either a 3- or 6-column template. If you want a 3-column template, simply don't fill in the lowerbar widgets and make its colors blend with the post column.

The right sidebar is 336 pixels wide, great for the placement of a large Adsense square box, or if you want to put large pictures like in the test blog below.

Features:

The "Read more..." function is available to shorten posts.
Almost all colors and fonts are easy to customize.
Blog Posts Edit buttons are fully functional.
Flexible number of sidebars.
Menubar below the header for easy navigation.
Header image can be easily changed.
Tested ok in all browsers using Browsershots.org.

WP-Polaroid Blogger Template

2008-11-25T08:49:00.000+07:00

I’m very pleased to announce the release of WP-Polaroid for Blogger! This template is full of cool features and took me a long time to convert from the original WordPress theme (by Adii) so I hope you appreciate it.

This template is very popular with WordPress users and for good reason. It’s stylish, nicely laid out, and very web 2.0. Not only that, it’s also got the following sidebar page elements built in. You just need to configure them (follow the directions below) in order for them to work properly.

Flickr photo slideshow area where you can display your personal or random pictures
Mybloglog recent blog readers section (you’ll need a mybloglog account)
Three 125×125 ad spots to help you make money from your blog
Recent posts list
Recent comments list
Two sidebar link lists
Page navigation links in the header
RSS feeds for your posts and comments
A header spot to display your personal photo

Make sure to read through all the steps below in order for the template to function on your blog properly. I tried to make it as simple for you as possible by using the Page Elements instead of embedded code but if you have any questions, please post them below. I usually get back to everyone within 24 hours so please be patient!

Also, please be aware that in order to correctly setup this template you’ll need to be comfortable with editing the template code as well as some experience with photo editing software (see step #9). I’d hate for you to spend a bunch of time trying to get this template working only to hit a road block towards the end.

WP-Polaroid Blogger Installation

Now I’m going to be honest with you before we begin. When you use this template you’ll most likely have to wipe out all your existing page elements and start from scratch. Not only is this easiest but it also gives you a clean slate. Now this isn’t always the case but I just wanted to warn you upfront. You might even want to setup a new blog within Blogger to test this template out before you really start using it. It’s easy to do — just go to your Blogger dashboard (top right corner link) and “create new blog”. Think of it as a testing area before clobbering your existing blog. Another option is to try and backup your existing page elements which is explained in my “How to Install a Blogger XML Template” article.

Disclaimer: I am not responsible if you mess up your Blogger site. This template and set of instructions is free but does not come with any sort of warranty. I’m sure you already realize this but I just wanted to cover my butt regardless. (this is the fine print)

The following 10 steps assume you’ve installed the new WP-Polaroid Blogger template and are now ready to configure the page elements. If you had trouble installing the template, try applying it a second time and saving. Blogger is buggy and that’s actually what I had to do when setting up a demo blog for this writeup (Update - you might want to start with step #10 and then come back to step #1 since it involves editing the actual template code before setting up the page elements).

You can also download the original Photoshop .psd from Adii’s site if you’d like to modify the images. He also provides some steps on setting up the template but for WordPress only.

Open your blog site in a new browser window so you can see how it currently looks. I’ve put some placeholder text in some areas (which we’ll replace in the steps below) to give you an idea as to how it’s supposed to look. Now in a separate browser window, head on over to “Template” =>”Page Elements” and we’ll start setting up your new Blogger template.

Step #1 - Configure the Header Page Elements

First we’re going to customize the header and we’ll start with the Header-Text-Box-Left page element which you can see marked with a red square in the image.

Now when you edit the page element you’ll see “Header-Text-Box-Left” as the title which you can change to something like “MORE ABOUT ME…”. Then add whatever text you want in the text box which will end up appearing below the title (like the white text in the image). Ok, save your page element and you’re done with this box. Do the same with the “Header-Text-Box-Right” page element and you’ll be finished with the header text boxes. Save and then refresh your other Blogger browser window to see what it looks like. We’ll take care of the header links and center puppy image later on since it requires editing of the template code. Let’s move on.

Step #2 - Setup Recent Posts and Recent Comments Page Elements

These lists aren’t going to show up when you first installed the template so we’re going to bring them to life now. They are actually both RSS Feed widgets so we’ll need to paste in your feed and comment rss feeds to make them work. Let’s start with the Recent Posts page element so click edit it. Then paste in your RSS feed url which will most likely be in this format http://YOURSITE.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default . Make sure to replace “YOURSITE” with your actual blog url.

There’s no need to change the title (unless you want to call it something else) so then hit “Save Changes”. Then save your blogger layout and go over to your other browser window, refresh and see the Recent Posts appear in your blog’s sidebar. Pretty cool huh! Now you’re going to do the exact same thing with the “Recent Comments” page element but you’ll instead use this feed format http://YOURSITE.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/default . Again, make sure to replace “YOURSITE” with your actual blog url. Save and make sure it’s working properly. If it doesn’t appear on your blog, chances are you don’t have the correct feed url or you might not have any comments yet.

Step #3 - Setup My Sponsors and Link Love Page Elements

These two page elements are basically link lists where you can links to any sites. Did you know that you can actually sell links from your blog? It’s a very popular and growing business on the web since the number and quality of links to ones’ site increases their rankings in Google and Yahoo. If you want to learn more about selling links on your blog, check out Text Link Ads for more information. I use them and they do a 50/50 revenue split which is great since they handle the advertising & transactions.

Anyhow, to setup the link page elements, click on edit of the My Sponsors page element and then enter the names and urls of the sites you wish to link to. Feel free to add a link to my site so other’s know where you got this wonderful template!

Now do the same for the Link Love page element to get additional links added. If having both link page elements is too much, feel free to delete one from your page layout.

Step #4 - Configure the Blog Archive Page Element

This page element should have been working from the moment you installed this template. The only problem is it probably didn’t look right because the page element style needed to be set to “Flat List” so let’s do that now (if your blog archive list is already set to flat, then you can skip this step). Edit the page element and change the default of “Hierarchy” to “Flat List”. You’ll see it change in the preview window so you’ll know it worked.

Click “Save Changes” and then save the page layout. Now view your blog which you have open in a separate browser window to see how it looks now. It should be correct.

Step #5 - Configure the Recent Readers Page Element

Now this is one of the unique and cool features about this template. It’s integrated with MyBlogLog which is a cool tool for showing pictures of visitors to your site. If you don’t already have an account, you need to set one up first before completing this step. Once you’ve setup an account, claimed your blog, then you can create a widget. I’m going to assume you’ve done those steps and are now ready to plug in your widget. You should be on this screen now within mybloglog.com.

We’re going to make this very easy so don’t worry about any of the colors, width, etc and just click the “Preview and Get Code” button. I know this sounds strange but just stick with me here. So the next screen you’ll get a page with the blocks of code you can use. It will look like this:

The only piece of that code that we need is the part I’ve marked in red. This is the mblID code which is the unique id just for your blog. you’re going to copy this entire id code (I covered some of the digits in the screenshot on purpose) which should be 16 numbers, and put it somewhere safe (like open notepad and paste it there for now).

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://pub.mybloglog.com/comm2.php?mblID=PUTYOURCODEHERE&c_width=425&c_sn_opt=n&c_rows=2&c_img_size=f&c_heading_text=Recent+Readers&c_color_heading_bg=FFFFFF&c_color_heading=ffffff&c_color_link_bg=FFFFFF&c_color_link=FFFFFF&c_color_bottom_bg=FFFFFF"></script>

Then take this javascript code above and replace the “PUTYOURCODEHERE” with the 16 digit number you just put somewhere safe. Next, you’re going to edit the “Recent Readers” page element and paste this new code into the text box. It will look like the image below but it won’t wrap (I just did it for illustration purposes).

Click “Save Changes” and go preview it in your blog. This will replace the current set of mybloglog pictures you see on your site with your set of visitors. Now don’t get too excited because there’s a good chance this section will be empty for a while (almost for sure if you just signed up for a mybloglog account) since you haven’t had any visitors yet so don’t worry. Give it a few weeks before you’ll see some pictures appear.

Step #6 - Configure the Flickr Photo Page Element

This is another optional page element and you can go ahead and delete it if you want. The configuration requires you have a Flickr account and some experience picking out pictures to link to. The pictures that are already installed on this Blogger template are basically links directly into Flickr. There are more than one way to get this section working (like using rss instead of hard coded image links) but I’m only going to show you the simple way. First edit the “FlickrRSS” page element and make sure you’re in html edit mode. Then in the text box you’ll want to paste in the new image code you want to use (see below for the proper format). It will look something like this:

Here’s the code I’m currently using to make the images work:

<p><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/alankin/2213697421/'><img src='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2312/2213697421_6be21edcfa_s.jpg' alt='different paths' /></a></p><p><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/alankin/2213697413/'><img src='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2399/2213697413_c30648a36a_s.jpg' alt='college campus lawn' /></a></p><p><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/alankin/2213697411/'><img src='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2150/2213697411_96525d4022_s.jpg' alt='wires in front of sky' /></a></p><p><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/alankin/2213632473/'><img src='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2215/2213632473_8cf8af1c7f_s.jpg' alt='aerial perspective' /></a></p><p><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/alankin/2213632465/'><img src='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2043/2213632465_5ce3aa4813_s.jpg' alt='clouds' /></a></p><p><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/alankin/2213632461/'><img src='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2392/2213632461_96a8be9c06_s.jpg' alt='clouds over the highway' /></a></p><p><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/alankin/2214395424/'><img src='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2253/2214395424_b9f11a18c0_s.jpg' alt='The Poultney Inn' /></a></p><p><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/alankin/2214395422/'><img src='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2133/2214395422_1aa98af39f_s.jpg' alt='apartment for rent' /></a></p>

So essentially you need to find pictures on Flickr or somewhere on the web that you want to link to. Using Flickr’s small image size makes sure that they will properly fit in this page element area. Make sure you use the code format above (<p> and </p> around each image) and use eight images. If not, it won’t look right on your blog. Again, the code snipet above is the exact code I’m using for the default images on your blog.

Hopefully this step makes sense and you’re able to add the images you want. If not, just remove the page element and move on.

Step #8 - Configure the Three 125×125 Ad Spots

I don’t know about most of you but I like to try and monetize my blogs. It’s a great passive income stream and fun to see how much you can make. Don’t expect a lot to pour in but at least get some ads on your site to make a few bucks. If you haven’t already read my “How to Make Money From Your Blog - Tip #1” article about setting up Google AdSense on your blog, I’d advice you to read it. You can create 125×125 ads within Google and place them in these spots, for example.

Now let’s go edit the page element. You need to have three 125×125 ads ready to pop into this spot otherwise it’s not going to work. The images also need to be hosted somewhere so make sure you’ve got everything ready before moving forward. Here’s an example of what your code will look like:

This is the actual code currently being used in your blog template. It’s placeholder code but important to keep so continue reading to understand why.

<a href="http://www.linkworth.com/?a=10230"><img src="http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh92/eblogtemplates/adstheme/banner-linkworth2.gif" border="0px" /></a>

<a href="http://www.widgetbucks.com/home.page?referrer=10252004"><img src="http://images.widgetbucks.com/images/referral/125x125_A.gif" border="0px" /></a>

<a href="http://www.text-link-ads.com/?ref=2164"><img src="http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh92/eblogtemplates/ads/text_link_ads_F_125x125.gif" border="0px" class='last' /></a>

It’s very important you keep the formatting of this section intact otherwise they won’t appear properly. I’m mainly speaking about the class='last' tag at the end of the third 125×125 ad. If that isn’t included in your code, it will look funny on your site. This is a hard step so hopefully you got this far.

If you don’t have any ads to use yet, feel free to keep the placeholder ads there. I recommend clicking on the three ads and setting up accounts with them so you can make money with your blog. If you don’t want the ads you can just delete this page element from your page layout.

Step #9 - Change the Puppy Header Image

Yes, you’re probably wondering why there’s a picture of a cute puppy on your blog. The good news is I actually put it there as a placeholder so it’s easier for you swap out and add your own image. The bad news is you’ll need to have some photo editing skills in order to get the image setup correctly. So first let me tell you how to change the image and then second, explain how to add your own instead. The puppy image code is in the .css part which looks like this:

/*=== Change this header puppy picture to one of yours ===*/ #polaroids-pic{ background: url(http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh92/eblogtemplates/polaroid/puppy.png) no-repeat;

This is where you’ll need to put the link to your new image. If you don’t want an image at all (or at least for the time being) then just delete the url and the default black polaroid picture will appear. The puppy picture is just positioned on top of the default black picture.

So before you can add a new photo, you’ll need to properly size ~~and rotate it~~. So open your picture in any photo editor like MS Paint, Adobe Photoshop, Paint.net (free download), GIMP (free download), or Picasa. If you don’t have software already installed, you can always use one of the free online photo editing sites instead like Picnik, Phixr, or FotoFlexer. Whichever photo editing software you decide to use, get ready to make the following two changes.

Resize the photo to 240×240

~~Rotate the photo 4 degrees counter clockwise~~

Update (2/1/08)

Due to popular demand, I’ve made the polaroid header image straight so it’s easy to add your personal photo without having to rotate it. It’s included in the latest version so just download and you’ve got it.

This sets up the photo to the right size to fit back on top of the polaroid background. Next, save the image you just modified (You can save the photo in any of the standard image formats like png, gif, jpeg, etc) and upload it to a place online where you can link to it.

There are free image hosting services like Photobucket, Googlepages, or ImageShack just to name a few. I personally use Photobucket but any of those will do. You’ll need to setup a free account and then you can upload your images. After you’ve uploaded your new image, you need to get the url where the image is now located. If you decided to use Photobucket, your new url will look something like this:

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh92/yourname/newfolder/yourpicture.png

Take that url and replace the puppy.png url I showed you above. Save your template and reload your blog. Your new picture should now be on your home page! If not, then double-check and make sure you correctly uploaded the photo and it works. If you see your photo on your home page but it’s just not aligned properly, then you’ll need to go back to your photo editing program and tweak it some more. Another option is to edit the .css file and search for #polaroids-pic { . There you can the position, height, width, etc for fine tuning. You really shouldn’t need to mess with those settings though.

UPDATE: If you also want to remove the “Polaroid of Me” text across the default polaroid picture you can. You’ll need to edit the template code and replace the existing polaroid image on line 219 with this one. Search for “rotator.png” then replace it with “blank-polaroid.png” and you should be good to go. (Thanks to Lindsay in the comments below for the suggestion!). The latest download version now comes without the text on the polaroid picture.

Step #10 - Change the Navigation Header Links

This probably should have been step #1 but I honestly forgot about them until now. These links are hard coded into the template so you need to edit the actual code to make them work. Just edit the code template and search for the following bits of code:

<li><a href='/'>HOME</a></li> <li><a href='#'>ABOUT ME</a></li> <li><a href='#'>ANOTHER PAGE</a></li

You should keep the HOME link as is since it just points back to your home page. You’ll also want to change the links on the right side as well:

<li><a href='#'>ADVERTISE</a></li> <li><a href='#'>CONTACT</a></li> <li><a href='#'>SITEMAP</a></li>

Now just change the a href=”#” and tab name to something you want for each of the links. Do it for both sides and that’s it. Pretty easy actually. Just make sure to save it and say yes when it asks you to delete several page elements like HTML1, HTML2, etc. I don’t know why it asks you each time when you save your template. I think it’s a Blogger bug actually.

Well folks, after 2 hours of writing this up and 8+ hours of converting this template to Blogger, I’m officially done! I hope you enjoy the template and the instructions on configuring it. If it wasn’t for Adii (the original designer), this template never would have been available to convert into a Blogger template!

If you have any questions please post below using the comments box. Please be aware I am not a photo editing expert and questions should only relate to configuring this template. Blogger in general, has lots of bugs so any “bx-” type error messages you may get I won’t be able to help you. Sorry but it’s Blogger’s fault not mine or yours.

Revision History

Update (2/25/08) - A bug has been found and fixed as of today. It’s a small one but it was brought to my attention by Tessa and Rey. The “Next” and “Previous” posts links were missing from the bottom of the template. If you downloaded this template prior to today, you’ll either have to download it again or fix your existing template. The fix is pretty easy and as follows:

Search your template code for the tag <data:adEnd/>. There should actually be two of them. You want the second one. Below that code you want to paste:

 <b:include name='nextprev'/>

 <b:include name='feedLinks'/>

The final block of code should look like this:

You’ll then want to style this new set of links which is also easy to do. Scroll back up to the top of your code and in the .css section you’ll want to add the following code:

#blog-pager-newer-link {float: left;} #blog-pager-older-link {float: right;} #blog-pager {padding:50px 15px 0px; text-align: center; }

This will make your new links aligned neatly instead of being squished to the left. You can style them even further (color, size, etc) but you’ll have to do that on your own.

Update 4/22/08 - Several people requested to have real 125 x 125 ads instead of the blank placeholder ones so this has been done. A new screen shot shows how this looks as well as the live demo. You can swap out the ads or keep them there indefinitely if you don’t have any ads to use.

Update 5/17/08 - Fixed the individual post image right align issue. You can easily fix this yourself if you’re using this template prior to 5/17. Search your template code for “.postmetadata” and then change the padding element of “15px” to “20px”. That will push everything down and align the images correctly. Thanks to Ricardo for his help on this.

Want to make your blog stand out from the crowd? I recommend giving your newly downloaded Blogger template a unique and personalized look. Read our Free Blogger Header Images article and find yourself a great custom header image!

If you like this post then please consider subscribing to our eBlog Templates RSS feed. You can also subscribe by email and have new templates and articles sent directly to your inbox.

Installing the template in your blog

2008-11-24T20:59:00.000+07:00

Before you start changing your template, make sure you save your old template file just in case you need to start again. And make sure you have a programming-based text editor installed on your computer (to make the codes easier to see. If you don't have one, there are many free programming text editors that you can download. I use Notepad++).

These are some instructions on how to put the template in your blog. There are some ways to do it; I'll explain some of them, starting from the simplest methods.

METHODS TO INSTALL BLOGGER TEMPLATES:

Method I. Simplest method - Uploading the xml file:

Download the template that you want and save it in your computer (make sure it is saved as xml file).
Go to your Layout > Template > Edit HTML page.
Choose the file from the Browse... button, and then press the Upload button.
It may ask you to delete some widgets - so just delete them. (Widgets are the extra page element added to the sidebars).
You're done! View your new blog.
If your contents doesn't look aligned, that's probably because you don't have any widget on one of the sidebars - so add your widgets.

Method II. Copy-paste the template codes into the Blogger text editor:

If you don't want to download the file first, or prefer to paste the code into your Blogger editor, this is how to do it.

Open the template file that you want and copy all the codes.
Got to your Layout > Template > Edit HTML page.
Click the Expand Widget Templates (EWT) button. (If the EWT button is on or clicked, all template codes will be visible; if it's off or unclicked, then some codes related to Blogger Data are hidden so that the HTML codes look less messy - most of the time, you don't want to change or add codes inside the Blogger Data area).
Select all the codes in your Blogger editor and delete them all. Then paste the codes for your new template.
It may ask you to delete some widgets - so just delete them. (Widgets are the extra page element added to the sidebars).
You're done! View your new blog.
If your contents doesn't look aligned, that's probably because you don't have any widget on one of the sidebars - so add your widgets.

Method III. Copy-paste the CSS styling only into the template code:

The annoying part about using the two methods above is that you have to delete some widgets that you've made (maybe some Adsense codes, Text contents, HTML codes - usually the widgets About Me, Labels, and Blog Archives are not deleted). If you don't want this to happen, you must copy and paste the CSS styling part only. By changing the CSS part only, you don't change anything related to the Blogger Data including the data about the widgets that you've made.

CSS styling is the code that controls everything about the template style or appearance - the font size, colors, background images, header size, post layout, sidebar size and locations, etc.

But to do this is a bit tricky. You have to make sure the basic layout of your old template with the new one is the same. For example, if the old template has 3 columns (2 sidebars and 1 main), your new template has to be 3 columns too. The arrangement of columns will follow the old template; for example SMS or MSS or SSM. If the old and new templates don't have the same content layout, it won't work! If you're not sure about this, just use the first 2 methods above.

If you still want to change the CSS styling part only, read on below.

In the template, look for the code section in between the b:skin tags. In my templates, I've labeled the start and end of the CSS styling part. (In the code, the 'Page structure tweaks' code are actually part of the CSS styling too, but just leave it there.)

So, these are what you need to do to change the CSS part only:

Open the template file that you want and copy the CSS styling code only.
Got to your Layout > Template > Edit HTML page.
Don't click the Expand Widget Templates (EWT) button because you don't have to change the Blogger Data code.
Select the existing CSS styling codes in your Blogger editor and delete them. Then paste the codes for your new template.
It may ask you to delete some widgets - so just delete them. (Widgets are the extra page element added to the sidebars).
You're done! View your new blog.
If it doesn't work, you can always use the first 2 methods above and add the widgets later./OurBlogTemplates

XML Blogger Template "Shiny"

2008-11-23T22:22:00.000+07:00

This free Blogger template can be either a 3- or 6-column template. If you want a 3-column template, simply don't fill in the lowerbar widgets and make its colors blend with the post column.

The right sidebar is 300 pixels wide, great for the placement of a large Adsense square box, or if you want to put large pictures like in the test blog below.

Features

The "Read more..." function is available to shorten posts.
Almost all colors and fonts are easy to customize.
Blog Posts Edit buttons are fully functional.
Flexible number of sidebars.
Menubar below the header for easy navigation.
Header image can be easily changed.
Tested ok in all browsers using Browsershots.org.

The Influence between Old and Young Generation

2008-11-13T15:55:00.000+07:00

THE INFLUENCE BETWEEN OLD AND YOUNG GENERATION

IN KEEPING AND BREAKING THE RULE OF LIFE

(Based on the poem of E.E. Cummings, “Old Age Sticks)

DEFENISI

Before searching the definition from a writer that has a specific definition of Influence, I would like to give the definition taken from An Oxford Dictionary. On the Oxford Dictionary, “Influence” is the effect that somebody or something has on the way a person thinks or behaves or on the way that something works or develops; the power that somebody or something has to make somebody or something behave in a particular way; a person or thing that affects the way a person behaves and thinks.

Real influence over our lives is a result only of our own decisions and interaction with others. Power over my life is greatly enhanced as I embrace the fact of my responsibility for how everyone treats me and that I alone create my environment. We all see life in a unique way and this view of life is strongly influenced at an early age (about zero to seven years). In childhood we experience family, relationships and the entire world much like a sponge; we absorb, we take in and feel.

This explanation has an approach to the topic in which all influences of old and young generation can not be far away from their actions. Their actions however are powerfully influenced by their emotions, thoughts and beliefs in terms of keeping and breaking the rule of life.

BAB II

ANALISIS

Di dalam bab dua ini saya mau membahas dan menganalisa puisi yang dibuat oleh E.E Cummings yaitu “Old Age Sticks” yang terdiri dari lima bait yang masing-masing baitnya terdiri dari empat baris. Sebelum masuk kedalam detil analisis, saya mau membahas sedikit latar belakang dari sipenulis itu sendiri, E.E Cummings.

E.E Cummings merupakan salah satu novelis Amerika yang paling terkenal. Nama lengkapnya Edward Estlin Cummings lahir pada tanggal 14 Oktober 1894. Dia telah menulis puisi sejak usia 10 tahun dan berhasil menciptakan 900 puisi yang salah satu karyanya akan dibahas di dalam bab ini. Dia juga anak dari seorang profesor sosiologi, Edward and Rebecca Haswell Clarke Cummings. Dia sangat dekat dengan ayahnya sehingga pengaruh yang dia dapat menjadi salah satu alasan–pendekatan teori sosiologi–kenapa dia harus menuliskan puisi yang inti dari seluruh puisi tersebut bagaimana generasi tua selalu menasehati dan sebaliknya generasi muda cenderung untuk melawan dan memberontak serta cenderung untuk hidup bebas tanpa harus menghadapi aturan-aturan yang telah ditetapkan dalam hidup sehari-hari.

Didalam analisis ini, ada tiga hal yang akan saya sampaikan, yaitu proses kehidupan, bahasa dan arti dan gaya penulisan puisi itu sendiri. Jika dilihat bentuk puisi E.E Cummings, susunan dan penggunaan tanda baca akan sangat tidak teratur. Sebagai contoh pada baris dan bait pertama puisinya, huruf pertama diawali dengan huruf kecil “old age sticks”. Sumber dari Wikipedia.org menuliskan bahwa penggunaan huruf besar sangat bemacam-macam. Huruf besar ditulis pada huruf pertama biasanya pada nama-nama benua, orang, kota, negara dan juga pada baris petama dalam memulai kalimat. Apa yang ditulis diawal dan baris pertama puisi dari E.E Cummings tidaklah menggunakan huruf besar sekalipun dimulai pada baris dan mengawali sebuah kalimat atau frasa.

Salah satu isi dan makna dari pada puisi E.E Cummings adalah proses kehidupan yang alami. “Old Age Sticks” menjelajahi sebuah proses dalam hal usia dan juga hubungan antara generasi tua dan muda dengan menjadikan hal itu suatu perdebatan antara generasi tua dan generasi muda. Kita bisa melihat perdebatan ini dengan suatu peringatan yang keluar dari pihak generasi tua dengan cara memperingati dan menasehati generasi muda tapi generasi muda melawannya seperti pada bait pertama dan kedua, “Keep Off, youth yanks them down”.

Setiap kali generasi tua selalu tidak henti-hentinya dalam memperingati generasi muda untuk tidak melanggar peraturan tetapi malah apa yang generasi muda lakukan, mereka malah tertawa dan seringkali mengejek ketika orang tua menasehati dan mengarahkan mereka kepada hal yang lebih baik. Generasi tua bahkan meneriakkan agar generasi muda tidak melanggar, seperti ditulis dalam puisi, bait kedua dan ketiga, “old age cries, No Trespassing” tapi malah dibalas dengan suatu ejekan lewat tertawa “youth laughs”. Generasi tua terus berteriak dengan berkata “Stop” tetapi generasi muda tidak peduli dan terus berbuat apa yang mereka mau.

Dalam hal ini, para generasi tua seringkali menjadi suatu–secara tidak langsung–penindasan yang dilakukan oleh generasi muda. Di dalam puisi tersebut, mulai bait pertama sampai terakhir, generasi tua cenderung membatasi dan juga sebenarnya mengarahkan para generasi muda untuk selalu “taat” dan tidak melanggar batas-batas yang sudah ditentukan. Generasi tua muncul sebagai generasi yang selalu mengarahkan ketika melihat generasi muda sudah mulai melakukan sesuatu hal yang bertolak belakang dengan mengikuti kemauannya sendiri, seperti ditulis didalam puisi, generasi tua selalu membuat suatu batasan, “No,” “Forbid/den,” “Stop,” “Must/n’t”, “Don’t”. Sebaliknya, generasi muda cenderung untuk menyela dan membebaskan diri dari hal-hal yang membuat mereka tidak bisa merasa bebas dengan meruntuhkan tanda-tanda, menyela peraturan dan juga nasehat dari generasi tua dan tertawa, “youth yanks”, youth laughs”.

Isi puisi tersebut bukanlah sesuatu perpecahan dan pertarungan antara generasi tua dengan generasi muda dengan menggambarkan kalau generasi tua adalah jahat dan generasi muda baik. Bagaimanapun, hubungan antara kedua generasi tersebut memiliki sesuatu yang saling berkaitan dan saling ketergantungan satu dengan yang lain dimana diawal baris pertama pada puisi tersebut diawali dengan kata “old” dan pada bait dan baris akhir puisi diakhiri dengan kata “old” juga.

Pada akhir puisi, dikatakan bahwa generasi muda bagaimanapun akan menjalani suatu kehidupan yang pada akhirnya melewati masa tua, “youth goes/right on gr/owing old”. Ini berarti bahwa puisi E.E Cummings merupakan suatu proses kehidupan dimana generasi muda akan melewati masa tua dan disini terbentuk suatu lingkaran hidup yang nantinya generasi muda ketika menjadi sudah tua, mereka akan melakukan hal yang sama terhadap generasi muda berikutnya.

E.E Cummings dalam puisinya menggunakan bahasa dan aturan yang berbeda-beda. Dia menggunakan dan meletakkan tanda baca yang tidak pada tempatnya yang kalau dibaca tidak sesuai dengan aturan yang dipakai setiap orang pada umumnya. Disamping dia menggunakan tanda baca yang diletakkan tidak pada tempatnya, sesungguhnya mempunyai makna tersendiri, makna yang tersembunyi yang mengarah pada sikap dan tindakan dari pada orang yang melanggar suatu peraturan yang didalam puisinya disebut sebagai generasi muda yang sering tidak taat terhadap aturan-aturan yang sudah ditetapkan.

E.E Cummings menandai dan memakai serta meletakkan setiap huruf tidak pada standar yang sudah ditentukan. Seperti yang saya tulis diatas, bahwa dilihat dari tanda baca dan kesalahletakan tanda baca tersebut memiliki makna yang tersembunyi, seperti “youth goes/right on/gr/owing old.” Dia menulis kata dengan huruf besar berlawanan dengan aturan standar yang sudah ditetapkan, seperti pada puisinya, dimana dia menggunakan huruf besar untuk menekankan setiap kata yang mengarah pada generasi tua dengan perintah-perintah yang bersifat negative, “Keep/Off,” No/Tres pas/sing,” “Forbid/den Stop/Must/n’t Don’t.” Puisi dari bait pertama sampai terakhir, masing-masing memiliki empat baris. Setiap bait dan setiap baris memiliki suku kata yang sama dari awal sampai akhir dengan susunan 3-2-1-2. Penggunaan tanda kurung dan tanda baca menegaskan sesuatu yang bermakna sesuai dengan alur dan kesinambungan dari kata pertama sampai kata terakhir.

Pada bait pertama, E.E Cummings menggunakan tanda baca “&” dan bukan “and”. Ini menunjukkan sesuatu hal yang singkat dan “to the point”. Makna dari pada tanda “&” mengarah pada generasi muda dimana setiap generasi muda cenderung hanya ingin melewati hal yang sekejap tanpa membutuhkan waktu lama, dengan kata lain tidak suka “diproses”. Juga pada bait yang sama, E.E Cummings memakai tanda “)” tanpa memulai dengan tanda “(“ dan juga tidak diberi jarak antara tutup kurung dengan tanda “&” seperti bisa dilihat pada baris terakhir dalam bait pertama, “)&”.

Generasi tua mengatakan sesuatu hal dengan memakai kata “signs” dan berikutnya memakai tanda “)&” di akhir puisi bait pertama. Ini menunjukkan secara tidak langsung terarah pada generasi muda yang cenderung melanggar aturan yang ditetapkan dimana generasi tua memberi tanda yang harus dipatuhi “Keep/Off” tetapi sebaliknya tanda yang tidak teratur “)&” yang pada bait berikutnya, generasi muda memberontak dan tidak mau taat terhadap aturan yang dibuat, “youth yanks them/down”. Simbol dan tanda yang digunakan didalam puisi mulai bait pertama sampai bait terakhir merupakan sesuatu hal yang mengarah pada aturan itu sendiri dan ketaatan terhadap aturan. E.E Cummings menekankan penggunaan huruf besar untuk memperlihatkan bahwa aturan yang telah dibuat ditegaskan untuk ditaati, “Keep/Off,” No/Tres pas/sing,” “Forbid/den Stop/Must/n’t Don’t.”

Pada bait terakhir juga E.E Cummings meletakkan tanda yang didahului oleh tanda “&”. Dilihat pada bait pertama, dia menggunakan dan meletakkannya diakhir yang diawali dengan tanda “)”. Ketika bait pertama generasi tua yang menasehati dan sering memperingati generasi muda dalam hal mentaati aturan, sebaliknya proses dan lingkaran kehidupan akan terus berjalan sehingga generasi muda nantinya akan menggantikan generasi tua yang pada bait terakhir dibilang “youth goes/right on/gr/owing old” akan semakin bertumbuh yang nantinya melewati generasi tua.

Keseluruhan puisi ini juga memiliki gaya yang sangat khas. “Old age sticks” ditulis dalam lima sajak yang tidak mengikuti pola dan irama. Jika dibacakan sekilas, maka irama yang ada pada puisi ini tidak akan bunyi seperti pada sajak atau puisi yang lainnya. Setiap bait terdiri dari lima baris; setiap baris pertama memiliki tiga suku kata, “old age sticks/youth yanks them/Tres)&(pas)/Scolds Forbid/&)youth goes”–dalam hal ini tanda “&” dibaca “and” jadi tetap terhitung sebaga suku kata yang terdiri dari satu suku kata–baris kedua memiliki dua suku kata, “up Keep/down(old/youth laughs/den Stop/right on” baris ketiga memiliki satu suku kata “Off/age/(sing/Must/gr” dan baris terakhir memiliki dua suku kata “signs)&/cries No/old age/n’t Don’t/owing old”

Irama yang tidak bunyi merupakan makna tersendiri pada puisi ini. Diawal tulisan ini, hubungan antara generasi tua dengan generasi muda menjadi suatu perdebatan dimana generasi tua memberi peringatan tetapi generasi tua melanggarnya. Irama yang tidak bunyi juga merupakan irama dimana tidak ada keindahan yang muncul. Hal melanggar aturan dan nasehat yang tidak di “indahkan” merupakan sesuatu “irama” yang tidak berbunyi sehingga seakan-akan hal itu tidak bisa membawa kepada hal yang lebih baik./Analyzed by Immer

E.E Cummings’s Poem

Old Age Sticks

old age sticks
up Keep
Off
signs)&

youth yanks them
down(old
age
cries No

Tres)&(pas)
youth laughs
(sing
old age

scolds Forbid
den Stop
Must
n’t Don’t

&)youth goes
right on
gr
owing old

(Source from http://www.palace.net/~llama/poetry/oldage)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Karp David A. and Yoels William C. 1986. Sociology and Everyday Life. U.S.A: F.E Peacock Publishers, Inc.

Vander. James W. 1990. Sociology: The Core, 2nd ed. United States: McGraw-Hill, Inc.

Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. 02 Jan. 2008. The Wikimedia, Inc. 20 December 2007

Answers.com 11 Jan. 2008. Online Encyclopedia, Thesaurus, Dictionary definitions and more. 20 December 2007 <http://www.answers.com/>

Caregiver Resources 18 Aug. 2007. WorkingCaregiver. 20 December 2007 <http://www.workingcaregiver.com/>

Net Access Corporation 06 Sept. 2002. Net Access corp. 22 December 2007

Watch out for Cyber Bullying!

2008-11-13T15:53:00.000+07:00

Violence can happen in form of and through any mass media. Parents had better take care, don’t let what they love much is to be a victim of violence for cyber bullying.

A research which was done by a researcher from University of York, England, found 15% from 11.000 teenagers ever received a message of violence. They also admitted that they ever received a profane message through short message service and e-mail. As AFP released, they who became a victim of violence for cyber bullying were dominated by female teenagers.

Nathalie Noret, one of the researcher said that cyber bullying is an indirect violence. “this is important to be understood because this during, people just know that violence can happen physically or when they meet directly,” she said.

Further she said that teachers and parents need to realize, a handphone and computer do not only function as a communicative tool. But they are also used as mass media to do violence toward children when they are at home.

Last February, the MSN Computer Company found one of the 10 teenagers in England has been a victim for cyber bullying. A half of 500 teenagers who were researched felt that their parent did not realize that they could be a victim of violence from Internet.

John Carr, the chief of Children’s Charities’ Coalition for Internet Safety said that this violence could cause teenagers were afraid to have relation with other people and chose if they wanted to make relation with no one. Even, they could feel so traumatic that they would be reluctant to use them as a communicative tool.

This research may be able to be a warning to parents so they will ask about the content of the message and e-mail to children. Thus, parents can give advice to them phsycologically./Wr. Immer

How to influence people

2008-11-13T15:48:00.001+07:00

Lay out of the Seminar (How to Influence People)

MODERATOR:
1. Introduce the speakers
  1. Immer (Name, Identity, Date of birth, Original town and Experience, etc)
  2. Risa (Name, Identity, Date of birth, Original town and Experience, etc)
2. Introduce a little bit about the topic “How to Influence People”
3. Handle the Seminar
4. Closing
1^st SPEAKER:

Delivering the main point of the seminar “How to Influence People”

1. Ways of Influencing People
  1. Tell Stories (Based on the book of Iain Carruthers, 2003)
  2. Lead by example (By Jason Osborn on Ezinearticles.com)
  3. Motivate and inspire (By Jason Osborn on Ezinearticles.com)
  4. Learn to communicate effectively (By Jason Osborn on Ezinearticles.com)
2. A good Attitude to Influence People
  1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation (Based on Carnegie’s Book, 2005)
  2. Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly (By Carnegie, 2005)
  3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing others (By Carnegie, 2005)
  4. Ask question instead of giving direct orders (By Carnegie, 2005)
3. Positive Thinking to Influence People
  1. Show respect for the other person’s opinions. Never say, “You’re wrong.” (By Carnegie, 2005)
  2. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking (By Carnegie, 2005)
  3. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers (By Carnegie, 2005)
  4. Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view
4. Have Great Principles to Influence People
  1. Become genuinely interested in people (By Carnegie, 2005)
  2. Remember peoples names (By Carnegie, 2005)
  3. Be a good listener (By Carnegie, 2005)
  4. Make other person feel important (By Carnegie, 2005)

2^ndSPEAKER:

1. Introduction (Definition of the topic itself)
2. Conclusion (Conclusion of whole explanation of the seminar)

How to Influence People

This will be delivered by 2^ndspeaker,

Before getting started of delivering our detail seminar today, I would like to define what the word “Influence” is. According to wikipedia.org, influence is a term that refers to the ability to indirectly control, shape or affect the actions, beliefs and attitudes of other people or things through your behavior, words or presence. The meaning of influence therefore depends on who or what is being affected, and to what eng. The most important of influence is how we can touch others with our ability to influence them. Let’s compare the meaning of influence which was quoted from Ezinearticles.com that was written by Jason Osborn, influence is the ability to persuade someone to act or think a certain way.

Everyone has influence for each other. This word was written by John C. Maxwell on his book entitled “Becoming A Person of Influence, 1997”, one of the most popular people in influencing people in the world. You need not have a great position in your job to influence people. Actually, when you have a relation with others, you become a person of influence. Everything that you do in your job, campus, public place and anywhere, it will impact other people. If you want to be successful, impact positive sides to the world, you need to be a person of influence.

Well, to the more explanation, it will be explained by 1^stspeaker who will give detail points of this seminar “How to Influence People” and before starting to the next point of this seminar, I would like to tell four great points of our seminar. They are;

Ways of Influencing People
A good Attitude to Influence People
Positive Thinking to Influence People
Have Great Principles to Influence People

Let’s get to the next detail explanation of this seminar that will be delivered by 1^stspeaker, Immer

This will be delivered by 1^stspeaker,

On the book of John C. Maxwell, 1997 entitled “Becoming A Person of Influence” writes that everyone has influence. From this book I would like to say that everyone of you who has come and listened to this seminar must have influence in this life because it’s possible to us to influence people if we want to pay attention for what I am going to deliver to you about my detail explanations and ways to be a person of influence.

I would like to say before giving the explanation of this seminar that Influence doesn’t come directly but it grows step by step. Let me show you the steps to be a great person of Influence.

Well, let me explain one by one.

MODEL
Everyone is influenced for what they see. For most people, when they feel that you have a good attitude, fit to be trusted, and have a good characteristic to be praised, they will try looking for you as a person of influence for their life. The more they know about you or your life, they will see your great credibility and you will be a great person in influencing them. In this case, you become a model and an example for others

MOTIVATION
You will be a giver of motivation when motivating others and keep a good relation with them. To keep motivating others, at least two things we have to do. Build a connection between you and others and build a credibility and high self esteem. When other people feel safe with you, you will have the level of great influence.

MENTOR
When reaching the level of motivation in influencing people, you will begin to see the positive impacts in their life. To keep the impacts, you have to increase your influence by mentoring them. Mentoring means how you give your life to help others to reach their potential in their life. The power of mentor is very great so you can see their life changes in your daily life.

MULTIPLICATION
The highest level of influence is multiplication. You help the others that you influence as a giver of positive impacts to the others and because of your influence, other people will be helped to create others to be a person of influence in their life.

I will directly deliver and explain the main points of this seminar. In influencing people, what we have found to be delivered to you today, at least four great things we have to learn in influencing people.

Ways of Influencing People.
I will explain and deliver the ways of influencing people. We can influence people in our daily life by

Telling stories
In the book of Iain Carruthers, 2003, one thing that is done to influence people by telling stories to others. You have to know what things that can influence your life. We can tell any stories that we know because sometimes it can influence others when listening to our stories and it will make them feel close and interested when they are entertained by what we tell to them.

Leading by example
Some of the most influential people in this world has ever seen led by their example. After all, how do you expect someone to do one thing when you are doing something completely opposite of what you are telling them? Your example can be one of your strongest influences on others.

Motivating and inspiring
Motivation and inspiration are great tools to influence people. If you are able to inspire people in a way that they feel they are benefiting themselves and others at the same time, you will see that your influence has a tremendous effect. Find ways to motivate and inspire those around you. The more you learn to do this the more you will see people being influenced by you.

Learning to communicate effectively
Effective communication is one of the strongest ways to influence people. The better you are at understanding where someone is coming from and how to communicate with them, the better you will be at knowing what will influence them. If you can’t communicate effectively you will soon become very frustrated because people won’t be influenced by you at all

A good attitude to influence people

Begin with praise and honest appreciation
Sometimes, it’s so hard to praise someone but this will be great thing when we try to praise and give appreciation for others when doing something in their daily life because they will feel that they are appreciated.

Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly
Pay attention for what we are saying. Keep in mind and understand the feeling of others. When others do something wrong, it will be better when we say his or her guilt indirectly.

Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing others
Not every time we will be right and try first to correct and see our own mistakes when criticizing others. When we can do this before blaming others even though he or she is “wrong”, indirectly they will feel that we have positive thinking about their mistakes.

Ask question instead of giving direct orders
Do not give orders for someone as if we are “boss” but ask some questions in which yours can be done and followed by others.

Positive thinking to influence people
Becoming a positive person can bring our life to a better life when practicing it in our daily life. We can keep positive thinking in influencing people and;

Show respect for the other person’s opinions. Never say, “You’re wrong.”
We have to respect for what others have talked and given. Do not try to say that his or her opinion is wrong. How can we know? Is our opinion the best?

Let the other person do a great deal of the talking
Let others talk when they still want to talk something and never say when they still keep talking.

Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers
Someone will be glad and can feel respected when we let or when we respect for his or her idea.

Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view
Many times we always see that our opinion is the best from others. We often say that it will not be so important to use or what I do is good for others and some times our eyes are closed to see the important thing from others. Try to see from their point of view.

Have Great Principles to Influence People
Besides the three points above, we should have great principles in influencing people. Everyone has principles of life and below the principles when learning to influence people.

Become genuinely interested in people
Show interest in areas of their life that are important to them. In this case, we need to keep a good relation to know what they are and what they are doing everyday in their life.

Remember peoples names
Some times this becomes a trivial thing when we meet someone. I myself am so hard to remember a name of someone. This is one point that will make a huge impression on people. Everyone loves the sound of their own name.

Be a good listener
It’s not easy to be a good listener because it needs a good “ear” to listen to someone and we have to stay focused what others say or talk.

Make other person feel important
Everything is important when you “think” it important. The same thing we have to think that everyone or someone is very important when we feel that they are important in our life. They will be really important.

We hope everyone who is listening to this seminar, will have a great influence for others, thanks in advance./Wr. Immer

A "Positive Thinking" Speech

2008-11-13T15:48:00.000+07:00

Honorable, Distinguished : …

INTRODUCTION :

DEFINITION :

Positive thinking is a mental attitude that admits into the mind thoughts, words and images that are conductive to growth, expansion and success. It is a mental attitude that expects good and favorable results. A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every situation and action. Whatever the mind expects, it finds

Norman Vincent Peale says “you can if you think you can”

………….. Many people are defeated by the every day problems of life, Indeed, nobody lives without problems. ……….. I do hope we don’t just hear but we have to practice how to “will” not to be.

BODY :

Here I am going to give you the ways what we should do to keep a Positive Thinking.

Believe in yourself and release your inner powers.

Have faith in your abilities! Without beliefe, everything is impossible and without a humble but a selfish in your own powers you can not be successful and happy. Self-confident and optimistic thought pattern can modify and overcome your daily problems of life.

Have a peaceful mind.

“an ear full of trouble” and “a mind full of peace” A primary method for gaining a mind full of peace is to practice emptying the mind. Eamptying our mind of fears, hates, regrets, incequarities and guilt feeling. Making this effort to empty our mind tends to give us reliefe.

Good things and bad things, we have to limit and not accept all that we listen to.

Expect the best and get it

When we have many problems of life, we should think first how we can solve it and the most important we have to ask ourself “what will I get if I don’t care about the problems and what will I get if I can solve and finish the problems” don’t have a narrow mind but we have to think to the future that human is possible if do not have problems in this life.

Break the worry habit in your life

You don’t need to be victim of worry. A famous psychologist asserts that “worry is analogized with fear that is the most dis-integrating enemy of human personality. Indeed, everyone has worry but can we let the worry dominate our life? Of sourse no. we have to break the worry habit from our life. So, what’s the relation between worry and Positive Thinking? I think when we are worrying about someone, we have no Positive Thinking there.

CONCLUSSION :

Alright Ladies and Gentlement, let me repeat the point of my speech today. As I said that there are four points they are …… I have no doubt at all when we are successful to practice them, our life will be full of joy and satisfaction. The last question is, have we done it? Ask yourself and I ask myself, THANK YOU/Wr. Immer

A "distress" Speech

2008-11-13T15:39:00.000+07:00

In this time, I am going to deliver about distress, and my point is how to overcome distress. Let me give you the definition of distress. What is really distress defined here? Distress is defined as having great pain, anxiety, sorrow, affliction, suffering, unfulfilled desire and trouble. In medicine, distress is stress caused by adverse events. For instance, I want to celebrate my birthday party and I have invited many friends, but none of them can come, I will be stress about this. Above, I mentioned about problems as one of the part of distress. The problems also can make us distress when we can’t solve our daily problems of life and also stress can come upon us when we are broken-hearted. Basically, distress is our body’s way of responding to what it views as a tragic or upsetting event in our life.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before I deliver my point on my speech today, we have to remember that distress occurs when we prolong emotional stress and don’t deal with it in a positive manner.

Now, Here are some ways how to overcome distress which is also in the sense of stress.

We must avoid unnecessary stressful situations.
We must do one thing at a time.
We must read books. Reading books can relax us and relaxation helps us to reserve our energy.
Practice smiling within, and smiling with our eyes.
Using breathing exercises to slow down increased heart rate, caused by stress.
We must avoid unnecessary conflicts, and manage inner conflict.
We must see the funny side of life, and not take petty things too seriously.
We must keep smiling and laughing. When we laugh, the brain sends happy signal to our mind.
And the last one, keep a positive thinking about problems of life

Hopefully, we can be healed from our distress by practicing those. we can’t help facing problems but do not allow problems make us distress every time and always have a positive thinking as I delivered to you about three weeks ago.

Thank you very much./Wr, Immer

A “How to avoid boredom” Speech

2008-11-13T15:37:00.000+07:00

I am very pleased because of you, because of you who are going to listen to my speech today and also because I am healthy when I am going to deliver my speech.

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, in this time, I am going to present about Boredom and my speech main point here is how to avoid it. Let me give you some definitions of boredom and how it can work in our life.

Boredom is one of the most important things in human life. It simply shows that we are becoming aware of the futility or meaninglessness of life. Boredom is also a reactive state of emotion that interprets the dull condition due to repetitive, non-existent or tedious stimulation. We will be bored when not in the mood of “doing anything”

Ladies and gentlemen, how can usually boredom work in our life?

Boredom occurs when there is little or no interest involved in the situation that is presented. We are bored because we are stuck in an instance that we don’t want to belong in, we cannot do anything about it or are not doing anything about it. Our mind is not completely focused and it is difficult to concentrate and feel interested. When one is bored, their boredom can be seen through their work. It is evident when somebody is bored through their work because they are not knowledgeable about the situation that they are in. For example, When I enjoy my work, I will do my best and it will result a good result but when I have been bored with my work, I can not be maximal in working and it won’t result good things. This is because my mind is not completely concentrated and I have a lack of interest.

Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have some experiences how to avoid boredom. I believe that there are so many ways of avoiding boredom and everyone must have different ways to avoid it but here I am just going to deliver to you five ways of avoiding it.

Play a game or surf the web.
I believe, some of us must be glad in playing game or browsing something in the Internet. You can do this to avoid boredom.
Have fun with whatever you are doing. After all, trust me, you will say that time seems to go faster when you are having fun.
When being bored, ask your family or friends to do things with you.
If we just stay alone at home, sometimes, we don’t know what to do but when we ask our friend to do something with us, we can be helped and we can get inspiration of doing something in which we like doing it.
Listen to the music.
You can choose a kind of music do you like to listen. I think most people like music, right? When listening to the music, it can help us to avoid boredom even drive our boredom away.
Spend time for recreation.
Recreation can be a great way of avoiding being bored at home and it can freshen our own mind.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope we can be helped from what I have delivered to you today. Try to have positive thinking of doing or facing something. Thank you./Wr, Immer

“Death Is The Mother of Beauty”

2008-11-13T09:45:00.000+07:00

Metaphor in Stevens’ “Sunday Morning”

What can be thought about “Death”? Death is something of having an imagination, belief and awareness. After we think of those words, we begin to think that death is also the end of life, terminal of life and extraction. The atmosphere of death refers to scary, terrifying, mysterious, unknown and strange things. These make that death tends to negative things.

To get to the end of life, everyone does not only live what they want but they need a process of life how to reach or to have a good behavior where everyone wants to end their life in a good life. The title “Death is the mother of beauty” shows us how we could live and where we came from. The word “Mother” becomes the only source where we came from and we can grow because our mother’s love to us. She will be a heroine, life-giver for our life.

The title “Death is the mother of beauty” does not just mention “The mother” but “The mother of beauty”. The word of beauty is the word which exudes positive things. Everything is in positive things including actions, behaviors and so on. Everyone who lives wants to create beautiful life to prepare the next world (The end of life) because in the process of life, it looks that life is too short, some people waste their time to do good things, and also life is too short to neglect. So, the process of life will be begun from the “Zero” and everyone lives between “Zero” and “Death”. In the middle between “Zero” and “Death”, everyone will have an awareness to prepare the next world or end of life by creating a beautiful life, good conducts, good attitude for others and so many good things as long as they can do in their life./Wr, Immer

Kapan Menikah?

2008-11-10T16:19:00.000+07:00

"KAPAN NIKAH???"
"UDAH, JANGAN MILIH-MILIHLAH! !!"
"JANGAN LAMA-LAMA!!! !"
"JANGAN KEJAR KARIER TERUS DONG!!!"

Tiba-tiba kalimat-kalimat norak diatas jadi sering gue denger dari
orang-orang disekitar gue.... nyebelin banget! dan mungkin banyak
dialamin juga sama sebagian besar dari kalian semua
(sorry buat yg udah punya pasangan hehehhe...)

KAPAN NIKAH????
ya gak tau! emang kenapa sih kalo gue masih pengen sendiri?
emangnya gue bakalan membuat penipisan lapisan ozon makin cepat dengan
kesendirian gue.

UDAH JANGAN MILIH-MILIH! !!
Kok jangan milih-milih sih? MEMILIH ITU PENTING. Pada saat gue
memutuskan untuk menikah dengan lawan jenis dan bukan sesama jenis
aja. berarti gue sudah melakukan pemilihan (sadis amat sih contohnya
hehehhehe... .)

Pada saat gue memutuskan untuk menikah dengan si pria A dan bukan si
pria B, berarti gue sudah melakukan pemilihan. Pada saat gue
memutuskan untuk menikah dengan pria
yang seiman dan bukan yang beda kepercayaan, berarti gue sudah
melakukan pemilihan. SIAPA BILANG JANGAN MILIH-MILIH.

JANGAN LAMA-LAMA!!!
LHAAAA... emangnya gue si hunter (nama anjing gue) yang gak bisa
ngeliat doggy betina, langsung dikejar-kejar buat dikawinin. Dua
pribadi yang berbeda membutuhkan waktu untuk saling mengenal satu sama
lain. Lebih baik menyisihkan waktu lebih lama di waktu pendekatan atau
pacaran daripada mengambil keputusan gegabah dengan resiko menyesal
seumur hidup.

JANGAN NGEJAR KARIER TERUS!!!
Gue gak ngejar karier, gue ngejar gajinya hahahha.....
nikah itu butuh modal dan modal itu harus dikumpulin sedikit demi
sedikit bukan jatuh dari langit.
Gue justru ngeri ngeliat temen-temen gue yang berlomba-lomba nikah,
kalo gue tanya alasannya pasti karena umur,
desakan orang tua yang mulai malu karena anak gadisnya gak laku-laku,
takut dibilang perawan tua.
Ketakutan-ketakutan itulah yang membuat temen-temen gue "tutup mata"
terhadap setiap perbedaan yang justru sebetulnya sangat penting
untuk dipertimbangkan pada masa pacaran
apakah memang "gue itu tulang rusuknya dia" (buat yang cewek)
atau apakah "dia tulang rusuk gue " (buat yang cowok),
mereka punya prinsip yang penting nikah dulu.
mereka dengan gampangnya
berpikir bahwa karakter buruk yang sudah tertanam selama
berpuluh-puluh tahun didalam diri "sang kekasih" bisa hilang begitu
saja pada saat menikah.

Gue tahu mungkin banyak yang gak setuju dengan pendapat gue, tapi gue
gak mau menikah hanya karena masalah umur, siapa sih yang berhak
ngasih patokan umur seseorang untuk menikah? siapa sih yang berani
jamin bahwa nikah di umur 25 tahun akan lebih bahagia dari yang nikah
di umur 30 atau lebih?,
coba liat di catatan sipil, angka perceraian
paling tinggi terjadi pada pasangan yang menikah pada umur yang mana
(kalo udah dapet datanya, kasih tau gue ya, soalnya gue sendiri gak
pernah ngecek hahahahh.... )

Malah menurut gue menikah diusia 30 atau lebih itu banyak sisi baiknya,
karena disitu biasanya emosi seseorang sudah lebih stabil,
kedewasaan temperamen sudah mulai terbentuk, persiapan materi cukup
memadai.
(materi itu tetap harus masuk dalam pertimbangan dong, kan
gak bisa bayar listrik sama bayar telepon pake surat cinta),
Gue juga gak mau menikah karena desakan orang tua atau karena takut dibilang
perawan tua, yang ngejalanin pernikahan itu kan gue bukan mereka, yang
bakalan tanggung semua resiko kalo ada masalah kan gue bukan mereka,
perkawinan kan bukan tuk dibuat main-main apalagi trus kawin - cerai.
kebayang gak tuh kalo sampe salah milih bakalan sengsara seumur hidup.

JADI LU GAK PENGEN NIKAH?
GUBRAKKK.... !!!!
gue pasti pengen nikah tapi dengan alasan yang tepat, gue pengen nikah
karena gue menyadari bahwa hidup ini terlalu berat untuk dijalani
sendirian (ceileee...puitis amat lu),
gue pengen nikah karena gue
menyadari gue membutuhkan seseorang yang bisa saling mendukung dalam
segi spiritual dan material, gue pengen nikah karena gue butuh
menyayangi seseorang dan butuh untuk disayangi
(hihihihi... jadi malu nih), dan masih banyak lagi...
tapi yang jelas gak bisa ditentuin kapan waktunya,
bisa cepet bisa juga lama, kalo soal waktu kan terserah sama
yang DIATAS.

DON'T PUSH ME TO GET MARRY SOON, LET ME WAIT MY TIME, CAUSE MY GOD
WILL PROVIDE ME THE BEST PERSON WHEN THE TIME COMES.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kenapa perkawinan bisa bertahan ?
Jawabnya sederhana : karena KOMITMEN !!

Kita berkomitmen untuk hidup bersama dengan orang yang sangat berbeda dengan kita.
Kita berkomitmen untuk mengisi segi-segi yang kurang dari pasangan kita.
Sama seperti kita juga menerima dia untuk mengisi kekurangan kita.
Justru semakin banyak kekurangan pasangan kita,
maka semakin berguna hidup kita.
Dan semakin banyak kekurangan kita, semakin banyak kita
menerima dari pasangan kita.
Kekurangan itu tidak semakin berkurang
dengan bergulirnya waktu...tapi terus bertambah.
Dan kita pun akan semakin banyak
harus mengisi kekurangan pasangan kita,
sementara kita juga semakin banyak menerima dari pasangan kita.

Kalau kita sudah malas berkomitmen, maka perkawinan sudah diambang
pembubaran. Tidak perlu menunggu orang kedua atau ketiga.
Semua itu ada dari dalam diri kita sendiri.

Jadi begitulah...
Kalo memang belum siap berkomitmen. ...
biar pun pacaran 10 tahun...
20 tahun... seyogyanya nggak usah married.
Biar aja orang lain yang cape komentar.
Toh yang akan menjalankan hidup berkeluarga nanti adalah
kita berdua... dan kelak anak-anak kita juga.
Memang ada yang bilang, ngapain pacaran lama-lama....
kalau sudah ada yang mau ya langsung saja.
Itu juga oke... bagaimana kita mampunya aja berkomitmen.

Ada yang bilang, perkawinan itu seperti main judi.
Tapi judi kan seperti tebak-tebakan. Untung-untungan.
Padahal perkawinan bisa dipelajari.
Saya bilang, perkawinan itu seperti sekolah tanpa akhir...
tanpa ijazah...
Tiap hari kita belajar, tiap hari kita ujian...
dan uji ketahanannya harus seumur hidup.

Satu hal... tidak ada perkawinan yang ideal !
Setiap pasangan memiliki pola sendiri. Jadi kita sendirilah yang
membuat perkawinan itu mau ideal apa tidak.
Jadi jangan mencontek perkawinan orang lain...
karena kita bukan menikah dengan salah satu pasangan yang ideal itu...
dan kita pun bukan pasangan ideal dari
orang yang ideal di luar sana.
Yang cocok untuk orang lain, belum tentu ideal untuk kita.
Yang cocok untuk kita, belum tentu ideal buat orang lain.

Note : "Segala sesuatu indah pada waktunya.."
Percayalah bahwa waktu Tuhan adalah yang terbaik dan yang sempurna!

Ketika saat ini engkau masih menunggu pasangan hidupmu, persiapkanlah dirimu..
isi lah tabung single mu dengan cinta NYA..Sebelum engkau dipertemukan,
Tuhan rindu agar engkau sungguh2 menikmati masa single mu bersama Tuhan,
memiliki hati yang melekat dengan NYA..
Ketika waktu nya tiba untuk engkau dipertemukan dengan pasangan hidupmu,
maka engkau akan melihat bahwa rencana NYA indah pada waktunya
dan engkau akan begitu terkagum-kagum melihat kisah cintamu ditulis langsung oleh NYA !!
Dan saat itu engkau telah siap untuk memasuki kehidupan baru untuk
menggenapi setiap rencana Nya dalam hidupmu ! =)

God Bless....

Semangka

2008-11-06T18:48:00.000+07:00

Ada seorang pelayan yang mengabdi kepada tuannya dengan segenap hati, bekerja dengan giat dan selalu menyenangkan hati tuannya.. Tuannya sangat sayang pada sang pelayan. dia ingin menguji sekaligus memberikan hadiah kepada pelayan setia itu dengan barang-barang berharga seperti emas dan intan, tetapi dimasukkan dalam buah semangka...,

Tuannya berkata, hai pelayan yang setia karena jerih payahmu aku berikan engkau hadiah sebuah semangka.... sang pelayan yang tidak tahu bahwa didalam semangka itu terdapat emas dan intan menjadi sangat kecewa.. dia merasa diperlakukan semena-mena oleh tuannya, jerih payahnya tidak dihargai...

Dia pulang dengan wajah sedih dan bersungut-sungut dan menyesal... mengapa saya harus bekerja giat kalau hanya mendapatkan bayaran semangka... dalam kesedihan dan perjalanan pulang kerumah .. maka DIA BERFIKIR DARI PADA HANYA MEMBAWA SEBUAH SEMANGKA LEBIH BAIK KUTUKAR DENGAN NASI SATU BUNGKUS DAN TEH SATU GELAS .. ( Mungkin mau buka puasa kali..)

DAN AKHIRNYA DIA TIDAK PERNAH MENDAPATKAN APA-APA SELAIN KEKECEWAAN, BERSUNGUT-SUNGUT DAN KEMARAHAN..Justru orang yang tidak tahu ( penjual nasi) mendapatkan rejeki nomplok karena semangka tersebut berisi emas dan intan...
Sahabat,

Kadang kita merasa bahwa kita sudah memberikan yang terbaik dalam tugas dan tanggungjawab kita.. tetapi apa yang kita dapatkan sepertinya tidak sesuai dengan jerih lelah kita.. bahkan mendapat masalah.. tapi tunggu dulu !!! jangan jangan TUHAN SEDANG MEMBUNGKUS HADIAH ITU dengan kertas kado yang namanya masalah dan tekanan.....sebenarnya kita tinggal selangkah lagi mendapatkan hadiah itu.. tetapi kita keburu menyerah dan menukarnya dengan hal-hal yang tidak berarti.....( bersungut-sungut, putus asa, bila lebih parah lagi bisa menyalahkan orang disekitar kita.. bahkan TUHAN...)
Jadi kalau anda mendapatkan KADO yang tidak menyenangkan ingatlah... jangan-jangan dibalik itu ada intan dan berlian...!!! atau anda kecewa selamanya.../Mail

Selamat menikmati hari-harimu ....
Selamat Membuka Kado .....
Semoga hari ini menyenangkan...
GBU

Aku bertanya kepada Tuhan

2008-11-06T18:02:00.000+07:00

Aku bertanya kepada Tuhan,
mengapa aku tidak kaya...

Lalu Dia menunjukkan
seorang pria dengan banyak harta, tetapi hidup kesepian, dan tidak
memiliki siapapun untuk berbagi.

Aku bertanya kepada Tuhan,
mengapa aku tidak cantik...

Lalu Dia menunjukkan
seorang wanita dengan kecantikan yang melebihi lainnya, tetapi memiliki karakter
yang buruk.

Aku bertanya kepada Tuhan,
mengapa Ia membiarkan aku menjadi tua...

Lalu Dia menujukkan seorang
anak laki-laki berusia 16 tahun sedang terbujur kaku, meninggal karena
kecelakaan mobil.

Aku bertanya kepada Tuhan,
mengapa aku tidak memiliki rumah besar...

Lalu Dia menunjukkan sebuah
keluarga yang beranggotakan 6 orang, baru saja diusir dari rumah yang kecil
sesak...dan terpaksa tinggal dijalanan.

Aku bertanya kepada Tuhan,
mengapa aku harus bekerja...

Lalu Dia menunjukkan
seorang pria, yang tidak bisa menemukan satu pekerjaan pun, karena tidak
memiliki kesempatan untuk belajar membaca.

Aku bertanya kepada Tuhan,
mengapa aku tidak menjadi orang terkenal...

Lalu Dia menunjukkan
seseorang yang memiliki banyak sahabat, tetapi semuanya pergi ketika orang itu
tidak memiliki harta lagi.

Aku bertanya kepada Tuhan,
mengapa aku tidak pintar...

Lalu Dia menunjukkan
seorang yang terlahir jenius, tetapi dipenjara karena menyalahgunakan
kepintarannya untuk kejahatan.

Aku bertanya kepada Tuhan,
mengapa Ia begitu sabar dengan orang yang tidak bisa bersyukur seperti aku...

Dia lalu menunjukkan
AlkitabNya...Dia menunjukkan AnakNya, yang telah mengambil alih tempatku di
Kalvari.

Aku tahu sekarang betapa
besar Ia mengasihiku...

Dan itu cukup
bagiku

I TESALONIKA
5:18

'Mengucap syukurlah dalam
segala hal, sebab itulah yang dikehendaki Allah di dalam Kristus Yesus bagi
kamu.'/Mail

Tips Cara Mudah Mendeteksi Susu Beracun

2008-11-06T17:57:00.000+07:00

(Erabaru.or.id) - Cara dibawah ini dilakukan bertahap akan dapat mendeteksi
susu bubuk Anda apakah mengandung melamine atau tidak :

1. Tuangkan air panas kedalam susu bubuk yang lebih kental dari biasanya,
lalu diaduk hingga tidak terlihat lagi gumpalan susu bubuknya, letakan
kedalam lemari es hingga susu menjadi dingin.

2. Sepotong kain hitam diletakan diatas gelas kosong untuk menyaring.

3. Tuangkan susu yang telah dingin itu keatas kain untuk disaring.

4. Jika terlihat diatas kain ada benda beku berwarna putih, kemudian
bilaslah dengan air bersih beberapa kali untuk menghilangkan benda-benda
yang dapat larut hancur.

5. Jika ditemukan kristal putih, masukanlah kedalam air bersih, bila kristal
tersebut tenggelam dalam air, maka kemungkinan besar adalah melamine, susu
bubuk tersebut tidak layak dikonsumsi.

Catatan : kemungkinan susu bubuk yang mengandung melamine dalam jumlah
sedikit, tidak dapat terdeteksi dengan cara tersebut di atas. (The Epoch
Times/the)

Semoga bermanfaat!/Mail

Lihatlah Dia lebih besar dari apa yang kita hadapi

2008-11-06T17:31:00.000+07:00

Anak-Ku yang Tercinta,

Di manakah menurutmu Aku tinggal? Di Surga? Kamu benar, namun Aku juga tinggal di dunia melalui Roh Kudus-Ku. Aku tengah bekerja di sekitarmu, membantu & menasihati anak-anak-Ku. Namun Aku malah lebih dekat dari itu. Jika kamu adalah seorang Kristen, Aku tinggal di dalam dirimu. Aku merasakan yang kamu rasakan. Maka, ketika kamu membutuhkan-Ku, kamu tak usah melihat jauh-jauh. Pada suatu ketika di dalam sejarah, umat-Ku harus pergi ke tenda atau ke bait-Ku untuk menemui-Ku. Kini tidak lagi. Karena Yesus mati di kayu salib, kini Aku bisa hidup di dalam dirimu. Kamulah bait-Ku kini Aku mengetahui setiap pikiranmu. Kamu dapat memanggil-Ku setiap saat. Aku di sini, sedekat denyut jantungmu.

Bapa Surgawimu, Tuhan

Carilah Tuhan selama Ia berkenan ditemui; berserulah kepada-Nya selama Ia dekat (Yesaya 55:6)

RENUNGAN - Kamis, 06 November 2008

Mereka menceritakan kepadanya: "Kami sudah masuk ke negeri, ke mana kau suruh kami & memang negeri itu berlimpah-limpah susu dan madunya & inilah hasilnya. Hanya, bangsa yang diam di negeri itu kuat-kuat dan kota-kotanya berkubu dan sangat besar, … Kemudian Kaleb mencoba menenteramkan hati bangsa itu di hadapan Musa, katanya: "Tidak! Kita akan maju & menduduki negeri itu, sebab kita pasti akan mengalahkannya!" ( Bil 13:27-30 )

Apakah yang dilihat para pengintai itu salah? Tidak! Mereka menceritakan yang sebenarnya. Lalu apakah yang dikatakan oleh Kaleb itu salah? Tidak juga! Dia melihat janji Tuhan. Betul, mereka melihat hal yang sama. Ada berkat, ada masalah, mungkin sama seperti yang kita alami saat ini. Pertanyaannya adalah apa yang lebih banyak kita lihat? Apa yang mengendalikan hidup kita? Adakah kita dikuatirkan oleh masalah yang memang ada? Atau dikuatkan oleh janji Tuhan yang juga memang ada? GBU.../Mail

A Never Giving Up Hawk

2008-10-30T19:27:00.000+07:00

Like a Hawk that Never Gives Up

Although the storm comes, a hawk never gives up to face it. It will always fly high and high. This struggle makes a hawk to be strong of facing the storm. The storm is like a problem of our life. When we can face the problem and solve it well, we are not scare to face another one.

We can see the struggle of R.A Kartini when she struggled to bring women out of discrimination. The struggle of Kartini as an enthusiastic woman was just not spoken or written on her book “Door Duistermis tox Licht (Habis Gelap Terbitlah Terang) ” but she had proved it by establishing the school for women education that was built in Jepara and Rembang. She had opened the gate for women to make them stand with their two feet. When the school had been established for women, the Indonesian women could feel that they could be educated like men accepted it.

She also felt that she was not free to determine her choice even she didn’t have a choice because she was born as a woman and she always felt something different what men said about her. She had many friends especially from Dutch and she desired to change her mind and attitude to make a good life for women. She thought that education was a good way for women to bring them for a better life. She gave the way how to tailor, cook, etc. she gave those for them without fee.

After she educated women how to do that, she planned to continue her study in Dutch. She knew when she learnt from Dutch, she would be a good aducator for women that was educated. She liked to make friendship and she had many friends in her country. She also had many friends who came from Europe and Dutch. She always said for her friends about her desire to make aquality between women and men.

From all of her struggle, she never gave up to do it. She knew that it was very important for women even women have felt it until now. She often faced the storm in her life when she had a desire to make women can be equal between women and men. She was like a hawk that never gives up and fly higher and higher in the sky./Wr, Immer

How I can memorize English vocabularies

2008-10-30T19:21:00.000+07:00

There are three ways how I can memorize English Vocabularies. Actually, memorizing English Vocabularies is not easy for me. I have been learning English for more seven years since I was in Junior High School. I can feel how many words of English Vocabularies that I have memorized till right now.

The first way of memorizing English Vocabularies that I often do is writing down it in a piece of paper or flashcard. It can be easy for me to remember and easy to bring everywhere. I also write down the meaning of the word at the back of the flashcard to ensure me understand what the meaning of the word is. I can also write down one or two English Vocabularies in one flashcard.

The second, I often memorize it from the dictionary directly. I memorize it by creating some sentences from the word that I have just memorized. It will be easier for me to remember the meaning of the word when I create the sentences from that word. I often do this more than writing it down on a flashcard because this is easier for me to remember.

The last way that I often do is recording and saving it on Mobile Phone. This is very simple to do and easy to remember when I almost forget the word. Listening to it is the easiest to memorize from what I have done above. Those ways help me to improve and enrich my English Vocabularies./Wr, Immer

The difficulty of making friends

2008-10-30T19:17:00.000+07:00

Many people can easily make friends in their daily life. They can influence people or they can keep a good relationship with others. It is not easy for me to make friends. Sometimes, I try to check myself why this comes into my life.

I believe that I won’t feel this if there is no something wrong in my life. When I try to check myself, I find something wrong that makes me like this. I have a brother and I still remember what he has done for me. I can not forget this event in my life.

A few years ago, when I was in elementary school, I could not go anywhere unless my brother allowed me to go. He was very rude to me. He did not want me to go with my the other friends. He just wanted me to stay home.

This makes me can not be free to speak with my other friends. This attitude comes within me and what I felt when my brother did this to me, it is also what I feel right now. I can not easily drive this away from my life. I feel that the basic of how to make friends or keep relationship has been wrong or it has lost.

What I felt about fifteen years ago effects my life and how I can make relationship with other people. I try to forget what I have felt. I also try to change this in order that I can easily make a good relation. When I do this, I often feel that I still fail.

What I do now is I read some self-development books and try to practice what I read especially a book that tells about the influence. This is not enough for me to do. I have to practice directly by meeting other people and speaking up when I meet somebody. I just hope that I can do my best to keep my relation that I have done till right now./Wr, Immer