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Posts Tagged ‘women’

How To Find An Affordable And Fashionable Handbag

March 1st, 2010

For any female that is up to date on modern fashions, handbags are certainly not the cheapest. Some bags cost as little as $5 and others as much as $20,000. Rare bags and designer bags are amongst the most expensive, and department store handbags are cheaper and less desirable. You can get a great bag at a discount price -without sacrificing the fashion.

Any online store that specializes in female fashion will probably carry various bag styles to meet your needs. Many offer sample sales or trial sales where you can wear it a few days and determine if it is right for you. Sample sales often last only a few hours and bags sell out fast, but it’s a great way to snag a deal for next to nothing.

Another option would be to find retailers that offer cheaper prices. It’s good to do some comparative shopping, and if you find a good deal faster than you anticipated, then you are good to go. There are plenty of options on the market for choosing a designer bag and you shouldn’t keep yourself limited to those options from a crappy store that doesn’t ever offer what you want. Retailers that offer good deals such as outlet prices are worth looking into if you can afford it as well! The prices are much lower, but still a little out of reach for some.

It is also possible to get fashionable bags such as the seasons hottest prints and colors for less than the average. A fashionable handbag never has to be designer for it to be in style for the season. Spring fashion bags are particularly hot right now, especially for the color turquoise. Since it was deemed the color of the year, many handbags will be incorporating that color into their designs.

In the end your other option would be to look at previous seasons. These styles may still be fashionable for the upcoming season and may offer more of what you want in a handbag. It is really about finding something that balances out your personal style and matches your wardrobe. Don’t splurge on something you don’t like when you can find many others that you will like.

A high quality fashion bag can be found in a number of places online. There are certainly plenty of options and there is nothing a little creativity can’t fix. Always look for something that will be durable but also chic enough to go from day to night wear.

Final Thoughts

Many women think that owning a fashionable handbag will leave them broke. This simply isn’t true. With a little shopping around skill you can definitely nab a great bag for less than others on the market – and be pleased with your purchase!

Learn more on clear laptop bags and clear event bags.

Chris Channing Shopping , , , , , , , , , ,

A New Perspective On Tithing

February 16th, 2010

Story of Tithing

The beginning of tithing can be seen in the Bible, yet many Christians as well as non-Christians have the habit of doing some type of tithing today.

The word tithe has Christian connotations, referring to the contribution of a tenth of one’s income for charitable purposes to Church as a kind of Church giving. Anyway, the idea is a part of most world religions. In Islam the word used for this is ‘Zakat.’ In the Indian religion of Sikhism, there is a rule of keeping apart one-tenth of one’s income for spiritual purposes and it is called ‘Dasvandh.’ The practice has been initiated by the tenth religious head Guru Gobind Singh. According to the Indian scriptures of the Upanisads and the Bhagavadgita, the ‘perfect alms’ are that which is offered with a sense of obligation in a correct place and at a correct time to a deserving person from whom the giver does not expect anything in return.

The word tithe derives from the Hebrew word ‘asair’, which means to donate one-tenth portion of something, mostly a person’s earnings. Nowadays tithes or tithing is optional and is given in cash. Still, in some European countries church can demand tithing and thus make it enforceable by law.

Denmark is an example where members of the Church of Denmark pay a church tax, which varies between municipalities. The tax is generally around 1% of the taxable income. And in Finland members of state churches pay a church tax of between 1% and 2.25% of income and the Church taxes are integrated into the common national taxation system.

However the practice of regular tithes was not established until after Exodus. Tithes were common throughout the ancient Near East, as well as in later Lydia, Arabia, and Carthage.

The Hebrew habit of tithing is recorded in the Bible, the first mention being the gift from Abraham to the Canaanite priest and king Melchizedek (Genesis–:20). Ancient Arabia, Lydia and Carthage were places where the custom of tithes existed. Tithing was implemented by the early Christian church, and had found mention in councils at Macon in 585 and at Tours in 567. They were granted formal recognition during the time of Pope Adrian I in 787.

Tithing in certain Christian churches is a disputed issue as it deals with an Old Testament process to a New Testament institution (the Church). There is no proof in the New Testament that tithing can be applied to Christians. In fact, it was obligatory only on those Jews who were living in the Promised Land to pay the tithe according to the Old Testament, as it was in reality a form of income tax required to support not just the government of the Israel of the Old Testament, but also its religious institutions and priests.

Present day Tithing

Despite the fact that it has originated in the Bible and earliest Christianity, now it is a unique way to gift something whenever you are given something. Giving EVERY time you are in receipt is a compelling form of giving as it allows the benefactor to experience something exceptionally eloquent – more on that later.

But back to a bit of history. Malachi 3:10 is the part of the Bible that Christians relate to when they talk about tithing. Many Christians tithe to their church because they feel it is their given duty by the Bible to do so. Many Churches now and in the past insist that their members tithe to the church to sustain its activities. In essence though, unless giving is done from free will and a with joyful focus, it does not achieve its greatest result – if in fact you ever want to create a direct result by giving.

Controversy about Tithing

Tithing has often been a contentious topic. The issue whether a Christian should pay tithe is often argued in many Christian congregations.

In an article in Wall Street Journal regarding tithing named ‘The Backlash Against Tithing’, Suzanne Sataline says, ‘As Churches push donations, congregants balk; ‘that’s not the way God works’.’

Unfortunately, the mix of ideology, desire to control, and a limited perspective, can often create a Jekyll and Hyde result – the simple purity of giving being lost in the mist and confusion of theology. Despite the controversy, tithing is still a totally and amazingly powerful action that anyone can do to turn their lives around to face a more abundant direction.

For those who wish to understand a Christian perspective in tithing there is no limit of materials to read. For those who want to understand the reason WHY tithing is so powerful read on.

Why is Tithing so compelling?

This is indeed a very compelling question because if you just blindly carry on something without any idea of what it indicates, you could be proceeding in the wrong direction.

If more people who are in the habit of tithing knew exactly why it works when done with the feeling of total giving, then it is likely to make people eager to give even more. And for those who do it intermittently, it could encourage them to give first every time they are in receipt of something.

To analyse the real ‘why’ of how routine giving leads to more we have to understand something about Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Physics. The laws of these realms vary a lot from that of our own material or Newtonian world.

The picture ‘What the Bleep’ paints the quantum world through easily graspable examples. The link to the movie here gives some details about how matter gets converted into waves and behaves like liquids when seen from a quantum physics angle: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/1349535/4653525.

The film portrays a wonderful world seen from a quantum space. When a beam of electrons is shot through an opening in a plate onto a wall – as is expected, it would hit in a straight line on the flat surface just opposite the opening.

If the same experiment is done using an energy wave that has the properties of a water wave, again one can get an expected outcome. As the surge hits the plate the tendency for the wave is to ricochet but still because of the cut, some parts of the wave goes in through that cut. Emerging from the cut, the wave spreads out in an arched way, thus resulting in a new wave more or less similar to the old wave. It is exactly like the experiments one would have done in smaller classes regarding the behaviour of waves. It hits the wall opposite with a lot of force at the point just opposite the cut and hits with lesser strength all around the wall. This is just like the pattern the electrons create.

If we added a second slit in the plate, again we would get a predictable result with the wave experiment – two small waves would appear through the slits and when those new waves touch each other they would cancel each other out creating an interference pattern. Several waves would now hit the wall making a stripped affect on the wall. All this is as expected for wave energy behavior, so nothing new here.

All that is interesting about the quantum experiments come in now. As there are two openings in the plate, it is expected that there would be two lines on the wall opposite if electrons are shot through. But as against the expectation, what one gets are an intervention pattern and a stripped effect. This is not the expected result. So the matter has been converted into a wave. It can be assumed that electrons were rebounding off each other and creating a wave effect; so if electrons are shot only one at a time, the result should be different. But the result does not vary. This may happen if the electron break into wave like particles, when it strikes against the plate, then goes through the openings and then mixes with itself after it emerges from the plate. This results when matter is reacting like a wave, or rather a solid is reacting like a liquid. The world has perhaps too many mysteries that we do not understand.

Despite the apparent ’solidness’ of this world that we live in, it would appear that actually we live in a world that is more like a liquid – liquid energy or flux, which behaves like liquids in our physical world. And as we know from simple physics that fluids of a similar nature always come together and those of a dissimilar nature move apart and separate into clear areas of distinction. Oil and water is a simple example of this. Chromatography also shows the effect very graphically when a single substance can separate into its individual substances in clear bands much like how large groups of people split off into smaller groups of similar interest, energy or intention.

The key is that when we give we feel joyful and experience joy. As a giver we receive the most divine gifts of all the gift of joy. Often we think that it is the receiver of a gift that receives something and it often overlooked that the giver actually is the greatest receiver. If you’re not too sure about this, then watch yourself around children and see how you feel when you give to them and observe how you feel no matter how they respond.

When we recognize that it is to we ourselves that we are giving when we make the gesture of giving and we do it for the gratification we feel, we have the clue. This clue opens the door of comprehension of giving. And when we give repetitively the force builds up with a snowballing effect enlarging more and more the more we pour to it with our continuous gifting.

The fact that we feel joyful when we give changes our energy literally – we feel better and in that moment we are more attractive to other people. Have you experienced someone on the street selling something that you don’t want such as tissues and normally you do not buy, but one day you do and the only reason why is because the person is happy and smiling? You may have experienced the same with buskers playing music on the street.

Someone who is joyful exudes a natural attraction that draws others in and in doing so draws in better life experiences. It is simple. They attract to them those who are either wanting to experience that feeling or those who already experience it.

Similar to water and oil, givers and non-givers tend to collect together in different places. And the greatest place to get something is a place where givers come together! But of course you will be allowed entry into that group only if you are ready to give! Givers relish to give to those who love to give.

So even if we may turn to quantum physics for our solutions, they are very much there right in front of us. Similar attracts similar – simple. Wherever you look you see this going on. Lions group together with lions, students interact with students, women form groups with women, men makes friends with men, ‘poor’ likes to be with ‘poor’ people and ‘rich’ with ‘rich’ people. And in the same way – givers prefer the company of givers.

So if you give from a sense of self-reproach then it will only boomerang on you – you will just attract to you like-minded others who have a guilt complex and cannot be contented and delighted. The borderline between remorse and anger is narrow; so people gifting things out of a sense of guilt tend to turn in that direction. Joy is one of the highest of human emotions – and from there one can only turn to love – and that is what all of us are forever searching for.

So when you initiate the act of giving, you are very close to knowing perfect love – really wonderful to know that it is. More so as we know that most people are continuously trying to find love. We now know that the answer is so easy – begin giving! And gifting money is only an aspect of giving – giving on the whole will create a special place of joy for us, no matter how ‘little’ the amount.

There is also an emotional aspect to giving consistently. This aspect might not in the beginning appear to have connections to the sensation of joy – in the end it completely bonds us to the absolute bliss of joy.

When we share an item with someone – particularly something that we ourselves do not possess in abundance – we are sending a persuasive communication to our own brain that life is trustworthy. When we give something and later analyse the act we are connecting with the trust. The converse of trust is terror. So again, a group of terrified people are not likely to be happy and fine and so no one would find them appealing. On the other hand, a gathering of trustful people would themselves be happy and would attract many others to share their perfection. So finally when we believe the belief gets transformed into happiness and again we are very near to love – the most important thing that all of us are searching for.

The sum and substance of what has been ignored for years is fully in front of us for anyone to bond with in finely. For Christmas my son got a good amount of money. I queried him as to what he planned to do with all that money. He replied that he wanted to set aside almost whole of it. Then I enquired how much of it he would like to give to someone. It was something that he had not even taken into account until I introduced the idea. What would be the result if upon receiving anything our first consideration was to give away part of it – do you think we would know delight in abundance?

Transaction based giving – or transaction based philanthropy

This takes us to the force of transactional giving. Many enterprises give when they have enough of money to give. When they do not have much they do not prefer to give. So their possible levels of joy fluctuate depending upon market variations – they do not have any restraint. But whoever gives EVERY time they get something is in charge and has their relationship with perfect joy forever.

Transactional giving rather than single payments is connected with the ups and downs of profit so it is an easy way of giving. The rule is that whenever you get something you give proportionately – easy. If you have a bad season you might give, but less depending on sales. And when business is better one can give more.

One of the key powers of transaction based giving is that you can share the joy of giving so easily with all stakeholders – customers/community – staff – and business. Because a customer knows that when they buy from you they get to give without it costing them anything except the energy to choose and shop with you they feel ownership of the giving – hence traditional CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility, coverts readily to Customer Social Responsibility, with your customer being able to powerfully respond to the giving by talking about you and have an additional emotional albeit intangible reason, for choosing to continue shopping with you.

Your personnel will also be able to partake in the happiness of giving as every time they manage to close a sale, they realise that they have managed to give something to a needy person. This is an extremely satisfying experience especially in a team as it can get converted into motivating the team and encouraging the staff.

Any commercial transaction, including profitless ventures, can do Buy1GIVE1 transaction-based giving – there are absolutely no prohibition to entering and the business decides most of it. The charity amount per operation starts from just a single cent and rises up to any amount of dollars with each venture choosing his or her own level of donating and giving to help and support completely based upon their business type and productivity. There is absolutely no reason to refuse to donate in this manner when the advantages of giving are so endless. Commercial ventures that are presently giving to a purpose can change very fast and without difficulty to Buy1GIVE1 transaction-based giving while continuing to support the same issue delivering more visible results to their enterprise.

When the game is over business -based giving is a present day form of tithing that is practical and possible for anyone, at any place. Now that we realise that it is not about the actual money that we give such as a tenth of the income, but only the fact that we are gifting it that makes the change. When we enter the fraternity of donors we move into a special and fortunate world that only those who give to others are allowed to enter. And unless you start giving today itself, you just may not start doing it and might never will till you start. So begin today.

‘We’re not here to give in order ‘to get’. We’re here to have more to give more.

Discover more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing. This and other unique content ‘business’ articles are available with free reprint rights.

David Anttony Business , , , , , ,

Food For Your Body And Soul

February 16th, 2010

As the old saying goes, health is wealth. And in this case we are referring to spiritual wealth. Whole food is good for our health because our body is able to absorb its full nutrients – the same with our life. When we embrace our life as a whole, savoring all the experiences and feelings in it, our soul will be able to absorb its full ‘nutrient’, grasping the full essence of our existence, and enabling us to live our life to the fullest. Masami Sato shares the magic of living a whole life in this excerpt from her latest book, ONE.

Why is it many of us (in fact, most of us) occasionally experience some kind of empty feeling in our life? It is like being hungry. When we eat, we feel satisfied and become less interested in food. But as some time passes, we get hungry again. Then all of a sudden we feel so attracted to the smell and thought of food. We can also feel some kind of hunger when we are not even physically hungry-just after eating something. Some of us stay being hungry all the time.

Constant emotional hunger is not the most pleasant thing to have. Then, how can we live our lives to the fullest? How can we be more satisfied permanently?

Maybe the answer is easy. Just live our lives totally. The word ‘total’ holds the meaning of fullness. Then the secret to live a full life is just to live it totally.

Let us commence by looking at a sample of this ‘fullness’ with something very close to our heart – our stomach.

Whole Food VS Half Food

We have heard the term ‘whole food’. They say that eating whole food is the key to the health and wellness we seek. Then why is whole food so much better than ‘half food’?

A complete grain pulsates with a life of its own. If one keeps the complete grain in water, drains it off and keeps it for a few days, it germinates. It has got a full life. When we consume such an item, our body absorbs the full spectrum nourishment. It has the ability to clean, cure and nourish various body cells.

As in the example of a grain, most conventional dining includes having whole creatures as well. Having entire fresh fish used to be more popular than taking a portion of fish and throwing the balance away. It was ditto for poultry and also for vegetables.

‘Half food’ sometimes has more sweetness and flavour but not much other nutrition. We like its taste, but we could develop a long-term illness if we only ate ‘half food’ every day of our life.

So, to compensate the absent half, we started to have dietary supplements. We have been analysing and learning for quite some time to reach the correct balance. It becomes more and more problematical as we chop up the food, process it and ship it, and even try to make up the deficiency with other parts that have its origin in other countries, seasons or sources. Some of these supplements do not even come from natural food sources. They are artificially made. After testing and analysing, it is endorsed to be edible. But no matter how much we strive; we cannot bring all the ‘bits’ together to make it alive and pulsating.

Semi Life-’Sweetness’ of Life

So, if we perceive our life now, much of what we are doing can be similar to eating the ‘part food.’ Just enjoying the sugariness of life but jettisoning the real nutritious part. And if we put our ‘part life’ in water with other pieces and left it in the sunlight, could it germinate and grow into a beautiful complete life?

Whole food is not (as some people perceive it) poor in taste. It is actually tastier when we prepare it properly. But while the demand is low, it is more expensive. It is actually more economical in the long run though, as we have less medical expenses later on. When more people start eating it, it will naturally become cheaper because it is a simpler food with less processing and waste.

Our life is very similar. When we only value the ’sugariness’, and cast out the rest as litter because we don’t perceive its value, we may be throwing out the most important portion. And what we jettison could have the biggest power for the endorsement of our life and our financial health. It also takes more strength and resources to cast it out. Better still, that which is thrown away comes free.

So, what is it that we do not perceive?

Picture a life where we didn’t in fact believe that we were lacking anything there.

The secret is right here. The secret of a full life.

Full Life-The Complete Life

When it is ‘entire’, it does not matter how large the entire is. It can swell concurrently. It can still hold within it all the parts to support itself as a full living being. Once it matures into a specific size, it can manage to live even without some of its components. Like plants can survive even after being consumed a bit by birds or trees can flourish even after they lose their leaves. But if we disregard the proportion for a very long time, ultimately it can begin creating a critical inequity. Then it could become too problematical to come back to normality.

We do not have to revert to Stone Age to find entirety. Entirety exists in the current. All we should do is watch intimately; watch intimately enough to actually see.

When we start seeing our life as a whole and stop throwing away what nourishes our life the most, we start feeling more and more fulfilled without looking for ‘things’ to fill holes and dents of our life. Everything finally falls into place. We now understand the mechanism of our world in a very different way.

Yes, it is now time to discover how we can fashion (and perceive) this equation consistently and affordably.

The real nourishing part of our life is what makes us feel good deep down. It is like the part of food that makes our body become healthy in the long-term. Feelings we experience in our everyday life are the real key to our long-term happiness. And there are feelings that make us feel more complete.

The smiling visages we see when we acknowledge the merit of others. The happiness we feel when we give others gifts. The tenderness we feel when we see our children being happy. The motivation we get when we sense that our life is full of substance ..

Let us internalize these moments of our life totally and relish the flavour of our entire life. Then we will perceive how it is not so imperative to constantly fill our heart (and tummy!) with physical indulgences – those types of things that only increase our cravings afterwards.

We can actually experience this delight, thankfulness and affection in order to sense life as a whole at any minute irrespective of the circumstances. It is not about what we perceive, what we are told or how we act that conclude our life as a whole. It is about what we ‘opt to’ feel about our life.

Yes, our life in fact is already whole.

When we begin acting based on this awareness, we can have real mastery over the balance creation – lasting physical wellbeing, riches, nourishing bond and joy.

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Masami Sato Marketing , , , , , , ,

Is The Best Moisturizer Really The Best Moisturizer?

February 10th, 2010

Moisturizing is an essential part of great skin care. No doubt. There is natural moisture and oils in your skin and retaining your skin moisture is important to protect your skin.

Well moisturized skin is skin that retains its own natural moisture levels better. As your skin starts to dry it loses some of its ability to retain moisture, so protecting the skin by maintaining its moisture levels is essential to good skin function.

So it would make sense to seek out and use the best moisturizer wouldn’t it? Not necessarily.

Lets consider what you want to achieve from moisturizing your skin. For the vast majority of women moisturizing is undertaken to make the skin function better as part of an overall attempt to improve the skin. Moisturizing is seen as a step in the overall skin care regime that will, hopefully, make better looking younger looking wrinkle free skin.

And so skin care companies make moisturizers because they know women will buy them to keep their skin looking good. That’s fine.

But there’s more to getting great looking healthy skin than just moizturising.

What I’m driving at is this. If you use products that improve the overall health of your skin then your skin should be healthier, and therefore better moisturized. Healthy skin is automatically better moisturized. If you use the right skin care products that improve your skin health then it will become better moisturized skin without any need to seek out the best moisturizer.

And this is recognized by the company that makes the best skin care products in the world. It doesn’t actually make a moisturizer because it’s products work so well that the result is well moisturized skin anyway.

And along the way their products include ingredients that both moisturize the skin and promote skin health. But you can’t buy a moisturizer from them, you don’t need to. Their skin care products are the best moisturizer.

And that’s what you’re looking for isn’t it?

So you’d assume that the products from this small company must be really expensive. But they aren’t and I’ll explain why.

Big brand skin care companies spend huge amounts on advertising, and this has to be factored into the price of the products. So the products on the shelves are expensive.

But the company that makes the best skin care products DOESN’T ADVERTISE. So whilst you may not have heard of it right now, when you do, (as you should) you’ll find their products very price competitive to the big brands.

So this is the moral of the story. You don’t need to look for the best moisturizer you can find because moisturizing is only a part of the story. Use products that improve overall skin health and well moisturized skin will follow.

Don’t bother watching the ads on TV to find this small company though. If you want to find them visit my website.

Find the worlds Best Skin Care Products and learn more about why you don’t need the Best Moisturizer? Visit Peter’s Website Natural Health-Natural Skin Care.

Peter Albertonach Health , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How Glycolic Acid Products Work

January 28th, 2010

Proven to be effective for dealing with skin problems, glycolic acid products are very popular these days. They come in many formulations, such as skin lotions and moisturizers, skin exfoliators, soaps, anti-aging creams, and facial cleansers.

So then, what exactly is glycolic acid? It part of the group of chemicals labeled fruit acids, or alpha-hydroxy acids, which are known for their skin improving qualities. This acid is extracted from sugar cane and, being both natural and organic, it has long been considered one of the best skin treatments available.

Although the beneficial effects of glycolic acid when used to treat acne and other skin conditions are proven, the details as to how this substance improves and revitalizes the appearance of the skin are still being studied. Based on studies, here the beneficial effects of glycolic acid are as follows…

- It helps improve the skin appearance through the elimination of fine lines and wrinkles.

- It penetrates into the skin and improves the flow of blood, which results in fresher looking skin.

- Skin moisture is increased by 300% when it is applied twice a day for over a period of three weeks.

- When used mixed with skin bleaching agents, it helps lighten the skin.

- It has been proven to help treat acne problems and, when it is combined with salicylic acid, it is more effective in treating acne than products containing 10% benzoyl peroxide.

- It much more effective than other regular lotions for treating sun damaged skin.

Should the glycolic acid content of a product be too little, there may well not be any noticeable effects. On the other hand, too much acid content can lead to skin damage. High concentrations of glycolic acid are even used for rust removal and degreasing. Concentrations of more than 70% can be extremely damaging. In fact, the government considers products with concentrations of above 10% already hazardous.

Being acid based, manufacturers of products with glycolic acid recognize that their products have to be neutralized so as prevent skin becoming irritated. Glycolic acid treatments, thus, have to be performed by dermatologists when the treatment involves more than a 10% concentration of the substance.

Even So, proven to be really effective in improving the skin when used appropriately, glycolic acid products have occupied a prominent space on the cosmetics market.

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Mark Walters Beauty , , , , , ,

The Top Secrets About Giving

January 17th, 2010

The secret to get what you want is revealed. Simply by giving. The reasons are explained using the classic philosophical question: “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?” The chicken and the egg, which forms the circle of life, serves as a profound analogy to giving and getting what we want: the circle of joy. The concept is explained in the clear and refreshing voice of Masami Sato, the author of ONE Book.

As human beings, most of us have yearnings for different kinds of things. And of course, the fundamental principles of economics tell us that while needs are unlimited, resources are not. This makes us think that the more resources we have, the more yearnings we would be able to satisfy. As such we tend to safeguard our resources. We would then feel that giving away these resources or splitting it between many would lessen the portion that can be used to get what we desire. This is the conventional win-lose strategy that is being played out.

Then, is it true?

What if the answer turns out to be “no”? What if it in fact contradicts the secret of attaining more? What if the secret of attaining more is in itself simple – by giving more?

One can get something just by giving something else. Exactly the way one can have eggs by raising chickens. As simple as that. Normal. Automatic. And it is a completely joyful experience.

First, let us start with a little analogy to explain more.

Chicken and Egg: the Cosmic Circle of Life

Many a philosopher has come out with this question from the beginning of time, “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?”

The answer to this riddle is simple. It actually does not matter which came first, as both eggs and chicks are already here. Still, if we want to get better results, we can choose to start somewhere.

Giving and Taking: the Ring of Joy

What if we asked a different question? “Which comes first, giving or receiving?”

Again, if we want a better outcome, we should choose to start somewhere. Giving off things to others is certainly easier than striving to get it first!

What is the outcome, when we try to get it first?

If we hope to have something, surely we would try to acquire it. And once we get it, we would cling on to it. This is surely natural – it makes sense rationally.

But the actual upshot of ’striving to get’ is often not profusion and actual long-term recompense.

For example, wanting to see others being happy is not about getting the joy from them or controlling them to become happy. It is about how much joy we can give them and share with them. Period.

So where do we start to get what we want?

By starting from the other end of the circle- by giving generously!

When we are ready to give away first before we have even got what we hope for – what we are dreaming of – we are sending a strong message to ourselves which says, ‘there is enough, and more will come.’ It lets us feel the joy today – the joy of sharing.

All we need to do is give out the love in ample measures to others. It just returns to us. Giving love is the only way to be fully loved. When we acknowledge the greatness of others’ achievements, and their great qualities, again, that recognition comes back to us. They recognize us, because we are ready to recognize them.

In the same manner, if we want to have plenty in our life materially, financially, and mentally, we have to share in full measure with others, what we want.

Some would give more physically by giving their time. Some would give more financially by giving money away. The people who give more (time, money, kindness, love, ideas) have more of these things because that’s the balance. And balance is the natural law of life.

Remind oneself of the rules of the game.

Rule one: never hope to get anything in return when a thing is given.

When we have the anticipation that giving involves ‘getting’ something back, we become unhappy when we do not see the thing returning to us fast. We may even feel unhappy towards the one who gets the gift. And having a negative feeling for someone is definitely not a right state of affairs! So we can know the real pleasure of giving when we are doing it with the awareness that we are actually doing it for ourselves – we are doing it for our own pleasure!

Losing to win, giving to receive

It may initially feel like we are losing out. Yet at some level we know that getting without giving is not a sustainable life model. And we’ve known that from the very beginning. That’s why tithing has been such a natural part of the lives of many successful people. And they didn’t always do it publicly so it wasn’t done to gain a better reputation. It was just because that was the way it was.

Look around yourself. ‘Lesser’ creatures do it naturally. The bumblebees take the honey of the flowers and in return pollinate the flowers, thereby making them bloom. They do it in accordance with the laws of nature. They do not do it as a part of any law of justice. That is why they create permanence, without even making an attempt to do so.

Giving to another is just a role of who we are, it is the same as having; nothing more, nothing less. No confusion, no strings attached, just letting go easily.

The gist of getting more can be summarised into two steps: Give first, and do not hope to get anything in return.

When we let go and give generously, what we want will be delivered to us. Naturally.

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Masami Sato’s Quotes From Her Bestselling Book : ONE

January 13th, 2010

Part One of Three

This collection of beautiful quotes that will inspire you to awaken your curiosity about the mystery of life is excerpted from “ONE”, a book by Masami Sato, the founder of Buy1GIVE which is a global giving organisation sharing the joy of giving. The quotes in this first edition include topics that are profoundly related to our everyday lives, such as mystery, judgment and connection. This article is the first part of the 3 “ONE Book Life-Changing Quotes Series”.

On transforming judgment

“Judgment often has very little relation to reality.”

“Actions and words don’t always accurately reflect who we are. Every single one of us has had the experience of wanting to undo what we did or said.”

On the mystery of life

“It’s very, very clear that we don’t need to know all of the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of life to keep living on this planet.”

“There are so many things we don’t understand in life. In spite of that lack of understanding though, we often enjoy experiencing those things.”

“Seeing is important but trying to figure out everything isn’t necessary.”

“The scientists are not here to reveal the ‘truth’ because we are here to seek it forever. They are actually here to complicate the game (of life) so that we can have more questions and enjoy the game longer.”

Connection

“Connection is the core of everything. That’s what life is. Connection.”

“Every single thing we do is to satisfy the need for connection.”

“We cannot feel unhappy when we are feeling totally connected. It’s impossible!”

“We are designed to constantly seek ways to connect to each other and to a greater purpose.”

“’solutions’ coming from fear and doubt may not be the most effective ways. We end up feeling more and more disconnected from each other.”

“We can only truly celebrate the victory with others when we win together. Then we feel connected.”

“This is the game called ONE. The aim of the game is to ‘connect’! We keep connecting until we all become ONE.

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Can Making Dreams Come True Be As Easy As Brushing Our Teeth

January 9th, 2010

Can’t making dreams come true be just as easy? Can’t we free ourselves of our doubts? Is it not possible? How can we do it in a way so that it looks as easy as brushing our teeth? This is an excerpt form the book named ONE by Masami Sato and it shows how it can be done step-by-step, getting one ready to start walking towards one’s dreams today.

We all have dreams. But not all of us have the faith in ourselves, that we can have and live those dreams in our lifetime. Actually, the secret to have such certainty is simple. And the reason why we doubt it so much is also straightforward.

We can now start by asking ourselves the first question..

Why don’t we do everything we always wanted to do?

Often, our thinking stops our actions. Often the more we think about it, the less we usually are committed to achieve what we originally wanted to do. Often the more we think about something, we come up with a greater number of reasons for not doing it.

Then is it possible to be certain that we will definitely accomplish what we want to do in our life?

Sure, absolutely! To start with, let us look at the power of habits

If we have to be present at a meeting tomorrow night, we would not be spending too much of time thinking whether we would be able to get there or not. We would not be worried about the possibility of having a car accident and failing to attend the meeting. In fact, when we go to use the toilet, we are unlikely to worry if it might be out of order.

We have so much more certainty about these types of ‘normal’ actions we take every day. They’re habits.

However, we doubt our dreams

The interesting part is that there are several things that we are not very sure about. These are the things that we really want to do in our lives – our Dreams!

Then, what is the secret for the conviction that we will accomplish our dreams?

First of all: Just make it a daily habit!

We can start being more certain about our actions to meet our desires-the type of desires that really nourishes our life.

So, for example, if your dream is to give and contribute to society and giving is a key desire in your life, there is no reason to doubt that it’s possible for you to contribute to others. It can just become one of your daily habits.

Second: Make it as important (and as easy) as brushing our teeth

Achieving our dreams can be just like brushing our teeth. It wouldn’t feel good if we didn’t brush our teeth for a long time, would it? We wouldn’t spend hours thinking of which toothpaste to use or delay the good feeling of having clean teeth for other ‘priorities’. We feel uncomfortable if our teeth are not clean. So we just clean them!

Looking at our example, if giving is what we desire most, then we should ask ourselves a few questions: What if giving is truly as important as brushing one’s teeth? What if it is giving us a comfortable feeling? What if it aids in remaining healthy?

Irrespective of how much or how little we own right now, we surely can start offering it and sharing it today. As such, no matter how improbable the realisation of dreams might appear, we can start walking towards them today. We can definitely do, if we see it as a crucial issue, a top priority that we should stick to every day! Then we will be uncomfortable if we do not do it. Just like cleaning our teeth.

and Third: Always give first, then we will get

When we give first before we actually fully have what we really want – what we dream of – we send a very powerful message to ourselves that says, “there is enough, and more will come”. It allows us to experience the joy today – the joy of giving.

If you want to be prosperous, be generous. And then you would be blessed with loads of everything. If you are knowledgeable enough to do so, do not be scared of teaching others. And you will learn more. If you want to share things, share freely. Do not expect anything in return. Just let go. And joy will automatically be returned to you. The simple joy o f giving.

Do not be scared of sharing and giving what you have, for it will not thwart your plans of achieving your purpose, whatever it may be. It may only help you to fulfil your dreams faster. And your journey there will be one of total contentment.

But are not habits very small, when compared to our BIG dreams?

Just do it, don’t worry about the ’scale’

Because anything can take place in life. We might get started in a pretty simple way. And these simple things might lead us to another act, and form there to another. Our confidence in our simple actions and executing them one by one constantly takes us forward. But if we feel that it is unfeasible to do something now because it is simply unachievable, it is unlikely to ever happen.

The secret to achieve your dreams has always been here, and will always be here. The people who create miracles, inspirations, and the real sense of joy, already know this. They are always using it.

Dreams and miracles are not accidents. We create them through our choices.

So, would you start walking towards your dreams today?

Contents are excerpted with minor modification from ONE, a book written by Masami Sato. To get a free copy of ONE, visit www.B1G1.com and start sharing the joy of giving. Feel free to use or republish the content of the above article, fully or partially, as long as it is preserved in its original content, with proper attribution to Masami Sato and www.B1G1.com.

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Power Quotes From ONE Book: Creating More Magic In Your Life

December 21st, 2009

Part 3 of 3

This collection of beautiful quotes will simply inspire you to live a life full of miracles. Joy is excerpted from “ONE”, a book by Masami Sato – the founder of Buy1GIVE1. The quotes in this edition include topics that are profoundly related to our everyday lives, such as mastering things, magic, honesty, imagination, problems, and simplicity. This article is the last part of the three “ONE Book Life-Changing Quotes Series”.

On mastering things

“When something more effective and easy comes along, we let go of the harder way very quickly without being ‘taught’.”

“Doing things we’ve never done can often seem very difficult and complicated until the day we actually try them out.”

“(Children) learn by playing and become the masters of the game. And they do it just by having fun.”

“Friends share with us what they think and feel. Teachers teach us what to do and how to do it. Coaches ask us who we want to be. Mentors show us who we can be. Masters show us who we really are.”

On honesty

“When we held back our feelings and said things only to please others, often we ended up upsetting someone later.”

“There is no such thing as an unbreakable promise for the future.”

Imagination

“Because in our imagination, we can do anything.”

Magic of life

“Miracles are not accidents. We create them through our choices.”

What problems?

“There are always reasons for everything to exist in this world. And so-called ‘problems’ and ‘issues’ only exist for us to see something beyond, so that we get to experience the next, positive transformation.”

“There was nothing to ’solve’, just something to share.”

On simplicity

“If we count all the things we love in our life, we may find the way to bring in more simplicity and joy into it”

“Maybe it’s actually all very simple. No worries-tomorrow is just another day!

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Becoming A Millionaire With A Piece Of Straw

December 21st, 2009

A millionaire created through giving!

There is a Japanese folk tale about the power of giving and it exemplifies how we can get the most wonderful of gifts when we’re gifting things to others and are positive about what we have already got.

This is the folk tale.

A long time ago, there lived a penniless young farmer. Nothing that he did turned out to be profitable. He was completely impoverished without any money, without anyone to help and nothing to eat. One night, totally at his wit’s end, he went to a shrine and sat near the altar and pleaded to Gods to show him what to do.

“I have always been honest and hardworking, but all my hard work never produced any reward for me. What am I doing wrong?”

He fell asleep near the altar just after he put the question. When he woke up in the morning, he saw in front of him one of the Gods he had seen in his dream, with a bright golden light around him. The God’s voice reverberated in his mind.

“When you wake up today, treasure the very thing you have in your hand and keep giving it generously to others on your way,” the God whispered.

The farmer was brimming with questions when he woke up but he tried to shake off his sleep and clear his mind of the strange but clear dream he had. However, he saw a bit of a straw in his hand. It must have remained on his clothes while he worked in his fields.

He was about to throw the straw away, but remembered what God had told him. Once again he sat down. Then he looked curiously at the bit of straw.

He sat still for a long time thinking what this meant. He had no clue why a piece of straw can be of any value to him. Then he saw a wasp flying around. It eventually landed on the tip of the straw. He caught the wasp and tied it to the straw with a piece of thread from his clothes. Now with a piece of straw with a flying wasp at the end, off he went on the path.

He had gone a little way when he found a small boy and his mother coming towards him from the other end of the road. The boy was weeping. When he said hello to the boy, the child noticed the straw that the man had with a wasp at one end. He stopped his weeping and wanted to have the straw. The farmer was hesitant to give it but then he remembered that God had asked him to value what we owned and also give it to others profusely. So he gave the straw to the boy. The mother was relieved as the boy stopped crying when he got the straw and the wasp. In return she gave the man three tangerines.

The farmer moved on. As he proceeded, he felt hungry. He was about to eat the tangerines when he again remembered that what was important was giving things to others, not giving it to himself.

The farmer was going over a steep hill and on the way he saw a merchant sitting under a tree. The man had a wooden box near him. The farmer wished the man. He appeared to be very tired. He saw the tangerines the farmer held and asked him if he would give it to him. The merchant told the farmer that he was very thirsty.

The farmer was also equally thirsty as the day was hot and he had walked pretty long, still he gave all the three tangerines to the trader. The man ate all the three tangerines and felt fully energized. He felt very thankful to the farmer who was so kind. To show his gratitude, he opened the box that he had kept near him. The box contained several bolts of hand dyed silk. The trader took out one roll, gifted it to the farmer and left.

So off the farmer went again following the path. He found a stream along the way and he took a deep drink making him feel totally refreshed. Life seemed to be easier and was flowing now.

He continued to walk for a long time but did not see anyone again. So he decided that the silk could be what would bring him luck. He felt he should go to the town nearby and try to sell the silk.

But as soon as he turned the corner, he found a group of soldiers. One of them, who appeared to be the leader of the group, was standing near a horse that had fallen on the ground. The leader of the soldiers was saying something to the men of his group.

“It does not appear that this horse would live much. We will have to leave it here. Nurse it well and catch up with me.” With this the leader jumped on to another horse and rode off, moving out of people’s sight.

The remaining soldiers were left discussing what to do about it. They were reluctant to kill the animal but they did not have much of a choice. At last one of them took out a sword.

The farmer pleaded with them not to do that. He said he was ready to look after the animal. He said they can have the bolt of silk for letting him care for the horse. They agreed to the deal and left the place quickly.

Now the farmer stood there with a dying horse. He thought he might have made a mistake that after all he was not meant to be wealthy. Then he remembered something. There was the stream he’d just passed.

He immediately went back to the stream, took off his shirt and soaked it in the fresh water so he could give water to horse. He returned to the horse still lying there on the ground. The farmer squeezed the wet cloth over the horse’s mouth. Very soon the horse began to respond and regained its consciousness, so the farmer pulled it up with all his might.

The horse finally stood up on its legs so the farmer could take the horse to the stream. As the horse took more water and ate some fresh green grass around the stream, it soon began to regain strength.

So now the farmer owned the horse! The man and the animal traveled together, and the farmer had to run as the horse led the way. They traveled together for miles. Finally, as the sun was setting, the horse came to a halt in front of a big house. The animal pushed the farmer towards the gate when he finally drew level with it.

As the farmer made his way to the gate, all of a sudden the gate opened and an old man was standing there. The man looked drawn and he was hastening out onto the road. The old man took notice of the farmer as well as the animal standing nearby.

The old man asked the farmer what it was that he needed. The farmer said that he wanted a place where he could sleep at night. The old man queried the farmer if he would mind looking after the house till his return as he had to leave for the nearby town on a pressing matter. He also said that it might take some time for him to return.

Since the old man appeared to be in a hurry, the farmer said that he can use the horse. The old man felt glad about the gesture and accepted the offer. He left with the horse but before he left told the farmer something strange.

“If I do not return within three years, this house is yours.”

As you perhaps inferred, the old man did not return.

The farmer lived in the large house for the rest of his life with a land full of crops surrounded by kind neighbors happily ever after. But he never forgot to always give away the things he had.

I am grateful to you for reading this story. And how did you feel about it?

Maybe there is a key to something. When we can turn our ‘getting game’ into a ‘giving game’, our life often flows bringing more abundance. But it is not always easy to practice the old wisdom in our real life.

The following are the interesting principles we can see in the tale:

* When we give the things that others want, they usually value it more than we value it while when we are trying to ’sell’ something (because fundamentally, we want to get something from the deal), they compare the value with our asking price and try to pay less.

* When we are not possessive of whatever we have, we will perceive that we thereby have more chances as we can release the existing possessions.

* When we are down and out with the problems of life, instead of worrying about the negativities if we kept focus more on giving others and caring for them, life would surely bring glad tidings later.

* When we try to encash what we have created, believing that “this is the maximum it will bring”, as we think we might be the loser if it is not turned into cash, our life will stagnate. Instead of that, we should continue to give liberally whatever we have got and however wealthy we are or we are not.

Giving is intrinsic in the lives of many who have made it to the top. When giving is done first, we are better able to lead a life of grandeur, comfort and glory.

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