PBS Documentary - From Jesus to Christ

“From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians” tells the epic story of the rise of Christianity. The four hours explore the life and death of Jesus, and the men and women whose belief, conviction, and martyrdom created the religion we now know as Christianity.

Essay One: Identify and discuss one significant problem or issue in contemporary culture that concerns you: some of the dimensions of this issue, why it matters to you, and what possible solutions you or others might propose to deal with it.

One of the largest mass extinctions of the earth’s history is underway, this time without the traditional meteor, volcano eruptions, or other apocalyptic signs of the end of the world. This time, the large-scale destruction of the world’s biodiversity is wrought by the hands of earth’s greatest creatures – human beings. Quite interestingly enough, humans are the most intelligent creatures on the planet, and yet are the biggest environmental problem that the earth is facing today.

Content Source: Bukisa – Mass Extinction of Earth\’s History

Academic Earth

There is one thing I can be sure of: I am going to die. But what am I to make of that fact? This course will examine a number of issues that arise once we begin to reflect on our mortality. The possibility that death may not actually be the end is considered. Are we, in some sense, immortal? Would immortality be desirable? Also a clearer notion of what it is to die is examined. What does it mean to say that a person has died? What kind of fact is that? And, finally, different attitudes to death are evaluated. Is death an evil? How? Why? Is suicide morally permissible? Is it rational? How should the knowledge that I am going to die affect the way I live my life?

Link to Course (free)

Securing The Power To Become Better and Greater

We cannot express a power that we do not possess. We already possess all the power in the universe within us. The way to awaken it is to become aware of it. Are you conscious of your power? We can never become conscious of power until we learn that all power is within each of us.

The World Within Is Alive

The world within is governed by mind. This world is a world of thoughts, feelings, emotions and power. It is a world of beauty, light, and although it is invisible, it very much exists. In fact, it rules above and beyond any material or physical worlds.

When we discover this world, we find solutions to our problems have existed for a lifetime. The cause for every effect can be seen. Since the world within is subject to our control, all laws of power and possession are also within each of our control.

The world without, also known as the material or physical world, is a reflection of the world within. What appears to be in the physical world, is what has been found within. Infinite wisdom, power, abundance, and happiness are all waiting to be unfolded. If we recognize these potentialities in the world within, they will take form in the material world.

We are bridged to the world within by our subconscious mind. Through the subconscious mind, we connect with the Universal Mind, which is infinity. It pervades the entire Universe, occupies all spaces, and time.
The Universal Mind is the life force of every living and nonliving thing. It is the life principle of every atom that makes up matter.
The majority of humans live in the material world. They only live and exist in the physical world, not being aware of the world within. They are not aware that the world within rules, whether they consciously or subconsciously create their lives.

It is your creative mind you will have to use to create the life you can be proud of. The following exercise will bring you into a realization of power, which will be yours when you understand and implement the relationship between the world within and the world without (the physical world). The world within you is the cause, and the world without is the effect. To change the effect, you have to change the cause.

Most people try to change effects by working with effects. They try to change the physical world by physical things. This is simply changing one form of negativity and anxiety into another form. To completely remove discord, we must remove the root cause.

In order to express life there has to be mind. Without mind, nothing can exist. Everything that exists is some type of manifestation of mind. We live in a sea of plastic mind substance. This sea is alive and active. It is ultra sensitive to the highest degree.
Note that in the application alone of this information is where you will substitute abundance for poverty, happiness for despair, freedom for tyranny, and harmony for discord.
Get Started On Your New Life Now
1. Select a room where you can be undisturbed and alone.

2. Sit comfortable in a chair or on the couch, erect. Do not lounge, but be comfortable.

3. Let your mind roam where it wants to, but be completely still for 10 minutes to half an hour.
4. Continue this at least twice a week until you have been able to master full control over your physical body.
You may find this extremely difficult, but with practice, you will be able to get better and better. In time, you will find that you will be able to master not only your physical body but also your physical world. How do you think you would be able to do this?

About the Author
You are Free to reprint this article as long as you include live links of the author’s websites on your website.
Enigma Valdez is an Internet visionary dedicated to helping individuals succeed. You can find out more information at http://www.Psycho-CyberGenesis.com and Http://www.HighIQ-University.com You can also email him at enigma007@charter.net
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It’s also destroying savings and wealth. No country will escape the effects of this meltdown.

What is not so obvious is the fact that the Earth’s ecosystems are on the point of a meltdown that might threaten our whole future as a species. It is far more serious than the financial strife that we face.

These are very sobering times and they call for sober responses. However, the economic meltdowns will be seen by later generations as necessary to clear the way for a new era to emerge.

There are three ways we can respond to the challenges we face, join the wave of change, resist the change, or do nothing. The second and third alternatives carry the risk plunging us all into a bleak future. The only viable option we have is to join the wave of change.

Joining the wave of change involves:

• Becoming part of a green revolution;
• Developing the skills and capacities to be able to contribute to the day to day operation of a green revolution;
• Developing the spiritual awareness that will result in redefining our relationship to ourselves, the Earth and all other living forms;
• This will enable us to contribute to an ecological culture that abandons the idea that success depends upon economic growth, and that starts to seriously address the social divisions of our world and heal widespread psychological alienation.

The green revolution scenario emerges out of what Thomas L Friedman argues has happened on the Earth that has become hot, flat and crowded. Friedman shows that the population of the Earth is 6.7 billion, but by mid century on current projections there will be 9 billion of us. Much of the population growth will almost certainly occur in places that are least able to sustain it, leading to the potential for much greater social division than now exists

By flat Friedman refers to the convergence of three forces arising out the micro-electronics revolution and the Internet that has enabled many millions of people to enter the global economy and where many have been lifted out of poverty.

The flattening of the global economy has seen countries like China, India, Russia and Brazil just to mention the most spectacular, grow their economies at a bewildering rate, and if their rate of growth continues at anything like the current rate then the Earth’s ecosystem services will be overwhelmed. Many of the people in these countries are obviously looking to grow in much the same way as people in the developed world have done since the time of the industrial revolution.

The reference to hot is about the warming of the Earth and the threat of climate change. Friedman also includes under this broad heading the degradation of the ecological services upon which human beings and other living forms depend for our and their very existence.

Since the time of the industrial revolution the average temperature of the Earth has warmed by 0.8 degrees Celsius. This has been accompanied by a rise in the level of carbon dioxide from 280 parts per million (ppm) to 380 ppm today. Carbon dioxide plays a critical role in the way in which the Earth’s greenhouse effect operates, although it is not the most common green house gas.

The principle source of the growth in carbon dioxide is the burning of fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas associated with our modern industrial civilization as well as the destruction of tropical rain forests.

We simply do not know the extent to which global warming will go but what seems clear is that given the current momentum we can expect the Earth to warm by at least three degrees Celsius by mid century. This would involve a build up of carbon dioxide to around 550 ppm. There are many scientists who believe that this level will set off major changes in the Earth’s climate that will be irreversible. Some argue that we need to reduce the level much below the 550 ppm.

John Holdren President Barach Obama’s chief scientific advisor describes the dilemma we face as like driving in a car with bad brakes in a fog and heading for a cliff. We know for sure that the cliff is out there, we don’t know exactly where it is. Prudence would suggest that we start putting on the brakes. (Hot, Flat and Crowded, page 125-126)

A green revolution is the only viable option that we have, but it will involve major challenges and changes for us all, particularly in terms of how we develop as people. A green revolution also faces a major obstacle in terms of those who will resist the wave of change.

It’s also important to ask what a green revolution involves. Jay Forrester and emeritus professor of the Sloan School at MIT had some interesting things to say about these issues in a recent interview. A green economy is needed because of the damage being done to ecosystem services that we depend upon for our very survival. This includes the problems associated with climate change.

It means balancing our collective life style with the Earth’s capacity to provide the resources we need. The issue of needs means we must question how we live. It also means redefining what business is about. In a truly green economy that respects the limits of the ecosystem services we need to learn how to manage successful no growth businesses. It will be about keeping the business vital and improving products and services and within a fixed demand on the ecosystem services.

It’s doubtful if this requirement can be achieved in terms of how capitalism has been defined and operated for the last 250 years.

A green revolution is unlikely to occur, however, unless there is a major lift and development of our collective spiritual awareness and major changes to our cultural values that equates success with economic growth. Just knowing that we face a threat to our very survival is unlikely to motivate people to change their ways when to change means taking on board a whole new way of defining our needs, how we satisfy those needs, how we define success and our relationships to the Earth, other people and other living forms, not to mention the changes required at the collective cultural level.

The revolution in spiritual awareness and culture that needs to take place is as big a challenge, if not greater than learning how to manage our businesses in a no growth situation.

Joining the wave of change involves developing a spiritual awareness and contributing to a culture where honoring the Earth and all living forms is the central feature. There are a number of movements emerging to address these issues and my own initiative is a small attempt to respond to the opportunities that are opening up. If you would like to learn more then visit my website by clicking here.

About the Author

Dr Bob Calkin has launched a new website dealing with spiritual, social and political issues to assist people live a spiritual life through the engagement with everyday life. If you feel that you would like to experience in a heightened way the wonders of, to feel gratitude and to feel blessed by an energy or power greater than yourself then you might like to join this program.

Mark Free Articles

We are born into a world that is up and running. Rules, criminal laws,civil laws, moral values, religious beliefs, political beliefs, national boundaries; and every other kind of regulation and/or do-don’t under the sun already firmly in effect. We had to part in choosing the system we are born into. Nor did anyone else that we are intimately connected to, in most cases. So from birth our thinking, choices, likes and dislikes begin to be shaped. We are taught very early in life to conform, to fit in, to get inside the box. In other words, we think and do as we have been told from childhood. Our thinking and actions conform to what is neccessary to fit in, to gain approval.

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find anything that agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” – Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha), 563-483 B.C.

Our understanding of life must be consistent with our experience, and our experience occurs in our minds, not in a book or from someone elses mind. It’s strange that we don’t give more thought to our existence or show more reverence towards our precious gift of life and search out our life purpose. This can all begin by simply asking “why” more often. We get up each morning, experience the joys and challenges of the day, and go to bed at night without dwelling on the larger context of our thoughts, feelings, and actions. We live in the moment in order to survive and to derive pleasure from our existence. More often than not, it is a humdrum existence. Our lives follow a diagram that has been prescribed by someone other than us. Our values, goals and aspirations have their beginning outside of our own mind. You might say that it is not just you who lives like this. And that is certainly true. It has been true throughout history. And this is the reason the world is in such a sorry state. We are unable to live peacefully with ourselves or with the world. We have assimilated too much and not originated enough. We don’t take the time to formulate life for ourselves. We do not allow OUR SELF out into the world. I don’t know how you feel about it; but I am here to originate as much as possible and to duplicate only when neccessary.

I am not denying we have to care for ourselves fulfill the duties towards our families, towards our job or business and to the rest of the world. This is true. It’s necessary for survival. I am not saying you to renounce the world and become a hermit. We need to live in this world, take care of our financial and other needs and the needs of our loved ones, this is our best means for growth and self development. We can certainly enjoy all modern comforts and our social life. Yet we can and must be aware of the spiritual or basic realities about ourselves on which all our activities are based. We must be aware of the programming we are subjected to and know that we have a choice as to how much of it we will accept. We have to realize that we are a storehouse for original, fresh thinking and the solutions to all our problems are within us. We have become too lazy to think for ourselves, we want to leave it to someone (anyone) else to do for us; like the politician, the clergyman, the professor, the advertiser, the TV station and the list goes on and on of the people that make our major decisions.

I’d like to ask one more question: Can you ever hope to attain anything in life that provides lasting and permanent happiness. The reason the answer is (or will be) no, is partly because our concepts of what provides happiness are not our own personal conclusions. True happiness is an inside job.

Set aside 30 minutes each day to be spent in mediation and solitude. Spend some time alone with yourself. Get to know yourself. Listen to your inner voice, its the best advisor you will ever have. While driving, leave the radio off sometimes and spend that time with yourself—with YOUR mind. The benefits will astound you. Notice where the following statement says where Kingdom is, meditate on this truth sometimes.

The kingdom of God cometh not with observation; neither shall they say, Lo here! or, Lo there! For behold, the kingdom of God is within you. ( Luke 17:20-21)

Earnest Worker

Article Source: Think For Yourself. Or Someone Else Will.

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Put it into writing.

Psychologists have long found that not only do all ideas increase in strength through repeated reading and listening but also by validating each thought in writing. The written word seems to solidify the idea into a particular choice. Once a choice has been identified as valid, then the process of activation can proceed.

Because of our ability to transfer ideas into writing, we are able to apply an additional force for steering toward brighter horizons. Reading and listening are input senses while writing is an output sense. You own any and everything you write. The words become a visual record of your thoughts which transfers thought into a workable solution that can be communicated to others.

Make it a habit of putting your thoughts into written notes. This strategy of capturing thought leads to innovation and innovation leads to invention. Everyone need to reinvent themselves once in a while for renewal if nothing else. Personal written notes are a sure-fire form of self-motivation because it helps us to think through or brainstorm a problem. It brings a problem into an evaluation stage for acceptance to activation or rearranging. If you adopt this high-level principle on all levels of life’s involvements, such as: social, spiritual, financial, mental, and physical you will become the balanced person you should be.

When you begin to consider your goals as a possibility it is only by writing down every detail that you can achieve what you set out to do. Writing clarifies your thoughts and puts them into a perspective of accountability. You can hide thought from the world but the written word is for everyone to see and judge. Only notes – comments on paper, have a lasting effect on our lives as they can be referred to time and time again. Thoughts slip away at the least distraction but written statements become account documents for future generations.

Planning and Action

Many of us wait a lifetime for an abundant pasture where the grass is greener and taller. We wait for success to come and embrace us with its sweet freedom but alas, success is only an figment of our imagination. It is a creature of the mind, prowling, purring into our ear of lavishness and exhilaration. Why does it slip away? Why is it so hard to grasp? But wait, you have not planned or made any preparation for success so why indeed – should it visit you? You have not taken any action or planned for success to be a partner or guest. Fleeting thoughts is no resting place for success for the bed is made and it is empty. Without writing down your intentions they are no more than smoke in the wind. They are not real, and success only becomes real in a real world.

I think I can doesn’t cut it; you have to bring thought into the reality of the world and then be willing to act on it. Planing your actions reduces the possibility for mistakes and increases the probability of success. Planning also prepares the way to success. Every project, highways, skyscrapers, dams, all have to be written into a blueprint before they can be built. You can’t talk a skyscraper into existence but you can write it into reality. Creative innovations are great for conversation but they can never make the transition to reality without first being converted to paper.

Make a personal strategy planner to prepare for your goals. Plan what you are to achieve – how you will achieve it and when you will achieve it. Be specific in your plan. Identify your goal, list all possibilities, good and bad that will effect your quest and then act on it. Writing something down is not worth anything without action. You must plan and act, plan and act, plan and act. Over and over until the goal becomes a record of your achievements.

Develop policies and procedures for achieving each goal. A policy might be that you are not going to do anything unethical while a procedure would be a written statement of a step-by-step plan for a defined result. Take the goal and break it into segments that are easy to obtain. Evaluate each step before going on to the next step and soon the steps turn into a finished goal. None of this can be achieved without first committing to writing it down.

I have people tell me how they appreciate my writing and I appreciate them saying so. But it’s when they put it in writing as a testimonial that it can be shown to others and valued. A written testimonial can be viewed on-line by thousands while the spoken word can only be heard by a few. So why not spread your ideas by writing them down and let others see who you are?

You are now on the road to pursuing your hidden dreams. All of your life you desired and dreamed without any direction, but now it has come to light, your dreams can come true. You have only to put it into writing and act on it, that’s all, how easy is that? Do it, today – no more delay, no more excuses, just write your plan and put into action. NOW!

Donald Yates, Former Director of Business and Leadership Development for Imperial Research, is now retired but continues to assist young people in engaging life through self discovery, Life course planning, intuitiveness and fulfillment. Learn how you can build a powerful organization of your own. To learn more, visit
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I was recently asked why authors such as Ekhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra and Tony deMello (and myself for that matter) place so much emphasis on the present moment. My reader also asked me to explain why living in the past or future can be so detrimental – and that’s where this article starts!

Very often, we look back on our past – fondly, with regret, sometimes with longing. There’s no harm in that – after all, it is our life experience to date that makes us who we think we are. Without our memories, we’d wake up each morning, turn around in the bed and scream “Who the hell are you?” – of course, there could be benefits to that!

The real problem with the past is that our subconscious mind lives there by default. This is a major problem because psychology tells us that our subconscious mind (using the twin psychological “abilities” of automaticity and categorization – more like disabilities actually!) dictates our automatic reactions and enables us complete repetitive tasks without paying attention. Unfortunately, as we go through life and become accustomed to the people and places around us, everything becomes repetitive so we end up paying attention to nothing (research indicates that we only pay 1% attention to the here and now).

Here’s the problem. By paying so little attention to the present, our subconscious mind roams freely in a past long gone – thinking that it’s the present. It uses past experiences – our “programs” from our formative years, when we learned our beliefs in everything including ourselves – to dictate our current behaviour. How we behave now determines how people (who are buried in their own past) behave towards us and, as a result, our automatic behaviour creates our present everyday life.

Of course, we’re completely unaware that any of this is going on, because we’re not paying attention!

Now, to add to that mess, your conscious mind constantly wanders into the future. The average adult (most of us are average) has about 50,000 random thoughts each day, many of which are “what ifs”! The problem with a distracted mind is we lose focus on what we’re supposed to be doing now. As a result, it becomes more of a burden, we become more frustrated.

So, between our subconscious’s old programming (which is generally skewed towards the negative) and worry about the future, we end up not being present to what is actually happening here and now. We pay little or no attention to now – and recent neuro-psychological work has proven that your ability to be successful (and experience peace of mind) is directly linked to how much attention you’re paying. Put no energy into the present moment and you get nothing in return!

It’s a bit like the old IT saying “garbage in – garbage out”! Quantum physics tells us that this universe of ours (including everything and everyone you encounter) is made up of energy and that energy responds to your energy. Put almost no energy into being focused in the present and universal energy simply won’t bother to respond to you – why should it, you haven’t even bothered to turn up!

On the other hand, when you do pay more than 1% attention to the present moment, your experience changes. Athletes call it “the zone”, the University of Chicago calls it “flow”, sports people call it “focus”, business people call it “single-mindedness”. Same difference! We’re at our best when our energy is engrossed in what we’re doing – here and now. When we are in flow, things flow for us – we seem to be the right person in the right place at the right time. The famous psychologist Carl Yung called that “synchronocity” – quantum physics has proved how synchronicity works in proving that universal energy is responsive to intention and emotion.

Put simply, if you channel more of your energy into “now”, universal energy will respond now – these are scientific facts, if you want more details just let me know! Conversely, if my energy is “all over the place” (in the past and future) universal energy will give me a normal “not too bad” return on my pathetic 1% investment!

Whether you look at it from a psychological of physics perspective, the key benefit of the Now is this. If you are more present, you have presence – which makes you more impressive and attractive. You will impress those around you simply because there’s more of you present in the moment than everybody else. You will be more attractive to those around you for the same reason. But, importantly, you will be more attractive to events as well (some people call it the Law of Attraction).

So, letting your subconscious live in the past – and letting your conscious mind wander – takes you away from the only time and place we have – Now. You need to learn how to pay more attention to now, to engross yourself in what you’re doing. It’s easy – meditation gives you the mental discipline required – but you could start by simply doing a little more seeing, feeling, hearing, smelling and tasting of where you are, right here, right now, as you finish reading this article.
Copyright (c) 2009 Willie Horton

Willie’s work in the area of personal development and meditation has been described as “life-changing” and “phenomenal” by clients from every walk of life. His acclaimed two-day personal development workshop is now online at Gurdy.Net
Article Source: Weight Loss Articles, Health Articles, Self-Improvement Articles

People come to yoga looking for various things: peace of mind, stress reduction, improved concentration, and weight loss. Yoga can help you to accomplish all of this, but “yoga works, if you work!” You have to do the practices on a regular basis in order to get the results.

If you have bought some books on yoga and meditation, don’t let them gather dust while you sit around thinking that maybe one day you are going to practice. If you have purchased my electronic book, don’t let it gather “electronic dust.”

Yoga postures and basic meditation exercises are simple enough to learn. In fact, I teach them to children and they pick them up quite easily. So, I am sure that you can learn what to do fairly easily and quickly. The big problem for most people is to establish the habit of doing the practices on a regular basis. Here are a few tips which may help you to do your yoga and meditation on a daily basis.

1. Start with Firm Determination: Yoga begins and ends in the mind. Take a determination that you are going to give yoga a fair try and you are going to practice, because it is important to you. Close your eyes, and think “For the next three months I am going to do it every day.”

During the course of time, whenever you start thinking, “Oh today I don’t want to do my yoga exercises”, remember your initial determination and stick to it.

2. Do it Together With some Friends: Learning how to give and share is an important part of yoga, so don’t keep “yoga” to your self. If possible find one or two friends who would benefit from practicing yoga, and do it together with them. The good thing about practicing with others is that if a day comes when you are not motivated to do the practice, the enthusiasm of your friends will carry you along and you will do the practice with them.

3. Make a Regular Schedule and Stick to It: Yoga is not like tennis or some recreational sport which you will do if the sun is shining and you feel like doing it. To get the true benefits from yoga you have to do it every day. So, free some space in your busy schedule and “reserve” this time for your practice of yoga and meditation.

If you get up a bit earlier in the morning, then you will have a nice quiet time to do your yoga before the rest of your neighbors wake up. In the evening, do your best to keep some time free for yoga before your evening meal.

Once you have set your schedule, stick to it as best you can.

4. Do Your Practices With A Free Mind: It is not enough to reserve time for yoga, with your body doing the exercises but you mind continuing to worry about other things. When you stop to do your yoga and meditation, you should remember that the next 30 or 40 minutes has been reserved for yoga and for your development. Don’t jump up to answer the phone, or respond to every minor disturbance. This period of time is for you.

If you begin to think about all your other responsibilities and problems, gently drop these thoughts and imagine that your problems are tucked away along with your shoes at the corner of the room, or better yet in another room. (You shouldn’t be practicing yoga with your shoes on!)

5. Be Patient: Sometimes you will feel the effects of the yoga and sometimes you will not feel anything. Don’t worry about the immediate effects, continue to practice. It takes a while before the most profound results of yoga are realized.

It took you many years to build up your present personality and physical structure. You can’t change it overnight. But the good news is that you don’t have to wait many years to change yourself because the regular and systematic practice of yoga postures and basic meditation can help you to make great changes in a period of six months to one year.

So, hang in there, start practicing, continue practicing and slowly but surely yoga will help you to realize your most important goals.

Dada Vedaprajinananda has been practicing and teaching yoga for the past 35 years. He has taught around the world, is the author of “The Wisdom of Yoga”, “Yoga Weight Loss Secrets” and numerous magazine articles. You can read more of his articles at his website: http://www.yogaweightlosssecrets.com
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