Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Ten Tips to Recover from Depression


Studies shows that people suffering from depression usually want to have a life that is not their own. They try to mimic a person's life and try to compare themselves to other people.

Depression comes with sleeplessness, dejection, and unhappiness, sometimes with suicidal tendencies. It is usually a state of hopelessness and unhappiness.

Depression can usually make a person feel worn-out. A person might not even be aware that s/he is already loosing their sense of purpose. It can also lose a person's focus on his purpose.

Loosing a sense of purpose in life is loosing the direction where a person wants to be. It draws a person to lose his drive to live.

He should internalize and assess his talents and skills. This will help him discover again his talents and the things he can do. Doing this will help him cope up and gain his purpose again to live.

It is good to understand priorities. Setting and maintaining them will give a person direction to live his life reasonably.

Depression usually comes along with anxiety. Psychologists agree that treating depression is easy when it comes with anxiety, because anxiety is a treatable mood disorder.

There are different Emotional Therapy programs that treat patients who have depression.

Enrolling in a self-helped program is one way of getting out of depression. Here are the things that can help you to recover from depression:

1. Stop feeling sorry for yourself.

2. Learn to forgive. Remember that no one is perfect. It is okay to commit mistakes. What is important is learning from them.

3. Think in a positive way. Whatever happens, always think that there is a hidden purpose for everything that is going on.

4. Stop worrying about the future. Worrying for the future will make a person neglect the good things that currently surrounds him.

5. Do not mind what others think. Worrying about others' opinion will not do any good. Remember that the saying "you cannot please everybody" is true.

6. Smile more. Smiling is the best therapy to any sickness. It relaxes the body.

7. Learn to love yourself. Remember that before a person can love others, he needs to love himself first. He cannot share something that he does not have.

8. Practice meditation. This is a very helpful therapy because it relaxes the mind from worries.

9. Be strong to fight negative thoughts. The greatest challenge when treating depression is controlling your own mind. You need strength to fight negative things that enters the mind.

10. Learn to appreciate. Every person is unique and special. Do not think of yourself as inferior to others. Focus on the things that are present rather than the things that are not there.

Following this simple task can help you to recover from depression. Remember that treating depression is not an overnight recovery. A long self-help treatment requires patience and determination.

Make a list of the things that causes happiness, sadness, and worries. Compare each list.

Life is not a bed of roses. It is a battle of good and bad experiences. You need to be strong and adopt positive thoughts. Fighting back against the voices within that triggers panic and depressive mood is not easy. However, you need to have determination in order to live life to the fullest.
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Friday, September 18, 2009

Nothing Gold Can Stay

By Eric Kampmann

Our culture is obsessed with the acquisition of material goods
and worldly status. However, in the race to attain these
temporal things, people forget to pursue spiritual riches. When
we spend the best days of our lives chasing after fame or
wealth, then we are to be pitied, for in the end, nothing of
lasting value will be ours. "Meaningless! Meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."(Ecclesiastes 1:2)

Unlike many of the popular writers of the "lost generation" of
the 1920s who reflected a world stripped of God, Solomon is not
writing as a stoic or nihilist. He is simply describing a truth
that has been lost in our own time: The world is nothing more
than a wasteland without God. "All things are wearisome, more
than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the
ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has
been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the
sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

When the purpose of life is reduced to satisfying the appetites
of the body, we ultimately discover that the appetites are
insatiable and, like a fire out of control, they never have
enough. Solomon explains how futile it is to only strive after
things of this world: "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my
work and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I
surveyed all that my hands had done and what I toiled to
achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11)

Looking back over the course of his long life, Solomon realized
that he had lost his way when he turned to pursuing pleasure as
the primary purpose of life. For no matter how much wealth he
accumulated, no matter how many buildings he built or goods he
possessed, the thirst could never be quenched, nor the appetite
ever satisfied.

What is man without God? The long, sorry history of mankind
wandering in the wilderness of godlessness is perfectly
summarized in the first chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans.
It is a brutal picture, but we deny the truth of it at our own
peril: "...since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the
knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do
what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every
kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of
envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,
slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they
invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are
senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know
God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve
death, they not only continue to do these very things but also
approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1:28-32)

Man apart from God is a profoundly lost creature is evoked in
T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men." If you remove the Christianity of
Christ from life and describe raw existence as it really is,
life is much like the hard service of a hired hand, as Job
describes it (Job 7:1-5).

In a world where Jesus never existed, one would be forced to
adopt a strategy based on either hedonism or its reverse,
stoicism. Life in such a world would indeed be nasty, brutish and
short.

But in a world where Christ lives through the Holy Spirit, the
issue of hard service and suffering is transformed into
something quite different. Christ asks those who serve to be
strong and persevere, whatever the circumstance. He does not
teach those who follow that life will be a romp in the park;
quite the reverse for he says in the Sermon on the Mount:
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and
falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice
and be glad because great is your reward in heaven...." (Matthew
5:11-12)

Despite the suffering and conflict in an unredeemed world, we
are called to service through faith. "Finally, brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything
is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever
you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me -
put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
(Philippians 4:8-9) Perhaps knowing what it meant to be a 1st
century Christian would be a good place to start for a sojourner
navigating through a world characterized by Paul as "a crooked
and depraved generation."(Philippians 2:15)

About the Author: Eric Kampmann received an undergraduate
degree from Brown University and a graduate degree in English at
Stony Brook. Eric is the author of two other books: Tree of Life
(2003) and The Book Publisher's Handbook (2007). For information
on his newest book, Trail Thoughts, visit:
http://www.trailthoughts.com/index.html.

Source: http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=277807&ca=Religion

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Ways to Finding Your Purpose in Life

By Zach Kong

Now before we dive right into finding your purpose in life, let me ask you one question.

Which comes first? Purpose or goals?

No, no. This is not a chicken-and-egg type of question. This question is totally legitimate question.

Now ask yourself how often have you heard that in order to get what you want, you must first have a goal in hand.

"A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it."
~ Unknown ~~

And how often do you heard from others that you need to have a worthy purpose in your mind?

So which comes first? Purpose or goals?

Isn't the answer obvious? Or you still don't get it? Ok, imagine this. Suppose today you're a superman (or superwoman), and you plan to go, let's say, United States of America and you're currently on an island in South East Asia, say Singapore. Would you:
  • Fly out into the outer space, know where USA is and then make your journey back to Earth to where you want to go
  • Or would you from your known position, fly to another known place and slowly make your way to USA?
Which one will be faster and more efficient? Obviously the second one right?

To start from goals setting then to finding your purpose in life, you're in fact trying to figure out what you want to become from the several goals you set for yourself instead of aligning your goals to what you want to become.

That is probably one of the reasons why many people always procrastinate taking actions to achieving their goals. It is not because they can't reach it; rather, it is because they do not have enough passion, desire, motivation and most importantly, a reason, to reach it.

By first finding your purpose in life, you're in fact finding your very personal reason why you think you exist in this word and why you want to become what you want to become.

As mentioned in the previous post about the importance of having your purpose in life, a worthy purpose can help you through tough times when you meet up with challenges and obstacles along the way.

A worthy purpose helps you to keep an eye on the prize while overcoming all obstacles that come your way.

A worthy purpose need not be huge to be considered worthy. Your purpose need not necessary change thousands of lives or change the world others live. If you feel comfortable with it, then include it in your purpose. Else, just leave it out. What're more important is you feel comfortable being who you are.

Your purpose in life is worthy as long as you considered believe it is.

So now having understood the real importance of purpose, let's get down to really finding your purpose in life.

What's important to know is that finding your purpose in life is not a one-time thing. Like learning, it is a life-long, on-going process.

As you moved through different phases of your life, you'll need to review, re-think and refine your purpose in life. And your journey to finding your purpose in life starts from here, all from a gentle nudge to become the real person you're meant to be.

Personal development books like Success Principles, The Power of Focus etc are some of the wonderful books that help you understand your purpose and guide you through the steps to finding your purpose in life.

Out of those many books, I personally prefer Jack Canfield's Success Principle as it provides you a step-by-step guide to finding your purpose in life through a serious of simple yet mind-provoking questions.

1. List down 2 qualities you want others to see from you. People will remember these qualities whenever they mention about you. Cheerful? Understanding? Playful? Caring?

2. Determine how are you going to express these 2 qualities when interacting with other people? Is it through inspiration, motivation or sharing?

3. Next imagine how will the world be like if everything is perfect? How is everyone communicating with one another? What traits can you see in everyone around you? Remember, the keyword here is "Perfect". How does a perfect world look to you?

4. Lastly, you just need to combine the above 3 sections into a paragraph and presto … you've just completed your first attempt to finding your purpose in life.

"Joy is but the sign that creative emotion is fulfilling its purpose."
~~ Charles Du Bos ~~

Now, don't be many others who just read and forget it about. Put them to actions. Write down your purpose, read it everyday. Print it out nicely, laminate it and carry it with you everywhere you go. Read it with enthusiasm and excitement. Send out positive vibrations that you're fulfilling your purpose in life in everything you do.

Don't worry about perfecting it the first time. As I have said earlier, finding your purpose in life is an on-going process. What's more important is finding a purpose you feel enthusiastic and excited about.

If you wish, go refer to others' purposes or mission statements and get some inspiration from there. Just note that everyone is different, so are our purposes. Refer and not copy.

Find the purpose you can best resonate with and stick to it. Read it everyday and make sure you're taking the necessary actions to fulfilling your purpose in life.

My purpose? Well, it is:

"To live in abundance of wealth, health and happiness. Through coaching, mentoring and sharing, to be a source of inspiration and motivation to others to attain their desires through a joyful, happy and playful manner."

So what is your purpose in life?

"We must have a theme, a goal, a purpose in our lives. If you don't know where you're aiming, you don't have a goal. My goal is to live my life in such a way that when I die, someone can say, she cared."
~~ Mary Kay Ash ~~

Zach Kong is the facilitator of a personal development site which focus on building a community to support, inspire and motivate other to succeed. For more information click on: http://www.ZachKong.com

Published At: Isnare Free Articles Directory http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=157533&ca=Self+Help

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Life Purpose Vision

By Marianne Weidlein

"Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back,
always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and
creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills
countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely
commits oneself, then providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have
occurred. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, raising in
one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and
material assistance, which no many could have dreamt would come his
way." W.H. Murray

Introduction

When self-employed, you quickly learn that your actions shape your
life. Whether you thrive is up to you, and your lifestyle is the result
of the money you generate.

You have the right, the power, and the resources to create what you
want. Begin by being clear and releasing fear, self-limiting attitudes
and patterns. Allow yourself to visualize your dream, uncensored by the
restrictions and conditioning from your past. Clarify your purpose,
function, and vision, strategize the right plan, offer your service to
those who are ready to buy, and you will succeed. Now you will begin
with your Life Purpose Vision. If needed, ask your friend to help draw out
your vision by asking additional probing questions based on your responses.

Complete this activity any time you want to:

- Focus your goals over a long period of time
- Clarify your purpose, function, or vision
- Review your long-term goals.

1. Purpose. What do you think is the fundamental purpose of your life?
If you are not sure, what is your best guess? Your purpose should
reflect why you believe you are alive for your own development, rather
than for others.

2. Function. Based on your purpose, what do you think is your function
in society?

3. Peak of Success Vision. In the same reflective mood, consider the
point in your life at which you could be at the peak of your success.
How old will you be? If you don't know, be playful and guess.

Now, consider the quality of life you want for yourself at that time.
Answer in complete sentences. Visualize how you want to be living and
experience how you want to feel. Describe:

- Where you live
- Your home environment and the people with whom you live
- Service, career and business
- Financial matters
- Professional support network
- Family, friendships and other relationships
- Your spare time and private time
- Your personal needs, health and well-being
- Spirituality
- Your modes of creative self-expression
- How you are empowered
- Above everything else, what do you want from your life?

When you have finished your vision, using a planning chart, write the
titles of each category above in the spaces provided. Identify key
elements of your vision, then write them in abbreviated terms in the
appropriate category.

4. Support. How do you believe you are supported to fulfill your
purpose, function, and vision? When you want support, from where do you
seek it? When you don't feel supported, what do you do? Determine the
effectiveness of this strategy. How do you want to feel supported? What
will you do to experience the support you want?

5. Limitations. List and describe the self-limiting beliefs, fears, and
patterns, by which you currently feel inhibited. (Example: I fear
rejection, so I don't reach out. and stay stuck.) How does this affect
your ability to succeed? Identify what you are ready to change and
explain how you will accomplish it. With what will you replace these
limitations?

6. Shadow. What need, desire or aspect of personality, do you most
suppress or fear? For example, do you fear your anger? Or do you
suppress positive attributes, such as sensitivity or love. (If you are
not sure, ask someone close to you for help.) Why do you suppress or
fear this? Explain how suppressing this affects you. Determine how you
will stop suppressing it, and how to allow greater freedom of
expression, and describe how you will feel. Describe how your life purpose,
function, and vision will be enhanced.

7. Resources. List your internal strengths and resources and explain
how they empower you. Review this list. Determine if anything is
missing, and how you will acquire it. List your external resources and,
next to each, explain how it is supportive. Review your list and
determine needed resources, and explain how you will utilize them.
Include costs and dates when appropriate.

8. Conclusion. How do you feel now? Why? Describe what you have gained
from this visioning. Write a commitment statement to yourself and to
your purpose, function, and vision. Read it daily. Share it with your
mentors and the people closest to you, so that they are better able to
support you.

About the Author: Article written by author, mentor,
facilitator Marianne Weidlein

You can also find Marianne Weidlein listed in the Find a Life Coach,
Life Coaching directory


Source: www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=131179&ca=Self+Help
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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Using the Law of Attraction for Positive Thinking

You will find that the law of attraction and positive thinking go hand and hand. You will find that there are a lot of ways that you can use the law of attraction to boast a positive attitude, however, you will want to consider that there are some things that you are going to have to do in order to keep the law of attraction working for you and learn how to think positive all the time. You can't really be positive all the time, because there are times where weakness will prevail, but you will need to fight the urges and fight the need to bring negative energy into your life.

First you will need to use the law of attraction and lighten up a little bit. When you take yourself too seriously, you just look stupid. You will also find that humor will make you feel better and there are many physiological benefits from laughter. You will find that the minute you lighten up you will feel the stress and intention ease. You will also be more alert when you lighten up.

Don't forget to laugh, and laugh often. There are going to be times through the process of the law of attraction that will get overwhelming, however, you will need to laugh just to laugh. You know a lot of people find that when they laugh thinks just seem to be a whole lot better, even at the worst of times.

If you really want to learn anything from the experience of using the law of attraction then you will need to learn how to appreciate the things that you have and be thankful. You need to show those who you care about that you also appreciate them because what you give to the world, you get from the world. For you to love, you need to give love. With that said, you will find life will get easier if you learn how to open minded and appreciate the things that you got.

Also, you need to expect that opportunity is just around the bay. You need to accept the amazing things that are offered to you and you need to make sure that you show others that you appreciate the opportunities. However, keep in mind that common sense is the perfect gift that any parent may give their child, so you need to use common sense in cases of opportunity.

Also, you need to learn how to listen to your gut feelings. Most of the time you are right; consider the fact that you may know what is best for you after all. A lot of people will go against their intuition and each time that they do, they seem to get lost. It's always best to put some trust and faith in yourself, because, with the law of attraction, you depend on it.

Finally, for this to work for you and for you to find a positive outlook on life, you need to wonder. You should wonder what it is that your life means to the rest of the universe (because everyone has a place and a purpose in life). You also need to take the time to just lie on the ground and watch the clouds. It's always a good idea to bring yourself back to the childish wonders because it's the only way to keep both feet on the ground.

Keep in mind that if you are looking to get the most out of the law of attraction, you will need to use your time wisely and you need to keep your positive attitude and reflection on life to be positive as well.
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Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Healing Your Past with Meditation

We all know it is not possible to roll back time or undo or change bad decisions we made in the past, however using meditation we can change the way we feel about the bad decisions we made in the past so that they will stop tormenting us here in the present. We all carry a lot of baggage from the past, such things as maybe a broken heart, hurt feelings, or bad memories of friends or loved ones that have lied, cheated, or betrayed us, events that may have brought us pain, or we may torment ourselves over opportunities we may have missed out on or even wrong choices we made in our lives.

We absolutely cannot allow ourselves to let things in the past we cannot change take over our present lives. Meditation is simply collecting our thoughts in a relaxing atmosphere. If you take the time to learn how to heal your past it will enable you to be happy in the present. You may ask how you can heal the past. You can look at past situations you cannot change in a brighter light with a new understanding on the events in the past have hurt you. When you're by yourself in a quiet place start your meditation.

Think about how whatever may have happened to you in the past may even be a benefit to you. You know how bad you felt when something or somebody said or did something to you that you felt that you had no purpose in life or was not good enough to associate with others. Meditating about how those things in the past made you feel helps you to understand how others who are now in the same situation you were in then feel about themselves.

You know how they feel so you maybe can tell them your experience back then and how you turned it around and made a life for yourself. So many of us just need someone to take the time to just say hello or nice day isn't it? Just a kind word to someone who has had a bad day can make all the difference in the world. My dear sweet mother told me all the time that you can kill more flies with honey. Meditation can make you feel so much more positive and give you a different outlook on life in general; it is something very positive you can do to help yourself.

What she meant was if you have been around someone that wasn't pleasant or had a bad attitude don't act like that person does, instead just turn the other cheek and it may rub off on the person who has a bad attitude. Meditation could be the key to this happening. So you see meditation can be used to turn bad situations into something good or even good situations into something great. Shining the light of the new understanding on those events that happened in the past will help you have a feeling of acceptance, peace, and happiness.
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Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Acquire Power Through Self Development

It is the natural right of every human being to be happy to escape all the miseries of life. Happiness is the normal condition, as natural as the landscapes and the seasons. It is unnatural to suffer and it is only because of our ignorance that we do suffer. Happiness is the product of wisdom. To attain perfect wisdom, to comprehend fully the purpose of life, to realize completely the relationship of human beings to each other, is to put an end to all suffering, to escape every ill and evil that afflicts us. Perfect wisdom is unshadowed joy.

Why do we suffer in life? Because in the scheme of nature we are being forced forward in evolution and we lack the spiritual illumination that alone can light the way and enable us to move safely among the obstacles that lie before us. Usually we do not even see or suspect the presence of trouble until it suddenly leaps upon us like a concealed tiger. One day our family circle is complete and happy. A week later death has come and gone and joy is replaced with agony. Today we have a friend. Tomorrow he will be an enemy and we do not know why. A little while ago we had wealth and all material luxuries. There was a sudden change and now we have only poverty and misery and yet we seek in vain for a reason why this should be. There was a time when we had health and strength; but they have both departed and no trace of a reason appears. Aside from these greater tragedies of life innumerable things of lesser consequence continually bring to us little miseries and minor heartaches. We most earnestly desire to avoid them but we never see them until they strike us, until in the darkness of our ignorance we blunder upon them. The thing we lack is the spiritual illumination that will enable us to look far and wide, finding the hidden causes of human suffering and revealing the method by which they may be avoided; and if we can but reach illumination the evolutionary journey can be made both comfortably and swiftly. It is as though we must pass through a long, dark room filled with furniture promiscuously scattered about. In the darkness our progress would be slow and painful and our bruises many. But if we could press a button that would turn on the electric light we could then make the same journey quickly and with perfect safety and comfort.

The old method of education was to store the mind with as many facts, or supposed facts, as could be accumulated and to give a certain exterior polish to the personality. The theory was that when a man was born he was a completed human being and that all that could be done for him was to load him up with information that would be used with more or less skill, according to the native ability he happened to be born with. The theosophical idea is that the physical man, and all that constitutes his life in the physical world, is but a very partial expression of the self; that in the ego of each there is practically unlimited power and wisdom; that these may be brought through into expression in the physical world as the physical body and its invisible counterparts, which together constitute the complex vehicle of the ego's manifestation, are evolved and adapted to the purpose; and that in exact proportion that conscious effort is given to such self-development will spiritual illumination be achieved and wisdom attained. Thus the light that leads to happiness is kindled from within and the evolutionary journey that all are making may be robbed of its suffering.

Why does death bring misery? Chiefly because it separates us from those we love. The only other reason why death brings grief or fear is because we do not understand it and comprehend the part it plays in human evolution. But the moment our ignorance gives way to comprehension such fear vanishes and a serene happiness takes its place.

Why do we have enemies from whose words or acts we suffer? Because in our limited physical consciousness we do not perceive the unity of all life and realize that our wrong thinking and doing must react upon us through other people a situation from which there is no possible escape except through ceasing to think evil and then patiently awaiting the time when the causes we have already generated are fully exhausted. When spiritual illumination comes, and we no longer stumble in the night of ignorance, the last enemy will disappear and we shall make no more forever.

Why do people suffer from poverty and disease? Only because of our blundering ignorance that makes their existence possible for us, and because we do not comprehend their meaning and their lessons, nor know the attitude to assume toward them. Had we but the wisdom to understand why they come to people, why they are necessary factors in their evolution, they would trouble us no longer. When nature's lesson is fully learned these mute teachers will vanish.

And so it is with all forms of suffering we experience. They are at once reactions from our ignorant blunderings and instructors that point out the better way. When we have comprehended the lessons they teach they are no longer necessary and disappear. It is not by the outward acquirement of facts that men become wise and great. It is by developing the soul from within until it illuminates the brain with that flood of light called genius.