Archive for December, 2008
12.23.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:48 am by admin
10 Timeless Tips to a Perfect Cup of Coffee
Few quests in human history have so captivated men and women from around the world than the search for the perfect cup of coffee. Yes, believe it or not, coffee connoisseurs have dedicated entire lifetimes in the pursuit of finding that one cup of the most heavenly coffee ever made. If you’re like most people, however, you’re just looking for an easy way to make a great-tasting cup of coffee to help get you started in the morning. The following 10 Timeless Tips to a Perfect Cup of Coffee should help you on you your mini-quest.
1. You Get What You Pay For
When it comes to coffee makers, quality counts. If you buy the cheapest coffee maker on the market, chances are you’ll end up with an equally “discounted” flavor in your cup. To assure yourself of great tasting coffee day after day, check out the Bunn, Cuisinart, Mr. Coffee, Krups, and Senseo brands. Alternatively, check out a French press. For that personal cup of coffee, you can never go wrong with a French press!
2. Clean as a Whistle
You wouldn’t cook your favorite entrée in a dirty pan, would you? So, why are so many people surprised by how bad their homemade coffee tastes when they use the same coffee pot every day out without ever cleaning it? Try baking soda and water for great cleanse after every pot you make.
3. It’s All in the Bean
If you aren’t grinding your own coffee, where have you bean? The best tasting coffees come from freshly ground, top quality beans. You can savor the flavor of gourmet barista-style coffees right in your own home by simply grinding up small batches of your own brew. To top off the perfect cup, you’ll want to use Arabica beans-simply the best in the world! Store your beans and ground coffee in an airtight container in a cool, dark place at a temperature between 50 and 70 F.
4. Roasted and Toasted-Making the “Most-est” Flavor
Once you’ve decided upon the highest quality beans, you’ll want to consider how you like your beans roasted. Roasting releases the flavor of the bean and helps determine whether your coffee is mellow, rich, or smooth. Experiment with a variety of roasts and choose which one you like best!
5. Grind It Up
Despite the fact that many store-bought coffees say “For All Coffeemakers,” selecting the right grind for your coffee maker is key to crafting that perfect cup. A general guideline for grinds includes:
Automatic drip: medium grind
Plunger or French press: coarse grind
Percolator: coarser grind
Espresso maker: fine grind
6. What’s in Your Water?
When it comes to coffee, fresh is the name of the game and, believe it or not, fresh water will make a world of difference in every cup. Think about it: Since your coffee is 99% water, you’ll want to make sure you choose the best tasting water you can find. Bottled, distilled, or purified water seems to do the trick for H2O-conscious countless coffee connoisseurs.
7. Measure It
To assure yourself of perfection every time, you’ll want to make sure you spoon out the correct amount of coffee grinds. Of course, your personal taste preference should be the ultimate judge, but a general rule of thumb is 1 to 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every six ounces of water.
8. Bling, Bling in Your Coffee?
While we’re not talking diamonds or platinum, using gold (or stainless steel) mesh filters in your coffee maker will go a long way toward keeping your cup of coffee tasting great. Many paper filters release bleaches, chlorine, and dyes that can leave you with a bitter cup of coffee. If you must use paper, go with unbleached filters for the best results.
9. Brew It Up Right
A key to great tasting coffee every time is making sure your water is “off the boil”-a fancy term that simply means “not quite to boiling.” To achieve this water temperature, bring your water to a boil and then let it cool down for few moments (195-205 F) and you’ll assure yourself of a perfect cup every time.
10. Drink It Down in Style
Drink your freshly brewed, gourmet coffee in a glass or porcelain mug. Unless you like the bitter taste, avoid reheating your coffee in either the microwave or on the stove.
If you keep brewing with these ten timeless tips in mind, you’re sure to find your cup runneth over with great tasting coffee every time!
About the Author
Jon Butt is the host of The Coffee Guide, an innovative website dedicated to all things coffee. From beans to gourmet, espresso machines to coffee makers, espresso cups to just great tasting coffee
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Posted in Business Opps, Living With Marketing, Profitable Real Estate at 4:46 am by admin
“Virtual Real Estate Investing” is a relatively new concept. There are many variations on what this term means, encompassing everything from using the internet to aid in real estate investing efforts to participating in online games such as SecondLife.
In order to figure out the truth of the matter, I sought out Bryan Ellis, whose experience in the fledgling industry is truly impressive.
“I began using the term ‘virtual real estate investing’ in the late 1990’s when I realized the clear similiarities in profit strategies, regardless of whether the “real estate” is “virtual” or “physical” said Ellis.
An example of the similar nature of “virtual” and “physical” real estate Bryan Ellis likes to point out is the methods of making a profit from domain names compared to physical real estate. “These types of assets - websites and physical real estate - can be monetized in very similar ways like buy lo/sell high, leasing/rental and advertising opportunities” he says.
The parallels really are obvious. Consider this: If you own a piece of real estate in a desirable neighborhood, your real estate has value because other people are interested in that location. Likewise, if you own a desirable domain name, others will find value in it because it serves their purposes. Regardless of the type of asset, you can sell or lease or use any number of strategies to turn the assets into cash.
In our next installment of this series on virtual real estate investing., Bryan Ellis will share the internet analogies to the physical concept of real estate development.
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Posted in Blogger News at 2:29 am by admin
When you are thinking about your blog entry, you may be faced with writer’s block. This is common for most writers - even bloggers. Don’t panic. The good news is that writer’s block always passes. There are a number of great blogging resources that will help you come up with ideas or find information to write your blog entries.
In some cases, it is a good idea to make a list of future blog entries. You should keep a pad of paper and a pen handy at all times. Pay attention to the world around you. When you are surfing the net, be on the lookout for topics that you can blog about. When you are standing in line at the grocery store, again, be on the lookout for blog topics. Make sure you jot these ideas down, or they may be lost forever.
Determine how often you will blog. If you will blog once a week that is 52 blog entries that you will need to write. If you will blog daily, that comes to 365. Try to write that number of topics for future blog entries on your list. That way, when you are stumped, you can refer to your list to find something to write about.
Another common practice for getting ideas for blog entries is to visit other blogs that are related to yours in some way. You aren’t there to copy information, but your blog entry can be based on one of theirs, as long as you provide a Trackback to the other person’s blog entry. This is what makes the blogging community so great! All of the information works together and is connected - allowing us to pass information around at the speed of light! You can also visit websites that are related to your overall blog topic to get ideas.
Of course news websites, such as http://www.cnn.com , http://www.headlinenews.com , http://www.msnbc.msn.com/ , and other such sites are great resources for information and ideas for your blog entries as well. Many bloggers incorporate the daily events of the world into their blogs, and there is no better source than a news website for this information.
Other sites such as Yahoo at http://www.yahoo.com may also give you ideas for your blog entries. Even doing a search on the most popular keywords that have been searched for recently can give you ideas that you can write about.
Once you’ve chosen your topic for your entry, you may need to do some research to find specific facts. There are numerous resources for all kinds of information available for free online. Typically, you can go to any search engine and simply type in a keyword or keyword phrase and find what you are looking for. If you need specific statistics on a given topic, type in the topic followed by the word statistics, and you will find what you are looking for.
Just try to make sure that the information you are writing in your blog is accurate. If you are unsure, simply say that you are unsure. If you are using estimates, make sure that it is clear that it is just an estimate. If you are stating your opinion, make sure that people will understand that this is your opinion, as opposed to actual facts. Nobody wants to be flamed, and we all hate it when we are wrong and somebody points it out! Avoid this by checking your facts, and distinguishing between fact and opinion!
Jason frequently gives tips like this to the subscribers to his newsletter. Visit his blog at Adventures In Internet Marketing and subscribe to his newsletter today!
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12.21.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:34 am by admin
In Guatemala coffee grows in the heart of what was once the center of the Great Mayan Civilization. The Maya ruled this region of Central America from around 2500 B.C. until the arrival of Spanish Conquistadors in mid 1500 A.D.
Coffee arrived in Central America from the Caribbean around 1700 and local cultivation began shortly after. Commercial export of coffee from Guatemala did not begin until the mid 1800’s as the square-rigged sailing ships of the day could only travel downwind. The trade winds blew the ships across the Atlantic toward the coast of Central America, but there was no easy way to sail back east. The advent of clipper ships around 1850, which could point higher into the wind, made commercial exports possible.
In order to export Guatemalan coffee the small growers expanded into full-scale production. This led to a land war of sorts and the larger plantations took over the smaller ones, sometimes by buying them out and sometimes by force. In Guatemala coffee growing land is in small supply, being that the country is about the size of a small U.S. state.
The larger plantations, or fincas, were owned mostly by wealthy descendants of the Spanish Conquistadors who viewed the native Maya people as inferior. They quickly enslaved large populations of Mayans to work on the Guatemala coffee farms. As you may expect they did not submit voluntarily and a bloody resistance ensued.
In 1877 the Guatemala government passed a law that made it easier for foreigners to get land, granting exemptions for taxes and import duties on machinery and tools. Many Germans fleeing the political unrest in their country took advantage of the opportunity and set up operations to grow, process and export coffee from Guatemala. The German influence had a very positive effect on the coffee industry in Guatemala. The Germans brought capital and modernization to a poor and under developed country. They financed the construction of a railroad from the mountainous interior to the sea to transport coffee. They built sea ports for the ships and processing plants that were previously unavailable to smaller growing operations.
The Germans also treated the Mayan workers better, paying them for their labor, not as much as they would pay non-Mayan workers but it was definitely an improvement. This however, caused dissent among the Spanish plantation owners who were used to getting their labor for free. The Spanish tried to lobby the government to pass laws that made paying the Mayan illegal but they were unsuccessful.
Today, coffee from Guatemala is highly respected among aficionados and is prized for its smooth character, balanced acidity and full flavor.
© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.
About the Author
Randy has more articles on coffee such as Starbucks Coffee Company, Coffee Beans and Coffee Colonics.
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12.18.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:30 pm by admin
BREWING TIPS
Everyone has their own way of personalizing coffee, but here are a few basic tips to get started:
Great brewed flavor begins with fresh coffee. When using whole bean coffee, try to grind immediately before brewing. Protect the freshness of whole bean and ground coffees by storing in an airtight container. (Our patented coffee canister is ideal for preserving freshness.)
Always start with fresh, cold water. Since brewed coffee is over 98% water, the quality of water affects flavor. Use bottled or filtered water if tap water is not high quality.
The proportion of coffee to water is very important. We recommend using two tablespoons for every six ounces of water to extract the full flavor of our coffees. If your brewed coffee tastes too strong, add small amounts of hot water to taste. Using too little coffee can result in over-extraction of the coffee and bitterness in the cup. Using a coffee scoop will ensure your accuracy.
Check the water temperature of your brewing equipment. Ideal brew temperature of water is 195-200 degrees Fahrenheit. When using a french press, or plunge pot, water should be heated in a kettle and poured just off-boil. Boiling water should never come in contact with the coffee grounds.
Coffee is best if served immediately after brewing, and will retain its peak flavor for up to 20 minutes on the warmer. We recommend you transfer your brewed coffee to a thermal carafe to hold for a longer period of time.
Don’t forget to take care of your equipment! A clean coffee brewer is critical to great tasting coffee. Periodically, use a mild detergent or baking soda to remove build-up, film and oil.
About the author:
If you are a coffee lover you may find interest in www.the-coffee-spot.com
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12.16.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:15 am by admin
You need to understand I am a person who has sipped more than his share of wine from a rough, dishwasher-scratched Duralex (”Made in France”) glass, a glass with all the elegance of a Mason jar. I own fancy stemware for serious tastings, but cleaning it is a bother and expensive, given the burliness of my forearm and the delicate structure of the glass stem, snap. The Duralex, which I first experienced in a Brasserie in a town somewhere in France when I was tres younger than I am now, had its own special cachet and seemed adequate for most of my normal consumption at dinner. It was easy to hold, nearly unbreakable, fit easily in the dishwasher, stacked easily for storage and most importantly, did an excellent job of keeping the wine up off the table top.
You can imagine my reaction when someone told me that the latest of hip wine practice is for patrons to bring their own stemware in a foam fitted case to restaurants, the better to enjoy their wine selections. It was like someone reached up and flipped my boggle switch. I could not believe it.
Then I went to a tasting at a friend’s house where wines were served from the same bottle during dinner, right in front of my eyes, one glass in a restaurant clunker (although not Duralex, something that would stand up to lots of abuse) and the other serving in a Reidel glass, thin and very well formed for that particular type of wine. So, you had your Chardonnay glass and your pinot noir glass and your zinfandel glass all lined up, each shaped differently.
And I was so ready to expose this hoax.
I was prepared to focus all the arrows in my not insignificant quiver on the smells and flavors in those two different glasses, and I did, and you know what? They were right. The wine showed significantly better in the expensive stemware; it had better aroma, looked nicer and, as I was told later, because the shape caused the wine to spill onto the part of your tongue where its predominant flavor would be most perceptive, tasted a whole lot better. Same wine, different level of glass.
In the same way you can take a snapshot out of that messy pile you and I both know you have in a drawer somewhere in your house and spend a few dollars on a nice frame and instantly transform that picture into a photograph, worthy of placing on your fireplace mantle, so can you frame a wine in a way that draws attention to its uniqueness and most attractive features by spending some money on a special glass.
About the Author
Paul Kreider, who made his first wine in 1975, is the owner and winemaker of the Ross Valley Winery in San Anselmo, California. Since 1987, with notable success, his small Marin County bonded winery has specialized in transforming modest lots of unique grapes into vineyard-designated wines, each with its own individual character and particular personality. Check our website at www.rossvalleywinery.com.
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12.15.08
Posted in Life Of Media at 5:03 pm by admin
There has been a lot of buzz lately about living on a Cruise Ship full time as an alternative to living in a retirement home.
However, it does not seem very exciting after about 6 months or so.
Ships, even Cruise Ships, are noisy for at least 2 reasons:
1. Engine Noise.
No matter how new the ship, no matter what new turbine engines the ship may have, the 24 hour engine noise may get to people.
2. Parties, bars and restaurants.
There is always a kind of party atmosphere on a Cruise Ship, people eat and drink too much, nobody tells them when to go to bed, they don’t have to get up the next morning, so, parties make noise.
It gets boring staring at the ocean 2 out of 3 days.
Although ship’s activities are very many these days, after a while you’ll get bored with them.
Cabins in general are very small, so after a while you’re going to miss your large living room on the mainland with its 75″ TV.
However, if 6 months are too long, there are other alternatives; Cruise maybe a couple of months a year.
If you follow that action things become interesting.
Here are some options:
The Monthly $18,000 route:
Residensea, the world’s only floating Condo, a 47,000 ton cruise ship which sails the oceans,
reportedly offers staterooms for rent for as low as $18,000 per month.
This Cruise Ship has designer apartments with original art.
I mean, this is luxury personified.
Great if you can get it.
Around the world in 102 Days.
By small Luxury Cruise Ship
In 2005 a trip around the world lasting 110 days could be had for as low as $15,600 per person.
That is $150 per person per day including food and all facilities. That is $9000 per couple per month.
This same couple would spend a minimum of $4000 a month in an old folks home.
So going on this 3 1/2 month World Cruise would cost them $9000 - $4000 = $5000 per month.
Now let me tell you what this $5000 for 2 people gets them:
The Itinerary:
Southampton ,Tenerife - Canary Islands St Vincent - Cape Verde Islands Fortaleza - Brazil Rio de Janeiro - Brazil Montevideo - Uruguay Buenos Aires - Argentina Puerto Madryn - Argentina Port Stanley - Falkland Islands Cruise around Cape Horn Ushuaia - Argentina Transit Beagle Channel Punta Arenas - Chile Chacabuco - Chile Puerto Montt - Chile Santiago - Chile Cruise by Easter Island Cruise by Pitcairn Island Papeete - Tahiti Bora Bora - Society Islands Pago Pago - American Samoa Lautoka - Fiji Islands Noumea - New Caledonia Brisbane - Australia Sydney - Australia Eden - Australia Philip Island - Australia Melbourne - Australia Hobart -Australia Transit Milford Sound Dunedin - New Zealand Christchurch - New Zealand Transit Marlborough Sound Wellington - New Zealand Auckland - New Zealand Nuku ‘Alofa - Tonga Apia - Western Samoa Christmas Island Honolulu - Oahu, Hawaii Kahalui - Maui, Hawaii Los Angeles - USA Acapulco - Mexico Huatulco - Mexico Transit Panama Canal Curacao - Dutch Antilles Margherita Island - Venezuela Barbados Ponta Delgada
The Luxury:
This is on a very luxurious Cruise Ship that has only outside or balcony cabins.
By Freighter
In 2005 a trip around the world lasting 102 days by various freighting companies could be had for $11,750 per person.
That is $117 per person per day including food and all facilities. That is $7000 per couple per month.
This same couple would spend a minimum of $4000 a month in an old folks home.
So going on this 3 1/2 month World Cruise would cost them $7000 - $4000 = $3000 per month.
For this you get a double suite with double occupancy.
Port Times range from 1 to 2 days.
The advantage seems to be that there is lots of space in four double suites.
The double suites all consist of two rooms, a bedroom with twin beds and a living room.
The cabins have showers.
Each cabin also has its own VCR and TV monitor and refrigerator.
On board facilities are a private passenger lounge and the sharing of the officers’ table
There is also an indoor swimming pool.
Cruise Hopping
This is cheaper yet.
There are lots of 7 day cruises for about $100 per day per passenger.
So you could conceivably take 7 day cruises continuously in the same area, say, the Caribbean, on the same ship, or on different ships until you get sick and tired of the area.
You can then do the same thing from the West Coast.
Logistics would be more difficult because you may need a place to stay every 7th night.
Discount Cruising
Effective in 2005 there is now a discount European Cruise Line operating in the Caribbean that charges $46 per person per night but you have to get your own food.
Maximum time they allow you to cruise is 2 weeks.
Still, can’t get any cheaper than this.
So, if you want to live on a Cruise Ship, it can be done in a variety of different ways.
J Shipper is very interested in living on a Cruise Ship
http://www.2qz.com/condo-cruise-ship
http://www.condo-cruise-ship.com
http://www.celebrity-cruise-now.info
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Posted in Uncategorized at 5:39 am by admin
A delicious, mouth-watering piece of sweetened chocolate is a treat that tempts everyone. Whether it’s a delicious chocolate truffle or a double dipped chocolate nut cluster that just bursts with flavor as soon as it placed inside your mouth; quality chocolate candy is a treat that you enjoy and deserve.Chocolate candy, soft candy, chewy candy, chocolate and fruit candy are all available today over the internet at great prices.
For a quick energy pick up, consider chocolate. After putting your body through a grueling workout such as walking, running or bike riding, it demands bodybuilding nutrition. An easy, quick and reasonably priced way of fulfilling this need is to simply savor a piece of chocolate.
How do you show someone you love them? Do you buy them expensive gifts? Spend quality time together? Make personal sacrifices just to see them smile? Dedicate a song to them? Write a love letter or note of encouragement? Become their cheerleader? Those are wonderful things to do but my question goes deeper then those types of activities, even beyond your romantic partner. How about a piece of chocolate? There’s nothing better.
Only deal with quality makers of chocolate and candy who use the finest, freshest quality ingredients and that are offered at reasonable prices.
About the author:
Mike Yeager
Author/Publisher
http://www.a1-candy-4u.com/
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12.14.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:04 am by admin
During a FULFILLMENT seminar, at the University of Arizona for the Affiliated Women’s Clubs, a charming and successful woman unintentionally made our point about success, satisfaction and happiness. Catherine Hendricks spoke about several major problems that are caused by living too secular a life-style in this period of swift, destabilizing and often disconcerting change. Catherine lamented;
“I’m one woman who did everything well. I stayed out of trouble in school, married the right guy and joined a great company when it started taking women seriously. I’ve made sound business decisions along the way and shall surely become a V P before I’m forty. I live in a home my parents think a mansion and have two beautiful children. I do a job thousands envy. Obviously, I have everything. Right? Wrong! Much of my life feels incomplete and caught up in trivia. My kids are rebelling with sex and drugs and I’m almost certain my husband is having an affair with a little twerp. I feel deeply dissatisfied at the most inopportune times, as if nothing counts except for my sixty hour work weeks and paying for the house and the Mercedes. There must be more to life than this but when my therapist asks what’s missing, I can’t even tell her. I worry that I’m going mad to feel this way despite my accomplishments in the company and my prestige in my community. What do I do when I’ve won everything I’ve ever wanted and it isn’t enough to keep me happy?”
What, indeed — and what of the many persons who fall short of her achievements, who fear life is passing them by, who feel stuck in their careers or frustrated in their relationships? They are not mentally ill but virtually always spiritually maladjusted through secular values, negative attitudes, low expectations, immature beliefs and often irresponsible choices. They are left wondering how they can find consistent satisfaction. Our work answers Catherine’s troubling question along with a great many more. Our emphasis is on joyful living through spiritual values (or ethical virtues), positive attitudes, high expectations, mature beliefs and responsible choices. We have learned as Viktor Frankl, Karen Horney, Karl Jung and many others taught, that the unfortunate souls who are suffering from neurotic ailments and existential alienation, are those persons who have failed to find a consistent sense of meaning that assures their satisfaction through life’s several stages. We have also learned that few persons are going to simply get lucky and have fulfillment handed to them on a solver platter. Life is filled with many quid-pro-quos in which we must do our part wisely and well to have life become consistently satisfying as a by-product of our responsible choices.
Obviously this means that those persons doing the best they can - while still feeling stuck in their careers, dissatisfied with their love relationships and anxious that life is passing them by, must learn better ways of managing their existence. Of course, that is what this book is all about!
This approach was first conceived when Jard was psychology professor and convocations chairman at Olivet College. He had Viktor Frankl flown from Vienna to the campus to lecture and counsel about his approach to psychospiritual healing. Viktor had written several outstanding books, including MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING, PSYCHOTHERAPY AND EXISTENTIALISM and THE DOCTOR AND THE SOUL. The Viennese psychiatrist and psychologist called his approach Logotherapy - which means spirit healing - for existentially frustrated or spiritually bankrupt souls. Viktor, who spent more than three years in Nazi Germany’s brutal death camps, was spiritually transformed by his covenant relationship with God despite the suffering and fear surrounding him, into a virtual saint. Even in that anteroom of hell, with God’s help, he found meaning by helping others survive. In our distinctive religious approach to Logotherapy, you shall study crucial presentations and use revealing reality checks, self-focus exercises and powerful projects to consider serving society well, worshipping devoutly, relating warmly, persevering bravely, learning wisely and playing enthusiastically. New insights can lead to spiritual values, positive attitudes, high expectations, mature beliefs and responsible choices that enhance life for persons who apply them wisely.
This approach when piloted some hundred times in business organizations, churches, professional associations and universities, often received a standing ovation from the many participants. The authors won a 3.68 evaluation with it on a one to four scale for years. We have learned, in our presentations that range from hour long church forum lectures, to business seminars, to three day summer college classes, that participants are indeed fascinated with our materials. And while we are not entirely unbiased, we feel this interest is the result of our addressing vital human needs that are seldom considered in commercial seminars or even religious classes - despite their importance to each human soul. We are dealing in applied Logotherapy - the healing of the human spirit through a covenant relationship with God the Cosmic Creator.
If you or a loved one faces career, relationship, emotional or spiritual challenges that leave you dissatisfied and feeling stuck in life, worried that life itself is passing you by, that your life is bereft of meaning, this can be the most valuable single experience of your life. It can and will assist anyone seeking consistent fulfillment in many special ways - that is, helping the reader find satisfying sources of lasting meaning in those places of the heart where he or she belongs.
For a generation we, Jard and Roberta DeVille, have written such psychology books as NICE GUYS FINISH FIRST, LOVERS FOR LIFE, LEADERSHIP PSYCHOLOGY, LEADERSIP POWER (Japanese), LOS BUENOS TAMBIEN GANAN (Spanish), THE PASTOR’S HANDBOOK ON INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS, THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WITNESSING and others. One religious denomination, one of the fastest growing church organizations around the world, used our PASTOR’S HANDBOOK and WITNESSING as study guides for many thousands of American and foreign pastors. We feel deeply honored to have taken part in their outstanding ministry. LEADERSHIP PSYCHOLOGY was the lead-off book in the Executive Growth Series offered by New American Library, a major American publishing company. NICE GUYS was an American best seller while LEADERSHIP POWER was extremely useful to executives and managers throughout Japan. Obviously, we are not novices and we believe you can find a great deal of help by studying the materials we offer.
Fortunately, life can become deeply meaningful for loving persons who are maturing, who are meeting the needs of their spiritual unconscious that Frankl wrote about - which is as vital to satisfaction as our psychological unconscious that Freud discussed. It is this spiritual unconscious that is so often neglected by persons who live with secular values and too pragmatic choices - which is why we combine the psychological and the philosophical in our books and articles. After all, every society from primitive clans with be-feathered shamans chanting spells around campfires, to building mysterious Stonehenge, to completing towering European cathedrals, and even attending Billy Graham’s relational campaigns, has been trying to meet the spiritual yearnings throbbing within every human soul. These hungers are universal and repressing or neglecting them causes spiritual bankruptcy or what Frankl called existential frustration.
We have researched the emotional and spiritual aspects of satisfaction for half a century, drawing from brilliant existential philosophers, theologians and psychologists of whom Soren Kierkegaard, Carl Jung, Karen Horney, Tielhard de Chardin, Otto Rank, Melanie Klein, Paul Tillich, Viktor Frankl, H. Orton Wiley, Laura Perls, Rollo May and Carl Rogers are representative. Wayne Dyer, who remains a contemporary existential seminar leader on Public Television, has an excellent approach for improving spiritual health. We have learned beyond a shadow of a doubt, that fulfillment is never won directly but always the by product of a maturing life-style. We didn’t stop with concepts, however, but hammered the issues of life out in the real world, getting down into the mud and blood of existence with people experiencing differing degrees of emotional and spiritual failures. We have also discovered that human existence can indeed be filled with purpose and permanence for perceptive women and men. However, there is a major Catch - 22 in the search for consistent satisfaction. There is nothing automatic or universal about succeeding in our quest. There is no single approach to Fulfillment with a capital F that meets every person’s needs. Each one of us has to open personal channels by applying our own powers along lines of excellence. We must move beyond the theoretical to the practical.
Despite the assumptions of so many persons, our search can seldom be for happiness per se. Happiness is a fleeting emotion that will always fade and eventually vanish. We all need times of joy, obviously, but it is far more satisfying to create lasting sources of meaning in our lives - in those places of the heart where we belong, connected to persons with whom we share love, acceptance and support.
We all hold values, attitudes, expectations and beliefs and make choices that are relevant to our lives. These key aspects of life affect us according to our inherited traits, environmental experiences and formative choices. Naturally, not one of us is exempt from civilization’s pressures. All men and women inherit homosapien angst and rage, resist childhood socialization, and struggle to break the apron strings during adolescence and to remove emotional scar tissue in the unconscious aspects of our minds. We are indeed forced to deal with the tragic elements of suffering, guilt, rage and death. It doesn’t end there, fortunately. We are pleased to report that despite many existential frustrations, spiritually-minded persons who convert their earthly meanderings into purposeful, love-filled quests can enjoy consistent fulfillment. Women and men who cultivate faith, hope and love do find joy even as waves of complex change batter society relentlessly.
We recently had this approach confirmed by an unlikely source in an entirely unexpected setting. The carnival barker on the Minnesota State Fair Midway didn’t look like a philosopher. His fingernails were ragged and dirty and a broken tooth gave him a cynical and somewhat sinister leer. Tough-Tony Gallo seemed too rough-hewn a man from whom to learn much about a meaningful life. Nevertheless, Tony went right to a major aspect of fulfillment when he said;
“Life’s sorta like ridin’ a bicycle uphill. Ya gotta keep pedalin’ along or ya gotta stop and get off. There ain’t no reverse gear and ya gotta keep yer balance.”
How marvelously well expressed! There you have it - much knowledge and wisdom in a nutshell! Tough Tony had just relieved Jard of six dollars in a futile attempt to win a stuffed panda for a granddaughter at his milk bottle-toss game. Neither Jard’s arm nor his aim is what either was in his youth but he was delighted with the transaction. After all, in these days of expensive therapy, that was a bargain price for such excellent counsel about living successfully. As our philosophical friend with dirty nails so succinctly said, a satisfying life has an ongoing flow that must be embraced if we are to find consistent meaning and belonging with the powers God through nature has given us to invest in spiritual growth. To sum this up even more succinctly than Tony did, we use this simple equation;
PERSONAL FULFILLMENT = f (Heredity x Environment x Choices)
Everything we inherit from all of our ancestors is acted on by our environment whether it is good or bad. And that product is multiplied by the excellent, mediocre or disastrous choices we make about life and our place in it.
Through these articles, we use the word existential to mean that something relates to the cultural and personal life-style humans choose to follow or have thrust upon them by society. It has nothing to do with the grim European philosophy of Existentialism taught by Sartre, Camus and others in the desperate decades of the World Wars, the murderous Holocaust and the long, debilitating Cold War. To us, existential just means that something being discussed is related to the life-style we follow.
Jard DeVille; Psychology Dept. Chair at Westminster College; Director of the Kenosha Child Conservation; taught leadership psychology at the University of Arizona at Tucson. He’s published psychology books, seminars and psychological assessment instruments. NICE GUYS FINISH FIRST was a best seller. He’s considered by many to be America’s foremost leadership scholar. Visit http://www.fulfillmentforum.com for FREE EBooks & EBiz Tools.
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12.13.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:01 pm by admin
600 g 1.3 lb package of M&M Frozen Raspberries
625 mL (2-1/2 cups) orange juice
30 mL (2 tbsp) lemon or lime juice
50 mL (1/4 cup) sugar
750 mL (3 cups) champagne or sparkling wine
Or
1 L (4 cups) unsweetened pineapple juice
Thaw raspberries at room temperature; do not drain. Place raspberries with orange juice and lemon or lime juice in blender. Add sugar. Cover and process until smooth. To remove raspberry seeds, pour mixture through a fine sieve; transfer to 8 L / 2-quart pitcher. Stir in champagne, sparkling white wine or pineapple juice. Serve over ice. Makes 12 (150 mL/5 oz servings)
Recipe courtesy of M&M Meat Shops
- News Canada
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News Canada
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