The company benefits too, of course. Excellent training means employees do a better job, but that’s not all: this accreditation also shows the company’s regulators how good Think Money’s training programme is.

Phil Robertson, Head of Staff Development at Think Money: “Training and development are absolutely vital to a company like ours - and so is recruitment. That’s another reason we’re so pleased to be the first in the North West to receive this kind of recognition from the FSSC. A lot of bright people want to work in financial services. They’re looking for a company that’ll give them a career, not just a job, and this accreditation provides cast-iron proof that this is what Think Money provides.”

But the FSSC doesn’t just recognise excellence. It also provides advice, ideas and information. It helps companies improve their training programmes even further, pointing out exactly where they need to work harder and where they could learn from examples of ‘best practice’ throughout the financial industry.

As Phil puts it: “There’s always room for improvement. We’d already met the ‘Investors in People’ standard. We’ve been one of the Sunday Times’ ‘Best 100 Companies to Work for’ for the last two years. Earning the FSSC’s ‘Accreditation of Training Excellence for Firms’ proves that we’re dedicated to continuous improvement. It’s what we expect of our staff - and it’s what they expect of us.”

Since its creation in 2006, the following eight organisations had been awarded the accreditation:

• Aon Ltd Reinsurance
• Chelsea Building Society
• Financial Services Authority
• Friends Provident UK Distribution
• Hoodless Brennan plc
• Jupiter Unit Trust Managers Limited
• Norwich Union Life
• Nsure Financial Services Limited

About Think Money

One of the UK’s leading financial solutions providers, Think Money is headquartered in Salford Quays, Manchester, and employs around 600 employees to deliver a comprehensive range of debt, loan and banking solutions. It defines its mission as ‘To educate, rehabilitate and advise on all aspects of financial management’.

Partly it is the feeling that there is safety in numbers. The fashionable term today is “moral hazard”. The implicit guarantees of the state and of other financial institutions move us to take risks which we would, otherwise, have avoided. Partly it is the sophistication of the banks in marketing and promoting themselves and their products. Glossy brochures, professional computer and video presentations and vast, shrine-like, real estate complexes all serve to enhance the image of the banks as the temples of the new religion of money.

But what is behind all this? How can we judge the soundness of our banks? In other words, how can we tell if our money is safely tucked away in a safe haven?

The reflex is to go to the bank’s balance sheets. Banks and balance sheets have been both invented in their modern form in the 15^th century. A balance sheet, coupled with other financial statements is supposed to provide us with a true and full picture of the health of the bank, its past and its long-term prospects. The surprising thing is that - despite common opinion - it does.

But it is rather useless unless you know how to read it.

Financial statements (Income - or Profit and Loss - Statement, Cash Flow Statement and Balance Sheet) come in many forms. Sometimes they conform to Western accounting standards (the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, GAAP, or the less rigorous and more fuzzily worded International Accounting Standards, IAS). Otherwise, they conform to local accounting standards, which often leave a lot to be desired. Still, you should look for banks, which make their updated financial reports available to you. The best choice would be a bank that is audited by one of the Big Four Western accounting firms and makes its audit reports publicly available. Such audited financial statements should consolidate the financial results of the bank with the financial results of its subsidiaries or associated companies. A lot often hides in those corners of corporate holdings.

Banks are rated by independent agencies. The most famous and most reliable of the lot is Fitch Ratings. Another one is Moody’s. These agencies assign letter and number combinations to the banks that reflect their stability. Most agencies differentiate the short term from the long term prospects of the banking institution rated. Some of them even study (and rate) issues, such as the legality of the operations of the bank (legal rating). Ostensibly, all a concerned person has to do, therefore, is to step up to the bank manager, muster courage and ask for the bank’s rating. Unfortunately, life is more complicated than rating agencies would have us believe.

They base themselves mostly on the financial results of the bank rated as a reliable gauge of its financial strength or financial profile. Nothing is further from the truth.

Admittedly, the financial results do contain a few important facts. But one has to look beyond the naked figures to get the real - often much less encouraging - picture.

Consider the thorny issue of exchange rates. Financial statements are calculated (sometimes stated in USD in addition to the local currency) using the exchange rate prevailing on the 31^st of December of the fiscal year (to which the statements refer). In a country with a volatile domestic currency this would tend to completely distort the true picture. This is especially true if a big chunk of the activity preceded this arbitrary date. The same applies to financial statements, which were not inflation-adjusted in high inflation countries. The statements will look inflated and even reflect profits where heavy losses were incurred. “Average amounts” accounting (which makes use of average exchange rates throughout the year) is even more misleading. The only way to truly reflect reality is if the bank were to keep two sets of accounts: one in the local currency and one in USD (or in some other currency of reference). Otherwise, fictitious growth in the asset base (due to inflation or currency fluctuations) could result.

Another example: in many countries, changes in regulations can greatly effect the financial statements of a bank. In 1996, in Russia, for example, the Bank of Russia changed the algorithm for calculating an important banking ratio (the capital to risk weighted assets ratio).

Unless a Russian bank restated its previous financial statements accordingly, a sharp change in profitability appeared from nowhere.

The net assets themselves are always misstated: the figure refers to the situation on 31/12. A 48-hour loan given to a collaborating client can inflate the asset base on the crucial date. This misrepresentation is only mildly ameliorated by the introduction of an “average assets” calculus. Moreover, some of the assets can be interest earning and performing - others, non-performing. The maturity distribution of the assets is also of prime importance. If most of the bank’s assets can be withdrawn by its clients on a very short notice (on demand) - it can swiftly find itself in trouble with a run on its assets leading to insolvency.

Another oft-used figure is the net income of the bank. It is important to distinguish interest income from non-interest income. In an open, sophisticated credit market, the income from interest differentials should be minimal and reflect the risk plus a reasonable component of income to the bank. But in many countries (Japan, Russia) the government subsidizes banks by lending to them money cheaply (through the Central Bank or through bonds). The banks then proceed to lend the cheap funds at exorbitant rates to their customers, thus reaping enormous interest income. In many countries the income from government securities is tax free, which represents another form of subsidy. A high income from interest is a sign of weakness, not of health, here today, gone tomorrow. The preferred indicator should be income from operations (fees, commissions and other charges).

There are a few key ratios to observe. A relevant question is whether the bank is accredited with international banking agencies. These issue regulatory capital requirements and other mandatory ratios. Compliance with these demands is a minimum in the absence of which, the bank should be regarded as positively dangerous.

The return on the bank’s equity (ROE) is the net income divided by its average equity. The return on the bank’s assets (ROA) is its net income divided by its average assets. The (tier 1 or total) capital divided by the bank’s risk weighted assets - a measure of the bank’s capital adequacy. Most banks follow the provisions of the Basel Accord as set by the Basel Committee of Bank Supervision (also known as the G10). This could be misleading because the Accord is ill equipped to deal with risks associated with emerging markets, where default rates of 33% and more are the norm. Finally, there is the common stock to total assets ratio. But ratios are not cure-alls. Inasmuch as the quantities that comprise them can be toyed with - they can be subject to manipulation and distortion. It is true that it is better to have high ratios than low ones. High ratios are indicative of a bank’s underlying strength, reserves, and provisions and, therefore, of its ability to expand its business. A strong bank can also participate in various programs, offerings and auctions of the Central Bank or of the Ministry of Finance. The larger the share of the bank’s earnings that is retained in the bank and not distributed as profits to its shareholders - the better these ratios and the bank’s resilience to credit risks.

Still, these ratios should be taken with more than a grain of salt. Not even the bank’s profit margin (the ratio of net income to total income) or its asset utilization coefficient (the ratio of income to average assets) should be relied upon. They could be the result of hidden subsidies by the government and management misjudgement or understatement of credit risks.

To elaborate on the last two points:

A bank can borrow cheap money from the Central Bank (or pay low interest to its depositors and savers) and invest it in secure government bonds, earning a much higher interest income from the bonds’ coupon payments. The end result: a rise in the bank’s income and profitability due to a non-productive, non-lasting arbitrage operation. Otherwise, the bank’s management can understate the amounts of bad loans carried on the bank’s books, thus decreasing the necessary set-asides and increasing profitability. The financial statements of banks largely reflect the management’s appraisal of the business. This has proven to be a poor guide.

In the main financial results page of a bank’s books, special attention should be paid to provisions for the devaluation of securities and to the unrealized difference in the currency position. This is especially true if the bank is holding a major part of the assets (in the form of financial investments or of loans) and the equity is invested in securities or in foreign exchange denominated instruments.

Separately, a bank can be trading for its own position (the Nostro), either as a market maker or as a trader. The profit (or loss) on securities trading has to be discounted because it is conjectural and incidental to the bank’s main activities: deposit taking and loan making.

Most banks deposit some of their assets with other banks. This is normally considered to be a way of spreading the risk. But in highly volatile economies with sickly, underdeveloped financial sectors, all the institutions in the sector are likely to move in tandem (a highly correlated market). Cross deposits among banks only serve to increase the risk of the depositing bank (as the recent affair with Toko Bank in Russia and the banking crisis in South Korea have demonstrated).

Further closer to the bottom line are the bank’s operating expenses: salaries, depreciation, fixed or capital assets (real estate and equipment) and administrative expenses. The rule of thumb is: the higher these expenses, the weaker the bank. The great historian Toynbee once said that great civilizations collapse immediately after they bequeath to us the most impressive buildings. This is doubly true with banks. If you see a bank fervently engaged in the construction of palatial branches - stay away from it.

Banks are risk arbitrageurs. They live off the mismatch between assets and liabilities. To the best of their ability, they try to second guess the markets and reduce such a mismatch by assuming part of the risks and by engaging in portfolio management. For this they charge fees and commissions, interest and profits - which constitute their sources of income.

If any expertise is imputed to the banking system, it is risk management. Banks are supposed to adequately assess, control and minimize credit risks. They are required to implement credit rating mechanisms (credit analysis and value at risk - VAR - models), efficient and exclusive information-gathering systems, and to put in place the right lending policies and procedures.

Just in case they misread the market risks and these turned into credit risks (which happens only too often), banks are supposed to put aside amounts of money which could realistically offset loans gone sour or future non-performing assets. These are the loan loss reserves and provisions. Loans are supposed to be constantly monitored, reclassified and charges made against them as applicable. If you see a bank with zero reclassifications, charge offs and recoveries - either the bank is lying through its teeth, or it is not taking the business of banking too seriously, or its management is no less than divine in its prescience. What is important to look at is the rate of provision for loan losses as a percentage of the loans outstanding. Then it should be compared to the percentage of non-performing loans out of the loans outstanding. If the two figures are out of kilter, either someone is pulling your leg - or the management is incompetent or lying to you. The first thing new owners of a bank do is, usually, improve the placed asset quality (a polite way of saying that they get rid of bad, non-performing loans, whether declared as such or not). They do this by classifying the loans. Most central banks in the world have in place regulations for loan classification and if acted upon, these yield rather more reliable results than any management’s “appraisal”, no matter how well intentioned.

In some countries the Central Bank (or the Supervision of the Banks) forces banks to set aside provisions against loans at the highest risk categories, even if they are performing. This, by far, should be the preferable method.

Of the two sides of the balance sheet, the assets side is the more critical. Within it, the interest earning assets deserve the greatest attention. What percentage of the loans is commercial and what percentage given to individuals? How many borrowers are there (risk diversification is inversely proportional to exposure to single or large borrowers)? How many of the transactions are with “related parties”? How much is in local currency and how much in foreign currencies (and in which)? A large exposure to foreign currency lending is not necessarily healthy. A sharp, unexpected devaluation could move a lot of the borrowers into non-performance and default and, thus, adversely affect the quality of the asset base. In which financial vehicles and instruments is the bank invested? How risky are they? And so on.

No less important is the maturity structure of the assets. It is an integral part of the liquidity (risk) management of the bank. The crucial question is: what are the cash flows projected from the maturity dates of the different assets and liabilities - and how likely are they to materialize. A rough matching has to exist between the various maturities of the assets and the liabilities. The cash flows generated by the assets of the bank must be used to finance the cash flows resulting from the banks’ liabilities. A distinction has to be made between stable and hot funds (the latter in constant pursuit of higher yields). Liquidity indicators and alerts have to be set in place and calculated a few times daily.

Gaps (especially in the short term category) between the bank’s assets and its liabilities are a very worrisome sign. But the bank’s macroeconomic environment is as important to the determination of its financial health and of its creditworthiness as any ratio or micro-analysis. The state of the financial markets sometimes has a larger bearing on the bank’s soundness than other factors. A fine example is the effect that interest rates or a devaluation have on a bank’s profitability and capitalization. The implied (not to mention the explicit) support of the authorities, of other banks and of investors (domestic as well as international) sets the psychological background to any future developments. This is only too logical. In an unstable financial environment, knock-on effects are more likely. Banks deposit money with other banks on a security basis. Still, the value of securities and collaterals is as good as their liquidity and as the market itself. The very ability to do business (for instance, in the syndicated loan market) is influenced by the larger picture. Falling equity markets herald trading losses and loss of income from trading operations and so on.

Perhaps the single most important factor is the general level of interest rates in the economy. It determines the present value of foreign exchange and local currency denominated government debt. It influences the balance between realized and unrealized losses on longer-term (commercial or other) paper. One of the most important liquidity generation instruments is the repurchase agreement (repo). Banks sell their portfolios of government debt with an obligation to buy it back at a later date. If interest rates shoot up - the losses on these repos can trigger margin calls (demands to immediately pay the losses or else materialize them by buying the securities back).

Margin calls are a drain on liquidity. Thus, in an environment of rising interest rates, repos could absorb liquidity from the banks, deflate rather than inflate. The same principle applies to leverage investment vehicles used by the bank to improve the returns of its securities trading operations. High interest rates here can have an even more painful outcome. As liquidity is crunched, the banks are forced to materialize their trading losses. This is bound to put added pressure on the prices of financial assets, trigger more margin calls and squeeze liquidity further. It is a vicious circle of a monstrous momentum once commenced.

But high interest rates, as we mentioned, also strain the asset side of the balance sheet by applying pressure to borrowers. The same goes for a devaluation. Liabilities connected to foreign exchange grow with a devaluation with no (immediate) corresponding increase in local prices to compensate the borrower. Market risk is thus rapidly transformed to credit risk. Borrowers default on their obligations. Loan loss provisions need to be increased, eating into the bank’s liquidity (and profitability) even further. Banks are then tempted to play with their reserve coverage levels in order to increase their reported profits and this, in turn, raises a real concern regarding the adequacy of the levels of loan loss reserves. Only an increase in the equity base can then assuage the (justified) fears of the market but such an increase can come only through foreign investment, in most cases. And foreign investment is usually a last resort, pariah, solution (see Southeast Asia and the Czech Republic for fresh examples in an endless supply of them. Japan and China are, probably, next).

In the past, the thinking was that some of the risk could be ameliorated by hedging in forward markets (=by selling it to willing risk buyers). But a hedge is only as good as the counterparty that provides it and in a market besieged by knock-on insolvencies, the comfort is dubious. In most emerging markets, for instance, there are no natural sellers of foreign exchange (companies prefer to hoard the stuff). So forwards are considered to be a variety of gambling with a default in case of substantial losses a very plausible way out.

Banks depend on lending for their survival. The lending base, in turn, depends on the quality of lending opportunities. In high-risk markets, this depends on the possibility of connected lending and on the quality of the collaterals offered by the borrowers. Whether the borrowers have qualitative collaterals to offer is a direct outcome of the liquidity of the market and on how they use the proceeds of the lending. These two elements are intimately linked with the banking system. Hence the penultimate vicious circle: where no functioning and professional banking system exists - no good borrowers will emerge.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sam Vaknin ( http://samvak.tripod.com ) is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He served as a columnist for Central Europe Review, Global Politician, PopMatters, and eBookWeb , and Bellaonline, and as a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent. He is the the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101.

Three stone diamond rings are popularly given as anniversary gifts, though they are also used as engagement rings. Diamond rings are invariably given as an expression of love, and the deep symbolism of the triad of stones in this type of ring make it a gift that is rich in sentiment.

Three stone diamond rings are available with a variety of different shaped stones. Though round diamonds are eternally popular, they are often seen to best effect in a solitaire type setting. Oval, princess and emerald cuts are popular in 3 stone diamond rings. The extended length of both the oval and emerald shapes are particularly attractive when placed in a three stone setting. This setting is also used with great effectiveness to contrast stones of differing colors - the depth of color of flanking emeralds or sapphires can enhance the beauty of a central clear diamond. This setting is ideal for those who would like to add a splash of color to their diamond jewelry.

So whether you are celebrating your engagement, an anniversary, or simply want to say that you love her, a 3 stone diamond ring is a gift that will combine deep significance with triple beauty. Regardless of your taste or your budget you will be able to find the ring that says I love you in three different ways.

About the Author

Find out more about Diamond Wedding Rings as well as many other types of Diamond Rings including Diamond Engagement Rings at Peter’s website Delectable Diamond Rings.

Translated in Dutch is says: Woon je in Brunssum of Dronten en heeft u BKR verleden. Lenen met een BKR registratie is nergens zo eenvoudig. Verwen jezelf met een nieuwe caravan met snel minikrediet, 424365 euro is geen enkel probleem om te lenen. Van Sneek tot Duiven, geld lenen met zonder BKR registratie is altijd mogelijk.

Your dozen rose gift doesn’t only have to decorate your favorite room. Roses are about romance and enjoying the moment they are given and received. I’ve discovered some fun ways to use roses to create a stimulating day or night.

So read through this list of fun rose goodies.

Spice up your relationship and turn an ordinary day into an extraordinary day you will both remember. Select your favorite and have fun!

* Send your partner a dozen roses of their favorite color along with a check for a hundred kisses.

* Order a dozen roses, eleven red and one white. In your personal message write something like: “In every bunch there’s one that stands out - and you are that one”.

* Want your partners’ eyes to glow? Order a bouquet of different colored roses and place each one in a different place in your home. Where you place the dozen roses, also place a small card (decorate it nicely if you like) where it will state the meaning of each colored rose and how that meaning fits in with your lives.

* When you pick up your partner have a single rose waiting on the passenger seat for him/her. He/she will be pleasantly surprised but the real surprise is yet to come… Have two dozen roses waiting at home.

* Give a bunch of long stem roses for no reason. That will sure surprise.

* Dress your bed with a white satin cover and scatter red rose petals all over. Light candles, put some soft music, have fun!

* Order 11 roses and in the bouquet put an artificial one that looks real. On your card write something like: “I will love you till the last rose withers.”

* Get a journal (buy the same color journal to go with the color of roses you are going to send) and fill it with romantic quotes and love poems. Tie a ribbon around the book and give to your partner along with your dozen rose gift.

* Another variation to buying a journal and filling it with quotes is to write all the memorable moments you have shared and how you felt during those times. Like the first time you met, etc. Telling the other person how you feel always makes that person feel special. Of course accompany this with a beautiful bouquet of roses, or even one long stem rose.

* Send your partner a dozen roses - Surprise number one. When they’re wilted, turn the rose petals into potpourri, put in a nice decorative box and this is surprise number two. Your partner will be delighted with your thoughtfulness.

* For this valentine’s day I received a dozen roses. So the last thing I was expecting was to receive another bunch a week and a half later. What my boyfriend had done (and it was a great surprise) was to lay the petals of the old roses in the shape of a huge heart in our living room which would be the first thing I would see when I came home from work. In the middle of the heart he had placed a vase with different colored roses. I loved it!

* Leave a trail of roses leading from the front door to the dinning room where you have laid the table with fine dining wear and candles ready to enjoy a romantic dinner. Leave another trail of roses leading from the dining room to the bedroom. Scatter some red rose petals on your bed.

* Write a long love letter telling your partner why you love him/her. List in it all their good qualities. Write down all the things he/she does that makes you feel special. Write down how you see your future together and anything else you can think of. A better idea would be to write all this stuff in a journal so it can keep longer. Accompany with a dozen of their favorite colored roses.

* Write a love letter to your partner and put it into an attractive glass bottle. Fill the tub and scent it with your favorite aromatic bath oil(s). Scatter in a few rose petals and put the bottle in the tub. Let your partner discover it for themselves when they get into the tub.

* Give your partner 11 roses and tape the last one to the mirror of your bathroom. Tell him/her to go to the bathroom where they will see the last rose along with your message that says ‘these are the 12 most beautiful things in the world.’

* Buy a bunch of different colored artificial roses. On each rose write what each color represents. These roses will last forever and your partner when they look at them will always be pleasantly reminded of the first time they receive them.

* Place a rose on the windshield of your partner’s car which they will see and be delighted by before they leave for work. This will make them think beautiful thoughts about you all day. Then when they get home, present them with the rest of the 11 roses.

* Lay a white sheet on the floor of your bedroom/living room or wherever else. Scatter rose petals on it, place candles around the sheet, put on soft music and have your partner lay there and give them a massage.

* If you have a spare key to your partners car and know where they park during the day, while they are at work, put a bunch of roses in the car seat along with a note. They will be pleasantly surprised that you were there during the day.

* Present your partner with 10 red roses and 2 white roses. Write in the card something along the lines of “You will never be alone”

* Two weeks before valentine’s day, send your partner a rose for every day leading up to the big day. For the day arrange to do something you don’t usually do as a special treat to celebrate.

* Make a list of the qualities you love about your partner. Write each one individually on a small card and hang off each rose.

Copyright © Gina Stathopoulos

Looking for a gift? Let Gina and Nick show you what we buy for friends/family and each other. At our site you will find popular gifts, gift information and stories from our readers. Come have a look http://www.we-recommend.com

]]> http://usefularea.com/archives/2008/11/29/22-fun-things-to-do-with-your-dozen-rose-gift/feed/ http://usefularea.com/archives/2008/11/26/too-stuck-to-pray/ http://usefularea.com/archives/2008/11/26/too-stuck-to-pray/#comments Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:36:49 +0000 admin http://usefularea.com/archives/2008/11/26/too-stuck-to-pray/ The following article is offered for free use in your ezine,
print publication or on your web site, so long as the author resource box at the end is included. Notification of publication would be appreciated.

Title: Too Stuck to Pray
Author: Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
E-mail: mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com
Copyright: © 2003 by Margaret Paul
Web Address: http://www.innerbonding.com
Word Count: 784
Category: Spiritual Growth, Emotional Healing

TOO STUCK TO PRAY
By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

Prayer is a powerful way to open the heart when you are stuck in anger, fear, self-judgment, resistance or depression. When you can sincerely pray for spiritual help in opening your heart and taking responsibility for your own feelings and needs, help is there. Spirit will find some way to support you when you really desire the help. Spiritual help may come through words that pop into your mind, through images, feelings, dreams, or through other people - but it will come.

However, what if you are too stuck to pray? What if you are in resistance to opening to spiritual help, or what if you don’t believe in prayer or in God?

There are many other ways of opening the heart, but none of them will work unless your intent - your deepest desire - is to learn about what is loving to you and take action in your own behalf.

There are only two intentions we can choose in any given moment:

• To protect against pain and avoid responsibility for our own feelings with some form of controlling or addictive behavior - anger, compliance, resistance, withdrawal, alcohol, drugs, TV, gambling, food, and so on.

• To learn about loving ourselves and others and to be willing to take loving action in our own highest good.

When our intention is to protect against pain, then even prayer can be another way to avoid responsibility for ourselves. Prayers with the intent to control rather than learn will not be answered.

When our deepest desire is to take responsibility for our own well-being, then many things, including prayer, will help.

If you want to move out of your stuck place and prayer just isn’t your thing or you just can’t get yourself there, you may be able to open your heart if you:

• Think about what you are grateful for
• Find a way to help someone else
• Listen to music
• Take a walk
• Spend time in nature
• Open up to a friend
• Read personal growth books or spiritual literature
• Journal
• Do a creative activity
• Dance
• Do yoga
• Attend a Twelve-Step or other support-group meeting
• Play with a child or a pet
• Get held by a loving person
• Let yourself cry and lovingly hold a doll or stuffed animal that represents the sad part of you
• Release anger by yelling and pounding

A powerful way of moving beyond being stuck is to do the following three-part anger process:

1. Let yourself get really angry at someone in the present (without that person being there - you do this alone). Yell and pound, letting yourself blame this person in detail for all your misery.

2. Who does this person remind you of from the past - mother, father, grandparent, sibling? Let yourself yell and pound, letting out all your past anger and resentment.

3. Finally - and this is the most important part - let the angry child in you yell at the adult in you for how you are not taking care of yourself, for how you are like the people in the present and past you yelled at, how you are creating your own misery by not standing up for yourself, not taking loving action for yourself, and so on. This brings you to personal responsibility and takes you out of seeing yourself as a victim of others’ choices or of the past.

Once you understand how you are causing your own unhappiness by not taking care of yourself, then you need to open to learning about what is the loving action toward yourself. By sincerely asking, “What is the loving action? What is in my highest good?”, answers will pop into your mind. Then, of course, you need to take the loving action you are being guided to take. Without loving action in your own behalf, nothing will change.

Think of the sad, depressed, resistant, or angry part of you as a little child who is needing love. If you wait for someone else to love that child, you may wait forever. It is only when we are infants and toddlers that others may attend to what we need. As adults, it is our job to take care of our own feelings and needs. If you think of yourself as the parent of this child within - the feeling part of you - it may make it easier to take responsibility for yourself.

Happiness, peace and joy are the result of loving ourselves and others, rather than from being loved. When you really understand this and take action based on this truth, you will find your joy.

Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of eight books, including “Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?”, “Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By My Kids?”, “Healing Your Aloneness”,”Inner Bonding”, and “Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By God?” Visit her web site for a FREE Inner Bonding course: http://www.innerbonding.com or mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com

There are two types of dreaming. One is done while asleep, and the other awake. Both are an important means of communication between the unconscious and conscious parts of myself, another way my spirit communicates the purposes of the Universe to me. Either can speak to me in a language that will give me insight into who and what I secretly desire to become. Both can open up that part of me where creativity dwells, the part that isn’t shackled to the job of manipulating the outside world.

Factual living, on the other hand, can be brutal. Incorporating the insight and creativity that dreams inspire into my life softens the brutality of “real life,” and exposes a part of me that is unfettered by the convention of common thought and action to the experiences of the “real world.” Armed with the knowledge and understanding of what the deepest part of my psyche desires for me, my conscious mind can make my most fantastic dreams come true.

It would most certainly serve a positive purpose to record my dreams, but more important than that must be my determination to realize them. In dreams, whether engaged in idle speculation while awake or accomplishing impossible feats (like flying!) while asleep, submerged truth sometimes floats to the top, and stays with me when exposed to the clear light of day.

The experience of my dreams becomes just as much a part of the sum total of my soul as do my waking experiences. Dreaming helps me to progress along the path of my life, guided by the influence of passing illusion and making a tangible difference in my life and the lives of those with whom I come in contact, because I am forever changed by the process of the dream.

Dreams have a life of their own, and I am living in the truest sense when I find a way to live my dream while awake! It is my earnest hope that I never reach the age when regret of what I didn’t do takes the place of dreams of what I can do.

About the Author

Friday’s Inspiration offers a broad variety of practical and inspiring topics, based on common sense and sound philosophy. Outstanding contributions by some of the best self-help authors in the world accompany this author’s own thoughts in his weekly newletter about what works in his life, and what doesn’t.

A lot of betting saloon games can incite you into being dependent swiftly. Let’s look at the simple 1-armed bandit, a cash operated machine with three or more cylinders that whirl if a crank hitched to it is manipulated. This machine generally settles in correspondence to a run of symbols perceptible on the information screen of the gadget. Deplorably, gaming establishment games will convey the delusion of influence, thereby conning the client — the victim is provided with options, but actually they don’t truly level the customer’s overall disadvantage. That is precipitated by the betting saloon not paying out the full amount as hoped for. This method will generally be seen at work in popular casino games such as five card stud poker, dice games, roulette or blackjack.

Five card stud is truly a very fashionable casino game. The gaming enthusiasts, holding concealed hands, bet in a central pot which is granted to the prevailing punter blessed with the winning hand. (And yes, the shameless bluffing hand may well prevail too.) Resembling seven-card stud, blackjack is likewise an incredibly popular casino game. A substantial part of its reputation is due to its peculiar mix of chance and know-how and decision making, and a system called Card Counting. The aforementioned is an approach by which players can bend the arm of chance of the card game for their own ends by both wagering and tactical opetations in correlation to the cards shown.

Craps is another well-known gambling hall game involving the roll of two dice. Customers bet on the score of one spin, or on a string of cycles of 2 dice. Contrary to blackjack, there is no probable winner tactics punters can profit from to bend the odds. Roulette is another crowd pulling casino game of luck - a croupier whirls a roulette wheel incorporating thirty seven (classical roulette) or precisely 38 (Vegas roulette) differently marked receptacles in which the tossed ball must come to land, establishing the winning number and the other chances that will come with it. When a punter bets on a number and is successful, which is to say they’ve got a lucky hand, the promised return is thirty five to 1, the original bet is rebated. So in total it is increased by 36.

Try to be alert notwithstanding as some of these gambling house gambling pastimes are pretty dependency forming. An alarming number of lives have been wrecked by uncontrolled gambling & although it can be entertaining, do aim to restrain your wagers.

casino gambling

Lighten the load. Dispose of as much as possible
before you start to pack. Donate to charity, have
a yard sale or throw out.

Use the same size boxes. They will be easier to
stack both while you are packing, and in the truck.
No more spending time trying to figure out how to
get all those different sized boxes stacked so they
won’t fall over.

Use smaller boxes. Then you won’t have big heavy
boxes that will wear you out fast. You, and your
moving team will be able to keep going without
struggling.

Use a good quality tape and tape gun. The couple
extra bucks will save you tons of frustration.

A couple of wardrobe boxes are always a good
idea. They keep your clothes clean and ready to
hang. Plus, you can throw boots, shoes, and
purses in the bottom.

Before wrapping your figures in newspaper, put
them in a plastic shopping bag. It will keep them
clean. A paper towel will work with smaller items.

Always write the room the box goes into on the
outside of the box so your movers or helpers can
deposit the boxes without you having to play
traffic cop all day.

Write a description of what’s in the box so you
can find things easily. If you are using recycled
boxes (always a good idea), tape a sheet of
paper on the outside to make a nice clean
readable label.

When packing clothes, sheets, towels and such,
put a plastic garbage bag in the box first, then
place the items in the plastic bag. This works for
pots and pans too. Then you won’t have to rewash
them when you unpack. Throw a fabric softener
sheet into the bag of clothes and linens before
you close it up to keep them smelling nice.

Pack the items you will need the first night in
separate boxes and label them so you can get to
these things right away without having to go
through 20 boxes trying to find things when
you’re already exhausted.

Make sure the beds get set up, and other heavy
items are in place. Other things can be moved
around later.

Old fashioned as it may be - let the guys worry
about the furniture. Take the girls and let them
help you get the cabinets and drawers washed
out and your kitchen set up. Then, once the truck
is empty - everyone can easily sit down, relax,
and have some pizza and beer and conversation.

If you packed well, the clothes can go right in the
drawers. The sheets and towels can go right into
the linen closet. Hanging clothes can go right into
the closets. Depending on how ambitious you are,
the entertainment center can be set up and books
put in bookcases.

Take a break - the rest can wait for a little while……
Rome wasn’t built in a day.

—————————————————————-

Carole can show you how to keep that new home really
clean right from the start. Get your copy of Secret
Confessions of a Clean Freak and find out how you can
easily keep your new castle gleaming.
http://CleanFreak.CommonSenseLiving.com

About the Author

Carole is a work at home single parent. She shares her common sense tips for solving everyday real-life problems at www.CommonSenseLiving.com

At the present time in all company presentations, video clips are often implemented. By employing video production services it’s feasible to give the crucial communication to several consumers to help satisfy them. Video production is at this moment employed for several jobs; however, a number of short format online videos and brand related productions are usually manufactured in order to attain particular business goals.

Audio video productions are now in fashion and thus are used in roughly any sort of industry activity. Creative businesses at the outset by and large work with a certain sort of client or a corporation that wants to develop a short format online video commercial, a presentation or a series of video clips. The full work of video production is usually carried out by a number of freelancers; yet there are a handful of good online video production agencies around at the moment. Improve your businesses revenue online with promotional video production from Vidify.

The contribution of music composers, cameraman & script writers can also be very typical when creating audio video productions. Furthermore, advertising agencies & public relations agencies have recently become involved with many aspects of video publishing.