A promise from heaven

Lots of people dream about heaven.  Lots of people claim to have visited heaven and returned.  Stories of near death experiences and reincarnation captivate large audiences.  Information about heaven is available from many sources.  It may be hard for you to decide on which stories are reliable or believable.  This is very subjective thing.

Some people assume heaven will be full of angels, some which you'll be able to see and others you'll be able to sense through different kinds of perception.  Maybe it's a place where harmony will prevail, where quarrels or disagreements won't exist, where disappointments are unknown or forgotten.  Some people think angels have a hand in reminding us of the power of compassion.

What will heaven hold for you? Will it be a place to resolve all those unreconciled emotions? Will it be a palce where you experience nothing but love and joy forever? It could be a dream-like existence unlike anything you've ever known before.  The question is, will it be something you hope for and value? Will it be a place you fear and aim to avoid for as long as possible? What kind of a promise would you like to have concerning heaven?

The forthcoming Harry Potter

J.K. Rowling fans are dreaming about the 784pgs of her 7th and final Harry Potter series book (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows) due to be released in July 2007. Imagine 12 million copies for the first printing! Consider the logistics.

Rumors are circulating about characters who will die and what events we may have to look forward to or not. Unanswered questions remain, including whether future books in a new series may evolve to develop ends not tied up in this book. Ask yourself about some of your own unanswered questions in Harry Potter:

1) Is Dumbledore really dead?
2) Who else will die?
3) Which side is Snape on anyway? (Is he really evil?)
4) Will Ron and Hermione's relationship endure?
5) Must Harry and Voldemort have an ultimate confrontation?

For the magic moments to happen, as the theory goes, the reader's mind must be preserved in a state of absolute innocence. We're not supposed to know what's around the corner. We can anticipate, and our excitement builds. The element of surprise is meant to have a most lasting impact. It usually does!

"It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
(Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets, 1999)
~J.K. Rowling

Redefine surrender

Surrender yourself to positive thinking.  Create a heathier image of yourself on the inside.  You can turn any situation around with your mind. Listen to the words that are coming out of your mouth.  What ideas are you reinforcing? How are you spending your time? What situations are you talking about? You may not realize that destructive thoughts lead to destructive words and a destuctive focus that holds you back. Your word choices themselves strongly influence your life.

In some areas of life, surrender is not perceived as a good position to take. You may assume this means giving up. Many people assume it only means giving up the power you could exert over yourself.  If you think like that, you forget surrender can also be very empowering.  If you let go of negative thoughts and resolve that issues will work themselves out as you focus on what matters, Higher Forces will intervene. Voluntarily turning your attention away from destructive people and how they hurt you or manipulate yoru life is like surrendering yourself to a better life.

You need to apply uplifting thinking in your life in order to make good things happen. They won't simply unfold for you if you don't choose to believe them. How could you redefine the power of surrender in your life? What kinds of thoughts would you be willing to give up in order to better yourself? You have far more influence over the evolution of your life than you may realize.

All your feelings, beliefs and knowledge are based on your conscious and subconscious thoughts. Realize that you are in control, whether you know it or not. Each of us can be positive or negative, enthusiastic or complacent, active or passive. The biggest difference between people is their attitudes. Why not decide learning will be enjoyable and exciting? Tell yourself that learning is taking you places. It is more than a phase along the road to a job or a lesson that applies only temporarily. It defines your attitude. Choose to believe to be a believer in yourself. Surrender to faith in yourself.

"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."
~Abraham Lincoln

Move beyond fear

A number of people dream how they could move beyond fear.  You may also ask how you can get out of the grips of this potentially-destructive emotion.

One friend of mine has a fear of flying, literally.  When she boards a plane to travel somewhere, she pops the gravel or some other pill to knock herself out so she can forget about what is happening.  She prefers not to be conscious because they she doesn't have to deal with it.  Denial and then using a quick fix is her way.  "This approach works well enough," she explains. I smile and shrug my shoulders.  I've also encouraged her to rethink the reasons for her fear.

Now, consider your own circumstances.  What experiences frighten you? Are you aware of the root causes of your fear? The moment you decide fear will no longer control you, you're life will begin to change for the better.  Attitude and conditioning can assist you to overcome fear. You must learn to decipher what is truly rational versus what is irrational in your thinking.

More specifically, you need to learn what is truth and when you're lying to yourself. Challenge every fear-based thought.  Find out what is real and what is your imagination running away with you.  This may seem like the ultimate risk, to be honest with yourself and take control of your life.  Just think of all the positive experiences waiting for you! 

Visually- impaired computer programming-a dream come true

Blind and visually- impaired people dream of creating lives which are valuable. Like many people, the visually-impaired seek employment and opportunities to develop themselves.  A good friend of mine participated in an IT and website development conference and shared some startling new developments about this that I thought many other people would like to hear about.

A team of engineers at the University of Canberra, Australia, have set up an audio programming assistant (APA).  This team won the Imagine Cup at the Remix 2007 conference in Melbourne.  For the second consecutive year, the judges recognized this University of Canberra team.  These winners will represent Australia to compete in a forthcoming international competition.

This system they put together applies voice recognition technology with prompts for voice instructions.  It offers blind people the opportunity to obtain practical, technical qualifications and also equips people with job skills when they were previously unemployed or unemployable.

In Australia, Access Economics 2004 statistics reveal ~50,000 blind people and 480,000 who are considered as 'visually-impaired.' Vision Australia published 2007 unemployment statistics which show 69% of the blind and visually-impaired unemployed. This is how things are and how they will be unless society reacts decisively. The APA engineers are forward-thinking and hopeful. They have taken bold steps to create what is needed to empower other people.

The APA system has three main sub-systems: APA Studio.net, APA Web Browser and the APA website. This involves a programming tool that allows blind users to write, compile and run C# programs. APA uses a customized web browser that accesses web pages and reads out links to marked web pages.  The APA website gives blind people access to programming lessons and help forums to help learners and to support and programmer who desire it.

APA helps develop equal access in information technology. It will not only benefit visually-impaired and blind persons, but also employers, governments and academic institutions. Its a wave of the future. Think-out-of-the-box. Applaud progress. Helping others is also helping yourself. Promoting empowerment betters our world.  People feel good because they make a contribution and feel a useful part of society.