tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54070575210986966492024-03-14T03:47:05.761+00:00LifeEditorAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591329682017172200noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407057521098696649.post-24007586252800725262015-02-26T17:43:00.000+00:002015-02-26T17:43:41.526+00:00How to write content that delivers strategic results<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bPyWTSk5EkY/VO9a47FBMsI/AAAAAAAAAhw/bECDkc17m8M/s1600/art-of-copywriting1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bPyWTSk5EkY/VO9a47FBMsI/AAAAAAAAAhw/bECDkc17m8M/s1600/art-of-copywriting1.jpg" height="159" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I take a copywriting brief, I always try to take the
client back to first principles. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What are your aspirations for the business? What
are the strategic goals of this campaign? What are your specific medium-term
objectives? How is performance against these at the moment? What do you think
is holding you back?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At this point the client usually sighs and says, “Like I
said, we need a new website.” The thing is, that might not be the whole problem.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Customers deal with a whole company – correction, a whole
market. We need to think about their whole experience of coming to do business
with you. Not your sales process; their buying process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How do you look alongside your direct competitors? How do
you shape up against other things customers could spend their money on? How
compelling is your offer? How distinctive do you look? How swift, easy and
enjoyable is it to ride with you on a journey to purchase – and then come back
for another?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So the issue may be (partly) what the client is asking for:
the words on the website. Or it might be how the enquiry call is handled in the
call centre, a lack of enticing offers to bring them over the line, or inadequately
trained sales staff. Right up to the name of the business and its prominence in
search results.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I like to briefly analyse the whole customer buying
process, and identify the wrinkles and rough patches that are obstructing a
smooth journey to purchase.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We need to think not “this is what we want to tell the
customer”, but “what does the customer need to know, think, feel and do at each
stage of their buying process?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then we look at what channel and touch point is best to
deliver that result. It may be the website, or the call centre, or the
receptionist or the sales person – the combination of these, or something else
nobody had thought about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From the customer’s point of view all these are connected.
Together they make up what your business means to them. The customer has an
integrated view of you, but often your view of them is fragmented. And <i>that’s</i> what needs fixing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Once we’ve assembled all the components of a successful
customer journey, writing it up is actually not that hard. Of course, we need
to think about the character of the brand and how we want it to come across in
tone of voice, style, feel – but that’s the copywriter’s bread and butter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pitfall alert: take subjective preference out of the
equation and serve the brand. What I like doesn’t matter. Actually what the
client likes isn’t necessarily right either (though they are the piper, and they
do call the tune). It’s really all about what’s right for the brand and right
for the customer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You may only end up with 180 words on the website, buy
they’ll be the right 180 words. Because they’ll get the customer to do want you
want them to do – happily. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And that’s what’ll bring you the strategic results you were
looking for all along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The author is
currently a full-time senior copywriter at BT Global Services.</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591329682017172200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407057521098696649.post-35396739694698845892014-10-21T18:07:00.001+01:002014-10-21T18:07:35.778+01:00How to not get angry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UZysKe5lvH8/VEaRiAEHxwI/AAAAAAAAAg0/6zizVtzQc0E/s1600/angry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UZysKe5lvH8/VEaRiAEHxwI/AAAAAAAAAg0/6zizVtzQc0E/s1600/angry.jpg" height="140" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Suppose some guy is having a go at you. Any minute now you
know you are going to start getting angry. This is the moment you need
awareness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You need to train in awareness in advance so you can call
upon it in this crucial moment. To train in awareness you meditate on the
activity going on in your own mind. You simply sit and notice what is arising. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Think of your mind as the sky and the thoughts and feelings
as passing clouds. You don’t engage with the thoughts, don’t follow the
feelings. You simply see them arise and then watch them dissolve again. You
become a silent observer of what is going on in your mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Training in this way, you can notice when anger is about to
develop in your mind. It allows you to pause, if only for a second or two, just
enough to step back and avoid automatic retaliation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then, in that moment, you need to do something
counter-intuitive, but which is the key to freedom – you accept. Accept a
moment’s mental discomfort. Exercise a moment’s patient acceptance of the pain
or unpleasantness you are experiencing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GT0x8AN2y10/VEaRiNW0GbI/AAAAAAAAAgw/xBGTR-9OgB0/s1600/acceptance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GT0x8AN2y10/VEaRiNW0GbI/AAAAAAAAAgw/xBGTR-9OgB0/s1600/acceptance.jpg" height="110" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why should I? Well, because the law of karma tells us that
all the suffering we experience is caused by our past actions. The guy having a
go at you is just a secondary cause, a trigger. Ultimately, somehow, in some
way long forgotten, you brought this upon yourself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you can accept that (or even if you can’t) but you can
patiently endure a minute of unpleasant feelings, you pacify that karma. It is burnt
off, exhausted, dealt with – and you will never have to face it again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In this moment’s pause you recall all the disadvantages of
getting angry. Anger is a completely destructive force. It serves no positive
purpose. Its sole function is to harm us, destroying our peace of mind. Worse
still it causes us to act in unhelpful ways which sow the seeds of even more suffering
in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anger, if followed, reinforces our self cherishing, the
source of all our suffering and the medium through which we experience all our
suffering. Even in its milder forms of irritation, annoyance, frustration or
resentment, it disturbs our mind, destroying any chance of peace and happiness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In this moment’s pause, you also give yourself a chance to
reflect that this guy is not an inherently bad person. In fact it’s not he who
is at fault at all. He is in the grip of his delusions. They are what’s causing
him to act in this negative way towards you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you are going to get angry with anything, get angry with
delusions. (Actually this is not anger at all – to take up arms against
delusions is actually a form of wisdom.) It’s this guy’s self-grasping, his
self-cherishing, his pride, jealousy or attachment that is driving him to act
in this way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-17ZqiJiNs-E/VEaSZH94q8I/AAAAAAAAAhI/dZSrnb_I1Ig/s1600/In_The_Same_Boat.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-17ZqiJiNs-E/VEaSZH94q8I/AAAAAAAAAhI/dZSrnb_I1Ig/s1600/In_The_Same_Boat.gif" height="173" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And d’you know what? We all have these delusions. We all
suffer from them to some extent or another. We’re all in the same boat. All wanting
to be happy, but plagued by delusions which compel us to do negative things that
just make matters worse. In this we are all equal. We’ve all been there… so cut
him some slack. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By this time, the moment will have passed. You will have
avoided retaliating and escalating the situation. You’ll both have had a chance
to cool off and avoid making matters worse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ld221sJO670/VEaRiFMBK3I/AAAAAAAAAg8/nR7qXkH6KfQ/s1600/Compassion1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ld221sJO670/VEaRiFMBK3I/AAAAAAAAAg8/nR7qXkH6KfQ/s1600/Compassion1.jpg" height="145" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then later, perhaps while meditating, you can think, ‘that poor
guy’. This guy who was having a go at me was totally under the control of his
delusions. And acting on his anger like that was just sowing the seeds of more
suffering in the future. It isn’t condescending to think like this, it’s pure
compassion. And thinking compassionately is a very virtuous and beneficial
thing to do, for yourself as well as him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can then go on and think ‘I wish he didn’t have to do
this. I wish he didn’t have to suffer these delusions. I wish there was
something I could do to help him. I wish I could take that suffering away from
him.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is a wonderful meditation you can do in which you imagine
that you take away this guy’s delusion and the suffering it causes him. You
imagine it in the form of black smoke and you draw it from him into your heart.
You imagine that this relieves him of his suffering. It does no harm to you. It
is a very virtuous wish and is of great benefit to yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can also go on to imagine that you can replace that
delusion with love and happiness. You pretend you are beaming love and peace
into his heart. Practising in this way creates the causes for us to eventually
develop the ability to actually do this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Next time you encounter him, you wish him to be happy. Just
think how that could change the dynamic between you. He’s not likely to get
angry with you if your intention is for him to be happy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You will have transformed a potential angry conflict into a
harmonious and positive relationship. And that’s how to not get angry.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591329682017172200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407057521098696649.post-1655220296755766472014-07-31T18:50:00.004+01:002014-07-31T18:50:49.134+01:00Do you want to be free?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hell is a state of mind. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It may be a real place as well. People in war zones would
say so. I don’t know. And I sure as hell don’t want to find out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I don’t think I have ever been to hell. But, as a human
being, I have definitely been to other realms. And I can vouch for the fact
that they are real – real states of mind, that is.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Do you know any hungry ghosts? Have you ever been one? I
have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KlrJVWu7ciY/U9qABq4HNlI/AAAAAAAAAcw/SLbPmV9gzT8/s1600/fb-addicted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KlrJVWu7ciY/U9qABq4HNlI/AAAAAAAAAcw/SLbPmV9gzT8/s1600/fb-addicted.jpg" height="144" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hungry ghosts roam around searching in vain for food and
drink to satisfy their endless hunger. And even when they find it, it does not
satisfy, it only brings more craving… This is the addict or alcoholic. Or the person
addicted to something – to their body image, another person, social status,
excitement. Or the most common of all – shopping.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some people live like animals. They only care about their
bodily needs, protection, shelter, comfort, food. They’re nice to their family
and friends – but so are animals. They don’t see beyond their immediate
gratification. They exist from hand to mouth without any appetite for higher
self-realisation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We live in the human realm. That’s because we are human
beings! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You didn’t need me to tell you that – or did you? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Speaking for myself, if I’m honest, I would have to admit
that sometimes I forget I’m a human being. I forget what it really means to be
a human being. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I get up, walk the dog, go to work, kiss my wife. But
sometimes I’m asleep. I am not really conscious of what it means – what the
true meaning of being a human being is. What my true potential is. It’s like
sleep walking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I try to remain conscious, grateful. Remembering that this
human life is short and precious. That it’s going to end and I don’t know when.
That I could do a great, great deal with it, if I set my mind to it. But often
I don’t bother. Which is a waste.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’m in a human existence, but not truly living a human life
to the full. Another state of mind – or should I say ‘mindlessness’?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BV9rg7vOPgY/U9qABq5OjoI/AAAAAAAAAc0/t9M_kwytuUk/s1600/Fat-businessman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BV9rg7vOPgY/U9qABq5OjoI/AAAAAAAAAc0/t9M_kwytuUk/s1600/Fat-businessman.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Next realm up – the demi-gods. And there’s plenty of them where I work, I can
tell you. They seem to have it pretty good. They have power and prestige.
People look up to them, run around doing their will. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But are they happy? Perhaps political scheming, watching
their back, looking for the one-upmanship opportunity make them happy, but I
doubt it. They promote themselves too hard for someone who’s happy with them
self.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If I was a movie star, a celebrity, living in a mansion with
twenty cars, never having to work – then I’d be happy, for sure. Apart from the
fear of losing my looks, of getting old. The stress of constantly checking my
image. Having my relationships dissected in the newspapers. And the trips to the Betty Ford Clinic – I’m
sure it’d be absolutely blissful!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The fundamental wish of all living beings is to be free from
suffering. Yet all these realms – all these states of mind – entail a certain
amount of suffering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So we need to go beyond them to find a place free from
suffering. And we can only do that from the human realm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is slightly ironic that the real meaning of human life is
to cease to exist as merely human but to realise our divine potential to escape
suffering. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With a pure intention and sincere practice it is definitely
possible escape the cycle of suffering
and move beyond it to a realm of pure peace, happiness and freedom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To be truly human is wish to be free, to be divine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have created some personal decision-making tools, one of which is based on the Buddhist Wheel of Life, where these realms are described. They are free at <a href="http://www.thelifeeditor.com/">www.thelifeeditor.com</a> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591329682017172200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407057521098696649.post-28882921347709822212014-07-20T12:24:00.002+01:002014-07-20T12:24:50.169+01:00The contact mistake<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
The lens in our eye turns the image of the world upside down.
It delivers an inverted image of the world onto our retina, with the floor up
there and the ceiling down below. Our mind immediately interprets this image and
says, “No, I say the floor is down there and the ceiling is up above”. See how
our mind creates a false impression of reality?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we receive an image of the world in our brain, we don’t
immediately say “oh, there is a mistaken image of the world appearing in my
mind”. For some strange reason our first thought is “there’s a real world out
there and it exists in the way it appears to my mind”. This is when the mistake
occurs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The catastrophic mistake which causes us so many problems.
Not only we do we think “there’s a real world out there”, we also think “there’s
a real me in here and I’m separate from the rest of the world.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then we proceed to develop all sorts of confused
thinking about how we should deal with that situation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We develop feelings about what we see, some of which we
like, some of which we don’t. We think that what we desire resides in the
things that give us nice feelings and we crave after them. Little do we realise
that the feeling we like is being created in our mind and doesn’t come from the
object.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then we perform all sorts of unhelpful actions that
compound the situation. Like putting time and energy into obtaining those
things that seems to give us what we want, instead of into the things that
really would.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I went to a Dharma course yesterday called Constant Craving
and the teacher asked us “How much do you believe that you are stuck with
craving? And how much do you believe that pure perfect peace is really
possible?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If I’m honest, I have to admit that – up to now – I have
believed that it’s much truer that I’m stuck with craving. I’ve believed pure
peace is possible, eventually, but I’ve more strongly believed that craving is
real.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Big mistake. I’ve been buying a lie. The lie that what I
desire is out there in things and I crave them to give me that nice feeling.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like the image of the room, this thinking is upside down. I
do desire something: pure peace and happiness. But it is not out there in
things. Although, with training I can create it in my mind, just as I create
illusions at the moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only thing that is stopping me from being free from craving
is a thought. The thought that I cannot be free from craving. But I can use the
power of imagination to replace that thought with an alternative: that I am a
person free from craving.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why not? It’s exactly the same process of imputation. The
difference is this time the object of my imputation is virtuous. It is not an
illusion. It is actually true. It may seem unrealistic, but that’s just because
I’m so used to believing in the illusion.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I’m buying out of the lie. I’m turning the world up the
right way again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m resolving to invest my precious time and effort in a
more fruitful direction. Moving a little bit closer every day to an image of
myself as a person free from craving. One for whom true peace and happiness really
is possible.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
[‘Contact’ and ‘feeling’ are two of the twelve dependent
related links in the Buddhist Wheel of Life. I have developed a personal
decision-making tool based on the Wheel of Life, which is available free from <a href="http://www.thelifeeditor.com/">www.thelifeeditor.com</a>] <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591329682017172200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407057521098696649.post-17831092385244913402014-06-27T19:44:00.000+01:002014-06-27T19:44:42.822+01:00How to be happy<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How to be happy? Easy. Do the right thing. How to tell what
the right thing to do is? Now, that’s a bit harder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Doing the right thing makes you happy. That’s the definition
of happiness – it’s the result of having done the right thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And I don’t just mean a fleeting, superficial kind of
happiness. But proper happiness – fulfilment, contentment, peace and joy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Doing the wrong thing makes you feel unhappy – tight,
disturbed and regretful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sometimes it might feel as if doing the wrong thing can make
you happy, like saying something cutting to get your own back on someone. But
that’s not happiness. That just hurts them, demeans you and fuels the quarrel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No, what I’m talking about is deep, lasting, pure happiness
and peace. And that only ever comes from doing the right thing. But how do you
tell what that is? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, one answer is moral discipline.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yuk. That was my first reaction, one which lasted for the
first 45 years of my life. I didn’t want anything to do with morality or
discipline! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Morality was just people telling you what was right and
wrong – and who were they to tell me what I could or couldn’t do?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Discipline was just people telling me not to do the things I
wanted to do, things I was pretty sure would make me happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Combined, they were a recipe for how to be miserable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But recently someone very wise pointed out that actually
moral discipline is a guide to how to have a happy, peaceful life. That turned
the whole thing around for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Simply by avoiding doing the wrong thing, I could remove all
sources of pain, regret, guilt, doubt and uneasiness from my mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By choosing to do the right thing instead, I could ensure a
constant source of satisfaction, fulfilment, ease and happiness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Suddenly I saw through the deceptive nature of negative
actions which appear to offer happiness and saw instead their true nature as
causes of misery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So what is wrong? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, here is the Buddhist list of negative actions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Killing or harming any living being. So far so good. I wasn’t
going to do either of them. But if I was going to do this properly I would have
to avoid treading on snails on the path, and I might have to become vegetarian…
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stealing or taking anything that doesn’t belong to me. As
long as shopkeepers didn’t give me change for £20 when I’d only given them a
tenner...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sexual misconduct. Sleeping with someone else’s partner
might seem like fun, but it brings a lot of pain and grief, believe me. And I’d
better watch where my day dreams take me…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Telling lies. I don’t tell out-and-out lies these days, but
being scrupulously honest about everything is quite hard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Saying things which hurt people. That is
going to be fairly hard too… I might easily get a bit hot under the collar if I
feel attacked or criticised. I’m going to have to work at that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Saying anything which sets people against each other or wasting
time in idle gossip. Should be alright on that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wanting something which someone else has, or wanting to do
harm to someone. Or holding wrong views, like denying there’s anything wrong
with the above. Ditto.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All of these (what shall we call them? Sins? Non-virtuous
actions?) stem from one underlying, catastrophic mistake: cherishing myself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Self cherishing is when we think “I am important just because
I am me”. It causes us to perform all sorts of negative actions in pursuit of
self-gratification. And because they are negative, they make us unhappy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The antidote is – guess what? – cherishing others. Thinking:
“I want you to be happy” and then performing virtuous actions to try to achieve
that. Because these actions are virtuous, they make us happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Life presents innumerable opportunities to do the right or
the wrong thing. Many are tiny. They flit across the mind and before you even
know it you’ve thought, said or done something (right or wrong).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Training in alertness and mindfulness through meditation
helps enormously. You learn to become aware of what you are thinking as soon as
you start thinking it, so that you can spot any negative thoughts and nip them
in the bud before they are expressed in words or actions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bigger decisions crop up less often but have huge potential
to make you happy – or not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Life Editor offers some free decision making aids to
help you tell how right or wrong a potential course of action might be for you.
A couple of them are based on the
Buddhist view of life; others draw on different spiritual traditions. They are
free to use at <a href="http://www.thelifeeditor.com/">www.thelifeeditor.com</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591329682017172200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407057521098696649.post-56063020340311995182014-04-21T13:30:00.000+01:002014-04-21T13:30:17.344+01:00Atisha’s Advice for making good decisions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-olPt7oyjEt0/U1UOxXJPbtI/AAAAAAAAAcA/fzhhg_-PQTg/s1600/large_atisha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-olPt7oyjEt0/U1UOxXJPbtI/AAAAAAAAAcA/fzhhg_-PQTg/s1600/large_atisha.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atisha</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can’t decide if it’s because I’m a Libran, but I’m not
very good at making decisions!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But I am interested in Buddhism and got to wondering how a
Buddhist Master would make good decisions. The trouble is, Buddhism is a vast
and complicated subject and it’s hard to find a concise summary. But I came
across “Advice from Atisha’s Heart” in a book by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso called ‘<i>How to Solve our Human Problems’</i>. A very
promising title…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I read Atisha’s Advice. It is incredibly concise and
concentrated. It’s also quite moving and inspiring. It is a holy man’s guide to
living, so I thought it ought to be a reliable basis for making good decisions.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Atisha was a famous Indian Buddhist scholar and meditation
master who lived around 1000AD. At one point he travelled to Tibet and began
the revival of Mahayana Buddhism in Tibet. His teachings were explained and
systemised by Je Tsongkhapa in the middle ages and became known as the New Kadampa
Tradition. This was more recently brought to the West by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When Atisha was about to leave Tibet and return to India,
his students asked him to give one final teaching. He emphasised that this
final teaching was “not just words from the mouth, but sincere advice from the
heart” and so it became known as the “Advice from Atisha’s Heart”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I devised a sort of scoring model to go with the text that
you can use to see if something you are thinking of doing would concur with
Atisha’s Advice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The model asks you questions about your proposed course of
action based on Atisha’s Advice and you give each question a score of 1-5. It
then calculates the percentrage of how right you think the course of action is
judged against Atisha’s Advice. It shows you this in a graph and provides
personalised feedback in the form of a feedback report, which is tailored to
the answers you gave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Even if you do not have anything to decide on today, it’s
well worth reflecting on this man’s wonderful advice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For the decision-making aid based on Atisha’s Advice <a href="http://www.thelifeeditor.com/" target="_blank">www.thelifeeditor.com </a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For more on Kadampa Buddhism <a href="http://www.kadampa.org/">www.kadampa.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For a copy of the book ‘How to Solve our Human Problems’ by
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso <a href="http://www.tharpa.com/">www.tharpa.com</a></span> <o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591329682017172200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407057521098696649.post-32431344345435919592014-01-26T18:18:00.001+00:002014-01-26T18:18:47.245+00:00The Native American Medicine Wheel - a wisdom tool for planning your life choices<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zfb_EgXOtco/UuVQRWXFNsI/AAAAAAAAAZs/lV1DLNT1CJQ/s1600/logo-with-strapline_horz.jpg" height="57" width="320" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QAM9WDwB9h4/UuVQZhjrQBI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/ALKWvrGQHTM/s1600/small_nativeamerican.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QAM9WDwB9h4/UuVQZhjrQBI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/ALKWvrGQHTM/s1600/small_nativeamerican.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The Native American Medicine Wheel</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Native American Medicine Wheel comes from a deep, natural and ancient wisdom, which would be well worth finding out more about if you are interested. But you don’t have to ‘believe’ in it for it to help you make good choices in your life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Medicine Wheel is like a map of life. It is used as a path to understanding, a focus for ceremonies and a basis for healing. It encompasses everything - from the mystical void from which all existence sprang, all the physical elements, the inter-connectedness of all things, and respect for ancestors and nature. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The wheel can take the form of an arrangement of stones on the land or a work of art. Different tribes each have their own version. Different systems of colours and meanings have been assigned to the directions of the wheel, such as the stages of life, the seasons, physical elements, and animals.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the version which inspired the LifeEditor, the wheel is like a compass. Each cardinal direction represents an element: fire, earth, water and air. The in-between directions represent other key factors which shape the energy of life: concepts of self, the sub-conscious, patterns and rules, and priorities. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These ideas will help you look at your choices from different angles to see how good they are for you. Here is a sample of the questions the model prompts you to ask yourself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first cardinal direction in the Wheel is the East is where the sun rises. It’s the direction of a new dawn. It represents fire and the sun, whose energy is the source of all life on earth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The element of fire triggers expansion and passion in the human spirit. It is our divine spark. It illuminates our path toward enlightenment. It encompasses creativity and adventure. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When it is healthy it offers a continuous opportunity for development and enrichment. But if it is unhealthy it can take the form of fantasy and illusion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Does this choice seem like a new dawn for you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Does it set your heart on fire?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Does it offer an opportunity for expansion and development?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Does it enable you to see a path of positive progression for you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Will it feed and nourish your spirit?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Will this be a creative adventure for you?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Life Editor model based on the Native American Medicine Wheel has similar questions on all the 8 directions of the Wheel. It shows you how you feel about each question on a spider graph, and composes a personalised feedback text based on your answers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The tools are available to download as Microsoft Excel files. They are free to download and use. Visit <a href="http://www.thelifeeditor.com/">www.thelifeeditor.com</a> </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591329682017172200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407057521098696649.post-12487281384462595482014-01-15T17:51:00.000+00:002014-01-15T17:51:25.584+00:006 wise ways to rethink your life story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JK_yVdLH38U/UtbH_lgAhtI/AAAAAAAAAZY/sL6pcP61IrY/s1600/logo-with-strapline_horz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JK_yVdLH38U/UtbH_lgAhtI/AAAAAAAAAZY/sL6pcP61IrY/s1600/logo-with-strapline_horz.jpg" height="70" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.thelifeeditor.com/">www.thelifeeditor.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Life Editor is a personal decision making aid designed
to help you make good life choices. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It draws on a diverse range of wisdom traditions
– from Buddhist, to Native American Medicine and Astrology – to help you
broaden your perspective and hopefully make a choice that is right for you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The decision-support models are delivered by download as MS
Excel files. You answer a set of questions and get an automated feedback
report. There is no third party involved and no advice is given. Your decision
is up to you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The downloads are unpriced – if you find the Life Editor
process beneficial, you can go back and pay what you think it’s worth. Users
are encouraged to share their experiences to help other people make good
choices too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are 6 wise ways to help you make better life choices: </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Native American Medicine Wheel</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CVm8Hj6QHHQ/UtbHK-JR3VI/AAAAAAAAAZM/Wtuvc8ELuek/s1600/small_nativeamerican.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CVm8Hj6QHHQ/UtbHK-JR3VI/AAAAAAAAAZM/Wtuvc8ELuek/s1600/small_nativeamerican.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From an ancient, natural tradition, in which people saw themselves as part of nature, the Medicine Wheel is like a compass to use for both navigating and healing. It will provide you with some unusual and thought-provoking perspectives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Astrological Houses</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tcqzxbeyjkk/UtbHKGuj0VI/AAAAAAAAAYw/TdgYdeSEmBw/s1600/small_astrology.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tcqzxbeyjkk/UtbHKGuj0VI/AAAAAAAAAYw/TdgYdeSEmBw/s1600/small_astrology.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Not a horoscope, but a comprehensive model of the human experience from birth, through all the stages of development, to integration with the world at large. This approach combines astrology with psychology in a subtle and insightful way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Buddhist Wheel of Life</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NVvgP_by-Xg/UtbHKUnuj7I/AAAAAAAAAY4/Cms7dRYcZEQ/s1600/small_buddhism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NVvgP_by-Xg/UtbHKUnuj7I/AAAAAAAAAY4/Cms7dRYcZEQ/s1600/small_buddhism.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Buddhist Wheel of Life has got to be one of the most famous and enduring models of the human condition ever created, and one of the most profound and stimulating aids to managing your life. Every choice we make creates karma – make sure yours is positive.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Advice from Atisha’s Heart</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y8b96yaP05g/UtbHKAmhTRI/AAAAAAAAAZI/daZkBEhbdXY/s1600/small_atisha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y8b96yaP05g/UtbHKAmhTRI/AAAAAAAAAZI/daZkBEhbdXY/s1600/small_atisha.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is heart-felt advice from a great Buddhist teacher to his students. Whether you are a Buddhist or not, you will find in it a form of universal wisdom which can help guide us to make good life choices which benefit ourselves and others.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Western Wheel of Life</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qJIUH2Y9dw4/UtbHLEW4I_I/AAAAAAAAAZQ/uPXMJDaOnO4/s1600/small_wheelofLife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qJIUH2Y9dw4/UtbHLEW4I_I/AAAAAAAAAZQ/uPXMJDaOnO4/s1600/small_wheelofLife.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A modern, Western secular review of all the main aspects of a person’s life: things like occupation, friends, family, finances and so on. The model is divided into Current Situation and Future Situation enabling you to do a ‘before and after’ comparison.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">St Ignatius of Loyola</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8msqdK_Pc-o/UtbHKoL_sAI/AAAAAAAAAZA/LUIL0nEIU4A/s1600/small_ignatius.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8msqdK_Pc-o/UtbHKoL_sAI/AAAAAAAAAZA/LUIL0nEIU4A/s1600/small_ignatius.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Inspired by a sixteenth Century Spanish nobleman with curiously modern ideas, this model will help you test if your choice feels right, for the right – or wrong – reasons, and whether it is free from all forms of negativity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Go to <a href="http://www.thelifeeditor.com/">www.thelifeeditor.com</a> and let me know what you think.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591329682017172200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407057521098696649.post-5636973235403870352014-01-11T14:42:00.000+00:002014-01-11T14:58:36.738+00:00One misty morning<div style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It all started one misty morning. I looked out at the grey sea merging into the grey sky and thought: this is heaven. People think they die and go to heaven. But we’re in it now. Or could be, if we only made the right choices.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had a vision of a place where you could go for a retreat. It was a cross between a hotel and a video editing suite. An angel hosted the session. She showed you sequences of your life on a video screen. You could see how the choices you made had certain consequences. But if you weren’t happy with the outcome, you could edit the story and get a better one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is the dreamy way the Life Editor was born. A way of editing your life story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the next 18 months I worked to create something that would help people make better choices in life. The first model I worked on was the Native American Medicine Wheel. The trialists all said the ideas were a bit strange and I thought , “Great, I’m onto something.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was excited that I was creating something which would take people out of the familiar, the well-trodden path, the conventional way of viewing their lives. By offering an unfamiliar, slightly disorientating environment, I could help them to see their lives, their choices and possibilities from new angles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Researching the models was a huge task but a really rewarding one. Not every idea worked. But the ones which did were really interesting and taught me a lot. I had a strong feeling that I was creating something of value.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And because it was my own work, no one could tell me “that’s not right”. I was my own boss, and it was really liberating.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As time went on, and I put more and more months of effort into it, I began to wonder how much people would pay for it. If I marketed it well, I could make a bit of money here…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But that didn’t sit right. Obstacles arose. The scale of the investment necessary to make it a reality became daunting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So one sunlit afternoon on a boat coming back from Capri, I had an epiphany. “Give it away.” Don’t charge anything. Make it a gift to whoever needs it. If they want to give something in return, that's fine, but they don't have to. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then things started flowing again. And now, three months later, it’s just about ready to go live.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Life Editor will be gifted to the world in the next few days at <a href="http://www.thelifeeditor.com/">www.thelifeeditor.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Go have a look and let me know what you think.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591329682017172200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407057521098696649.post-91742044159731373452013-02-16T15:30:00.000+00:002013-02-16T16:44:15.853+00:00be the Editor of your own Life<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Life Editor helps people make choices which are right for them.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The decisions we make determine how our lives play out. We all want to make the right choices so we have a happy life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I'm not talking about what to have for dinner - I'm talking about big things: should I move to Australia, shall I marry my boyfriend, should I quit my job and start my own business?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Things that you are going to need to think about carefully, from all the angles, to make sure the decision is right for your before you embark on it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What LifeEditor does (or will do, because I'm still developing it at the moment) is help you look at possible choices from different angles, unusual angles, to help you get a more rounded view and make sure you really understand it, and can be sure it is the right thing to do. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">LifeEditor will be a website containing a range of personal decision-making tools. These tools will provide information and ask you a series of multiple-choice questions about the decision you are thinking of making.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The tools are all based on different world traditions - by which I mean different cultures, philosophies of ways of looking at life. They help you think about your options in ways you might not normally consider.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For example, the first decision-making model I am developing is based on the Native American Medicine Wheel. Now that is not something most people would usually draw on to help them make an important decision.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But that's just the point. It gives you the kind of insight and depth of understanding to tell exactly how right this choice would be for you, in a kind of way that you wouldn't normally get.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But there is no-one behind it telling you what is going to happen - no mystic or seer predicting your future - you are answering your own questions. You are totally in control. It is you who decides how to answer the questions which the Life Editor asks you about your options, and you alone who decide if, and how, right that choice is for you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">That's why I call it the Life Editor, because - like the editor of a film - you are deciding what to cut out and what to leave in; you alone are your own story-teller, the Editor of your own Life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Let me know if you like the idea</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Let me know if you think this is a topic that interests you by posting a response.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591329682017172200noreply@blogger.com2