There Is a Michigan Business for Sale Waiting for YOU!

Posted by admin | Posted on 21-09-2011

Category : Region III

Tags: , , , ,

There Is a Michigan Business for Sale Waiting for YOU!

Focusing on the importance of today’s global marketplace and commercial development, Michigan is investing billion in its 21st Century Jobs Fund. With an eye to the future, the following are considered to be the state’s key industries:

● Alternative energy – The Michigan Economic Development Corporation leads the way in creating new regional markets for this industry. They are using a blend of universities, policy makers, scientists, natural resource management, engineering talent and industry leaders to provide power for vehicles, businesses and consumers.

● Homeland security and defense – Qualified defense contractors are needed to provide the various goods and services needed by the United States Department of Defense (DOD). With this in mind, the Michigan Defense Center has assumed the task of connecting buyers for the defense industry with businesses in the state that can meet their needs.

● Advanced manufacturing – Michigan is considered to be an engineering and design hub for the international auto industry. Not surprisingly, innovative companies—including major vehicle-related manufacturers—have established a significant number of technical centers here. At the same time, since auto production is decreasing, Michigan’s economy is transitioning to an industrial base that is both diversified and resilient.

Promoting business development in the state

Companies now have an opportunity to produce virtually everything, including military hardware, medical devices and technologies for alternative energy. There are approximate 15,000 manufacturing facilities in the state, verifying that Michigan’s first-class engineering and skilled workforce attract investors in the emerging industries of the 21st century.

The latest research and development (R&D) in these newer industries has resulted in viable products and services. For example, the state now has 20 bio-diesel and bio-fuel facilities in operation or the planning stage. In addition, Mascoma Corporation is committed to developing a plant that produces cellulose-ethanol. Michigan also has a leadership role in regard to advanced manufacturing and automotive engineering, with 65,000 professionals working at more than 330 automotive technical and R&D centers.

If you are thinking about buying a Michigan business for sale, note that funding is available from the following sources:

● The Capital Access Program (CAP), sponsored by the MEDC, uses modest public funding to encourage private bank lending. The goal is to provide capital to small businesses that may not be available elsewhere.

● The Michigan Collateral Support Program (MCSP) provides lending institutions with cash collateral accounts, which adds to the collateral coverage of their borrowers. When approved, cash is deposited with the lender in an interest-bearing account, which is designated as collateral on the borrower’s behalf.

● The Michigan Loan Participation Program (MLPP) enables lenders to finance various projects when the borrower’s projected cash flow is categorized as being speculative. It lessens the financial exposure lenders face and also provides interest-free cash flow throughout the grace period.

For more business for sale information please visit www.BusinessesforSales.com.


Article from articlesbase.com

battery story – did you know that there is actually 10 times more graphite than lithium inside a lithium-ion battery?

Posted by admin | Posted on 14-04-2011

Category : Region III

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

battery story – did you know that there is actually 10 times more graphite than lithium inside a lithium-ion battery?

Today I want to look at China’s dominance of critical raw materials for clean-tech. Most people think that they left graphite behind when they graduated from pencils to pens early on in their school days, but the truth is that this slippery substance remains a crucial part of our daily lives. Consider the laptop computer, which has by and large replaced pens for most of us over the past decade — did you know that there is actually 10 times more graphite than lithium inside a lithium-ion battery?

Graphite has long been a key ingredient in steel, castings, lubricants, vehicle brakes, golf clubs, tennis rackets and — no surprise — pencils. But this polymer of carbon — a chemically identical sibling of both diamonds and coal — will become increasingly important in coming years due to its chemical, electrical and thermal properties. Its ability to remain stable in ordinary corrosive environments, conduct electricity and resist heat allow it to serve as a key component in applications like the storage toshiba Pa3534u-1bas battery and nuclear electricity generation stations that will power us into the future.

Coal powered the Industrial Revolution; its chemical twin, graphite, will be of great value in constructing the components of the clean-energy economy, making graphite a true diamond in the rough!

While one may assume that it is as common as the dirt that it somewhat resembles, the supply of graphite is far from infinite. Natural graphite comes in several forms: Flake, amorphous and lump. Of the one million tons of graphite that are processed each year, just 40% is of the most desirable flake type. Only flake and synthetic graphite (made through an expensive process from petroleum coke) can be used in lithium-ion batteries. Graphite mining and processing are limited to a relatively small handful of countries, with China currently producing 70% of the total global supply.

Demand for lithium-ion batteries will increase rapidly as battery power (electricity) supplements, and will even replace gasoline- and diesel-fueled internal combustion engines in vehicles as “green energy” expands. While hybrid automobiles such as the Toyota Prius have used nickel-metal hydride batteries for more than a decade, newer hybrid models like the Chevy Volt, as well as battery-only electric-drive vehicles like the Tesla Roadster and the Nissan Leaf, rely upon the more efficient lithium-ion batteries that will almost certainly be employed in all hybrid or fully electric vehicles in just a few short years. Large-flake graphite will be very much in demand to produce the hundreds of millions of lithium-ion batteries required for these automobiles.

Governmental bodies are taking notice of just how crucial secure supplies of graphite are. Graphite prices have been increasing in recent months, and investors’ interest in this industry is almost certain to climb as word spreads about the impending boom in demand and the companies that will be making moves to meet it.

A Slippery Supply

Global graphite production has held steady at approximately one million tons per year over the past decade. The weak demand in the first half of the 2000s, combined with relatively low prices, led to little investment and development of graphite mining and processing capabilities over this time span. Many graphite-producing countries saw a steady drop in annual production between 2001 and 2008, including the Czech Republic, Russia, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Canada and Mexico. Taking up the slack over this period were the Ukraine, Brazil, India and North Korea. China saw some peaks and valleys in production during this time, but currently produces nearly four-fifths of the world’s total supply of graphite, keeping 60% of this output for its own manufacturing requirements.

Japan, the U.S., Europe, South Korea and Taiwan — each of which has an economically significant and well-developed steel industry — import significant quantities of graphite from China. While China is the dominant player in the graphite game, 70% of its production is of the amorphous and lower-value small-flake graphite that is used in industrial applications rather than in batteries.

At this point in time, the fragmented nature and seasonality of its graphite production base raise some doubts that China will be able to increase its output; in fact, China itself currently imports a significant amount of North Korea’s graphite production. Producers in other regions of the world will need to step up their efforts to meet demand, which will require significant investment.

Increasing Applications Driving Demand

Graphite has long been a key component for the aviation, automotive, steel and plastic industries, as well as in the manufacture of bearings and lubricants. High-purity large-flake graphite is essential for the production of the lithium-ion batteries that are crucial to the consumer electronics industry. Demand for this form of graphite will rise rapidly as production of larger batteries for vehicular propulsion comes online.

Currently, the iron and steel industries are the largest consumers of graphite. But demand for graphite has been rising for other applications — researchers in the field of material science continue to find new uses for this durable, heat-resistant, electricity-conducting substance. Graphite will be used in the construction of next-generation nuclear reactors, which are expected to reach temperatures as high as 1,000 degrees Celsius in their cores — triple the temperature of today’s reactors.

Graphite is one of the few substances that can resist such heat. It has already replaced asbestos as a health-risk improvement in automotive brake linings and pads. As the standard of living rises in developing nations like Brazil, Russia, India and China, many more vehicles of all types will be added to the world’s roadways, increasing demand. Few people realize that 84% of the world’s total population lives in emerging-market countries.

Of course, it is expected that a rapidly growing number of automobiles will utilize extensive lithium-ion battery systems to assist with or singlehandedly provide propulsion, which is where the single-greatest increase in graphite demand is anticipated. At present, 2% of all new vehicles sold are gas-electric hybrids, plug-in hybrids or battery-only full-electric drive — most of which still use nickel-metal hydride batteries. It is projected that by 2020, these types of automobiles will represent 5-18% of all sales and almost exclusively be powered by lithium-ion batteries, which are both lighter and more powerful than nickel-metal hydride ones. With 70 million vehicles forecast to be sold in 2020, vast amounts of graphite will be required to manufacture the lithium-ion batteries that will power many of them.

Emerging fuel cell technologies also rely heavily on graphite. One of the more promising types under development, the proton exchange membrane fuel cell, requires 100 pounds of graphite per vehicle. Fuel cells will also be used for stationary power generation, as utility providers seek to overcome the inherent inefficiencies around electricity transmission to remote locations.

Perhaps the single greatest testimony to graphite’s importance is the concern that governmental bodies have shown about its important role in security. A 2010 European Commission study regarding  the criticality of 41 different materials to the European economy included graphite among the 14 materials high in both economic importance and supply risk. A recent WikiLeaks posting revealed that a list known as the Critical Foreign Dependencies Initiative developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the State Department included graphite mines in China among those overseas sites that could damage American interests if terrorists were to disable them. The U.S. military will also increasingly rely on graphite for battery and fuel cell applications, as the armed forces lessen their dependence on petroleum.

Intriguing Prospects

Top Stock Pick

China Carbon Graphite Group, Inc. (CHGI.OB), through its affiliate Xingyong Carbon Co. Ltd., manufactures graphite electrodes, fine-grain graphite, high-purity graphite and other carbon-derived products at its Inner Mongolia facility. The company believes that it is the largest wholesale supplier of fine-grain graphite and high-purity graphite in China. The company reported dramatically higher sales and earnings for the quarter ending September 30, 2010.

Additionally, China Carbon Graphite has started building new forming and baking plants in order to meet the growing demand for high-purity (and higher gross margin) products in the global market. Construction of the new forming plant, which will produce large-size ultra-high-graphite electrodes as well as high-purity and fine-grain graphite, is slated to be completed by June 2011. The new baking plant will have 36 furnaces and include 30,000 tons of annual capacity, making it the largest baking plant in China’s graphite industry.

The company noted in its recently-filed 10-Q that steel plants in China have been upgrading their electric-arc furnace facilities, which has boosted demand for large-size ultra-high graphite electrodes, a unique and specialized product. China’s steel industry, far and away the world’s largest, is today rapidly evolving into an industry, like that of the U.S., where electric-arc furnaces requiring graphite electrodes in huge quantities will ultimately be the dominant type of steel furnace used. This is inevitable, as the Chinese steel industry begins to utilize not only imported scrap steel and iron but, soon, domestically produced scrap as well. Shortages have developed and are expected to continue. Earnings could rise materially once these new plants are brought online.

The company’s long-term strategy is to diversify and expand its product offering by manufacturing graphite that would be used as a reflector or moderator in nuclear reactors in China — a product that would have significantly higher profit margins than its current offerings. At present, there are 11 nuclear power plants in China, with 15 more plants currently under construction — and only one other manufacturer of nuclear graphite pure enough for use in these plants. The company works with Hunan University and Qinghua University to research and develop nuclear-grade graphite.

China Carbon Graphite has approximately 550 full-time employees and a market capitalization of million, and the shares trade at just over a dollar. This price could easily triple once the company begins to sell nuclear-grade graphite.

While some investors are wary of investing in Chinese companies due to the risks and volatility in China’s economy, CHGI represents a compelling speculation in the rapidly expanding global graphite industry. It is reassuring to know that internationally-recognized accounting firm BDO is the company’s auditor of record.

Lower Risk Pick

GrafTech International Limited (GTI), based in Parma, Ohio, is another strong graphite stock pick. Founded in 1886, GrafTech is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and providers of high-quality synthetic and natural graphite and carbon-based products. It has four major product categories — graphite electrodes, refractory products, advanced graphite materials and natural graphite — that it manufactures in 11 facilities on four continents, with customers in about 65 countries.

This low-cost global producer has a reputation for product quality, value and service excellence. It is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and providers of advanced graphite and carbon materials for the transportation, solar, and oil and gas industries. Approximately 70% of the graphite electrodes that it sells are consumed in the EAF steel melting process, the steelmaking technology used by “mini-mills.” According to the company’s most recent annual report, it operates “one of the world’s most technologically sophisticated advanced natural graphite production lines.”

The company’s share price has been hovering near recently, and the current market capitalization is .4 billion. The stock is very heavily held by institutions such as The Vanguard Group, William Blair & Co. and Calamos Advisors. GrafTech appears to be very well positioned to fully capitalize on the favorable outlook for the graphite Gateway btp-68b3 battery industry and the recovering global economy. Indeed, several analysts are projecting robust long-term sales and earnings growth for GrafTech.

Quality Speculation

Northern Graphite Corporation (not yet trading) is a mineral exploration and development company based in Ontario, Canada, that holds a 100% interest in mining claims for the Bissett Creek Project. The Bissett Creek Project consists of approximately 1,343 hectares near Mattawa, Ontario, that contain large crystal graphite flakes in a graphitic gneiss deposit.

Moreover, the company’s prospectus indicates that the mine’s assumed life should exceed 40 years, making Bissett Creek the only significant North American high-purity graphite producer. The deposit is near surface and only 10% of the property has been drilled to date. The project is ideally situated near the Trans-Canada Highway, with rail and power lines close by. Major graphite users in the steel and automotive sectors are in close proximity. These shares could quickly climb from the .50 IPO offering price once it begins trading in January 2011.

The company is about to complete a multimillion-dollar public offering of common stock, and plans to use the proceeds to conduct metallurgical testing, prepare a pre-feasibility project report, and continue drilling and bulk sampling onsite  Acer,. This project is unique in that almost 90% of the anticipated production is expected to be large-flake, very high-purity graphite that should command a premium price on the market.

Graphite is one of the quintessential wonder materials of today that will only become more important moving forward. While the supply  HP, Dell,has proven adequate over the past decade, demand will increase significantly across all sectors of the industry in the years ahead. Already, prices are on the rise, with the best quality large-flake graphite rising in price from a low of ,350 to more than ,000 per ton during the fourth quarter of 2010 alone. New supply sources will be needed to meet this uptick in demand — existing mining, processing companies and startups alike will require investment. The prudent investor will not want to miss out on this overlooked opportunity. The demand for metals and minerals is now fed by the insatiable economies of southeast Asia and Brazil. There is a lag between increasing supply and demand that leads to long-term price growth for producers of such natural resources.

 


Article from articlesbase.com

More Ohio Northern University Articles

Is There Any Nicotine In Your Blood?

Posted by admin | Posted on 19-02-2011

Category : Pharmacy Students

Tags: , ,

Is There Any Nicotine In Your Blood?

When you inhale nicotine, it enters your blood stream and your body metabolizes it into continine. Therefore, checking for continine is a way to determine if you are a smoker. Nicotine tests apply immunoassay technology to detect continine in blood, hair, urine, and saliva. All nicotine tests detect the presence of continine at a cut-off point of 200 ng/ml.

How accurate is this kind of test? A member of alt.smokers discussion group say the tests achieves 95 percent accuracy. The tests can measure the level of continine in the body for as long as two weeks.

How long does it take for nicotine to surface in urine tests? American Lung Cancer states that nicotine is gone from your blood and urine within 72 hours after your last cigarette. what you can still find in your urine though, is continine.

Nicotine tests are taken for a few reasons. The most obvious reason is for health insurance. Insurance companies conduct nicotine tests to classify smokers into three different premium classes. As a smoker, your premium will be higher than a non smoker. Studies show that smokers pay as high as three times the premium of non smokers. If you remain smoke free for five years, you get to enjoy the lowest premium.

Another reason would be for concerned parents who want to know whether their teenage child smokes or not. With nicotine tests, you can check your child’s tobacco consumption. If you have a family member who smokes in the home, you can examine the exposure of second hand smoke using this test.

American surveys reveal that more than 4 million children under 18 smoke cigarettes. Newspaper headlines expose teenagers smoking in schools. It is no surprise then that some high schools screen their students for cigarettes. School administrators believe that tobacco consumption can lead the students to drug abuse.

When you undergo a smoking cessation program, you can use a continine test kit to confirm your freedom from nicotine and the effectiveness of the program itself. You will also find it useful if one of your quitting methods involves nicotine cleansing products. You can know if it really removes nicotine from your body.

You can easily purchase nicotine test kits from pharmacies, drug stores, or over the internet. The more common brands include NicAlert, TobacAlert, and COT.

Some say that nicotine can leave your body within 24 hours. So, why do you need nicotine tests then? A study by Exam & Profile Services in Wisconsin indicates that continine will appear in urine for weeks after smoking. Unlike other conventional methods such as gas chromatography and HPLC-mass spectrometry, you can use nicotine test kits at home. They are also cheap and simple to apply.

Andy Lim is a web publisher for hisanti-smoking blog and web site. You can quit smoking today by learning more about nicotine withdrawal symptoms at DeadlyPuff.com today.


Article from articlesbase.com

Related Pharmacy Students Articles

Buying a Sweater and Choosing a Film School – Are There Some Common Threads?

Posted by admin | Posted on 01-12-2010

Category : Region III

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Buying a Sweater and Choosing a Film School – Are There Some Common Threads?

If one is considering the purchase of a sweater, it is essential to know more about yourself that the actual sweater when you begin shopping. What are your demands for color and size, do you want pull over, “v” neck, or buttons, what materials do you like, should it be washable or is dry cleaning acceptable, what about weave, design and cost? These are just a few of the questions that must be answered about yourself and your desires before consummating the experience with a purchase. However, since we have probably shopped on numerous occasions, we are very familiar with our criteria for making a selection.


Selecting the right film school is similar, but more exhausting since this is not something that we do frequently. In fact a task like this is often done only once, so it is incumbent on the shopper to prepare themselves fully so the final selection can deliver the results that will lead one to a rewarding and fulfilling experience. The place to start demands that the candidate for film school assess their individual desires, needs, interests, capabilities, motivation, ability to finance, present educational attainment, and an additional host of other considerations about a particular field of film making. Additionally one has to understand that upon graduation they are now qualified as a neophyte in the business and a number of years of hard work are necessary to even achieve a modicum of success.


Think of the number of singers and performers that start out as youngsters and the number that eventually end up in the professional ranks. Consider all the aspiring actors and actresses and then look at the number that actually achieve stardom. Do you want to be the star or would you be just as happy and fulfilled as a member of the supporting cast?


The picture that is being painted here is not about crushing a dream, it is about the reality of any business and especially the extremely competitive nature of the film making industry. If you have not stopped reading yet, perhaps you have the character and motivation to continue to pursue a path in this career field.


Let’s start with some self assessment.


Have Some Experience?


Why do you believe that a career in the film making industry is for you? What was the most fulfilling experience? Why? What was a downer? Have you narrowed your interest to a particular specialty of film making like actor, director, cinematographer, writer or perhaps some other phase such as film editing, set design or costume making? You have an edge over others with no experience and this provides a bit firmer footing than those without. There are many more questions that could be asked, but the purpose of this line of questions is to lead you on the right path. If your fulfilling experience was significantly better than any “downer”, that is positive. However a “downer” that is more memorable may be an indicator that the path you have selected might not be where your real success is located.


No Experience


The question here is why? Why do you want to purse a career in the film making industry? You probably need to find more information about this career field. There are a variety of ways to learn more. Here are a few suggestions. Take a course. Virtually every college in the land has a number of offerings centered around film making. Join a club. Again college campuses are the place where numerous clubs are located, however a search of the Internet revealed that there are many clubs located in a number of cities and towns. Browse the web. Sites such as http://www.filmschools.cc can provide information about the gamut of opportunities available in the industry. Just do it! Many people gain experience by picking up a video camera, gathering friends together, producing short films and then editing the video using a variety of software tools that are readily available. Find work. There are many feature films that are produced in various places around the country. Almost every state has a film bureau where information is available about productions that are planned or scheduled and there are usually positions open for extras. There are also many positions when a film is being produced for “gofers”. These are odd job positions available during the time of the shooting. This is an excellent way to observe and learn about the many activities that take place when a film is being produced.


Character


Does your personality compliment your interests? Do you like being in charge or would you rather someone else provide some direction? Do you work better with a team or are you most efficient individually? Are you someone that is interested in general ideas or do you have a need to learn all the technical specifications? Do you read the directions when putting a product together or do you just look at the pictures and start work? Do you plan your day or just let it happen? How do you learn best? Are you a read and study person or are you a hands-on learner. Are you ready to attack the rigors of a four year course of study or would on-line self paced be a better fit? Answering these questions will help to determine what field of film making might best suit your style and temperment.


The Scene


The previous paragraphs provide the basis for some of the things that you need to know about yourself prior to embarking in the search for a career field in the film making industry that will lead to happiness, prosperity and fulfillment.


The potential film school student needs to be able to identify their unique skills, interests and competencies and then match those to specific careers, jobs and professions. They need to honestly identify character strengths and weaknesses associated with a potential career. There are certain personality traits and requisite characteristics that are generally associated with a particular career field and while they are not necessarily indicative of success, they certainly can identify those that might have a difficult time. For instance, an individual that does not like to be the constant center of attention might want to rethink an acting career.


If there is any uncertainty in your mind, actually even if there is certainty, a career assessment test will t provide clarity for you. These type of tests assist you in identifying career paths that will compliment your learning style, personality and social skills. There are a multitude of these tests that can be completed in a relatively short time and may serve to reinforce your chosen career field or even cause you to make an adjustment to a field with a better fit for you. They are available at no cost in most college career offices, from high school guidance counselors or you can find them on the Internet.


The Princeton Review offers a quick assessment on-line that will serve to illuminate the type of information that can be obtained by completing one or more of these types of assessments. This test only takes about 5 minutes to complete and might provide some useful insight to your own character. The site address is http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/quiz/default.asp?menuID=0&careers=6%20.


It is recommended that a more in-depth assessment be completed, but the idea of what the results might reveal is presented in a clear and concise manner at the Princeton Review site. The University of Missouri also has a web-site that provides some information that may prove insightful. That web address is http://career.missouri.edu/students/explore/thecareerinterestsgame.php. In addition to these two sites there are many more places where you can complete a career assessment test which will prove extremely useful and informative.


You will save significant amounts of time searching for the right opportunities in the film making industry and securing the job of your dreams because you will be lining up the demands of the job with your personality skills and talents.


Job descriptions

At this point, you have assessed your character and personality style and have discovered that there is a future for you in the film making industry. Perhaps you have an idea about a specific career choice or perhaps it needs to be narrowed down. In either case it is instructive to review exactly what is involved in particular jobs. Reading and reviewing a variety of job descriptions and responsibilities can provide insight into the demands of a position as well as provide information about courses that should be pursued to provide the educational background essential for success. Job descriptions can provide information about general educational needs as well as specific technical proficiencies that may be required.


There are numerous areas that can be browsed on the web which will provide a wealth of information. Two that proved helpful were en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Movie_Making_ and http://www.devondelapp.com/weblog/?entry=229889.


The wiki site has significant amounts of information with a myriad of associated links that should satisfy the basic knowledge need of anyone interested in film making. The second site is a blog about the experiences of an individual that served as a production assistant (PA) for a television shoot. The blog is perceptive and insightful and offers those interested a peek inside bowels of the film making business.


Selecting a School


Hopefully, you have now learned about yourself and have identified a potential career path. The selection of a school must be based on a number of factors that are uniquely personal. Probably the first consideration is cost, but location, courses offered, prestige of the school, the likely match of your talents with their prerequisites and several other factors must be addressed prior to making a final decision


A career can be successfully launched based on courses selected from a community college where tuition and fees are substantially lower than schools that offer a four year course of study. It may be financially prudent to initially start an education at a community college and then transfer to a four year institution with a more recognizable name. If this path is selected it is important to insure that the community college courses will properly transfer to the four year institution so it is necessary to confirm that by discussing your plans with a community college career counselor that is familiar with requirements and processes involved in the transfer of credits.


There are numerous four year colleges and universities that provide courses of study that lead to a bachelors degree applicable to some phase of the film making industry. Matching your needs and requirements with the appropriate college or university offerings will save time and insure that you are traveling on the right path.


It is important to consider your educational skill and talents with the institution you are considering. Some institutions offer nuts and bolts, hands on instruction while others offer more cerebral instruction that is intellectually demanding. It is critical to match your talents and abilities with the course of study you will be pursuing.


Some individuals that want to pursue a film making career may already have acquired a bachelors degree and now want to obtain an additional degree or simply take specialized courses. Schools such as the New York Film Academy offer a variety of courses that can respond to this need. There site at http://www.nyfa.com/ provides all the information necessary for a prospective student. If cost is a consideration, there tuition of ,000 to ,000 per semester may present a hurdle.


In all cases it is important to visit the school that you are thinking of attending to gather your first-hand impressions. You should talk to school representatives as well as students to obtain the most comprehensive view. Also, you should take a tour of the school grounds and facilities to insure that their film making equipment will provide state of the art training and experiences.


Review


Purchasing a sweater and selecting a film making school do have a common thread, however it is undeniably more difficult to select a school. However, if you diligently take the time to research all the viable alternatives to successfully pursue a film making career, you will find that it is time well spent. The planning required to make the best selection that fits your individual needs and desires will pay off handsomely in the future by enabling you to have a fulfilling experience.


Checklist


Gain some experiences

Complete a personal assessment survey

Select a path in the film industry

Match your educational needs with schooling

Begin the adventure


The preceding article was authored by Clark D. Richards M. Ed., a former school guidance counselor and contributor of articles to http://www.filmschools.cc

The preceding article was authored by Jason Gadayan a contributor of articles to http://www.filmschools.cc .


Article from articlesbase.com

Find More University Of Missouri-Kansas City Articles

There is Always Something To Do In Austin Texas

Posted by admin | Posted on 26-11-2010

Category : Region IV

Tags: , , , ,

There is Always Something To Do In Austin Texas

Whether you are visiting Austin, Texas or live in this notorious city, you will never run out of things to do, see and hear. No matter what your preferences or tastes are, there is just about something for everyone.

For history buffs, Austin is a richly vibrant historic city. One can visit museums or experience Austin hands-on with the Historic Walking Tour. Historic walking tours start at the south entrance of the Capitol building. These tours are self-guided and provide information on the 10-block Congress Avenue and nine-block Sixth Street historical districts. You can explore 19th century buildings the Old Bakery (1876), Millett Opera House (1878), Driskill Hotel (1886), Walter Tips Building (1876) and Robinson-Rosner Building (1856). Tours are 9 a.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Reservations are required 48 hours in advance.

Other tours include a look into the homes of Victorian-era high society within the Bremond Block Historic District. These walking tours take place at 11 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays and require a 48 hour advance reservation.

The tours don’t stop here. There are also tours of Hyde Park and the Texas State Cemetery.

Does all this walking around make you hungry? Austin Texas is the home of Foodies from far and wide. Not only are there a plethora of amazing restaurants in Austin to visit there are also fun things like the Austin Farmers Market, the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival and a visit to Boggy Creek Farms.

The Austin Farmers Market features every kind of organic type of produce you might want, plus flowers, baked goods, meats, cheeses, packaged foods and crafts. Farmers from surrounding areas truck their wares into these markets making a spectacular show of color with an amazing variety. The market is open Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Republic Square Park and Wednesdays 4-8 p.m. at The Triangle.

During the spring, there is the annual Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival. Renowned chefs from around the nation and wine tastings from Napa Valley to local vineyards are present at this festival. The event offers guests the chance to taste new cuisines and meet the chefs behind the cuisine. The festival was established 19 years ago and is still going strong and is one of the most favored events in the area. In accompaniment to the festival is over forty other events including a golf tournament.

If you are looking to visit the farms that produce some of the area’s best organic produce, try swinging by Boggy Farms. While there you can see the historic farmhouse, view the gardens and buy your produce straight off the vine. The farm is open to the public Wednesday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Have a day to look at art? Then try visiting the Blanton Museum of Art. The museum is at the University of Texas at Austin and is one of the foremost university art museums in the country.  The museum comprises more than 18,000 works and is noted for its European paintings, modern and contemporary American and Latin American art and encyclopedic collection of prints and drawings.

As for nightlife in Austin – well, where does one even start? Try checking out the Warehouse District, the heart of the downtown and home and heart of the live music scene. There is also Historic 6th Street. There are over 200 live music venues in Austin, meaning you will always find your taste in music and discover maybe something new just by making your way around the downtown area. No wonder over 1,900 musicians call Austin home  and the city is called the “Live Music Capital of the World.”

While this is just a sampling of things to do in Austin, it does give one a starting point to begin at.

Carolyn Boden is a marketing consultant at Belvedere, Texas hill country land for sale real estate community. They sell beautiful hill country acreage located west of Austin near Hamilton Pool. For more information please visit http://www.belvedereaustin.com

.


Article from articlesbase.com

Find More University Of Texas At Austin Articles

Virginia Tech: Maybe There is Something We Can Do

Posted by admin | Posted on 21-10-2010

Category : Region I

Tags: , , , ,

Virginia Tech: Maybe There is Something We Can Do

In the aftermath of the tragic events at Virginia Tech, I was reluctantly reminded of the anger and fear I experienced after 9/11. It’s all just so shattering – to my reality, my sense of justice and my belief in the goodness of mankind. And it really pisses me off. The dark side of me wishes the killer had survived just so we, as a society, could punish him, and cast our venom at him, at our leisure.

Soon enough, the anger, vengeance and frustration are replaced by a foreboding sense of hopelessness, and a sad resignation that this senseless tragedy can very well repeat itself. And that REALLY pisses me off.

But today I got an e-mail message from my friend, Becca Fuller, in which she passed along a suggestion that her brother-in-law, Jeff, made. A light came on at the end of the tunnel. And so I share that seed of hope with you. Thanks, Becca, and pass on my gratitude to your brother-in-law.

Hear me out.

Many American’s, I among them, feel that people should indeed have the right to bear arms. Though I personally prefer to not participate, I completely acknowledge that others are willing and able to own and responsibly use firearms. After all, it is a piece of who we are as a nation of cowboys, explorer’s, gold miners and pioneers.

But I’ll be damned if I think that right extends to the likes of Cho Seung-Hui. Don’t you dare wave the 2nd Amendment at me and decry the rights of everyone to own a handgun. There is no way in hell that Cho had a right to own a hand gun. He was a sicko, and what’s more, LOTS OF PEOPLE KNEW IT. But unfortunately, the guy selling him the gun didn’t know it. And the State of Virginia didn’t know it. And 25,999 of the 26,000 students at Virginia Tech didn’t know it.

I can’t help but think that if any one of the dozens of people who had encountered Cho’s psychotic behavior and violent tendencies (he was arrested and required treatment for mental health issues) had let the gun shops know that Cho was capable of doing something heinous, he wouldn’t have been able to buy that gun that killed 32 people. (And Puh-Lease don’t give me a ration of BS about “Guns don’t kill, people do.” I guaran-damn-tee you that nobody would have died if Cho had been using a slingshot.)

So, why didn’t anybody know that Cho had been in a mental institution and that he had been labeled by the State of Virginia as someone who could do harm to himself and others? AS Jeff asked:

“How is it that a disturbed student who frightened his classmates and teacher; who was reported to the university administration and police because his writings were so disturbed and violent; who was investigated by the police for stalking women; who was judged to be an imminent danger to himself and others as a result of mental illness; who had threatened suicide; who had prescription medication for his psychological problems — how is it that this young man was able to walk into a gun store and, with a one-minute background check, walk out with a gun that he used to kill 32 others and himself?”

Because the all-powerful NRA has effectively lobbied to make it virtually impossible to get this information into the hands of the people who sell the guns. In the name of the 2nd Amendment, this billion-dollar special interest group has stymied every responsible effort to control the unfettered sale of handguns. It took less than 30 minutes after the killings for NRA proponents to hit the airwaves cautioning people to not allow their emotions to allow them to be manipulated by those who seek to “gut the 2nd Amendment”. Wow! Don’t let your emotions about the senseless killing of innocent people by automatic weapons in the hands of lunatics influence your thinking about whether or not we need tighter control of these weapons. God forbid!

Let’s not turn this into a debate about whether or not responsible Americans should be allowed to own guns. They should. But crazy, whacked-out, psychotic, suicide-prone sociopaths SHOULD NOT be allowed to own guns. What’s so hard to understand about that? Does anyone really think it would “gut” the 2nd amendment right of Americans to bear arms if we implemented some effective level of control such that villains like Cho can’t massacre innocent people? Former NRA President Bob Corbin, who is also the former Arizona attorney general, says “they ought to look at the person, not the gun.”

Nice idea, Bob. Except that the NRA gun lobby has made it virtually impossible to “look at the person” until AFTER they shed the blood.

I applaud much of what the NRA does and I’m glad we have their perspective and their energy on many issues. I want the right to own a gun, whether I actually own one or not. And I want the freedom to protect my family and myself from violent attacks. But, the NRA seems to take the case that tragedies such as the Virginia Tech massacre are acceptable consequences to ensure that this right is totally unabridged. Indeed, the rhetoric that I hear attacking gun control efforts as” an un-American attack on the constitution of the United States” sounds a whole lot like the diatribe I’ve heard characterizing criticism of the Iraq war as “hating America” or “not supporting the troops”. Such mindless dribble only serves to deflect important and responsible discussions about how to preserve what’s good about the 2nd Amendment while ALSO dealing with the senseless slaughter that we have experience all to often at the hands of screwed up lunatics.

This isn’t about whether or not Americans, as a society, should have this right. It is about how we stop the Chos of the world from using that right to brutally attack that very society. The NRA and its supporters are unwilling to engage in that discussion. Indeed, they consider any attempt to control the sale of handguns is an all-out assault on their mission. What a shame that responsible hunters, sportsmen and shooters get painted with the same brush as sickos like Cho because the billion-dollar gun lobby refuses to support responsible gun control policies.

So, back to my friend Becca, and her brother-in-law, Jeff. Jeff suggested the following:

“My tribute to the victims is a contribution — one small dollar for each life lost — to “www.bradycampaign.org” — to help … fight for strict gun control laws. I urge all who are outraged by Monday’s monumental tragedy to do the same.”

Sounds good to me. Maybe if millions of people translated their anger and grief into a few dollar donations we could combat the deep pockets of gun manufacturers and the NRA. Maybe we could look forward to a world where we don’t have to live in fear of sending our kids to high school or college. You can make a donation online using your ATM or credit card and what’s more, a generous anonymous donor has agreed to match all contributions this year up to 0,000! Your gift will be worth double today!

I pray that good, intelligent, loyal Americans of all political parties and persuasions will take a public and vigorous stand against this senseless violence. By all means, have your guns if you must. But for the sake of our society and our children, don’t ignore what has happened just to preserve your right to have those guns. Do something. Please.

There is a Cancer Epidemic Related to Asbestos Exposure

Posted by admin | Posted on 11-10-2010

Category : Region V

Tags: , , , , ,

There is a Cancer Epidemic Related to Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos exposure is responsible for the death of millions of people worldwide and the debate on how to handle this crisis is still ongoing.  There are a myriad of political and economic obstacles surrounding the issue, and some are uncomfortable subjects to discuss.

One interesting article to start your research is called, “The asbestos cancer epidemic.” By Joseph LaDou – Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine, – Environ Health Perspect. 2004 March; 112(3): 285–.  Here is an excerpt: “The asbestos cancer epidemic may take as many as 10 million lives before asbestos is banned worldwide and exposures are brought to an end. In many developed countries, in the most affected age groups, mesothelioma may account for 1% of all deaths. In addition to mesotheliomas, 5-7% of all lung cancers can be attributed to occupational exposures to asbestos. The asbestos cancer epidemic would have been largely preventable if the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) had responded early and responsibly.

The WHO was late in recognizing the epidemic and failed to act decisively after it was well under way. The WHO and the ILO continue to fail to address the problem of asbestos mining, manufacturing, and use and world trade of a known human carcinogen. Part of the problem is that the WHO and the ILO have allowed organizations such as the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) and other asbestos industry advocates to manipulate them and to distort scientific evidence. The global asbestos cancer epidemic is a story of monumental failure to protect the public health.”

A second study worth examining is called, “Cancer in asbestos-exposed occupational cohorts: a meta-analysis” Cancer Causes and Control – Volume 10, Number 5 / August, 1999 – by Michael Goodman, Robert W. Morgan, Rose Ray, Curtis D. Malloy  and Ke Zhao.  Here is an excerpt: “Abstract  Objective: To examine existing asbestos-exposed occupational cohorts and apply a meta-analytic technique to determine the magnitude of association between exposure and lung cancer and to investigate other cancer sites that may be related to such an exposure.  Methods: We summarized the data from 69 asbestos-exposed occupational cohorts reporting on cancer morbidity and mortality. Data were extracted regarding numbers of deaths for each cancer, numbers of mesotheliomas, occupations and latency for respiratory, gastrointestinal, urinary and lymphohematopoietic cancers. For each cancer, we calculated a meta-SMR and examined heterogeneity of results using a chi-square test and by calculating a Z-statistic for each study. To examine the dose–response effect, we divided the studies into tertiles according to the percentage of mesothelioma deaths that served as a proxy estimation of asbestos exposure.

Results: Lung cancer data demonstrated meta-SMRs of 163 and 148 with and without latency, respectively, with significant heterogeneity of results even after stratification according to occupational groups. Stratification of lung cancer studies according to percentage of mesothelioma deaths showed a dose–response effect. Z-scores ranged from – 12.21 to + 29.49. Analysis for laryngeal cancer yielded meta-SMRs of 157 and 133 with and without latency, respectively, demonstrating homogeneous results across studies but accompanied by no evidence of a dose–response effect. Data for gastrointestinal cancers showed no evidence of a significant association and no dose–response effect. Kidney cancer demonstrated statistically non-significant meta-SMRs of 120 (95% CI 88–160) and 111 (95% CI 94–131) with and without latency respectively.
Conclusions: This meta-analysis demonstrates a wide variability of the association between occupational asbestos and lung cancer. There was a suggestion of an association between asbestos and laryngeal carcinoma and no clear association with other cancers.”

A third study is called, “Asbestos and renal adenocarcinoma: A case-control study” by  Malcolm Maclure – Environmental Research Volume 42, Issue 2, April 1987, Pages 353.  Here is an excerpt:  “A case-control study of renal adenocarcinoma has corroborated the hypothesis that asbestos is a cause of the disease. The odds of having been moderately or heavily exposed to asbestos 30 years before diagnosis were 45:473 among cases, whereas the comparable odds among controls were 26:492. A matched-pair analysis yielded an exposure odds ratio of 1.8 with 95% confidence limits of 1.1 and 3.1. After controlling for potential confounders and selection factors by means of logistic regression, the incidence rate ratio was estimated to be 1.6, with a one-sided 95% confidence limit of 1.0.”

If you found any of these excerpts interesting, please read the studies in their entirety.  We all owe a great deal of gratitude to these researchers.

Find More University Of California, San Francisco Articles

Are There Studies You Can’t “Weight” For?

Posted by admin | Posted on 25-08-2010

Category : Region V

Tags: , , ,

Are There Studies You Can’t “Weight” For?

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, people who ate a 2000-calorie diet based only on food advertised on television would consume – on average – 25 times the recommended amount of sugar and 20 times the recommended amount of fat. The study also showed that the average product advertised on television contained above-average amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol and below-average amounts of beneficial nutrients like fiber, calcium and vitamin D. The money spent of food advertisements annually ranges from .3 to .6 billion – and we eat it up.

While we’re eating it up, more than 80% of us who lose weight gain it back. In fact, researchers at the University of California/Los Angeles analyzed 31 long-term, diet studies and found that about two-thirds of dieters regained more weight in 4-5 years than they had lost. One reason it’s hard to keep weight off is there’s a metabolic overcompensation for weight loss. Decreasing body mass by 10% results in an 11%-15% decrease in metabolism. Also, yo-yo dieting increases the hunger hormone ghrelin and decreases the fullness hormone leptin, making yo-yo dieters feel hungrier and less satiated. For yo-yo dieters there are strings attached.

And not all yo-yo dieters are created equal. Researchers at the University of California/San Francisco and Yale University found there’s a biological cause for some people to be “conditioned hypereaters”. The reward circuits in their brains are excessively activated by the smell of food and stay that way until their plates are empty. It’s estimated that 30% of overweight people and 50% of obese people are conditioned hypereaters. However, in a study of 200 overweight and obese people, those given an extra hour of therapy instead of low-intensity exercise maintained their weight loss after a year. Instead, they had gained insight.

Yo-yo dieting is more than frustrating. It’s unhealthy. A study in Clinical Cardiology  found that women who yo-yoed 5 times or more in their lifetime increased the risk of damaging their hearts. Yo-yo dieting also adversely affects the immune system. A study of 100 otherwise healthy women found that yo-yoing lowers immune function – specifically lowering the count of natural killer cells – cells important for fighting infection and the early stages of cancer. Women who yo-yoed at least 5 times decreased their natural killer-cell activity by one-third. Considering the dangers, yo-yo dieters shouldn’t have a “weight-and-see” attitude.

famous people from the city of Houston Texas – Famous people born there such as Patrick Swayze..

Posted by admin | Posted on 18-06-2010

Category : Region IV

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

famous people from the city of Houston Texas – Famous people born there such as Patrick Swayze..

famous people from the city of Houston Texas – Famous people born

11.
1952-08-18 – Patrick Swayze, Houston Tx, actor/dancer (Dirty Dancing, Ghost)
American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best-known for his roles as romantic leading men in the films Dirty Dancing and Ghost and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its “Sexiest Man Alive” in 1991.
Died on September 14, 2009

Enter to win up to ,000 in combined cash and prizes from our featured sponsors by joining our panel and completing our short survey. On Demand Research All Countries/Regions

10.
1954-04-09 – Dennis Quaid, Houston TX, actor (Big Easy, Dreamscape, Right Stuff)
American actor. He became known during the 1980s after appearing in several successful films.
Quaid dropped out of the University of Houston before graduating and moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.

09.
1955-02-02 – Brent Spiner, Houston TX, actor (Data-Star Trek the Next Generation)
American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television and film series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

08.
1960-10-19 – Jennifer Holliday, Houston Tx, singer/actress (Dream Girls)
two-time Grammy Award-winning African-American singer and Tony Award-winning actress. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as Dreamgirls, and later became a successful recording artist. She is best known for her debut single, the Dreamgirls showstopper and Grammy Award-winning R&B/Pop hit, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.”

07.
1963-07-13 – Bobby Rock, Houston Tx, rock drummer (Nelson-Love & Affection)
Rock first came into national awareness with the Vinnie Vincent Invasion. Following his two album/tour stint with Vinnie Vincent he recorded with Nitro before joining the band Nelson. He would then go on to work with the bands Brunette and Hardline. He reunited with former Vinnie Vincent Invasion bandmates Mark Slaughter and Dana Strum, when he toured with Slaughter, filling in for drummer Blas Elias who had prior commitments to performing with the Blue Man Group in Las Vegas.

06.
1964-07-21 – Susan Swift, Houston Tx, actress (Chisholms)
American former child actress, active in late 1970s and 1980s

05.
1967-06-29 – Melora Hardin, Houston Tx, actress (Family Tree, Best Times)
daughter of acting manager/coach and retired actress Diane (née Hill) and actor Jerry Hardin. She is the sister of Flock CEO Shawn Hardin. She was raised in San Francisco, California, after her family moved there when she was 4 years old.

04.
1967-11-28 – Anna Nicole “Vickie” Smith, Houston Tex, playmate (May 1992)

03.
1970-07-14 – Mark Brandenburg, Houston TX, pitcher (Texas Rangers)

02.
1976-02-06 – Kim Zmeskal, Houston TX, US gymnist (Olympic-92)

01.
1978-08-24 – Melissa McElroy, Houston Tx, rhythmic gymnast (US team-96)

famous people from the city of Houston Texas – Famous people born

Enter to win up to ,000 in combined cash and prizes from our featured sponsors by joining our panel and completing our short survey. On Demand Research All Countries/Regions

Find More University Of Houston Articles

There is a Universal Law of Abundance – Part 2

Posted by admin | Posted on 13-01-2010

Category : Region IV

Tags: , , ,

There is a Universal Law of Abundance – Part 2

Simply praying may not help much. Instead it may be more effective to meditate intensely for more than 15 minutes on the actual result of one’s intent which must be in tune with the good of all and never against anyone’s wishes. By understanding some of the timeless, mystical truths deeply embedded in the Lord’s Prayer, one can find great comfort, guidance and inner peace, knowing that God’s will for all is only happiness and prosperity.

Why is Prayer Seldom Answered?

Prayer is not enough. You must visualize with faith and meditate daily on the ideals that you want to change your life around toward while working closely with a strong sense of God’s personal love and blessing. You must put all your emotional energy (enthusiasm) and focus into what you do want while avoiding thoughts and feelings of what is not wanted or considered undesirable. I don’t at all mean being irresponsible, but rather put one’s focus and energy into being more responsible and caring than ever before, because that is one of the positive ideals, traits, and/or qualities of success that’s most practical to have.

You also must make the new ideals that you want a habitual way of thinking. Never forget you are a powerful spiritual being whose consciousness and thoughts are not just limited to and caused by the physical brain (which is really just a “conduit, switchboard or condenser” through which the physical world can be accessed by the soul), but are from a timeless, multidimensional source of massive power and of universal (holographic) origin and influence. The Reality that is You are actually at or above the level of creation itself. You are a powerful spiritual being, living on Earth to experience and overcome physical limitations.

You absolutely must not wish any harm against anyone else, but rather be very grateful and appreciative of their lives. Avoid jealousy, all sense of competition and all self-righteousness. Instead sense the Oneness of all life and sincerely wish for others all the best of everything. What goes around comes around. Love God in others with all your heart. Respect and serve God in others with all your heart. Avoid all fear (of losing) and attachment to what you have already. Real happiness, true happiness comes from within. As a child (reflection) of God, you are independently wealthy.

To meditate on what is needed is far more potent than simply praying. That means one is to concentrate, visualize with all one’s inner senses for nearly an hour a day the actual fulfillment of one’s goal, desire or dream. Learn how to focus all one’s attention to the exclusion of all other thoughts on the one most desperately needed or desired thing, whether it be piles of money, gold, a house, a relationship, or even a tranquil garden of blossoming roses and all the sublime scents of nature; if it is good for your soul, then it has to come to pass! The more focus and the less distraction one has, the sooner whatever you focus on can unfold into your life as an actual experience. It is important to conserve one’s sexual energy because sexual energy is a creative force and may very well be an essential help for one’s ability, inspiration and enthusiasm (all are essential!) to focus and concentrate on whatever goal has to be reached. Then all one’s actions must in turn logically comply with, responsibly engage in, and physically become involved with the actual accomplishment of the goal in mind.

What You Renounce You Can Have

True prosperity is achieved through following the above inspiring principles with a loving and joyous attitude. Never forget the supreme commandment: love God with all your heart. Build up a habitual attitude of love, joy and gratitude. These positive attitudes give off a strong positive influence, blessing the atmosphere, all other people, all other life forms, and your relationship with the entire inner universe of your being or inner Reality, thus changing everything you experience.

Your Relationship with God

Why even bother to have a relationship to God and who is God anyway? God is a cosmic conscious “computer” of infinite size and vastness, encompassing and consisting of all dimensions, especially those beyond time and space, cause and causation. God is beyond even the duality of existence and non-existence: after all, what is pure awareness? So anyone asking whether God exists or not is beside the point. You can’t possibly describe or even comprehend this pure awareness which is the Source of all experience and creation. You can only experience it. But you must work with and strive to know and love this awesome Reality behind all existence because it is the underlying Source of you. It is the tree of the branch that you depend on for support, the trunk of your “tree” of creation. You are a part of God and to the degree you can drop all fears, desires, etc. and to the degree you can develop a profound sense of love, joy, prosperity and laughter, determines just how much of this truth you will experience. The metaphysical books by Joseph Murphy gives one confidence and knowledge as to where and how to take the “helm” of one’s life and turn it around to the “still waters” of peace, and the abundance of an “overflowing cup.” We give up or renounce our fears and desires by realizing that they are fulfilled already with the unsurpassed mercy and abundance of the universe. These truths are as timeless as the 23rd Psalm.

The Deep Meaning Behind the Lord’s Prayer

There are many variations and translations of this prayer. It is one of the most widely recited prayers in the world. Of course, there is a major metaphysical meaning and significance to every word of the Lord’s Prayer that tells us how to live in complete harmony with the universe, and when recited with devotion and sincerity of heart will saturate one with a great sense of awe, love and abundant blessings from God.

“Our Father which art in Heaven” proclaims the universal consciousness of Godhood or Spirit as being in a continuous state of perfect wholeness or “Heaven.” God is all knowing, all truth, all love, all powerful and all joy. To know this state of consciousness is to always be in a state of heavenly joy, abundance and bliss.

“Hallowed by thy Name.” The name of God, whatever it may be, is to be made holy or set apart for holy use. Never cry out the Lord’s name in vain (how many times have we all done this?) because it’s vibration is potent and all too wonderful for it to ever be abused in a fit of mundane frustration. Would you want to say something as sacred and close to your heart as the name of your true love, your soul mate and spouse forever in a way without reverence and respect? Love is too sacred and any name or word for one you love, who is the nearest and dearest (God) should be a deep and sacred joy to meditate on or chant deep within the sacredness of one’s heart.

“Thy Kingdom come.” We must remember that God is far more than just a religion or a prayer. God’s purpose is to lead us up through many states and stages of evolution or consciousness or strata of being, revealing entire kingdoms or spheres of 100% natural realities of finer and finer vibrations (far beyond the range of the physical senses) that are awesomely beautiful, abundant and all fulfilling in their nature. The “Kingdom” is within all conscious beings and when it arrives (or rather when we arrive to it) we get to live in paradise. The main challenge is to live in this paradise as a perfect master of life while still on Earth and to create abundance where originally there was only lack.

“Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven” is the great reason why many souls must come to this earth which is so full of misery and all sorts of challenges. This statement reveals God’s intention for all of us which is to somehow channel light from heaven and to manifest on Earth the same goodness and values always found in the higher realms beyond death and above the physical plane, and to bridge the gap between heaven and Earth, and to even create a communication bridge between the spheres so that Spirit can directly guide and instruct physically incarnate humans toward a much more fulfilling destiny of wondrous abundance and permanent salvation from suffering. In other words, we are here to create heaven on Earth, however, most tragically and unfortunately too many are mired in spiritual ignorance and are therefore doing just the opposite and are often undoing all the good things the wise and good souls are trying to do.

“Give us this day our daily bread” and we are praying in this way to become established in the attitude of receiving God’s universal abundance, provision or care that is also very personal, complete, and affectionately loving. This prayer acknowledges the fact that we are lovingly looked after by Spirit for our own good and safety depending on how much we acknowledge Spirit, how much we put Spirit first in our lives. Spirit is the more feminine aspect of God that is the Divine Mother, Zero Point Energy or Sustainer of all animate and inanimate objects and can be heard in the right ear as the universally creative “Om” sound. Her universal consort is God the Father who is the great, unmanifested infinitude and guiding laws of physics and principles of all reality, or pure consciousness beyond all manifestation without end.

As we come to “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” we discover there is a universal law that underlies the importance of forgiveness.

Jesus in St. Matthew 14 and 15 had this to say about the prayer: “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive men not their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” This statement is what I believe to be the foundational truth behind that widely acclaimed A Course in Miracles which teaches forgiveness as a way toward miraculous recovery from all kinds of difficulties and challenges people are often afflicted with. After all, if you feel one owes you even a simple apology or had made your life miserable and should bring back all kinds of compensation, never forget all the favors you must owe others! There is a universal law of karmic balance so subtle that materialistic scientists completely dismiss it, yet it is so profound and fundamental to the health of the soul, to ignore it would be the height of spiritual stupidity and ignorance. Holding a grudge, or insisting everyone who owes you money pay up, and/or never letting go of old hatreds and long unsettled debts would only serve to block one’s progress forward into a much freer life of healing vitality, spirituality, abundance, and prosperity.

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” means if we are not centering our life on God’s glorious values of light, love and goodness, then what are we centering our lives on? If we seek not the Light, we could soon end up in darkness. We must always discriminate between good and bad, light and dark, chastity and lust, etc. or be lost in many reincarnations until we do learn, “for the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) and death in this sense means having to go through as many cycles of birth, suffering and death until all karmic lessons are paid off. Only when we are free from selfish materialism does the everlasting life in multitudinous heavenly existences ultimately become available. How wise indeed are those who stay away from the temptations of materialism and selfishness!

“For thine is is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever” signifies the endless and wonderful existences in the eternities of heaven most worthy of attainment. We must keep in mind that the eternal glorious Kingdom of Heaven and God’s profound love is potentially within all souls. Words fail to depict and describe the actual experiences of souls living out their eternal spiritual lives in the higher spheres which are full of wonders and wondrous abundance impossible to convey to those on Earth because everything must be brought down to a materialistic level to be understood in our three-dimensional universe of corporeal reality.

“Amen” is “Aum” or “Om” or original sound of creation that is the Holy Ghost or Spirit. A whole book can be written on this remarkable syllable alone but it represents the sound often heard in the inner right ear by mystics and yogis during deep meditation. It comes from the Source of creation which is Zero Point Energy which sustains every electron in its orbit and is the ultimate source of all matter and energy and is the entire ocean of energy, prana, or Spirit engulfing all creation.

The mystical truths of the Bible come from a profound and universal Source of knowledge which is God. By focusing on all the wonderful qualities of God, one becomes more and more like what one focuses on.

More information and videos related to this article can be found right here: http://www.wholejoy.com/thelawofabundance/income.html

Russell Symonds (Shaktivirya) has dedicated his life to finding wholeness and is living the “wholeness” lifestyle. His website, Science of Wholeness is a spiritual and nutritional information and research center dedicated to helping you find your keys to wholeness (everlasting joy, love, bliss, rejuvenation, and much, much more). There is no greater thing of beauty, value and joy as wholeness!

The rest of his original articles and his free online book can be found here: http://www.wholejoy.com/wholeness/NEWS.html