Sunday, September 30, 2012

What if this assist you to lose weight? - hcg weight loss

Many people wonder, after learning about HCG injections, if Hcg weight loss efforts are effective. Hcg weight loss via injections is not a new idea the slightest bit; the notion of utilizing HCG as a dieting aid was introduced by ATW Simeons in early 1950s; your physician who claimed that dieters can partake of the 500 calorie per day diet without hunger if HCG injections were used. Hcg weight loss therapy has been identified as Simeons therapy, and several people still make use of this method to be able to effectively slim down.

HCG hormones will be in the body naturally; this agent becomes contained in large amounts by the body processes of a pregnant female. Studies have revealed that HCG actually is able to cause fat to calorie conversions in women that are pregnant as well as metabolic increases. Rogues research was translated into the idea that HCG hormones could possibly be used to produce exactly the same effect in the body of people seeking to lose weig ht. The main benefits derived from the use of HCG hormones and HCG oral supplements include one's power to eat a super low calorie diet without hunger pains, headaches, vertigo, or nausea. Some experts have cited the notion that users of Hcg weight loss supplements and injections lose substantially more body fat than do dieters that do not rely on the merchandise.

The Federal Drug Administration hasn't officially approved using HCG injections as a weight loss aid; nevertheless the product is still in the marketplace for use. Hormone agent can be replicated within the laboratory plus a synthetic version has been created for use. Using HCG has proven good for fertility issues too.

HCG injections or oral supplements are delivered to individuals within a doctor's care which act is generally accompanied by the use of a super low-calorie diet to advertise weight loss. The average person looking to make the most of Hcg weight loss injections or oral supplement s should be willing to cooperate with his or her physician to guarantee prolonged health and dieting success.

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A Guide to Depression

By Anita Hale


The term, "I feel depressed" is one that we have all uttered at some point in our lives. It's usually because we are feeling particulalry sad or down about something. Our spirits and mood are low. It is only when these feelings persist that "feeling depressed" might crossover into the medical definition of the word depression.

Depression is actually a very common disorder. When taken in conjunction with anxiety, depression is the most common mental disorder in England, suffered by 9.7 per cent of the population (The Health & Social Care Information Centre 2009). In addition, the ONS found that one in ten people in Britain will suffer from depression at any one time.

The reason why depression and anxiety are sometimes combined in survey findings and research such as this is that anxiety is often systematic of depression. Having said that, depression can conversely be a symptom of an anxiety disorder and this in turn can make diagnosis tricky. Indeed, the list of symptoms for depression is long and sometimes vague. For instance, symptoms can include insomnia, feeling sad and teary, low self-esteem, losing interest in your surroundings, lack of sex drive and weight loss or weight gain.

But the truth is, we all experience some of these things at some point in our lives. Does this mean we are depressed? And when should we take action? The answer to this is to evaluate how often you feel this way. Feeling occasionally tearful is normal, but if you feel a number of these symptoms everyday for two weeks than book an appointment to see your GP.

The way in which depression is treated will vary according to the nature of depression diagnosed. There is no one cause of depression. A genetic link has been established with regards to manic depression. But while a family history of depression does increase the likelihood of getting it, there has been no solid evidence to suggest a genetic basis to regular depression.

Additional causes and triggers for depression include the death of a loved one and other stressful changes in one's life, such as the end of a relationship or starting a new job. Links have also been made between poor diet and lack of exercise and depression. Furthermore, some prescribed drugs as well as narcotics can produce symptoms of depression as a side effect.

When you doctor diagnoses you with depression they should take into account both your current state and your medical history. This is to enable them to find a suitable treatment for your particular form of depression. However, many doctors simply prescribe anti-depressants as a catch-all solution. This isn't always ideal because anti-depressants have only been found to be clinically significant in their treating of severe forms of depression. In turn, there are a number of other treatments that do not include drugs that are becoming increasingly noteworthy in their effectiveness.

Depression can in some cases go away after a short period and for this reason your doctor might prescribe a wait-and-see approach to monitor your symptoms and see if they intensify or improve. Alternatively, psychological treatments include a number of different talking therapies. These can vary greatly in approach from guided self help, which uses books under the guidance of a healthcare worker to cognitive behaviour therapy, which actively focuses on negative behaviour and thoughts and teaches ways to readdress them. Treatment can be offered long-term or short-term as befits your diagnosis. The most important thing when dealing with depression is to know you are not alone and seek professional help should your symptoms persist.




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Why Laser Hair Removal Kennewick Cosmetic Clinics Perform Is Popular

By Shawna Trujillo


There is a solution which enables the reduction of unwanted facial and body hairs. Even though it can be costly, many are still going for laser hair removal Kennewick clinics perform because of the permanent effects it brings. Read on to know why it is so effective and how you can ensure that you get the most favorable results from this popular cosmetic procedure.

By regulating light energy, it can be directed to target specifically the pigment melanin. Dark unwanted hairs carry an abundance of it, and that is why they absorb laser. There is minimal effect on the surrounding tissue, in particular the skin, as it contains smaller amount of the matter. The large surface area also helps in quickly dissipating the impact.

Much of the energy is absorbed by the follicles due to the abundance of the said pigment. This is what causes their destruction fully or partially. Your recurring problem may be gone permanently after going through all of the sessions.

How many times one has to pay the cosmetic clinic a visit will depend on different reasons. One of them is the amount of unwanted facial and body hairs to be removed. Their color and texture are also role players. Most people will require undergoing a minimum of 7 treatments, with each one about 3 to 8 weeks apart. Having multiple sessions is important because each of the strands has to be exposed to the utilized light energy during its active growth phase.

After having all of the prescribed treatments, maintenance is recommended. This ensures that the recurring problem completely goes away. Fortunately, this has to be done only once per year for at least the next couple of years.

In the past, the best candidates to undergo the cosmetic procedure are people whose hairs are darker than their skin. However, the number of machines available these days lets practically every person to enjoy permanent elimination of the nightmare bugging them. But because the type of machine used has a huge impact on the treatment's success, make sure that what the clinic uses is in an excellent condition. Further, it has to be something approved by the U. S. FDA.

With that being said, it's very important that you go to a reliable cosmetic clinic in the city which offers the treatment. Getting the recommendations of relatives, friends or colleagues is the best way to find one to visit. You may also get a listing on the internet, although you need to research on each of them and opt for one with an untainted reputation.

Most establishments offer free initial consultations. Make the most out of it by meeting the practitioner and asking important questions. Don't hesitate to find out about his or her training background and work experience. Check that the clinic is accessible, clean, well-maintained, and has license to operate. The staff should also attend to your needs right away.

By going to the best local establishment, you can be completely satisfied with laser hair removal Kennewick cosmetic clinics offer. It's true that the treatment isn't a cheap one. However, you will find that every dollar you shell out is well worth it. It's the only safe and effective way to permanently reduce unwanted hairs on the face and body to date.




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How A Counselor Parker CO Can Help Folks Learn Unconditional Self Acceptance

By Shawna Trujillo


The desire to accept the self completely - shortcomings and esteem-able parts included - is a common one. However, the emotional challenges this presents prevents many folks from even starting the journey. Failure to undertake such introspective tasks in the interests of mental health and well-being turns individuals into self-sabotaging the personality. However, with greater self-acceptance comes greater joy and finding fulfillment in life. By consulting a counselor Parker CO clients will discover to embrace this difficult yet necessary psychological task is not only possible but desirable. Find out below why consulting the professionals is worth it.

It's easy to focus on those aspects of the self that raises self-esteem. Unfortunately, it's not the route to lasting happiness, however, especially when confronted by personal shortcomings and feelings of insecurity. Through experiencing unconditional approval by counselors clients begin to feel valued, irrespective of personal weaknesses. Feeling significant in the eyes of another caring human being is the first step towards adopting positive self-regard.

Folks suffering poor self-regard often indulge in debilitating self-talk and negative self-evaluations. It becomes such an ingrained and automatic part of daily life that when therapists make clients aware of this, it comes as both a shock and as a moment of insight. Recognizing habitual put-down inner chatter is a significant step to stop self-sabotage.

Exploring the dark side of the psyche - with its sometimes outrageous, antisocial impulses and cruel imaginings - is hard and challenging for everyone. Fortunately, clients will have the needed support from an experienced professional in human relationships. And, unlike the support from family and friends, this is unconditional and not dependent on any qualifications of the individual.

Lack of complete self-appreciation is common; most people dislike aspects of the personality though this is often denied or not obvious. Through counselor interventions clients come to recognize this typical human attitude. Feeling less weird and learning to shake the label as the odd one out can be a great relief in itself.

Venting self-doubt and personal weaknesses meaningfully through words with friends and family is generally frowned upon. No one wants to hear these, and even well meaning folks are apt to respond in ways that aren't always helpful. Worse, one could even provoke ridicule and more rebuke from others. But in counseling clients have the freedom and safety to express misgivings and related emotions without the need to fear negative consequences. This is often liberating in itself.

Self-blame is often at the root of many people's struggle to shed the burden of conditional acceptance. Through skillful counseling, clients come to recognize the sources of personal misery are many, often obscured by past childhood experiences at the hands of adult caregivers or strangers. Realizing this helps folks to let go of guilt and shame, and makes the road towards embracing the self completely bearable.

By making an appointment with a counselor Parker CO clients can look forward to the needed support, encouragement and skillful guidance towards complete self-acceptance. Genuine happiness and well-being await individuals that are prepared to take such a bold step. Unconditional, positive self-regard is achievable and worth the emotional risks when seeing the experts.




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What is Cholesterol and just how it affects Our Wellness?

By Rok Fallesen


It's human nature to realize the significance of every little thing when it moves absent from him and this is particularly accurate in situation of our wellness as majority of the men and women begin take care of their wellness once they are attacked by any critical disease like high blood pressure or heart attack.

Wise man could be the one who uses proactive approach as opposed to reactive approach so rather than waiting for just about any disease to assault us; we need to look after our health appropriate in the begin. Based on the current figures, heart patients are increasing day-to-day and that is certainly mostly on account of raise in cholesterol degree inside the body.

Aside from taking healthful diet and undertaking exercise frequently, you need to also read well being magazines and take a look at well being blogs as they reveal valuable info for sustaining a fantastic well being. You need to know about a lot of the frequent points that directly impact your wellness like cholesterol.

I am sure; vast majority of you are going to not be able to answer even a basic query about wellness. Tell me truthfully that happen to be you capable to tell what is cholesterol? Wait a minute, there exists no ought to disappoint as I am going to answer this query in detail as a way to boost your knowledge about this significant well being aspect.

Cholesterol is basically a fatty substance related to your wax that is current not simply in a variety of food products we consume but additionally within our body. Right here I ought to obvious several of the misconceptions linked with cholesterol. It is actually a common conception that cholesterol as a entire is unsafe for us which can be pretty wrong.

A set amount of cholesterol is needed by our physique to operate effectively and proficiently but when its quantity goes over this mounted level then it could develop lots of challenges. Enhanced amount of cholesterol is highly harmful as it leads to dying in vast majority of the circumstances.

Excessive cholesterol moves towards our arteries exactly where it blocks the movement of blood. Better the cholesterol degree, far more probabilities for heart ailments. The worst issue is that substantial cholesterol level can only be detected by tests; it doesn't present distinct signs and symptoms as a result of which vast majority of your individuals are even unaware that they've higher cholesterol level within their physique.

So consider appointment from your physician right now for examining your cholesterol level examined. For anyone who is a affected person of substantial blood strain then take Losartan an efficient medication employed for hypertension but do not take it without the recommendation of your medical doctor.




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Maintenance Tips And Advice On Painting Sash Windows For Your Use

By Francis Caldwell


For most home owners, when a sash window is damaged they only think of replacement. They do not know that these are designed for easy removal, such that one can repair and return them. In this case, it is important to note that with proper care, wooden sashes can last for a long time. You only need to make sure you take good care of them and maintain a good coating. Here are some tips and advice on painting sash windows one can use on their houses.

It is important to have a detailed work plan to use especially if there are many units to be painted. Allocate adequate time for each unit to make certain there is no shoddy work resulting from poor planning or lack of enough time. One may choose to follow a check list to monitor their progress in the entire project. This also helps to keep you within the set time plan.

Look for separate bags where to keep the locks and fasteners once removed. A person can label each to know where every item is placed. This is greatly helpful when fixing back the parts as one will know where each should fit. This also enables the painter to cover all areas, without unknowingly skipping others.

If there are any parts of the wood frame that are rotten remove them carefully. Also clean the surfaces you wish to paint thoroughly. You can sand these areas to ensure that no loose particles are left. Use wood putty to fill any dents that may be there to make the area level with the rest.

Also, you will need a tape and newspapers to mask the glass surfaces. Use brushes that are comfortable to work with. Do not allow the brush to soak too much paint. This will help prevent the paints from dripping on your clothes or unwanted areas. In case such areas are accidentally painted, use a special scraper and clean them after the work.

Avoid painting the area between the frames and sash. When it is all dried up, the window will not open as the surfaces will be glued together. For this reason, always remember to work when the window are open. On the same, do not make the coating too thick as it may jam the sashes in their runners and prevent them from moving at all.

Make sure to use the right paint. This depends on the surfaces being painted. However, good quality is recommended since the market has many types which could just fade within a short time after application. You also need to choose paints that are compatible, even if you have to seek the advice of a reputable supplier. It is important to stir it well before beginning your work since most modern brands separate leaving a solid segment at the bottom of the tin.

Given above are among the tips and advice on painting sash windows home owners can use. Always, mask any exposed wood to hinder moisture from entering. This may result to unwanted expansions that cause the sashes to stick or even lead to rotting.




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Saturday, September 29, 2012

Are Heart Rate Monitors Worth It?

By Jason Lenove


Supervising your exercising, as well as using certain instruments like heart rate monitors, are made to help you with your fitness goals. They are not merely toys for the tech-obsessed as well as geeks amongst us, yet are a great device in your workout hardware report. Whether your target is to lose weight, improve your cardiovascular machine, perform successful interval training, or raise muscular endurance, a heart cost display will assist you be so much more reliable in your exercises.

So how precisely does overseeing your heart rate help you hit your goals a lot faster? Well, by permitting you to handle the strength of your training. Tracking your heart fee is really the only correct way of accurately assessing the intensity level of your training session. You just just can't inform this properly simply by suspecting from how hefty you are taking a breath or how much you are sweating.

We know for the most efficient fat reduction through interval training, you would like to strike at least 85 % of your optimum heart price, and just how else would you understand if you are reaching that degree without a computer monitor? Also, real cardio respiratory advantages don't pitch in until you strike about 70 % of your max heart rate.

The major problem with training with a heart computer monitor is that it is challenging to determine your particular maximum heart cost due to the fact that everyone is different and it depends on a number of factors, consisting of families genes. Most formulas and personal digital assistants online truly only deliver you with an approximate figure.

Hence, for truly accurate as well as exact training, you must identify a neighborhood lab that will certainly place you with a worry exam (you could begin by calling some pulmonolgists or some regional healthcare facilities for recommendations). This is certainly only to be done if you are actually serious pertaining to recognizing your body's limits.

Still, even if you manually calculate your maximum heart rate as well as supervise your trainings based off that, you will have a better beginning point than merely just guessing about your intensity levels. By concentrating on a higher level of magnitude when undertaking exercise, you receive the most from your exercise time. This permits you to recognize even more benefits in reduced time, you merely have to train more difficult instead of longer!




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Maybe I Deserve This?

By A'ric Jackson


Have you ever had a time within your life when it was going so good till and it was so surreal which you stated to yourself "Maybe I deserve this." If so, I'm right here to give you immediate warning to this statement alone. Grant it you are ahead on the curve in regards to other individuals who're saying "I do not deserve this." Congratulations, nonetheless, don't begin the celebration and bring out the glass flutes and champagne just however.

Yes you are ahead of that group but why are you currently not in the space of confidently saying "I Deserve This!" You my friend are in among each. What tends to make this a danger zone is mainly because you'll be able to easily be slide back into "I Don't Deserve This" Valley quicker than climbing into "I Deserve This" Larger Ground Mountains.

Do not fret. How I see it, when you are in the space of Maybe I Deserve This, you are in the 50 yard line and my purpose would be to offer you a handful of things to take into consideration taking the climb as an alternative of taking the fall.

1st factors initial. What exactly is it which has you thinking Maybe I deserve this? Are you currently making that statement about your job, your existing relationship, your family, your new vehicle? What's it? Why not proclaim that you simply do deserve this? What happened in your past that has your in the 50 yard line of maybe I deserve this? What did a person say to you that has you now second guessing if you're worthy with the superb items which are happening to you? Superior yet, what have you done which has you are right here?

Do you keep in mind if you were a kid and you would go into a candy shop and also you would see your preferred candy and boldly ask for it no problem? Once again this leads me towards the question of what occurred amongst then and now that you simply generally fell that Maybe you deserve this.

There may be a deep rooted belief which you query regardless of whether you deserve it or not. When you are at this 50 yard, I have 3 things that will enable you to begin to take the climb towards Mount "I Deserve This."

#1 Locate your deep rooted belief? Come on you know that I am going to often provide you with a self reflection exercising. But your 1st step towards Mt. I deserve this really is locating that belief. How you discover it's by taking a look at the region of your life exactly where you query more than and over once more should you deserve it or not. Look at it really is within this area of the life that you simply have come up having a jaded belief from an knowledge or anything that occurred.

Pull out a piece of paper. For that location of life that you are questioning begin to just write free of charge flow towards the issues which you believe about this area. Let's say your region is funds. Create down almost everything that comes to thoughts. Write and any time you are carried out . . . Create again. YOUR LIFE Is dependent upon IT! You may start to determine a popular theme show up and if you do, you want to understand that is the belief which has kept you in the "maybe I deserve this" land.

#2 Embrace Your Belief Then Let It Go! Now this is twofold. In order to climb up from the "maybe I deserve this" land you need to embrace what you've believed is your truth. Now just before you take your laptop and throw it across the room, hear me out. When you resist it, it is going to persists. Example, for anyone who is a hurdle jumper in track. You're the runner and let's say the hurdle represents that obstacle or circumstance. So you will be operating, you got a good stride going and you get to a hurdle. You look at it and say "you are usually not supposed to be right here, even though I am a hurdle jumper, you shouldn't be so high." Guess what the hurdle is going to complete . . . It truly is going to remain suitable there and not move. The only way you'll be able to successfully win the race is accept the hurdle for what it is and jump more than it. As soon as you do that you are closer for the really thing which you want, which within this situation could be the climbing greater to Mt. I Deserve This! The next step is much easier because after you embrace it for what it really is, you can expect to be capable let it go. I can not explain it completely but there's nearly a magical moment any time you embrace it for what it can be then you will be in a position to say "ok that was it" then you move on.

#3 Say What's Subsequent For you! So now that you simply have let go of that belief, you now have space to create anything new. So now what are you currently opening yourself up to? But wait ahead of you do this, it's essential to ask your self the query this way " I deserve _____________ simply because I deserve __________________!"

Example: I deserve to be prosperous since I deserve to be flourishing!

Why would I have you say it like this? Once you say I deserve XYZ, it is just about like your subconscious mind comes back at you and says "Why?" Your response quickly is "Because I deserve XYZ!" It really is that uncomplicated. For the next 90 days, say this. It takes 90 days to make a brand new habit and in case your new habit is developing a new belief for your self, it is actually worthy of your life and your lifeline to Mt. I Deserve This!

So individuals are 3 easy actions to go from "Maybe I Deserve This" to a flat out "I Deserve This!"

Ultimately ladies & gents, if you choose to take on your life within this way, you'll be rewarded the career, relationship, dollars, household, and vacations of your dreams, take these three actions that will change your wording from "Maybe I Deserve This" to a confident resounding "I deserve this!"




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Ways To Lose Weight - Hcg Diets - How To Loose Weight With Yoga

Ways To Lose Weight

Magic way to lose weight as fast as it possible and in the most healthy way for your organism way. New methods by the most famous dietitian Joanne Larsen. She wrote wonderful eBook and here are some quotations from it.

Loosing weight does not get any easier than this. Are you tired of all the weight loss options that just don't work?

Click here now to see what worked for me >> Natural weight loss that is proven to work >>

One of the best ways to lose weight is to lose fat. Removing the unnecessary fat from the body will greatly reduce the overall body weight which in-turn would solve several other chained problems. Excessive fat and over-weight are the very popular and most spread complexities not only in the United States but around the whole world. Here's a simple fact.

This is the best time when you should loose some extra pounds for good! You have to be least heard and follow the same old formula 'Eat Less Calories than you expend and you lose weight' You get motivated and ready to start for a new journey since this may not be your first step towards fulfilling the desires of losing weight.

Many sources promise just that. Many books promise to lose weight with diets or get rock hard abs with different exercise machines. I want to believe it's true but it seems to good to be true.

Make sure that you stay accountable and maintain a healthy diet so that your weight loss will be permanent. Your weight loss represents hard work on your part. But once it's off how will it stay off? These suggestions will help you not only lose weight but maintain your weight loss so that you don't gain it back.

Many people are passionate about 'healthy living'- natural bodybuilding fitness and health. Many seek it and never find it. Several try only to fail. I will tell you why most never achieve a state of fitness and how to gain weight or loose weight - it isn't that difficult. You don't need to steal testosterone from animals to get there. The magical secret to all your fitness goal needs is Food.

Now if jumping rope brings back memories of carefree childhood frolicking and aimless self amusement you may want to revisit this activity. Jumping rope is actually one of the most traditional and effective ways of exercising.





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Discover The Key Attributes Every Blender Must Have

By Saad Mirza


Today, many of American kitchens have some type of blender. They do many functions from chopping foods to making delicious milkshakes. Certain models do a better job than other models with various tasks. You should buy one according to what you need it to do.


Check out this review of the Nutri-Bullet NBR-12 Mixer and where to get a great deal with free shipping...



Most of them mix up milkshakes and other drinks. It is not too difficult to mix ice cream and milk into a milkshake. It is also this easy to mix fruit smoothies. Some fruit, protein powder, honey and yogurt and voila you have a smoothie. However, not all blenders are equal when it comes to other tasks. Nut chopping is one of the tasks that is not always done satisfactorily. The blades included in some machines just are not sharpened enough for the task. Chunks of nuts are left in the end results.

Others do not last very long at all. Their motors are so weak they burn out after just a short time of use. This type of blender will not work for today's needs. Individuals are blending many more things today than they used to in previous years. Most people today need a blender to grind fresh fruits and vegetables, along with the superfoods. These types of machines include the NBR-12 Nutri-Bullet is just one of the blenders that do all this. This and other machines like it have the high-torque power base it takes to pulverize the above foods just right for nutritious drinks. When 600-watt motors are included the blenders pack a punch that gets the job done. The blades turn more efficiently with a powerful motor, which helps the food grind better. The job is done rapidly when the blades move this fast. Numerous blenders only have motors of 450 watts or less this means, you need to look at this feature before purchasing.

The design of the blade is also important in a blender so that you make sure it will pulverize the food sufficiently. Some blenders like the Nutri-Bullet NBR-12, even provide a cyclonic action for pulverizing foods into your favorite drinks. Notice the amount the blender will hold. Notice if it handle large enough amounts to provide your whole family. Know if you will constantly running the blender to get enough finished product for the family. It is beneficial for you to have a blender with a large capacity.

You may want to pay attention to what extras come with the blender. Just as the Nutri-Bullet NBR-12, you need to be aware if there multiple blades included with the blender. More blades add to the versatility of the machine. This way, you have more blending functions. Different size containers would also be a nice addition to any blender. Certain blenders have both short and tall containers with them and even some lids to seal them. This allows the finished product to be refrigerated in the same container it was blended.

A blender manual and some recipes are useful. Most machines come with some type of manuals, some have recipes some do not have them. Some individuals like the inclusion of some nutritional facts to help them choose foods. A simple pamphlet offering this type of information may please you.

The above things need to be kept in mind as you purchase a blender. You should not buy one just based on price. What quality the price is paying for is more important than the cost. You need to research before purchasing a blender.




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The Five Ways You Can Improve Your Employees' Satisfaction With Your Company

By Brad Wilson


Have you ever stopped to think of how much your employees' attitudes reflect on your company? Consider this for a moment: when your clients come through your front door, who do they see first? Are you there to greet them? No, your employees are. Your employees do all the job; they welcome new clients, sell the products/services and provide the customer services. No matter how you are involved in these processes, it is not every client that will come to the point of meeting you.

Your employees are the face of your company. These are the people that represent your business to the world and need to be happy with their role.

How To Increase Employee Satisfaction

While you might think raises and benefits are the only way to keep your employees happy, these solutions really only provide temporary contentment. Here are some of the best ways you can keep your employees satisfied.

Corporate Clothing- Coporate clothing will provide your employees with more than just a work uniform. These professional clothes remains stylish enough for your employees. It will make them feel good about their appearance and how they represent your company, while ensuring their clothing doesn't set them apart from other workers because of class or income.

Significant Growth- Employees are happiest when they have control over their work habits, environment, and schedules. You will make their day when you allow them enough flexibility at work and help them to achieve a working balance between their professional and personal life.

Commuting Stress- What happens to those employees that arrive late at work? Do you ensure that they are reprimanded all the time? If so, they will turn a pale face whenever they hit a traffic on their way to work. Instead of getting angry, consider alternatives, like staggering work arrival times to reduce the amount of heavy traffic your employees face and reviewing your late arrival policies.

Using Social Connections- With corporate clothing, your employee will feel like he is part of a team, but if he is not allowed to interact with that team, his mood will be much lower. You can use social interactions to boost happiness between your employees. Events that allow your employees to have a nice team as a team like cubicles, community services, holiday and birthday celebrations are vital and you should encourage them.

Growth- You should strive to provide more than a pay check each week in your company. You should provide some room for them to learn and grow. To keep them satisfied in this area, make sure to provide them with plenty of training and allow them to take risks. Celebrate their accomplishments, encourage their efforts, and always be sure to acknowledge everything they do to expand their skills.

Th world see your company through your employees. You can make them to be more satisfied with their work by providing them with social interaction opportunities, reducing stress and providing them with corporate clothing. If you do this, your employees can't help but pass the confidence and excitement to your customers.




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Friday, September 28, 2012

Making Perfectly Glowing Skin With A Blemish Cream And Some Rituals

By Kathrine Lasseter


The skin is the largest organ as it covers every inch of the body. Many people would attribute their health, wellness and age with it. Therefore, if they see that it is not at its best condition, they would feel that there is something wrong with them. Some would also take extra effort to keep it young and glowing so they use a blemish cream each night.

The skin should be given care and attention. This is something that can definitely make a skin look good. Even if a person is all dolled up or is intelligent, these would not make a statement. One should have glowing skin to make people turn their heads. It is therefore not a surprise anymore why many people would do what they can to keep it healthy.

Different products such as a blemish cream, could be used to keep it at a good state. Many people believe that these products would keep them pretty and awesome. Indeed, these products have vitamins and minerals that would keep the skin looking tight and glowing.

Apart from that, the skin should be clean. Most people use make-up throughout the day. These have various chemicals that could ruin the cells of the skin. As a result, the cells would be unhealthy therefore causing various problems. Dry, flaky, unhealthy and wrinkling skin is something that everyone tries to avoid.

Cleaning would start with washing the face. A thorough facial cleanser would go deeper than the skin surface. It should go beyond and unclog the pores. Clogged pores is one of the major causes of breakouts and zits. After that, one could simply dry it off.

After washing, using a natural facial toner would help clean it thoroughly. There are deep-seated dirt that may still cause bacteria to propagate. With that, pimples would be breaking out and make a person feel ugly. It would never hurt to keep the skin thoroughly clean.

Some people would also use natural spa products to keep the rest of the skin healthy. From cleansing to toning, what matters is that the skin gets pampered. These products could keep dirt and excess oil from causing problems.

The blemish cream with other products that come with it help keep the skin look healthy. Apart from these, one should also ward off the stressful feelings they have. It would only make their skin look worse to do so. In the end, the system would be at its best if it does not carry too many negativity.




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How To Get Skinny In 3 Days - Tips To Lose Weight - Hcg Weight

How To Get Skinny In 3 Days

So many people want to know how to lose weight but why is it so difficult to persevere with a diet? Everyone seems to know that weight loss from dieting is almost impossible to achieve (and even harder to maintain) but it still doesn't stop millions of people spending billions of pounds per year in the hope of finding The Holy Grail a diet that actually works for normal people. There must be a better way

Loosing weight does not get any easier than this. Are you tired of all the weight loss options that just don't work?

Click here now to see what worked for me >> Natural weight loss that is proven to work >>

Using the law of attraction to lose weight can be very easy to do (when you know how). There is a simple process that you can use to reach your perfect weight quickly and easily and the tips in this article will help you to get started.

The world of advertising promotes promotes promotes. And when it comes to weight loss we see everything from pills and stimulants to food programs such as Weight Watchers South Beach and High Protein/Low Carb diets. It's enough to spin ones head and confuse you.

Learning how to quickly and naturally lose weight is vital to your ultimate fitness goal. We all want to look and feel our best however some just aren't sure where to start when it comes to getting back in shape.

It is possible to make just 4 small changes in your life that will make you lose weight fast and start dropping the pounds on autopilot. These are things which the majority of us do without thinking that sabotage our efforts to be slim and trim and these are the most probable culprits as to why so many of our attempts at dieting fail so spectacularly.

It seems that every three months or so there is some new contraption or pill that is designed to shred all the fat cells in your body. The latest one was something to the effect of think yourself thinner. Are you joking with me? Sometimes you have to wonder if folks are that desperate to lose weight that they leave all common sense behind. For now forget about those schemes and scams and journey with me as we focus on two simple tried and true ways to cut the fat.

Natural weight loss programs involve diets to help lose weight by creating a healthy alternative to synthetic diet means. Choosing a diet program that is all natural and effective can be difficult and many dieters want to give up before they begin. Weight gain has many factors playing a part in why we have become overweight. Do these remedies really work? We will analyze and answer some of these questions.





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Offering The Best Tutoring Services

By Janell Bowers


Education is a requirement for any person who wants to have a good career. Setting up competent tutoring services in your locality can help pass knowledge and groom kids career. Schools help reduce the gap of illiteracy in people. They pass knowledge from generation to generation. Be a lover of education empowerment and not money. Be driven by the desire to help others access education

Learn from your neighbor schools and colleges. Understand how they do their business. At your initial operations, liaise with established colleges that so that you can offer some courses in conjunction with them. Let them offer the guideline of what they expect of you. As you grow, let such colleges be your pillars and support you to expand.

Get the right papers. Be certified by the relevant education body before you start. Operate within the set standards. Let your students be recognized on the job market. This can only be so if your school in known and registered to offer the courses stated on your graduands certificates. Have the information from the ministry or from other already running schools.

Hire teaching staff that is well trained and specialized in the course they want to teach. This means that you should thoroughly interview them and select only the best. Do not mix friendship with business otherwise it can easily collapse. Failing of exams of your students only means bad tutoring or the tutor does not understand what is required of him. Avoid such bad reputations with schools and universities that have contracted you.

Before opening up the tutorial services, do a market survey. Take into consideration the market needs and wishes. Aim to satisfy the market educationally. Provide that keynote that has been missing in the market system or in a certain course. Cream you courses to fit the current market requirements. Only after the survey will you be able to tell what you need to offer and from what angle.

The person in charge of the education program should be well trained professionals. Consider going for a PhD person and specialized in courses you are offering. He should be well oriented with the education system in the region. Let him be the one liaising with the ministry of education. He must design the timetable, units to be offered for every course. He should let you know the courses that are offered and the their relevance so that you do not stay in the dark.

Every business needs cash. Have somebody with accounting skills sitting in the bursar office to deal with issues of money. Open an account where fees is to be paid by the students. Your bursar should be checked in that every transaction he makes should be approved. For every institution to grow, the account section should be highly efficient. It should notify the school of its account status so that it is limited the budget set as per its account.

Advertisement gets every venture to a new level. Your tutoring services can spread faster online. This calls for the need of a website. Information spreads faster online than you can imagine. Let the web page have all the contents about your tutoring services. You may need an ICT guru to design one for your institution. Brochures and pamphlets can help circulate the word within the region and across the nation.




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Services Offered By Chiropractor Philadelphia

By Janell Bowers


Physical and body fitness is the obligation of virtually every person inconsiderate of age, class incapability. Quite a number of people have implemented some fitness strategies that they use to keep their bodies safe from preventable medical complications. When it comes to complications such as neck pains and back illnesses addressed by chiropractor Philadelphia residents do not need to go for surgeries any more.

Diseases of the necks and backs can effectively be addresses by chiropractic medication without the need for oral medicines of surgeries. Chiropractic is a healthcare career associated with the diagnosis, control and aversion of complications of the musculoskeletal body system. Such complications are always associated with mild pains in the lower backs and upper regions of the neck.

In their early stages, such illnesses can be treated through chiropractic attention unless they are totally indispensable. Surgery should be considered the last option in the event that the illness has advanced and does not stand a chance of healing with the help of chiropractic expertise. That is why everyone is encouraged to always seek proper medical attention the moment they start experiencing unusual pain in their backs and necks.

Specialized medical practitioners are the only ones allowed to conduct chiropractic attention which involves the diagnosis, psychological therapy and treatment of diseases that affect the neuro-musculoskeletal part of the human body. It is an alignment on the body that includes the spinal cord, the joints and vertebral column that runs from the brain down to the peripheral nervous system. Apparently it is the only treatment that can substitute surgery in cases of spinal injury.

Philadelphia has the most experienced medical specialists carrying out these procedures. They have been able to assist many patients survive from prolonged back and neck pains. This therapy involves massaging the affected joints and other parts of the body with the help of a therapy manual. Also, the joints are stretched to and fro in all directions to increase their scope of movement.

Chiropractic has always used the main stream medicine because it is supported by scientific ideas in subluxation and natural intelligence. This was however affected negatively when the health experts argued with the chiropractors about vaccination. They have therefore developed a strong stand politically and have since demand for their services.

Sometimes, lifestyle counseling becomes part of the treatment process. This is aimed at helping patients with their daily lifestyles which are certainly part of the causes of back pains. During the manipulation of the joints, they are stretched past their arcs of movement in a bid to increase their motions and scope of movement. This is an important procedure in alleviating back and neck complications and subsequently associated headache.

Through the explicit services of a well trained chiropractor Philadelphia patients with neck and back complications can now avert surgery and substitute it with a relatively cheaper chiropractic healthcare. In addition to the efficiency of chiropractic healthcare provided by these specialists, the residents also enjoy tremendously reduced medical bills as opposed to the traditional expensive surgery charges. However, patients must be cautious to seek medical services from only highly specialized chiropractors in order to remain safe.




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How To Build Muscle Fast

By Dr. Dennis Clark


Fitness experts and trainers seem to be stuck in the dark ages when it comes to knowing how to build muscle. Based on new research, the effectiveness of muscle building exercise depends on time under load, with sufficient recovery time after a workout. By following the right procedure to specifically build muscle, you can do so faster and easier than ever. Here are the details that you should know.

First, what do you really know about how to build muscle fast? Take a look at these long-standing myths.

Myth No. 1: The definition of fitness. You may be surprised to know that the fitness industry has no generally agreed upon definition of fitness. And many kinds of exercise have no positive impact on muscle mass. My definition of fitness, for the purpose of this article, is having optimum amounts of lean body mass and body fat. Ideally, any exercise program should reach these twin results, although most muscle building workouts fail to do so.

Myth No. 2: A standard strategy to build muscle is to alternate weightlifting workouts every other day for multiple muscle groups. This is supposedly the most effective way to build muscle. Unfortunately, it is a myth. Indeed, new and old research shows that this is pretty much a stupid strategy, for several reasons. Fitness gurus who still advocate this standard strategy are either ignorant of this body of scientific research or they choose to ignore it.

Myth No. 3: You can look just like the folks on TV infomercials and other kinds of advertisements if you just buy whatever they are selling and do what they tell you to do. The truth for most people is that they are not predisposed to get those results. Only a select few can.

What to Do That Works

The best research summary and workout advice that is available right now is presented in a book by Dr. Doug McGuff and John Little, titled 'Body by Science'. The subtitle is, 'A Research-Based Program for Strength Training, Body Building, and Complete Fitness in 12 Minutes a Week'. The big surprise for me is that this claim is not a hyped up, empty marketing promise. It is a reality that McGuff and Little substantiate with impeccable science. Their website (bodybyscience.net) offers additional, extensive explanations on fitness that get right to the core of human exercise physiology.

From my perspective, I simply suggest that you get the book and see for yourself what I am talking about. If you don't find it in your local bookstores, then order it online.

What I discovered, based on the science behind how to build muscle came as a big surprise. No matter what I did in my favorite endurance training (running), my body fat kept increasing and lean body mass kept decreasing. Training for and completing half marathons and triathlons didn't seem to matter. One of my mistakes, as I discovered in McGuff and Little's book, is that my long-distance running and endurance training contributed to my diminishing fitness. Oh, what a surprise that was!

Now, based on what I learned from 'Body by Science', I have more lean body mass and less body fat than I did just a year ago. And as I head into my mid-sixties, I am fitter than I have been in years and my new knowledge about how to build muscle the right way just makes life better and better.




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Thursday, September 27, 2012

The Rediscovery of Prayer

by Dr. Domenic Marbaniang, Published in BASILEIA, April 2010

At half-past four in the morning, the little neighborhood in Kolkata resounds with chirps of birds, radio music, and early voices of shopkeepers, vegetable vendors, paperboys, school kids, and a miscellany of others rolling into their day. Dominating these are the sounds of bells and sacred chants (mantras) from a nearby Temple, a Prayer Call (adhan) by a muezzin from a Mosque nearby, and hymns from Christian homes around. Religion, certainly, is an interwoven fiber of our society. Prayer is its distinctive feature.

From homes and neighborhoods to schools, universities, and working places; from market places to river banks, vales, and mountain tops, we are incessantly surrounded by sights, symbols, and sounds of prayer. The experiences are varied; the commodities, not few. We, of course, talk of flowers, incense sticks, coconuts, and nectar; we also know a bit about prayer wheels, prayer mats, prayer shawls, and prayer books; not to mention, oils, waters, and herbs; shrines, shuls, and sanctuaries. Somehow, deep within the human heart lies a distinct connection, one that reaches out from the abysmal within and plunges into the transcendent infinite-yet-at-hand that we know is God; the reaching out suffused with breaths of sincere prayer and sustained by the force of faith. Even the early Greeks had an altar "To The Unknown God" (Agnosto Theo), in case there was One who was not addressed among the myriads of deities that they knew and worshipped[1], and the Indians had this aphorism by Kabir "He is remembered by all in sorrow; in pleasure, by none: why would there be any sorrow, if He were remembered in pleasure by one,"[2]thereby declaring that memory of God must not be merely limited to the temporality of need but must pervade our entire experience of being. However, Kabir belongs to the post-Islamic era, when monotheism and the way of personal devotion had found some place in the Indian mind instigating reflective local movements such as the Bhakti panth and Sikkhism.[3]The gap between the fearful appeasement of "The Unknown God" and the culture of devotional self-surrender is bridged by the revelation of an important aspect constituting the approach of God: it is what we will call as the rediscovery of prayer, something that was, was not, is, and still is not, and must constitute, with all its pillars and strings intact, the fundamental of the approach of God a bridge that spans within the exclusive revelation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of man.

The Bridge

"For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1Tim.2:5, NKJV).

The Bible teaches us the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. We have direct access to God. However, this directness of access is grounded in the person and work of Jesus Christ, past all religious boundaries. He is God, He is Man; He is the Bridge between God and man.

We have sufficient reasons now to believe that the foundations of religion are not animistic but theistic. In fact, several anthropological studies justify the Biblical view that animism and polytheism are not primal but degenerated forms of the first spiritual experience.[4]There is no significance to theorizing that the sense and fear of the unknown and the numinous engendered the cult of prayer, except for the evolutionary underpinning of some chronological frameworks which is irrelevant and unnecessary for a rational understanding of nature in general and specific, and has been discussed at length by experts in the various fields in works elsewhere. That being said, we must now plunge into enquiring the foundations of prayer from a Biblical vantage point.

The distinctive teaching of Christianity is that the universe was created out of nothing (ex nihilo); therefore, it has no fundamental standing; it is contingent. The building blocks of this universe are made of the substance called as void, zero, cipher, orshunya for, the world is basically made out of emptiness. However, it is not nothing; though, in itself and by itself it is engrossed with the sense of abstract-yet-personal rootlessness and voidness that produce anxiety or vanity as manifest in the consciousness of sentient beings. Neither reason (which is devoid of concrete elements) nor experience (which is devoid of the ground of necessity) can rescue man from his falleness[5]which may be described as the condition of self-zeroing. The only rescue is God, who gives us shape and purpose by the Word of His power (Heb. 1:3) that brought this world into existence (Heb. 11:3). Throughout the Bible recurs the truth that it is not the human longing as much as is the divin e calling that functions as the primary motivation for all recourse to faith. God desires and calls us to seek Him, therefore prayer exists.

One may, however, ask whether prayer existed before the Fall. Indubitably, yes; for, prayer being a seeking of God's will, permission, or action regarding any given subject, is prior to and unrelated to the Fall. A clear evidence of this fact is that the Lord Jesus Christ prayed, in fact, more than any other man on earth; yet, He was untouched by the fallenness of man. Therefore, it would not be right to say that prayer originated after the Fall. Whether the Fall existed or not, prayer would exist as the bond that linked our contingent and finite worlds to the eternal purposes and resources of God. The bridge, essentially, is Christ who is the only One Mediator between God and man. Every other way is redundant and terminal.

Yoga versus Prayer

Thesanyasa sat serene, undisturbed, unattached, and tranquil. Prince Siddhartha was intrigued by this sight. He resolved to don the saffron robes and walked out of his luxurious palace into the dark and violent night of this world in search for the light. Years later, someone asked him who he was. He had been in contemplation under a tree, and he replied, "I am Buddha (the enlightened one)".

It is a known fact that the philosophy of Yoga, though springing from Samkhya, has considerable roots in Buddhist philosophy (as well as in Jain philosophy). A comparative perusal of theYoga Sutras would provide sufficient proof of this. One significant component of both these systems is a stress on the contemplative life, stretching this further onto fixture of mind on nothingness or emptiness (shunya). Drawing from this principle, Abhishiktananda (originally, Henri le Saux; died 1973), a French Benedictine monk in India, had elaborated much on what he termed "the prayer of silence" that he judged could be invaluably aided by yogic exercises.[6]For him, the quest of yoga (comprising the various methods or techniques) is spurred by the intense drawing towards the prayer of silence. In his words, "Genuine yoga is essentially a method, having both an inward and an outward aspect, whose aim is to bring the mind to total silence."[7]He quotes the first aphorism of Patanjali in theYoga Sutras that sums up the essence of true yoga as "the arresting of all mental activity."[8]For Abhishiktananda, "there can no more be a "Christian" yoga than there could be Christian logic or Christian gymnastics"; on the other hand, "Genuine yoga aims at stopping the formation of concepts and immobilizing the mental flux, so that every image or thought may disappear, whether Hindu, Buddhist or Christian."[9]Having said this, he explores the value of the experience of emptiness in Christian experience of prayer as the spring of self-awareness and, ultimately, divine awareness. His logic is simple: until one reaches the point of union with God in consciousness, one has not understood or known God, one has not been enlightened by the Spirit, one has not received the highest of the gifts of the Spirit, which is the gift of Wisdom, by which "the Spirit acts at that central point of the soul where it is nothing but pure awakening to the self, pure awareness of being, beyo nd all that is perceived or thought."[10]In view of all this, he says, Christians are bound by the obligation to develop their mind's capacity for silence and to hold themselves in a state of constant wakefulness, waiting upon the Spirit. When the processes of the mind are stilled and the mind emptied of all its volatile content, then out of that abyss arises, according to him, some inner power or light that breaks in the awakening.[11]The theological rationale of all this must be quoted in Abhishiktananda's own words to retain its flow of argument:

The Christian who is seeking for true prayer cannot be indifferent to all this. Any prayer which, even unconsciously, regards God as an object is not a prayer "in spirit and in truth". God cannot be anobject, because by definition an object depends on asubject, who sets it before himself (ob-jicit) so as to be able to look at it or deal with it, and so makes of it athouor ahe, if not anit. We cannot rightly speak of God in the third person, despite the exigencies of grammatical or linguistic convention. God comesfirst.I am only myself in thethou which God addresses to me. God alone is the first person, in the proper sense of the term, for he is the fount of all discourse. To be absolutely true, theThou of my prayer should be grounded in theThou which the Son eternally addresses to the Father, in the indivisible I-Thou of the One-in-Three.

So long as in our prayer we continue to think and feel, to treat God "in relation to ourselves", it is certain that we have not yet entered the innermost "mansion" of the Interior Castle according to the imagery of St Teresa of Avila. Those whose aim is God never stop short at anything whatever that is thought or felt, no matter how exalted or uplifting it may seem to be. God is beyond. [The spirit] is for ever incapable of reaching him [God], so long as it is not ready to leave itself behind and to be immersed and lost in the abyss of God himself. Then only it understands that silence is the highest and truest praise:Silentium tibi laus [in footnote, "Praise for you is silence", based on the Hebrew text of Ps.65:1 (cp.62:1)]. The soul itself is then simply silence, a silence to which it has been brought by recollecting itself deep within and by stilling its inner activity; but now a silence which the Spirit makes to resound with the eternal Word, a silence that is all ex pectation, gazing at the One who is there, pure waiting, an awakening[12]

The philosophical foundation of such emerging theology is marked by at least four incongruities:

1. Mystic Blundering. The aim of this theology is the ascetic mystic experience. However, since mysticism is not explicitly (or even implicitly) taught in the Bible, the recourse has been to the closest philosophy that upheld it with some misinterpretation of Scripture and adducing of tradition.

2. Ambitious Void. In Buddhist yoga, the experience of emptiness is considered to be the end of all dialectics (ideas, experiences and actions) and the attainment ofNirvana(emptiness),[13]which is Buddhahood (Enlightenment); similarly, inMaitri Upanisad,the highest state of Brahman (non-dual Self) is "the state of unqualified understanding (unqualified consciousness) where the mind is completely dissolved without any trace of the concept of space, time, sound, breath, or any object."[14]The state of the highest consciousness is identified with the cessation of the sound at the end of the chanting of OM the end of the chant, the non-sound at the end, Brahman (self) is silence and that is the goal of yoga, the cessation of allchittavritti. This view is totally in opposition to the Biblical view of Jesus Christ as the DivineLogos, the Word, Wisdom, Reason, and Revelation of God as person.[15]Contingency is abhorrent to yoga; therefore, the physical ambition aims at invincib ility, while the psychical ambition aims at transcendence both, reflective of Edenic Fall caused by the desire to be like God. It is obvious, that Abhishiktananda disregards this fundamental difference in thinking of yogic practices as aids to Christian experience of prayer,[16]while also accepting that emptiness should not be the goal.

3. End of Reason. The Bible nowhere recommends the kind of silence that yogis talk about. The emptiness of OM is set in opposition against the intense logical and spiritual depths of the Laws of God that the Bible calls us to meditate upon. When the Bible calls us to call upon the Name of the Lord, it doesn't refer to chanting, as is the common practice of themantric religions. Intelligence is an important feature of Christian worship and prayer. Paul says, "I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the intellect also" (1Cor.14:15, ACV). The silence of waiting is not a blank voidness of mind akin tosamadhi; it is reverent anticipation before the Lord, and never lasts very long.

4. Fall of Prayer. The vision of submerging in the nebulous consciousness of God without subject-object distinctions may have mystic attractions; but, it has certain philosophical assumptions that must be seriously countered at the outset. Yoga views the soul to be an individuated manifestation of the universal force reduced to its particular form through stress raised in the universal consciousness. Man as a genus is considered to be the result of the differentiation of the whole into an infinite plurality of correlated centers called individuals, effects of nature.[17]As such, the relationship between the particular consciousness and the universal one is akin to that between air in the atmosphere and air in our lungs. Therefore, in Yoga, there is no prayer: there are only techniques towards self-realization;[18]yogic exercises are meant to excite and awaken the latent, inner powers; as such there can be no compatibility between yogic meditation and Biblical contemplation .

Contrary to the yogic world, contingency plays an important role in the prayer-favoring framework; for, it not only distinguishes God from man in essence, but also positions man in the state of urgency and need; God never prays to man, but man is expected to pray to God. This is absent in both polytheistic and monist religions, where any individual has potential to acquire supreme status. Regarding yoga as physical exercises, chiefly what Surendranath Dasgupta[19]has referred to as "the science of breath" and its developed form ofpranayama ("a system of breath control"), the value of the techniques depends on, first, the theological validity of the system (since yoga has been adopted by several systems, ascetic, occultic, etc)[20]that gives them meaning and there can be no meaning without a reference frame, then on the purpose or end pursued that defines their virtue.

Eternal Priesthood

The significance of Christ's Incarnation is paramount to an understanding of the possibility and effectualness of prayer. His eternal and mediatory priesthood is the ultimate foundation of prayer. Therefore, the New Testament prescribes all prayer to be done in the Name of Jesus Christ (Jn.14:13,14; 16:23,24,26). The essence of this truth is captured in the declaration of Christ Himself: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (Jn.14:6). This understanding is important since the statement is trans-temporal, it applies to both Pre-Fall and Post-Fall situations alike. There was never that Christ was not the way. He did not become the way. He eternally exists as the way, the truth, and the life the eternal "I am", immutable and absolute. Through Him were the worlds created, and for Him (Col.1:15). All things begin in Him and return to Him, who is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End (Rev.1:11), in Him will the worlds me rge and consummate (Eph.1:10) the segregate, aggregating into eternal damnation and infernal death.[21]This exclusivity will explain why prayers by any person or group throughout history (past, present, future), irrespective of creed or culture, are either answered or rejected: the criterion is whether the prayer responds in answer to the work of the Spirit of Christ or not. Everything else is fleshly and transgressional. The prayer in spirit and in truth can only be such as responds to the Spirit of grace (which is of Christ Jn.1:17; Heb.10:29) striving with, testifying to, and drawing one to the Father; for the Spirit also intercedes for us (Gen.6:3; 1Pet.3:18-20; Jn.12:32; 17:8-10; 1Cor.12:3; Heb.3:7; 4:2; 1Cor.10:4; 1Pet.1:11; Rom.8:26). That was the reason why Cain's sacrifice was rejected while Abel's was accepted. Cain's was not patterned after the law of faith of the revelation of the Spirit of Christ (Heb.11:4; Gen.4:7). John says that Cain's works were evil while his brother's were righteous (1Jn.3:12), which means that it was not the works in themselves but the disposition of faith by which they were performed that established them as righteous or evil Abel was, therefore, justified and declared righteous (Heb.11:4) all this connects with the Biblical aphorisms in James: "the prayer of faith shall save the sick" and "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (Jas.5:15,16). Christ alone is the eternal source and end of all saving faith; for He alone is the essential revelation of God He is the way, the truth, and the life (Heb.12:2; Rev.22:12-14,17-20).

In the Incarnation and Passion of Christ the chasm between the eternal and the temporal qualities of being or existence is infinitely and immutably bridged[22]forever. However, it must be understood that the two were never poles never polarized. The eternal quality has no rival pole and so is itself not a pole: it spans infinity. The eternal, in fact, contains the temporal in the sense of the Cretan aphorism "In Him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28), meaning that the both are not two distinctly equivalent and individual ends; only the eternal is self-contained, temporality is contained in and relative to it, though infinitely distinct from it: this infinite distinctive constitutes the chasm we talked about. They are different, but they are not poles this is the difference. The dualism is not dialectical (as in Taoism or Process philosophy); for that would circumscribe each and eternity would be an impossible category. The dualism is only relative, as be tween the necessary and the contingent. The world is contingent upon God. In the Incarnation, then, eternality and temporality are bridged in the sense that the contingent world is embraced in the being of Christ, the Son of God, in an essential connection He became Man; yet the nature of the contingent and the nature of the absolute are unmixed in His person. This, says the writer of Hebrews, qualifies Christ for His everlasting and immutable priesthood. Now, there are two everlasting orders of Biblical priesthood established by God; the first is Melchizedekian (Ps.110:4; Gen.14:18, 20; Heb.5:6; 6:20; 7:21), established by divine oath, and the second is Aaronic (Exod.40:15; Num.25:13), established by divine covenant. The Melchizedekian order is general and eternal, whereas the Aaronic order is national and temporal; the Melchizedekian order has no origins in time nor geographical or cultural specifications while Aaronic priesthood had such. Some understand Melchizedek to b e a Christophany of the Old Testament. This is a plausible conjecture seeing that only one High Priest is ever mentioned in that order and the Hebrew worddibrah for "order" used in Psalm 110:4 may also mean "word", as indicated by John Gill, or be taken asdabar, meaning "word" (without the later scribal additions of vowels), as a Messianic Jewish pastor had once indicated, interpreting the text to say "Upon My word, O Melchizedek, You are a priest forever" in the eternal establishment (notice it affirms "You are", not "You shall be") thus, showing that the Melchizedek addressed here is Christ Himself.[23]Also, if the order is established by God rather than being merely recognized by Him as such, then the history of the establishment could only first be seen in Psalm 110:4, which was spoken with regard to Christ in eternity. Scripturally, the eternal priesthood belongs to Christ alone, which is neither continued nor taken from anyone but is exclusively His eternally; therefor e, He is also called the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev.13:8), and in light of this can be understood all those prophetic scriptures that signify the sufferings of Christ, even as it is said regarding the prophets, "the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow" (1Pet.1:11): all this pointing to the fact of how eternity and temporality are summed up in the core of Christ's incarnate being; therefore, His one offering annuls infinite condemnation once for all, and the effects of His atonement apply trans-historically to both the Old and the New Testament believers alike. This explains also why and how prayers in the general order (apart from the Law) are accepted before God without any demand of sacrifice for sins, because the Way is eternally rent open in the sacrifice of His flesh, being available to all who approach God in brokenness and faith. The historical m anifestation of Christ in flesh, consequently, constitutes the mystery of God's will regarding man which is, godliness (1Pet.1:20; 1Tim.3:16). To sum this up, the eternal priesthood of Christ is the foundation of the possibility and expectancy of prayer. It is only in Him (relation), by Him (foundation), through Him (mediation), and for Him (intention) that all prayer has any meaning; we are only accepted in Him (Eph.1:6; Heb.10:19,20). This is the mystery of eternal godliness.

The Altar

"Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne" (Rev.8:3, NKJV).

The Bible is a book of altars; it is a book of prayers. The first altar was built by God and He never needed a second one; the earthly were mere copies and shadows of the eternal (Rev.13:8; 1Pet.1:20;[24]Gen.3:21; Ex.25:6; Heb.8:5), yet they do give an insight into the meaning of the divinely instituted one.

One of the Greek words used for "service" in the New Testament islatreia and it refers to Temple service (Heb.9:1,6). It, along with its verb formlatreuo, is also the word used in connection with the ministry or service of a Christian (Rom.12:1; Mat.4:10; Acts 27:23; Rom.1:9; Heb.12:28). Another wordleitourgos, along with its verb form leitourgeo, is also a Temple word used for Christian service, especially public (Acts 13:2; Rom.15:16,27); it is the word from which is derived the term "liturgy". The two symbols that are primarily important in the understanding of Christian ministry in the New Testament are the altar (associated with the Temple ministry) and the scepter (associated with the Kingdom ministry). The Temple and the Kingdom are not two distinct ministrations; they are one, bound up in the very life and work of Jesus Christ. He is the High Priest and the King. The essence of this is captured in Hebrews 1:3-8 where it says:

Who, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee? But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom.

The tying principle is "righteousness", which is the eschatological concern (teleos) of history centered in Christ (2Pet.3:13). Therefore, the two symbols, altar and scepter, closely represent all that Christ means to us and how we relate to Him in every facet of our life (Matt.3:15; 1Cor.1:30; 15:34; 2Cor.3:9; 6:14; Phil.1:10,11). Any ministry (or service) that is devoid of the righteousness of Christ's altar and scepter in any and every aspect is unknown, untouched, and unrelated to Him (Mat.7:22; 2Cor.9:10; 2Tim.4:8). This inevitably applies also to the ministry of prayer.[25]The Scripture severally declares that the Lord's ears are shut to the prayers of the wicked, but are open to the prayers of the righteous (Ps.66:18; Isa.1:15; 59:2; Pro.15:29; Jas.5:16); the altar, meanwhile, indicating that the righteousness is by grace (divine initiative) and faith (human response) and never sourced of a contingent being.[26]

The question is why does one pray and what is the rationale for approaching a righteous and just God for any reason whatsoever. "Need" is an important term. But the drive to the True God is not at all need; the drive does not exist. Drives and needs, whatsoever, only invent their own gods. A spirituality based on such is totally idolatrous; it is false (Rom.1:18-32; 1Cor.10:6-10; Gal.5:16-21). There are some metaphysical experiences, however, that are such that act as preparatory ground for the possibility of God's revelation for the subject. These are experiences such as void, anxiety, boredom, rootlessness, and bewilderment. The most poignant of these is anxiety (Angst), which Heidegger posited as essentially defining Being-toward-death; for in anxiety does the reflective self "find itselffaced with the nothingness of the possible impossibility of its existence."[27]Anxiety is an intense and existentially quivering fear of the unknown, of the blocked void. As such, it is not even a drive toward anything positive, far be it God. It, essentially, is a reaction in face of contingent termination, of nothingness. Similarly, do the other conditions not function as turners to God; but, they certainly are experiences that can only be met through a revelation of and faith in the True God.[28]Fluxed with atheism and agnosticism, suchAngst only engenders madness, unless it is avoided by recourse to the self-invention of or subscription to a world-view or a virtual-gaming-world (Stoic or Epicurean),[29]in which sense and meaning are self-defined and lived for, against the senselessness of all reality. The only alternative for divine revelation is idolatry; all else is unlivable. Even Heidegger's "authentic existence" is a godless idolatry of the self-invented, self-determined, self-defined self: in Biblical terms, it is mere chasing of the wind.

In hisThe Fear of God, Fred Berthold, Jr. exposits anxiety as a condition that draws one to God; he talks of three modes of anxiety: anxiety over finitude and death, anxiety over sin, and anxiety to be united with God. Luther's view, he points out, was that anxiety is only an experience of those who know God, and never of the heathen, who do not know God and may die peacefully.[30]"True anxiety over death," he explains "presupposes an awareness of God and of God's righteousness; it presupposes a desire for eternal life with God."[31]In itself and by itself, anxiety is mere subjectivity, the sense of absolute and infinite oblivion, the dreadful and hopeless concern about the unknown. Within the experience of divine encounter, however, as Luther may be understood, God's self-revelation within the sinner's heart awakens the soul to a deep sense of failure in the sight of the Holy and Just One; this admixture of guilt and dread characterizes an experience of anxiety by which m eans God shatters the false security and self-sufficiency of the sinner and brings him to trust in God's grace.[32]In other words, the empty ground of being, which is nothingness, is laid bare and a condition emerges in which the only answer is repose in the grace of God. This self-emptying and self-surrender is the first step of prayer, and is starkly symbolized in the experience of the altar.

However, as hunger may be unknown to a man fed always in time, so may anxiety be unknown to a man in fellowship always with God. In the Pre-Fall period, such fellowship was continuous; therefore, prayer would be unrestrained. The Fall, however, brought a discontinuity and is symbolized by the immediate experience of shame. Shame is the confused experience of false-sufficiency and self-rootlessness. The anxiety of nakedness is the inability to relate nothingness to the new sense of ego, the pride of life that springs from the autonomy of self-determination, the self-definition of good and evil; the affront of nakedness,[33]on the other end, is the negative expression of this same anxiety. The only answer to the Fall in provided in the Atonement of Christ. This is first symbolized in the Scripture when, following their expulsion from Eden, God clothes Adam and Eve with tunics of animal skins, implying the first shedding of blood on the earth. The skins gave them a new identi ty of such whose shame of sin was removed and covered[34]by the virtue of an animal's shedding of blood. They, in a sense, wore the animal and were exposed to one another by the virtue of it; the naked sinful condition was hidden. Here was the first copy of God's eternal altar in heaven.[35]Before the Fall, the altar is unseen as the Law is unseen where sin is absent (though the principles of righteousness are eternal); for, the Law is only given for the unrighteous (1Tim.1:9) as locks are made only against thieves. After the Fall, the altar is visible as the condition of all possibility of divine favor. One can only go to the Father through it; there is no bypass. The altar and worship are inseparably tied throughout the Old Testament. Blood and fire pave the way for the Holiest; in Christ, the veil is torn open in the flesh of Jesus Christ. And, since He is our High Priest, we have bold access to the Throne of grace to obtain mercy (forgiveness and acceptance by His propit iation) and find grace to help in time of need (answer to prayers in Christ, Heb.4:14-16).

Yet, the access is not cheap. Of course, the price has been paid by the death of Jesus Christ. However, the objective aspect is only realized through the subjective participation in the same. No prayer grounded on personal righteousness is acceptable before God. Prayer is not claiming of rights; it is seeking God "to obtain mercy and find grace". But mercy presupposes, first, in us the inward working of the "washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Tit.3:5), that follows a sincere, broken, and repentant heart. Jesus expounds this through the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18:9-14. The Pharisee, as is known, approached on grounds of his own self-righteous works and was not accepted; whereas, the Tax Collector humbled himself and pleaded for mercy and so was accepted, the acceptance being categorized by the word "justified", meaning "reckoned as righteous" before God. Similarly, the problem of Cain didn't rest in the offering, as s ome have misconstrued the fruit of the ground as being cursed offering; the problem was in his attitude as reflected in his anger on not being accepted. His vehemence indicated his false sense of right-to-acceptance before God; therefore, he was rejected. For, the sense of right-to-acceptance has foundations in the gall of iniquity and wickedness that presumes not only the autonomy of the self but also the self-sufficiency of it. All sense of self-pity, self-virtue, meritorious history, and individuality is a blockade before God. The realization of nothingness and total depravity is the precursor of any intelligent worship. God cannot be sought nor worshipped in spirit and truth until the seeker is deprived of his personal worth. Apart from God, worth is a meaningless and empty aggrandizement.

Brokenness at the altar provides a very clear illustration of the sense of prayer. Brokenness not only symbolizes self-emptying, as when the woman with the alabaster box broke it open to empty the ointment of spikenard on Jesus' head (Mk.14:3); it also symbolizes death to self in order to be alive to God (cf. Eccl.12:6)[36]. Brokenness is not the virtue of man; it is the work of the Holy Spirit, as the Scripture also speaks figuratively, "thou hast wounded my heart, with one of thine eyes" (Song 4:9, Tyndale)[37]. One is not subjectively drawn to God; one is pulled or, say, yanked into His arms by the drawing, convicting, awakening, and reviving action of the Spirit. Unless that happens, the soul is at the road's end with the Lord. It is He who calls us out of our blocked and hard nothingness into the fellowship of His Infinite Spirit. His breaks forth as light into our dark and zeroed consciousness, dividing the soul from the spirit, purifying the conscience, and transfer us into the Kingdom of Light by the awesome strength of His presence, as it says "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2Cor.4:4). Without such invasion, there can be no prayer in the Spirit. Without such work of grace, of drawing, provoking, and enlivening, there can be no desire for the Throne of Grace. It is by the virtue of the altar of Christ that the Spirit draws one into His fellowship; and when He does, grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom.5:21). Therefore, it says that faith is the gift of God (Eph.2:8). Consequently, the unbeliever cannot pray; since faith precedes approach (Heb.11:6), and the only first act of prayer is faith breaking the sinner into repentance, nothingness, and total reliance on the Lord.

The Closet

"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (Mat.6:6).

The closet is the moment when the doors are shut on the world. It is when the soul, a prey of this wilderness, is snatched out of the vile world into the inner place of God. The closet is the Holiest.

The closet speaks of at least three important distinctives of Biblical prayer:individuality, privacy, intimacy.

Individuality

One distinctive teaching of the Bible is that God is interested in people individually. The three parables of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Lost Son in Luke 15 are some of the best examples of this. The importance is captured in the words: "there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance" (Lk.15:7). The New Testament concept of the Church as a Body made up of individual members illustrates the significance and role of each believing individual. More practically, the gift of tongues and the encouragement for exercise of this gift in personal prayer (1Cor.14) demonstrates the extant of the Spirit's concern for the individual in the closet. Romans 8:26 talks about the Spirit Himself making intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. Thus, the individual is brought into a spiritual relationship with the Lord through the Spirit in the moment of prayer. For, while the world is obstructed and e xcluded, the individual, yet retaining his/her personal identity, is one in Spirit with the Lord (1Cor. 6:17). Unless this happens, the body is not laid on the altar of sacrifice and communion is blocked.

The individual is both a unit and a fragment. The fragments are the pieces of memory within the spectra of consciousness that form the content of understanding or misunderstanding, the body drives and sensations, feelings, and character. The unit is the soul. In the closet (not necessarily a physical one), the soul breaks open into the ocean of the Spirit, the incense mingles with the fire of the altar and rises as prayer before the presence of God. Thus, prayer in the Spirit defragments the soul, dissolving the ego and its diverse and selfish interpretations; for, the Spirit of grace takes over the broken individual and unites him/her with the will of God. This is done by the Word of God, which is the Sword of the Spirit, that pierces asunder the soul from the spirit and lays open the thoughts and intentions of the heart before the Throne of Grace. Therefore, prayer and revelation go together as prayer and faith go together. The individual, in exclusivity, can only experi ence purging, cleansing, and vision in the closet.

Privacy

Jesus draws an important contrast between the formal religionist and the disciple when He teaches them to go into the closet rather than praying loud in the public squares. The rationale is that prayer prated in the public is rated as misdirected in the sight of God. The public, rather, than God is the focus. However, it is still possible that one prays in public, and still this prayer is characterized as the prayer of the closet. Therefore, the closet is to be defined as a man with His God in seclusion. In this sense, it is not impossible to take verbatim the injunction "Pray without ceasing"; for, the one who has been in the Presence can never be at peace for even a moment with the dry world. The only way this one relates to the world is through the Presence, through the Pillar of Cloud, the Pillar of Fire.

The Greek wordkriptos used for "secret" in Matthew 6:6, essentially means "hidden", "concealed", or "private". It is the same word from which the words "cryptic" and "encryption" are derived. The word signifies a phenomenon that is hidden and concealed from the eyes of the world. It is neither general nor common. The Lord did teach us the Common Prayer, but thekriptos is that which is exclusively only between the Father and the child. It is cryptic to the world. The same also holds true regarding thekriptos of charity. The encryption is so secure that it is described in the metaphor of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. One might remember the sighs of Hannah which Eli was suspicious of, the heartcry of Jeremiah that the religious world despised, the vehement cries and tears of our Lord, and the glory of what the New Testament calls praying with the Spirit. The last one is described by Paul in these words, beautifully rendered by the NKJV, "For he who s peaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries" (1Cor.14:2). Paul explains this: "For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful" (1Cor.14:14). Both tongues and sighs or groanings of the Spirit are so intensely personal that the Bible says that this is only possible through the ministration of the Spirit who alone knows the innermost fragments of the thoughts of the human heart and intercedes by coming alongside (parakletos); thus, helping us in our weaknesses. Therefore, praying in tongues is a recurrent sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. If not in prayer, then where would lie the strength of the connection between the spiritual world of God and the natural world of man? For, even the reception of faith breaks the soul on the altar of God. However, thekriptos is not just the gift of tongues that is unfruitful to the understanding. This along with the prayer in the Spirit with the understanding is essential to the communication thread that defines the closet. Still, more importantly however, thekriptos is the fruit of a relationship that is grounded in the eternal love of God.

Intimacy

Intimacy with God has no parallel or rival in all of human experience. Therefore, the Scripture prescribes the first command to be "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." Anyone who violates this principle of intimacy has no entry into the presence of God. Any such violation is sin and prayer mingled with sin is abominable in the sight of God (Isa.1:15; 59:2; Jer.11:14; Mic.3:4). Therefore, the Scriptures prescribe prayer to only be in accordance with the will of God. Love as the fruit of the Spirit transcends all other forms of love (even that between spouses) in the world. It is incomparable and a shock to the conscience of this selfish world. In its primary function, however, it can only be known in one's intimacy with God.

This is fourfold, ruling the heart, the soul, the mind, and the strength that correspond to the four cardinal virtues,viz., fortitude, justice, prudence, and temperance. Fortitude of heart is the confidence and boldness of faith that is reverent but not horripilated, hopeful but not presumptuous, heroic but not ambitious. Justice in the soul is the rightness and balance of being by which the individual entity is seen to be in right standing with God and His world. Prudence is the ability of the mind to discern the right from the wrong and act in conformity to divine intentions. Temperance is the strength of control, the capacity to hold the self from exploding under pressure of the negative, the power to resist temptation. Therefore, the love of God is unlike the love described by devotionalists such as Ramakrishna, who said that the two characteristics of Love (Prema) are, first, forgetfulness of the external world, and second, forgetfulness of one's own body. He went on to explain this saying, "A true devotee who has drunk deep of Divine Love is like a veritable drunkard and as such cannot always observe the rules of propriety."[38]This is what he also had called the madness of love; which, as we may see, almost reduces the mystic devotee to forgetfulness of the purpose or mission of life in this world as well. Madness of love may fit well in the scheme of Bhakti cosmology, where the individual is seen as fulfilled in the enjoyment of God; but, such is alien to the Biblical concept of God, man, world, and missions. Intimacy with God does not obstruct relationship with people. Therefore, the second commandment promptly follows, "Love your neighbor as yourself," which immediately implies that one is not forgetful of oneself as well for, as Cecil Osborne had once said, one cannot love his neighbor unless he has learnt to love himself in the first place. This strikes the balance between the extremities of asceticism and hedonism, for sure; but , also, between madness and alienation.

Intimacy is communion. This is only possible through the Spirit of sonship that relates us to God in a Father-son relationship, by whom we also burst out (Gk.krazo) "Abba, Father!" (Gal.4:6; Rom.8:15). Intimacy is simplicity. One comes before God with a child-like confidence fearing no evil, but believing that whatever one asks in prayer one gets it from the Father who withholds no good thing from His children (Lk.11:9-13; Ps.84:11). However, if the Father-son relationship was just limited to asking and getting, then the relation would be reduced to utilitarianism, and would not be rational; therefore, not intimate. Communion is a continuous relationship. One doesn't come to God in prayer. One lives a life of prayer, walking in communion with God. One doesn't come to God to just tell his needs; one's ears and heart are always open and sensitive to the voice of the Spirit. One draws the closet: he is no longer busy in other things; his times are in God's hands (Ps.31:15).

Intimacy with God plunges depths in communion with the Lord our Savior; for, it is in Christ that the sinner experiences sympathy, passion, love, and forgiveness. It is in the Savior that the disciple experiences cleansing and eternal life. In the One in which dwells the fullness of Godhead in bodily form, the Man Jesus Christ, the True God and eternal life (Col.2:9; 1Jn.5:20), God reaches down to man. In Him alone intimacy is possibilized, for He sympathizes with our weaknesses (Heb.4:15). Therefore, He calls man to come to Him and take His yoke on his shoulder and learn from Him as a new bull learns to walk by yoking together with an older and experienced one. So, the Scripture says that this intimacy of walk in the Spirit produces in us the resemblance of our Master, as we are transformed into the same image from glory to glory (2Cor.3:18). It is difficult to be with God and not reflect His glory.

Conclusion

Prayer is man's foretaste of heaven. It is the experience of the Age to come that God destined for man before the creation of the world. It is where man encounters God through Christ, the Bridge; where man is accepted by God through Christ, at the altar; where man communes with God through the Spirit, in the closet. Without Christ, man is bankrupt of any rationale for approaching God. Paradoxically, yet, it is this bankruptcy of spirit at the altar that draws one into the shadows of His grace. And, in this yearning and burning for the Holy One, one experiences the blessedness of an encounter that can only be categorized as the ineffable, the closet.

References

____The World's Religions, Oxford: Lion Publishing plc, 1988

Abhishiktananda,Prayer, Delhi: ISPCK, 1967, 1993

Bernard, Theos.Hindu Philosophy, Mumbai: Jaico Publishing House, 2003

Heidegger, Martin.Being and Time, Trans. Joan Stambaugh, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996

Hiriyanna,M.Indian Philosophy, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1993

Jr., Berthold, Fred.The Fear of God, New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1959

Krishnan, O.N.In Search of Reality, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2004

Maharaj, R. R. & Hunt, Dave.Death of a Guru, NY: A. J. Holman Company, 1977

Richardson, Don.Eternity in Their Hearts, California: Regal Books, 1984

Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1994

NOTES

[1]Acts 17:23. Don Richardson inEternity in Their Hearts (California: Regal Books, 1984), explains the Acts 17 episode against the historical background of how this God who was unknown to the Athenians was sought through this altar by the ancient Greeks. This Unknown God, it is said, was thought to be responsible for a seemingly retributory plague that was consuming Athens, and His appeasement through the intervention of a Cretan Prophet Epimenides who erected this altar and propitiated this God through a sacrifice, is said to have warded off the plague.

[2]Author's rendering of "Dukh mein sumiran sab karein, sukh mein karein na koye; jo sukh mein sumiran karein toh dukh kahe ko hoye".

[3]It might be a coincidence, but it might also be an instance of trans-cultural influence that the following lines by Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai (dated around 1050 AD) are almost identically reflected in an aphorism by Kabir some 500 years later: "Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made; Were ev'ry stalk on earth a quill, And ev'ry man a scribe by trade; To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry; Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky." Kabir said,Saat samund masi karun, Lekhani sab banraye. Dharti sab kagad karun, Hari gun likha na jaye (Were I to make of the seven seas all ink, And of every stalk of forest a quill; Were I to turn the whole earth into paper; Yet, this would not suffice writing the virtues of God).

[4]Ref. Romans 1:18-25, Cf. Don Richardson inEternity in Their Hearts, pp.74-77and Robert Brow, "Origins of Religion",The World's Religions (Oxford: Lion Publishing plc, 1988), pp. 30-33.

[5]Cf. Domenic Marbaniang, Epistemics of Divine Reality: An Argument for Rational Fideism,Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation (Bangalore: Asian Institute of Theology, 2007).

[6]Abhishiktananda,Prayer (Delhi: ISPCK, 1967, 1993), p.77

[7]Ibid, p.68

[8]Ibid, p.69. The originalsutra is "yogashchittavrittinirodhah" (yoga-chitta(consciousness)-vritti (taking forms, modifications, patterning)-nirodhah (cessation, restraining). Interestingly, in Modern Medical Science, death is defined as "the irreversible cessation of brain activity"; no doubt, Swami Vivekananda, in his introduction to theYoga Sutras had to explain why both the ends of the light spectrum are as dark as each other, though qualitatively different the final end of yoga isSamadhi (transcendental consciousness):samadhi also means sepulcher.

[9]Ibid, p.72

[10]Ibid, p.80

[11]Ibid, p.73

[12]Ibid, pp. 80-82

[13]Cp "When discursive ideas have disappeared, discrimination comes to rest, and with it all karma and defilement, and all kinds of rebirth. Hence one calls emptinessNirvana, as it brings to rest (nirvritti) all discursive ideas."Buddhist Texts, Trans. & ed. By E. Conze etc, as cited by O.N. Krishnan, In Search of Reality (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2004), p. 288

[14]O.N. Krishnan, In Search of Reality, p. 113

[15]The Bible doesn't teach about anirguna (formless, attributeless) God. God issaguna(possessing attributes).

[16]This is at point in his statement "The marvellous powers attributed to yogis are no more extraordinary than the miracles performed by the saints",Prayer, p. 77

[17]Theos Bernard,Hindu Philosophy (Mumbai: Jaico Publishing House, 2003), p. 109

[18]Yoga does have place for a belief in God, contrary to the atheistic stance of Samkhya. However, the God of Yoga is like the Demiurge of Plato; he acts as the impetus of the evolution ofprakriti (the material aspect of the world) while also thought as helping his devotees find release from empirical bondages through their practice of yoga. See M. Hiriyanna, Indian Philosophy (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1993), pp. 282-283

[19]A History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. I.(Cambridge, 1922), p.227. Project Gutenberg [EBook #12956], Release Date, July 20, 2004. Gutenberg.net

[20]R. R. Maharaj records horrific and painful, demonizing effects of yoga in his autobiographyDeath of a Guru, R. R. Maharaj with Dave Hunt (NY: A. J. Holman Company, 1977)

[21]Notice it doesn' t say "which are under the earth", but only "which are in heaven, and which are on earth in Him", thereby excluding all things that are separate from Him forever

[22]The Latin word for "priest" ispontifex and means "bridge builder" incorrectly applied to the Pope asPontifex Maximus, meaning the High Priest.

[23]In one of the fewTishrei Journals, published in India by Maranatha Revival Crusade, Secunderabad, in the 90s

[24]The wordproginosko for "foreordained", used in this verse, actually means "known before hand".

[25]In Acts 13:2, prayer is referred to as a ministry (leitourgeo) to God.

[26]The tragedy of the Fall was that man chose to have the merit of the good and evil on his own prowess, thus violating the principle of eternal righteousness that exclusively and essentially is of God.

[27]Martin Heidegger,Being and Time, Trans. Joan Stambaugh (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996),p.245

[28]Cf. Domenic Marbaniang,Epistemics of Divine Reality, pp. 329-368

[29]Eastern philosophies provide several instances of such culturally relevant world-views. Social reliance provides an important grid for meaningful existence throughout the different cultures of the world; in modern secular cultures, however, the absence of social epistemic authority heightens the experiences of boredom, anxiety, rootlessness, and emptiness.

[30]Fred Berthold, Jr.,The Fear of God (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1959), pp. 37, 46

[31]Ibid, p. 46

[32]Ibid, pp.42,44

[33]This is blatant in nudism (naturism), pornography, and any shameless culture. The JainDigambara sect (atheistic) regards the naked ascetics as sky-clad, and so not nude; the process of denudation, however, is gradual. Denudation is a chief mark of the religions of nature, where God is disavowed to make room for self-world. It doesn't necessarily mean the absence of ethics; it means the absence of God as the Absolute Law-giver.

[34]The Hebrew word for atonement iskaphar and means "to cover".

[35]The Book of Revelation seven times mentions the altar of God in heaven (Rev. 6:9; 8:3,5; 9:13;14:18; 16:7).

[36]The Hebrew word used for "broken" in Psalm 51:17 and in Ecclesiastes 12:6 (broken pitcher) isshabar and literally means "to burst". In Ecclesiastes 12, the reference is to death.

[37]It is the only time in the KJV that the Hebrew wordlabab is translated as "ravished my heart" twice in this verse. Young translates it as "emboldened me", probably from the sense of "gave heart", i.e., courage (see Keil & Delitzsch). It may perhaps be also phrased as "you got my heart" or "you won my heart". But, the undergirding thought is that the general and sullen flow of consciousness is suddenly broken, as if brought to life, by the invasion of this new sight or understanding. It is superbly expressed in the title of C. S. Lewis' autobiography, "Surprised by Joy".

[38]Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1994), pp.142,146

Dr. Domenic Marbanaing, 2010






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