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In this story you are an infant. One of your parents, lets say your mother, is holding you. (In a classic fairy tale you would be a golden haired princess and you would be being held prisoner by an evil witch, but were on a budget, so well do the common persons fairy tale.) Your mother is struggling with her personal issues and although she is doing the best she can, she cannot give you the attention you need. That means that she cannot hold you as securely as you need. Feeling insecure, you naturally wonder if she is acting like this because there is something undesirable about you. After all, if you were really valued she would treat you with greater consideration. (When the love that a child needs is withheld the child naturally questions her worthiness. It is in the nature of all of us, but it is acute in children.)

As your mother continues to struggle with her issues, the relationship between you becomes difficult. She doesnt mean to hurt you, but she lets you slip out of her grasp and you fall. Unfortunately, you land in a fresh cow pie.

Your initial feelings of not being good enough have just been strongly reinforced. Your mother picks you up but her preoccupation with her own issues prevents her from cleaning all of the manure from you. You look around for help from dad, but hes not there. Hes mostly at work and when hes home he is not emotionally available anyway.

So there you are, soiled and smelly. Something is obviously wrong. No only are you feeling unloved and unworthy, you now have the stink to prove it. The other people in your family arent able to clean you up. They dont know how to get rid of their own manure, no one in the family does. Because of this. and the continuing non-nurturing aspects of the family, your feelings of unworthiness become substantially reinforced.

The manure dries, you grow up and having little choice, you become resigned to living with it. Who you are has become tainted with the aromatic flavor of something potent that does not belong to you. You do not deserve it, but the circumstances of your life have caused you to believe otherwise. You have become convinced that you deserve to be unloved, and there isnt much in your environment that contradicts that belief. Actually, theres quite a bit of negative reinforcement regarding your imperfections and failings, leading you to conclude that this must be what you deserved. You also resign yourself that this is what the rest of your life has in store for you. Your grandparents try to help you, because grandparents are immune to the odor of manure, but its just not enough.

In order to get by you start applying perfume in an attempt to mask the smell of your imperfections. Although it helps you to get by, you know that you are living a lie and you live with the constant fear that someone will pick up the telltale scent of manure and you will be exposed. Some people do pick up on the perfumed smell and shy away from you because they know that something funny is going on, even if they do not understand it. You end up feeling worse.

You, of course, must act as if the perfumed you is the normal you, while hiding your real self away under the mask. You treat the your real self as though she had leprosy, hiding her from criticism. You live on a tightrope, alone, cursed and unable to risk getting close to anyone who is clean for fear that they will detect the smell you and reject you. So you seek out others who are also wearing manure to have relationships with. You make an unspoken deal, I will ignore your manure if you will ignore mine. Then of course, the moment the other person gets scared or hurt, they immediately break the agreement and point to your manure as the cause of the problem. You of course, respond in kind. Soon you are engaged in a manure war with all sorts of manure flying around. Each of you becomes entrenched, busily defending your position. Little of a constructive nature is accomplished.

Wounded and despondent, you pull back from life and start looking for answers to your dilemma. The Church tells you that the manure is your fault and that you should be repentant for your sinful nature for having it. Your boss tells you that you are just not trying hard enough to overcome it. A therapist shows you how to behave as though the manure doesnt exist. A yoga teacher encourages you to achieve calmness in spite of the smell. New Age books and CDs show you that beautiful flowers grow in manure and that you need to surrender to your bliss. Some of what you learn is helpful, but you still smell badly and you dont like it. You know that it repels other people.

Unable to get real answers, and beset by a continuing series of problems, you pray to God for help. To your surprise, there is an answer. God says, Take off your soiled clothing and bathe yourself in love. That which is causing you pain is not yours. It does not belong to you, it never has. Conditioned by years of experience, the thought of giving up your life-long attachment seems impossible. But, you reply, I cant. This soiled state is all that I know. Its who I think I am. Besides, what would happen if you gave up your soiled clothing and there was nothing else for you to put on! You would be left alone in the cold and naked. It has felt that way in past lives and there is no reason to believe that the present situation will be any different. Feeling once again like a failure, you turn away, push on, and do the best you can.

Clinging steadfastly to your belief of unworthiness, life continues to cause you pain, but you persist. The lessons intensify. Eventually you are confronted with a crisis. Perhaps it is the painful end of a relationship or a business failure. Maybe it is a physical crisis, with the prospect of death or a considerably worsened physical condition demanding that you make serious changes to the way you have been in the world.

Whatever the obstacle, something will push you to the point that you can no longer sustain the beliefs you hold about yourself. You will no longer be able to sustain the facade. Pushed over the limit, your resistance breaks. Bruised and beaten, willing to surrender, you cry out to God for help. He says, I understand. And then He repeats, Take off your soiled clothing and bathe yourself in love. That which is causing you pain is not yours. It does not belong to you, it never has. With nowhere else to turn, a crack in the darkness opens and you begin to see that it is really not you, that it is the manure you have been carrying all this time that has caused your pain. God continues, The process you have experienced has been created so that you would come to see the truth about who you are. In the process you will heal the vulnerability that allowed the manure to stick to you in the first place. Your vulnerability gave the beliefs a place to stick. He then tells you, This is all part of the process we have created together called Life. He further explains that learning to accept the truth about who you are is an important step in your spiritual development. Since you have free will, it was necessary for you to come to this realization by yourself. He could not give it to you.

Copyright2007 Blue lotus Press

Ross Bishop is a shaman practicing in Charlottesville, VA. You can learn more about him and find more of his writings at his web site, http://www.rossbishop.com

The current top most model of Nokia's N series the nokia N95, is not just a smartphone, but a phenomenon in itself. Nokia's worldwide ad campaign of N series being closer to computers have got a big boost after the launch of the nokia N95. This Symbian OS v9.2, S60 rel 3.1 smartphone is truly closer to a multimedia computer than an ordinary mobile phone. Initially, during its launch, the handset's almost unending feature list had raised many eyebrows in disbelief. Even today, the handset remains firmly atop of the competition, and serving as an example for other to follow.

Built wise, the nokia N95 is a bit large with its dimension reading 99 x 53 x 21 mm and weighs 120 grams. The handset comes in a stylish silver casing with unique 2 way sliding mechanism. An unconventional upward slide of the nokia N95 reveals a set of dedicated media control keys, thus giving a strong hint about the handset's music playing skills. The Symbian media player is compatible with almost all popular formats and plays them with great clarity and immense power. sound output option includes built in speakers, wireless bluetooth stereo headset or any preferred headphones with 3.5 mm audio jack apart from the standard pair of headset shipped with the kit.

Another major multimedia feature of the nokia N95 is its colossal 5.0 megapixel camera module piled with all possible imaging aids modern day technology had to offer. These includes digital zoom, autofocus, timer, flash with anti red eye, white balance, special effects and a full fledged image and video editor. Moreover, the handset's camera module is fitted with Carl Zeiss optics lens for high quality imaging.

The nokia N95 is a top of the line connectivity device with incorporation of options and technologies like Quad band, HSDPA, gprs, EDGE, wifi, bluetooth v2.0, Infrared and usb and many more. The handset even features built in GPS navigation system with installed map application covering over hundred countries across the world.

Bryan gian is a Internet marketing consultant. He has written many articles on Mobile Phone , Nokia Mobile Phones

pilates can benefit your overall health and sense of well-being in many ways. I have been doing pilates for three years and I have seen for myself how challenging, yet effective it is.

Recently, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic muscle and soft tissue pain syndrome. One of my osteopathic doctors told me that if I hadnt been doing pilates (and yoga), I would not be able to get on and off the examining table. As a matter of fact, when patients come to see him because of pain, he often recommends pilates as a method of treatment.

While it certainly helps with physical problems, you will find many other positive rewards when you start integrating Pilates into your exercise program.

#1 Benefit of pilates Strong Core

pilates focuses on strengthening your deep abdominal muscles, your back and your butt. This results in greater pelvic stability and less likelihood that you will sustain an injury in your back. You will also enjoy having a flat, toned and sleek tummy.

#2 Benefit of Pilates - Improved posture

pilates works to lengthen the spinal compression that you might be developing, especially as you grow older or spend long hours hunched over in front of a computer. Many of us spend a great part of the day with our shoulders slumped forward. pilates encourages you to lengthen the back of your neck and to slide your shoulder blades back and down. This encourages better postural alignment and allows you to stand and sit straighter and taller.

#3 Benefit of pilates Increased Strength and Flexibility

When you are doing pilates, you are simultaneously strengthening and stretching your muscles. This gives your joints greater range of motion and also helps prevent the likelihood that you will get injured.

#4 Benefit of pilates Longer and Leaner Muscles

Many strength-training exercises focus on working only one body part at a time, which leads to a compressed, bulky muscle. When you do pilates exercises, you are working your entire body and you elongate the muscle as you move it with precision and control. The result your body has a longer, leaner look.

#5 Benefit of pilates Improved Mind body Connection

Pilates is not a mindless activity. There is a very strong focus on deep breathing. You do certain moves as you inhale, while others as you exhale. This fosters a greater awareness about how you can integrate deep breathing and movement into positive body control.

#6 Benefit of Pilates It is Safe for Everyone

pilates is a gentle, low impact workout. In every class, you are given a modification to address your own unique level of strength, flexibility, and fitness. With the proper instruction, it is safe for seniors, for those who are physically challenged, and also those who are recovering from injuries.

If youve ever wondered about pilates, why not give it a try? You can see for yourself how pilates can make a positive difference in your mind, health and, of course your body.

Della Menechella is a yoga and fitness enthusiast who has been involved in fitness for over thirty years. Her website http://www.beauty-fitness-yoga-source.com/ is filled with practical information about how you can make yoga and fitness a positive part of your life. Visit the site and get your free meditation e-book.