THE MOMENT: If you realized the power of the moment and how to harness it, to create your future, well – you will know it when it happens, just be ready. And, of all things – think powerfully and positively. When we live in the moment, we enjoy life and all is well. Whether it is reading a book, or planning a career move, that moment is spent with your full attention and your energy is in harmony with the universe. When you are re-living the past or worrying about the future, the creative energy spent is wasted on situations that may never happen or cannot be changed. Your whole life is made up of moments, how you choose to spend them is up to you.

Mindfulness Meditation Technique

A meditation technique where one focuses on the field or background and embrace all the perception around that field is called Mindfulness Meditation. It is in contrast to another meditation technique called concentration meditation, where one channels all the energy and focus on one specific object or subject, blocking all distractions around.

In mindfulness meditation, the meditator is trained to have an open focus of all the inter-related senses coming from the immediate environment while concentrating on a unifying object or a foundation from which to channel all the other senses that is being absorbed or experienced.

For instance, a person using mindfulness meditation can focus on his or her breathing, while at the same time incorporating other senses around him or her, like the sound of leaves on swaying tree branches nearby, a faint music playing, or the perception of movements from other people from a distance. The meditator incorporates his or her breathing in harmony with these surrounding senses.

In concentration meditation, the meditator holds attention on a single specific focus of thought, which could be a prayer bead, or a thought-based anchor for concentration like a mantra or repetitive prayer.

There is no argument on which of the techniques is better. Those who have developed a higher level of concentration also shift easily between mindfulness meditation to concentration meditation or vice versa in a single meditative session.

While concentration meditation trains the mind to withdraw all attachment beyond the self to develop full self-awareness, mindfulness meditation encourages the mind to recognize elements beyond the self to be able to know the whole self as a constitution of all the other elements.

Instead of being distracted, the meditator should acknowledge the existence of things beyond the self and incorporate it in harmony with the awareness of existence at that particular time and space to get a holistic perception of self.

Mindfulness meditation has a similar concept in the religion Buddhism, which also gives high importance on the practice of meditation to achieve self awareness and clarity of the mind. This is the Buddhism meditation technique called Vippasana, which advocates for various mind practices for the purpose of developing insights and general wisdom by seeing the true nature of the self along with the true nature of the surrounding realities. This is in contrast to the technique Shamatha, which develops one’s ability to focus the attention on a single point, unobstructed other realities beyond that point. This is the counterpart of concentration meditation.

In the western forms of meditation, there are concentration techniques devoid of any mystical or rigid religious beliefs. Still, mindfulness meditation finds it way in many of the modern schools of meditation, particularly in yoga, which promotes peace of mind by suspending realities filled with worries and fears, cleansing the mental state by invigorating mental relaxations and absorbing fresh perceptions like mind control, free will, and the presence of guidance and protection from a higher source.

Absorbing these positive states of mind requires mindfulness meditation, as it recognizes surrounding elements that are helpful in developing a healthier and renewed perception of the self.

Reading With Your Child

Author: Bernice Cullinan & Brod Bagert
Source: Helping Your Child Learn to Read. (1996). Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education.

There is no more important activity for preparing your child to succeed as a reader than reading aloud together. Fill your story times with a variety of books. Be consistent, be patient, and watch the magic work.

Home is Where the Heart Is

It’s no secret that activities at home are an important supplement to the classroom, but there’s more to it than that. There are things that parents can give children at home that the classroom cannot give.

Start Young and Stay With It

At just a few months of age, an infant can look at pictures, listen to your voice, and point to objects on cardboard pages. Guide your child by pointing to the pictures, and say the names of the various objects. By drawing attention to pictures and associating words with both pictures and real-world objects, your child will learn the importance of language.

Children learn to love the sound of language before they even notice the existence of printed words on a page. Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word. When the rhythm and melody of language become a part of a child’s life, learning to read will be as natural as learning to walk and talk.

Even after children learn to read by themselves, it’s still important for you to read aloud together. By reading stories that are on their interest level, but beyond their reading level, you can stretch young readers’ understanding and motivate them to improve their skills.

It’s Part of Life

Although the life of a parent is often hectic, you should try to read with your child at least once a day at a regularly scheduled time. But don’t be discouraged if you skip a day or don’t always keep to your schedule. Just read to your child as often as you possibly can.
If you have more than one child, try to spend some time reading alone with each child, especially if they’re more than 2 years apart. However, it’s also fine to read to children at different stages and ages at the same time. Most children enjoy listening to many types of stories. When stories are complex, children can still get the idea and can be encouraged to ask questions. When stories are easy or familiar, youngsters enjoy these “old friends” and may even help in the reading.
Taking the time to read with your children on a regular basis sends an important message: Reading is worthwhile.

One More Time

You may go through a period when your child favors one book and wants it read night after night. It is not unusual for children to favor a particular story, and this can be boring for parents. Keep in mind, however, that a favorite story may speak to your child’s interests or emotional needs. Be patient. Continue to expose your children to a wealth of books and eventually they will be ready for more stories.

Talking About Stories

It’s often a good idea to talk about a story you’re reading, but you needn’t feel compelled to talk about every story. Good stories will encourage a love for reading, with or without conversation. And sometimes children need time to think about stories they’ve read. A day or so later, don’t be surprised if your child mentions something from a story you’ve read together.

Remember When You Were Very Young

It will help, however, consider some things adult readers tend to take for granted. It’s easier to be patient with children when we remember how much they don’t know. Here are a few concepts we adults know so well that we forget sometimes we ever had to learn them.
• There’s a difference between words and pictures. Point to the print as you read aloud.
• Words on a page have meaning, and that is what we learn to read.
• Words go across the page from left to right. Follow with your finger as you read.
• Words on a page are made up of letters and are separated by a space.
• Each letter has at least two forms: one for capital letters and and one for small letters.
Imagine how you would feel if you were trying to interpret a book full of such symbols. That’s how young readers feel. But, a little patience (maybe by turning it into a puzzle you can solve together) is certain to build confidence.

Advertise the Joy of Reading!

Our goal is to motivate children to read so they will practice reading independently and become fluent readers. That happens when children enjoy reading. We parents can do for reading what fast food chains do for hamburgers…ADVERTISE! And we advertise by reading great stories and poems to children.
We can help our children find the tools they need to succeed in life. Having access to information through the printed word is an absolute necessity. Knowledge is power, and books are full of it. But reading is more than just a practical tool. Through books we can enrich our minds; we can also relax and enjoy some precious leisure moments.

With your help, as your children begin a lifelong relationship with the printed word, they can grow into adults who read easily and frequently whether for business, knowledge, or pleasure.

Enjoy fun books together at http://www.lunchpailbooks.com or have Sam E read you book one in from the “Peep Peep” series.

Check out realistic info about the topic of personal protection – make sure to study the web site. The times have come when concise info is truly at your fingertips, use this chance.

Changing Your Life: Exploring The Law Of Attraction

A great deal has been said and written concerning the so-called ‘Law of Attraction’. It has become a byword as a result of videos and bestselling books, like ‘The Secret’ and by mainstream TV personalities such as Larry King. And yet most do not comprehend what this ‘attraction’ actually means. Does it mean that you can attract into your life what you want out of life? And, if that is the case, how can you actually put the ‘Law of Attraction’ into action to change your life for the better?

Firstly, you need to realize is that the ‘Law of Attraction’ is at work in your everyday life already. This may come as a surprise to you but what you’ve got to realize is that your life is an exact mirror image of what’s happening in your head. Sadly, most of what’s rattling around in the normal person’s mind is doing them damage instead of good because, left to its own devices, the subconscious mind is both backward looking and negative, constantly ‘enabling’ you – and that’s clearly not the right word – to repeat all the learned behaviours that are, currently, creating your reality. But more simply, as a result of the normal mind being in turmoil, it follows that the normal life is also in turmoil.

It doesn’t matter if it or not, the ‘Law of Attraction’ is a given fact of life. I’m not certain, from reading some of the reams of stuff – often misleading stuff – on the subject, that you will have fully grasped the extraordinary importance of this situation. But let’s say that you have. You already appreciate that, to quote ‘The Secret’, your thoughts become things – what’s going on in your mind ends up manifesting in reality. Great, you’ve grasped this all-important concept intellectually – but intellectualizing these facts and being able to get this ‘manifestation’ working for you, rather than against you, is a totally different ballgame.

If you don’t consciously take action each day to ensure that you’re in the appropriate mental state, then it really doesn’t matter how much you understand the way life works, you’re simply conning yourself into the wonderfully cosy misconception that this ‘Law of Attraction’ can change your life in a positive way.

To truly practice the so-called “Law of Attraction” you’re going to have to clear your mind. There is little point in filling your mind with thoughts of things that you want – people don’t know what they really want. Here’s a far better idea – fill your mind with the only place and time we have – the present moment. If you do that, you will coax your subconscious away from its obsession with both the past and the negative. You will become truly focused – effective, efficient, inspired and inspirational. In a clear state of mind you will attract the very best in life, enabling you rise to heights that normal people couldn’t even dream of.