The LuxMob Info Tags

What is the Tarot?

The tarot is a deck of 78 cards, featuring illustrations that can be interpreted in various ways. The deck is divided into two sections, called the major and minor arcana. The major arcana features the 21 trump cards, and the minor arcana is divided into four suits (wands, pentacles, cups and swords) each with cards featuring the numbers 1-10, an ace and four court cards (the Page, Knight, Queen and King).

Origin of the Tarot

The oldest known tarot cards originated in 15th century Italy. The tarot appears to have started life as a card game, and was at first restricted to the wealthy upper classes, although after the invention of the printing press, the cards became more widely available. Some writers have claimed (despite the apparent lack of evidence) that the imagery of the tarot cards suggests a more ancient origin, and have connected the tarot with such cultures and traditions as the ancient Egyptians and the mystical Hebrew Kabbalah.

Later Developments

It was not until the 18th century that the cards became associated with the occult and mystical activities with which they are often linked today. This began in 1781, when the freemason Antoine Court de Gebelin made the claim in his work ‘Le Monde Primatif’ that tarot cards contained hidden meanings (which he associated with the ancient Egyptians) that could be used for
divinatory purposes.

Since then other mystic and magical traditions, such as the order of the Golden Dawn, have claimed that the tarot has ancient roots, and that is has hidden wisdom to impart to those seeking enlightenment.

The tarot’s mass appeal increased with the publication of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot in 1910. Arthur Edwards Waite was a
Golden Dawn member, and in this new deck, drawn by the artist Pamela Colman Smith, images with occult symbolism were included on the numeric cards, as well as the trump cards. This deck was very successful (and remains popular today), and since then, hundreds if not thousands of diverse new decks have been published, with many enthusiasts creating their own.

Uses of the Tarot

The tarot has several distinct uses, including:

1. Games

This was its original use, and it is still used for gaming purposes in some European countries.

2. Psychology

Carl jung was the first mainstream psychologist to attach meaning to the tarot cards, when he associated them with the fundamental archetypes that he believed to reside in the collective human unconscious. Several therapeutic techniques involving the tarot have developed from this insight.

3. Inspiration

Many artists and writers have produced works inspired by the tarot.

4. Divination
Fortune telling is perhaps the most common use associated with the tarot. The images on the cards may help the person seeking the reading to tap into their own subconscious knowledge. Others believe that the cards themselves hold some kind of inherent divinatory power, which may be read by a skilled person. For this reason, handling another person’s cards is generally frowned upon in occult circles, as their energy could become contaminated.

Doing a Reading

There is no set method for performing a divinatory tarot reading. However there are several popular layouts or ’spreads’, with perhaps the most well known being the Celtic cross. This is usually the first method taught to beginners, although it is by no means the most simple. Experienced tarot readers will often invent their own spreads, with their own means of interpretation.

Once the cards are selected by the person receiving the reading, the reader lays them out in a spread and analyses them, taking into account the positions relative to each other, the symbolism of the individual cards, and their position (upright or reversed).

Meaning of the Cards

There is no generally agreed upon interpretation of the tarot cards. They all have imagery of varying degrees of complexity,
and the wide range of decks available makes the situation even more difficult. Nevertheless there is a huge amount of writings available on the symbology of the tarot, and on the most basic level, the 22 major arcana cards are thought to represent the journey of the Fool from ignorance to enlightenment.

In addition, the minor arcana cards have their own symbolism. The numbers are most obviously associated with numerology, and the suits are linked to the four elements (Swords=Air; Cups=Water; Wands=Fire; Pentacles=Earth). The tarot has also been linked with other mystical and occult systems such as the I Ching, astrology, and the Kabbalah.

Choosing a Tarot Deck

There is a huge range of tarot decks to choose from. Two classic decks are the symbolism-rich Rider-Waite deck, and Crowley’s Thoth deck, both of which remain very popular. The early Marseille deck (used by Gebelin to illustrate ‘Le Monde Primitif’) is another important deck, also. There are also many less conventional decks to choose from, and people with just about any special interest can find a deck to match.

Feminists, for example, might like the Motherpeace Tarot with its round cards and exclusively female imagery, whereas some of those interested in Paganism might enjoy the Witches deck or the DruidCraft tarot. Tarot decks can be found representing animals too, as well natural imagery, various sports, and other common activities. In fact, whatever your taste, there’s probably a tarot pack available to match, and most can be found online as well as from bookstores, new age shops etc.

Where to Start?

If you’re interested in learning mote about the tarot, I recommend checking out some of the numerous excellent tarot-related sites on the net (see the link in my resource box for some good starting points), as well as online and local book stores and new age stores. One thing’s for sure - there’s no shortage of information available!

L. Knight is webmaster of QuantumBliss.com, a site which provides an array of information for those who wish to develop their personal power and maximise their enjoyment of life.

For more information sources about the tarot, please visit QuantumBliss

Well I have several sites, some of them I apply the AdSense to; to make a few extra pennies and some of my websites I wouldn’t even dream of placing Adsense to.

For example, I will not use AdSense on a site that I wish to sell one product on, especially my own products. This can take your potential prospects away from what you want them to buy. Why would you risk losing them to your competition or to another site for a few lousy cents? Or dollars if you got the “higher” end priced AdSense ads on your site.

All sites where I am selling a specific product will not have any out going links for me. I want to keep them on my site for as long as possible.

However, I will use AdSense on sites that are more along the lines of “Free Content” websites. Usually these websites I set up, I use directly for making money with AdSense.

What’s interesting with AdSense is that your layout can have a detrimental affect on how much you can earn from using it. Of course testing and re-testing will be your ultimate tool in finding out what works best with your website.

I tend to stay clear of the lay out that looks like Google’s sponsored ads on the main Google website. Everyone identifies these ads as “paid” and not as likely to have as many people to click through them.

Adsense can be a nice little profitable tool if used correctly.

© Joanne King - http://www.joesy.com

Get your Free book on “Affiliate Marketing – Quick Start Guide” by visiting http://www.joesy.com.

You are welcome to reprint this article on your website or send to your mailing list however it may not be edited and the link in this bio must stay active. Cheers =)

There are a number of guitar accessories that you might want to
buy for your guitar. Guitar accessories are relatively cheap and
if you are buying a guitar, you might be able to pick up a good
deal if you want to buy a number of accessories as well.

Here is a list of guitar accessories to consider (in order of
popularity*):

Guitar cases and bags

Guitar tuner/pitch pipe

Guitar strings

Effects pedals/Foot Switches

Amplifiers

Guitar stands

Plectrums (also known as picks)

Guitar Leads/Cables

Guitar straps

Guitar Capo

Guitar Slide

Headphones

Metronome

Cleaning and maintenance (polish, nut file set, wrench set, fret
file set)

Footstool

Stringwinder (also known as a pegwinder)

Straplok set

Power adaptor for effects pedals

Gui
tar Cases and Bags

If you plan on gigging a lot or travelling on planes/trains etc.
I recommend buying a guitar case, otherwise a padded gig bag
will do just fine. The Kinsman guitar cases and guitar bags are
a very good quality and are also one of the most popular. The
Kinsman guitar bags come in three grades.

1) Standard - hardly any padding and one small pouch for music
books and accessories 2) Deluxe - quite well padded, with two
pouches 3) Premium - extremely well padded, with large and small
pouches and a shoulder strap.

The Kinsman guitar cases are made for Stratocasters,
Telecasters, Les Paul shape, electric, acoustic or bass guitars.

Gui
tar tuner/pitch pipe

There are hundreds of guitar tuners to choose from on the
market. The best brands in order of popularity* are:

Korg

Stagg

Yamaha

Intelli

Seiko

Qwik Tune

Boss

Ibanez

The two guitar tuners that stand out from the rest are the Stagg
Automatic Guitar/Bass Tuner and the Korg GA-30. These two guitar
tuners are sold more than any other guitar tuner on the market.

Guita
r Strings

It’s always wise to have a spare set of guitar strings to hand.
You never know when one will brake and leave you in a difficult
situation. You will need to buy steel strings for electric, bass
or acoustic guitars and nylon strings for classical, Spanish or
Flamenco guitars

Here is a list of the top brands of guitar strings, in order of
popularity*:

Ernie Ball

D’addario

Martin

Fender

Elixir

GHS

Augustine

Earthwood

Dan electro

Gibson

Markley

Newtone

Savarez

Rotosound

Darco

Dean

Elites

Thomastick

Tonesearch

Maxima

Warwick

Rickenbacker

PRS

Legacy

John Pearse

DR

Eff
ects pedals

For some groovy sounds you will need to buy an effects pedal.
The two most popular are the Jim Dunlop GCB-95 Original Cry Baby
Wah Wah Effects Pedal and the Ibanez Tone-Lok Series SM7 Smash
Box Effects Pedal.

Here is a list of the top brands in order of popularity*:

Ibanez

Jim Dunlop

Korg

DigiTech

Vox

MXR

Yamaha

Dan electro

Amp
lifiers

Amplifiers are used with electric guitars, bass guitars and
electro-acoustic guitars. You will need to buy a lead to connect
up to your guitar. There are many types of guitar amplifiers
ranging from the smallest which is normally 10 watts up to 500
watts! or more:

Practice amps (these are normally quite small) Standard amps
(used for playing in bands or gigging) Bass amps (used only with
bass guitars) Keyboard amps (used with electronic keyboards and
stage pianos) Mixer amps Speakers and Monitors Combo amps (also
known as combination amplifiers) Amp heads

Which brand of Amplifier do I choose? There are a number of
brands of guitar amplifiers, here is a list in order of the most
popular*:

Marshall

Fender

Vox

Peavey

Laney

Line 6

Mesa Boogie

Kustom

Crate

Carlsbro

Ashdown

BB Blaster

Yamaha

Warwick

Dean

Crafter

Cruiser

Danelectro

All guitar amplifiers sound different. Some (like Marshall and
Line 6) are good for Rock and Roll, others have a softer and
less bright sound like the popular Vox amps and Mesa Boogie.

For beginners, I would recommend either the Peavey Backstage or
the BB10 blaster amp. The Peavey Backstage is by far the most
popular and best value for money beginner’s guitar amp on the
market.

Gui
tar stands or Guitar Hangers

There are lots of different types of guitar stands, it really
depends on which stand is more suited to you. There is the
standard guitar stand, the universal guitar stand, the auto grab
guitar stand, the double and triple guitar stand and the wall
mounted guitar stand. The standard guitar stand is the most
popular and comes in three different types: i) electric/bass,
ii) classical and iii) universal.

The most popular* brands are:

Stagg

Hercules

QuikLok

Giraffe

Warwick

Fender

String Swing

Ibanez

Ple
ctrums also known as picks

Plectrums are very cheap and can be bought individually, or in
packs. Most commonly you can buy plectrums on the web in packs
of 6. Guitar plectrums come in different gauges. Usually the
thinner ones are used with Classical, Spanish or Flamenco
guitars, the medium gauges with Electric and Acoustic guitars
and the thickest ones with Basses.

There are lots of brands of plectrums. The most popular* are:

Stagg

Jim Dunlop

Fender

Gibson

Gui
tar Leads/Cables

Guitar Leads normally come in different lengths: The most common
is the 15 feet/4.5 metre leads. This length is ample if you are
playing in a band.

Popular* brands of guitar leads/cables are:

Ibanez

Peavey

Stagg

Gui
tar straps

If you want to buy a gift for a guitarist, there is nothing
better than a nice leather guitar strap.

Levys and Gibson are the most famous brands of guitar straps,
Levys have the most comprehensive selection. Other guitar straps
to look out for are Dickies and Wrangler.

Gui
tar Capos

A capo is a clamp that you can use on different frets of the
guitar to change the pitch of the open strings. Each fret on the
guitar is a half step. If you place the capo on the 1st fret,
all of the open strings will sound a semi-tone higher than
normal, this makes changing the key of a song easy. Dunlop and
Shubb are the most popular* guitar capos.

Gui
tar Slide

The guitar slide is a tube of some hard material about one to
two inches long. Commonly, it’s made from glass and metals. Each
type of guitar slide has distinct characteristics, tonality, and
overall sound. The guitar slide is pressed lightly against the
strings so as not to touch the strings of the fret, producing a
sustained tone which can be varied in pitch by moving the slide
across the neck. A quick side-to-side motion is often used in
this way to generate vibrato. The most popular brand to go for
is Dunlop.

Headph
ones

If you want to play at home but don’t want to disturb your
neighbours, then a good set of headphones is recommended. Any
headphones will do, so take your pick from any of the following
leading brands:

Acer

Acoustic Research

Advance

Advent

Aiwa

AKG

Alpine

Altec Lansing

Amphony

Apple

Artwizz

Audio-Technica

Behringer

Belkin

Beyerdynamic

Bluetake

BoomGear

Bose

Bravo

British Telecom Clarion

Compucessory

Cornbow

Creative Labs

Denon

Design Go

Direct Sound

Dolphin Music

Etymotic Research

Fostex

Franklin

Gainward

Gemini Sound Products Genius

GN Netcom

Grado

Griffin Technology Grundig

Hama

Harman Kardon Hewlett Packard

Jensen

JVC

Jwin

Kenwood

Kinyo

Kondor Limited Koss

Labtec

Logic 3

Logitech

Macally

Maxell

Ministry Of Sound MM Gear

Nady Systems

Nesa Vision

Nike

Numark

Olympus

Panasonic

Philips

Pioneer

Plane Quiet

Plantronics

Power Acoustik

Pyle

Pyramid

Roland

Rosen

Samson

Sanyo

Sennheiser

Shure

Skull Candy Sony

Stagg

Stanton

Starvision

Technics

Toshiba

Trust

Ultimate Ears Ultrasone

Unwired

Vestax

Vic Firth

Vivanco

Wharfedale

XO Vision

XtremeMac

Yamaha

Zalman Tech

Met
ronome

If you want to play your guitar in time then you are going to
need to buy a metronome. You can choose from modern electronic
metronomes or traditional mechanical metronomes. Traditional
metronomes look very nice and are made from either plastic or
wood, they are also known as pendulum metronomes because the
ticking sound is produced by a small pendulum that swings back
and forth, much like the old Grandfather clocks. The Traditional
wooden or plastic metronomes tend to be a lot more expensive
than the electronic metronomes.

The leading metronome brands in order of popularity* are:

Wittner

Korg

Yamaha

Seiko

Qwik Time

Cleaning and maintenance (polish, nut file set, wrench set,
fret file set)

To look after your guitar you will need to at least buy some
guitar polish. Gibson produce a good guitar polish and also
Doctor Ducks Axe Wax is very popular. If you are serious about
guitar playing then you might want to have a nut file, fret file
or wrench set. You can keep your guitar in top playing condition.

Footstool

The guitar footstool is used mainly by Classical, Spanish or
Flamenco guitarists. Their style of playing and the way they
hold the guitar makes the use of a footstool quite important.

Stringwinder (also known as a pegwinder)

If you have lots of guitars, own a guitar shop, or tune guitars
on a regular basis, the guitar stringwinder comes in handy as a
real time saver. Instead of turning the guitar pegs by hand, you
can use the stringwinder to speed up the process.

Straplok set

For replacing the bolt that holds on your guitar strap.

Power adaptor for effects pedals

If you use effects pedals then you will need a power adaptor to
connect to the mains.

If you are ready to buy some guitar accessories you can find a
comprehensive selection here: Guitar
accessories, tuners, bags, cases, guitar strings, stands and
more…

*Please note that the above article makes references to guitar
accessories listed in popularity order. The popularity order of
these guitar accessories is taken from www.Soundsmusical.com -
the leading UK musical instrument website.

I hope this article has been useful and you are now more
informed about guitar accessories.

These days it is so hard to make it the gym. Life is very busy which creates a serious challenge for being consistent with exercise each week. However, exercise is exactly what we need in order to reduce stress, increase longevity, and give the body extra energy for daily living.

The best results are achieved using refined techniques, functional exercises, cardio, proper nutrition, awareness, variety, consistency, supplementation and motivation over time!

Refined technique means correct form to isolate muscles or “target areas of the body.” Efficiency is the priority to ensure maximal muscle stimulation. With resistance training, also known as weight lifting, it is important to eliminate momentum. It is also necessary to move the weight through a full range of motion. This will cause muscle contraction for the correct amount of time and ensure appropriate length of the tendons. The goal is to strengthen the joints of the body by stimulating the muscles around it.

For example, the lower back is an extremely important part of the body. Many people have trouble with this area, especially if their occupation puts a strain on it. So, it is a good idea to strengthen the muscles of the lower back like the erector spinae by performing three to four sets of back extensions on the floor superman position or face down on the exercise ball for 8 to 12 reps. As the muscles around the spine get stronger, the spine is held in place better, which reduces the changes of lower back problems. It is also important to keep the joint partially bent at the end of the rep, so that constant pressure remains on the muscles and no added pressure is applied to the joint from locking it out.

Cadence is a term that refers to the rate at which the resistance or weight moves. The best results are achieved by a slow cadence that causes the muscle to contract longer. On occasion, a mixture of fast and slow cadence may be used, especially with sports-specific training.

Lastly, using correct angles achieve muscle isolation in target areas and decrease the chance for injuries, especially with heavier weights. So, how many sets and reps should be completed? Four sets of 8-12 reps using a weight that is difficult but manageable. Allow 24 hours to recover with his approach. Six sets of 4 reps is more advanced, calculated at 60 to 80 percent of the one rep max. Allow 48 hours to recover when using this approach.

Functional exercise is a new popular technique that stimulates the core or torso of the body while working another muscle group at the same time. For example, performing a dumbbell press while lying on an exercise ball. The abs and the core muscles contract to hold the body into position, while the chest and tricep muscle push the dumbbells up. This type of challenge causes maximal stimulation to the body and keeps the workout interesting. Cardio is great for the heart and lungs. The number of calories burned is important as well as maintaining the correct heart rate. The heart rate formula is 220 minus age times point 60 for the lower margin and 220 minus age times point 80 for the upper margin. This is also known as the fat burning zone. Cardio also detoxifies the body and strengthens the immune system among many other health benefits. Muscles contract and move lymph along, which allows the immune system to clear dead cells and bring in new ones.

Warm up is important for preparing the body for the more demanding portion of the cardio workout. Allow 15 to 30 minutes prior to weight lifting and 10 to 15 minutes prior to cardio activities like jogging, swimming, aerobics or walking. In addition, a good stretch routine before warm up is highly recommended.

The preferred schedule for the weekly workout is warm up followed by cardio, then weight lifting on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with cardio only on Tuesday and Thursday.

While you may feel your schedule is too busy to maintain a scheduled workout routine, you will find that by adding exercise to your life you will actually add time, as you will have more energy and become more efficient in your day to day activities. Think of exercise as the battery that gives your life power.

Dr. Fit, Sidney E. Reeves, CFT is a nationally recognized personal fitness trainer. Dr. Fit has been helping overweight America understand and change their self-defeating habits while learning the important elements of good nutrition, exercise and positive change. He has launched a website to compliment his daily fitness show at http://www.WritingForWeightloss.com where members receive all the tools to lose weight permanently. Join Dr. Fit as your fitness trainer today at WritingForWeightLoss.com

The easiest way to acquire an email list for your ezine or email marketing is just to buy one. They’re not too expensive, and they provide you with a long list of names and email addresses.

But if there is one thing I’ve learned as the owner of an ezine, it is that the easy road is not always the one that brings you the best results. The problem with buying an email list is that none of the people on that list know who you are. When they receive an email from you, most likely they will just delete it without bothering to open it.

That is why it is so beneficial to build your own opt-in email list. Yes, creating a list from scratch is the more difficult and time-consuming solution, but at least it is a solution. Email lists rarely bring the desired results, so the money you spend on them might as well be flushed down the toilet.

Email marketing and ezine distribution isn’t about blasting a bunch of strangers with sales pitches and information they don’t want and didn’t ask for. If you really want to achieve results with your email list, you need to build your own.

Here is a list of questions you need to ask yourself when building your email list:

*Who is your target audience and what do you have to offer them?

*What kind of relationship do you want with the recipients of your emailings?

*What method or methods will you use to collect email addresses? Web forms, registration or subscription forms, trade shows, telephone contacts and sales calls are all viable ways to get the email addresses of people who will be interested in what you have to offer.

*Will your emails come in the form of ads, newsletters, deals and specials, company announcements and press releases, or discussion lists?

*Will you handle the creative aspects of your mailings, such as copywriting and editing, or will you need a little help?

Once you’re ready to start building your list, use outside lists to help you get started. You can recruit opt-in list members by renting an opt-in list to send out an announcement. You could also try taking out an ad in a targeted email newsletter or discussion list.

About The Author

Mohamed Rabea is the owner of one of the Internet’s most popular home based business and marketing websites, available from http://www.bizpeak.com & http://www.bizpioneer.com

Many of us struggle day in and day out. That does not mean that we suffer from depression. But, for others, it does. If you are worried about a friend or family member who you think may be suffering from depression, you can and should help. But, how can you do this? Recognizing depression in others is difficult, unless you pay attention.

There are many signs that someone is suffering from depression. The most common thing to notice is how they have changed. Often times, people who suffer from depression have changed. They no longer do the things that made them happy. They no longer value their friendships. They isolate themselves by avoiding others. Sometimes, the changes are very small, even unnoticeable. While they may put on a fake front, you can tell that something is different or wrong.

Do you feel that someone you care about is suffering from depression? If so, you can try and talk to them. But, do not be aggressive. They will more than likely need to speak to their doctor about being diagnosed. You can not force the issue as it will only make their situation seem more desperate. People who are suffering from depression need help. By encouraging them to seek out professional help, you are telling them that you care.

For more information about doing this or other information about depression visit the internet. One good website to check out is www.avoiddepression.com. It’s not a medical website, but a source for information about this disease.

S A Baker is staff writer and recommends visiting Depression Self Test to learn more about depression.

One of the slickest tricks we know is baking bread on the grill. Once you get to know your grill, it’s easy—like baking your favorite recipe in the oven.

We can think of all kinds of reasons to use the grill. You can enjoy fresh baked bread while camping, or at the cabin, or at the next family reunion. Sometimes, it’s just nice to get out of the kitchen, enjoy the spring air, and bake outside. (Watch the neighbors turn their noses upwind when the smell of fresh baked bread wafts over the fence.) And in the summertime, you don’t have to heat up the kitchen to bake. Finally, if there is ever an extended emergency when the power is off, you may have the only fresh bread in town.

You can bake nearly anything with a covered grill. (If your grill doesn’t have a cover, improvise with a large inverted pot.) The heat rises and circulates in the covered area just as it does in your oven. The heat source can be charcoal, gas, or even wood. We prefer gas because it is easier to control and does not impart a smoked taste to the bread. Since it is hottest near the flames, elevate the bread even if you have to improvise. In our grill, there is a secondary shelf for baking potatoes and such.

For this demonstration, we used Old-Fashioned White Bread mixes though any mix or recipe will do. We mixed according to package directions. After it had risen, we formed one batch into oval country loaves, one into hamburger buns, and another into dinner rolls.

The trick to grilling bread perfectly is controlling temperature and time. If your grill comes equipped with a thermometer, you’ve got it made (though outside temperatures and winds may impact how well your grill retains heat). If you have a thermometer, just heat to the temperature designated on the package or in the recipe. If not, guess. After a few loaves you’ll have it perfect and we bet that the first batch off the grill will be just fine.

Rolls and buns will probably bake in 15 to 20 minutes and loaves will take 20 to 30 minutes depending on size and temperature. An occasional peek to see how your bread is doing as it nears completion is okay.

We made twelve giant-sized hamburger buns, just the ticket for that quarter-pounder. Form the buns as you would dinner rolls then press them flat several times until they look like those in the picture to the left. (The dusting that you can see on the pan is cornmeal.) Cover and let rise.

Just before baking, we washed the buns with an egg white wash (one egg white plus one tablespoon of water). We then sprinkled them with sesame seeds. On our grill, we baked them with the heat turned about two-thirds open for about 18 minutes.

For the dinner rolls, we used a 8 1/2 x 15-inch pan and made 20 rolls scaled at 2.5 ounces each.

We made two country style loaves from one mix. If you look closely you’ll see that we forgot to slash the tops to release the steam and consequently ended up with a split on the side of the loaf. Don’t do as we did—score two or three quarter-inch deep slashes on the top of the loaf just as you begin baking.

Here are a few more hints to help you along the way:

• Bake the bread before the burgers. The bread can cool while you cook the rest of the food. Burning grease in the bottom of the grill makes the temperature harder to control and the soot can stain the bread.

• If you are letting your bread rise outside where the temperature may be less than indoors or where breezes may swirl around the bread, consider using a large food-grade plastic bag as a greenhouse. Simply slip the bread dough–pan and all–inside the bag, inflate it slightly, and close it. If the day is cool, set the bag and the bread in a sunny warm place to capture a little solar energy.

• Grills tend to not circulate the hot air as well as ovens. To keep the bottom of the bread from burning, place one pan beneath the other and a wire rack between the pans to create space for insulation.

• If your bread is baking faster on one side than the other, turn the pan 180 degrees part way through the baking time.

• The tendency is to burn the bottom of the bread. Place the bread as far away from the flames as you can even if it means elevating the bread.

We hope that you have fun baking bread outside this summer. We do know that you will be the envy of the neighborhood, campground, or RV park.

For more articles like this visit The Bakers’ Library.

© 2004 The Prepared Pantry

Back when I first started learning about investing, I decided to start from the beginning and read basic books on personal finance as well as “guides” for understanding all of the investment world in a nut shell. Most of these authors were very knowledgeable and informative, but their investment advice was far too conservative for my taste. They would literally write chapter after chapter talking about the differences between conservative investing, which according to them generally yields somewhere around 5% PA, as opposed to “risky” investing which usually meant a diversified stock/mutual fund portfolio yielding (in my mind) only slightly higher averages. What kind of returns can you expect in the stock market? Well they say the market has gone up an average of 10% a year since Adam and Eve. Popular indexes like the DOW and the now more popular S&P500 have always, like real estate, “gone up over time.”

Now, these market averages are almost worshiped like golden calves. Repeatedly drilled into my brain was the concept that there were hundreds (if not thousands) of fund managers and other “professionals” out there with Harvard degrees, decades of experience, millions of dollars under management, and they were all spending 15 hours a day consuming every single bit of market information in the hopes of beating these golden calves by a few points.

What chance did I have? If Dr. Fund Guru Jr. who eats, sleeps, breathes the markets and has more credentials than I have individual hairs on my body can’t consistently make 20% a year…well…forget it kid…your chances are slim to none. I guess I’ll buy some shares of XYZ fund and accept the scraps off the table from the stock gurus.

NOT!

The foreign exchange market offers many benefits that the stock market does not have. Most of these have been beaten to death on various forums, blogs, articles, e-books, etc. However, it’s always good to reiterate the positive (my own personal reason is last):

- Forex offers unprecedented liquidity. With over two trillion dollars transacted per day on the market, it makes filling any buy/sell order virtually instant. That equates to less slippage and more profitability. “Paper trading” stocks vs actually trading stocks is very different, because orders may not be filled in a timely manner. The difference between trading a forex demo account and an actual account is virtually nill.

- Forex is available 24 hours a day 5.5 days a week, as opposed to the daylight trading hours of the stock exchanges.

- Forex is uncontrollable by large entities. Large net worth individuals, banks and fund managers who throw their weight around in the stock market can often have huge effects on price action. Because of the immense volume of foreign currency traded per day, the market is unmoved by “heavy hitters.” Not even central banks can control the Forex market.

- Forex offers up to 200:1 leverage as opposed to 2:1 stock leverage.

- Forex has no restrictions for selling short, as opposed to the stock market’s “uptick” rule

- Forex can actually be traded INSIDE of an IRA or Roth IRA account.

- Forex gains are taxed at the preferred 60/40 rate, no matter what trading style you use (intra-day, swing, position) as opposed to the tax penalties for holding stocks for short periods of time.

The list does go on, but for me the biggest advantage is a psychological one. I know it probably sounds silly, but fear and intimidation can sometimes subconsciously defeat us before we even begin. I don’t like the idea of having to live up to, and in a way, compete with “professional managers” who have more knowledge of the fundamentals of the markets than I ever will. It’s almost as if Forex, in some way, levels the playing field. I don’t have to psychologically compete against anyone’s idea of what kind of returns are “acceptable and realistic” and what kind of returns are “pure fantasy.” I only have to trade until I can find an acceptable reward to risk ratio, and consistent profitability thereof. The only one I compete against is myself.

-Joshua White
http://www.consistentforextrading.com

Joshua White is a willing student of anything that makes consistent, moral and ethical money online. Come learn with him at http://www.consistentforextrading.com

Is your goal setting making you unhappy? Have you ever created a goal and got frustrated because of it? Are you trapping yourself with your goal setting strategies?

Now is the time to learn better strategies that will take you straight to success while having fun during the process of getting there because when you apply this advice you will get there!

A goal is something you want to have or something you want to change in your life. It is basically a project you can manage in a smart way so that in the end you’ll find yourself where you wanted to be when you stated your goal, and began to take steps towards making it happen. But first a goal starts out in your mind and adopting better thinking strategies followed by powerful action actually will ensure your success, which is what you want… do you not?

Many if not most of the people make New Year’s resolutions and set up goals to quit shortly after that because they feel unhappy and frustrated. The reason is, they constantly compare their actual unsatisfying situation with the ideal goal they want to reach and the only thing they can see is the wide gap between the two places. You feel unhappy and you end up spending lots of energy to keep you constantly motivated when you don’t feel like doing anything because it is impossible to be motivated all the time. And before long you quit!

In other words, if you delay any kind of gratification or feelings of satisfaction until the ideal goal is completely achieved, you are actually making sure you will not accomplish your goal. Some goals can’t be achieved over night so the more you delay the good feelings you think you’ll have when you achieve your final goal, the more difficult it will become to achieve. It is that simple!

There is another aspect of unsuccessful goal setting, watch out! If you decide you are a success only and only if you shed off these 30 pounds or when you are a millionaire, perhaps when you buy that Mercedes and have it standing in your drive way, then you are trapped in a place where there is not escape, as you will be denying yourself any good feelings to keep going… unless you do it the way I am about to share with you.

If you wanted to cross over a river, you would use a bridge to walk on until you reach the other side and if you wanted to grab something that sits on a high shelf you would use a ladder, so why would accomplishing a goal be any different?

Now, what can you do differently and in the present moment to ensure your goals will be successfully accomplished and with fun?

Pick a goal: what do you want?
It can be anything but let’s take the example of a weight loss goal.

Strategy 1: make a power decision. What is the first thing you will notice when heading towards your goal? What is the first success?
You want to shed off 20 pounds so if you notice that you shed 2 pounds on your way, congratulate yourself and keep going. Do more of the things you notice bring about success.

Build a bridge between where you were when you started and your final goal. You simply make smaller steps and these little goals will be easy to achieve. The result will surprise you because it will lead you straight to your wished big goal. Keep going and keep rewarding yourself and feeling good about what you’ve already achieved while feeling certain that sooner or later you will be at your final destination!

Strategy 2: keep a journal of your progress and successive successes on the way to your goal. People tend to forget what they have already achieved and where they were when they started their journey towards a goal, so by keeping it all written down you can go back any time and see how far you’ve come already and that will keep you on track and highly motivated. It makes the whole project fun and worth going for.

These two important strategies will show you that you are a success and that you don’t have to wait for any final result to feel good about it or about yourself. In fact whatever feelings you think or believe you will have when your goal has manifested in the real world, start on your way by having them right now and build your bridge to success from then on.

What you’ve learned so far to achieve a goal with success is this: it is very helpful to have a concrete and easy way to track your progress. Find a way to make your goal as concrete as possible and break it down to smaller steps you can accomplish with success.

And to make your goal achievement even easier and more of a success follow these steps:

Choose a goal

Check whether the goal is good for you and will enrich your life

Find the resources that will help you achieve your goal: information, people to help you, advice…

Prioritize your goal so you keep hitting your target until you hit it finally

Track your goal, the progress and success journal will help you with that
The freedom to change or even discard your goal if you don’t want it anymore or if it no longer suits you.

What now? If you have goals that you’ve already started working on, make them easy to track and start your progress and success journal. Walk the bridge step by successful step, all the way to your final success!

Karima Begag is a success, creativity and manifestation coach. Her teachings include a wide variety of success technologies and tools. You are special and you deserve to live the life of your dreams Now!

To get amazing success and self empowerment tips and tools plus a FREE E-Book “The Manifesting Mindset”, a gem of manifesting tools, your golden key to your dreams come true go here: http://www.ManifestWealthSuccess.com

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