The Refresh Orlando Heirs

The chakras are different coloured energy centres that originate from seven different points in our body. Chakra is a Sanskrit (East Indian) word that means “Wheel”. For millennia the chakras have been visualized as round balls, blossoms or spheres of light that can open, close, darken, brighten and spin! The location of each of the seven chakras represents a different aspect of human experience. Our emotions, ability to connect with others and physical health are thought to be reflected in the condition of each chakra.

Seeing your own chakras requires mental focus and powers of meditation. Remember these are imaginary entities that were invented by great mystics thousands of years before medical technology. The manipulation of these spheres or wheels of light, particularly the brightening and opening of them is thought, by many, to relieve a variety of ailments.

There are seven main chakra centres in the human body and the correspond with the seven colours of the rainbow or light spectrum:

The Red Chakra, also often referred to as the Root, First or Base chakra is at the base of the trunk of the body and is thought to correspond to the sex drive and to primal drives such as the desire to procreate, survive and destroy. This is the chakra to work on if you are having troubles with your health.

The Orange Chakra, sometimes called the Second, Sexual or Spleen chakra is in the abdomen and relates to the lower digestive organs. It corresponds to our ability to physically digest and eliminate food, emotionally digest events and process them in a healthy way and emotions such as joy or affection. This is the chakra to work on if you are having trouble letting go.

The Yellow Chakra, sometimes called the Third, Stomach or Solar plexus chakra is located in the upper stomach area just below the rib cage. It is the centre where we connect to others on an astral level and it relates to our abilities to transform or manifest events.

The Green Chakra is located in the chest and is related to the lungs and heart. It is sometimes called the Fourth or Heart chakra. It represents the flow of energy and flow of love in our lives as well as our ability to connect to others.

The Blue Chakra, sometimes called the Fifth, Thyroid or Throat chakra relates to the immune system, the regulation of hormones. It represents our ability to communicate effectively with others as well as creative and personal expression.

The Indigo Chakra, sometimes known as the Sixth chakra or the Third Eye, is located just slightly above and between the eyebrows on the forehead. It is related to the pituitary gland and mental and spiritual processes, as well as intuition, second sight.

The Violet Chakra, also sometimes known as the Crown chakra, the Seventh chakra, the White chakra or the lotus chakra is located at the top of the head. It is thought to be the gateway or connection to the spirit world, ascended masters and the higher self. It is the receptor of divine wisdom and divine inspiration.

When functioning well, the chakras are thought to be a conduit for the constant flow of energy through out our bodies. If these chakras are blocked, slowed in their spinning, darkened or not working, then you can correct this imbalance by imagining them being cleared from negative energies such as resentment, fear or trauma. Tuning up your chakras can make an enormous difference to your sense of well-being in general as they conduct the natural flow of energy through our bodies. Chakras that are blocked are thought to cause physical disease and emotional and spiritual dis-ease. Common blockages are negative emotions, the desire to hurt, being emotionally hurt, and the holding on to of fears and resentment and sometimes past life issues. The chakras interact with each other in a constant dancing of the spheres that extends outside our bodies. They exist in a constant state of renewal that can be enhanced by meditation, creative visualization, light working and breath work.

Samantha Steven’s articles have been published in many high-standing newspapers and she has published several books. If you wish to buy Samantha’s books about metaphysics click here
http://www.insomniacpress.com/author.php?id=110
You can meet Samantha Stevens at http://www.psychicrealm.com where she works as a professional psychic. You can also read more of her articles at http://www.newagenotebook.com

Has this ever happened to you? You’re standing on a busy street corner, minding your own business, when all of a sudden a masked gunman comes running out of a nearby bank with the cops in hot pursuit. Luckily, you have your video cell phone and capture the whole scene on video. But how would you submit network news video clip footage like this to ABC, CBS, NBC, or Fox?

Being in the right place at the right time armed with a video cellphone when something newsworthy occurs means you could potentially reap some financial rewards. Did you know that news organizations pay handsomely for exclusive video like this?

So what do you do now that you’ve captured some great video or picture with your cell phone? There are basically three steps to take if you want to get paid for the video footage you have shot. Edit, upload, and announce it to the media.

Most video cellphones come with movie editing software built-in (or packaged with the phone). Even if the bundled software is sub-par (which it usually is) there are many off-the-shelf software solutions that can enhance the quality and reduce the file size of the video you have captured.

Remember, you do not want to manipulate the video extensively, since this will jeopardize the ‘man on the street’ quality that the news networks are looking for. Besides, the news stations have much more sophisticated software than you could probably afford to massage your video into the desired format, length and content.

You probably don’t need to do much to your raw video footage except reduce the length of the clip to the smallest size. This is important because you don’t want to pay to upload your video and the free video hosting services only give you so much storage space that can quickly run out if you are uploading large files.

Next, you need to upload your video to an online video sharing service. There are bunch of these available, some offering a meager amount of free storage and charging extra for larger portions of space. Other services limit the amount of bandwidth your video can consume. This means the number of people that can watch your video at one time is limited.

After choosing a suitable place to host your newsworthy video, you need to tell the news broadcasters about it. In whatever city you live in, there are local news affiliates that are part of larger news organizations like Fox News or ABC. You can easily determine which news stations are in your area by turning on a TV and seeing what the call-letters are for your local broadcast news stations.

Once you have the call-letters (for example, WABC) then simply go online and do a search for those call-letters in your favorite search engine. Once you find the web site for that broadcaster, navigate to the page on the site that has a link for submitting breaking news and supply the basic information that applies to your video, such as a description and the URL of the video where you uploaded it.

Aaron Benbaruch knows the ins and outs of submitting breaking news captured by citizen journalists. To instantly submit newsworthy video and pictures to all the TV News Broadcasters for free, visit submit news clip

Copyright 2006 Vivian Banta

A newsletter subscriber asked me to write an article about what she called “positive intention.” To her, it meant the idea that one should initially ascribe positive intentions to those around us until time and experience proved that they were operating in some other fashion. Another way to describe this is to say that one should look for the good in people and expect that this is where they are coming from instead of thinking in some paranoid way that they are acting with evil or devious intentions and intend you harm. As an HR professional, she often finds herself dealing with employees who come to her with hurt feelings, misunderstandings, anger, frustration, confusion, tension, stress and so on stemming from work relationships with their bosses, direct reports and co-workers.

I gave the idea a lot of thought and came up with something a little different. In my experience, I have found that most people do not actually act with any intention whatsoever in the sense that they are not actually carrying out some grand master plan that they have conceived and are now executing. What I’ve seen is that most people are driven primarily by their personal needs. Typically, people are unaware of what their needs are or if they do know about them, they don’t usually acknowledge them and get them met appropriately.

To provide a quick example of what I’m talking about, picture that person at work who always seems to be having some sort of drama going on. They are constantly seeking attention, creating conflict when they don’t get it, and everyone else is getting frustrated at them. This person may actually just have a need for recognition or a need to be acknowledged that is not being met in other parts of their life. They may not even be aware that this is a need for them. They are acting out at work because this need is driving them. If they were getting this need met appropriately and in different aspects of their life, you might not even be able to tell that this is one of their needs because they are walking around with this need met in abundance.

A personal need is something you must have to be your best. Everyone has them. Everyone’s needs are different. Needs are not good or bad; they are just needs. Just like bodily needs (air, water, food, and shelter), they are neutral. After all, we don’t go around and say, “Wow, I don’t need to breathe as much air as you do. Therefore, I’m better than you.” Similarly, we should avoid judging someone else’s personal needs. They are as real and necessary to them as our needs are to us.

Tension, frustration and misunderstandings can often arise in a work setting because a) we spend more waking hours at work than anywhere else and b) many people derive their sense of identity from what they do for a living and so have a tendency to try to get their needs met here. Sometimes, one person’s needs step another person’s needs. One person may have a need for freedom while another has a need for control and they clash.

So, what do you do when faced with this? When a client complains about a co-worker, boss, family member, or acquaintance in this vein, I typically ask five questions.

Question 1: Can you clearly identify what behavior is annoying or upsetting? Usually people are so upset when they talk about these issues that you end up hearing a whole “story” or series of illustrative “stories” about the annoying person. I find that it is often helpful to boil it down to the root behavior leaving out all of the extraneous detail about the person, how they dress, what they eat, what their resume says, etc.

Question 2: Is the reason that you find their behavior so annoying really rooted in your own unmet needs? For example, one client really hated it when a co-worker would receive public praise for his accomplishments and felt that it was unjustified. This anger actually stemmed from the client’s own need for recognition and acknowledgement which was not being met. The client realized that if his own needs were being met, he probably wouldn’t dislike the co-worker.

Question 3: Can you accept that you can’t change the other person? Often, clients will say “But if only he/she would act like “X” (or stop acting like “Y”), everything would be fine.” This is usually sheer fantasy and should be accepted as such and eliminated as a reasonable option. The statement “And I’m not the only person who thinks thismost of the office thinks he/she is wrong too” is equally self-defeating. Walking around and expecting others to modify their behavior to suit us or our co-workers as if it were a democratic process is simply a waste of time. It’s like being told you have to dye your hair red or lose 40 pounds because the office took a vote and decided that you would look better if you did it. It’s just ridiculous.

Question 4: How important is this person to your daily life? Here, I am trying to gauge the level of intensity related to the issue. Is this a family member that you have to deal with a few times a year, perhaps at the holidays, or every day? Is this a co-worker whose work has no impact on your own or a boss who greatly impacts your security and salary at a company?

Question 5: What will your response to their behavior be? You have the choice to tolerate the behavior, set or enforce a boundary or eliminate the person from your life. If the behavior is minor or temporary, then clients often choose to tolerate the behavior. Why quit your job over a summer intern’s behavior if they will be gone in a few weeks? Sometimes, clients choose to set or enforce a boundary. This involves talking to the other person. For example, in the case of a co-worker or family member who uses derogatory pet names as a way to refer to you (”heyloser”, “you moron”, and so on), you might simply ask them to stop using these words and remind them of your name. If this doesn’t work, you simply escalate the boundary enforcement. “If you don’t call me by my name, I won’t respond.”

At some point, if the boundary is not respected, you have to decide how far you are willing to go to enforce the boundary. Is the co-worker’s behavior so intolerable that you are willing to quit your job and go elsewhere? Is the family member’s behavior so obnoxious that if they violate your boundaries, you are willing to stop speaking to them? I ensure that if clients decide to not enforce their boundaries and choose to stay in the situation, then it is just that: a choice, willingly made, and no longer something to complain about.

Vivian Banta (MBA/Coach U CTP Grad) is a life and transition coach who works with people in pursuit of their passion who want to fully engage in their lives or who are experiencing changes such as relocation, career shifts (including military to civilian life), and personal relationship changes. To find out more, visit her website at www.gardenofsenses.com or e-mail her at coach@gardenofsenses.com to schedule a free, 30-minute personal coaching session.

Before we are able to use the Universal Thought System in a positive expansive manner, we must learn to use certain words in our language more effectively. The prime characteristic of the Universal Thought System is its consistency. It may not be used to manipulate. It may not be used to gain an advantage. It treats everyone equally. It eliminates the negative side of opposites. Why is this Universal Language so critical to our progress? In our thoughts and actions, we either seek idols or we seek truth. When we find the truth all our answers are provided. Truth contains all answers to every problem. Truth has always existed and will always exist. Our beliefs and feelings color our truth. They act as filters between our truth and our illusions.

If absolute truth is discovered, the filters disappear. In truth there is only love. In love there is only truth. There is no need for filters. The use of keywords help to reveal the path to truth. They clear the filters. They clarify our perceptions. They reduce the effects of our illusions. We discover peace and joy. What are some of the keywords that make up our Universal Thought System Language? In a series of ezines we will list and define some of the keywords in the Universal Thought System
Language. The first words are listed and defined below:

Intuition:
Intuition is what provides the answer to the questions we ask. We are only beginning to understand intuition. It is in some part of our separated mind. It seems to behave sporadically because we are still so focused on looking externally. We try to get answers, empirically, by what is going on outside of us. But, what we see outside is only a reflection of what is happening inside. As our intuitions evolve and develop more fully, using more and more questions directed internally, we will trust the answers and continue to build on this communication path.

Coincidences:
We are what we think. What happens to us, also, comes from what we think. The most common occurrence is when we ask a question as we mull a thought in our minds. The answer to our question, which we may or may not remember asking, appears through a newspaper article, or a book that we notice, or from a call
out of the blue from a friend. A coincidence is anything that occurs that is connected to something you were thinking about or something you wished happened.

Questions:
This is all about using intuition. To receive the best answer to a question, it should be directed internally. The more focused we are when we ask the question, the more quickly the answer arrives. By going internally we access the full power of universal energy. By going internally we give our mind the time to search all knowledge as though our computer is searching all files on our computer disk for the correct match. The key is to be alert in recognizing the answer when we receive it.

Solutions:
All solutions exist. Problems always have a solution. Our problems exist because we have separated them from the solution. Problems and their solutions follow the rule of opposites. Light always solves the problem of darkness. The key is not to
substitute for a part of the problem by some partial solution. Look for the solution to the entire problem as a whole. All opposites are truly one, but we choose to separate them because in our world we tend to seek separation of all things though we are all one.

About Us:
Our newsletters are our means to reach out to others who are in search of basic truth. This search began almost 30 years ago with one question: How can we balance our lives? The summary of the answer to this question was compiled in a book titled ‘Creating Your Personal Journey’. The book
was published in 1996. The search has continued as we adapt to a new question: What is the truth? We are guided by the thought that, ‘The best way to learn anything is to teach it’.

Please feel free to pass this e-zine on to your friends. However, we ask that you keep it intact and forward it in its entirety.

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© Copyright 2005 Roger Paradis

Roger L. Paradis-”We R One”
http://www.were-one.com
mail to paradisrjs@were-one.com
623 East New Lenox Rd. Pittsfield, MA, 01201
Creating a New Vision for the 21st Century

Can I be honest with you? There are days when I just
don’t feel like getting up in the morning. I’m noticing
this a lot lately because the weather is changing and
it’s pretty cold early in the morning when I awake to
start my day. There are days when I move that blanket
off of me and quickly snatch it back because it’s too
cold to get up. I know I HAVE to get up, especially
because it’s cold and I know I have to turn the heat
on so it’s warm when the rest of my family gets up to
start their day.

But, if I had to be honest with myself, there are
plenty of days that I want to simply roll back over
and get a couple of more hours of sleep. I simply
don’t feel like getting up and doing my morning rituals
like praying and thanking God for the miracles He has
in store for me for the day; like meditating or
exercising (well, since the truth is be told, I
sometimes, even on my most motivated days, find
a reason to skip this step); like reviewing my
goals and taking time to visualize them manifesting
in my life.

Sometimes, I SIMPLY DON”T FEEL LIKE IT.

There are even times when I don’t feel like being
positive, motivating others, writing these articles,
conducting my radio show, putting on a presentation,
helping others, or taking care of my other
responsibilities.

But it is at these moments when I remember Jesus.
Remember, right before he was betrayed by Judas at
Gethsemane, he was praying because He was struggling
with the thoughts of not wanting to do want He was
called to do. He was praying because he said,
“the spirit is willing but the body is weak.”

He knew that God’s will was that He be crucified.
He knew it because He lived according to His spirit
and not His bodythe human part of Him.

Now, me doing a presentation or getting up in
the morning to meditate and pray can in no way
be compared to what Jesus had to do. And, I’m NOT,
in any way, trying to imply that the two are even
remotely similar.

But I am trying to point out how Jesus lived by
the spirit and no matter what his body, the human
part of Him wanted or was suggesting that He do,
He was strong enough in his spirit that he was
always able to overcome that feeling of not allowing
the body to rule his life.

But that’s what we do. I’m guilty too.

We KNOW what we are supposed to do. We have all
the answers that we will ever need to live a
God-fearing, purpose-filled life of abundance
and prosperity.

But, yet, we ignore the spirit. The spirit is
God’s way of communicating with us. God wants
us to do certain things that He is instructing
us to do. Yet, our bodies, our egos, our human
function, seem to overtake our spiritual commands
and we end up living lives that are unhappy,
unprosperous, unsuccessful and unfulfillingand
have the nerve to wonder way.

“Let Your will be done.”

If you were to incorporate this one line into your
lifeI mean REALLY incorporate it into your life
where everything you do, whether it goes against
what you want to do at that moment, and always let
God’s will be doneby following your spirit AT ALL
TIME, regardless of what your ego, your body, your
conscious is wanting you to do–you will find that
your life will be completely happy, prosperous,
successful and fulfilling.

Why?

Because once you learn, and I mean REALLY learn,
that you are a spiritual being incased in flesh,
which is called the BODY and that you are to follow,
listen to and obey your spiritcompletely and unconditionally
you will be able to live a more abundant life.

Like everything else, it takes practice. And, I don’t
care how often you practice it, there will still be
times when YOU will get in the way of your spirit and
not want to get out of bed because it’s so much more
comfortable and cozy at this moment than getting out
of bed and meditating, or praying, or reading some
index cards filled with goals.

But after a while, with a bit of practice, when NOT
doing the thing or things that your spirit is leading
you to do, a small voice will come to you, in a whisper
at first but then turn into a SHOUT, “LET YOUR WILL,
NOT MINE, BE DONE!”

And, when it doesWATCH OUT!! God will be moving in
your life and you will be headed for a wonderful,
blissful, God - filled, aw-inspiring life.

When it happens to you, make sure to send me an email
and tell me all about it. Oh, I hope it’s not too cold
that morning because I might not feel like getting up
and reading it. (smile)

Dawn Fields is a motivational speaker, author and coach. She has an amazing way of reaching you with her down-to-earth style and her ability to make the impossible seem possible. Sign up for her FREE weekly newsletter by sending a blank email to dawn@dawnfields.com
with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. Visit the web site at http://www.dawnfields.com. Be sure to tune into her weekly radio show Thursday nights at 9 p.m. at http://www.dawnfields.com/radioshow.htm

Introduction

You sit on the lumpy lounge chair at the local coffee shop, sipping your cappuccino while trying to look occupied reading today’s local newspaper, your eyes periodically shifting to the front door of the shop, hoping to catch a quick glance of the man you’ll be meeting for the first time. You’ve had a million first dates, it seems, but the nervous anticipation and excitement always seems to show itself through your sweaty palms and rapid heartbeat. What will this meeting be like? Could he be “The One?”

Even though your blood’s pumping at the prospect of meeting someone new, you feel confident and relaxed within yourself as you approach this situation. You’ve worked hard to be a good, upstanding man and you recognize that you’re a “good catch.” You’re comfortable with who you are and you have a solid vision for what you’re looking for in a potential mate, having taken the time to craft a dating plan that emphasizes your personal needs, wants, values, and requirements in a relationship and partner. Your first date here is an opportunity to meet and get to know a new person with no expectations of outcome. You are going to be yourself, knowing that this isn’t about performance, and you’ll have a chance to briefly gauge whether this man possesses some of the traits and qualities that you seek in a Mr. Right. Your thoughts are interrupted by the presence of the handsome creature that now stands before you. You both shake hands as you greet, smiles beaming, and he proceeds to sit down to begin the get-to-know-you dialogues.

Who is this man sitting across from you? Is he boyfriend potential? While compatibility largely rests on the goodness-of-fit between the two of you with your relationship visions and attraction/chemistry, this article will pose some provoking questions for you to track the answers for when you begin your dating quests with new people and learn about whether they’re your “type” or not. These questions can act as guideposts through your dating journey. And remember, the answers you obtain do not reflect upon this person as being “good” or “bad.” The answers are simply used as a way to help you quickly determine if this individual matches with your personal requirements so that you can make informed choices that will promote your achieving a successful and lasting relationship with your Mr. Right.

The First Date Evaluation

Generally speaking, first dates are usually best structured when they’re short, focused, and allow for lots of dialogue. Learn as much as you can about this person so you can begin the process of “sizing up” his compatibility with your vision and needs. According to David Steele, founder of the Relationship Coaching Institute, there are four critical skills that singles must possess during their life partner quest. Two of those skills are relevant to our discussion here. “Sorting is the process of quickly determining if someone you meet has future potential. A successful single is able to initiate contact with people and in conversation get enough information within 5 minutes to know whether they want to get to know them better or move on. Think of “working the room” at a party. Screening is the process of getting enough information to determine if a prospective partner meets your requirements or not. Since requirements are relationship breakers, all of them must be met. Getting this information can occur over the telephone, by e-mail, over coffee, or taking a walk. If you are looking for your life partner, you can’t afford to explore dead ends; and it is important to get this information BEFORE you date them and get involved.” (Steele, 2002)

While it’s impossible to get the full scope of a person on a first date, you should be on the lookout for any possible “red flags” that would halt the possibility of a second date. Or perhaps he will have inspired some intrigue in you to invest further in getting more acquainted with him. So when conversing with the man sitting across from you, think about some of the following points to help you ponder how you’d like to proceed with this particular gentleman:

1. What is your immediate reaction upon seeing your date? How do you
feel? Do you find him physically attractive and inviting? Does he appear to take care of himself and have good grooming and hygiene?

2. Does he maintain eye contact with you as he speaks or is he looking around the room at the other guys (very disrespectful!)?

3. Does he appear attentive and genuinely interested in what you have to say? Notice his body posture and whether it’s open or closed.

4. Does he display a good sense of humor and is he able to laugh, relax, and have fun with your interaction? Does he exhibit good verbal and social skills or seem stiff and have difficulty maintaining and initiating conversations?

5. Is there a good balance between his talking about himself vs. his asking you questions about yourself? Or does he monopolize the time talking only about his life? Or does he not engage in any self-disclosure at all?

6. How are his manners? Is he polite, thoughtful, and considerate? Based on your first impression of his manners, would Mom approve of his behavior? Do you feel comfortable being with him or do you experience embarrassment by his behavior?

7. What does he talk about? Notice any themes? Does he seem positive and upbeat or negative and pessimistic? When he talks, does he seem judgmental, petty, and put down other people or himself?

8. Does he seem to have goals, aspirations, and ambitions? Does he exude excitement about life and possibilities? Is he passionate? How well-rounded does he seem? Does he have varied interests and hobbies, have an active lifestyle and seem reasonably intelligent and able to converse about a variety of topics and current events?

9. Does he place a lot of emphasis on sex during your time together? If so, this may be a priority for him and it’ll be important to ensure what type of relationship he’s seeking (casual sex or dating) so you can decide if this fits with your needs.

10. At the end of the date, how would you rate the experience and your interest on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest? Is there chemistry? Do you feel drawn to him on multiple levels?

Food For Thought

There are, of course, many other questions and criteria you may have, but these points may be a good starting point to launch from on a first date. There tend to be three types of personality styles that men can bring to a first date situation. One are those men who are on their best behavior to try to impress you, gain your approval, or please you to compensate for perceived weaknesses they have so they can “snag” another date from you. Another type are those men who struggle with shyness, anxiety, and insecurity, so the behavior they display during the date may not actually be reflective of who they really are until they feel more comfortable. And then there are those who present their “real self”, an accurate portrayal of who they really are. It may be helpful to keep this in mind when deciding about whether to transition into an exit or for an invitation for another date.

Conclusion

Knowing who you are and being clear on what you want is critical during your time in the dating pool. This knowledge will take you far in weeding out those men who may not be particularly good matches for you and will save you a lot of time, energy, and frustration. You may need several dates with someone to assess their potential and you may find during the process that some of these men may be more suitable as friendsanother addition to your support network!

Thinking too much about these questions can be distracting, so try to avoid being “too much in your head” during the date. Analyzing and being too cognitive will take away from your date, causing you to miss certain cues during the interaction that would be important and lead you to not focus on being a good listener. Be fully present with your date and enjoy the experience, no matter how it turns out because you will have still learned something. Additionally, try to turn the above questions back on yourself and assess how these factors apply to your style. These questions may provide clues about the areas of your life and personality that are strengths and weaknesses and can be a tool to help you develop goals for self-improvement to make yourself even more “dateable!” In a future newsletter, we’ll examine additional questions and assessment guidelines to ponder as you begin to delve into a dating relationship with a man to determine life partner status potential, but in the meantime make sure you’ve crafted your relationship vision and plan and cheers to your dating success!

*References: Steele, David (2002). Relationship Coaching Institute. www.relationshipcoachinginstitute.com and www.consciousdating.org.

©2005 Brian L. Rzepczynski

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE? This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and this resource box are included:

Brian Rzepczynski, Certified Personal Life Coach, is The Gay Love Coach: “I work with gay men who are ready to create a road map that will lead them to find and build a lasting partnership with Mr. Right.” To sign up for the FREE Gay Love Coach Newsletter filled with dating and relationship tips and skills for gay singles and couples, as well as to check out current coaching groups, programs,and teleclasses, please visit www.TheGayLoveCoach.com.

Please also include with the article the words © Copyright and prominently display a link to our main page at the end of the article. Any feedback would be appreciated and can be sent to brian@thegaylovecoach.com. Thank you!

Brian Rzepczynski holds a master’s degree in Social Work from Western Michigan University and is also a Certified Personal Life Coach through The Coach Training Alliance. He launched his private coaching practice, The Gay Love Coach, in 2003 and works with gay men, both singles and couples, on developing skills for improving their dating lives and relationships. He publishes a monthly e-zine called “The Man 4 Man Plan” that has helpful articles, tips, resources, and an advice column relating to gay dating and relationships. He is also the co-author of the new self-help book “A Guide to Getting It: Purpose & Passion”.

A guru is a teacher.

On the internet a guru is someone who has a lot of experience and has made the grade, ie. He/She has set up a business that is financially successful and is willing to share the experience with anyone who is interested.

Are you a guru?

If not please read on.

The majority of internet gurus are only too happy to teach. Becoming a guru in the true sense of the word.

Pick a guru.

There are at least a dozen who not only publish a newsletter with articles showing some of the tricks-of-the-trade but have also published ebooks showing in detail the best way to start and run a business.

Learn from the experts. There are hundreds of people out there who purport to be experts in ecommerse. Most of them have just read a few books and composed their own book comprised of second hand information.

You may ask “What’s wrong with that?’ it’s the same information written in a different style.”

There is just one problem. Each of the real gurus has made a success of his/her on-line business in his/her own way. If you follow the instructions of one particular guru, there is a good reason to believe that you will become successful as well.

On the other hand, an instruction book comprised of a mixture of different techniques can cause confusion and fail completely in its purpose.

I am not a guru.

You may well ask “In that case, why are you writing this article?”

A good question. I have been on the internet for a little over five years. Three years ago I decided to start my own business selling information products on-line.

I read a lot of books on the subject. I tried this way and that. Every author seemed to have his/her own method of doing things. Each one believed that their way was the best way to attain success. The point was that each method worked for that individual.

I became confused. I spent a lot of time and money going one way, only to be sidetracked into a different direction by another well-meaning expert using an entirely different method.

I was about to give up the whole idea and save what money that I had left when a phrase in one book caught my attention. It went like this: ‘There are as many right ways of setting up a business on-line as there are wrong ways.

You can mix up lots of different wrong ways and still get it wrong.

On the other hand, if you mix up a number of different right ways of doing it, you are liable to have discovered yet another way of getting it wrong.

I am sure you can see the point that I am trying to make. There are a number of right ways. Make your choice. Each guru has a way of starting and running a business. Pick just one guru and study his/her system. Don’t be sidetracked. Study your chosen system Your guru made it work. You can make it work for you.

Who are these gurus? I could give you a list. It would be subjective in as much that they may not be the ones that another person would choose. The one that I chose may not suit your temperament. It is up to you to make your own choice. There are at least a dozen who are making a six or even a seven figure income who started from scratch with little money but a lot of determination. They made it, so can you.

Don’t ever give up. You can do whatever you believe you can do. Until you try, you have no idea of your potential. Go on. Give it a go.

Bob………….

About The Author

Robert J Farey

Bob has been on line for over five years. He loves affiliate programs because all of the technical stuff is done by the owners of the programs. Leaving him free to concentrate on the promotion side of the business. If this article has set you thinking. Please take a look at: http://www.33daystoonlineprofits.com/video/?robertjay

ERP(Enterprise Resource Planning) software has traditionally been
used by large corporates to integrate and automate diverse departments across the enterprise. For a long time, smaller companies purchased individual accounting and payroll packages and then migrated to expensive ERP solutions as they grew. They did not have much options as ERP solutions were costlier and required magnitude and many employees to justify their use.

Now, with many Open Source software coming out, it is possible for SMEs to go in for ERPs at an earlier stage. There are several in the market including Compiere, ERP5 and Fisterra. Companies have to carefully study individual requirements and test out these softwares to determine suitability.

In this article, I would like to review CK-ERP, an Open Source ERP/CRM system, ideally suited for use by SMEs. It has a total of 17 modules including accounting ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivables, Purchase Order, Sales Order, Quotation, Point of Sale, Human Resource, Payroll and contact management. It operates as modules running atop phpGroupWare. This makes it possible for the software to be easily installed on Internet if employees are in various locations or on the Intranet for more secure transactions.

Here is a overview of its excellent features.

Customer Billing process

Any company with more than 10 recurring customers should seriously
consider using an ERP(such as ck-ERP) to keep track of payments, work
orders and related accounting. ck-erp has ck-Quote (a Quotation module),
ck-so(Sales order module) and ck-ar (Accounts Receivable module) to
keep

• Sales reps can key in Work Quotations for customers. The CK-Quote
  module allows for easily configurable Quotation templates which can
  be printed or emailed to customers.

• Sales reps can easily convert the Quotations to Sales Orders when
  work commences. A Sales order serves as a formal record of a work
  order and the terms and condition under which the work is executed
  sent to a customer. This direct conversion from Quotation to Sales
  Order eliminates a lot of extra work typing out docs. However, it
  is possible also to manually enter Sales Orders.
• At the time of billing, Sales Orders can again be converted to Invoices.
  It is possible to create Invoices with or without Tax. Here again,
  print and email friendly Official invoices can be generated. It is
  also possible to Bulk-Dispatch several invoices at the same time.
• Want to check out how promptly a customer pays? Simply check the Billing
  history which says when a customer was invoiced and how quickly he
  has paid you. You can also check Billing histories of each Sales order.
• Once a customer has been invoiced, it is a easy matter to record payment
  receipts. A single invoice can have several payments. For instance
  if a customer is invoiced for $1000, he can pay in parts. It is an
  easy matter to enter part payments against any invoice. You can also
  check out the pending payments - invoice wise, customer wise and even
  company wise. An aging report shows you how much dues you have to
  get.
• All invoice and payments get automatically integrated with the General
  Ledger, making accounting very easy. It is possible to view related
  Journal/Ledger entries for each invoice

You can easily enter customer records and configure various types
of tax. The accounts receivables include Accounts Receivable Aging
reports, Customer Invoice Aging reports and Detailed list of Tax collected.

If you are a Manufacturing company with thousands of customers, you
can consider middle agents like Distributors or C&F agencies as customers
and keep track of their payments using the same software.

The system is multi-currency and multi-user, allowing each module
multiple access levels.

Inventory and Purchase process

Many companies, especially trading and manufacturing companies are
generally swamped with purchase inventory and vendor information.
Keeping track of vendor payments and paying bills in time before credit
collection agencies call is a major source of tension. Here is what
you can do with ck-erp’s purchase modules - ck-po(Purchase Order module),
ck-ap(Accounts Payable module) and ck-inv(Inventory module) . Lets
see how a purchase process works.

• Enter purchase orders to keep track of the service contracts and products
  you have purchased.
• The moment you receive the purchased products or service, you can
  add it to your inventory using ck-inventory module. Marking goods
  receipt, automatically updates the inventory. You can view your Inventory
  Balance and In/Out History for each product that you have in the Inventory.
  This feature is very useful for Traders and manufacturers. The inventory
  is integrated with the General Ledger, so that increases in the inventory
  also updates the Asset value of your company.
• When you receive an invoice from the vendor, you can convert the Purchase
  Order into a Vendor Invoice. Maintaining vendor invoices on the system,
  reduces your dependency on the email or paper invoices your vendors
  keep sending you. You can easily manage vendor payments and due dates
  with this system.
• When you make payments, Record full or part payments made against
  Vendor invoices.
• You can view at any time, reports on unpaid invoices and aging reports
  on the total amounts due per vendor or per purchase order. The ERP
  gives you an amazing degree of clarity on outgoing dues.
• You can maintain Vendor database and configure various kinds of taxes.
• The Inventory lets you maintain product names and numbers, Bin/Location
  information, photos, reorder levels, unit and weight information,
  and 3 different price informations.
• Inventory adjustments, Assembly information and Alternate Part/Service
  information are some other features of ck-inventory.

Accounts

The accounts section has practically everything one would want.

The core General Ledger module has the basic Double Entry accounting
system with Ledger and Journal. The interesting aspect of the General
Ledger is that it is the base for the Accounts Receivable, Accounts
Payable, Inventory, Bank and the Payroll modules. The entries from
all these modules ultimately reflect in the General Ledger.

The accounting system has multi-currency support. The admin can set
Standard Remarks for the invoice, purchase orders, Quotations and
so on. The admin can even setup Multiple Ledgers for various divisions.

A Bank Reconciliation module allows you to reconcile bank statements
with ledger entries.

On the flip side of the Accounts module is the fact that it does not
have the yearly Opening and Closing balances. This makes it difficult
to reconcile yearly accounts. A major flaw, which one can hope will
be corrected in the near future.

Point of Sale(POS)

If you are a supermarket with multiple cashier desks and high cash
transactions, you could use this module. Again the Point of Sale module
is integrated with the General Ledger.

The ck-pos module lets cashiers enter Cash Sales, with or without
tax. A good feature of the POS system is that it allows Credit Sales
as well. Useful when customers insist on Purchase on Credit, for example
in high value goods. Any Credit Sales entered by the cashiers have
to be approved by Manager.

The Manager interface to the POS, ck-pos-m allows a manager to remotely
control all the cashier operations from his office.

• Cashboxes can be setup for each POS counter and each shift. The manager
  can setup staff to work at each counter.
• The Manager can for instance view Shift End cash balance per Counter
  per shift. . The Manager can for instance view the Shift End cash
  balance at Counter 2 at the end of yesterday’s morning shift.
• Managers can setup special price plans
• Managers can add Reduction Charges such as special student discounts,
  senior citizen discount or Add-On Charge such as Sunday Surcharges
  or service charges.
• Managers can configure various payment options for non-cash options
  such as Cash Coupons, Exchange Coupon, Cheques and Credit cards.
• Taxes such as VAT, GST, PST can be setup.
• Sales reports

Human Resource Management

HR management software of some sort is required if you have more than
10 employees, and better still if payroll is integrated with the General
Ledger. CK-ERP has excellent HR management features.

• Manage employee database including name, staff grades and roles, photo,
  address, email, phone and emergency contacts. A good feature in the
  HR software is that you are not limited by the number of phone fields.
  You can enter unlimited records per employee.
• Employees have their own Staff Self Service , something like a “My
  Account”, which lets them Apply for Leave, enter Time sheet and
  attendance details and even request for Expense reimbursement. As
  soon as someone applies for leave or for expense reimbursement, their
  supervisor gets an email notification for approval.
• Timesheet and attendance management. Timesheet can be linked to achievements.
  For example if you are a PC assembling unit, employees can record
  the number of PCs they have assembled per day or per hour. Sales staff
  can enter the sales targets they have achieved.
• Multiple department support
• Record Performance Evaluations per employee
• Expense reimbursement management
• Leave application and leave management.
• Payroll management. Automatic/manual payslips via email. Bank statement
  for payroll.

CRM and Contact Management

CK-ERP’s latest addition is the CRM package.

• CK-CRM offers Helpdesk management and Sales contact management(for
  pre-sales) in a neat package all integrated with the central Customer
  database. Sales reps can track the sales calls and the sales contacts
  made. Customer relation executives can check the help calls and the
  helpdesk contacts made with each customer.
• The HelpDesk system is especially beautiful. Customer relation executives
  can view the entire Call case History Log per HelpDesk call, record
  the customer’s state of mind(furious, angry, pleased, excited), media(email,
  phone call, meeting) and the status of contact(research, resolution,
  followup, closed) Monitoring officers can be set for each ticket.
  Priorities(high, neutral low) and case categories(complaint, suggestion,
  bug report) can be setup for each call .
• The CRM is integrated with Quotation, Sales Order and the Invoice
  modules as well. This makes it very powerful. Customer Relation executives
  and Sales reps can check for instance the credit rating of the customer,
  the number of times he has been Quoted, billing histories and payment
  made.

• Customer Contracts can be recorded
• Credit Limits can be set per customer

CK-CRM also includes a Contact module for organisational contacts
and individual contacts.

Aliases? I thought this is about IntelliCAD. And this
isn’t the secret service or so. I know. But aliases
have to do with IntelliCAD.

If you want to start a command, then you can click on a
button in one of the toolbars. But you can also type a
key in the keyboard.

Suppose you want to start the Line command. You can
click on the Line button in the Draw 2D toolbar. But
you can also press the L key.

Press the L key and press the right mouse button. Or
the Enter key. And the Line command is started. You can
now draw a line or lines.

The L key. That’s called an alias. It’s an alias for
the Line command. There are many aliases in IntelliCAD.
You can have a look at them.

Click on Tools in the menu bar and on Customize in the
pull down menu. The Customize dialog box opens. In it
are four tabs.

Click on the Aliases tab. You’ll see two list boxes. In
the listbox at the left are all the aliases. In the
other listbox are the commands.

Click on an alias in the list box at the left. The
command that belongs to the alias will be highlighted
in the list box at the right.

All the aliases are stored in the IntelliCAD program.
But you can change that. Maybe you want to change an
alias.

Click on the New button. The Alias edit box below the
list box at the left will be activated. Here you can
type the name of the new alias.

Next select a command in the list box at the right. And
then lick on the Assign button. The command is now
assigned to the new alias.

You can check what command is activated by using an
alias. Click on the name of an alias in the list box at
the left. The command is highlighted.

In the Customize dialog box you find the New button,
the Delete button, and the Assign button. You know how
you can use the New button and the Assign button.

The Delete button can be used to delete an alias.
Select the alias in the list box at the left. Next
click on the Delete button.

At the bottom of the dialog box are four more buttons.
There you find the Close button, the Import button, the
Export button, and the Rest button.

The Close button is clicked to close the Customize
dialog box. You were doing something with aliases and
now you want to go back to IntelliCAD.

Let’s first talk about the Export button. You have
created your own aliases. And now you want to save them
in a file.

Click on the Export button. The Select Alias File
dialog box opens., In it you can give the alias file a
name and select a folder.

The alias file can be saved in two formats. You can
save it in the ICA format or you can save it in the PGP
format. That’s an AutoCAD format.

This is how these files look. I only give the first
five lines of each file. You can recognize the alias
and the command that’s connected to it.

ICA file

[IntelliCAD Custom Alias File]
nAliases=247
[Alias-0]
Alias=3A
LocalCommand=3DARRAY
GlobalCommand=_3DARRAY

PGP file

; BricsCad Generated PGP file.

3A,*3DARRAY
3DFACE,*FACE
3DLINE,*LINE

Now the Insert command. You have created your own
aliases. And you have saved them in a file. Now you
want to use that file.

Click on the Import button. The Select Alias File
dialog box opens., You can now select your alias file.
It is opened and used.

All the aliases are generated by the IntelliCAD
program. They are not stored in a file. And now you
have created your own aliases.

If you want to go back to the way as generated by
IntelliCAD, then click on the Rest button. The aliases
you created are removed.

Aliases. As you can see. It has nothing to do with the
secret service. It has everything to do with
nIntelliCAD.

It is in fact a feature that is also found in AutoCAD.
Some users prefer to use the keyboard to start a
command. True. It’s quicker.

About the Author

IntelliCAD dealer. I’ve got a shocking report. About AutoCAD. Get it. Send me an e-mail with “Shocking Report” in the subject line. Send your e-mail to:

mailto:cad-solutions@hotmail.com

Before the 1970s the word “hardware” usually meant one of two things: the beautiful chrome handles on your new dresser and the kitchen cabinets, or the hammer, saw, and nails that you purchased at the local hardware store. Then came the computer boom! Hardware took on a new meaning! If all the programming that made a computer work were called software, then the hard box and its components took on the name of hardware.

Hardware became a massive, competitive industry that expanded beyond the largest, most powerful dreams of the 1970s. Made of hundreds of various components that can be added, disconnected or exchanged depending on which features you want, the computer has a versatility that is limited only by ones imagination, budget and, realistically, one’s patience.

The basic components consist of the system unit itself (which contains the so-called brains of the computer, the CPU, plus various items referred to as ‘boards’), the keyboard, mouse, speakers, and of course, the monitor. To these basics one can add printers, scanners, PC cameras, digital cameras, video cameras, and joysticks.

During the mid 1980s several home-type computers became available for the courageous home-computer geek. These used only floppy disks, for the hard disk was still not portable in size. Writing a book could use up to 75 floppy disks and nevertheless was a major improvement over creating or working with a typewriter.

After a few years the amazingly huge 10 MB Hard Disk came out for home use, replacing the need for using floppies except for backups. Since 10 MB didn’t really hold all much data, the world of floppies was still lively.

There was a word whispered about in murmurs in computer circles back then: Gigabyte! It meant something so huge in size that the human mind couldn’t quite grasp it. Then it happened. A 100 MB hard disk evolved into a 1 Gigabyte hard disk. People wondered if it could possibly be reliable. And while they wondered, computer stores started selling 10 Gigabyte hard disks. People blinked and the hard disks were 100 Gigabytes.

While the capacity of the hard disk increased, the size of the outside hardware began to get smaller and smaller, and before long - there it is, sitting in the palm of your hand! The flexibility of the hardware opens the door to thousands of various software applications: now, instead of using the keyboard to punch in letters, one can just talk to a computer and it will record what was said. Modern e-mail delights people of all ages as they communicate in seconds around the world. And, computers can also read your e-mail back to you in the language of your choice.

The competition between the hardware manufacturers has resulted in prices dropping and dropping, creating a beautiful opportunity for people of all income levels and all ages to now enjoy a computer in their own home.

Paul Babs is the owner of Tendon Ventures which tackles all hardware issues. For more information, go to: www.formhardware.com