Paul Palmer, proud to be a pisces man

Men are willing to go through a lot for the chance to meet and date beautiful women. We work hard to look right, to dress well, and we work on our manners and how we talk to women. It takes some preparation because women are totally different creatures than our guy friends. But it is worth it because we are hoping for so much more than we get from male relationships. We are hoping for romance, dates, some kissing and hugging (and more), and the excitement of getting to know an exciting, sexy woman.

So we prepare ourselves in all these ways and go to the places where single girls will be. At the top of the list of places are night clubs and bars where there is music, drinking, and a fun-loving atmosphere where singles like you and me can relax and get to know the girls we hope will become our lovers.

But the one thing that oftentimes intimidates men at clubs and parties is dancing. It is a common problem that we just do not feel comfortable dancing or do not know how. And yet we see guys in clubs getting lots further with women if they can get out there and dance with them in a romantic way.

There is no doubt that dancing is romantic. The movement of the bodies is sexy and stimulating. If it is a fast dance, the moves seem to almost simulate sexual activity. Slow dancing is like a legal excuse to hug the girl and hold her close, even if you just met her.

But that does not change our anxiety and sense of clumsiness when it comes to getting out on the dance floor. So just as you spent time learning what to wear, how to walk and talk, what pick-up lines work and all the other new skills you have to learn to become successful with the ladies, you should approach dancing in the same way. What do you need to know and how do you go about learning it?

Please Teach Me?

You can actually use your dancing inability to your advantage in a flirting situation. If there is dancing going on and you can tell the girl wants to dance with you, you can put yourself in her hands with a line like I have never been able to dance, but I would love to dance with you if you would teach me.

This kind of line is like setting off a charge in a woman. In one statement you are making a declaration of desire for her, I want to dance with you, and a statement of vulnerability, Will you teach me? Dancing has elements of sexual exchange in it, so expressing that desire excites that impulse in her as well. But by being vulnerable to her, she sees you as sensitive and in need of her help, which triggers the nurturing side of her. She can take you to the floor and give you that tender loving care and instruction that will bond you and her together. The lessons she gives you may be the most sensual dance lessons ever given.

What is a Dance, Anyway?

Dancing with a woman sends dozens of intimate signals to her. One way to overcome your shyness about dancing is to think about what is happening out there when your bodies begin to move together.

Dancing is relationship. You move together to create the shared experience of the dance. Your bodies tend to mimic each others in such a way that has powers to draw you together unlike any other.

Dancing is sensual. Slow dancing is so much like love making that the comparison as you hold her is inescapable. You really do not have to know a lot about moves to slow dance. In essence, you hold her to your body and sway. Your hips are touching, her chest is against yours, your faces close, your face in her hair. She can feel your breath and the chance to whisper romantic things to her is immediate and exciting. In a short, three-minute dance you can put moves on a woman that would never be possible at any other moment in the evening.

Dancing is give and take. Both of you have roles in the dance. You have the male role of leading and she the female role of following you. Again, even if you do not know a lot about the moves, just directing the dance around the floor can set in motion the male-female relationship as it should work in real life. In that way, the dance is a simulation, a miniature version of the romantic, the sexual, the social, and the emotional relationships that mature between a man and a woman in the growth of your romance together.

It is a Dialog

The famous Arthur Murray, whose dance studios dot the country from Maine to California, once said that dance is conversation set to music. As you stand near each other moving to the music, you have an amazing moment with the woman you desire. You have all her attention as she seeks to make her dance motions enhance yours. You can send powerful messages of romance, desire, passion, and affection just in how your hips, your arms, your shoulders, and your head move in the dance.

In the same way, she is sending you messages with her body that should give you an encyclopedia of knowledge of the soul of this woman. Do not take your eyes off of her. By making her the center of your world on the dance floor, a romantic electricity can erupt between you that will leave the floor and spill over into your dating life as it continues through out the night.

But it has to be Harder than That!

Well yes, to really become a good dancing, you should look into taking some lessons. The good news is lessons are easy to find, usually not that expensive, and they are fun. And if you are thinking like a good lover, you can use the lessons to continue your romance with the girl you met. If your relationship spilled out of the club or even if you only got her phone number, a terrific first date line would be, It was so exciting to dance with you, I want to take ballroom dancing lessons and get really good at it. Will you join me at [the dance studio] and be my partner?

Let me tell you that next to a marriage proposal, there is no question more exciting to her than this. You are asking her to join you in a great adventure. You are showing interest in self-improvement, a top-ten quality of any future lover, and your self-improvement involves being a better date and lover for her! By asking her to be your partner, you are clearly saying, I want to dance the dance of love with you . . . come, lets learn that dance together.

You may not even know it but in that one statement, you just used a sophisticated seduction technique . . . all because you didnt know how to dance but had the courage to take it on and use it to romance the woman of your dreams.

George Wood
http://www.articlesbase.com/dating-articles/i-wont-dance-dont-ask-me-76389.html

A friend of mine called the other day from Los Angeles and said she wanted to set up a phone consultation for her dog.  I said “you don’t need to”.  She said “why not?”  I said “because I already know what is going on.”  (Not that I’m that psychic mind you – but as an Animal Communicator I’ve seen this a million times).  I continued “you’re calling me because your dog is depressed.”  She agreed.  “She came to you depressed and fearful and you are depressed at times so the two of you are a great mirror and commiserate when you’re depressed.  When you’re not depressed, you spend the rest of the time feeling sorry for her past.  Therefore, you are falling into what I call default behavior.”  I told her to call me in a few days if she still wanted a session.  

We all fall into default behavior.  We don’t allow the moment to exist.  I explained to my friend that at that point, that dog was lucky.  In fact, it had been lucky for all the years they were together.  It no longer had the sad circumstances it had before and in fact, she had a great life.  The dog had a kid and a cat to look after, my friend loves her – it doesn’t get any better. 

When I saw her in person weeks later I asked about the dog.   She said the switch was overnight.  Once she acknowledged that this was a great life NOW, the dog could enjoy life.

Not everything is that quick, but really it could be.  When we default into certain feelings, we allow the animal to ‘get away’ with certain behavior that is not serving the harmony of the household.  If we continue to feel sorry for someone or stay hurt by something, we are not allowing them to be all that they can be. 

This is not to say that we need to be in denial, it’s the opposite.  By staying in the past feelings, we are actually denying them the present (and who is better than the present than animals?!)  Sometimes you already know the painful circumstances that the entire household is clinging to.  And if you don’t, it’s a good time to call in an Animal Communicator.  But meanwhile, acknowledging the circumstances is important, but also acknowledging how great things are NOW is vital.  They don’t have to stay in feelings.  Feelings are like waves at the ocean, they come and go.  (We all tend to forget the go part.)  Sometimes giving it a date to let it go – like we can all feel badly about this until next Friday is a great way – you all might get bored by Tuesday and be on with the day.

The following are typical examples of things WE ALL DO:

1. Feeling guilty about going out of town or being away all day.

If guilt was measured in dollar amounts and put into a bank account, it could give the Vatican a run for its money.  And there’s no place better than to do this with our animals!!  There are lots of ways around this.  First of all, you have to do what you have to do (as in j.o.b.) in order to afford this dog/cat/bird/goldfish/horse the life of luxury he/she gets to lead.  Secondly, you can say everything with a positive tone.  “I will be home at 4:00 and we get to go on a walk.”  While you are away, replace the guilt with the feeling of looking forward to connecting with your friend.  Believe it or not they pick up on stuff when we are away and what would you rather send, something good or bad?  Make your vacations a vacation for them, they get to eat all that stuff I would never feed you with the housesitter, etc.  It’s fun, all fun, they respond to an uplifted spirit. 

1.  Feeling guilty about adding a baby or another pet to the household.

Life is life.  While your dog/cat/bird/goldfish/horse may have been the baby before and a real live baby is coming into the home, you may want to include them – that you need their help – employ them.  They can always use an extra job.  They can be in charge of the safety or training of the new animal….etc.  By feeling guilty, you are setting up room for them to be resentful and act out.

1. Feeling sad about an animal’s past.

Here’s a big one.  Again, the example at the top is truly how quickly we can help them let it go.  If that doesn’t do it, as I said, let them download with an Animal Communicator.  Sometimes just getting their story “off their chest” so to speak allows freedom.  In addition, having it released from their muscle memory by a canine massage therapist, a cranial sacral practitioner, acupuncture and/or chiropractic, may be the best money spent.  Sometimes bad memories are stored in their bodies and it is our job to help them find the therapy to get it out.  Also the word “rescue” has such a negative, sad, forlorn vibration to it.  If you were to close your eyes and think of the word rescue, it automatically brings up unwanted feelings, quite literally.  So start referring to the day that you adopted your friend as the “lucky day”.  Encourage people that are in the rescue world to start finding other words like “sanctuary”.  Nothing leads to bad behavior faster than the word rescue.  We feel sorry for them and let them get away with things we wouldn’t let a kid do.  There still have to be boundaries.  Chances are good that if you are a caring guardian and are reading a magazine like this to learn to be better, your animal is already on the road to a charmed life.  So just start expressing and enjoying it more!!   But don’t forget boundaries and training.

1. Staying mad about an episode in the past.

This can create the never ending cycle of really bad behavior.  Animals pick up on the pictures words and feelings of their guardians very quickly.  When we hang on to an episode that infuriates us, unfortunately, we are creating a billboard for them to replicate the behavior.  They are not necessarily picking up on our feelings about the event; they just see the instant replay in our mind and think they need to do it again.  If your cat isn’t using the litter box and you’ve run blood work and you’re quite sure the problem is behavioral, rather than to cling to the image, try to sort out what they are ‘pissed off’ about while at the same time, picture them using the litter box.  I know this is difficult but you can’t let your mind slip – not even at work.  Forgive the behavior and send the picture you want.

1. Being fearful of how the animal will behave.

Again, this is billboard material.  And when we get a little panicky about something – i.e. our dog gets leash aggressive and we don’t want to see any of the neighbors, unfortunately, we are setting them up not only in our mind but in our body language and the tone in our voice.  At this point the time and money spent on a good dog trainer is worth its weight in gold.  You can’t afford the fear and must remember, you are in charge – it is your home, in fact at that moment, you need to provide them with security.  Fake it until you make it down the road the first day and then call a dog trainer.

I am not pointing the finger at anyone.  Over the years I have made all of these mistakes with dogs, cats, horses, etc.  What I have found in life is there are no mistakes only lessons.  Our animal companions offer these so graciously!!

Joan Ranquet is an Animal Communicator, Speaker and Author of Communication with all Life, Revelations of an Animal Communicator published by Hay House. For more info, go to www.joanranquet.com.

Joan Ranquet
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/5-human-feelings-that-affect-our-pets-752468.html

Many people think of creativity in terms of output, or something produced, but that is not necessarily so. Today we are going to look at the meaning of creativity.

You know, many people believe that in order to be truly creative, they have to be producing something – composing music, making paintings, designing furniture or clothing – things that have real, measurable output. But it’s not necessarily so.

Creativity is an attitude toward life, and is more a matter of improvisation and inspiration than of producing something we can label as “creative” – something admired or socially useful. Whenever we see something in a new light or from a new perspective, we are being creative.

Each of us, if we are open and searching, can become creative in doing those simple things in our lives that are creative and original to us. We can be creative in the way we bring up our children, the way we teach and learn, the way we communicate and listen, and in discovering new ways to approach old, familiar things. Creativity can be expressed in the way we approach a picnic at the beach or in tending a beautiful garden.

You see, creativity is there inside us, not in the things we produce. With it, we can discover and celebrate the fullness of our own personal nature. True creativity is what helps us to make the most of our lives and live up to our own individual potential.

Paul Palmer

Be creative it’s so much fun you won’t believe it.

Technorati Tags: Creativity and improvisation; lateral thinking, paul palmer

Have you ever gone shopping to buy just one or two things and come home with a couple of bags full? Let’s talk about the pros and cons of making impulsive decisions.

Do you ever act on your impulses, or make spontaneous decisions to do things? Most of us know that acting on impulse can have negative consequences, like when you’re in the grocery store or investing large amounts of money. But did you know it could also be very positive?

Let me explain what I mean. You see, an impulse is nothing more than an urge to do something. It’s a suggestion from your subconscious that suddenly surfaces in your conscious mind, and as such, it deserves to be considered. In fact, carrying impulses into action can be a good way to become goal-oriented. Of course, it can also be a way to get into serious trouble. So how do you decide whether to act on an impulse?

Well, try asking yourself if the impulse feels like it could be in harmony with the person you most want to be. If the answer is no, nip it in the bud, or at least defer it. If the answer is yes, do it and do it as soon as possible, because procrastination is the death of too many wonderful impulses.

If it can’t be done immediately, set a goal and create a clear mental image of the end-result you most want to bring about. Affirm and re-visit that picture every day. With the fuel of vivid sensory details and a determined spirit, you’ll begin to see some extraordinary positive changes in your life. I guarantee it!

Paul Palmer

Technorati Tags: buying on impulse, paul palmer

As well as running my own accounting business, I am a confidence building coach.

About 2 months ago, I undertook a contract with Gingerbread/One parent families to teach lone parents how to raise their esteem and confidence, develop their CV, and for some help them to focus on a hobby they could turn into a business. Little did I know this will take an unpredicted turn!

The BBC came to do a short film for the organisation for a charity appeal called lifeline, to raise funds for the organisation. The producer filmed the participants, and then she interviewed me. She was quite moved as I explained to her that 5 years ago, I had to leave an abusive husband, at the same time I was made redundant, my house was about to be repossessed, I had too much debt to cope with, as well as facing the future being a single parent.

Although it was a painful time, through my faith, supportive network of friends and families, I found strength and courage to turn everything around.

My accountancy experience and qualifications came in handy as I was able to get a part time job to help my cashflow, and today, I am successful business woman with loving children.

I also trained to be a life coach as I believe my life’s experiences are an asset to others.  I can use my pain to be a gain to others, especially if they are lone parents, or are suffering from a relationship breaking down or simply need a confidence boost.

As a result  of me being  on TV, I have now got various radio and TV interviews that I will be  doing all over the country,  and  this will help to increase traffic to my website and ultimately help  me to  be a very successful business owner.

If you would like to see the show click on

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00gq42z/Lifeline_Gingerbread/

Genny
http://www.articlesbase.com/television-articles/how-i-became-a-tv-star-for-a-few-minutes-737501.html

To know the creator you cannot speak of the creator. To know the creator you must speak as the creator. To know the creator I cannot speak as Roy but as the essence of who I really am, which is the creator and even that is not real. In truth I am not anyone of those things-I am all of them.

Over the last few years I have been reading less. I have tried to maintain the purity of my own writing by not allowing myself to be influenced too much by outside sources. Yet, in spite of the isolation, my writing is following the same path as many other modern spiritual writers.

Infrequently I will pick up a book and scan a few of its pages only to find I am moving along the same path or direction as the other authors. I do not research my writing-it comes from within me and I just let it flow. But it is very much inline with what others are writing about. I guess it would be as others who have chosen to go downtown. They are all on a journey to town even though they may be coming from different directions. When you talk to or listen to one of them they all are saying the same thing, “I’m going into town.”

There seems to be a natural flow of authors moving to the same place in this time and place. They are all heading back to town or in the case of the spiritual authors-back to God. They speak of religion as creating duality and say in return “We are One”-but they still haven’t gotten there yet and they never will. You cannot speak of town-or speak of the creator-without creating separation. The new age authors are no different than there religious counterparts in that they are also creating duality.

They speak of being one, the creator is in us, and all we have to do is look inside to know God. We can never know the creator until we speak as the creator. The authors do not go far enough. They are almost there, but are reluctant to go all the way. “I am God,” I am God writing this article as a physical aspect of who I am, called Roy! It is not Roy, who is doing the typing, and it is not the essence of God or the spirit-it is God doing the typing.

Most authors would be very reluctant to say this because from past experience we know how dangerous it can be. So spiritual authors, teachers and philosophers will take you to the edge, but will not commit. If we are one, then truly we are that which created us-why not say it? If you want to experience the power of the creator, then you must be the creator. If it is God’s plan and you want control over your life, you must be God. You must be God consciousness to know who you are-the consciousness of God, the essence of God, and the awareness of God.

When you speak of God, you are speaking of something outside of yourself. Physical words create separation. You cannot claim to be monolistic, enlightened, and point to religions which speak of you and God, when as people of higher awareness, you use the same words. God inside you, we are one, mind, body, spirit, and the triune of Father, Son and Holy Ghost are all dualistic terms.

It is only when you begin to say I am God, that you become joined, are monolistic and are one with God. At present you are individualized aspects of the creator choosing to experience the separation in the physical body. However, it is an illusion-it is only your thought “as the creator” creating the body and experiencing three dimensional life as an individual.

When you experience mind, body, and spirit as one in the same time and space-you will experience who you really are, and you can call it God if you will and then once again you will experience separation.

There really is only one physical declaration of who you are and that is “I Am.” From there on, words fail us, as it is the words we use which declare who we are. In the experience of who you are not, you will find who you are. Know them both simultaneously in time and same, and experience being and not being. You can know the wholeness of which you are by not trying to find yourself, by accepting who you really are and what you are experiencing as the same thing. You are the creator and the created-they are the same thing. You are the awareness of both.

Humanity has always been curious about who and what he really is. But each time he comes up with a new thought about it, he moves farther away from his true identity. Separation creates a need to know and it is the questions which keeps moving humanity to higher levels of awareness. Knowing is final and it is the end of questioning, and when you are all that is, you must create new questions, new possibilities and probabilities. Unanswered questions create life, and life is movement (animation). Your physicalness and uniqueness raises all sorts of questions and possibilities. Knowing you are what created you, gives comfort and assurance you can never be destroyed or loose your identity. It doesn’t mean you will loose your individuality, but retain it in total consciousness. You will always have awareness of self.

It may not be practical or even smart to call oneself God-it is within that awareness of self one finds peace, and access to unlimited power. If someone asks you who you are you may say “I am God manifesting in the physical body of Roy” but it is not necessary. The awareness of same is self recognition and also an acknowledgement of the connection to the other that asked the question. “We are all one” is a physical statement-in truth there is no “we.”

Live your life of separation and individuality, but be aware of whom you are and you will live a life of abundance and peace. You will know your perfection and move to even greater awareness, new life, and other possibilities. Do not be afraid to declare yourself as “I am.” It is religion’s mandate to bring back its believers to the creator. You do not have to wait-know yourself as the creator now, and it will be your experience. You do not need someone to tell you who you are, and you can never experience it anyways until you know it.

If you know who you are, declare it so others will also know. Remind them of their heritage and their accessibility to it. Abundance is part of being everything-there is enough to go around. Write about it, make the information available. Those who are ready to listen will listen. There is no hope, no faith or trust-these are steps to knowing. Know now what you choose to experience and know you have the power to create it. You are God creating all the things you desire to experience-there is no one else.

For those of you who are like me and do not like the term God, choose something else-it doesn’t really matter. You are simply awareness that has many names.

Roy E. Klienwachter
http://www.articlesbase.com/motivational-articles/out-of-body-experience-92113.html

Everyone likes to give and receive gifts, and a lot of people have figured out that gift giving doesn’t really need a special occasion. Today, I’ll tell you how to look for a gift – for yourself.

Did you know that you have a gift that no one else in the world possesses? Maybe you’ve already discovered it, although it isn’t waiting for you wrapped in pretty paper and ribbon. I’m talking about your ability to live a life that expresses your unique personality and your individual talents through the work that you choose to do, the way you spend your free time and through your relationships.

Although it may seem hidden at first, when you search for your gift with an open mind and a free spirit, it will be there. Once you’ve found it, if you follow it with courage and persistence, it will reward you with a happiness and deep satisfaction nothing else can provide.

Now, it doesn’t matter how big or important your gift is. All that matters is that it’s yours and that you’re free to give it. When you do give it, it doesn’t deplete you – it validates and fills you, because giving reaffirms the meaning of life.

It’s hard to go comparison-shopping when it comes to finding your special gift, because you can’t try on someone else’s life. But in order to really live your own, you have to be willing to listen to your heart, pay whatever it costs, and make a firm commitment not to turn back. If you do these things, I guarantee you’ll find your gift, and you’ll also find that you have more to give to others than you ever dreamed possible.

Paul Palmer

When will you receive your next gift?

Technorati Tags: free gifts, gifts for you, paul palmer

There’s something new you’d like to try. But you’re scared to do it because you might make a fool of yourself, or heaven forbid, people will belittle you and you’ll know you should never have tried it in the first place. And you don’t have a 5-hour block of quiet time to study it. So on the back burner it goes.

But somewhere inside, you DO want to try it even though it makes you a little nervous. Time for the elephant method.

Have you heard of it?

“When a wild elephant is to be tamed and trained, the best way to begin is by yoking it to one that has already been through the process. By contact, the wild one comes to see that the condition it is being led toward is not wholly incompatible with being an elephant – that what is expected of it does not contradict its nature categorially, but heralds a condition that, though startlingly different, is viable.

The author then adds the best known way to survive this process of evolving:

“The constant, immediate, and contagious example of its yoke fellow can teach it as nothing else can. Training for the life of [the spirit/sales/relating to others] is no different. The transformation facing the untrained is neither smaller than the elephant’s nor less demanding. Without visible evidence that success is possible, without a continuous transfusion of courage, discouragement is bound to set in…” -Huston Smith, Buddhism

Isn’t that why Jesus told his disciples to go tell the story, and to Go 2 by two to do it?

Is anyone still doing that in network marketing today?

Tell your experience.

P.S. We have run cadaver calling sessions in teams for years. In last week’s New School class, a whole group did it in pairs. Teaming up is the only reason most of them did it at all. One gal couldn’t eat or sleep all week in anticipation of this dreaded activity. We paired her with someone who went first, and our gal listened to 5-7 calls first. Then she got HER nerve up, did it many times, and now she’s offering to help others in the class make calls in case they’re as scared as she was before…

Kim Klaver
http://www.articlesbase.com/affiliate-programs-articles/the-elephant-method-have-you-heard-of-it-68949.html

It was early morning. Abraham rose in good time, had the asses saddled and left his tent, taking Isaac with him, but Sarah watched them from the window as they went down the valley until she could see them no more. They rode in silence for three days; on the morning of the fourth Abraham still said not a word, but raised his eyes and saw afar the mountain in Moriah. He left the lads behind and went on alone up the mountain with Isaac beside him. But Abraham said to himself: ‘I won’t conceal from Isaac where this way is leading him.’ He stood still, laid his hand on Isaac’s head to give him his blessing, and Isaac bent down to receive it. And Abraham’s expression was fatherly, his gaze gentle, his speech encouraging. But Isaac could not understand him, his soul could not be uplifted; he clung to Abraham’s knees, pleaded at his feet, begged for his young life, for his fair promise; he called to mind the joy in Abraham’s house, reminded him of the sorrow and loneliness. Then Abraham lifted the boy up and walked with him, taking him by the hand, and his words were full of comfort and exhortation. But Isaac could not understand him. Abraham climbed the mountain in Moriah, but Isaac did not understand him. Then he turned away from Isaac for a moment, but when Isaac saw his face a second time it was changed, his gaze was wild, his mien one of horror. He caught Isaac by the chest, threw him to the ground and said: ‘Foolish boy, do you believe I am your father? I am an idolater. Do you believe this is God’s command? No, it is my own desire.’ Then Isaac trembled and in his anguish cried: ‘God in heaven have mercy on me, God of Abraham have mercy on me; if I have no father on earth, then be Thou my father!’ But below his breath Abraham said to himself: ‘Lord in heaven I thank Thee; it is after all better that he believe I am a monster than that he lose faith in Thee.’

II

It was early morning, Abraham rose in good time, embraced Sarah, the bride of his old age, and Sarah kissed Isaac, who had taken her disgrace from her, was her pride and hope for all generations. So they rode on in silence and Abraham’s eyes were fixed on the ground, until the fourth day when he looked up and saw afar the mountain in Moriah, but he turned his gaze once again to the ground. Silently he arranged the firewood, bound Isaac; silently he drew the knife. Then he saw the ram that God had appointed. He sacrificed that and returned home… From that day on, Abraham became old, he could not forget that God had demanded this of him, Isaac throve as before; but Abraham’s eye was darkened, he saw joy no more.

III

It was early morning. Abraham rose in good time, kissed Sarah the young mother, and Sarah kissed Isaac, her delight, her joy for ever. And Abraham rode thoughtfully on. He thought of Hagar and of the son whom he had driven out into the desert. He climbed the mountain in Moriah, he drew the knife.

It was a tranquil evening when Abraham rode out alone, and alone he rode to the mountain in Moriah: he threw himself on his face, he begged God to forgive his sin at having been willing to sacrifice Isaac, at the father’s having forgotten his duty to his son. He rode more frequently on his lonely way, but found no peace. He could not comprehend that it was a sin to have been willing to sacrifice to God the best he owned: that for which he would many a time have gladly laid down his own life; and if it was a sin, if he had not so loved Isaac, then he could not understand that it could be forgiven; for what sin was more terrible?

IV

It was early morning. Everything had been made ready for the journey in Abraham’s house. Abraham took leave of Sarah, and the faithful servant Eleazar followed him out on the way until he had to turn back. They rode together in accord, Abraham and Isaac, until they came to the mountain in Moriah. Yet Abraham made everything ready for the sacrifice, calmly and quietly, but as he turned away Isaac saw that Abraham’s left hand was clenched in anguish, that a shudder went through his body – but Abraham drew the knife.

They turned home again and Sarah ran to meet them, but Isaac had lost his faith. Never a word in the whole world is spoken of this, and Isaac told no one what he had seen, and Abraham never suspected that anyone had seen it.

Eulogies by Kierkegaard, as published in his 1843 book ‘Fear and Trembling’. How do you deal with the conviction that you are being called by God to go and kill your own son? How do you deal with that conviction, and how do you deal with the God whom you perceive to be behind that conviction? These were the questions that so fascinated Kierkegaard in his reflections, and have indeed absorbed a great many great minds before and since.

I had a conversation with a friend in the pub on Friday. “You love other people”, he said, “because when you show love to them, you feel good in yourself.” He wasn’t just saying this about me, of course, but was offering a comprehensive theory of human motivation – that people love other people because it makes them feel good about themselves.

“But” I countered “don’t we generally think of genuine love as something which actually begins after the good feelings come to an end? It’s easy to look after your aging mother when you’re enjoying her company and feeling good about what you’re doing. But it’s when you’re sick to death of looking after her, when you want your own life back and can’t handle her whinging any more, but you push on and you give her your time and your energy anyway – isn’t that what genuine love is: not feeling good about what you’re doing, but doing what you know is right despite how you feel about what you’re doing?”

Surely this is what love is – doing what we are called to do by God, despite what we might feel like doing, because we know that it is the right thing to do. That’s what love is.

But what do we call it when we feel called by God to do something which we don’t just not feel like doing, but something that seems furthermore ridiculous, and something which we feel is actually morally wrong – something that we don’t just emotionally recoil from, but something that also strikes us as being irrational and even wicked?

If love is ‘doing what you’re called to do, despite how you might feel’, what label do you apply to the act of ‘doing what you’re called to do, despite how you think and feel and despite your own God-given moral convictions which are urging you to do the opposite?’ What do we call that? ‘Faith’ Kierkegaard would say.

“Faith … is not the immediate inclination of the heart but the paradox of existence” says Kierkegaard. “While Abraham arouses my admiration,” he says, “he also appalls me. The person who … sacrifices himself for duty gives up the finite in order to grasp on to the infinite… The tragic hero gives up what is certain for what is still more certain… But the person who gives up the universal (i.e. his universal moral principles) to grasp something still higher that is not the universal, what does he do?” How do you understand him?

Oh, to live by principle! Oh, to live according to straightforward rules of duty and commandment. Oh, to simply deal with God the divine lawgiver, who can be grasped and dealt with as straightforwardly as any human magistrate! But to be a ‘knight of faith’ (to use Kierkegaard’s term), to venture out into the darkness – not only the darkness of an unknown future but also the darkness of morally and spiritually ambiguous terrain – holding only the hand of this God…! Who would have the courage to take up that calling? Who indeed?

Why do I read to you this story this morning – this story of Abraham and Isaac, this story of Kierkegaard? It’s not our set lectionary reading. Why do I choose it this morning? Because this story – Abraham’s story, Isaac’s story, and Kierkegaard’s story – is also Morde’s story.

When I first met Morde back in 1986, we stood out the back of St John’s church in Darlinghurst, talking to the early hours of the morning about life, philosophy, existentialism, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard, over coffee and biscuits.

Morde had been studying philosophy at university in Israel, and he had, coincidentally, focused his studies in much the same area that I had focused on – on the ‘continental philosophers’ Nietzsche and Kierkegaard. We spoke together about Nietzsche’s concept of standing on the edge of your existence and staring into the abyss of your own despair, and Kierkegaard’s concept of throwing yourself into the abyss, and finding that Christ is there to catch you and to hold you. (I think we also talked about a few good-looking chicks we’d seen).

It was clear from the beginning that Morde’s decision to follow Christ and to turn his back on his Judaistic upbringing was, for him, also a decision to adopt the philosophy of Kierkegaard over that of Nietzsche. And yet it wasn’t until some time later that it clicked with me that the only work of Kierkegaard that Morde had ever read was the only one that had ever been translated into Hebrew: this one – ‘Fear and Trembling’ – reflections on Abraham, the father of faith.

Like Abraham, Morde felt called by God to do something that not only scared him, and which he didn’t want to do, but something which he wasn’t even sure was the right thing to do.

All of his upbringing in Israel would have warned him away from this. To tell the world about Israel’s nuclear armaments build-up – that would be to act as a traitor to your family and to your nation. Could it possibly be right for him to not only put his own life at risk, but also to risk the retribution that might indeed be inflicted upon his own mother and father (which indeed did happen)? Was it right to put his own national security at risk for the sake of some broader possibility of peace? Who was he to make that sort of decision? What would he know? And yet … he felt called by God to do it. And so one day he came to the front of the church in Darlinghurst and he knelt down at the alter rail and he said out load “now I give my life to Jesus. Now I do what I must do.”

Oh, to be the knight of faith – to risk everything: not only your own life, but the lives of those you love, your own family and country, and to risk not just death but ignominy and shame for yourself and for your entire family. Who would have the courage to take up such a calling? Who indeed?

It is notable that Kierkegaard also, when he wrote the book ‘Fear and Trembling’ was also working through some Abrahamic issues of his own. In 1843, Kierkegaard had been feeling completely torn about a decision he had to make. He had been engaged to Regina Olsen – a woman he obviously deeply loved. He had completed his doctoral studies in theology and was qualified and ready to be ordained into the Lutheran church of Denmark. A large part of him yearned to move on to ordination and to take up priestly duties in a quiet country parish, with Regina at his side and with children around his feet. And yet … he felt called to do something else. He felt called to become a polemical writer, a prophet who would speak out against the excesses of the church, a missionary and evangelist of sorts who would work outside the comfortable structures of established Christendom. And he knew that if he took this path, that he could not take his beloved Regina with him.

And so he made his morally ambiguous decision. He broke off the engagement with Regina, publicly spurning her as if he no longer cared anything for her (so as to save her from any public embarrassment) and he pursued his work as a writer, for which he became famous.

Abraham, offered up to God his only son, but received him back from God. Morde, we trust and pray, will likewise one day receive back his freedom and his family. Kierkegaard though, it is worth noting, never received back his Regina (though he somehow secretly always hoped that he would). And he lived with the pain of that until his death in 1855, at the age of 42.

There are no guarantees for knights of faith that they will not have to endure lifelong pain because of the sacrifices they are required to make. Did Kierkegaard ever overcome his pain? I think not, though he never regretted the decision he made.

Did Abraham ever regret his decision to follow what he believed was God’s call? We think not.

In the case of Morde, the answer is crystal clear, and let me quote from that letter he wrote from solitary about a year after his capture, explaining his actions:

“[To do what I did] I had to overcome the force of general opinion around me, especially the opinions of those who were held to be wise and intellectual, and those who worked with me. I had to say to them ‘you are mistaken. I know the truth. You are on the wrong track.’ … I had to overcome many personal barriers to do what I did. The chief barrier was the sacrifice of my private life to exposure and slander, and of my plans for the future – all on this alter. But the action was worth it. By this action I pointed out the path in which I believe … about what must be done … [and I demonstrated] the way in which a man must be willing to sacrifice and risk his life for the sake of an act that is important and beneficial to all mankind.”

Abraham rose early in the morning. He saddled the asses himself and left early, before Sarah had awoken, not able to share with her where he was going or what he was preparing to do. He rode with Isaac by his side but they rode mostly in silence. Then he saw the mountain of Moriah in the distance. He laid the alter. He lifted the knife. And so he became the father of faith.

David B Smith
http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/abraham-the-father-of-faith-a-sermon-on-genesis-22-139108.html

Success comes in the face of adversity. Life moves on through this season of renewal – and expectations of new beginnings are as vibrant as the daffodils and tulips. Setbacks can seem overwhelming, but you should learn from your experience and have the courage to teach others so that they can benefit too.

When adversity strikes, whether it be loss of your job, an illness, a natural disaster or when you take a big hit that really knocks you off your feet for a while, how fast you get up again depends on a number of things, such as: how good your support network is; how solid your self-esteem is; the extent to which you believe that you can control your own destiny, and your experiences at overcoming adversity in the past.

If you want to shorten the time it takes to get back on your feet, try this: Ask yourself how it will look when you no longer have your current problems. Spend time visualizing yourself in that picture and imagining how you’ll feel; do it over and over, day after day, week after week. In addition, list your strengths and past accomplishments and add to this list on a daily basis.

At the same time, set and prioritise some immediate, short-term goals to improve your situation; and write a detailed plan of action for the top three, including day and time.

Once you’ve accomplished a few short-term goals, you may feel ready to do some long-term visioning and goal-setting. Finally – and this is so important – no matter how much you’ve lost, take time to help someone else who is struggling. Even the worst experiences can be used to learn and grow.

Paul Palmer

Learn from your experience then have the courage to teach someone else so that they may also benefit from your experience.

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