Paris Is Peace of Mind

By William Gabie

Very few cities in Europe can compete with Paris as a romantic destination; ideally situated along the banks of the river Seine. For most people visiting Paris, a short stay is often the way they first see the city; you can never become bored in this beautiful city.

A city famous for its fabulous architecture, good food, wine, street markets and galleries; plus sights like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and many other places that are havens for tourists, both home grown and international. Fortunately for tourists, Paris has a first rate transportation system; there is an excellent underground system called the Metro which runs regular trains into the city center and is very easy to understand.

No visit would be complete without a trip to the top of the almost 1,000 feet tall Eiffel tower; there are only a few places in the city where it isn't visible. You can be assured of an even more beautiful sight if you visit in the evening when it is illuminated; guided tours add to the thrill as you get to peek into history on how it was constructed.

A walk along the Champs Elysees is essential when you visit Paris; it will present you with many famous designer shops and good restaurants. This avenue may be select but it attracts large numbers of visitors daily; the average tourist may find the accommodation expensive but more modest hotels can be found away from this area.

This city is also the home to the renowned Louvre Museum; it houses over three hundred thousand exhibits but not all of them are ever on display at the same time. There are so many exhibits here they cannot all be viewed during a short stay in Paris; approximately 8 million visitors a year come to see the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa, both of which are on display.
Many well known artists spent years of their lives in Paris; painters like Monet and Picasso spent many years here and a large number of their art works can be seen in Paris today.

Paris is also the home of the equally famous Arc de Triomphe which Napoleon had constructed in the early part of the 19th century; the names of his generals engraved upon it to honor them and his troops. A little known fact is that there's a viewing observatory built into the building allowing the whole area to be viewed; it stands in the place where the city's main avenues begin including the Champs Elysees.

This city has a huge variety of places to visit, many of these have not even mentioned here; but these should certainly not to be missed because many offer regular guided tours, some at little or no charge at all. On your short say in Paris you will only see a small sample of what is available for a visitor; anything else on your 'to see' list can wait for your next trip.

Experience Paris, even if its only for a short stay.

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If You Are Looking For Real Peace This Is A Good Place To Start

By Sandy Shaw

Many people in the world today are looking for peace - seeking peace - demonstrating for peace - marching for peace - even fighting for peace - but here is where real true deep lasting peace can be found and discovered.

When writing this spiritual masterpiece which we know as the letter to the Romans, Paul is soon dealing with these great themes of Grace and Peace. You must get these from God - and through Jesus Christ. There is no other source. We are already seeing that it is not enough just to believe in God - it must be God and Jesus Christ.

Paul is telling us where to receive Grace and Peace - from God and through Jesus Christ - and every New Testament letter begins with Grace and Peace.

When a man has such a calling of God - when he has received such Grace - he has a special job with an awesome responsibility, and Paul carried it out with great faithfulness and loyalty right to the very end of his earthly life.

We have to bring about obedience to the faith. Obedience to the faith is vital. We let people see our faith in Jesus Christ by obedience to the Word of God, and also we reveal our lack of faith in Christ, by our disobedience to the Word.

Paul's calling was to go to all nations - to the Gentiles - to non-Jews - and one centre of the faith at this time was Rome.

He is writing to these believers in Rome - and calls then loved by God - beloved of God. God loved you and loves you. He cares and is concerned. This is active and not sentimental.

He teaches and explains that we are "called to be saints". God says I call you saints - holy ones - separated - set apart for ME! Called is EKKLESIA - called out of the world.

In Chapter 1 verses 8 to 15, we read of Paul's interest in these disciples of Jesus in Rome. He delighted in them, and he prayed for them. Real apostolic and missionary concern demonstrates itself in prayer. Do we have that concern? He prayed for people he did not know. Paul is not simply interested only in his own work, but he is keen to hear about others and learn about others and what God is doing in their lives and through their ministries.

Here we have a Church at the centre of the Roman Empire, and throughout the world people are hearing about your faith in Jesus Christ. I want to come and see you, and visit you. I have prayed about it. Paul wanted to find out whether or not it was God's Will for him to go to Rome. He did not know he would eventually arrive there in chains.

It is good NOT to know what we might experience in the future. But God got him there.

He wanted to give them some spiritual gift that would encourage them to be strong. This spiritual equipping would build them up in Christ. O, use the gifts. Paul wants the church to use the gifts and be open to receive further gifts.

And Paul's ministry was two way. He wanted to give and he was open to receive. He too needed to be built up - fortressed - fortified - edified. This is the pattern - giving and receiving - ministering and receiving ministry.

Be faithful to God's Word and sensitive to His Spirit. This Book will inspire and challenge. Romans is a unique combination of the spiritual and the intellectual, and is without parallel in human literature, unfolding spiritual truths.

One word sums up Romans - "Righteousness" - and Righteousness is not very high among the priorities in today's Church.

How many are hungering and thirsting after righteousness? All other things follow righteousness. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy, and we dare not attempt to change the order.

Goal Setting And Your Own Peace Of Mind

By Mark McClure

Goal setting turns some people right off! Even people who are serious about personal development and goal setting sometimes voice similar concerns. Why is that? Perhaps the goal is too ambitious for the abilities of the person concerned. And so they begin to stress and worry about never achieving it. That's a clue to what I believe is the root cause behind the avoidance of setting goals, or of dropping them. Your own peace of mind.

Peace of mind is clearly related to happiness and reminds me of that old children's rhyme, "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands". Clearly, happiness is linked with how we experience and perceive life around us. We sometimes talk about balanced or well adjusted people. These people seem to be living in alignment with certain values and beliefs. When these values are disregarded, often peace of mind can begin to fray and unwind.

And this is not just an individual thing. Almost all social organizations depend on it for their smooth running. For example, families, work colleagues and sports teams all function more smoothly when simple courtesy systems and good manners are adopted as a way to interact without upsetting others' peace of mind.

So how does this fit in with your goal setting? The simplest way of looking at it is to appreciate that your own personal peace of mind is a kind of inner compass. When a goal begins to upset your peace of mind to such an extent that you become very unhappy and want to give it up, that is a sign for you to examine how true this goal really is to your own set of values and beliefs. This extra step is one that many people avoid, probably because they have not first made it a habit when goal setting and reviewing.

Here's an effective way to look at goal setting and peace of mind. Assume that your peace of mind is indeed for your highest good. Begin to expect that inner peace and happiness will be with you throughout your life, in addition to the rich tapestry of emotions that life experiences will bring anyway.

Practically speaking, this means that you should examine each goal from the viewpoint of how does it affect your inner peace of mind. If it is in harmony with that peace of mind then it is most likely a worthwhile goal. If something doesn't feel right then perhaps either you or the goal may need to change in some way.

I invite you to discover how to begin creating incredible yet reachable goals with this FREE 14-page report: Goal Setting Peace of Mind

Mark McClure is a Tokyo-based business owner and coach and gives daily thanks for personal peace of mind.http://www.goalcreationmaps.com/art

Teaching Peace in Yoga Class

By Dr. Melissa West

In conjunction with the Global Mala Project designed to unite the worldwide yoga community on the UN International Peace Day (September 22, 2007) I have been inspired to teach yoga this fall through the mantra of yoga as peace in action. Naturally some questions arise: What is peace? How do you teach peace in a yoga class?

Although everybody seems to have an innate understanding of peace, it becomes a difficult state to describe. In the context of a global community peace is understood as the cessation of war. On an individual level peace can be described as calm, serene, silence, equilibrium and harmony.
Yoga naturally lends itself to a quest for peace. Yoga is a process of releasing dis-ease and tension in the body to quiet the mind for meditation. With yoga we can find peace within ourselves. Once the individual achieves peace in their own lives then the belief is that the state of serene, calm and harmony ripples out into the world influencing others.

How then do you teach peace in a yoga class?

Pranayama or breath practice lends itself to the quest for peace. Guide your students to slow down their breath and become aware of the peaceful rhythm of the inhalation and exhalation. Teach your students to passively accept their breath rather than force it to become deeper. You can be more literal about it as well encouraging students to draw peace into their body with each inhalation and release tension with each exhalation. Simply following the breath brings peace to the body and mind.

When leading guided relaxation help students to become aware of the spaces in their bodies where peace already exists. Then use breath and yoga postures to expand that feeling of peace throughout the class.

Mantras are a particularly effective way to shift our minds towards peace. I love Tich Nhat Hanh’s mantra from Peace is Every Step “Breathing in I calm my body, Breathing out I smile.” Tich Nhat Hanh teaches that peace and happiness are available to use if we can quiet our distracted minds.

The single pointed focus of yoga can help students move away from multi-tasking common in today’s frantic world. Yoga postures and breath practice naturally center our students in a way that calms the mind and emotions giving a sense of peace.

When teaching the physical postures remind students to come into the present moment and become fully aware of their bodies. The postures can be an opportunity to let go of the worries of the past and future and come into the present moment of the body.

Teaching peace in a yoga class means reminding students to move with “ease and steadiness” as Rodney Yee says. How many times have you observed students struggling to make their posture look like the photo in Iyengar’s Light on Yoga? Encourage students to find their own equilibrium and harmony in a pose, that state where peace exists. Yoga is not about the shape of the posture, rather the feeling of peace being cultivated in the body.

Consider the types of poses that you are teaching. Restorative poses such as legs up the wall can be fantastic for calming the central nervous system and bringing peace to the body. Balancing postures such as tree pose help the students to center themselves and come into the present moment.

Teaching peace in yoga class may simply mean adjusting the way you instruct your students. Move slowly, speak in a calm manner, create limitless space and time. Slow down your sun salutations taking extra time and breath. Remember in yoga we have “infinite time and no ambition.”

Teaching peace in yoga class may seem elusive or even unfeasible. However, if we return to the core premise of yoga described by Patanjali as a means to “chitta-vrtti-nirohdah” or cease the turnings of the mind we are reminded that we are teaching peace every time we teach a yoga class. As yoga teachers we simply must return our intention and single pointed focus to this goal.
Dr. Melissa West is a yoga teacher who is contributing to the Global Mala Project on September 22nd. For more information see http://melissawest.com/ and http://www.globalmala.org/

A Lifelong Plan for Peace of Mind

By Lou LaGrand

Peace of mind is an inner strength that has both emotional and biological value of immense proportions. From it flows true happiness which is not based on material accumulations or peer recognition.

Everyone has the capacity, regardless of background or experience, to obtain this precious commodity. Here is one approach to consider in this quest.

1. Want it. Really want it. If you do, it will be one of your highest priorities in daily life. You will be more open to learning what others have accomplished in order to find peace. There is great wisdom out there in the experience of others. You will soon recognize that peace of mind is an ongoing work in progress, not something you “get” and do not have to maintain.

2. Create a daily reflection time. For most, this is the most difficult part of finding peace because it means cutting into the rapid paced living style that is characteristic of western culture.
However, you can find a way to spend 20 minutes just for yourself every day. Get away from it all, and seek the solitude you deserve to replenish your inner life.

3. Review your past life for what you are grateful for. Include the people who helped you, the books that influenced you, your friends, and the experiences that taught you important lessons. And, don’t forget all of the so-called little things, your health, home, automobile, neighborhood, abilities you possess, and hobbies. Write all of this down to reread at specific times when you need to change your consciousness level.

Expanding consciousness (becoming wiser and more understanding of the Self and its connection to a transcendent reality) is a treasure few individuals seek to understand and pursue. Yet, it is at the very core of living fully and with great joy. Notice I capitalized the S in Self in the tradition of Carl Jung, who said that the small self that we know, is our greatest limitation.

4. Each day at reflection time, start by writing down the things you are grateful for that happened the day before, whatever they may be. You made an important sale, an old friend telephoned, you had a great cup of coffee at your favorite shop, one of your kids said “I love you,” you had a great round of golf, or your loan application was approved, are examples. You will profit significantly from where this mind set eventually takes you.

5. Conclude reflection time with fifteen minutes of meditation. Choose any form that you enjoy. Here is one I used for years. Take several deep abdominal breaths to relax. Sit comfortably, legs uncrossed. Choose a four-syllable word you would like to repeat (I used the Aramaic word Maranatha, which means come Lord). Focus on your breathing and each time you exhale repeat your word. Any time your mind wanders, and it will, calmly bring it back to your word. The solitude you find in meditation engenders peace.

6. During your normal day, begin choosing your conflicts carefully. Most of what we get exercised about is not worth the time and energy demanded. Keep putting this question to yourself, “Do I want peace or conflict to dominate my life?” Why get stressed out over a traffic jam or not getting invited to a certain party? Refuse to let others upset you because they don’t follow your way of looking at things.

In short, avoid thoughts that drain your energy. Choose loving thoughts to energize you because what you give out keeps finding its way back.

7. Focus on the little picture, not the big one. That is, focus on peace in your corner of the world, your work, home and neighborhood and let the world problems be addressed by others more qualified. This does not mean we lose interest in world problems. We vote accordingly, but we can limit the inner turmoil they create each day as we read the newspaper or watch the news. Make the world close to you a better place.

In summary, if you want peace of mind, you have to change your daily routine to include down time where you work on your soul through an emphasis on being aware of and thankful for all that you have. Reflection time is an absolute must.

Peace of mind also means accepting the fact that conflict is a choice that you can turn down most of the time. It will help immensely to surround yourself as much as possible with peace-filled friends.

In any event, you must change what you do on a daily basis or you reap the same stress-filled day. The new peace routine you incorporate—a mere twenty minutes of time—becomes a part of your life, for the rest of your life.

Dr. LaGrand is a grief counselor and the author of eight books, the most recent, the popular Love Lives On: Learning from the Extraordinary Encounters of the Bereaved. He is known world-wide for his research on the Extraordinary Experiences of the bereaved (after-death communication phenomena) and is one of the founders of Hospice of the St. Lawrence Valley, Inc. His free monthly ezine website is http://www.extraordinarygriefexperiences.com

Soundproof Insulation - For Your Peace Of Mind

By David Faulkner

You long to live the quiet life. But the biggest obstacle to achieving your dream is, ironically, you own home. Whether it’s surrounded by noisy neighbors and street traffic, or is itself the source of your noise problem with knocking pipes and thin interior walls, your escape from the madding crowds is not performing as you would like. And you’d like a solution, preferably as soon as possible.

One of the easiest ways to make your home more appealing is by adding soundproof insulation. Soundproof insulation will not only provide you with the restful, welcoming haven that you’ve always imagined a home should be; it will increase your property value. And the chances are good that it will the home life of everyone in your family. Why?

A Happy Family
Soundproof insulation will drastically reduce the friction between the adults annoyed by loud music being played and the teenagers who are playing it. Soundproofing insulation will keep private conversations from being overheard when curious ears are listening. Soundproofing insulation will let other family members sleep in when someone has to set his sort her alarm for an early morning awakening, shower, and exit. Soundproof insulation, in other words, will make the close quarters of your home just a little less intimate.

One of the overlooked benefits of soundproof insulation is that it will add to your home’s energy efficiency. Soundproof insulation is, in most cases, acoustic foam injected into your home’s walls through opening in the attic. By expanding to fill every gap in the wall, like those around electrical outlets, it will both provide an extremely tight barrier against heat loss in the winter, and keep warm air out in the summer. You can expect your soundproof insulating to pay for itself eventually in the savings on your home’s energy costs.

If You’re Building A Home
If you’re planning a new home, you can safe yourself from unwanted noise by having soundproof insulation installed at the construction stage. You’ll have to wait until all the plumbing and electrical wiring is complete; then fiberglass batting will be fitted on the walls. The quality of the soundproofing will depend on the thickness of the insulation used.

Soundproofing is also available in pre-made wall coverings which are more expensive than soundproof insulation, and not as effective at lowering energy costs. If you are interested in soundproof insulation for your existing or future home, your best bet is to contact a soundproof insulation contractor who can determine the best solution for your needs.

You can also find more info on Soundproof Foam and Soundproof Headphones.
Homesoundproofinghelp.com is a comprehensive resource to know about Sound Proofing.