Healing

The first step to inner healing is to acknowledge that you have a problem. Your potential through prayer is to live a life that is open, honest and healed. Pray this prayer: Father help me find the courage to admit my mistakes, acknowledge my weaknesses, and to reach out for help so that I may live my dream as a whole and healthy person.

Why are You Here? And I Don't Mean That Philosophically....

I really would like to know WHY you visited this website. Please leave a comment below and tell me what prompted you to view a site called "Discover Your Destiny".

-Looking for some specific guidance about a major life decision?
-Looking for a discussion of philosophy?
-Looking for a way of predicting the future?
-Looking for something fun to do?

Since I started the blog, more than 7,500 readers have visited the site. That's not a lot in terms of popular sites. Still, the number of people stopping by makes me curious.

Of course, you are the only one who can satisfy my curiousity. So, please, leave a comment and explain what you were hoping to find on this blog.

I will use the feedback to make a decision about the kind of content to include in the future.

Thanks!

Anxieties, Phobias and Fears

According to the website mentalhelp.net:

· Anxiety is the 5th most common complaint to MD’s.
· It is the most common complaint to psychotherapists.
· 7% of the population experience serious anxiety during a
typical month (and the recent terrorism has certainly
increased this by some percentage)
· 30 million new prescriptions for tranquilizers are
prescribed annually in the United States
· Annual tranquilizer consumption in the US measures in the
tons

When an unreasonable fear escalates to the point that it interferes with one’s social or work life, it is called a phobia. Here are some facts about phobias:

· About 13% of the population has a phobia
· There are 3 types of phobias:
- Simple phobias, such as fear of death, cancer, insanity, the
devil, the dark
- Social phobias, such as fear of public speaking,
embarrassment, of meeting people
- Panic disorders, such as unpredictable attacks of terror,
sweating or dizziness

Panic attacks are believed to be physiologically and chemically different from simple fears and phobias. The most typical treatment of fears and anxieties are relaxation techniques and “exposure”, which means confronting and encountering the thing one fears

Often, the way to conquer your fear is to face it.

Fear: It's All in Your Mind

Fear is a physical reaction. In the face of physical danger, physical fear is not only natural, but desireable; it energizes our bodies to respond. That's ok, until the point of panic. However, fear is not only physical. It is also mental, cognitive and perceptual. Fear is in our minds. Blindfold me, take me unknowing to the top of the Empire State Building. Move me to the very edge and let me stand there. I'll be fine... until you remove my blindfold!

At that moment, my eyes will send a signal to my brain. My brain will send an e-mail through my central nervous system instantly informing my entire body that I am in danger. Let's not say what happens next! Just know that it involves a trip to the dry cleaners!!

Your brain tells your body when to be afraid. Thoughts trigger fears. At least part of the deliverance from a fear-based life is to change your thinking.

This is one aspect of the Biblical command that believers experience a renewing of their minds. Otherwise, fear will dominate your life and you will not find your destiny.

Top 10 Fears

Failure is not the only thing that people fear. A recent on-line publication published a list of the TEN MOST COMMON HUMAN FEARS. The results were compiled from a number of sources. The list was not necessarily scientific, but here it is:

TOP 10 MOST COMMON HUMAN FEARS

10. Elevators

9. Driving

8. Flying

7. Death

6. Deep water

5. Sickness

4. Financial problems

3. Insects

2. Heights

1. And the ever-popular even scarier than death #1 top fear:
public speaking!


Here's a very personal, pertinent, and powerful question. It is a question that some people may have difficulty answering honestly. Privately, you may have difficulty even admitting that there is an answer to this question. The question is simply, "What are you afraid of?"

Have you noticed these "No Fear" t-shirts that seem to be everywhere? I just wonder why the culture we live in has such a need to make that statement. I don't know. I do know that, regardless of our posturing, fear is a fundamental facet of human nature.

Do you remember the Muppets: Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog? Back in the 1980's, there was a Muppet movie. The opening scene was of the Muppets riding bicycles in a park. One shot showed a muppet riding by, hands in the air, saying, "Look, Ma, no hands!" The next show shows another muppet coasting by on his bike. Only, he is sitting backward on the bike with his hands in the air, not looking where he is going. He says, "Look, Ma, no brains!" There are some things that you will be afraid of if you have any brains!

However, there are fears that can cause a person not to move toward his or her destiny.

So, again, what are you afraid of?

Digging for Gold

Americans today feel a need to find a deeper meaning to life. This is true of religious and non-religious people alike. I see at least 4 signs of this.

First, success and self-help literature is immensely popular. Apparently, people don't feel successful.

Secondly, Christian and religious success and self-help books are, if anything, more popular than even the secular market. The Associated Press published and article on May 20th, 2001 titled, "Writers Promote Bible as Self-help Manual". In fact, I recently visited a very large Christian book store and one of the largest sections in the store was called "Self-Help". by the way, one of the Christian books mentioned in the article was, If Men are Like Buses Then How Do I Catch One? Some of the more serious titles:

Half Time: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance

The Gift of Peace (which sold 350,000 copies within 9 weeks).

So the literature is out there in vast quantities, indicating that people are interested in success and significance.

Thirdly, there is a rapidly developing new profession called "life coaching". At the August, 2001 World Conference of Christian Counselors, which I attended, more than 300 therapists, psychiatrists, and counselors gathered in a work-shop that hailed life coaching as an emerging trend. The definition of life coaching: a client-coach relationship that empowers the client to take action toward greater fulfillment in life. The fees are not inexpensive but people are signing up by the hundreds.

Fourthly, I know from personal experience the feeling that "there is something more to me than the world has yet seen." Do you ever have a feeling like that? Something great in you struggling to get out?

There is a deeply felt need among many Americans, no less in the church than out of it, to find a more significant and fulfilling way of life.

This need can be described as the quest to discover one's destiny. The Christian author and speaker Joyce Meyer, in her book How to Succeed at Being Yourself, says, "I hope you have a dream of vision in your heart for something greater than you have now. Ephesians 3:20 KJV tells us that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond all that we can hope or ask or think. If we are not thinking, hoping, or asking for anything, we are cheating ourselves. We need to think big thoughts, hope for big things and ask for big things. I always say, I would rather ask God for a lot and get half of it, than to ask Him for a little and get all of it."

Finally, Joyce says, "There is a gold mine hidden in every life, but we have to dig to get to it."

Are you digging for the gold in your life? Have you even scratched the surface yet? Why wait any longer? Begin today thinking, hoping and praying for big things.

In the Beginning

In the beginning, God intended for you to pursue passionately His divinely ordained purpose for your existance. He designed that purpose for you and you for that purpose.

Your talents and fundamental characteristics, when fully developed and applied correctly, are the perfect tools for your specific assignment.

You experience a richness and fulness of life that cannot be improved on when you are pursuing this destiny, regardless of obstacles, pain or opposition.

People find themselves attracted to you because you radiate peace and contentment. You have meaningful relationships that are deep and strong. You accept the failings of others because you are happy with yourself, including your own weaknesses and shortcomings. You have been forgiven, you embrace your own forgiveness, and you forgive others.

In the beginning, God created you for a fulfilling destiny. Are you moving toward it?

P.Bio, Your Personal Biographer Review

Really cool product! P.Bio creates a timeline of your life, automatically!

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Fight Your Fears and Phobias Review

Your comprehensive resource against fears, frustrations and worries, "Fight Your Fears and Phobias" is a self-help e-book designed to help you arrest and prevent emotional disturbances and if you are already beset by them, revealing how to identify and deal with underlying causes.

Topics include 15 ways to overcome loneliness, 25 proven ways to make friends, five ways to deal with discontent and much more.

The author, Andrea Baljak, is also associated with the website, www.mayertech.ca

The contents of the book and free chapters are available as a sneak preview.

For more information or to purchase.

Start a Fire!

Do you know your mission?

It is important, because a well-stated missions serves to focus passion.

Have you ever seen the use of a magnifying glass to start a fire? The magnifying glass collects and focuses. It pinpoints energy on a very specific target area. This generates enough heat to start a fire.

You’re going to expend a lot of energy over the course of your lifetime. Will it be so diffused, however, that it really accomplishes little? Or will you focus your passions and your interests and your motivations and your drives on one key purpose and thus magnify the impact of your life?

Find the mission and start your fire!

Mini-Seminar: Stress

Why People Love Stress
And
How to Stay That Way as Long as You Live
(Which Probably Won’t be That Long)

Why People Love Stress

Stress, tension, and burnout are common in modern society. I have come to the following conclusion: THEY WANT TO STAY STRESSED! The following provides you with a few reasons why.

STRESS HELPS YOU SEEM IMPORTANT. Anyone as stressed as you must be working very hard and, therefore, is probably doing something very crucial.

IT HELPS YOU TO MAINTAIN PERSONAL DISTANCE AND AVOID INTIMACY. Anyone as busy as you are certainly can't be expected to form emotional attachments to anyone. And let's
face it, you're not much fun to be around anyway.

IT HELPS YOU AVOID RESPONSIBILITIES. Obviously you're too stressed to be given any more work. This gets you off the hook for all the mundane chores; let someone else take care of them.

IT GIVES YOU A CHEMICAL RUSH. Stress might be considered a cheap thrill, and you can give yourself a "hit" anytime you chose. Be careful, you might get addicted to your own adrenaline.

IT HELPS YOU AVOID SUCCESS. Why risk being "successful" when by simply staying stressed you can avoid all of that? Stress can keep your performance level low enough that success won't ever be a threat.

STRESS ALSO LETS YOU KEEP YOUR AUTHORITARIAN MANAGEMENT STYLE. The authoritarian style of "Just do what I say!" is generally permissible under crisis conditions. If you maintain a permanently stressed crisis atmosphere, you can justify an authoritarian style all the time. How to Stay Permanently StressedSold on the value of stress? Are you worried now about how to stay stressed? You'll have no trouble if you practice the following clinically proven methods:

NEVER EXERCISE. Exercise wastes a lot of time that could be spent worrying.

EAT ANYTHING YOU WANT. Hey, if cigarette smoke can't cleanse your system, a balanced
diet isn't likely to, either. So, why bother?

GAIN WEIGHT. Work hard at staying at least 25 pounds over your recommended weight.

TAKE PLENTY OF STIMULANTS. The old standards of caffeine, nicotine, sugar, and cola will
continue to do the job just fine.

GET RID OF YOUR SOCIAL SUPPORT SYSTEM. Let the few friends who are willing to tolerate you know that concern yourself with friendships only if you have time – and you never have time. If a few people persist in trying to be your friend, avoid them.

PERSONALIZE ALL CRITICISM. Anyone who criticizes any aspect of your work, family, dog, house, or car is mounting a personal attack. Don't waste your time listening; instead, be offended, then return the attack! Maintain the cycle as long as possible.

THROW OUT YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR. Staying stressed is no laughing matter, and it shouldn't be treated as one.

MALES AND FEMALES ALIKE - BE MACHO. Never ever ask for help, and if you want it done right, do it yourself!

BECOME A WORKAHOLIC. Put work before everything else, and be sure to take work home evenings and weekends. Keep reminding yourself that vacations are for losers. You can also tell they are losers by how cheerful and stress-free they are.

DISCARD GOOD TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS. Schedule in more activities every day than you can possibly get done and then worry about it all whenever you get a chance.

PROCRASTINATE. Putting things off to the last second always produces a marvelous amount of stress.

WORRY ABOUT THINGS YOU CAN'T CONTROL. Worry about the stock market, earthquakes, the approaching Ice Age, you know, all the big issues.

BECOME NOT ONLY A PERFECTIONIST BUT ALSO SET IMPOSSIBLY HIGH STANDARDS... feel guilty, depressed, discouraged, and/or inadequate when you don't meet them."

A stress-filled life can be yours today!

God's Will and Destiny

Have you ever prayed to know the will of God?

I know a lot of religious people have prayed that kind of prayer; maybe a lot of not-very-religious people
have done the same, I don't know.

If you have prayed to know the will of God, what actually was the "life domain" in which you wanted to know God’s will?

Probably, it was the arena of a major decision in your life, such as, “God, is it your will for me to change careers?” Or, “God, is it your will for me to do this or that?” Most likely, your prayer was about “do” and not “who”. Right? "God, what should I do?"

What if I said that you don’t have to pray to know will of God? After all, the model prayer – that is, the Lord's Prayer – says, “Thy will be done.” It does not say, “Show me your will.”

Consider this story from the gospels:

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:46-50 NIV)

Surely, it is not our career choice that makes us Jesus’ brother or sister! It doesn't fit, does it? “Whoever chooses the right career is my brother and sister.”

How about this: “Whoever is my disciple and learns of me is my brother and sister.” Does that not sound much more likely?

What if I said that I can tell God’s will for your life right now? Here are some direct quotes from the Bible:

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk… instead, be filled with the Spirit!

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality…

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Submit yourself… to every authority instituted among men… for it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men .

So the will of God is much more about “who” than “do”. Who are you to be? You are to be sober, spiritual, self-controlled especially in the realm of your sexuality, joyful, prayerful, thankful, and a law-abiding citizen. That is the will of God for your life.

So then, what about career decisions? How do we pray about those? Those decisions are a matter of wisom. And if anyone lack wisdom, let him ask of God who, according to one verse, "doesn't mind if you ask". The interesting thing about wisdom is that it implies that we ultimately must participate in the decision and make the decision. It is really easy for God to move us into the right career and the right geographical location if we are genuinely committed to becoming His kind of person.

The “do” flows from the “who”.

Focus on become the kind of person you were designed to be; career and financial prosperity will flow out of a series of events in your life which will in the end prove to have been providential.