Toby Ord Leads the Way to genuine Giving

Through a survey done by Coca-Cola in 2010, the people of East Africa, revealed that money contributed least as a source of happiness. Good health , knowing that loved one’s were okay and good friendship were top in the list as sources of happiness.

The survey showed that the source of happiness is based more on simplicity than on more money and gadgets. Toby Ord, a thirty year old academician at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, actually proves that this is true. Dr Ord pledged to give one third of his £33,000 salary to charity living him with £20,000 to live on for the year.

Toby also pledged to give one million sterling pounds in the course of his career and to ensure this happens he further pledged to give 10% of his income through out his working life.

Dr Ord is married and lives with his wife in a one bedroom flat (apartment). His wife works as a junior doctor and has also pledged to give “away everything over £25,000” of her salary.

What makes it possible for Dr Ord to do what he is doing is that he is not materialistic and has discovered that life is not made up of the abundance of stuff but in the simplicity of the little things that life brings to us. He says that "The things I gain most from – spending time with my wife, with friends, listening to beautiful music, reading beautiful books – don't cost money."

In a materialistic society where one is judged not by the conduct of their deeds but by how much gadgets and money they have amassed, Dr Ord’s action is commendable. It seems like we live in a generation where the amassing of things is of more importance than investing on relationships.

Read more: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/498570_toby-ord-leads-the-way-to-genuine-giving#ixzz1OLmRE7dv

Meditation Prayers to Remove Blocks in our Lives that Hinders Growth and Success

Life is a journey and that journey starts from conception. That little seed has potential of growing into something big. Considering that a human being is both physical and spiritual then as we grow physically we also ought to grow spiritually.

We all have a purpose to fulfill in this world in the days given to us. Moses recognizing this prayed, “teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” Psalms 90:12. When Moses died and Joshua succeeded him in leadership, God approached Joshua and instructed him on what to do if he was to find success in his calling.

God asked him to meditate on His word “day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” Joshua 1:8. Meditating on the word helps us understand what is right and what is wrong in God sight. But with understanding comes the responsibility of doing that which the word calls right.

The prayers addressed here are aimed at dealing with certain elements in our lives which scripture shows are contrary to God’s will for our lives. If we do not deal with these elements we will find ourselves going round and round in circles without progress and wonder why.

Everything we do must always start with our relationship with God and this is why it is important to meditate on His word. The greatest commandment is to love God first with all our being and the second is to love others as we love ourselves, (Mathew 22: 37-39).

1) Removing blame: When we blame others for the happenings of our lives, it is because we feel betrayed and have allowed anger to take captive of us. We must remind ourselves that scripture teaches that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose, (Romans 8:28). We therefore need to forgive according to God’s command and Let Him be the arbiter of the situation. If you find yourself in a blaming frame of mind, ask God to help you forgive and remove the blame in your heart and restore the love that He has called us to operate on.

2) Removing Depression: Depression is caused by many reasons and is manifested in the loss of joy. Scripture teaches that the joy of the Lord is our strength. When we lose this joy it shows that there is a disconnect with God and we need to act to reconnect. The Psalmist writes “my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope” Psalm 16: 9. Recognize that true joy is far deeper than happiness. We can feel joy in spite of our deepest troubles because we have learnt to be content in whatever state we are in. Instead of allowing yourself to fall into depression, pray that God will show you who to reach out to and express the love of God in you because it is in giving that we recieve.

Read more: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/331594_meditation-prayers-to-remove-blocks-in-our-lives-that-hinders-growth-and-success#ixzz1OLhZ7H5w

What is the Source of Your Happiness?

We live in a world where most people are unhappy for one reason or another hence the high cases of depression. People have defined happiness to consist of material things or a particular status and because that is lacking, they are unhappy.

The interesting thing to note is that the happiest people in the world today are found in the least materialistic societies. Ed Diener, a University of Illinois Psychologist observes that “materialism is toxic for happiness”.

In an article titled, “Psychologists now know what makes people happy”, (New York Times of Sept 2009), Marilyn Elias wrote that “ it was apparent that the happiest people surround themselves with family and friends, don’t care about keeping up with the Joneses next door, lose themselves in daily activities and most importantly forgive easily”.

Happiness is individually defined and when people stop looking outside of themselves to be happy then they start to find happiness in the simple day to day things. This was indeed established in a recent survey done in the three East African countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania on the level of happiness of the people in the region.

Kenyans came up top as the happiest and the most optimistic in the region and had a happiness score of 79% compared to Tanzanian 69% and Ugandans 63%. The survey on happiness was conducted by Coca Cola and is based on a theory emerging from Bhutan a state in Asia recommending the “use of the national mood instead of economic statistics as a measure of social development”.

A good health as opposed to money, to most Kenyans is what makes them happy. Further more “money means less for the self employed than the employed”. Perhaps being in control of one's ife through self employment, is more pay than being subject to the whims of an employer.

Read more: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/502422_what-is-your-source-for-happiness#ixzz1Nwtvrz18

The ten vitamins of love necessary for success

True success is not based on how much wealth or power one has amassed. To experience inner and outer success, it is essential to fulfill our emotional needs for love and support. Without the support of love, we tend to look back with resentment and shame and miss the important lessons and growth.

When we are happy we are getting exactly the kind of love we need. If we are unhappy it is always because we are somehow deficient in a particular kind of love. Happiness is our true nature and to experience and connect with it we simply need to feel a particular kind of love and support.

Receiving love gives us the power we need to connect with our true selves. The soul needs different kinds of love to grow and express itself fully through the mind, heart and body. The mind, heart and body work with the soul as follows;

a) The mind assist’s the soul in fulfilling its purpose in the world by intention, setting goals, positive thinking and believing.

b) The heart assist the soul by drawing in what it needs to grow

c) The senses feed the soul by providing necessary information and pleasurable experiences in the outer world.

To make a connection to our souls, we must be able to open our hearts and receive the kind of love we need. According to John Gray, We need ten kinds of love ,which he refers to as vitamins, to function as God intended us to and to be successful in life. These are,

1) Vitamin G1- Love and support from God. In other words we need a relationship with God to function properly in this world.

2) Vitamin P1- Love and support of our parents

3) Vitamin F- Love and support of family, friends, and having fun.

Read more: http://socyberty.com/relationships/the-ten-vitamins-of-love-necessary-for-success/#ixzz1Kgath446

Remove the blocks in your life hindering you to be true to yourself

Recognizing and honoring all your desires is the basis of finding your true self. This involves recognizing your soul’s desire, your mind’s desire, your hearts desire and your body’s desire.

Staying in touch with and honoring all your desires gives you a clear direction in life and ensures personal success. Honoring a desire does not mean you have to act on it. We create blocks in our lives that interfere with the process of our establishing our true desires.

In his book “How to get what you want and want what you have” John Gray identifies twelve ways in which people disconnect from their feelings. These are revenge, attachment, doubt, rationalization, defiance, submission, avoidance, justification, rejection, withholding, reaction and sacrifice. He suggests dealing with such feelings as follows;

1) Get mad not even- When we feel the need to hurt or make someone suffer, we are not in harmony with our true nature of being loving. By learning to release blame with forgiveness you free yourself from the tendency to waste your energy and power in trying to get even. When you let go of revenge you take back your power to be happy and fulfilled within yourself without depending on the outside.

2) Give up attachment and keep desiring- When our hearts are not healed from a loss, like that of a relationship, we continue to hold on to what is no longer available to us. When we learn to let go, accept and trust change we clearly experience that every change no matter how tragic always opens the door to more.

Read More at  http://www.bukisa.com/articles/264062_remove-the-blocks-in-your-life-hindering-you-to-be-true-to-yourself

Four Steps to personal success

The secret of getting what you want and wanting what you have is first learning how to be happy, loving, confident and peaceful regardless of your outer conditioning. Personal success comes from within and is achieved when you are able not only to be yourself but also to love yourself. It is feeling confident, happy and powerful in the process of doing what you want to do.  

If you are already happy and you know that you are not dependent on more money to be happy, greater wealth can make you happier but is not the condition for your happiness. The more you think that money is capable of making you happy the more you give away your power to be happy without it. In his book “How to get what you want and want what you have”, John Gray suggests the following four steps in achieving personal success;

Step one: Set your intention- Recognize where you are now and clearly see where you need to go to achieve the right balance of inner and outer success for you. In other words “be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” Romans 12:2. Ask God for the direction of your life.

http://socyberty.com/advice/four-steps-to-personal-success/ for full article.

Rule to live by for the betterment of your life

“You can accomplish anything you wish that is not contradictory to the laws of God or man, providing you are willing to pay the price” O G Mandino, (A better way to live)

O G Mandino is one of those writers who I consider to have been inspired by the Holy Spirit in his writings and teachings. His writings resonate with Biblical principles an indication that he found his worth and inspiration from the scriptures. In his book “A better way to live” he states that “when God gave us dominion over the world, He also gave us dominion over ourselves. We each plot our own map. God is our navigator---God bestowed on each of us intellect and talent and vision to map our own way, to write our own book of life in any manner we chose” (P.46). He reminds us that our worth is always determined by our deeds not by our good intention, however noble. Indeed James in his epistle writes “--- faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” James 2:17.

For further reading turn to http://www.bukisa.com/articles/191362_rules-to-live-by-for-the-betterment-of-your-life