Every Christmas the Yuletide card portrays a silver star in a navy blue sky and every year the same heavenly object sparkles from the top of the decorated evergreen. At season's end the three wise men and their fellow shepherds gather at a hastily set up manger for the familiar nativity scene. Though it shimmers on the greeting card and its brilliance lights up the tannebaum, it wasn't a star that erupted into a supernova on that dark Judean night. The star that shone so brightly two thousand years ago was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

Pride is a double edged sword that can really cut if used in the wrong way.

So it is with all of us who confront our garden; whether we are on our beds of affliction, behind prison walls, or just struggling to live in the midst of life’s chaos and pettiness and brokenness. We know that when we get to Gethsemane, nothing else matters.

I thought I would draw this article up as a reference page in the event any of you would ever need, at a quick glance, exactly what the 10 commandments are. I will actually type out the specific Bible verse the 10 commandments comes off of as God makes some additional statements under some of these commandments that is usually not written down when you see little tablets of the 10 commandments at your local Christian bookstore.

Our approach to surrender would be well taken if we followed the path of nature and as we experienced winters of our soul we took refuge in the fact that spring WILL come.

Here they are, our Ladies of Mercy and Divine Benevolence. Petitioning the Saints for Special Favours has been a big subject in the chat rooms lately, so in the spirit of Christmas and the Goddess energies associated with these martyrs and popularized pagan deities, I have compiled a list that tells you how to use candle burning to request favours.

Echart Tolle has isolated a key concept called the pain-body. This shadow entity is the cause of all human suffering. We can dissolve it by shining the light of our present awareness on it as it emerges into consciousness.

Although usually unexpected and emotionally painful one day you may be faced with leaving your spiritual family. This can be one of the most challenging times of your life as well as one of the least understood. Facing this issue with courage and compassion can be one of the toughest, and most rewarding, things you can do.

Every soul that is currently experiencing life on any level begins and ends as a whole. Our essence – the very core of our spiritual being – remains One with God. We always have been, and always will be, a part of ‘the whole’ that is the God-consciousness level. Our soul essence, which began as whole, remains whole throughout the soul growth process, and will still be whole when the growth process has been completed and we no longer leave the whole to pursue our own life studies...

In my life, I have tried to be Good and Pure and True. In these qualities, I have failed miserably.

For the past several years I have struggled with getting (and staying) fit. Ok I admit it, the struggle has been longer than just a few years. As a kid, instead of playing nicely with the girls, I fought with the neighborhood boys. I attempted to join their fun and received new scars weekly in bloody games of soccer. I was always the last one picked to play on the kickball team and, as the catcher of my 5th grade softball team, I pummeled the pitcher in the head with a fast ball. Uncoordinated in team sports, I succeeded only at baton twirling which was fun but I barely broke a sweat. After failures in group sports I thought I'd try running so, a few years ago I attempted to train for a half marathon. I ended up limping home in tears and thought I’d never exercise again. (I couldn't even MOVE after that, much less exercise!)

Uh, oh. I’m in trouble now. I found God. Now what do I do with Him?

We all suffer from stress from time to time but the degree to which it affects our lives has a great deal to do with how we cope with it. Unfortunately, in all too many cases people often unwittingly compound the problem rather than solve it.

Here are some tips for preventing panic attacks or, at the least, reducing the harmful side effects experienced when you suffer from a panic attack.

If all we get out of the Virginia Tech Massacre is that some lunatic loner did this and we have to isolate and institutionalize such people, we're making a huge mistake. Whether you like it or not, anyone can end up like Cho Seung-Hui if pushed hard enough. Everyone has a breaking point, and we're fools to think this isn't going to happen again.

Because of the link between your body and mind, if one suffers, they both suffer. That is why you feel tried and run down when you get stressed out, and it feels like your mind cannot escape the things that are causing your stress.

Instead of being a hammer blow of fear, anxiety and stress, the most telling forms of anxiety are gradually built up. Here are 10 tips to reduce stress before it reaches a crisis point.

A 7-point, step-by-step method to reduce or eliminate your major worry today.

Winning with whiners can be quite a battle. They often complain, murmur, and tattle. You cannot be a winner if you're frequently associating with whiners. If you seemingly have no way out due to working or living conditions, here are 10 ways to win with whiners.

Do you experience stress, frustration and anxiety over certain people and events. Are you looking for relief, contentment and peace in life? This article will show you exactly why all the heartache in your life exists and how you can effectively deal with it... Only then will you be able to truly experience freedom and happiness.

There are things that can trigger stress, it may be external situations such as death of loved one, loss of a job or illness (such as cancer). We live in a hectic challenging times, and most of the time we tend to have inadequate time to meet our personal and professional needs which contribute to modern day stress.

Now I am sure that we would all admit to becoming a little stressed from time to time. It is knowing what to do about it which is the problem for most of us. I am the type of person who used to stress about the smallest of things, this stress affected my sleep, my skin and my work life. I now, after studying the subject of stress for the past two years, have come up with ways to help me to cope with and to reduce the amount that I stress. I am going to write about these ways in this article.