Many people I know think that Christianity is for the weak, the simple, the superstitious, or the poor. Marx called it the “opium of the people,” implying that the only way to numb the pain of a miserable existence is to conjure up a fantasy where all the problems of today no longer exist. Freud called it a neurosis based on our inherent weakness and inability to understand the world, he said that faith is a mental illness whereby we try to control and maintain influence on the outside world. And Nietzsche said that Christianity is an attempt to find meaning, and that “God is dead” and that we must create our own meaning because there is no real purpose for our existence.

Many today say that Christianity requires a blind faith that is the antithesis of rational, reasonable, intellectual thought. You have to check your brain at the gate. To believe in things that are not visible, that are not empirically verifiable, you must abandon reason and embrace mere illusion. They say there is no way to conclusively prove your view of religion is true, therefore to believe in it you must be delusional. You may think that believing in Christianity requires you to believe in the unprovable, unverifiable, unfeasible, and unknowable. Which requires you to make a truth statement about something you can’t know to be true and is therefore too risky for you. You might think that you are too intellectual to trust something invisible.

But what if I told you that this is exactly what you are doing?

You see, Marx, Freud, and Nietzsche accused Christianity of being false because it was invented for comfort, control, and meaning, but their anti-religious stipulations were exactly that, a way to find comfort, control, and meaning. You may accuse Christianity of being an unprovable statement of faith, but your own statement to the contrary is just that, another unprovable statement of faith. When we Christians say that we believe in a Creator who is the cause of all things, you respond by saying that’s not true specifically because we can’t prove it, but can you empirically prove otherwise? His point of view on religion is also based on faith. We both make statements of faith, we are both theologians and philosophers, we both believe something about God, and ultimately we both have to rely on our faith to make statements about the unseen.. I trust my faith by saying that God is real, you trust your doubt by saying that he is not. We both bank our lives on a statement of faith about religion. My question is, how much do you trust your statement of faith? After exploring alternatives, I have risked my life with my statement of faith, do you feel safe doing the same?

Now I know that this does not prove Christianity, you could say that there may be an invisible spaghetti monster and because we cannot disprove its existence, we must blindly believe in it. That’s not what I’m saying, I’m not asking you to believe in God simply because ‘you need to make a statement of faith anyway’ and so pick one at random. Instead, I urge you to critically evaluate your own faith as I have. Explore Christianity. Read the New Testament, peruse serious books by theologians and philosophers, listen to what reasonable Christians have to say, listen to the best arguments for Christianity. Explore.

The point is, if you don’t believe that Jesus is God, but you haven’t seriously considered that possibility, you are risking a lot by making a statement of faith that he doesn’t exist. Because your statement is not empirically proven and has not even been examined; your life trajectory is simply based on your feelings. That is the most illogical and blind kind of faith possible. AND Until you have seriously evaluated Christianity, you are like a man on a bridge taking a leap of faith, affirming that there is or is not something under your feet, but never bothering to look down.

If you’re a committed and researched atheist, I think there are answers to your questions, although you may not like them because they’re not what you want, but I still respect you for taking the time to explore and come to conclusions. about your faith If you decide to reject Christianity after a serious evaluation of what the best Christian minds have to offer (not the caricatures posited by fringe groups), then I respect that and don’t want to force anything on you. However, if you reject or scoff at Christianity because you have a feeling of doubt, or it just seems too crazy, or some Christians you know are weird, but you haven’t searched for answers, haven’t looked at it seriously, you’re making exactly the kind of statement of blind faith without intellectual support, which you accuse Christians of doing.

There may be two questions on your mind right now, “How does this show that Christianity is true and other religions are false??” and “How can Christianity be true if there are so many different groups of Christians?“I agree that there are other religious groups that make statements of faith, and you don’t just have two options: theism and atheism; there are many options. But whatever conclusions you come to, atheism, Christianity, or others, you still you are choosing one unprovable statement of faith out of many This should not be a reason to think blindly or on the basis of your feelings. Before you make a statement of faith denying the Christian faith that 1/3 of the world believes to be true, you owe it to your intelligence a rational exploration of what Christianity really is..

I know some Christians get into pointless fights and say stupid things, but if you deny Christianity because of them, you are basing your ultimate statement of faith on the failure of some people, not on an exploration of the nature of truth. It would be like denying that Apple makes good computers because some of its employees are really bad at explaining how they work.

I know you may have questions, I know it may sound crazy, but since you are making a statement of faith anyway, why not explore Christianity before you reject it? Read authors like CS Lewis, Timothy Keller, John Stott, James Packer, check it out for yourself, don’t trust your doubts, don’t trust the caricatures. Explore. If Christianity is false, but you believe, life is useless and you have lost almost nothing. But if the things Jesus said are true, and you ignore them, you have lost everything.

Go out and explore.

The discovery of the art of photography and film, in particular, provided the impetus for a surge in cosmetics. As viewers saw images of famous people with flawless complexions and strong sex appeal, a woman’s beauty standards began to change. Cosmetics have become a means to beautify the physical appearance.

During the 1920s, cosmetic history increased rapidly. Between the years 1927 and 1930, radio advertising expenses increased from $300,000 to $3.2 million. At first, many women’s magazines rejected ads for cosmetics. However, near the end of the 1920s, cosmetics had progressed and cosmetics advertising in magazines became one of the largest revenue-generating resources of the magazine industry.

Here is a brief chronological overview of cosmetics from 1900 to 2010:

1900: Annie Turnbo, a black businesswoman, begins selling hair conditioners, hair treatments, as well as harmless hair straightening and hair growth products door to door.

1904: From Lodz, Poland, Max Factors moves to the United States, and 4 years later to the state of Los Angeles, where it sells makeup for movie celebrities that does not crack or cake.

1909: Eugene Schueller, a French chemist, creates the first harmless commercial hair dye. In 1910, his company was called L’Oreal.

1905: Sarah McWilliams begins selling hair products door-to-door. After marrying Charles J. Walker, she was recognized as Madame CJ Walker and joined her business in Indianapolis in 1911.

1909 – Cosmetologist Elizabeth Hubbard and Florence Graham open a shop on Fifth Avenue in New York City. After a while, Florence Graham changes the name of the store from her to Elizabeth Arden.

1914: Maybelline has been discovered by TJ Williams. The Maybelline cosmetics company specializes in mascara.

1922: The hairpin was invented to control or treat short or bobbed hair.

1932: Charles Lackman, a supplier of nail polishes, and Joseph and Charles Revson, distributors of nail polishes, discover Revlon. Revlon is a cosmetics company that sells nail polishes in a wide range of colors.

1932 – A New York chemist named Lawrence Gelb brings home a hair dye product that goes through the hair shaft. He also starts a business called Clairol. In 1950, he started Miss Clairol Hair Color Bath, a one-step hair coloring product.

1933: A fresh new wave riding technique is introduced, using chemicals, requiring no machinery or electricity.

1935 – The famous Max Factor made Pancake makeup, initially developed to look natural on tint film.

1941: Aerosols aren’t really tested, paving the way for hairspray.

1944: Benjamin Green, a Miami Beach pharmacist, develops sunscreen to protect the skin of soldiers in the South Pacific.

1958: Mascara wands appear, eliminating the need to apply mascara with a brush.

1961: Noxema starts Cover Girl cosmetics, one of the first brands for sale in grocery stores and aimed at teenagers.

1963: For the first time in the history of cosmetics, Revlon offers its first powder blush.

The next four decades of cosmetic history can be summarized as follows:

1970s: A softer look came into vogue with eyeliners and painted-on lashes that saw sales drop. White highlighters and soft eyeshadows were popular.

1980s – Anti-aging, skin care, and beauty (therapy) treatments were the fashion trends that evolved with emphasis placed on tanning and the cancer link.

1990s: Touch© by Yves St. Laurent was launched and became the item to have as part of the cosmetic regimen.

2000 to 2010: History will make this the decade of certified organic and/or natural cosmetics. A period in which many companies around the world will launch safe and toxic-free products, but the United States will be left behind.

Regulations will be developed worldwide to certify that cosmetic products are organic and/or natural, but through strong lobbying in Washington, DC, the US Cosmetic Industry will fight legislation to eliminate toxic ingredients in cosmetics. , claiming that their products are perfectly safe. Ultimately, when the history of cosmetics is studied in the future, it will show that the industry put revenue and profit before the health benefits of consumers.

Certifying bodies will emerge, mostly from other countries, and although each one will use different criteria, in the end they will have provided the consumer with safe and toxic-free cosmetic products. The hope is that the $50 billion US cosmetics industry will somehow be encouraged to do the same.

There are two magic words in the English language that define the overall success of a person. They are words that have existed since people began to work. These two individual words define a person’s character, how they live, and what they accomplish, whether the accomplishment is physical, financial, or social. They describe who a person is and what they are about. What are these magic words? Well, they’re not actually magic at all.

The two “magic” words I’m talking about are “WORK ETHICS”. I find this lacking, especially in younger people. Some young people have the idea that a good work ethic is nothing more than showing up to work or showing up to do your job. They compare, justify and confuse this concept with people who are just lazy or just don’t want to work. You can still “show up to work” and sit around all day, “shoot the breeze” and do nothing, and claim you have a good work ethic just because you are physically there at your place of business. Just introducing yourself to your job is NOT having a good work ethic.

I was at a fast food restaurant a while ago, looking for something to take out. It was like 1:45 in the afternoon and I was the only one in line. There were two young girls at the counter. I must have stood there for a full three minutes after taking my eyes off the menu to figure out what I wanted before one of them decided it was important enough to go upstairs to take my order. When I finally placed the order, I paid for it with my credit card and this girl not only couldn’t understand or correct my order (I had to repeat it several times), but she didn’t have the training or skills to do it correctly. complete the transaction at the credit card machine. (Probably because she didn’t pay attention while being trained.)

When I was getting to the point of utter frustration, he TOLD me I could pay cash. I said that I preferred to pay by credit card because it was a business expense and I wanted it to show on my card statement. He actually started arguing with me about this and couldn’t understand why he didn’t want to pay cash. Well, we got over that hurdle. As I mentioned, due to the time of day, I was the only one in line. This girl was the slowest person I’ve ever seen. She spent most of her time talking to the other girl and then (while I was still waiting for her to prepare my little order) she had the nerve to pull out her cell phone and call her boyfriend to start a conversation with him.

He finally got me my order and when I checked before I left, I found that the order was missing two things that I paid for. When I “interrupted” her while she was still on the phone with her boyfriend (to tell her what a mistake she had made) she gave me the dirtiest look for bothering her. Well, she finally sent me the order, I said thank you and she didn’t answer me a word. No sorry for the mistake, no thanks, NOTHING. She coincidentally spoke to her boyfriend on the phone again and when she was leaving, I heard her start to mention the whole encounter and what an idiot she was of her.

If you work for an employer, even if you hate your job, that employer is paying you a salary to do the best job possible. Your attitude has a lot to do with this. Even if you don’t like your job and adopt an “I don’t care” attitude, people will pick up on it through your body language. They won’t want to work with you, they won’t even want to be around you because you have a lousy negative attitude. This can really affect you if you are trying to advance your career. No boss will even think of considering him for a promotion if his attitude in his current position sucks. Take pride in what you do. If you sweep streets for a living, be the best street sweeper the company has ever seen.

That’s what a good work ethic is. Going to work every day is only a small part of the process. Have a good attitude while working, be attentive to the needs of other coworkers (or needs of their bosses). Put a smile on your face and a nimble step. Above all, do the best you can by working hard every day and not wasting time. When an employer sees that you are doing your best on a regular basis, they will be noticed. It may take time, but it will work for you in the long run.

This is especially true if you are in business for yourself. Getting up every morning, “put your head down and go to work” every day will give you success in your business. Remember, in your own business (if you work alone) no one is watching you to make sure you are doing your job. That is a discipline that you control. It can be very easy to just “discover” and do nothing all day and think that because you can work at any time, you will later. But just like with a job outside the home, you have to work and do your best if you want to see the Success you want for yourself and your family.

spiritual meaning

Hindu Puja on the eve of Diwali While Deepavali is popularly known as the ‘festival of lights’, the most significant spiritual meaning is ‘the awareness of inner light’. Central to Hindu philosophy is the claim that there is something beyond the physical body and mind that is pure, infinite and eternal, called the Atman. Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Deepavali is the celebration of this Inner Light, in particular the knowledge of which eclipses all darkness (removes all obstacles and dispels all ignorance), awakening the individual to their true nature, not as the body, but as the immutable, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With the realization of the Atman comes universal compassion, love and awareness of the unity of all things (higher knowledge). This brings Ananda (Inner Joy or Peace).

Diwali celebrates this through festive fireworks, lights, flowers, shared sweets, and worship. While the story behind Deepavali varies from region to region, the essence is the same: to rejoice in the Inner Light (Atman) or the underlying reality of all things (Brahman). Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is celebrated with fervor and joy. The festival is celebrated by young and old, rich and poor, across the country to dispel darkness and illuminate their lives. The festival symbolizes unity in diversity, as each state celebrates it in its own special way.

The four-day festival celebration begins on Aswayuja Bahula Chaturdasi and concludes on Kartika Shudda Vijiya. The first day of the Naraka Chaturdasi festival marks the defeat of the demon Naraka by Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama.

Hot on the heels of Dussehra, Diwali is celebrated on the last day of the Gujarati calendar year, usually coming in the months of October or November on the English calendar. It is one of the most important Indian festivals and is celebrated on a large scale by Indians not only in India but also all over the world.

The royal festivities begin on Dhanteras, which falls two days before Diwali. Everyone goes out of their way to make big purchases and buy new clothes and jewelry. This is because this day is considered auspicious for wealth, and it is said that if you buy silver or gold on this day, you will be lucky for the whole year. Goddess Lakshmi is worshiped on this day through a Lakshmipujan, which is performed not only in homes but also in shops and offices.

Legends associated with Diwali

Lord Rama, who was a distinguished warrior king, was banished from the kingdom by his father Dashratha, the king of Ayodhya, after his wife provoked him. Sita, Rama’s wife, along with his younger brother Lakshman, accompanied him in his exile. After defeating the demon Ravana, Lord Rama returned to his kingdom in Ayodhya at the end of his 14-year exile. Lord Rama’s victory over Ravana signified the triumph of good over evil and people welcomed him home by lighting rows of clay lamps and Diwali has been celebrated ever since to mark the triumph of good over evil.

According to Hindu mythology, Diwali is celebrated to mark the triumph of Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu over the demon Narkasura, who wreaked great misery on the people of the world. Narkasura, who was a filth demon, kidnapped beautiful young women and forced them to live with him. However, his cries for help reached Vishnu, who appeared in the form of Krishna. Initially, Krishna had to subdue a five-headed monster that was defending the house from the demon. However, Narkasura pleaded with Krishna to make his death a joy for others. Krishna agreed to his request and the women were released. For Hindus, this legend is an indicator of the fact that good can still arise from evil.

According to another legend, Diwali acts as a reminder to Hindus of the importance of food. According to folklore, many years ago in the village of Gokula, people paid reverence to God Indra believing that it was Indra who sent the rains that made their crops luxuriant. However, Krishna insisted that people should worship Govardhan Mountain, as the mountain and the adjacent land were fertile. This angered Indra who feels thunder and heavy rain over the village. People sought Krishna’s help. Krishna came to the aid of the villagers by lifting the top of the mountain with his finger.

The other version is that when Lord Vishnu, disguised as Vamana, sought three feet of land from the generous demon king Bali, the latter had to surrender his head as Vamana had conquered earth and sky in two strides. Lord Vishnu banishes Bali to Pathala Loka (Netherlands) keeping his third step over Bali’s head. Later, pleased by his generosity, Lord Vishnu grants him a boon and he, in turn, asks the Lord to guard his palace at Pathala Loka.

Importance in Sikhism

The history of Diwali for Sikhs is a history of the Sikh struggle for freedom. Since the time of Guru Nanak (1469 – 1539), the founder of Sikhism, popular seasonal or folk festivals such as the Baisakhi harvest festival, or formerly ancient Hindu festivals such as Holi and Diwali began to take on new meaning for Muslims. Guru’s students. , the sikhs. The Guru used these festivals and special days, for example the first day of every lunar month, as symbols or pegs for his teaching themes. Guru Nanak’s enlightened ideology gave new meaning to ancient festivals like Diwali and Baisakhi.

The answer is one inlet at a time. This is a riddle about goal setting and how to achieve a goal. The truth of the matter is that big goals can be overwhelming and it’s all too easy to get overwhelmed by them.

Chances are, you have a very good reason for setting yourself a big goal. If you’re in business, you need a goal that will push you beyond where you are now. Small goals often lead to less than optimal results. If it’s too easy to achieve, chances are you won’t try at all or will try half-heartedly. With that in mind, a big goal is definitely the way to go… as long as you don’t just aim for the big goal.

The key is to break that big daunting goal into smaller steps. The elephant is too big and the thought of eating an elephant is too overwhelming. If you leave your focus there, you won’t be able to do what needs to be done. But if you decide you need to cut off a piece, cook it, sit down at a table, and eat it, then you’ve started.

This is the beauty of the smaller goal, or mini-goal, if you want to call it that. The mini-goal gets you on your way. As you achieve each mini-goal, you get that much closer to your bigger goal. At first it will still seem like a long way off, but now you have a focus where before you probably didn’t.

The next time you sit down to eat that elephant, think about the steps it takes to do it, and you won’t end up with indigestion from trying to eat more than you can at one time.

Are you coming to my island on vacation? There are three things I always recommend a first-time visitor do. First, take an air tour. Second, go to a luau. Finally, I advise people of all ages to get in the water and snorkel. The magic of “one-one-one, experiencing the world through the eyes of fish” of swimming in those warm lagoons surrounded by clouds of tropical fish is an amazing, refreshing and restorative activity. experience time and time again through the years much more than many of his other travel experiences. Part I of this series is about snorkel gear; Part II of this series will discuss Snorkeling Technique and Part III will cover Snorkeling Etiquette; Part IV of the series discussed snorkeling safety and Part V covered Big Island snorkeling spots.

Of all the Hawaiian Islands, because it is the youngest, the Big Island has the fewest and smallest beaches… leading to crowds during peak tourist season on some beaches. Because Hawaii is still rural, there are still some wild beaches (for hiking only); some of them are among the best on the island.

You can camp on many wild beaches, but you must apply for a permit from the appropriate agency. Camping overnight on Hawaii’s beaches is made easy by the mild climate; I usually take a few quarts of water, a couple of sandwiches, my camera, dry clothes for post-snorkel comfort, a fleece blanket and rice mat to sleep on (a beach towel will suffice), and a small tarpaulin in case it rains. The key here is that if the weather turns really bad, you are rarely more than an hour from your car. You may want to bring a few extra liters of water to rinse off the salt after your swim; it’s hard to sleep comfortably with salty skin.

Two things to keep in mind: Although it may not seem like it at times, Hawaii DOES have tides… camp well back from the beach area. Second, beach fires are not only illegal, but very dangerous on most west side beaches.

Ke-awa-iki Beach (park off Hwy 19 just north of milepost 79; walk down a gravel road toward the ocean to a fence and footpath; about 15 minutes to the beach): a bit of walking on a lava path and rewards yourself with a beautiful beach that many locals don’t know about. This tiny black-sand beach has good snorkeling on the south side, where there is still a bag of white sand. This unique black and white sand beach was created after the eruption of Mauna Kea in 1859, when lava reached the north end of the beach, where the black sand is found today. Further south along the beach, the recent black sand has not had time to fully blend with the pre-existing white sand.

If one continues south, there are numerous tide pools to explore.

Walking north, you come to Bahía Pueo, where freshwater springs make for interesting but strange snorkeling, with large temperature and salinity gradients. If one takes the path heading inland past a conspicuous growth of hala trees, one comes to a pair of beautiful golden pools. A golden algae gives these pools their distinctive color, but be sure not to damage the growth by walking on it. Finish the hike by walking back through the a’a…about 4 miles round trip.

Makalawena Beach (exit Hwy 19 south at milepost 90 at Kekahakai State Park; at the end of the road, take the obvious trail north over the lava field; the trail goes through lava ridges and keawe breaks, for what shoes are required): Makalawena is the best swimming and snorkeling beach on the island and the most beautiful beach setting. This beach sports a series of coves, cooling shade, large sand dunes, and a pleasant freshwater pond for rinsing. A great backpacking getaway, don’t forget your camera; this hike will be a major highlight of your trip to the Big Island.

The beachfront land is owned by the Bishop Estate and is slated to become a condominium and resort development; vigilance and protest by locals and visitors alike is the only way we can keep this last wild Kona beach wild.

Pawai Bay (in Kailua Kona, drive to the end of Old Airport County Beach Park; walk along the ocean to the first obvious sandy bay): Spectacular, secluded, secret; Pawai Bay is perhaps the most interesting diving spot on the island. Walk along the sea cliffs and coves about 15-20 minutes north to Queen Lilioukalani Children’s Camp at Pawai Bay. Remember, non-Hawaiians are restricted to travel along the tidal zone and only along the shoreline… venturing even a few feet inland is trespassing.

Pawai Bay is home to a select sandy beach with a small channel leading into the open sea and exciting snorkelling. Many chartered snorkeling tours bring clients here, but it is free to visit. The submerged caverns, arches and caves are full of fish, corals and crystal clear waters. From shore, this is not a beginner’s snorkeling adventure.

Swim across the sandy bay to the channel and cliffs. Be careful with surgery and don’t go in when the swell is big. Once in the largest bay, look towards the coast where numerous small channels lead towards the coast but end in cliffs; your return pass is the only channel through which you can see sand at the end.

The bay itself is located on the lands of the Queen Lilioukalani Trust. Non-native Hawaiians are not permitted on the grounds or in the use of the facilities. State beach access laws allow you to visit as long as you stay immediately along the shoreline; the beach is guarded 24/7.

Captain Cook Monument (trail leaves Napo’opo’o Road right at the number 4 telephone pole, just 500 feet below where it exits from Hwy 11; parking is tight, but safe) – This hike is a nice hike through tall grass, open lava fields and dryland forests, opening up to one of the most pristine ocean beaches in the world. Walking up to the Monument is a lot of fun: the return is hot, thirsty and strenuous, but it rewards you with panoramic views of the coast. The 2.5-mile hike takes about an hour downhill, a bit longer to return. The path runs straight along the left side of a rock wall towards the sea. As the field straightens out, keep left at the fork and head to the beach through the abandoned village. You come ashore several hundred feet northwest of the monument; remember to turn right at the trail junction on the way back, or you’ll be in for a long nasty time wandering the a’a fields.

Snorkeling the monument is wild and picturesque, from shallow tide pools north of the pier to the steep drop below the cliffs. There is a concrete marker in the tidal zone that indicates the exact spot that Cook fell something to the north of the actual monument.

Honomalino Beach (exit Hwy 11 just south of mile marker 89, drive through Miloli’i; start walking between county park and a yellow church. Keep right at trail forks, in and out from the surf line, to avoid private property): A true West Hawaii gem and rarely crowded, Honomalino Bay is reached by a 20-minute hike from the southern end of Miloli’i County Park Beach. Snorkeling is very interesting on the north side of the rocks, when the waves are low. The water, although very clear, is sometimes quite cold due to spring discharge on the beach sand.

Mahana Green Sand Beach (Exit Hwy 11 toward South Point, follow signs for Mahana Boat Launch. Park just up the boat ramp for the 2 1/4 mile walk to Green Sand Beach): Absolutely unique to Hawaii, beautiful and strange, are the green sand. South Point’s green sand beach is the best known, largest and most accessible. The sand grains here are olivine crystals, washed out of a cinder cone that has been partially perforated by the sea.

When you get to the end of the trail, you are about a hundred feet above the beach at the edge of the crater remnant. At the start, there’s a tricky spot that skirts a 3-foot ledge, but below it, the trail is wide and clear. You can also easily climb up the middle of the cone, but this can be slippery. Although hard to spot on the way down, from the beach looking up, the path back to the crater rim is easy to follow.

The beach is in the interior of the cone, and the protected cove makes it a wonderful place to swim or snorkel, but watch out for the currents. Don’t go far or go in at all with high waves or strong winds. The strange color of the water cries out for color photography, particularly underwater photos taken while snorkeling.

Haven’t you heard? Punggol EC is the hot topic in town!

People have been talking bad about Punggol. Today, I will debunk the myths and nip it in the bud.

Punggol may not be fleshed out now, but that doesn’t mean it will stay that way forever. The government has already published plans to prepare the area for the next Big Apple.

For those who are afraid of the constraints involved now, fear not! With Punggol so close to Compass Point in Sengkang, he’ll see you through until the area transforms into its ideal state.

Compass Point at Sengkang

Before you start, remember that all of these stores are in a small strip mall. Imagine the convenience you can afford now.

food connoisseur

Do you feel like eating out? Compass Point boasts of numerous restaurants. They include a wide variety of selection. From Japan there is Ajisen Ramen, from Hong Kong there is Canton Paradise, and many others like Olio Café, Soup Restaurant and Swensen’s.

heavy eaters

Wait, do I hear your stomach growl one more time? Well, I didn’t want to give this away, but this mall also has Seoul Garden and Sakae Sushi. Eat your fill and I pray your stomach can handle the excess of pure bliss.

Fast food fans

Sorry, I didn’t know you preferred fast food. As the saying goes, time is of the essence. This small strip mall has basically every fast food restaurant available. They include McDonald’s, KFC, Long John Silver’s, Burger King, MOS Burger, Subway, and Pizza Hut. Frankly speaking, what more do you want?

Affordable Foodies

Good! Might you be interested in the Kopitiam Spectrum offered by the mall? With the Kopitiam card provided to you, you can boast a 10% discount every time you dine.

Quick rest with breakfast

The breakfast binge! Whatever you want, you get it. With shops like Bengawan Solo, BreadTalk, Crystal Jade My Bread, Four Leaves and Polar Puffs & Cakes, that morning baking party you’ve always wanted is finally a reality.

How to boil a soft boiled egg

Just kidding, who needs to know how to boil eggs and crack them? Just head over to Compass Point and you can find the pros at Yakun Kaya Toast and Toast Box. You would surely be served a precisely timed soft boiled egg with no bits of eggshell. Talk about happiness!

New York City rocks year-round. There are things happening 24/7. The theater, restaurants, art galleries, clubs both legitimate and underground, sightseeing, people watching, the list goes on and on. NYC is also big on festivals and events. Always has been, probably always will be. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most popular events in New York, month by month.

January

It might be cold outside, but it’s hot in Midtown Manhattan at the world-famous Radio City Hall as the Chinese New Year Global Gala kicks off. Antique hunters can also head to Antiques at the Piers, an event that is a showcase of European and American furniture, silver, glassware, and artwork.

February

Why not celebrate Valentine’s Day by ice skating at Rockefeller Center? Then you can snuggle up as you ride a horse-drawn Hansom cab through Central Park.

March

It’s still a little chilly in March, but you can warm up on March 17 in a crowded Irish pub, as New Yorkers of all stripes enthusiastically celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

April

As a kid, I always loved going to the New York International Auto Show in Madison Square Garden, where I got to see Detroit’s newest steel, the fanciest foreign cars, concept cars, and custom vehicles. It’s still happening, but now it’s being held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center.

There’s also The Big Swim at Asphalt Green in Manhattan this month. The race is in a 50-meter pool and more than 1,000 children, from six to sixteen years old, participate.

Can

The Ninth Avenue International Food Festival is a cornucopia of culinary delights. You can try it all at this street fair on the west side of Manhattan.

June

Spring is beautiful in New York City. It’s a good time to shake off the woes of winter and start enjoying the outdoors. Whether you are a child or an adult who wants to learn to skate, you can do so at Camp Rollerblade, where you will receive two days of inline skating instruction.

July

New York celebrates the 4th of July with the traditional fireworks display at Macy’s as the big ships sail down the Hudson River. It’s an impressive sight and is reminiscent of what New York might have looked like centuries ago.

August

The biggest of the New York events in August is the US Open Tennis Championships at Arthur Ashe Stadium, located in Flushing Meadows Park, and Louis Armstrong Stadium (on the site of the New York World’s Fair in 1964). If you can’t make it in person, this event is televised around the world.

This is also the month for the New York International Fringe Festival with performances in musicals, dance, theater and comedy.

September

September is the month of the Katherine Hepburn Garden Festival, with ethnic food, antiques and jewelry, as well as crafts for sale.

October

If you want to see established professionals as well as budding comedians from around the world, you need to visit the New York Underground Comedy Festival. It takes place over seven nights in October and is in various locations around the city.

November

The biggest event of one of the biggest holidays of the year is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It is the longest running show on Broadway and is the place to see the best floats and marching bands in the world.

December

What would New Year’s Eve be without the world’s biggest street party in Times Square? If you like crowds and a good time, you can join the revelers at one of New York City’s most popular events as they count down to midnight and watch the famous ball drop to ring in the New Year.

Because family is so important to most of us, many psychotherapists focus their practice on the family.

This helps them better treat depression and mental illness, because mental problems are often related to a person’s family situation. It is well known that when all members of a family participate in therapy, one person’s chances for positive change are better and everyone benefits.

But the big hurdle for therapists has long been how to determine the

family interactions. The client is often the only one who shows up to

therapy. So the therapist must interpret the family dynamic through the often distorted lens of the client. This slowed the progress of the therapy and made it difficult for the client to fully recover.

Now, however, some therapists are using an almost shocking technique to overcome the difficulties of involving the whole family.

An impactful approach that gets results

A few brave and pioneering Marriage and Family Therapists go to the homes of their clients and stay there for a couple of days as part of their family counseling services. These marriage and family therapists look best at family dynamics and the real needs of their clients. The client is not telling the therapist the beans. Instead, the client’s true state and his interactions with family members are there for the therapist to observe.

Here are some ways that family therapists can help with such observations at home. And here’s why you might want to find a therapist who works this way.

1. More help for parents of difficult children

Sometimes parents will feel that their child needs professional counseling, but most counselors only go to work with parents first. They try to figure out the situation at home and teach them how trauma can affect the physical development of the brain. And how feelings of fear can make children uncontrollable and angry.

Home observation helps therapists more than just working with parents. These visits allow therapists to see how parents interact with children.

Parents can still visit the psychotherapist in their office to first talk about their own loss and grief. Once the parents have talked about things and the therapist has done the home observation, the psychotherapy can progress. Parents can quickly learn from the therapist’s observations. And the therapist can help parents learn how to better respond to their children.

The family situation improves, thanks to home observation.

Some psychotherapists do home visits as a team.

A family in Minneapolis invited a husband and wife family counseling team to stay with them to help with what they considered to be an attachment disorder in their school-age adopted son. This adopted child with attachment issues had been traumatized in a previous foster family.

Even after a few months with this adoptive family, the boy did not bond with anyone. He avoided eye contact, even with his adoptive mother. But when the husband-and-wife psychotherapy team visited the house, he became curious about them. At first, despite his curiosity, he stayed in the room while the counselors talked with his parents.

Later he came out. She got involved. She started to trust. And willingly she went to the psychotherapy attachment disorder office for regular counselling,

Again, home observation created a shortcut to saving time and improving life for the entire family.

2. Marriage counseling and improving communication in a relationship.

Marriage and family counselors know that most couples seek help only when it’s almost too late to save the relationship.

Home observations can help, even at a time when a couple has fallen apart and you feel little hope for your future as a couple. As long as you both want to continue your relationship, marriage counseling can help you create a stronger marriage.

And home observation can help.

One of the first things counselors do in this situation is check for domestic violence. Once they are sure that both partners are physically safe, they move on to improving communication skills and confidence. Because they can see the interactions for themselves, they can help the couple make improvements that would often take many months, in just a small number of sessions.

Sometimes having a husband and wife counseling team work together with the client couple in the home speeds up the reconciliation process by allowing both partners to feel safe.

This happened with a couple who had not spoken for a few months. After observation at home and a few sessions in the office, the couple talked about their injuries and listened to each other. It was a big step towards recovery and a happy future together.

3. Trauma Healing Through Home Observation

People experiencing trauma, especially abuse by parents, relatives or siblings, often come alone for counseling.

But family counselors can help even such people become more grounded and comfortable with themselves through observation at home. The idea is to quickly know the family dynamics. Then the psychotherapist and the client can work together to help the person get rid of their emotional baggage and aid in their recovery.

The counselor may use several methods to help heal the trauma: breathing techniques, desensitization, and eye movement reprocessing (a method of psychotherapy that uses eye movements to help a person mentally process and overcome past trauma), or the model of internal family systems (an approach to counseling that uses the concept of sub-personalities or the multiplicity of the mind.)

All of these are assisted with in-home observation as a shortcut to help the person recover from their trauma. A young woman, physically, verbally and emotionally abused in her home, she eventually left her family for a foster family where she was abused again.

As you can imagine, she was very traumatized. In fact, she attempted suicide several times before agreeing to therapy. A psychotherapist observed her at home as she interacted normally with her adoptive family. The psychotherapist learned a lot from this interaction and was able to quickly come up with a treatment plan.

This trauma treatment plan was a turning point: the girl was able to correct the low self-esteem message she had received from years of abuse. In fact, not only did she recover mentally, but she also obtained a master’s degree and became a compassionate and peaceful person. Once again, home observation made the therapy effective. Thanks to home observation, many people with mental illness, depression, or trauma can get better.

In addition to being one of the greatest authors of all time, Charles Dickens was a great speaker, giving readings on both sides of the Atlantic. He often acted out the parts that he was reading. His first visit to the city of Chester was on Friday, August 13, 1858, the year in which he began professional readings from him. The reading was from A Christmas Carol. On December 19, 1861 he was engaged to once more delight the Chester crowd. This visit was canceled until after Christmas due to the death of the Prince Consort.

The reading took place on Thursday, January 30, 1862. Dickens delighted the Chester public with readings from The Trial by Pickwick and Nicholas Nickleby at Mr Squeer’s School. Prices for this event were four shillings (20p) for numbered and reserved seats. Unreserved seats in the lower galleries were two shillings (10 pence) and rear seats one shilling (5 pence). These were quite high prices at the time. The reading began at 8 p.m. and lasted two hours.

On January 22, 1887, Dickens made his last appearance at the Music Hall, but not by choice. The highly respected author of such classics as Oliver Twist and David Copperfield gave readings to Chester’s enthusiastic audience on Dr. Marigold and Bardell Vs Pickwick. The Chester Chronicle newspaper dated 26 January 1887 says: The Music Hall on Tuesday night was generally well filled, though some seats set aside as “reserved” were empty; and this is the most gratifying, as the high prices charged and the exceptional severity of the weather must have been a great deterrent to all but the most eager to see and hear it.

Shortly after eight, Mr. Dickens appeared on the platform. He took a seat at the small crimson table provided and began without a word of preface: “I’m cheap Jack,” the opening words of Dr. Marigold. Dickens concluded with the old Weller’s assertions about the value of an alibi, to loud applause.

Some sources say that he gave a reading at the Music Hall shortly before his death in 1870. This is incorrect. He was summoned to give a reading on Thursday, April 29, 1869, but had to be canceled for health reasons. Dickens had suffered a slight stroke. Mr. F. Carr Beard, a physician and friend of Dickens, made a statement to the Chester Chronicle dated April 24, 1869. He said that he was satisfied that Dickens would not finish reading from him, if he appeared. The Chester Chronicle of April 17, 1869 advertised the visit as a farewell reading (the last Mr. Dickens would give in Chester). He would have read The Boots at the Holly Tree In, Sikes and Nancy and Pickwick’s Mr. Bob Sawyer’s Party. Unfortunately his fourth visit was not going to be.

Charles Dickens died on June 9, 1870 at the age of fifty-eight.