http://www.metrojambookshop.com Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:44:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 http://www.metrojambookshop.com/using-the-law-of-attraction-for-weight-loss.html http://www.metrojambookshop.com/using-the-law-of-attraction-for-weight-loss.html#comments Sat, 24 Jul 2010 10:41:02 +0000 admin http://www.alipah.co.cc/using-the-law-of-attraction-for-weight-loss.html

The Secret, it is called. It lay practically dormant since its inception, long before the Knights of Templar and the Code named for a Tuscan Renaissance man, artist and inventor; long before any void of noble blood would know of its existence.

Then, because of a small, made-for-television movie produced for Australia’s Channel Nine, the secret was out.

Thank goodness, and a willing media.

Beth and I have been practicing, living, and teaching The Secret – its true name is the Law of Attraction – for ten years when the rest of the world caught on. And we whole-heartedly believe that if there is one true law that can heal the world and put and keep all of us who inhabit it back on track, it is the Law of Attraction. It is the one, true earthly (actually, Universal) law that fits all, because the pure tenet of this ancient “New Thought” is that everyone – regardless of race, religion, geography, or political ideology – deserves a happy, secure life where all wants and needs are available for all.

Sounds good – too good, we know… we hear it all the time. Yet if this law – and it is a law, not unlike any other physical law of the Universe – has no bearing in everyday reality and human existence, why has it spanned ages and appeared to work for some of the most revered in our societies? It has clearly ignored borders, religions, and political affiliations over the eons it has been recognized.

Is there something to it?

Yes, there is. Just ask us, and the hundreds of thousands around the world who have connected with all that is good through the Wonderful Law of Attraction. And if you don’t believe us, just ask Oprah.

American cultural icon Oprah Winfrey has openly hailed the Law of Attraction on her highly rated syndicated talk show, as well as in print, on her radio network, and as a guest on the Larry King Show. She is the walking, talking poster child of the Law of Attraction, and she has the successful, happy, giving, and full life that emotes everything that is The Secret. And like all who truly practice the Law of Attraction – present company included – she wants everyone including you to know about it.

A WEIGHTY LOA QUESTION

At our many lectures, meetings, and seminars that we appear at each year, the inevitable question is raised by an audience member. “Can I lose weight with the Law of Attraction?” The answer is a clear and concise Yes!

How do we know this? Because using the Law of Attraction, and the Universal methods of thought to emotion to end result, Beth lost 50 pounds and I lost over 100 pounds. When I began using the LOA for weight loss, I weighed in at 440 pounds. And I continue to lose and manage my weight. My Law of Attraction success in this, my most lifelong troubling struggle, erased any atom of lingering doubt I ever harbored concerning LOA.

First, in case you are a little confused by The Secret, and are perhaps new to the idea of it, we’d better explain how the Law of Attraction works. Everything in the physical world where we exist vibrates. EVERYTHING whether it be dirt, a tree, a human being—these all emit a vibration. Even a rock vibrates—albeit at a much slower and barely perceptible pace—and a human being vibrates at a far more rapid rate.

These vibrational patterns translate to everything that you are feeling, which moves the Universe to, in turn, attract exactly what those feelings are. So if you are thinking (feeling) about how angry you may be at someone, the Universe takes that emotion and emits (returns) directly back to you what you happen to be feeling. You always attract exactly what you are feeling. THIS IS THE LAW OF ATTRACTION.

So if you are feeling wonderful, and thinking about how great your day is, and you are happy and grateful for that wonderful day, the Universe attracts (returns) to you exactly what you are feeling —more days of joy and wonder. What could be better than that? However, as is usually the case, there are a few problems with us humans when it comes to attracting what we desire.

In society today, people usually don’t listen to their intuition. We instead rely on other people to tell us “what is.” It’s kind of like old fable, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” when an entire kingdom was convinced that despite naked truth, they all agreed that His Majesty’s new clothes were all the rage — the living end! How often do we see our fellow citizens jump into line like lemmings to the sea, and how often do we accept the opinions of others as uncontestable fact? We think you would agree that the fashion mavens have accomplished that, much to the chagrin and disappointment of the fully two-thirds of the American public that cannot fit into the clothes they market.

It’s time that we listen to ourselves and stop listening to what is really just other people’s opinions telling you what to think. This brings us to our first, and most important, question that we will ask of you this lesson: Who are you losing this weight for? Is it for you? Is it for someone else? Are you losing it because you want to feel better, or do you simply want to lose a few pounds for a swimsuit that is calling your name?

The right answer — and in this case there is a right answer — is: FOR YOU. You must only lose weight for you. If you are not losing the weight for you, then you might as well grab a gallon of Baskin-Robbins and go sit in a corner with a big spoon and a TV remote control. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks you should do. You must commit to losing the weight only for you.

If losing the weight will make you happy, then that is the biggest reason for you to lose the weight. Sure, losing weight for health reasons is always good and noble, but the main reason we want to help you to lose weight is because it will make you happy. See, that’s how the Law of Attraction works. It is all about what you desire; what will cause you to be happy. This, by the way, is not greedy… no matter what the Nay Sayers say. (And they DO love to say, say, say!) This is the Wonderful Law of Attraction, and to be able to create whatever life you want for your self is the Universe’s greatest gift to you.

DOWN GO THE POUNDS (OR KILOS!)

We were at a Wellness of the Mind retreat and we talked about the Law of Attraction and losing weight. There were many people there who lived their life through the Law of Attraction and, as always, there were people new to the LOA, and the usual weight loss questions were posed.

Weight loss through the Law of Attraction will take some of you a shorter amount of time, and for others it may take a little longer. It all depends on your mindset. LOVE yourself, ENJOY yourself, YOU are a wonderful person who creates your Universe. Isn’t that powerful? Your own body regenerates every second. You are a part of that. YOU can regenerate your body to be what you want, you can!

Maybe this is the week that you have a night that you treat yourself for just being you: The you that you are right now, and think about all the things that make YOU happy and joyous.

A doctor once asked Beth if she exercised and she said, “I walk about a half a mile each day.” The doctor replied, “Is that all? You need to exercise AT LEAST a mile each day!” Beth looked at the doctor and said, “Is that all? Are you kidding me? I didn’t move at all before. This half-mile is a big deal for me. When I am darn good and ready to go a mile, when I FEEL like I WANT to, then I will. I know that a half-mile is better than none at all, and my body knows it. Don’t make me try to feel bad. I’m proud of myself!”

Remember to continue doing what is working for you. Just those little steps help immensely over a year’s time, and if that ‘normal’ mind is feeling deprived, eat one bowl of popcorn instead of two, or eat half a candy bar instead of a whole one and save the rest for a couple of hours later. Your ‘normal’ mind will be appeased.

Listen to your
body before you eat something. Sometimes it isn’t hungry, but we feed it anyway. ENJOY every bite! Try not to rip-snort through a whole meal in ten seconds flat. ENJOY every little thing that you put in your mouth and be thankful for that wonderful body of yours. You created it with help, and you can fine-tune it just as easily. For more information please visit http://www.bethandleemccain.com

]]> http://www.metrojambookshop.com/using-the-law-of-attraction-for-weight-loss.html/feed 0 http://www.metrojambookshop.com/how-to-fix-your-layout-or-card-using-seven-principles-of-design.html http://www.metrojambookshop.com/how-to-fix-your-layout-or-card-using-seven-principles-of-design.html#comments Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:47:29 +0000 admin http://www.alipah.co.cc/how-to-fix-your-layout-or-card-using-seven-principles-of-design.html

The Principles of Design have to do with basic assumptions that guide you to arrange elements within your layout. They have to do with pleasing the eye and making things look ‘right’. Often we seem to know what these things are without necessarily being able to name or describe them. I find it helps to have the principles spelled out for me. Then I can think more deliberately about them when a page or a card stumps me. Maybe it will work for you too.

The Seven Principles of Design I am talking about are these:

Balance Gradation Repetition Contrast Harmony Dominance Unity

Let’s look at each of the above principles as it applies to scrapbooking or card making (NOTE: you may find more principles of design mentioned elsewhere. These should get you started though):

1. Balance.

When you were a child and played on the see saw, you were using the principle or balance. When the weight or force was greater on one side of the see saw than it was on the other, that side of the plank was grounded (not balanced). When the weight or force was equal on both ends of the plank (the heavier child may have to shinny towards the centre of the see saw to help this to happen) you could get the teeter totter to balance perfectly.

In scrapbooking or card making, using a large object close to the centre of the page (such as your main photo) can be balanced by placing some smaller objects (or just one smaller object) close to the other edge of the page. Try it and see how your eye responds

Think in triangles too. Using three elements in a triangle create balance for the viewer.

Another item to consider is the tone of your shapes. The darker a thing is shaded, the more ‘weight’ it will have. Lighter tones seem less weighty to the eye so may need to be balanced with darker shapes.

2. Gradation

The shades of colour and toning you use in your layout (the gradations) can help lead the eye along a certain path. If you have a ’static’ gradation, that means the tone or hue you are using is all one colour or shade. The eye will tend to stop still on that place.

If you want movement, or dynamic gradients, use warm colours blending out to cooler colours. The eye will travel from the warm to the cool colours. When using shades of grey or black and white, the eye will travel along darker to lighter shadings (gradients). You can add interest and movement to your layouts with the use of gradients.

3. Repetition

Repeating a variation of a shape can add interest to a page. If you use all the same shapes or shapes of the same size, your viewer may be bored with your page or card. Vary the size or colour or shape of repeated elements to add interest to your project, similar to this idea:

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOO00000OOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Or use several different sized circles to add an element to your page – smaller ‘bubbles’ can rise to the top, bigger ‘bubbles’ may collect closer to the bottom of your page. This will lead the eye upwards and downwards and create more interest than if the circles were all the same size.

Using the same sized circles as background shapes for letters may work. The letters themselves will vary, thus adding interest and variety even though the circles may all stay the same size.

4. Contrast

Contrast happens when you place two opposing elements next to or across each other, like the letter ‘X’.

Do you have a colour wheel? The colours on opposite sides of the wheel will contrast with each other. Red and green contrast with each other, as do blue and orange, and yellow and purple.

Light and dark contrast with each other.

Horizontal and vertical lines contrast with each other.

Unless you want to create an impression of chaos or confusion, make your contrasts close to the centre of interest on your layout or card. This will create a more unified feeling and make it easier for people to study your design with interest.

It is worth thinking about where you want the eye to rest on a page or card and make that your area of the most contrast. The ultimate example of this is a layout using lots of white space (or undecorated, plain background).

Chaos and confusion can reign if you place contrasting elements all over the page! Sometimes you may want to create such a mood, depending on your subject. If you had photos of an exciting sporting event with lots of action they could be displayed with lots of contrast, for example.

5. Harmony This is the principle of creating satisaction for the viewer by using similar and/or related elements on your layout. This is where you would use the colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel, or you would use similar shapes or patterns.

Wavy lines can create a feeling of harmony and calm especially if they are long wavy lines.

6. Dominance

This is what you do to give a layout interest – you make one shape or the direction of lines dominant. If every element is the same shape or size, then the effect may be monotonous, like this:

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Lots of scattered lines can cause the viewer to be confused, for example. If all the lines go in one general direction, this is making a direction dominant.

If all of your elements are the same size, this can create monotony. Make one of the elements noticably bigger than its fellows and you have created a dominant shape.

If you use two shapes in equal proportions, this can create monotony. Allow one shape to dominate over the other to avoid this.

7. Unity

This is where you relate the subject of your page to the type of elements you are using on it. For example, if you have a picture of a baby sleeping, to create unity on your page you would use soft, pastel colours, smooth lines, and maybe velvety or lacy textures.

Imagine this technique working with an aggressive subject such as a picture of a boxing match! There you would want primary or darker colours, rough textures and angular lines to create unity.

The subject needs to be enhanced by the elements you use on your page, in other words, for unity to happen.

Visually linking your elements together also causes unity. Adding a trail of dots to link up circles on a page may invoke a feeling of unity, for example.

If you have a dominant picture and a smaller picture on a page, try linking them together with a curved or straight line or other shapes so the eye does not have to make uncomfortable jumps between them. It’s about relationship. Create a link between your subjects to unify your page.

I trust this discussion of the Principles of Design has helped you to think about scrap booking layouts and cards in a new or different way. If you would like more information about the elements themselves, you can read about them on PaperCraftCentral.com under Scrapbooking Tips.

Happy Paper Crafting!

]]> http://www.metrojambookshop.com/how-to-fix-your-layout-or-card-using-seven-principles-of-design.html/feed 0 http://www.metrojambookshop.com/grape-growing-and-label-regulations.html http://www.metrojambookshop.com/grape-growing-and-label-regulations.html#comments Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:17:34 +0000 admin http://www.alipah.co.cc/grape-growing-and-label-regulations.html

“Muscat” is often deceptive; wines so labeled may be either sweet or dry. Zinfandel, a grape of somewhat mysterious origin, gives its name to a popular California Claret, in which-if your nose is remarkably sensitive- you sometimes can detect the faintly raspberry-like flavor of this variety.

Longfellow sang the praises of Catawba, a white wine (there is also a sparkling version) made from that Labrusca grape, principally in Ohio. Vintners who make their Rose wines of Mourvedre grapes like to add that grape name to their Rose labels. When you mention “grape flavor” to most Americans, they automatically think of a single grape-the Concord variety-which provides the taste of the kosher-wine type and of most fresh and frozen grape juices.

In the foregoing list Riesling might also be mentioned, which long ago became so popular as a synonym for Rhine wine (a type best made from the White Riesling variety) that American vintners once tried to persuade the Government that Riesling no longer meant any particular grape. (The Government was not persuaded.)

Returning to Europe’s geographical labeling, while place names do not mean everything, as the Europeans claim they do, they do mean something. The climate of Bordeaux is kind to the grape varieties that make red and white Bordeaux wines, and each delimited district within the Bordeaux area has found, by centuries of experience, which grapes thrive best within its borders.

Burgundy nurtures the Pinot, Sangiovese, and Melon best; the Rhone Valley favors the Petit Sirah; Germany’s Rhine-land makes its best wines from White Riesling. As a result, the European geographic names have-to some extent- a certain varietal significance.

The flavorful grapes grown in the famed French districts produce only poor wines when planted in southern France, the source of most French wines. There, consequently, undistinguished, heavy-bearing varieties are cultivated, and the southern French wines are so neutral that vast quantities of good wine are imported in tank ships from Algeria and Tunisia for blending. The wine the average Frenchman drinks is a blend of poor French wine and better wine from across the Mediterranean.

It is mainly climate that governs a district’s ability to grow the superior grapes successfully. The Europeans believe that soil composition is equally important, but modern research questions whether any chemicals in the earth actually enter the flavor of a wine. Yet some soils, such as the gravelly kinds, do hold the sun’s heat better than others do, and help Dolcetto grapes to mature.

It might interest the French to know that California, too, is jealous of its name, and that the same applies to individual California localities. For example, when a California vintner ships 16% “Light Sherry” to a state which discriminates against the genuine article, he must have special permission from the California Department of Public Health.

In so doing he loses the right to label such wine with the name of California; it may only be called “American” Light Sherry. And while a “New York State” or “Ohio” wine may contain as much as 25% of wine made elsewhere (and many of them are blends with wine or grape syrup from California), no wine can claim to be Californian unless it is made 100% from California grapes in California.

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