The Color of Friendship

Author: Unknown

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. All claimed that they were the best.
The most important.
The most useful.
The favorite.

Green said:
"Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority."

Blue interrupted:
"You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing."

Yellow chuckled:
"You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun."

Orange started next to blow her trumpet:
"I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and papayas. I don't hang around all the time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you."

Red could stand it no longer he shouted out:
"I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood - life's blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy."

Purple rose up to his full height:
He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: "I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey."

Finally Indigo spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: "Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace."

And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly. The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor, rain began to speak: "You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me."

Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands.

The rain continued: "From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace. The Rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow." And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a Rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another.Posted From In

Richness, Success and Love

Author: Unknown

A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat." "Is the man of the house home?", they asked."No", she said "He's out." "Then we cannot come in," they replied.

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. "Go tell them I am home and invite them in!" The woman went out and invited the men in. "We do not go into a House together" they replied. "Why is that?" she wanted to know. One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends, and then pointed to another one,"He is Success, and I am Love." Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home."


The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. "How nice!!," he said. "Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!" His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?" Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: "Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!"

"Let us hear our daughter-in-law's advice," said the husband to his wife. "Go out and invite Love to be ourguest." The woman went out and asked the 3 old men, "Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest." Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other 2 also got up and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: "I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?" The old men replied together: "If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would've stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!!!!!!"Posted By

Dreams

Author: Unknown

When we were young, we had dreams and expectations. We imagine things, we keep thinking about what we want to be, what we want to do, what makes us proud and happy and what will we become.

We grew up, and things seemed like having its own way. We accept our success or failures and we move on. The rapid change, the need to do the urgent things, the works, the pressures and the failures, all kill part of our visions.

Things have changed, but they cannot really take away the dreams. We still have to dream on, to visualize our desires, our wants, our vision of our future, even when we are considered too old for such things.

Cornel Sanders started his business when he was sixty, and started the whole successful KFC business. The main thing is not the age - whether being too old, or too young, but it is the desire to dream on, and the courage to realize it.

Vivid visualization, taking it to sleep, thinking constantly about it, talking about it, planning it, adding all the spices to our dreams will make us a bit closer to the realization of our dreams.

Entrepreneurship starts with a dream, a simple wish of tiny restaurant operation, or a huge business of real-estate development, or a modest training center for English education, or just any other self-employed money earning fun.

The ability to dream on is one of the fine quality of human race that other species do not possess. So dream on, and put a deadline: make it a giant dream, a tiny one, an old everlasting one, a newfound one, a hobby related one, a change of life one, a religious one, a stupid one, a stroke-of-genius one, or just whatever...... just continue to dream on........ Then, Just Go and Do It!Posted In take from In

Honesty in Working (Self-Management)

Oleh : KH Abdullah Gymnastiar


"My beloved brothers and sisters, may Allah give us the pleasure of self-esteem more than the pleasure of wealth, or high managerial position and rank. As we can see there are people who have precious cars, precious houses, but their personalities show no precious self-esteem."


In the name of Allah the beneficient the Mercyful. Praise be to Allah the cherisier and sustainer of the worlds. Allah send your mercy on Muhammad an his poterity as you sent your mercy on Ibrahim and his postertity you are the most praised the most glorious.

Alhamdulillaahirabbil ‘aalamiin, Allahuma shalli ‘ala Muhammad wa ‘ala aalihi washahbihii ajmai’iin. Allahumma shalli ‘alaa muhammad wa’ala ali muhammag kamaa shallaita ‘ala ibraahiim wa ‘alaa ali Ibrahim fil ‘aalamiina innaka hamiidum majiid.

My beloved brothers and sisters, may Allah give us the pleasure of self-esteem more than the pleasure of wealth, or high managerial position and rank. As we can see there are people who have precious cars, precious houses, but their personalities show no precious self-esteem. Therefore, it is not enough if we work hard just for the sake of wealth. Our wealth, however, had been determined a long time ago before we were born. One thing that we have to think about is how to make our bustle of working life becomes our good deeds.

When we look at the life in this world, we are supposed to work as hard as we can. We must remember that we possibly leave this world tomorrow. Muhammad PBUH (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him), the Messenger of Allah, once mentioned that the smartest man is he who thinks of his coming death most and prepares himself to face it. In that case, we have to keep our intention straight and do it our best. Insya Allah, we will reach happiness in both in this world and the hereafter.




In working, even though there are so many rules that prevail, and without involving our hearts, still we will find a lot of problems. The Messenger taught the concept of “Al Amin” more than 14 centuries ago. After faith, our first priority is the credibility in developing ourselves. A commitment will rise as the effect. That was what the Messenger did in proselytizing. His credibility was so admirable that many people were interested in Islam, and then committed to it.

According to what the Messenger said, at least there are three characteristics of a credible man, as follows:
The First, Muhammad PBUH was honest and well trusted all his life until he died. An honest man is he who is free, not afraid of anyone, and feels free to say or do anything right. Meanwhile, someone who tells many lies feels like living in a prison. Also in business, possessing working capital is not the main thing. The most important thing is to have honesty. If we are honest, Insya Allah, many people will trust their capital to us.

The Second, a credible man is someone who is skillful. He satisfies people with the quality of his work. The Messenger him self was the credible man too, who satisfied everybody with the quality of his work, kept his promises, and, also, was an honest and committed man. We should always improve our knowledge about the jobs we are doing, so that the quality of our good deeds we perform will also improved.

The third, the goodness in credibility can be reached if we are creative and are good at innovation. Time keeps changing, people move forward. If we do not change, or move slowly, we will be left behind by more creative and innovative people. Moreover, everybody surely loves new things. For these reasons, we must as strongly as possible develop ourselves; keep studying, so we can be creative and innovative for the sake of humankind. Only Allah who know the cause. Wallahuu’alam bis shawab.


Translated by Dedy Sugandi, SE.
Edited by Zahid Ali & Drs. Azda Zunaedy
Final editing by Avianto

If worries Comes to Heart

Oleh : KH. Abdullah Gymnastiar


"My beloved brothers and sisters, never ever dream to live peacefully and happily if we never have the right knowledge to live in this world’s jungle that is full of traps, obstacles and also full of dangerous threads."


My beloved brothers and sisters, never ever dream to live peacefully and happily if we never have the right knowledge to live in this world’s jungle that is full of traps, obstacles and also full of dangerous threads.Let’s try to look how ‘Tarzan’ lives; all things that can cause difficulties and torment, and it turns out that the entire thing are so easy for Tarzan because he has the main key to overcome all problem and his needs, that is knowledge. Indeed, Tarzan knows the knowledge of all the details of the map to live jungle and he knows how to handle it.

On the other side, let’s compare it with people who enter the jungle without having any knowledge about the details of the jungle, know nothing of how to go through it and how to tame the wild animals, surely they will be dibbled by uneasy feeling, worriness, anxiety, and always feel scared although they have brought themselves duffle bag with full foods and drinks, sweaters, wallets that full of money, and complete weapons, but without having knowledge, surely worriness still staying in their hearts.

So, what is the real knowledge to surmount those feelings of worriness and uncertainty? There is only a single knowledge to have that is the knowledge from Allah, He Who Creates the universe and anything between it and world.That is Al Islam, with its main basic guidance, the holy Quran and sunnah.All the secrets of life in this world and the here after are explained perfectly and cautiously, so there is no problem at all except there must be secret way outs of them.





Therefore, if this life is frequently dibbled by in total confusion and torment feelings, the main cause is because of no understanding at all of the right knowledge.In a Hadits (a collection of notes of sayings and acts of the prophets) explains that, once there was someone came to Ibnu Mas’ud (pronounced: /eeb noo mas ood/) May Allah Be Pleased Upon him (MBPUH), one of the prophet Muhammad’s PBUH closest followers to ask for an advice.

Hi Ibnu Mas’ud “says he”, “please give me advice that I can take it as a remedy for my soul that is ablazed by worriness and anxiety.In these recent days, I did not feel peace in heart.My soul is in anxiety and my mind is unmended; I couldn’t eat well, nor sleeping was not comfortable.Listening the matter, Ibnu Mas’ud advised him: “if that is the illness befell you, bring your heart to visit 3 places; that is to the place where many people recite Qor-an, then you recite the Qor-an too, or you listen to them carefully; then visit the learning group that can reminds you to Allah; or should you find a quiet place and a spatial time to worship Allah, for example, you wake up early after mid night, when the people are still sleeping soundly, and do the after mid night pray, and then you pray to Allah to have a peaceful heart and mind.If your soul hasn’t been healed in this way, pray to Allah, so that Allah will give you another heart because the heart you use at that time is not your heart.”After the person came back home, he did what Ibnu Mas’ud’s had advised him to do.He went to take ablution.

After that he takes the Qor-an and recited it seriously.After he finished reciting the Qor-an, it turned out that his heart changes to be comfortable and peaceful, and his mind is also in peace, whle his anxiety feeling was absolutely vanished.
Allah Knows everything.

Translate by Fien Andriani
Final Editing by Avianto

My Best Friend

by Jackie

In November of 1998, I met someone who would later make me the happiest girl in the world. I was in love with my best friend. He was my best kept secret. We became close although we both had been dating our mates for over a year. Although we were committed to other people, he had told me that we would get together some day and that in 10 years, we would be married. He had broken up with his girlfriend and I took the opportunity and broke up with my boyfriend, but I was too late. Without me knowing it, I had gotten them back together. I was friends with her as well, but I couldn’t help my feelings. He has always had the highest of respect for me so nothing happened while they were still together. I got another boyfriend and he broke up with her again and soon after, I was broken up with my boyfriend too.
He never seemed to amaze me, but on a beautiful day in March, he swept me off of my feet and made my wildest dream come true. We had always talked for hours about everything and we were sitting in his car and I asked him that if he was going to call me “babe” (since he had been doing it for 2 years) that he should just be serious about it.” He looked at me with the sweetest face and told me, “I’m so in love with you.” I was just playing around, well, kind of, but I never expected him to say that. I was in shock and the only thing I could do was tell him that I felt the same way. We have been through a lot of obstacles from the time of telling everyone of our love until now, but the love we have for each other always seems to surpass anything that comes in our way. Next month, will make 2 years and I wouldn’t trade him for the world. He is an inspiration in my life and without him, I would not be me. I am happy I took a chance on love because I might have missed out on being this happy. Although I thought it would never happened, we did get together just like he said, and who knows maybe we’ll make another of our dreams come true in 6 years. (10 years from 1998- just like he said).

*Dreams do really come true, mine did.*

Here Without You

A hundred days have made me older
Since the last time that I saw your pretty face
A thousand lies have made me colder
And I don't think I can look at this the same


But all these miles that seperate
Disappear now when I'm dreaming of your face

I'm here without you baby
But you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
And I dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby
But you're still with me in my dreams
And tonight it's only you and me

The miles just keep rollin'
As the people leave their way to say hello
I've heard this life was overrated
But I hope that it gets better as we go

I'm here without you baby
But you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
And I dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby
But you're still with me in my dreams
And tonight girl it's only you and me

Everything I know, and anywhere I go
It gets hard but it wont take away my love
And when the last one falls
When it's all said and done
It gets hard but it wont take away my love

I'm here without you baby
But you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
And I dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby
But you're still with me in my dreams
And tonight girl its only you and me.

How to Create a Winning Profile

By: Yair Czitrom


The bigger the site, the bigger your city, the more important your profile and photo are. Youll need to stand out from the crowd. Women more apt to read a profile than men, so if youre looking for a woman, polish your prose. If youre looking for a guy, make sure you have a great photo. But ideally, both should be the best you can make them. Look at your competition and steal good ideas from their profiles.

Catch the Eye.

Choose an original and intriguing screen name and headline. Use the writers technique of brainstorming to help you along with this. On a sheet of paper, just write down words and phrases you associate with yourself. Who are you? Risk everything, expect nothing, and be willing to write utter crap. When you go through your list, choose your favorite words for your profile. Avoid clichés or overused phrases like laid-back or fun-loving. Weve all heard those so many times they dont mean anything anymore. When all else fails, choose a quote from a favorite writer or musician. Make your opening line interesting and in some way an accurate impression of who you are. Determine whether screen names or tag lines are featured more prominently on the site, and adjust your efforts accordingly.

Favorites and Specifics..

You may think the endless questions of Favorite movie? Favorite music? Favorite place for a date? are incredibly tedious. But these things can help to give an idea of someones personality. Especially if you have a hard time talking about yourself, throw in some favorite names and titles. Someone who loved Terms of Endearment will likely be quite different from a fan of Seven. If you liked both movies, youre probably a multifaceted person, which is a selling point as well! Avoid generalities; use concrete examples from your life. Katz says to use nouns rather than adjectives, preferably proper nouns. Instead of saying I like baseball, you can say I like attending Red Sox games on summer nights. Much more interesting, eh? Personal stories are also engaging.

What things are most important to you in life: health, career, family, fun, learning, religion, personal development, and/or political activism? The things you choose to prioritize say a lot about who you are; listing them will draw the right people to you and lead others away.

Accentuate the Positive.

Your profile is an ad, and youre the product. Your profile should shine a spotlight on your best attributes and let the others fade into darkness. We all have emotional baggage, pot bellies, cash flow problems, and so forth. Your potential partner can find out about these things eventually, after he or she has felt the initial spark of attraction and interest. Why would someone want to date you? What unique qualities do you have to give to a partner? Use your brainstorming list. Try not to sound like youre bragging, or like you think youre perfect, however. End on a positive note.

Be Yourself.

First, tell the truth. Theres a world of difference between accentuating the positive and outright lying. Pretending you have a Ph.D., perfect body, and tons of money may get you more responses initially, and may even get you dates, but once your fibs are exposed, youre history. Second, write like you speak. Be natural. Sure, youre trying to impress, but youre also trying to find someone who likes you for who you really are.

White Lies: Sometimes Okay.

If you live in a small town and dont want to be recognized, or if you live just outside a major city, you can change your zip code in your profile. If your site groups people by age ranges, and youre just beyond the upper limit of a range, you can adjust your age down by one or two years. If you have an extra head, you dont have to show it in your photo. Just fess up once you reach the emailing stage with someone.

Place Your Order

What are you looking for in a partner? If you wont even consider someone who isnt Muslim, make that clear. If you really want to have children, or really want to be child-free, those are also things that bear mentioning. And then, fantasize a bit. A genie has just popped out of a lamp and is taking your order for the perfect partner. Describe him or her. Again, though, keep it positive: No fatties is a pretty harsh way of saying I prefer a partner who is physically fit. Even if the woman reading your ad has the body of a supermodel, you may have just pissed her off by attacking someone she loves. On the other hand, although you should be clear about what youre looking for, be realistic. We all want a partner whos our idea of perfect. But if you set your sights too high, you might overlook someone whos really good for you. What are you looking for in a relationship? Again, its very important here to be honest. Casual, serious, something in between?

Spell-Check and Friend-Check!

You wouldnt use a resume without spell-checking it, and also having a friend look it over. Why would you do any less with your profile? Also enlist a friend of the gender youre scouting for, to see if you seem desirable to them. Do a search for your own profile and compare it to others on the site. If you dont think you compare favorably, tweak it until you do!

Be Dynamic and Make Use of Extras.

If youre getting rejected by almost everyone, see if theres something about your profile that may be putting them off. Even if your profiles successful, try updating and changing it from time to time. You may catch the eye of someone new. If your site allows audio or video files, make one. Few enough people do that the novelty alone will attract prospects to you. Add new photos, and change the one which downloads first, to keep your listing fresh.

About Marital Status.

Some divorced folks may be inclined to put single in their profiles because it sounds more hip and attractive. But if youre a guy, that can be a red flag meaning scared of commitment. If youre divorced, say so. If youre single, try to adjust your profile to sound especially stable, and experienced with long-term relationships.

We all dream every night

We all dream every night. Some people don't remember dreaming and would swear that they never dream. But dreaming is essential for sorting out and releasing the emotional buildup from our day so we can start the new day with a clean slate. If you stop people from dreaming, they become disturbed, confused and can start hallucinating.

On the other end of the scale, there are people that dream too much. This often happens to those that are depressed. Our brains aren't very good at telling the difference between a real situation and an imagined one. So hours of thinking about stressful situations before bedtime creates a huge negative emotional charge which requires huge amounts of dreaming to discharge.

So dreams are a very important part of us and affect our lives whether we remember them or not. And by tapping into them, we can explore and work through issues before they have even come to light. One of the great benefits of dreams is that they can show us what we are thinking about or are concerned with in our lives, often at a subconscious level.

Most people actually dream about one hundred minutes per night-about as long as any film you might see at a movie theater or on television. Most of us are lucky to recall even a few minutes of the previous night's dreams and many people routinely wake up with no recall at all of dreaming.

According to Dr. Alan Hobson's work at Harvard University, that memory for dreams is affected by the presence or absence of various neurotransmitters in our brains. The evidence is clear that some people have much better dream recall than others. The answer to this difference most likely lies in the balance of these different chemicals.

Most people remember dreams, or at least remember dreaming, when they awaken in the morning. The reason for this is because the vast majority of dreaming occurs in the last third of sleep. But if you have little or no dream recall, here are a few tips that could help:

Learn how to "wake up slowly." When you first wake up in the morning, lay quietly in bed and don't immediately start thinking and worrying about the day ahead. Try to concentrate your mind on whatever it was that you were just dreaming about - even if at first you can't remember dreaming about anything. This recall process is half intellectual, half emotional. We want to think about what it was we just were dreaming of, but we also want to feel what it was that we were dreaming about.

Often, if we can identify our emotional state, we can work backwards from there, remembering fragments of the dream until something jogs our memory and suddenly we may remember a lot more of the dream.

Many dreamers who practice this "slow awakening" technique say that it is important to lay still as they are waking up. Moving their bodies distracts their mind from being able to recall the last dream.

Here is something else you can try. Set your alarm for about thirty to forty minutes earlier than normal and hit the snooze button every ten minutes until it is really time to get up. Since we dream most heavily in the morning, chances are very good that each time the alarm sounds, it will wake you out of a dream. Now practice the dream recall technique we just discussed above. Hit the snooze button, lay still in bed, and work back in your mind to what you were just dreaming about. Feel your feelings, feel your emotions, and hold on to whatever snippets of the dream you can. Try to gather more bits of events and activity, until you have at least an outline of the dream.

Sleeping with a dream pillow is a great way to improve your dream recalling abilities. Mugwort is an herb used in dream pillows that is known to make dreams more intense and vivid so that the chances of remembering the dream is much greater. It's My Nature's dream pillow is quite effective for this. However, we always recommend that those prone to nightmares not use a dream pillow and we do not recommend it for children.

Once you begin remembering your dreams, you might want to keep a dream journal and record them. In dream recall, every detail is important. A general rule would be to make a point of recalling colors, shapes, gender, water, weather and movement. These points can reveal a great deal about the overall state of your life. Dreams can reflect tensions that exist inside of us. Recalling and analyzing our dreams can go a long way in helping us to ease some of the stress in our lives. If we just listen, our dreams can show us the way!

Authors Details: Susan Stewart

You dream every night whilst you sleep

You dream every night whilst you sleep. The dreams you have are the interface between your conscious waking state and your subconscious mind. You dream during REM sleep, which occurs roughly every 90 minutes throughout the night and for progressively longer periods. For example, you may only dream 5 or 10 minutes in your first REM period, but by morning you dream for about 30 minutes, right until you wake up.

Everyone dreams for about 100 minutes per night; you just have difficulty remembering your dreams. 100 minutes is more than an hour and a half and longer than most movies you see at the cinema.

Your dreams express to you what is happening in your physical body. They are a way of expressing and resolving what happens in your sub conscious mind. Science has shown that without dreaming you quickly breakdown in both mind and body.

Through your dreams you access a massive library of insight and information from your subconscious mind and the collective consciousness of humanity. Your dreams are a source for premonitions, spiritual contact and guidance. They are also a means to solve problems both personal and work related

Aymen Fares

Description Of The Angels Best Known To Us

MICHAEL (Archangel):

Michael is surely the best known of the archangels. Michael is acknowledged by all three Western sacred traditions. He is believed to appeared to Moses as the fire in the burning bush, and to have rescued Daniel and his friends from the lions' den.

To Christians, he's the angel who informed Mary of her approaching death.

Islamic lore tells us that his wings are the color of 'green emerald and are covered with saffron hairs, each of them containing a million faces and mouths and as many tongues which, in a million dialects, implore the pardon of Allah.'

In the Dead Sea Scrolls Michael emerges as the 'Prince of Light' fighting a war against the Sons of Darkness in which he leads the angelic battle against the legion of the fallen angel, Belial.

Michael is the protector of the Christian Church, guardian angel of Israel, and commander-in-chief of God's angel armies. He led them during a war in heaven in which Satan and his fallen angels were driven out of the clouds.

Even though he lives in the seventh heaven. Christian art and iconography shows Michael with a sword or with a scale weighing the souls of the dead.

GABRIEL (Archangel):

Gabriel seems to be our most frequent visitor from the higher realms. He astonished Mary, and her cousin Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, with the pronouncements concerning the births of their respective sons.

To the followers of Islam, Gabriel is the Spirit of Truth who dictated the Koran to Mohammed.

In Jewish legend it was Gabriel who parted the waters of the Red Sea so that the Hebrews could escape from the Pharaoh's soldiers.

According to court testimony of the time, it was Gabriel who came to Joan of Arc and inspired her to go to the aid of the dauphin (the eldest son of the king of France).

Gabriel's apparent ongoing interest in this planet is most probably due to his function as heavenly awakener, the angel of vibratory transformation.

Gabriel in Hebrew means 'man of God', and is seen as God's messenger.

Described as a human figure with long hair and multi-colored wings and often seen holding a scepter or lily.

RAPHAEL (Archangel):

Raphael is perhaps the most endearing of all the angels, and the one most frequently depicted in Western art. His image is featured on the canvases of such masters as Botticelli, Titian, and Rembrandt. He appears to be the high archangel charged with healing the Earth. Raphael is the travelers guide, guardian of youth. The ruler of the second heaven shows up in Christian paintings carrying a pilgrim's stick, a wallet and a fish. The poet Milton has Raphael eating supper with Adam and Eve in Eden.

Raphael's career seems to be peppered with medical missions. He healed the pain of circumcision for Abraham as the old man had not had the procedure done when he was young.

Raphael was then sent by God to cure poor Jacob's thigh after he'd bee n roughed up by Samael. And it's also claimed that Raphael gave Noah a much-prized 'medical book' after the flood. There's a legend that when Solomon prayed to God for aid in building the great temple in Jerusalem, Raphael personally delivered the gift of a magic ring with the power to subdue all demons. It was with this 'slave labor' that the Hebrew king completed the construction. Raphael has also been called 'a guide in hell,' which after all is where healing is needed the most.

URIEL (Archangel):

Uriel is ranked variously as a seraph, cherub, regent of the Sun, flame of God, presider over Hades and, in his best-known role, as the Archangel of Salvation.

Like Metatron, Uriel is said to be one of the angels of the Presence, a most high posting since only the highest voltage angels can sustain the presence of God. Uriel is thought to have been

"the spirit who stood at the gate of the lost Eden with the fiery sword."

The Book of Enoch tells us that it was Uriel who was sent by God to warn Noah of the impending flood, and elsewhere it is written that he disclosed the mysteries of the heavenly arcana to Ezra, and that he also led Abraham out of Ur in the Chaldean region.

Some have claimed that the divine art of alchemy was brought down to Earth by Uriel, and that it was also this angel who gave the Kabbalah, the Hebrew mystic tradition, to humankind.

METATRON (Cherubim):

In the world of Jewish mystics, came to hold the rank of the highest of the angels despite his not being mentioned in the Scriptures. The meaning of his name has never been satisfactorily explained although one interpretation of it is "one who occupies the throne next to the Divine throne.

In a number of traditional sources, Metatron is said to have been the prophet Enoch, who was taken up to Heaven and transformed into an angel of fire, with thirty-six pairs of wings, to continue his days as a celestial scribe.

Metatron has also been identified as the Liberating Angel and the one who wrestled with Jacob; the one who stayed Abraham's hand from sacrificing his son Isaac; and the one who led the Hebrews through the forty years in the wilderness.

In certain schools of mysticism, Metatron, said to be the tallest of all the heavenly beings, became known as Lesser YHWH. In Hebrew, the letters 'LHWH' stand for the most sacred and unpronounceable name of God." "As God has many names, so, too, Metatron was thought to have many names, the use of which was believed to offer the user protection and access to this great angel's powers. Yahoel, Yofiel, Surya, and Lad are just a few of his other names."

MELCHIZEDEK: Lived and taught 2000 years before the Christ!

Melchizedek, the Sage of Salem, is another of the few known cases of a high angel taking a human, very male, body. He appeared fully formed, some two thousand years before Christ, announcing that he was a servant of El El yon, the Most High. He then set up a teaching center over which he personally presided for ninety-four years.

It was Melchizedek who delivered God's Covenant to Abraham and introduced the revolutionary concept of salvation through pure faith to the thinking of the planet. He established an extraordinary wide-flung missionary program, centered in Salem, the ancient site of Jerusalem, sending out thousands of missionaries who literally circled the globe.

Melchizedek was believed to be the father of the seven Elohim (Angels of the divine presence).

In the third century a.d. a group of 'heretics', calling themselves Melchisedans, claimed to be in touch with 'a great power named Melchizedek, who was greater than Christ'.

His sojourn here as the Sage of Salem was said to have been a concerted effort on behalf of the celestials to bring some much-needed light to a dark and chaotic time, and to set the seeds for the coming of the Christ.

ARIEL (Throne):

Some confusion exists as to exactly whose side Ariel is on. He's ranked as one of the seven princes who rule the waters and is also known as Earth's Great Lord. To the poet John Milton, however, Ariel is a rebel angel who is overcome by the seraph Abdiel on the first day of the great war in Heaven.

Jewish mystics used Ariel as a poetic name for Jerusalem.

In Gnostic lore, Ariel is the angel who controls the demons. Ariel has also been associated with the order of angels called the thrones and is known to have assisted the archangel Raphael in the curing of disease.

ISRAFEL:

Israfel, whose name in Arabic folklore means 'The Burning One', is both an angel of resurrection and of song. By these same accounts, Israfel paved the way for Gabriel by serving three years as a companion to Mohammed, whom he'd originally initiated into the work of being a prophet.

In an Islamic variant of the Genesis account of Adam's creation, Allah sends Israfel, Gabriel, Michael, and Azrael (the Angel of Death) out on a mission to fetch the seven handfuls of dust needed to make humanity's progenitor. According to legend, only Azrael returned unsuccessful.

RAZIEL (Power):

Raziel is believed to be an 'angel of the secret regions and Chief of the Supreme Mysteries'.

There is a legend that Raziel is the author of a great book, 'wherein all celestial and Earthly knowledge is set down.' When the angel gave his tome to Adam, some envious angels stole it away and threw it in the ocean. After it had been recovered by the primordial angel/demon of the deep, Rahab, the book passed first to Enoch, who apparently claimed it as his own, then to Noah, who learned how to make his ark from it. Solomon, too, was thought to have possessed the book, which allowed him his unusual knowledge of magic and control over the demons.

The Zohar, the major work of Jewish mysticism, claims that set in the middle of Raziel's book there is secret writing 'explaining the fifteen hundred keys (to the mystery of the world), which were not revealed even to the angels.'

Other Jewish mystics report that 'each day the angel Raziel, standing on the mount of Horeb, proclaims the secrets of men to all mankind'.

Editors Note: To talk with your Angels you need to be 'clear'. By clear I mean you need to be free of emotions and thoughts that block communication. Everyone has the ability to communicate with their Angels, however not everyone is willing to clear a path.
Authors Details: Unknown

Introduction

All three major religions of the Western world, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, as well as virtually all of the world's other systems of religious belief, include celestials in their cosmologies.

Their scriptures all contain references to angelic interventions. Angels, like people, belong to families or clans. Many names have been given to them, but in the opinion of a number of angel historians, the most familiar can be arranged in three categories, or spheres, starting at the top with those closest to God, and moving down to those who are connected to the physical world.

The word 'angel' itself is used both as a generic term to refer to all heavenly beings, and as a specific term to refer to the members of the third sphere, those closest to the physical. So, too, the word 'archangel' is often used as a generic term to refer to all the high orders of heavenly beings, although they are in fact but one of the higher orders.

While it looks like there is a higher and lower echelon, it's more accurate to visualize all these orders in a great circle, with the "highest" and the "lowest" holding hands. For example, seraphim, who appear to be closest to the Creator, also serve the God in us.

In the New Testament celestial beings are grouped into seven ranks: angels, archangels, principalities, powers, virtues, dominions, and thrones.

Plus, the Old Testament adds cherubim and seraphim, which with the other seven ranks, comprise the nine choirs of angels in later Christian theology; although the number has generally been fixed at seven.

The Spiritual Hierarchy

The 9 orders of angelic beings (1 being the highest order)

The First Sphere -- angels who serve as heavenly counselors

1 - SERAPHIM

2 - CHERUBIM

3 - THRONES

The Second Sphere -- angels who work as heavenly governors

4 - DOMINIONS

5 - VIRTUES

6 - POWERS

The Third Sphere -- angels who function as heavenly messengers

7 - PRINCIPALITIES

8 - ARCHANGELS

9 - ANGELS

The Nine Orders Explained

SERAPHIM

The highest order of the highest hierarchy are the seraphim, the celestial beings said to surround the throne of God, singing the music of the spheres, and regulating the movement of the heavens as it emanates from God.

CHERUBIM

Beyond the thrones are the cherubim. They are the guardians of light, and of the stars. Remote from our plane of reality, still their light touches our lives, the divine light that they filter down from Heaven.

Lucifer (Satan/Devil) is known as the 'angel of light, whom God's light shown through' - before his 'sin against God'.

THRONES

The first order in the third sphere is the thrones. They are the companion angels of the planets.

DOMINIONS

The dominions are the heavenly beings who govern the activities of all the angelic groups lower than they are. Divine bureaucrats, they also serve to integrate the spiritual and the material worlds. Although they take their orders from God, and rarely contact individuals, their work is connected to our reality.

VIRTUES

Beyond the powers are another group of beings, the virtues. They are of particular importance to us now because they are able to beam out massive levels of divine energy.

POWERS

The first order of the second sphere are those beings who have been known as powers. They are the bearers of the conscience of all of humanity, the keepers of our collective history. The angels of birth and death are in this category. They are able to draw down and hold the energy of the divine plan the same way trees draw down the energy of the Sun. In this way, the powers can send all of us a vision of a world spiritual network.

PRINCIPALITIES

Beyond the group of archangels are the principalities. They are the guardian angels of all large groups, from cities and nations to recent human creations such as multi-national corporations. These might more accurately now be called integrating angels.

ARCHANGELS

Beyond the angels are the beings we are used to calling the archangels,they tend the larger arenas of human endeavor. These beings are from a different family from the angels. There are many different kinds of archangels in this larger family. The four we are most familiar with are Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and Uriel.

ANGELS

The angels that we are most familiar with are those in the last order. They are the ones who are closest to humanity, the ones most concerned with human affairs. Within the category of angels, there are many different kinds, with different functions. The ones that we know best are the guardian angels.

Because of shifts in their functions and our consciousness, it is useful to think of these celestial beings as companion angels. As we enter a time of increased light and love on the planet, they will not need to guard us, but rather will be our guides to greater and greater consciousness.

When A Man Loves A Woman

And Moves For Her)
by Matt McAllister

My wife Stacey and I had been married for exactly two months when she got an offer that would change our lives.

At the time, we were like any newlyweds, trying to settle into our new lives together as husband and wife. We’d dated for over five years before tying the knot, and for the first few weeks in the wake of our wedding we were asked by practically everyone we knew if it felt any different to be married. We quickly grew accustomed to answering that, no, not much had changed between us.

Before long, however, we were admitting at least to each other that perhaps marriage did make us feel slightly different about things. It was like we were being pulled by something larger than either of us, as if we’d been entered into some sort of competition to which someone had neglected to tell us the rules. Still, we were proud to be married to each other and excited to wake up with one another for the rest of our lives. Anything else was peripheral.

When the offer was presented, the first real challenge in our lives together as husband and wife came with it.

They’d called her at work to explain the position and say that they wanted to fly her down to L.A. to discuss the possibilities. When Stacey came home that night and told me about it, my initial reaction was less than supportive. “I am NOT moving to Los Angeles,” I told her, although as far as stances go mine sounded a bit halfhearted, even to me.

The truth was, as much as we loved the Bay Area, we’d never intended to stay there for as long as we had. A year turned into four, and although we’d been in our current, tiny apartment in Sausalito for only ten months, already it was beginning to feel restrictive and tiresome. In fact we’d been talking about moving anyway; it’s just that at that point we were only considering a move back into the City or up a little farther north to Mill Valley.

She came back from L.A. feeling and looking inspired. They wanted to make her a vice president, and the job was doing something she’d always wanted to do. “It just sucks that it’s in La La Land,” she said.

“That really does suck,” I agreed stupidly.

Now, it did eventually dawn on my thick brain that what I should’ve said—like anyone who’d ever read a single Dear Abby column knows—was that if she really wanted to take the job, then the city it was in shouldn’t make that big of a difference. When at last I realized this, I said something to that effect.

“But you’re still in school,” she said. To be exact, I was nine credits short of receiving my M.A. at San Francisco State.

“I could always transfer,” I countered.

“What about your business?” she asked, referring to my modest roster of clients for whom I offer marketing and writing services.

“I can pretty much work from anywhere. And there are plenty of Internet companies down there,” I said.

And so the seed had been planted. For the next week or two we argued the pros and cons of staying and going, weighing each point with care and precision and trying to assign values for each of our reasons. We flip-flopped back and forth, thinking on numerous occasions that at last we’d made a decision, only to change our minds again an hour or a day later. What compounded the dilemma further was the fact that Stacey’s old employer was making a comeback offer in an attempt to keep her.

Throughout all of it we argued a little, drank lots of wine, reminded each other that it was a win-win scenario for Stacey’s career, and like any newlyweds had tons of really great sex.

We told some of our friends and family that we were considering moving to L.A., and were greeted with reactions that ranged from supportive to derisive and everything in between. My parents and in-laws of course were proud of Stacey come what may and proud of me for being so supportive of my new bride as to move to L.A. for what was ostensibly her benefit. Most of my close friends, on the other hand, (especially those in San Fran, where there is a general snobbery towards Los Angeles) all thought I was crazy. Some swore up and down that I’d hate it there. Even the ones who understood my reasons—or at least that I must have reasons, of some sort—all seemed to look at me as if I'd just lost a little bit of my manhood.

“You're letting your wife's career dictate your life!” they said, if not with their mouths then at least with their eyes.

They may have had a point there, but I tried to look at it more like I was enabling my wife to dictate her own career without my meddling. And wasn’t that admirable?

Finally, a decision was made, and this time the resolution that came with it seemed to stick. I think that after a point all the reasons we had for staying in San Francisco seemed less and less important. It wasn’t like we had a house that we’d have to put on the market or any kids to pull out of a school system. (I felt fairly certain that our dog would adjust to a new dog park without much trouble.) Of course, some of our closest friends were up in Northern California, but we looked forward to getting reacquainted with some old friends in Southern California, and we could always make new ones.

But what I think ultimately proved to be the deciding factor for us was simple. For Stacey, she always would’ve wondered “what if?” had she not taken the job in L.A. In my case, it wasn’t so much that I worried she might someday ask herself what would’ve happened if she had taken that job; I simply couldn’t live knowing that her question might be, “What if Matt hadn’t made me stay in San Francisco?”

Once I thought about it that way, there was nothing else to consider.

A dream come true

A dream come true

First of all I would like to tell something about myself. I was someone who did not care for anybody. I was into a bad company of friends who taught me all the wrong things in life. I never cared for anyone's feelings and I never liked anyone who told something good for me.


Then my parents decided to stop my college and get myself admitted into this institute, which I had not wanted. But I had to do as per their wish.


I went to the institute and in the very first day I saw this sweet little girl but what I did not like was her name. Slowly my friends got myself introduced to her and I made her my friend. I started talking to her over the phone. I had started seeing her as a very close friend of mine with whom I could share everything. On the 16th of Sept 2000 I had a very strange feeling that I had started liking her more than a friend. I knew my capabilities that I could have never told her about my feelings simply because I was scared that she would break this friendship. My friends played a very bad game with me which forced me to tell her everything. she replied back by saying that she did not believe in love. I told her a lot of things the next day and she cried after listening to me. I wiped her tears and she gave me a key ring. In the ring "I love u" had been written. I asked her what it meant and she told that she would call me.


After going home I impatiently waited for her call. She called and told me that she also liked me a lot. I could not believe my ears.


Slowly she became very close to me and we had a very good rapport between us. SHE was the one I was waiting for 20 long years.


She had completely changed that boy who was into his own world and least concerned about anything, into a totally different person. She has given me a new life and a new meaning for me to live. I am really very grateful to GOD for sending such a wonderful person as my friend and my life partner (definitely in the future). It is a fact that what I am today is because of her and I can say that my life belongs totally to that very special person whom I call "my shona". I really love u with all my heart and soul and I promise to make u mine with everyone's permission.


Lastly I would like to thank god, my parents, and my friends who have been with me and have had faith that I will one day become successful and keep her happy for years to come.


LOVE U A LOTTTTTTT SHONA

YOUR NAME IS THE BEST NAME I HAVE EVER HEARD


I AM NOTHING WITHOUT U

NEVER BE UPSET ABOUT ANYTHING


I AM ALWAYS WITH U

(MY ONLY DREAM IS TO SEE U WITH A SMILING FACE ALWAYS)

How love Feels.

How love Feels.
By Destiny Gonzalez

I saw his face that day. He was smiling at me. My heart skipped a beat. He walked closer. I was love struck and didn't know what to do. " Hi." was all he said. His voice was as sweet as honey.
I knew right there at that same moment he had to be mine.
After a couple days we were real close. We talked about everything. On that same day he asked me the question i've been waiting for him to ask. " yes i would love to." I replied. Our gaze locked and we shared the most intimate kiss. It was so tender and passionate.
I never forgot that special moment. It was like i was floating on the clouds. I finally knew how love felt. And I was glad I did.