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

Paul and Silas were escorted to the lowered dungeon, uncomfortable, in chains, mistreated, hurting and still probably bleeding from the beatings. One would expect them to be belligerent, angry, complaining but instead we find them singing and rejoicing. At midnight when it would seem they would have been trying to rest and soothe themselves, they prayed and sang praises to God.

This person and I agreed on many things and he checked with the Patriarch to discover that I was ‘bang on’ with my history. The matter of our disagreement centers around his Essene Templar status and the abuses made by these designers of what I call CONstructs. Here is a little from my book on the occult.

Five easy ways to help the every-day-person live more fully in a Christian lifestyle

Many times, we are blinded to our own sins. This poem is about a man who will not believe what he sees in the mirror in front of him. It represents our sinful state, and the many times we are unwilling to face our flaws and pursue change.

Make no mistake about it, change is challenging whether it is conscious or unexpected. Viewing adversity as change, not loss or failure, is part of empowered and positive thinking.

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

Take a moment and go within. Can you feel the winds of change? If you cannot feel it within yourself, look at the world around you. Can you see how the winds of change buffet your family, friends and coworkers? The winds of change, of course, are the underlying cause of your major news stories.

The human race had their beginning, and I had mine – in this lifetime, anyway. Growing up in a cultural melting pot like Chicago set a great foundation for my different drummer to build on. I grew up in a town with six million people; every one of them was different from the next...

Using humor to counter stress is easy to learn and very effective. Examples and simple organization of humor are readily available when we know what to look for.

The quickest way to relieve stress is to hug someone you love. This might sound too simple to work but try it, the process only takes a few minutes but can keep your heart rate and your blood pressure down when your body is under stress.

Many years ago, children from birth to four or five years of age exercised natural preschool stress relief. Training in preschool stress relief was both unknown and unnecessary.

In this current age of medical advancement when people are living longer than ever before, why is it that stress is becoming more and more prominent in today's society, affecting our health and our quality of life like no other illness?

Stress can make you feel hungry even though you just ate. Because of this reason, you will tend to eat more portions and fast food chains are serving food portions that are high in fat, sugar and salt 700 percent larger than what is recommended by dietitians and nutritionists.

To help child manage his stress, it is necessary first to locate the source of its negative emotions. The child must be taught what needs to be watched and monitored to debar stress. Reward the good deeds and punish the bad ones.

If you were wondering whether holiday stress is a real phenomenon, check out the internet. Both Wikipedia and Yahoo Directory now have sections devoted to this latest health worry. So, just what is holiday stress and what can you do about it?

Desperation comes in many forms. I have made promises and failed them all find out what has led to this emotionally trying article about never losing hope.

One stress management tool I recommend is becoming a Neutral Loving Observer. You will gain clarity, objectivity and more options for problem solving in your stressful situations. You'll build resilience and optimism and find it easier to return to your center of inner peace. Read on for the three key choices to support your process.

If I could sit you down today and tell you your panic attacks would be gone in less then two weeks would you believe me?

In our final part of this 5 part series on 101 Stress Management tips we take a look at tips 81-101.

If you live in Santa Cruz, you probably already know the value of maintaining your health. Santa Cruz spas provide a solution for rejuvenating your mind and body when you need to.

It is okay! There are many ways to do it. It can be fast, slow or a bit of both. If you enjoy pain or will like to punish yourself for a particular reason, there are even more options for you, but before you do, read this!

The most damaging type of stress research has found was chronic stress, caused, for example, by unemployment or caring for a relative with mental illness - both situations which have no end in sight. These have damaging effects on the whole immune system. The key to it all, the researchers concluded, was whether the stress was never-ending or short-term. It was discovered that even the extreme stress of losing a partner was nowhere near as bad as chronic stress.